PRESENTERS

International Scriabin 150 Festival
* Online *
11-13th November 2022
(10am - 6pm, Eastern Time)

Brought to you by artistic director Sherry Grant and the Scriabin Society of America (SSA), we have an exciting array of presenters from around the world in various disciplines. Complete presenter bios, and photos will be available on this page by the end of August 2022.

Presenter info below by order of festival schedule:

(Day 1)

Alexander Serafimovich Scriabin (Russia) - festival patron (1947-2022) IN MEMORIUM

Sherry Grant (NZ/Taiwan) - festival artistic director, pianist, cellist, poet, International Liaison of SSA

Dmitry Rachmanov (USA/Russia) - president of SSA & American Liszt Society, pianist (Steinway Artist)

Matthew Bengtson (USA) - vice president of SSA, author of Scriabin book, pianist

Farhan Malik (USA) - treasurer of SSA, pianist, scholar

James Palmer (USA) - secretary of SSA, pianist

Harlow Robinson (USA) - author, lecturer and Matthews Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of History at Northeastern University, specialist in Russian studies

Bobbi Bicker (UK/Albania) - visual artist

Yoon Seok Shin (UK/South Korea) - pianist (Young Steinway Artist)

Martin Kaptein (The Netherlands) - artistic director of Scriabin Club, pianist

Anna Fedorova (Ukraine) - multi award-winning pianist, performer at international festivals (special guest)

David Proud (UK) - philosopher, specialist in Hegel and James Joyce

Sean Day (USA) - neuroscientist, linguist, founder of Synesthesia List, American Synesthesia Association (ASA) & International Association of Synaesthetes, Artists and Scientists (IASAS)

(Day 2)

Jay Reise (USA) - composer, Emeritus Professor of Music Composition, University of Pennsylvania

John Stevenson (USA) - festival haiku compeitition judge, haiku/senryu category, haiku poet, award-winning author, former president of the Haiku Society of America, editor of The Heron's Nest

Ron C. Moss (Australia) -festival haiku compeitition judge, haiga category, author, photographer, artist, award-winning haiku poet, firefighter

Garry Gay (USA) - festival haiku compeitition co-judge, rengay category, haiku poet, photographer, inventor of "rengay", president of Haiku Poets of Northern California, past president of Haiku Society of America

John Thompson (USA) - festival haiku compeitition co-judge, rengay category, haiku poet, founding member of the Haiku Poets of Northern California

Owen Bullock (Australia) - haiku poet, English professor at University of Canberra

Anatole Leikin (USA) - author of Scriabin book, pianist, Professor Emeritus of Music at University of California, Santa Cruz

Murray Stentiford (NZ) - scientist, musician, representative of NZ Theosophical Societies

Rae de Lisle (NZ) - author, pedagogue, specialist of injury prevention for musicians

Tomás Jonsson (USA) - highly sought-after classical/jazz pianist and composer in the DFW and Houston music scenes

(Day 3)

Alexey Chernov (Russia) - multi international competition prize-winning pianist and composer (speical guest)

Rebecca Mitchell (USA) - author, Associate Professor of Russian History at Middlebury College, USA, receiver of 2016 W. Bruce Lincoln Book Prize

Thomas Goss (NZ) - composer, orchestrator, director of Orchestration Online, long-time Educaion Composer-in-Residence with Orchestra Wellington, NZ

Gianmaria Griglio (The Netherlands/Italy) - conductor, pianist, composer, music director of ARTax Music, Hague

Bruno Vhalek (Croatia) - multi prize-winner at international competitions including the 2010 Scribain Competition in Paris, virtuoso pianist, composer (special guest)

Jerome Lowenthal - virtuoso pianist (pupil of Alfred Cortot), prize-winner and judges at international piano competitions, was chair of Julliard School

Joe Patrych (USA) - award-winning music producer, musician and audio/video consultant

Jarek Kotomski (UK) - photographer, award-winning filmmaker at the 71th Edinburgh Film Festival, UK

PRESENTER BIOGRAPHY

Alexander Serafimovich Scriabin

(Russia)

