The fiery passion of the tango meets the brilliance of the string quartet. From their roots in authentic Argentine tango, the Pavaditas travel from the milonga, to contemporary classical music via rock, pop and latin - all with sparkling original arrangements and compositions.
The quartet have diverse artistic interests and enjoy using these to broaden their musical horizons and seek new challenges. Whether exploring different musical genres or collaborating with other musicians, actors, dancers and artists, the Pavaditas enjoy putting their heart and soul into their work. They bring the raw power and intimate emotions of the tango into the here and now.
Sophie Maria de Rijk
violin
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After studying musicology at Utrecht University, Sophie threw herself into her great passion: Argentine tango. At the tango department of Codarts in Rotterdam she studied violin with Benzion Shamir and Sexteto Canyenge violinist Martijn van der Linden and ensemble and arranging with Gustavo Beijtelmann, Karel Kraaijenhof and Leo Vervelde. Sophie has played in many different tango ensembles such as OTRA, Sexteto Puñal and Tincho and followed workshops with Juan José Mosalini and members of Color Tango.
During her time in Buenos Aires Sophie played in the renowned Orquesta Escuela, led by Emilio Balcarse and had violin lessons from Ramiro Gallo and Pablo Agri.
As well as playing in tango ensembles, such as Tango Masivo (a new group with members of the popular Astillero Tango), Sophie also works as an arranger and composer. She freelances in diverse (theater) music ensembles, and is a member of The Rossettis and the violin duo Strijkgoed.
Sophie has also written many articles about Tango which have appeared in publications such as La Cadena and Arco.
Claudia Valenzuela violin​
Claudia was born in 1980 and grew up in a musical family. She started playing the violin at the age of 6. She studied classical music at the Rotterdam Conservatory with Andras Czifra, and her Masters degree at Fontys Conservatorium in Tilburg with Jenny Spanoghe. Claudia has performed in Europe and in South America already with many latin ensembles; Charanga La crisis, Pavadita String Quartet, Sonando, Mariachi Tierra Caliente Eric y su Chocolate, Randy Winterdal Ensemble, and more.
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Maria Sofia Espiga Fonseca
Viola
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Maria Sofia started her violin studies at the age of twelve at the Escola Profissional de Artes da Beira Interior, Portugal. In 2005, she finished her Bachlor’s Degree of Violin at the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra Metropolitana inLisbon. On last June 2011, Sofia played her final exam for her Bachelor’s Degree on Viola at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. There she studied with Marjolein Dispa and Sven Tepl and performed monthly in the classes of Nobuko Imay. Sofia has performed in Master Classes of world renown musicians such as Gerardo Ribeiro, Anibal Lima, Garth Knox, Ervin Shiffer, Daniel Rowland, Joel Waterman, Francien Schatborn, Simone Briatore, Tim Bolton and Jürgen Kussmaul.
Sofia has performed as a member of the Orquestra Academica and Sinfónica Metropolitana, Orquestra APROART, OrquestrasParticulares, Orquestra da Universidade do Minho in Portugal and the Dutch National Youth Orchestra, the Conservatorium van Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra and the Het Promenade Orkest, in Holland. She has worked with several of the most influential conductors in the Netherlands and Europe including Reinbert de Leeuw, Frans Bruggen, Istvan Parkany, Jan Willem de Vriend, Jurjen Hempel, Justin DiCioccio, Johannes Leertouwer, Otto Tausk, Ivan Meylemans, Toby Hoffman, Artjom Kim, Bas Wiegers and Ed Spanjaard.
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Eva van de Poll violoncello
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Eva has studied with Dmitri Ferschtman, Michel Dispa and Ran Varon in Amsterdam and completed her Masters in Zwolle. Although since she finished her studies in 2001 she has played with orchestras such as the Gelders Orkest and Holland Symfonia, Eva has been more drawn to contemporary music, world music and all those intriguing areas between different styles and disciplines.
In 2001 she founded the trio To Be Sung, with singer Elisa Roep and clarinetist Fie Schouten. Many pieces have been composed especially for the trio, by both Dutch and foreign composers, and the trio perform regularly both home and abroad (including a tour to Indonesia in 2010 and a festival in Turkey in 2012).
Eva has also played with groups such as the Escher Ensemble, Insomnio, Corrie van Binsbergen and Filmorkest Max Tak, where theatre and other art forms are brought together with music.
Eva plays world music with, amongst others, Sexteto Canyengue, the Chris Hinze combination and the Haytham Safia Q4tet, an ensemble which brings together eastern and western musical styles.
Eva has been an enthusiastic member of Pavadita since 2004.
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