Jure Jurakic, born in 2006 in Gouda, the Netherlands, grew up in a musical family. His mother is a professional clarinetist and his sister plays the cello, which meant that music was a central part of his life from an early age. At the age of seven, Jure began playing the piano and quickly developed a deep passion for the instrument.
In his quest for further musical development, Jure enrolled in the preparatory program at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, where he studied with Kamilla Bystrova. He is currently studying at the Davidsbündler Music Academy with Tatiana Abayeva and Borys Fedorov, and, since 2025, also at the Utrecht Conservatory with Henry Kelder.
Jure has successfully participated in various national and international competitions and festivals. In 2018, he won second prize and the Audience Award at the Steinway Piano Competition, which led to invitations to perform at major festivals such as “Klassiek op het Amstelveld” in Amsterdam and the international festival “Moscow Meets Friends,” organized by the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation in Moscow.
In 2019, Jure won second prize at the YPF Piano Competition. That same year, he was awarded the Bunschoten Young Talent Prize during the Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam, where he was named the best performer under the age of 18. In 2024, he won first prize at the Rijnmond Music Prize.
Jure has a special affinity for the works of composers such as Beethoven, Scriabin, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, and Chopin, whose works occupy a prominent place in his repertoire. These composers inspire him because of their emotional depth and complex structures, which challenge him to further refine and enrich his interpretations.
In addition to his solo career, Jure is also active as a chamber musician. He performed with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra in September 2022 and played at the Davidsbündler Festival in the Small Hall of the Concertgebouw in both June 2023 and June 2024. He also gave a performance at the Hermitage Festival in Amsterdam in December 2023.
Jure continues to develop his artistry and seeks out new musical challenges. He has taken masterclasses with leading pianists such as Mira Marchenko, Dominique Merlet, Daria van den Bercken, Tatiana Zelikman, Hannes Minnaar, Naum Grubert, Anna Fedorova, Antoniy Baryshevsky, and Norma Fisher, which helped him further deepen his technical skills and musical interpretation.
Jure has a Steinway grand piano on loan from the Musical Instrument Fund for use at home.
