Vassilena Serafimova is a percussionist. After graduating from her father’s percussion class in Bulgaria, she trained at the CNSMD in Paris and at the Juilliard School in New York. Between 2003 and 2010, she won several international prizes, among them 1st prize at the World International Marimba Competition in Stuttgart and 2nd prize at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich.
In 2014, she made her debut at the Carnegie Hall in New York. A year later, with the jazz pianist Thomas Enhco, she was the first marimba player in history to perform at the French awards ceremony Victoires de la Musique Classique. In 2016, the duo recorded their first album, Funambules, for Deutsche Grammophon.
Vassilena has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at numerous festivals and has recorded for Radio France, Bayerischer Rundfunk and Bulgarian National Radio. She has performed at the Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Théâtre du Châtelet and Salle Pleyel in Paris. She is an Adams Musical Instruments and a Zildjian artist, and has created her own mallet series with Vibrawell.
DSCH – Shostakovich Ensemble
The DSCH – Shostakovich Ensemble is a chamber music project based in Lisbon since its creation by the pianist Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro in 2006, the centennial year of the birth of the composer Dmitri Shostakovich, to whom the ensemble owes its name, using his famous musical signature DSCH. A mixed-format chamber ensemble, the Shostakovich Ensemble constitutes a platform for the meeting and interaction of excellent musicians. The vast repertory of the Shostakovich Ensemble includes works by composers from various periods and musical styles, from Bach to Schumann, from Mozart to Messiaen, from Brahms to Ravel, from Beethoven to Dvořák, including Portuguese composers, and contemporaries such as Sofia Gubaidulina, with whom the Ensemble has established a close collaboration. Since its debut in 2006, the Shostakovich Ensemble presents its concert season in Portugal and became Ensemble in Residence at the Belém Cultural Center in Lisbon in 2008. It has performed in several countries, such as Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Sweden or Russia, obtaining a great receptivity of the public and excellent reviews of the musical critic. Throughout its existence, it has had the participation of musicians such as Corey Cerovsek, Adrian Brendel, Renaud Capuçon, Pascal Moraguès, Jack Liebeck, José van Dam, Benjamin Schmid, Isabel Charisius, Michel Portal, Gary Hoffman, Eldar Nebolsin, Tatiana Samouil , Adriana Ferreira, Gérard Caussé, Cerys Jones, Christian Poltéra, Rosa Maria Barrantes, Lars Anders Tomter, Nicolas Altstaedt, Kyril Zlotnikov, Edgar Moreau, Tiago Pinto-Ribeiro, Pedro Carneiro, Silvia Careddu, Marcelo Nisinman, Anna Samuil, Ramón Ortega Quero and Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro, among others. The Ensemble recorded concerts for Radio Antena 2 and for the Mezzo channel. The DSCH – Shostakovich Ensemble has the artistic direction of Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro.
Composed of members of one large family, the Girard Quartet was born of a shared passion kindled by family performances of chamber music from a very early age.
Trained by the Ysaÿe Quartet at Paris’s Conservatoire Régional and then by Miguel da Silva at Genève’s Haute Ecole de Music, the Girard Quartet simultaneously studied with some of the greatest quartets at the European Chamber Music Academy, the Villecroze Académie musicale, Proquartet, and Aix-en-Provence’s Académie du festival, quickly making a name for themselves at several important international music competitions. Winners of the Prix Académie Maurice Ravel in 2010 at the Saint-Jean-de-Luz festival, the Quartet were also prize winners at the Concours de Genève in 2011, and followed this by winning awards from the Fondation Banque Populaire and the HSBC Académie du Festival in Aix-en-Provence.
Guests in many prestigious concert halls and festivals in France including the Musée d’Orsay Auditorium and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Nantes’s La Folle Journée, Arles’s Soirées et Matinées musicales, the Deauville festival, and La Grange de Meslay, the Quartet are also sought after on the international scene, notably in London’s Wigmore Hall as well as in Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Morocco, Russia and Japan. The Girard Quartet perform with internationally renowned musicians such as Jean-Claude Pennetier, Henri Demarquette, Raphaël Pidoux, François Salque, Gérard Caussé, Ronald Van Spaendonck…
At present, they are quartet in residence at the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium’s Royal Chapel, where they benefit from close contact with the Artemis Quartet. They are also supported by the Singer-Polignac Foundation. Regular broadcasts on France Musique, Radio Classique and Musiq’3 allow the Quartet to share their precious musical projects with a large audience. The Quartet combine their concert activities with an ongoing drive to make their music available to all audiences. With this in mind, they have already established joint ventures with several primary schools and music schools. Their performance of Beethoven’s complete string quartets – between May 2015 and January 2018 at Caen Auditorium – was a decisive, memorable experience which will continue to shape their future.
The “Consort Brouillamini” is an unusual formation which gather five recorder player from the “Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse” of Lyon (CNSMDL).
During these studies, the formation received a high quality education, provided by internationnal renamed teacher and obtain a master degree of chamber music with distinctions in 2010. Based on the study of former treaties, Consort Brouillamini aim to bring up to date the caracteristic musical practice of XVIe and XVIIe century. They propose their own retranscriptions of masterpieces from the baroque repertory and from the classical one, in order to always demonstrate original and various programms which may help the spectator to travel through the music. The formation is also focused on modern pieces. In september 2019, the ensemble will participate to the creation of the first opera of a young french composer, Benjamin Attahir, at the théâtre de le Monnaie in Bruxelles. The ensemble will join the symphonic orchestra of La Monnaie for this special event.
Consort Brouillamini obtained the first prize and the audience prize of the international contest of early music of Gijon (Spain) in july 2012 and the the first prize of the international contest of early music “Journées de Musiques Anciennes” of Vanves (France) in 2016.
Consort Brouillamini also received the audience prize for the musical season 2014 / 2015 of “Musée en musique” in Grenoble and performed a live on “France Musique” into the radio show “Génération Jeunes Interprètes”, animated by Gaëlle Le Gallic in 2015.
Consort Brouillamini already gave several live performance among the Rhône-Alpes region. They have been part of some musical festivals such as Jeudis Musicaux de Royan, Festival baroque de Tarentaise, Sinfonia en Périgord, Toulouse les Orgues, Le printemps des orgues, Festival des Festes Baroques, Les concerts d’Anacréon, La note envolée, … The musical formation also performed abroad : Gijon in Spain and at the “Ecchi Lontani de Cagliari” festival in Sardegna.
Véra Tsybakov and Romain Hervé met at the Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP). Their complicity was instantaneous and quickly led them to perform together at the Cité de la Musique and Radio France.
Tsybakov and Hervé gained admission to the Paris Conservatory the same year. Both earned their Bachelor’s Degrees in piano and chamber music with distinction, before pursuing graduate studies.
A disciple of Brigitte Engerer, Véra Tsybakov is a laureate of the prestigious “Marguerite Long –Jacques Thibaud” International Competition, and the Banque Populaire Group Foundation. In addition, she won first prizes at competitions organized by Radio France, Steinway Paris, Zonta Club and Vulaines-sur-Seine.
Romain Hervé, a Classica Magazine “Discovery Artist” in 2003, is a laureate of the Geneva Arts Society International Competition, the Polignac Festival, a first-prize winner at the Radio France competition, and laureate of the Cziffra and Banque Populaire Foundations. He is proud to have had Pierre Froment (a disciple of Alfred Cortot) and Bruno Rigutto (a disciple of Samson François) as his mentors.
Tsybakov and Hervé have had the honor of appearing in many of France’s most renowned concert halls. In Paris, these include the Châtelet, Champs-Elysées and Mogador Theatres, the Salle Pleyel, the Salle Gaveau, the Cité de la Musique, and the Maison de Radio France. In the French provinces they have performed at the Cité des Congrès in Nantes, Avignon’s Palais des Papes, the Lyon Opera, the Saint Etienne Opera, and the Périgueux Palais des Congrès. They have also performed in Germany (Radio Hanover), Belgium (Royal Conservatory of Brussels), Korea (Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall), Holland (Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Rotterdam’s De Doelen), Japan (Musashino and Kanazawa), Singapore (Esplanade Concert Hall), and Switzerland (the Athénée Theater and Studio Ansermet).
