2018

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Marcos Madrigal

Marcos Madrigal was born in Havana, Cuba. In 2007, he graduated with honors from the The University of Arts of Cuba (ISA), under the guidance of the renowned professor and pianist Teresita Junco. He attended Master Classes at the Conservatory of Southern Switzerland in Lugano and at the International Piano Academy Lake Como, where he had the chance to study with Andreas Staier, Dimitri Bashkirov, Fou Ts’ong, John Perry, Malcolm Bilson and especially with his mentor William Grant Naboré.

He has performed in recitals, and as a soloist with orchestra, in many of the most renowned concert halls of the world, such as the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires, the Auditorium Parco della Musica of Rome, the Queen Elizabeth Hall of London, the National Concert Hall of Dublin, the Auditorium Manuel de Falla of Granada, the Bucharest Opera House, the Volkstheater of Vienna, the Teatro Rossini of Pesaro, the Teatro delle Muse of Ancona, the Teatro Gentile da Fabriano of Fabriano, the Teatro Góngora of Córdoba and the Qintai Grand Theater in China, working with notable conductors, such as Claudio Abbado, Leo Brower, Paul Mann, Enrique Diemecke and Lorenzo Ramos. Madrigal has also collaborated in several projects with Oscar-winning composer Nicola Piovani, as well as with other distinguished composers in the film and theater world.

In 2015, he gave his celebrated debut in the United States at the Finney Hall in Oberlin, Ohio.

He has received several awards in important international piano competitions, among which are the International Piano Competition ‘Premio Jaén’ (Spain), the ‘Panama International Piano Competition’, the International Piano Competition ‘María Clara Cullel’ (Costa Rica), and the International Piano Competition ‘Ignacio Cervantes” (Cuba).

In 2012, he was awarded the International Award “Gold Medal Maison des Artistes”, granted by the Association for Culture, Arts, Science and Social Commitment at the Sapienza University of Rome.

Among his most recent recordings are Homo Ludens, with M° Leo Brouwer; Concert for Four Hands, with Cuban pianist Teresita Junco; the Opera Omnia for Piano and Orchestra of José María Vitier; a monograph dedicated to Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, Cuba, which was critically acclaimed and won numerous awards, among which are the Choc de Classica (France), the Melómano de Oro (Spain), the Cubadisco 2016 (Cuba), and the 5 stars of Diapason (France).

Madrigal has recorded live concerts and has participated in several programs for many Radio and TV channels all over the world, such as the BBC, Vatican Radio, Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI), Radio Suisse Romande (RSR), and the Italian Rai Radio 3, which in 2013 broadcast a 5-episode documentary dedicated to his life with the title “Piano Libre – The other music of Cuba”.

He is the Artistic Director of Habana Clásica.

Nikolay Shugaev

Born in Moscow in 1988 in the family of famous lawyers and philologists. He grew up in the atmosphere of passion love to a classical music, theatre, literature and art. Nikolay began playing the cello at the age of 5.

One of the first Nikolay’s teachers and mentors was Natalia Grishina – renowned cello pedagogue and artist. She instilled in him a love for the constant seeking of a beautiful tone. At the age of 9 he already debuted on stage of Moscow Conservatory Great Hall. Nikolay Shugaev graduated with distinction from Gnesin Moscow Music School – the famous school for exceptional talents and prodigy children. He was a pupil of Vera Birina – brilliant pedagogue and close friend of his family. Later he entered the studio in Moscow Conservatory of one of the most beloved students of Mstislav Rostropovich – Natalia Shakhovskaya where he spent five incredible years.

Studying chamber music in studio of renowned teacher and pianist Alexander Bonduriansky as well as in quartet classes of brilliant violinists Andrey Shishlov and Sergey Pishiugin were very important for Nikolay’s forming of musical taste and aesthetic values. In 2015 he graduated from the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, where he has been studying with renowned cellist and conductor Enrico Dindo. Mr. Robert Cohen – an outstanding British cellist had a strong artistic influence on Nikolay’s performing career.

Excellent combination of Russian-Soviet and Western European top cello schools, artistic exchanges during masterclasses with cellists such as David Geringas, Natalia Gutman, Gary Hoffman, Maria Kliegel, Ralph Kirshbaum and Misha Maisky leaded Nikolay to a big stage.

Nikolay has performed in the Russian festivals “Violoncello Generations” (Moscow),“D.Shostakovich”, “Beethoven Days in Moscow”, “Moscow Autumn”; “Art-November” Moscow, “Glory to the Maestro!” (Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation), in the programs of the Spivakov International Foundation and the international foundation “New Names” as well as at the “Aurora Chamber Music” and “Atelie-42” (Sweden), the Jeunesses Musicales (Croatia), “Cistermusica Festival” (Portugal), Festival Internacional de Musica “Pau Casals” Vendrell 2013 (Spain), Summer Events Engadina Classica 2013 and Ceresio Estate 2014 (Switzerland), “V.th Eilat Chamber Music Festival” (Israel), “The International Holland Music Sessions”, Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Societa dei Concerti Milano 2014, Lugano Festival, Rome Chamber Music Festival. Mantova Chamber Music Festival.

Nikolay performs in prestigious halls such as the Great Hall, Small Hall and Rachmaninov Hall of Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, the Armoury Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, the Kremlin Hall of Nijny-Novgorod M. Rostropovich Philharmonic, the Great Hall of Saint-Petersburg D.Shostakovich Philharmonic, the Sala Verdi Milano, the Auditorio RSI Lugano, the Salle Paderewski Lausanne, LAC-Lugano, the Auditorium Pau Casals, Concertgebouw – Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall – New York, Philharmonics of Bratislava and others.

He is a winner and laureate of many international competitions: VIII Concorso Internazionale Valsesia Musica, Italy (2007, First Prize), International Music Competition “Paper de Musica”, Spain (2007, I), XII International Competition of chamber music in Krakow, Poland (2008, I), Concorso Internazionale Citta di Pinerolo, Italy (2011, III), 38e Concours International de Musique de Lausanne, Switzerland (2012, III), “New Masters on tour» of TIHMS, American Fine Arts Young artist program, Val Tidone Chamber music competition and others.

He collaborates with conductors Igor Frolov, Pierangelo Gemini, Leonid Nikolaev, Alexander Skulskiy, Alexander Polishuk, Arturo Tamayo, Kevin Griffiths, Sasha Makilia and orchestras “Moscow Camerata”, “Gnessin Virtuosi”, Moscow Symphonic Orchestra, Nijny-Novgorod Philharmonic, Saint-Petersburg State Academic Orchestra, l’Orchestra Novecento Lugano, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Krasnoyarsk Symphony Orchestra.

Nikolay plays Swiss cello made by Michael Stüerzenhofecker and bow made by Benoit Rolland.
From 2017, he is Deputy Artistic Director of Habana Clásica.

Aleksandr Schetyna

Alexander Schetina was born in Kharkov in 1987 into a family of famous Ukrainian musicians: cellists and organ players. Since his childhood he showed a great talent and passion for music.
At the age of 6 he began playing the cello in a State school of music for gifted children in Kharkov, where he graduated with distinction in 2005.

In 2010, he graduated as well from the State University of Music named after Ippolitov-Ivanov (Moscow), class of People Artist A. Spiridonov.
In 2007, he was awarded a prize at the all-Russian competition “Young talents of Russia” (Moscow) and in 2008 he was granted a scholarship for exceptional young artists by the Russian Performing Arts Foundation.
Between 2010 and 2015 he has given numerous concerts and recitals as a cellist.

The passion for the fascinating world of the old Italian instruments led Mr. Schetina to become a violin maker. The beauty, the heritage, the legends and the perfection of the greatest instruments of the past inspired Alexander to start a career as a luthier.
In 2015, Mr. Schetina became a student of famous American maestro K. Hill.

Mr. Schetina has produced several violins and cellos which were highly rated by a great number of professional musicians.
Alexander has a motto in life: My mission is to make musical instruments that will help people to discover and realize their talents and to repair instruments so that they can have a second life!

Michael Fine

GRAMMY Award winning Classical Producer of the Year (1992), Michael Fine is widely acknowledged as one of the top classical recording producers in the world. In addition to recording production, Fine has been active in artistic planning for orchestras including the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Gergiev Festival Rotterdam where he served as Artistic Manager, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France where he was Interim Artistic Director and with the Seoul Philharmonic where he was Artistic Advisor. Formerly Vice President of Artists & Repertoire at Deutsche Grammophon, he was the first American to hold the post of Artistic Director of the hundred year old label.  Fine also has given lectures, talks, and seminars about the music and recording business – from the Juilliard School and Hamburg Hochschule fur Musik, to the keynote address at the International Organisation of Music Competitions, and served as a juror on several music competition panels.

Fine remains active as clarinetist with engagements at Festival Mozaic in California and the Tongyeong Music Festival in South Korea.  He began composing in 2013: his music, including several concertos, string quartets and a variety of works for chamber ensembles is published by Le Chant du Monde in Paris and Donemus in The Netherlands.  He has had works premiered in the United States, France, Spain, and Cuba where he served as composer-in-residence for the first Habana Clasica Festival.

Recordings produced by Michael Fine appear on labels including Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Warners, SONY, Virgin Classics, EMI, BMG Classics, Telarc. KOCH and Naxos, and have won virtually every major award in the recording industry, including numerous Grammys, Edison Prize, Deutsche Schallplatten (now known as the ECHO award), Grammophone Award, Diapason d’Or, and Australian Music Award among others. He has multiple Platinum and Gold records to his credit in several countries, and has additionally been awarded prizes for his work for the Advancement of Women in Music, and was named Best Recording Producer by Classical Insites Global Classical Music Poll. In the past few years, Fine has produced many recordings with renowned artists and ensembles including Myung Whun Chung, Valery Gergiev, Daniel Harding, Eliahu Inbal, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Paavo Jarvi, Emmanuel Pahud, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Marie-Pierre Langlament, Sumi Jo, Nicholas Angelich, Bertrand Chamayou, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Quator Ebene among many others.

