The Members of the Orchestra

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The First Violin Section of the SPBSO
	Standing (left to right): Alexandra D. Zubova, Mikhail S. Krutik, Alla D. Krasilshikova, Zodim D. Noskov, George A. Mnatsakanian, Alexander V. Bulov, Vladimir E. Gentselt (Second Concertmaster), Leonid A. Osipov, Lev K. Leibenkraft, Yuri L. Klishkov, Alexei G. Sviatlovsky, Irina G. Romanova, Irina E. Saifutdinova Seated: Vera B. Vasilieva, Larisa G. Dogadina, Alexander E. Shustin (First Concertmaster), Julia A. Tomilova, Olga P. Konovalova
Concertmaster Alexander Efimovich Shustin was born into a musical family on 16. January 1954 in the city of Leninabad (currently Hodjent), in Tadjikistan (former USSR). Alexander Efimovich started to play violin when he was 5. When he turned 8 he began to study with Galina S. Turchaninova, who was his teacher until he joined the Novosibirsk Conservatory with professor Matvei Borisovich Lieberman, from whose class Alexander Efimovich graduated in 1977. He continued his studies by taking the postgraduate course at the Gnessin Music Academy in Moscow, where he graduated in 1981, under the supervision of professors Nelli E. Shkolnikova and Grigory Zhislin. In that year he was also named Laureate of the “Vazlav Huml” International Violin Competition in Zagreb. From 1977 Alexander joined the Novosibirsk Philharmonic Symphony orchestra, under the direction of Arnold Katz, who was also that orchestra's founder. From 1977 until 1992 when he left the orchestra, Alexander Efimovich was the Second Concertmaster and often responsible for the solo performances. During the same period he served as a professor at the Novosibirsk Conservatory, in the departments of solo violin and chamber ensemble. In 1992 Alexander Shustin was invited by Maestro Dmitriev to join the SPBSO as the Concertmaster of the Orchestra and Concertmaster of the First Violins, the first principal violin. Upon his arrival Alexander Shustin was also invited to teach solo violin and he currently is a professor of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. His student Georgi Vassilenko won the First Prize at the International Szymanowski Competition in 1998. Alexander Efimovich also became the first violin of the Stravinsky Quartet (www.stravinquartet.com), the famed music ensemble that he enjoys until this day. Since 1998 Alexander Efimovich has played the Montagnana violin, an 18th century instrument from Venice - his favorite instrument of all he has ever used before. For his contribution to the nation's artistic and cultural heritage, Alexander Efimovich Shustin was was named "Honored Artist of Russia" in 1999. Alexander Shustin has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in Russia and other countries, including the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, the Novosibirsk Symphony, Zagreb Radio Orchestra, Istanbul Symphony and, of course, the SPBSO. Alexander Efimovich has given solo recital performances in Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Minsk, Kiev, Novosibirsk, Tallinn and Riga, as well as several cities in Croatia, Germany, France, Norway, Spain and Turkey. As the first violinist of the Stravinsky Quartet, he tours regularly in Germany, Sweden, Japan, the USA, Korea, Holland, Switzerland, Turkey and all over Russia - including several especially successful joint concerts with Bela Davidovitch, Dmitry Sitkovetsky and Mstislav Rostropovich. Alexander Efimovich is happily married to Galina Shustina, a pianist and teacher of piano. They have two children, Gleb and Olga, both of whom graduated from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in the department of flute. But so far they have chosen to pursue business careers. His granddaughter Evgenia, who will turn 5 in 2008, a most charming child and a family favorite, has already started her music theory lessons with her grandmother. In his free time Alexander Efimovich likes to paint, create sculptures and write poetry. A recent hobby is the collection of miniature sculptures of the violinists - found all over the world during his travels and sent as tokens of their esteem by members of his audience.
