FESTIVAL FACULTY
| Artistic Director: | Nina Schumann (South Africa) | |
| Guest Conductors: | Daniel Raiskin (Russia) | |
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Bernard Gueller (Germany) |
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| Violin: | Daniel Rowland (Holland, UK) | |
| Frank Stadler (Austria) | ||
| Giora Schmidt (Germany) | ||
| Suzanne Martens (South Africa) | ||
| Patrick Goodwin (South Africa) | ||
| Viola: | Tobias Breider (Germany) | |
| Gareth Lubbe (South Africa) | ||
| Viola apprentice: | Emile de Roubaix (South Africa) | |
| Cello: | Julian Arp (Germany) | |
| Peter Martens (South Africa) | ||
| Michael Peternek (Germany) | ||
| Bass: | Jeff Bradetich (USA) | |
| Flute: | Demarre McGill (USA) | |
| Oboe: | James Austin Smith (USA) | |
| Clarinet: | Anthony McGill (USA) | |
| Carina Nyberg Washington (Sweden) | ||
| Bassoon: | Lecolion Washington (USA) | |
| Bassoon/Conducting assistant: | Brandon Phillips (SA) | |
| Trumpet: | Billy Ray Hunter (USA) | |
| Horn: | Raimund Zell (Germany) | |
| Pamela Kierman (South Africa) | ||
| Trombone: | Weston Sprott (USA) | |
| Percussion: | Suzette Brits (South Africa) | |
| Piano: | Luis Magalhães (South Africa/Portugal) | |
| Bennie van Eeden (South Africa) | ||
| Pieter Grobler (South Africa) |
NINA SCHUMANN'S first appearance with an orchestra was at the age of 15, and her talent captured the attention of the public when she won the Fifth National Music Competition for high school pupils in 1988. She went on to win the Oude Meester Music Prize (1989), the Forte Competition (1990), and during 1991 both the Wooltru Scholarship and the Adcock-Ingram Music Prize. She has over 140 concerto performances with orchestras in South Africa, Germany, Portugal, Scotland, Armenia and the U.S.A. to her credit, and some 40 concertos in her repertoire. In 1993 Ms Schumann won the SAMRO Overseas Scholarship Competition and was awarded the Jules Kramer and Harry Crossley Bursaries for Overseas Study by the University of Cape Town. She crowned these prizes by winning the sought-after SABC Music Prize as well as the Oude Meester National Chamber Music Competition. International prizes followed: she won the prizes for the Best South African Pianist in the 1993 UNISA International Piano Competition, Finalist and Special Prize Winner at the Shreveport Concerto Competition (1996) and Third Prize in the Casablanca International Piano Competition (1997). After completing her MMus at UCLA, Nina enrolled for the Doctorate of Music at the University of North Texas under the tutelage of Van Cliburn-winner, Vladimir Viardo. She received several academic prizes: Dean's Medal (UCT), Best Performer (UCLA), Best Performer (UNT), Best Pianist (UNT) and Best Doctoral Student (UNT). Following her appointment as Associate Professor and Head of Piano at the University of Stellenbosch in 1999, Nina transferred her Doctorate to UCT from which she graduated in 2005. In 2009 she was awarded the UCT Rector's Award for Excellence in recognition of contribution to the music field.
Solo-career and academic life aside, Nina has formed an internationally recognized duo with her husband, Luis Magalhães. Their own record label, TwoPianists, has recently signed a distribution contract with Naxos, thereby ensuring immediate international market access for the South African artists they are committed to record.
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DANIEL RAISKIN attended music school from the age of six and went on to the celebrated conservatory in St. Petersburg, where he studied viola and conducting. Inspired to take up the baton by an encounter with the distinguished teacher Lev Savich, who infected him with an idea of forming the sound with hands, body and the entire personality, he also took classes with such maestri as Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, Milan Horvat, Woldemar Nelson und Jorma Panula. At the age of 20 Daniel Raiskin left the Soviet Union to continue his studies in Amsterdam and Freiburg, and was soon in demand as one of Europe's leading viola players, both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. Since 2005 Daniel Raiskin has been Chief Conductor of the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie in Koblenz, and since 2008 has held the same title with the "Artur Rubinstein" Philharmonic Orchestra in the Polish city of Lodz. His guest engagements across Europe and Asia include the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Estonian National Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Latvian National Orchestra, Malmö Symfoniorkester, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Prague Philharmonic, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz, Prague Symphony, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, RTE Orchestra Dublin, Czech Radio Symphony, Slovak Philharmonic Bratislava, Staatskapelle Halle, Staatsorchester Darmstadt, Stavanger Symfoniorkester, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Symfonie Orkest Vlaanderen, Polish National Radio Symphony of Warsaw and Katowice and the Zagreb Philharmonic.
His regular appearances in the opera house have included Carmen, directed by Calixto Bieito for the Dutch company Opera Zuid in 2006/2007, and also the following season at the Koblenzer Stadt Theater, where he conducted Shostakovich's The Nose in November 2010.
His guest engagements over the 2010/11 season include the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Malmö Symfoniorkester, National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, Orquestra Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Among the major soloists with whom Daniel Raiskin has appeared are Lang Lang, Mischa Maisky, Natalia Gutman, Julian Rachlin, Martin Fröst, Benjamin Schmid, Alban Gerhardt, Enrico Pace, Ivo Pogorelich, Peter Jablonski, Janine Jansen, Kari Kriikku, Alexei Lubimov, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Midori, Shlomo Mintz, Daniel Müller-Schott, Steven Osborne, Hagai Shaham and Dmitri Sitkovetsky.