Yalil Guerra

At the age of 16, Guerra won the International Competition & Festival of Classical Guitar in Krakow, Poland, as well as the Special Prize (1990), thus becoming the youngest Cuban ever awarded a prize in an international competition. The following year he made a through different Polish cities. He started his career as a producer, composer and arranger in 1990, and has worked since then with many industry companies and professionals.

Nowadays he writes music for US TV networks such as Univision, Telefutura and Canal 41 Miami; the music of shows such as: FIFA World Cup music theme 2010, Viva el Sueño (2009), the Latin Grammy Awards (2005 through 2009), Premio lo Nuestro (2006 through 2010), Up front (2005 and 2006), Escándalo TV, Tributo a nuestra música, Premios Juventud, etc. are among his credits. He is producing and composing albums in his recording facility for artist such us Yamila Guerra and Rosell y Cary, in Burbank in California.

On November 15, 2012 Guerra won the Latin Grammy in the Best Classical Contemporary Composition for his work «Seducción» (Elizabeth Rebozo-Live in L.A.) RYCY Productions, performed by pianist Elizabeth Rebozo, included in the album «Live in L.A., produced by Guerra for RYCY Productions, Inc. Another track from the same album was also nominee in the same category: the «Preludio Nº.1 by Aurelio de la Vega.

In 2010, Guerra was nominated by the Latin Recording Academy in the Best Classical Album category, with his first album «Old Havana» Chamber Music Vol. I. Latin Grammy Awards of 2010#Classical Field

Also this year, Guerra was awarded Runner-up by the Brandon Fradd Fellowship in music composition sponsored by the Cintas Foundation and the Frost Art Museum of Florida International University 2010. Four awarded compositions have been included on his new album entitled «Old Havana» available at cdbaby.com.

In June 2011, his second album Old Havana Chamber Music Vol. II was released with music for chamber ensembles and soloists. This recording includes the following titles: Ab Imo Pectore (With all my heart), for Piano trio, performed by the B3:Brouwer Trio; Sofía, for classical guitar, performed by Yalil Guerra; «La Rumba» for Clarinet and String Quartet, performed by Ralph Williams (clarinet), Pavel Farkas (violin 1), Coleen Coomber (violin 2), Nancy Roth (viola), Giovanna Moraga (cello) and conducted by Francisco Castillo; «Aché» (Good Luck), for flute and cello, performed by Lisette Pérez Esquenazi (flute) and Alejandro Rodríguez (cello); Suite «El Batey» and «Seducción» for piano, performed by Elizabeth Rebozo; «In Bellum Primum» (The first going to war), performed by Salpy Kerkonian (flute) and Bryan Pezzone (piano) and «Guajira Blues», performed by Francisco Castillo (oboe), Pavel Farkas (violin 1), Nancy Roth (viola) and Kevan Toerf (cello).

Tai Murray

Described as «superb» by The New York Times, violinist Tai Murray is establishing herself a musical voice of a generation.
Appreciated for her elegance and effortless ability, Murray creates a special bond with listeners through her mature phrasing and subtle sweetness. Her programming reveals musical intelligence.  Her sound, sophisticated bowing and choice of vibrato remind us of her musical background and influences, principally, Yuval Yaron (a student of Gingold & Heifetz) and Franco Gulli. Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2004, Tai Murray was named a BBC New Generation Artist (2008 through 2010).

She has performed as guest soloist on the stages of such halls as the Barbican, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens, and Shanghai’s Concert Hall. Performing with such ensembles as the Atlanta Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, and Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar. Now a resident of Berlin, Tai Murray’s appearances close to home include Berlin’s Konzerthaus and Kammermusiksaal at the Philharmonie, projects with the Philharmonic Staatsorchester of Mainz and Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, and tours with the Brandenburger Symphoniker and Niederrheinische Sinfoniker.  

As a recitalist Tai Murray has visited many of the world’s capitals having appeared in Berlin, Chicago, Hamburg, London, New York, and Washington D.C. among many others. She will return to Wigmore Hall in both 2013 and 2014.  

As a chamber musician, she has joined tours with Musicians from Marlboro and was a member of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society II (2004-2006). Festival appearances include Ireland’s West Cork Festival, and the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in the USA.

Tai Murray’s critically acclaimed debut recording for harmonia mundi of Ysaye’s six sonatas for solo violin was released in February 2012. Her second recording with works by American Composers of the 20th was released in November 2013 by the Berlin-based label eaSonus (www.easonus.com) and her third disc with the Bernstein Serenade is already scheduled for an early 2014 release on the French label mirare.

In the season 2017/18, Murray will be on tour with the Orchester de Bretagne, the Orchester de Picardie, the Chineke Orchestra and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Also Chamber music will still play a major role: for the third time she is invited to the Illumina Festival in Brazil. Together with the also violinist Vilde Frang she will be guest in Sion, Hamburg and Zurich.

Tai Murray plays a violin by Tomaso Balestrieri fecit Mantua ca. 1765, on generous loan from a private collection.

Anastasia Shugaeva

Anastasia Shugaeva was born in Zarinsk, a small town in Syberia. Having a brilliant violin technique and deep viola sound, her playing combines best traditions of Russian and European schools.

She graduated with excellence from famous Gnesin Moscow Music college for exceptional young talents (studio of Elena Ozol). In 2009 Anastasia graduated with excellence as well from the Moscow State Conservatory (Studio of Ludmila Shubina – Yuri Bashmet Department).

In April 2013 she has won a prestigious Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship.
In 2015 Anastasia has graduated from Lugano Conservatory – class of Yuval Gotlibovich. 

She participated in master classes of famous violists such as Jury Bashmet, Hartmut Lindeman.
Anastasia participates in various music festivals such as: Mantova Chamber music festival, Pordenone Chamber Music Festival, Habana Clásica Festival, Jeunesses Musicales. Croatia, Aurora Chamber music (Sweden), Accademia Musicale Chigiana (Italy), Moscow F. Mendhelsson festival.

Great musicians of young generation were her partners on a scene at various time: pianists Fatima Alieva, Zlata Chochieva, Andrei Korobeinikov, Yuri Favorin, Fazil Say, violinist Pavel Milukov.

Since 2017 Anastasia is a member of Swiss based Quintet «Empatia». With the ensemble has recorded several cd-disks on the label Dynamic.

Sonja Kraus

Sonja Kraus, originally from Germany, is an international cellist, teacher, and researcher whose musical career has taken her around the world. Early in her career, she frequently performed all over Germany and France with her piano trio. Orchestra tours took her to Japan, Venezuela and more than 10 countries in Europe.

In August 2012, Sonja moved to the US and has since performed as soloist or as part of chamber music ensembles in Indiana, Michigan, Texas, Nevada, California, and Puerto Rico. She recently had her debut in South America where she played the Saint-Saëns Cello concerto with the Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra in Ecuador.
In spring 2016, Sonja performed the D major cello concerto by Franz Anton Hoffmeister, which was its first performance in over 200 years. This performance featured her own scholarly edition of the piece, derived from her ongoing doctoral dissertation work.
Her research focuses on broadening the cello repertoire by identifying manuscripts and creating editions of unpublished cello works from the classical era. So far, she has found three cello concertos by Franz Anton Hoffmeister and is in the process of creating scholarly editions for these works.

Sonja has taught as a cello instructor at the Musikschule Unterensingen (Germany), as an assistant instructor at Indiana University Bloomington, and is currently on the faculty of the String Academy at the Jacobs School of Music. Since summer 2014 she is a cello teacher and staff coordinator at the cello camp «CelloChanWoods» near Ann Arbor Michigan. She also led masterclasses at the University of Nevada – Reno, Indiana State University – Terre Haute, and the Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo – Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Sonja was and is the recipient of a number of scholarships, amongst others the Eva Heinitz Scholarship from the Jacobs School of Music and the «Cusanuswerk», a German study scholarship. She also won multiple competitions, most recently the Indianapolis Martineé Musicale Scholarship Competition and the Popper Competition during the Cello|Fresno Festival.

Elis Regina Ramos

Elis Regina Ramos Martínez nace en La Habana el 12 de enero de 1984. Estudió en las escuelas Alejandro García Caturla, Amadeo Roldán y el Instituto Superior de Arte en La Habana. Y sus estudios de violoncello fueron bajo la tutela de los maestros Carmen Rosa Rodríguez (Cuba) y Vladimir Drobatschewsky (Alemania). En Cuba fue galardonada con primeros premios Amadeo Roldán y mención a la mejor interpretación de la música cubana. Además obtuvo el primer premio en la competencia UNEAC de violoncello en el año 2003.

Entre el 2001 y el 2004 fue miembro de la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba. Durante el año 2002 el director Claudio Abbado la invita a formar parte de la Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar en Venezuela. En el año 2005 integra el grupo Ars Longa bajo la dirección de Teresa Paz, donde toca el cello barroco, la viola da gamba y el violone. Como integrante de este grupo, participó en festivales de música antigua en países de Europa y América Latina entre ellos: México, Italia, Eslovenia, Venezuela, Francia y España.
Posteriormente en el año 2012 completó sus estudios en la especialidad de violoncello en Lynn University (Estados Unidos), bajo la tutela del profesor David Cole. En Estados Unidos colaboró con las orquestas: Sinfónica de las Américas, West Palm Beach y Ars Flores. Durante su estancia en Puerto Rico colaboró con la Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico y la Orquesta Filarmónica Arturo Somohano en la isla.

Ramos finalizó su máster en música en mayo del 2017 en la Universidad de Akron (Ohio) bajo la tutela de Paul Kushious, cellista de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Cleveland. Durante su maestría ganó el premio a la mejor estudiante graduada en el área de cuerdas en la Universidad.
También se ha desarrollado en el área docente, donde ha tenido la oportunidad de enseñar violoncello y música de cámara en escuelas como Escuela Nacional de Artes (Cuba), Alejandro García Caturla (Cuba), Escuela de Bellas Artes de Carolina (Puerto Rico), Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, Universidad Pontificia Católica de Ponce (Puerto Rico), Rainey Institute of Arts (Estados Unidos) y Escuela Bilingüe de Toledo (Estados Unidos).

