iPalpiti Artists 2008
Violinists
Catharina Chen,
Conrad Chow,
Aisha Dossumova,
Nora Hapca,Ellen
Jung,
Nobuko Kawamura,
Robert
Kowalski,
Mari-Liis Pakk,
Marie Stéphanie Radauer-Plank,
Peter Rainer, Deniz
Toygür,
Daniel Turcina
Alexandru Tomescu,
iPalpiti alumnus,
soloist
iPalpiti "Junior" soloist Violinist Elena Kawazu
Violists
Karel Coninx,
Rumen Cvetkov,
Vladimir Dyo,
Juan-Miguel Hernandez,
Thomas Weilbach
Violoncellists
Double Bass
Clarinet
Pianist
Laszlo
Mezo Arruda,
Yves Dharamraj,
Julie Jung,
Evgeny-Eliah Sakakushev
Kristoffer Saebo
Violinists
Catharina Chen, Norway
iPalpiti Soloist 2008
Born in Oslo, Norway in 1985, Catharina began studying violin at the age of 5 with her father. Since the age of eight she has soloed with all major orchestras in Norway, including the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Tromso Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Camerata, and ZKO-Zuricher Chamber Orchestre. Well known to Norwegians through television and radio broadcast programs*, Catharina is the recipient of numerous awards, and the youngest musician in Norway ever to be awarded the highly respected and prestigious Oslo City Culture Prize. A Grand Prize winner in the third International Gnessin Violin Competition in Moscow, Russia, most recent award is the 2nd Prize at the Jeunesse Musicale International Violin Competition in Bucharest, Romania (2007). Well known to Norwegians through television and radio broadcast programs, in 2003 she was the youngest winner on the Norwegian National Television program Great Opportunity–Live, a competition for selected young artists from around the country. As participant in different international arts festivals she has given solo and chamber concerts in Norway, Italy, China, Malaysia, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, France, and South Africa. This season she performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and has been invited back to solo with the Beethoven Concerto next season. Currently she works with Professor Eduard Schmieder in the Artist Certificate Program at the Temple University in Philadelphia. In California she is known for her recitals in Sundays at Two, The Previews, Music in the Mansion series, as a soloist with the Beverly Hills Symphony Orchestra, and as iPalpiti soloist during International Laureates Festival. An iPalpiti artist since 2004, she will be a featured soloist with iPalpiti orchestra this summer at the Disney Hall concert on July 26, 2008.
Website: www.catharinachen.net
Born and raised in
Toronto, Canada, violinist Conrad Chow is quickly establishing himself as an
exciting young artist to watch. A review in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald
praised “the full, sweet, seductive intensity of Chow’s sound”, and his
performance alongside Ani Kavafian with the Columbia Festival Orchestra was
hailed as “ornate and satisfying” by the Albany Times Union. Conrad
completed his DMA from the State University of New York, Stony Brook, under
noted violinists Pamela Frank, Ani Kavafian, and Philip Setzer. He was a
Visiting Assistant Professor of Violin at Dalhousie University in Halifax,
Nova Scotia for the 2006-2007 season.
Recently, Dr. Chow
was a prize-winner at the 2006 International Stepping Stone Competition in
Quebec.
He was also a featured performer at the 2007 New Brunswick Summer Music
Festival, the 2006 Guest Artist for the American Suzuki Institute at the
University
of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, and the David G. Whitcomb Foundation’s Young
Artist for 2003. His recent appearances as soloist have included
performances with the Brampton Symphony, Columbia Festival Orchestra, and
the CAST Philomusica Orchestra. He has performed in such venues as the
Mozarteum in Salzburg, Bloomington’s Auer Hall, New York’s Staller Center
for the Arts, and Toronto’s Glenn Gould Studio and Weston Recital Hall at
the Toronto Center for the Arts, and St. Cecilia Concert Series and have
been broadcast on CBC Radio.
An active chamber
musician, he studied with the Grammy Award-winning Emerson String Quartet
and is appearing in chamber music performances with Paul Biss, Christina
Dahl, David Finckel, and Miriam Fried. In 2001, his string quartet was
winner of the Indiana University Kuttner String Quartet Competition,
granting the group the honor of performing as the quartet-in-residence for
the 2001-2002 season.
Dr. Chow began his violin studies at the age of three with
Janet Wilchfort, and later with Alec Hou at the Royal Conservatory of Music
in Toronto. His Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees are from Indiana
University’s School of Music.
Aisha Dossumova was born in 1980 in
Almaty, Kazakhstan.
She started studying violin in 1987 at K. Baiseitova
under Professor Alma Abatova, and from 1998 to 2002 she continued at
the Kazakh National Academy of Music, which she graduated under Professor Aiman
Mussakhodjayeva. In the USA, Aisha continues her studies
in the class of Professor Eduard
Schmieder: in 2006 she received an Artist Diploma from the Meadows
School of the Arts in Dallas, and currently is
in the Master Degree
Program at
In 2002 Aisha won second prize
in the Michelangelo Abbado International Violin Competition in Italy,
first prize in the Shabyt International Competition in Kazakhstan, and a diploma in the W. A. Mozart International Competition
(Austria).
