The world-renowned cellist and conductor David Cohen embodies a unique combination of qualities making him one of the most versatile and exciting musicians of this day. He has been internationally acclaimed for his remarkable instrumental mastery, generous musicianship, vast experience in varied repertoires combined with a flamboyant charisma.
Highlights of the 2024-2025 season include Davids’ appearence as a conductor with the PHION Orchestra in The Netherlands and his performance as a cellist of the Edward Elgar Cello Concerto at the Barbican Centre together with the London Symphony Orchestra and Antonio Pappano.

Born in the town of Tournai in Belgium, David made his solo debut with the Belgium National Orchestra at the age of nine. His international career as a soloist soon flourished leading him to perform with top-class orchestras such as the Saint-Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Soloist Chamber Orchestra, l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Liege, l’Orchestre Symphonique de la VRT, l’Orchestre de la Beethoven Akademie, l’Orchestre National de Lille, the Zurich chamber orchestra, L’Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne, l’Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Grenoble, the Polish Philharmonic Orchestra, the Symphonia of Varsaw, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, NHK, BBC Concert Orchestra. Furthermore, David has worked as a soloist with some of the most distinguished conductors in the industry such as Lord Menuhin, Mislave Rostropovitch, Walter Weller, Sir Charles Mackerras, Vladimir Ashkenazy, C.V.Dohnanyi, Pedro Hallfter, Martin Brabbins.

His solo debut in Japan with The N.H.K and Maestro V.Ashkenazy performing Tchaikowsky ‘Rococo Variations’ in June 2007 has made a great impression, leading to recurring collaborations in the years to follow.
As a graduate of the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Guidhall School of Music & Drama, with the support of a grant from the Menuhin Foundation, David won more than 25 prizes in International Cello Competitions. Amongst his prizes and awards are the Gold Medal of the GSMD in London, (like Jaqueline Dupre), The Geneva International Cello Competition, the Audi International Competition, International Cello Competition in Douai, ’Tenuto’international Competition”, The Guilherminia Suggia Gift, The Ian Flaming Trust, SPES, KPMG Martin Scholarship, Hattory Foundation, Berllotti-Buitonie Fellowship award, Fondation SUISA, J.S.Bach International Competition.

Furthermore, David was Nominated ECHO “Rising Star” for the season 2002-2003 by the “Royal Philharmonic Society of Belgium” and the “Concertgebouw”.

Davids’ passion for chamber music has led him to regularly enjoy collaborating with fine musicians in major International cello- and chamber music festivals such as Kronberg (Germany), Manchester ( U.K), Cambridge (U.K.), Beauvais (France), Orpheus Baccheus in Bordeaux ( France), the Gstaad Festival (Suisse), West Cork (Ireland) Kuhmo (Finland) Elverum (Norway) Oxford (u.k), Sonoro (Bucharest).

David is the Artistic Director of the Melchior Ensemble, which brings together the finest musicians from Europe such as a.o. Sasha Sitkovetsky, Priya Mitchel, Corine Chapelle, Silver Ainomae, Razvan Popovici and is the ensemble in Residence in Peter House Cambridge.

David was appointed Principal Cello of the Philharmonia Orchestra in March 2001 (making him the youngest principal cellist in the history.). He has be appointed Principal cello of the London Symphony Orchestra in 2022.
Internationally award winning discography by David is to be found with Forlane, Classic FM, Cypres-Records and the LPO Label. It includes recordings of the Lutoslawsky cello concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the S.Gubbaidulina cello concerto with the BBC Symphony.

David plays on a magnificient Dominicus Montagnana cello circa 1735 granted with kindness and generosity by Mrs. Pat Morton and with the support of the Razumovsky trust.

David is the creator and artistic director of « Les Sons Intensifs » , a vibrant chamber music festival in the home town of the famous artist Renee Magritte (Lessines, Belgium ).

A conductor of fine reputation, David has performed in several international festivals such as Kuhmo Festival, Stift Festival, Osnabruck “Con brio Festival”, Les Sons Intensifs, Belgrade Ensemble, Phion Orchestra in Netherlands. His repertoire includes composers such as P.M.Davis, P.Glass, Debussy, Gubbaidulina, Mahler, Stravinsky, Sibelius, including premiere performances and recordings of pieces by Osvaldo Golijov and Isidora Zebeljan.

“…David Cohen, one of the most talented young cellists I know. He was a student at my School for some years, and is altogether a remarkable young man, a remarkable performer and already an outstanding cellist.” Lord Menuhin (dec. 98)

Born into a musical family in Cape Town in 1978, Xandi van Dijk received his first violin lessons at age 4 and has been playing the viola since 1990.

Since the end of 2007 Xandi has been a member of the internationally renowned Signum Quartet. With them he has been a laureate of international competitions, and from 2011-2013 they were BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists. Their recordings have received universal acclaim, and in 2014 the quartet was awarded an International Classical Music Award (ICMA) for their album “No.3”.

Concert appearances have led the Signum Quartet from the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Wigmore Hall and the Berliner Philharmonie to the the Aldeburgh Festival, the Festival Aix-en-Provence and the BBC Proms. The Signum Quartet has recorded for Capriccio, harmonia mundi and Sony Classical, and currently records for Pentatone.

