Contestants
Learn more about the talented contestants participating in the 2019 Carl Nielsen International Competition!
Violin
Yurina Arai
24 years old
Japan
BIOGRAPHY
Yurina Arai hails from Japan and studied at the Music High School of the Tokyo University of the Arts Faculty of Music, continuing her studies at the University of Music and the Performing Arts in Vienna. She was a multi-prizewinner at the International Jascha Heifetz Violin Competition in Lithuania, won First Prize at the International Grumiaux Competition, Second Prize at the Valsesia Musica International Competition, Second Prize at the Prague Spring International Music Festival Competition and Second Prize at the Salzburg Mozart International Chamber Music Competition. She was also a prizewinner at the Young Virtuosos International Competition. Yurina has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Lithuanian National Philharmonic, the Mihail Jora State Philharmonic, the Nagoya Symphony Orchestra and the Chubu Philharmonic Orchestra.Ava Bahari
22 years old
Sweden
BIOGRAPHY
Ava Bahari is from Gothenburg in Sweden, where she appeared for the first time as soloist in the city’s Concert Hall at the age of eight. She has since appeared as a soloist with the Gothenburg Symphony, Malmö Symphony and Borås Symphony Orchestras and with the Jönköpings Sinfonietta and reached the semifinals of the Menuhin Competition, Cooper International Violin Competition and Lipizer Violin Competition. Since age 13, Ava has been an active soloist and chamber musician. She has participated in master-classes with Boris Kuschnir, Pavel Vernikov, Midori, Pierre Amoyal and Gerhard Schulz. After graduating with honors from the science program at Hvitfeldtska High School, Ava is currently studying at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with Kolja Blacher.
Elina Buksha
28 years old
Latvia
BIOGRAPHY
Elina Buksha won the 2012 Latvia Great Music Award. She began playing the violin at the age of five, and from 2011 to 2017 studied at Belgium’s Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. She has been taught by Christoph Poppen at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München since 2017 and receives regular advice from Midori. She has performed alongside such artists as Maria João Pires, Midori, Augustin Dumay, Frank Braley, Gary Hoffman, the Modigliani Quartet and the Hermes Quartet and has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Liepaja Symphony Orchestra, I Virtuosi del Teatro alla Scala, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta Riga, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonie. She has recorded Saint-Saëns and Lalo violin concerti for the Alpha label.
Jiwon Choi
20 years old
South Korea
BIOGRAPHY
Jiwon Choi was born in Seoul and is first violin of the ICTUS string quartet. He made his solo concert debut in 2017 having been selected to perform solo recital for the Kumho Young Artist Concert Series at Kumho Art Hall. He is a laureate of the Joongang Music Competition and the Kookmin Ilbo & Hansei University Competition. In 2015, he won Second Prize at the Summit Music Festival First Competition and participated Summit Music Festival on a full scholarship. He won the First Prize at the Summit Music Festival’s Mary Smart Concerto Competition and made his US concerto debut with the Union City Philharmonic Orchestra in New Jersey. He also performed with orchestras including the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra and Seoul Orchestra. He currently studies at the College of Music Seoul National University under Professor Ju-Young Baek.
Wonbeen Chung
21 years old
South Korea
BIOGRAPHY
Wonbeen Chung began playing the violin at the age of six, and at the age of 15 she was admitted to the Seoul Arts High School. In 2014 she began undergraduate studies with Professor Mi-kyung Lee at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich. Wonbeen is a laureate of numerous international competitions and 2015 she made her Korean recital debut at the Kumho Arthall as a Kumho Young Artist. She has participated in the Tiber Varga International Music Academy and the Savonlinna Music Academy, and she received the Youth Development Prize at the Ninth International Violin Competition Leopold Mozart. She was also a finalist of the Sixth International Violin Competition Henri Marteau. Wonbeen has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra and the Korean Chamber Orchestra.
Johan Dalene
18 years old
Sweden
BIOGRAPHY
Johan Dalene made his debut as a soloist with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra at the age of 7. He has since performed extensively in Europe and appeared in South Africa, the United States, Indonesia and China. Johan has won First Prizes at international competitions including the Kocian Violin Competition, the Giovani Talenti Competition and the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Violin Competition. In 2016 he won Third Prize in the Junior section of the prestigious Menuhin Competition, also winning the Chamber Music Award, the Wieniawski Prize and the EMCY Prize. Since 2010, Johan’s regular teacher has been Professor Per Enoksson at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. In 2017, he was accepted to Norway’s Crescendo program, which has seen him mentored by Janine Jansen, Leif Ove Andsnes and Gidon Kremer.
Anna Agafia Egholm
22 years old
Denmark
BIOGRAPHY
Anna Egholm has performed as a soloist with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and has taken part in many master-classes with leading violinists. After two years of studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen with Alexandre Zapolski, Anna moved to Switzerland in 2016 to study with Svetlana Makarova at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne. She has won numerous Danish and Nordic competitions including the Jacob Gade Violin Competition, De Unges Konsert, Øresund Solist and Berlingske Tidendes Music Competition. She was awarded First Prize and the Audience Award at the international violin competition Ginette Neveu in Avignon in 2017, and the following year was a prizewinner at the Marie Cantagrill and the Ysaÿe Competitions in France and Belgium respectively.
Kornelia Figielska
22 years old
Poland
BIOGRAPHY
Kornelia Figielska was born in Koszalin, Poland, and began learning to play the violin at the age of 6, studying at the Bacewicz State Music School in Koszalin and the Brzewski Secondary Music School in Warsaw. She currently studies at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music with Jan Stanienda and Jakub Jakowicz. Kornelia plays in a duo with the pianist Adam Gozdziewski, is a member of the Monet String Quartet, and was awarded First Prize at the International Chamber Music Competition in Bydgoszcz, Poland. She has worked with musicians including Pierre Amoyal, Gidon Kremer and Ning Feng. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Koszalin Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed at Carnegie Hall as winner of the International Music Talent Competition.
Michael Germer
16 years old
Denmark
BIOGRAPHY
Michael Germer is a student of Professor Dora Schwarzberg at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel-Aviv University, prior to which he studied with Professor Serguei Azizian in Copenhagen. He has been awarded First Prize at a number of competitions including the International Grumiaux Competition and the Postacchini Competition, and won the Special Prize at the International Fritz Kreisler Competition. He has been a multiple prize-winner at domestic competitions in Denmark. In 2018 he was the youngest competitor in Senior Section of the International Menuhin Competition. Michael has attended master-classes with Josef Spacek, Nicola Benedetti, Hennning Kraggerud, Paul Rozeck, Almita Vamos, Milan Vitek, Alf Richard Kraggerud, Pavel Vernikov, Krzysztof Smietana and Olivier Charlier. He plays a 1720 Alessandro Mezzadri violin.
