Petteri Iivonen - Violin
Petteri Iivonen (b.1987 in Helsinki) is one of the top young soloists from Finland in recent years. Mr. Iivonen won the 2005 Kuopio National Violin Competition in Finland, and recently won the second prize and special prizes at the 10th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, becoming only the second Finnish violinist to receive a medal at the competition. Petteri studied with Tuomas Haapanen at the Sibelius-Academy, Helsinki. He continued his studies with his mentor and friend Hagai Shaham at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music of the Tel Aviv University.  

Since his solo debut at the age of 12, Iivonen has performed at important concert venues around the world, including a benefit for the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Choral Hall at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Mann Auditorium (Tel Aviv), Finlandia Hall (Helsinki), Casa da Música (Portugal), Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine (Italy), Espoo Cultural Centre (Finland), Bovard Auditorium (Los Angeles). In 2008 Petteri joined pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough to give the inaugural instrumental concert at the new Broad Stage in Santa Monica.  

Petteri made his debut in Israel playing the Tchaikovsky concerto under the baton of Zubin Mehta in February, 2010. This performance led to an immediate invitation to perform the Bruch Concerto No. 1 with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Petteri has also performed concertos with the esteemed conductors Leif Segerstam, Paul Goodwin, Sakari Oramo, John Storgards, Lev Markiz, Ari Rasilainen, Dmitry Slobodeniouk, Jan Soderblom, Arvo Volmer, Donald Crockett, Jani Telaranta and Tuomas Haapanen. In his solo career he has played with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Orchestra Sinfonica del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Oulu, Kuopio and Jyvaskyla Symphony Orchestras, Pori, Lappeenranta and Joensuu City Orchestras, Sibelius-Academy Symphony Orchestra, USC Symphony Orchestra and others.  

Petteri released his first recording (a gold CD titled Petteri Iivonen: Art of the Violin) with Yarlung Records in 2010. Petteri teams with Canadian pianist Kevin Fitz-Gerald for his second CD for Yarlung Records, which is scheduled for upcoming release. Petteri appears regularly on radio and television stations, including the NDR in Germany, KUSC in Los Angeles, WQXR in New York, Israeli Radio, YLE in Finland and the RTBF in Belgium.

Kevin Fitz-Gerald - Piano
Performs frequently in recital and as soloist with orchestras. A frequent guest at summer festivals, Mr. Fitz-Gerald is also on the faculties of Banff, