IVCI Organization

Juliette Kang, Canada
Canadian violinist Juliette Kang is celebrated on several continents for her interpretive insight, beautiful tone and astonishing technical mastery. After serving as Assistant Concertmaster of the Boston Symphony from 2003-2005, she was appointed Associate Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2005. Her engagements to date include the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National Bordeaux-Acquitaine, Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Philadelphia and National Arts Centre Orchestras, as well as the American, Syracuse, Omaha, Detroit, Edmonton, Vancouver, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Toronto, Houston, Montreal, Korean Broadcasting, Singapore, Russian National and Kyushu (Japan) Symphonies. She has also appeared with the Hong Kong and Calgary Philharmonics and the Chicago Sinfonietta.

An especially accomplished recitalist, Ms. Kang's invitations include New York's Carnegie Hall, Frick Collection, Rockefeller University and 92nd Street Y. She has performed in recital at Théâtre Châtelet in Paris and Tokyo's Suntory Hall, as well as Boston's Gardner Museum, the Kennedy Center, in Seoul, Taipei, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. In addition she has enlivened Canada's Festival International de Lanaudiere and Festival International d'Eté, America's Spoleto, Bravo! Colorado, Marlboro Festivals, and France's Colmar Festival.

Born in Edmonton, Canada, Ms. Kang began her violin studies at age four. Five years later she began to study with Dr. Jascha Brodsky at the Curtis Institute of Music, from which she earned her Bachelor's Degree in 1991. In 1993 she earned her Master's Degree from The Juilliard School, where her teachers included Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang and Robert Mann. She came to international attention as winner of First Prize in both the Yehudi Menuhin and Indianapolis International Competitions and is also a Young Concert Artists winner.

Ms. Kang's recording debut - a recital on the Discover International label including the premiere recording of Lutoslawski's Subito - was issued to rapturous acclaim and followed by a recital compact disc recorded "live" at a Carnegie Hall recital released by the Nices label. Her most recent recording work on the CBC label includes the Schumann and Wienawski (No. 2) Concertos with Sergiu Comissiona and the Vancouver Symphony and Mozetich's 1997 violin concerto, Affairs of the Heart both released in 2000. When CBC Radio broadcast the concert performance of Mozetich's 1997 violin concerto, Affairs of the Heart, with Ms. Kang as the featured violinist, the switchboards lit up from coast to coast. There were numerous reports of what those who work in radio sometimes call "the driveway experience," where listeners are so captivated by what they're hearing, they remain in their cars, listening to the end, even though they've long since arrived home. Ms. Kang has been profiled in The Strad, The Indianapolis Star, The New York Times, The Toronto Globe and Mail as well as many other publications

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Stefan Milenkovich, Yugoslavia
Violinist Stefan Milenkovich is recognized internationally for both exceptional artistry and his life-long commitment to humanitarianism. He came to international attention when at age 10, he was invited to perform for the late U.S. President, Ronald Reagan, at the White House "Christmas Show". This performance was followed by an invitation from the former Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev, to perform in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He has also performed twice for Pope John Paul II in Castelgandolfo, Italy. His international orchestral appearances include the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Belgrade Philharmonic, the Orchestra of Radio-France, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Aspen Chamber Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Mexico State Symphony, the Orquestra Sinfonica de Estado de Sao Paolo in Brazil, and the Melbourne and Queensland Symphonies in Australia. He has worked with such renowned conductors as Lorin Maazel, Daniel Oren, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Lu Jia, Lior Shambadal and En Shao, among others. In 2002, he was proclaimed "Artist of the 20th Century" in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

Mr. Milenkovich is deeply committed to international humanitarian causes. He was appointed "Child Ambassador" of the First Children Embassy founded in Medjasi, Yugoslavia, during the war in Bosnia. In 2002, he received the "Lifting Up the World With Oneness Heart" award for his humanitarian activities, handed to him personally by the guru Sri Chinmoy. Most recently, he received the 2003 "Most Humane Person" award in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He also participated in a number of gala concerts under the auspices of UNESCO in Paris, with such artists as Placido Domingo, Lorin Maazel, Alexis Weissenberg and Yehudi Menuhin.

