Press release
The Philippine Suzuki Association (PSA)
proudly presents the one-night-only first Philippine concert titled "
PASSION FLIGHT” featuring ISKANDAR WIDJAJA, Berlin-based violin virtuoso and ITAMAR
GOLAN, world-renowned collaborating pianist on November 30 at 4 pm - Fleur de
Lis Theater, St. Paul University Manila,
Pedro Gil, Malate.
" PASSION FLIGHT " is a Fundraising
Concert of the benefit of PSA Teacher Development Program, Scholarships, and
the forthcoming 2018 Asia Region Suzuki Conference in Manila.
Born in Berlin, Iskandar Widjaja began
playing violin at the age of four, at first with the Suzuki method under Susan
Mann. At eleven, he was accepted as an extraordinary student at the College of
Music in Berlin, where he studied with Ursula Scholz and Joachim Hantzschk.
Furthermore, he studied at the Julius Stern Institute Berlin– the pre-college
division for the highly musically gifted. After completing secondary school, he
studied violin at the University of the Arts in Berlin with Prof. Uwe-Martin
Haiberg and Prof. Ilan Gronich, which he completed in 2010.
Iskandar’s debut CD “Bach ‘n’ Blues” was
released worldwide by OehmsClassics in 2011 to great critical acclaim by press
and recommendation by Bavarian, Hesse, and Northgerman broadcast.
His second album ,"Precious Refuge-Works
by J.S.Bach", recorded with the Berliner Camerata, was released in April
2014 with notable reviews and recommendations by FonoForum, NDR, BR Klassik, Deutschlandradio
Kultur, the Strad, Pizzicato magazine and was named "CD of the month"
by Rondo magazine.
Additionally, Iskandar plays Tango with his
Trio "CAYAO". Their debut album was released in October 2014 and
reached the Classical Bestseller Charts Top 30 after a TV appearance on arte with
star tenor Rolando Villazon.
Furthermore, Iskandar has been the face for
Indonesia’s high-end coffee brand “JJ Royal“ as a brand ambassador and TV
commercial model for three years. He has been on the cover of indonesia’s “High
End“ magazine, Fashion-TV magazine, the Jakarta Post, to name a few. Recently he collaborated closely with the
VOLKSWAGEN group. His concert wardrobes are officially sponsored by Tommy
Hilfiger. Photoshoots for Cosmopolitan,
InStyle, Mens Folio or the Volkswagen Magazine round out his profile as a
modern classical violinist.
He plays a Franciscus
Geissenhof from 1793 and
a Stradivarius from 1734, on loan by Florian Leonhard.
On the other hand, Itamar Golan for more than
two decades, has been partnering the most outstanding instrumentalists of our
time. His work has brought him great
critical acclaim, and he is one of the most sought-after pianists of his
generation, playing on the most prestigious stages around the world.
Born in Vilnius, Lithuania, Itamar’s family
emigrated to Israel when he was a year old.
He started his musical studies there, and at the age of seven, he gave
his first concerts in Tel-Aviv.
He was repeatedly awarded scholarships from
the American-Israel Cultural Foundation which enabled him to study with
Emmanuel Krasovsky and Chaim Taub, his chamber music mentor. Later, under a full scholarship from the New
England Conservatory in Boston, he was chosen to study with Leonard Shure.
Since his early years, Itamar Golan’s passion
has been chamber music, but he also has appeared as soloist with some of the
major orchestras, including the Israel Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic
under the direction of Zubin Mehta, Royal Philharmonic under the direction of
Riccardo Muti, and Philarmonia Orchestra under the direction of Lorin Maazel.
Over the years, Itamar has collaborated with
Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Julian Rachlin, Mischa Maisky, Shlomo Mintz, Ivry
Gitlis, Ida Haendel, Kyung Wha Chung, Sharon Kam, Janine Jansen, Martin Frost,
and Torleif Thedeen, among many others.
He is a frequent participant in many prestigious international music
festivals, such as Salzburg, Verbier, Lucerne, Tanglewood, Ravinia, and has
made numerous recordings for Deutsche
Grammophon, Warner Classics, Decca, Teldec, EMI and Sony Classical labels.
In 1991, Itamar Golan was nominated to the
faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, making him one of their youngest
teachers ever. Since 1994, he has been
teaching chamber music at the Paris Conservatory. He resides in Paris, where he is involved in
many different artistic projects.
The
Philippine Suzuki Association, Inc. is a non-profit organization of Suzuki
teachers, parents, and students. It aims to foster, promote and advance the
understanding of Dr. Shinichi Suzuki’s philosophy and methodology. Through the Mother Tongue Approach, it
provides students the opportunity to learn music at an early age. PSA's current president is Prof. Carolyn
Kleiner-Cheng and its founding president is Prof. Carmencita Guanzon-Arambulo.
PSA Inc. promotes fellowship and interaction
among its members as well as with other Suzuki organizations all over the
world. Its goal is to reach out to the
people; to uplift their lives and to bring happiness to all children through
music.
PSA Inc. is duly accredited by the Asia
Region Suzuki Association (ARSA) and the International Suzuki Association
(ISA). By affiliation, all members of
PSA Inc. are automatically members of the Asia Region Suzuki Association (ARSA)
and the International Suzuki Association (ISA).
Ticket prices at P3000, 2000, and 1,000.
For reservations, please call PSA Office/ Greenhills
Music Studio at 7240705, 7242543, 0922-828-0377, 0922- 837-5454.
