JURY MEMBERS OF 2021

I PIANO SOLO:
   Ada Kuuseoks (Estonia), Martin Lysholm Jepsen (Denmark), Irene Veneziano (Italy), Kimberly Chen Afanasova (China/Taiwan)
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II STRINGS:
Pavel Vernikov (Violin/Ukraine), Alice Neary (Cello/UK), Niels Pfeffer (Guitar/Germany)

III WINDS:
Ginevra Petrucci (Flute/Italy), Olivier Anthony Theurillat (Trumpet/Switzerland), Gleb Kanasevich (Clarinet/Belarus)

IV KEYBOARDS:
Anna Maria McElwain (Clavichord/Finland), Margherita Berlanda (Accordion/Italy), Zsombor Tóth-Vajna (Organ/Hungary)

V CHAMBER MUSIC:
           Alice Neary (Cello/UK), Ada Kuuseoks (Piano/Estonia), Ginevra Petrucci (Flute/Italy)  

VI PIANO FOUR HANDS:
Ada Kuuseoks (Estonia), ​Martin Lysholm Jepsen (Denmark)

VII VOICE: 
Kathy Cammett (USA), Jehanne Amzal (France), Andrejs Krutojs (Latvia)

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​​During past years, we have been fortunate to have many outstanding musicians and teachers join our activities. They have given master classes, concerts, seminars, and taken part of the Odin International Music Festival.

PIANO

Benjamin Frith (Piano/UK)

“Prodigy of Prodigies” was how British artist Benjamin Frith was described by Dennis Matthews when, aged just 14, he won the British national Concerto Competition. Since then, he has been a first prizewinner in the Mozart Memorial Competition (London), and was awarded top prize in the Busoni International Piano Competition. Having achieved rave reviews from his American and Edinburgh Festival debuts, Frith Established himself as an international concert artist. He has appeared with many of the world’s finest orchestras including the Berlin Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Polish National Radio, and the BBC Philharmonic. He has worked with many leading conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Antoni Wit, Vasary, Skrowaczewski, Bamert, Atzman and Barry Wordsworth. His exciting and diverse repertoire ranges from Bach to Tippett and includes over 50 concertos. He has recorded all the John Field Piano Concertos and during 2002 numbers 5 & 6 reached the top of the Classical charts and since then has recorded all Field’s Nocturnes for solo piano. His disc of Schumann’s Davidsbundlertänze was chosen as the top recommendation on the Radio 3 “Building a Library” programme. Five of his discs are represented in the Gramophone – Best CD Guide and in response to his recording of the Diabelli Variations, Gramophone critic Richard Osborne wrote “ he possesses a formidable talent both musically and technically. Indeed, I would go as far as to suggest that there has not been a finer Diabelli on record by a young pianist since the classic recording by the twenty-eight-year-old Stephen Kovacevich in 1968”. A recent recording of a selection of Scarlatti Sonatas was described in the BBC Music Magazine as follows “Benjamin Frith is an inspired choice for the fifth disc of the Naxos cycle, a compelling advocate of the piano he transports the music to the new medium, capitalising on the piano’s ability to pick out a strand, shape dynamics and bathe textures in subtle pedalling, without ever misrepresenting Scarlatti – a disc to convert the most die-hard authenticist”. His enjoyment of chamber music has led to many collaborations with artists such as The Lindsays, Peter Hill, The Sorrell and Vertava Quartets. He has also recently formed a piano quartet which is known by his name The Frith Piano Quartet the other players being Robert Heard, Louise Williams and Richard Jenkinson. He has been a lifetime pupil of the legendary Dame Fanny Waterman of Leeds.​

Lance Coburn (Piano/NewZealand)

​Since winning 1st prize at the Tomassoni International Piano Competition, Cologne in 2001, Lance Coburn has performed in Austria, Germany, Italy, Greece, Israel, Russia, United States, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and Korea as both concerto soloist and recitalist. Blessed with a dazzling technique, innate musicianship, and a charismatic performance flair, Lance also broadcasts frequently for radio Deutsche Welle, BBC Radio 3, RTE Lyric FM (Ireland) and ABC FM (Australia). In the Bonn International Beethoven Festival, critics described his 5-sonata recital as – “refreshing….uncompromising….unacademic….” In the Accademia Filharmonica Concert Series – Verona, Italy – the critics said - “Coburn’s piano playing is characterised by an undoubted technical mastery…[which]…allowed us to experience precious moments of tonal exploration”. With the WDR – Cologne Orchestra, one critic described Lance’s performance of Beethoven’s “Emperor” concerto thus: “Coburn approached the grandiose work….with the vigour of a classically-inspired artist”. He has performed as a concerto soloist with many international orchestras including the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Central Florida Symphony Orchestra, Israel Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Hibernian Orchestras, Brisbane Symphony Orchestra and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Beginning his studies in his homeland of New Zealand, Lance furthered them in Australia, the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire – Moscow and finally with John O’Conor at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. During his studies, Lance was the recipient of many first prizes, including the Hephizibah Menuhin Scholarship, the inaugural Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, and the Australian Young Performers’ Award (Keyboard Section), culminating in a performance of Liszt’s 1st Piano Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, in the Sydney Opera House, which was also broadcast live across Australia on ABC Television. He has given master classes for music festivals in Australia, in the Elder Conservatorium in Adelaide and in the Tyalgum Festival in Queensland. In 2006 he presented a lecture recital in Dublin’s Royal Irish Academy of Music on Carl Vine’s solo piano works, a composer whose works he has a close affinity with. Lance recently recorded an acclaimed CD collection of Esposito Sonatas with violinist Mia Cooper and cellist William Butt and has just finished recording a CD of Carl Vine’s solo piano works in Australia - due for release in 2014. Much in demand as a solo performer, chamber musician and accompanist, Lance is regularly invited to adjudicate at numerous festivals including the New Park Music Festival. He is also a full-time staff member of the keyboard faculty in the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Ireland.
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Ada Kuuseoks (Piano/Estonia)

