VOICE

Mirela Gernac-Karamovic, born in Bijeljina (Bosnia & Herzegovina), began her musical education right there, where her passion for music unfolded in early years. Ihr musikalisches Schaffen startete bereits während ihrer schulischen Ausbildung und so absolvierte sie das Musikgymnasium in Bijeljina she graduated with distinction from a secondary school with a particular emphasis on music, majoring in music pedagogy and Solo singing. 

Already in 2002 she had her first solo concerts. She participated in many national and international competitions and won many prizes. She began her studies at the Faculty of Music at the University of Belgrade (Serbia) with the voice performance major (singing, song, oratorio and opera) as the youngest student and completed in 2009 in the class of Professor Aneta Ilic. She also obtained her Master's degree in Solo voice at the Faculty of Music at the University of Belgrade (Serbia). 

She had regular concerts as a soloist, as a member of various chamber music ensembles and as a soloist in various choirs in Russia, Austria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, Montenegro, Germany and Croatia. In 2015, she moved to Vienna and continued her singing career as well as her pedagogical career as a music teacher in the solo singing and piano department.

Thanks to the knowledge and experience she has received in the classes of outstanding professors from the best music institutes, her students have always been able to achieve top performances at many national and international competitions. She is happy to meet people who share the same enthusiasm for music and who she can help with developing. 

PIANO AND COREPETITION

He finished his first musical training as pianist with the distinction „very good, outstanding“ at the Professional Conservatory of Music Oviedo/Spain with Pérez de la Torre and Purita de la Riva as teachers. By interpreting the f minor sonata of Beethoven (Appassionata), the 3rd Scherzo in C scharp minor and the 2nd Ballade in F major of Chopin as well as Allegro de concierto of Enrique Granados he received the price of Excelleny. Since he had felt also very attracted by natural sciences, he studied during the same time music at the Principal Conservatory Eduardo Martínez Torner and Chemistry at University of Oviedo.

At the 7th Piano Competion Casa Viena he obtained the first price combined with a concert tournée with orchestra. This great success he could repeat at the 12th Piano Competition Casa Viena.

He finally finished his musical studies with Purita de la Riva with the grade „very good, excellent“ and was honered with the Price for Graduates of the Principal Conservatory of Music and the Grand Prix Ángel Muñiz Toca being the highest appreciciation for musicians of this institution. He was especially praised by the Rector, a professor for counterpoint and composition, for his transparent interpretation of the polyphonic music of Bach. Under the baton of Alfonso Ordieres he played the d minor concerto of Bach and the c minor concerto of Beethoven during a tournée.

Complementory to his music studies he attended masterclasses, inter alia with Luis Vázquez del Fresno, Tomás Camacho, Xavier Parés, Walter Blankenheim, Piero Rattalino, Jacob Leuschner and Josep Colom. Furthermore, he was postgraduate student at the Music Academy of Aragón, where he attended master courses with Elisabeth Leonskaja and Blanca Uribe.

During many years he gave piano lessons at the Municipal Music School Oviedo and the Conservatories of Music at Logroño und Calahorra. Presently, he is employed by Wiener Musikakademie and teaches piano at the Viennese Music School Polyhymnia as well as at two Viennese Highschools (Gymnasien). Most recently he performed the 6th Partita of Bach on the occasion of a concert at Wiener Musikakademie.

COMPOSITION

Austrian composer and singer Yevgen Gembik was born in Lutsk, Ukraine.

He got his first music diploma as a violin teacher at the State Conservatory in Lutsk. During his studies (1989-1994) of Composition und Music Theory at the Tchaikovsky National Academy in Kiev under Professor M.Skoryk, he also participated in education courses of Jazz Arrangement and Improvisation, led by Professor K.Vilensky.

In 2000 Yevgen Gembik started his postgraduate studies at the University of Music and Dramatic in Graz (Austria) with famous composer Beat Furrer (Switzerland). In 2007 Mr.Gembik received his degree Magister Artium with diploma thesis on the Voice in Modern Music. He took part in Composition Workshops IMPULS Vienna with Helmut Lachenmann and Beat Furrer and also continued his postgraduate research at the University of Music in Graz into Jazz Singing as a Reflection of Instrumental Performance under supervision of Professor F.Kerschbaumer.

Yevgen Gembik has worked as composer, arranger, pianist and singer for various companies and events, including Molodizhny Theater and Romance State Theatre (Kiev, Ukraine), Theatre Delphin Vienna, "Rennaissance" Cruise Lines, Casino Graz, Salzburg Opera Festival, Theater an der Wien, Carinthischer Sommer International Music Festival, New Opera Vienna and others.