The Second Violin Section of the SPBSO
	Standing (left to right): Yury V. Kotov, Galina I. Kuzovkova, Zinovy Z. Velkov, Fedor F. Shalayev, Mikhail Y. Rakov, Victoria Z. Velkova, Victor D. Lisnyak (Second Concertmaster) Seated: Ludmila N. Sysoyeva, Natalya A. Stetskaya, Arcady N. Liskovich (First Concertmaster), Olga V. Kapustina, Natalya V. Sheykina Not Shown: Natalya N. Lugovkina, Viacheslav V. Grikurov
Concertmaster Arcady Naumovich Liskovich was born in Leningrad, his father a chemical engineer and his mother a pianist who was then pursuing her studies at the Leningrad Conservatory. The Second World War started when Arcady Naumovich turned five, his younger sister being born in 1941. Their father perished in 1943 on the front line of the battle against the fascists. Their mother, and the two small children, endured the siege of Leningrad. Arcady Naumovich's mother could not finish her studies the Conservatory, as she had to start to work as a secretary in a music school to support the children. Her hard work and careful economy kept the family from starvation. Some grace was with them - a bomb landed upon their house, crashing through the roof but missing the Becker piano by an inch or two, but it did not explode. Arcady Naumovich really enjoyed improvising at the piano, and having noticed that, his mother decided to take him to the music school where he started to take piano lessons. The director at that time was Sophia Samoylovna Liahovitskaya (currently the school bears her name). One summer, Arcady Naumovich's mother convinced the director of one of the pioneers' camps to accept her son for one month without payment. At the camp nobody was able to play the Russian accordion ("bayan"). Arcady Naumovich learned it very quickly and started to accompany all the official events to the great enjoyment of the camp's management. In his free time, he played the post-war popular repertoire for children. The administration was so happy that they invited the young musician to stay for two extra months. After this camp experience, Arcady Naumovich joined the music school now named after Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, where he started his violin lessons with the famous professor Veniamin Iosifovich Sher. For his first years of study he combined violin and piano as his specialization at the school. When he was still at school, recording specialists from Moscow were so impressed by the way the young musician performed the Tchaikovsky Concerto for violin that it was recorded and placed into the "Golden Fund" of Soviet Music recordings. When the recording became available, Arcady Naumovich received letters of admiration from all parts of Russia. He joined the Leningrad Conservatory in 1955. In 1961 Arcady Naumovich joined the SPBSO in the group of first violins. In 1979 he became Concertmaster of the second violins and holds this position to this day. In 2001, he was awarded the extremely prestigious title of "Honored Artist of Russia". During his tenure with the orchestra, Arcady Naumovich has had a chance to work with a number of great musicians, conductors as well as composers and soloists, among which: Igor Stravinsky, Carl Eliasberg, Arvid Jansons, Paul Kletzki, Gennady Rojdestvensky, Herbert fon Karajan, Evgeni Mravinsky, Nathan Rahlin, Alexander Dmitriev, Yuri Temirkanov, Seiji Ozawa and Roberto Bentsi. Since his years at school, Arcady Naumovich has enjoyed playing jazz. Anatoly Kalvarsky and Vladimir Shalit, who then were students at the music college next door to the school where Arcady was studying, often played jazz for two pianos and the young musician was just carried away by this music. Together with some friends, Arcady Naumovich started a jazz ensemble that soon became the lead in Saint Petersburg's famous early jazz club, "D-58" (currently called "Quadrat"). The newly created quintet of friends consisted of violin, french horn, piano, base and percussion and was called "Liskovich's Experimental Quintet" and became rather well-known throughout the USSR. In 1959 the group won the First Prize at the Tallinin Jazz Festival (Estonia). Their performance was recorded by the BBC and then broadcast in a number of countries. In the Soviet times, the gifted young musician was denied the chance to participate in international violin competitions as he would not join the "Young Communists Union", and so was unable to tour internationally for a number of years. Arcady Naumovich greatly enjoys his work at the SPBSO, in particular the cooperation with his long-time friend Maestro Dmitriev, whom he holds in high regard both as an intellectual and scholar and as a remarkable musician. Arcady Naumovich's wife of 35 years is Irina Fedorovna, an engineer. Their daughter Anna, who turned fifteen in 2007, loves the study of languages and is planning to pursue a diplomatic career.
