• Third Floor, 104-108 Oxford Street, London,W1D 1LP Company Registration No. 12526644
  • 3B-901, North Pingod Arts Community, 32 Baiziwan Road, Chaoyang, Beijing
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Armstrong International Music & Arts Enterprises Ltd., is a diversified leading arts management enterprise consists of three branches: Armstrong Music and Arts, Armstrong Media, and Armstrong Travel. We are aiming to build a cultural bridge between China and the Western World.

Get In Touch

  • No.3-038, North Pingod Arts Community, 32 Baiziwan Road, Chaoyang, Beijing（East side of Today Art Museum）
  • 010-58263639
  • info@armstrongmusic.cc

Lucid Duo

Lucid Duo

The ensemble was formed in 2009 by Irena Manolova (Bulgaria) and Tomasz Goliński (Poland) in Antwerp, Belgium. After graduating Europe´s first Marimba Master Degree at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, the duo believes in bringing the instrument to a further development as a solo concert musical instrument. Lucid’s performance is an introduction to the wide spectrum of the marimba virtuosity. Irena and Tomasz want to share their vision about this unique instrument and convince the audience to perceive it as a standard classical instrument. They mainly perform with a technical proficiency and above all passion and excitement a repertoire with selections of Japanese music, own compositions and arrangements in a variety of musical styles.
Seeking technical challenges and pushing the limits of the instrument has led Irena and Tomasz to unite two forces. Since Tomasz is one of the leading composers of his generation on the international marimba and percussion scene, the duo premieres many of his new works, such as marimba duo pieces; marimba duo with electronics or double marimba concertos. These new compositions are being performed further by other marimbists around the world. In this unique way, the duo contributes to the marimba repertoire worldwide.
Irena Manolova and Tomasz Goliński created an unseen chamber music concept with their unique sounding instruments, innovative repertoire and virtuoso skills. Lucid Duo is the first prize winning laureate of the prestigious Universal Marimba Competition 2011 in Belgium under the High Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Paola, praised for their amazing degree of sensitivity to sound. Among others they were also recognized as Prizewinners of the Fidelio Chamber Music Competition 2015 in Vienna and were chosen to perform as one of the top three finalists at the Gala Concert of the Contemporary Music Competition De Link prijs 2012 in Tilburg, The Netherlands.
In 2016 the duo specialized with the primary figure in the development of the 5 octave marimba and Lucid’s biggest inspiration and idol – the Japanese composer and marimba virtuoso – Keiko Abe, at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, Japan with the help of the ‘Startstipendium’ Scholarship given by the Federal Chancellery of Austria. Lucid Duo is currently based in Vienna, Austria and is an Innovative Percussion Endorser.