MR. ALEXANDER SERAFIMOVICH SCRIABIN, Doctor of Historical Sciences and assistant professor at the Moscow State University, has been President of the Foundation of A.N. Scriabin since 1992 and is one of the founders and organisers of the A.N. Scriabin International Piano Competition. A member of Academic Council of Memorial Museum of A. N. Scriabin in Moscow, he is also Honorary President of the Scriabin Society of America, British Scriabin Association and Croatian Society “Alexander Scriabin”. Mr. Scriabin is the author of over 150 works on A.N. Scriabin and other notable representatives of Russian culture. He has dedicated his life promoting the music of Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, to whom he is a close relative. Mr. Alexander Serafimovich Scriabin has been invited to this festival as festival patron.

https://scriabinmuseum.ru

Sherry Grant

(NZ/Taiwan)

SHERRY GRANT, a Taiwan-born New Zealand concert pianist, cellist, poet, translator and mother of four woodwind players, is the artistic director of the 2022 International Scriabin 150 Festival and Scriabin Society of America International Liaison. Author of Bat Girl (2021) and 300 Love Poems for Scriabin (Vol.s 1-3), Sherry is co-editor of short form poetry journals such as Chalk on the Walk Haiku & Monoku, Haiku Zoo Journal and Raining Rengay. She was the winner of 2021 Otoroshi Rengay Contest with writing partner Alan Peat (UK). Sherry and her youngest daughter, 8-year-old Zoe (winner of 2021 NZPS Haiku Competition, junior/school and illustrator for Bat Girl), work together in promoting poetry writing at international & local poetry workshops such as Rengay's 30th Birthday Celebration (August 2022) and Haiku Down Under Virtual Conferenve (October 2022). This mother-daughter duo also collaborate in musical concerts and have been frequently interviewed as guest poets at radio stations around the world. Sherry is the pianist at Taioro ensemble (NZ) and an active member of the Live Piano Avengers. Since March 2022, Sherry has started performing themed piano recitals online regularly to introduce lesser known piano repertoire, and to include Scriabin's music in every concert. Sherry organised/performed at the War and Peace Arts and Music Festival (2019), 100 Years Journey Concert Tour (2019) and 1st Hindemith & Copland Festival (2021, online).

https://linktr.ee/sherrygrant

Dmitry Rachmanov

(USA/Russia)

DMITRY RACHMANOV is the Chair of Keyboard at CSU Northridge. He has served on the faculties of Manhattan School of Music, Roosevelt University, and has appeared as a guest artist/lecturer at The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Beijing Central and Shanghai Conservatories. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, London's Barbican and South Bank Centres, in major halls of China, and was soloist with Ukraine National Symphony, National Orchestra of Porto and Vidin Sinfonietta, among others. He has recorded for Naxos, Parma, Master Musicians and Vista Vera labels. Rachmanov is a founding member and president of the Scriabin Society of America; he also serves as the president of the American Liszt Society’s Southern California Chapter. A co-director of the CSUN biennial ChamberFest and a recipient of numerous awards, Dr. Rachmanov was named the 2018-19 Research Fellow at CSUN’s Mike Curb College. He is the current President at the Scriabin Society of America.

https://dmitryrachmanov.com

Matthew Bengtson

(USA)

A passionate lifetime advocate for Scriabin, MATTHEW BENGTSON has received numerous rave reviews for his recordings of the complete piano sonatas: “Has Scriabin ever been played better? Only Horowitz and Richter can compare” (American Record Guide) and “a Scriabinist for the 21st century .. upon whom future generations can rely for definitive interpretations.” (Fanfare) In 2015 he marked the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death with numerous all-Scriabin recitals, including a solo recital in the multi-sensory festival “Scriabin in the Himalayas” in Ladakh, India. Co-author of Alexander Scriabin Companion, he currently teaches piano, fortepiano, and Piano Literature at the University of Michigan. He is currently the Vice President at Scriabin Society of America.

www.mattbengtson.com

Farhan Malik

(USA)

FARHAN MALIK is a lecturer, writer, teacher, and critic who has studied recorded piano performance from the beginning of the recording era through the present day while amassing a world-class collection of historically important piano recordings. His articles, reviews, and discographies have appeared in the world’s leading piano journals. He has worked on numerous recording projects, including the acclaimed “Complete Recordings of Emil von Sauer,” and the 200-CD edition “Great Pianists of the 20th Century”. He has written about Vladimir Sofronitsky, Sviatoslav Richter, Alexander Scriabin, and many Russian musicians, and served on the board of directors of the Scriabin Society of America since 1997. He is currently the Treasurer at the Scriabin Society of America.

http://farhanmalik.com

James Palmer

(USA)