Mr. Milenkovich's 2007-08 season includes the release of two major projects: the "Sarabande" project as well as the recording of the 2 Violin Concertos by Karol Szymanowsky. Soon to be released is a DVD documentary by East Coast Aliens Productions about Mr. Milenkovich. Other engagements include performances at the Vail Music Festival in Colorado, Camerata Pacifica in California, Jupiter Symphony in New York City, Zagreb Chamber Music Festival in Croatia, as well as appearances with Colorado Springs Philharmonic (Colorado), Camerata de Coahuilla (Mexico), New Sofia Festiva Orchestra (Italy), University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia da Camera and Prairie Ensemble (Illinois), Violin Virtuosi (Indiana), Zadar Chamber Orchestra (Croatia) and Sejong Soloists (New York). An avid chamber musician, he performs regularly at the Jupiter Chamber Music Series in New York City, and with the Corinthian Piano trio featuring pianist Adam Neiman and cellist Ani Aznavoorian. Mr. Milenkovich also performed with Itzhak Perlman at the Perlman Music Program on Shelter Island, Long Island, where he served on the violin faculty from 2000-2004.

Mr. Milenkovich started his career at a very young age, performing with his first orchestra at the age of five. At age 7, he won the grand prize at the Jaroslav Kozian International Violin Competition. This unprecedented accomplishment opened opportunities and invitations to perform concerts in over 30 countries. At the age of 16, Mr. Milenkovich played his 1000th concert in Monterrey, Mexico. That same year, he was either a prizewinner or finalist in the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (USA), the Queen Elisabeth Competition (Belgium), Hannover Violin Competition (Germany), Tibor Varga Competition (Switzerland), Rodolfo Lipizer Competition (Italy), Paganini Competition (Italy), Ludwig Spohr Competition (Germany), and the Yehudi Menuhin Competition (England).

Mr. Milenkovich's discography includes 4 commercial releases on the Italian label Dynamic, and numerous recordings for the Yugoslavian label, PGP. He has recently assumed the position of Associate Professor of Violin at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Mr. Milenkovich continues to be part of the violin faculty at Juilliard School's Pre-College division.

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David Chan, United States
Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York
David Chan is the concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and an active soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. Mr. Chan made his Carnegie Hall debut during the 2002-03 season performing the Brahms Double Concerto with cellist Rafael Figueroa and the Met Orchestra under the baton of James Levine. In addition, he was a featured soloist in the Met Chamber Ensemble's performance of Alban Berg's Chamber Concerto for Piano, Violin, and 13 Winds at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, also with Levine.

A top prize winner at the Tchaikovsky and Indianapolis international violin competitions, Mr. Chan made his New York debut at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in 1995 performing Paganini's Concerto No. 2 under the direction of Hugh Wolff. He has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and the Far East, appearing as soloist with such orchestras as the Moscow State Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Taiwan National Symphony, the Aspen Chamber Symphony, and the San Diego, Indianapolis, Richmond, Springfield, and Northbrook symphonies. He has released two recordings: a recital album and a disc of two Paganini concertos with the English Chamber Orchestra, both for the Ambassador label.

A native of San Diego, Mr. Chan began his musical education at the age of four. When he was fourteen, he won the San Diego Symphony's Young Artists Concerto Competition and subsequently appeared with the orchestra in two series of concerts. Mr. Chan, whose principal teachers were Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang and Michael Tseitlin, received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University and his master's degree from the Juilliard School. He lives in New York City with his wife, violinist Catherine Ro.

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Jaakko Kuusisto, Finland
Jaakko Kuusisto (b. 1974 in Helsinki) studied the violin with Géza Szilyay and Tuomas Haapanen at the Sibelius Academy, and with Miriam Fried and Paul Biss at Indiana University. In addition, he has worked with, among others, Atar Arad, Leon Fleischer and Leon Kirchner at Ravinia Festival's Steans Institute, and has participated in master classes given by Sylvia Rosenberg and Arve Tellefsen.

Mr. Kuusisto won the Kuopio Violin Competition in 1989. Since then, he has claimed top prizes at several major competitions - 4th prize and a special prize for the best performance of a new work in the International Jean Sibelius Competition in 1990, and also 4th prize and a special prize for the best performance of a Beethoven Sonata in the Indianapolis Competition in 1994. In the Carl Nielsen Competition in 1996 he took the 2nd prize and in 1997, he was a finalist in the Queen Elisabeth Competition of Belgium. He also won the Indiana University Concerto Competition in 1994 and has also been the recipient of several awards, including a grant from the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe (1992), the Josef Gingold Award of Indiana University (1994) and the Finland Youth Award for Art (1996).

