Davide de Ascaniis

Violinist/Italy

“Exquisite control” — Baltimore Sun Winner of the AGIMUS Prize in Rome, the Szeryng International Violin Competition in Mexico, and the Grand Prix at the LISMA Foundation in New York City, among other numerous awards, Davide has been concertizing extensively.  Following performances with symphonies and solo appearances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at the Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center in New York, de Ascaniis performed in Taiwan at the Taipei Arena for an audience of 15,000 and played to great media acclaim in concert halls in Tokyo (Suntory Hall), Rome (Auditorium Parco della Musica), Venice (Teatro La Fenice), Milan (Teatro dal Verme) and across America. In the United States, de Ascaniis made his debut with the Gateway Orchestra in May, 2014, prompting a Brooklyn Eagle reviewer to write: “His dazzling finger work, musicality, pizzicato and incredible cadenzas evoked the wizardry of Paganini.”  He also participated and performed in international music festivals including Orford in Canada, Mozarteum in Salzburg, and the Nippon Foundation festival in Japan. Davide has been an iPalpiti artist since 2012, performing at iPalpiti festivals in prestigious venues throughout Los Angeles, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall and Soka Performing Arts Center. Born in Italy in 1991 to a family of pianists, Davide's first professional engagement was in 2000 in France, performing Bruch’s concerto with orchestra.  After earning a Master's Degree cum laude from the Conservatorio in Vicenza at the age of 16, he was awarded a Diploma at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and studied in New York with Albert Markov.  Last September, de Ascaniis toured Mexico playing the Paganini Concerto with Maestro Franz Krager and received press accolades such “...after this memorable performance, the conductor knelt before de Ascaniis, as never seen, and congratulated him… the audience offered him an endless standing ovation.”

Irina Chepizhnaya

violinist/Ukraine

Born in Ukraine, Irina began her violin studies at the age of six. Between 1996 and 2009 she became First and top-prizes winner in eleven international and national competitions, including Grand-prix at the International violin competition “Forte-Maestro.” In 2007 her name was chronicled in the State book of Ukraine “The Pride of Nation.” She entered the Music College of the famed Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory in 1998, graduating cum laude from the Conservatory in 2007, and receiving postgraduate diploma in 2010 (with Professors Ivanov/violin and Bonduryansky/chamber music). Performing with pianist Elena Kuznetzova, she won First prizes at the 16th International Chamber Music Competition in Thesaloniki, Greece, the International Competition of Slavonic Music in Moscow, Russia (2006), and the 2nd International Chamber Music Competition named after T. Gaydamovich in Magnitogorsk (2009). She participated in summer festivals such as Mozarteum Summeracademie, Holland Music Sessions, “Zeist music days”, in International Master-classes in Weimar, working with Jerusalem and Ysaye Quartets, and eminent violin professors. Irina was selected to join the iPalpiti orchestral ensemble of international laureates in 2010 and has since performed with iPalpiti in Los Angeles, Israel, Philadelphia and New York. As a member of "Young Russian Talents" program she tours Russia as a recitalist and gives master classes to gifted children. Named a Soloist with the Moscow Philharmonia in 2010, Irina has performed in major halls throughout Russia, and has appeared as soloist with such renowned orchestras as Russian National Orchestra, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, and with Moscow Philharmonic.

Midori Maruyama

Violist/Japan

Midori started playing violin at the age of four and has studied at the Tokyo college of Music from 2004-2010 with Prof. Takashi Shimizu and Saiko Azuma. During these years she attended many master classes in Japan, Portugal, Italy, and Austria. In 2008 she won the third prize at the Japan Players Competition and also began to study the viola and play chamber music. She won the 2nd prize at the Osaka International Competition and received a Special award at the Japan Ensemble Competition with her quartet. Midori continued her studies as a violist at Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Italy with Antonello Farulli and Felice Cusano as a scholarship student in Corso di Perfezionamento, and participated in the master class of Jürgen Kussmaul and in summer course of Jurij Bashmet at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena.  Midori is a recipient of numerous awards: the "Grand Prix d'Honneu" at the Concours International de Musique Léopold Bellan in Paris, France with piano quintet (2011), First Prize as a soloist at the 4th Concorso Musicale Europea Città di Filadelfia and 10th International Music Competition Premio Vittoria Caffa Righetti (2012), First Prize at Concorso Internazione di Musica “Euterpe” di Corato and VII Concorso Internazionale di Musica da Camera Città di Chieti as member of duo (2013).  As Mozarteum Summerakademie "praistreger", Midori performed in prestigious concert halls in the Salzburg Festspiele in 2012 and during the same season was selected to join iPalpiti. Midor has been a leading violist at The Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra, Japan since 2014; in 2017, Midori accepted a principal position at the Kyoto Symphony.  Midori has been member of iPalpiti since 2012.

