Trio Zadig

Trio/France

Founded in 2014, Trio Zadig gained critical praise for their impressive 11 international competition prizes, including First Prize at the Fnapec Competition and second prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in the US. The Zadig Trio is currently a resident of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel alongside the Artemis Quartet. It is also the first trio resident of ProQuartet and is supported by the Banque Populaire Foundation. Friendship is at the core of the Zadig Trio’s strength and authenticity. Boris Borgolotto and Marc Girard Garcia are childhood friends who studied together at the Paris Conservatoire National de Musique and at the University of Music in Vienna. Upon their return to France, they crossed paths with Ian Barber, an American pianist from the renowned studio of André Watts at the University of Indiana. The chemistry between them is immediately apparent; in a strong desire to unite their talents, they found the Zadig Trio. The name comes from Voltaire’s eponymous character, Zadig (from the Hebrew for the ‘just’ and the Arabic for the ‘truthful’). Much like the music that the Trio performs, the story of Zadig is fantastically entertaining, while touching upon universal and uncompromising truths about the nature of reality. Trio has performed all over the world, from the USA to the Republic of Congo, as well as in prestigious halls like Wigmore Hall, Shanghai City Theater, Paris’ Philharmonic and the Salle Cortot. In parallel with this demanding schedule, the Trio has met with great artists who have contributed to the development of its musical expression, most notably Ivry Gitlis and Menahem Pressler. Due to its auspicious beginning, the Zadig Trio has been invited to several broadcast shows: “Génération Jeunes Interprètes” and “Le nouveau Rendez-Vous” on French Public Radio (France Musique) as well as “Puisque vous avez du talent” on Musiq’3 (RTBF) in Belgium. From Haydn to contemporary composers, the Zadig Trio’s audacity and freshness gives youth and vitality to the piano trio repertoire. The depth and sincerity of their interpretations, as well as their vivid, poetic sound, make them the creators of captivating performances. Their DC debut at the Phillips will include Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor, Bernstein’s Fantasy on themes from West Side Story, and some works from Toulouse-born composer, Benjamin Attahir. Just like Voltaire’s hero, the Trio promises to have a long and adventurous life.

Samuel Nebyu

Violinist/Hungary-Ethiopia

Samuel is the winner of numerous national  and international competitions including Grand prizes at the National ASTA (American String Teachers  Association) Solo Competition (2015),  “Remember Enescu” International Violin Competition (Romania, 2013), the Flame International Violin Competition (Paris, 2008), and the Beverly Hills National Auditions (CA, 2014).  Born in Hungary of Ethiopian-Hungarian descent, Samuel spent most of his early childhood in Asia.  He started playing the violin at the age of six; at fifteen, he was admitted to the Young Talents Program at the Brussels Royal Conservatory where he received tutelage from renowned musicians, including Igor Oistrakh.  Samuel was a violinist-in-residence for several years at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium. He continued his education in the US in the international violin class of Professor Eduard Schmieder at Boyer College of Music at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he received his BM, MM, and in May 2022, became a DMA. From 2017, Samuel teaches at the Community Music Scholars Program at Temple University. Samuel has performed as soloist with number of orchestras, including the Brussels Philharmonic, at important international music festivals, and in venues such as the Centre of Performing Arts in Brussels (BOZAR), the Peles Castle in Romania, the Wiener Saal in Salzburg, and Alice Tully Hall in New York. In 2015, he was selected as an iPalpiti Junior and was a featured soloist with iPalpiti orchestra in Los Angeles at the Wallis Annenberg Center. Since, he has returned to iPalpiti every season; in 2017 he was featured in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with iPalpiti alumnus violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and in 2019 was a soloist in a West Coast premiere of Alexey Shor “Seascapes” violin concerto at the Conrad Performing Arts Center in La Jolla and at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. In 2016, Samuel received the prestigious Clifton Emerging Artist Award and gave a recital at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia; same year he became a prize winner of the Mozarteum Salzburg Festpiel competition – the only one of 291 violinists to be selected as one of the eight prize winners – and was further honored to conclude the winners concert at the Mozarteum Grosse Saal.  Highlights of the recent seasons included performance of a Concerto for Violin with Choir and Orchestra by Jennifer Higdon at Kimmel Center Verizon Hall in Philadelphia, recital with Professor Lambert Orkis (long-time piano partner of violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter),  a recital with Prof. Charles Abramovic (the collaborative pianist of Midori) at LACMA’s Sundays Live! Livestream series, and a South America’ tour with Mutter’s Virtuosi. Samuel is the 3rd iPalpiti artist chosen by the great violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter for her foundation (prior artists were cellist Kian Soltani and bassist Roman Patkolo).  His CD “Violin Gems from Black Composers” was released on BCM+D label in 2018; selected for Grammy nomination, it was named Best Album of the Year by numerous classic radio stations across the nation, including KUSC-FM.  This spring, Samuel performed Brahms’ Violin Concerto with the Temple Orchestra. After iPalpiti festival, he will give a solo recital at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland. This is Samuel’s 7thseason with iPalpiti.

Agnieszka Podlucka

Violist/Poland

Born in Łódź, Agnieszka started her violin education at the age of seven. Since, she has been awarded First Prizes at numerous national and international violin, viola and chamber music competitions, including ARD International Music Competition in Munich (2018), Michał Spisak XI International Music Competition (2017), Intercollegiate Viola Competition (2017), II Baltic Competition for String Duos (2016), II Chamber Music Competition in students category (2015), XX International Johannes Brahms Viola Competition (2012, semifinal); IV Tadeusz Wronski Young Solo Violin Competition (2012, distinction).

She was awarded the “Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage” scholarship and continues her studies at the Frederik Chopin University of Music in violin and viola with professors Jan Stanienda and Piotr Reichert. Agnieszka has been a participant in many festivals as violinist, violist, chamber musician and orchestral player, including International Summer Academy of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Musethica International Chamber Music Festival in Spain, Sweden and Germany, International Chamber Music Festival in Wałbrzych, International Chamber Music Festival “Quarto Mondi” in Poznan, Warsaw Festival, Summer Academy of Music from Berliner Philharmoniker, and in master  classes worked with Tabea Zimmerman, Jerzy Kosamala, Stefan Kamasa, Wolfgang Boettcher, Peter Riegelbauer, Jose Gallardo, and  many others.

Agnieszka has performed extensively as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician in her native Poland in as well as in different countries of Europe, Japan, South Korea, United States. She was a member of Sinfonia Varsovia Academy as a violist and a member of European Union Youth Orchestra. In 2020, Agnieszka joined the Warsaw Philharmonic/Sinfonia Varsovia as its principal violist. This is Agnieszka’s “third” season with iPalpiti. Recommended by iPalpiti alumni Maria Machowska (2004-2009) who is a Concertmistress of the Warsaw Philharmonic [Filhamonia Narodowa/Sinfonia Varsovia] since 2008, Agnieszka joined iPalpiti in 2019, and applied to the 2020 season with her newly formed Splot quartet. Due to COVID restrictions, quartet was not able to travel; we are delighted to welcome Agnieszka and her Splot as quartet-in-residence this 2022 festival.