Born in 1987, he obtained his bachelor’s (2013) and master’s (2015) degrees cum laude from the percussion department of the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, where he studied with Fedor Teunisse, Luuk Nagtegaal, Marinus Komst, and Wim Vos. He had previously received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in percussion and conducting from the Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music in Kyiv. Napolov has won several prizes and participated in prestigious international competitions, including the ARD Musikwettbewerb in Munich, TROMP IMC in Eindhoven, Dutch Classical Talent, two first prizes in Belgrade (Serbia) as a soloist, 1st Prize with his Duo Delonix in the Grachtenfestival competition (Amsterdam Concertgebouw), and the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prize.