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BERNHARD GUELLER is principal guest conductor of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra and has been music director of Symphony Nova Scotia in Canada since 2002.
Well known to audiences internationally for the passion, mastery and drama he brings to the concert hall podium, Gueller is also acclaimed for his "profound interpretations", the "stunning responses he gets from musicians" and the excitement he elicits. He is celebrated by musicians, critics and audience for his musical purity and continually garners praise for the fresh approach he brings to the podium.
He has served as music director and principal conductor with various orchestras, including the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra and the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra.
With a reputation for his mastery of contemporary works, Gueller has commissioned several concerti, given the first performance of many works and is the dedicatee of more.
His career has taken him to many top concert halls from America and Australia to South Africa, Russia, Japan, China, Korea, and Brazil, as well as countries in Europe such as Spain, Italy, France, Norway and Sweden and his native Germany.
Beginning his career as a cellist, Gueller won the United German Radios Conducting Competition in 1979 and for 20 years ran tandem careers, deputing for the legendary conductor Sergiu Celibidache who regarded Gueller as his best "pupil".
He has made many recordings for national and international broadcast. These include the CDs Dancing in the Light with Symphony Nova Scotia; with mezzo soprano Hanneli Rupert and the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and others with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, German Brass and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.
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DANIEL ROWLAND was born in London and grew up in the Netherlands studying with Davina van Wely and Viktor Liberman in Amsterdam and with Igor Oistrakh in Brussels. He has also worked intensively with Herman Krebbers, Ruggiero Ricci and Ivry Gitlis. As a soloist, Rowland has performed widely in venues worldwide, with noted conductors. Apart from the core classical and romantic repertoire, he is an enthusiastic advocate of 20th and 21st century music, appearing as a soloist with ensembles such as the Nieuw Ensemble (Amsterdam) Musikfabrik (Köln), and Contrechamps (Geneva). A passionate chamber musician, Rowland has performed with artists as diverse as Ivry Gitlis, Polina Leschenko, Heinz Holliger, Dawn Upshaw, Alexander Lonquich, Willard White and Elvis Costello. He is a frequent guest at international chamber music festivals such as Kuhmo, Trecastagni, Ljubjana, Perth, Povoa de Varzim, Osnabrück, Oxford and Stellenbosch. In 2009 he founded with violinist Priya Mitchell 'Chamberjam Europa' ("an ensemble with the power of dynamite" - Süddeutsche Zeitung) a ground-breaking new group consisting of some of Europe's most exciting young soloists. The Stift International Music Festival, of which he is founder and Artistic Director, had its sixth Season in 2010. In July 2007, Rowland joined the renowned London based Brodsky String Quartet as its first violinist. The Brodskys have an international performing and recording schedule with concerts in Australia, Mexico, the Far East and throughout Europe. The members are international chamber music fellows at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow, and are in residence at Cadogan Hall in London.
In demand as a soloist/director and conductor, Rowland has been invited to work with the Gulbenkian Orchestra (Lisbon), Camerata (Scotland), the Tromso Chamber Orchestra (Norway), the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa, and the London Mozart Festival Orchestra, among many others. He is also invited as guest concertmaster by renowned orchestras such as the Philharmonia, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic and the Russian National Orchestra - with conductors such as Muti, Pletnev, Haitink, Ashkenazy, Dohnanyi, Harnoncourt and Gergiev. Rowland is a visiting professor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and gives master classes in places as far afield as Italy, Portugal, Finland, Mexico, Hong Kong, Australia, and South Africa. His instrument is by Lorenzo Storioni, Cremona 1776.
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FRANK STADLER was born in 1969 in Bavaria, Germany. He studied primarily with Helmut Zehetmair at the "Mozarteum" in Salzburg where he was awarded a diploma "cum laude" as well as a governmental prize for excellence. He then furthered his studies with Ruggiero Ricci. Other important teachers include Thomas Brandis, Franco Gulli and Ljerko Spiller. Immediately following his graduation, he worked as a teaching assistant at the "Mozarteum". In 1993, he founded the "Stadler Quartet" which in addition to the classical repertoire, regularly features music of the twentieth century. Appearances with Fischer-Diskau in the Salzburg Festival, at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Pan-Music Festival Seoul, Musik der Jahunderte Stuttgart, Ecclat Stuttgart, the Helikopter-Quartet by Stockhausen in Salzburg Festival and Icebreaker Amsterdam are just some of the quartet's notable achievements.
Stadler is the leader of the "Austrian Ensemble for Contemporary Music" (OENM), which is currently receiving high international acclaim. Since 1999, Frank Stadler has held the position of concert master with the "Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg", appearing on several occasions as soloist with them as well. A performance of Mozart's "Haffner Serenade" with this orchestra during the 1999 Salzburg Festival will soon be released on CD. Mr. Stadler has also performed with the "Bartok Quartett", "Klangforum Wien", "Camerata Academica" and the "Salzburger Musici". In addition to his work as concert master, soloist and chamber musician in Europe, Stadler has also been invited as guest concert master of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.
Stadler has recently teamed up with Portuguese pianist Luis Magalhães in the recording of a CD of unique violin sonatas. At its core is a new sonata by Kuzma Bodrov written specially for this disc. The disc also includes the Schumann D minor sonata and is due for international release on the TwoPianists label soon.
