Biographies

Naama BEN ZAKEN

Naama BEN-ZAKEN

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023, 2024
  • Country: Israel
  • Instrument: Violin
  • Age during Academy: 18
  • Last or current school: Jerusalem Music Center
  • https://www.jmc.org.il/en/
  • Instrument played: Naama plays a violin generously lent to her by the Jerusalem Music Center.
Mishel BUSHKOVA

Mishel BUSHKOVA

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: Israel
  • Instrument: Violin
  • Age during Academy: 19
  • Last or current school: Cleveland Institute of Music
  • https://www.cim.edu/
Elizaveta Cibotaru

Elizaveta CIBOTARU

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: Moldova
  • Instrument: Violin
  • Age during Academy: 19
  • Last or current school: Haute Ecole de Musique, Genève
  • https://www.hesge.ch/hem/
  • Instrument played: Plays a Honoré Derazey violin from the Lalive Foundation in Geneva.
Sofija DODIG

Sofija DODIG

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023, 2024
  • Country: Serbia
  • Instrument: Violin
  • Age during Academy: 18
  • Last or current school: University for Music and Performing Arts Graz
  • https://www.kug.ac.at/en/
Miray ITO

Miray ITO

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: U.S.A.
  • Instrument: Violin
  • Age during Academy: 20
  • Last or current school: The Juilliard School
  • https://www.juilliard.edu/
  • Instrument played: Plays a 1734 Pietro Guarneri violin on a generous loan from the Ryuji Ueno Foundation
Eliane MENZEL

Eliane MENZEL

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: Germany
  • Instrument: Violin
  • Age during Academy: 23
  • Last or current school: The Juilliard School
  • https://www.juilliard.edu/
Vasilisa NELIUBINA

Vasilisa NELIUBINA

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: Russia
  • Instrument: Violin
  • Age during Academy: 23
  • Last or current school: Haute Ecole de Musique, Genève
  • https://www.hesge.ch/hem
  • Instrument played: Plays an1880 Samuel Nemessanyi violin lent by the LaLive Foundation
Brian ISAACS

Brian ISAACS

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023, 2022
  • Country: U.S.A.
  • Instrument: Viola
  • Age during Academy: 23
  • Last or current school: Yale School of Music
  • https://music.yale.edu/
  • Instrument played: Plays on a 2011 Douglas Cox viola, on generous loan from the Virtu Foundation.
Leonardo JELVEH

Leonardo JELVEH

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: Italy
  • Instrument: Viola
  • Age during Academy: 24
  • Last or current school: Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris
  • https://www.conservatoiredeparis.fr
Natanel LAEVSKY

Natanel LAEVSKY

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: Israel
  • Instrument: Viola
  • Age during Academy: 23
  • Last or current school: Manhattan School of Music
  • https://www.msmnyc.edu/
  • Instrument played: Samuel Zygmuntowicz 1987 Viola, generously loaned to him by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF)
Katie LIU

Katie LIU

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: U.S.A.
  • Instrument: Viola
  • Age during Academy: 25
  • Last or current school: Yale School of Music
  • https://music.yale.edu/
Matthew MCDOWELL

Matthew McDOWELL

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: U.S.A.
  • Instrument: Viola
  • Age during Academy: 25
  • Last or current school: Yale School of Music
  • https://music.yale.edu/
Sarah STROHM

Sarah STROHM

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023, 2022, 2021
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Instrument: Viola
  • Age during Academy: 18
  • Last or current school: Conservatoire de National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris
  • https://www.conservatoiredeparis.fr
Cosima FEDERLE

Cosima Federle

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023, 2022, 2021
  • Country: Germany
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 20
  • Last or current school: Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig
  • https://www.hmt-leipzig.de
  • Instrument played: Cello by Nicolas Lupot, Paris 1821, that has been given to her as a loan by the “Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben“
Marlene FORSTEL

Marlene FÖRSTEL

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: Austria
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 22
  • Last or current school: University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna
  • https://www.mdw.ac.at
Maxime GRIZARD

Maxime GRIZARD

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: France & Germany
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 16
  • Last or current school: CRR Claude Debussy, Saint Germain en Laye
  • Winner of Radu Lupu 2025 in Geneva, 2019 1st prize concours « Jeunes musiciens » in Germany, 2017 1st prize concours FLAME in Paris
Jiayi LIU

Jiayi LIU

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: China
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 20
  • Last or current school: Musik Akademie Basel
  • https://www.musik-akademie.ch
  • Instrument played: Plays a cello made by Carlo Antonio Testore lend by the Musik Akademie Basel
Auguste RAHON

Auguste RAHON

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023, 2022
  • Country: France
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 24
  • Last or current school: Haute Ecole de Musique, Genève
  • https://www.hesge.ch/hem
Vilem VLCEK

Vilém VLČEK

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2023
  • Country: Czech Republic
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 25
  • Last or current school: Musik Akademie Basel
  • https://www.musik-akademie.ch
Arne ZELLER

Arne ZELLER

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024, 2023
  • Country: Germany
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 16
  • Last or current school: Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig
  • https://www.hmt-leipzig.de
  • 1st prize of the Budapest International Cello Competition 2025. First prize of the International Anna Kull Competition for Cello in Graz in 2020 as the youngest contestant in his age group. In 2022 first prize of his age group at the International Gustav-Mahler Cello Competition.
  • Instrument played: Plays a French cello by Georges Chanot I. from 1840 in federal governmental possession. Furthermore he is kindly supported with the Charles Maucotel cello „ex-Tortelier“ (1850), courtesy of a member of the Stretton Society.
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