The Viola Section of the SPBSO
	Standing (left to right): George A. Bialij, Yakov R. Volnind, Ilia V. Efimov, Yuri S. Ovsiannikov, Rustam Y. Alexandrov, Igor A. Bereznev, Sergei V. Zarubin, Mikhail V. Chernishev, Mikhail V. Sokolov Seated: Anna P. Bogorad, Daniil G. Meerovich (Concertmaster), Nadejda T. Shapiro
Concertmaster Daniil Grigorievich Meerovich was born in Leningrad in 1956, into a musical family. His father, Grigory Semenovich Meerovich, played viola in Maestro Yuri Temirkanov's Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, where he continues his tenure until today. Daniil Grigorievich graduated as a violist from the Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) Conservatory in 1980, where he studied in the class of Professor Yuri M. Kramarov, winning a special award at the All Soviet Union Competition of Orchestral Musicians in Lvov. He then pursued postgraduate studies with Professor Vladimir Ivanovich Stopichev, graduating in 1983. As of 1979, Daniil Grigorievich had already begun work as a violist in the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Orchestra, first under Maestro Temirkanov and later (from 1988) under Valery Gergiev, in the concertmaster group of violas. In 1991 Meerovich joined the SPBSO under Alexander Dmitriev first as a Second Concertmaster of the viola section. He became the Principal Concertmaster of Violas in 1994. Recently, he was both honored and pleased to give the premiere performance of the "Concerto for Viola and Orchestra" by Yuri Falik, with the composer himself conducting the SPBSO. In addition to his orchestral career, Daniil Grigorievich started to perform as a soloist from young age and while still a student toured in the world's best halls, including The Musikverein in Vienna with the student chamber orchestra under direction of Yuri Aliev in 1979 and The Franz Liszt Academy of Music Concert Hall in Budapest with the orchestra of the music festival in 1980. He continues to perform regularly as a soloist and enjoys very much his participation in chamber music with the Stravinsky Quartet (www.stravinquartet.com), which he joined in 1992. At the Stravinsky Quartet, Daniil Grigorievich performs together with his friend and colleague, Alexander Shustin, also Concertmaster of the SPBSO and Concertmaster of the First Violins, who is principal violin of the Stravinsky Quartet. Since 1984 Daniil Grigorievich has taught viola at the Modest Musorgsky Music College (as of 2002 Music College of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory) and currently has a class of solo viola and quartet. He also gives annual summer master classes for viola and chamber ensemble in Stuttgart, Germany. Daniil Grigorievich plays the viola that previously belonged to the composer Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov In 2002 the artistic merit of Daniil Grigorievich Meerovich was recognized with the prestigious title of "Honored Artist of Russia". Daniil Grigorievich is happily married to Julia Tomilina, who plays violin in the SPBSO. His son, Jan Tomilin, is continuing the family tradition by studying violin at the Music College of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. For a recreation, Daniil Grigorievich enjoys architecture and design, and spends some time restoring and perfecting his family's countryside house.
The Cello Section of the SPBSO
	Standing (left to right): Stanislav G. Lyamin, Sergei L. Novikov, Oleg O.Tikhonov, Pavel A. Shirokov, Mikhail L. Gerasimov, Ilya B. Kartashov, Leonid I. Volkov, Anatoly E. Lev Seated: Helen V. Gurkina, Sergei V. Pechatin (Concertmaster), Natalie N. Zelikova Not Shown: Semion A. Kovarsky
Concertmaster Sergey Pechatin was born in Saint Petersburg into an artistic family. He started his musical education in 1966 when he entered the Special Music School Lyceum. He became first prize winner at the International Cello Competition in Prague in 1976. From 1978 until 1983 he was a student at the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory. In 1988 he was invited to join the Saint Petersburg Soloist Chamber Orchestra as principal cellist and in 1994 was appointed principal cellist of the SPBSO. In 2001, he became a member of the well-known classical ensemble The Modern Trio. Sergey has also played with several orchestras as a quest soloist, including the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and Quatro Staggione. He is usually most noted for his perfomance of the cello concertos of Bach, Haydn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, R. Strauss, Respigi, N. Rota and F. Gulda. Sergey remains very active as a chamber music performer. As a member of the Saint Petersburg Chamber Music Society he takes part in many concerts in the Saint Petersburg concert halls. He has also recorded frequently for Saint Petersburg State Radio. Since 2002 he has presented annual master classes in South Korea. In 2002, Sergey Pechatin was granted the title of Artist of Honor.