From
1998 until 1999 she was a Concertmaster of the Kazakh National Symphony
Orchestra and the Kazakh Chamber Orchestra Academy of Soloists from
2000 to 2002. She soloed with Kazakh National Symphony Orchestra, with the
Academy of Soloists, conducted by Robert Canetti (Israel).
Aisha is an avid chamber musician and has also participated in summer
festivals at the Mozarteum Summer Academy Salzburg, the Ost-West Musikfest
(Austria), Musica in Laguna (Italy), and the International Laureates
Festival in Taos, New Mexico and Los Angeles.
A member of iPalpiti since 2004, she performed in Disney Hall in
Nora Hapca has won awards in 20
national and international competitions, including second Grand Prize at the
“Remember Enescu” International Competition in 2003 and the Special Artist
Prize from Young Artists International in 2004 and 2005. As a soloist, Nora
has soloed with numerous Romanian orchestras, and has given concerts and
recitals in
Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, and Romania, and in France. In May 2006, she was invited to
represent her country in the “National Music Students Festival” in
Kyoto, Japan.
Born in
Romania in 1986, she began playing violin at the age of 6, at the Music
Highschool in Baia Mare, under Prof. Ludovic Gebe. From 2000 – 2004 she
continued at the “George Enescu” Music Highschool in
Bucharest,
with Prof. Mihaela Tomescu. Currently enrolled at the National Music
University in Bucharest, for the academic year of 2006 - 2007 Nora is
studying with Prof. Mihaela Martin as “Erasmus” award recipient at the
Hochschule für Musik Koeln.
Nora took part in master classes of Liviu Ghitea, Sherban Lupu, Semion
Yaroshevich and Alexandru Tomescu.
As an iPalpiti member with
Young Artists International since 2004, Nora toured the
USA, Slovenia, Austria and Israel, performing in prestigious concert halls
of Mozarteum in Salzburg, YMCA in Jerusalem, Walt Disney Concert Hall in
Los Angeles,
and Carnegie Hall in New York.
Ellen Jung, Canada/Korea
The trio has appeared in concerts all across North America as well as around the world. Winners of the Grand Prize at the 2002 Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition and the Bronze Medal at the 2002 Fischoff Competition, the Jung Trio has been featured in The Strad, Strings, and Auditorium (Korea) magazines, in broadcasts and on television. Born and raised in Toronto, they received their early music training at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Highlights from the past seasons include performances of the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the State Symphony Orchestra of Tatarstan in Kazan, Russia, in Los Angeles with the Korean Symphony Orchestra, and in Toronto with the Korean-Canadian Symphony Orchestra, engagements in Korea, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Toronto. The Jung Trio has appeared at numerous festivals and was a Trio-in-Residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts in 1998. In the summer of 2007, Jung Trio was selected and featured as iPalpiti Debut Artists in its annual Festival of International Laureates in Los Angeles. As a soloist, Ellen has been featured with the Korean-Canadian Symphony, North York Symphony, and University of Toronto Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, to name a few.
A frequent performer of new music, Ellen premiered a work of Canadian composer Lusiana Lukman “A” for Solo Violin, which was written for her in 1998; and the world premiere of the Trio for Horn, Piano, and Violin by Norwegian composer Trygve Madsen at the International Horn Summit in Banff. Ellen received Bachelor of Music at University of Toronto (under Lorand Fenyves and David Zafer ) and Master of Music and Artist Diploma from Yale School of Music. In 2000, she was the recipient of a Chalmers Award from the Ontario Arts Council. She has taught at the Classical Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Yale School of Music, and currently teaches both privately and at Opus119 - The School of Music in Irvine, CA. www.jungtrio.com
Nobuko Kawamura was born in
Morioka, in Northern Japan. She started playing violin at the age of four, and
received a Winner’s Medal at the Children’s Competition of Japan at age ten.
She studied at the famous Toho Gakuen School of Music from 1998 to 2001 with
Professor Kyoko Suzuki. In 2005 she graduated at the top in her class from Toho
Gakuen University of Music in Tokyo, where she studied with Professor Tugio
Tokunaga. Nobuko was selected as a soloist for the Graduation Concert, and also
named Yomiuri New Young Artist in
Tokyo.
In 2007 she performed as a soloist with orchestras across Japan.
From the Fall of 2006 Nobuko was accepted in the class of
Professor Eduard Schmieder at the Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas, Texas
into Artist Certificate Program. Currently she continues her studies with
Maestro Schmieder at Temple University in Philadelphia in Artist Diploma
Program. As a soloist and chamber musician Nobuko has performed in Switzerland,
France, Germany, and Japan.