Ada Kuuseoks graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Prof. Viktor Meržanov. Her career as a pianist began when she was still studying in high school and received the first prize at the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic's Youth Piano Competition (1957). She was also awarded first prizes from the USSR competition in Minsk (1960). During recent years, she has received the first prize on two occasions from the International Teacher's Competition in Warsaw (2013, 2016). Ada Kuuseoks has focused a big part of her career on teaching. She has been working at the piano department of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre since 1966. During 51 years, 86 students have graduated from her piano class. On many occasions, Ada has written concert reviews in local newspapers and magazines. Her first CD was issued in 2001 which included recordings made at the Estonian National Concert Hall during years 1969-1982. She has been awarded the People's Artist of the ESSR in 1978 and an honorary diploma by the Estonian Education Ministry in 1991. 
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Martin Lysholm Jepsen (Piano/Denmark)

​Martin Lysholm Jepsen graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus in 1992 after studies with professor Bengt Johnsson and Docent Aino Gliemann. He continued as an aspirant at the Lithuanian Academy of Music from 1992-1994 in the class of Professor Veronika Vitaite. Martin took part in several masterclasses and private lessons by Lazar Berman, Eugen Indjic and Günter Ludwig. Martin Lysholm Jepsen gave numerous concerts in Denmark and abroad as soloist and accompanist. In 2001 he founded the Gradus Piano School in Aarhus for young piano talents. At Gradus Martin educated some of the most promising Danish pianists - among them Emil Gryesten, Gustav Piekut and Rune Leicht Lund. His students were accepted for further professional studies at the esteemed academies in Berlin, Vienna, Düsseldorf, Helsinki, Vilnius and at the Lake Como Academy. The Gradus students appeared successfully in many concerts as soloists and with orchestras in Denmark and abroad. They won more than 100 top prizes in national and international competitions. Since the summer 2016, Martin Lysholm Jepsen has been appointed as a teacher at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, and he is director of the Junior College at the same Academy. Martin gave masterclasses and lectures on the theme "Basic principles for building a strong and healthy piano technique" in several countries, and he is regularly in the jury of competitions in Russia, Poland, Italy, Lithuania, Island and Denmark. Martin Lysholm Jepsen was in the board of EPTA-DK since 2000, and he is the founder and artistic director of the Gradus International Piano Festival in Musikhuset Aarhus, presenting young talents and master pianists annually since 2013.
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Cristina Marton-Argerich (Piano/Romania)

​"Cristina Marton is a magnificent pianist" Martha Argerich.
Born in Romania, pianist Cristina Marton-Argerich has won numerous important prizes at international competitions such as the Arthur Schnabel Competition in Berlin 1994 , Geza Anda Competition in Zürich 1994, Clara Schumann Competition in Düsseldorf 1997, Mozart Competition in Salzburg 1999 and the First "Martha Argerich" International Piano Competition in Buenos Aires 1999, the First Prize in the Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition in Miami, USA and the First Prize in the Chamber Music Competition in Caltanissetta 1999 with her piano duo partner, Aglaia Bätzner. During the past seasons, Cristina Marton-Argerich was invited to several of the most renowned music centres worldwide such the Berliner Philharmonie, Warsaw National Philharmonic Hall, Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, Opernhaus Zürich, Herkulessaal München, Taipei National Hall, Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires, Mozarteum Salzburg, Atheneum Bucharest, Hong Kong City Hall, BAM Theater New York, Playhouse Theater Edinburgh, Frankfurt Alte Oper. Cristina Marton-Argerich has appeared as soloist with orchestras including Orchestre Della Svizzera-Italiana, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Orchester der Oper Zürich, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Argentina, Würtembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Polish Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Museumsorchester Frankfurt conducted by distinguished conductors such as Sandor Vegh, James Judd, Dennis Russel Davies, Jörg Faerber, Christoph Poppen, Alexandre Rabinovich. She performs for many years in a piano duo with Martha Argerich at international festivals in South America, Asia and Europe. The piano duo Martha Argerich & Cristina Marton recorded two live performances at the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano (2009 and 2011) for EMI Classics and one performance for Warner Classics (2013). Cristina Marton studied in Berlin with Prof. Georg Sava. She also received lessons from Christian Zacharias, Leon Fleischer, Martha Argerich, Dmitri Baskirov, Stephen Kovacevich, Fou Ts'ong, Andras Schiff, Radu Lupu and Alfred Brendel. Very active as a pedagogue, Cristina Marton-Argerich teaches since 2009 at the Jugendmusikschule Singen. Since 2014 at the Leopold Mozart Center of the University of Augsburg, She gives masterclasses in Romania, Belgium and Argentina. She is invited as a jury member at national and international piano competitions.​
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Irene Veneziano (Piano/Italy)

​Irene Veneziano regularly plays all over the world. In 2011 she had her debut at the Alla Scala Theatre in Milan, having great success from public and critics. In Beijing she was appointed an honorary member of Beijing Bravoce Music Club and in Peru she received the honorific title "Visitante distinguida". She was awarded the "G. Sinopoli" Scholarship, receiving the award from the President of the Italian Republic. In 2017 she was awarded the National Prize for culture "Toyp" and she was also chosen for the exhibition "Donne. Mujeres italianas que han cambiado la historia" in Logroño (Rioja, Spain). She was a semifinalist in the prestigious 16th "International Piano Competition F. Chopin" in Warsaw and finalist at the "International German Piano Award" in Frankfurt. She was awarded in more than 30 national and international piano competitions, including Prix Jean Clostre in Genève, Premio "Casella" in Premio Venezia competition, First Prize and Grand Prix at Tim Competition in Paris. She played with important musicians, for example, the flutists A. Griminelli, W. Bennett, D. Formisano, S. Jacot, the violinists F. Dego, D. Pascoletti, the cellists M. Polidori, A. Favalessa; the clarinet players F. Meloni, M. Giani; the trumpet players P. Cobb, A. Giuffredi; the singers S. Pirgu, B. Frittoli, A. Stewart; the guitarist E. Segre; the pianist B. Canino. She worked with many conductors as Yuri Bashmet, O. Balan, R. Seehafer, E. Lahoz, M. Caldi, G. De Lorenzo, S. Pradoroux, J. Bignamini, K. Goodman, P. C. Orizio, V. Elner, S. Kochanovski and others. She published several Cds both as a soloist and in chamber groups, also for the musical magazine Amadeus, Suonare News, Edizioni Curci, for the label Velut Luna. Edizioni Vigormusic published two of her compositions. She is the artistic director of the International Piano Competition "Città di Arona". She is artistic consultant of the music festival in the oncologies "Music donors". She is the testimonial of Celviano Grand Hybrid by Casio. She was artistic director of the Festival "From the lesson to the concert hall" organized in collaboration with Fazioli Pianoforti in Showroom Fazioli in Milano. She held many annual and summer masterclasses and she was called to take part in the jury of many national and international competitions. She is a piano teacher at "G. Puccini" Conservatory in Gallarate and she has also taught in the Conservatories in Ravenna, Avellino and Trapani.
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Kimberly Chen Afanasova (Piano/China/Taiwan)

