ELITE MUSIC ACADEMY
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Elite Music Academy
        

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Summer Camp Faculty

Welcome to our Summer Music Camp Faculty Page!
 
We are very excited to have such an outstanding group of musicians instructing students this summer.  Please check back frequently, as we will be adding more great teachers as the summer approaches.
PIANO

Mikhail Yanovitsky, born in Leningrad (now St Petersburg), began to study piano under the guidance of his mother. He graduated from the Leningrad Music School for Gifted Children, where he studied under Marina Wolf, and then from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he studied under Mikhail Voskresensky. Dr. Yanovitsky continued to develop his piano career in the 1980s, making his debuts with the Leningrad Chamber Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic and the Leningrad Philharmonic. He relocated to the United States and in 1991 won the Young Concert Artists Auditions, becoming their most frequently re-engaged artist. Represented by Young Concert Artists, he played for the New York Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Gerald Schwartz, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas and several other orchestras in the US, Europe, Asia, South Africa, and South America. Yanovitsky has performed in thirty-four American states, including appearances at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, New York's Carnegie Recital Hall, the Philadelphia Convention Center, San Francisco's Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, the Chicago Cultural Center, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Mikhail has also performed throughout Europe, as well as in Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay, Australia, Israel, Japan, South Korea, and China. Winning the Gina Bachauer Piano Graduate Scholarship in 1991 and 1992 allowed Yanovitsky to study under Seymour Lipkin at the Juilliard School in New York. In 2002, he completed his Doctorate at Temple University in Philadelphia under the tutelage of Harvey Wedeen and defended his thesis on Scriabin’s piano music. Several years later, the thesis was translated into Chinese and published by a Shanghai music publisher under the title Early Piano Miniatures by Scriabin. Mikhail Yanovitsky has won numerous awards. In 2001, Steinway & Sons named Yanovitsky a Steinway Artist. He was awarded 1st prize at the Concerto Competition (Cantu, Italy) in 1998 and subsequently appeared at the Sala Verdi in Milan. In 1996, he was a prize winner at the International Piano Competition in Sydney, Australia. He won the Pro Piano competition in New York in 1994 and the East Hampton Competition in 1992. Since the mid-1990s, Mikhail Yanovitsky has regularly performed in Russia, including at the St Petersburg Philharmonic Halls, the Rachmaninoff and Small Halls of the Moscow Conservatoire, the Scriabin Museum in Moscow, the House of Architects and the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg.  Dr. Yanovitsky is currently teaching at Temple University in Philadelphia.

 

Critics around the world have praised Mikhail Yanovitsky as one of today’s leading artists.

“Particularly striking was the sound: big without brutality, rich but always clear in focus.” The New York Times

“His ability to execute the details while at the same time clothing the music in broad colors and expansive melodic gesture recalled a manner of Chopin playing from past generations.” The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Yanovitsky will become one of the great piano talents of our time.” Duluth News-Tribune

“Rarely does one leave a concert hall in such an elated mood as provokes the performance of Mikhail Yanovitsky... he is a true master.” El Porvenir

VIOLIN/VIOLA


Azer Damirov began his musical studies at the age of eight. At 14, he was accepted to the Musical College of the Tchaikovsky Moscow State conservatory, in the class of Professor Maria Keselman, from which he graduated in 2007 at the age of 20. Azer participated in master classes and festivals in Dortmund in Germany, Britten-Pearce Orchestra in Great Britain, and Volga Regional Young Symphony festival. Recipient of the Ministry of Culture Russian Federation’s Stipend, Azer is a Laureate of numerous national competitions. In 2007 Azer received a Diploma at the 14th Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition in Fermo, Italy, and a special iPalpiti prize for participation in the iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates in Los Angeles. In the fall 2010, Azer was accepted into Bachelor of Music Program at Boyer College at Temple University in the class of Professor Schmieder, where, subsequently he completed his Master's degree in 2013, and currently pursues a Doctoral degree in Music Performance. Last year, Azer formed the Philadelphia-based The Amaranth Piano Trio with several performances in its debut season. He is a member of iPalpiti since 2009, including East Coast residency and in concerts at the Kimmel Center and Carnegie Hall, and Los Angeles festivals. In 2012, he performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as a winner the American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music.