Equally at home as a soloist, collaborator, presenter, and educator, JAMES PALMER is a dynamic young pianist based in Houston, Texas. Palmer is currently a doctoral student at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, studying with Dr. Robert Roux on full scholarship. He previously received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying with legendary musicians Émile Naoumoff and Menahem Pressler. A busy 2022-2023 season will see Palmer embark on a lecture-recital series, entitled What is a Piano Prelude?, in which he will present a set of newly-commissioned solo piano preludes by six award-winning composers. He will also release a YouTube series of the same name, presenting these works in an innovative online lecture-performance series. As the Secretary of the Scriabin Society of America, Palmer will perform a lecture-recital at the SSA’s upcoming Scriabin 150 festival in November of 2022. He will also appear in a number of solo and chamber engagements throughout the United States. Palmer has been a prizewinner and finalist in numerous international competitions and created the innovative YouTube series Scriabin Preludes Project from 2019-2020. He is currently the Secretary at the Scriabin Society of America.

www.jamespalmerpiano.com

Harlow Robinson

(USA)

HARLOW ROBINSON is an author, lecturer and Matthews Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of History at Northeastern University. His books include Russians in Hollywood, Hollywood’s Russians; Sergei Prokofiev: A Biography; Selected Letters of Sergei Prokofiev; The Last Impresario: The Life, Times and Legacy of Sol Hurok and Lewis Milestone: Life and Films. His articles, essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Opera News, Musical America, Cineaste, Musical Quarterly, Slavic Review and other publications. He has provided program essays for The Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Salzburg Festival and Scottish National Opera. As a lecturer, he has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Boston Symphony, Carnegie Hall, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Aspen Music Festival and Guggenheim Museum. From 1994 to 2004 he appeared on the Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee radio broadcasts, and has provided commentary for NPR, PBS, BBC and CBC. Since 1970 he has made 27 trips to Russia and the former USSR. In 2010, he was named an Academy Film Scholar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He received his B.A. from Yale University and Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley.

https://harlowloomisrobinson.com

Bobbi Bicker

(UK/Albania)

BOBBI BICKER is a Multi-Dimensional Artist born in Albania, currently residing in London. She studied Art and Textile Design in Tirana,Albania & Interior Design in London. She is an award winning Makeup & Bodypainting Artist and a Mentor. She combines her passions and talents to create thought provoking artworks. She finds inspiration in nature, from life experiences. people she crosses paths with or meets during her travels around the world. Her artworks are very vibrant and intricate, they tell a story. She uses her art for social good, to raise awareness for different causes and what affects humanity. She loves helping others and is involved with many charities and is involved on different projects that benefit society. Bobbi is very active on social media, she has been live-streaming Art Tutorials and Art Therapy classes for over 8years in hope to inspire and motivate people to get creative she says that “ Art is the best therapy anyone can do all you need is your imagination” Bobbi is a community builder and loves helping Artists thrive. In December 2021 she founded #ArtistsOnTwitter community on Twitter, a community of Artists from all over the globe, Art collectors and Art Lovers coming together to support each other and share their work. She also has a show on #TwitterSpaces called #ArtistsHighlight where she interviews Artists from all Art forms, where they share their creative journey. You can find Bobbi across all platforms @BobbiBicker

https://valbonabickerart.com

Yoon Seok Shin

(UK/South Korea)

Having won several major international and national competitions and awards, South Korean pianist YOON SEOK (JOHN) SHIN is much in demand and has developed a busy international career as a solo recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician across the Europe, Asia and in the United Kingdom giving over 50 concerts each year. Praised by many acclaimed critics with his poised, polished and innovative performances, Mr. Shin is currently a Young Steinway Artist and an official artist of T&B Entertainment (South Korea). Mr. Shin has appeared at some of most prestigious venues such as the Steinway Hall, St. John’s Smith Square, the Southbank Centre, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’s Church Piccadilly in London, Cheltenham Town Hall, Master Musicians International Recital Series in the North East UK, Konserthuset - The Nobel Prize Award Hall in Stockholm, Sweden, Moscow, Russia, Seoul Sejong Center Chamber Hall and Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall in South Korea.

www.steinway.com/artists/yoon-seok-shin

Martin Kaptein

(The Netherlands)

MARTIN KAPTEIN is a Dutch-Russian pianist, in love with music and philosophy as a combination. This is why Martin founded an initiative, called Scriabin Club to promote cultural enlightenment and engagement. Presently, Martin is working closely with his mentor, pianist Vitaly Samoshko. Martin won the famous "St. Cecilia" International Piano competition in Porto, Portugal in 2015, for which he was re-invited for solo-recitals in the consecutive years. In 2021 Martin took part in the exclusive and invitation-only "Feuerwerk" Piano Academy in Germany.