Kimberly's performance was described by The New York Times "fully published and warm-blooded reading of Brahms", and by Barletta Post Italy -"a girl makes the piano speak...". Her repertoire ranges from Bach to Ligetti and includes much contemporary repertoire. Kimberly has gained an enviable reputation as soloist and recitalist, not least winning some major international competitions, these include the first prize in the 5th Mauro Paolo Monopoli international piano competition in Italy and Fredric Chopin international competition in Taiwan. Beginning her musical studies in her native Taiwan, Kimberly was a child prodigy and later got accepted to The Juilliard School in New York under Martin Canin and Ruth Slenczynska, after receiving her Bachelor of Music degree, she decided to move to Russia. She got aspiration (PhD) from The Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Alexander Mndoyants and Ekaterina Mechetina. Her studies have been supported by innumerable scholarships and awards including Juilliard scholarships and National Educational Scholarship of Taiwan. Kimberly performs regularly in the United States, Europe, Russia, Japan and Taiwan. As a soloist, she has collaborated with orchestras such as the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, Boston Longwood Symphony Orchestra and Barletta Chamber Orchestra in Italy. Since 2016, she has joined the piano faculty at National Taiwan College of Performing Arts and given masterclasses throughout Taiwan.​

​WINDS

Ginevra Petrucci (Flute/Italy)

​Hailed by the press as "one of the most interesting talents of her generation", Ginevra Petrucci has performed at Carnegie Hall (New York), Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Salle Cortot (Paris), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Villa Medici (Rome), Ohji Hall (Tokyo), as well as throughout China, South America and the Middle East. As a soloist, she has appeared in concert with I Pomeriggi Musicali, I Virtuosi Italiani and the Chamber Orchestra of New York. She has released the first recordings of Edouard Dupuy and Ferdinand Buchner's Concertos. Her chamber music experience has brought her to appear alongside pianists Bruno Canino and Boris Berman, and to a long-standing collaboration with the Kodály Quartet, with whom she has released the highly acclaimed recording of the complete Flute Quintets by Friedrich Kuhlau. Her recording of Robert Muczynski's Sonata has been praised as "oozing with lifeblood and zest … enthralling and rousing". In 2017 she has rediscovered and recorded Wilhelm Kempff's Quartet for flute, strings and piano and toured Italy with its premiere performances. She has been heard on RAI3 Italian National Radio, and her recital with Jory Vinikour at Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago has been broadcast on WFMT. Her feature interviews on the conditions of the migrating artist have been published on the Huffington Post and La Voce di New York. In 2018, she promoted the 200th anniversary of flute virtuoso Giulio Briccialdi through the release of the first recording of his four Concertos, where she was described as having "a beautiful phrasing, brilliant virtuosity and a legato worthy of a great singer". In the same occasion, she has founded the Giulio Briccialdi Online Catalogue, the only existing online platform with full downloadable catalogue dedicated to a flutist composer. Her lectures on Briccialdi and the Romantic Virtuoso Flute Concerto have been hosted by Columbia University, Eastman School, Stony Brook University, the Royal Academy in Dublin, the Chopin Academy in Warsaw, the Paderewsky Academy in Poznan, the Liszt Academy in Budapest, and the Hangzhou University in China. Ginevra devotes much of her artistic endeavours to contemporary music. At Yale University she has collaborated with George Crumb, Steve Reich, Betsy Jolas and Kaija Saariaho, performing the American premiere of Terrestre. She commissioned Jean-Michel Damase's last composition, 15 Rubayat d'Omar Khayyam for voice, flute and harp, and she has appeared at the Venice Biennale Contemporary Music Festival with a commissioning project dedicated to Witold Lutosławski. In 2018 she founded the Flauto d'Amore Project, a large-spanning commission endeavour aimed to the creation of a new music repertoire for the modern flauto d'amore. After the premiere concert in New York City in May 2019, over twenty composers have written, or are in the process of writing new works for the instrument. She has curated the edition of over twenty musical editions, including Briccialdi Concertos for Ricordi/Hal Leonard and first editions of works by Mercadante, Jommelli, Morlacchi, Busoni, De Lorenzo and Brescianello for Keiser/ Southern Music Company and other editors. Her book on the history and repertoire of the flute is adopted in several Italian Conservatories as a reference text for the Master's programs. Her scholarly articles appear in the Flutist Quarterly, as well as in the leading flute magazines in Italy and France. She holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts at Stony Brook University, and a Master of Music at Yale University. Her education includes a Master at Santa Cecilia Conservatory in her native Rome under the guidance of her father, and a Diplome Superieur at the École Normale in Paris. She is Principal Flute at Chamber Orchestra of New York.​
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Olivier Anthony Theurillat (Trumpet/Switzerland)