Mr. Kuusisto performs frequently as both soloist and chamber musician. He has performed with practically every Finnish orchestra, and concert tours have taken him to Japan, China, the United States, Ecuador, and many European countries. He has performed at, among others, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Palace de Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Tivoli in Copenhagen, and New York's Alice Tully Hall. As soloist with major orchestras, including the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Belgium and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, he has worked with distinguished conductors such as Jukka-Pekka Sarasate, Eri Klas, Leif Segerstam, Heinz Wallberg and Osmo Vänskä.

Jaakko Kuusisto, also active as a composer, has had his works performed at the Marlboro Festival, the Kuhmo Festival, the University of Minnesota, as well as the 1996 Young Nordic Composers' Festival in Copenhagen. His composition teachers have been Eero Hämeenniemi and David Dzubay. Mr. Kuusisto's works include mostly chamber music and solo songs.

Mr. Kuusisto was recently appointed artistic director, together with his brother Pekka Kuusisto, of the Järvenpää Sibelius Weeks and the Tuusula Lake Chamber Music Festival. Jaakko Kuusisto plays on a Matteo Goffriller violin of 1702 and has recorded for the Finlandia label.

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Michiko Kamiya, Japan
Born in Nagoya, Japan, Michiko Kamiya started playing the violin at the age of five and studied with Noriko Kitagaki, the late Ryosaku Kubota and Koichiro Harada. After completing the soloist diploma course at Toho Gakuen School of Music with top honors, Kamiya studied with the late Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki at The Juilliard School and György Pauk in London.

Kamiya is a recipient of numerous prizes outside of the Fourth Quadrennial IVCI, including Second Prize at the 39th International Violin Competition "Premio Paganini" and First Prize at the Hannover International Violin Competition in 1997.

Kamiya has performed as a soloist with many leading orchestras in Japan and the world including the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Stockholm Chamber Orchestra, and Singapore Symphony Orchestra collaborating with conductors such as Myung-Whun Chung and Charles Dutoit. In 2001 she toured as the soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Her appearances with these orchestras as well as recitals given in Tokyo, Frankfurt, and Helsinki have received high critical acclaim. She is also active in chamber music appearing in concert in Japan and Europe.

Her debut recording, a double CD of recital pieces, is available on the Naxos-Laureate Series label.

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Robin Sharp, United States
Violinist Robin Sharp, a native of California, is in demand as a solo performer, chamber musician, concertmaster, and teacher. In addition to maintaining private teaching studios in San Francisco and Palo Alto, Ms. Sharp performs as concertmaster of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra with conductor Benjamin Simon, and has recently joined the music faculty at Stanford University as full-time Lecturer in Violin. Ms. Sharp also served as concertmaster for the Berkeley Symphony with conductor Kent Nagano for six seasons, and was a guest concertmaster for a concert in Germany under conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy. She is currently on the Artistic Advisory Board of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and teaches violin at UCBerkeley. She is also on the faculty of California Summer Music in Pebble Beach, California where she played a special Tenth Anniversary Celebration Art and Music recital in 2006 with pianist Lori Lack, featuring the works of painters Tiffany Graham and Kathleen Lack.

Ms. Sharp has appeared in recital at many prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the National Music Hall in Taipei, and the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco where she performed on Jascha Heifetz's Del Gesu violin. She is a frequent guest on the Chancellor's Concert Series sponsored by the University of California at San Francisco and has appeared in recital on the Old First Church concert series in San Francisco. In January 1998 Ms. Sharp represented Carnegie Hall in their Rising Stars Series, when she and her duo partner Jeremy Denk played a recital at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall following a European tour. The duo also performed on Carnegie Hall's main stage under the guidance of Isaac Stern.

Ms. Sharp has participated in music festivals worldwide, including the Musikalischer Sommer Festival in Germany, the Marlboro Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Sandor Vegh masterclasses at Prussia Cove, and the Isaac Stern Seminar in New York. She has formerly served as first violinist of the Ives String Quartet, which toured nationally, and has played several seasons with the San Francisco Symphony. Ms. Sharp has been a professor of violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in both the Preparatory and Collegiate divisions, at Santa Clara University, and at Sacramento State University of California. Among her collaborators in performance have been such artists as Dimitri Ashkenazy (clarinet), Jon Nakamatsu (piano), Lori Lack (piano), and conductors such as Raymond Leppard, Peter Oundjian, and Vladimir Ashkenazy. Ms. Sharp is a Laureate prize winner of the 1994 Indianapolis Violin Competition and is featured in a documentary about the competition. At present, a violin concerto is being composed for Ms. Sharp by composer Gabriela Lena Frank.

