David Claudio was born in Lima, Peru. After completing journalism studies in 1995 with the highest honors, he obtained his clarinet diploma in 2003 from the National Conservatory of Music, again with the highest honors. During his last three years, he began studying orchestral conducting with Peruvian conductor Carlota Mestanza and Mexican conductor Eduardo García Barrios.
After graduating from the National Conservatory in 2003, he was admitted to the wind orchestra conducting program at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. In 2005 he was admitted to the orchestral conducting program at the Academy, where his teachers included Leif Segerstam, Jorma Panula, Atso Almila, Hannu Lintu, Markus Lehtinen, John Storgårds, Anssi Mattila, and others. He has attended master classes in Norway (Jorma Panula), Poland (Kurt Masur), Estonia (Toomas Kapten), and Denmark (Jorma Panula and Markus Lehtinen).
This autumn, David will study at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartoldy” in Leipzig under the tutelage of Ulrich Windfuhr. He has been selected to conduct the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra in April 2011. He is a co-founder and member of kohoBeat (www.kohobeat.com), a music organization based in Finland that has promoted various musical projects in Finland, Peru, and Chile.
Federico Scoponi Morresi (1977)
Federico Scoponi Morresi specializes in early and baroque music. He spent a decade as a choral conductor, concurrently training as a baritone. In 2003 he decided to devote himself to orchestral conducting. He has studied orchestral conducting in Italy and Sweden under Isaac Karabtchevsky, Fabio Maestri, Gary Graden, Anders Eby and Michail Jurowski.
Federico has worked as an assistant to conductors Gianandrea Noseda, David Parry, and Steuart Bedford. In August 2005 he led his first opera, Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto at Teatro “L. Mancinelli” in Orvieto (Rome). He returned in 2007 to conduct Rossini’s Il Signor Bruschino and Puccini’s Suor Angelica with stage director Beppe De Tomasi.
Federico's career is now growing outside of Italy. He has conducted youth orchestras in northern and western Europe, and in South America, where he made his début in March 2007 with the Orquesta Sinfònica de Venezuela at Teresa Carreño Theatre in Caracas. As a result, he has been invited to conduct throughout Venezuela, including Orquestra Sinfònica Carlos Mohle (State of Monagas) and Orquesta Sinfònica de Carabobo (Valencia).
Trond Husebø (1979)
Trond Husebø studied viola with Morten Carlsen and Lars Anders Tomter at the Norwegian State Academy of Music, where he later earned his diploma in orchestral-conducting with Ole Kristian Ruud. He belongs to the new generation of Norwegian conductors, now making their mark on the national and international stages. He continues to pursue his studies, having participated in master classes with Jorma Panula, Bernhard Haitink, and others.
Husebø is currently assistant conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to assisting chief conductor Andrew Litton, Trond has conducted numerous performances with the orchestra. In April he stepped in on short notice to lead a performance of the First Symphony of Brahms and the Norwegian premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s Percussion Concerto.
In addition to the Bergen Philharmonic, Husebø's recent engagements include the Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Youth Orchestra, Trondheim Sinfonietta, and most of the Norwegian military wind bands. He has also made several recordings of Norwegian film music with the Prague Film Orchestra.
Daniel Sánchez Velasco has been conducting since he was nineteen. Since 2007, he has worked and studied closely with Maestro Maximiano Valdés, music director of the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principade de Asturias (OSPA) in Spain. He has attended master classes with Isaac Karabtchevsky and Yves Abel. He has been assistant conductor of the OSPA, and has conducted the Jugend Philarmonie Salzburg (Austria), the Orchestra of Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy, and the Asturias Youth Orchestra.
In May 2009, Daniel started the Asturias Classic Orchestra, a group of young musicians whose primary focus is the classical symphonic repertoire. Daniel also recently founded the Oviedo Ensemble, a versatile group which concentrates on contemporary repertoire.
Born in Avilés, Asturias, Spain in 1972, Velasco began his musical studies when he was eight, playing piano and clarinet. He is also a composer and his works are regularly performed.
Masayuki Inagaki graduated from the Faculty of Music at Nagoya University of Arts, and the Conducting Institute at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. He studied conducting with Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Yoshinori Kawachi, and Tsunanobu Kawamoto.
Masayuki has participated in many international conducting seminars and master classes, including the Memanbetsu Okhotsk International Music Seminar (2002), master classes with Ken-ichiro Kobayashi (2002), a seminar with Yuji Yuasa (2003), the conducting master class of the Jungfrau Music Festival (2008), and Bernard Haitink’s master class in Luzern (2009).
From 2006 to 2008, Masayuki was assistant conductor of the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and worked with conductors Douglas Bostock, Tatsuya Shimono, Ichiro Saito, Kazufumi Yamashita, Paul Meye and others. In 2008, he was appointed assistant conductor for a special concert with the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra.
Naoki Tokuoka (1970)
Naoki Tokuoka studied at Kunitachi College of Music, where his major studies were percussion, composition, and piano. He completed his master's degree in 1996. In 1997, he studied conducting in Mme. Francine Aubin’s class in Paris and with Andre Jouve at Conservatoire National de Region de Rueil-Malmaison.
In 1999 and 2001, Naoki was a candidate in the 46nd and 47rd Besancon International Conducting Competitions where he reached the semi-finals. In 2000, he won first prize in conducting at Conservatoire National de Region de Rueil-Malmaison.
In 2001 Tokuoka became music director of the Chi-Mei Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan. A public television broadcast featuring the orchestra in 2005 earned a prize for best classical music program, and the Chei-Mei Symphony Orchestra has been regarded since then as one of the best in Taiwan.
As guest conductor, Tokuoka has led the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Kao-hsiung City Philharmonic and others. For his dedication to music, Naoki was chosen in 2004 as Honorable Citizen of Tainan City, Taiwan. Since May 2008, he has been principal conductor of the Chang-Wha City Philharmonic Orchestra in Taiwan.
Arnaud Oosterbaan (1981)Arnaud Oosterbaan studied conducting at the Prince Claus Conservatory in Groningen and at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague (The Netherlands). Inspired by his teacher Louis Buskens, Oosterbaan’s development accelerated rapidly while studying for his master's degree in conducting at the Zuidelijke Hogeschool der Kunsten in Tilburg. In November 2008, he completed his master's degree by conducting Das Philharmonische Orchester Hagen, soloists and the Brabant Choir.
In July 2008, Arnaud was selected as one of seven participants in the prestigious London Master Classes with Benjamin Zander. He conducts various orchestras at the moment and is a frequent guest conductor. Recently, he was artistic director for a production of “Carmina Burana” at the State University in Groningen. Arnaud was also assistant conductor for a production of Il Matrimonio Segreto by Atelier Lyrique, a part of l'Opéra National de Paris.
Rachael Young (1968)
Rachael began her musical studies at thirteen. After earning her Bachelor of Music degree at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, she was awarded a scholarship by The Boston Conservatory, which enabled her to pursue graduate studies in America. With the help of a New Zealand Arts Council grant, Rachael moved to England in 1994 to study 'cello with William Pleeth (teacher of Jaqueline du Pré) and Moray Welsh. For the last two years, Rachael has studied with Leonid Grin, former teacher of Paavo Järvi. A past participant in Neeme Järvi’s Summer Academy, Rachel has also participated in the Celebidache Foundation master class in the Czech Republic, London Master Classes at the Royal Academy of Music and in master classes with Jorma Panula.
Rachael’s conducting posts have included assistant conductor of the Hendon String Orchestra and conductor of the Barnet Chamber Orchestra (2002), Tudor Orchestra (2005), and Winchmore Hill String Orchestra (2006), all based in London. She has guest conducted the City of Peterborough Symphony Orchestra on several occasions.
Dina Gilbert (1984)
In May 2010, Dina Gilbert presented the first orchestra concert produced by the Verdun Classical Music Society. As music director and conductor of that orchestra, she will conduct four concerts during the upcoming season with soloists from Montreal. In addition to conducting the Orchestre de l’Université de Montréal as part of her studies, Dina works with several chamber ensembles and orchestras, and she has conducted many live music performances during the screening of silent films presented at the Cinémathèque québécoise.
In recent years, she has participated in several master classes in Canada, the United States, and Europe with Lorraine Vaillancourt, Carl Topilow, Ovidiu Balan, and Peter Eötvös. This summer, she was as an apprentice to Kenneth Kiesler in the conducting program at the Centre National des Arts in Ottawa.
Gilbert is nearing completion of a doctorate in orchestral conducting at the Universite de Montreal pursuant to grant from the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la société et la culture. She also holds a bachelor's degree in clarinet performance and a master's degree in conducting, having studied with Paolo Bellomia and Jean François Rivest.
Claudio Ordas (1972)
Claudio Ordas was born in Mexico and belongs to the fourth generation of a family of musicians. At the age of nine, he performed his first public violin recital. In 2001, he graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with highest honors in violin performance. While in Austin, he began to study orchestral conducting with Abraham Chavez and Lawrence Gibson. He continued his conducting studies at the Prague Conservatory with Miriam Nemcova.