https://scriabinclub.com

Anna Fedorova

(Ukraine)

ANNA FEDOROVA's playing is "unfailingly sensitive, poetic and tasteful” (Gramophone). From an early age, the Ukrainian-born pianist Anna Fedorova showed an innate musical maturity and amazing technical abilities. Her live recording of Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto has more than 35 million views on YouTube and is highly acclaimed by critics and world-renowned musicians. Anna was one of the first musicians to come up with the idea of organizing benefit concerts for the victims of the war in Ukraine. Together with befriended and notable musicians, she raised well over 500,000 Euro for humanitarian aid organizations in March and April 2022. In July 2022 Anna performed Rodion Shchedrin's 2nd piano concerto with maestro Gianandrea Noseda and the Verbier Festival Orchestra at the opening of the Verbier Festival and made her debut at the international piano festival La Roque d’Anthéron. Anna Fedorova is currently on tour with the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra as soloist in Chopin's Piano Concerto No.2 to the major concert halls of Europe and the US, including the Royal Albert Hall (BBC Proms), Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Isarphilharmonie Munich, Konzerthaus Berlin, Lincoln. Ms Fedorova is one of the special guests at the International Scriabin 150 Festival.

www.annafedorova.com

David Proud

(UK)

DAVID PROUD's academic background is in philosophy and humanities, having a BA (Humanities) from the Open University, a BA (Philosophy) from Leeds University, a MPhil (Philosophy of Mind) from the Open University, a MA (Philosophy) from Sheffield University, research topic Hegel’s philosophy of nature, and an MRes from the Institute of Irish Studies, Liverpool University, where I am now currently engaged in a PhD developing my research, an Hegelian reading of James Joyce’s ‘Finnegans Wake’. My profession is school teaching, ICT at secondary level, but I have a break from that for my research which I will make into a book at some stage.

Sean Day

(USA)

SEAN A. DAY holds a Ph.D. in Anthropological Linguistics. He currently teaches Anthropology at Trident Technical College, in Charleston, SC, USA. Day is the founder of the Synesthesia List, an international e-mail forum for synesthetes and researchers, begun in 1992. He helped develop the American Synesthesia Association and served as the ASA President from 2000 to 2016. In 2016, he helped form the International Association of Synaesthetes, Artists, and Scientists (IASAS), and currently serves as its President. A multiple synesthete himself, Day has given talks about synesthesia around the world and has been featured in documentaries on synesthesia.

http://www.daysyn.com/sean-day.html

Jay Reise

(USA)

JAY REISE is Emeritus Professor of Music Composition, University of Pennsylvania and the composer of the opera Rasputin which was commissioned by the late Beverly Sills and the New York City Opera in 1988. The work has been described as "audaciously colorful opera," and "a spellbinding, challenging and profoundly beautiful creation." Rasputin was given its Russian premiere in Moscow in 2008 by the Helikon Opera and was presented in Moscow in 2017 as part of the commemoration marking the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. The music of Jay Reise has been performed extensively in the United States and abroad. His orchestral works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, the Syracuse Symphony, the Long Island Philharmonic, Orchestra 2001, and the English Symphony Orchestra among others. Performers of his works include Maria Bachmann, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Gregory Fulkerson, Gary Graffman, Marc-André Hamelin, Jerome Lowenthal, Auricolae, and the Daedalus and Cassatt Quartets. His music is published by Theodore Presser. Reise's article "Late Skryabin: Some Principles behind the Style" was published by Nineteenth Century Music in 1983. This current research is a follow up to that piece.

https://www.jayreise.com

John Stevenson

(USA)

JOHN STEVENSON is a former president of the Haiku Society of America and former editor of its journal, Frogpond. Since 2008 he has been the managing editor of The Heron’s Nest. His seventh collection of haiku is titled My Red: Selected Haiku of John Stevenson. It has recently been awarded a Touchstone Award from The Haiku Foundation and first prize in the Merit Book Awards. He was named an Honorary Curator for the American Haiku Archive at the California State Library for 2018-2019. He will be the judge for the Scriabin 150 Poetry Competition - haiku/senryu section.