Xandi has been principal viola of the Munich Chamber Orchestra since 2017. He is a regular guest principal with i.a. the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Orchestre de chambre de Paris and the Estonian Festival Orchestra.

To further his artistic development as both chamber musician and soloist, van Dijk has had classes with i.a. Wolfram Christ, Lawrence Dutton and Yo-Yo Ma, and has worked together closely with the Alban Berg Quartet, the Artemis Quartet and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. He has had conducting masterclasses with Leonid Grin, Neeme Järvi and Paavo Järvi.

As a conductor, Xandi has worked with all the major South African orchestras. He premiered P.L. van Dijk’s opera earthdiving at the Spier Summer Festival, conducted the William Kentridge production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte in Cape Town and Johannesburg, recorded the soundtrack to the Philip Noyce blockbuster Catch a Fire and premiered Denis Goldberg and Matthijs van Dijk’s Moments in a Life at the SICMF 2016.

Born into the illustrious Zemtsov music family of acclaimed musicians, Dana Zemtsov has established herself as one of the most recognized viola players of her generation. Gramophone Magazine has celebrated her playing as being “so perfectly tuned, so varied in color and with such considerable distances in the intervals between the notes, that you would be forgiven for thinking it sounded more like a chamber orchestra”.

Dana regularly performs in concert halls such as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, St. Petersburg Philharmonia, The Opera House in Tel Aviv, and Carnegie Hall in New York. She has played chamber music with Janine Jansen, Giovanni Sollima, Martin Frost, Anna Fedorova, Ilya Gringolts, Boris Berezovsky, and many others. As a soloist, Dana has performed with symphony orchestras in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, US, Brasil, Mexico, Ukraine and Estonia, under the baton of Leif Segerstam, Otto Tausk, Daniel Raiskin, Massimo Quarta, Marco Parisotto, and Fabio Mechetti. Dana is 1st Prize laureate of several competitions in Luxembourg, Italy, Austria, Germany, Portugal, and the Netherlands. And so far, she has released seven critically acclaimed albums on the Channel Classics Records label with the likes of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Daniel Raiskin, Phion Orchestra and conductor Shizuo Z Kuwahara, and chambermusic partners as pianist Anna Fedorova and Claudio Constantini. Her latest release “Yellow Butterfly” incarnates the spirit of her Latin American roots and has been praised for its unique place in the viola discography and musical versatility combining high-class musicians from the classical, latin american and jazz worlds.

Born into a family of musicians in 1992, Dana received her first music lessons from her grandmother and her parents. She continued her studies with viola virtuoso Michael Kugel. Dana teaches regularly at places such as the Kuhmo Festival,Stift Musical Encounters, Utrecht Conservatory, Prades Festival, Cividale International Masterclasses and the Davidsbündler Music Academy in The Hague. She is artistic director of the brand new “Numina Chambermusic Festival” in Gouda as well as co-organizer and teacher at the Zemtsov Viola Masterclasses in Hoeve (The Netherlands).

Following her stunning recital debut at Carnegie’s Weill Hall The Strad hailed Maja Bogdanovic for “an outstanding performance of exceptional tonal beauty and great maturity of interpretation - gloriously honeyed, fiery, eloquent and fervent.” Since then, she has taken her place among today’s foremost cellists. Concerto engagements have included the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, Tokyo Philharmonic, Minas Gerais Symphony, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Belgrade Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony, and the Slovenian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In the U.S., Ms. Bogdanovic made her debut at the 2017 Grand Teton Music Festival under the baton of Cristian Macelaru. She has also performed with the Forth Worth Symphony, Spokane Symphony, Lubbock Symphony, Portland Symphony, Columbus Symphony and Princeton Symphony.

An avid chamber musician, Maja Bogdanovic is a frequent guest at leading chamber music festivals and worlds leading venues such as Kuhmo Festival in Finland,, Amsterdamse Cello Biënnale, Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, Folle Journée/Nantes, Storioni Festival, and the Stift International Chamber Music Festival in The Netherlands, performing with artists such as Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Julian Rachlin, Nino Gvetadze, Daniel Rowland, Nemanja Radulovic and Marianna Schiriniyan. Maja has produced several internationally-released CDs for labels Lyrinx and Nimbus and her recital disc ‘Eastern wind’ (Orchid Classics), with pianist Maria Belooussova, dedicated to Glière and Rachmaninoff received rave reviews. Maja’s latest CD release (Challenge Records) with violinist Daniel Rowland, ‘Pas de deux’, includes world premiere recordings of works by Penderecki, Vasks, Sollima and Nisinman, and was described as ‘a magical meeting of cello and violin’ by leading Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad.