CELLO

Steve Kramer immigrated to the United States in 2010 and was sponsored in 2016 for his extraordinary abilities as a musician. An enchanting and dexterous cellist, he has proven to be one of today's most prominent and colorful musicians, ascending into classical music’s highest echelons of performance and musical education. His silvery, singing tone, musical inquisitiveness and charismatic personality have led him to build memorable bridges to his audience while exploring a versatile repertoire from the four corners of the world. Steve Kramer is the recipient of the internationally prestigious Jacob Gade Foundation’s 36th Grand Prize, the 1994 Bernhard Rosenfeld Foundation Artist Prize, the Talent Prize and Gold Medal at the Berlingske Music Competition, in Copenhagen, and an Artist Prize given by Pope John Paul II at the Orvieto Musical Festival in Italy. Numerous Danish foundations, including the Augustinus Foundation, the Danish Royal Family and English benefactors, generously subsidized Steve Kramer’s early education. In the 2014-15 season, Steve Kramer made his appearance as a soloist and chamber musician at the Barnes Foundation and the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. In 2012-13 Steve Kramer debuted at the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall and Perelman Theater and the Philadelphia Art Museum.  Internationally, Steve Kramer has worked with such prominent European orchestras and chamber ensembles as the Yehudi Menuhin Orchestra, led by violinist Yehudi Menuhin; the Detmold Chamber Orchestra, led by violinist Tibor Varga; the Malmo Music High School Orchestra, led by violist Josef Kodousek, and the Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra and ensembles and orchestras in the Netherlands, France and Germany. He has also performed chamber music and recitals all over Scandinavia, in the Concertgebouw and Hermitage in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; the Wiener Musikverein, in Vienna, Austria; Barbican Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, England; and Le Corum in Montpellier, France. Steve Kramer has performed as soloist or chamber musician for violinist Isaac Stern, cellist Mistislav Rostropovich, violinist Maricio Fuks, violin pedagogue Milan Vitek, cellist Vladimir Chevel, cellist Heinrich Schiff, and members in the Alban Berg Quartet, the Amadeus Quartet and the Borodin Quartet. He has played in orchestras led by conductors such as Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Yuri Temirkanov, Kurt Masur, Bernhard Haitink, Neemi Jarvi and Mikhail Jurowski. Steve Kramer has appeared at festivals such as the International Kammermusik-Akademie Kronberg in Taunus, Germany; the Manchester International Cello Festival RNCM, in England; the Cervo Music Academy and Orvieto Musica in Italy; La Fete de la Musique in Nice, France; Festival de Radio France in Montpellier, France; the Jeunes Prodiges Au Palais in La Grande Motte in France; and in Ajacio, Bonifacio and Porto Vecchio, Corsica. Steve Kramer has also worked for composer Andrew Lloyd Weber and adventurer and film-director Ivars Silis.  


VOICE


Galina Sakhnovskaya, a lyric soprano, has emerged as an artist of remarkable versatility and great vocal beauty. Born in Moldova, Ms. Sakhnovskaya has brought her impressive voice and sensitive musicianship to performances in numerous cities in the United States as well as Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Israel, Moldova, and St. Petersburg, Russia.  Her repertoire encompasses a vast gamut and includes lieder, chamber music, oratorio, and opera, sung in various languages, including German, French, Italian, Russian, Czech, English, and Spanish.  Galina’s most recent roles include the title role in Suor Angelica with OperaOggi NY, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera with Concert Opera Philadelphia, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (New York Lyric Opera Theater), Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Nedda in I Pagliacci, Mimì and Musetta in La Bohème, and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi.  Some of her other roles include Violetta in La Traviata, Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, the title role in Iolanta, Marfa in Tsar’s Bride, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, and Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail. In oratorio Ms. Sakhnovskaya has performed as a soprano soloist in the Lord Nelson Mass and Theresa Mass of Haydn, Handel’s Messiah, J. S. Bach’s Magnificat, and the Neue Liebeslieder, Opus 65 by Brahms.  Her recital and chamber repertoire include songs and song cycles by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Dvořak, Manuel de Falla, Poulenc, and Messiaen.

Ms. Sakhnovskaya has been the recipient of several awards and scholarships which include the Washington International Competition in Washington DC, the Center for Contemporary Opera Competition in New York, the Giulio Gari Foundation International Vocal Competition in New York, the New York Vocal Artists Competition, the Peabody Conservatory Graduate Performance Diploma Scholarship and grant, and Mayor’s Scholarship from the University of Pennsylvania.  Galina has also been chosen to participate in the International Music Competition of the ARD in Munich.  Galina is a graduate of Peabody Conservatory of Music where she received a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance, and the University of Pennsylvania, which she finished with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music and Computer Science Engineering. Ms. Sakhnovskaya has been a dedicated and enthusiastic voice teacher for over ten years.  Many of her students have become soloists in their schools’ musical productions, and several went on to continue their studies at major conservatories.  She has taught at Cabrini College, Settlement Music School, and the Leopold Mozart Academy.  She is the founder and director of the Elite Music Academy.


FLUTE


Ashley Oros is a recent graduate of Temple University- Boyer College of Music where she earned her Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance under Mr. David Cramer, Associate Principal Flute of the Philadephia Orchestra, and Mrs. Prema Kesselman, ex-Principal Flute of the Santiago Philharmonic.

 

At Temple, Ashley performed with the Symphony Orchestra at the Lincoln Center of New York, as well as with the Opera Orchestra, Conductors Orchestra, Contemporary Ensemble, Concert Orchestra and Wind Symphony. She has also performed in master classes with Marina Puccinini, Leone Buyse, Brad Garner, Göran Marcusson, Bonita Boyd, Alexa Still (ZAWA): Jill Felber & Claudia Andersen, Stephen Preston, and Lea Pearson among others. She has performed solos and participated in festivals in the United States, France, Italy, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

 

An enthusiastic and dedicated teacher, Ashley teaches privately in the Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Previously she ran a flute studio at the International School Nido de Aguilas in Santiago, Chile. She is an advocate of the Alexander Technique and incorporates it into her lessons; she is working on becoming certified in the near future. She loves learning from her students and watching them grow in a healthy environment.