Mauricio Arias-Esguerra (Colombia)

Versatile pianist, composer, improviser, musician. Author of Chameleon Rhapsody for piano, trumpet and orchestra. He has performed in different countries as a composer and performer, including the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York. Winner of the First Federico Chopin National Piano Competition in Colombia and the UIS National Piano Competition. Award-winning pianist in several international competitions (Cervantes, Kingsville, Panama, Peabody Mason, Schimdbauer, USasu Bösendorfer).

He studied piano with Ludmiła Weber (F.U. Corpas), Baruch Meir and Robert Hamilton (Arizona State University, DMA). He studied composition with Rodney Rogers and Jorge Pinzón, in addition to participating in various courses with the composers Zygmunt Krauze, Philippe Manoury, Alessandro Solbiati. He has been a composer commissioned by different national and foreign institutions, among them, the National Symphonic Orchestra of Colombia, University of Florida Symphonic Band, Secretariat of Education of Bogotá.

He has collaborated with renowned artists such as singers Valeriano Lanchas and Betty Garcés, and trumpeter Pacho Flores. He has performed at the international music festivals of Cartagena, Música Sacra, Popayán, Bogotá (Teatro Mayor) and Festival di Spoleto, where he performed with the Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra on their tour of Italy. He recently opened the 2021 concert series of the Teatro Mayor and performed the premiere in Colombia of the Concertino for piano and orchestra by the Brazilian Camargo Guarnieri together with the OSNC.

His latest album is called The Chameleon Trumpet, featuring trumpeter Randy Lee (available on Naxos Music Library and major platforms). In 2021 he will publish the first album ¡Colombia Viva! – Contemporary Piano in Colombia. His scores are published and available through Filarmonika.com

He currently serves as an assistant professor at the Universidad de los Andes and is a founding member of the Bogotá Piano Trío. 

Sara Ferrández (Spain)

The critiques highlight her warmth, naturalness and security she displays on stage. Thanks to her innovative view of music for the viola and her extensive repertoire, Sara has known how to reach with the sound of her instrument to a wide variety of audience.  

Sara started directly playing the Viola at age 3. Her professional music studies began at a young age in the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, and then obtained her Bachelor degree at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with Tabea Zimmermann where she is currently finishing her Master’s degree. 

Devotee of Chamber Music, Sara is frequently invited  to play in prestigious festivals, such as the Kronberg Academy,  Verbier Festival,  Musika-Música, Classische forme by pianist Beatricce Rana, Arezzo Festival, Bodrum Music Festival,  Zagreb Chamber Music Festival or Rolandseck Festival. Sara has also been invited by violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter to be part of her Ensemble «Mutter Virtuosi».

Despite her youth Sara has already performed in some of the major concert Halls including the National Concert Hall of Spain, L’Auditori Barcelona where she presented the 20/21 season as a soloist, the emblematic Berlin Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Victoria Hall in Switzerland or Salzburg Festpielhaus. 

Highlights for the upcoming season include her debut with the Radio Television Orchestra in the Monumental Theatre of Madrid, her debut with the Orchestra de Córdoba and 15 Chamber Music Concerts in the most prestigious halls of Europe being part of the Echo Rising Stars of this season with Cristina Gómez Godoy, Oboe, and Mario Häring, Piano.

Sara is a member of the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic since December of 2019, as well as a member of the West Eastern Divan Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Daniel Barenboim.

​She plays a viola by Stephan Peter Greiner made in 2015 and a Nicolàs Maire bow lent by Stephan Jansen.

Marc Sabbah (United State)

Professor at the Royal Conservatory of Mons, Belgium.

Marc Sabbah (1988, New York City) is a viola soloist, chamber musician, professor and as of 2012, the viola soloist of the Belgian National Orchestra. 

Described as«a magnificent player» by legendary conductor Zubin Mehta, Marc is regularly invited as guest Principal Violist of the Israeli Philharmonic.  As of September 2017, he has been teaching viola as a guest professor at the Royal Conservatory of Mons, Belgium.

Marc began his studies on violin at the age of 3 at the 3rd Street Music School in Manhattan and he completed his studies in the United States as a graduate of the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High school of Performing Arts and the Pre-College Division of The Juilliard School. Graduating Cum Laude from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Marc was a pupil of Sven Arne Tepl and Nobuko Imai. His recent awards include the 1st prize at the 2016 Rising Stars Grand Prix music competition performing solo at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall as well as his recent 1st Grand Prize at the Manhattan International Music Competition with a recital at Carnegie Hall. Marc has won top prizes at the Moscow Arts Competition in Boston, the Horowitz International Competition and Academy in Kiev, Ukraine, (2004).

In 2011, Marc Sabbah performed with Ivry Gitlis at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. Since then, Ivry Gitlis attended Marc’s performance of the Leo Smit viola concerto at the Royal Conservatory of Mons calling Marc ‘The Paganini of viola’. His pursuit of music led him to study with great performers like Pinchas Zukerman, Lawrence Power, Kim Kashkashian, baroque cellist Anner Bijlsma, Nobuko Imai and others. 

Since 2016, Marc is collaborating with Belgian pianist Eliane Reyes forming the Duo Sabbah-Reyes, a unique duo dedicated to exploring viola and piano repertoire. 

Marc plays on a Leroy F. Geiger viola dated 1951 made in Chicago, USA. 

ANDREA NATALIA NATALIA TORRES ÁLVAREZ (Colombia)

Winner of the «Artistas Jóvenes Talentos 2017» scholarship from ICETEX to study in Julia Dinerstein’s class at the Maastricht Conservatory (NL) where she graduated cum laude from the Master of Music with emphasis in Viola. 

She studied at the Conservatory of Ibagué and the Conservatory of the National University of Colombia with Anibal Dos Santos and Sandra Arango. 

He has received viola and chamber music master classes with Michael Kugel, Mikhail Zemtsov, Alexander Zemtsov, Dana Zemtsov, Henk Guittart, Paul Cortese, Richard Young, Raúl García, Miami String Quartet, Kuss Quartet, Lincoln Trio, Catalyst Quartet, Carducci String Quartet, among others. He has performed recitals and concerts in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and the United States. 

He has participated as a member of the Philharmonie Zuidnederland, Maastricht Conservatorium Orchestra, Limburgs Jeugd Symfonie Orkest, Filarmónica Juvenil de Bogotá, Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, Orquesta Nueva Filarmonía, Fundación Orquesta Sinfónica de Bogotá (FOSBO), among others. 

