Masterclasses
Moises Molina
Cello
May 31, 2023 at 11:00
Tbilisi State Conservatory
Cellist Moisés Molina, a native of Honduras, is an active soloist, orchestra and chamber musician, teacher, and clinician. He has performed in the United States, Central and South America, and Europe.
Molina has recorded for Centaur Records, Parma Records, Profil, and New World labels and has served on the faculty of the Schlern Music Festival in Italy (now Orfeo Music Festival).
Molina was also a guest artist at the St. Augustine Music Festival in Florida for several seasons. He has participated in the International Chamber Music Festival in Lima and Cusco Music Festival in Cusco, Perú.
Molina was a guest artist/teacher at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the Tennessee Cello Workshop in Nashville, and the 2011, 2017, and 2021 Biennial Violoncello Festivals in Lima, Peru. He has also given master classes at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras. In addition, he has recently given online master classes and lessons to students from around the world.
Molina is principal cellist for the Mobile Symphony Orchestra and for the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra. He has served as principal cellist for Abilene (TX) Philharmonic Orchestra, Abilene Opera Orchestra, Quincy (IL) Symphony, and as Associate Principal for Tallahassee Symphony, Peoria Symphony, and Heartland Festival Orchestras.
Prior to his position at UA, Dr. Molina was Professor of Cello and Assistant Director of the School of Music at Western Illinois University, and he taught at Hardin-Simmons and Abilene Christian Universities. He has given lectures and clinics for the College Music Society and the Texas and Illinois Music Educators Associations. He directed the Quincy (IL) Summer Music Institute Orchestra and the IMEA District IV Junior High School Orchestra for several years. He taught at the Summer Fine Arts Camp at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and he conducted the Abilene Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Moisés was successful in several concerto, solo and chamber music competitions, and he was awarded an orchestral fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival.
Benjamin Crofut
Double Bass
May 31, 2023 at 11:00
Tbilisi State Conservatory
Benjamin Crofut
Double Bass
May 31, 2023 at 11:00
Tbilisi State Conservatory
His students have gone on to college programs at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, DePaul University, Indiana University, Pennsylvania State University, University of South Florida, and the University of Texas at Austin. Ben performs regularly in a leadership position with the symphony orchestras of Annapolis, Columbus, Jackson, Mobile, Shoals, Tupelo, and Tuscaloosa, in addition to regular substitute work with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.
Invitations to work with the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland, National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado, and New York String Orchestra Seminar in New York City have allowed Ben the opportunity to work with such international conductors as Paavo Järvi, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Simon Rattle, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, James Conlon, Antonio Pappano, Valery Gergiev, Manfred Honeck, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Iván Fischer, among others.
Ben holds performance degrees from the Eastman school of music (Rochester, NY), Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA), the Colburn school (Los Angeles, CA), and plays on a five-string Bass by Chris Threlkeld of Iowa City and a french-style bow by Reid Hudson of Vancouver. He is a life-time member of the International Society of Bassists, possesses a certificate in bow making, repairs, and rehairs from the Violin Craftsmanship Institute, a certification in Dalcroze education currently in progress, and is proud to have personally studied performance psychology with Dr. Don Greene, a renowned performance psychology coach who works with musicians, Olympic athletes, and S.W.A.T teams.
Ettore Volontieri
Lecture about entrepreneurship
and developing management skills.
June 1, 2023 at 11:00
Rooms Hotel
Ettore F. Volontieri is active in the music industry since October 1989, when he started working at the age of 25 as personal assistant to the founder of the agency Old and New Montecarlo, the controversial Valentin Proczynski.
Born in Milan in 1964, Ettore F. Volontieri studied singing and music at the Scuola Civica di Musica “Claudio Abbado” in Milan and graduated in History of Music (cum Laude) under the guidance of Prof. Sergio Martinotti at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of his native city, with a dissertation on the methods of singing in the first half of the XIX century, later published as Le regole della Canora Repubblica in 1995.