They enjoy designing themed programs and collaborating with French actors such as Francis Perrin, Robin Renucci, Francois Beaulieu and Daniel Mesguich.
Véra Tsybakov and Romain Hervé have recorded several CDs for French record labels Calliope, Intrada and Saphir Productions. Their recordings have won multiple awards in France, including RTL Radio’s Critic’s Choice Award, FNAC’s Choice Award, an R10 Rating from Classica Magazine, a Recording of the Year Award from Pianiste Magazine, and 5 stars from Diapason Magazine and 4 stars from Le Monde de la Musique.
Véra Tsybakov has also recorded 43 instructional DVDs for Pianiste Magazine. Her “Piano Kit” – a compilation of piano lessons – is available on Sony Classical.
Directed by the young conductor Mihály Zeke, Arsys Bourgogne is a vocal ensemble whose mission is to perform everything from early choral music to contemporary compositions. Founded in 1999 by Pierre Cao, who conducted the ensemble for 15 years, Arsys Bourgogne has a rich history filled with quality and excellence. The ensemble is comprised of 8 to 16 singers and takes on six centuries of a cappella vocal repertoire as well as choral works with orchestra.
Since taking on the artistic direction in 2015, Mihály Zeke has brought Arsys Bourgogne into new and original choral music experiences. He is interested in forging links between Early and New music by creating strong relationships with today’s composers, such as Alexandros Markeas and Benoît Menut.
From Claudio Monteverdi to Olivier Messiaen, through Johann Sebastian Bach Giacinto Scelsi and Philippe Hersant, Arsys Bourgogne’s programs showcase composers from different eras in order to bring a new sense of meaning to each work. The ensemble also proposes new multidisciplinary programs that have elements of dramaturgy and staging. With a rich history of performing oratorios, Arsys pursues collaborations with well-known ensembles such as La Fenice, Les Surprises and accentus. These joint efforts enhance and expand the ensemble’s repertoire and allow for performances of works such as the Monteverdi Vespers, Handel’s Dixit Dominus or Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore.
Arsys Bourgogne is strongly committed to pedagogical activities and provides professional development to young singers who are enrolled in Music Conservatories or Écoles Supérieures de Musiques, such as the ESM Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
Arsys Bourgogne rehearses and performs regularly in Vézelay with rehearsals open to the public and concerts in the Rencontres Musicales de Vézelay. Since 2015, Arsys Bourgogne has become a part of the «Public Establishment, La Cité de la Voix.
Arsys Bourgogne is supported by the Regional Council of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, the Ministry of Culture and Communication (DRAC Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) the Departmental Council of the Yonne.
After studying at the academies of Drancy, Sceaux and the 6th arrondissement of Paris, Isabelle Durin entered the CNR of Versailles as a student of Alexandre Brussilovsky. She won her highest tribute as a violinist receiving her gold medal in 1996.
She studies for one year with Antoine Goulard, and later entered in 1997 the CNSM in Lyon in the class member of Jean Estournet and Kaziemierz Olechovski. In the same instance, Isabelle also obtained a Doctorate in philosophy in La Sorbonne.
In 1999, Isabelle toured the European round with Gustav Malher Jugend Orchester, under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst. In 2001, she obtained the DNESM of Lyon. In the same year, she was selected for the master’s class of Shmuel Ashkenasi, at the Schleswig Holstein Muzik Festival of Lübeck. She advanced to a new level after studying with well-renowned violonists including Jean-Pierre Sabouret, Boris Garlitsky, Igor Volochin, Patrice Fontanarosa and Roland Daugareil. She continued her pursuit of chamber music under the direction as of Alain Meunier and Michel Strauss.
She became a member (2003) of the Orchestre National d’Ile-de-France, led by Yoel Levi and now Enrique Mazzola. Followed shortly after, in December 2003 she received a bronze medal of Société d’Encouragement au Progrès at the Senate.