Marie-Astrid Hulot
21 years old
France
BIOGRAPHY
Marie-Astrid Hulot won the Premier Prix at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris. She continued her studies in Cologne and at Kronberg Academy in Mihaela Martin’s postgraduate class. She participated in the Seiji Ozawa Academy in Rolle in 2013 and 2018, where she studied with professors Nobuko Imai, Pamela Frank and Sadao Harada, and in the Bach Competition in Leipzig in 2014. Marie-Astrid won Second Prize at the Dominique Peccatte International Violin Competition in 2016. She has appeared as a soloist with the Armenian Chamber Orchestra and the CNSMDP's orchestra and has been concertmaster of the French Youth Orchestra conducted by David Zinman and Denis Russell Davies in repertoire including Mahler’s Symphony No 4. She has appeared at the Konzerthaus in Berlin and at the Philharmonie de Paris.
Karen Kido
24 years old
Japan
BIOGRAPHY
Karen Kido was born in Tokyo and won First Prize at the Michelangelo Abbado Competition in Milan at the age of 14. She has since won Fourth Prize at the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition and the Special Prize at both the Georges Enescu and Leopold Mozart Competitions, which followed numerous domestic prizes in Japan. She has attended the Ozawa International Chamber Music programme in Okushiga and was invited to participate in the Miyazaki International Music Festival as a soloist. She has appeared with the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, the Baden-Baden Philharmonie, the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Miyazaki International Music Festival Orchestra, the Odense Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Karen currently studies under Professors Asako Urushihara and Masafumi Hori at the Tokyo University of the Arts.
Paul Kropfitsch
18 years old
Austria
BIOGRAPHY
Paul Kropfitsch was born in Vienna and took his first violin lessons with Professor Marina Sorokova, who invited him to join her class at the Vienna University of Music. In 2014 he enrolled as a junior in Professor Anton Sorokow’s class at the University of Music and Performing Arts. Paul has participated in master-classes with Renaud Capuçon, Igor Ozim, Joji Hattori and Leonid Sorokow. He is a laureate of the Johannes Brahms International Violin Competition, won the Third Prize at the Fritz Kreisler Competition and has been placed in many more. He has performed at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, the Mozart Hall of the Vienna Konzerthaus, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Angelika Kauffmann Hall in Schwarzenberg and the Haydn Hall in Eisenstadt.
Kunwha Lee
25 years old
South Korea
BIOGRAPHY
Kunwha Lee made her debut at a Kumho Prodigy Concert in Korea at the age of 12. Since then she has appeared at concert halls throughout Korea and Europe, and is a laureate of a number of Korean competitions. She has been a prizewinner at the Michael Hill and Mirecourt International Competitions and currently studies with Professor Mikyung Lee at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Daegu Philharmonic, the Kyungbuk Philharmonic, the Busan Philharmonic and the Bad Reichenhall Philharmonic Orchestras as well as the Yewon Orchestra and the Seoul Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. Her concerto repertoire includes concertos by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Vieuxtemps, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius.
Hina Maeda
16 years old
Japan
BIOGRAPHY
Hina Maeda was born in Osaka and began playing the violin aged four. She is a scholarship student at the Tokyo College of Music High School where she studies with Machie Oguri, Koichiro Harada and Mayuko Kamio. She has won several prizes including First Prizes at the 67th All Japan Students Music Competition and the 16th Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition in Germany. She has also won the Kirishima International Music Festival Award. Hina is a regular recitalist and has appeared as a concerto soloist with orchestras in Japan since the age of eleven. She also enjoys playing chamber and orchestral performances alongside her work as a soloist, in which capacity she will soon be performing in France, Austria and throughout Italy.
Seina Matsuoka
25 years old
Japan
BIOGRAPHY
Seina Matsuoka was born in Kobe in 1993. Among many international prizes she has been awarded First Prize at the Kobe International Competition, the Matsukata Hall Music Award, the Best Music New Star Award in the ABC Institute for Musical Advancement and Second Prize at the Munetsugu Angel Violin Competition. She has broadcast on Japan’s state broadcaster NHK and since 2014 has participated in the Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy at Okushiga. Seina is an active chamber musician in addition to her work as a soloist. She has performed with Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Osaka Symphony Orchestra and the Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra. In Japan she studied with Professor Machie Oguri at the Soai University and she currently studies with Professor Micheal Frischenschlager at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.
Michiru Matsuyama
27 years old
Japan
BIOGRAPHY
As a teenager, Michiru Matsuyama won First Prize at the International Music Competition and the Great Wall Music Competition. She studied in Japan with Professor Koichiro Harada at the Toho High School of Music. Since 2010, she has lived in Germany, studying at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler and the University of Music Carl Maria von Weber. Since 2017 she has studied at the University of Music and Theater Felix-Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Leipzig with Professor Carolin Widmann. She won Second Prize at the Königin Sophie Charlotte Competition and Third Prize at the Rodolfo Lipizer Competition. She has been a semi-finalist at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and the Fritz Kreisler Competition. She has appeared with orchestras including the Orchestra Royal de Chamber de Wallonie and the Sendai Philharmonic.
Sueye Park
18 years old
South Korea
BIOGRAPHY
Sueye Park was born in South Korea and began studying the violin at the age of four. At nine she began her studies with Professor Ulf Wallin at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. She has been victorious at a number of national and international competitions including the International Spohr Competition in Weimar. As a soloist, Sueye has performed with orchestras including the Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, the Staatskapelle Weimar and the Magdeburg Philharmonic. She has performed at festivals and concert halls in France, Germany, Israel, Italy, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Tunisia and has broadcast on German, South Korean, Spanish, Israeli and Swedish state networks. She has recorded Paganini’s 24 Caprices for the BIS label.