Ha participado en festivales tales como: Miami Music Festival (Florida, Estados Unidos), Killington Music Festival (Vermont, Estados Unidos), Festival de Música de Cámara (Cali, Colombia), entre otros. Además ha tomado clases magistrales con Lynn Harrell, y Brook Speltz, violoncellista de Escher Quartet.
Ha colaborado en discos de prestigiosos artistas y grupos cubanos como Chucho Valdés, Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, Liuba María Hevia, Ars Longa, Solistas de La Habana, entre otros.
Actualmente forma parte de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Firelands (Ohio, Estados Unidos) y es maestra de música en la ciudad de Toledo, en el mismo Estado.

Michel Taddei

Michel Taddei leads a varied career as performer, educator, and administrator.   

He is Principal Bassist of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the Berkeley Symphony, the Fremont Symphony, the Pacific Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Napa Valley, and the Mendocino Music Festival, and is Assistant Principal Bass of the California Symphony. Other groups with which he has performed include the San Francisco Symphony, the New Century Chamber Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, and he works frequently with recording orchestras at Skywalker Sound.  Solo appearances with orchestra include the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Berkeley Symphony, Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra and of course the Orquesta de Cámara Música Eterna as part of Classical Havana’s inaugural season.

Chamber music is a passion for Michel — a founding member of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, he has performed with groups including the Bella Trio, Empyrean Ensemble, Earplay, Quartet San Francisco, Musica Marin, Ensemble SF, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Saint Lawrence String Quartet, and at festivals including Aspen, Tanglewood, Valley of the Moon (on period instruments), Moab, the Musical Days at Forest Hill, French music festivals at Rive-de-Gier and Caves du Roussillon, and the Festival des sept Chapelles in Brittany. He has also performed with Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble on multiple tours in the USA and in Central Asia.

Director of Artistic Administration at the Crowden Music Center in Berkeley, California, he has consulted for the California Symphony’s El sistema-inspired program Sound Minds, and served as Education Consultant for Music at Kohl Mansion, in addition to spearheading musical initiatives for Crowden at high-impact schools in the area.   Michel is also a sought after teacher, giving instruction in bass, chamber music, and leading orchestras at Crowden, and acting as a visiting artist for Music at Kohl Mansion. Michel has led the Crowden students on tours of Québec, the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, New Zealand, New York and Boston, the Southwest, Denmark and Sweden, and Washington DC. He coaches for the Oakland Youth Orchestra and Young People’s Symphony Orchestra, conducts and coaches for the Golden Gate Philharmonic in San Francisco, and also guest conducts annually for the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, and teaches in their chamber music intensive.

Michel studied bass with Homer Mensch at the Juilliard School, and is a graduate of Columbia University, where he was a John Jay National Scholar.  He interrupted his graduate studies in history at UC Berkeley to accept the invitation of Kent Nagano to become Principal Bass of the Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Lyon, where he played for over seven seasons, touring widely and making numerous recordings on labels including Decca, EMI, Erato, Nonesuch, Philips, and Virgin Classics. Michel also enjoys performing as a singer, with concert and opera appearances including works such as Stravinsky’s Renard, Bernstein’s Candide, and Rossini’s Barbiere di Siviglia.

Niurka González

Born on March 21st, 1977, she starts her music studies in 1989 at the «Manuel Saumell» Music Conservatory with professors Luisa M. Hernandez (flute) and Maria Isabel Castro (clarinet).After graduating as flautist and clarinetist in 1995 from the «Amadeo Roldán» Music Conservatory under the guidance of professors Haslina Kusiak (flute) and Aldo Salvent (clarinet), she continued her studies at the Higher Institute of Arts in Cuba with professors Luis Bayard, flute and Jesus Rencurrell, clarinet.

In 1997, she obtained first prize at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), and in 1999, graduated with Golden diploma at the Higher Institute of Arts, in Cuba.She has taken lessons from Masters Alain Marion and Sophie Cherrier, Claudi Arimany and Andras Adorjan.

Her solo performances with the National Symphonic Orchestra of Cuba conducted by Masters Leo Brouwer, Enrique Perez Mesa, Ivan del Prado, Jean Paul Penin, Sebrina Alfonso and Bernard Rubenstein, with the National Concert Band conducted by the Spanish Master José Cervero Pizarro, with the Musica Eterna Chamber Orchestra  conducted by Master Guido Lopez Gavilan, with the Solistas de la Habana Ensemble (Chamber Orchestra) under the conduction of Master Ivan Valiente and with the European Union Chamber Orchestra conducted by the Norwegian violinist Eivind  Aadland, as well as excellent orchestras in Chile and Brazil are outstanding.

She has won numerous awards, such as the Grand Prize in the «Amadeo Roldán» 1991 and 1994 competitions, as well as Special Mention to the Best Interpretation of Cuban Music, among many others.

Niurka has represented Cuba in festivals in Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, among others, where she has given concerts and master classes.Her collaboration as soloist and member of different chamber music formats has led her to perform in renowned halls in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Spain, Chile, France, China, England, Italy, Brazil, Paraguay, Ecuador, Uruguay and United States.

In 1996, she was awarded a one-year study grant by the French Ministry of Foreign Relations.

She studied at the Paris Higher National Conservatory of Music (CNSMDP) with Professor Sophie Cherrier. She obtained First Prize in the Flute Prize Competition of said conservatory, with which she attained the Diploma of Higher Level Studies. She has been invited by Master Claudio Abaddo to take part in orchestral perfecting courses sponsored by the “Gustav Mahler” Foundation and held in the cities of Ferrara and Bolzano. In 2002, she records her first CD “Flauta Virtuosa” (Virtuous Flute) with Maria del Henar Navarro, which received the award to the best “Opera Prima” in the Cubadisco 2003 Contest.During all these years, her collaboration in recordings and concerts of musicians, such as Silvio Rodríguez, Leo Brouwer, Jose María Vitier, Amaury Pérez, Ernan Lopez-Nussa, Liuba María Hevia, Chucho Valdés, Guido Lopez Gavilán, Jorge Lopez Marín, among others, stand out.

Since 1996, with pianist Maria del Henar Navarro, she formed the ‘Dúo Ondina’ (Ondina Duo).At present, she is soloist of the Association for Concert Music in Cuba, forms part of the group of musicians that accompanies troubadour Silvio Rodriguez and is flute professor at the Higher Institute of Arts, of Havana, Cuba.

Alessandro Stella

Alessandro Stella has been a regular guest artist at the “Martha Argerich Project” in Lugano since 2008. His concert appearances have brought him to numerous Italian and European cities (such as Aix-en-Provence, Athens, Berlin, Bern, Köln, Dortmund, Liverpool, Lugano, Nice, Paris, Roma, Salzburg, Tbilisi, Valencia) and his performances have been broadcasted by important radio networks such as BBC, RAI, Bayerischer Rundfunk, RSI, Radio Clásica, WDR.

In June 2014 he was for the first time in South America for a tour in the most important venues of Argentina (Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires; Teatro El Círculo, Rosario; Teatro El Libertador, Córdoba).
In February 2016 he performed in Tbilisi in occasion of the 80th birthday of the Georgian composer Giya Kancheli. He premiered, in the presence of the composer, a selection of Miniatures for piano and a cycle of Songs with the mezzo-soprano Nino Surguladze.

Since 2005 he has collaborated assiduously with the “Isabella Scelsi Foundation» and has been engaged especially in «rediscovering» Giacinto Scelsi’s first artistic period. Supported by the Foundation, he has proposed successfully to the Italian and European audience original programs of Scelsi’s music for piano solo, for piano and voice and chamber music. The Italian label STRADIVARIUS has recently released a CD including the world premiere recording of Scelsi’s early chamber works for violin, cello and piano, performed with the German violinist Markus Däunert and the Italian cellist Giovanni Gnocchi.

To his activities as a solo artist he adds his intense involvement with chamber music, regularly playing with Gemma Bertagnolli, Gilda Buttà, Mauro Conti, Giovanni Gnocchi, Marcos Madrigal, Tai Murray, Pietro Roffi e Nino Surguldaze.

He is founder member, with Giorgia Tomassi and Carlo Maria Griguoli, of the three pianos ensemble ‘The Pianos Trio’. In June 2014, WARNER Classics released the cd “The Pianos Trio – Live in Lugano” including all their performances at the “Martha Argerich Project” between 2010 and 2013.

Notable contemporary composers have written and dedicated important works to him, which he has created and often recorded.

His recordings, released by CONTINUO Records and KHA Records include: “Ravel²”, dedicated to Maurice Ravel’s music for two pianos, with Giorgia Tomassi; “grieg | notturno”, dedicated to Edvard Grieg’s piano and vocal music; “DEDICA”, containing the first world recording of two new works for flute and piano, by Sergio Calligaris and Daniel Matrone, with Mauro Conti; “The Chain Rules”, dedicated to the piano music of the Italian composer Matteo Sommacal; the EP “En rêve – Live in Rome”, including music by Chopin, Liszt, Grieg and Debussy; “Midwinter Spring” and the EP “Yellow Leaves”, dedicated to the piano music of Giya Kancheli, Arvo Pärt and Pēteris Vasks; the EP “Tutto Tango” including music of Astor Piazzolla with the accordionist Pietro Roffi.

Alessandro Stella studied with Raffaella d’Esposito at the “Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia” in Rome, then continued his studies with Franco Scala and Marco Di Bari and attended seminars and master classes with Bruno Canino, Maria João Pires, Maurizio Pollini, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Alexis Weissenberg and Christian Zacharias.