She participated in the series «Young performers 2010» of the Banco de la República, as a member of the Chamber Orchestra of the Conservatory of Tolima and «Young performers 2012» with the String Quartet Ímpetu. 

She is a professor at the Fundación Nacional Batuta and Viola teacher at the Conservatorio del Tolima. She is currently taking classes with maestro Mikhail Zemtsov. 

MIGUEL ÁNGEL CASAS BARRETO (Director-Colombia)

Born in Ibagué, Colombia. He is a violinist and conductor of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He has been chief conductor of the National Police Symphony Orchestra, National Symphonic Band of Colombia, Tolima Chamber Orchestra, Cundinamarca Symphonic Band, Philharmonic Orchestra Corporation of the Andes, Youth Orchestras of the Conservatory of Tolima, Javeriana Symphonic Band, Symphony Orchestra of the International Violin and Viola Festival Foundation, National Pedagogical University Band, Javeriana University Orchestra, Pedagogical University Orchestra, among other symphonic groups.

He has received his musical and conducting training at the Conservatory of Tolima, Inter-American Music Center CIDEM- O.E.A. State Opera of Berlin-Hospitanz-, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Philharmonic Orchestra of Medellin, National Symphonic Band, Symphonic Band of Tolima, Symphonic Orchestra Conservatory of Tolima, Youth Orchestra of Valencia, Spain. He was selected to represent Colombia in the V, VI and VII courses for young orchestra conductors in Venezuela 1994, 1995 and 1996. He received the Jury’s Applause Award in the composition contest of the Institute of Culture and Tourism of Bogota in 1996 with the work Suite Colombiana for String Orchestra.

He was selected by the Government of Cundinamarca and the Ministry of Culture to perform the Artistic Residency in Conducting with the Youth Orchestra of Valencia (Spain) in 2008. 

For his artistic and pedagogical activity has been decorated by the Congress of the Republic in 2009, receiving the award «Antonio Nariño» for his immense contribution to the culture of the country, decorated by the Assembly of Cundinamarca in 2017, receiving the medal «Policarpa Salavarrieta», awarded at the ceremony «The Night of Police Excellence – National Directorate of Schools – National Police of Colombia in 2016,  honored by the Colombian Artist Foundation based in Cali in the international event De Regreso a mi Tierra 2018, honored in the National Competitions of Musical Bands in Tocancipá 2016, and in La Vega 2018, in the same year he was honored at the ceremony «Illustrious Sons of the Musical City» in Ibaguè, and in 2019 was decorated by the Governor of Cundinamarca in the ceremony «Entrepreneurs of Cundinamarca». He was awarded the degree with Summa Cum Laude honors for the master’s degree in conducting conducted at the Universidad Javeriana, winner of the «Recognition for the publication of pedagogical or musical materials for training processes, Ministry of Culture-2020, for the book «Introduction to Symphonic Conducting through Colombian Music».

He has been director and founder of the Tolima Chamber Orchestra, Corporación Orquesta Filarmónica de los Andes, Fundación Festival Internacional de Violín y Viola.

Creator of the program Concierto Didáctico Empesarial, developed and directed with the Corporación Orquesta Filarmónica de los Andes, at the Escuela de Administración de Negocios EAN, creator of the program Con-ciertos Valores, developed and directed with the Symphony Orchestra of the institution in the National Police of Colombia, creator of the programs La Banda es de Todos, La Banda entre las Bandas, developed and directed with the Symphonic Band in the department of Cundinamarca.

His pedagogical work in symphonic conducting has been developed in institutions such as Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Universidad Javeriana, advisor in the area of conducting in the National Music Plan of the Ministry of Culture, Colombia Creativa program, master classes, conferences and conducting workshops throughout the country.

He is currently professor of conducting, musical analysis, director of the Symphonic Band at the National Pedagogical University, and director of the International Violin and Viola Festival Foundation.

DAVID ESPINOSA RICALDE (Mexico)

He was born in Mexico City. He began his violin studies at the age of 8, and in 1972 he entered the National Conservatory of Music, where he studied with masters Vladimir Vulfman and Gela Dubrova.

In 1980, the government of the Soviet Union granted him a scholarship to study viola at the P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, where he studied under the direction of Gela Dubrova and Alexander Bobrovski. Upon his return to Mexico in 1986, he joined the National Symphony Orchestra and the quartet of the National Institute of Fine Arts.

Parallel to his studies, he was part of the Orquesta Filarmónica de las Américas in its last season, and participated from 1982 to 1989, and from 1994 to 2003 in the summer festivals of the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Academia de Música del Palacio de Minería A.C. (Symphony Orchestra of the Academia de Música del Palacio de Minería A.C.). From 1987 to 1991 he was part of the «Orquestra Ciutat de Barcelona», in Spain.

David Espinosa has participated in numerous chamber music concerts: in Moscow in collaboration with the Mexican Embassy; in Barcelona and Madrid with the groups «Solistes de Catalunya» and the Orquestra de Cámara del Teatre Lliure, among others. He has also played recitals for Radio UNAM, the ENEP Acatlán, Casa del Lago, in the «Carlos Chávez» halls of the Palacio del Exarzobispado and the Palacio de Minería, in Mexico City, and in Santiago de Chile.

He was a member of the quartet Kalos, with which he participated in the Foro de Música Nueva «Manuel Enríquez» and in other concerts in various venues in Mexico City.

Since October 1991 he has been violist of the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra and since 1994, viola professor at the Faculty of Music of the UNAM. From 2008 to 2012 he was itinerant teacher of the Youth Orchestra «Carlos Chávez» of CONACULTA.  From 1998 to 1999 he was awarded a FONCA scholarship as a performer.

Danka Nikolic (Serbia)

Danka studied at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg and at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg. She is the winner of numerous international competitions and her repertoire ranges from historically informed early music to contemporary music. 

She performs regularly in the most important European halls and festivals both as a soloist and with different chamber ensembles. Some of his colleagues have been Renaud Capuçon, Eliot Fisk, Stefan Schilli, Juan Diego Flórez, Juan P. Floristán, Cuarteto Minguet, Paolo Bonomini, Pablo Barragán, Kirill Troussov, Lukas Hagen, Suyeon Kang, Per Rundberg, among others. With the viola d ́amore he has performed as soloist with the Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla, Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss and the ÖENM. 

It is worth mentioning the international project of recovery of some of the most important works of the literature for viola d’amore and continuo together with harpsichordist Michael Behringer, a project that has deserved the recognition of the German Music Council (Deutscher Musikrat). 