The Bass Section of the SPBSO
	Standing (left to right): Sergei V. Dmitriev, Nikolay N. Shamshuro, Valentin S. Malinov (Concertmaster), Alexander R. Ivashenko, Ivan V. Karlov, Petr I. Gogitidze Seated: Enver I. Mahauri, Tom L. Ribakov
Concertmaster Valentin Sergeevich Malinov has been principal bass of the SPBSO since his appointment by Maestro Dmitriev in 1997. He first joined the orchestra as a bassist in 1969, then under the baton of Yuri Temirkanov. Valentin Sergeevich was born in the city of Kuibishev (currently and formerly Samara) on 11. February 1946. He started to play cello when he was 9. In 1961 Valentin came to Leningrad to join the Specialized Music School for Gifted Children of the Conservatory and was accepted into the bass class of professor Petr Abramovich Veinbladt. In 1965 Valentin Sergeevich joined the Conservatory, in the class of professor Mikhail Mikhailovich Kurbatov, where he was graduated in 1970. While still a student, Valentin Sergeevich started to perform first at the Opera Studio of the Conservatory, then at the Mariinsky Theatre. He also participated the ground-breaking Leningrad Jazz Festival in 1966 with the Jazz Quartet of the Conservatory. In 1980 Valentin participated at the All Soviet Union competition of the bassists and won a special award. In 2002 he received a special award from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation "For the long-term achievements and success in cultural and the arts". Valentin Sergeevich teaches bass at the Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Music College, at the Gertsen University and at the Okhta District Center for Esthetic Education. His wife of 26 years, Regina Konstantinovna, a pianist with whom Valentin Sergeevich participated in music competitions as a youth, has left this world. His beloved daughters are Valentina, a film sound engineer and Regina, an expert restoration artist In his free time Valentin Sergeevich enjoys photography, video, films and, as ever, jazz.
The Flute Section of the SPBSO
	Standing (left to right): Alexander P. Yasenovich (Piccolo), Maria A. Avvakumova, Radik H. Suleymanov (Concertmaster) Seated: Natalia E. Sechkareva
The Clarinet Section of the SPBSO
	Standing (left to right): Mikhail B. Alexeev, Renat S. Rakov, Adil V. Fedorov (Concertmaster) Seated: Andrey Y. Bolshiyanov (Base Clarinet)
Concertmaster Adil Vladimirovich Fedorov, a native of Leningrad, was born on 1 September 1948 into a musical family. Adil Vladimirovich's father Vladimir Alexandrovich was a remarkable music arranger and his mother Rabiya Zhayafovna a homemaker. Vladmir Alexandrovich played clarinet and Adil started to join his when he was only seven. He then joined the music high school for gifted children of the Leningrad Conservatory. His first teacher there was Mikhail Andreevich Yushkevich, followed by Mikhail Mikhailovich Izmailov. Vladmir Alexandrovich graduated from the school with a Silver Medal. After joining the Conservatory he started combining his clarinet studies with ensemble studies under Maria Vsevolodovna Karandashova. His professor of clarinet at the conservatory was Vladimir Nikolayevich Krasavin. In 1971 Adil Vladimirovich joined the SPBSO semi-officially as the Concertmaster of clarinets, and officially took that post on 1 January 1973. He has been awarded the title "Honored Artist of Russia". During his tenure with the SPBSO, Adil Vladimirovich has had a chance to collaborate with a number of great conductors, among which Konstan A. Semionov, Nikolay S. Rabinovich, Arvid and Maris Yansons, Karl Eliasberg, Boris Khaykin, Kirill Kondrashin, Evgeny Svetlanov, Gennady Rodjestvensky, Odyssey Dymitriady, Yury Temirkanov and Alexander Dmitriev. Adil Vladimirovich very much enjoys his many chamber engagements. His repertoire is varied and he performs with different chamber partners in duets, trios and as part of string quartets. Among his repertoire there is a large number of pieces that he performed for the first time in Russia - he loves both the forgotten and the newest music. Among his début performances many were composed especially for Adil Vladimirovich. These world and Russian débuts include:    -  Quintet for clarinet and string quartet, by Lician A. Prigojin    -  Four concert arias for clarinet and piano, by Grigory Korchmar    -  The invocation of the sun, a concert cycle by Leonid Rezetdinov    -  Sonata for clarinet and piano, by Dmitry Smirnov    -  Cantata for clarinet, voice and string quartet, by Grigory Korchmar    -  Quintet, by Jean Françaix    -  Quintet for clarinet and strings, by Max Rege    -  Quintet for clarinet and string quartet, by Carl Maria von Weber Among his favorite canonical pieces are the Mozart and Brahms clarinet quintets. There are 5 CD releases featuring Adil Vladimirovich:    -  Boris Tchaikovsky: Chamber Symphony, Signs of the Zodiac, Four Preludes and Clarinet Concerto - with the Saint Petersburg Chamber Orchestra    -  Three Viennese Classical Images: Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart- with Alexander Titov    -  Galina Ustvolskaya: Trio, Sonata and Octet - with Oleg Malov, Alexander Shustin (of the SPBSO) and Alexander Stang    -  Georgy Sviridov's "Russia Flying Away" and Boris Tchaikovsky's "The Last Spring" - with Georgy Vasilevich Sviridov, Boris Tchaikovsky, Natalia Sechkariova and Liudmila Shkirtil    -  The Ebony Concerto, by Igor Stravinsky - with Leo Korhin conducting Adil Vladimirovich regularly performs at various festivals in Saint Petersburg. He has performed together with Anatol Ugorski (piano), Boris Pergamentshikov (violin), Zinovy Vinnikov (violin) and Vitali Buyanovsky (French horn), Galina Kovaleva (soprano), Nelli Li (soprano), Natalya Gutman (cello), Alexei Lubimov (piano) and Pavel Egorov (piano). Adil Vladimirovich combines his performing career with teaching at the Conservatory, where he is professor in the department of the chamber ensemble. Among his pupils are numerous laureates of international competitions. Adil Fedorov is happily married - his wife Nadejda is a Concertmaster at the Conservatory. Their older son Timur Fedorov works at the SPBSO as the Regulator of the percussion group, the younger son Alexei graduated from the Conservatory as a pianist, but has chosen a management career at Coca-Cola. In his free time, Adil Vladimirovich loves to read. Among his favorite authors are Mikhail Bulgakov, Ivan Bunin, Andrey Platonov, and the Polish writer Janusz Wisniewski. He also enjoys Alexei Ivanov, Kurt Vonnegut, J.D. Salinger and Norman Mailer. He is also something of a basketball fan, a sport that he played while still at the Conservatory.
The Oboe Section of the SPBSO
	Left to right: Vasiliy V. Nikitin (English Horn), Alexey G. Tses (Concertmaster), Evgeny V. Shrednik, Segey I. Ivanov
The Bassoon Section of the SPBSO
	Left to right: Moisey N. Gutkin (Double Bassoon), Andrey M. Kunyavskiy (Concertmaster), Dmitry M. Krasnik, Nikolay A. Golm
Concertmaster Andrey Mikhailovich Kunyavsky a native of Leningrad and was born into a music family on 13 December 1983. His mother, Tatiana Nikolaevna is a choral conductor, and his father Mikhail Vladimirovch Kunyavsky worked at the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra as a second clarinetist until 2003, where he now continues his tenure in the orchestra administration. In 1988 Andrey Mikhailovich joined the preparatory class of the Special Music High School of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. In 1990 he became a student in the piano department where he started his studies with Ksenia Alexandrovna Kunitsina. Andrey Mikhailovich then started to study bassoon with Lev Izrailevich Pechersky. In 2001, upon graduating from the school, he joined the Conservatory, in the class of Professor Oleg Evgenievch Talypin. Upon graduation from the Conservatory in 2007, he decided to pursue continuing post-graduate studies at the Conservatory with Professor Talypin. In 2001 Andrey Mikhailovich was a laureate of the International Bassoon Competition in Tolyatti, where he won the Third Prize. In 2003, he won the First Prize at the International Bassoon Competition in Kiev. In January 2005 Andrey Mikhailovich joined the SPBSO as Concertmaster of the bassoon group, under the baton of Maestro Alexander Dmitriev. Andrey Mikhailovich really enjoys his chamber engagements and he tries to plan these as regularly as possible. His usual partner currently is Tatyana Bondarenko on piano. Together they perform the music of Mozart, Carl Maria von Weber, Camille Saint-Saëns, Eugene Bozza, André Jolivet and Antonio Rosetti at the Conservatory's Glazunov Hall and ans also perform the latest pieces as master demonstrations at music schools. Apart from the joint concerts with Tatyana, Andrey Mikhailovich regularly plays in various wind chamber ensembles, constantly seeking to expand and perfect his repertoire. Andrey Mikhailovich's parter, Irina Yanovskaya, is a choral conductor. Together they have much-pampered Russian toy-terrier dog named "Gik". In his very limited free time, Andrey Mikhailovich is an an avid downhill skier in winter and enjoys the relaxation of the countryside in the summer.