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Liviu Prunaru, Romania
Violinist Liviu Prunaru won the Silver Medal at the 1998 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, where a reviewer from The Strad wrote that his performance was "Technical mastery...he can turn a single phrase with one note." He gained international recognition through his participation at several prestigious violin competitions winning Gold Medals at the Dong-A competition in Korea, the Rodolfo Lipizer in Italy, and the R. Molinari Violin Competition in Switzerland, in addition to a Silver Medal at the Queen Elizabeth in Brussels. After capturing First Grand Prizes at the E. Nakamichi Wieniawski Violin Competition and the Juilliard Mendelssohn Competition, Mr. Prunaru made his New York City debut in 1999 with the Juilliard Symphony at Alice Tully Hall.

Mr. Prunaru has performed recitals in many of the world's major cultural centers and has been a featured soloist with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, the London Symphony, Belgium National, Bucharest Radio-Symphony, and the Puchon Philharmonic in Korea. His work has also been in demand at renowned festivals including the Menuhin, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Evian, Athens, and Salzburg festivals. Mr. Prunaru can be heard on CD with Camerata Lysy, as well as his own debut CD released by Pavane Records. He recently released a disc on the Swiss label Claves which includes the three violin concertos by Camille Saint-Saëns, accompanied by the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, directed by Lawrence Foster.

Born in Craiova, Romania, Mr. Prunaru studied at the renowned Menuhin Academy of Gstaad, Switzerland and completed his professional studies at The Juilliard School where he was an assistant to Dorothy DeLay and actively participated in master classes with Itzhak Perlman. Currently a professor at the Menuhin Academy in Switzerland, Mr. Prunaru performs on a 1676 Guarneri violin graciously loaned to him by Professor M. Muller.

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Ju-Young Baek, South Korea
Violinist Ju-Young Baek's extensive solo concert engagements have taken her to some of the world's most prestigious venues. She has been presented in recital at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and the Seoul Arts Center. Ms. Baek has also performed as soloist with many orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Finnish Radio Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Korean Broadcasting System Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Tblisi Philharmonic, the Alma-Ata Symphony in Kazakhstan, and with Norway's Oslo, Drammen, and Baerum Symphony Orchestras.

An active chamber musician, Ms. Baek has performed at the festivals of Marlboro, Ravinia, and Bridgehampton as well as at Juilliard's FOCUS! Festival, the Salzburg Summer Music Festival, the Rencontres Musicales Festival in Evian, France, and at the Kusatsu International Music Festival in Japan.

The recipient of numerous awards, Ju-Young Baek received the Bronze Medal at the 1998 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, along with four Special Prizes. Her competition successes include First Place Prizes at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Astral Artistic Services Auditions, and the International Dong-A Violin Competition (Korea). She won top prizes at the International Paganini, the Queen Elisabeth International, the Concours International Long-Thibaud, and the International Sibelius violin competitions, as well as The Philadelphia Orchestra Young Artists Competition.

Ms. Baek holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Aaron Rosand. She received a Master's degree from The Juilliard School where she was a student of Robert Mann. She continued with Professional Studies at both the Manhattan School of Music and the Conservatoire Nationale Superieur de Paris, studying with Lucie Robert and Jean-Jacques Kantorow, respectively. In 2005, she was appointed the youngest violin faculty member in history at the prestigious Seoul National University.

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Svetlin Roussev, Bulgaria
Svetlin Roussev, a native of Roussé, Bulgaria, was recently appointed Concertmaster of the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra. A decorated international competition winner in solo playing and chamber music, Roussev won more than ten international prizes including awards at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (USA), the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Violin Competition (France), and the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition (Australia). At the first Sendai International Music Competition (Japan) in 2001, he was awarded the Grand Prix, Special Public Prize and Special Prize for the best performance of a Bach concerto. He was also voted "Discovery of the Year 2000" by ADAMI and was selected for sponsorship by the Natexis-Banques Populaires Corporate Foundation in 2001.

