Carel Kraayenhof was 8 when he first started to play the piano. In the 70’s he discovered Irish, Scottish and English folk music and learnt to play the accordion. At the beginning of the 80’s Carel found what was to become his passion; the bandoneon (a square concertina used especially in Argentina).
In 1985 whilst playing in his first tango ensemble ‘Tango Cuatro’ he had the opportunity to play with his idol Astor Piazolla in New York.
Carel introduced countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, the USA, Malaysia and Turkey as well as many western countries to his engaging performances.
At the beginning of the 90’s Carel was invited to create a bandoneon section at the Rotterdam Conservatory which he led in 1993 to the set up of the specialised section for the Argentine tango. To this day the Rotterdam Conservatory is the only place in the world where you can receive lessons in tango music at such a high level.