Within her wide repertoire, Maja Bogdanovic devotes a special place to contemporary music. She has premiered works of Nicolas Bacri, Sofia Gubaidulina, Krzysztof Penderecki, Philip Sawyers, Eric Tanguy, Benjamin Yusupov, Natasha Bogojević, Isidora Žebeljan, among others. Her collaboration with Krzysztof Penderecki began with the Belgrade Philharmonic in 2008, and with the Slovenian Philharmonic in Ljubljana, where she performed his Cello Concerto No. 2 under the baton of the composer. This led to several further collaborations, such as with the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, the Orchestra National de Pays de la Loire and the Krakow Philharmonic. Amongst a select group of the world’s leading artists, including Lorin Maazel, Anne-Sophie Mutter and others, she was invited to play for special performances in Warsaw and Krakow celebrating Maestro Penderecki’s 80th and 85th birthdays. In 2019, Maja recorded Krzysztof Penderecki’s Second Cello Concerto under the guidance of Maestro Penderecki, for the DUX Label.

Laureate of numerous international competitions, Ms. Bogdanovic won First Prize at the third Aldo Parisot Cello Competition in South Korea and received the Second Prize and Special Audience Award at the Gaspar Cassado International Competition in Tokyo. She was awarded the Special Prize at the Concours Rostropovich in Paris and, in the same year.

Born in Belgrade, Serbia, Maja began playing the cello at a very early age, studying with Professor Nada Jovanovic in Zemun. She went on to graduate with a First Prize from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where she completed her postgraduate course with Michel Strauss; while there, she also studied chamber music with Itamar Golan and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Following her studies in Paris, she pursued further training at the Universität der Künste Berlin with Professor Jens Peter Maintz, as well as Bernard Greenhouse, Alban Gerhardt, and Heinrich Schiff.

Maja’s instrument was custom made for her by French luthier Frank Ravatin. She lives in Amsterdam with her husband, violinist Daniel Rowland and their Daughter Lily.

Praised for her "extraordinary musicality" and "maturity way beyond her years", Miriam Helms Ålien is one of the most exciting young artists to emerge from Norway in recent years. Born in Alta in Northern-Norway, she started playing the violin when she was 6 ½ years old and has, since her solo debut at 8 years old, been a soloist with many of the Norwegian orchestras as well as with orchestras in Germany, Israel, Denmark, Italy, the Czech Republic and Russia.​

Recent and upcoming highlights include performances with Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Schweizer Camerata in KKL Luzern, as well as chamber music performances in the Liszt Academy (Budapest), Berlin Konzerthaus, the Intl. Bergen Festival, and the 2nd edition of FESTIVALTA - the world's northernmost chamber music festival of its kind, for which Miriam is the artistic director.
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Recent seasons have included performances with orchestras like the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Arctic Philharmonic, Israeli Netanya Orchestra, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice, Tromsø Symphony Orchestra, Arkhangelsk Chamber Orchestra and the Oslo Camerata.
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A dedicated and passionate chamber musician, Miriam has been invited to play at numerous festivals, including the Bergen International Festival, Kissinger Sommer, Beethoven-Woche Bonn, Verbier Festival & Academy, Kronberg “Chamber Music Connects the World” Festival and OCM Prussia Cove, as well as the International Chamber Music Festivals in Oslo, Trondheim and Risør. Here she has worked closely with distinguished artists like András Schiff, Gidon Kremer, Tabea Zimmermann, Radovan Vlatković and Steven Isserlis.
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Since 2020 she is also the founder and artistic director of her own international chamber music festival "FESTIVALTA" in her hometown, likely making it the world's northern-most festival of its kind.
Miriam has been invited to perform in famous halls like Wigmore Hall, KKL Luzern, Louvre Paris, Berlin Konzerthaus, the Norwegian Opera House, and she is also a regular performer on international TV and radio broadcasts.
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In 2012 Miriam won the prestigious Princess Astrid Music Price. Previously she won first prize at the Kocian Violin Competition in the Czech Republic, the overall winner and recipient of the the Grand Prix Laureate, EMCY Prize and Bärenreiter Prize. She was awarded the Sparre Olsen Prize and Norwegian Music Publisher's Prize of Honour in 2009, and was named Norway’s "Young Musician of the Year 2010". She was also chosen by the Oslo Philharmonic as Norway’s representative for the Nordic Soloist Prize.

Miriam recently graduated from the Kronberg Academy where she studied with Prof. Ana Chumachenco and Tabea Zimmermann. Previously she studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, the HfM "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin and at the Barratt Due Institute for Music in Oslo. Former teachers include Ulf Wallin, Stephan Barratt-Due, Alf Richard and Henning Kraggerud. Further inspiration has come from masterclasses with artists such as Sir Simon Rattle, Ida Haendel, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Christoph Eschenbach, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Miriam Fried and Mauricio Fuks.

Miriam plays on a 1689 Stradivarius violin, generously on loan from ASAF - Anders Sveaas Almennyttige Fond.

Violinist Miclen LaiPang has established himself as one of the most compelling and versatile artists of his generation, a rare hybrid musician whose career moves seamlessly between the roles of soloist, chamber musician, concertmaster, educator, and curator. Praised by The New York Times as “a force to be reckoned with” and hailed by Die Welt as “a musician of daring virtuosity with gripping access and noble elegance,” Miclen has performed as a soloist with leading orchestras and appeared at many of the world’s most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Musikverein, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, and St. Martin in the Fields.