iPalpiti “Junior” Elena Kawazu, violin soloist/USA
" ...a small girl playing an equally diminutive violin, played the Mendelssohn concerto with a strong personality
and dramatic sense" -The Strad (2008)
Born in California, 10-year-old Elena Kawazu has made her orchestral debut at
age 9 with Staatskapelle Weimar in Germany, performing the Mendelssohn
Concerto, and later appeared with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
In 2007 Elena won the 2nd prize and a special award at the 5th International Louis Spohr Competition for Young Violinists as the youngest contestant, and was the youngest Top Prize Winner and a special award recipient of the IBLA International Grand Prize Competition. The youngest contestant ever to advance to the semi-final of the 2008 Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition for Young Violinists, she has been a winner of top prizes and awards in numerous international and national competitions. Despite her young age, Elena already has performed in Japan, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and England. Recently her performance was featured on WFMT radio and she has received media attention abroad. Her engagements this year include NY debut at the Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in April, and solo recital concert tour in the United States. In July 2008 she will perform solo with acclaimed iPalpiti orchestra of international laureates at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, selected as a first-time iPalpiti “Junior”. Elena was invited to take part in BBC documentary “The Science of Talent,” and by the RDF Media Group in London to be featured in a 3 part series for Channel 4, one of the major British broadcasters, about classical music and young musical talents.
Robert Kowalski, Poland
Robert Kowalski was born in Gdansk, Poland in 1985. He began his music education at the age of 7. In 2003 he graduated from the Academy, and continues at the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts, also participating in master courses with renowned violin instructors. As a soloist, Robert is a winner of numerous awards and scholarships from regional and national competitions such as the Alexander Tansman International Competition in Lódź, Poland (2004), First Prize winner of the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage’s Young Artist and Scientist Award, and has received support from the government-sponsored National Foundation for Gifted Children throughout the years. At home and abroad, he gives recitals and has performed with orchestras such as the Capella Gedaniensis and the Baltic States Opera House, at music festivals in Switzerland and Italy, and has made numerous recordings for television and radio. Winner of the First Prize in the International Contessa Tina Orsi Anguissola Scotti Chamber Music Competition in Italy (2005), Robert has played chamber music with such artists as Bernard Greenhouse, Michael Flaksman, Joshua Epstein, and Jose Gallardo. 2007 highlights include solo appearance with Kurpfalzisches Kammerorchester in Zagreb which was live-broadcasted by Croatian Radio, and a recording of his debut CD in Poland. Selected by Young Artists International in 2004, he was featured in chamber ensembles, and performed with iPalpiti on tours to Israel and Austria, at Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and Carnegie Hall in New York.
Born
in Tartu, Estonia in 1984, Mari-Liis Pakk began violin lessons at the age
of 4. In 2003 she graduated Tallinn Music High School and came to the
U.S.A. to study with Professor Eduard Schmieder at the Meadows School of
the Arts in Dallas, currently continuing with him at the
Temple
University in Philadelphia.
Mari-Liis has participated in many national and international
competitions. As the First Prize winner in the European String Teachers
Association competition (2003), she was invited to perform a solo program
in the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in
Paris
during the ESTA conference. She is a two-time winner of a full scholarship
from International Holland Music Sessions. She has performed solo with
orchestras in Estonia, and with the Meadows Symphony in
Dallas
as the winner of the concerto competition. As a
soloist and chamber musician, Mari-Liis has performed in Finland, Germany,
Holland, Austria, France, Israel, and the U.S. As a member of iPalpiti
since 2006, she took part in the first International Chamber
Music Festival in Eilat, and performed in Disney Hall in Los Angeles, and
Carnegie Hall in New York.
Marie-Stéphanie Radauer-Plank, Austria
Born in
Salzburg, Austria in 1986 Marie-Stephanie Radauer-Plank began her violin
studies in 1990 at the music school of Salzburg teacher Paula Zamastil, and
continued at the University Mozarteum Salzburg from 1996 to 2005 with
Professors Benjamin Schmid and Lukas Hagen. Since 2005 she has studied
violin with Professor Ulf Schneider of the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater
Hannover, and has taken master classes with noted violinists and pedagogues.
A Third Prize-winner at
the 5th International Louis Spohr Violin Competition in Weimar in 2007,
she also received an iPalpiti prize for the participation in
iPalpiti International Laureates Festival in Los Angeles. Marie has also
received top prizes at the International Music Competition “Alpen-Adria Marcosig” for violin in
Gorizia, Italy, and at the International Music Competition of Citta Di
Pietra in Ligure, Italy in violin and piano. She also received 1st and 2nd
prizes in the National Competition for Young Musicians “Jugend Musiziert”
between 1996 and 2000. Ms. Radauer-Plank has been a member
of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (GMJO) from 2003 to 2005.
Peter Rainer, Germany (Concertmaster)
Peter studied violin in the U.S. with Professor Eduard Schmieder at the Meadows School of the Arts, where he received his Artist Certificate in 1994 and his Master of Violin Performance degree in 1995. Upon his return to Germany, he was concertmaster of the Brandenburgische Philharmonie in Potsdam from 1996 to 2000. He has been a faculty member at the Universitat Potsdam since 1997 and has worked as the assistant to Professor Schmieder at the Holland Music Sessions and at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Peter has been a member and leader of iPalpiti since 1994. In 2005 he received a commendation from the City of Los Angeles for his leadership of iPalpiti and his contributions to the culture. Since 2007 he is on the faculty at the "Universität der Künste" in Berlin. Music-loving children know Peter Rainer through his many interactive concerts he developed for children in the past 10 years. This year’s new production for children is a story about Vivaldi, commissioned by the "Musikfestspiele Potsdam."
