Hannelore Vander Elst was born 1995 in Belgium and started taking classical guitar lessons at the age of 9. In 2016 she obtained her Bachelor's degree with highest distinction in the class of Johan Fostier at the Fontys Conservatory in Tilburg, The Netherlands. She then continued her studies with a Master of Music with Laura Young at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, where she graduated with highest distinction in 2019.
From an early age, Hannelore participated in master classes and competitions throughout Europe. She won the first prize at the Belfius Classics in Brussels (2012), was a finalist in the International Young Talents Competition in Uppsala, Sweden (2017) and won the 2nd prize at the prestigious international competition M. Llobet in Barcelona (2018). At guitar festivals in Koblenz and Iserlohn, she took master classes with Marcin Dylla, Zoran Dukic, Aniello Desiderio and Ricardo Gallen, among others.
During her studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, she founded the Mozaik Guitar Quartet. With this guitar quartet, Hannelore played several concerts in Austria and Germany. In 2019, the ensemble won 1st prize at the 10th Savarez-Corelli Chamber Music Competition in Salzburg, as well as 1st prize at the International Paola Ruminelli Chamber Music Competition in Domodossola, Italy.
In 2021, she founded Duo Tokár together with clarinetist Emile Souvagie.