Having performed in over 60 countries, Miclen’s career has been distinguished by major international prizes and acclaimed recordings with labels including Sony RCA Red Seal, Naxos, and Naïve. On Naxos, he recorded a critically acclaimed arrangement of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata for violin and strings, which reached No. 1 on the Apple Music Classical charts in more than 40 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Japan. Most recently, he signed with the renowned Delos label and released his debut solo album Deep River in June 2026, marking an important milestone in his recording career.

Having lived and studied across the United States, Austria, Germany, and France, Miclen brings a distinctly international perspective to his artistic life. Based in Paris, Miclen maintains an active international schedule as a soloist, guest leader, and chamber musician. He is regularly invited to give masterclasses at leading universities and conservatories around the world while also serving as a faculty member at the International Chamber Music Academy in Ochsenhausen.

A passionate chamber musician, he is a regular guest at renowned festivals across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, captivating audiences with his artistry on stages around the world. Miclen has collaborated with luminaries such as Ivry Gitlis (†), Janos Starker (†), Lawrence Dutton, Jens Peter Maintz, Christoph Richter, Gerhard Schulz, Robert McDuffie, Irvine Arditti, and Peter Serkin (†). His artistry has been shaped by the guidance of esteemed mentors, including Charles Castleman, Ruggiero Ricci (†), Aaron Rosand (†), Alice Schoenfeld (†), Ida Bieler, Boris Kuschnir, and Linda Rose.

Known for his wide ranging artistic vision, Miclen’s work bridges the worlds of solo performance, chamber music, orchestral leadership, and artistic curation.

He is the violinist of the internationally celebrated Trio Zadig, with whom he performs extensively across major international stages and recording projects. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Miesbach Kammermusikfestival in Germany, where his innovative programming explores themes of reflection and intensity. He is also the Founder and Artistic Director of M Sphère, a Paris based chamber music collective dedicated to immersive and boundary breaking performances, and serves as Co-Artistic Director of Zadig & Friends and the Festival of International Artists at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge.

Miclen is a Thomastik Infeld Artist and serves as an ambassador for Dolfinos. He performs on the 1707 Antonio Stradivari “Charles Castleman, ex Marquis de Champeaux,” generously entrusted to him by the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, the 1850 Jean Baptiste Vuillaume “Bieler, ex Grumiaux,” and a c.1850 Dominique Peccatte bow known as the “ex Eugène Ysaÿe,” once belonging to the legendary violinist.

After graduating from The Academy of Music in Podgorica and taking his M.A. at The Faculty of Musical Art in Belgrade, the double-bass player Zoran Marković continued his studies with renowned pedagogues in Venice, Cremona, Munich, Salzburg.

During his study, he was awarded numerous prizes at competitions at home and abroad. As a member of the Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra he was awarded the Prešeren Fund prize (the prestigious Slovene prize) in 1999, the O. Župančič prize in 2004, and the J. Betetto prize in 2006.

Zoran Marković performs in Slovenia and abroad as a soloist, with renowned orchestras and chamber musicians. He has been successfully performing as a soloist with the Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, The RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Detmolder Kammerorchester, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Nuova Orchestra Ferruccio Busoni, the Slovenicum ensemble, the Strings Chamber Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra, St. George's Strings, the Niš Symphonic Orchestra, Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra, Britten String Orchestra…

He performed at the Aspecte Salzburg, Neuebühne Villach, Serenate nel Chiostro, Trieste Prima, I suoni delle Dolomiti, Akzente-Neue Music in Klagenfurt, Ljubljana Summer Festival, Grad teatar Budva, PAC Murska Sobota, A Tempo Podgorica, Oxford Chamber Music festival, Osnabrücker Musikfestival classic con brio, Düsseldorf ChamberJam, Stiftfestival, Gauting München, The Schloss Elmau, Holstebro “Klassiske Dage”, Storioni Festival, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Sonoro, Stavanger, Sylt, Stradun classic Dubrovnik,

From 1990 to 2004 he was the head of double basses of the Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra. From January 2004, he is employed as a senior lecturer at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He has been a permanent external associate of the RTV Symphony Orchestra as a double-bass soloist since 2006. He also acts as a professor at the International Summer Academies of Music in Austria, Italy, Holland, England, Finland and Germany.

His relentless search for better sound has also led him on a path of discovery and innovation. Many years of research and development resulted in the invention of ZMT (Zoran Marković Tailpiece), a tailpiece which enhances the acoustical properties of stringed instruments.

Boris Andrianov, a renowned Russian cellist, performs in the world's top venues and at most prestigious festivals. While having an extensive touring schedule, the artist is also keen on performing in Russia, whether in big cities, small towns or remote villages that had never seen any concerts at all. He has also participated in many international and national projects aimed at expanding the country’s musical landscapes, especially in Russian provinces. Invariably enjoying great success with the public, those projects bring together internationally renowned performers along with Boris Andrianov himself.

Boris Andrianov was born in Moscow in 1976. He studied at the Gnessin Moscow Special School of Music (class of Vera Birina), Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (class of Professor Natalia Shakhovskaya) and Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin (class of Professor David Geringas).