John Stevenson – Haikupedia

Ron C. Moss

(Australia)

RON C. MOSS is an artist and poet from Tasmania, a place of inspiring wilderness. His haiku and related genres have been widely published, translated into several languages and won many international prizes. Ron has published several haiku collections that have won prestigious awards. He often combines his art and award-winning photography with his poetry to create haiga. He is the current haiga editor for Contemporary Haiga Online. Ron is a veteran volunteer fire-fighter of 25yrs and a Life Member of his brigade. Ron’s latest collection is Cloud Hands, available directly from him along with his previous books at ronmoss8@gmail.com. He will be the judge for the Scriabin 150 Poetry Competition - haiga section.

The Living Haiku Anthology - Moss, Ron C.

Garry Gay

(USA)

GARRY GAY is the president of the Haiku Poets of Northern California. He is a past president of The Haiku Society of America. He founded Haiku North America, a biennial haiku conference. In 1995 he co-founded the American Haiku Archives at the California State Library in Sacramento, California. He is the creator of the poetic form called Rengay. He is a professional photographer.

Garry Gay - Official Website (pixels.com)

John Thompson

(USA)

JOHN THOMPSON has been writing and publishing haiku and rengay for several decades. He is one of the founding members of the Haiku Poets of Northern California. He particularly enjoys the poetic dialogue that rengay can facilitate.

Owen Bullock

(Australia)

OWEN BULLOCK has published five collections of haiku, Summer Haiku (2019), River’s Edge (2016), Urban Haiku (2015), Breakfast with Epiphanies (2012), Wild Camomile (2009); a bilingual collection of tanka, Uma rocha enorme que anda à roda (‘A big rock that turns around’), translated into Portuguese by Francisco Carvalho (Temas Originais, 2021); three books of poetry, Work & Play (2017), Semi (2017), Sometimes the Sky Isn’t Big Enough (2010); and the novella, A Cornish Story (2010). He has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Canberra where he currently teaches. Other interests include juggling, music and chess. https://poetry-in-process.com/@OwenTrail

Anatole Leikin

(USA)

ANATOLE LEIKIN is Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the author of critically acclaimed books The Performing Style of Alexander Scriabin and The Mystery of Chopin's Préludes. His scholarly articles have been published in various musicological journals and essay collections worldwide. Professor Leikin has performed extensively as a solo and chamber pianist, fortepianist, and harpsichordist; he has also recorded the piano music of Scriabin, Chopin, and Cope.

Anatole Leikin Uncovers Scriabin's Performance Style | arts.ucsc.edu

Murray Stentiford

(NZ)

MURRAY STENTIFORD has lifelong interests in music, science and spirituality, with an emphasis on exploration and synthesis of these major aspects of life. He is an accomplished musician on several instruments and genres. His Masters degree in Physics has been applied in a variety of scientific and engineering roles in industry. Murray has also held several positions of responsibility in the New Zealand Theosophical Society over the years, including those of National Vice President and National Education Coordinator, and different teaching and group situations.

https://theosophy.nz

Rae de Lisle

(NZ)

Widely recognised as one of New Zealand’s leading pedagogues, Associate professor RAE DE LISLE (MNZM, PhD) was formerly Head of Piano at the University of Auckland. Rae is passionate about helping pianists to establish a coordinated technique which is resistant to injury. Her highly successful interactive book Fit 4 Piano and her online course ‘Exploring Piano Technique’ include exercises which help to develop and maintain a healthy piano technique. Her PHD included ground-breaking research into focal dystonia, the most devastating of musicians’ injuries. This has led to presentations throughout the world. In 2015 she was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

www.raedelisle.com

Mike del Ferro

(The Netherlands)

MIKE DEL FERRO is an award winning pianist and composer who performs in an impressive array of musical genres. He collaborated with jazz greats like Toots Thielemans, Jack DeJohnette, Randy Brecker and Branford. Mike performed concerts in 117 countries and recorded many albums. Mike currently also teaches at the Royal Conservatory in Groningen. Find Mike del Ferro on all platforms

https://solo.to/mikedelferro

Aaron Mobley

(USA)