Dmitry Smirnov
24 years old
Russia
BIOGRAPHY
Dmitry Smirnov was born into a family of musicians in 1994. He studied with Elena Zaiceva and Pavel Vernikov and is currently a postgraduate student with Rainer Schmidt at the Basel Music Academy. Smirnov is a laureate of the Oistrakh Violin Competition, the Menuhin Violin Competition and the Tibor Varga Violin Competition. He is an experienced chamber musician, in which capacity he has worked with Heinz Holliger, Stefano Barneschi and Barnabas Kelemen. He has performed under conductors Stanislav Kochanovsky, Vladimir Spivakov and Gilbert Varga and as a soloist with orchestras including the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne, the Staatsorchester Mainz, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra and Questa Musica. He has appeared at the Nikkei Hall Tokyo, Konzerthaus Berlin, Mariinsky Concert Hall. Dmitry currently plays a violin made by Philipp Bonhoeffer in 2018.
Belle Ting
18 years old
Canada
BIOGRAPHY
Since 2011 Belle Ting has been a student at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna under Professors Dora Schwarzberg and Lucia Hall. She has won the Grand Prize in the International Arthur Grumiaux Violin Competition, First Prize in the International Cooper Violin Competition and three prizes at the International Johannes Brahms Competition including the Special Prize for Outstanding Interpretation of a Work by Brahms. In July 2018, she was selected to perform in the Verbier Festival as part of the Verbier Festival Academy, and the following month she became the youngest finalist in the International Isaac Stern Violin Competition in Shanghai. She has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Gdansk, the Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra, the Talich Philharmonia and the INSO-Lviv.
Arata Yumi
26 years old
Japan
BIOGRAPHY
Arata Yumi from Tokyo was a prizewinner at the 2011 Henryk Wieniawski Competition, which brought him a number of engagements at international concert halls. In March 2015, he made his debut in Taipei with the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, playing the Sibelius concerto. He has performed with orchestras including the Argovia Philharmonic, the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Arata has appeared at festivals including Gstaad Menuhin Festival and Musikfestival Ernen. Awards include the Aoyama Music Award Kyoto (2017), the Kiefer-Hablitzel Music Prize Berne (2016) and first prizes at a number of competitions including as the Guadagnini Competition Tokyo. He has received scholarships from the Yamaha music foundation, ROHM music foundation, Ezoe Memorial Foundation and Migros Kulturprozent.
Clarinet
José Carlos Domínguez Almela
26 years old
Spain
BIOGRAPHY
José Carlos Domínguez Almela studied at the Manuel de Falla Conservatory in his hometown, Cadiz, before moving to the Advanced Conservatory of Music in Seville where he studied with Camilo Irizo. He then moved to the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki to study with Olli Leppäniemi and Harri Mäki. José Carlos has played with the Finnish Radio Symphony, Lahti Symphony, Finnish Chamber and Granada City Orchestras as well as the Dala Sinfonietta, Tapiola Sinfonietta and the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville. He has covered the co-principal clarinet chair at the Oulu Symphony Orchestra and has participated in master-classes with pedagogues including José Luis Estellés, Carlos Gil, Francisco José Cantó, David Calvo, Antonio Salguero, Javier Trigos, Charles Neidich, Nicholas Cox, Björn Nyman and Yehuda Gilad.
Andrea Caputo
22 years old
Italy
BIOGRAPHY
After graduating from the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella in Naples, Andrea Caputo was admitted to the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome where he studied under Professor Alessandro Carbonare. He later continued his studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Professor Wenzel Fuchs. He is a laureate of the Giacomo Mensi Competition and the Crescendo Competition Florence. Andrea has sat in the Principal Clarinet chair of the Orchestra of the Petruzzelli Theatre, the Philharmonie Salzburg, the South Chamber Orchestra, the Schwäbisches Chamber Orchestra and Das Sinfonie Orchester and has performed at the Philharmonie in Berlin and the Großes Festspielhaus in Salzburg, the latter during a performance broadcast live on Austrian broadcaster ORF. He has appeared as a soloist with the South Chamber Orchestra and the Naples Chamber Orchestra.
Andrzej Cieplínski
25 years old
Poland
BIOGRAPHY
Andrzej Cieplínski graduated with distinction from the clarinet class of Professor Arkadiusz Adamski at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music Katowice, where he was awarded the honorary title Primus Inter Pares. He currently studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel with François Benda. Andrzej has appeared as a soloist with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice, the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra Warsaw, the Opole and Lviv Philharmonic Orchestras, the Slovak Sinfonietta and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has received the Polish Radio’s New Talent Prize, was First Prize winner at the Clarinet Competition in Włoszakowice and won the Grand Prix at the International Wind Instrument Competition in Warsaw. Other awards and scholarships include the Minister of Culture and National Heritage’s Scholarship for artistic achievements.
Aron Chiesa
22 years old
Italy
BIOGRAPHY
Aron Chiesa occupies the Principal Clarinet chair at the Sinfonieorchester Basel in Switzerland and held the same position at the Opera Royal de Wallonie in Liège. He has been invited to perform as Guest Principal in the Orchestra of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philarmonique de Luxembourg, the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philarmonique de Liège and the Orchestra of the Teatro Verdi Salerno. He attended the Briccialdi Conservatory in Terni and continues his studies with Calofero Palermo of the RCO Amsterdam. Aron is a laureate of a number of competitions including the Ghent, Valentino Bucchi, Dmitry Ashkenazy and Czech Clarinet Art Competitions. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Brussels Philharmonic, the Lviv Philharmonic, the Russian Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonie Baden Baden at KKL in Lucerne.
Sérgio Coelho
26 years old
Portugal
BIOGRAPHY
Sérgio Coelho occupies the principal clarinet chair at the American Youth Symphony Orchestra. He performs regularly with Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, the Downey Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Sinfonietta. As a soloist he had the opportunity to perform with the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra and the USC Symphony Orchestra. Sérgio has been a semifinalist at the Jacques Lancelot International Clarinet Competition, a finalist at the Hennings-Fischer Young Artists Competition and has won First Prize at the USC Concerto Competition and Second Prize at the Pasadena Showcase Competition. He studied at the University of Southern California Los Angeles where he is currently a postgraduate student, before which he attended the Metropolitan National Orchestral Academy in his native Portugal.
