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
Russian pianist Anastasia Dedik began her piano studies with her mother at age 5. She graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory with the Bachelor and Masters Degrees in 2004, studying with Professors Elena Shishko and Valery Vishnevsky. In 2006 Ms. Dedik earned the Artist Diploma at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, studying with Professor Sedmara Z. Rutstein. Anastasia Dedik has performed as soloist and featured pianist with orchestras in Russia, Germany, Italy, Greece, Slovakia, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Holland, and the United States.
Her 2009-10 concert season included three performances at Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall), a performance at the Bechstein Salon in New York for broadcast on ABC, a recital and master class at the University of South Dakota (Sioux Falls), and solo recitals in Italy, Germany, and Russia.
Ms. Dedik’s début solo album was released in February, 2008 (GPM Records, Recco, Italy).
Anastasia is a first-prize winner of the 2005 Russian International Piano Competition (San Jose, California), the 2006 Lee Biennial Piano Competition (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), the 2006 Rovero d’Oro International Piano Competition (San Bartolomeo, Italy), the Buono and Bradshaw International Piano Competition (New York, 2007) and the Asti International Piano Competition (Asti, Italy).
Ms. Dedik was invited to take part and perform at the Petrouchka Ball, a traditional Russian ball held annually in New York City. It is a major fundraising event for Russian orphans, which last year featured famous artists including Anna Netrebko, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Maria Butyrskaya.