Olivier Anthony Theurillat is a Swiss trumpeter and conductor. His musical life passed by La Chaux-de-Fonds – his native town, Versailles, Paris, New York, Lausanne, Geneva, London, Berlin and Bern. His main trumpet teachers were Roger Delmotte, Antoine Curé and Raymond Mase, whilst Martyn Brabbins was his mentor for conducting. Olivier has been awarded prizes in international solo competitions in Munich and Geneva, among others, he won the Maurice André Competition in Albert and the National Trumpet Competition at George Mason University. An orchestra player, he has toured worldwide, as a member of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra (Principal Trumpet 1996-2002) and the Bern Symphony Orchestra (Principal Trumpet 2005-2012), and as a guest with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra (on the side of Reinhold Friedrich, under Claudio Abbado), Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, Zurich Opera, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Natonal de France, Orchestre de Paris, Philharmonia Orchestra London, etc. As a soloist, he has appeared in Europe and in the United States, performing more than thirty different solo works with orchestra accompaniment, with orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Suisse Romande Orchestra, Virtuosi di Praga, Orchestre de Picardie, Orchestre Symphonique Français, and many others. Also, an active performer working with composers, Olivier has premiered new pieces written by Jean Balissat, Emile de Ceuninck, Arturo Corrales, Xavier Dayer, Richard Dubugnon, Vivian Fung, Jacques Henry, Horatiu Radulescu and Julien-François Zbinden. He has recorded as a soloist and orchestral player for numerous labels including Claves, Teldec, EuroArts, Deutsche Grammophon, Swiss Radio, Grammont, Cascavelle, Arte Nova, cpo, Dabringhaus & Grimm and Gallo-VDE. His solo album Nocturne has received wide acclaim, in particular for his interpretation of Quiet City and his newly orchestrated version of Enesco’s Legend. Recently, French label Indésens Records took care of Olivier’s early recordings and proposed nothing less than 28 tracks on the usual streaming platforms, with famous works by Honegger, Haydn, Arban, Tomasi, Clarke, Falla, Bitsch, Schnyder, Michel, Castérède, Blacher and Mozart. For thirteen years (2005-2018), Olivier was an active trumpet teacher and educator, and he was Head of Brass, Professor for trumpet and Founder/Conductor of Brass & Rhythm at the Haute Ecole de Musique (HEMU) of Lausanne. He also served for orchestral excerpts training at the Hochschule der Künste in Bern. He was regularly invited for masterclasses in Europe, Brazil and the USA (twice at Juilliard). In 2018, he initiated a new Brass Festival at the Lausanne University, with masterclasses, lectures, historical workshops and concerts. In recent years, Olivier started to play jazz, his first jazz album “1st Set” just came out on Indésens Jazz Records, and new releases for the future are already on the plan.
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Gleb Kanasevich (Clarinet/Belarus)

Gleb Kanasevich (b. 1989) was born in Minsk, Belarus and had been living in the United States since 2001. He has garnered international acclaim as a clarinet soloist, composer, chamber music collaborator, and contemporary music specialist. He has appeared as a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Belarus National Philharmonic, Ensemble Cantata Profana, soundSCAPE Ensemble, Peabody Symphony Orchestra, and more. His works have been interpreted by Ensemble Intercontemporain, International Contemporary Ensemble, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, The Lydian String Quartet, Orchestre Philarmonique de Radio France, Ensemble Cantata Profana, players of FLUX Quartet, Miranda Cuckson, and many more. He also appeared as a resident artist on stages of Spoleto Festival USA, SICPP Festival at New England Conservatory, soundSCAPE Festival for Contemporary Music (a guest artist faculty in 2013/14/15), Audeamus International Music Festival in Zagreb, MusicArte Panama. He was one of the headlining artists at Dark Music Days in Reykjavik, Iceland in January 2018. He has appeared as a visiting artist at various educational institutions, like the University of Oxford, Frost School at the University of Miami, Rice University, Brandeis University, University of Northern Arizona, University of Alaska Anchorage, Tulane University, and more. Kanasevich holds a PhD in Composition and Music Theory from Brandeis University in Boston, MA. He has also closely worked with Rebecca Saunders and Beat Furrer, and has participated in lessons and masterclasses with Steven Takasugi, Chaya Czernowin, Jason Eckardt, and Rand Steiger. He holds a Masters Degree (2013) in clarinet from the Yale School of Music (studied with David Shifrin), and a Bachelor of Music Degree (2011) in clarinet from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he studied under New York Philharmonic's principal clarinetist Anthony McGill. Since 2013, Kanasevich has been a core member of Ensemble Cantata Profana – a group based in New York City and the recipient of the 2016 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music. In 2018, he was promoted to become the ensemble's Associate Artistic Director. The ensemble has since garnered significant critical acclaim from publications like the New York Times, New Yorker, Boston Globe, and has established a strong foundation with its sister project – Heartbeat Opera. He has also joined groups like Nunc Players, Callithumpian Consort, soundscape Faculty Ensemble, Lunar Ensemble, and the Lydian String Quartet for new music residencies, conferences, and festival concerts. Kanasevich is a Rovner ligatures ambassador and a Fratelli Patricola artist.

​STRINGS

Pavel Vernikov (Violin/Ukraine)

Pavel Vernikov, a student of David Oistrach and S. Snitkowsky, gained a reputation as virtuoso violinist more than twenty years ago. Among other prizes he won the International ARD Violin Competition in Munich and the Grand Prix at the International Violin Competition “Vittorio Gui” in Florence. He has appeared at such prestigious venues as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, La Salle Gaveau in Paris, La Scala in Milan and Santa Cecilia in Rome. For the last 30 years, he has been a member of the Tchaikovsky Trio. His artistic partners have included Sviatoslav Richter, James Galway, Alain Meunier, Patrick Gallois, Maria Tipo, Natalia Gutman, Oleg Kagan, Yuri Bashmet, Elisso Virsaladze, Christian Zimmermann and Anthony Pay. He inaugurated the Russian Academy of Higher Learning in Portogruaro and was the Artistic Director of the Gubbio Music Festival, the Dubrovnik Chamber Music Festival and the Eilat Chamber Music Festival. He teaches and gives master classes around the world, in Italy, France, Finland, Spain (Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia Madrid), Israel (Rubin Academy), Germany (Kronberg Academy), etc. and has been invited to be a member of the jury at international competitions (Szigeti, Kreisler, Gui, ARD-Competition in Munich, Sendai (Japan), Budapest, Sarasate, Wieniawski, etc.). Pavel Vernikov has recorded for RCA, Ondine and Dynamic. He was Professor at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Lyon. At present, he’s Professor at the famous Konservatorium Wien University and at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne (Site de Sion). Among his many laureate students are people like Massimo Quarta (1. Prize Paganini International Violin Competition, Genua), Fumiaki Miura (1. Prize Hannover International Violin Competition), Lorenza Borrani (Leader of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe), Fanny Clamagirand (1. Prize Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition, Vienna and 1. Prize International Monte Carlo Violin Competition) and Miki Kobayashi (2. Prize Wieniawski Competition). In 2013 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Sion Festival in Switzerland. He plays the beautiful Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin, Milano 1751, owned by the family of Tibor Varga.
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Henrik Brendstrup (Cello/Denmark)