Can Sakul

Violist/Turkey

Born in 1987 in Ankara, Turkey, Can is a principal violist of the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra.  His M.A. in Viola is from the Lausanne Conservatory (Bruno Pasquier’s class) and his B.M. in Viola is from the Bilkent University Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, where he was awarded a full scholarship.  He also attended master classes of James Creitz, Rusen Gunes, and Tatiana Masurenko at the Ayvalik International Music Academy.  Can joined the Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra in 2001 and was its Principal Viola from 2005 to 2008.  Other leading positions were at Bilkent Youth Virtuosos (2006-2008), touring Turkey and Germany as Co-Principal with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Damiano Guiranna (2007), and as Principal Viola in the Greek-Turkish Youth Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy (Summer 2008).  In 2009, Can became a member of the Camerata de Lausanne under the leadership of Pierre Amoyal.  He has performed in many chamber music and solo concerts all over the world including Turkey, Switzerland, France, Russia, Singapore, Greece, Germany, and Cyprus and has participated in festivals such as the Cannes Festival, the Montebello Festival, the Saint-Riquier Festival, the International Students Chamber Music Festival in Stuttgart, the Youth Composers and Youth Performers, World Music Day, the Festival of Castle of Ankara, and VEKAM Art Festival.  He has also performed at television and radio broadcasts on Mezzo, Radio Suisse Romande (La Tribune des Jeunes Musiciens) and Turkish National Television and Radio. Member of iPalpiti since 2011. 

Jacob Shaw

Cellist/UK-Denmark

Jacob Shaw's website

Award winning British cellist Jacob Shaw (b.1988) has given acclaimed concerts across Europe, USA and Asia, establishing himself as one of the most prominent young soloists based in Scandinavia. "Music Ambassador" for Dulwich College International and highly dedicated to helping and promoting young talents in his own field, Jacob also supports the next generation of musicians.

Called as “the cellist to follow” (Resmusica, 2014) - his unique program ideas, original style, and enthusiasm have gained huge support and admiration as a performer from the public and professional colleagues alike. Exploring the boundaries of what is possible on his instrument, he often collaborates with folk, indie, electronic and jazz musicians. This season he had two debuts in New York that reflected his eclectic styles, in Carnegie Hall (classical recital with piano) and in the Apollo Theatre (electric cello with works of Nico Muhly and improvisation with traditional singers from Tahiti).

During his studies in London, Paris, Augsburg and Copenhagen, Jacob became a laureate of numerous national and international competitions, and since has performed in some of the world’s prestigious stages such as Carnegie Hall, Guangzhou Opera House, Oslo Concert House, Salle Cortot, Copenhagen Radio House, etc. He has premiered pieces by composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Sir John Taverner, Frangis Ali-Sade and Haflidi Hallgrimsson.

A passionate chamber musician, he regularly plays in esteemed festivals such as Lockenhaus Festival, Gstaad, Sommets-du-Classique, iPalpiti and is the co-founder and artistic director of the Festival International de Musique de Chambre en Charente (www.chalaismusique.com ) A dedicated teacher, his students have won national and international competitions in Germany, Denmark, Japan, France and the UK, and Jacob has given masterclasses in important music conservatories across the world such as CCOM, Royal Irish Academy of Music, Northwestern University Chicago, Shanghai conservatory, in New York, and Chicago Northwestern University.

His debut 2 CD album will be released this summer by GPR records and he can be heard regularly on radio throughout Europe, Asia and the USA. More information at www.jacobshaw.de or on social media @jacobshawcellist.

Hans Kristian Goldstein

Cello / Norway-USA

Hans Kristian was born in Drammen, Norway in 1988, and began playing the cello at the age of eleven. He made his orchestral solo debut with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra after winning their concerto competition at age sixteen. He was featured in the STRAD Magazine’s ”Fresh Faces,” named “New Artist of the Month” by Musical America (April 2010), and his solo recital was cited as one of Baltimore’s ten top musical events by the Baltimore Sun. Hans has performed in Sweden, France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Norway, South Africa and throughout the United States in concert halls including Weill at Carnegie Hall, Merkin, Chicago Cultural Center, Steinway, Shriver, Disney, and the Grieg Hall in Norway. His performances have been broadcast on television/radio in Norway on NRK, WFMT-Chicago, WQXR-NY, and Pretoria Radio in South Africa.

