Irene Kalisvaart was awarded the highest prize at the National Competition for Young Guitarists in Amsterdam at the age of 17. She studied with Jorge Oraison in Rotterdam, and continued with Ansgar Krause and Hubert Käppel at the Musikhochschule Köln where she finished her studies with distinction. She then went on to complete the ‘concert exam’ with Hubert Käppel in 2001. In between and thereafter she received numerous scholarships, international prizes and awards. Valuable musical mentors and masterclasses include Darko Petrinjak, Laura Young, Dale Kavanagh, Zoran Dukić, Àlex Garrobé, Pablo Márquez, Marco Socías, Thomas Müller-Pering, Aniello Desiderio and David Russell.