Ishavskatedralen - Tromsøysund menighet

Organists summer 2019

László Attila Almásy

László Attila Almásy was born in 1962 in Budapest. He started learning the organ with József Kárpáti and István Baróti. Later, at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest, he studied piano with István Lantos and Edit Hambalkó, graduating in 1986, and organ with Gábor Lehotka, qualifying the following year.

He won second prize in the 1988 Budapest International Liszt Organ Competition, and was a finalist in the Bruckner International Organ Competition in Linz, Austria in 1990.  His career as an organ recitalist has taken him to all five corners of the globe. .  He has worked with such world class conductors as Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi and Antal Doráti.  He was awarded an Artisjus Prize in 2007.

He is currently active as the organist of the Lajos Bárdos Choir at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Városmajor, Budapest: he also regularly plays for services at St. Anne’s Church in the Upper Water Town District of the city. From 1986 to 2011 he was accompanist and taught piano and organ at the Bartók Béla Music School, Budapest.Since September 2013 he has been teaching piano at the Weöres Sándor school in Gyömrő, Hungary.

Jens Amend

Jens Amend studied church music at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In 1994 he founded “collegium vocale” Kirchberg, a supraregional choir, with whom he performed many oratorios along. He has also worked as a cantor and organist at the cathedral church in Lampertheim. He has been involved in many radio recordings, as well as been on CD releases.

He is considered a particularly skilled performer of Bach’s organ works and German romance, and has won several international organ competitions  in Germany, Luxembourg and Russia.
Currently, Jens Amend is concentrating on many well-known organs in Europe and South America.

In addition to his concert activities, he teaches at the Church Music Training Center in Kurhessen-Waldeck in Schlüchtern , as well as at the conservatories in Nizhny Novgorod and St. Petersburg.
In 2011, he launched his first solo CD on the Baroque Gloger organ in Kongsberg. Further information can be found on his website: http://www.Jens-Amend.de.

 

 

Henrik Bechstrøm

Henrik Bechstrøm was born in Bodø in 1996. He started to play organ at the age of 12 years, Bjørn Andor Drage as his teacher. He is at the time finishing bachelor studies in church music at Norwegian Academy of Music, and he will continue master degree in music performance with organ in Oslo. He has had Terje Winge as a professor in bachelor studies. He has interest in French-Romantic music, especially the organ symphonies of Louis Viernes.

He has performed as a piano and organ solist in number of events as with Tromsø Byorkester in 2014, with Bodø Harmonimusikk in 2015, with Prijatno Chamber Orchestra in 2017 and in 2018, and with the Percussion Ensemble of the Norwegian Academy of Music 2018.

Alessandro Bianchi

Alessandro Bianchi was born in Como, Italy, and studied in Piacenza Conservatoire where he was awarded in Organ and Organ Composition diplomas with Luigi Toja. He also attended the Masterclasses of Nicholas Danby and Arturo Sacchetti.

He is the Artistic Director of the Musical Association “Amici dell’Organo di Cantu’” and organist of the St. Edward’s the Confessor Anglican Church in Lugano.

He has played more than 2000 recitals on different Organ Concert tours, always as a soloist, and in many Internationals Organ Festivals all over the world.

He has given Masterclasses and lectures on the Italian music in Italy, England, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, USA, Singapore and Mexico and he has undertaken several CD and Radio-TV broadcasts and recordings in Europe, USA and Brasil.

He ha been part of the jury in several organ competitions and many composers have dedicated to him new organ works.

In 2014, the City of Cantu’ awarded him with the title of “Honorable Citizen” for his work in Art and Culture.

 

Clarinet & Organ

Clarinet & Organ was created in 2016 by two talented musicians: Yegor Kolesov (organ, St. Petersburg) and Ruslan Shmelkov (clarinet, Moscow).

Having extensive experience due to their work with various ensembles (baroque and modern music ensembles, chamber ensembles, orchestras), Yegor and Ruslan decided to create their own ensemble, which performs the same music and excellent music of different styles and genres, united in concert program works of classics and Baroque composers (including their own transcriptions), as well as modern music.