Born in Denmark, the cellist Henrik Brendstrup studied at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen with Erling Bløndal Bengtsson, and later in London with William Pleeth and Ralph Kirshbaum. He is among the few Nordic musicians, who has received both the French music award Diapasson D'or as well as the German Deutsche Schallplattenpreis. In 1987 he made his first tour, and shortly after he became a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe and is a regular guest at international chamber music festivals such as Risør, Stavanger, Oslo and Lockenhaus. His numerous recordings include the complete works for cello and piano by Beethoven, compiled recording of Hindemith's string quartets, solo works for cello by Sofia Gubaidulina, and cello works by Chopin and Lizst which won the French "Diapasson D'or" award. A very active chamber musician, Henrik Brendstrup has been the cellist of several leading ensembles in Denmark, such as The Danish String Quartet, the string sextet "Copenhagen Classic", and the Gefion Trio. Henrik Brendstrup is Professor of Cello at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus, and member of The Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He tours with this excellent ensemble throughout the world lead by conductors in the means of Nikolaus Harnocourt and Claudio Abbado. He is a returning guest at weighty international chamber music festivals, as Lockenhaus, Risør and Prussia Cove. He received the Musikanmelderringens Kunstnerpris (music reviewer's artist price) in 1996.
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Alice Neary
​(Cello/UK)

British cellist Alice Neary plays a Gagliano cello of 1720. She won the 1998 Pierre Fournier Award and major prizes in the 2001 Leonard Rose International Cello Competition in the USA and the 1997 Adam International Cello Competition in New Zealand. She won the string section of the 1996 Royal Overseas League Competition and the silver medal in the 1994 Shell/LSO Competition resulting in a performance of the Haydn C major Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican. Her appearances include concertos with the English Chamber Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, the Israel Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Orchestra of St Johns, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, European Union Chamber Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She frequently broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and has given recitals at the Bridgewater Hall, Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and at the Manchester International Cello Festival. Her wide repertoire includes music by many contemporary composers. In 1995 she was the soloist in a Sony Classical recording of Innocence by John Tavener, and she appeared in The South Bank Show's Tavener documentary. She has been artist-in-residence several times at the Presteigne Festival, performing works by Michael Berkeley, Robin Holloway and John McCabe. In 2005 she participated in the BBC's MacMillan weekend at London's Barbican Centre, as part of the Gould Trio, with whom she has been a cellist since 2002, and gave a live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of a Beethoven weekend in 2005. The Trio has toured the USA and New Zealand, as well as giving many recitals in Europe. Neary is a founder member of the Ovid Ensemble, taking part in the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival in New Mexico.
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​Niels Pfeffer (Guitar/Germany)

At the age of five, Niels Pfeffer began to play the classical guitar and was soon being taught by Prof. Johannes Monno at the Music University of Stuttgart. Prof. Carsten Lorenz, with whom he took additional harpsichord lessons, also taught him continuo playing and introduced him to the art of historical performances. In 2017 he finished his harpsichord studies at the Stuttgart University of Music under Prof. Jörg Halubek and his guitar studies with Prof. Johannes Monno. Afterwards he studied in master with Prof. Robert Hill in Freiburg (harpsichord) as well as with Prof. Zoran Dukić in The Hague (guitar) and finished both studies with distinction. Since 2019 he is studying in a specialized master continuo with Prof. Jörg-Andreas Bötticher in the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. With the guitar Niels Pfeffer won numerous prizes at renowned international competitions (1st prize Anna-Amalia competition in Weimar, 2013, 2nd prize guitar competition Nürtingen 2014, five prizes at the Andres-Segovia competition in Velbert, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015, third prize in Kutná Hora 2015, fourth prize in Bratislava 2016, finalist and special prize at Forum Gitarre Wien 2016). Besides his guitar activities Niels Pfeffer is passionate about playing the continuo on the theorbo and especially on the harpsichord. With both instruments he was taking part in various opera performances – including Händel’s Rodrigo (Stuttgart) and Reinhold Keisers' Octavia (Innsbruck). Antonio de Literes’ opera Los Elementos led him to the Kassel state theatre, where he was engaged as a musical assistant for the stage rehearsals. In summer 2018 he was playing continuo in the operá- ballet production Solen och Nordstjärnen in Vadstena, Sweden. As a member of the ensembles La Serenité, Le Tic-Toc-Choc and Bryggan he has been regularly successful in early music competitions: Carl Wendling competition 2014, Händel competition in Karlsruhe 2015 and 2016, competition for Early Music of the Saarländischer Rundfunk 2017 and Premio Selifa in San Ginesio 2018. In 2019 he won the third prize at the International Basso Continuo and Partimento Competition in Katowice, Poland. He took part in masterclasses with Konrad Junghänel, Skip Sempé, Frederic Haas, Beatrice Martin, Christophe Rousset and many more. In the winter term 2017/18, he was teaching as harpsichord accompanist at the University of Music Stuttgart. Since summer term 2018 he is teaching continuo and theorbo at the same University. From 2020 he is working as a teacher for harpsichord and harpsichord accompaniment at the Musikakademie Kassel. Recordings for public television and radio stations led Niels Pfeffer multiple times to Estonia, the Lebanon and Armenia. During his studies in Stuttgart he received a scholarship of Live Music Now. Furthermore, he was granted in 2014 the well-known Deutschlandstipendium scholarship and in 2017 as well as 2018 the Excellence Scholarship of the Royal Conservatory Den Haag.​​
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​VOICE

Kathy Cammett (Soprano/USA)

Kathy Cammett, operates Golden Voice Studio and is Director of Applied Voice and Pedagogy at the Musical Arts Center. She has been a Voice Teacher, Vocologist, and Acting Coach for over 25 years and has worked with hundreds of voices, from rock to musical theatre and opera. Her students have won State and National competitions, been on popular voice shows and record labels, and are accepted into top music and theatre schools in the country, including NYU, Berklee, Indiana, CCM, Boston, Westminster, and more. Current students and alumni are everything from leads in community shows and Broadway tours to leads in international bands. Working mainly online with clients, she centres on singing, performing, and acting as one unified discipline. She filters traditional and current methods from Bel Canto to Speech Level through the lens of modern voice and performance science. She holds a BA (Summa Cum Laude) in Theatre, a BBA, a Masters (With Distinction) in Solo Voice Performance with an emphasis on Vocal Pedagogy, and a Certificate in Vocology via the National Centre of Voice and Speech. She has received additional training in voice habilitation and the use of technology for voice analysis and correction and is the recipient of the Joan Frey Boytim Award via the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). She is a member of NATS, The Voice Foundation, NYSTA and PAVA. For more information, please visit: www.goldenvoicestudio.com 