He was the winner of Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition in Zagreb as well as competitions in Johannesburg, Hanover (Classica Nova – In Memoriam Dmitri Shostakovich, as part of a duo with Alexey Goribol), Paris (Concours de violoncelle Rostropovitch), and South Korea (Isang Yun Competition). He was also a prize-winner at the 11^th International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Triumph Youth Award, and was titled Honored Artist of Russia in 2016.

Boris Andrianov has performed with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, including Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Fedoseev, Yury Simonov, Pavel Kogan, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alexander Vedernikov, Gianandrea Noseda, Dmitry Liss, Roman Kofman, Vasily Petrenko, Stefan Vladar, Dmitri Jurowski, and Alexander Sladkovsky. In chamber performances, he has played alongside Yury Bashmet, Menahem Pressler, Akiko Suwanai, Janine Jansen, Julian Rachlin, Itamar Golan, Denis Matsuev, Sergey Nakaryakov, Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Alexey Lyubimov, Tatiana Grindenko, to name a few.

The musician has participated in the Royal Swedish Festival, as well as festivals in Ludwigsburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Edinburgh, Dubrovnik, Colmar, Davos, Irkutsk (Stars on Baikal), Trans-Siberian Art Festival and others. He is also a regular guest of the Homecoming Chamber Music Festival in Moscow.

Boris Andrianov heads The Generation of Stars, a nation-wide project that has been awarded the Prize for culture of the Government of Russia (2009). He also initiated Vivacello and Vivarte international festivals in Moscow and has been artistic director for both. In addition, he is the artistic director of Musical Expedition festival, that was founded in the Vladimir region and has been expanding every year. In 2021, the festival covered six Russian regions, including Udmurtia, Vologda and Novosibirsk regions, Crimea and Kamchatka.

Widely collaborating with contemporary composers, Boris Andrianov has repeatedly presented premieres of new works, including those by Giya Kancheli, Krzysztof Penderecki, Efrem Podgaits, Michael Berkeley, Richard Dubugnon, Alexander Rosenblatt, Giovanni Sollima, Vangelis, Alexey Rybnikov, Pavel Karmanov, Samuel Strouk, Alexey Shor and others.

The artist's discography includes a joint recording with guitarist Dmitry Illarionov, released by Delos (in 2003 the record was included in the long list of Grammy nominees in Chamber Ensemble category); Sonatas by Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff with pianist Rem Urasin (named the best chamber disc of the month by Gramophone in September 2007), and sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord by J. S. Bach transcribed for cello and button accordion, recorded with Yuri Medianik (released by Melodiya, 2015). In 2020–2021 he recorded Variations on Rococo Theme by Tchaikovsky with the State Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan under Alexander Sladkovsky (Sony Classics), Gabriel Prokofiev's Cello Concerto with the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra under Alexey Bogorad (world premiere of the recording) as well as the Jazz Reflections of Bach Suites with Leonid and Niсk Vintskevich, as well as all cello suites by J.S. Bach (the release is scheduled for 2022).

Since 2009 Boris Andrianov has been teaching at the Moscow Conservatory. The artist plays a cello made by Carlo Bergonzi from the State Collection of Unique Musical Instruments.

Demarre McGill is a leading soloist, recitalist, chamber and orchestral musician. Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, he has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pittsburgh, Dallas, San Diego and Baltimore symphony orchestras and, at age 15, the Chicago Symphony. In 2018 he performed and presented master classes in Korea and Japan, and was soloist with the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall.

Now principal flute of the Seattle Symphony, he previously served as principal flute of the Dallas Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Florida Orchestra, and Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. He recently served as acting principal flute of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and earlier with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

A founding member of The Myriad Trio, and former member of Chamber Music Society Two, Demarre has participated in the Santa Fe Chamber, Marlboro, Seattle and Stellenbosch chamber music festivals, to name a few. He is the co-founder of Art of Élan, a chamber music organization in San Diego and, along with clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Michael McHale, founded the McGill/McHale Trio in 2014. Their first CD, "Portraits," released in August 2017, has received rave reviews.

A native of Chicago, McGill received his Bachelor’s degree from The Curtis Institute of Music and a Master's degree at The Juilliard School. In September of 2017 he was named Visiting Assistant Professor of Flute at Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Titus Underwood is Principal Oboe of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and the 2021 recipient of the Sphinx Medal of Excellence award and a 2021 Midsouth Regional Emmy® winner for his work on « We Are Nashville ». Prior to the NSO, he was Acting Associate Principal of Utah Symphony, and has performed as guest principal of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Miami Symphony Orchestra, and Florida Orchestra. A sought-after freelance performer, Titus has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Puerto Rico Symphony, and San Diego Symphony. Titus regularly plays principal oboe in Chineke!, the Gateways Music Festival, and Bellingham Festival of Music.

Titus received his Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Elaine Douvas, and pursued additional studies with Nathan Hughes and Pedro Diaz. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he was a student of John Mack, legendary principal oboist of the Cleveland Orchestra, with additional studies from Frank Rosenwein and Jeffrey Rathbun. In 2013, he received his artist diploma from The Colburn School as a student of Allan Vogel.

Argentinian-born bassoonist Julia Harguindey is Principal Bassoon of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, a position she assumed at the beginning of the 2025 season. She previously held the principal bassoon chair with both the Nashville Symphony and The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra.

