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ARTISTIC COUNCIL

Maestro Vasily Petrenko
Chairman of the Artistic Council

“I am very glad to participate in such an important initiative, which will give a lot of new opportunities to young Armenian musicians!
Helping young musicians was always one of my top priorities and nowadays we need to help them more than ever. My love for Armenia goes back for over 35 years, I’m eagerly looking forward to sharing this love with many more people!” – maestro Vasily Petrenko.

Vasily Petrenko is Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (since 2021), and Chief Conductor of the European Union Youth Orchestra (since 2015). He is Conductor Laureate of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, following his hugely acclaimed fifteen year tenure as their Chief Conductor from 2006-2021, and has also served as Principal Guest Conductor and subsequently Artistic Director of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia (2016-2022), Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (2013-2020), Principal Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (2009–2013), and Principal Guest Conductor of St Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky Theatre, where he began his career as Resident Conductor (1994–1997).

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Vasily Petrenko was born in 1976 and started his music education at the St Petersburg Capella Boys Music School – Russia’s oldest music school. He then studied at the St Petersburg Conservatoire where he participated in masterclasses with such luminary figures as Ilya Musin, Mariss Jansons and Yuri Temirkanov.

He has worked with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome), St Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Czech Philharmonic, NHK Symphony and Sydney Symphony orchestras. He has appeared at the Edinburgh Festival, Grafenegg Festival and made frequent appearances at the BBC Proms. Recent years have seen a series of highly successful North American debuts, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and the San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Montréal and St Louis Symphony orchestras.

Equally at home in the opera house, and with over thirty operas in his repertoire, Vasily Petrenko made his debuts in 2010 at Glyndebourne Festival Opera (Macbeth) and the Opéra de Paris (Eugene Onegin), and in recent seasons has also conducted at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, Zürich Opera and Bayerische Staatsoper. In the 19/20 season, he also made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York with a production of The Queen of Spades.

Vasily Petrenko has established a strongly defined profile as a recording artist. Amongst a wide discography, his Shostakovich symphony cycle for Naxos Records with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has garnered worldwide acclaim. With the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, he has recently released cycles of Scriabin’s symphonies and Strauss’ tone poems.

In September 2017, Vasily Petrenko was honoured with the Artist of the Year award at the prestigious annual Gramophone Awards, one decade on from receiving their Young Artist of the Year award in October 2007. In 2010, he won the Male Artist of the Year at the Classical BRIT Awards and is only the second person to have been awarded Honorary Doctorates by both the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University (in 2009), and an Honorary Fellowship of the Liverpool John Moores University (in 2012), awards which recognise the immense impact he has had on the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the city’s cultural scene.

PIANO

Dmitry Masleev
CURATOR

“Super-soloist” is the way France Musique introduced Dmitry Masleev when he made his debut with the Orchestre National de France at the beginning of 2020, laying the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1, the work that helped launch his international career, when he won the 2015 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow. Dmitry’s solo recital debut at the Philhamonie de Paris in March 2022 confirmed that a new phenomenon has emerged among the most interesting pianists of our time: “What an artist! Everything is so simple, so ingenious, without the slightest attempt to explain the music,” wrote Alain Lompech (Bachtrack).

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Dmitry’s return to La Roque d’Anthéron festival last summer was described in La Provence as “a magical eveningwhere virtuosity merged with the innermost workings of the soul.” His recent festival appearances also include Klavierfestival Ruhr, Lucerne, Verbier, Montreux, Rheingau, Bad Kissingen, Bodensee, Bergamo and Brescia.

Dmitry’s orchestral collaborations include the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (Robert Trevino), Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (Mikko Franck), Orchestre National de Lyon (Tan Dun), Bamberg Orchestra (Christoph Eschenbach), and Orquestra Cadaqués (David Robertson), Tampere Philharmonic (Joshua Weilerstein), Verbier Festival Orchestra (Gábor Takács-Nagy), and many others.

North America fell in love with Dmitry Masleev when he made his Carnegie Hall recital debut at the Isaac Stern Auditorium in January 2017 and repeated the same program at Toronto’s Koerner Hall in March. In 2018, he toured coast-to-coast with the Moscow State Symphony and Pavel Kogan. In the summer of 2022 he performed at the Newport Classical Festival and the Festival Napa Valley.

Annual visits to South America have established Dmitry as an audience favorite in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Ecuador. This season Dmitry collaborates with Allegro HD, the main arts and culture TV network of the continent, to deliver music to his fans despite the travel restrictions.

Dmitry regularly performs in the Asian capitals, both with orchestras such as Seoul Philharmonic, New Japanese Philharmonic, and National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, as well as in recital.

Born and raised in Ulan-Ude (a Siberian town between Lake Baikal and the Mongolian border), Dmitry was educated at the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Professor Mikhail Petukhov, and at the International Music Academy at Lake Como.