Winner of the international competitions, he received First Prizes at the Schmidbauer International String Competition (2013), Alexander and Buono International String Competition (NY 2009), National Young Artist Competition in Midland-Odessa (2009), and the Lennox Young Artist International Competition (2008). He has received numerous scholarships and grants in Norway including the American-Scandinavia Award, the Kavli Prize in Norway, the Violoncello Forum Award (Madrid), the Salon de Virtuosi Award (New York City), and in 2014, named among ten winners in the Beverly Hills Auditions receiving series of recital engagements in California.

As a soloist with orchestras in the US and Europe, he has appeared with the Trondheim Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Aspen Philharmonic, Peabody Symphony and Richardson Symphony, among others. As orchestral musician, Hans has completed his internship at the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, and has been principal cellist of the festival orchestras such as Aspen and Sarasota, and of the orchestras at Peabody and USC. Mr. Goldstein’s teachers include Hans Jensen (Chicago), Amit Peled (Baltimore), Torleif Thedeén (Stockholm) and Ralph Kirshbaum (Los Angeles).

“…Virtuoso experience” – Norwegian Østlands Post

Conrad Chow

Violinist/Canada

Born and raised in Toronto, Conrad has established himself as a foremost performer and teacher in his native Canada.  A review in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald praised “the full, sweet, seductive intensity of Chow’s sound”, and his performance alongside Ani Kavafian with the Columbia Festival Orchestra was hailed as “ornate and satisfying”.  He is a prize-winner of the 2006 International Stepping Stone Competition in Quebec and the David G. Whitcomb Foundation’s Young Artist of 2003. 

Conrad began his violin studies at the age of three at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.  His Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees are from Indiana University’s School of Music, studying with Miriam Fried. Conrad completed his DMA from the State University of New York, Stony Brook (under noted violinists Pamela Frank, Ani Kavafian, and Philip Setzer), and later pursued further post-doctoral work with Eduard Schmieder at Temple University in Philadelphia. He studied chamber music with the Grammy Award-winning Emerson String Quartet and is appearing in chamber music performances with Paul Biss, Christina Dahl, David Finckel, and Miriam Fried.  His string quartet was winner of the Indiana University Kuttner String Quartet Competition, performing as the quartet-in-residence for the 2001-2002 seasons. 

  As soloist, he appeared with numerous orchestras, in recitals, broadcasts, and on international stages including Mozarteum in Salzburg, Qingdao Music Hall in China, and 2010 Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall debut. As a member of the prestigious iPalpiti orchestral ensemble of international laureates since 2008, he performed at Carnegie Zankel Hall, Disney Hall in LA, Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, and Israel.  

Being a teacher of one of the leading precollege private violin studios in Canada; his students are winners in many important national and provincial competitions and have made solo debuts with Canadian orchestras, in 2010 he has been appointed to a faculty position at the Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music's elite pre-college academy.  He was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Violin at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia for the 2006-2007 seasons, and was a member of the faculty at the Summit Summer Music Festival in New York in 2010.  Conrad has served as jury member and adjudicator of various Canadian competitions, at the international “Remember Enescu” competition in Romania, and gives master classes in Canada, the United States, and Asia. A member of iPalpiti since 2010, Conrad has been serving as Associate Concertmaster, Principal 2^nd Violins, and featured in solo and chamber ensembles.

Sonya Kumiko Lee

Piano/USA

www.sonyakumikolee.com
www.facebook.com/SonyaLeePianist

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Sonya has performed as a soloist at world-renowned concert halls including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, The Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Colorado, Create Center Hall in Osaka, Japan, the Salle des Colonnes in France, and many others. As a chamber musician, Sonya has collaborated with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Ottawa Symphony, and illustrious colleagues from The Juilliard School, Curtis, Yale, and Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama in performances in cities throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Sonya’s affinity for rock music and theater has led to collaborations with esteemed artists in these fields, including Tony Award-Winning actor Roger Bart, punk-ska giant Mike Park of Asian Man Records, and Rivers Cuomo, the brilliant lead singer of the alternative rock band Weezer. Her performances with Mr. Cuomo have aired on Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR, Sirius Satellite Radio, I Heart Radio for Clear Channel, and on Weezer’s album, “Hurley”.