Assistant to the impresario Mario Dradi between 1992 and 1994, he was involved for three consecutive years in the multi-media production of “Christmas in Vienna”, an event featuring stars as Placido Domingo, José Carreras, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick and Charles Aznavour. In 1995 he joined AGR, the agency of his lifetime friend Antonio Gnecchi Ruscone in Milan and started his activity as independent manager and producer, acquiring the Italian Management of the Mariinsky Theatre and Valery Gergiev, as well as signing for General Management – among others – the Armenian tenor Gegam Grigorian and the young Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda and Japanese conductor Yutaka Sado, as well as pianist Alexander Toradze for local management.
In 1997 he founded the management and production company AMP (Artists Management and Productions) in Milan and until 2001 he realized significant projects as the Festival “Da Roma a San Pietroburgo” with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Festival “Le Notti Bianche a Milano” and the Festival “Pushkin a Milano” in cooperation with the Municipality of Milan, the project “Parsifal in Ravello” featuring Placido Domingo, in cooperation with RAI and RM Arts, as well as a number of projects with the Toradze Piano Studio. In also produced important tours and residencies with the Mariinsky Theatre and Valery Gergiev in Italy, culminating with the presentation of the monumental production of War and peace by Prokofiev directed by Andrei Konchalovsky at Teatro alla Scala in October 2000 and the opening event of the Verdi Festival in Parma for the 100th anniversary of the death of the composer in 2001.
From 2002 he focused on the activity of artist manager, increasing the importance of his roster signing for General Management the young Daniele Rustioni in 2006. He also served as representative of the Mariinsky Theatre and Valery Gergiev in Italy until the end of 2006, when he produced the “Shostakovich Festival” in collaboration with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia for the centenary of the composer. In 2005 he produced the documentary “An Italian journey with Rachmaninoff” in cooperation with RAI, featuring the Toradze Piano Studio.
In 2008 he moved to Switzerland as founding member of Interarts Lausanne, where he developed and consolidated his activity of artist manager, focusing on the general management of conductors, with the only exception of his lifetime friend, pianist Alexander Toradze, who he has represented worldwide until his death in 2022. In January 2014 he incorporated his activities with Artists Management Company, founding the Conductor Division of the company and signing new conductors for General Management as Jérémie Rhorer (2017), Donato Renzetti (2018), Alevtina Ioffe (2019) and Alessandro Bonato (2020).
Between 2005 and 2022 he served as producer and later General Manager of the Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation, contributing to the preservation of Villa Senar as cultural heritage.
Matti Raekallio
Piano
June 2, 2023 at 11:00
Tbilisi State Conservatory
Finnish pianist Matti Raekallio studied first in his home country and then with Maria Curcio in London, England, with Dieter Weber at the Vienna Academy of Music in Austria, and at the Leningrad Conservatory in Russia.
Matti Raekallio
Piano
June 2, 2023 at 11:00
Tbilisi State Conservatory
Finnish pianist Matti Raekallio studied first in his home country and then with Maria Curcio in London, England, with Dieter Weber at the Vienna Academy of Music in Austria, and at the Leningrad Conservatory in Russia.
Mr. Raekallio did his Doctorate at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.
He has performed complete cycles of the piano sonatas of Beethoven, Scriabin, and Prokofiev, as well as altogether 62 piano concertos. He has made about 20 CDs, including an acclaimed set of the Prokofiev Sonatas.
He has a 45-year career of faculty positions at various top schools, including the Sibelius Academy, the Hochschule in Hanover, Germany, and NYC’s Juilliard School, where he taught for 14 years.
His students include several first prizewinners in major international competitions. He regularly serves as a juror in them, and gives master classes in the USA, Europe and Asia.
In 2022 Mr. Raekallio retired from his faculty positions at Juilliard and at the Sibelius Academy. Currently he concentrates on free lance work as teacher, adjudicator, and pianist.
