Guest Artists

Eduard Kunz, (Russia/ England)

EDUARD KUNZ became a sensation of 2011 Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow gathering hundreds of fans across Russia and abroad. An invitation to become a Moscow Philharmonic Society artist and Global Yamaha artist followed immediately. Raving critics’ reviews and unparalleled media attention made his return concerts in Moscow an instant sell-out. Prior to Tchaikovsky Competition Eduard made one of the most successful competition career of his generation winning 13 first prizes of major contests including Grand Prix of Enescu Competition in Bucharest and Gold Medals at...

Vladimir Chernov

Internationally renowned Russian baritone VLADIMIR CHERNOV has sung over 40 leading roles and has appeared at nearly every major international theater including the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, La Scala, Teatro Colon, Paris Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera and Vienna State Opera, under many of today’s great conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Valery Gergiev, James Levine and Seiji Ozawa. Vladimir Chernov is recognised throughout the operatic world for his unique vocal qualities, acting ability and an impeccable Italianate style. He has...

Sergey Khachatryan (Armenia/ Germany)

SERGEY KHACHATRYAN was born in 1985 in Yerevan, Armenia. In December 2000 he won First Prize in the VIII International Jean Sibelius competition in Helsinki, becoming the youngest ever winner in the history of the competition. In 2005 he claimed the First Prize at the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels. Sergey has performed with all the major UK orchestras, including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and regularly with the Philharmonia Orchestra. In July 2005 Sergey made his debut at the BBC Proms with the BBC Philharmonic...

Zakhar Bron (Russia/Germany)

ZAKHAR BRON is well known the world over as one of the greatest of all violin teachers and an inspiring performer. His students have included Maxim Vengerov, Vadim Repin Denis Goldfeld, Daishin Kashimoto, Tamaki Kawakubo, Mayuko Kamio, Mayu Kishima, Sayaka Shoji and Nikolai Madoyev. Prize-winner in many major, international competions – among them the international Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and the Wieniawski in Posen – Zakhar Bron was born in 1947 in Uralsk. After beginning his studies at the Stoliarski School for Music, he continued under...

Piano

Eteri Andjaparidze, (Russia/ USA)

Pianist ETERI ANDJAPARIDZE has gained international acclaim as one of the most versatile artists and insightful pedagogues. Ms. Andjaparidze has performed on the world’s most prestigious concert stages in recitals and as guest soloist with major orchestras including London Symphony, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Quebec Symphony, Beijing and Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestras, Russian State Symphony, Moscow State Philharmonic, Moscow Radio Symphony, Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Georgian State and...

Abbey Simon, (USA)

ABBEY SIMON has been hailed as a super-virtuoso whose appearances in the concert halls of the world are eagerly anticipated not only by music lovers, but also by professional musicians who come to hear him spin his own particular magic. He is rec ognized as one of the grand masters of the piano. Boston Globe critic Richard Dyer wrote, “Simon’s recital offered more than a glimpse into the fabled golden age of piano playing…His virtuosity is marked not only by speed, power, lightness and accuracy but also by intricate interplay of voices and lambent colors.” And...

Tamas Ungar, (Hungary/ USA)

Pianist Tamás Ungár has earned worldwide acclaim for his powerful performances and innovative programming. A regular guest artist at numerous music centers in the United States, he also performs and teaches frequently all over the globe. During the past seasons, he performed in America, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Romania, England, Taiwan, Hong Kong, The People’s Republic of China, Korea and Japan. Some of the highlights of these include performances with the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra, performing as soloist/conductor of Mozart Piano Concertos at the...

Maxim Mogilevsky, (USA)

Maxim Mogilevsky has established himself as a profound and virtuosic performer firmly in the great Russian piano tradition. He has studied under and performed with some of the most legendary names in music, including Bella Davidovich, Martha Argerich, Alexander Toradze, Dmitri Kitaenko, and most recently conductor Valery Gergiev, with whom Mr. Mogilevsky made his Carnegie Hall debut (as soloist with the Kirov Orchestra) in December of 2007. Maxim Mogilevsky’s prodigious talent was such that he became the last pupil of the legendary Moscow piano teacher Anaida...