Finghin Collins

One of Ireland’s most successful musicians, Finghin Collins was born in Dublin in 1977 and, following initial lessons with his sister Mary, studied piano at the Royal Irish Academy of Music with John O’Conor and at the Geneva Conservatoire with Dominique Merlet. Winner of the RTÉ Musician of the Future Competition in 1994 and the Classical Category at the National Entertainment Awards in Ireland in 1998, he went on to take first prize at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Switzerland in 1999. Since then he has continued to enjoy a flourishing international career that takes him all over Europe and the United States, as well to the Far East and Australia.  In October 2017, the National University of Ireland conferred on him an honorary Degree of Doctor of Music, in recognitiion of his outstanding achievements.

Collins has performed with such orchestras as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, garnering consistent praise from critics and public alike. Conductors with whom he has collaborated include Frans Brüggen, Myung-Whun Chung, Christoph Eschenbach, Hans Graf, Emmanuel Krivine, Nicholas McGegan, Gianandrea Noseda, Sakari Oramo, Tadaaki Otaka, Heinrich Schiff, Vassily Sinaisky, Leonard Slatkin and Gábor Tákacs-Nagy.

Performances across Europe have included such prestigious venues as Symphony Hall Birmingham, Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, The Barbican and Cadogan Hall, London, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam (both halls), De Doelen Rotterdam (both halls), Théâtre du Châtelet and Salle Cortot Paris, Salle Molière Lyon, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Auditorio Nacional Madrid, Palao de la Musica Valencia, Gulbenkian Hall Lisbon, Sala Verdi Milan, Teatro Manzoni Bologna, Konzerthaus Berlin, Konzerthaus Vienna, Franz Liszt Academy Budapest, Philharmonic Hall Warsaw and the Auditorium Stravinski Montreux.  He has also performed at Carnegie Hall, New York and the Kennedy Center, Washington DC, as well as at both Ravinia and Gilmore Festivals in the USA. Further festival appearances include the Piano Festival at La Roque d’Anthéron (France), Klavier-Festival Ruhr and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (Germany), Lockenhaus Festival (Austria), Delft International Chamber Music Festival and Storioni Festival (The Netherlands), Chopin Festival (Poland), Musical Olympus Festival (Russia), Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad (Switzerland), the Wuhan International Piano Festival (China) as well as the Mostly Mozart Festival and Ryedale Festival (UK).

Chamber music plays a significant role in his musical life and he has collaborated with London Winds and the Aviv, Callino, Chilingirian, ConTempo, Cremona, Ebène, Goldner, Navarra, Shanghai, Skampa, St Petersburg, Vanbrugh, Vertavo and Vogler String Quartets. Chamber music partners have included violinists Tasmin Little, Kristóf Bárati and Ilya Gringolts, cellists Han-Na Chang, Marc Coppey, István Várdai, clarinettists Emma Johnson, Michael Collins, Sharon Kam and Romain Guyot, sopranos Ailish Tynan and Lenneke Ruiten, tenor James Gilchrist and baritone Maarten Koningsberger, as well as his sister pianist Dearbhla Collins and many others.

Over the past decade Collins has developed a close relationship with Claves Records in Switzerland, recording two double CDs of Schumann’s piano music (which won numerous awards including Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice in 2006), followed by a recording of works for piano and orchestra by Charles V. Stanford with the RTÉ NSO / Kenneth Montgomery (Editor’s Choice, May 2011). In May 2013 RTÉ lyric fm launched his latest recording of four Mozart piano concertos directed from the keyboard with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. A new Chopin recital CD was released in 2017, a co-production between RTÉ lyric fm and Claves Records. 

Finghin Collins is very active as a programmer, commissioner and concert presenter in Ireland, having been Artistic Director of the New Ross Piano Festival since its inception in 2006, and Artistic Director of Music for Galway since 2013. He also curates the annual Dublin Song Series together with Dearbhla Collins, and during the 2017/18, curates a six-concert series at the Kevin Barry Recital Room at Dublin’s National Concert Hall together with violinist Gwendolyn Masin.  In addition, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Dublin International Piano Competition (2006 – 2015), a member of the Board of Directors of the National Concert Hall (2001 – 2006), Musician-in-Residence in South Dublin County Council (2005 – 2008) and Artist-in-Residence in Waterford Institute of Technology (2005 – 2009).

Aldo López Gavilán

Praised for his “dazzling technique and rhythmic fire” in the Seattle Times, and dubbed a “formidable virtuoso” by The Times of London, Cuban pianist and composer Aldo López-Gavilán excels in both the classical and jazz worlds as a recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber-music collaborator, and performer of his own electrifying jazz compositions. He has appeared in such prestigious concert halls as the Amadeo Roldán (Cuba), Teresa Careño (Venezuela), Bellas Artes (Mexico), Carnegie Hall and Jordan Hall (U.S.), Royal Festival Hall (U.K.), Nybrokajen 11 (Sweden), The Hall of Music (Russia), and Duc de Lombard et Petit Journal Montparnasse (France), as well as venues in Canada, Santo Domingo, Colombia, Spain, Greece, Hong Kong, Burkina Faso, Germany, and Austria.

A milestone in López-Gavilán’s professional and personal life came in early 2015, when he joined the New York-based Harlem Quartet—co-founded by his brother Ilmar, the quartet’s first violinist—for concerts in Calgary, Seattle, and Phoenix. That same year he was invited to play with his Jazz Quintet at the Centro Cultural Kirchner in Buenos Aires, Argentina; performed Rhapsody in Blue with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Colombia; and closed the year with a sold-out concert at the Teatro del Museo de Bellas Artes in Havana.

During the past decade, López-Gavilán’s collaborators have included some of the greatest artists in the classical, popular music, and jazz fields. The late Claudio Abbado, one of the world’s most celebrated and respected conductors, invited him to perform with the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela in 2006, in a special concert dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. Maestro Abbado subsequently invited him to perform Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 1 in Caracas and Havana. In 2009 López-Gavilán was invited by Carlos Varela to join his band for a tour of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay; his acoustic arrangements of the music won many accolades from critics and fans. In 2010 he joined the São Paulo Jazz Symphonic Orchestra to perform his music in a concert that was recorded and broadcast on national television in Brazil.

López-Gavilán’s Carnegie Hall debut took place in November of 2012, when he was invited to participate in the hall’s prestigious “Voces de Latino América” festival. That same month he played a two-piano concert with his colleague Harold López-Nussa in Miami.

Aldo López-Gavilán was born in Cuba to a family of internationally acclaimed classical musicians, his father a conductor and composer, his mother a concert pianist. At the age of two, he had written his first musical composition. By four, his mother introduced the budding prodigy to the piano, and he began formal piano studies at the age of seven. His first international triumph was at the age of eleven when he won a Danny Kaye International Children’s Award, organized by UNICEF.  López-Gavilán made his professional debut at age twelve with the Matanzas Symphony Orchestra. He later went on to perform Prokofiev’s Third Concerto with the National Symphonic Orchestra of Cuba. Parallel to his classical abilities, López-Gavilán developed remarkable skills in improvisation. He was invited to perform in the world-famous Havana Jazz Festival with the legendary Chucho Valdés, who called him “simply a genius, a star.”

Svetlana Berezhnaya

Graduated from the Russian Gnessin Academy of Music in piano and from the Kazan State Zhiganov Conservatoire, also completing a post-graduate study in organ and harpsichord. Trained as an organist at the Brabant Konservatorium (The Netherlands). In 1992 she was a diploma- recipient at the Northern Palmyra international festival, in 1996 she took 1st prize at the All- Russian Organ Competition and in 2000 she was awarded the title of Honoured Artist of Russia.

She has appeared at renowned concert halls and cathedrals throughout the world, among them the Great and Small Halls of the Moscow State Conservatoire, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre, the Great Hall of the St Petersburg State Philharmonic, the St Petersburg State Cappella and cathedrals in Moscow, Paris, Vienna, Brussels, Freiburg, New York, The Hague and Graz among other cities.

She has recorded sixteen CDs on the Pyotr Kondrashin Classical Records label, among them Romantic Organ (1997), Popular Organ (1999), Romantics of the Past Millennium (2002), The Organ – Relaxation Music (2002), Mysteries of the Russian Soul (2006), The Gates to the Rainbow (2007), Music of Light (2007), Bach- Fest (2014), VIVAldi (2014), Keyboard-Gala (2015), Duo Dancing in the Clouds (2015-2016), Mozartiana (2016) and Vienna – A Classic of a Dream (2016). 2008 saw the release of Berezhnaya’s disc Serene (Quartzmusic), in 2013 came a disc recorded at Notre Dame de Paris during a concert marking the cathedral’s eight hundred and fiftieth anniversary, while in 2015 came a disc together with the Menestrelli early music ensemble Marking 350 Years of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Berezhnaya regularly appears with such ensembles as the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St Petersburg Shostakovich Philharmonic, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the North Caucasus State Safonov Philharmonic, the State Hermitage Orchestra, the Amadeus chamber orchestra, the Krasnodar Chamber Orchestra, the Russian Partes chamber chorus and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Berezhnaya’s stage partners include Sergei Roldugin, Denis Matsuev, Maxim Fedotov, Andrei Diev, Alexander Trostyansky, Graf Murja, Polina Osetinskaya, Mikhail Petukhov, Victor Yampolsky, Mikhail Lidsky and Fabio Mastrangelo.

She is currently General Director, Artistic Director and Organist of the North Caucasus State Safonov Philharmonic.

Miloš Milivojević

Award-winning Serbian born Miloš Milivojević has been described as «A hurricane of imaginative invention” by Hilary Finch, The Times. His versatility as a musician performing different genres including classical, tango and world music, has ensured he is in demand internationally.

In 2002, Miloš was awarded a full scholarship from the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) for Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Master degrees.

Miloš began his musical education in Kragujevac with Professors Milica Lazarević, Radomir Tomić and Vojin Vasović. He won first prize at the International Accordion Competition in Castelfidardo Italy, Diremose Prisen Denmark, Grand Prix France and Klingental Germany.