In 1996, Ordas received a full scholarship from the University of Chihuahua. In 1997, he won the Philosopher’s Foundation scholarship and in 1999, he was awarded the CONACULTA scholarship. In 2001, he was given a full scholarship for the arts by the state of Chihuahua.
Ordas holds a master's degree in orchestral conducting from the Estonian Music and Theater Academy, where his teachers included Eri Klas, Toomas Kapten, and Juri Alperten. He is now a doctoral candidate at EMTA and is writing a thesis on nineteenth-century string playing. Claudio has participated in international master classes with Jorma Panula and Ronald Zolman. He has conducted several orchestras, including the Olomouc Symphony, Prague Sinfonietta, Savonlinna Chamber Orchestra, Kuopio Symphony, Mikkeli Chamber Orchestra and La Paz Symphony.
Madis Järvi (1988)
Madis Järvi was born in Tallinn into a musical family. He is the grandson of Vallo Järvi, Neeme Järvi's older brother. At the age of seven, Madis began studying violin at Lahti Conservatory, where he graduated in 2008. He then began viola studies at the Lahti University of Applied Sciences. At eleven, he began studying conducting with Jüri Ruut-Kangur. He has performed many concerts with his own orchestra, the Lahti Young Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Lahti Youth Symphony, Seinäjoki Symphony Orchestra and many others. At fourteen, he began to study composition with Kari Karjalainen.
Madis Järvi has participated in many conducting courses, including those at Seinäjoki with Atso Almila in 2005, 2007, and 2008.
Martin Sildos (1985)
Martin Sildos studied percussion with Anto Õnnis at the Tallinn Music School and with Professor Rein Roos at George Ots Music High School in Tallinn. From 2004 to 2007, he worked as a percussionist with the Estonian National Opera. In 2005, he began percussion studies at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater, but later changed to conducting with Toomas Kapten. In December 2009, he was awarded the Gustav Ernesaks prize for student conductors, and in spring 2010, received his bachelor’s degree in conducting.
Since autumn 2008, Sildos has been an assistant conductor for the Revalia Male Choir (chief conductor Hirvo Surva), and he is working also with the Nargen Festival Choir (chief conductor Tõnu Kaljuste). He has participated in conducting master classes with Eri Klas (2006), Paavo Järvi (2009), Nikolai Alekseev (2010) and Jan Yngwe (2010).
Martin also studies composition with Mart Siimer. His "Psalm of David No. 146" was awarded third prize in the Psalm of David Competition, held by the Estonian Composers Union in February 2010. Sildos is sponsored by Corelli Music.
Taavi Kull (1984)
Taavi Kull started his piano studies at the age of six at Tallinn Music High School. After his graduation in 2004, he entered the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater, where he continued his choral conducting studies with Toomas Kapten. In 2007, he was an exchange student for five months at the Amsterdam Conservatory. Back in Estonia, he began studying orchestral conducting with Paul Mägi. He graduated from EMTA in 2009 and entered the master's program in orchestral conducting, again with Mägi. Beginning in autumn 2010, Taavi will continue his master's studies as an exchange student with Cecilia Rydinger Alin and Daniel Harding at the Royal College of Stockholm.
Kull has participated in several master classes, including the orchestral conducting course at the International Choir Academy in Sárospatak, Hungary, and in master classes with Paavo Järvi, Ronald Zollman, and Lutz Köhler.
In November 2009, Kull won the third prize for conductors in the 11th International Choir Festival "Tallinn 2009."
Andrew Koehler (1979)
Andrew Koehler is currently music director of the Kalamazoo Philharmonia and Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra and assistant professor of music at Kalamazoo College in Michigan. He is a frequent guest conductor with the West Michigan Symphony Orchestra, where he covers rehearsals for music director Scott Speck. This season, he will guest conduct in Vermont and Kiev, Ukraine.
Koehler’s previous music directorships have been with the Chamber Orchestra of the University of Chicago and the Akademisches Sinfonie-Orchester of Vienna. He has guest conducted the North Shore Chamber Orchestra, University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra and American Opera Group Orchestra in Chicago.
In addition, he has led ensembles at the Aspen Music Festival and the Conductor’s Festival at Bard College. In the 2006 Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition, Andrew advanced to the final round and won the audience favorite prize.
Born in Philadelphia to Ukrainian parents, Andrew began playing the violin at age five. He is a graduate of Yale College, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and German Studies, graduating with honors and distinction in both. His principal teachers have been Victor Yampolsky and Leopold Hager. He has also worked with David Zinman, Michael Stern, Jorma Panula, Mariss Jansons and others.
