Irakli Tsadaia

Violinist/Georgia-GERMANY

Concertmaster of the Georgian Chamber Orchestra since 2013, Irakli has been calling Ingolstadt home when Audi and the City of Ingolstadt teamed up in 1990 to offer the Tbilisi musicians a new home in the heart of Bavaria.  The company and orchestra have been inextricably linked ever since.  Born into a musical family in Tbilisi, Georgia, Irakli’s first music training started with Tamaz Batiaschvili and Konstantin Vardeli, both members of the Georgian State Quartet.  Since the age of eight, he received regular lessons in Moscow and Germany with Galina Turchaninova, who also taught Maxim Vengerov.  At thirteen, Irakli was accepted as a student at the Munich Conservatory, where he also attended the master classes of Alexander Brussilovsky, Boris Garlitzky, Felix Andrievsky and Victor Tretjakov.  In 2002, he continued his studies with Professor Victor Tretjakov at the “Hochschule für Musik Köln”. First Prize winner at the music competition “Jugend musiziert” in Germany, he received diplomas in the Louis-Spohr International Violin Competition in Weimar (1999) and at the Paganini International Competition in Moscow (2006), and won Second Prize at the International Violin Competition Valsesia Musica in Italy (2008).  In 2007, he recorded a CD of Four Seasons by Astor Piazolla (released by Sony BMG), performing as a soloist with “Kölner Klassik Ensemble.”  Irakli is performing as a soloist and in chamber music with eminent musicians and conductors.  His concert performances of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Saint-Saëns, Zigeunerweisen by Sarasate and Four Seasons by Astor Piazolla were recorded for Radio and Television and broadcast on ARD, SWR, BR (Bayerischer Rundfunk), and in Tbilisi, Georgia.  He was selected to join iPalpiti in 2010.  In 2012, he was a selected as one of ten prize winners from 1,003 participants at the Mozarteum Summer Academy Salzburg and concluded the finale concert of the Salzburg Festspiele. Irakli plays Giovanni Paolo Maggini violin of the 17^th century as a competition winner in the instrumental foundation of the “Hochschule für Musik Köln” which offers young musicians an opportunity to perform on high quality instruments.

Davide de Ascaniis

Violinist/Italy

“Exquisite control” — Baltimore Sun Winner of the AGIMUS Prize in Rome, the Szeryng International Violin Competition in Mexico, and the Grand Prix at the LISMA Foundation in New York City, among other numerous awards, Davide has been concertizing extensively.  Following performances with symphonies and solo appearances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at the Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center in New York, de Ascaniis performed in Taiwan at the Taipei Arena for an audience of 15,000 and played to great media acclaim in concert halls in Tokyo (Suntory Hall), Rome (Auditorium Parco della Musica), Venice (Teatro La Fenice), Milan (Teatro dal Verme) and across America. In the United States, de Ascaniis made his debut with the Gateway Orchestra in May, 2014, prompting a Brooklyn Eagle reviewer to write: “His dazzling finger work, musicality, pizzicato and incredible cadenzas evoked the wizardry of Paganini.”  He also participated and performed in international music festivals including Orford in Canada, Mozarteum in Salzburg, and the Nippon Foundation festival in Japan. Davide has been an iPalpiti artist since 2012, performing at iPalpiti festivals in prestigious venues throughout Los Angeles, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall and Soka Performing Arts Center. Born in Italy in 1991 to a family of pianists, Davide's first professional engagement was in 2000 in France, performing Bruch’s concerto with orchestra.  After earning a Master's Degree cum laude from the Conservatorio in Vicenza at the age of 16, he was awarded a Diploma at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and studied in New York with Albert Markov.  Last September, de Ascaniis toured Mexico playing the Paganini Concerto with Maestro Franz Krager and received press accolades such “...after this memorable performance, the conductor knelt before de Ascaniis, as never seen, and congratulated him… the audience offered him an endless standing ovation.”

