THE PRIMA TRIO was founded in 2004 while its members were studying at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, and made its début at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC in 2006.
In 2007, the Prima Trio triumphed at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, winning the coveted Grand Prize (out of 137 entries from across the country and around the world) as well as the Gold Medal in the Senior Division. In addition, the Prima Trio was awarded a Midwest Winner's Tour and a European début at Italy's Emilia Romagna Festival, as well as a total of $10,500 in prize money. The finals round and a grand-prize winner's concert and reception were held in Leighton Concert Hall at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
In recent seasons the trio returned to Washington, DC with two concerts on the prestigious Dumbarton Oaks series, and performed at the Athenaeum in La Jolla, CA, the Dayton Art Institute, and CityMusic Columbus (celebrating the series’ 25th anniversary). Highlights of past seasons include a Chicago début on the Music in the Loft series, a Cleveland début on the Cleveland Chamber Music Society series, and four concerts at Germany's prestigious Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival.
Almost unique among trios, the Prima Trio actually plays four instruments, since Gulia Gurevich switches between violin and viola during the concert! Their repertoire ranges from Mozart and Schumann to such exotic gems as Armenian composer Aram Khatchaturian's soulful Trio for Violin, Clarinet and Piano to S.I. Glick’s festive “Klezmer’s Wedding.” The “grand finale” of every their program is “Serenade” by American composer Peter Schickele (aka P.D.Q. Bach)—its uproarious, hoedown-like finale never fails to draw a “laughing ovation”!
BORIS ALLAKHVERDYAN, clarinet
Born in Baku, Azerbaijan of Armenian descent, Boris Allakhverdyan started taking clarinet lessons from his father at the age of 9, shortly after his family moved to Russia. He received his B.M. from the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory in 2006, his Artist Diploma Degree from the Oberlin Conservatory in 2008 and his M.M from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2010. His principal teachers include Franklin Cohen, Richard Hawkins, Rafael Bagdasarian and Valery Allakhverdyan.
A first-prize winner of the Hellam Competition, the Tuesday Musical Competition and the Oberlin Concerto Competition, Mr. Allakhverdyan appeared as a soloist with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra and the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra. Boris has also performed with The Cleveland Orchestra on several occasions and participated in the Lucerne Festival Academy (under the direction of Pierre Boulez), the Mecklenburg-Vorpommen Festival in Germany, the Emilia Romagna Music Festival in Italy and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. An active chamber musician, Mr. Allakhverdyan collaborates frequently with such distinguished ensembles as the St. Petersburg and La Catrina Quartets. Boris is also an active educator, having given master classes at Truman State University, Colorado Music Festival and Latin American Clarinet Academy in Caracas, Venezuela. Mr. Allakhverdyan has performed as a soloist and with orchestras in Russia, Germany, Denmark, Venezuela, Italy, Switzerland and the United States of America.
GULIA GUREVICH, violin/viola
Uzbek violinist/violist Gulia Gurevich has performed across the United States, Europe and Central Asia. She has made her solo debut with the Uzbekistan National Symphony Orchestra at the age of 14 and her conducting debut at the age of 15. Since then, Gulia won many prizes, awards and scholarships in her home country as well as abroad.
From a distinguished family of an opera singer and a concert pianist, Mrs. Gurevich moved to the United States as a teenager to study at the Interlochen Arts Academy. After graduating with honors she became a student at the Indiana University, where she received her Performance Diploma. She also holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Mrs. Gurevich has collaborated with the Emerson String Quartet, the Orion String Quartet, the Pacifica String Quartet, among others. She has performed with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic and Canton Symphony orchestras on several occasions.
Mrs. Gurevich participated in prestigious music festivals, such as Tangelwood Music Center, Spoleto USA Music Festival, Colorado College Summer Music Festival and American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Her mentors and teachers include Nelli Shkolnikova, Milan Vitek, Julia Bushkova, Atar Arad, Joel Smirnoff and I-Kwan Bae.
Last season’s highlights include performances in Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall, including the world premiere of “Raya and Sag-In” by Carmela Sinco.
As a sought after chamber musician, Gulia Gurevich maintains a busy international performing schedule and currently resides in New York City.
ANASTASIA DEDIK, piano
Anastasia has performed on some of the most important stages in the world, including the internationally renowned Kennedy Center in Washington, DC as well as Carnegie Hall in New York, The Concertgebouw Hall in Amsterdam, L’École Normale de Musique in Paris, France, The Paganini Conservatory in Genoa, Italy, The Palazzo Farnese in Piacenza, Italy, Teatro Communale, San Remo Italy, and appeared on RAI (the largest Italian television Network) in Italy. She has also performed at The Great Philharmonic Hall, St. Petersburg, Russia, The Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow, Russia, as well as on the NordDeutscher Rundfunk (NDR TV and Radio), Germany’s premier Television and Radio broadcasting Station. She has also played as both a soloist and a collaborative pianist for ABC television here in the USA.
Ms. Dedik is a first-prize winner of the 2001 “Ennio Porrino” International Piano Competition, Italy, 2005 Russian International Piano Competition, USA, the 2006 Lee Biennial Piano Competition, USA, the 2006 Rovero d’Oro International Piano Competition, Italy, the 2007 Buono and Bradshaw International Piano Competition, New York, USA, Cliburn Institute/Piano Texas Concerto Competition, 2007, USA, Asti International Piano Competition, 2007 Italy, the Pietro Argento International Piano Competition, Italy, 2009, New York Concert Artists & Associates International Piano Competition, 2010, Bosendorfer International Piano Competition, 2011, Tempe, Arizona.
After graduating from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, Russia in 2004 Anastasia continued her education in United States at The Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and The Juilliard School in New York. Anastasia has been the recipient of numerous national and international awards, including Harold and Helene Schonberg Piano Scholarship and Susan W. Rose Fellowship at The Juilliard School.
Anastasia has performed as soloist and featured pianist with orchestras in Russia, Germany, Italy, Greece, Slovakia, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Holland, and the United States. Ms. Dedik’s début professional Solo CD Recording was released in February, 2008 by GPM Records, Recco, Italy.
Anastasia is the Founder and Artistic Director of the “Russian Heritage” Piano Competition, which is to be held in March of 2012 in St.Petersburg, Russia.