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Jehanne Amzal (Soprano/France)

​At the age of 16, Jehanne began her training at the Maitrise of Paris, directed by Patrick Marco. In this context, she performed with Bryn Terfel, Matthias Goerne, Delphine Haidan, John Nelson and Christophe Eschenbach. In 2013, she joined the Royal Northern College of Music and studied with Thomas Schulze. She completes her training specializing in early music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and the Conservatoire of Paris, with Prof. Isabelle Poulenard, Stéphane Fuget and Ulrich Masstahler. She participated in a number of Mastercourses given by Edda Moser, Regina Werner, Veronique Gens, Lynne Dawson, Julius Drake, Sir John Tomlinson, Chantal Santon, and Léontina Vaduva. Jehanne has won the 3rd prize in the International Singing Competition Leopold Bélan (2018), and was a semifinalist at the International Competition of early music Corneille in Rouen (2019). She also is a recipient of the Abbaye de Royaumont Foundation awards and the Franco-Suisse Rippas Foundation scholarship. For the current and upcoming seasons, Jehanne will perform as a soloist in various ensembles, such as Les Ambassadeurs (directed by Alexis Kossenko), Les Surprises (Directed by L.N. Bestion de Camboulas), The Purcell Choir and Orfeo Orchestra ( directed by György Vashegyi), La Fenice (directed by Jean Tubéry), or Les Paladins (directed by Jerome Correas). In 2020 she will make her debut in theatres such as the Champs Élysées Theatre, Radio France, Lille Opera House or the Müpa in Budapest.  She will also participate in three CD recordings as a soloist under the labels Glossa, Warner Classics and Ambronay Éditions.
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Andrejs Krutojs (Baritone/Latvia)

“Powerful baritone Andrejs Krutojs” (“Südkurier”) is internationally active opera and concert singer based in Zurich, Switzerland. In the season 2020/21 Andrejs Krutojs makes his debut in Strauss’ Capriccio at the Zurich Opera House and continues teaching at the Conservatory of Lausanne. Born in Riga, Latvia, Andrejs Krutojs has studied singing at the Zurich University of Arts with prof. Dr. h.c. mult Scot Weir (Master of Music Pedagogy) and at Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre with prof. Mati Palm (Bachelor of Music). Andrejs Krutojs received a scholarship to further his development at Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland (class of dots. Annika Ollinkari) and Conservatorio di musica “Santa Cecilia” in Rome, Italy (class of prof. Anna Maria Ferrante). He has participated in masterclasses of some of the world’s greatest professionals like Montserrat Caballé, Dr. Emilio Pons, KS Karan Armstrong, Jorma Hynninen, Bruno Pola, Gianni Maffeo, Prof. Rebecca Berg, Prof. Franz Lukasovsky, Prof. Andreas Reibenspies and director Peter Konwitschny. Andrejs Krutojs made his operatic debut at the age of 22 at Estonian National Opera (count Robinson in Cimarosa’s “Il matrimonio segreto”), returning to the same stage to make an appearance as Belcore in Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore” in 2015 with a great success. In 2018, Andrejs Krutojs made his debut as Don Giovanni at Bergisch Gladbach City Theatre, takes part in recording Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung” in Hong Kong for Naxos (conductor Jaap van Zweden) and Verdi’s scenes with Landesjugendorchester NRW (conductor Sebastian Tewinkel) for the West German Radio. In 2017 Andrejs Krutojs received the stipend from the famous swiss LYRA-Foundation for extraordinary talented musicians. In 2019, at the age of 28, he took over the professeur de chant position at the Conservatory of Lausanne. His repertoire includes the roles of Tchaikovsky’s Onegin (“Evgeny Onegin”) and Prince Yeletsky (“The Queen of Spades”), Leoncavallo’s Silvio (“I pagliacci”), Dr. Marianus in Schumann’s “Szenen aus Goethes Faust”, bass solo in Beethoven’s 9th symphony, baritone solos in Orff’s “Carmina Burana” and Fauré’s “Requiem”, Bach cantata “Ich habe genug” and art song repertoire, performed successfully in Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Germany and Italy.

Niamh O’Sullivan (Mezzo-soprano/Ireland)

Irish mezzo-soprano Niamh O’Sullivan, praised for her “bewitchingly beautiful, dark vibrant voice” (Süddeutsche Zeitung), studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin under Veronica Dunne. She was a member of the Opera Studio at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich from 2016 to 2018. She made her Irish National Opera debut as Kate Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly last March and sang Tisbe in La Cenerentola with INO last November and Mercedes in Carmen this past March. Other stage appearances include Dritte Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Secretary in Menotti’s The Consul, Flora in La Traviata, Prostitute in Janáček’s From the House of the Dead and Barena in Janáček’s Jenůfa. She has also appeared in concert in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier at Carnegie Hall, New York, conducted by Kirill Petrenko, and in Cousser’s The Applause of Mount Parnassus at the Wigmore Hall, London, with Ensemble Marsyas under the musical direction of Peter Whelan. Her engagements for the 2018-19 season included Prostitute in Aus einem Totenhaus under Simone Young, Kate Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Flora in La Traviata at the Bavarian State Opera, and Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto with Cork Operatic Society. Niamh also debuted Elgar’s Sea Pictures at the Prinzregententheater as part of the Munich Festspiele last July 2019. Niamh will make her debut at the prestigious Kissinger Sommer Festival in Bad Kissingen this July singing the alto solo in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony conducted by Jeremie Rhorer.