The French Horn Section of the SPBSO
	Standing (left to right): Vsevolod V. Mititello, Ivan G. Grohovskiy, Andrey A. Mikhailov, Artem A. Mikaelyan (Concertmaster) Seated: Vladimir V. Mokshin, Anatoly K. Suhorukov
The Trumpet Section of the SPBSO
	Left to right: Anatoly V. Cherkun (Concertmaster), Naeme E. Birk, Mikhail P. Mikhailov, Boris P. Yuriev
Concertmaster Anatoly Vladimirovich Cherkun is a native of Zaporojie in the Ukraine. He was born on 5 September 1966 into an engineer's family. When Anatoly Vladimirovich turned 10, he started to play trumpet in the children's' wind orchestra bearing the name of the pilot-cosmonaut, twice the Hero of the Soviet Union, Pavel R. Popovich. In 1981 Anatoly Vladimirovich started his studies of trumpet at the music college with Boris Yurievich Kotov, soloist of the Zaporojie Philharmonic Society. He combined his college studies with performance work at the Nikolay A. Tchors Music Theatre, and later with work at the Orchestra of the Zaporojie Philhamonic Society under the baton of Vyacheslav Redya. In 1988 Anatoly joined the trumpet department of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under Professor Veniamin Savelievich Margolin. While studying at the Conservatory, Anatoly Vladimirovich worked with the symphony orchestra of the Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Conservatory, and at the Saint Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Andrey Anihanov. In 2003 Anatoly Vladimirovich became the trumpet soloist and Concertmaster in the SPBSO, under the baton of Maestro Alexander Dmitriev. Anatoly Vladimirovich is happily married - his wife Julia is a vocalist of the Choir of the Mikhailovsky Theatre. They have two children, daughter Ksenia, a high school student who enjoys computer sciences and languages, and son Vladislav, born in 2007. In his free time, Anatoly Vladimirovich enjoys auto racing, fishing and hunting.
The Trombone Section of the SPBSO
	Left to right: Dmitry N. Antonuyk (Concertmaster), Vladimir P. Lestov, Sergei V. Glushenko Not shown: Alexander V. Zelikov (Bass Trombone), Alexander R. Shtadel (Tuba)
Concertmaster Dmitry Antonuyk was born in the city of Krivoy Rog in the Ukraine in 1971. His parents are not musicians - his father is a mine production manager and his mother a technology engineer in machine construction. Dmitry Nikolaevich graduated from music school where he specialized in the Russian accordion ("bayan"). In 1986 he joined the music college in Krivoy Rog, in the department of trombone. While still a student at the music college in Krivoy Rog, Dmitry started to work professionally as a trombonist in the Variety Orchestra at the House of Culture for Metallurgists ("Dom Kultyri Metallurgov") and then at the Orchestra of the Circus of Krivoy Rog. In 1990 the young musician joined the Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in Saint Petersburg. His professor was the famous trombonist and tutor Victor Vasilievich Sumerkin, until this day recalled by Dmitry Nikolaevich as his musical mentor. While studying at the Conservatory, he worked at the Saint Petersburg Cappella Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Vladislav Chernushenko. After graduating from the Conservatory, Dmitry Nikolaevich earned the First Prize at the Second International Brass competition in Nijni Novgorod and joined the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia Orchestra where he worked till 1998 under Maestro Yuri Temirkanov. For the two following years he worked in experimental orchestras and brass ensembles. In March 2000 Dmitry Nikolaevich joined the SPBSO under the baton of Maestro Alexander Dmitriev as the Regulator of trombones and became Concertmaster of the group in November of 2002. Recently Dmitry Nikolaevich recorded a CD with the pianist of the SPBSO, Nikolay Mazhara, featuring music by Glinka, Glazunov, Rachmaninov, Glière, Gedike, Kolenkovich and Shostakovich. In his free time, Dmitry Nikolaevich enjoys Russian literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. He also has a passion for Russian and world history and has particular interest in the history of China and Japan. He loves animals and tries to often visit his parents and family pets in Krivoy Rog - two dogs and a cat, all three adopted.