Magdalena Faust
25 years old
Germany
BIOGRAPHY
Magdalena Faust started to play the clarinet at the age of nine and only two years later won a place at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin to study with Professor Diethelm Kühn. She continued her studies with Ralf Forster, Martin Spangenberg and Francois Benda in Berlin and with Jörg Widmann in Freiburg. Magdalena has been a prizewinner at competitions including the Radio Competition Concertino Prague and Deutscher Musikwettbewerb and Felix- Mendelssohn-Bartholdy competitions. She has appeared as a soloist with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. With her ensemble Trio Marie, she has also won the John Cage Competition Halberstadt and the International Alice Samter Foundation Chamber Music Competition. Magdalena holds the Principal E-flat-Clarinet and deputizing Principal chair in the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Jonas Lyskjær Frølund
22 years old
Denmark
BIOGRAPHY
Jonas Lyskjær Frølund studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music under the solo clarinetist of the Royal Danish Orchestra, Lee Morgan, before moving to the Paris Conservatoire to study with Pascal Moragues. Jonas occupies the Principal Clarinet chair at the Danish Entertainment Orchestra and is alternating solo clarinet in the Malmö Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with the Danish National, Aarhus and Odense Symphony Orchestras and with the Copenhagen Phil. He has played chamber music with Trio con Brio Copenhagen, Ensemble Storstrøm, the Gershwin Quartet and violinists Sergey Malov and Andrej Bielow. Jonas was a prizewinner at the Marco Fiorindo International Music Competition and at the Lacques Lancelot International Clarinet Competition. He has received a Léonie Sonning scholarship and a P2 Talent Prize from the Danish Broadcasting Corporation.
Víctor Díaz Guerra
22 years old
Spain
BIOGRAPHY
Spanish clarinetist Víctor Díaz Guerra has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Extremadura Youth Orchestra and the Poway Symphony Orchestra. He has been awarded First Prize at competitions in Spain and beyond, including the Competitions of the International Clarinet Association, the European Clarinet Association and the Pasadena Showcase. Víctor has performed for the Spanish monarchy, has worked with conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, Valery Gergiev, Stéphane Denève, Matthias Pintscher, Ludovic Morlot and James Conlon and has appeared with the Colburn Symphony Orchestra, Extremadura Symphony Orchestra, European Union Youth Wind Orchestra and the Extremadura Youth Orchestra. He studied at the Escola Superior de Música, Artes e Espectáculo in Porto and continues his studies at The Colburn School in Los Angeles.
Magnus Holmander
25 years old
Sweden
BIOGRAPHY
Magnus Holmander hails from Sweden and studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with Hermann Stefánsson and Emil Jonasson. In the 2018-19 Season is a Rising Star of the Stockholm Concert Hall. With the accordion player Irina Seroytuk, he is winner of the 2017 Young and Promising Competition, which resulted in a European tour and the commissioning of a new work from the Swedish composer Andrea Tarrodi. Magnus has a strong interest in contemporary music. He has participated in Martin Fröst’s Dollhouse and Genesis productions and enjoys a close relationship with the composers Anders Hillborg and Rolf Martinsson, both of whose clarinet concertos he has performed. He has performed at the Grieg Hall in Bergen, the Royal Festival Hall in London and at the Auditorio di Milano.
Han Kim
22 years old
South Korea
BIOGRAPHY
Han Kim began playing the clarinet at the age of eight. He has appeared as a soloist with the KBS Symphony and Suwon Philharmonic Orchestras and has played chamber music with Arto Noras, Sabine and Wolfgang Meyer, Daniel Müller-Schott, Igor Levit, the Shanghai String Quartet and the Bennewitz Quartet. He has won First Prize at the Jacques Lancelot Competition, where he also received the Audience Prize and the Contemporary Prize. Han is the youngest member of the Kumho Asiana Soloists scheme and is a founder member of the Viets Quintet, which won Second Prize at the Carl Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition. He currently occupies the Second Solo Clarinet chair in the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and studies with Sabine Meyer at the Musikhochschule Lübeck.
Wooyun Kim
26 years old
South Korea
BIOGRAPHY
Wooyun Kim was born in Daejon, South Korea. After attending Seoul Arts High School he studied at the Musikhochschule Köln with Professors Ralph Manno and Hans D Klaus. He is a winner of the Beijing International Music Competition, has won Second Prize at the Classic Winds and Saverio Mercadante Competitions and was placed Third at the Markneukirchen International Competition. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonisches Orchester Plauen-Zwickau, the Lübeck and Dejan Philharmonics and with Sinfonietta Köln. He has participated in master-classes with Martin Fröst, Karl Leister and Martin Spangenberg. Wooyun currently studies with Sabine Meyer at the Musikhoschule Lübeck, where he was the first Korean clarinetist to win a place.
Li-Ling Lee
25 years old
Taiwan
BIOGRAPHY
Li-Ling Lee was born in Taiwan. She is a laureate of international competitions including the Picardie Competition (First Prize), the European Competition ClariSax Valenciennes, the International Buffet Competition in Taiwan (First Prize), the Taiwan Clarinet Competition (First Prize) and the Taipei Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Concerto Competition. She is currently a postgraduate student at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon with Professors Nicolas Baldeyrou and Frank Amet. Previously, she studied at the Regional Conservatory of Rueil-Malmaison with Professor Florent Héau. Li-Ling is an active recitalist, concerto soloist and orchestral and chamber musician. She has performed with the Lyon Opera Orchestra, Lyon Chamber Orchestras and the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra. With the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, she has performed Carl Maria von Weber’s Clarinet Concerto Op 74.
Seung-Hwan Lee
27 years old
South Korea
BIOGRAPHY
Seung-Hwan Lee began his clarinet studies at Yewon School Academy in Seoul before moving to Seoul Arts High School, the Korea National University of Arts and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he joined the class of Pascal Moragues. Seung-Hwan made his debut at the Kumho Prodigy Concert Series. He frequently performs with the Ostinato Atelier Orchestra and with his own woodwind quintet, Rafiki. He is a recipient of the FNAPEC Special Award from the Korean Embassy in Paris and has twice been nominated for the yearly Jeunes Talents prize. He has performed with the Moragues Quintet at Radio France and as guest clarinetist with the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, the KBS Symphony Orchestra and the Opéra de Limoges. As a member of the Youth Orchestra of France, he has participated in music festivals throughout Europe.
