Pietro Bonfilio

was born in Tuscany (Italy) in 1990 graduated with honors at “Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi” in Milan under the guidance of M° Vincenzo Balzani. He completed a Master’s degree in performance with Distinction at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland under the guidance of M° Victor Sangiorgio. He attended Masterclass with Paolo Bordoni, Ian Fountain, Jean ‐Marc Luisada, Giuseppe Andaloro and Lang Lang.

He performed in various cities of Sweden, Germany (Great Hall of Hochschule Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Leipzig), Scotland (Stevenson Hall and in the Royal Concert Hall of Glasgow), Mexico (Centro Cultural Bicentenario in Mexico City), Cambodia (Phnom Penh Piano Festival Meta House), Thailand (Bangkok Piano Festival, Siam Ratchada Auditorium).

He has played in various Italian cities and for various musical istitutions, in particular for the Fondazione Toscana Spettacoli, in the Salone dei Cinquecento of Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, at the IX edition of the International Festival C.I.M.A. in Tuscany, at Palazzo Albrizzi in Venice.  He performed as a soloist with Mexico State Symphony Orchestra, with Philharmonic Orchestra “Mihail Jora” Bacau, with Grosseto Symphony Orchestra, and with Reggio Calabria “Francesco Cilea” Orchestra.

Pietro won several competitions such as: XXV Ibla Grand Prize, XII edition of the International competition Monterosa Kaway, XX edition of the competition Riviera della Versilia held in Viareggio, II edition of the competition Agimus held in Florence, XI edition of the national competition Riviera Etrusca held in Livorno, V edition of the competition Lissonum Young Performers held in Milan, IX edition of the International competition New Horizons held in Arezzo. Awarded the scholarship by the International Association of Richard Wagner for Bayreuth Festival 2014. Since 2012 is the artistic director of Morellino Classica Festival in Tuscany.

Etienne Chenevier

is a pianist, who studied with Mme Auberr-Crouzet (composer and teacher at the Université Musicale Internationale de Paris). His repertoire extends from Bach to Messiaen. During his international career he has performed numerous solo recitals, as well as chamber music with international artists. Etienne Chenevier lives in Singapore where he also performs, as with the Singapore Symphony Chamber Music series.

 

 

Lluís Avendaño

was born in Barcelona, in 1958. He studied in the Music Municipal Conservatory of Barcelona, with pianist Miquel Farré. He also studied with Maria Curcio in London and Spain. He participated in courses with teachers as Rosalyn Tureck, Dimitri Bashkirov, Jorg Demus, Lev Vlasenko or Gyorgy Sandor, among others. He also received lessons from pianists as André Watts or Alexis Weissenberg.

Lluís Avendaño experience as a soloist includes work with the Liceu Opera Theatre Orchestra in Barcelona, with the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra from Budapest (International Festivals of Cadaqués, 1980, and Torroella de Montgrí, 1982), and with the Youth and Music World Orchestra (1983), conducted by Antoni Ros-Marbà, playing "Nights on the Gardens of Spain" of Falla. He has played in Europe, Canada, United States and Cambodia.

He worked extensively in chamber music, specially with the Group Montmartre (wind instruments and piano), and the Trio Bartholdy (piano trio). As regards 20th Century Music, Lluis has played in two important specialist groups: Barcelona 216, conducted by Ernest Martínez-Izquierdo, and the Chamber Orchestra of Teatre Lliure, conducted by Josep Pons.

In 1991, he toured the United States with guitarist Manuel González, with a program dedicated to  the spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo, to mark the 90th anniversary of his birth. In 1992, in Zaragoza, he played in the spanish première of George Crumb's "Makrokosmos III", for two pianos and percussion.

Lluís has taught piano and chamber music at the conservatories of Barcelona, Terrassa, Manresa and Zaragoza, in Spain, and also he has given courses in the Royal University of Fine Arts, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (2003), Vongdassak Conservatory, Bangkok, Thailand (2006), and Elly Lim Music School, Jakarta, Indonesia (2008).

He has worked a lot as a pianist for singers. He is one of the teachers in the Camerata International Singing Course, held in Sant Cugat del Vallés (Barcelona) every july. He has played the orchestral part in several opera’s performances: Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale”, Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte”, Offenbach’s “La Vie Parisienne”, Toldrà’s “El Giravolt de Maig”…

Lluís has appeared on stage as Mozart, in the play “Da Ponte” from Bibiana Goday, where he played music from “Le Nozze di Figaro”, “Cosí fan tutte” and “Don Giovanni”. Also, he appeared as Beethoven in a divertimento from pianist Arne Sahlen, in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) in 2003.

In the recent years he has specialized in the spanish music world. He has made recitals with dancer Beatriz del Pozo, with whom he has appeared in Spain and Germany, and with guitarist Lourdes Pavía, playing spanish and Latin American music. In 2009, during the celebrations of Isaac Albeniz's year, he played the composer's masterpiece "Iberia" in the Auditorium of Barcelona.