Ms. Harguindey is deeply committed to teaching and mentorship and serves on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music and Carnegie Mellon University.

Her orchestral career has included performances with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and guest principal appearances with ensembles such as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Les Violons du Roy (Québec). As a soloist, she performed The Five Sacred Trees by John Williams with the Nashville Symphony under the direction of the composer.

After immigrating to Canada in 1991, Ms. Harguindey pursued her studies at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and later at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her principal teachers include Daniel Matsukawa and Mathieu Harel.

YaoGuang Zhai is Principal Clarinet of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, clarinet faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music, and Associate Professor at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. He is the first Chinese-born clarinetist to hold a principal position in a major U.S. orchestra and to join the faculties of highly prestigious institutions such as Curtis and the Boston Conservatory.

Since joining the BSO in 2016, Mr. Zhai has established himself as an internationally recognized soloist, chamber musician, and educator. He previously served as Associate Principal Clarinet of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Principal Clarinet of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared as Guest Principal with the New York Philharmonic, Saint Louis Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and many others.

As a soloist, Mr. Zhai has appeared with the Baltimore, Toronto, and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Victoria Symphony, Toronto Summer Music Festival Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, American Academy of Conducting Orchestra in Aspen, and the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival Orchestra. In 2022, he was invited by the International Clarinet Association (ICA) to perform at the International Clarinet Festival in Reno, Nevada, where he presented Amanda Harberg’s Clarinet Concerto—adapted from her Sonata written for him—at the closing ceremony with the Reno Philharmonic. An avid chamber musician, he has performed at leading festivals worldwide, including Santa Fe, Stellenbosch, Hong Kong, Aspen, Angel Fire, Laguna Beach, and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan.

Mr. Zhai serves on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music and is Associate Professor at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. He also teaches annually at the Interlochen Summer Music Camp and has participated in the Master Players Summer Music Festival, National Youth Orchestra of China (NYO-China), Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival, and Curtis Summer Music Camp.

Born in China, Mr. Zhai began violin studies at age three before switching to clarinet at age ten. He entered the Central Conservatory of Music High School in Beijing at age twelve. In 2003, he received a full scholarship to attend the Idyllwild Arts Academy and later entered the Curtis Institute of Music. After graduating from Curtis in 2009, he began his professional career as Principal Clarinet of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra at the invitation of Music Director Long Yu. In 2011, he joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Clarinet under the appointment of Peter Oundjian. In 2016, he was appointed Principal Clarinet of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Marin Alsop.

While studying in the United States, Mr. Zhai won numerous competitions, including the Hellam, Blount-Slawson, Aspen, Spotlight, and Pacific Symphony competitions. His teachers included world-renowned clarinetists Yehuda Gilad, Donald Montanaro, Ricardo Morales, and Joaquin Valdepeñas.

Mr. Zhai is a Buffet Crampon, Vandoren, and Royal Global Artist.

Hailing from Alicante, Spanish horn player José García Gutiérrez was co-principal horn of the
Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Orquesta de Galicia, and Orquesta Real Sinfonica de
Sevilla, and principal horn of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra and Orquesta Sinfónica de
Extremadura. In November 2007 Jose was appointed principal horn with Spain’s prestigious
Orquesta de RadioTelevision Española (ORTVE) in Madrid. Since 2018 he has been a member of
ADDA Simfònica Alicante, one of Spain’s newest and most dynamic orchestral formations.
He has repeatedly collaborated as guest principal horn with the London Symphony Orchestra,
with whom he has also recorded various works. As a guest performer he has had concert
engagements as soloist or principal horn with several leading international orchestras across the
world, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica della Scala de Milan,
Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of India, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Vienna
Radio Orchestra, Sichuan Symphony Orchestra (China), Orchestre d’Auvergne (France), Orquesta
Sinfónica do Porto, Orquesta Reino de Aragón, Orquesta de Cadaqués, Orquesta de la
Comunidad Valenciana (Les Arts), Orquesta de Castilla y León, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife,
Orquesta de Granada, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao and Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid.
He has worked with conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Pierre Boulez, Valery Gergiev, Kent
Nagano, Rostropovich, Riccardo Chailly, Zubin Mehta, Gianandrea Noseda and Simon Rattle,
amongst others.

José is very active as a chamber musician and has appeared alongside various ensembles
including members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Spanish Horns, Cosmos Wind Quintet,
the Argotti Ensemble as well as the Chamber Orchestra of the Festival Lyrique International de
Belle- Île-en-Mer, France.

He has recorded several works for horn by different composers, including various compositions
written specifically for him.

Apart from his performances as soloist and his orchestral work, he is very much sought after as a
pedagogue and is regularly in demand for masterclasses all over the world.
He was professor on the teaching panel of Alicante’s prestigious Brass Academy during 2019/20
academic year. In 2020 he was professor with the Mahler Chamber Academy in their youth
orchestra project with the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia in Bogotá and he will be couching the
brass section of the Sinfónica Azteca in Mexico in 2023.