Deniz Toygür was born in
Ankara, in 1988. She started her musical life with Feruza Abdullaeva in
Bilkent University School of Music and Performing Arts in 1999, and
throughout the years has performed numerous recitals as well as solo
performances with a number of orchestras in Turkey. During her education,
she has participated master classes of Vanya Milanova, Mintcho Mintchev,
Vesselin Paraschkevov, Alexander Vinnitski and Alexander Markov. Deniz
graduated from
Bilkent
University Music Preparatory School in 2005 with highest honors. Currently
in the last year of her studies at Bilkent University School of Music
and Performing Arts (Chamber Music with Elena Gnezdilova, and violin with
Feruza Abdullaeva), Deniz is a first violinist of the Bilkent Youth
Quartet, and a concertmaster of the Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra.
First Prize winner in “Pancho
Vladigerov 6th International Competition of German and Austrian
Music” in
Bourgas, Bulgaria, Deniz also received a special award for her performance
of German composer Jeannot Heinen’s “Concert Partita.” In October 2006, in
“2nd National Gülden Turalı Violin Competition”,
Mersin,
she received the second place in adult category.
Deniz and her partner, pianist Cihan
Yücel, participated in the “Violin & Piano Masterclass” of Pierre Amoyal
and Bruno Canino in
Académie de Musique de
Lausanne, Switzerland.
She joined to World Youth Symphony Orchestra in Summer 2007 as one of
concertmasters, and was also invited to the World Youth Chamber Orchestra
in Winter 2007.
Deniz plays Italian violin c. 1936, made by Emmanuel Egildo. The violin
was given her as a present by an impressed patron from Switzerland after
her performance with the Academy of Lausanne.
Born in 1983 in Dolny Kubin in the north of Slovakia, Daniel started taking violin lessons at the age of 7, and soon received a Gold Medal at the Children´s Interpretation Contest of Slovakia, and became a Laureate at the International Kocian Violin Competition in Usti n. Orlici, Czech Republic. Since 1997, Daniel continued violin studies at the State Conservatory of Music in Bratislava. As a prize-winner in the Slovak Conservatories Students competition and the National Violin “Award of Karol Dobias“ competition he soloed with the Symphony Orchestra of Conservatory in Bratislava, and with the Bohdan Warchal Slovak Chamber Orchestra. In 2003, Daniel joined the faculty of the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Bratislava. From 2003 to 2005, he was a member of the prestigious Bohdan Warchal Slovak Chamber Orchestra. In 2006 he was invited to join Capella Istropolitana in Bratislava for several concert performances and recording projects in Slovakia and abroad. Daniel regularly performs solo and ensembles in music festivals and special events in Slovakia, and featured as a soloist with the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Kosice and State Chamber Orchestra. Furthering his international education, Daniel was accepted to the class of R. Kuchla at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Vienna, Austria (2005), participated in international master courses in Netherlands and Austria, and in January 2007 was accepted in the class of Professor Schmieder at the Temple University in Philadelphia. Concurrently, he is a member of the Bratislava Chamber Soloists and the Solistes Europeens, Luxemburg.
Born in Hasselt, Belgium, Karel Coninx began studying the violin at the age
of five. After obtaining a Kandidaatsdiploma for violin and a
Meesterdiploma for viola at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels where his
principal teachers were Urszula Gorniak and Paul De Clerck. Karel has
participated in master classes and coaching with the Penderecki String
Quartet, Yuzuko Horigome, Andre Roy, Philippe Graffin, Saulius Sondeckis,
Shmuel Ashkenazy, and others. Karel was a laureate of the Scolarta music
competition twice, and was awarded the second prize at the Kiwanis
Muziekconcours.
As a chamber musician, Karel has appeared at festivals in Belgium (Midi-Minimes, Ars Musica, Festival van Vlaanderen), Italy (Casalmaggiore, Pietrasanta in Concerto), Spain (Pablo Casals, Segovia), Mexico (Erasmo Capilla), and for the Foundation Jong Artistiek Talent. He has been a member of the Brussels Chamber Orchestra, and has been invited as a guest artist by ensembles including the Flemish Radio Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre du Luxembourg “Les Musiciens”, Charlemagne Chamber Orchestra, Il Novecento, and the Millennium Chamber Players. A broad musical interest has also lead him into collaborations with renowned pop- and jazz-formations such as Bjork, Hooverphonic and David Lynx.
Since he moved to Chicago in September 2007, where he is currently completing a Viola Performance Diploma at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University under Roger Chase, he has been the principal violist of the Chicago College of Performing Arts Chamber and Symphony Orchestras, as well as of the Lira Symphony Orchestra, has performed contemporary chamber works by Chicago-based composers George Flynn and Sarah Ritch, and is a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra for the 2008-2009 season.