The Percussion Section of the SPBSO
	Standing (left to right): Nikloay V. Rijov, Timur A. Fedorov, Mikhail V. Lestov, Anatoly S. Fedorov Seated: Victor K. Kanatov (Concertmaster)
Concertmaster Victor Kirillovich Kanatov joined the SPBSO as the leader of the percussion group and kettle-drummer in 1992, based on the special invitation of Maestro Alexander Dmitriev. He previously served as a principal with Maestro Dmitriev's orchestra at the Mali (Mikhailovsky) Theatre between 1974 and 1981. A native of Leningrad, Victor Kirillovich was born into a family of office employees on 26 February 1938. His father, a Communist party military commissar, died in the fighting on the Finnish front in 1940, when Victor was only 2 years old. Victor started to play piano, his first instrument, as a young child and when he turned 12, joined the class of percussion at the Music School. It was at the school that he met his first and most important teacher, Vasily Evseevich Osadchuk, then the soloist of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic orchestra under the baton of Evgeni Mravinsky. Starting in 1960 Victor Kirillovich performed regularly as a substitute with the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Mravinsky. In 1962, he won a special award at the All-USSR competition for performance artists. He was then invited by Stefan Vasilievch Turchak to join the State Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine in Kiev, where he worked as Concertmaster of percussion until 1966. Starting in 1967, Victor Kirillovich joined the Leningrad Oblast Philharmonia and Lenconcert. In 1974 Maestro Alexander Dmitriev invited him to the Mali Opera Theatre (formerly and currently Imperial Mikhailovsky Theatre) Orchestra as the Concertmaster of percussion group. After winning a competition for the place of soloist kettle-drummer in the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra under Maestro Yury Temirkanov in 1981, Victor Kirillovich stayed with that orchestra until 1992, when he joined the SPBSO. His chamber engagements have included regular work with the stage ensemble "Colors of the Rainbow", for both classical and popular repertoire, and the Quintet of the Mariinsky Theatre where he played timpani and with which he toured often throughout the former Soviet Union. One of the most renowned projects of the Quintet was the "Symphony of Sonnets" for voice, piano and percussion by Anatoly Lazarev, based on the poetry of Baudelaire. Victor Kirillovich was one of the musicians who participated in the famous concert with Leonard Bernstein, "Ode to Freedom", that took place in Berlin, when the 9th Symphony by Beethoven was performed by the world's most famous musicians were invited by Maestro Bernstein to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall. The fall of the Berlin Wall was a grand occasion for the uniting of musicians from all over the world, and Victor Kirillovich was proud to be one of them. It also became Bernstein's last recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony and was a celebrated as a great musical event as well as an historic one. In his free time Victor Kirillovich enjoys soccer, cross-country ski-racing and shooting sports - biathlon and field shooting with a small caliber rifle. He recalls with amusement a fine result during an inter-theatre "olympic" competition between the Mariinsky and Bolshoi theatres, when he shot 98 out of 100. For the last 40 years Victor Kirillovich has been very happily married. His wife Margarita Iljinichna, also a percussionist, worked as a teacher of percussion in music schools. Her most important engagement was with the Evgeni Mravinsky Art School, where she taught for many years. Their son Arthur plays bassoon in the Saint Petersburg Camerata Orchestra of the Russian State Hermitage, under the baton of Saulus Sondetskis.