2013-2014 seasons included her 12th appearance at the Colly Soleri Music Center in Arizona at the architectural marvel Arcosanti by the renowned Italian architect, Paolo Soleri, and performances throughout Southern California. Sonya holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from The Juilliard School where she studied with pianists Emanuel Ax and Oxana Yablonskaya.

Peter Rainer

Violinist/Germany

Peter has been iPalpiti’s Concertmaster since 1994. In his native Germany, he is a concertmaster and a founder of the Kammerakademie Potsdam, and leads an active career as a chamber musician, soloist, and the teacher. Since 2007, Peter has been on the faculty of the “Universität der Künste” (University of the Arts) in Berlin and of the “Stern Institute” for young talented students.  In 2018 Peter has been appointed as the Head of the string department of “Musikgymnasium Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik" in Berlin, a school for highly talented musical kids in Berlin.  

He was the founder and leader of the Persius Ensemble, focusing mainly on repertoire written for the classical nonet, and has released three CDs; a CD with nonets by Spohr, Clementi and Mozart was chosen by Berlin-Brandenburg Radio (RBB) as one of the best releases of 2007.  He has been a member of the Max Brod piano trio from 2012 -2017.  In 2016, the trio released a CD of compositions by Robert Kahn, a wonderful discovery of romantic music in style of Johannes Brahms.  Music-loving children know Peter Rainer through the many interactive concerts he developed for them in the past 20 years, such as Till Eulenspiegel, Ferdinand the Bull, The Horse on the Violin, to mention a few.  For many seasons he has appeared at the Festival International de Musique de Chambre en Charente together with iPalpiti artist Jacob Shaw, and continues to collaborate with iPalpiti alumni on international musical projects. 

Peter Rainer studied violin in Würzburg with Max Speermann and in the U.S. with Professor Eduard Schmieder at the Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas, Texas where he received his Artist Certificate in 1994 and his Master of Violin Performance degree in 1995. Upon his return to Germany, he was appointed first concertmaster of the Brandenburgische Philharmonie in Potsdam from 1996 to 2000.  Peter has worked as the assistant to Professor Schmieder at the Holland Music Sessions, at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas and at Temple University in Philadelphia. In 2005, he received a commendation from the City of Los Angeles for his leadership of iPalpiti and his contributions to culture.

During the “corona crisis” he rediscovered string quartets by Johannes MaRhias Sperger, an almost unknown composer today, who lived in the north of Germany at the same as Mozart and Haydn. The CD of these quartets will soon be released by the label JPC. This year Peter celebrated the 20th anniversary of his Kammerakademie Potsdam with a series of 8 concerts in 9 days.

Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä

Violinist/Finland

“Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä, through means of her technical ability and passionate playing, proved why she is one of the most interesting Finnish violinists of our time.” — HBL (6/2014) Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä served as a concertmaster of the Danish National Chamber Orchestra and Vaasa City Orchestra and the Oulu Symphony Orchestra in Finland.  Besides an extensive solo career, Heikkilä is also a recognized leader in Europe, holding engagements as a concertmaster in orchestras such as the London BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Arctic Philharmonic, the Norwegian National Opera and the Malmö Opera orchestras, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, the Stavanger and Trondheim Symphony orchestras, etc.  As a guest concertmaster and a leader of the London BBC Symphony Orchestra, she was the featured soloist on Rufus Wainwright: Prima Donna and Take All My Loves – 9 Shakespeare Sonnets, with the London BBC Symphony Orchestra, released on Deutsche Grammophon in 2015. Heikkilä has soloed with orchestras and given recitals as soloist and chamber musician across Europe, South-Korea, the USA, and Russia.  In recent years, she has performed at many leading festivals: the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, KuruFest, the Helsinki Festival, the Riga New Music Festival, the Classica NordicBaltic Conference in Latvia, the Ecuentro de Musica de Santander in Spain, the iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates in Los Angeles, the Gumi International Music Festival in Korea, the Music Alp Music Weeks in France, the Harmos Festival in Portugal and the Lake District Summer Music Festival in the UK.  Kreeta-Julia is also the artistic director, founder and a violinist of the TEOS - Finnish Chamber Music Series in Helsinki and is currently a violinist in the Copenhagen-based Trio Nord along with iPalpiti alumnus cellist Jacob Shaw.  The summer of 2017 inaugurates the 1^st Helsinki Chamber Music Festival of which she is an artistic director and violinist.  A prizewinner at numerous national and international competitions, including the prestigious Pro Musica and Nordea Awards, Kreeta-Julia graduated with distinction from the London Royal College of Music in 2012 and from the Sibelius Academy in 2015, where she studied under Jan Repko, Tuomas Haapanen, Mi-Kuyng Lee and Päivyt Meller.  Heikkilä plays an Andrea Guarneri (1680), kindly on loan from The Finnish Cultural Foundation. Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä’s Website