Clarinet & Organ is a participant of the international music festivals and concerts in Saint-Petersbourg, Moscow, Kirov, Yuzno-Sakhalinsk, Paris, Helsinki and Tallinn. Clarinet & Organ actively seeks to expand the repertoire for the two instruments, especially music by our contemporaries. The ensemble shows special interest in the music of Scandinavia and England.

Clarinet & Organ performs in the Arctic Cathedral in 26 and 28th of July – Supported by The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust – and in 27th of July – supported by Carl Nielsen og Anne Marie Cart-Nielsen’s Legat.

 

Hans Uwe Hielscher

Hans U. Hielscher has been organist at the Marktkirche in Wiesbaden, Germany, since 1979. His studies were at the Detmold State Academy of Music and in Paris/Rouen, France. He also studied carillon at The Nederlandse Beiaardschool in Amersfoort, The Netherlands.

Hans has presented more than 3.500 organ solo recitals around the globe, his concert tours have taken him to all European countries, the United States (68 U.S. tours), Bahamas, Israel, Iceland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok. He has been featured on radio and TV broadcasts, 22 CD recordings on various international labels and is the author of the books “Alexandre Guilmant – Life and Work”, “Famous Organs in the U.S.A.”, “The Organ of Wiesbaden Marktkirche”.

He is a published composer of some 50 works for organ. Hans U. Hielscher has been honored by the French government in Paris for his worldwide engagement in French organ music and nominated “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” in 1985.

http://hielscher-music.de

 

Dina Ikhina

Dina Ikhina was born on July 17, 1986, in Saratov.

She graduated in 2009 from the L.V. Sobinov Saratov State Conservatory as a pianist (class of O. Igonina) and studied organ as a student of N. Golfarb. In 2011 she took her master-degree in organ at the St. Petersburg state University as a student of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation prof. D. Zaretsky, in harpsichord under doctor of arts prof. I. Rozanov and in carillon under prof. J. Haasen.  In 2014 she finished postgraduate studies in organ at the N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory as a student of D. Zaretsky.

She became a laureate of various international organ competitions. She got further experiences by different master-classes and summer organ academies in Haarlem, Alkmaar, Groningen (Netherlands), Graz (Austria), Kotka (Finland), Leipzig (Germany), Tallinn (Estonia) and St. Petersburg (Russia).

Dina has performed solo and ensemble concerts in many cities in Russia and also abroad, in countries like  Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Iceland, France, Czech Republic, Poland, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Georgia, Belgium, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands. She is also a participant of numerous international organ festivals. Since 2014 Dina has performed in organ duo with Denis Makhankov.

Dina Ikhina is an art director and participant of the II and IV Kriisa International organ festival (Estonia 2014, 2016) and series of organ concerts in Estonia «Organ music evening». Dina is also a founder and art director of the annual International festival of organ music in Kondopoga «Grande Orgue» (Karelia, Russia).

Dina is one of the organizers and inspirer of the charity project “Organ concerts in the Pechory”, aimed at raising funds for the restoration of the historic organ in the St. Peter`s church in Pechory (Pskov region). Dina Ikhina and Denis Makhankov together got the first public award “National recognition – 2015” in the category “Initiative” (Pskov, 2016).

She is a laureate of the Pskov region Administration award for the best works in the field of culture and art, architecture and journalism (2016). She worked as an organist in Palace of Arts in Kondopoga (Karelia) from 2015 to 2017 – only one hall in Russia having two concert pipe organs, and as a teacher at the N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory from 2013 to 2017.

 

Egor Kolesov

Egor Kolesov was born in Saint-Petersburg in 1989. In 2004 he was awarded Third Prize in the international competition for young musicians “I am a composer”. From 2004 to 2008 he learned the organ with Y. Semyonov, Saint-Petersburg.

In 2013 Egor Kolesov graduated from the Organ Class of The Russian Academy of Music named after Gnesins in Moscow (taught by Honoured Artist of Russia Professor A. Fiseisky). After, two years he was Teaching Assistant at the Organ Class of The Russian Academy of Music named after Gnesins (2013-2015).