Philipp Kopachevsky
MENTOR

A soloist of the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic and a prize-winner at international competitions, the young pianist Philipp Kopachevsky had won tremendous audience admiration and acclaim by the age of 33 He regularly appears in recital in Great Britain, Germany, the USA, the Netherlands, France, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Greece, Poland and Spain as well as throughout Russia. Kopachevsky has won particular popularity in Japan, where especially for NHK TV he recorded a disc of piano music by Chopin.

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“The young pianist’s playing has a perceptibly personal message. The natural blend of mastery and spiritual maturity with raw emotion, the freedom with which the pianist expresses himself and his Romantic sincerity and nobleness win one over from the very first notes…” “From the first notes he plays, you sense the pianist’s powerful and lyrical individuality. His piano sings – this is a very rare quality nowadays, typical of a Romantic worldview; he retains clarity in his pianism and his phrasing is beautiful and pliant…” These are the kind of reviews Philipp Kopachevsky receives from music critics.

Philipp Kopachevsky was born in Moscow in 1990. He graduated from the Central Music school of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire and Moscow conservatoire. Philipp Kopachevsky has been a prize-winner at eight prestigious international competitions, among them the Х International Franz Schubert Piano Competition (Germany), international Piano competition in Enschede (Netherlands) and owner of the special prize on XVI Tchaikovsky competition.

The musician has performed with the world’s great orchestras, among them the English Chamber Orchestra, Milano “La Verdi” orchestra, DSO Berlin, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonic, the Symphony Orchestra of the Kolobov Novaya Opera Theatre in Moscow, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, the Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra under Pavel Kogan, the Novaya Rossiya State Symphony Orchestra, the Yevgeny Svetlanov State Symphony Orchestra of Russia and the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St Petersburg Philharmonic. He has collaborated with such illustrious conductors as Mstislav Rostropovich,Valery Gergiev, Michel Plasson, Vladimir Spivakov, Mikhail Pletnev, Yuri Bashmet, Yevgeny Kolobov, Yuri Simonov, Alexander Dmitriev, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Daniel Smith, Andrew Gourlay, William Noll, Bjarte Engeset, Charles Olivieri-Munroe,Young Chil Lee, Yevgeny Bushkov, Maxim Vengerov, Jan Latham Koenig, and Paul Watkins etc.

Philipp Kopachevsky has appeared at numerous international festivals, such as “Stars of white nights” festival, Easter Festival, Festival in Annecy, the Andrei Sakharov Festival (Nizhny Novgorod), the Vera Lotar-Shevchenko Memorial Competition (Novosibirsk), the Steinway Festival, the Miami Piano Festival, the Arts Naples World Festival (USA), the Colmar International Festival (France), the Baltic Seasons festival (Kaliningrad), Vladimir Spivakov Invites, Stars on Baikal, Crescendo and Denis Matsuev Invites among numerous others.

He performed at the Russian premiere of choreographer Benjamin Millepied’s ballet Without at the Mariinsky Theatre.

Philipp Kopachevsky is involved in the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic’s project Stars of 21st century.

CHAMBER MUSIC

Irina Krasotina
CURATOR

Irina Krasotina holds the Professor position at the P.I. Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory and a Ph.D. in Art History. She is the Head of the Ensemble Department at Ippolitov-Ivanov State Musical Pedagogical Institute. Ms. Krasotina also received a Master of Spanish Music degree from the Marshall Academy (Barcelona), a class of the legendary Spanish pianist Alicia de Larro-cha.

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Ms. Krasotina felt her passion for classical music when she was six and started her piano studies at seven. Her international performing career was launched after numerous Russian and international piano competitions. She was a laureate of international competitions in Italy (Senigallia, 1992; Ragusa, 1993; Trani, 1997), E. Granados Barcelona International Competition (Spain, 2001), A. Roussel Sofia International Competition (Bulgaria, 1996), D. Lipatti Bucharest International Competition (Romania, 1997) among the others. In many of those, she later served as a jury member.

Among her recent projects are the publication of her new “Issues of Ensemble Performance” monography as long as the launch, together with Mr. Vasily Pasetchnik, the new Ensemble chamber music project where she also holds the Artistic Director position. The Ensemble project explores the history of cultural connections between European countries through chamber music. It aims to reveal fascinating historical details supported by academic re-search and to offer insights into the mutual inspiration that contributed significantly to the devel-opment of chamber music.

Irina Krasotina regularly performs recitals in Russia and abroad. She collaborated with conductors Evgeny Petrov, Stanislav Davydov, Felix Korobov, as well as with Philipp Nodel (oboe), Nikolai Ageev, Ilya Kashtan (bassoon), Nikita Boriso-Glebsky (violin), Alexander Ramm (cello), Artyom Dervoed (classical guitar), to mention a few.

