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: Buchman-Mehta School Of Music
  • https://en-arts.tau.ac.il/Music
  • Instrument played: Naama plays a violin generously lent to her by the Jerusalem Music Center.
Elizaveta BRAKHMAN

Elizaveta BRAKHMAN

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024
  • Country: Israel
  • Instrument: Violin
  • Age during Academy: 18
  • Last or current school: Buchman-Mehta School Of Music
  • https://en-arts.tau.ac.il/Music
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/
Helene FREYTAG

Helene FREYTAG

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024, 2022
  • Country: Germany
  • Instrument: Violin
  • Age during Academy: 18
  • Last or current school: Universität der Künste Berlin
  • https://www.udk-berlin.de/startseite/
  • Instrument played: As a laureat of the 28th competition of "Deutscher Musikinstrumentenfond", she has the honour of playing an Italian violin by L. Ventapane (1806).
Alexander GOLDBERG

Alexander GOLDBERG

Parent Category: Students biographies
Andrew SAMARASEKARA

Andrew SAMARASEKARA

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Instrument: Violin
  • Age during Academy: 26
  • Last or current school: Yale University
  • https://www.yale.edu
  • 1st prize winner at the Fanny Mendelssohn and International Salzburg music competitions.
  • Instrument played: Plays on a 1731 Nicolò Gagliano violin and W. Hill bow, on loan from a generous private benefactor.
Varvara VASYLIEVA

Varvara Vasylieva

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Instrument: Violin
  • Age during Academy: 20
  • Last or current school: Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler - Berlin
  • https://www.fhnw.ch/en/about-fhnw/schools/music
  • Ysaÿe International Music Competition, Liège/Belgium (2019, 1st Prize), Oleksiy Gorokhov International Competition-Festival (2022, 1st Prize)
  • Instrument played: J. B. Vuillaume made in 1866 generously on loan from Wilhelm Geigenbau
Mila GAFNER

Mila GAFNER

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024, 2021
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Instrument: Viola
  • Age during Academy: 20
  • Last or current school: CNSMDP - Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris
  • https://www.conservatoiredeparis.fr/fr/pole/musique
  • 3 times winner of the Swiss Youth Music Competition in solo viola, as well as 3 times in chamber music.
Theresa HOREJSI

Theresa HOŘEJŠÍ

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024
  • Country: Germany
  • Instrument: Viola
  • Age during Academy: 24
  • Last or current school: Haute école de musique de Lausanne, site de Sion
  • https://www.hemu.ch/en/home
Raphael MASTERS

Raphael MASTERS

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024
  • Country: Australia
  • Instrument: Viola
  • Age during Academy: 23
  • Last or current school: Colburn School
  • https://www.colburnschool.edu/
  • Instrument played: He performs on a modern instrument and bow generously loaned by The Colburn School.
Matthew MCDOWELL

Matthew McDOWELL

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024, 2023
  • Country: USA
  • Instrument: Viola
  • Age during Academy: 26
  • Last or current school: Yale School of Music
  • https://music.yale.edu/
Ayano NAKAMURA

Ayano NAKAMURA

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024
  • Country: Japan
  • Instrument: Viola
  • Age during Academy: 22
  • Last or current school: Yale School of Music
  • https://music.yale.edu/
  • Diplomas: Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory
Julian SENEY

Julian SENEY

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024
  • Country: USA
  • Instrument: Viola
  • Age during Academy: 23
  • Last or current school: Yale School of Music
  • https://music.yale.edu/
  • Diplomas: Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory
Pauline BOUDON

Pauline BOUDON

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024
  • Country: France
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 22
  • Last or current school: CNSMDP - Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris
  • https://www.conservatoiredeparis.fr/en
  • Instrument played: Plays a cello signed Frank Ravatin, kindly loaned by the El Pasito Association.
Jinseok JEONG

Jin Seok JEONG

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024
  • Country: Hungary
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 17
  • Last or current school: University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
  • https://www.mdw.ac.at/
Haru OGIWARA

Haru OGIWARA

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 19
  • Last or current school: Royal Academy of Music
  • https://www.ram.ac.uk
  • Instrument played: Plays a cello by J.F. Wright, Newark, 2023 (1727 Goriller Ex Shapiro Model) and a William Salchow bow thanks to the support of Pei Sian Ng and Pei Jee Ng
Auguste RAHON

Auguste RAHON

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024, 2023, 2022
  • Country: France
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 25
  • Last or current school: Haute école de musique de Genève, joined the Académie de l’Opéra National de Paris in September 2022.
  • https://www.hesge.ch/hem
Daphne RICHMAN POLEG

Daphne RICHMAN POLEG

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024
  • Country: Israel
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 20
  • Last or current school: Buchmann-Mehta School of Music
  • https://en-arts.tau.ac.il/Music
Arne ZELLER

Arne ZELLER

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024, 2023
  • Country: Germany
  • Instrument: Cello
  • Age during Academy: 17
  • Last or current school: Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre - Leipzig
  • https://www.hmt-leipzig.de/en/home/hochschule
  • 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.
ARDA QUARTET

ARDA QUARTET

Parent Category: Students biographies
  • Edition of the Academy: 2024
  • Country: Ukraine, Finland, Switzerland, Belarus
  • Age during Academy: 20, 20, 27, 27
  • Last or current school: FHNW, Music Academy of Basel
  • https://www.fhnw.ch/en/about-fhnw/schools/music
  • Special prize at the Orpheus Chamber Music Competition in Bern
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