She has worked with orchestras such as Orchestre de Chambre de Paris (viola soloist), Kammerakademie Potsdam (viola soloist), NDR Sinfonieorchester, Ensemble Resonanz, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Kammerorchester Basel (viola soloist). Danka is a member and soloist of the orchestras Camerata Salzburg and Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss. She regularly performs with orchestras such as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Balthasar-Neumann Ensemble (historical viola).

Danka is founder and director of the International Chamber Music Festival of Isla Cristina.

Raúl García  (Colombia)

Doctor, Magister and Artist Diploma from Rutgers and Yale Universities in the United States. He is a violist graduated from the music studies program of the Juan N. Corpas University Foundation with Summa Cum Laude distinction. Winner of the Georgina Lucy Grosvenor Memorial Prize for excellence, awarded by the Yale School of Music. 

He has performed in the most prestigious auditoriums and concert halls in his native country and abroad, including Carnegie Hall, the National Arts Centre, the Teatro Julio Mario Santo Domingo, the Teatro Colón, the Luis Ángel Arango Library, the Leonard Bernstein Memorial Stage and the Lincoln Center in New York. He has also collaborated with artists such as Ani Kavafian, Gary Hoffman, Andrés Díaz, Chee Yun Kim, Donald Weilerstein, David Shifrin, Ettore Causa, Gilbert Kalish, the Tokyo and Julliard String Quartets, among others. 

As a passionate chamber musician, he has appeared at various festivals in the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe and the Caribbean. Among these are; the St. Lawrence Quartet Chamber Music Seminar, Young Artist Program directed by Pinchas Zukerman, Pacific Music Festival, Yellow Barn, Innsbrook Music Institute, The Perlman Chamber Music Workshop, the Esmeraldas International Festival and the Menuhin Festival, Gstaad. 

He is currently Principal Viola of the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia. He develops a pedagogical work as professor of viola in the Faculties of Music of the Fundación Universitaria J. N. Corpas, the Universidad Central and the Master’s program in Music of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He also regularly teaches viola master classes at renowned music schools such as the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music. Raúl García plays on two contemporary violas built by Robert Brode (2004) and Sergio Peresson (1979).

Julian Enciso (Colombia)

He was born in the city of Ibagué and graduated from the Conservatory of Ibague. He studied at the University of Southern Mississippi with Dr. Hsiaopei Lee from 2010 to 2013. She completed her bachelor’s degree in music at the Maastricht Conservatorium with Julia Dinerstein and in 2019 she finished her master’s degree with Michael Kugel, renowned viola virtuoso. She has also studied under the tutelage of Alexander Zemtsov. 

She has received master classes with renowned violists among them, Alexander Zemtsov, Ettore Causa, Mikhail Zemtsov, John Largess, Lauren Burns, Kathryn Plummer.

In 2015 he participated in the 14th Concorso Internazionale Di Esecuzione «Don Vincenzo Vitti» in Italy and Concours Europeen pour Jeunes Solistes in Luxembourg where he won silver medals. In 2016 he participated in the Johannes Brahms International Competition. In 2017 he won the first prize at the Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition ‘Salzburg’ where he performed a concert at the Wiener Saal of the Mozarteum. He participated in the Mississippi International Competition in 2017 where he won second prize and received a bow made by luthier Alessandro Alberi. 

Julian has performed with orchestras under the baton of renowned conductors such as Susanna Mälkki, Ivan del Prado, Jay Dean, Antony Hermus, Bas Wiegers, Etienne Siebens, Gregory Ahss and Lev Markiz.

CARLOS PARRA (Colombia)

Being a graduate of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Boston University (USA), his primary professional interest revolves around the practice of chamber music. He has attended festivals and workshops where he has received classes with the Arianna String Quartet, Vermeer String Quartet, Quatuor Turner, Saint Lawrence String Quartet, Calder String Quartet, Borodin String Quartet, Shanghai String Quartet, Cuarteto Quiroga, Muir String Quartet, among others. 

He is a founding member of the Bogotá Chamber Orchestra, an orchestra in which the principles of chamber music are transferred to the dimensions of the symphonic repertoire.  He has been a member of the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia since 2012. In addition to his participation as a musician in the orchestra, he has been a viola workshop leader in cycles of classes offered by the orchestra during tours. In addition to volunteering for the La Joven en Acción and Creando Lazos programs of the Bolivar Davivienda Foundation, he has been a workshop leader in the Chamber Music Festival of the Notas de Paz Foundation and the Formation of Trainers Program for the Batuta National Foundation. 

He has been part of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra of Bogota and has been invited as supernumerary to the National Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bogota. He has ventured into historically informed interpretation in academic and professional spaces, which stands out his participation in the Ensamble Barroco de Bogotá and the Jeune Orchestre Atlantique. He has also worked as a professor at the Fundación Nacional Batuta and the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Nicolas Mendoza (Colombia)

Colombian violist, Nicolas Mendoza, began his musical studies at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. After graduating from high school at the Javeriana University, Nicolas won a full scholarship to complete his studies at The University of Southern Mississippi. In 2016 he was awarded first place in the MMTA competition in the United States.

Nicolás attended the Aspen Music Festival and School on a resident scholarship. He was invited to perform and participate in classes at the International Viola Congress in Rotterdam. In 2019 he was part of Thomas Riebl’s studio at the Internationale Musikakademie in Lichtenstein. He is currently pursuing master studies at the University of Vienna with the renowned violist Jennifer Stumm. Nicolas has played in classes for world-renowned violists such as Daniel Avshalomov, Lawrence Power, Simone Jandl, Thomas Riebl, Misha Amory, among others.

Jennifer Stumm (United State)

Jennifer Stumm, viola and director, is Professor of Viola at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, International Chair of Viola Studies at the Royal College of Music, London and gives masterclasses around the world. She studied with Karen Tuttle at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, with Nobuko Imai in Amsterdam and also pursued interests in politics at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Known for the seductive power and “opal-like beauty» (Washington Post) of her sound, Jennifer appears on the world’s great stages like Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Sala São Paulo, and the Wigmore Hall, London. Her solo career was launched after victories in three major international competitions: William Primrose, Geneva, and Concert Artists Guild (where she was the first violist ever to win First Prize).

Jennifer Stumm is founder and director of Ilumina, the São Paulo-based festival and social initiative, which has ascended rapidly to prominence as a modern model for 21st century creativity and efficient artist-led advancement of diverse talent.  

Jennifer has released two celebrated solo albums. Her debut recording for Naxos’ Laureate Series featured works by Italian composer/violist Alessandro Rolla, hailed as «an absolutely phenomenal display of virtuoso viola playing» (The New Recordings.) She released her album of Berlioz’s Harold In Italy in 2014 and performed the work in her unique staging and characterization almost fifty times.