Ms. Krasotina has been teaching since 2003. Her students are the laureates and winners of the prestigious International Chamber Ensemble Competitions in Russia, Spain, and the UK. She is also the author of 18 tutorials and treatises focused on ensemble performance studies, Spanish music, “Chamber Ensemble” discipline educational programs, and publications based on her Enrique Granados. Piano Heritage dissertation. She is a speaker and an organizer of several international conferences dedicated to Spanish music and modern music education in Russia and abroad issues.

Irina Krasotina resides in Moscow (Russia) and teaches at P.I. Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory.

VIOLIN

Maximilian Simon
CURATOR

Whether as a soloist, chamber musician or as deputy section leader of the 2nd violins of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Maximilian Simon inspires on stage with self-confident sovereignty, technical brilliance, expressive playing and his noticeably infectious enthusiasm for music. Curious by nature and open to challenges, the charismatic musician and GEWA Music Brand Ambassador manages to convince his listeners offline and online not only with the standard works of the repertoire, but also with contemporary and unknown music.

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Highlights of his past appearances as a soloist were concerts with Yuri Bashmet in Rostov am Dom and in the Moscow Conservatory with the violin concerto by Beethoven and the Concerto funèbre by Karl Amadeus Hartmann. In the Berlin Philharmonie, the audience listened to him visibly spellbound as he interpreted the late romantic violin concerto by Erich J. Wolff with the Berliner Symphoniker under the baton of Lior Shambadal – as “sung touchingly, as virtuosically brilliant”, as the press judged and the jubilation in the hall confirmed.

Born in Koblenz in 1988, Maximilian began playing the violin at the age of six and won his first competition just a year later. Numerous other awards followed before he studied at the Berlin University of Music “Hanns Eisler” (Prof. Wallin) and at the University of Music and Theater Hanover (Prof. Wegrzyn) and passed his concert exam. He received valuable artistic impulses in master classes, among others, with Pierre Amoyal, Vadim Gluzman and Christian Tetzlaff.

Maximilian Simon made his solo debut in 2009 with the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen. Subsequently, engagements took him to the Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz, the Jenaer Philharmonie, the Symphony Orchestra of the Far East and the Moscow Soloists as well as to renowned festivals such as the Schwetzingen SWR Festival, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, the Salzburg Summer Festival, Young Euro Classics Berlin, Dialog of the 4 cultures in Lodz and at the tide festival. His chamber music partners include artists such as Yuri Bashmet, Jens-Peter Maintz, Patrick Demenga and Michail Lifits. Several radio recordings for SWR2, HR2 and Deutschlandradio documented his artistic work.

Maximilian Simon was a scholarship holder of the Rheinland-Pfalz Future Initiative (ZIRP), the Orchestra Academy of the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz, which loaned him two violins (Sanctus Seraphin and Vincenzo Panormo) for two years each.

In the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Maximilian Simon plays a violin by Nicolo Amati from 1623, which is generously loaned to him from a private collection. In addition, he is an author at the Ries & Erler music publisher: together with his colleague Nadine Contini he has published the work “Carl Flesch: The Art of Violin Playing, compactly edited by Maximilian Simon and Nadine Contini” in November 2020. As an ongoing bestseller, the book has already won the prestigious „Best Edition“ – Price by the German Music Publishing Association.

CLASSICAL GUITAR

Nikita Nedelko
MENTOR

Nikita Nedelko is one of the brightest representatives of the young generation Russian guitarists. Born in Vladivostok in 1993, he already performed in the USA, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Serbia, and across Russia. Nikita began his guitar studies at the age of six under the guidance of Nadezhda Bushueva. He continued his education at a youth music school and the A.F. Murov Music State College in Novosibirsk, Russia in the class of Honoured Cultural Worker of the Russian Federation Yuri Kuzin. Nikita graduated with a distinction the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music in 2017 with a Bachelor degree, in 2019 with a Master degree, In 2021 with a assistant trainee under the guidance of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation professor Nikolay Komolyatov.

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Nikita Nedelko is a laureate of over 30 Russian and international classical guitar competitions, including:

1st place and the Grand Prix at the International “New Generation” competition in Perm, Russia (2022);
1st place at the International “Miami GuitArt Competition”, USA (2021);
1st place and the Grand Prix at the International “The Russian and the Classical Guitar” competition in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia (2021);
2nd place at the 17 International Altamira Gorizia Guitar Competition, Italy (2020);
1st place and the Audience Prize at the International “De Guitare d’Antony” competition, France (2018).
He won four Gold medals at the Delphic Games of Russia, and received Russian Presidential Scholarship five times.