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Violinist, Giora Schmidt, is one of the most commanding young artists on the stage today. He was the First Prize winner of the Philadelphia Orchestra-s Greenfield Competition in 2000, the recipient of a 2003 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and in 2005 won the Classical Recording Foundation-s Samuel Sanders Award. He has studied under Patinka Kopec and Pinchas Zukerman at the Manhattan School of Music, and Dorothy DeLay and Itzhak Perlman at The Juilliard School.
He has appeared with numerous symphony orchestras around the globe including, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, New Jersey, Fort Worth, Honolulu, San Diego, Vancouver, Toronto, National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM (Mexico City), Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile, Sendai Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic. In 2003, he made his Carnegie Hall debut performing the Barber Violin Concerto with the New York Youth Symphony.
In recital and chamber music, Giora has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and made important debuts at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Ravinia Rising Stars series in Chicago, San Francisco Performances, the Louvre Museum in Paris, and Tokyo-s Musashino Cultural Hall. He is a regular guest at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and has collaborated with eminent musicians including Yefim Bronfman, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirshbaum and Michael Tree.
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SUZANNE MARTENS studied violin at the University of Pretoria under Prof. Alan Solomon, where she obtained BMus and BMus Hons degrees. She furthered her studies in Holland under Jan Repko (Academie Minerva, Groningen) and in Austria under Lavard Skou-Larsen (Mozarteum, Salzburg), where she was also a member of the Salzburger Musici Chamber Orchestra. She subsequently obtained an MMus degree in Chamber Music at the University of Stellenbosch. Suzanne was the winner of the ATKV Forté competition (Now Musiq) and the University of Natal 75th Anniversary prize. Until June 2000, Suzanne held the position of associate concertmaster in the now defunct New Arts Philharmonic Orchestra Pretoria and was also a founder member of the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa. In June 2001, she was appointed concertmaster of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, a position she resigned from to take up a lecturing post at the University of Stellenbosch. Suzanne has been appearing as guest leader of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra since 2005. She is an active chamber musician and is currently a member of the Amici quartet, the Quartet of Peace, as well as the Lyric Trio. She was also a member of the Rosamunde quartet (1995-2007) and the Schwietering quartet (2001-2005). Suzanne serves on the faculty of the annual Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival and was invited to Portugal in a similar capacity in 2008 and 2009. She recently premièred the violin concertos of two South African composers, Allan Stephenson (2009) and Thomas Ranja (2010). Suzanne is married to cellist Peter Martens and they have two daughters.
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Associate concertmaster of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, violinist PATRICK GOODWIN regularly appears as leader and orchestral soloist for Operas, Ballets and Symphonic performances in Cape Town and internationally- his performances of Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherezade, during a eighteen-concert tour of the U.S.A., earned him critical acclaim under the baton of Martin Panteleev. Patrick has also been a member and principal in the Britten-Pears Orchestra in Aldeburgh, on numerous occasions.
As a Chamber musician Patrick performs regularly in Cape Town as a member of the Bacharova Quartet and as part of the Cape Town International Summer Festival with visiting and local artists such as John Lill, Olga Kern and Francois du Toit. In 2008 he formed the Spiegel-Goodwin Duo, with pianist Paula Spiegel, and in 2009 was awarded first prize in the 2009 ATKV national ensemble competition, held at the University of Stellenbosch.
Patrick has appeared as a soloist with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, Musicanti Chamber Orchestra and University of Cape Town Orchestras. He currently teaches violin at the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town and is a regular coach for the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.
Born in Windhoek, Namibia, Patrick studied with Farida Bacharova in Cape Town and Olga Kaler in Chicago. He holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees with distinction in violin performance from the University of Cape Town and DePaul University School of Music respectively. Other teachers include Robert Waters, Jürgen Schwietering and Artemisio Paganini. Patrick performs on a fine contemporary instrument by Joseph Curtin.
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German violist TOBIAS BREIDER has held positions in prestigious German orchestras for over a decade. In 2011 he moved to Australia as Principal violist of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Starting his orchestral career in 2000 as a member of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Chief conductors Lorin Maazel and Mariss Jansons) he has since been appointed Principal violist with the Düsseldorf Symphony, the Hamburg State Opera and the Konzerthaus Berlin.
As guest leader he has regularly been invited to the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and the Radio Symphony Orchestras of Vienna, Berlin and Cologne, a.o.
In addition to continuous chamber musical activities in Germany he has regularly performed in England as member of the Plush ensemble, at the Open Chamber Music in Prussia Cove and with Ensemble360 in Sheffield. In 2009 he taught in the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme in Aldeburgh (ENG).
During his stay in New York City where he studied with Michael Tree, violist of the Guarneri String Quartet, he appeared at Festivals in Ravinia, Sarasota and La Hoya.
Since his arrival in Australia Tobias has performed at the Sydney Chamber Music Festival, the Sanguine Estate Music Festival and at the Australian International Viola Conference.
In 2012 he is invited to perform and teach at the Marysville Music Festival (Victoria, AUS) and
at Viola Week at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in Melbourne.
Tobias, born in Münster (North West Germany), grew up in a musical family
and started learning the violin and the piano at the age of 6. He performed his first Haydn
concerto on piano at the age of 8 and won several prices with both instruments in the National Youth Competition.
He switched to the Viola at the age of 19 and entered the class of Rainer Moog at the Music College of Cologne, finishing the 5 year Diploma Program with distinction. Intense chamber music studies with the members of the Alban Berg Quartet were also part of the course.