In 2007, Miloš became the first accordionist ever to win the RAM Club Prize open to all instrumentalists and in 2008 was selected to represent the RAM and subsequently won the prestigious Derek Butler London Prize at the Wigmore Hall – contested by students from all four of the London conservatoires. At graduation, Miloš was awarded a Distinction and the Vice Principal’s Special Prize at the Royal Academy of Music.

Miloš is an ambassador for the classical accordion and has premiered works and collaborated with British composers including Anthony Gilbert, Howard Skempton, Elena Firsova, Patrick Nunn, Ben Foskett, Julian Philips, Anna Meredith, Philip Venables, Bushra El-Turk, Errollyn Wallen as well as the UK premiere of Sequenza No.13 by Luciano Berio.

As a result of his diverse musical interests, Miloš has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician at many prestigious classical and world music festivals across the UK, Russia, Slovenia, Hungary, Italy, Iceland, Serbia, Montenegro, Spain, the Canary Islands, Malta, Australia and New Zealand. Miloš enjoys performing with the London Tango Quintet, Kosmos Ensemble, AccordDuo and the Balkan group Paprika.

Miloš has performed at venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Arena, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Sydney Opera House, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Purcell Room, St John’s Smith Square, St James’s Piccadilly, St Martin-in-the Fields, Kings Place, Snape Maltings, Jersey Opera House, Teatru Manoel Malta, Kolarac Hall Belgrade, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Powerhouse Brisbane and Forum Theatre Melbourne.

Miloš has given live interviews and broadcasts on BBC Radio 2 – Friday Night is Music Night, BBC Radio 3 World Music on BBC 3, BBC Radio 4, Classic FM, ABC, Serbian national radio and television networks. His playing is featured on the award winning Bollywood movie ‘Barfi’ and he has performed tango live in front of millions on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing TV programme.

Bárbara Llanes

Bárbara Llanes is one of the most recognized Cuban lyric sopranos in her country. She began her musical studies in the piano specialty at the age of seven at Alejandro Garcia Caturla Conservatory, and continued her training in this instrument graduating from the medium level in the piano specialty at Amadeo Roldán Conservatory.

In the Higher Institute of Art, She was graduated with a Gold Degree in the specialty of Composition, receiving classes from Masters Roberto Valera, Alfredo Diez Nieto, Ileana Pérez, Harold Gramatges and Carlos Fariñas. And later it is titled in the specialty of Singing with Master Maria Eugenia Barrios.

She has received master classes of interpretation of the Spanish song with Isabel Penagos, and of opera and lied with Pedro la Virgen and Zeger Vanderstine.

She started to work as a singer in the Estudio Lírico group directed by Alina Sánchez a soprano, and later in 1999 she debuted the role of Violetta Valeri de La Traviata and interpreted the Gilda de Rigoletto with the National Opera of Cuba.

She is currently a soloist of the National Concert Music Center attached to the National Philharmonic of Cuba, and a permanent guest of the National Symphony Orchestra. She is a member of the Association of Musicians of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, and professor of the Singing Chair at the Higher Institute of Art.

She has given concerts in the framework of the International Music Festivals Miguel Bernal Jiménez de Morelia, Cervantino in Guanajuato, International Book Fair of Guadalajara, Xacobeo in Galicia, International Festival of Habaneras of Torrevieja, Jazz Festival of Madrid in Spain, International Festival of Music of Campeche in Mexico. And in theaters such as the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City, in the state of Falcon in Venezuela, the Sucre in Ecuador, and the National of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Also in 2002, she was invited by the president of the Amics de la Opera Association of Mahón and performs at Teatro Principal with excellent public and press reviews.

In Cuba she has participated in the Contemporary Music Festivals of Havana, in Concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by prestigious directors and musicians such us Leo Brouwer, Manuel Duchesne Cuzán, Roberto Sánchez Ferrer, Roberto Valera, Enrique Pérez Mesa, Iván del Prado, José María Vitier, Carlos Fernández Aranzay, Fernando Lozano, Jean-Paul Penin, Werner Pfaff and Francesco Belli.

She has premiered works by Maestro Leo Brouwer, Maestro José María Vitier, who wrote for her the popular Ave Maria for Cuba of the Cuban Mass to the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, whose cast has been part of the Ensemble Solistas de La Habana since 1997, the Promúsica Dúo, the Exaudi Choir and the singer-songwriter Amaury Pérez, with international success.

Ann Liebeck

Ann Liebeck studied for a BA in music at St Hugh’s College Oxford University, followed by an M.Mus at the University of Surrey where she wrote a thesis on Francis Poulenc’s song settings of Surrealist poets Paul Eluard and Guillaume Apollinaire. She then studied as an opera singer at the Royal College of Music where she gained her ARCM. She attended Masterclasses at the Britten Pears School Aldeburgh and Salzburg Mozarteum in French Song, Russian Song and German Lied with Hughes Cuenod, Galina Vishnevskay and Paul Schilhawsky.

She was awarded many prizes for singing while at RCM, reached the finals of all the major UK song competitions, Ferrier, Royal Overseas, and was awarded Countess of Munster Scholarship and the Hamburg Shakespeare Prize Bursery by Dame Gwyneth Jones. This took her to the Vienna State Opera where she began her 30 year career singing the Queen of the Night at Vienna Volksoper, Pittsburgh Opera USA, Prague National Theatre, Braunschweig Staatstheater,Scottish Opera, State Opera Prague and Brno. Her roles range from lyric coloratura soprano (Konstanze, Lucia, Norina, Zerbinetta,Gilda, Violetta,to most recently lyric/dramatic repertoire with Musetta, Countess-Figaro, Rusalka, Salome, Donna Anna, Elettra (Idomeneo) and Tosca.

She has performed in all major concert halls in London in repertoire ranging from Messiah, notably with Ross Pople and the London Festival Orchestra with whom she recorded both Messiah and Carmina Burana for Naxos and Carmen BMG Arte Nova, to Verdi Requiem, with Sir Colin Davis and most recently with Graeme Jenkins for the Dartington Festival ,to contemporary composers John Tavener and Paul Barker-Songs for Sylvia. She has a vast song repertoire in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Czech. She speaks French, German, Italian and most recently Spanish.
She is much involved in Dance Theatre and performed Brahms Liebeslieder Valzer with the renowned Mark Morris Dance Company in Vienna, Rambert Dance on Riverside Stage in London and has been touring her own show Violetta’s Last Tango in major theatres in London since 2014.She still takes regular dance classes, ballet, contemporary and tango.

Her teaching career has taken her to the Universities of Oxford, Oregon USA and Perth Australia (masterclasses) and most recently in Havana at ISA. She is writing a Doctorate on Mozart Concert Arias and their singers.

Monica Marziota

Monica Marziota is a musician, soprano, performer, pianist, composer, Cuban/Italian graduated in Opera Singing at Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy, under direction of M° Anna Maria Ferrante. She is currently attending the last year of the specialty of Musicology at the Università La Sapienza in Rome. Born in Havana, Cuba, into a family of musicians and intellectuals, she began her classical training at the age of six in her hometown, at the conservatories Alejandro García Caturla and Manuel Saumell where she studied piano with Prof. Bárbara Díaz Alea. At the age of seven she began to give concerts as a piano student, at the age of nine to compose for the instrument and with ten years old one of her compositions was awarded by the illustrious Cuban composer Harold Gramatges at the Festival de Habaneras convened by the Saumell Conservatory. Later she graduated from Conservatorio Amadeo Roldán. She then attended jazz singing workshops at the Royal Conservatory of Music  in Toronto, Canada; she graduated from the Musical Theatre Academy in Rome, Italy, participating in an academic exchange with the Pineapple Academy of Performing Arts in London, England, where in addition to singing and acting, she studied ballet, jazz  and tap dance.

Cosmopolitan and eclectic artist, as the critic defines her, her repertoire reaches different vocal areas. In the field of classic music she is dedicated to the modern and contemporary period, mainly interested in the figure of the singer/performer. She continues her vocal training with the distinguished Italian soprano Alda Caiello, with whom she has specialized in the classical repertoire of the 20th century.

Monica has had leading roles in various musicals, operas, operettas and has also worked as a solo artist. She has performed worldwide in numerous tours and significant stages in Italy, France, Austria, Spain, Cuba, Canada, USA, Argentina and Nigeria: Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari; Auditorium della Conciliazione, Teatro Olimpico, Aula Magna dell’Università La Sapienza in Rome; Teatro Secci in Terni-Umbria; Teatro Comunale Città di Vicenza, Teatro Salieri in Legnano in Veneto; Teatro della Luna in Milan; Teatro Alfieri in Torino; Maison de l’Amérique Latine in Paris; Volkstheater in Vienna; Port Harcourt Music Festival; Teatro Nacional de Cuba, Teatro de Bellas Artes, Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis in Havana, invited  and directed by M° Zenaida Romeu and her Camerata Romeu (2016). She has worked with important names on the international music scene such as the BAFTA winner M° Andrea Morricone who has chosen her several times as the Soprano soloist for his music accompanied by the prestigious Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta (2013, 2016). In 2017 she was awarded the Premio Lunezia International in Aulla, Tuscany, Italy.

For the edition of the Festival Habana Clásica 2018, the Italian composer Girolamo Deraco has written for her a work that will be world premiere for the occasion.

Bruno Taddia

His musical training begins with violine lessons. After his graduation in Violin at the Music Conservatory in Genova he continued his studies with  Composition (at the «G. Verdi» Music Conservatory in Milan), baroque violine and baroque performance practice (at the “Civico istituto musicale”, Milan) and voice with the famous basso Paolo Montarsolo. He is also graduated with honor in Philosophy at the University of Milan.

