CEMBALO

Keiko Omura wurde in Osaka, Japan, geboren wo sie Ihre musikalische Ausbildung abschloss. Anschließend ging sie an die Hochschule für Musik in München, wo sie Klavierunterricht von Klaus Schilde sowie Musikpädagogik studierte und das Diplom Musiklehrerin erhielt. Danach erteilte sie als Klavierlehrerin, an der Sonderklasse für begabte Kinder, in der Yamaha Music Foundation in Osaka Unterricht. Sie gab auch zahlreiche Klavierrezitale in Japan.

In 2006, begann sie wieder ihr Studium an der Hochschule für Musik in Weimar und zwar Klavier bei Gerlinde Otto, Cembalo, Clavichord und Generalbass bei Bernhardt Klapprott, Orchesterakademie bei Stefan May und Georg Christoph Biller und Kammermusik bei Midori Seiler. Sie schloss mit dem künstlerischen Diplommusikerin im Fach Cembalo ab.

In 2015 erwarb sie drei Master of Arts von der Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Linz, in Hammerklavier Instrumentalstudium, Hammerklavier Instrumentalpädagogik, sowie in Cembalo Instrumentalstudium/Alte Musik und historische Aufführungspraxis. Sie studierte Hammerklavier bei Wolfgang Brunner, Alte Musik (Cembalo, Generalbass, Orchesterakademie und Opernaufführung) bei Jörg Halubek, Cembalo und Generalbass bei Brett Leighton und Orgel bei Rudolf Jungwirth.

Sie nahm bei zahlreichen Meisterkursen teil. Unter anderem bei Bob van Asperen, Mark Kroll, David Shemer, Pierre Hantaï, Luigi Frenando Tagliavini, Bart van Oort. Von 2012 bis 2015 lebte sie auf Schloss Kremsegg in Oberösterreich, das eines der größten und wichtigsten Musikinstrumentenmuseen in Europa beinhaltet. Während ihres Aufenthaltes in Kremsegg recherchierte und spielte sie die große Sammlung an Hammerklavieren und modernen Klavieren vom des Ende 18. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart. Sie arbeitete auch als Assistentin des Kurators im Instrumentenmuseum und gab Hammerklavierseminare, Vortragsabende und Vorführungen für Kinder, mit drei Klavieren aus verschiedenen Epochen.

Sie hat an zahlreichen Konzerten teilgenommen sowohl als Solistin als auch als Continuo-Spielerin in Opern und Kantaten in Europa und in Japan. Zu erwähnen sind Bach Biennale in Weimar, Schloss Kremsegg und im Nakata Museum.

Ihr Repertoire ist sehr breit und reicht von der Renaissance bis zur Moderne. Sie spielt verschiedene Tasteninstrumente: Virginal, Spinett, Clavichord, Cembalo, Orgel, Hammerklavier sowie das "moderne" Klavier. Wenn die Instrumente zur Verfügung stehen kann sie auf dem Tasteninstrument spielen, das für das jeweilige Musikstück am besten geeignet ist um den musikalischen Stil dieser Epoche eine authentische Aufführung zu geben.

Voice

Larisa Kholodnaya,(soprano) is a native of Moscow, Russia where she received her degrees in vocal performance from Moscow State Institute of Music, a major music institution in Russia. One of her voice teachers was Natalia Pustovaya, a premier soloist of the Bolshoi Opera in Moscow. Later, while she lived in the United States, Kholodnaya also graduated from Boston University, Massachusetts, with a degree of Master of Music. Among her teachers were such well- known singers and vocal coaches as Laurel Miller, former soloist of the Metropolitan Opera in New-York and Kathleen Kaun, former soloist of Zalsburg Opera in Austria and Voice Coach for the Houston Grand Opera Young Artists Program in Houston.  In 1996 Kholodnaya moved to the United States where she continued her music career singing numerous solos recitals as well as performing with various musical groups and opera companies. The most well-renowned musical groups, where Kholodnaya performed, include “Musica Sacra of Southeast Iowa” and the “Classical Singers of Cary”. Her operatic repertoire includes roles of Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), and Barbarina (The Marriage of Figaro) as well as role of Lover in Il Tabarro that she performed with Opera in the Heights in Houston, Texas. Her solo recital appearances included such famous stages as The Majestic Theatre in Dallas, The Hamman Hall in Rice University, Houston; The Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall in Vanderbilt University, Nashville; The Mount Erin Hall in University of Incarnate Word, San Antonio; The Wright Music Hall in Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee State University Performing Arts Center Theatre, Nashville; The Sale Hall in Morehouse College, Atlanta, and The Broomfield Auditorium in Denver. As a solo singer, Kholodnaya was also invited by The Tennessee Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra to participate in the concert that took place at The Tucker Theatre. During several years Kholodnaya closely collaborated with contemporarily composer Olga Harris, former student of the world famous composer Aram Khachaturian, and winner of the “2007 Composer of the Year” Award. Kholodnaya sung her compositions in numerous concerts including retrospective recital at the Performing Art Center in Tennessee State University, Nashville.   Since 2009 Kholodnaya resides in Vienna, Austria, where she also continues her singing carrier. She sings solo concerts and participates in various music projects, including multiple solo recitals at Elizabeth Cappella, Concert Hall Urania, Russian Cultural Institute, Wienner Musikakademie and other venues. She also regularly sings in Akademietheather. Most recently Kholodnaya participated in the concert that took place on the famous stage of Goldener Saal in Musikverein in Vienna, Austria.