In 2009 Egor Kolesov took part in Organ Music festival in Alkmar (Netherlands) and perfected his skills there under the guidance of Reinhard Jaud, Pieter van Dijk, Frank van Wijk, Bine Brindorf, Paolo Crivellaro, Dietrich Wagler.

In 2011-2015 Egor Kolesov took part in master classes given by professors P. Planyavsky, M. Schoenheit, G. Gnann, H.-J. Kaiser, D. Roth, G. Barber, M. Boecker, M. Schmeding.

He performed with the orchestra “Russian Philarmony” (conducted by S. Tararin and D. Yurovski) in the Svetlanov hall of Moscow House of Music, Tver Philarmony and in Moscow Philarmony (works by W. A. Mozart, Ch.-M. Widor, R. Strauss, R.V. Williams and others). In October, 2011 Egor Kolesov was the first in Russia to perform Concertino by M.B. Jimenez for organ and orchestra.

In June, 2011 Egor Kolesov became a diploma winner of The Second All-Russia Competition of Organ Players “Sancta Caecilia” in Krasnogorsk and in October, 2012 a diploma winner of The First All-Russia Competition of Organ Players in Kaliningrad. In November, 2015 Egor Kolesov became a laureate of the The First Odoyevsky International Organ Competition (Moskou). In 2015 Egor Kolesov performed six trio-sonatas by J.S.Bach by heart in one concert (Moscow, festival named after J.S.Bach).

In 2016 – 2017 Egor Kolesov participated in master-classes by Jean-Paul Imbert in L’Alpe d’Huez (France). Egor Kolesov have a recital in L’Alpe d’Huez in 2016-2017 concert season.

Egor Kolesov actively toured as an organist in Russia, Belarus, Estonia, Germany, France and Denmark. From 2017 Egor Kolesov works as a organ teacher in Saint-Petersboug Musical College named after N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. Egor Kolesovs special professional interest – russian music for organ, french symphonic music, music of XXth centure and modern music ( “Commotio” by Carl Nielsen, “Gmeeoorh” by Iannis Xenakis, Etudes by Gyorgy Ligeti and many others unusual organ pieces).

 

Denis Makhnkov

Denis Makhankov was born on 1st of January, 1988 in Ivanovo (Russia).

In 2013 he finished the N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory as an organist under Honored Artist of the Russian Federation D. F. Zaretsky. Studied harpsichord as a student of doctor of arts prof. I.V. Rozanov. During his studies he became a laureate of various international youth piano and organ competitions in Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Olsztyn (Poland).

He took part in many master-classes and summer organ academies in Kotka (Finland), Haarlem (Netherlands), Bosau, Leipzig (Germany), Tallinn (Estonia), Paris (France), Kondopoga, Svetlogorsk and St.Petersburg (Russia).

Denis Makhankov has performed with solo and ensemble concerts in Iceland, Switzerland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Poland, Belgium, Finland, Belarus, Georgia, Germany, Sweden, Norway and in many Russian cities and towns. He has also performed in numerous international organ festivals. Since 2014 he has been performing in organ duo with Dina Ikhina.

Denis Makhankov is an art director and participant of the II and IV Kriisa International organ festival (Estonia) and series of the organ concerts in Estonia «Evening of organ music» (2014, 2016).

Denis Makhankov is also a founder and art director of the international St. Caecilia First organ festival in Kaliningrad and Tchernyakhovsk (Russia, 2014), and the founder and art director of the annual festivals International festival of organ music in Kondopoga «Grande Orgue» (Karelia, Russia) and international festival «Days of music in Pechory» (Russia, 2015), as well as Art director of the VIII International organ festival «Singing pipes» in Gatchina (Russia, 2016).

In 2011 Denis worked as a soloist of the Pomor State Philharmony in Arkhangelsk. Since 2012 he has been working as an organ teacher at the St. Petersburg children music school №34 (in Krasnoye Selo). In 2013 – 2015 he worked at the concert agency «Ars Musica Estonica» (Tallinn, Estonia). Denis is a constant player of organ concert programs and since 2015 to 2017 – organist in Palace of Arts in Kondopoga (Karelia). It is the only one hall in Russia having two concert pipe organs.

