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 Born
in Moscow, critically acclaimed violinist Igor Yuzefovich was brought up in a
musical family. His father, violist and musicologist – was for many years
headed the performing arts section of
“Sovietskaya Muzyka” – the classical music magazine in Russia.
Mr. Yuzefovich began his violin studies at the
age of 5, and was soon accepted into the Gnessin Music School where he studied
with Irina Svetlova. in 1990, along with several other students from the
Gnessin School, Igor Yuzefovich performed at the Rubin Academy in Tel Aviv and
on Israel’s national television.
Since 1991, Mr. Yuzefovich has resided in the
United States, where after a brief time of studying with Jody Gatwood at The
Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., his education continued in
the Russian tradition. Igor Yuzefovich went on to study with Leri Slutsky at
the Preparatory division of the Peabody Conservatory, and with Victor Danchenko
at the Peabody Conservatory itself. While at Peabody, Mr. Yuzefovich earned his
Bachelor’s degree and the Graduate Performance Diploma.
As a winner of numerous competitions, Igor
Yuzefovich has performed in numerous countries around the world. His concerts
have taken him from Carnegie Hall in New York, to the Cairo Opera House in
Egypt; other countries include Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, France,
Israel, Jordan, and South Africa. An active chamber musician, Igor Yuzefovich
has won a prize at the Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition as a
member of the Russia Quartet, and in 2004 organized the Monument Piano Trio,
which debuted to critical acclaim in Baltimore, Maryland.
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 Already a rising star of his generation of artists, Michael Sheppard is a pianist of dazzling virtuosity and penetrating
musicianship. Trained at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, he studied with the great Leon Fleisher and Ann Schein.
As one of two 2003 Classical Fellows of the American Pianists Association he
toured Southern Asia and the Middle East in the fall of 2003 in collaboration
with the Cultural Programs Division of the United States Department of State.
Throughout the tour he played concerti with national orchestras, was guest
soloist with resident chamber music groups, played public solo recitals as well
as private recitals for the diplomatic community, gave masterclasses at higher
institutes of music and conducted informal presentations in secondary schools
and universities. Upon his return he made his Kennedy Center debut. This season
he makes his debuts with orchestras in the Midwest, Southeast and Pacific
Northwest in addition to solo recitals throughout the nation and Europe. In
November 2004 he will be featured on the in-flight audio channel of ATA
Airlines.
Sheppard has received critical acclaim
as a grand interpreter of transcriptions of operatic tunes as well as American
musical theatre in addition to the traditional piano repertory. Deeply committed
to new music, he has worked closely with composers Nicholas Maw, Michael Hersch,
Robert Sirota and John Corigliano. Sheppard is a composer in his own right and
often programs his original compositions.
In addition to being a Classical Fellow
of the American Pianists Association, Sheppard has also been a Fellow at the
Tanglewood Music Center and the La Gesse Foundation and a prizewinner in the
National Federation of Music Clubs National Competition. A native of
Philadelphia, he resides in Baltimore.
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 Cellist Maxim
Kozlov was born in the Ural region of the former Soviet Union. He has
earned numerous degrees, including a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Special
Music School for Gifted and Talented in Ekaterinburg, Russia; a Master Degree in
Piano and Cello from the Ural State Conservatory, Russia; and a Doctor of
Musical Arts Degree from the Moscow State Conservatory, Russia.
At the present time Mr. Kozlov is pursuing a Graduate
Performance Diploma at the Peabody Conservatory, where he is the Graduate
Assistant of cello professor Alan Stepansky. Mr. Kozlov has wide solo and
orchestral experience, having served as Principal Cellist with the Ural State
Opera Theater and the Ural State Symphony Orchestra. With the Kremlin Chamber
Orchestra, he has toured the United States performing more than 400 concerts,
Canada, South America, Europe, South Korea and China.
Among numerous awards, Mr. Kozlov has won the Second Prize
in the Russian National Cello Competition, the Gregor Piatigorsky Scholarship and
the Fanny B. Thalheimer Memorial Scholarship.
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