Since his solo debut at age of eight, Bulgarian-born violist Rumen Cvetkov has performed throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle-East, South America, and the United States. As a soloist and as member of many chamber ensembles, he has appeared at venues such as the Bulgaria Concert Hall, the Walt Disney Concert Hall (LA),Carnegie Zankel Hall (NY), Palacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico City), St.Micheli Cathedral (Brussels), Desingel Concert Hall (Antwerp), and has collaborated with prominent artists including Jose Feghali and members of Borromeo and Kronos Quartets. His festival appearances include Red Sea Festival, iPalpiti, Mimir, Bruman, Athens, as well as the “Music in the Old City” Festival and “European Culture Month.” He has been a guest artist for the Van Cliburn Institute and most recently, he was invited to become a faculty member of the Chamber Music Roundup in Fort Worth. Highlights of 2007-08 seasons include recitals in Europe and the USA; performances of Harold in Italy and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante; performance with legendary Bernard Greenhouse in Manheim among many other chamber music appearances.
Educated in both Bulgaria and the United States, Mr. Cvetkov was one of the few students of the late professor Georgy Naidenoff, pupil of renowned Feodor Druzhinin. Later, he studied with Misha Galaganov (an iPalpiti alumnus), Roger Chase, and Shmuel Ashkenasi. He was Co-Principal Violist of Chicago Civic Orchestra (2005 -2008) under the directorship of Bernard Haitink. Since 2004, he is a member of iPalpiti orchestra of international laureates, where he also is a co-principal, and performs in chamber ensembles during its annual International Laureates Festival in Los Angeles. Currently he performs as chamber musician in Europe, and from September assumes position of solo viola with Tilburg Chamber Orchestra of Holland. Mr. Cvetkov performs on a rare viola made by Simon Schodler in 1785 and named, “The Time.”
orea violinist/violist
Vladimir Dyo has won awards in numerous competitions, including First Prize
in the Michelangelo Abbado International Competition in Milan, Grand Prize
in the International Violin Competition in Astana, Kazakhstan, and Second
Prize in the International Yampolsky Competition in Russia.
Born in Almaty, Kazakhstan, he began studying violin at the age of 7 at the
State’s Special Music School for gifted children.
At 12, he had his first solo appearance with the Kazakh State Orchestra and
since, has performed regularly with major orchestras of
Kazakhstan, frequently touring the countries of the former Soviet Union.
Vladimir
won
first prize in the National Competition of Kazakhstan (being the youngest
participant at 14), and was a recipient of a President’s stipend awarded by
the State Secretary of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Other awards include the
New Names International Program (Moscow, Russia) and Dubna’s Foundation of
Arts for “sincere and artistic” performance, the International
Charitable Foundation “Meerim", Tuesday Musical
Club in
San Antonio,
Texas.
He
has participated in various international music festivals as a soloist and
chamber musician, including the Graduates of the Moscow Conservatory, Ost-West
Musikfest, Prague-Wienna-Budapest, Mozarteum, the Cliburn Institute,
iPalpiti International Laureates Festival in Los Angeles, and has been
invited to give master classes and perform in the International Music
Festival in Seoul, Korea.
As a soloist and the concertmaster of the Kazakh State Chamber Orchestra
“Academy of Soloists” Vladimir has toured and performed in many countries
including Austria, Italy, France, England, Japan, South Korea, Poland,
Russia and U.S.A. After graduation from Kazakh National Academy of Music in
Astana, Kazakhstan, Vladimir continues his education in the
US,
in the class of Professor Eduard Schmieder, receiving Artist Certificate
Diploma in 2004 and Master Degree in 2006 from the Meadows School of the
Arts in Dallas, and currently is pursuing a Doctoral degree at the Temple
University in Philadelphia.
Born in Montreal, violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez began his musical studies at
the age of seven. A First Place Laureate of the Sphinx Competition, he has
performed as soloist with orchestras including the Atlanta and Colorado
Symphonies, and the Rochester Philharmonic, among others. In addition to
being a faculty member at the Sphinx Performance Academy, he has
participated regularly in festivals including the Banff, Domain Forget,
Colorado Springs, and Sarasota Music Festivals.
Juan-Miguel is a founding member of the Harlem Quartet. Comprised of First
Place Laureates of the Sphinx Competition, quartet made its critically
acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut in 2006, returning two more times afterwards.
Under Sciolino Artist
Management,
Quartet aims to advance diversity in classical music while engaging new
audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire,
highlighting works by minority composers. The Harlem Quartet has released a
CD with the White Pine music label featuring Wynton Marsalis' "At the
Octoroon Balls," and in 2009 will release an album with the Naxos label
featuring quartets by the American composer Walter Piston. While keeping
performing engagements, Juan-Miguel is also continuing his studies at the
Colburn Conservatory of Music in the studio of Paul Coletti.
Selected by iPalpiti Artists
International in 2004, he toured with iPalpiti orchestral
ensemble of international laureates, and in chamber performances in
Bled Festival (Slovenia),
Mozarteum (Salzburg, Austria), Carinthia, Eilat International Chamber Music
Festival, YMCA Hall, Jerusalem (Israel), and International Laureates
Festivals in Taos, NM and Los Angeles (Disney Concert Hall).