Denis Makhankov is one of the organizers and inspirer of the charity project “Organ concerts in Pechory”, aimed at raising funds for the restoration of the historic organ in the St. Peter`s church in Pechory (Pskov region). Since 2014 Denis also became a head of this project. Denis Makhankov and Dina Ikhina together got the first public award “National recognition – 2015” in the category “Initiative” (Pskov, 2016).

Denis is a laureate of the Pskov region Administration award for the best works in the field of culture and art, architecture and journalism (2016).

 

Kamil Mika

Kamil Mika was born in 1987 in Cracow, Poland. He took his master’s degree in Organ Performance at the Academy of Music in Cracow under Prof. Andrzej Bialko. He continued music studies at Hochschule für Musik in Mainz (Germany) with Prof. Gerhard Gnann. He has attended also in several organ masterclasses in Poland, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and United States with professors as Olivier Latry, Daniel Roth, Harald Vogel, Lorenzo Ghielmi, Guy Bovet, Pieter van Dijk, David Titterington, Jane Parker-Smith, Philippe Delacour and Paul Jacobs.

He took First Prize on X International Organ Competition in Castellana Grotte (Italy, 2011) and Third Prize on National Competition of Organ and Chamber Music “Per Artem ad Astra” in Krasnobrod (Poland, 2007).

He has played on many music festivals around Europe (Poland, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, England, Scotland, Wales, Hungary, Ukraine and Lithuania), as soloist and cameralist, and has performed in several cathedrals and concert venues like

Chapel of Royal Palace in Madrid, Auditorio SONY in Madrid, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, Philharmonia of Uzghorod, Cathedral of Barcelona, Cathedral of Salamanca, Sheffield Cathedral, Newport Cathedral, Aberdeen Cathedral, St. Peter’s Church in Edinburgh, St. John’s the Baptist Church in Cardiff, Halifax Minster, Cathedral of Cagliari, St. Peter’s Church in Vienna, St. Jean-Baptiste’s Church in Chaource, St. Teresa’s of Avila Church in Budapest.

Together with Orchestra of Uzghorod Philharmonic and conductor Victoria Savlyavchyk-Tsanko, he performed Surzyński’s Organ Concerto G-minor Op. 35 at Uzghorod Philharmonia in Ukraine. In 2013 he recorded a CD – Project Spanische Barockorgel an der Hochschule für Musik Mainz on a new spanish organ by Joaquín Lois Cabello from Castile.

Kamil’s repertoire is varied and features especially the music of Bach, Franck, Duruflé and several Polish composers. One part of his Research focuses on Impressionism in french organ music. He is a member of the old music trio ensemble Amarcord. He also co-operates with vocal ensemble Cracow Singers.

You can find more information of Kamil on his website http://www.kamilmika.com.

 

Mikhail Mischenko

Mikhail Mishchenko, organist and musicologist, is active both in solo and ensemble performances with a broad repertoire, dominated by Romantic and Modern music (XIXth – XXth cc. – and much from British and Nordic organ music).

Mishchenko has performed the Russian premiere of “Messis”, organdrama by the Danish composer Rued Langgaard – one of the longest compositions for the instrument (2007-2008, with the support of Langgaard-Foundation, Denmark). He is a regular organist of the Maltese Chapel of the Vorontsov Palace in St.Petersburg (2006–2012). He has performed in Moscow, St.Petersburg, Petchory, Kislovodsk, Nizhny Taghil, Omsk, Minsk, Vitebsk, Brest, Grodno, Arkhangelsk, Riga, Tallinn. He has recorded CDs on the Walcker organ at the Maltese Chapel (2009).

He graduated from St.Petersburg (SPb) Conservatoire (1993), took postgraduate studies there on history of music (superviser – Dr. Ludmila Kovnatskaya; Ph.D. diss. 1997). His organ teachers were Yuri Semyonov and Tatyana Tchausova in SPb and Hans Davidsson in Gothenburg (Sweden). He teaches history of music (Assoc. Prof.) in the St.Petersburg Conservatoire since 1997 and in the St.Petersburg University since 2012.