Vakhtang Kodanashvili
Piano
June 3, 2023 at 11:00
Tbilisi State Conservatory
Vakhtang Kodanashvili made his New York City debut at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in 2001. This was a result of his victory at The World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Vakhtang Kodanashvili is the prize winner of several international competitions: The Hellam Young Artist Competition in Springfield, Missouri, USA; The Nena Wideman Piano Competition in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA; The Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition in Radford, Virginia, USA; 8th International Piano Competition “Spanish Composers” in Las Rozas, Spain; The 20th New Orleans International Piano Competition, Louisiana, USA.
In 1995 Mr. Kodanashvili moved to the United States and joined world renowned Alexander Toradze Piano Studio at Indiana University South Bend. As a member of the studio Vakhtang frequently performs throughout the world, appearing in such prestigious music festivals as Ravinia, Hollywood Bowl, Sandpoint, Edinburgh, Ruhr, Stresa, Ravenna, Rotterdam, Salzburg and many others.
Mr. Kodanashvili has performed with numerous symphony orchestras, including South Bend, Elkhart, La Porte, Springfield, Spokane, Kingsport, Louisiana, Tbilisi, Orchestra Giovanile “Luigi Cherubini”, Post-Classical Ensemble, Mariinsky, BBC Philharmonic.
Native of Tbilisi, Georgia, Vakhtang Kodanashvili began his musical education at the age of six attending Z. Paliashvili Georgian School of Music and studied with Marina Gelashvili. While in school he regularly performed in Georgia and other republics of the former Soviet Union and had his orchestral debut at the age of nine. He appeared as a soloist with national orchestras and his performances were frequently broadcasted on television and radio.
Vakhtang earned both his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in piano performance at Indiana University South Bend and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance at Michigan State University College of Music.
Laurent Korcia
Violin
June 5, 2023 at 11:00
Tbilisi State Conservatory
Laurent Korcia is a French violinist who studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. After receiving a Premier Prix from the Conservatoire, he won the Paganini Competition in Genoa.
Laurent Korcia
Violin
June 5, 2023 at 11:00
Laurent Korcia is a French violinist who studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. After receiving a Premier Prix from the Conservatoire, he won the Paganini Competition in Genoa
Tbilisi State Conservatory
“His playing has a freedom, a presence, an imagination that we only know from rare violinists of today…and of the past. Korcia has it all: great style, technique, presence, ideas, and charm.” – Le Monde
“His records devoted to Ysaÿe and Bartók made it clear to us: Laurent Korcia is an extraordinary violinist. One of those whose sacred fire and instinct seizes you from the first bars. Like those virtuosos of the beginning of the century, the Elman, Hiefetz, Ysaÿe or Kubelik whose style, sound and vibrato were a real signature, Korcia is one of those whom we identify for sure. In this, he stands out from all his contemporaries.” – Diapason
Taken under the wing of Pierre Barbizet from an early age and trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris under Michèle Auclair, herself a disciple of Jacques Thibaud and George Enesco, Laurent Korcia is one of the leading violinists of his generation.
He has been voted Soloist of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique, has been awarded the Prix George Enesco of the SACEM, the Grand Prix of the Académie du Disque Charles Cros, and is Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.
At the age of eighteen, Laurent Korcia won the Paganini Competition, which earned him the honor of performing on Paganini’s Guarnerius del Gesu. A year later, he won a Grand Prix at the Concours Jacques Thibaud, a First Prize at the International Zino Francescatti Competition and of the Young Concert Artists Trust in London.
Laurent Korcia is invited to play as a soloist under the direction of foremost conductors such as Semyon Bychkov, Charles Dutoit, Lawrence Foster, Valery Gergiev, Yutaka Sado, Michel Plasson, Kurt Masur, Emmanuel Krivine, Walter Weller, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Jean-Jacques Kantorow… His concert engagements have taken him to Europe, the Americas, the Middle and Far East, New Zealand and Ausralia.
Laurent Korcia has recorded with RCA, EMI, Naxos, and now records for the Naïve label.