From 2015-18 he was artistic consultant for the Malta Youth Orchestra, and in September 2019
was appointed its Artistic Director, a post he held until 2023. Apart from working with the students
to develop their full potential, he has also conducted the orchestra in various different productions
ranging from baroque to opera. In 2025/26 he will once again serve as professor at the Brass
Academy Alicante.

Marco Silva was born in Porto, Portugal, and began his studies at the Conservatory of Maia in 2004 with Helder Magalhães. In 2007 he joined the class of Professor Paulo Silva at the ARTAVE School and continued with a Bachelor’s Degree in 2013 at the Superior School of Music of Lisbon with Stephen Mason and David Burt. In 2014 he entered for a soloist’s Master’s Degree at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste with Frits Damrow where he enrolled at the Zurich Opera Orchestra Akademie in which he participated until 2016. In 2012 and 2013 he regularly deputised in the Ochestre de Jeunes de la Méditerranée (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'zur.) having already performed in recitals in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland and other countries. In 2013, he participated in the national debut of Marc-André Dalbavie's Axiom, as part of the Debussy Festival under the auspices of the French Institute of Portugal and the Caloust Gulbenkian Foundation. In addition to prizes at numerous national competitions, Silva was a finalist at the 2017 Girolamo Fantini International Trumpet Competition in Rome, Italy and in 2022, won the Special Prize in the 7⁰ Maurice André International Trumpet Competition in Paris. He has worked with several orchestras including the Bern Symphonie Orchester, Zürich Opera Orchestra, Santa Siccilla Orchester, Caloust Gulbenkian Orchester and Portuguese Symphony Orchestra.

Mark was born in Bletchley, England in 1971 and started his musical studies aged 6 with the piano. He took up the euphonium when he was 11 and quickly became involved with the brass band movement playing with the most important London brass bands at the time . He took classes at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama junior department with John Clark and started playing the bass trombone here under the guidance of Roger Harvey.

In 1991 Mark started his formal studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London studying euphonium under John Clark and later bass trombone with Ron Bryans, Eric Crees and Simon Wills. He went on to continue his studies with Hans Rueckert and Andreas Kraft when he moved to Mannheim in Germany.

Mark was a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra from 1993 to 1996 where he played under Claudio Abbado, Ricardo Chailly and Sir Neville Marriner receiving coaching here from Denis Wick. He was also a member of the Schleswig Holstein Festival Orchestra during this period.

Professionally Mark worked for two years as a tenor, bass and contrabass trombonist at the National Theatre in Mannheim 1995-1997 and went on to join the Gran Canaria Philharmonic from 1997 where he continues to be a member. He is also a founder member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra having played their first major Project with Claudio Abbado in Aix en Provence in 1998. He continues to be an active member of this ensemble where he has also been a member of the orchestra board for 9 years with special responsibility for education and outreach. He is also a founder member of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in its present form having played every year since its establishment under Claudio Abbado in 2003. He is also a founder member of the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra in China where he lived for the season 2016/2017 and was involved in recruitment, management consultancy and playing as leader of the wind section in this orchestra.

Since beginning these Projects Mark has enjoyed a diverse and active career playing in many of the top orchestras in Europe including Bavarian Radio Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,Tonhalle Zuerich, Deutsche Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen ,Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and many others, including many  Spanish ensembles. He has also had the pleasure of performing under many of the world’s most famous conductors including, Claudio Abbado, Ricardo Chailly, Lorin Maazel, Pierre Boulez, Kurt Mazur, Daniel Harding, Daniele Gatti, Herbert Blomstedt, Fabio Luisi, Gustavo Dudamel, Bernard Haitink, Andris Nelsons,Gustavo Dudamel to name but a few.

Mark has had an active international teaching career in the last ten years having taught across the globe in such institutions as the Australian National Academy of Music, Griffith University and Sydney Conservatory in Australia, the YST school of music at the National University of Singapore, Beijing Central Conservatory and China Conservatory and Shanghai Conservatory in China, South Africa National Youth Orchestra, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Academy and Royal Northern College of Music in the UK, Dortmund Orchesterzentrum, and Stuttgart Musikhochschule in Germany, and many establishments in Spain.

He is presently on staff at Essen Folkwang Musikhochschule, Franz Liszt Musikhochschule in Weimar, Superior Conservatory of Music of Aragon in Zaragoza and the Alicante Brass Academy.

He holds positions as artistic consultant at both the Youth Philharmonic of Columbia and the Global Youth Orchestra (China). Furthermore he is a tutor at the Alicante Brass Academy, Superior Conservatory of Aragon in Zaragoza, MpMusic academy in Valencia and Gustav Mahler Academy in Bolzano amongst others.

Mark has also been engaged extensively as an adjudicator and jury member globally having worked with the Corpus trombone competition in Hungary and the Beijing Central Conservatory amongst others.

Whatsmore he is active as a conductor have founded the South Africa National Youth Brass Ensemble and Colombian National Youth Brass Ensemble and regularly directs concerts of brass and wind music at the Gustav Mahler Academy in Bolzano and the Orchesterzentrum in Dortmund.

Mark is also active as a soloist having performed at the Portuguese National Trombone Festival in Braga in July 2018 and the Brazilian National Trombone Festival in Belem in September 2019. He will also undertake a tour of teaching and solo playing in China during the Autumn of 2019.

