How do you experience racism? Sadly, still a relevant question in 2026. Birsen speaks openly. Jolente touches the sensitive strings.

Birsen Taspinar is trained as a clinical psychologist and anthropologist. For more than 25 years, she has worked as a systemic therapist with diverse target groups. In her therapeutic work with families, she offers guidance in several languages and is also active as an EMDR therapist. In addition, she is a lecturer and researcher at Odisee University of Applied Sciences, where she teaches within the Family Sciences programme. She is the author of, among others, Moeders van de Stilte (2013) and De pijn diep vanbinnen (2025).

Jolente De Maeyer is considered one of the leading Belgian violinists of her generation. She studied at, among others, the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music in London, the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo. As a soloist, she has performed with the major Belgian orchestras and on international stages in Europe, the United States and China. Jolente is artistic director of the string orchestra BRYGGEN, Bruges Strings, with which she develops new concert formats and brings classical music into dialogue with contemporary contexts. With BRYGGEN, she is also a regular partner of B-Classic, creating projects in which repertoire, space and audience come together in ever new ways.

The Elfurenmis series is a co-production by De VELINX and B-Classic and is made possible thanks to the support of Flanders, the players of the National Lottery and the City of Tongeren-Borgloon.