Born in 1980 in Neuchâtel (Switzerland), SIMON PEGUIRON first studied violin before turning to the piano and organ. He studied music at La Chaux-de-Fonds Conservatory, graduating with the best marks in organ and piano, and also completing a degree in music theory. He then studied organ with Guy Bovet at the Music Academy Basel, and at the High School of Music in Zurich in the piano class of Homero Francesch. He graduated in 2006 with highest honors and a soloist diploma for both instruments.

He appears regularly in concert as accompanist, chamber musician, soloist, composer, and more recently, as a conductor. He also is dedicated to arrangement and improvisation in various styles.

He has taught piano at the Conservatoire of Neuchâtel since 2006 and, after ten years of activity at the Temple du Locle, in 2009 replaced Guy Bovet as organist of the Collegiate Church of Neuchâtel.

In 2017, he was appointed as conductor and music director of the Orchestre de Chambre de La Chaux-de-Fonds.

HunJu Sohnn, Korean born pianist, has been performing both solo and chamber music concerts in Switzerland, England, Germany, France, South Korea, Thailand, Costa Rica, as well as throughout the United States.

Highly appreciated for her qualities in collaborative work, HunJu has been invited to appear with various instrumentalists and performed with the wind ensemble Ensemble Five ±, as well as the European-based Varias Ensemble at the New Year’s Music Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland. HunJu has collaborated in masterclasses for world-famous artists such as Pinkas Zukerman, Nobuko Imai, Kyung-Wha Chung, Tabea Zimmermann, Yuri Bashmet, as well as Yo-Yo Ma, Franz Helmerson, and Ralph Kirshbaum. She has been the pianist/coordinator of the viola masterclass at the Verbier Music Festival and Academy. HunJu has participated in a television documentary featuring Nobuko Imai, which was distributed worldwide and performed with Ms. Imai for France Musique Radio program during the Verbier Festival.

HunJu Sohnn continues to perform in Europe and the US, while holding a teaching position at the Conservatoire Populaire de Musique Danse et Théâtre in Geneva. She also participated in studio recordings, most recently in a project of complete works for piano and winds by Francis Poulenc released by Kleos Classics. HunJu Sohnn received her Master's degree from New England Conservatory and holds a Doctoral degree for Piano Performance from Rice University.

Sory Park is a violinist from Gwangju, South Korea currently studying with Ani Kavafian at Yale School of Music. She received her Bachelor of Music at New England Conservatory where she studied with Soovin Kim and her Master of Music at The Juilliard School with Ronald Copes.

Park was the top prize winner at several national and international competitions, including the 2019 Stulberg International String Competition in Michigan, the 2017 Ilona Feher International Violin Competition in Hungary and the 2012 Ewha & Kyunghyang Competition in South Korea. She has participated in several music festivals including Perlman Music Program, Norfolk Music Festival, Yellow Barn, Music@Menlo, Heifetz Music Institute, Bowdoin Music Festival and Summit Music festival.

Ms. Park has had lots of opportunities for masterclasses given by Itzhak Perlman, Aaron Rosand, Peter Oundjian, Ayano Ninomiya, Ian Swensen, Sheryl Staples, Borromeo String Quartet and many other amazing musicians. Her solo engagements have included performances with Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra, APS Symphonia, Kalamazoo Youth Symphony Orchestra and others.

Apart from classical music, she adores exploring lots of abstract arts. Especially, Wassily Kandinsky and Gustav Klimt are her favorite painters. As their paintings enjoy beautiful color palettes, she is exploring her own color palette of music.

GISA Ambassador: Contact Eva Kobor

Born in Nice, France, in 2001, she studied at the Sivom Cap D’Ail School of Music with Nathalie Girod, the Académie Rainier III of Monaco with Louis Denis Ott, and since 2017, in Budapest with Eszter Perényi, Terez Pichner, and Barnabás Kelemen at the Liszt Ferenc Academy.

She has won first prizes at competitions like Vatelot-Rampal and Flame in France, and the Zathureczky Ede National Competition and Tibor Varga Competition in Hungary. Additionally, she received the Prince of Monaco Special Music Prize, artistic scholarships “Fischer Annie,” and the title "Artist of the Month" from the Budafok Municipality, as well as the Hubay Prize in 2024.

She has performed as a soloist with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Cannes National Orchestra, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, MAV, Hungarian Radio, Budafok Dohnányi, and the Szeged Symphony Orchestra, and the Camerata UNAB Orchestra from Chile…


Since 2024, she has been an academist at the Budapest Festival Orchestra under the direction of Ivan Fischer.

