Sisters Kejsi (born 1998) and Ebi Çoku (born 2000) are from Tirana, Albania, and began their musical journey at the age of six. Their first artistic steps were shaped at the Artistic Lyceum in Tirana under the guidance of Nadjezhda Porodini, where a shared sensitivity at the keyboard quickly became evident. They continued their studies at the University of Arts in Tirana with Merita Rexha Tërshana and Marin Gjollma, while also discovering the harpsichord with Jusuf Beshiri an encounter that would decisively influence their artistic path.
From 2019 to 2020, the sisters pursued studies in harpsichord and basso continuo at the Johann-Joseph-Fux Conservatory in Graz with Konstanze Rieckh. Since 2020, they have continued at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (KUG) in the class of Prof. Michael Hell, graduating with distinction in 2025. Since March 2025, they have further refined their artistic voice in the class of Prof. Catalina Vicens.
Their musical formation has been enriched by encounters with leading figures of the early music world, among them Skip Sempé, Olivier Fortin, Olivier Baumont, Blandine Rannou, Justin Taylor, and Catalina Vicens. In 2025, they were selected to participate in one of the most renowned masterclasses in Montisi, working on the exceptional historical harpsichords of Bruce Kennedy under the guidance of the distinguished harpsichordist Jean Rondeau an experience that further deepened their exploration of sound colour, rhetoric, and historical performance practice.
The duo quickly established themselves as versatile and sensitive continuo players and have been performing regularly since 2020 in a wide range of institutional and concert projects. Highlights include the “Advent Calendar” project (2020–2022), the opera project Im Fluss (2022), and acclaimed performances of François Couperin’s Le Parnasse ou L’Apothéose de Corelli for two harpsichords, where their refined dialogue and expressive subtlety were particularly celebrated.
In July 2022, Kejsi and Ebi Çoku were awarded First Prize at the Wanda Landowska Competition. Further international recognition followed with their appearance as semi-finalists at the Schmelzer Competition (2024) and invitations to perform at the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht (Fringe Programme, 2024 and 2025). They were also invited to perform in two consecutive seasons (2024 and 2025) of the Lunch Concert Series at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, presenting the programmes Spanish Flavours and Galant “à quatre mains”.
In these performances, the duo explored the sensual colours of Iberian repertoire and the refined elegance of the galant style, revealing a distinctive artistic voice shaped by intimacy, dialogue, and stylistic imagination.
An Erasmus semester at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris further deepened their immersion in the French early music tradition, refining their stylistic awareness and broadening their artistic perspective.
Kejsi is also a student at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, where she continues to expand her musical horizons alongside her duo activities.
At the heart of their artistic identity lies a particular devotion to four-hand repertoire on historical keyboard instruments harpsichord, clavichord, and fortepiano. With curiosity and refinement, they explore the expressive possibilities of these instruments, crafting performances that unite historical insight with poetic immediacy. Their playing is marked by a rare unity of breath and gesture, a shared musical instinct that transforms dialogue into a living, vibrant art form.