Formerly Concertmaster of the Auvergne Chamber Orchestra in France, Svetlin Roussev is a member of the Rachmaninov Piano Trio and regularly performs with the Argentine Tango Orchestra, Tanguísimo.

Svetlin Roussev has played under conductors such as Leon Fleisher, Yehudi Menuhin and Yuzo Toyama and has appeared as a soloist with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de Chambre de Toulouse, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Montevideo Philharmonic, and Sendai Philharmonic. He has performed at many festivals including Radio-France Montpellier, Sully-sur-Loire, Kuhmo (Finland), La Roque d'Anthéron, L'Empéri, La Vésère, and Orangerie de Sceaux. He has also given recitals in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand, as well as throughout Europe and in the United States.

He received his earliest training from his mother at the Music School in Roussé. In 1991 he entered the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris where he studied with Gérard Poulet, Dévy Erlih and Jean-Jacques Kantorow. In 1994, the jury unanimously awarded him First Prize for violin Summa Cum Laude and First Prize for chamber music.

More on Svetlin Roussev : Tanguisimo, shanseifan.com
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Andrew Haveron, Great Britain
The highest British prize-winner at the prestigious 'Paganini' competition for the last fifty years, Andrew Haveron is one of the UK's most sought after violinists. He was born in London in 1975 and took up the violin aged five. After studying at the Purcell School and London's Royal College of Music with Dr. Felix Andrievsky, Andrew also took prizes at the 'Queen Elisabeth' and Indianapolis competitions.

Since making his concerto debut at the age of fifteen Andrew has appeared with conductors such as Sir Roger Norrington, Kent Nagano, Stanislaw Skrowachewski, Raymond Leppard, John Lubbock, Jean-Jacques Kanteroff, Darrell Davison and John Wilson, performing a broad range of well known and less familiar repertoire.

In 1999 Andrew was appointed first violinist of the internationally acclaimed Brodsky Quartet. A busy schedule saw the quartet perform and broadcast in their unique style all over the world. Andrew recorded more than fifteen CDs with the quartet, many of which received industry awards such as "Diapason d'or" and "Choc du Monde."

Andrew also enjoys frequent invitations to guest lead major symphony orchestras including the London Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic and the Philharmonia orchestras and in July 2007 took up his new post as leader of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

In 2004 Andrew received an honorary Doctorate from the University of Kent for his services to music.

Andrew plays on a violin made for him in 2001 by the American luthier Sam Zygmuntowicz.

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Bin Huang, China
Bin Huang endeared herself to the musical world when at age fourteen she won the Junior Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Lublin, Poland, sharing First Prize with Maxim Vengerov. She has maintained international prominence, winning both the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy in 1994 and the Munich International Music Competition in 1999. Ms. Huang has been universally lauded for her interpretive and technical skills, hailed as "a talent that leaves a listener flabbergasted..." (The Sun, Baltimore), and "a winner at what matters the most…" (The Washington Post).

Bin Huang's live recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto on Paganini's own violin, the "Cannon," is the only live recording played on that legendary instrument. Both the Audio Review in Italy and the Diapason in France have highly praised this CD: "The Chinese violinist astounded the listener with both her technical abilities and her musical maturity: ideal intonation, elegant lines…everything that gives the concerto its noble character…" (Diapason, France, September 2000). During 2002-2003 season, Bin Huang appeared in the People's Great Hall in Beijing as one of the ten most outstanding Chinese performing artists living abroad. Her recent recording of the "Baroque Violin Favorites" has been released on the Naxos label, The Strad magazine praised her for her " commendable technique and vigorous energy" (The Strad, March, 2003). Upcoming engagements enclude New Year Concert with the Genoa Youth Symphony Orchestra in Budapest, appearances with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in Hong Kong and with the Shanghai Symphony in Washington D.C., tours in Italy and China, and recitals in the United States.

Regularly appearing in concerts throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States, her career has brought engagements with leading orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony, the Czech Philharmonic, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra, the Korean Broadcasting System Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony.

As the result of her love for chamber music, she formed the Fideo Piano Trio together with cellist Soo Bae, and pianist Hyun-Sun Kim in 2002 and it has performed in concerts in the United States including a performance in Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center and in Toronto, Canada. In the summers, she as participated in the Marlboro Music Festival where she has coached and performed with members of the Beaux Arts Trio and the Juilliard and Guarneri String Quartets.