Nikita Nedelko performed at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and the Grand Hall of the Gnesin Academy of Music in Moscow, the State Academic Capella in St. Petersburg, the Grand Hall of the Rostropovich Philharmonic in Nizhny Novgorod, as well as many other cities in Russia. He appeared at the Music Academy (ESMUC) in Barcelona and the Teatro Cervantes in Petrer (Spain), the Jerison Music School in Antony (France), and the College of Arts in Omis (Croatia).

He collaborated with the Svetlanov State Academic Orchestra of Russia, the “Russian Philharmonic” Symphony Orchestra, “Musica Viva” Symphony Orchestra, the Russian Academic Orchestra (Novosibirsk), the Novosibirsk Chamber Symphony Orchestra, and the Russian Folk Instruments Orchestra at the Glinka Conservatory among the others.

Nikita participated in master classes by Aniello Desiderio (Italy), Marcin Dylla (Poland), Ricardo Gallen (Spain), Fabio Zanon (Brazil), Artyom Dervoed (Russia), and Rovshan Mamedkuliev (Russia).

In addition to his performance and recording career, Nikita Nedelko is actively involved in educational activities. He produces videos, gives master classes and interviews, serves as a judge at competitions, and appears on air on “Orpheus” radio, radio “Russia “, and “Jazz” radio. He is the author of the “Music For Children” project, and a part of the “Jongo Duo” ensemble with saxophone. Nikita frequently performs as a soloist with the NeoClassica orchestra.

Nikita Nedelko teaches at the College of Culture and Arts, and resides in Moscow, Russia.

Valeria Galimova
MENTOR

«Passionate player and rigorous respecting the musical rules; her patience, perfectionism, dedication and wish to improve make a perfect combination to achieve the highest level of excellence … a big heart and a person determined to make her dreams come true.»

– Ricardo Gallen (Spain).

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Already at a young age, Valeria Galimova showed her originality and tremendous talent as a guitarist. At the age of 14, and as a student in a Russian music school, Valeria was invited to serve as an artist and a jury member at a international children’s festival competition in Puebla, Mexico.

During the years of her professional activity, she was awarded one of the Prizes of the President of Russia and won the gold medal at the Delphic Games in 2014. She has also won 10 first prizes at national and international competitions.

In 2018 she performed the world premiere of the Suite “The Dance” for guitar and string quartet as part of the 2nd Moscow Festival of Guitar Chamber Music “The Golden Finfegboards».

The same year she took part in the production of the Astor Piazzolla’s tango-opera «Maria de Buenos Aires» in the orchestra «Leggiero» in the Rachmaninov Hall of the Moscow State Tchaikowsky Conservatory.

In 2020 Valeria performed a solo concert at the world-famous festival «Guitar Virtuosi» in the Chamber Hall of the Moscow Philharmonic.

In July 2022 Valeria completed her master’s degree at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar, Germany under the direction of Prof. Ricardo Gallén.

In August 2022 She completed a guitar-making course in Granada by Pavel Gavruyshov’s Guitarreria and built her own guitar.

In addition to this, In June 2023 Valeria completed a certificate course in a music physiology. She is lecturing and giving workshops internationally.

Currently, Valeria is engaged in the development of her career. She performs at various concerts and festivals as a soloist, as well as part of chamber ensembles.

Valeria plays the guitar by luthier Paco Santiago Marin, 50 Anniversary.

Since 2021 Valeria Galimova is a Knobloch Artist.

Vahan Sargsyan
TUTOR

Vahan Sargsyan was born on January 30, 2002, in Yerevan. He began his musical journey at the age of 10. He graduated from the P. I. Tchaikovsky Secondary Music School. Following his military service, he continued his education at the Yerevan State Conservatory, named after Komitas, where he is currently in his second year of his Bachelor’s degree.

Vahan is a recipient of numerous international competition awards, including the 2nd prize at the Tbilisi International Classical Guitar Competition, recognition at the Pleven International Guitar Festival-Competition, the Grand Prize at the “Renaissance” International Festival-Competition, and the 1st Prize at the “Art Music” International Festival.

Henrik Melikyan
TUTOR

Henrik Melikyan was born on August 21, 1999, in Yerevan. He embarked on his musical journey at the age of 9 and graduated from the musical college named after Arno Babajanyan. After completing his military service, he continued his education at the Yerevan State Conservatory, named after Komitas, where he is currently in his second year of his Master’s program.

Henrik has earned recognition in various international competitions, securing the 1st prize at the Tbilisi International Classical Guitar Competition, the 1st prize in the “Video-Rus” International Competition, the 1st prize at the “Renaissance” International Festival-Competition, and the 1st prize at the “Art Music” International Festival-Competition.He has also conducted a concert tour in Italy.