A recipient of the prestigious BBC New Generation artist and Borletti Buitoni Trust awards for her work in chamber music, she appears at major festivals such as Verbier, Marlboro, Stavanger, Spoleto, Aldeburgh, Delft and IMS Prussia Cove and regularly appears with Spectrum Concerts Berlin.

Jennifer plays a Gasparo da Salò viola, c 1590, generously on permanent loan from a private collection.

Julia Dinerstein (Moscow-Netherlands)

Julia Dinerstein is one of the most prominent viola teachers in the Netherlands. She works at the Rotterdam Conservatory, ARTEZ Conservatory in Arnhem and Zwolle, Maastricht Conservatory, the Hellendaal Music Institut (Rottedam) and Academy for Musical Talent (Utrecht). Julia regularly gives summer masterclasses in France, Spain, US, China and Italy. A great number of Julia’s pupils and students became winners of National and International Viola Competitions.

Julia studied violin at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Elizabetha Gilels and Andrei Korsakov, later she studied viola at the Maastricht Conservatory with Michael Kugel (Soloist Master Degree with Distinction).

As a soloist and chamber music player she has participated in International Festivals in Europa, America and Far East where she played chamber music with Dmitri Sitkovetski, Daniel Rowland, Priya Mitchell, Niek de Groot, Michael Kugel. Since 2002 Julia lives in The Hague, Netherlands and she plays numerous recitals and chamber music concerts, amongst others as a member of The Hague String Trio and Zemtsov Viola Quartet.

Julia has worked as a guest principal violist at the Limburg Symphony Orchestra, Holland Symphonia (Holland), Flamish Philharmonic, Brussels Philharmonic and De Munt Orchestra (Belgium) amongst others.

Julia is the 2nd Prize winner at the Beethoven Int. Viola Competition (Austria).

Choong-Jin (KOREA)

Choong-Jin (CJ) Chang was appointed to the Peabody Conservatory viola faculty effective September 2013.

A native of Seoul, Korea, Chang was appointed principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra in April 2006 after 12 years as associate principal viola. He made his performance debut as a 12-year-old violinist with the Seoul Philharmonic as winner of the grand prize in Korea’s Yook Young National Competition. 

In 1981, at the age of 13, he moved to the United States to attend the Juilliard School. He subsequently studied in Philadelphia at the Esther Boyer College of Music of Temple University and then at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he received degrees in both violin and viola. His primary teachers were Jascha Brodsky and Joseph de Pasquale. 

As a soloist, Ms. Chang made a successful solo debut recital at Carnegie Hall along with numerous recitals in the U.S. and Far East. An ardent chamber musician, he performed in numerous chamber music festivals, including the Marlboro Festival (both in Vermont and several times on tour), Bridgehampton, Seattle, Santa Fe, and Evian and Moritzburg in Europe. 

The list of distinguished musicians with whom he has collaborated includes André Previn, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Yo-Yo Ma. In 1997, Chang joined violinists Robert Chen and Soovin Kim and cellist Peter Stumpf to found the Johannes Quartet. 

In addition to his extensive performing activities, Chang is a respected teacher on both violin and viola.

Krzysztof Chorzelski (Polonia)

Krzysztof Chorzelski was born in Warsaw in 1971 and enjoys a diverse career as a performing musician that has taken him all over the world as violist of the acclaimed Belcea Quartet, chamber musician and soloist. In 1992 he won the Wronski Solo Violin Competition in Warsaw and has subsequently performed as a recitalist and concerto soloist in Europe, making recordings for Polish Radio and the BBC. 

In 1996 became the viola player in the Belcea Quartet In 2006 he was invited by the Alban Berg Quartet to perform as a guest violist in a series of concerts celebrating the 250th Anniversary of Mozart’s birth in the Konzerthaus, Vienna. He performs as soloist with European orchestras, such as Sinfonia Varsovia and Real Filarmonia de Galicia. 

He also has a keen interest in commissioning new works for the viola from today’s leading composers. Recent premieres include a Viola Sonata by Pawel Szymanski and “Letters from Warsaw” by Joseph Phibbs. In August 2015 in Warsaw he also gave the world premiere of a recently discovered Viola Sonata by Andre Tchaikowsky.

Krzysztof’s recital cd which he recorded with the pianist Katya Apekisheva was released in February 2012 and was met with critical acclaim.Krzysztof has a keen interest in conducting. His recording of Ittai Shapira’s Violin Concerto “Concierto Latino” with the London Serenata Orchestra and the composer as soloist has recently been released by Champs Hill Records. He recently conducted the Young Israel Philharmonic and will be returning there next year for further projects with the orchestra.

Krzysztof Chorzelski plays a viola by Nicola Amati (ca.1670).

The Viola Zemtsov Quartet (Netherlands)

The Zemtsov Viola Quartet was founded in 2010 by four members of a unique family of viola players: Mikhail Zemtsov, Dana Zemtsov, Julia Dinerstein – Zemtsov and Alexander Zemtsov.

In 2015 Daniil Zemtsov, the son of Alexander, replaced his father Alexander in the quartet because of Alexander’s busy career.

The repertoire of the quartet consists of beautiful and seldom played romantic compositions, as well as newly written pieces and arrangements for four violas. All four quartet members have studied at the Maastricht Conservatory with the great viola virtuoso Michael Kugel. Each of them has developed a distinguished international career. Mikhail is a soloist, conductor and teacher at the conservatories of The Hague and Utrecht, he is member of Utrecht String Quaret. Julia teaches at the conservatories in Rotterdam, Maastricht , Zwolle (NL) and Musica Mundi School in Belgium, she is  member of The Hague String Trio. Alexander is viola teacher at the Conservatory of Lausanne, Switserland and Hochschule of Cologne, Germany, he is also a prominent conductor. Daniil Zemtsov, the son of Alexander, replaced his father Alexander in the quartet because of Alexander’s busy career. 

Daniil also has studied  with M. Kugel at the Maastricht Conservatory. 
Dana is very much in demand as a soloist with orchestras and chamber musician all over the world. 