Bin Huang began her violin studies at age four in her hometown of Hunan, China, and entered the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing at age nine. After graduating from its high school, she came to the United States to study at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where she earned her Bachelor of Music and Artist Diploma degrees. Her major teachers include Shu-Min Guo, Zhi-Long Wang, Berl Senofsky, Igor Ozim, Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang and Gennady Kleyman. She has also won top prizes in the Jacque Thibaud International Violin Competition in France, the Prague Spring
International Music Competition in Czech Republic, the Tchaikovsky
International Violin Competition in Russia, the Queen Elisabeth
International Violin Competition in Belgium, the Hanover
International Violin Competition in Germany, the Dong-A
International Violin Competition in Korea, and the Indianapolis
International Violin Competition in the USA.

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Barnabás Kelemen, Hungary
An artist of 'innate musicality' with a technical execution that belongs 'only to the greatest' (The Guardian), Hungarian violinist Barnabás Kelemen has already captured the attention of the music world.

Born in Budapest in 1978, Kelemen entered the Franz Liszt Music Academy at the age of 11 and later went on to become Third Prize Winner of the 2001 Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels and took First Prize at the International Violin Competition Indianapolis in 2002. In recognition of his achievements the Hungarian Government awarded him the Sándor Vegh Prize 2001, the Franz Liszt Prize 2003 and the Rózsavölgyi Prize 2003. Since 2005 he has been a professor at the Franz Liszt Music Academy Budapest and a guest professor at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana.

In addition to appearances with all the major orchestras in Hungary, Barnabás Kelemen has collaborated with the Munich Philharmonic, Belgian National, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Mozarteum, Lahti Symphony, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras, performing with such esteemed conductors as Lorin Maazel, Sir Neville Marriner, Marek Janowski, Peter Eötvös, Robert Spano, Zoltán Kocsis and Ivan Fischer. As a chamber musician he has performed with Zoltán Kocsis, Miklós Perényi and Shai Wosner amongst others, with recitals in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall.

Barnabás Kelemen's repertoire spans from classical to contemporary music. He has performed the Hungarian premieres of the Ligeti and Schnittke Violin Concertos and gave the Hungarian premiere and world premiere of violin works by Gubaidulina and Kurtag respectively.

Kelemen's varied discography has been received to critical acclaim with his recording of Brahms's Sonatas for Violin and Piano winning a Diapason d'Or. Similarly his recording of Liszt's complete works for Violin and Piano was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque 2001 by the International Liszt Society. Among his more recent recordings are a live DVD of the complete Mozart Violin Concerti and CDs of Bartók's Violin Concerto No 1 and Solo Sonata.

Highlights of the 2008/09 season include performances with the Hungarian National Symphony with Zoltan Kocsis, Helsinki Philharmonic with Lionel Bringuier, Lahti Symphony with Hannu Lintu, Columbus Symphony and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestras with Olari Elts, and at the Budapest Festival. In addition, there will be recitals and chamber music in Budapest, Dallas, Indianapolis, Pamplona and recordings of works by Haydn and Bartók.

He performs on a Guarneri del Gesú violin of 1742 (ex Dénes Kovács), generously on loan from the State of Hungary.

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Sergey Khachatryan, Armenia
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 and in 2005 he claimed the First Prize at the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels.

Sergey has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra; NHK Symphony in Tokyo, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France and Kurt Masur and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.

Recent highlights include the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra both with Kurt Masur; and the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Bernard Haitink. Forthcoming engagements include the LA Philharmonic with Stephan Deneve, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Berliner Philharmoniker with Yuri Termikanov and the San Francisco Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas.

In the last season he performed recitals with sister Lusine Khachatryan at the Wigmore Hall London and Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the National Auditorium in Madrid, Carnegie Hall, and next season will return to the Theatre des Champs Elysees Paris, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Following the success of his Sibelius concerto recording released in October 2003, Sergey's relationship with Naïve Classique continues with a double Shostakovich concerto disc with the ONF and Masur. As winner of the 2005 Queen Elisabeth Competition, Sergey plays the 1708 'Huggins' Stradivarius violin on loan to him from the Nippon Music Foundation.

An 18th Century Guadagnini violin is on loan to Sergey from the Baden-Wuerttemberg Antique Musical Instruments Society.