After his stage debut at the prestigious Rossini Opera Festival as Don Alvaro in “Il viaggio a Reims” he began to collaborate with many of most important musical institutions in the world such as Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Semperoper Dresden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Théâtre du Chatelet Paris, Théâtre des Champs Elysées Paris, Theater an der Wien, Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, collaborating with conductors as R. Muti, R. Abbado, G. Gelmetti, T. Hengelbrock, J.C. Spinosi, O. Dantone, M. Mariotti and directors as D. Fo, M. Martone, G. B. Corsetti, G. Joosten, E. Sagi, E. Olmi, P.L. Pizzi among the others

During season 2014/2015, he made his debut in Oreste Iphigenie en Tauride by Gluck at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Parmenione (L’Occasione fa il ladro) at his debut at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Don Giovanni at the Piccolo Festival of Trieste, Danilo (Die lustige Witwe by Lehar) at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genua, Don Alfonso at Opera di Firenze.

During the 2013/14 season he sung Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Malatesta at Opera de Oviedo-Campoamor Theatre, Macrobio in La pietra del paragone of Rossini at the Théâtre du Chatelet, Paris. Ciccillo in Il medico dei pazzi (world premiere) of G.Battistelli at Opera Nationale Lorraine Nancy, Des Knaben Wunderhorn with the Neue Philharmonie Lausitzer and Don Checco in Don Checco masterpiece of N. De Giosa at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples.

Others appearances sees him engaged in the role of Mercury in La Calisto by Cavalli at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Tiresias in Niobe, Queen of Thebes A. Steffani at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London and the Grand Théâtre de la Ville in Luxembourg (2010). It was also appreciated Figaro in The Barber of Seville by Rossini at the Théâtre du Chatelet, Paris, gaining huge international success as  Punch in Birtwistle’s Punch and Judy at the Grand Théâtre in Geneva, standing then as Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte, at Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, and Malatesta in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile (2011). The 2012’s season saw him as Maximilian / Captain / Tsar Ivan Candide L.Bernstein at the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Pasquale in ‘Orlando Paladino’ F.J.Haydn at the Theatre du Chatelet, Paris, Elviro in Xerxes by GF Handel Festival at the Chateau of Versailles, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus by J.Stauss jr. at the Teatro Bellini in Catania. Lindo in Vivaldi’s Tito Manlio at the Theater an der Wien under the baton of O. Dantone.

His experiences includes Conte d’Almaviva, Don Giovanni, Poeta (Turco in Italia) at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, Rossini’s La Gazzetta (Don Pomponio) at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; Le Convenienze ed Inconvenienze Teatrali (Mamma Agata) at the Dresden Semperoper; Don Pasquale (Malatesta) under the baton of Riccardo Muti at the Ravenna Festival; Rossini’s L’Equivoco Stravagante (Gamberotto) at the Deutsche Oper Berlin; Gianni Schicchi (title role) and Ponchielli’s Il Parlatore Eterno (title role) at the Teatro della Fortuna in Fano; Vacchi’s Teneke (Wicked Okçuoglu) at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

His interpretations combines a wide range of caracthers in the baroque, classical and contemporary operatic repertoire as well as in the symphonic and vocal chamber  music. Among next engagements: Don Magnifico (La Cenerentola, Rossini) Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Ramiro (L’heure Espagnole, Ravel) Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Il Marchese di Forlimpopoli (Mirandolina, Martinu) Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, Olivo (Olivo e Pasquale, Donizetti) Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo, Marcello (La Boheme, Puccini) Teatro di San Carlo, Napoli, Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi, Puccini) Opera de Montpellier, Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia, Rossini) Grand Theatre de Geneve.

Frank Ledesma

Born in Pinar del Río in 1987. Graduated in the specialty of lyrical singing at the Conservatory of Music «Carlos Hidalgo» of Pinar del Río with Mtro. Francisco Alonso. In 2008, she joined the Lyric Theater Company «Ernesto Lecuona», performing in the zarzuelas «El Cafetal», «Maria la O», «Amalia Batista», «Cecilia Valdés», «El Bravo», «La del manojo de Rosas «,» Los Claveles «, La verbena de la Paloma», “La leyenda del beso“, «Luisa Fernanda» and in thematic concerts. With Utopia theater in 2010 with the work of Abelardo Estorino «El Baile» makes his debut as an actor , directed by Reynaldo Leon. In 2011 he joined the company «Mefhisto Teatro», directed by Tony Díaz, with the Cuban musical «Canción de Rachel» in the character of Adolfo Estiró, for which he was nominated for the «Adolfo Llauradó» performance award. In 2013 he founded the musical theater project «La Musaraña», performing in the show «Showtime», directed by David Guerra. With Teatro «El Público» he acts under the aegis of Carlos Díaz and Osvaldo Doimeadiós in the play «El jardín de los cerezos» by Chejov, in the «International Theater Festival of Havana» in its XV edition. In December 2014 in the production «Habana-Broadway» he was selected for the role of Mark Cohen, in the American musical, «Rent» by Jonathan Larson, produced by Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment and the National Council of Performing Arts of Cuba, acting in the most important stages of Cuba and in the»Festival Internacional de Teatro de La Habana» in its XVI edition, sharing the stage with Broadway figures. 

From 2012 to 2017 he joined the group »Camerata Vocale Sine Nomine», directed by Mª.Leonor Suárez, where he sang as a Countertenor, acting since his entry into national and international events. With this group he recorded four recordings, two of them awarded in the «Cubadisco Festival 2014», said CDs and DVDs «Cathedral Music of Cuba», «Cayetano Pagueras liturgical repertoire and Christmas Carols by Juan Paris», both record productions produced by the «Esteban Salas Heritage Cabinet», which directs Mtra.Miriam Escudero.

He was awarded at the International Competition Countertenors «Alfred Deller in Memoriam» held during the festival «Les Voix Humaines», Havana-Cuba in 2015, obtaining the First Place and the Leo Brouwer Prize awarded by the composer himself. As a soloist he has performed in concert halls and theaters of great prestige in Cuba.

In the month of April 2016, as part of the «Shakespeare and Cervantes Celebration Days», organized by the Leo Brouwer Office, he acted alongside internationally renowned figures such as guitarist Ricardo Gallén, soprano Pilar Jurado and pianist Fidel Leal . He has received workshops and master classes from the German soprano Viktoria Lazaroff, the French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and the Orchestral Director Peter Mark from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

He graduated from the University of the Arts of Cuba, (ISA), under the guidance of M° Ubail Zamora.

Daiana García

Daiana García has conducted all the symphony orchestras of Cuba,playing in the most important venues in the country. Since 2011 she has been music director of the Chamber Orchestra of Havana, which under her leadership has performed with prestigious national and international soloists, premiered new works, participated in all editions of Havana’s Leo Brouwer International Festival of Chamber Music, and appeared in the Havana Festival of Contemporary Music and Chamber Music Festival.

On two occasions in 2016, Ms. García and the Chamber Orchestra of Havana collaborated with Grammy-winning American artist Joshua Bell: during the violinist’s visit to Cuba in April sponsored by Barack Obama’s President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, and again at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, where they performed in a “Seasons of Cuba” concert in the Rose Hall of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The latter event, which also included several renowned Cuban musicians and American singer-songwriter Dave Matthews, was filmed by PBS for a “Live at Lincoln Center” national broadcast.

Ms. Garcia’s recordings include a CD featuring composer-pianist Aldo López-Gavilán and violinist Ilmar López-Gavilán with the Chamber Orchestra Amadeo Roldán; a live DVD of Aldo López-Gavilán Más allá del ocaso (Beyond the Sunset) with the Youth Symphony Amadeo Roldán; a 2011 recording of that composer’s music from Casa vieja (Old House) by the filmmaker Lester Hamlet; and a 2013 DVD chronicling the 30-year career of Cuban singer-songwriter Carlos Varela and featuring such performers as Ivan Lins (Brazil), Luis Enrique (Nicaragua), and Jackson Browne (U.S.).

Zenaida Romeu

Belonging to the third generation of a family of remarkable Cuban musicians. She received piano lessons from her mother Zenaida Romeu, as well as Choral Direction with the Hungarian teacher Agnes Kralovszky and Orchestral Conducting with Gonzalo Romeu, becoming the first woman to graduate with Orchestral Direction at the Higher Institute of Art of Cuba in 1983. She received master classes with professors Olaf Koch and Gert Frishmuth, in Cuba and Germany.

She has combined her artistic activities with her teaching skills at the Higher Institute of Art of Havana and has given master classes in Choral and Orchestral Conduct, as well as lectures on Cuban music in Spain, Mexico and the US. In 1982, she founded the “Cohesion” chamber choir, which is her first artistic project which is what renewed the Cuban choral movement; with the inclusion of body language, gestures, and the near repertoire that replicated the instrumental tradition of traditional orchestras that was implemented throughout the Island. In 1989 she founded the choir of the company Estudio Lírico and is the Assistant Orchestra Director of Gonzalo Romeu, in that group, dedicated to the rescue of Cuban lyrical music, obtaining great recognition in Cuba and abroad, with the presentation of zarzuelas and operettas . When on tour she directs some seasons of operettas for the Bellini Theater company from Naples throughout all Italy.

Guido López Gavilán

Composer and conductor, graduated as a choir director at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in Havana in 1966 and Orchestra Conductor at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow in 1973. Founding Director of the Chamber Orchestra «Música Eterna». He was awarded the National Music Prize 2016 and the Cubadisco Grand Prize of that year. As a director, he has developed a successful career in which concerts are held in the Hall of the Warsaw Philharmonic (Poland), the Great Hall of the Academy Franz Liszt (Budapest, Hungary) and the Lisinsky Theater (Zagreb, Yugoslavia) As well as in other European cities in Russia, Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain and Italy.

In America he has also achieved great successes in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Chile, Guatemala and Paraguay. He has directed all Cuban symphony orchestras, highlighting his interpretations of the 9th. Beethoven’s symphony with the National Symphony Orchestra and the executions of his work Victoria de la Esperanza for symphony orchestra, choir, soloists, actors, dance and cinema. Particularly notable was his performance as Full Director of the Symphony Orchestra of the city of Matanzas.