In 2010, he has made a show with singer Alba Guerrero and flamenco group, mixing classical and spanish music with flamenco. He has given also a cours about Albeniz and the flamenco, a way to understand the music through the rhythm.

Recent concerts, in 2011-2012, include a two pianos music program, with pianist Josep Mª Almiron, with music from Liszt and Debussy in their 200 and 150 anniversary respectively.

 

Lestari Scholtes (1984) and Gwylim Janssens (1985)

have been a piano duo since 2003. Currently they are recognized as one of the most promising piano duos of their generation, and leading piano duo from the Netherlands.

Their 2009 Carnegie Hall debut, as part of the IBLA Grand Prize winners USA tour, was praised as "it could well have been 25 or 30 fingers, so big and well integrated was the sound. Terrific duo in top form". The duo is well known for their brilliant sound and marvellous technical skills, presenting very intense and energetic performances. This has lead them to performances throughout The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Poland, Italy, Georgia, Israel, Dubai, the USA, Chile, Bolivia, Zimbabwe and Mongolia. They are regularly invited in venues like the Amsterdam Concertgebouw; performances have been broadcast by radio and television in several countries, among them Dutch Radio4, BBC3 and Belgian Klara Radio. The duo performed several times with the Orchestra of Brabant and the Israel Symphony Orchestra. Festivals include e.g. the Festival of Bath, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, TonLagen-Dresdner Festival der zeitgenössischen Musik, Braunlage Maikonzerte, Basilica Festival of Flanders, Klevische Klaviersommer, Almere Chamber Music Festival and the International Piano Duo Festival Poland.

In May 2010, the Scholtes-Janssens Piano Duo won the very prestigious Vriendenkrans Competition of the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. They were presented as the first winners of the Radio4 Talent of the Year 2010. The finals, live broadcasted on the Dutch national classical radio, followed after a successful tour in the concert series 'The Debut' in all major concert halls of The Netherlands. In the preliminary rounds of the competition, in autumn 2008, the duo won already the Radio4 Scholarship. In 2010, the duo won also the Concours Musical de France in Paris in the highest category, the 3rd prize in the IVth International Piano Competition of the Republic of San Marino “Allegro Vivo” and the 2nd prize in the 14th Torneo Internazionale di Musica in Verona. In 2011 they were winners of the 12th International Web Concert Hall Competition, receiving one of the five awarded Honorable Mentions.

The duo has won all prizes at the International Chamber Music Competition Almere 2009, The Netherlands. They were winners of the jury prize, the audience prize and the KRO Radio Young Talent Award. In the summer of 2009 the duo has won the second prize at the International Concerto Competition of the Tel Hai International Piano Master Classes in Israel. In 2009, they also won the Rabobank Young Talent Prize. Other prizes included the Ravel Award at the IBLA Grand Prize International Music Competition 2008 in Sicily, Italy and the Special Prize of the Music Academy Bialystok at the Fourth International Piano Duo Competition 2008 in Poland, the Sara Lahat Duo Prize for the most outstanding duo of the Tel-Hai International Piano Master Classes 2007 in Israel, and a first prize at the Princess Christina Competition 2003 and 2004.

In April and May 2009 The Scholtes-Janssens Piano Duo has made a concert tour throughout the United States on the invitation of the IBLA International Music Foundation. They have performed in North Dakota, Virginia, Arkansas and New York, where they had their debut in Carnegie Hall. In May 2012, the duo returned to Carnegie Hall, where they got great acclaim by audience and press: “Superb teamwork – two as one – with excellent, turn-on-a-dime transitions between episodes”, as it was written about their performance of Stravinsky's Petrouchka.

Lestari and Gwylim are regular jurors at the IBLA Grand Prize International Music Competition on Sicily, Italy. They have given master classes at among others the Music Academy of Minot State University in North Dakota (USA), the Universidad Catolica de Chile in Santiago de Chile, the Universidad Mayor de San Andres in La Paz (Bolivia), la Academia Nacional de Música Man Césped in Cochabamba (Bolivia), and the Music and Dance College in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia).

As a duo they are studying with the piano duo Sivan Silver & Gil Garburg at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien (University of Music and Drama) in Hanover, Germany. Individually they both graduated cum laude in the conservatories of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Together they have taken many master classes with e.g. Nikolai Petrov, Alexander Tamir, Victor Derevianko, Alon Goldstein, Peter Takács, Paul Lewis, Jean-Bernard Pommier and Menahem Pressler. The latter was broadcast on Dutch national television.
In November 2010 they released their debut CD with works by Rachmaninov, Debussy and Ravel, under the label of QuattroLive. In May 2014 their second cd 'Paris!' was released under the label of Etcetera Records.

Rong Sereyvann

started to play the piano in the age of 16 and joined the Royal University of Fine Arts. His major and most relevant teacher is Dr. Him Sophy. He went to the USA for the Opera production "Where Elephant Weep" where he gained international experiences. In addition, Sereyvann improved his piano-technique and musical understanding in master classes with Stephan Rahn. Sereyvann obtained his Bachelor Degree for Music this year.

