Ilona Timtchenko
Pianist Ilona Timtchenko was born in Russia in 1976 and entered the Evpatoria Junior Musical School in 1983. Later on she went to the Central Musical School of the Moscow Conservatory and studied with professor Bunin. As of 1995 she studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Prof. Richter and composition with Prof. Leman. Since 1999 Ilona studies with prof. A. Makarov-Gold at the North Netherlands Conservatoire in Groningen.
In 1998 Ilona Timtchenko took part in the Festival of Modern Music in Avignon (France) as a composer. Later on she attended the International Holland Music Sessions as a pianist with Lasar Berman, Gyorgy Sandor and Abbey Simon and masterclasses with Arie Vardi in Goslar.
Across Russia as well as abroad (France, The Netherlands, Italy) Ilona performed with many orchestras. Her repertoire includes Baroque, classical,romantic, modern and contemporary music.
Among many other awards such as first prize and prize of the public in Ferrol, Spain, the Beethoven Competition in Vienna, Austria, she recently won the second prize of the International Franz Liszt Competition in Utrecht in April 2002, as well as the press prize.
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Martin Tchiba, piano
Pianist Martin Tchiba was born in Budapest in 1982 and was raised in Germany.
After piano studies with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling in Hannover he is currently studying piano with Thomas Duis at the Hochschule für Musik in Saarbrücken. Additionally he has participated in master classes e.g. with Lazar Berman, Marie-Françoise Bucquet, Pi-hsien Chen, Jan Marisse Huizing, György Kurtág and Jan Wijn. He was invited to the "International Holland Music Sessions" several times since 1995.
Martin frequently performs as soloist and chamber musician in several European countries combining successfully traditional and contemporary music in his recitals. His concert appearances include performances in Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Düsseldorf (Tonhalle), Berlin (Konzerthaus), Den Haag ("Hongaars Festival" 2000), Salzburg ("Wiener Saal" of the Mozarteum), at "Braunschweig Classix Festival" and Heidelberg International Piano Festival. Concert tours e.g. in Italy (Florence and Tuscany) and in Germany as soloist with the prominent chamber orchestra "Sinfonietta Köln". Numerous broadcasts and recordings for radio and television, e.g. for West German Radio (WDR) Cologne, Berlin Television (SFB), Radio Saarland (SR), Bavarian Radio (BR) Munich, Deutsche Welle, DeutschlandRadio Berlin and Radio Netherlands.
He has been awarded a number of significant honours as a pianist, including first prizes on national level in the German competition "Jugend musiziert" (1999, 2000) as well as promotions from the German Music Council, the Cultural Foundation of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and 2002 the Cultural Award of the Federal State Capital Saarbrücken. He is a scholarship holder of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
Additional studies in composition with Michael Denhoff (Bonn), workshops with Earle Brown and Helmut Lachenmann. Martin has also won several reputable awards as a composer including the "Award for the most promising young composer" from the GEMA and the German Jeunesses Musicales (2000). His compositions have been performed by renowned ensembles and broadcasted in Germany, Italy, Russia and the Netherlands. Performances e.g. at the International Gaudeamus Music Week in Amsterdam (invited 2001 with two works and as the youngest composer) and at the A-Devantgarde Festival in Munich.
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Douglas Ashcraft
Pianist Douglas Ashcraft has been performing to acclaim in recitals and concerts throughout the United States and Europe. He has been a featured soloist at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and heard on New York radio station WQXR and Los Angeles radio KUSC. A prizewinner in many competitions, he began his formal training as a student of Aldo Mancinelli. He continued his studies at the University of Southern California, working with pianist John Perry. During those summers he participated in classes at the Holland Music Sessions and the Aspen Music School. An increasingly active performing schedule includes solo and chamber concerts as well as recordings. He has received praise for his collaborations with Welsh cellist Kathryn Price. They have performed together in concerts on both sides of the Atlantic, most recently in recitals at Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and London's Wigmore Hall. He has been a member of the Idyllwild Arts Academy faculty since 1995.
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