Dr. AARON MOBLEY is a composer, pianist, musicologist and Professor of Music with Berkeley City College in the Arts and Cultural Studies Department where he teaches courses on the history of Western music. He holds a doctorate in composition and theory from the University of Arizona. His master's studies were in music & computer science at Carnegie Mellon University with undergraduate degrees in piano, composition and theory from Southern Methodist University. As a composer and pianist, he has performed with and had original works premiered and commissioned by members of the Dallas Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Voices of Change, and various ensembles and performers throughout America, Asia and Europe. Mobley has been the recipient of several distinguishing awards including an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship in the Arts, a research award in the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University and a Meadows Award, among others. Mobley is also a Professor of Music with the California Jazz Conservatory where he teaches theory and composition. His current work explores the vernacular of jazz through the lens of improvisatory composition. Dr. Mobley’s electro-acoustic compositions appear on the Architects & Heroes Record Label and have been featured in concert, film, dance and art installations. Aaron Mobley is a founding member of the "Human Achievement and Innovation in the Arts" project with the ACII at the University of Arizona and is a co-author of the primary publication used in the Human Achievement course.

About - Aaron Mobley (berkeleycitycollege.edu)

Alexey Chernov

(Russia)

Born in 1982, ALEXEY CHERNOV is a Russian pianist and composer, graduated from Moscow conservatory in 2008 and from the Royal College of Music (London) in 2011. Chernov has been a prize-winner at over 30 international competitions and taken over 10 first prizes. Among others he became a prize-winner of the Cleveland piano competition and the XIV International Tchaikovsky competition. Chernov has a tremendously diverse and varied repertoire and has produced numerous recordings. He regularly performs in Russia and abroad and has appeared at numerous festivals, collaborating with many famous conductors. As a composer he created numerous pieces for piano as well as for chamber ensembles and orchestra. In 2022, Mr. Chernov has implemented a concert project where he performs the complete piano works of Alexander Scriabin. He is one of the special guests at this festival.

Alexey Chernov - YouTube

Rebecca Mitchell

(USA)

REBECCA MITCHELL is Associate Professor of Russian History at Middlebury College. She is the author of Sergei Rachmaninoff (Reaktion Press, 2022) and Nietzsche’s Orphans: Music, Metaphysics and the Twilight of the Russian Empire (Yale University Press, 2015). Nietzsche’s Orphans, which highlights the careers of Moscow-based composers Aleksandr Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Nikolai Medtner, was awarded the 2016 W. Bruce Lincoln Book Prize by the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) for a first monograph “that is of exceptional merit and lasting significance for the understanding of Russia’s past”. Her research focuses on the intersection of music, philosophy, religious belief and identity in the Russian empire and Soviet Union.

www.middlebury.edu/college/people/rebecca-mitchell

Thomas Goss

(NZ)

THOMAS GOSS is a professional composer and orchestrator whose scores have been performed and recorded in 9 different time zones, in a variety of genres from film and crossover to ballet and the concert stage. He has held the position of Education Composer-in-Residence with Orchestra Wellington for 15 years, creating long-running schools tours and education concerts. He also directs the internet community and YouTube channel Orchestration Online, with an estimated 100,000 followers across several social media platforms. His orchestrations for NZSO’s “Mana Moana” concerts will be performed in December of 2022.

https://orchestrationonline.com/bio/

Mikhail Voskresensky

(USA/Russia)

MIKHAIL VOSKRESENSKY commands an international reputation as a pianist in the great Romantic tradition. He is prizewinner of four international piano competitions (Schumann in Berlin, in Rio de Janeiro, George Enescu in Bucharest, and Van Cliburn in Fort Worth, Texas). In 1966 he was honoured with the Merited Artist of Russia award and in 1989, the People's Artist of Russia. Mikhail Voskresensky has extensive concert experience. He is the only pianist in Russia to perform all of Chopin's piano compositions during one concert season; this in 1982/83, in nine recitals in the Maly Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire. In 1957 the young pianist took part in the Prague Spring Festival where he performed European premiere of Shostakovich Second Piano concerto with the presence of Shostakovich himself. Mikhail Voskresensky is a distinguished professor at the Moscow Conservatory, the chair of the professorship of piano faculty. His pupils have won 126 international prizes including 55 gold medals. Mikhail Voskresensky is President of the Scriabin International Society and Guest Professor in the Toho Gakuen School in Tokyo. Although Mr. Voskresensky devotes many of his efforts to teaching and giving master classes in various countries, he undoubtedly considers his primary purpose to be performing. Voskresensky is an extraordinary and unique musician: when hearing his playing one can feel his sincere and subtle soul - a rare thing, indeed, in our rational times. He recorded more than 50 CD's, including a box with all Mozart Piano Concertos (2013) and a 5CD box (2015) with all Mozart Piano Sonatas.

