Agigat Maharramova
Professor Agigat Maharramova, PhD in Art, was born in Sheki, Azerbaijan . At age 13, she was enrolled in the Bul-Bul School of Music , the most prestigious institution for primary and high school music education. After graduation, she continued her studies at the Yzeyir Hajibeyli Baku Academy of Music (previously known as the Azerbaijan State Conservatory) where she completed her Master’s degree with renowned pianist and professor Nigyar Usubova. She continued her studies in a post graduate program at the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, Russia, under the guidance of distinguished Professor of Music, Pavel Serebryakov. Professor Maharramova maintained an extensive schedule of performances in Europe, Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine and other countries. From 1999, she joined the faculty at the Ataturk University in Erzurum, Turkey, where she is currently teaching piano. She was the winner of several competitions as both a soloist and an accompanist, and continues to perform as a soloist and chamber musician to this day. Professor Agigat Maharramova has served as a juror at a number of major international music competitions, and is the author of the book “Genesis and Advancement of the Piano Performance Culture of Azerbaijan” (pictured below).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlDsyb2SD18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6F1hXrcR6c
Boris Abramov
Award winning Israeli violinist
and recording artist Mr. Boris Abramov was born Born in Baku, Azerbaijan. He began studying the violin at the age of 6 with Stella Zlatkovsky in Israel. At the age of 17, Mr. Abramov continued his studies at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in the United States, where he completed his Masters and Artist Diploma degrees with the renowned violinist and pedagogue Sergiu Schwartz. Mr. Abramov’s solo career included appearances with the Jerusalem Festival, Columbus Symphony, Lagrange Symphony, Brevard Symphony, Auburn Symphony and Verde Valley Sinfonietta Orchestras, as well as concerts in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, Russia and the United States. Boris Abramov’s debut album, Mozart-Beethoven Violin and Cello Duets with the renowned Cellist Carmine Miranda, was awarded the Silver Medal at the 2017 Global Music Awards, and released this year by Navona Records. In May 2014, Mr. Abramov was appointed principal second violinist of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and currently serves as Professor of Violin at Schwob School of Music, Columbus State University, (USA).
Bogdan Petrenko
Bogdan Petrenko was born in Moscow, Russia. For fifteen years he studied at the Victor Popov Academy of Choral Arts in Moscow, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2014 as a choral conductor under the guidance of Professor Alexey Petrov. While singing in the boys’ and then students’ choirs, he performed numerous classical masterpieces and contemporary music in the concert halls of Russia, Europe, and Japan with world-class musical performers including singers M. Caballé, R. Alagna, A. Gheorghiu, J. Carreras, A. Netrebko, D. Hvorostovskiy, as well as conductors A. Zedda, C. Thielemann, K. D. Masur, V. Gergiev, and V. Jurowski. Besides choral conducting, Bogdan Petrenko also studied vocal arts. Since 2012 he is a soloist of the Vocademica vocal ensemble, and he has led the ensemble on concert tours in Germany and Japan. In 2013 Mr. Petrenko started working as the choirmaster in the Moscow Boys’ Choir and is currently the artistic director of the choir. Since 2014 he also works as a choirmaster at the Moscow Region Philharmonic Choir. He has also performed as a pianist at various venues for festivals around the world. In 2017 Bogdan took part in Jevdet Hajiyev Centenary Gala Benefit at Carnegie Hall in New York City and has performed both as a conductor and a singer. Also, Mr. Petrenko is part of the Chelsea Music Festival which is held every summer in New York City.
Sergiu Schwartz
Sergiu Schwartz’s international concert appearances have taken him to major music centers on four continents, including twenty European countries, Israel, Asia, Canada, and over forty U. S. states, as soloist with orchestras, in recitals and chamber music concerts. “Following in the footsteps of his fellow countrymen Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, he is a product of the best of European romantic interpretative style and 20th-Century American technical acuity,” states New York’s Newsday, while Le Soleil (Canada) notes that “he stands out as one of the best violinists of his generation.” Comparing him to the greatest violinists, Fanfare – The Magazine for Serious Record Collectors, writes: his “warmth of sound and insight into the music raise to the level of expression achieved by Oistrakh” and his “tonal sheen approaches Milstein’s… for those who lament the passing of the great violinists of the middle of the last century, Schwartz’s collection should provide a great sense of optimism that a younger violinist still commands such assured rhetoric and expressive resources. Heifetz, Milstein, Oistrakh, Isaac Stern, Francescatti – they all come to mind.”
Mr. Schwartz has performed in venues including the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Jerusalem Theatre, and Rome’s Academia Santa Cecilia. In solo orchestral engagements, he has performed with conductors including Giuseppe Sinopoli, Sergiu Comissiona, James Judd, JoAnn Falletta, Mehli Mehta, Peter Maag, Bruno Weil, Antoni Wit, and Enrique Batiz. He is a frequent guest in festivals across North America, Europe, and Asia, and he serves on the artist faculty of the Bowdoin (Maine), Summit (New York), Mozarteum (Austria), and Keshet Eilon (Israel) international music festivals. Mr. Schwartz has been featured in broadcasts for radio and TV stations, including NPR, CNN, WXEL-TV’s “Great Performances,” and the BBC.
Alongside his performing career, Sergiu Schwartz holds the position as Professor of Violin (William B. and Sue Marie Turner Distinguished Chair in Violin) at the Schwob School of Music, Columbus State University, and as Professor at Haute Ecole de Musique et Conservatoire de Lausanne, Switzerland. He regularly conducts master classes and lectures at international music schools, colleges, and universities. Sergiu Schwartz also serves as a juror in major international competitions, including Tchaikovsky, Sarasate, Wieniawski, Michael Hill, Mozart/Salzburg, Oistrakh, Postacchini, Szeryng, Novosibirsk, as well as Canadian National, Sphinx, Stulberg, Blount-Slawson, Washington International, and others.