Poom Prommachart,

the first Shigeru Kawai Artist in Thailand, was born in Bangkok and regarded as one of the most accomplished Thai pianist today.
His performances are highly considered for their lyrical intensity and virtuosity. Poom graduated from the Royal College of Music (RCM), London where he earned the prestigious International Artist Diploma  in 2014 and a Master’s Degree in Performance (Distinction) in 2013, which received an exceptional high distinction for both solo piano and chamber music. He was awarded the most prestigious Tagore Gold Medal for his outs tanding career and great contribution to RCM, which was presented to him by HRH Prince of Wales on May 2014. He also received his Bachelor of  Music (Honours) with Hopkinson Gold Medal and the Sarah Mundlak Memorial Prize for Piano from the RCM for the best fourth year Graduation recital in 2011. Other important awards at RCM have included the John Chisell Schumann Award (2009) and 1st prize in RCM Concerto Concerto Competition where he performed Prokofiev's Piano Concerto no.2 in G minor, op.16 with RCM Symphony Orchestra conducted by Phillip Ellis (2011)/

Poom has recently recorded a debut solo CD for Champs Hill Records being launched in April 2015. He has performed in many world-famous concert halls throughout Europe, Asia and Australia and also worked with many leading Orchestras. At his very young age of 25, hi
s repertoires have included over 30 concertos. He has already developed an international reputation as an outstanding performer of rare expressive depth, and has been acclaimed by critics who called him “a young Ashkenazy” from Seen and Heard UK Concert Review in 2010.

Poom appeared at the Fifth International Isidor Bajic Piano Competition in Serbia where he won 1st prize, a special prize for Brahms’ Piano Quintet performance in the semi-final round as well as the audience prize. During the final round with the Timisoara Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Radu Popa, he played Brahms’ First Piano Concerto filled with tragic tones and in a full richness of rare musical talent after which the daily newspaper “Dnevnik” from Novi Sad wrote: “Playing with a mixtu re of controlled freedom and exceptional depth of expression, with rounded phrases and rich decorations of “Chopin” kind of sound, beginning deep in his piano and a great dynamic range, purified in style and expression, the pianist from Thailand has confirmed that the first prize an d title of the laureate of the whole competition have come into the right hands”.

In addition to an outright win in Novi Sad, Poom also have won many prizes including 1st prize and audience prize at the UK Intercollegiate Sheepdrove Piano Competition (2009), 1st prize at Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra Soloist Competition (2008), 2nd prize and a special prize for the best performance of Liszt at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Budapest (2008), 1st prize of Thailand Internationa l Piano Competition (2011). Most recently, he was awarded First Prize in the Grand Final of Sussex International Piano Competition (2013) where he performed where he performed Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto no. 3 with the Worthing Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Gibbons in the final round.

He was the last student of a legendary pianist, Yonty Solomon in 2008 and completed all his studies under world renowned Russian pianist, Dina Parakhina . He is the Artist in resident of Concorno Kultur management, Berlin, Germany. Poom is currently pursuing his Doctor of Music studies at the College of Music, Mahidol University, Thailand.

Miwa Hoyano

was born in Saitama (Japan) and began her career as a pianist at the age of four. After completing the under-graduate course for piano performance in Tokyo College of Music, she was admitted to the prestigious solo class of Prof. Bernd Goetzke at the Hannover University of Music, Drama and Media (Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover). Miwa performed extensively throughout Japan, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Norway, Cyprus and the USA both as a soloist and as chamber musician. She’s a regular guest at music festivals such as the Ticino Musica Music Festival in Switzerland, the Musica Riva Festival in Italy, the NDR Musiktag Hannover, BMW Welt Klassik & Lounge in the Steinway Lounge Munich in Germany, the Osaka Classic Festival, and the Classic Festival Hiroshima in Japan.

Miwa won various competitions, among others the Ibla Grand Prize International Music Competition in Sicily in 2014. Her execution of the 2nd piano concerto by Liszt was received with great critical acclaim: “A fantastic pianist. She plays with great passion and a wonderful atmosphere” (Marcello Abbado).

As a result of this prize, she made her debut performance in Carnegie Hall in New York which was praised as “A really nice and thoroughly valid interpretation. Great performance” (SoundWordSight Arts Magazine, May 2015). Besides, she made her debut performance in the Concertgebouw in The Netherlands,which was broadcast by Dutch Radio4. Miwa made also recordings for Radio Classica Italia. Other prizes include the first prize in the 11th International Music Competition Luigi Cerritelli in 2014, the Martinu Prize at the Grieg Piano Competition in Norway in 2009, the Camilo Togni International Music Competition in 2008, the Valsesia International Music Competition in Monterosa in 2007 and a bronze medal in the PTNA Piano Competition in Tokyo in 2007. She has studied at the Accademia Musicale Pescarese in Pescara with Prof. Bruno Mezzena.

She regularly cooperates with maestro Eiji Oue (Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra). Miwa is a regular jury member in the Tengiz Amirejibi National Piano Competition(Georgia). Future engagements include concerts in, among others,Japan, Germany, France and chamber music concerts with member of Munich Philharmonic Orchestra..