​​KEYBOARDS

Anna Maria McElwain (Clavichord/Finland)

"McElwain's imaginative, disciplined, and expressive playing make for undeniably engaging listening." Clavichord International, May 2014. Finnish-born Anna Maria McElwain studied at Turku Conservatory under the guidance of the Polish pianist, Elzbieta Guzek, after which she continued her studies in the United States at State University of New York at Buffalo with Dr Stephen Manes. At the age of 21, she had already completed a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance as well as a Master of Arts degree in Music Theory, become a winner of Baird Concerto Competition in 1993 and played as a soloist of Buffalo Civic Symphony Orchestra. Anna Maria is not known only as a pianist but as a player of harpsichord and fortepiano as well. She has specialized in playing the clavichord, which she studied with Dr Pekka Vapaavuori. She is the only person so far to have completed a Master's Degree in clavichord performance from Sibelius Academy. Anna Maria taught at the Sibelius Academy Kuopio department until 2010 and currently focuses on performing, mainly as a clavichordist. She has performed in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy and the U.S., also giving master classes in many of those countries. Anna Maria's repertoire consists of music from the Renaissance to the early Romantic period and has also premiered several pieces composed and dedicated to her. She has explored the limits of the clavichord with the Beethoven Sonatas. She has played Chopin on the clavichord mainly as a curiosity, which resulted in a study on the topic, "The Clavichordist's View on the Chopin Preludes". Anna Maria's solo recording on an 1808 Lindholm clavichord at Nydahl Collection in Stockholm came out in November 2013 (Robert Holmin Ljud&Bild). "Hours Well Spent" takes the listener through a magical trip through centuries of music starting from Andrea Gabrieli and concluding with György Ligeti, and is the first-ever recording of Beethoven on the clavichord. Another recording was released in May 2015 including the music of Fux, Johnsen, Lithander and Beethoven. In 2019 her article" Nordic and Baltic Harpsichord Composers" was published in "The Cambridge Companion to the Harpsichord" by Cambridge University Press. Anna Maria has received grants for artistic work from the Finnish National Council of Arts, the Northern Savonia Council of Arts, the Northern Savonia Culture Fund, as well as a Kuopio Stipend in November 2013 from the City of Kuopio for her artistic achievements. In 2018 she was chosen as Savonian Woman of the Year by Zonta II of Kuopio. Anna Maria is the co-founder and artistic director of Nordic Historical Keyboard Festival, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2021. It has taken place eight times offering each time 20 concerts given by artists from three continents, several world premieres, and courses in historical keyboards. Anna Maria is also the founder of the First International Clavichord Competition (2014), the first known competition in the 700-year history of the instrument, and International Clavichord Composition Competition (2018).
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Margherita Berlanda ​(Accordion/Italy)

Italian accordionist Margherita Berlanda developed her skills as an accordionist under the guidance of Corrado Rojac (Conservatorio Statale Giuseppe Tartini Trieste), Friedemann Gisinger and Hans Maier (Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Trossingen). She was also a student in Stefan Hussong’s class at Musikhochschule Würzburg in 2011-2012. She graduated in a Master of solo performance, Chamber Music Master, Musikvermittlung Master, Konzertexamen Studiengang (post-máster interpretative specialisation). Investigation through different aesthetics and artistic expressions played a central role in her personal research and led her to approach the performance field. Of particular interest are her activities with Alambic Duo, the contemporary music ensemble Azione_Improvvisa (winners of OPEN contemporary creation call 2018 Pergine Festival, ensemble in residence for TheWorkRoom, Fattoria Vittadini Milan 2019), the Dúo Pérez–Berlanda, and the performance-instrumental theatre group KalaKara (Supernova Open Call Winners, Pergine Festival 2019). Her focus on contemporary arts brings her to collaborate actively with various composers, such as Samir Odeh-Tamimi, Giorgio Colombo Taccani, Anna Sowa, Gianluca Castelli, Roberto Zanata, and Nikolsus Brass. She has performed for internationally known festivals such as the International Koper Biennial, Bel Circolo Bellunese, Donaueschingen Musiktagen, PactaSOUNDZone Milan, Pergine Festival, SpazioMusica Festival, Musica Insieme Panicale Festival, Cembalo und anderen Tasteninstrumente – Akademie der Künste Berlin, and cooperates with Fondazione Haydn Stiftung – OPER. A 20.21 Festival of Haydn Orchester von Bozen und Trient and Kammerphilharmonie Mannheim. Shanghai International Culture & Arts Institute recently promoted Alambic Duo’s chinese tournée. Some of her interpretations have been broadcast by Radio Vaticana, Bayerische Rundfunk, RAI Slovenia, and recorded for the labels GiutArt and Stradivarius. Margherita Berlanda is co-founder and coordinator of the contemporary arts space Anomalia (Trento) together with the painter Andrea Fonanari (Boccanera Gallery, Trento-Milan). Of notable interest in her teaching experience was the opportunity to be the assistant for the pre-academic accordion courses at the Conservatorio Statale di Musica “G. Tartini” of Trieste and the work at the Conservatorio Statale di Musica Lucio Campiani of Mantova. She is currently developing her research about contemporary music and children’s education and teaching at the Musikschule Überetsch-Eppan (Bozen-Italy).​
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Zsombor Tóth-Vajna (Organ/Hungary)

Zsombor Tóth-Vajna, a keyboard specialist and conductor, is one of the leading figures of the young musician generation in Hungary. He studied playing the harpsichord and the organ at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest with Borbala Dobozy and Miklós Spányi as his mentors, where he graduated with the highest honours, and where he is a guest teacher now. He continued his studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He was taught by Menno van Delft (harpsichord, clavichord) and Richard Egarr (harpsichord, fortepiano), and on the organ by the legendary Jacques van Oortmerssen. He also holds a degree in medicine from Semmelweis University, Budapest. He is a research fellow at the Royal College of Music in London where he is currently doing a PhD. He has given recitals in many European countries and in the United States of America as a soloist (harpsichord, organ, clavichord, fortepiano), conductor and as continuo in various orchestras. Zsombor has participated with András Batta in the production of television and radio programmes by request of the Hungarian Television and Radio, aimed at the promotion of traditional keyboard music. He is the founder and artistic director of Hungarian baroque orchestra Harmonia Caelestis (founded in 2015) in Budapest, and he is a passionate piano four hands player with his partner and twin brother, Gergely under the name Piano e Forte Duo. He attended keyboard masterclasses with Pierre Hantai, Skip Sempé, Ton Koopman, Masaaki Suzuki, Malcolm Bilson, Lorenzo Ghielmi, Christine Schornsheim, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, Rita Papp and Hans Fagius, sources of inspiration and encouragement up until his most recent accomplishments. As an organ player, he is an expert of historical instruments: he played concerts on several important organs such as the famous Christian Müller organ in St. Bavo Haarlem and Waalse Kerk Amsterdam, the Schnitger organs in Hamburg and Alkmaar, and the „Bach Organ” in the Thomaskirche, Leipzig, only a few meters away from the esteemed master’s resting place. As a harpsichordist, he played under the guidance of Sigiswald Kuijken, Richard Egarr. His field of study is the 17th and 18th century English keyboard music. He recorded 7 solo recordings until today for different labels. Zsombor Tóth-Vajna was awarded Semmelweis University’s most prestigious Kerpel Prize in 2013 and was elected among the 50 most talented young Hungarians by the magazine La Femme in 2015. Zsombor also received the grant for the talented youth in Hungary (Nemzet Tehetségeiért Ösztöndíj) and is a member of the first Hungarian Templeton Program as a junior fellow. In 2019 he received the prestigious Hungarian Bach Prize.
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​ADMINISTRATION