He later completed his studies at the Music College of Lübeck with Barbara Westphal, receiving an advanced studies and soloist degree.
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GARETH LUBBE is principal violist of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, Germany, and teacher at the the "Felix Mendellsohn Bartholdy" Musikhochschule. Born in Johannesburg, he received his first musical education on piano and violin at the age of four. He made his debut with orchestra in Johannesburg when he was nine years of age afterwhich he received numerous prizes at national and regional competitions. He also performed as pianist with the SABC orchestra and conducted the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra. He was concertmaster of the East Rand youth orchestra for many years as well as member of the National Youth Symphony Orchestra touring at home and abroad. After studies in South Africa with Pienaar Fourie, Annemarie Swanepoel, Hester Beukes and Joseph Stanford he went on to study in Germany where he did his first degree in Violin with Gorjan Kosuta in Cologne whilst receiving Chamber Music lessons from the Alban Berg Quartett. He later did his masters in Viola with Barbara Westphal in Luebeck. He has appeared as soloist and chamber musician with ensembles throughout Europe, America and Asia and has worked regularly as principal violist with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, performing and recording with conductors such as Claudio Abbado and Daniel Harding amongst others.
Since 1996, Mr Lubbe has worked in close collaboration with the New Zealand born multi-instrumentalist and composer Hayden Chisholm, with whom he has performed in various parts of the world. Together they were commisioned to create the music for certain productions at the Deutsche Schauspielhaus in Hamburg.
He is also a member ot the ensemble "Gelberklang", known in Europe for their work in the contemporary music scene and workshops on free improvisation with young classical musicians. They have recorded for BBC and other major European radio stations.
As acclaimed overtonesinger, Mr Lubbe performs and gives workshops around the world. In 2005 he was invited by the Goethe Institute to perform at an ethnic festival in the Altay mountains of southern Siberia where this polyphonic vocal technique has always been a vital element of their folk music.
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EMILE DE ROUBAIX received his first violin lessons from Madelein van Rooyen at the Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre. In 2004 he completed a BMus(Hons) degree in violin performance at the University of Stellenbosch, having studied with Louis van der Watt and Suzanne Martens respectively. In September 2005 Emile commenced his Masters degree in viola performance at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He studied modern viola with Predrag Katanic, as well as Baroque viola with Annette Isserlis. He was awarded the RNCM Thomas Barratt viola prize, and was violist for the groups that received the 2006 & 2007 Granada Prize for mixed chamber music ensembles. As a member of the Diamond String Quartet with South African violinist Samson Diamond, he won the RNCM Nossek Prize for string quartets in 2007. He also performed at Graham Oppenheimer's International Chamber Music Festival in Lincoln, England, and at the Mendelssohn on Mull chamber music festival in Scotland. In December 2007 he received his MMus with distinction.
He has freelanced with the Hallé, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, The English Concert, The City of London Chamber Orchestra, The Avison Ensemble, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with conductors such as Gianandrea Noseda, Vladimir Jurowski, Sir Mark Elder, and Sir Simon Rattle. In recent years Emile has been included in the viola section of Glyndebourne Touring Opera as well as the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Bodø Sinfonietta, Tromsø Chamber Orchestra, and the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway.
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JULIAN ARP was born in Soltau in 1981. He studied with Boris Pergamenschikow, David Geringas and Eberhard Feltz at the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler. He also attends master classes regularly, gaining important artistic insight from György Kurtàg, Ferenc Rados, Bernhard Greenhouse, Steven Isserlis, Lynn Harrell and Ralph Kirshbaum.
Together with his duo partner Caspar Frantz, Julian Arp has won a large number of prestigious awards such as the first prize at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Competition in 2006, the award for best chamber music ensemble at the Freunde junger Musiker, the first prize at the German Music Competition 2006 which included the special prize of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben as well as the first prize at the International Competition for chamber music Premio Vittorio Gui in Florence, 2006. They have recorded two CDs for the Genuine label: complete works for cello and piano by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and works by Chopin, Schumann, Janacek and Debussy.
Julian Arp gave his solo debut at the Schwetzinger Festspiele in 1997, and has since performed extensively in Germany and all over Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. He has played with the Georgian Chamber Orchestra, the Berlin Sinfonics, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, the Shenzhen Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Rheingau Music Festival, at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Beethovenfest Bonn, Ludwigsburger Festspiele, in Beauvais and in Prussia Cove. Many radio-broadcasts were produced for the NDR, the SWF, the WDR and the RBB.
Julian Arp is founder and artistic director of the Festival Zeitkunst for chamber music and contemporary literature in Berlin.
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PETER MARTENS Studied with Dalena Roux at Stellenbosch University and Heidi Litchauer at the "Mozarteum" in Salzburg where he performed extensively as solo cellist for the Austrian Ensemble for Modern Music and as section leader of the chamber orchestra, Salzburger Musici. In 1993 Peter returned to South Africa and occupied principal positions in a number of orchestras before moving to the University of Stellenbosch where he currently holds the positions of Artistic Administrator and Director of the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival.
