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Olga Vinokur

Olga Vinokur is a dynamic pianist who is gaining recognition for her impassioned performances and elegant musicianship. New York Times has described her playing as “the power of the music projected with clarity attests to the strength and consistency of her artistry.” Her career has taken her across the North America, Israel, Russia, England, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, China, Czech Republic and Canada where she has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and with orchestra. Ms. Vinokur was the featured artist in the Young Artist Festival in Russia, Woodstock Mozart Festival in USA, Israeli “Music in Galilee” Radio Music Festival, Rolfs Piano Festival in Florida, USA, International Piano Festivals in Paris and Canary Islands of Spain. Ms. Vinokur participated in Tel-Hai International Piano Master-classes in Israel where she was awarded a prize in honor of Ada Caspi. Olga Vinokur is presented in the film documentary “Women of Music”, a classical music series on Bravo TV station,
which feature interviews and performances with today’s top classical performers from around the world.

She has been heard on WNYC’s “Soundcheck” with John Schaefer in New York, BBC in London, the Israeli “Voice of Music” radio station, Russian National Public Radio, WUWF in USA, Czech National Radio, CKWR radio station in Canada. Her performances have also been broadcast on Bronxnet TV station in New York.

Recently Ms Vinokur has toured in China as a soloist with Manhattan Symphonee Orchestra where she performed in major concert halls of 11 different cities. Other recent orchestral engagements include Prague Philharmonic Orchestra of the Czech Republic, Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra of Czech Republic, Manhattan Symphony Orchestra of New York, Salome Chamber Orchestra, Woodstock Mozart Festival Orchestra, La Primavera Chamber Orchestra of Russia, Sinfonietta of Pensacola.

Her solo CD was described by American Record Guide as “…comparisons with many of top pianists of the past 75 years. She stands up very well and also manages to say something new along the way…”

Ms. Vinokur has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, New York’s Town Hall and is a frequent performer at Bargemusic in New York where she played solo recitals and chamber concerts, which included the world premiers. She is a member of critically acclaimed Trio Vela. An avid chamber musician, she has also performed with distinguished St. Petersburg, Martinu, Primo quartets among others. Dedicated to new projects, Olga Vinokur is committed to performing the music of today. Known for adventurous and imaginative programming, she has premiered solo and chamber works collaborating with both established and emerging composers. New York Times wrote “She knows just how to handle composers who surf the line between a Romantic sensibility and a modern sound”.

A native of Russia, Olga Vinokur began her piano studies at the age of six, and at twelve was awarded First Prize in the National Young Artist Piano Competition in Russia. Since then she has been a recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including First-Prize in the Prokofiev Piano Competition in Russia and major prizes in the Torrefranka International Piano Competition in Italy, the Koussevitzky Piano Competition and Artist International in New York, and the Rubin Academy Competition in Israel among others. She has been an annual scholarship recipient of America-Israel Cultural Foundation.

Olga Vinokur began her studies in Russia. Moving to Israel, she received her Bachelor’s Degree and Artist’s Diploma with honors from the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel-Aviv University studying with Victor Derevianko and Natasha Tadson. She pursued her Master and Doctor of Musical Art Degrees at the Manhattan School of Music in New York under the tutelage of Solomon Mikowsky.

 

Philip Edward Fisher

 

Pianist Philip Edward Fisher is widely recognized as a unique performer of refined style and exceptional versatility.

International tours as a prolific soloist and ensemble musician have taken Philip across his native United Kingdom to Italy, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Kenya, Zimbabwe, the Ukraine, and United States. 2002 marked his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall, performing Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto under the baton of Maestro Larry Rachleff.  His debut CD with the Naxos label, Handel Keyboard Suites Vol. 1, was released in early 2010 to great critical acclaim and hit the US Classical Billboard Chart within the first week of its release.  His recent release on the Chandos label, Piano Works by The Mighty Handfulwas featured on Classic FM as John Suchet's "Album of the Week", as "Classical Album of the Week" in The Telegraph, and has been nominated in the "Best Solo Instrumental Album" category of the International Classical Music Awards 2012.

Philip has appeared in-concert at Merkin Hall and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, and his United Kingdom credits include performances at the Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre and Royal Festival Hall in London, Usher Hall in Edinburgh, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and Symphony Hall in Birmingham. He has performed concertos with, amongst others, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, the Tampere Philharmonic, and the Toledo and Juilliard Symphonies, working with conductors such as Hannu Lintu, John Axelrod, Larry Rachleff, James Lowe and Giordano Bellincampi. Recent highlights have included an appearance at the "International Classical Music Awards" in Tampere, Finland, as the representative artist for the Chandos label.

Dedicated to the performance of new music, Philip has given local and national premieres of numerous contemporary pieces and has worked in close collaboration with prominent composers such as Ronald Stevenson, Thomas Ades, and Arvo Pärt. In February 2006, Philip partook in the New York Miniaturist Ensemble’s innovative concert series, unveiling the world-premiere performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s First Natural Durations for solo piano, and he has also appeared at the New York Focus! Festival at Lincoln Center.

Additionally known for his unique chamber music abilities, Philip has become a highly sought-after ensemble performer. He has collaborated with renowned performers and ensembles such as The Brodsky Quartet, tenor Robert White, pianist Sara Buechner, violinists Elmar Oliviera, Philippe Graffin and Augustin Hadelich, and Principal Trombonist of the New York Philharmonic, Joseph Alessi. Philip has appeared at Music@Menlo, the Beethoven Chamber Music Festival and the Kyoto International Music Festival in Japan. He has been heard on New York’s WQXR and Boston’s WGBH, BBC's Radio 3, Classic FM, and has appeared on Ukrainian Television, the BBC, and MTV.

Philip Edward Fisher began his musical training at the age of nine, and made his first public appearance only a year later. His concerto debut followed aged 12, performing Shostakovich’s Second Concerto at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. During this time, he studied with the concert pianist and composer, Philip Martin. In 1993, Philip was named a recipient of the John Ogdon Memorial Scholarship, enabling his musical studies to continue at the Purcell School. That same year, Philip was accepted into the studio of Professor Christopher Elton, Head of Keyboard at the Royal Academy of Music in London. During his studies at the Royal Academy, he was also guided by pedagogues Alexander Satz, Boris Berman, Stephen Kovacevich and Stephen Hough. He graduated from The Juilliard School in May of 2006, earning his Master’s degree as a student of Joseph Kalichstein and Jerome Lowenthal. In 2001, Philip was granted the Julius Isserlis Scholarship by the Royal Philharmonic Society of London, the largest and most prestigious award of its kind currently available to a British musician, branding the young man with a mark of distinction as one of the finest breakout talents in the UK.