Violoncellists
Regarded as “a strikingly mature and
gifted musician” (Edmonton
Sun), the young Franco-American cellist enjoys a career that takes him to
major venues across the
United States
and abroad. Winner of top prizes in the
Ima Hogg, Klein, and Juilliard competitions, Yves made his
professional concerto debut at the age of 16, performing Tchaikovsky’s
Rococo Variations with the Florida Orchestra to a critical acclaim. As
part of the Juilliard School’s Centennial Celebration, he was invited to
perform William Schuman’s The Song of Orpheus at Avery Fisher Hall
with James DePriest and the Juilliard Orchestra. Other solo appearances
with orchestras included Houston Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, and the
Atlantic Classical Orchestra, among others. His radio broadcast solo
debut was on WFMT 98.7 FM Chicago on the Dame Myra Hess Series.
He performed at numerous festivals
including Music@Menlo, National Arts Centre, Steans Institute at Ravinia
Festival, Banff Centre for the Arts, Sarasota Music Festival, and was
chosen to the Perlman Music Program’s inaugural season with the honor of
collaborating with violinist Itzhak Perlman at the
Metropolitan
Museum.
As a chamber musician, Yves has
performed with Timothy Eddy, Atar Arad, Misha Dichter, Musicians from
Ravinia Chamber Music Tour with Miriam Fried, and is a founding member of
the Moët Trio. Mr. Dharamraj also belongs to Ne(x)tworks, a cutting-edge
group of performing composers, and has toured with the Grammy
Award-nominated Yale Cellos, performing at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie,
the Manchester International Cello Festival and the Rencontres d’Ensembles
de Violoncelles in Beauvais, France.
Yves has
recorded the works of Earle Brown with Ne(x)tworks (Mode), the chamber
music of Valentin Silvestrov (Koch), and the music of Dave Brubeck with
the Yale Cellos (Naxos).
Yves began his cello studies at the
age of four and performed in public soon afterward.
He graduated cum laude from
Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, a Master of
Music degree, and an Artist Diploma under the guidance of the renowned
pedagogue Aldo Parisot. He has
participated in master classes with Yo-Yo Ma, Bernard Greenhouse, William
Pleeth, Frans Helmerson, Christoph Eschenbach, Gary Hoffman, Claude Frank,
the Beaux Arts Trio, and the
Tokyo and Juilliard
String Quartets.
He further studied in Joel Krosnick and Darrett Adkins’s studio at the
Juilliard School as the recipient of the 2004 Victor Herbert Scholarship
and 2005 C.V. Starr Doctorate of Musical Arts Fellowship. He now serves
as Mr. Krosnick’s teaching assistant.
Dharamraj plays a 1719 Stradivari
cello, the “Duke of
Marlborough,”
a
generous gift to The Juilliard School from Daniel Saidenberg, lent to him
from the Juilliard Rare Instrument Collection.
Julie
is a member of the Jung Trio -
sisters Jennie, Ellen, and Julie -“a spectacular group with
wonderful musicality at their fingertips,” one of the notable rising young
ensembles of today. * ( read more about the trio in violinist Ellen Jung
bio). As a soloist Julie performed with the Toronto Symphony, Canadian Chamber
Academy, and the Taejon Symphony Orchestras, to name a few. In 2000, she was
a prize winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition with the
NEC Honors String Quartet, with whom she made her Jordan Hall debut.
Extensive list of chamber music performances includes appearances at the
Verbier (Switzerland) and Manchester (England) festivals, and a tour of
Germany with the NEC Chamber Orchestra. Julie graduated with a Bachelor or
Music degree from University of Toronto, and Master of Music from New
England Conservatory of Music (with professor Laurence Lesser) before
joining her sisters at Yale School of Music, where she completed the Artist
Diploma as a student of Aldo Parisot. Julie enjoys teaching: prior teaching
posts have included Yale School of Music and Classical Music Conservatory in
Toronto; she currently holds a faculty position at the Opus 119 Music School
in Irvine and the Claremont Community Music School in Claremont, California.
Website:
http://www.jungtrio.com
Laszlo Mezo Arruda, Hungary
Born in Budapest, Hungary to a family with a long tradition in music,
Laszlo Mezo-Arruda began his cello studies in 1986 at the age of six.
His father Laszlo Mezo, cello professor in the Liszt Ferenc University
of Music, Cavalier of violoncello, juror in some of the most important
cello Competitions and Festivals and cellist of the 50-year-old Bartok
Quartet has had a profound influence in his son Laszlo’s professional
development. Laszlo Mezo-Arruda won first Prize in the “Kertesz Otto
Memorial Competition” in 1998, and in the same year, he took the Fourth
prize in the “Antonio Janigro Junior International Competition”. He won
second prize in the “International David Popper Competition” in 2000 and
was awarded the “Special Prize” in 2004. As a soloist with orchestras,
Laszlo has appeared in numerous concerto performances in Europe with
maestros Adam Fischer, Kalman Zaborszky, Zsolt Hamar and Jerzy Swoboda.