Guitar

Borbála Seres is an outstanding young talent among the leaders of the international music scene. It is a lesser known fact, that almost every single international tournament Borbala has

entered she has finished in the top three. This is an exceptional accomplishment in the mainly male dominated field of classical guitar. Borbála Seres had her basic musical training received in Budapest under the direction of Prof. József Papp. From 1999-2004 she studied at the Leo Weiner Conservatory also with  Prof. József Papp. In 2011 she graduated with honours at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in the Class of Prof. Alvaro Pierri and Prof. Ahmed Noor Baluch.  She has been participating successfully in national and international competitions starting from a young age. She won first prize at the 12th International Biennial Guitar Competition in Kutná Hora at the age of 16. She has been participating in competitions in the highest age category since 2009 and won several prizes.

Among other things, she won the first place at the Forum Gitarre Wien in 2012 and at the World Guitar Competition in Serbia in 2010, 2^nd Place in Kutna Hora and as well as the 3^rd Place in the international

guitar competitions at Rust in Austria, in Split, in Belgrade, in Petrer and Coria in Spain.

 She performed a number of independent concerts at home as well as at many prestigious international festivals in European countries like Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany and Spain.

Besides performing as a guitarist, she is engaged in the methodology of guitar playing as well. She wrote her thesis on alternative practice methods: on the so called mental training and its practice on the guitar

CELLO

Irina Smirnova is a Violoncellist of Russian origin. She was born in 1975 in Wladimir (Russian Federation) and already in early childhood, as of 6 years old, started to play Violoncello. Irina received her first music lessons in her hometown, at the S.I. Taneev Music School & College, where she graduated and was awarded a Diplom with distinction. Then, continued her higher academic education & String Quartett postgraduate studies at the renowned P.I.Tschajkovsky Moscow State Conservatory, under the supervision of worldwide famous Professors: class Violoncello solo with Kyrill Rodin (1st Prize winner of Tschajkovsky Competition) and class String Quartett with Alexander Galkovsky (“Schostakowitsch-Quartett”). She completed both successfully and was awarded with Diplomas. After, Irina moved to Germany and studied Chamber Music at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne with Professors Günter Pichler, Gerhard Schulz, Valentin Erben (“Alban Berg Quartet”) and Harald Schoneweg (“Cherubini- Quartett”). She received the Certificate as a qualified Chamber Musician and Performer. Irina Smirnova took part in numerous Master classes: “ Amadeus Summer Course" at Royal Music Academy in London, with Professors Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel, Martin Lovett (“ Amadeus Quartett”), Internationale Sommerakademie (ISA) of the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Wien (mdw) with Professors Günter Pichler, Erich Höbarth (“Quatuor Mosaiques”), Reiner Schmidt (“Hagen- Quartett”), Laszlo Mezö, Sandor Device (“ Bartok- Quartett”), Milan Skampa (“Smetana- Quartett”), Mstislav Rostropowitsch in Moscow, Saschko Gawriloff and “Aurin Quartett” in Montepulciano, Italy. Irina Smirnova has received two important international Scholarships, the “New Names” in Russia and the DAAD in Germany. She is a founding-member of the “Twins Quartett” (est. 1994). The Quartet was awarded many international Prices: International Franz Schubert and Contemporary Music, 2003 in Graz (Austria), D.Schostakowitsch String Quartett Competition, 2001 in Moscow (Russian Federation) and they were finalists at the Osaka- International Competition in Japan. “Twins Quartett” performed and recorded live for Radio and Television (WDR Köln in Germany, Espace-2 Radio Genf in Switzerland, TV-Channel Kultura Moscow/Russian Federation, TVChannel Kiev/ Ukraine). “Twins Quartett” has also recorded numerous CDs and have been concertising all over Europe. During the years 2005-2015 they were performing in Salzburg, Austria as the Quartett in Residence of "Salzburger Schlosskonzerte" (Schloss Mirabell in Salzburg). Irina, from 2003 until 2015 was a permanent member of the Chamber Music Ensemble "Salzburger Solisten" under the direction of Prof. Luz Leskowitz. Irina Smirnova has performed Chamber music with various musicians: Karl Leister, David Geringas, Hermann Baumann, Jorg Demus, Aleksey Lubimov, Peter Lang, Wassily Lobanov, Irina Schnittke, Luz Leskowitz, Michala Petri, Marc Grauwels, Ingemar & Andreas Brantelid, Alexey Kozlov, Mette Hanskov, Joachim Schäfer, Johannes Hinterholzer, Isabella Unterer, Sergio Zampetti, Adelheid Krause-Pichler, Aylen Pritchin, "Amati- Ensemble" and others.