The debut performance of the Quartet took place in 2010 at the Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam. Since then they have played a great number of concerts in Netherlands, Belgium, Estonia, Italy, Germany, Spain and they are unconditionally loved by their international and varied public. The quartet often performs for Radio (Radio 4 – Netherlands.  Klara -Belgium, «Klassika Radio»- Estonia, Radio Baleares – Spain) and TV (Vrije Geluiden, Podium Witteman). In 2014 the Quartet recorded its Debut CD on the label NAVIS, it was highly acclaimed by Dutch and international  press. Several prominent composers have written pieces for the quartet – Vanessa Lann (USA/Netherlands), Arvydas Maltsys (Lithuania), Arne Werkman, Leo Samama (Netherlands). 

In 2016 the Quartet has performed an arrangement of Harold in Italy by H. Berlioz with the National Symphony of Estonia and maestro Leif Segerstam. In 2018 the quartet performed the winning pieces of the Viola Quartet Composition Competition  at the International Viola Congress In Rotterdam.

In August 2020 the 10 Anniversary Concert of the quartet took place at the Grachtenfestival, Amsterdam. Prominent Dutch composer Leo Samama has written a Phantasy for four violas specially for this occasion. This commission was sponsored by Dutch Arts Foundation. 

The way they express their joy for the music, the viola, each other and their public, makes their concerts not be missed events. In 2021 the Quartet will perform concerts in  Netherlands and England .

Misha Amory (United States)

Winner of the 1991 Naumberg Viola Award, Misha Amory is an active soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He has performed with orchestras in the United States, Europe, and Asia, and at numerous music festivals.

Amory performs regularly at the Yale School of Music and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival/Yale Summer School of Music as a member of YSM’s ensemble-in-residence, the Brentano String Quartet, which presents creative programs of works from across history and standards of the classical canon. He also coaches graduate-level chamber music ensembles.

Amory holds degrees from Yale College and The Juilliard School, where his principal teachers were Heidi Castleman, Caroline Levine, and Samuel Rhodes. A dedicated teacher himself, Amory also serves on the faculties of The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music. 

Hsin-Yun Huang (Taiwan)

One of the leading violists of her generation, Hsin-Yun Huang has been a soloist with the Berlin Radio Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Taiwan Philharmonic, and London Sinfonia, among many others, and appears regularly at festivals, including Marlboro, Rome Chamber Music, Santa Fe, Spoleto USA, and Telluride.

 A member of the Brentano String Quartet from 1994 to 2000, she tours extensively with the ensemble, most notably including performances of the complete Mozart string quintets at Carnegie Hall. She was a member of the Borromeo String Quartet from 1994 to 2000 and is a founding member of the Variation String Trio with violinist Jennifer Koh and cellist Wilhelmina Smith. Recent career highlights include the complete Hindemith viola concertos with the Taiwan Philharmonic and Taipei City. Her 2012 recording Viola Viola includes works she commissioned from Steven Mackey, Shi-Hui Chen, and Poul Ruders.

 A native of Taiwan, Huang was gold medalist in the 1988 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. She received her degrees from Juilliard and the Curtis Institute of Music and serves on the faculty at Curtis. She also studied at the Menuhin school in England. She has been a Juilliard college faculty member since 2002 and a Pre-College faculty member since 2015.

Duo Sabbah-Reyes (Belgium)

Formed in 2016, the Sabbah-Reyes duo brings the talented violist Marc Sabbah and pianist Eliane Reyes Reyes together. Having performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, these two artists bring mastery, virtuosity, passion and a poetic sensitivity to their audiences. The repertoire for viola and piano is that of a philosophical and profound nature that requires a rich palette of sounds, timbres and a musical maturity found in the marvelous Duo Sabbah-Reyes.

JOSÉ LUIS CAMISÓN PAZ (Colombia)

He began his violin studies at the «Antonio María Valencia» Conservatory in Cali, with professors Isabel O’Byrne and Kurt Bieler. In 1978 he joined the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bogota as a violinist and four years later he traveled to Vienna to study at the School of Music and Performing Arts, where he was received in the violin class of Eduard Melkus. A year later he decided to dedicate himself definitively to the viola, having Hatto Beyerle and Thomas Kakuska, members of the Alban Berg Quartet, as well as Ilse Wincor as teachers. At the same time he studied conducting privately with, among others, Karl Österreicher.

In 1983 he joined the Orchestra of the Municipal Theater of Sankt Pölten as a violist, where he was later promoted to the position of principal viola. He also performed on several occasions as guest conductor. He has also played with other Austrian orchestras, including the Vienna Folk Opera, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Lower Austrian Symphony Orchestra. His professional activity has led him to perform on important stages in Europe, the Far East and South America. In 1988 he was hired as violist by the Vienna Mozart Orchestra and, since 1993, he has been one of its guest conductors. In 1994 he returned to Colombia at the request of the Orquesta Sinfónica del Valle, where he was principal violist and resident conductor. Since 1999 he has been a full-time professor at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Antioquia and principal violist of the EAFIT Symphony Orchestra, of which he is also regularly one of its guest conductors.

Renato Bandel (BRAZIL)

Born in Piracicaba, Brazil, he began his musical studies at the age of six with his mother. Renato holds a Master of Music degree from the Berlin University of the Arts. In addition, for 20 years he received a scholarship to study at the Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In this orchestra he played and made several recordings on CD and DVD under the direction of Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Seiji Ozawa, Gunter Wand, Zubin Mehta, Bernard Haitink, Simon Rattle, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, among others.

During his seven-year stay in Berlin, he joined the Ensemble Oriol Berlin, performing concerts in Germany, Mexico, Portugal, with renowned international soloists. He also performed as guest musician in the Gulbenkian Orchestra (Lisbon / Portugal).

He was coordinator of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions of the International Winter Festival of Campos do Jordão. His teaching experience includes USP – University of São Paulo, Faculdade Cantareira, Conservatório de Tatuí and Baccarelli Institute.

He has performed as principal violist of important Brazilian orchestras: Osesp, Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de São Paulo, OSB, among others.

Renato has an intense activity as a chamber musician and soloist. He participates as a teacher in the most important Brazilian music festivals, such as Campos do Jordão, Curitiba, Poços de Caldas, among others.

Marvicpermar Urbina Rosales (VENEZUELA)

Violist, chamber musician

Born in Los Teques – Venezuela.  He began his musical studies at the age of 10 years old in his hometown, in the nucleus of Orquestas Infantiles y Juveniles (Children and Youth Orchestras). She concludes her studies at the Maimonides State Academy in Moscow – Russian Federation in 1999, receiving the titles of Performing Violist, Orchestra Soloist, Chamber Music Artist and Professor, in the class of Professor Elena Evgenievna Lyssenko.  Then she completed a post-graduate course of «Chamber Music with piano» at the same institution. She continued her studies at the Conservatory of Music in Geneva, Switzerland, where she received a diploma in viola and a postgraduate diploma in String Quartet from Maestro Gabor Tackas with the Incanto Quartet, with whom she specialized at the CNR – Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris, France, in the postgraduate class of the Ysaye Quartet.