He is a member of the Amici String Quartet and Bass-ically Brilliant with bassist Leon Bosch. Other chamber music activities have included partnerships with the late Lamar Crowson, Nina Schumann, Luis Magalhães, Benjamin Schmid, Daniel Rowland, Tom Carroll, Suzanne Martens, Ivry Gitlis and members of the Osiris Piano Trio, Amsterdam. Concerto engagements have resulted in collaborations with a number of fine conductors including Victor Yampolsky, Bernard Gueller, Douglas Boyd and Jonas Alber. He has participated in festivals in Holland, Salzburg, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Portugal as well has having performed in the U.K. and U.S.A. Many South African composers have written for him, the most notable composition being the Cello Concerto by Allan Stephenson, which he recorded for Meridian Records with the Cape Philharmonic last year.
His recent recording of the complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas with pianist Luis Magalhães was released internationally in January this year. "Peter Martens delivers brilliantly incisive and spirited accounts of all these works..." Joanne Talbot - theStrad Magazine Feb 2011.
Peter plays on a Locky Hill Cello and is married to violinist, Suzanne Martens.
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MICHAEL PETERNEK was born in Germany in 1980. He studied the Cello with Gerhard Hamann, Reinhard Latzko, Wen-Sinn Yang and Brunhard Böhme and completed his Masters degree with Wolfgang Emmanuel Schmidt.
During his studies, he was principal cellist in the German National Youth Orchestra.
As soloist he has performed with the Marienbad Symphony Orchestra, Jena Philharmonic
and the "Neues Bachsches Collgium Musicum Leipzig" to name a few.
For six years Michael Peternek was a member of the chambermusic group "Quattrocelli" with whom he toured throughout Asia, the USA and Europe. Together they have featured on several audio and video recordings.
Michael Peternek also received a scholarship from the academy of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra with whom he worked from 2004 to 2008. During that time he was also Co-Principal of the Nuremberg Philharmonic. Since 2009 he is a member in the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig.
Michael Peternek is also a specialist in baroque cello and historically informed performances and has collaborated extensively with Thomas Hengelbrock as continuo player and pincipal cellist in his orchestra "Balthasar Neumann Ensemble".
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JEFF BRADETICH is regarded as one of the leading performers and teachers of the double bass in the US today. Since his New York debut in Carnegie Recital Hall in 1982 he has performed more than 500 concerts on four continents including his London debut in Wigmore Hall in 1986. He gave his professional concerto debut at the age of 16 and was appointed to the orchestra of the Lyric Opera of Chicago by age 19. He received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Northwestern University where he studied with Warren Benfield and Joseph Guastafeste. Other major musical influences include performing at the Oregon Bach Festival with Helmuth Rilling, and summer study with Gary Karr.
Jeff Bradetich has recorded six solo albums and transcribed more than 100 solo works for the double bass. And his instructional DVD has become a staple in the teaching field. Having won many competitions himself, he now serves as a judge for major competitions in Germany, England and North and South America.
As Executive Director of the International Society of Bassists from 1982-1990 he established the ISB International Conventions, ISB Solo Competitions, ISB Endowment Fund and ISB Magazine. He taught on the faculties of the Interlochen Arts Academy (1980-1983), University of Michigan (1980-1983), and Northwestern University (1983-1994) prior to his 1994 appointment as director of the largest double bass program in the world at the University of North Texas. He has also been visiting professor at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Northwestern University.
Mr. Bradetich has recently established the Bradetich Foundation with the purpose of advancing the performing, teaching and knowledge of the double bass. The Foundation hosted the 2010 International Double Bass Solo Competition. His new book - Double Bass: The Ultimate Challenge, on pedagogy and performance on the bass, was released in June, 2009 by Music For All To Hear, Inc. www.musicforalltohear.com
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Praised by The New York Times for his "brilliant" performances, oboist JAMES AUSTIN SMITH is an active performer of and advocate of chamber and new music. Mr. Smith is an artist of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the Talea Ensemble, and a regular guest of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Cygnus, and East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO). In the fall of 2012 he will become the first oboist to be a member of Chamber Music Society Two at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Mr. Smith's festival appearances include Marlboro, Lucerne, Chamber Music Northwest, Schleswig-Holstein, OK Mozart, Schwetzingen and Spoleto USA; he has recorded for the Nonesuch, Bridge, Mode and Kairos labels. Mr. Smith is a recent alumnus of "The Academy", a collaboration of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, the Weill Music Institute and the New York City Department of Education. Mr. Smith has premiered dozens of new works and has worked extensively with Pierre Boulez, John Adams and Elliott Carter. He received his Master of Music degree in 2008 from the Yale School of Music and graduated in 2005 with Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) and Bachelor of Music degrees from Northwestern University. He spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar in Leipzig, Germany at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy". Mr. Smith's principal teachers were Stephen Taylor, Christian Wetzel, Humbert Lucarelli, Hansjörg Schellenberger and Ray Still. The son of musician parents and eldest of four boys, Mr. Smith was born in New York and raised in Connecticut.
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ANTHONY MCGILL, principal clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, is regarded as one of classical music's finest solo, chamber and orchestral musicians. Before joining the MET in 2004, he served as associate principal clarinet of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
In 2000, McGill was a winner of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and in 2009, he performed with Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and Gabriela Montero at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Most recently, the Sphinx Organization honored McGill, as well as Tai Murray, and Elena Urioste, - its inaugural three Sphinx Medals of Excellence recipients - at the U.S. Supreme Court on March 15, 2012.
As a distinguished chamber musician, McGill has performed at the Marlboro Music Festival, Tanglewood, Mainly Mozart, and Music@Menlo festivals amongst others. He has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony, New Jersey Symphony and San Diego Symphony to name a few, and is a member of the Schumann Trio with violist Michael Tree and pianist Anna Polonsky.
