Dywel Braaf is a 22-year-old pianist who was born and raised in the Bijlmer. His love for classical music started as a toddler when he was put to sleep by his mother with classical music. From childhood he knew wanted to become a composer, artist and concert pianist. From the age of nine, Dywel received classical piano lessons at the Amsterdam Music School, where he was admitted to the “Excellence” talent course in the first year.

At the age of twelve, Dywel was a finalist in edition 1 of the Royal Concertgebouw Competition and received an honorable mention as a participant in the Princess Christina Competition.

In February 2014 Dywel won the second prize at the Princess Christina Competition West 2 in Haarlem and in April he participated in the national day of the nominees of the Competition. In the same year he was also a semi-finalist of the Steinway Competition.

At the end of the same year, Dywel participated in the RTL-4 TV program “The Orchestra of the Netherlands”. As a finalist, he performed together with Wibi Soerjadi and the large orchestra in the large hall of the Concertgebouw.

On January 1, 2017, Dywel was allowed to play at the New Year’s reception of the late Mayor Eberhart van der Laan. In November 2017, Dywel was shown with a performance in the “Hour of Power” program on RTL 5 and in 2018 he was part of the tour program with the famous Hour of Power choir from California as a soloist.

On September 29, 2019, Dywel opened as the ambassador of “The Black Achievement Month,” the festivities with the recitation of Prelude and Coral by Cesar Franck.

Dywel is a fourth-year student of classical piano at the ArtEZ Conservatory in Zwolle. He likes to play virtuoso pieces and also likes to compose his own pieces.

From his bi-cultural background, he also has affinity with Afro music styles such as, Hip-hop, Jazz and R&B. He is a true fan of the master composer J.S. Bach, but also a lover of the music of Herbie Hancock. With his graduation thesis, Dywel has investigated how a classical pianist can contribute to the development of new art forms, combining classical music, R&B and urban music styles.

Characteristic of Dywel’s style is that he knows how to alternate intimacy and depth in his play with intensity and passion.

Dywel Braaf will complete his Bachelor’s degree in classical piano on 24 June 2020 with a concert at the Bijlmerparktheater in Amsterdam.