Larissa Dedova, (Russia/USA)

For over 30 years LARISSA DEDOVA has performed extensively in concert halls throughout the world. She has performed with numerous orchestras, including St.Petersburg Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, Orchestre de Chambre de Budapest, Moscow Philharmonic and Estonian State Symphony Orchestra, among many others.  As a recitalist, Ms. Dedova appears frequently in major venues throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.She has appeared as festival artist for numerous music festivals such as the William Kapell International Piano Festival at Maryland, Semaines...

Mikhail Volchok, (Russia/USA)

The  key  to  his  success  lies  in  this  classical  formula: talent  plus  work”.  This  is  what  the  famous  Russian  pianist  and  teacher, Professor  Pavel  Serebriakov, said  about  his  pupil. Mikhail  Volchok  was  lucky  enough  to  study  in  the  best  schools  of  Russia: with  Professor  Yakov  Zak  at  the  Tchaikovsky  Conservatory  in  Moscow (1968 – 1972) and  with  Professor  Pavel  Serebriakov  at  the  Rimsky-Korsakov  Conservatory  in  St. Petersburg  for  his  BM and DMA...

Anatoly Zatin, (Russia/Mexico)

Winner of international music festivals in Russia, Korea, Italy and Hungary, Anatoly Zatin has been awarded with the UNICEF Medal of Honour for his activities as pianist and conductor. He has toured Sweden, Norway, Deutschland, Finland, England, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, China, Korea, United States of America and Mexico in numerous occasions, performing at many of the world”s most important concert venues. He has recorded for companies such as “Melodia” in Russia, “Azzura Music” in Italy, and “Aurora Records” in...

Tatiana Gerasimova, (Russia/USA)

Concert pianist Tatiana Gerasimova won audience recognition as a soloist and chamber musician whose, bright and energetic personality; individual sound palette and strong stage presence make her performance unique and easily recognized. Gerasimova’s intensive concert schedule includes concert venues all over Europe, Russia and the USA. In addition to her solo recitals, she has performed with internationally renowned musicians such as Vagram Saradjian, Sergey Khachatryan, Zakhar Bron, Nana Jashvili, Marina Prudenskaja, Andrzej Grabiec, and many others. Recently, Ms....

Karen Follingstad (USA)

KAREN FOLLINGSTAD has been Professor of Piano at San Diego State University since 1984. She has also taught at Indiana University, the University of Texas at Austin, Kent State University, the University of Akron, and was artist faculty at the Kent-Blossom Music Festival from 1992-94, where she coached chamber music and performed with principal members of the Cleveland Orchestra. As a solo recitalist, Dr. Follingstad has performed extensively throughout Europe and North America and has recorded for the Hessische Rundfunk and the Norwegian Radio. She has appeared as soloist...

Mark Fouxman, (Russia/ USA)

MARK FOUXMAN, a man of many talents—concert pianist, charismatic and inspiring piano teacher, inventor, audio and electronics engineer, microphone designer, and owner/chief designer of a successful microphone production company—has performed as a soloist, with orchestra, and in chamber music recitals in some of the greatest halls in Russia, Israel, and Holland, including the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Tel Aviv Museum of Arts, Jerusalem Music Center, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He started piano lessons with his father, Vladimir Fouxman...

Ksenia Nosikova, (Russia/ USA)

KSENIA NOSIKOVA, praised for“impressive musicianship, musically very poetic, full of light, warmth, and joy” and “brilliant, full of grace and the most astonishing precision, refined sensibility and exquisite pianism” by theBoston Globe, New York Concert Reviews,and other press, has performed extensively in Europe, Asia, Russia, USA, and South America.The scope of herconcert engagements expands from prestigious professional concert venues, such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall in New York City, City Hall Theatre in Hong Kong, Chetham’s...