He was part of Symphony Orchestras in Venezuela, Russia and Switzerland. She has participated in solo and chamber music recitals and has been invited to give masterclasses in Venezuela, United States, France, England, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Japan and Russia.  She has also participated in concerts with renowned artists such as José Daniel Castellón, Allan Meunier, Daniel Grosgurin, Simón Gollo, Valery Oistrakh, Virginie Robillard, Monique Duphil, Germán Marcano, Santiago Garmendia, Ideko Kobayashi, Jean-Pierre Wallez, among others…

Since her return to Venezuela, she has been invited as a viola and string section coach in different opportunities for the National Children and Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. She developed an important teaching work at the Universidad de los Andes as a viola and chamber music teacher until 2021. She is currently a member of the Merida State Symphony Orchestra (OSEM), in El Sistema Master of the National School of viola, as well as professor at the University of Zulia (FEDA), founding teacher of the Online School of viola and author of the book El Vademécum de la viola (The Vademecum of the viola).

Carlos Boltes (Chile)

Carlos Boltes was born in Santiago de Chile, where he began his musical studies learning the charango from his brother Giovanni Vaccani. Later he joined the Chilean group Barrocco Andino with which he toured extensively throughout Chile and South America. He has a Bachelor’s degree from the Catholic University of Chile and a Master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University in viola performance. His main teachers have been: Enrique Lopez, Atar Arad and Larry Dutton (Emerson String Quartet). He has been principal violist of the Santiago Municipal Theater Chamber Orchestra and the Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra of Connecticut, and has recorded for Naxos, Brioso and CBS Records. 

In 2000 he formed the Alturas Duo with Canadian guitarist Scott Hill, in these 17 years they have premiered more than 50 works written for the Duo and numerous ensembles, including Elqui Trio where they join forces with the flautist and expert in Andean wind instruments: Gonzalo Cortes. Last year they formed the trio ADAA with the remarkable French pianist and singer Alexandra Aubert with whom they have toured Chile and the United States. 

Mr. Boltes has been awarded the Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship and a Performance Fellowship from the Andes Foundation, he has also received the 2010 Connecticut «Latino de Oro» award. With the Alturas Duo he has won numerous awards: First Prize in the 2006 New England International Chamber Music Competition to the 2010 CMA/ASCAP Award for Innovative Music Programs. They recently won the Jury’s award at the «World Folk Vision 2020» as the «Best Latin Band» and were among the winners out of 3950 entries from 115 countries. 

Mr. Boltes in addition to his performing career has dedicated himself to teaching, 10 years at the Community Division of the University of Hartford, 4 years at Intake Academy teaching charango, viola and violin and at numerous festivals in Latin America: Brazil «Eleazar de Carvallo», Bolivia «Clásica en la Paz», Calbuco Summer Festival and Mancera Festival in Valdivia, Chile. He has given numerous Master Classes in the United States, Central and South America and Europe. 

Javiera Paz Campos (Chile)

Javiera Paz Campos Gatica was born in Valparaíso, Chile on April 21, 1995; she has a degree in Musical Arts and Sciences from PUCV. In Musical Arts and Sciences from PUCV, she is a fourth year student of the of Viola Performance at the PUCV and graduated in Orchestra Conducting for Children’s and Youth Orchestras, level I. and Youth Orchestras level I of the UAH; she is currently working as a conductor and Viola teacher of the Children’s Orchestra MusArt of Casablanca, violist of the Chamber Orchestra of the PUCV, scholarship holder in the project «Teacher Training» of the Foundation of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Chile (FOJI) for the second consecutive year and Viola teacher in various projects in the region of Valparaiso. 

She has been part of the Orquesta Juvenil MusArt de Casablanca, Camerata MusArt de Casablanca, Orquesta Sinfonte de Casablanca, Camerata MusArt de Casablanca, Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil Regional de Valparaíso (FOJI) for 6 years, Orquesta Valparaíso Philharmonic Orchestra (Dr. Luis Sigall Competition) for 6 years, Orquesta Estudiantil de la 

PUCV, Ensamble Sayén, Cuarteto Braganza and violist and guitarist in the group Akhan Celta. 

As a composer in 2017 2 of her works are premiered: «Fafnir» for String Quartet. 

(Surkos Quartet) and traverse flute (Carlos Rojas) in the First Festival of Women in Music organized by Resonancia Femenina organized by Resonancia Femenina and «Sayén» under the framework of the 14th version of the version of the Contemporary Music Festival «Darwin Vargas», written especially for the Ensamble Sayén. Also, in 2020 the Chamber Orchestra of the PUCV premieres his work «Samira» for Violin Quintet. 

In 2020 she was invited to participate in the III International Symposium of Women Conductors, created by Ligia Amadio created by Ligia Amadio with the lecture «Women composers and their role/impact in the history of music in Chile». In addition, that same year she created the page Violistas Chilensis, to help, disseminate and provide spaces of knowledge to the community of Chilean violists. 

To date, he has premiered his work «ThunderHead» for string quartet under the framework of the First Composition Camps of FanjulandWard 2021 and the coordination of the First Viola Festival «Violistas Chilensis» Online 2021. 

ALFONSO NORIEGA (SPAIN)

Alfonso Noriega began his studies in his native Oviedo, continuing them at the Guidhall School of Music in London, the Hochschule für Musik in Basel and the Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt where, as part of his viola fellowship with Ensemble Modern, he was awarded with a Master’s Degree in Contemporary Music Performance. 

Alfonso completed his training at the Lucerne Festival Academy and the Ulysses Ensemble of the IRCAM, the Banff Centre in Canada, the Norkfolk Festival Ensemble at Yale University, the Spoleto Festival USA Ensemble, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Britten Pears Ensemble in Aldeburgh, England.

He currently performs with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Remix Ensemble, Ensemble InterContemporain, Lucerne Festival Contemporary Ensemble, Norrbotten NEO, London Sinfonietta, Vertixe Sonora, Divertimento Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Camerata Bern and Barcelona Modern Ensemble.

His performances of the contemporary repertoire for viola include appearances at festivals such as Aldeburgh, Royamount, Festival Mixtur, the Banff Centre in Canada, Ensems Festival, Witten WDR, the Norfolk and Spoleto festivals in the US and the Lucerne Festival.