Ann Lepage
22 years old
France
BIOGRAPHY
French clarinetist Ann Lepage began her studies in Valenciennes before moving to Paris to study with Florent Heau and at the Paris Conservatoire, where her teacher is Philippe Berrod. Ann has been a finalist at the Jacques Lancelot International Competition and the ICA High School Competition and is a laureate of the Picardie Clarinet Competition, the Clarisax Competition, the Vélizy-Villacoublay Competition and the Benelux Competition. Ann has played in the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre Les Dissonnances, the Orchestre Philarmonique de Liège and the Orchestre de Chambre de la Nouvelle Europe, experiences which have taken her to the Philarmonie de Paris, the Théâtre du Champs-Elysées, the Musikverein in Vienna and the Philharmonie in Essen. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Brussels Chamber Orchestra.Anton Maiseyenka
26 years old
Belarus
BIOGRAPHY
Anton Maiseyenka was born in Minsk and took his first clarinet lessons from his father Valery Maiseyenka at the age of ten. He was a student of Professor Evgeny Petrov at the Central Music School in Moscow and later at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory. He won First Prize at the TWIYCA Competition and Third Prize at the BJIMC Competition and has recorded an album of twentieth-century clarinet works. Since 2013, Anton has occupied the Principal Clarinet chair at the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio. He has performed recitals at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London and at the Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in New York and has appeared on the concert stage as a performer of his own compositions, which have also been performed in Belarus, Russia, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Japan.
Gerbrich Francine Meijer
21 years old
Netherlands
BIOGRAPHY
Gerbrich Meijer from the Netherlands is currently pursuing postgraduate studies at The Colburn School in Los Angeles with professor Yehuda Gilad, before which she graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Music following studies with John Kruse. She has been a recipient of the Ian Stoutzker Prize from the European Youth Orchestra and in 2018 received the Talent Prize from the Prince Bernhard Culture Foundation in The Netherlands. She has been a prizewinner at the Princess Christina Competition, the Zilveren Vork Competition and the Haydn Music Festival Groningen Competition. Occupying the Principal Clarinet chair of the EUYO, she toured Europe under Gianandrea Noseda, Vasily Petrenko and Manfred Honeck. She has played with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Copenhagen Phil, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Danish Orchestra.
Yuhsin Galaxy Su
19 years old
Taiwan
BIOGRAPHY
Yuhsin Galaxy Su was born in Taipei and has performed as a clarinetist and a pianist on stages throughout the world. She is a laureate of the HSNU Concerto Competition, the International Morningside Music Bridge Concerto Competition and the Young Classical Virtuoso of Tomorrow Competition. She studied at the Curtis Institute of Music where she was fully involved in performance projects at the Kimmel Center, Columbia University, the Kennedy Center and the Curtis Field Recital Hall. She has also participated in the International Clarinet Association Festival and the Beijing International Clarinet Festival. Yushin currently studies with Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic and she was recently chosen as member of the Pacific Music Festival Academy of 2019.
Cristina Mateo Sáez
23 years old
Spain
BIOGRAPHY
Spanish clarinetist Cristina Mateo Sáez has been a prizewinner at numerous international competitions including the Pasadena Showcase House Competition, the Jacques Lancelot International Clarinet Competition, the International Clarinet Association Competition, the National Repertory Orchestra Concerto Competition (First Prize) and the Villanueva del Arzobispo Clarinet Competition (First Prize). She has appeared as a concerto soloist with The Colburn Orchestra (under Esa-Pekka Salonen), the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the National Repertory Orchestra and gave the world premiere of Fuminori Tanada’s clarinet concerto Summerwind with the Rouen Opera Orchestra. She has played guest principal clarinet with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and appeared with the Tanglewood Music Centre Orchestra and the Almería Symphony Orchestra. Cristina completed her undergraduate studies at The Colburn Conservatory with Professor Yehuda Gilad.
Blaz Sparovec
24 years old
Slovenia
BIOGRAPHY
Blaz Sparovec hails from Slovenia and studied in Ljubljana with Andrej Zupan before completing his studies with François Benda at the University of Arts in Berlin. Prizes for performance include the DAAD Prize, First Prize in the Hülsta Woodwinds Competition, First Prize and Audience Prize at the Aeolus Wind Competition and the Special Prize at the Concertino Prag Competition. Blaz represented Solvenia at the Eurovision Young Musician in 2012. Since 2015 he has occupied the principal clarinet chair at the Cologne Gürzenich Orchestra and is associate professor at the University of Arts in Berlin. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Slovenian National Philharmonic, Slovenian National Radio Orchestra and Göttinger Symphonieorchester. He has played as a guest with the Staatskapelle Dresden and the WDR Symphonieorchester.
Ivan Tikhonov
24 years old
Russia
BIOGRAPHY
Ivan Tikhonov’s talents were nurtured at the Ural Music College and at the age of 17 he took up a place at the Central Music School of the Moscow State Conservatory in the class of Professor Petrov Eugeny, during which time he performed with most of the conservatory’s ensembles and appeared as a concerto soloist with its orchestras. Ivan is a laureate of the All Russian Music Competition and the International Moscow Conservatory Competition. He won First Prize at the Rimsky-Korsakov International Wind Competition and now leads the clarinet group in the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra. He has played concertos with the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, the St Petersburg Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra and the Tolyatti Symphony Orchestra.
Julija Vrabec
23 years old
Slovenia
BIOGRAPHY
Julija Vrabec hails from Ljubljana. She studied at the Music School and Art Gymnasium in Koper and pursued postgraduate studies with Professor François Benda at the Conservatorio Svizzera Italiana. She has been a prizewinner at the Emona, Krško and Euritmia Competitions and has won First Prize at the Carlino, Svirel and Temsig Competitions. Julija has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Ljubljana Academy of Music Orchestra and the National Theatre Orchestra Maribor. As an orchestra player she has worked with the Slovenian Philharmonic and Slovenian Radio and Television Orchestras and was a member of the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra and the Ljubljana International Orchestra. She has attended master-classes with Charles Neidich, Paolo Beltramini, Sabine Meyer and Robert Spring and has performed at the Koper Biennale, the World Music Days and the Slowind Spring Festival.
Lorenzo de Virgiliis
22 years old
Italy
BIOGRAPHY
Lorenzo de Virgiliis from Italy studied at the Conservatorio Luisa D'Annunzio in Pescara with Professor Stefano Bellante. He has been a prizewinner at the Paolo Barasso Competition, the Benelux Competition, the City of Florence Competition, the Saverio Mercadante Competition and the Lisbon International Clarinet Competition. Having occupied the Principal Clarinet chair of the Junior Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, since 2017 he has been Principal E flat Clarinet at the Orchestre Philarmonique de Liège. He has participated in training courses and master-classes with Karl Leister, Giammarco Casani, Antony Pay, Philippe Cuper, Fabrizio Meloni, Paul Meyer and Eddy Vanoosthuyse and participates in all configurations of chamber music performance. He undertook postgraduate studies at IMEP in Namur under Jean-Luc Votano and Calogero Palermo.