Erna Gulabyan (Armenia/ USA)

ERNA GULABYAN was born in Erevan, Armenia. Her musical training began at the age of three. At the age of six, she entered the Central Music School for gifted children. After graduating from the school, she studied piano with Yakov Flier at the Moscow Conservatory. Since that time, she has been performing extensively in different countries. Ms. Gulabyan began her teaching career at the piano faculty of the Yerevan Conservatory and continued at the San Francisco Conservatory after her emigration to the United States in 1973. Her students won numerous national and...

Slava Gabrielov, (Russia/USA)

Mr. Slava Gabrielov is a solo and chamber music performer, accompanist, composer, teacher of international competition winners, conductor of master classes and music editor. His students have won over 15 major national and international piano competitions. Piano instruction is his main professional occupation and focus. Dr. Gabrielov has been teaching piano for over 35-years to date, working with students of all levels – beginners, undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate. Amongst his many students are 16 laureates of national and international piano competitions. He has...

Vlada Vassilieva, (Mexico)

Mexican pianist of Russian descent, Vlada Vassilieva has performed at the principal concert venues in Mexico, United States of America, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, France, The Netherlands, China and Canada. Winner of the Nadia Reisenberg Piano Award in New York (2010); top-prize winner at the “Claudio Herrera” National Piano Competition in Mexico (2006), Russian Music International Competition in United States (2004), Angelica Morales – Yamaha National Piano Competition in Mexico (2003), International Competition for Young Pianists in Ukraine...

Grace Fong, (USA)

Praised as “positively magical,” an artist of “rare eloquence and grace,” American pianist GRACE FONG enjoys a career as an international concerto soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and teacher. She has gained critical acclaim in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia, making appearances at major venues around the world, including Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, Phillips Collection, Disney Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Great Hall in Leeds, UK, the Liszt Academy in Budapest,...

Yin Zheng (USA)

Pianist YIN ZHENG has performed extensively across Europe, US, and Asia. A Ukrainian Newspaper has described her playing as “an astonishing torrent of images, passages, and themes, amazing the audience with an unbelievable technical precision that was balanced by delicate melodic and dynamic nuances.” She has been featured on leading music stages such as Carnegie Hall and Steinway Hall in New York City and, in worldwide reputable music festivals in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain, Portugal, China and Canada. She has worked with eminent...

Arthur Green (USA)

“A profound musician” – The Washington Post; “A masterful pianist” – The New York Times; “Intoxicating appeal” – Mainichi Daily News, Japan; “A romantic splendor of sound-colors” – Ruhr Nachrichten; “Stellar Scriabinist” American Record Guide: these are a few of the press accolades Arthur Greene has garnered. Mr. Greene’s dynamic and personal performances have won him acclaim in concert halls and competitions throughout the world. He has won the Gold Medals in the William Kapell and Gina...

Manabu Takasawa (Japan/ USA)

Noted for his “sensitive touch” by The Washington Post and for his “beautiful sound with an abundant sense of fantasy” by Musica Nova magazine (Japan) pianist Manabu Takasawa made a solo recital debut at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1992.  In July 2003 he also gave a Tokyo debut recital to a sold-out audience. Born in Niigata, Japan, Mr. Takasawa came to the United States to further his musical training.  He studied with José Ariel Rambaldi at Whitman College in Washington State and with Constance Keene at Manhattan School of Music....

Robert Strain (USA)

ROBERT STRAIN received his masters and doctorate degrees in piano performance from Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia, where he has taught for the past 10 years. His musical interests are wide-ranging, encompassing the classical literature, jazz piano, collaboration, composition, and theatrical music direction. In these capacities, he has directed and performed in numerous musical events in the United States, including appearances with orchestras in West Virginia, solo and collaborative recitals in Washington, DC, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, new...