GRAMMY-award winning musician Jauvon Gilliam was named principal timpanist of the National Symphony Orchestra in 2009 - the first African American principal in its history. Currently, he is also timpanist of the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra and is on the artist/faculty roster of the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival.

He has performed as guest timpanist with top ensembles, including the Budapest Festival Orchestra, as well as the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland, the UK-based Chineke! Orchestra, Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center, and the PBS-based All-Star Orchestra.

Gilliam has appeared as soloist with the National, Baltimore, and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras and at Carnegie Hall with the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony. From 2010 to 2024, he served as Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Maryland, mentoring students now in orchestras, military bands, and teaching at universities worldwide. He has led masterclasses across five continents and taught at festivals and institutions including Aspen, Interlochen, New World, and the National Youth Orchestra of the USA.

Prior to his NSO appointment, Gilliam was principal timpanist of the Winnipeg Symphony for seven seasons. A native of Gary, Indiana, he began his career as a pianist, later earning his degree from Butler University. He received an honorary doctorate from Butler in 2014.

Jauvon is also the Founder and CEO of The Marcel Group, an events management firm that specializes in end-to-end planning, production, and execution of complex live events. Grounded in an artist's perspective, the firm supports cultural institutions, government agencies, and private clients nationwide.

He proudly endorses Yamaha musical instruments, Remo drumheads, Sabian cymbals, and has a signature line of timpani mallets by Dragonfly Percussion.

Emanuil Ivanov attracted international attention after receiving the First prize at the 2019 Ferruccio Busoni Piano Competition in Italy. This achievement was followed by concert engagements in some of the world’s most prestigious halls including Teatro alla Scala in Milan and Herculessaal in Munich.

Emanuil Ivanov was born in 1998 in the town of Pazardzhik, Bulgaria. From an early age he demonstrated a keen interest and love for music. He regards the presence of symphonic music, especially that of Gustav Mahler, as tremendously influential in his musical upbringing during his childhood. He started piano lessons with Galina Daskalova in his hometown around the age of seven. Ivanov later studied with the renowned Bulgarian pianist Atanas Kurtev from 2013 to 2018. In 2024 he graduated from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, having studied there on a full scholarship under the tutelage of Pascal Nemirovski and Anthony Hewitt. He is currently an Advanced Diploma student at London’s Royal Academy of Music as a recipient of the prestigious Bicentenary scholarship, under the supervision of Joanna MacGregor and Christopher Elton.

In February 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ivanov performed a solo recital in Milan’s famous Teatro alla Scala. The concert was live-streamed online and is a major highlight in the artist’s career.

In 2022, he received the honorary Silver medal of the Musicians’ Company, London and later in the same year became a recipient of the prestigious Carnwath Piano Scholarship.

Emanuil Ivanov has given critically acclaimed performances and tours in Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, South Africa, the US, the United Kingdom and Poland and has played with leading orchestras in South Africa, the UK, Bulgaria and Italy. Ivanov’s performances have been featured on BBC Radio 3, Italy’s Rai Radio 3 and Japan’s NHK Radio. In 2024, Emanuil also made his debuts on the stages of Wigmore Hall and Konzerthaus Dortmund, and in January 2025, his album of Scarlatti sonatas for the renowned Naxos label was released.
In 2025, he also made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall.

He has continually shown affinity towards some of the more rarely performed works in the repertoire and in 2024 performed Busoni’s mammoth piano concerto. Apart from playing the piano, he also displays great interest in composition and has composed regularly since childhood.

Owen Dalton (1998-) is a South African composer, oboist and teacher based in Cape Town. He completed his BMus (2021) and MMus (2026) degrees in composition (both cum laude) at Stellenbosch University under the tutelage of Dr Antoni Schonken, Dr Hans Roosenschoon, and Arthur Feder. He performs regularly as a freelance oboist across South Africa ranging from chamber groups to professional orchestras. He also teaches oboe part-time at the Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre and dabbles in clarinet, flute, saxophone, and piano.

As a composer, Dalton has taken part in numerous competitions and events. Most notably, in the South African Composers' Award (SACA), he placed in the top 3 on multiple occasions: 2023 (2nd), 2024 (2nd) & 2025 (1st). Dalton has been composer-in-residence for the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra since 2025 and will have a new work performed by them at the next SACA. Since the competition's inception, he has received commissions and performances from musicians and ensembles across the country. These include the University of Pretoria Symphony Orchestra, the Mizar Trio, the Symposium of South African Composers', the Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre, the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival, and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.
Dalton's music has also garnered some international recognition. His orchestral work Century Machines (originally written for the 2024 SACA) received its international premiere by the Xalapa Philharmonic Orchestra of Mexico in May 2026. Some of his chamber works have also been commissioned and/or performed by players in the UK and USA. These include a wind quintet, a bass clarinet duet, a bass clarinet trio, and a recently completed bass clarinet quartet. Some more recent work includes a flute sonata, a trio for flute, alto saxophone and piano, an oboe concerto, and a work for solo voice and orchestra.

Dalton's music takes much inspiration from the works of Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky, John Adams, Alfred Schnittke, and the wind band works of John Mackey.