Alexey Vovchenko
25 years old
Russia
BIOGRAPHY
Alexey Vovchenko was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He graduated from the Central Music School in Moscow, continuing his studies at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory under the direction of Professor Evgeny Petrov where he remains a postgraduate student. He won Second Prize at the Concertino Competition Prague and First Prize at the International Moscow Conservatoire Woodwind Competition. He was also a prizewinner at the Ghent International Competition. Alexey has participated in master-classes with renowned woodwind players including Charles Neidich, Wenzel Fuchs, Alessandro Carbonare, Pascal Moragues, Anne Piirainen and Nicolas Baldeyrou. He has performed in the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Armenia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Estonia, Lithuania, Georgia, Poland, Azerbaijan, Argentina, Uruguay, France, Spain and Ukraine. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Brussels Philharmonic.
Mio Yamashita
27 years old
Japan
BIOGRAPHY
Mio Yamashita was born in Osaka where she began piano studies at the age of three and clarinet studies at the age of twelve. She has been a prizewinner at the Takarazuka Vega Competition and the All Japan Junior Classical Music Competition and won the Grand Prix of the Osaka College of Music Wind Competition in 2012. She currently studies with Yuka Nagato, Shuichiro Mochimaru and Romain Guyot and her chamber music tutors have included Caillat Gui-Michel, Jean Jacques Ballet, James Alexander, Gábor Takács-Nagy. She is a postgraduate student at the Geneva High School of Music and has worked with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestre de Chambre de Geneve and Ensemble Contrechamps. She has appeared with the Japan Century Orchestra and the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra.
Flute
Rafael Adobas Bayog
21 years old
Spain
BIOGRAPHY
Rafael Adobas Bayog was born in Ibiza and studied at the island’s Conservatory with Joanna Moragues and with Vincens Prats of the Orchestre de Paris. His subsequent studies took him to the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya and since 2017 he has studied with Professor Andrea Lieberknecht at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Munich. Rafael has been a prizewinner at the Theobald Böehm Competition, the Andalucía Flute Competition, the National Flute Competition of the Spanish Flute Association, the Young Artist’s Competition Ciudad de Cuenca, the Juventudes Musicales de España Competition and the Intercentros Melómano Competition. He has been a member of the Youth Symphony Orchestras of Catalonia, Eivissa and Barcelona and of the Kammerorchester Hannover. He has worked with distinguish flautists including Felix Renggli, Kersten McCall and Aldo Baerten.
You Chae-Yeon
17 years old
South Korea
BIOGRAPHY
You Chae-Yeon began her studies at the Seoul Arts High School before enrolling at the Korea National University as a Gifted Student. She has won prizes at a number of competitions including the Ewha Kyunghyang Competition, the Korea Herald Music Competition, the Haneum Philharmonic Orchestra Competition and the Seoul National University's Instrumental Practical Competition and became the youngest candidate to pass the First Round of the Markneukirchen International Instrumental Competition. After succeeding in her Kumho Young Artist audition, she gave a solo concert at Kumho Art Hall and was selected as a Rising Star at the Gonjiam Flute Festival. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Daegu Philharmonic Orchestra and the Changwon Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Sirius Chau
24 years old
United Kingdom
BIOGRAPHY
Sirius Chau was born in Hong Kong and graduated with distinction from the Masters course of the Royal College of Music in London where he studied with Katie Bedford and Sue Thomas. He is currently the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Scholar at the RCM where he is studying for an Artist’s Diploma. He has been a prizewinner at the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra Young Soloists Competition, the RCM Concerto and Solo Woodwind Competitions and the Westbourne Orchestra Concerto Competition. He was the Alain-Marion Scholarship holder at the Domaine Forget International Music Academy in Canada where he studied privately with Emmanuel Pahud, Mathieu Dufour, Philippe Bernold and Ulla Miilmann. Sirius has appeared as a member of the Orchestra of English National Opera, the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra.
Matvey Demin
25 years old
Russia
BIOGRAPHY
Matvey Demin was born in in Osinniki, Siberia, and studied at the Novosibirsk Specialized School of Music with Nadezhda Furenkova, continuing his studies with Professor Andrea Lieberknecht at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hannover and at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Munich. He is a laureate of the Kuhlau, ARD, Deutscher Hochschulwettbewerb, BJIMC Beijing, Krakow, UNISA and Aeolus Winds Competitions and has occupied the Solo Flute chair in the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra. At the age of 20 he was appointed to the Co-Principal Solo Flute chair at the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich where he has played under Bernhard Haitink, David Zinman, Herbert Blomstedt, Franz-Welser Möst, Paavo Järvi and more. Matev is also an active chamber musician and has appeared at the Davos, Emilia Romagna and Molyvos Festivals.
Lívia Duleba
29 years old
Hungary
BIOGRAPHY
Lívia Duleba graduated from the Soloist’s Class at the University of Detmold where her teacher was Professor János Bálint. She has been a prizewinner at the Prague, Anton Eberst, Kuhlau, Michael Spisak, Kiejstut Bacewicz, Krakow and Nicolet International Competitions and has participated in master-classes with renowned flautists including Emmanuel Pahud, James Galway, Philippe Benoit and Clara Andrada de la Calle. Lívia has received the Fellowship of the Republic from the Hungarian State and the Fischer Annie Scholarship. She currently occupies the Principal Flute chair at the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and is a member of the Budapest Wind Quintet. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, the Eger Symphony Orchestra, the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra, the Szolnok Symphony Orchestra and the Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra among others.
Sung Hue Kim
24 years old
South Korea
BIOGRAPHY
Sung Hue Kim was born in Seoul in Korea, and graduated from the Seoul Arts High School. She lived in Japan for seven years between the ages of seven and 14. Following her studies in the Far East, Sung Hue was awarded a place at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin where she is a flute student of Professor Benoît Fromanger. She has won a number of flute competitions in her native Korea and has worked as a flautist with orchestras in Europe and Asia, including the Euroasian Orchestra, the Berliner Camerata, the Neue Philharmonie Berlin and the Berlin Youth Orchestra. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Euroasian Orchestra.