Violin

Vladimir Landsman, (Russia/Canada)

At the age of 12, on the recommendation of David Oistrakh, Vladimir Landsman left the Ukraine for Moscow to continue his studies at the Central Music School and at the Conservatory with his mentor Yuri Yankilevich. In 1963, he won the Third Prize at the Long Thibaud International Competition in Paris, and in 1966, the Grand Prize at the Montreal International Competition. In 1969, he became a soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic Society and took part in numerous tours of the Soviet Union, playing with major orchestras under such conductors as Kabalevsky,...

Hrachya Harutyunian (Russia/ USA)

Prof. HRACHYA HARUTYUNIAN is one of the prominent alumni of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.Having graduated with honors from the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory and winning prizes in several international competitions at the beginning of his professional career, Harutyunian has performed at major concert halls throughout Europe, Asia and America. His concert tours have led him to such venues as the Berlin and Munich Philharmonic halls, The Royal and Wigmore Halls in London, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Grand Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow,...

Alexandre Brussilovsky (Russia/ France)

Born in the Ukraine, ALEXANDRE BRUSSILOVSKY completed his musical education at the Moscow Conservatoire under Yuri Yankelevitch, Maya Glezarova, Felix Andrievsky and Leonid Kogan. He won top prizes at several international competitions, including the Grand Prix at the International Prague Competition in 1969, and the Grand Prix and Albert Roussel Special Prize at the Jacques Thibaud Competition in 1975. In 1985, after having been prohibited from performing abroad for eight years, Brussilovsky was able to leave the USSR and establish his residency in France. He rebuilt his...

Alexander Treger, (Russia/USA)

ALEXANDER TREGER, noted violinist, accomplished conductor, and gifted educator, was appointed Music Director of the American Youth Symphony in 1998. As the successor to Mehli Mehta, he is only the second conductor to lead the ensemble since it was founded by Mehta in 1964. Prior to being named Music Director of the American Youth Symphony, Treger guest-conducted the orchestra in 1994 and 1996. An inspiring teacher who enjoys working with promising young musicians, he has given numerous master classes around the world and held the position of Professor of Violin at...

Solomia Soroka (Ukraine/ USA)

Violinist SOLOMIA SOROKA, born in L’viv, Ukraine, is among the most accomplished Ukrainian musicians of her generation. She won top prizes in three international violin competitions held in the former Soviet Union – the Prokofiev, Lysenko, and Zolota Osin’ competitions. Ms. Soroka earned her master’s degree summa cum laude and completed postgraduate studies in the Kyiv Conservatory, and later served on its faculty in the chamber music department. She also has a D.M.A degree from the Eastman School of Music. Solomia Soroka made her solo debut at age 10, playing...

Zuo Jun, (China/Singapore)

Hailed as one of the most gifted Chinese violinists of his generation, Zuo Jun began violin studies at age six and is a graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music where he studied with Professors Shen Guan En and Zheng Shi Sheng. In 1988, Zuo Jun’s talent was noticed by Fredell Lack and he went to the United States to study with her and subsequently with Berl Senofsky and Ariana Bronne. Zuo Jun played as a first violinist in the Houston Symphony from 1994 to 2004. Prior to joining the Houston Symphony, he was a member of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra...

Rossitza Goza (Bulgaria/ USA)

Praised for the elegance of her playing, violinist ROSSITZA JEKOVA-GOZA received rigorous musical training both in her native Bulgaria and in the United States. She holds a doctorate from the Cleveland Institute of Music and credits violinists Kevork Mardirossian and David and Linda Cerone as her most influential mentors. She has served on the faculties of the University of Arkansas, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of North Texas. For six years she taught at the prestigious program Encore School for Strings. Dr. Goza has presented masterclasses at...

Guillaume Tardif (Canada)

Canadian violinist GUILLAUME TARDIF pursues an active career as a performer and pedagogue. He regularly travels on recital tours and appears as soloist with orchestras in Asia, Europe, South and North America – most recently at Carnegie-Weill Hall in Paganini’s 24 Caprices. He often performs repertoire ranging from early music to contemporary works and introduces many lesser-known works and original compositions, cadenzas, and arrangements. He is often heard on radio and TV networks, and his recordings have been issued on the Dell’Arco label. He has been a guest...