From his first recording devoted to the complete Sonatas of Ysaÿe to BartóKorcia (Concerto no. 2 with CBSO and Sakari Oramo, Sonata for solo violin, Contrasts, Sonata no. 1) Laurent Korcia has made a number of recordings recognized as benchmarks in the classical repertoire, as well as programs that appeal to a wider public (Danses, Doubles Jeux, Cinema – with Michel Portal, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Tatjana Vassilieva, Michael Wenderberg among others, the Stabat Mater of Bruno Coulais with Guillaume Depardieu). His discography includes Concertos by Korngold, Tchaikovsky, Paganini, and Brahms. Laurent Korcia’s recordings have received major international awards (Gramophone – Record of the month, Choc du Monde de la Musique, FFFF Telérama, Diapason d’Or, Strad Selection, Record of the month – BBC Music Magazine). He has participated in the documentary by Bruno Monsaingeon – The Art of the Violin.
Edisher Savitski
Piano
June 6, 2023 at 11:00
Tbilisi State Conservatory
Pianist Edisher Savitski is an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama School of Music and an Artistic Director of Toradze International Music Festival. As a clinician he regularly conducts master classes throughout USA, Europe and China.
Pianist Edisher Savitski is an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama School of Music and an Artistic Director of Toradze International Music Festival. As a clinician he regularly conducts master classes throughout USA, Europe and China.
He has enjoyed critical acclaim throughout his career: “As each of Savitski’s convulsive trills and ominous chords would hang in the air, it became clearer that indeed something special was happening. We will be lucky to hear Scriabin played anywhere near this powerfully any time soon” (Jack Walton, South Bend Tribune). “The piano of Edisher Savitski prays, laments and also makes joyful sounds; This amazing Georgian simply takes off to the sky!” (Hanuh Ron, Yediot Akhronot, Israel).
Dr. Edisher Savitski has been performing at prestigious venues worldwide. To name a few: Carnegie Zankel Hall and Carnegie Weill Hall, New York; Wigmore Hall, London; Great Hall of Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria; Mariinsky Theater and Concert Hall, St. Petersburg, Russia; Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Italy as well as in other venues in USA, Canada, Germany, Georgia, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, France, Russia, United Kingdom, Israel, Austria, Morocco, China, Japan and New Zealand.
He performed at major music festivals such as: Salzburg Festival, Austria; Gilmore Keyboard Festival, Ravinia Festival, USA; Ruhr Festival, Germany; Ravenna Festival, Stresa Festival, Maggio Musicale Festival in Florence, MITO Festival, Italy; Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky festivals through Pittsburgh Symphony. His performances were also heard in Grande Auditorio at Temporada Gulbenkian de Musica in Lisbon, Portugal; at Teatro la Fenice, Venice; Italy; Stadt-Casino Musiksaal in Basel, Switzerland; Salle Cortot in Paris, France; at Dame Myra Hess series in Chicago; Segerstrom Hall in California.
In November 2007, Dr. Savitski became first pianist who performed in an unprecedented live performance/press conference, from his home in South Bend, Indiana on a Yamaha Disklavier piano that was connected to another Disklavier piano in the Recital Hall of Yamaha Artist Services International in New York City. He is a Yamaha Artist.
Edisher Savitski is the first prizewinner of the Third International Piano-E-Competition in 2006 and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition in 2001, and took top prizes at the First International Piano-E-Competition in Minneapolis and the William S. Byrd International Piano Competition in Michigan.
In 2007 Savitski’s CD was released on Schubert Club’s Ten Thousand Lakes label. His performances are frequently broadcasted on live TV and radio throughout Europe and USA.
Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Dr. Edisher Savitski studied in the Central Music School under Maya Beridze and in the Tbilisi State Conservatory under professor Nana Khubutia. During this time he became a prizewinner of the international charity program
“New Names”, Russia, and won collaborative piano competition arranged at the Tbilisi State Conservatory. In 1998 he joined the renowned Alexander Toradze Piano Studio at the Indiana University South Bend, where he earned Master of Music degree, Artist diploma and has been awarded with the Performers Certificate. In Spring 2013 he earned Doctor of Musical Arts degree in performance from Michigan State University.