About us
We are Stephanie, soprano, and Edoardo, pianist, Switzerland-based but originally from Turin. We met in a “History of Music” course at our city's conservatory. Despite following different career paths, our shared ideas always brought us to work together.
For some time now, we have focused on the vocal chamber repertoire, particularly by lesser-known composers whose music can still resonate today. Our name “Acaja” takes inspiration from an ancient branch of the royal family “Savoia” and honors our Piedmontese roots.
Stephanie van der Goes is a Dutch-Italian soprano originally from Turin. Her vocal training was influenced by the traditional Italian school of Melocchi, which laid the foundation for her solid training in opera singing. Lately she has focused on chamber music projects, which gives her the opportunity to explore new artistic expressions and cultivate her passion for musical research, enriching her musical baggage.
Her artistic career began at the Conservatory of Turin and developed through private studies with vocal and music coaches in the Netherlands and Germany. During this time she built up a repertoire focused on Italian opera, with an emphasis on the late romantic and verismo periods. She has performed the roles of Liù (Turandot), Mimì (La Bohème) and Frasquita (Carmen) and has collaborated with theaters and festivals in Italy, Spain and France, including the Sicilia Classica Festival, the Festival dei Teatri di Pietra and Opera2001.
In addition to participating in opera productions, Stephanie has taken part in singing and acting master classes and gained experience in choirs, which has broadened her skills and artistic profile.
Edoardo Milanello is a pianist from Turin who lives in Basel. He is mainly active in the field of vocal chamber music and contemporary music and also has a broad knowledge of improvisation and historical keyboard instruments. He has played for the composers David Lang and Enno Poppe and has worked with Marcus Weiss, Mike Svoboda, Alexander Gabrys and Andrea Neumann. He has also collaborated several times with the Catalan soprano Maria Pujades Seguí, a duo that has received numerous commissions for new music.
Edoardo Milanello has performed in France, Denmark, Germany and Austria and plays regularly in Switzerland, Spain and Italy. In 2021, he won a scholarship for LIEDBasel, a festival focusing on vocal chamber music with masterclasses, lectures and concerts.
His studies include two master's degrees at the Music Academy in Basel with Ronald Brautigam and Filippo Gamba as well as for chamber music with Jan Schultsz, Anton Kernjak, Tobias Schabenberger and Sarah Maria Sun. The master classes he attended over the years with Dominique Merlet and Robert Levin were also of particular importance to his training.