As composer Yevgen Gembik has written many works in different styles, including symphonic music: Concert for Violin and Orchestra (premiere took place in 1994 by Ukrainian State Radio and Television Orchestra, Kiev), electronic, chamber, church, vocal music as well as several pop and musical pieces.

In 2013 Mag. Gembik won the 1th prize of the 1th International Nikolaus Fheodoroff Composition Competition with the work "Die Erkenntnis Gottes" (for mixed choir, organ and violin). In the following year this work was successfully premiered by Arnold Schoenberg Choir (soloists Thomas Fheodoroff and Stefan Gottfried. conductor-Erwin Ortner) at the International Music Festival Carinthischer Sommer, Austria. 

GESANG

The Russian bass Evert Sooster was born 1968 in St. Petersburg. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with Georgy Zastavny and at the Academy for Theatre with Alexander Kunizyn. In 1990 he came to Vienna in order to finish his studies at the famous Vienna Music Academy wich Kurt Equiluz, Charles Spencer, Margarita Lilowa and Curt Malm. From 1996 onwards he also attended several master classes with Evgeni Nesterenko, Inge Borkh and Irina Archipova. Private lessons with Simon Baddi, Vienna.
Evert Sooster has studied "Lied und Oratorium" in the class of Km,Sg. Prof. Kurt Equilutz and Prof. Charles Spencer Opera - class of Prof. Wolfgang Gabriel and Prof. Kurt Malm.
Within the last years Evert Sooster had a number of engagements in well known opera houses like the Wiener Kammeroper (Trulove / THE RAKES PROGRESS and Simone / GIANNI SCHICCI), the Schwetzinger Festspiele (Masetto / DON GIOVANNI), the Hungarian National Opera House (Leporello / DON GIOVANNI and Philipp II / DON CARLO), the Opera North in Leeds (Arquell /PELLEAS ET MELISANDE), the Opera Marseille (Vanuzzi /DIE SCHWEIGSAME FRAU), the Opera Helsinki (Enrico / ANNA BOLENA) and at the Teatro San Carlo Napoli to sing Abimelech in SAMSON AND DALLILA by C. Saint-Saens.
Furthermore in 2002 he was guest at the Salzburger Festspiele, singing König in DIE LIEBE DER DANAE by Richard Strauss and in 2003 singing Philisters / SAMSON & DALILA – with Placido Domingo. Later he sang at the Opernhaus Passau the part of Phillip / DON CARLO and Fiesco / SIMON BOCCANEGRA, at Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden the title role in BORIS GODUNOW and Colin / LA BOHEME, at Theater Rostock König Treff in Sergej Prokofieff’s THE LOVE FOR THE THREE ORANGES and Kaspar / Eremit in Weber’s DER FREISCHÜTZ at the Festival of Reinsberg/Austria.
Since the season 2007/08 Evert Sooster is member of the opera ensemble of Landestheater Niederbayern where he sang Don Basilio / IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA, Fürst Gremin / EUGEN ONEGIN, Orovesco / NORMA. Future parts are Delaqua / EINE NACHT IN VENEDIG, Lodovico in Verdi’s OTELLO and Publio / LA CLEMENZA DI TITO.
In spring 2010 he performed as Mephestopheles in Berlioz’s LA DAMNATION DE FAUST in Budapest, Zagreb and Ljubljana. With this role Evert Sooster has ended his work at the Niederbayerisches Landestheater in June 2011. Since that time he is acting as a freelance artist at diverse european opera theatres. So he was singing Truffaldino in ARIANDNE AUF NAXOS by Richard Strauss, Surin in DAME PIQUE by Tschakowsky at the Theatre of Freiburg, Il saccerdotte in ASSASSINO NELLA CATTEDRALE by Ildebrando Pizzetti in the Duomo di Milano a.o.
In the current season 2013/2014 Evert Sooster is singing again at the opera of Freiburg. He is there with following rolles : Procida in I VESPRI SICILIANI by Giuseppe Verdi, Yunus Güner – Sibels Father in GEGEN DIE WAND by Ludger Vollmer, Talpa in Il TABARRO by G.Puccini.
In November 2013 Evert Sooster has sang in MESSA DA REQUIEM by Giuseppe Verdi, first in the Münster Church of Herford and at the folowing recital at the Regentenbau Hall in Bad Kissingen.
In his present career Evert Sooster performs with well known conductors and directors including Valerij Gergiev, Fabio Luisi, Ivor Bolton, Thomas Hengelbrock, Yoram David, Johannes Prinz, Achim Freyer and Ivo Guerra.
Besides his opera-roles Evert Sooster gave numerous recitals and he is also a frequent soloist at various concert halls.