Richard Dubugnon Associate Artistic Director

​Richard Dubugnon was born in Lausanne in 1968. He started music at 20 and was accepted at the Paris Conservatoire where he graduated in Double Bass, Counterpoint and Fugue. He studied Composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London, graduating with an MMus before becoming a Composition Fellow and an Alumni (ARAM). Described as "driven by a playful modern sensibility" by the New York Times, Dubugnon's music has been championed by conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Semyon Bychkov, Kent Nagano, Antonio Pappano, Paavo Järvi, Alain Altinoglu, Lionel Bringuier, Daniel Blendulf, Fabien Gabel and Ludovic Morlot, as well as performers such as Janine Jansen, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Roberto Gonzáles-Monjas, Julian Rachlin, Xavier de Maistre, Max Rysanov, Louis Schwizgebel and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. In 2018, he composed Eros athanatos op.69, a fantaisie concertante for cello and piano especially written for Gautier Capuçon and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, a quintuple commission from West Australian Symphony Orchestra (Perth), Antwerp Symphony, Radio France, Klavier-Festival Ruhr and the Beijing Arts Foundation. The work is still touring the world and received great reviews. In January 2017, Naxos released a second monographic recording of his music, with a selection of Arcanes Symphoniques' tarot cards for orchestra' one of Dubugnon's most globally successful works, leading The Guardian newspaper to write that the 'joy in the orchestra's swooning sonic possibilities is everywhere evident'. Orchestras which have commissioned and performed his music include the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia de Rome, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Proms Festival 2012, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, NHK Symphony in Tokyo, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, Concergebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonia in London, Dallas Symphony, Musikkollegium, Winterthur and the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. Richard has been involved with many educational projects in the UK, the France and the U.S. including the famous Young Person's Concerts created by Bernstein, and he has several years experience of teaching composition in places such as the Royal Academy of Music and the Purcell School in London. He has also created projects for children from underrepresented groups with no access to musical education. He also plays the double bass as a soloist and chamber musician. He was a freelance musician with contemporary ensembles and orchestras such as the Opéra National de Paris. He currently performs Basso Continuum with the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, a ballet that he created jointly with their artistic director and choreographer Gil Roman.​​
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Kevin Zhao
Artistic Director

​Pianist Dr. Kevin Zhao is both an active performer and music event organiser. During past years, he has served as the Head of Asian Culture Exchange Department at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, the executive director of Dragon Culture Exchange NGO - a non-profit organisation for arranging cultural events between Europe and Asia, during years 2015-2020 numerous concerts were organised Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Singapore, Estonia, Poland, China, etc. After receiving a Piano Performance BA degree from China, he also developed an interest in business and started a Global Business Management MA course. A wide range of interests and passion for broadening activities then brought Kevin to Europe where he obtained two MA degrees (piano and accompaniment) from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, as well as PhD in chamber music/accompaniment. During PhD studies, he further developed himself at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin with Dearbhla Collins. Kevin Zhao has participated in the jury work of many piano competition in Europe and Asia, and he is the founder and artistic director of the Odin International Music Festival which was established in August 2016. He has released a CD "Beloved Irish Tunes", published several articles in magazine "Muusika", and currently holds several grants from the government of the PRC for music research on both Western and Asian topics. He has been appointed guest professor in China Shaunliu Arts Music College in 2018. Most recently, he has been invited to be the guest professor in China HN Education College. Some examples of Kevin Zhao's projects include the following: arranging a concert for Estonian pianist Peep Lassmann (former rector of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre) in China, a concert tour in China-North Europe for Danish cellist Henrik Brendstrup, a concert in Tallinn for Japanese pianist Aya Tominaga, a concert in collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland, Estonia to celebrate Sain Patric's Day for Irish soprano Sarah Brady, a concert for Estonian pianist Marko Martin in Shanghai, academic activities for Danish saxophonist Claus Olesen in Jiangsu China, master classes for Danish pianist Soren Rastogi in Shandong, an academic visit for Danish singer Robert Vinther in Chongqing China, a concert in Tallinn for Malaysian pianist Tham Horng Kent and Malaysian soprano Florence Chong, master classes for Latvian pianist Andrejs Osokins in Zhengzhou China, a performance in a Chinese New Year Concert for Swedish dancer Liisa Veiderma in Sichuan China, a concert performance for Latvian flautist Veronika Gzirišvili in Sichuan, master classes for Estonian bassoonist Peeter Sarapuu in Chengdu, a performance in Vienna for Thai pianist Jutiseth Chinavicharana. He has arranged master classes and a performance for Polish choreographer Karol Urbanski in Henan China taking place during the upcoming year. Kevin has also organised summer camps and academic visits to The Academy of Music in Kraków; The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus; Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. He had academic visits in Academy of Music, University of Zagreb; Academy of Music in Pula, Croatia; and Conservatorio di Musica "Luigi Canepa" di Sassari; Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music; Vilnius Academy of Arts, Academy of Music of University in Macedonia, Department of Musical of the University of Pristina; the Central Conservatory of Music, China; the Shanghai Conservatory of Music; the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. Kevin Zhao is a member of numerous associations such as the European Piano Teachers Association Ireland, the European Chamber Music Teachers' Association, the European Association for Music in Schools, the coordinator for "Sino Culture Exchange Program", and the artistic director of the China-Europe Music Center in Shanghai.