Solomiya Ivakhiv, violin

Ukrainian born violinist SOLOMIYA IVAKHIV is a highly celebrated soloist, chamber musician and educator. Named one of the “major artists of our time” (Fanfare Magazine), she has made solo appearances with major orchestras in the United States, China, Turkey and Ukraine, and has performed at world-renowned venues including Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, CBC Glenn Gould Studio, Philharmonic Hall in Kyiv, and the Concertgebouw. She has been featured at chamber music festivals worldwide, from Tanglewood and Ottawa Chamberfest to Newport and Nevada Chamber Music Festivals and many in between. Dr. Ivakhiv’s discography includes Ukrainian Masters and Ukraine: Journey to Freedom (both on NAXOS), Mendelssohn Concertos (Brilliant Classics), and Haydn and Hummel Concertos and Poems and Rhapsodies (both on Centaur). Her recordings have been featured on streaming playlists, radio stations and broadcast networks around the globe. A champion of new music, she has premiered works b

Since 2010, Dr. Ivakhiv has served as Artistic Director of Music at the Institute (MATI) Concert Series in New York City, where she presents chamber programs featuring Ukrainian women composers, young Ukrainians, and newly commissioned works. She is Artistic Director of the Caspian Monday Music Festival in Greensboro, VT. A dedicated educator, Dr. Ivakhiv has led master classes and coached chamber music at Yale,Columbia, Boston Conservatory, Curtis SummerFest, Oberlin and others, as well as at conservatories in China and Ukraine. She was named Honored (Merited) Artist of Ukraine in 2021, her native country’s highest cultural honor. She holds degrees from Curtis Institute of Music and Stony Brook University and is Professor of Violin and Viola and Head of Strings.

Internationally prize-winning, South African American cellist JACQUES-PIERRE MALAN has performed extensively on stages in Africa to Europe, Asia and the United States. Mr. Malan is the first Artist-in-Residence at the historic “Embassy Series” of Washington D.C. where he engages with the Embassies not only as a soloist and chamber musician, but as a producer, developing concert programs with humanitarian themes. Presently, he is also the cellist and founder of the Embassy String Quartet (www.embassystringquartet.com), and a member of Serafin Ensemble (www.serafinensemble.org) based in Wilmington, DE.

Presently, Mr. Malan is on the roster of “International Music Exchange Concerts” collaborating as soloist and chamber musician in countries such as Japan, Italy, Germany and Vietnam. In 2024 Mr. Malan was invited to tour in 12 cities in Japan performing solo and as chamber musician in halls such as Kashiwazaki cultural hall, Yamanashi prefectural hall, Sagamihara civic hall, Harmony hall Fukui, Inazawa civic hall, Aomori civic hall, iichiko otonoizumi hall, Salamanca hall, Kyoto concert hall, Mie cultural hall, Imabari public hall and JMS Aster plaza.

As a soloist, Mr. Malan has performed concertos with the Mid-Atlantic Symphony, Kwazulu Natal Philharmonic, Johannesburg Philharmonic, Capetown Philharmonic and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra amongst others. He has won 1st and 2nd  competition prizes including Yale Gordan String Competition, SAMRO Bursary Competition, Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival Competition, and was featured in the documentary: Getting To Carnegie Hall.

Mr. Malan received a Masters Degree in music performance from Peabody Conservatory at the John Hopkins University. He currently holds cello faculty positions at the Bryn Mawr School and the Nelly Berman School of Music. (www.creativecello.com)