With their roots spreading from all corners of the globe including Canada, Russia, Brazil and UK, Trio Claudel is a dynamic and emerging piano trio based in Salzburg, comprising of pianist Anastasia Kulikova, violinist Vinícius Gomes and cellist Laura MacDonald. After meeting at festivals across Europe and at the Mozarteum, the three like-minded musicians were quick to recognise their shared passion for trio repertoire and for outreach social projects, bonding them as an ensemble in 2024. The trio brings together all of the extensive chamber music experience of the three members along with their own musical inspirations and a commitment to innovative performance.
Named after the French sculptor Camille Claudel, the trio aims to bridge the gap between the "standard" and the "forgotten" composers in classical music by focusing on inclusive and diverse programming. They enjoy performing a range of repertoire spanning from contemporary to classical, with a particular focus on works by female composers.
So far Trio Claudel has received invaluable coaching from high calibre musicians including Thomas Riebl, Cibrán Sierra-Vázquez and Connie Shih, all of whom are helping to shape the ensemble's continuous artistic development. The trio have also performed throughout Austria and Germany, including at the Mozarteum's Solitär, Schloss Frohnburg, Mozartareal Würzburg and Schloss Arenberg. Between them they have performed at festivals across the world including IMS Prussia Cove, ChamberLab Montecastelli, Edinburgh Festival and at venues including Elbphilharmonie, Concertgebouw, Salle Cortot and Wigmore Hall.
The trio was named the recipient of the 2025 Mozarteum Ensemble scholarship, aimed at supporting chamber groups in the realization of a unique project. As a result, the trio went on an educational outreach tour in São Paulo, Brazil in August 2025, where they performed concerts, gave masterclasses, and visited local schools and social projects. In September 2025, the trio took part in the prestigious Jeunesses Musicales International Chamber Music Campus at Schloss Weikersheim, studying with Günter Pichler, the Vogler Quartet and Dirk Mommertz. The trio has been recently selected to join the MERITA Platform within the MERITAcubed project, which runs 2026-2029.
Anastasia Kulikova
Pianist
Anastasia Kulikova's extensive career features performances throughout Europe and North America, as well as many prizes at numerous national and international competitions in Italy, Bulgaria, France, the USA and beyond. She is a past scholarship holder of the Woman's Art Association of Canada and a winner of the University of Toronto Concerto Competition, which led to her orchestral debut in 2022. Anastasia holds Bachelor and Masters degrees from the University of Toronto, where she studied with Marietta Orlov. In 2024 she completed Master of Arts at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, specializing in chamber music and lied accompaniment under the guidance of Connie Shih and Pauliina Tukiainen.
As a sought-after collaborative pianist, she was faculty at the Casalmaggiore International (Italy) and the Musiktage-am-Rhein (Germany) festivals in 2023, and the Summer Academy at the Anton Bruckner University (Linz) in 2024. In 2025 she was the Korrepetitorin in the youth production of opera Maria Stuarda as part of Salzburger Festspiele: Opern Camps. She is an active accompanist for various choirs across Salzburg, and has performed in the Salzburger Dom with MozartChor Salzburg and ProVobis. She currently works at the Mozarteum University as a collaborative pianist and coach in the strings department.
Her extensive chamber music career includes two successful tours of England (2022, 2024), and second prize at La Follia Nuova International Chamber Music Competition (Italy) with cellist Felix Rosenboom. She is part of the Liedduo Turkheimer-Kulikova, who were semifinalists in the 2024 Groningen Liedduo Competition (Netherlands), and recently performed in Oxford (England) and Porto (Portugal). She has been featured at festivals such as the Barnes Music Society, Projeto:Cançao, and the Erika Frieser Kammermusiktage. Anastasia enjoys a busy career as a collaborative pianist and chamber musician, and in the 2025/26 season she will perform with various chamber music partners in Germany, Austria, Italy and England.
Vinícius Gomes de Oliveira Sousa
Violinist
Vinícius Gomes de Oliveira Sousa (b. 1998) is a rising Brazilian violinist with an active career across both his home country and Europe. He has held prominent orchestral leadership roles, including concertmaster of the Guarulhos Chamber Orchestra and the Campos do Jordão International Winter Festival, as well as associate concertmaster of the São Caetano Symphony Orchestra.
An accomplished chamber musician, his string quartet represented the São Paulo State School of Music (EMESP) as the winners of the 2016 UNIBES Chamber Music Competition. That same year, he was awarded a full scholarship to study at the École Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris under Liana Gourdjia. After completing his studies with highest honors (à l'unanimité avec les félicitations du jury), he continued his musical education at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, where he is currently studying under Klara Flieder.
Vinícius has performed extensively as both a soloist and an orchestral musician. Notably, he appeared as a soloist with the Philharmonie Salzburg at the Stiftung Mozarteum's Großer Saal in February 2020. In August 2022, he made his debut with the Bad Reichenhall Philharmoniker, performing Beethoven's Triple Concerto. Over the past four years, he has collaborated with ensembles such as Camerata Salzburg, the Mozarteum Orchestra, and the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP).
In 2024, Vinícius was invited to perform at the Edinburgh Festival and the Kronberg Academy as a guest artist with the Ilumina Ensemble. He is also a member of Yolotl Latino, an initiative dedicated to bringing both classical and traditional Latin American music to a wider audience through concerts and live masterclasses in Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, and Mexico.
Laura MacDonald
Cellist
British cellist Laura MacDonald is now based in Germany enjoying a varied musical career. She studied in London at the Royal College of Music Junior Department with the late Michal Kaznowski, before completing her undergraduate studies at the Royal Academy with First Class Honours and the Regency Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2020. She then achieved her Master's degree with distinction in the class of Adrian Brendel at the Guildhall School of Music in 2022. Following her time in London she then continued her studies at the Hanover Hochschule für Musik.
A passionate chamber musician, she has performed throughout the UK, including at Wigmore Hall, Milton Court and St James Piccadilly. Recently she has participated in the IMS Prussia Cove Masterclass and Open Chamber Music seminars, Maiastra Chamber Music, Whittington Festival, ChamberLab Montecastelli, Ensemble Modern Academy and the International Holland Music Sessions. She has also performed with chamber ensembles in Europe including O Modernt and Das Neu Ensemble. Laura also performs with Mad Song, a contemporary music ensemble based in London with upcoming engagements including the semifinals of Royal Overseas League Competition, High Barnet Chamber Music Festival and recording their debut CD. She is also a member of the newly formed Trio Claudel, a piano trio based in Salzburg.
As an orchestral musician, she has performed with the English Chamber Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the CBSO. Since September 2024, she is a member of the Kurt Masur Academy of the Dresdner Philharmonie. Laura plays a Dutch c.1720 Pieter Rombouts cello on kind private loan.