https://www.mikhailvoskresensky.com/

Bruno Vlahek

(Croatia)

Croatian-born pianist, composer and teacher BRUNO VLAHEK's "fantastic virtuosity" and "depth of musical thought that bewitches the audience" brought him to perform in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, Russia and Middle East. First prize winner of the Scriabin Competition in Paris in 2010 and many other international piano competitions, he was also awarded the Swiss „Prix Paderewski“, „Pnina Salzman Prize“ in Israel, „Young Musician of the Year“ title in Croatia and holds a Honorary diploma by Her Majesty Queen of Spain. His performances were broadcast on BBC 3, France Musique, Dutch NPO Radio 4, Spanish RTVE and Catalunya Ràdio, Australian ABC Radio or Radio Suisse Romande. He performs to great success as D&B Piano Duo with his wife Dubravka Vukalovic. His recent all-Scarlatti CD for Naxos was compared by Belgian „Crescendo Magazine“ to those of Christian Zacharias and Vladimir Horowitz. Bruno's compositions have been performed on five continents.

www.brunovlahek.com

Jerome Lowenthal

(USA)

JEROME LOWENTHAL has been a prominent presence on the international piano scene for more than sixty years. A student of Olga Samaroff, William Kapell, Eduard Steuermann, Alfred Cortot and Arthur Rubinstein, he won prizes at the Brussels, Bolzano and Darmstadt competitions, and performed with major orchestras and prominent conductors in repertoire of more than 63 concerti. He has recorded for RCA Victor, Columbia, Bridge and LPClassics in solo, concerto and chamber music repertoire of works by Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Tchaikovsky, as well as new works by Rzewski, Rorem, Rochberg, Chihara, Corigliano, Messiaen and Brown. Professor Lowenthal has served on the juries of the Cliburn, Tschaikovsky, Rubinstein, Cleveland, and Leeds piano competitions. As a teacher at The Juilliard School since 1991, he has been mentor to many internationally prominent young pianists. He regularly gives classes and performances at the festivals of Perugia, Amalfi, Eulzen, Beijing, and Piano Fest in the Hamptons.

www.jerome-lowenthal.com

Joe Patrych

(USA)

JOSEPH PATRYCH is a recording producer and the owner of Patrych Sound Studios in New York, well known for many well-received recordings and videos of classical music.

Mr. Patrych has worked as a freelance producer for many prominent record companies including Bis, BMG, Bridge, Centaur, Music & Arts, Nonesuch and New York Philharmonic Special Editions, and has worked with numerous world-class artists. His CDs have received many awards and nominations. Mr. Patrych is a trained pianist, conductor and choral singer. In addition to his New York-based studio work, Mr. Patrych regularly provides recording services throughout the United States. He has designed and built recording and archival studios for Harvard University, the University of Missouri at Kansas City, the Edison National Historical Site, and the International Piano Archives at Maryland, as well as many private studios. He is a former member of the Association of Recorded Sound Collections, where he was on the Technical Committee.

www.patrych.com

Jarek Kotomski

(Greece/UK)

JAREK KOTOMSKI was born in Kiev in 1985, raised in Poland. Since 2006 he has lived and worked in London, where he received his BA from London College of Communication, UAL. Since graduating he has worked with a number of travel and fashion magazines, including Notion and i-D in the UK, MaleMEN and Podroze Magazine in Poland. He has exhibited his works in London and Warsaw. Jarek has recently published his first photography book entitled "Children of Zanskar", which documents the lives of the youngest inhabitants of Lingshed, one of the most isolated settlements in the world. He is currently completing his first feature documentary in collaboration with director Michal Sulima, entitled "Piano to Zanskar", which won best film at the 71st Edinburgh International Film Festival's Works in Progress competition.

Jarek Kotomski | LensCulture

Zoe Grant

(New Zealand)

ZOE GRANT is an 8-year-old haiku poet from Auckland, New Zealand. Winner of the 2021 NZPS International Haiku Competition (School/Junior) and co-author/illustrator of ‘Bat Girl’ book written in 2020, Zoe enjoys ballet, singing, playing the piano and flute, drawing, writing and hosting international rengay workshops with her mother Sherry Grant. Zoe is co-editor of Chalk on the Walk Haiku, Chalk on the Walk Monoku, Haiku Zoo Journal and Raining Rengay. She has appeared in many radio interviews as guest poet/musician, and is well published in short form journals. Zoe was a co-presenter at both Rengay’s 30th Birthday Celebration (Aug 2022) and Haiku Down Under (October 2022) Virtual Conference with the “Haiku Tomorrow” youth workshop.