Andrei Krivenko
22 years old
Russia
BIOGRAPHY
Andrei Krivenko was born in Kaliningrad, Russia, and began his flute studies at the age of six. He is currently a student at the Basel Academy of Music and has been a prizewinner at multiple competitions including the VN Tsybin Competition (First Prize), the Gnesinfest Competition (Second Prize), the Open Regional Competition of Kaliningrad (First Prize) and the Val-de-Travers Competition (Third Prize). Andrei has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Basel Symphony Orchestra and the Symphonic Orchestra of the Astrakhan State Theatre Opera and Ballet. He has been a member of the Zakhar Bron Festival Orchestra and the All Russian Youth Orchestra and has participated in master-classes with Vincent Lucas, Felix Renggli, Andrea Lieberknecht, Philip Bernold, William Bennett and other.
Yerzhan Kushanov
29 years old
Kazakhstan
BIOGRAPHY
Yerzhan Kushanov attended the Kazakh Republic Specialized Music School in the class of Gabdulla Mukanova before proceeding to the Paris Conservatoire where he studied under Sophie Cherrier and Vincent Lucas, graduating with the Premier Prix. He won First Prize at the Republic Competition of Wind Instruments, First Prize at the International Flute Competition in Paris, First Prize at the Marcel Bleustein Competition, the Young Soloist’s Prize at the Haifa International Flute Competition, the Second Prize at the European Competition for Wind Instruments in Amiens. He has also won the Fondation Banque Populaire Prize. Yerzhan has performed in the most prestigious venues in Paris and in October 2016 was invited to perform the Generation Jeunes Interpretes concert on Radio France’s classical station France Musique.
Stephanie Kwak
27 years old
United States of America
BIOGRAPHY
Stephanie Kwak began her flute studies at the age of ten and a year later was selected to participate in the Prodigy Programme of the Seoul Arts Center. Moving to the USA, she studied at the Juilliard School at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels where her teacher was Carol Wincenc. At Juilliard she as awarded a scholarship, a Project Grant and served as the Chamber Music Coordinator. Stephanie is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the University of New York Stony Brook, where she also teaches. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Ukraine Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Jeju Philharmonic Orchestra, the Buncheon Philharmonic Orchestra, the Juilliard Symphony Orchestra and the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra.
Erika Macalli
23 years old
Italy
BIOGRAPHY
Erika Macalli was born in Rome and attended the Conservatories of Rome and Milan. She is a previous winner of the Kuhlau International Competition and was runner-up at both the Krakamp and Koehler Competitions, following which she was awarded the Severino Gazzelloni scholarship. She has played with the Youth Orchestra of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, the Ernst and Young Orchestra, the Italian Youth Orchestra, the Youth Orchestra of the Mediterranean and the Orchestra Cherubini conducted by Riccardo Muti. She has sat in the Principal Flute chair of I Pomeriggi Musicali Milan and the Haydn Orchester Bolzano. Erika studied flute with Michele Marasco, Paolo Taballione and Andrea Oliva and piccolo with Michele Colajanni.
Héléna Macherel
23 years old
Switzerland
BIOGRAPHY
Héléna Macherel studied at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne under José- Daniel Castellon, where she won the Fritz Bach Prize. She continued her studies at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, Berlin, in the class of Silvia Careddu and with Claude Lefebvre in Paris. She has also taken lessons from Sophie Cherrier, Juliette Hurel, Patrick Gallois, Emily Beynon, Andrea Lieberknecht and Emmanuel Pahud. Héléna has won the Emona Competition in Slovenia, the International Jeunesses Musicales Competition in Serbia and the Paul Streit Prize of the Geneva Competition. She has reached the final of the Budapest International Flute Competition and the Cimarosa Competition. She has appeared as a soloist with the Zurich Tonhalle and Chamber Orchestras, the Budapest Radio Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and the Danube Symphony Orchestra.
Maël Marcon
22 years old
France
BIOGRAPHY
Maël Marcon was born in France and studied at the Marseille Conservatory and the Lyon Conservatory under Michel Lavignolles, before furthering his education in Pascale Feuvrier's class at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional Rueil Malmaison. He is currently completing his training at the Paris Conservatoire under Sophie Cherrier and Vincent Lucas. His is a laureate of several international competitions and has performed at venues including the Philharmonie de Paris, the Opéra Bastille and the Auditorium de Lyon. Since 2017 he has played with the Ostinato Orchestra, performed with the ensemble throughout France and beyond. Maël has participated in master-classes with some of the world’s most respected flautists including Juliette Hurel, Julien Beaudiment, Emmanuel Pahud and Michel Moraguès.
Ruofan Min
24 years old
China
BIOGRAPHY
Ruofan Min started to play the flute at the age of eight and attended the Shanghai Conservatory of Music where he remained for six years. He was a prizewinner at the Bucharest International Flute Competition, the Elise Meyer Wettbewerb Competition and the Asia Flute Competition. Following his success in the Conservatory Concerto Competition he was invited to perform Mozart’s D major concerto with the Shanghai Conservatory Orchestra. He continued his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg under Professor Björn Westlund and subsequently took up a place at the Hochschule für Musik Basel where he pursued postgraduate studies with Professor Felix Renggli. He is a member of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra and has performed the Nielsen Flute Concerto with the Chamber Academy Basel.
Joséphine Olech
24 years old
France
BIOGRAPHY
Joséphine Olech occupies the Principal Flute chair at the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and was previously a member of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s Academy. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Sophie Cherrier and Vincent Lucas and was a prizewinner at the Prague Spring Festival and FMAJI Competitions among others. She has also been nominated as an ADAMI Révélation Classique. Joséphine co-founded the Alma Mahler Chamber Orchestra involving young professional musicians from 12 European countries, and is a member of the Odyssée Woodwind Quintet. Her debut CD Souvenirs de Hongrie – a collaboration with the flautist Juliette Hurel and the pianist Sélim Mazari – was released in 2011. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with orchestras including the Orchestre de Chambre de Nouvelle Europe and the Orchestre de Chambre d’Île-de-France.
Aleksandra Pleterski
25 years old
Slovenia
BIOGRAPHY
Aleksandra Pleterski began her education in Slovenia before enrolling at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna where she studied with Hansgeorg Schmeiser, later moving to the Paris Conservatoire to study with Philippe Bernold. She has been a prizewinner at the Krakow International Flute Competition and has occupied the Principal Flute chair at the Vienna Volksoper and at the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. As a member of the Webern Symphony Orchestra she had the opportunity to perform under conductors including Franz Welser-Möst, Christoph Eschenbach and Christoph von Dohnányi. She received a scholarship to participate in the intensive activities offered by the International Academy of Music in Liechtenstein and has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Collegium Musicum der MDW.