Antoine-François López (1990)
Born in Lausanne, Switzerland into a musical family, Antoine-François López is in his third year pursuing a bachelor’s degree in composition at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He studies composition with Joel Hoffman and Michael Fiday and choral conducting with Brett Scott. He studies orchestral conducting with Leonid Grin in Philadelphia.
Antoine attended master classes with Neeme Järvi as part of his International Summer Academy for Young Conductors in 2007. In 2009, he participated in master classes with Irwin Hoffman at the Accent 2009 Festival in Cincinnati. As a composer, Antoine has participated in master classes with Leonardo Balada, Steve Reich, Frederic Rzewski and Jack Body.
At the Cincinnati Conservatory, Antoine founded a chamber orchestra comprising fellow students. The ensemble performs in different venues in the greater Cincinnati area.
Lehari Kaustel (1982)
Lehari Kaustel's active conducting career began in the year 2001, when he won the young conductors' competition in Edtonia. In spring 2008, Lehari completed his Master of Arts degree in conducting (under Prof. Paul Mägi) in the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, and beginning with the autumn of the same year continued his studies at P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow, Russia (under Prof. Vladimir Ponkin). Lehari has also participated in master classes of Kurt Masur, Atso Almila, Michel Tabachnik, Colin Metters,
and Neeme Järvi.
Lehari Kaustel is currently the artistic director and conductor of Collegium Consonante and Coro Consonante, conductor of Haapsalu Youth Chamber Orchestra, and conductor and assistant to the chief conductor of
St. Michael Boys' Choir. He is a founding member of Sodalitas Musicae Christianae and artistic director at the music society Crescendo. Lehari has also functioned as the leader for the Tallinn Church Renaissance Festival and an annual advent music festival "Hingemuusikaga jõuluaega". He has conducted a number of orchestras in Estonia, Finland, Germany and the Baltics.
Lehari won the scholarships of Estonian Male Choirs Association, the Pro Musica scholarship of Emil Aaltosen Säätiö in Finland and the Estonian national stipend of Culture and Art 2008. In year 2010, Lehari was, for his contribution in musical education and for promoting musical activities, nominated as a "Culture Maker of the Year" of Lääne country in Estonia.
Rembrandt Zegers (1983)
Rembrandt Zegers completed his Master of Arts degree in orchestral conducting at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2009, where his teacher and mentor was Paul Mägi. He has participated in conducting master classes given by Otto Tausk (Netherlands), Ronald Zollman (Belgium), Paavo Järvi (Estonia), Lutz Köhler (Germany), Michail Jurowski (Russia) and Alexander Polishchuk (Russia).
In 2006, Zegers graduated with honors from the Utrecht School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Arts degree in trumpet performance. Zegers has played trumpet with several orchestras and ensembles, including the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, National Youth Brass Orchestra (The Netherlands), National Student Chamber Orchestra (The Netherlands), and Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra. He has played under such distinguished conductors as Otto Tausk, Jan Willem de Vriend, Lucas Vis, Lutz Köhler and Paavo Järvi.
Zegers has conducted several orchestras and ensembles, including the Symphony Orchestra of the Utrecht School of the Arts, Estonian Academy Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Sinfonietta, and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra.
Giacomo Ferraris (1989) (passive participant)
Giacomo Ferraris was born in Milan in 1989. He started playing violin at five and entered the Milan Conservatory in 1999. He is currently in his final year of violin studies, and he studies composition with Pippo Molino. Giacomo has studied conducting for the past two years with Simone Fermani, a former pupil of Franco Ferrara. He has participated in master classes with Jorma Panula and Kenneth Kiesler in Berlin.
Mary Ellyn Hutton (USA) (passive participant)
Mary Ellyn Hutton is a Cincinnati-based freelance writer. She was classical music critic for the Cincinnati Post until the newspaper closed in 2008. Mary Ellyn is a veteran of the Neeme Järvi Summer Academy, having attended and covered it since 2003 for the Cincinnati Post, Musical America, Detroit Free Press, American Record Guide and others. She frequently writes about the Estonian music scene on her web site at www.MusicinCincinnati.com.
Mary Ellyn is a native of Lexington, Kentucky. She holds degrees in music and law from the University of Kentucky and has a Master of Arts degree in music history from Yale University. She was trained as a violist, studying with Kenneth Wright and Paul Doktor. She has played professionally in Kentucky, New Haven, Boston, Washington D.C., northern New Jersey and Maine.