Isabelle Durin actively performs chamber music concerts, with special arrangement in duet violon/piano in France and abroad. She appeared as a special guest in Vietnam in 2004 and 2006, at the grand Opera and l’Espace-Centre Culturel of Hanoi.
For the past four year (2002) she has been the Artistic director of the festival musical du château de la Légion d’honneur de Pouy-sur-Vannes (Aube), now, the “Harmonies Estivales” à Villeneuve l’Archevêque (89).
After the release of her record, “Romantisme Hébraïque” (Jade Records/Universal) with Michaël Ertzscheid, pianist, she is able to occur in France, in particular to the Museum of Art and History of the Judaism, to the Memorial of Shoah, to The synagogue ULIF of Copernic in Paris, in the community centers of Strasbourg, in the festival of Jewish music of Carpentras, as well as abroad, to the Jewish Museum of Prague ( Spanish Synagogue), to the Jewish Museum Galicia of Cracow, with the cooperation of the French Cultural centers of these two cities, in Zagreb with the support of the Jewish Community of Zagreb, in Geneva (Synagogue Beth Yacov), in Rumania with the support of the French institutes Cluj, Timisoara and Iasi. We occurred in April, 2011 in United-States and in Colombia, within the framework of the artistic tours organized by the General Delegation of the French Alliances in the United States.
Romanian pianist Mara Dobresco was noticed by the concert-going public and media early on for her playing which is full of character, and for the finesse and elegance of her phrasing. A child prodigy, she first performed with orchestra at age 11. The winner of numerous international competitions, she received scholarships from the Yamaha, Meyer, Tarazzi and Nadia and Lili Boulanger Foundations.
Her many recordings have been lauded by the press, who have compared her to Argerich and Arrau. Consequently, she received the advice and support of Martha Argerich and Dominique Merlet, as well as Jean-Claude Pennetier and Pierre-Laurent Aimard, with whom she has performed four-hand repertoire.
Dobresco has given recitals in France, Romania, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Russia, Argentina, Australia and Japan, and gave début recitals in Chicago and New York. At the same time, she has made recordings for Radio France, Swiss Radio, and Romanian national radio and television. She was also invited by film director Radu Mihaileanu to record the soundtrack for his film The Concert (2009) featuring Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 under the direction of Adrian Prabava.
In France, Dobresco is often invited to play recitals and chamber music with the best musicians of her generation in the most prestigious venues, such as the Cité de la Musique, Théâtre du Châtelet, Musée d’Orsay, Salle Cortot, Théâtre Mogador, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Théâtre de la Monnaie, and the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, as well as the Grand Théâtre de Provence, the Festival d’Aix en Provence, the Chopin Anniversary at the Tarmac de Châteauroux and the Salle Pleyel, at the Nohant Festival, at the Chopin Festival at l’Orangerie de Bagatelle, at the Musée Jacquemart- André, at the “Classique au Vert » Festival.
A fervent interpreter of contemporary repertoire, she collaborates regularly with numerous composers: Philippe Hersant, Franck Villard, Philippe Leroux, György Kurtág as well as Oscar Strasnov, who has dedicated several of his pieces to her. Mara Dobresco is also interested in the dramaturgy of musical gesture, and has participated in multiple projects based on the intersection between theatre, literature and music. She is a member of Quatuor Face à Face (2 pianists, 2 percussionists), founded 10 years ago, which gives concerts in many of the world’s largest concert halls, characterised by great virtuosity, a strong identity and a spectacular stage presence.
A graduate of the George Enesco Music School in Bucharest under the tutelage of Gabriela Stepan, Dobresco received a French government bursary which enabled her to pursue her studies at the Paris Conservatory (CNSM) under Gérard Frémy. She was awarded a First Prize for Piano, a First Prize for Vocal Accompaniment and a Chamber Music Prize. She later returned to the Paris Conservatory for graduate studies with Théodore Paraskivesco. Mara Dobresco also holds a Master’s Degree in Contemporary Music from the Geneva Conservatory.
Recent Comments