Adelya Shagidullina

Violist/Tatarstan

A prizewinning violist, Adelya’s numerous awards include First Prizes at the Andrey Korsakov International Music Competition, Eugen Coca International Music Competition, All Russian International competition, and a First Prize and special prize for the best performance of a commissioned work at the International J.S. Bach Competition. Named Fellow of the Art Ministry of Russia and Russian Performing Art Foundation (2003-2006), Adelya has performed in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, her native Kazan, and throughout other large cities in Russia. Selected as a principal violist of numerous youth international orchestras under direction of prominent conductors, Adelya has been working professionally in the Kazan State Chamber Orchestra “La Primavera” and the Kazan State Symphony Orchestra. Adelya was selected to join iPalpiti for its east coast residency in 2009, and has since performed as an orchestra member and soloist in concerts throughout America, including the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Carnegie Hall in New York, and Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

A graduate of the Kazan State Conservatoire, she has been studying in the United States since 2009 in the international studio of Professor Eduard Schmieder of Temple University’s Boyer College of Music, where she received an Artist Diploma, Bachelor’s, and Master's degrees. In 2014, Adelya received her DMA from Temple University where she worked with Professor Daniel Avshalomov, violist of the eminent American String Quartet. She is a member of the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra and Philadelphia Virtuosi.

Joseph Kauffman

Violinist-violist/USA

Born in Oakland, California, Joseph began his violin studies at the age of five.  He has studied with Yayoi Numazawa of the Philadelphia Orchestra, James Lyon and Max Zorin of The Pennsylvania State University, and Eduard Schmieder of Temple University.  A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance, he was honored to receive the Creative Achievement Award, given to only one exceptional student.  Winner of many competitions in Pennsylvania, Joseph received first prize in the PSU Philharmonic Concerto Competition performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto (2008).  He returns to State College every summer for the Penn’s Woods Music Festival under the direction of Maestro Gerardo Edelstein.  Joseph founded and performed with the “Valens” Piano Quartet, which received First Prize in the MTNA Chamber Music Competition. As a chamber musician – both as violinist and violist - Kauffman was featured live on classical radio in Los Angeles and Philadelphia.  In 2008, Kauffman was accepted into the international class of Prof. Eduard Schmieder in the Master’s Degree program at Temple University, which he completed in 2011, with distinction and received the Albert Tashjian Prize for excellence in performance.  He frequently served as concertmaster for the TU Symphony Orchestra and TU Opera Theater.  He has performed on major concert stages including Disney Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kimmel Center, and the Kennedy Center, among others.  He has participated in master classes with world-class soloists and ensembles, including Jaime Laredo, Philip Setzer, Martin Chalifour, the Shanghai, Emerson, the American, the Tokyo quartets, and many others.  Currently, Joseph is in the DMA program at Temple University, where he is also an adjunct faculty member. He teaches a talented class of students at the NBS School, maintains a thriving private violin studio, and leads an active performance career.  Together with iPalpiti alumnus and cellist Yoni Draiblate, in 2016 he founded and successfully directs the MUSIC TRANSFORMS concert series in Philadelphia. Joseph was selected to join the iPalpiti in 2010, taking principal roles as both violinist and a violist in orchestral ensemble as well as in chamber ensembles. He also has been a dedicated orchestra manager during the festivals.