Cello

Vagram Saradjian, (Russia/USA)

VAGRAM SARADJIAN gave his first public recital at age 9 and won his first prize at the Russian National Competition at age 18, which put him in the country’s national spotlight. International recognition of his prodigious talent came when he won several major contests, including the Tchaikovsky International Competition in 1970 and the Geneva International Cello Competition in 1975. By the time he was twenty, Mr. Saradjian was being compared with such masters as Mstislav Rostropovich, who was his teacher at the Moscow Conservatory for eight years. As a ...

Andre Emelianoff (USA)

For over three decades, cellist ANDRE EMELIANOFF has been a highly valued contributor to New York’s rich musical life, where he is esteemed as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestra leader and educator. For twenty-three years Mr. Emelianoff was the principal cellist of the New York Chamber Symphony under Gerard Schwarz and was the winner of a 1985 Solo Recitalist Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has toured as soloist and chamber artist throughout the Far East, Russia, England, North America, and Austria, where he performed as soloist in the Beethoven...

Alexander Ivashkin, (Russia/England)

ALEXANDER IVASHKIN began his music education at the Gnessins Special School of Music for gifted students at the age of five, playing both piano and cello. It was the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich who suggested he choose a career of a solo cellist. Ivashkin established an international reputation both as an interpreter of the standard repertoire and as a proponent of contemporary music. His highly acclaimed recitals, radio and TV recordings, and appearances with orchestras have included performances in more than 40 countries. As a soloist he has played with the...

Alan Smith (USA)

ALAN SMITH, a graduate of the University of Texas, he studied with George Neikrug, Adolphe Frezin and Horace Britt and participated in master classes with Leonard Rose and Andre Navarra. As the winner of several national competitions, he has been soloist with the Houston, Shreveport, Abilene, Midland-Odessa, Lima (OH), Filharmonica de Jalisco (Guadalajara) symphonies and other orchestras in Washington (DC), Philadelphia, Denver, Kansas City and in South Korea (Gwangju and MoPok Philharmonic Orchestras) and has performed under such conductors as Igor Stravinsky, Louis...

Daniel Saenz, (USA)

A native of Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, cellist DANIEL SAENZ has performed throughout the United States, Central Amer- ica, Japan and Europe as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist. He earned his Bachelor of Music de- gree from the Eastman School of Music as a pupil of Pamela Frame and Alan Harris and later completed his Master of Music degree at Rice University as a studentDesmond Hoebig. His further studies include a fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival and private study with Carter Enyeart and Richard Clark. While living in Paris, he toured...

Nina Flyer (Israel/ USA)

NINA FLYER is a lecturer in cello and chamber music and has been at the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music since 1997. She is also a lecturer in cello at Cal State East Bay and taught at the Reykjavik School of Music. She holds a B.M. from the University of Southern California and has also studied at the Eastman School of Music and the Vienna Academy of Music. Her major teachers include Ronald Leonard, Gabor Rejto, Vladmir Orloff and Frank Miller. Ms. Flyer has been principal cellist of the Jerusalem Symphony, the Iceland Symphony, the Bergen (Norway)...

Natalia Pavlutskaya (Russia/ England)

NATALIA PAVLUTSKAYA was born in Moscow and was lucky enough to get a real flavor of the nineteenth century’s cello traditions. She started her studies with Anatoly Klivansky, the favourite student of Anatoly Brandukov (dedicatee of Tchaikovsky and Rakhmaninov) and continued with M-me Vera Birina, most popular Russian cello teacher, once a classmate of Rostropovich in Semyon Kozolupov’s studio. Natalia’s Professor at the Conservatoire was Alexander Fedorchenko, teacher of nearly all best Russian cellists today, including Natalia Shakhovskaya, Ivan...