The Harp and Piano Section of the SPBSO
	Left to right: Inga V. Kravchik, Nikolai Y. Mazhara (Piano), Ekaterina V. Semion (Concertmaster)
Concertmaster Ekaterina Semion began her tenure as principal harpist of the SPBSO in the fall of 2005. Born in 1980, Ekaterina is a native of Saint Petersburg, where her father is an engineering manager in the construction business and her mother a teacher of Russian language and literature. Ekaterina is the fifth generation of the family contributing prominently to the life of the city. Her great-grandfather was the chief priest of the Church of the Smolensky Cemetery and there in 1921 performed a funeral service for one of the greatest poets of the “Serebriani Vek” (Silver Century), Alexander Blok. Ekaterina's grandfather, Igor Borisovich Zapadalov was a famed poet and journalist. After joining the Sviridov Arts School for Children, Ekaterina started her harp lessons with Galina Arnoldovna Krasnopolskaya when she turned seven. In 1995 Ekaterina joined the music college. After graduation she continued her music studies at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under professor Assia Agassievna Varosyan. In 2007 Ekaterina completed her postgraduate studies at the Conservatory. In 2000 she was the Laureate of the 1st International Vera Dulova Competition, and a few years later became the first harp of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, although sometimes she also played the second harp part. With this orchestra Ekaterina toured in the spring of 2004 with Claudio Abbado, and in the summer of the same year with Ivan Fischer. She has participated in master classes by Katherine Michelle, Natalya Shameeva and Milda Agazoryan. While still at the Conservatory, Ekaterina worked with the Igor Vorobiev Ensemble of Contemporary Music, where she played together with another current SPBSO musician, Andrey Kuniavsky, Concertmaster of the bassoons. With the Ensemble she toured Moscow, Nigni Novgorod, Kazan and all the major Russian regional conservatories, performing "The Music of the Repressed Russian Avant-garde". Apart from her current work with the SPBSO, Ekaterina cherishes her many chamber engagements. This work has included playing at the Anna Akhmatova Museum, at The Fontanny Dom Memorial Concert for the 250th Anniversary of Mikhail Glinka (where she played the Serenade based on the theme from the opera "Anne Boleyn" by Gaetano Donizetti), at the Isaak Brodsky Museum (playing Dances by Claude Debussey). She has also performed the film music of Leonid Desyatnikov at the Capella Hall. At the Small Philharmonic Hall in Saint Petersburg, under the baton of Arcady Shteinlukht, she participated in the Opening of the 16th Sound Journeys Muisc Festival (playing Hymns by Alfred Schnittke). Recently Ekaterina performed the Concerto for Two Harps by Jean Françaix, with Olga Poliakova (second harp), at the Memorial Concert for Ariadna Tugay in the city of Petrozavodsk. In her free time Ekaterina enjoys the visual arts (in particular the works of the early Renaissance), and loves visiting museums all over the world. She tries to find time for getting together with her large multi-generation family in the countryside, and likes especially to bake for them from old family recipes. Ekaterina's husband, Ilya, plays viola at the Saint Petersburg Cappella Orchestra. Their first child, their daughter Varvara, was born in the summer of 2007. ------------------ Pianist Nikolai Mazhara is a graduate of Saint Petersburg Conservatory, where he graduated both as a composer in the class of the Professor Alexander Derenikovich Mnaktsanian (2000), and as a pianist in the class of the Professor Eduard Vasilievich Bazanov (2001). Currently he teaches at the Conservatory in the instrumental department. Since 2001 Nikolai has worked with the SPBSO, where he performs regularly as a soloist, and with several leading chamber ensembles. As a soloist he has worked with both orchestras of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, the Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonia and several others, under the direction of Maestros Alexander Dmitriev, Vladimir Altschuler, Alexander Titov, Vladislav Chernushenko and Alexander Sladkovsky. In giving solo performances, he participates in several festivals, such as "Days of Culture of the City of Saint Petersburg" in Alma-Ata (Kazahstan) and Tallinn (Estonia). Nikolai was the first prize winner of the IVth International Sergei Prokofiev Piano Competition in 2004. A recent performance with the SPBSO, with Alexander Polishchuk conducting, was "Dances of Death" for piano and orchestra by Franz Liszt - which was met with an exceptionally warm reception in December 2007. As part of his chamber activity, Nikolai performs also the music of contemporary composers, including his own. He is a member of the Russian Composers Union since 2005. His composition works are performed at various music festivals, such as "Saint Petersburg Music Spring", "From Avant-garde to Today" and "Music Academies of Russia", that take place in Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Ekaterinburg and Kazan. He has authored "Three Concerti for piano and orchestra", "Symphony for string orchestra", "Suite for chamber orchestra" and a number of other chamber compositions. Nikolai is happily married and has three children - two daughters Darya (who is 7) and Katherine (who just turned 1), and a son Evgeni (age 4). The older children have already started to take music lessons. His wife, Anastasija Sergeevna, is a music scholar. She teaches solfeggio in the department of artistic education at the Saint Petersburg Youth Art School. While Nikolai likes to spend his free time with his family, he also enjoys the traveling and acquaintance with new and interesting people and places occasioned by his career.