We, the violinist Kei and the cellist Ernir, got to know each other during our studies at the Music University in Vienna. Since then, we have played lots of chamber music together, be it string quartet, string quintet, piano quintet, baroque ensembles or piano trio.
Nowadays we are married and live in Gothenburg, Sweden, and still love playing music together.
We have focused more and more on playing as a duo, both in classical concerts (e.g. Kodálys duo) and at weddings or tv-recordings, in that context often with a more mixed repertoire and own arangements.
Kei Okubo-Pálsson
Violin
Born in Japan, Kei began to play the violin at five with Haruki Horiuchi and very soon also joined a chamber music ensemble and junior orchestra.
She studied at Kunitachi Music College with Hiroaki Oseki. During the studies there she founded the string quartet “Glück”, with which she gave regular concerts and attended many masterclasses.
After that she moved to Vienna and continued to study at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Thomas Fheodoroff and Jussuf Karajev, where she finished both bachelor and master degrees.
Today she is working as a violin teacher and a freelance violinist in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Ernir Óskar Pálsson
Cello
Born in Gothenburg to Icelandic parents. After learning to love cello with his first teacher Lotten Zimmergren he continued his studies at the secondary school Musikkonservatoriet in Falun. After that he wenn on to study at the Icelandic Academy of the Arts with Gunnar Kvaran and at the Turku Arts Academy with Erkki Lahesmaa. He then spent the following decade in Austria, most of that time studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he finished his masters degree under the guidance of Wolfgang Aichinger.
Ernir is currently working as a cello teacher and freelance musician in Gothenburg, Sweden.