Loren Ehlers is currently a 3rd year BMus Composition student studying at UCT. He began playing accordion at the age of 8 under the tutelage of the accordion virtuoso Sergio Zampolli, with whom he is still studying. His musical passion began to blossom at Pretoria Boys High School where he immersed himself in the vibrant musical life the school had to offer. He began participating in local eisteddfods from the age of 10, winning many category awards. He made his debut at international accordion competitions at the 2020 International Open Trophy (IOT) run by the Confederation Mondial del’Accordeon (CMA), placing 7th in his category. He went on to be awarded a Gold Medal at the 12˚ Italia Award World Accordion Contest and placed 2nd at the IOT in 2021 for his accordion performance in the junior/u19 categories. In 2023 he was a runner-up in the FMR Bursary Competition and has performed as a soloist with the UCT Symphony Orchestra (UCTSO) in 2023, performing the contemporary Arvdyas Malcys Accordion Concerto, and the Pretoria Symphony Orchestra in 2024, with the Pietro Deiro Accordion Concerto in A. He is also an avid composer with his works having been performed in Russia, Italy, the Czech Republic and various parts of South Africa, with a Czech accordion and clarinet duet placing second at the 2023 PIF Castelfidardo international accordion competition with his “Sonatina for Clarinet and Accordion”. In 2023, he won the local UCT Cone of Composition competition and was awarded the Nicholas Abbot prize for composition. On 27 August 2024, he performed as the soloist in the world premier of his work “Fantasy for Accordion and Orchestra in D Major” with the UCTSO. He is an ambassador for the CMA in the Cape and strives to promote and display the versatility of the misunderstood, and often underestimated, classical accordion.