As a composer, he has an extensive catalog that includes many different genres. His creative work deserves solid national and international recognition. He is frequently invited to participate in important events such as the Inter-American Composition Encounter organized by the University of Indiana, United States, to which he was invited with the highest category awarded, the Sounds of the Americas Festival organized by American Composer Orchestra Carnegie Hall, Juliard School and other major institutions in New York, as well as the Oregon Bach Festival during which his compositions were performed with great success.

He was invited to the Ibero-American Contemporary Music Festival held in Spain, the Latin American and Caribbean Music Tribune held in Argentina, the Franco Donattoni Festival in Mexico, the El Salvador Contemporary Music Festival and the Caribbean Composers’ Forums, held in Venezuela and Guatemala. He has been chosen among composers from all over the world to compose works with the purpose of being premiered especially in the Inaugural Concerts of the World Symposiums of Choral Music held in Minneapolis 2002 and in Barcelona 2017.

Several universities, colleges and conservatories from different countries have invited lectures and lectures, highlighting the recent tour of the Italian cities of Udine, Perugia, Adria and Ascoli Piceno in 2017.  In 2016 he gave lectures and concerts with the Chamber Orchestra «Música Eterna» in the city of Seoul, Korea. In 2012 he made a successful tour directing the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba for more than twenty cities in the United States.

In 2010 he was invited by the Symphonic Orchestra of Winterthur, Switzerland, to conduct a concert exclusively with his symphonic-choral compositions, performed in the Musikkolegium with clamorous success of the public and the critic.
He was named Distinguished Guest at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada in 2005. There the Symphony Orchestra, Choir and different chamber ensembles performed several of his works in conjunction with the Chamber Orchestra Música Eterna during several days of concerts dedicated to his compositions.

He is founder of the Superior Institute of Art of Havana, Senior Professor and Head of the Department of Orchestral Conduction. His work in the development of the Cuban Youth Symphonic Movement is very remarkable, founding and conducting various symphonic and chamber orchestras, that have achieved resounding success in events held in Cuba and other countries.His works have been awarded in the most important composition contests in Cuba. He is President of the Contemporary Music Festival of Havana, Founding Member of the Association of Latin American Composers of Music of Art and President of the Association of Musicians of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC).

Cuarteto de Cuerdas Habana

The Habana String Quartet  arises in the year 2017 led by Hansel Pérez Carrero (violin), composed of young students from the Art Institute (ISA), members of the Havana Chamber Orchestra led by Daiana García. The Quartet made his debut in the XXX Anniversary of the “Contemporary Music Festival” in November 2017, since that date, the quartet has participated in prestigious events that have resulted in important rooms of our country, among them: Vermont Festival ¨ The Route of Mozart ¨ in Havana (first festival of the integral Mozart quartets in one day) in February 2018, 70 Anniversary of the Radio Station CMBF gala at the Martí Theater (April 2018).

The Quartet has premiered works and made recordings of contemporary composers of Cuba, like the Quartet No. 2 Alfredo Diez Nieto for its 100 years of life, Javier Iha, and the pianist and composer Alejandro Falcón.

The Quartet has received lectures of teachers Michael Dabroski (USA) and the violist and composer Yuval Gotlibovich (Israel). His repertoire covers works from classical music to the Cuban concert music.

Chamber Orchestra of Havana

The Chamber Orchestra of Havana is composed of young musicians graduated from the Higher Institute of Art. It made its debut in May 2006 conducted by maestro Iván del Prado, who was its conductor until 2010. During this period the orchestra took part in the recording of the DVD Cuba (2006), by the British rock band Simply Red and in Clásicos de Cuba (2007), together with César López and Habana Ensemble, this CD won the CUBADISCO Grand Prix 2008; both records were made live. In 2010, it recorded the CD “Música para Cuerdas“, under the conduction of maestro Iván del Padro and composed entirely by Cuban composers. This CD won a CUBADISCO Prize in 2013 in the genre of Chamber Music.

The Chamber Orchestra of Havana has performed leadered by outstanding international conductors such as Francesco Belli (Italy), Heribert Breuer and Thomas Gabrisch (Germany), Jonathan Hirsch (USA) and Leo Brouwer (Cuba), and with many relevant Cuban musicians. Since 2011 the orchestra is under the conduction of the young talented Daiana García. During this period tt has been invited to participate in prestigious events like: the III, IV, V and VI series of the International Festival of Chamber Music Leo Brouwer; the XXII and XXIII series of the Havana Contemporary Music Festival, X, XI and XII Chamber Music Festival, Jazz Plaza Festival 2011, Casa de Las Américas Prize 2012 , Havana International Guitar Festival in 2016, among others.

In 2013, the Chamber Orchestra of Havana was invited to take part in the DVD on the occasion of the 30 years of career of the Cuban songwriter Carlos Varela, in which performed with some international musicians such as Ivan Lins (Brazil), Luis Enrique (Nicaragua) and Jackson Browne (USA). Also, COH participed in the CDs “Imagen de las Aguas”, (2013, with pieces of Leo Brouwer), “Misa Cubana a la Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre” (2015, Misa by José María Vitier) and “Una más” (2016, songs of the dominican songwriter José Antonio Rodríguez).

Recently, COH recorded finalized it second CD with all cuban cello concertos, accompanying the young cuban cellist Alejandro Martínez. In the V Chamber Music Festival Leo Brouwer, the COH received the Espiral Eterna Prize by Leo Brouwer Office and participated in several editions of that event accompanying distinguished cuban and international musicians: pianists Chucho Valdés (Cuba), violinist Henning Kraggerud (Norway), guitarists Ricardo Gallén and Carlos Piñana (Spain), accordionist Marco LoRusso (Italia), the guitar quartet Quaternagglia (Brazil) and the songwriter Fito Páez (Argentina).

On two occasions in 2016, Chamber Orchestra of Havana collaborated with Grammy-winning American artist Joshua Bell: during the violinist’s visit to Cuba in April sponsored by Barack Obama’s President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, and again at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, where they performed in a “Seasons of Cuba” concert in the Rose Hall of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The latter event, which also included several renowned Cuban musicians and American singer-songwriter Dave Matthews, was filmed by PBS for a “Live at Lincoln Center” national broadcast.

Camerata Romeu

Camerata Romeu The Camerata Romeu is a feminine Chamber Orchestra considered as unique by its repertoire and stage presence founded in Havana in 1993 by its director Zenaida Romeu under the auspices of the Pablo Milanés Foundation. Its aesthetic is based on the recognition and promotion of the musical production values ​​of our Latin American composers, whom expressed through the string orchestra, have created for this Central European ensemble, an absolutely new sound born in the Americas.

The best composers from Cuba, Latin America and North America have written works that have been recorded in several phonograms such as La Bella Cubana, (Chamber Music Award and Critics Award), Cuba Mia, Dance of the Witches, Tampa Habana Oslo, Raigal, (Cubadisco Award) and Non Divisi, monograph by Roberto Valera, Latin Grammy nominee, of the Bis Music and Colibrí labels. With the French label Manana Music he recorded the monograph Habanera by Gerardo di Giusto (Cubadisco Award). The album Sertoes Veredas monograph of the Brazilian composer Egberto Gismonti, produced by the ECM and that It has the importance of being the first recording in the history of that German label that promotes and commercializes a music recorded by a Latin American, Cuban and women’s orchestra.

 It has also been a part of  other joint record productions, such as Sueños de Ida y Vuelta with Victor Monge (Serranito) nominated for Latin Grammy, Habaneras de Cádiz with Carlos Cano, La Rumba soy yo (Vol. II), Cervantes Cuatro Pianos, (Cubadisco Award) ), Music of the World (1999), The Island of Music, Future Logos with Antonio Peruch (Prize of the disc in Egmonton), Cyrus, Harp of the World with Carlos Kings, Lewis Music among others. The albums of Camerata Romeu, La Bella Cubana, (Cuba Disco Award) Cuba Mia, Dance of the Witches, Non Divisi, (nominated for the Latin Grammys) Raigal, (Cuba Disco Award), Havana-Tampa-Oslo, Saudacoes, and Habanera. She has also recorded the soundtrack of several cartoons and feature films of important filmmakers from Cuba and Mexico, obtaining the soundtracks high recognition.

The orchestra that does not disdain the classical repertoire of the string orchestra, provides a broad-spectrum repertoire to the young members of the orchestra from the Baroque to the Rumba, for which the Camerata Romeu has also become a great school where dozens of young instrumentalists have been formed, who are nowadays part of important orchestras in Cuba and in different parts of the world.

 In the 25 years that The Camerata Romeu has been founded, it has participated in many international music festivals and numerous concert tours, appearing not only in great venues, but also in the most prestigious universities both in Cuba and in Spain, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, France, Mexico, Canada, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil and the United States, among others.

 The work of Camerata Romeu has also been recorded in the multimedia Concierto del Norte, with Norwegian music produced by Bis Music and Himno Bayamés, Parafrasis, based on the Cuban National Anthem produced by the Office of the Historian of Havana. The orchestra has several documentaries that show our professional work. Among them: Amor y Magia (1997) by Eva Maura Díaz, Cuerdas de mi Ciudad (1998) by Mayra Vilasís and Cuba Mia. Portrait of a women’s orchestra (2002) by Cecilia Domeyko currently promoted by PBS and in the Art channel around the world. The Camerata Romeu has been standing since 1994 at the Minor Basilica of San Francisco of Asís in Old Havana.

Música Eterna Chamber Orquestra

Founded in 1995 by maestro Guido López Gavilán, it is made up of a brilliant selection of students and graduates from the Instituto Superior de Arte.

It is currently a prestigious musical group that performs with great success in international events and is presented in the main theaters and concert halls of Cuba. His compact and audiovisual CD «Caribe Nostrum» won the GRAND PRIZE CUBADISCO 2016. His recordings «Barroco Trópico» and «De Cuba, Música Eterna» have also been awarded.