Tomasz Sierant
23 years old
Poland
BIOGRAPHY
Tomasz Sierant started his music education in the flute class of Marzena Kowalczyk in Łódź, continuing with Professor Urszula Janik in the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music. While still a student he became a substitute member of the Warsaw Philharmonic, also playing with Sinfonia Iuventus and occupying a flute position at the Young Polish Philharmonic. An Erasmus exchange program took him to Brussels where he studied with Carlos Bruneel, and following his graduation in Warsaw he pursued postgraduate studies with Felix Renggli in Basel. Tomasz currently occupies the Principal Flute chair at the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and is a member of the I Culture Orchestra. He has been a prizewinner at the Dutch Flute Competition and has participated in master-classes with Janos Balint, Shimizu Kazutaka, Sara Louvion and others.
Ingrid Soefteland Neset
26 years old
Norway
BIOGRAPHY
Ingrid Soefteland Neset was awarded the Norwegian Musician of the Year prize before she started her professional training at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, where her teachers were Toke Lund Christiansen and Ulla Miilmann. She has appeared as a soloist with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Trondheim Soloists and the Royal Danish Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra. She currently occupies the Principal Flute chair at the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and has made appearances as a guest principal with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Danish Orchestra. Ingrid is an active chamber musician and regularly collaborates with her brother, the jazz saxophonist Marius Neset, who has written music for her.
Evgeniya Spalinger
28 years old
Russia
BIOGRAPHY
Evgeniya Spalinger was born in Moscow and studied at the Tchaikovsky Central Music College and in Basel, Lugano and Zurich. She has been a member of the Baltic Youth Philharmonic and the Orchestra of the Pacific Music Festival and gained valuable experience as an intern at the Berne Symphony Orchestra. She is a laureate of the Riddes Woodwind Competition (First Prize), the Svirel Chamber Music Competition (First Prize), the Bale-Valle Chamber Music Competition (First Prize) and the Chamber and Soloists Competition Danubia Talents. Evgeniya has given the premiers of more than 50 solo flute works by living composers and has performed with contemporary music ensembles including Ensemble Divertimenti, Ensemble Contrechamps, Ensemble Modern Frankfurt and Kymatic Ensemble. She released a recording on the Swiss label Gallo in 2013.
Maria Storm Steinaa
25 years old
Denmark
BIOGRAPHY
Maria Storm Steinaa studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music with Toke Lund Christiansen and was admitted to the Soloist’s Class where her teachers were Ulla Miilmann and Anna Dina Schick Bjørn-Larsen. Maria is now a student at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien, Hanover. She has appeared as an assistant with professional orchestras throughout Scandinavia and in 2018 was invited to occupy the Solo Flute chair at the North Netherlands Orchestra. She has appeared with the Royal Danish Orchestra and toured with the award-winning Carion Wind Quintet. She has participated in the Carl Nielsen and the Crusell Competitions and is the recipient of a Léonie Sonning talent stipend. Maria has participated in master-classes and taken private lessons from Emily Beynon, Philippe Bernold, Mathieu Dufour, Denis Bouriakov, Vincent Lucas, Wissam Boustany and Pierre-Yves Artaud.
Marley Eder
27 years old
United States of America
BIOGRAPHY
Marley Eder has won First Prize at the MTNA Young Artist’s Competition, the LFS Young Artist’s Competition and the LSU Concerto Competition and was placed Second at the National Flute Association Young Artist’s competition and the Myrna Brown Competition. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Eastern Music Festival Symphony and The Colburn’s Orchestra da Camera. He has given the world premiers of over 75 solo flute and mixed ensemble works and is the flautist of Hear No Evil, appearing at the Fast Forward Austin, South by Southwest and Excessive Noise festivals and performing and recorded with rock, jazz, improvisatory and world music groups. Marley pursues postgraduate studies at USC’s Thornton School of Music following studies at the University of Texas’s Butler School of Music and the Louisiana State University.
SooJung Yoon
18 years old
South Korea
BIOGRAPHY
SooJung Yoon was born in South Korea and started to play the flute at the age of seven. She studied at Yewon Art School, Seoul Arts High School, the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts and eventually at the Korea National University of the Arts where she is a student of Yerin Lee, Euikyung Park and Shinjung Oh. She has participated in master-classes with prominent flautists including Julien Beaudiment, Jose-Daneil Castellon, Phillipe Bernold, Sophie Cherrier, Mathieu Dufour and Sandra Tilly. SooJung has won a number of prizes in Korea including First Prizes at the Ewha Kyunghyang Competition, the Classical Music Magazine Competition and the Seoul National University Competition. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Seoul Chamber Orchestra, the Tokyo Prime Symphony Orchestra and the Kinga Symphony Orchestra.
Yu Yuan
17 years old
China
BIOGRAPHY
Yu Yuan was born in China and began his flute studies with Professor Wang Yongxin at the Middle School of the China Central Conservatory. He now studies at the Paris Conservatoire with Professor Philippe Bernold and Florence Souchard-Delépine. He was given an honorable mention at the International Prague Spring Festival Music Competition is a past winner of both the Krakow International Flute Competition and the Kobe International Flute Competition. He has received the Discovery Award at the International Classical Music Awards and the scholarship of the International Academy of Music in Liechtenstein.
Marianna Julia Żołnacz
20 years old
Poland
BIOGRAPHY
Marianna Julia Żołnacz began her studies at the Karol Szymanowki Conservatory in Warsaw with Professor Maria Peradzyńska-Filip and is currently student at the Mozarteum University of Music in Salzburg where her teacher is Professor Michael Martin Kofler. She is a laureate of over 50 competitions and has been awarded a Grand Prix eight times. She has won the Guangzhou International Flute Competition, the International Pro Bohemia Ostrava Competition, the Kobe International Competition and the Sir James Galway Rising Star Award. Marianna has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Warsaw Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Poland, The Slovak State Philharmonic Kosice, the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic and the Sinfonia Iuventus and has worked with conductors including Michał Dworzyński, Paweł Kapuła, Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, Marzena Diakun, Łukasz Borowicz, Michał Klauza.
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