He has also performed in chamber music concerts and festivals in
countries like Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany,
Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Croatia, France and Slovakia with esteemed
chamber music partners such as pianists Gabor Farkas, Marta Gulyas ,
Piotr Folkert and Balazs Szokolay, violinist Kristof Barati, cellist
Philipp Muller and the Bartok-Quartett. Always eager to teach, Laszlo
has held master classes in Japan, Switzerland, Hungary,
and at the University of New Mexico, USA.
Laszlo graduated with a Masters degree from the Liszt Ferenc University
of Music in 2002. From 2004 to 2006 he studied in the class of
Professor Walter Nothas and received his second Master’s degree from the
Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Munchen in 2006. Laszlo’s took master
classes with noted professors, and was in the class of Tchaikovsky
Competition laureate Nathaniel Rosen at the
University of Southern California in Los Angeles in 2007-2008.
This season he will join the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. In June 2008,
Laszlo won the First Prize in the Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition and
on June 6 soloed with Houston Symphony.
Evgeni-Eliah Sakakushev, Bulgaria/Brazil
An accomplished chamber musician, Evgeny appeared in many concerts
throughout Europe, Israel, the USA, Russia and Japan with such musicians as
Dora Schwarzberg, Bruno Giuranna, Alberto Lysy, Eduard Schmieder, Yuri
Gandelsman, and Roman Nodel. Among numerous international prizes and
distinctions is a first prize at the National Competition for German Music,
2nd Prize at the "Obretenov - Competition" in Bulgaria, and the Mendelssohn
Competition in Berlin, as well as the
Grand Premio
at the Chamber Music Competition in Varenna, Italy. He also
received scholarships from the “Wilheim-Müller-Stiftung”, Mannheim and the
“Oscar & Vera-Ritter-Stiftung”, Hamburg.
Born into a family of great medical tradition in Bulgaria in 1978, Evgeny
has trained in Vienna and Mannheim with Professor Michael Flaksman,
studied at the Menuhin Academy in Switzerland and took part in numerous
master classes throughout Europe with such teachers as Ivan Monighetti,
Victoria Yagling, Gary Hoffaman, and Eleonore Schoenfeld.
As an invited guest he performed at the international chamber music
festivals in “Estate Musicale a Portogruaro”, “Ascoli Piceno Music
Festival” (Italy), Kultursommer Rheinland-Pfalz, (Germany), “Yokosuka Bay”
(Japan), “West-Siberia-East Music Festival” (Russia), “Eilat Chamber Music
Festival”, “Felicja Blumenthal Chamber Music Festival” (Israel), and
participated at the Ravinia festival in Chicago and International Laureates
Festival in Los Angeles (USA).
Evgeny enjoys a chamber duo–partnership with the Argentinean pianist José
Gallardo with whom he recorded a recital CD with works by Robert Schumann.
In 2002 he joined the cello faculty at the prestigious Kronberg Academy
(“the cello capital of the world”) in Germany. Based in Spain since 2003,
Evgeny occupied the principal cello chair of the Orquesta Filarmónica de
Málaga from 2003 -2006, and frequently performed with the Basque National
Orchestra, San Sebastián. In 2005 he co-founded the “Musikfest Schloss
Wonfurt” in northern Bavaria, where he is designated artistic director.
As a member of the iPalpiti orchestra of international laureates
since 2000, Evgeny toured Japan and Israel, and in 2007 was a principal
cellist on a concert tour in Philadelphia and New York, concluding with his
debut at the Carnegie Hall. Currently Evgeny is a principal cellist at the
Sao Paolo Symphony, Brazil.
Double Bass
Kristoffer Saebo, USA/Australia
Bassist
Kristoffer Saebo is a versatile soloist, bass guitarist, chamber and
orchestral musician. He performs regularly with The Chris Norman
Ensemble, Grammy Award-Winner Paul Halley; Kilterclash; and the
Alaskan Native Band Pamuya, with whom he showcased at the 45th
Annual Grammy Awards. Since 2005, he is a member of iPalpiti
Orchestral Ensemble of International Laureates, with whom he toured
Slovenia, Austria, the U.S., and Israel, including concerts at the
Mozarteum Grosse Hall, Salzburg; Disney Hall, Los Angeles; and Carnegie
Hall, New York. Mr. Saebo has performed contemporary music with such
groups as
Alarm Will Sound, Argento Chamber Ensemble,
and Anechoic Chamber Ensemble. Also an active composer,
Kristoffer most recently completed a short cue for
Sesame Street.
His work has also been featured in the motion picture Sir John Soane:
An English Architect, An American Legacy (Checkerboard Film
Foundation), as well as in the short firm The Projectionist
(Director Michael Bates, Foreign Exchange Film and Music Festival).
Born in Australia, Mr. Saebo has lived most of his life in the United
States. He received his Master of Music Degree from the Juilliard School
in 2006 as a student of Orin O'Brien and his Bachelor of Music degree from
The Juilliard School in 2004 as a student of Homer Mensch. Kris is an
inaugural fellow of The Academy – A Program of Carnegie Hall, The
Juilliard School and The Weill Music Institute; a performance fellowship
for outstanding post-graduate musicians, and is featured in chamber music
concerts in Carnegie Hall.