Sara De Ascaniis

pianist/Italy

Born in Italy in 1987 into a family of musicians, Sara began to play by ear and improvise on the piano at the age of two. At seven years old she entered the Music Conservatory Arrigo Pedrollo in Vicenza, and two years later she gave her first solo recital. By the time she was eleven, Sara was already appearing as a soloist with orchestras throughout Italy. Her performances of Beethoven Piano Concerto n.3 and Schumann Concerto have been broadcast on the national radio and television with high acclaim. After the Master's Degree summa cum laude at the age of 18, she studied at the Santa Cecilia Music Academy in Bergamo with Konstantin Bogino and at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg under Claudius Tanski and Imre Rohmann. In addition, she has worked with outstanding musicians and pedagogues, such as Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Pavel Gililov, Leonid Margarius, Benedetto Lupo and Lilya Zilberstein. Winner of prestigious awards in Italy and abroad, including the Mozartpreis at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Baden-Württemberg International Piano Competition (Germany), Sara has been performing as a soloist in prestigious venues in Europe. As chamber musician, she performed with various ensembles from Duo up to Quintet, working together with great artists such as Rainer Schmidt, Wolfgang Redik, Igor Ozim, Enrico Bronzi and Alois Brandhofer. Her numerous appearances have included Aurora Chamber Music Festival (Sweden), Internationaler Konzertverein Bodensee (Germany), Salzburger Kammermusikfestival, LeXGiornate in Brescia, La Societá dei Concerti in Milan. During her studies she developed her skills as a teacher, earning the Master's Degree in Piano Pedagogy at the Mozarteum in 2014. She has recently been appointed Piano Professor at the Music Conservatory Cesare Pollini in Padua. Upcoming engagements include concerts in Europe, USA and Mexico, also with her brother, renowned violinist Davide de Ascaniis. Sara and Davide have been performing together in concert halls worldwide since their childhood.

Egor Antonenko

Cellist/Russia

Russian-born cellist, Egor Antonenko has distinguished himself as a versatile soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. Making his solo debut at the age of eight with the Kaliningrad Chamber Orchestra, he continued to perform with many of the prestigious Eastern European orchestras including the Moscow and Ryazan chamber orchestras, and the Petrozavodsk, Yaroslavi and Volograd Symphonies. Egor has made his American orchestral solo debut at the Longy School of Music performing the Dvorak Cello Concerto with Bard College Symphony, and most recently, performed Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations with the Syracuse University Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Egor has performed under the baton of Marius Stravinsky, Leon Botstein, Miguel Etchegoncelay, Gil Rose, Benjamin Zander, Terry King  amongst many others. A prize winner in numerous competitions including the International Competition of Moscow’s Young Musicians “Rising Stars”, the 18^th “Citi di Barletta” Italian International Young Artist Competition, and “Gradus ad Parnassum” of Lithuania 2^nd International competition, he has collaborated in performances with Shanghai and Hausmann String Quartets, William Preucil, the Newport and Lyrica chamber music festivals and the International Music Festival of St. Marks.  Egor received diplomas from the Moscow State Conservatory and Central Music School as a student of Maria Zhuravleva, an undergraduate diploma in cello performance at Longy School of Music of Bard College as a student of Dr. Terry King and currently continues at the Setnor School of Music at Syracuse University as Teaching Assistant to his mentor Dr. King. In 2016, Egor toured more than 30 countries, performing over two hundred chamber music concerts through a partnership of the Lincoln Center Stage and the Holland America Line. He also participated in a live performance collaboration between BBC Earth and Holland America Line for a documentary series known as “Frozen Planet Live”.  Currently, Egor is a member of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra under maestro Benjamin Zander, as well as principal cellist of Lyrica Chamber Orchestra and has participated as acting principal cellist with Boston Modern Orchestra Project. This is his second season with iPalpiti. Egor joined iPalpiti in 2019.

So-Mang Jeagal

piano/South Korea

Three-time Beverly Hills National Auditions winner, So-Mang is in demand in Southern California as a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative artist. As Grand Prize winner in the 61st Washington International Competition So-Mang Jeagal was awarded $10,000, a concerto appearance at the Kennedy Center, and a solo recital on the prestigious Phillips Collection Recital Series. So-Mang also won the 2014 Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, presenting a solo recital at the Liszt Museum in Budapest, Hungary. He performed in many international music festivals and concert series at major concert halls, such as Salzburger Schloss Konzerte of Austria, Konzerthaus of Germany, La Madeleine of France, Seoul Arts Center, J. F. Kennedy Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall. A winner of several national and international competitions, Mr. Jeagal is a recipient of the Grand Prize at the Korea Music Foundation Competition and the First Prize at the Dong-A Music Competition and Asia-Pacific Young Artist Competition. Born in Daegu, South Korea, he began studying the piano at the age of five and gave his debut recital at the age of eleven. He attended the prestigious performing arts high school in Korea, Seoul Arts High School, and received the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees with highest honors from the Seoul National University. He received Artist Diploma at the Thornton School of Music of USC as a full scholarship student under Professor Kevin Fitz-Gerald, and has participated in masterclasses with eminent concert pianists including Leon Fleisher, Murray Perahia, and John O’Conor.

Sam Shuhan

Bassist/USA

A native of New York, Samuel Shuhan currently resides in Los Angeles where he stays active performing, teaching, recording and composing on upright and electric bass. Shuhan completed his Master’s Degree at the University of Southern California, and is finishing a Graduate Certificate with professor David Allen Moore. As winner of state and national competitions, Sam performed as a soloist with orchestras. He studied classical and jazz and has been performing professionally in and round the upstate New York area, and in various music festivals, including Domaine Forget in Québec, where he also studied with master and pedagogue François Rabbath.