McGill has collaborated with artists such as Midori, Lang Lang, Yefim Bronfman and Gil Shaham, as well as world-renowned string quartets including the Guarneri, Tokyo, Shanghai, Miami, Miró, Pacifica and Daedalus. He has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia as a chamber and orchestral musician with artists including the Brentano String Quartet, Musicians from Marlboro, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Mitsuko Uchida.
His former teachers include Donald Montanaro, Richard Hawkins, Larry Combs, Julie DeRoche, David Tuttle and Sidney Forrest. McGill has served as a coach at the Verbier Festival and is often asked to present master classes. In demand as a teacher, McGill currently serves on the faculties of the Julliard School, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, the Mannes College of Music and Bard College Conservatory of Music.
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Swedish clarinetist, CARINA L.N. WASHINGTON, received her Diploma in Orchestral Performance from the Royal Danish Academy of Music and her MM in Clarinet Performance from the University of Memphis. Her principal teachers include Michael Schlyter, Bendt Neuchs Sorensen, Jorgen Jensen, Lee Morgan, Daniel Gilbert, and James Gholson.
Washington has performed with the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Danish Philharmonic, the Copenhagen Cantata Orchestra, and the Norwegian State Army Band. She served as co-principal clarinet with the Danish Radio Sinfonietta. Washington moved to the U.S.A. in 2003 and served as co-principal clarinetist of the Missouri Chamber Orchestra. She now performs regularly with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Arkansas Symphony, and the Delta Symphony under such conductors as, Curt Sanderling, Christopher Hogwood, and Robert Spano.
As a chamber musician, Washington has co-founded, amongst others, the prize-winning Trio Linnéa, and the PRIZM Ensemble of Memphis that held its first festival in 2009. She has participated in chamber music concerts throughout Europe and North America. Washington recently joined the Memphis Woodwind Quintet, ensemble-in-residence at the University of Memphis.
Washington has attended the International Festival Institute at Round Top, Thy Chamber Music Festival (Denmark), and has traversed Germany and Holland as the principal clarinetist of the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra. As a soloist, Carina has performed with the University of Memphis Symphony Orchestra and with the Södra Latin Symphony. She also performed at the 2008 International Clarinet Association (ICA) Annual Clarinet Fest in Kansas City, MO. She has given recitals across the United States as well as master classes at the University of Arkansas and Arkansas Tech. Washington was awarded the Lilla Alfvén Prize, Jacob Gades Stipend, Augustinus Fonden Grant, and the Månssons Legat Grant.
She can be heard on Albany Records - music for bassoon by African-American composers featuring her husband Lecolion Washington, and Highwater Classics - German Lieder featuring Susan Owen-Leinert.
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LECOLION WASHINGTON, Jr. is the Associate Professor of Bassoon at the University of Memphis, bassoonist in the Memphis Woodwind Quintet, principal bassoonist of the Eroica Ensemble, and founder and director of the PRIZM Chamber Music Festival. He has performed as a soloist and given master classes at colleges and universities around the country including the Eastman School of Music, the University of Texas at Austin, and University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. As a member of the International Double Reed Society he has been invited to perform at conferences in Austin (TX), Ithaca (NY), Birmingham (UK), Norman (OK), and Tempe (AZ). He has performed as soloist with many groups including the Eroica Ensemble, the Meadows Symphony Orchestra, and the orchestra at the International Festival Institute at Round Top. In 2008 he released Legacy: Music for Bassoon by African-American Composers on the Albany Records label. The recording was met with favourable reviews in several periodicals. Washington's sound is "full and resonant" (American Record Guide) and the CD "showcases Washington's fine singing tone on the bassoon" (All Music Guide). The reviewer from Fanfare Magazine noted that "my speakers, and my head, dote on the rich, warm quality of [Washington's] lower register." Washington recently recorded the Eric Ewazen Concerto for Bassoon and Wind Ensemble with the University of Memphis Wind Ensemble. Lecolion is a Fox Artist and plays on a Fox 660.
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BRANDON PHILLIPS started his music career in the New Apostolic Church were he studied various instruments as well as conducting. He is currently the principal bassoonist of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. He won first prize with the Sirocco Wind Quintet in the Huguenot music Competition 2003 and has since performed as soloist with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, the UCT Symphony Orchestra and the UCT String Ensemble. Brandon was the Winner of the woodwind category of the ATKV competition in 2008. He had master classes with internationally renowned bassoonists, David Siedel, Lecolion Washington, Daniel Matzikawa and Christopher Milard. Brandon has acted as woodwind coach for the Sasol National Youth Orchestra and assisted in conducting the Miagi Youth Orchestra and the Festival Concert Orchestra - Stellenbosch.
He is the winner of the first Len van Zyl Conducting Competition in Cape Town 2009 that granted him an internship with the famous Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra as well as master classes with Prof. Victor Yampolski at the Northwestern University. On his return from the States he received master classes from Dutch maestro, Arjan Tien. Brandon has acted as guest conductor for the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, Johannesburg Symphony, Free State Symphony, Black Tie Ensemble and the Unisa Symphony Orchestra. He conducted the Artscape Youth Music Festival in 2011, one of the most important concerts for our young talented soloists in South Africa. In 2010 he started an intense conducting studio under the Cape Philharmonic outreach program, which currently has 14 conducting students. Brandon was recently appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and received an award from the Minister of Arts and Culture, Ivan Meyer, for "Outstanding Achievements by the Youth".