Born in 2023 from the meeting of four friends at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris, the Quatuor Solveig cultivates a sensitive and meticulous approach to chamber music. Currently pursuing a string quartet degree at the CNSM de Paris, in the classes of Louis Rodde and Jean Sulem, the quartet is also enriched by the expert advice of the Quatuor Ébène during masterclasses.

In 2025, the quartet was invited to an intensive session at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, in partnership with the ECMA (European Chamber Music Academy). On this occasion, he received inspiring teaching from Patrick Jüdt, Petr Prause, Kathryn Scott, Pavel Fischer and Jennifer Langridge.

Exploring a wide repertoire, from Vivaldi to Shostakovich, the Solveig Quartet forges deep bonds with the works it performs and the diverse audiences it meets. Indeed, the quartet is committed to multiplying opportunities for contact with listeners who may be far removed from the world of classical music, an observation that is even more striking when it comes to the quartet's repertoire, which the 4 musicians wish to promote to as many people as possible.

Margotte Raineteau - first violion
Laura Lecocq - second violin
Baptiste Donadio - viola
Lise Declerck - cello

GISA Ambassador: Contact Cheng Io Lo

Violinist Cheng Io Lo has performed at some of the world’s most renowned venues, including Carnegie Hall and David Geffen Hall, among others. In 2023, she made her solo debut at Alice Tully Hall, performing with the Columbia University Orchestra under the baton of Jeffrey Milarsky. Cheng Io has earned recognition in several esteemed competitions, including first prizes at the International Grande Music Competition, Columbia University Concerto Competition, Manhattan School of Music Chamber Music Competition, National Young Virtuosi Recital Competition, the 4th Hong Kong International Violin Competition, and the Macau Young Musicians Competition.

In 2014, Cheng Io was awarded the Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau Prize, which granted her a full scholarship to study with Nicholas Mann at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division. There, she served as concertmaster of the Symphony Orchestra and received the Patinka Kopec Precollege Violin Scholarship. A National YoungArts Winner, she has appeared on NPR’s From the Top with her string quartet and has participated in solo public masterclasses with artists such as Philippe Graffin, Kyung Wha Chung, Augustin Hadelich, Sergey Malov, and David Waterman. She has also collaborated with members of the Emerson, Juilliard, Brentano, Borromeo, and American String Quartets. Her past festival appearances include IMS Prussia Cove, Schiermonnikoog, Yellow Barn, Kneisel Hall, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, the Heifetz International Music Institute, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival.

Cheng Io is also an active contributor to the classical music community as the Streaming and Digital Media Coordinator at The Violin Channel. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Business Management from Columbia University, graduating cum laude with honors, and a Master of Music from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Laurie Smukler and Daniel Phillips. She will begin her Artist Diploma studies at The Colburn School in Fall 2025 under Margaret Batjer.

GISA Ambassador: Contact Barbora Butvydaitė

Barbora Butvydaite has established herself as a dynamic violist, known for her expressive artistry and versatility. She is currently a member of the Ivan Fischer European Orchestra Academy and tours regularly with the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

Born in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1996, Barbora graduated from the National M. K. Ciurlionis School of Arts, where she won numerous prizes at national and international competitions. She then pursued her education abroad, earning her Bachelor's degree at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg under the tutelage of Thomas Riebl and her Master's degree with Veronika Hagen. She graduated with distinction in 2021.

During her studies, she was awarded scholarships from the “Rudens Turku and Friends” Foundation and in 2021, she won 3rd Prize at the Paul Hindemith Viola Competition in Salzburg.

Barbora gained valuable orchestral experience through the Academy Programme of the Tonkünstler Orchestra (2022-2023), her participation in the A. Prokopp Summer Academy of the Vienna Philharmonic (2022-2023) and Grafenegg Festival Orchestra. Since last season, she has been a member of the European Orchestra Academy of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. She has had the opportunity to work with renowned conductors such as Iván Fischer, Lorenzo Viotti, Jakub Hrůša, Yutaka Sado, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Robin Ticciati, Tugan Sokhiev and Ádám Fischer among others.

As a passionate chamber musician, Barbora has performed at the Salzburg Festival, Vienna Musikverein, and Grafenegg Festival, among other festivals. She is a member of the Oberton String Octet and of Haydn Philharmonie, Ensemble Esperanza Lichtenstein, and Vienna Ensemble, where she often takes the role of a principal violist.