He has taken part in recordings for Art-Haus, Radio France, Bayerischen Rundfunk, WDR, Alpha- Classics, SRF of Switzerland and the BBC, and was awarded the 2009 Birmingham Chamber Music Society Prize. Alfonso is the co-founder of the Oviedo Contemporary Music Cycle.

MOLLY GEBRIAN (United State)

Violist Molly Gebrian has distinguished herself as an outstanding performer, teacher, and scholar throughout the US and Europe. Her principal teachers include Peter Slowik, Carol Rodland, James Dunham, and Garth Knox. Dr. Gebrian holds degrees from Rice University, New England Conservatory, and Oberlin College, where she studied viola performance and neuroscience. She has published papers on music and the brain in The Strad, the Journal of the American Viola Society, and Frontiers in Psychology, and is a frequent presenter on the topic. She is currently the viola professor at the University of Arizona.

Tomás Martín (Spain)

Dr. Tomás Martín has specialized in the prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries related to instrumental practice for more than 25 years. He has been a professor in the area of music in the Medicine applied to the Performing Arts: Dance, Flamenco Dance and Music at the International University of Andalusia (Malaga), professor in the summer courses of the International University of Andalusia (Campus de la Rabida), professor in the Master of Music Performance at the Conservatory of Castilla y Leon and advisor-reviewer of the Journal of Sport and Health Research.

He collaborates with the occupational risk prevention service in the conservatories of the Basque Country, the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bogota. He researches in the field of repetitive motion injuries in soft tissues in musicians, working as a therapist specialized in the treatment of this type of pathologies, helping the musician in his recovery process and awareness. 

He is currently Assistant Timpani Soloist in the Symphony Orchestra of Castilla y León, Professor of Percussion and Professor of Ergonomics and Prevention of Musculoskeletal Injuries at the Conservatory of Music of Castilla y León.

He regularly teaches courses and seminars on the prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries collaborating with teacher training centers, conservatories, universities and symphony orchestras in Spain, Colombia, Austria, Bolivia and Peru. In the summer of 2009 he was the director of the course on Injury Prevention in musicians organized by the University Foundation of Castilla y León. He has collaborated as Osteopath in the EUYO (European Union Youth Orchesta) during Summer Tour in 2017. Author of the book «How to play without pain, your body your first instrument. Exercises for the prevention and treatment of injuries in musicians» by Piles publishing house, recently translated into English.

Musician trained in Madrid and Amsterdam, extraordinary end of career award at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid in 1993. He holds the titles of Professor of Percussion, PhD from the University of Valladolid, Diploma in Joint Osteopathy and Therapeutic Massage.

MICHELLE LACOURSE (United State)

Violist​ Michelle LaCourse, ​an active soloist and chamber musician,​ ​has appeared on four continents, including recent performances in France, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, Brazil, China, and South Korea, and in many parts of the USA. She was formerly a member of the Lehigh Quartet, the Delphic String Trio and the Aeolian Trio, and currently performs with the Pangaea Chamber Players and the Convergence Ensemble. Her two recordings of new music for viola and piano, “Chocolates” and “An American Menagerie” were released on MSR Classics to rave reviews.  

She currently teaches viola and chairs the String Department at Boston University’s School of Music, where she was awarded BU’s Metcalf Cup and Prize, the university’s highest honor for excellence in teaching. She frequently presents master classes at music schools across the United States and internationally, and during the summer months she also teaches and performs at the annual Karen Tuttle Viola Workshops and BU’s Tanglewood Institute as well as a number of other festivals and workshops. Many of her former students currently enjoy playing and teaching positions around the globe. 

Molly Sharp (United State)

Molly Sharp, Principal Violist of the Richmond Symphony, also teaches viola at Virginia Commonwealth University and is the violist of the Oberon String Quartet which is in residence at St. Catherine’s and St. Christopher’s School.

A native of Fayetteville, AR, Molly received a Bachelor’s Degree from Vanderbilt University/Blair School of Music, studying with Kathryn Plummer. She received her Master’s Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Heidi Castleman and apprenticed with the Cavanni Quartet. In addition to playing with the Richmond Symphony, Molly has also been a member of the Nashville Symphony and the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra. Molly has played chamber music with many different groups and festivals, including the Chamber Music Festival of Central Virginia, Richmond Chamber Players, ACE (Atlantic Chamber Ensemble), the Fulbright Summer Chamber Music Series (Fayetteville, AR), the Cascade Music Festival (Bend, OR), and the Sante Fe Symphony Summer Series.

As the principal violist with the Richmond Symphony, Molly has been a featured soloist with the Richmond Symphony in works such as Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, Vaughn-Williams’
Flos Campi, Hugo Wolf’s Italian Serenade, Rebecca Clarke’s Sonata, and Strauss’ Don Quixote. Other solo performances include Berlioz’s Harold in Italy and Bloch’s Suite for Viola and Orchestra with the Richmond Philharmonic.

A dedicated and experienced teacher, Molly is on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University, where she teaches Viola Performance majors, gives sections for the VCU University Orchestra, and teaches a weekly studio class. She has given Masterclasses at The University of Virginia, Violapalooza at VCU, as well as many public schools in the Central Virginia area. Molly started a chamber music program through the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra program to provide a chamber music experience and coachings to serious high school students. As a Faculty member at the String Odyssey, a camp administered by the Richmond Symphony and Virginia Commonwealth University, Molly regularly provides sectionals, private lessons, masterclasses, and chamber music coachings to all levels of students. Molly is also involved in providing viola sectionals for the student violists in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra program.

As a way to bring the love of chamber music to the layman, Molly has created and led experiential workshops for adults, to give those who don’t play an instrument the experience of playing chamber music. In addition to playing the viola, Molly plays fiddle and sings with the Trevillian Ramblers. Molly is also the creator and arranger of Viola Concerto Duets, a project that was launched in April of 2016.

ÍGNEO DUO (Canada-Colombia)

Duo Ígneo was founded in 2009 by Braunwin Sheldrick, viola and Andrés Gómez Bravo, piano, professors at EAFIT University in Medellín, Colombia. Passionate advocates of the little-known Colombian and Latin American repertoire for viola and piano, they have given recitals, master classes and lectures in America, Europe and Oceania. Their CD, entitled Colombian Music for Viola and Piano, was released in 2020.

Dr. Sheldrick leads a dynamic career devoted to both performing and teaching and has recorded several CDs of Latin American music on the viola. She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, McGill and Temple Universities, as well as a diploma from the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Dr. Gómez Bravo is active as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. His interest in Latin American piano and chamber music has led him to publish numerous CDs and present lectures in the Americas and Europe. He holds degrees from EAFIT University, Eastern Michigan University and the Eastman School of Music.

