25 OCTOBER 2019

NINA KOTOVA, Cello | Russia

The Russian-American cellist Nina Kotova, has been praised by Gramophone as a “strong and individual artist” and by the Los Angeles Times as “a talent to reckon with- poised, committed, graceful and spirited.”Ms. Kotova has been internationally recognized as one of the outstanding instrumentalists of her generation. She studied at the Moscow Conservatory and graduated from the Musikhochschule in Cologne. Ms. Kotova has performed on Red Square in Moscow, for the Imperial family of Japan and at Buckingham Palace. She has appeared in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, at Town Hall and Carnegie Hall in NewYork, Wigmore Hall, the Barbican Centre in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Berlin Philharmonic to name a few.

SCOTT CUELLAR, pianist | US

Pianist Scott Cuellar won the gold medal at the 2016 San Antonio International Piano Competition. He was the 1st place winner in the solo division of the 2013 Virginia Waring International Piano Competition and the 3rd place winner of the 2016 New Orleans International Piano Competition. He has performed at major venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Bösendorfersaal, the Newport Music Festival, the Polytheatre Chongqing and the Shenyang Conservatory of Music in the People’s Republic of China. Mr. Cuellar holds a Master of Music from the Juilliard School, and completing his Doctor of Musical Arts at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where he studies with Jon Kimura Parker. Scott currently teaches at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

6 DECEMBER 2019

VICTOR PRIETO, Accordion | Spain

Grammy Winner Victor Prieto is hailed by The New York Times as “A fiendishly skilled accordionist and composer” and by All About Jazz as “One of the best World music and Jazz accordionists now days”. He has changed the way musicians and spectators view accordion by revolutionizing both technique and sound. His love for traditional Galician music and classical education enriches his compositions with explosive rhythm and colors uniquely combining Galician Roots, Celtic, Brazilian, Jazz, Tango, and Classical music. Victor continues collaborating on world stages with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble among many others. He teaches Master Classes in US Berklee College of Music and heads jazz accordion studies at the Brooklyn Conservatory, New York.

THE THALEA STRING QUARTET | Canada-US

The Thalea String Quartet is dedicated to bringing timeless music to audiences from all walks of life. They are devoted to building a new and diverse audience for chamber music through innovative programming and community engagement. Formed in 2014 at the Zephyr International Chamber Music Festival in Courmayeur, Italy, the Thalea String Quartet has been praised for their “vibrant performance” and “sincere expressivity” (SF Classical Voice). They were the first quartet-in-residence at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 2015-17. They were appointed as the Sphinx Ensemble at the 2018 Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and will return this coming summer as a Shouse Ensemble. They were ensemble-in-residence at the Bear Valley Music Festival for the summers of 2018 and 2019.

21 FEBRUARY 2020

AVI AVITAL, Mandolin & BRIDGET KIBBEY, Harp | Israel

Avi Avital is a driving force behind the reinvigoration of mandolin repertory. More than 90 contemporary compositions, 15 of them concertos, have been written for him, while his inspired re-imaginings of music for other instruments include arrangements heard on some of his recordings for Deutsche Grammophon. Enhanced by his infectious spirit of adventure and the warm rapport he fosters with his audience, Avital’s championship of his instrument is taking the mandolin centre stage. As well as appearing frequently in the major concert halls of Europe, including the Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Zurich’s Tonhalle, and Paris Philharmonie, Avi has exploded onto the US stage with recent debuts with the St. Louis Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, and the Chicago Symphony. In 2019, he makes his main stage debut at Carnegie Hall.

In demand as a soloist and chamber musician alongside today’s top artists, harpist Bridget Kibbey is a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Classical Recording Foundation’s Young Artist Award, a Salon de Virtuosi Grant, the only harpist to win a position with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society II, a winner of Concert Artist Guild’s International Competition, Astral Artist Auditions, and Premiere Prix at the Journées de les Harpes Competition in Arles, France. “Bridget Kibbey makes it seem as though her instrument had been waiting all its life to explode with the gorgeous colors and energetic figures she was getting from it.” The New York Times

10 APRIL 2020

MANE GALOYAN, Soprano | Armenia

Armenian soprano Mané Galoyan, whom Classical Source exclaimed, “…is a real find <…> with a compelling presence and able to express feelings as naturally as breathing … ” is making a splash in the classical music industry. In the most recent season, Ms. Galoyan makes her Metropolitan Opera debut, singing Prilepa/Chlöe in Pique Dame, conducted by Vasily Petrenko. She also returns to Houston Grand Opera to sing Gilda in Rigoletto, debuts with Hawaii Opera Theatre as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, and the role of Giannetta and cover of Adina in L’elisir d’amore with Glyndebourne Festival. For the 2018-2019 season, Ms. Galoyan performed Violetta with the Glyndebourne Festival on tour and Gilda in Rigoletto with Kentucky Opera and Wolf Trap Opera. Symphonic engagements included Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with James Gaffigan and The Dallas Symphony, as well as with Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the Houston Symphony. Ms. Galoyan also performed select Russian song repertoire with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Alice Tully Hall and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Aspen Music Festival. From 2015 to 2018 she was a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio where she performed numerous roles including Margaret Hughes in Carlisle Floyd’s Prince of Players, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Violetta in La traviata, the Forest Bird in Siegfried. Mané Galoyan is a winner of numerous international competitions, including, third prize in the International Tchaikovsky Competition, fourth prize in the International Vocal Competition China, third prize in the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition, a special prize in the Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition, and first prize in the Bibigul Tulegenova International Singing Competition. A native of Armenia Ms.Galoyan holds two degrees from the Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory. Currently resides in Houston, Texas.

DUO: JOLENTE DE MAEYER, Violin & NIKOLAAS KENDE, Piano | Belgium

After their successes at international competitions – including the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium, Jolente De Maeyer and Nikolaas Kende began performing as soloists with all major Belgian orchestras. As a duo, concerts throughout Europe followed. They have performed in major halls and festivals all over the globe. Highlights of the 2018-19 season include debuts in Illinois, New York State and Nova Scotia and concerts in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, the UK and China. Following De Maeyer’s ‘Editors Choice’ award by Diapason and the ‘Young Soloist of the Year’ award by Belgian classical Radio Klara. Their CD “ The Kreutzer Sonata” won the ‘Gold Label Prize’ for best chamber music album by Klassiek Centraal.

1 MAY 2020

DUO BALDO | Italy

The musical comedy team Duo Baldo is renowned violinist Brad Repp and pianist/actor Aldo Gentileschi. Their critically acclaimed concerts combine virtuosic performances and theatrical humor. Duo Baldo made their debut with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli in 2004. In February 2006, they won first prize at the National Short Theater Competition in Florence. After winning first prize at the 2009 Musicomicontest, they performed at the opening of the 2010 Salzburg Festival. In 2018 the duo performed to a sold-out crowd at Taipei’s prestigious National Concert Hall, earning themselves a second Chinese/Taiwanese tour in October of 2019. Violinist Brad Repp has appeared as violin soloist with José Carreras in two Asia tours. He performs on a 1736 Testore violin. Aldo Gentileschi performs on whatever piano he can find.

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