Yoni Draiblate

Cellist/Israel

Born in 1986 to a family of musicians, Yoni Draiblate began his musical education at the age of five. Since the age of 9, he has won numerous prizes and scholarships, including America-Israel Cultural Foundation prestigious scholarships. As a soloist he has appeared with orchestras such as: the Israel Philharmonic, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Israel Camerata, Tel-Aviv Soloists, has collaborated with renowned artists such as Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez, Kurt Mazur, and has appeared in numerous live recordings for Israel’s main classical music radio station Kol Israel. During 2008, Yoni was the Principal Cellist of the Haifa Symphony Orchestra. After completing his mandatory 3-year service in the IDF under the title “outstanding musician”, Yoni continued studying in the Tel-Aviv University, graduating with Bachelors degree in Music Performance. He received Master of Music Degree from New England Conservatory in May 2011 working with Prof. Lawrence Lesser. His other major teachers include Neomi Enoch, Schmuel Magen, Hillel Zori, as well as master classes with eminent cellists and artists as Bernard Greenhouse, Janos Starker, Natalia Guttman, Uzi Wiesel, Gary Hoffman, Wolfgang Boetcher, Alban Berg Quartet, and Amadeus Quartet. A diverse musician, Yoni enjoys a career playing various genres of music including Rock, Folk, Jazz and more. He has performed numerous times in well known music scenes today such as “Rockwood Hall of Music”, “the Red Fish” (Le Poisson Rouge), and “Songs from a room” (‘SOFAR’), New York. This includes a Television performance for NBC network with Andrew Lipke, who was voted Philadelphia’s best singer-songwriter for the year of 2012. Yoni is playing on a 1849 “Jacout” Cello, on loan from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.

Lars Hoefs

Cellist/USA-Brazil

Originally from Appleton, Wisconsin, LARS HOEFS is currently professor of cello and music history at Sao Paulo State University in Campinas (UNICAMP), consistently ranked the 2nd or 3rd best university in Latin America.

In Brazil Lars has performed as soloist with orchestras in Barra Mansa, Campinas, Campos do Jordao, Manaus, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Sorocaba, and has been a frequent guest at the Rio International Cello Encounters and Festival Virtuosi in Recife. With pianist and Polish Music Center director Marek Zebrowski, Lars has concertized in New York, London, France, Italy, Prague, and across Poland and the Ukraine. As cellist of the Blue Rose Trio Lars performed in Jerusalem, Shanghai, and Hong Kong; and as a member of the California Quartet he collaborated in residencies with composers including William Bolcom and Michael Daugherty.

Lars has established himself as a leading expert on the cello repertoire of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. Formerly assistant principal cello of the Orquestra Sinfonica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro, Lars was invited to perform the complete works for cello and piano of Villa-Lobos in 2012 for the 50th annual Festival Villa-Lobos at the Villa-Lobos Museum in Rio. Recently he was the first cellist ever to perform the complete works for cello and orchestra of Villa-Lobos together in one program. Currently, he is planning a Villa-Lobos festival for 2015 in conjunction with the University of California, Riverside.

He received his high school diploma from the North Carolina School of the Arts, a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University studying with Hans Jorgen Jensen, and Master of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, studying with Piatigorsky Chair and former LA Philharmonic principal cellist Ronald Leonard. Lars joined 2011 joined iPalpiti orchestra on its tour to Israel, and performed in numerous concerts.

Mariechen Meyer

Bassist/Republic of South Africa

South African bassist Mariechen Meyer was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa in 1989.  She started her double bass studies with Peter Guy in Bloemfontein, and graduated cum laude from the University of Stellenbosch in 2011 on a string scholarship under the Dutch pedagogue and performer, Roxane Steffen.  From a young age, she was appointed principal bassist of several orchestras such as the National Youth Symphony Orchestra of South Africa, the World Youth Symphony Orchestra in USA, and the University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra.  Mariechen has been invited to numerous international chamber festivals, among which are the International Chamber Festival in Stellenbosch (South Africa), MUSICA MUNDI International Chamber Music Course and Festival for Young Musicians in Belgium, the Stift Festival in The Netherlands, and the Interlochen Summer Camp in Michigan, USA, where she worked with Leon Bosch, Lawrence Hurst, Jack Budrow and Zoran Markovic.  As a soloist, Mariechen has performed with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra (2004) and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (2008).  Currently, Mariechen is pursuing her Doctoral Degree at the University of North Texas in Denton, where she also completed her Master’s Degree, studying with the world-renowned double bass pedagogue and soloist Jeff Bradetich.  In 2013, she was a winner of the University of North Texas Concerto Competition, second prize winner of the Mid-Texas Symphony Solo Competition and a semi-finalist in the prestigious solo competition if the International Society of Bassists.  She plays on a modern Rumano Solano bass, owned by Gudrun Raschen.  This is her third season with iPalpiti.