Viola

Rumen Cvetkov (Bulgaria/ Spain)

Since his solo debut at age of 8, RUMEN CVETKOV has performed in more than 30 countries on 3 continents which won him positive critical claim. Equally popular as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician he has performed in important venues worldwide such as Berliner Filharmoniker Hall, Carnegie Hall (New York), Wigmore Hall (London), Walt Disney Hall (Los Angeles), Pallacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico City), Mozarteum (Salzburg), Chicago Symphony Center, Bulgaria Hall, to name a few. His festival appearances include Red Sea Festival (Israel), Athens, St. Moritz, Mimir,...

Zvi Carmeli (Israel/ Germany)

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the former Solo Violist of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, ZVI CARMELI performs through out the world as a violist simultaneously engaging in an intensive career as a conductor. Carmeli has performed as soloist with orchestras such as the European Community Chamber Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, PhilharmoniaGorzowa Poland, Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, The Harmonices Mundi Orchetra Linz and the Salzburg Chamber Soloists. He was the founder of the SoLaRe String Trio – 1st prize winner of the...

Ilan Schneider, (Lithuania/ Luxembourg)

Born in 1968 in Lithuania , received first musical education in his native town, Vilnius . At the age of 15 followed his family to Israel and continued his studies at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. In 1989 won the first prize of the Violin Competition of the Rubin Academy of Music. Later resumed studies with members of the Alban Berg Quartet at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna . Since 1997 has been a student of the virtuoso violist, Michael Kugel. In 1998 achieved a major success at the First International Viola Competition in Vienna ....

Sander Geerts (Belgium)

The Belgian violist SANDER GEERTS was born in 1981 and started playing the viola at the age of eight. In 1999, he won the first prize at the Axion Classics Competition. Afterwards, he studied at the Antwerp Conservatorium with Leo De Neve and later on, he specialized with famous players such as Michael Kugel, Ervin Schiffer, Bruno Giuranna, Nobuko Imai, Hartmut Rohde and Yuri Bashmet. In 2006 he was prize winner at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition in the UK. He has performed as a soloist with various ensembles and orchestras such as the Royal Flemish...

Alicia Valoti (USA)

ALICIA MARIE VALOTI has held an internationally fruitful music career as a young violist. Beginning as a pianist at Indiana University Bloomington, she eventually came to study the viola and later completed a performance degree at McGill University in Montreal. Following her time in Canada, Mrs. Valoti continued her studies of viola and chamber music in Italy at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, the Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento Musicale di Saluzzo and the Conservatory of Florence, where she received a Master’s degree in viola performance with the highest honors. Her...

Lauren Burns (USA)

LAUREN BURNS is the Lecturer in Viola at Valdosta State University, where she is also violist of the Azalea String Quartet, principal viola of the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, and director and master teacher of the South Georgia String Project. A founding member of the Hausmann Quartet, she completed residencies on the Lyrica Boston concert series, Kent/Blossom and Norfolk Chamber Music festivals, and at Kent State University. She has performed as principal viola in the Ohio Valley Symphony and as section viola in the Mobile, New Hampshire, Mansfield, and Lancaster...

Travis Maril (USA)

Hailed for his “sumptuous yet plaintive” playing, violist TRAVIS MARIL has gained international attention as a chamber musician and pedagogue. He has performed throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Denmark, Germany and France. Mr. Maril was a top prize winner at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, had performances broadcast on NPR’s Performance Today and collaborated with chamber music luminaries including the Miró String Quartet, principal players in the Pittsburgh, San Diego and Cincinnatti Symphonies, and members of the Chamber Music...

Voice

Olga Makarina (Russia/ USA)

Born in Archangelsk, Russia, Metropolitan Opera soprano OLGA MAKARINA, made her first New York appearances at New York City Opera as Lucia di Lammermoor and has performed there as Gilda in Rigoletto, Konstanze in Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio and Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Other roles in Ms Makarina’s repertoire include Ilia in Idomeneo (Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival), Violetta in La Traviata (Kirov Opera) and Eudoxie in La Juive (Opera Orchestra of New York). Ms Makarina has also appeared as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with the...