https://linktr.ee/zoe.grant

Svetozar Ivanov

(USA)

SVETOZAR IVANOV is Professor of Piano at University of South Florida, serves as Artist Faculty at Brancaleoni Music Festival in Italy, Prague Piano Festival, and is the Artistic Director of the Steinway Piano Series in Florida. In addition to his concept solo albums, Svetozar Ivanov is recognized for his live multimedia performances combining music with other art forms (documentary footage, art films, animation, poetry, live dance, paintings, lighting design, live streaming). His latest video projects include the DVD Perpetual Tango, Music of Shadows, and the Poetry Series - a poetry inspired collection of twelve short films. Svetozar Ivanov is a Steinway Artist.

www.svetozarivanov.com

Simon Nicholls

(UK)

SIMON NICHOLLS is a concert pianist and the co-author of The Notebooks of Alexander Skryabin, published in 2015 by Oxford University Press at Scriabin's death centenary. Together with Michael Pushkin, he fully translated Scriabin's notebooks from Russian, making them available for the first time to the English-speaking audience. He is also the co-chair of the Scriabin Association in the UK. For many years Simon taught the piano at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Royal College of music and the Birmingham Conservatoire. He has now retired. Simon Nicholls’ interest in the music of Skryabin is long-standing. He has made many research visits to Moscow, and in October 2007 he gave a lecture and masterclass on Scriabin interpretation at the State Memorial Skryabin Museum, Moscow. He has had articles on Skryabin published in the U.K., America and Russia.

http://www.scriabin-association.com

Tomás Jonsson

(USA)

Described as "extraordinarily talented" by Houston Public Media, TOMÁS JONSSON is a highly sought-after pianist and composer in the DFW and Houston music scenes. He is a regular in the studio and is known for his ability to perform with any lineup, in any genre, for any audience. Tomás has performed or recorded with celebrated artists such as Benny Benack III, Jane Monheit, Michael Dease, Rodney Whitaker, and Caity Gyorgy. He is fluent in classical, jazz, and Afro-Cuban styles, and has extensive experience in church music of all kinds, ranging from traditional choral to Black Gospel. In February of 2022, he released his debut album, First Impressions, exclusively compromised of original compositions, recorded, mixed, and mastered totally independently. Tomás has studied music for more than 17 years and has earned recognition for his abilities in classical piano, jazz piano, and composition. In 2022, he graduated from Rice University with a Bachelor's Degree in Music (Classical Piano Performance) under the guidance of Brian Connelly. He is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Jazz Studies at UNT under the guidance of Dave Meder.

www.musicbytomas.com

International Scriabin 150 Festival * Online * 11-13th November 2022 (10am - 6pm, Eastern Time)

PRESENTERS

Alexander Serafimovich Scriabin

(Russia)

Sherry Grant

(NZ/Taiwan)

Dmitry Rachmanov

(USA/Russia)

Matthew Bengtson

(USA)

Farhan Malik

(USA)

James Palmer

(USA)

Harlow Robinson

(USA)

Bobbi Bicker

(UK/Albania)

Yoon Seok Shin

(UK/South Korea)

Martin Kaptein

(The Netherlands)

Anna Fedorova

(Ukraine)

David Proud

(UK)

Sean Day

(USA)

Jay Reise

(USA)

John Stevenson

(USA)

Ron C. Moss

(Australia)

Garry Gay

(USA)

John Thompson

(USA)

Owen Bullock

(Australia)

Anatole Leikin

(USA)

Murray Stentiford

(NZ)

Rae de Lisle

(NZ)

Mike del Ferro

(The Netherlands)

Aaron Mobley

(USA)

Alexey Chernov

(Russia)

Rebecca Mitchell

(USA)

Thomas Goss

(NZ)

Mikhail Voskresensky

(USA/Russia)

Bruno Vlahek

(Croatia)

Jerome Lowenthal

(USA)

Joe Patrych

(USA)

Jarek Kotomski

(Greece/UK)

​

Zoe Grant

(New Zealand)

​

Svetozar Ivanov

(USA)

Simon Nicholls

(UK)

Tomás Jonsson

(USA)

International Scriabin 150 Festival
* Online *
11-13th November 2022
(10am - 6pm, Eastern Time)