Alexander Timofeev is a prize-winning composer and pianist. His compositions have taken top prizes in competitions and festivals in England, Russia, Slovakia, Belarus, Romania, Moldova as well as in the United States. As a pianist, he won the Third Prize in the 2007 MTNA Competition held in Toronto, Canada. As the winner of the Eastman School Concerto Competition, Alexander performed Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1 with the Eastman Symphony Orchestra in November of 2006. Also in 2006, he won the First Prizes at the Niss Piano Competition in Serbia and the Margaret Guthman Piano Competition in Atlanta, Georgia.

In May of 2006, Mr. Timofeev made his debut as a conductor with the National Chamber Orchestra of Moldova. He is also a composer of a Piano Concerto (2003) and a Cimbalom Concerto (2005) among other works. Currently, Mr. Timofeev studies toward a Master of Music Degree at the Eastman School of Music.


Ana Cristea is a prize winning pianist from Chisinau, Moldova.  In 2007 she won the Rowan University Concerto Competition, performing the Grieg Piano Concerto with the University Orchestra. This past April she was the 3rd place winner at the 2008 MTNA National Competition in Denver, Colorado  She is currently a Junior at Rowan University, in Glassboro, NJ where she is a student of Veda Zuponcic.



 

Annie Chiang is a 15 year old pianist studying with Beatrice Long. She is currently a sophomore in Ridge High School. She was chosen as one of the top-prize winners at the 2008 Golden Key Music Festival Competition, and performed at Carnegie Hall in May of 2008. She has also won in various MEA Young Artist competitions and the CACA competition.

Alia Gribbon is an 11 year old violinist from Duluth, MN. She has studied music at the Sound of Strings Music School with her mother since she was 4 1/2. She has performed in chamber music concerts with both students and professionals throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin, in international chamber music tours to England, Canada, Germany and Austria, performed at Sommerfest at Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, and has played with youth orchestras in Duluth and the Twin Cities. She was awarded the top music award - The Juanita Williams and Paula Nelson Music Award - last year in 5th grade, from the Lowell Music Magnet Elementary School in Duluth.

Kevin Schwarz is a junior at Cherry Hill East High School in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A student of Veda Zuponcic, he has won High Honors in NJMTA competitions for 6 years, was the second place winner in the Margaret Guthman Competition in Georgia in 2008 and is a
finalist in the CT. Competition and the Young Pianists Competition in Washington D.C.

Jaroslaw Nadrzycki was born in 1984 in Zagan, Poland and began studying the  violin at the age of 6. At 9, he won third prize at the “Bacewicz” Polish Violinist Competition in Wroclaw. He graduated from the Henry Wieniawski School for Gifted Children in Poznan, and at the age of 12 won the Grand Prix and Gold Medal at the “Bacewicz” National Violin Competition in Roslav.

In 2001,  Jaroslaw won First Prize, and the Audience Award at the first International Violinist Competition in Vilnius organized to honor the 100th anniversary of Jasha Heifetz’s birthday. The president of jury, violinist Gideon Kremer rewarded him with a Master course in Israel.

 In March 2001, Jaroslaw recorded his first CD. He has performed with many orchestras including the Baltic Philharmonic, Wroclaw Philharmonic, Zielona Gora Philharmonic and the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Lituenia. He has participated in Master Classes with Wanda Wilkomirska, Marina Jashvili, Krzysztof Wegrzyn and Vadim Brodcki. He has been a scholarship beneficiary of the National Children‘s Fund and of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Fund. In November 2001, he won fifth prize at the Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznan, Poland.

Italian violinist Ambra Casonato was born in 1990. She displayed a keen interest in music at a very young age and began taking violin lessons when she was only four years old. She has won many prizes in national and international competitions including the “Alpe Adria” in Gorizia, the Vittorio Veneto Compeition and the Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition.

She has performed to great acclaim throughout Italy and abroad appearing at the Kunstuniversität in Graz, the Alte Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Fondazione Cini in Venice and the Royal Academy of Music in London. In November 2003, she made her debut as a soloist performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.
Following her graduation exam with high marks Italy in 2005, she studied at the Kunstuniversität in Graz, Austria, until June 2007. In December 2006, she was admitted with a full scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she is currently studying with Igor Petrushevski.

Katherine Barymow will begin her freshman year in New Canaan High School in the fall of 2008 in New Canaan, Connecticut. Currently under the instruction of Ms. Misuko Ichimura, she is returning for her second year at the Northern Lights Music Festival.

She has also participated in the American Fine Arts Festival in the Netherlands in the summer of 2007, as well as performed at Steinway Hall in December 2007 and recently performed at Carnegie Hall for her third annual performance.
 

Grace Schneider is a home-schooled 17 year old from Ham Lake, Minnesota. She has been playing the violin for eight years and is currently studying with Cheryl Stewart.

She enjoys playing chamber music and participating in the youth orchestra, as well as playing in church. In addition to the violin, Grace also plays the piano.

Erica Yamamoto is a 15-year-old pianist from Norwood, New Jersey and currently attends Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan. Erica started playing piano when she was five years old and starting playing competitively when she was seven. After moving to Norwood, New Jersey (from Chicago) when she was ten years old, she was taught by Professor Martin Canin, a Juilliard professor. In July 2006, she changed her teacher to Mitsuko Ichimura, her current piano teacher. Since then, she has performed in concerts halls such as Steinway Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall. In 2006, Erica placed third in the New Jersey Music Teachers Association’s Young Musicians Competition. In the summer of 2007, she went to the American Fine Arts Festival Summer Music Courses in Europe, where she performed in Enschede, Holland. Recently, Erica has won 1st place in the Young Pianist Competition of Westchester.

Minami Aoki is 10 years old and has been studying piano for five years. She moved to the United States from Japan last August and currently attends Millstone River School in West Windsor-Plainsboro, New Jersey.
She has been studying with Dr. Chiu-Ling Lin since October of 2007.

Minami tied for 2nd place in Group II (ages 10-12 ) at the Greater Princeton Steinway Society 2008 Scholarship Competition. She was also chosen as one of the top prize winners at the 2008 Golden Key Music Festival Competition, and performed at Carnegie Hall in May of 2008.

Sarah Grimes is 15 years old and is a student at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis. She has been studying violin since the age of four with Nancy Lokken, and is beginning studies this summer with Sarah Kwak. Sarah has performed as soloist with the Studea Musica Orchestra in Orford, Quebec, and with the Minnesota Orchestra as a finalist in their Minnesota Idol competition. She was a finalist in the 2008 Schubert Club Competition, has won prizes in the MNSota, St. Paul Conservatory, and Minnesota Sinfonia Competitions, and has been selected twice to play in the Suzuki Youth Orchestra of the Americas. Sarah is a member of the Minnesota Youth Symphony and Trio Lumineux.

Cassandra Sollitto is a 12 year old pianist from the suburbs of Marlton, NJ. She has been studying music as a student of Professor Zuponcic since the age of 5, and has competed in many competitions such as the Steinway Competition and the International Piano Competition in Brooklyn, where she has been placed as a finalist. Cassandra has competed in NJMTA and has won 4 High Honors and 3 Honors rewards.