"Clarinetist
Tibi Cziger gave a beautifully paced and colorful performance…” -Washington Post
“Cziger’s playing was truly magical and hypnotic. It was the kind of
playing that was so involving it seemed to cause time to stand still”-
Peninsula Reviews
In
2006 Clarinetist Tibi Cziger became the first clarinetist ever admitted to
the prestigious Artist Diploma program at The Juilliard School. He is the
artistic director and founder of the Israeli Chamber Project, an
initiative bringing young outstanding Israeli musicians together for
chamber music projects in Israel and the US. A frequent recitalist and
soloist, Tibi enjoys exploring new repertoire for the clarinet, including
his own arrangements. Solo appearances include concerti with the Tivoli
Symphony Orchestra in Copenhagen, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, and The
Israel Young Philharmonic, where he was the principal clarinetist
2000-2002. Mr. Cziger has performed as guest principal clarinetist with
the Bergen Philharmonic (Norway), with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra,
and has collaborated with the Eden and iPalpiti chamber ensembles,
and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in New York.
Tibi has performed a vast amount of chamber literature for the clarinet,
in live and recorded broadcasts on the Israeli National Radio, KUSC, KMZT,
WNYC, and in numerous tours in
Israel,
Europe, and the USA. He is a co-founder of the Gropius Ensemble and has
collaborated with the ACJW, Metropolis, Link, SEM, and Argento ensembles
among others. Recent venues include The 92Y, Zankel and Weill Hall at
Carnegie Hall (New York), The Terrace Theatre at
Kennedy
Center (Washington DC), LACMA’s Bing Theatre (Los Angeles),
The Tel Aviv Museum,
Jerusalem
Music Center, and the Musikverein (Vienna). He is a regular participant at
Musique en Brionnais (France), and has also performed at the Tivoli
Festival (Denmark), the National Repertory Orchestra, the Bowdoin Summer
Music Festival, and the West Eastern Divan Workshop under the baton of
Daniel Barenboim in tours across Europe and the USA.
Among his numerous prizes and awards are Mitchell Lurie Award in Los
Angeles, second prize at the Carmel Music Society Competition, first
prizes in the Tel Aviv Academy competitions, 2nd prize at the
Ben-Haim National Competition, and Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship.
A recipient of Leni Fe Bland Foundation, Irene Diamond, Jerome L. Greene,
and Irving Berlin scholarships, Tibi was
the America-Israel Cultural
Foundation scholar from 1997-2003, and in 2003 he received the AICF
special scholarship for studies abroad.
Mr. Cziger holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Southern
California with an outstanding graduate award, and a B.Mus. degree
magna cum laude from the Rubin Music Academy in Tel Aviv. He studied
clarinet with Charles Neidich, Yehuda Gilad, Richard Lesser, and Itzhak
Kazzap and was guided by Emanuel Ax, Michael Tree, Robert Mann among
others.
A
native of Belgium, Steven Vanhauwaert received Master of Music from the
Royal Conservatory in Brussels in 2004 (under Boyan Vodenitcharov), and from
the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles in 2006 (Kevin Fitz-Gerald,
James Bonn), as well as the Graduate Certificate Degree with John Perry in
2008. He also studied jazz and improvisation with Dennis Thurmond.
Hailed by critics for his “impressive clarity and sense of structure --
to say nothing of a monster technique” (Mark Swed, LA Times, 2007),
Steven’s repertoire stretches from Bach to Liebermann. He has a strong
affinity with Liszt, Schubert, Brahms and Debussy, but also enjoys dealing
with contemporary composers such as Ligeti, Liebermann, Takemitsu and
Goeyvaerts.
In 2004 he won the Grand Prize at the Los Angeles International Liszt
Competition, and toured through the USA and Hungary. His numerous awards
include Rotary Prize in
Kortrijk,
Special Prize for accompaniment in the Axion Classics competition, Maurice
Lefranc prize in Brussels, Full Performing Arts Scholarships at USC, First
Prize at the USC-Concerto Competition, ‘Galiot’ Patrimonium Prize for piano,
and Most Outstanding Graduate Student at USC.
Steven performs frequently throughout
Europe
and the USA, in solo recitals and in chamber music ensembles.
In California he has been performing at the Jacaranda festival (L.A.),
Sundays @ Two Music in the Mansion series (Beverly Hills), The Previews and
Trinity Lutheran series (Manhattan Beach), “Encore!” series in Palm Springs,
Santa Monica College, Library of Rancho Mirage, etc.
His performances have been heard on KUSC, WHKB
and KLARA.
As a soloist he appeared with
Pacific Symphony (both at the Renee Segestrom Hall and the
Orange County Performing Arts Center, performing Gershwin Rhapsody in
Blue and Mussorgsky Pictures of Exhibition), the Flemish Symphony
(Beethoven’s 4th concerto), the USC Symphony (Schumann concerto),
Collegium Instrumentale, Prima la Musica (Mozart’s Concertos K.V. 467 &
488), etc. His hobbies include hiking in the Santa Monica mountains,
swimming and reading books; his favorite authors are Saramago, Hesse,
Marquez, Borges and Camus.