Aníbal Dos Santos (Portugal-Venezuela)

Portuguese violist born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1963. He began his musical studies at early age in his native city with Gianfranco Farina and Mario Mescoli. At age 18 he travels to Philadelphia, PA to study with renowned violist Joseph de Pasquale, obtaining his degree in 1988 at the Curtis Institute of Music.

During his school years he appeared as a soloist with Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and the American Bartok Society awarded him a special price for his performance of the Bartok Viola Concerto with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Dos Santos has been soloist with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra in the USA, Orquesta do Norte (Portugal), Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Argentina, Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires, Orquesta Filarmónica de Caracas, Orquesta Sinfónica de Maracaibo, Orquesta Municipal de Caracas, Orquesta Sinfónica de Guatemala, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Orquesta Sinfónica de Colombia Orquesta Sinfónica del Valle, Orquesta Sinfónica de Antioquia, Orquesta de Cámara de Colombia.

In 1995 he played a recital in the historical Boesendofer Soul of Vienna (Austria) and recorded the three Gamba Sonatas by J.S. Bach with harpsichordist Sergio Posada.

In May of 2007, Anibal Dos Santos did the primier for the Americas of the Viola, Tango, Rock Concerto by Benjamin Yusupov with the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra, Ricardo Jaramillo, conductor and Gina Medina, dancer. This concert became one of the most important musical events in the region and was recorded on DVD under the Codiscos label for Colombia, the Navona Recordings label for the United States and the rest of the world and online through Naxos.

Aníbal has been invited to participate in the Cartagena International Music Festival and has been regularly invited as Professor in Residence at the Northern Iowa University where he has played recitals with pianist Sean Baltkin, performed chamber music concerts with the quartet in residence and given master classes.

He is the principal violist of the Filarmónica de Bogotá since 1988, where he has premiere a great deal of major viola works over a 33 years career and professor at the National University of Colombia.

Anibal Dos Santos, plays on the legendary viola made by Sergio Peresson for Joseph de Pasquale in 1967 and that he played on it for over thirty years.

Daniel Ruggiero (Argentina)

He studied guitar at the National Conservatory and tango guitar with maestro Aníbal Arias. As for his bandoneon training, he studied for 4 years at the EMPA with Walter Castro and Rodolfo Mederos, and privately with Pascual Cholo Mamone, Néstor Marconi, Julio Pane, Alejandro Zarate and Carlos Lazzari. Early on he studied with Hernán Merlo in AudioPerceptiva and Daniel Juaregui in Improvisation and Harmony, and with teachers Rodolfo Alchourron and Roberto Pansera. Already as a composer with Laura Baade and Manolo Juarez. 

He completed studies in orchestral conducting (Proyecto Encuentro) directed by Mauricio Waintraub, and later became a teacher of this subject and created the collective Tango de Batuta. 

In his teaching activity he has given classes and courses of Bandoneón, Technical Elements of Tango, Arrangements and Composition in Popular Music in a private way, and as a guest at the Universidad Pedagógica de Bogotá, Colombia, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, FADA-UNA, Asunción del Paraguay, Instituto Polivalente Mar de Plata, and the Instituto Polivalente Mar de Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

As a bandoneonist he has performed with Maria Graña, Raúl Lavie, Guillermo Fernández; Atilio Stampone, Estrella Morente, Alberto Podestá; José Colangelo, Julia Zenko, Hugo Marcel; Amelita Baltar; Sandra Luna ,Orquesta de Cámara de La Plata, PanAmerican Symphony (Washington). 

Since 2004 as director, arranger, bandoneonist and composer of Quasimdo Trio, with three albums released and one in the process of editing and concerts in Europe, North America and Argentina (Teatro Colón, Juan de Dios Filiberto Orchestra, Cck, Usina del Arte). 

2017 Presents Bandoneón es Cultura, his first solo album bringing new arrangements and compositions to this instrument, and with all the scores and arrangements, on his website, to be downloaded .Summoned to present it with the Orquesta de Música Ciudadana de la Provincia de Córdoba as conductor and guest bandoneonist, National Conservatory of China, Shanghai, as part of an exhibition of world music, Festival de Tango BA. 

As a composer, he received an honorable mention in the National Prize of Composition, Tango and Folklore, for his song Osvaldo y Osvaldo. He also premiered his Double Concerto for Violin, Bandoneon and Orchestra, with the Elvino Vardaro Orchestra in the auditorium of the Usina del Arte, in Mexico with the Camerata Mazatlan and recently with the Philharmonic of Buenos Aires, and his new Bando y Banda with the National Symphony of Paraguay. 

In February 2020 at the Teatro Mayor in Bogota has been premiered and recorded his string octet Fuga en Síncopa by the prestigious Cuarteto Q-Arte and Cuarteto Latinoamericano, written and dedicated to both groups. 

In July 2021 he released his second solo album Bandoneón de Concierto, with works for solo Bandoneón and orchestra, he is the musical director of the show Rojo Tango at the Faena Hotel, he teaches Bandoneón and Tango practice at the conservatory Juan Pérez Cruz (Junín, BA) and particularly dictates his workshop Componer desde la Imagen (Composing from the Image).

DIANA MARCELA BEDOYA HINCAPIE (Colombia)

Violist. Born in the city of Manizales. She has a degree in Music from the Universidad de Caldas, Specialist in Music Theory, Master in Music from the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira and is a certified teacher in Suzuki Methodology in violin and viola. He began his musical training at Fundación Batuta Caldas, with maestro Octavio Carmona and studied his undergraduate studies under the tutelage of maestro Fabio Fuentes. 

She has been a student of maestros José Luis Camisón and Anibal Dos Santos and has participated in master classes with maestros Carlos Rocha, Raúl García, Verónica Sharipova, Angela Deán. Participant of the New World Festival and Academy in the city of Maracaibo (Venezuela), with maestros Santiago Garmendia and Adriana Linares. He served as first viola and row viola of the Symphony Orchestra of Caldas and assistant viola of the Chamber Orchestra of Caldas, where he has performed as soloist on several occasions. At the pedagogical level, she has been a teacher and coordinator of the viola area at the Fundación Batuta Caldas and at the Fundación Nacional Batuta (Bogotá). 

She is currently a member of the string quartet «Archetti» and since 2018 she is linked as a viola teacher in the Suzuki Music Training Program of the National University of Colombia and in the Music Training Project of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bogota.