She enjoys performing in various musical settings and has a strong interest in both Baroque and contemporary music. Her collaboration with Haydn Philharmonie, as well as working with Enrico Onofri, Nicolas Altstaedt and Hiro Kurosaki has further deepened her engagement with historically informed performance practice. Additionally, she has performed contemporary music, working with composers and ensembles dedicated to new music.

To foster her artistic growth, Barbora has participated in numerous masterclasses and festivals like Prussia Cove, Lichtenstein Musikakademie, Mendelssohn Festival, and Aurora Festival and gained insights from renowned artists like Thomas Riebl, Garth Knox, Ferenc Rados, Alexander Zemtsov, Barbara Westphal, Harmuth Rohde, Gabor Takasz-Nagy and Antje Weithaas.

Barbora performs on a viola made for her by luthier Jürgen Manthey.

Tilman Sandvoss is an accomplished orchestral, chamber, and solo musician noted for having a luscious tone and profound musicality. He began his musical education at home with his father Christopher Sandvoss at the young age of five, and later continued his viola studies in the Academy and Advanced Performance Program at the Mount Royal Conservatory. He has participated in international festivals including the Festival Academy Budapest, the Domaine Forget Academy and its Chamber Music Intensive program, as well as the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove. In 2019 he was also the only violist to be invited to Germany to take part in the Goslar Internationale Konzertarbeitschwochen, where he studied with Elisabeth Kufferath, professor of violin at the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover and member of the Tetzlaff Quartet.

Tilman has had the pleasure of working with many internationally distinguished artists and teachers such as Kim Kashkashian, Antoine Tamestit, Maxim Rysanov, Paul Coletti, Gerald Stanick, Andres Cardenes, Sharon Wei, and members of the Calidore, Kronos and Chiaroscuro Quartets, to name a few.

As a fan of new music, Tilman has both collaborated and given world premieres with composers such as Vincent Ho, Peter Jancewicz, Brian Current, Jörg Widmann, Julian Anderson and Huw Watkins.

Recently, Tilman has founded an international chamber music festival in Western Canada called Chisel Creek Classical, where he invites artists from around the world to perform and teach over a two week period.

Tilman received his Bachelors of Music degree (Honours) in viola performance at The Glenn Gould School in Toronto under the mentorship of violist Steven Dann. He is continuing his education at The Hochschule für Musik in Basel where he is pursuing his Masters degree in the class of violist Silvia Simionescu.

Tilman performs on a viola made by his father, master luthier Christopher Sandvoss.

GISA Ambassador: Contact Alessandra Yang

Violist Alessandra Yang currently studies at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität (Vienna, Austria) in the studio of Jennifer Stumm and attended Juilliard Pre-College under the tutelage of Hsin-Yun Huang. She frequently participates in chamber music festivals and masterclasses, including Taos School of Music, Perlman Music Program, Newburyport Chamber Music Festival, Prussia Cove, and Saline Royale Academy, and she regularly performs in baroque ensembles across Europe and the United States.

She wins the special Chamber Music Prize at the Concours de Genève 2025 for Viola.

Outside of music, she enjoys exploring philosophy and has taken classes at Freogen Fellowship, the inaugural Forbidden Courses program at the University of Austin, and as a fellow of the Hertog Foundation.

Alessandra plays on a 2017 Hiroshi Iizuka viola made local in her native Philadelphia and an 1801 Michael Stadlmann Viola d'amore made in Vienna.

Carried by the harmonies of the viola even before he was born, guided by a mother who is both a musician and accompanist at the Toulouse Conservatory (CRR), Baptiste naturally fell under the spell of this instrument. At just six years old, he stepped through the doors of the conservatory as one would enter a familiar home, joining the class of Valérie Apparailly.

Very early on, he ventured into the world of competitions, winning the Altos Juniors several years in a row for six consecutive years, as well as the Lempdes competition. He also earned a second prize and the jury's special award at the National Competition for Young Violists.

Passionate about string quartets, he co-founded the Quatuor Amalthée at the Toulouse Conservatory, then the Quatuor Solveig at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP), with whom he performed at the Cordes sur Ciel Festival and the ClassicaHors festival, alongside the Quatuor Dutilleux.

He also performs in sonata and trio formations at the Toulouse Festival with Constant Després and Claire Bouyssou.

Since 2022, he has been studying at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in the class of Jean Sulem, and since 2024, he has been pursuing a string quartet degree with Louis Rodde and Jean Sulem.

Since February 2025, he has been playing a viola crafted by

Stephan von Baehr, generously loaned by the Société Générale Corporate Foundation.