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A native of Austin, Texas, BILLY HUNTER is currently Principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Assistant Principal trumpet of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in Chicago. Before this he was Co-Principal with the New World Symphony and Spoleto Festival Italy orchestras and has performed as guest Principal with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony in Germany, Malaysian Philharmonic in Kuala Lumpur and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina. Other orchestras he has performed with are the New York Philharmonic, Boston, Baltimore and Dallas Symphonies. As a chamber musician and soloist Mr. Hunter has performed with several ensembles nationwide including the American Brass Quintet, the MET Chamber Ensemble, Grant Park Orchestra, New World Symphony, University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, Prometheus Chamber Orchestra, and the University of Texas Wind Ensemble to name a few. Some festivals he has attended are Tanglewood Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, Martha's Vineyard Music Festival and National Repertory Orchestra. His honors and awards include first prize in the Kingsville International Competition Brass and Non-string divisions, second prize in the National Trumpet Competition, winner of the Roger Voisin Trumpet award as a fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, and most recently the recipient of the University of Texas Exes Alumni Award for outstanding achievement. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the Juilliard School, his teachers are former principal of the MET Mark Gould, principal of the NYC Ballet and ABQ Raymond Mase, former member of the MET and NBC Symphony Raymond Crisara and former horn player of the Boston Symphony Harry Shapiro.
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Raimund Zell was born in a little village in the south of Germany and started to play French horn in a brass band at the age of 9. He studied in Detmold with Michael Höltzel, in Berlin with Christian Dallmann and in Vienna with Roland Berger (Viennese horn). He won several international competitions as a soloist as well as with his brass quintet "esBrasso".
He has been a member of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig horn section since 2003 and has been teaching at -Universität der Künste Berlin- in the horn-class of Christian Dallmann since 2006, a position he took up after completion of his studies there. He has held the post of professor of horn and chamber music at the "Hochschule der Künste Bern" in Switzerland since September 2011 and in March 2012 he was also appointed as professor of horn at the "Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Grazü in Austria. Raimund Zell performs all around the world as an orchestral musician as well as a chamber musician and as soloist, he has appeared with the Gewandhausorchester, the Bach-Orchester Leipzig, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Polish Chamber Orchestras and the Berlin Chamber Orchestra amongst others.
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PAMELA KIERMAN obtained a BMus in Musicology from the University of Port Elizabeth (1983) and an MMus from Stellenbosch University (2009). She worked with Children's Theatre and the RAD Ballet in her undergraduate years and as French hornist, was a member of the Prince Alfred's Guard Band and thereafter first horn of the CAPAB orchestra in Port Elizabeth. She also taught brass at Alexander Road High School until 1987. In 1988 she was appointed as brass specialist at Hoërskool Voortrekker, and also participated in the upgrading of the SACC Band in Wynberg, now the South African Army Band, Cape Town. In 1991 she was appointed at Plumstead High School where she was head of the music department from 1994 to 1998. She also taught in the Genesis Project, a joint outreach programme under the auspices of the SA College of Music, UCT and the CTSO as well as teaching for a number of years as a part-time lecture at the South African College of Music
As head of brass at the Beau Soleil Music Centre from 1998, she expanded the brass practice and added an outreach component to the brass programme. She was appointed at Stellenbosch University in 2004. Her duties at Stellenbosch include: extensive work with the brass practical studies of the Certificate Programme (a community outreach and bridging programme), all brass related activities in the degree programme and is also the conductor of the University of Stellenbosch Symphonic Wind Ensemble. She is still an active performer as member of the Cape Town Chamber Orchestra and the semi-professional wind band, Windworx, of which she is also a committee member. She is a committee member of the South African Horn Society, which organized the 38th International Horn Symposium held in Cape Town in 2006. In addition, she is a member of Hornworx (horn quartet) and Brassworx (brass ensemble), as well as the horn quintet, Oceans 5, which had its debut at the Horn Workshop at the University of California Santa Barbara in 2006. This quintet is a collaboration between members affiliated to Stellenbosch University, Pepperdine University, Malibu and UCSB, in the USA.
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WESTON SPROTT was appointed to the position of second trombone of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in the spring of 2005. Mr. Sprott attended Indiana University before completing his Bachelor of Music degree at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
While a student at Curtis, Mr. Sprott held the positions of Principal Trombone in the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra (Philadelphia) and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. He was the founding member of the Texas Trombone Octet, a group that won the Emory Remington competition and was featured in concert at the International Trombone Festival in Helsinki, Finland. Mr. Sprott has performed with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and the festivals at Tanglewood, Spoleto USA, Hot Springs, St. Barts, Martha's Vineyard and several others.
Mr. Sprott was recently featured in the documentary film "A Wayfarer's Journey: Listening to Mahler" with actor Richard Dreyfuss. He was also a performer in the film "Rittenhouse Square" under the direction of Robert Downey, a documentary that played in major film festivals throughout the United States to critical acclaim. In September 2007, Mr. Sprott made his Carnegie Hall solo debut performing Lars Erik-Larsson's Concertino in Weill Recital Hall at the invitation of the Bulgarian Consulate. Performances and interviews with Mr. Sprott have been seen and heard on PBS' Great Performances, NPR's Performance Today, and Sirius Satellite Radio.