He is author of numerous musicological articles, books and translations. Awarded short-term grant by ACLS for his work on monograph “Motion in Music: A Preliminary Essay on Melosophy” (2009); this is published under the title “Essays on melosophy” (2014). Awarded the Certificate of Merit by the Elgar Society of Great Britain for his work in promoting the music of Edward Elgar in Russia (2012).

Supported by The John Ireland Charitable Trust and by Paul Huber Gesellschaft.

 

Linde Mothes

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Linde Mothes is educated as a church musician in Dresden (Germany) and Paris. She has worked as a church musician in Berlin, and as docent in organ and choir direction in Halle and Dresden. She appreciates the diversity that the profession as a church musician entails, and has played many organ recitals in various locations in Europe and China. She has also worked as a choral conductor and performed a series of choral concerts, both a cappella and oratorios.

David M. Patrick

David M. Patrick who was born in Devonshire, England, is on of the most brilliant British organists of his time. He pursued his musical education at the Royal College of Music in London with distinction winning the Stuart Prize for organ in 1967 and going on to gain the coveted Walford Davies Prize the following year. This award brought him prestigious recitals at both Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey as well as the honour of being presented to H.R.H. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

His early decision to specialise in the romantic and modern French repertoire followed logically from his impulse to accept the highest technical and artistic challenges which the organ presents. Of particular note was his recording of the complete organ works of Maurice Duruflé made in Coventry Cathedral in1996. This was a “Critic’s Choice of the Year” in the B.B.C. Music Magazine in 1997 and in the final list of three highly recommended recordings in the B.B.C. programme “Building a Library” in May 2006. In a letter to David M. Patrick the late Marie-Madeleine Duruflé wrote: “Vos interprétations des oeuvres de M. Duruflé sont excellentes, je vous en félicite….bien….Très bien….brillant….BRAVO.”

David M. Patrick has performed public concerts at many major venues in Great Britain, the U.S.A., Canada and Europe as well as numerous recitals for B.B.C. Radio 3 on significant British instruments. Many of his recordings, featuring the organs of Gloucester Cathedral, Buckfast Abbey, Katarina Kyrka in Stockholm and Coventry Cathedral are available from Amazon, iTunes and Spotify. Further details can be found at http://www.impulse-music.co.uk/davidmpatrick

 

Ruslan Shmelkov

Ruslan Shmelkov was born in Ulan-Ude, Republic of Buryatia, Russia. In 2003 he graduated from the Special Music School-Lyceum of the city of Ufa (the class of teacher I. M. Sultanov) and entered the Moscow Military Music School. In 2014 he graduated from the Russian Academy of Music (class of Professor I. P. Mozgovenko).

He studied clarinet in the Music Conservatory of Tilburg, Netherlands (class of Geert Baeckelandt). He takes part in various competitions and festivals in Russia and abroad. He took part in master-classes of Ralf Manno and Wolfgang Mayer.

Shmelkov is a member of the project “United Symphony Orchestra of Russia” (conductor Valery Gergiev) at the III festival of symphonic orchestras of the world.

He is performing live music, engaged in parallel with the pedagogical work at the musical college. Among being a professional clarinet performer, Ruslan Shmelkov also works as a teacher.

He performs in the Arctic Cathedral in the end of July: 26 and 28th of July – supported by The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust, 27th of July – supported by Carl Nielsen og Anne Marie Cart-Nielsen’s Legat.

 

Eeuwe Zijlstra

The Dutch organist Eeuwe Zijlstra studied organ, church music and choir directing at the Conservatories of Alkmaar and Groningen with Prof. Jos van der Kooy and Prof. Wim van Beek. He acquired his Master of Music-degree with the highest possible distinction.

Eeuwe lives and works in Groningen, the famous “organ garden” of Europe, with its many beautiful and important historical organs. He performs concerts all over the world, recently in Denmark and the Caribbean. Eeuwe has a broad repertoire of solo organ repertoire, which not only include the major works of J.S. Bach but also a wide range of contemporary music.

He is organist of the Grote Kerk in Harlingen, the Doopsgezinde Kerk and the Martinikerk in Groningen and organiste titulaire of the concert organ in the Groningen Cultural Centre. He is also organ teacher and advisor at the Arts Council Groningen. As City Organist Eeuwe is very active in organ promotion and children’s education.