Jurate Švedaite (Lithuania/ USA)

Possesssing a vocal artistry and stage presence capable of “transfixing audiences with moments of opera magic,” Lithuanian soprano, Jurate Švedaite, has performed throughout Europe and the United States with the Lithuanian National Chamber Orchestra, the European Baroque Festival Opera, Connecticut Lyric Opera, Kaunas Chamber Orchestra, Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, the Lithuanian National Ensemble “Lietuva,” and Mystic River Chorale, among others, in venues as varied as Carnegie Hall, the Lithuanian Philharmonic, and Foxwood’s Resort and...

Thomas Harper

THOMAS HARPER, tenor, has performed for three decades in opera houses and concert halls in Europe and the Americas, including Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Grand Théâtre de Genève, RAI Torino, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Dallas Opera, Seattle Opera, Téatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile, and many others.  He has amassed a wide and varied repertoire of over fifty roles including the “Duke” in Rigoletto, “Rodolfo” in La Bohème, “Radames” in Aida, “Canio” in I Pagliacci, “Eléazar” in La Juive, “Florestan” in Fidelio,  ...

Tracelyn Gesteland (USA)

TRACELYN GESTELAND, American mezzo-soprano, is an active performer on the opera, concert and recital stage. An “engaging and versatile singing actress,” she enjoys interpreting standard repertoire in addition to championing contemporary music. On the operatic stage, Dr. Gesteland has created several roles in world premiere productions including the title role in Strega Nona with Houston Grand Opera, the Nurse in Diagnosis: Diabetes and the Haunted Woman in Walking on Air with the Contemporary Opera Lab of Winnipeg, Canada, and Hortence in Die Operette mit...

Ruzanna Lisitsian, (Russia)

Ruzanna Lisitsian studied harp at the Central Music School for gifted children at Moscow Conservatory. In 1969 she graduated from the vocal department of Gnesins’ Academy of Music. From 1965 to 1973 she was a soloist in the early music ensemble Madrigal. She won the Glinka award in 1971 and the International competition in the Netherlands in 1974. From 1964 till 1995 Ruzanna Lisitsian performed in a duo with her sister Karina Lisitsian. Their repertoire included old masters’ and modern composers’ duets, folk songs from around the world, cantatas,...

Conducting

Alexander Treger, (Russia/USA)

ALEXANDER TREGER, noted violinist, accomplished conductor, and gifted educator, was appointed Music Director of the American Youth Symphony in 1998. As the successor to Mehli Mehta, he is only the second conductor to lead the ensemble since it was founded by Mehta in 1964. Prior to being named Music Director of the American Youth Symphony, Treger guest-conducted the orchestra in 1994 and 1996. An inspiring teacher who enjoys working with promising young musicians, he has given numerous master classes around the world and held the position of Professor of...

Ilmar Lapinsch (Latvia/ Austria)

Latvian – Austrian conductor, ILMAR LAPINSCH, maintains an active career as principal and guest conductor of various orchestras in Russia, all Balkan States, European and Asian countries. He currently serves as the Chief Conductor of the most distinguished Siberian Symphony Orchestra – the Irkutsk Governor’s Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he has held since 2009. Since the season 2007 – 2008 maestro Lapinsch has been the Principal Guest Conductor of the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre in Moscow. Maestro Lapinsch has appeared with many...

Zvi Carmeli (Israel/ Germany)

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the former Solo Violist of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, ZVI CARMELI performs through out the world as a violist simultaneously engaging in an intensive career as a conductor. During the years as Principal Violist in Holland Carmeli studied the art of conducting at the Amsterdam Conservatory. Since 1996 He has been intensively involved in conducting large ensembles, chamber and symphonic orchestras. In 2005 ZviCarmeli was appointed chief conductor of the Universität der Künste – Julius Stern Institute Chamber...