Mr. Sprott has been a featured guest artist at several of America's leading conservatories and universities. He is currently on the faculty at the Mannes College (The New School for Music), Purchase College Conservatory of Music, and Juilliard's Music Advancement Program in New York City. Weston Sprott is an artist/clinician for the Antoine Courtois Instrument Company.
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SUZETTE BRITS started her percussion studies with Victor Gebhart at the age of eleven. As a student, she was a percussionist for several orchestras, including the National Youth Orchestra and the SASC Youth Orchestra, with whom she went on a concert tour through South America. Following her studies, she was a percussionist for the CASAP and Cape Town Symphony Orchestras. Since 1986 she has been appointed as lecturer in percussion at the Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre and since 2001 has also served as percussion lecturer at Stellenbosch University. Several of her students were overall winners of prestigious competitions and have received international scholarships. In 1998 she undertook a concert tour through Europe with her percussion ensemble. Suzette is responsible for many eisteddfod syllabi as well as the syllabus for the University of South Africa. She performs as an adjudicator at eisteddfods and music competitions on a regular basis. She has performed in America, France and Germany, where she has close bonds with the Hochschule fUr Musik in Stuttgart. She regularly receives invitations to Stuttgart from Prof. Klaus Tresselt and Prof. Marta Klimasara.
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Portuguese pianist LUIS MAGALHÃES, started playing piano at the age of five, receiving formal tuition from Eduardo Rocha, José Alexandre Reis, Pedro Burmester and Vladimir Viardo. He received master classes from such notable teachers and performers as Helena Sá e Costa, Paul Badura-Skoda and Alicia de Larrocha.
Mr Magalhães won several prizes at national and international level, including first prize at the Maria Campina Competition, second prize at the Juventude Musical Portuguesa Competition, second prize for chamber music at the Jóvens Músicos Competition, honorary mention at the Helena Sá e Costa Competition, as well as second prize for the best performance of Russian music and first prize for the best performance of Rachmaninoff at the 2002 Russian Music International Piano Competition (USA). A concert pianist since the age on nine, Mr Magalhães has given numerous recital, concerto and chamber music performances in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa, rendering rave reviews. He also regularly appears in concert with his wife, pianist Nina Schumann, in their internationally renowned piano duo, simply called TwoPianists. TwoPianists is also the name of their record label which is distributed globally by industry-giant Naxos. Mr Magalhães' CDs, which include a catalogue of two piano duo-CDs as well as a ground-breaking version of the Beethoven Cello Sonatas, have received rave reviews from such publications as American Record Guide, International Record Review, Strad Magazine as well as being selected for the top 10 of allmusic.com. Three of his CDs have been shortlisted for Grammy Nominations and the piano duo CD titled TwoPianists was nominated for the 2010 SAMA Awards.
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BENNIE VAN EEDEN passed all his UNISA piano exams with distinction and went on to obtain the Teacher's Diploma, BMus and HonsBMus degrees cum laude from Stellenbosch University. As a student he received numerous prizes and awards, most notably the FAK Music Bursary (twice), the Conservatoire Stipendium and a Merit Award for the best overall fourth year student at the university. He taught at the Wellington Teachers' Training College and since 1988 has been appointed as lecturer in Piano and Piano Literature at the Stellenbosch Conservatoire, filling the post of his erstwhile teacher, Betsie Cluver. He studied with some of South Africa's foremost pianists and teachers, viz. Lamar Crowson and Laura Searle (UCT) and John Antoniadis (US), under whom he played the practical component of the Master's degree in Piano Performance. He participated in international piano competitions in Pretoria and Bolzano, Italy.
A versatile musician and performer, Bennie is known for his solo and chamber music performances, especially as a member of the highly regarded Collage and Taffanel ensembles. He has also accompanied some of South Africa's foremost singers, including Marita Napier, Aviva Pelham, Nellie du Toit and André Howard and international singers such as Julia Bronkhorst. He has been featured on the SABC and regularly performs at major arts festivals around South Africa. He is a founder member of the Hennie Joubert National Piano Competition.
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PIETER GROBLER joined the Music Department at Stellenbosch University in August 2010 as lecturer in Piano. He worked with Joseph Stanford at the University of Pretoria obtaining BMus and BMusHons degrees in piano performance "cum laude". Postgraduate studies were with Joseph Banowetz at the University of North Texas in the USA, where he completed the MM and DMA piano performance degrees. During his tenure there, he regularly attended lessons with the Polish pianist, Adam Wodnicki. He studied vocal accompaniment with Dr. Elvia Puccinelli and Harold Heiberg. His training was further enriched through master classes from amongst others, Leonard Hokanson, Andrzej Jasinski, Pascal Rogé and Antonio Pompa-Baldi. Pieter Grobler was the recipient of numerous scholarships from institutions in both South Africa and the USA and was awarded a teaching assistantship for the duration of his studies at the University of North Texas. He passed the UTLM with distinction in 1999 and was invited to participate in the UNISA Overseas Scholarship Competition, winning the prize for the best performance of a South African Composition. During the 2003 Unisa/Vodacom National Piano Competition he was awarded the Bill van Tonder Prize. He participated in the 1999 Second China International Piano Competition in Beijing as well as the 2005 Hilton Head International Piano Competition where he was heard on US National Public Radio (NPR) as part of the competition broadcasts. After completion of his studies he worked for three years in Ohio where he was on the piano faculty of Heidelberg College (a private liberal arts university in the Cleveland area). Pieter Grobler is currently coaching a studio of talented pianists from around the country and maintains an active concert schedule.
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