They have toured major cities in South Korea, Canada, Spain, Colombia and the United States where they performed at the prestigious Jordan Hall in Boston. Along with «Música Eterna», outstanding soloists have been the Italian composer and bassist Stefano Scodanibbio, the American violinists Richard Luby and Erik Grossmann, the Austrian violist Cristoph Angerer, the Canadian director and cellist Tanya Prochazka, the cellist Nicolai Shugaev, the pianist Marcos Madrigal, among other relevant musicians of the contemporary world panorama.

Luis Ernesto Doñas

Luis Ernesto Doñas (Villa Clara, 1984) is a Cuban filmmaker and stage director who graduated as film editor from the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana in 2008 and as a narrative director from the International Film and TV School in San Antonio de los Baños (EICTV) in 2013. He participated in Talents Guadalajara in 2015 and Talents Berlin in 2016.

He has edited multiple documentaries, fictional short-films, and feature films, such as La Anunciación (Enrique Pineda Barnet), Melaza (Carlos Lechuga), and Cuba Libre (Jorge Luis Sánchez). In 2009, he directed his first documentary, which is about Alicia Alonso’s version of The Sleeping Beauty for the Cuban National Ballet. While at the EICTV, he directed three short-films: Cassete # 1, La Trucha, and Oslo. The latter is one of the most viewed shorts produced by the school and has won several awards worldwide.
In 2014, Luis Ernesto co-directed, alongside his acting teacher Stephen Bayly, the play BENT in Havana. In 2015, he directed the Cuban version of Händel’s Alcina by the Cuban Lyric Company, which was the first time an entire baroque opera was played in national stages. As a filmmaker, he always tries to combine cinema and dance, for that reason he has become a habitual collaborator with Acosta Danza, the Cuban National Ballet, and the dance faculty at ISA where he teaches Screen-dance and Audiovisual Language.
In 2017, he directed the Al Jazeera’s doc series My Cuba and collaborated as the director assistant in the ART Channel’s doc web series Cuba Underground. Orilla is Luis Ernesto’s latest short-film, which was made during the Werner Herzog’s workshop at EICTV in 2017.

Nowadays, he takes part as a stage director at the Fabbrica Young Artist Program in the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma where he works with young singers as acting coach and directing concerts and small format operas, such as Hasse’s Enea in Caonia and Donizetti’s Rita.

Sandra Ramy

Egresada de la Escuela Nacional de Artes en la Habana en 1994. Como bailarina  trabajó con prestigiosas compañías y coreógrafos dentro y fuera de Cuba, entre los que  se destacan  Danza Abierta(Cuba), la Compañía Danza Teatro Retazos(Cuba), Constanza Macras ( Alemania), Norbert Servos(Alemania). Desde 1997 se vinculó al teatro  trabajando como actriz en Teatro Estudio bajo la dirección de Vicente Revuelta  y en Teatro El Público dirigido por Carlos Díaz. Ha sido asesora de movimiento en  compañías de Teatro y Danza de la isla. Ha dictado talleres de técnica improvisación y composición para actores y bailarines cubanos y foráneos, así como para estudiantes de Artes Escénicas de la Universidad de las Artes de Cuba.

Impartió  cursos  de verano de la cátedra de teatro de NYU ( Universidad de Nueva York) en la Habana auspiciado por la Fundación Ludwig en Cuba.  Ha participado en festivales nacionales e internacionales de teatro y danza así como en la  Bienal de Artes Visuales de la Habana. Ha creado piezas para dos compañías de danza contemporánea en Cuba. Fundó y dirige desde 2010  eSe Estudio, un espacio creativo abierto a niños y adultos que no siguen una carrera  académica. Coordina el programa de danza de la Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC). Durante un largo período realizó producciones de manera independiente hasta que en 2013 creó  Persona, colectivo  que agrupa actores, músicos y bailarines  y que pertenece al Consejo Nacional de Artes Escénicas de Cuba y al Misterio de Cultura.

Entre sus creaciones más importantes están: Busca la cabeza con el pie (2002), Detrás de Nadie (2005)Premio Villanueva de la crítica, Algunos ritos inútiles (2007),  Ave María Didáctica (2009), Uno en uno (2010), Peso (2010) , Mi trabajo es usted(2012), ¿De qué está hecha tu casa? (2014),Yilliam de Bala coming soon. Premio Villanueva de la Crítica(2015).

Guido Gali

Licenciado en Artes y Letras. Asesor y director técnico durante 20 años de la compañía DanzAbierta, agrupación que dirigió entre 2003 y 2015. Ha diseñado escenografías, vestuarios y sobre todo iluminación para obras de artistas de las artes escénicas como Susana Pous, Sandra Ramy, George Céspedez, Raúl Martín, Norbert Servos, Gabri Christa y otros.

Sus diseños han sido presentados en festivales y teatros de América, Europa y Asia, donde destacan Jacob´s Pillow y Joyce Theater de Estados Unidos, Encore Danse y Panamania de Canadá, Festivales de Montpelier y Avignon en Francia, Schrittmascher ,NRW y Oldenburg Festival en Alemania, Holland Dance Festival, Zsiget de Budapest, Teatre de la Ville de Luxemburgo y SIDANCE de Korea así como los más relevantes teatros de Cuba. En 2006 recibió el Premio de la Agencia de Cooperación Internacional por su obra coreográfica El Arte de la Fuga y  recibió el premio Tecnologíasquedanzan 2016 por la video/instalación El Piano, la silla y la sombra.

Actualmente es asesor general y director técnico de la recientemente fundada agrupación MICOMPAÑIA, dirigida por la coreógrafa Susana Pous y el proyecto Persona de Sandra Ramy.

Abel Rojo

Graduado de la Escuela Nacional de Danza ,Cuba en el año 2010. Dos años antes ya formaba parte de Danza Contemporánea de Cuba como primer solista y promovido a primer bailarín en 2012. En 2014 se une a la compañía DanzAbierta y desde 2016 integra Malpaso. Ha trabajado con coreógrafos como Mats Ek, Jan Linkens, Kenneth Kwanstrom, Itzik Galili, Juan Cruz , George Céspedez, Susana Pous , Sandra Ramy , Osnel Delgado entre otros.

Se ha presentado en festivales y teatros relevantes en el mundo de las artes escénicas como Jacob´s Pillow , Joyce Theater NY y BAM en Estados Unidos, Holland Dance Festival en los Países Bajos, Teatro Real de Madrid y Mercat de las Flors en España, Saddlers Wells en Inglaterra, Teatro de la Opera de Lyon y Festival de Metz en Francia, Sziget Festival de Hungría ,Teatro de la Opera de Luxemburgo y muchos más.

 

 

Carlos Pérez Peña

Born in Sagua la Grande, Cuba, in 1938, Carlos Pérez Peña is a prolific theater actor, singer, designer and director.

His professional career began in 1961, as a founder, actor and designer at Guiñol Nacional de Cuba, which was later renamed Teatro Nacional de Guiñol.

In 1967, he joined the Conjunto Dramático Nacional, after the company split, Carlos become a member of one of the subsidiary groups, Grupo La Rueda. By 1969, he was a founding member of Grupo Los Doce, an experimental project led by Vicente Revuelta. In 1970 and after the end of the project Los Doce, Carlos joined the Teatro Escambray, the company that he remained with until 2007. There he spent most of his career, playing the role of actor, designer, artistic director, and general manager. In addition to this, he founded a branch within the company focused on children.

In Havana, he has worked with companies such as Mefisto Teatro, Espacio Teatral Aldaba, and Compañía del Cuartel. Currently, he is a guest artist in the company Impulso Teatro. 

During his long career, he has received numerous awards for his acting and directing. Among others, at the Festival de Teatro de La Habana, Carlos was awarded the Premio de la Crítica and Festival de Teatro de Camaguey. As an actor, he has performed in several countries throughout Europe, as well as North, Central, and South America.

Among others distinctions, he received the Alejo Carpentier Medal, the Espejo de Paciencia Award (Camaguey). As well as the Distinction for national culture, the Gitana Tropical (Habana) and El Niño de la Bota and Zarapico (both from Santa Clara). He is an honored member of UNEAC (The guild for Cuban actors and intellectuals) and honorable member of his hometown of Sagua la Grande.

In 2009 he received the National Theater Award, the highest distinction in the realm of theater in Cuba. In 2014, he received the award Maestro de Juventudes of AHS.

Maya Barsacq

Maya Barsacq is the founder and conductor of Cadenza. An ardent and dedicated advocate of classical music and especially contemporary classical music, Barsacq has strived to champion new compositions since the inception of the orchestra.Barsacq has premiered with Cadenza, Four World Premieres, Nine US Premieres and Three West Coast Premieres, including works of Vasks, Milhaud, Poulenc, Shariff, Auric, and Jeanrenaud. She also works as a freelance music director, conducting opera, and musical theater pieces in the United States and in Europe.

Barsacq is a strong advocate of music education and appreciation in and out of the classroom. She frequently is invited to teach master workshops in conservatories and universities, and also enjoys working with young children in the classroom.Recently, Barsacq worked closely during her four month internship, with Carlus Padrissa of La Fura dels Baus. She conducted a retrospective of composer Luciano Chessa at YBCA , a production of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Johann Strauss’s Fledermaus in San Francisco. She also assisted conducted Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at Opera Idaho in 2015.

Barsacq also is co-founder of a new multi disciplinary music and art ensemble: NuAroma that will premiere works in 2018 in Barcelona. Additionally, Barsacq will continue to collaborate with La Fura dels Baus on various projects in 2018/2019 season. Maya Barsacq received her conducting training from esteemed conductors: George Cleve, Nicole Paiement, Barbara Day Turner, and Michel Singher. She is the proud recipient of the 2005 Gail Rich Award for her dedication to the arts.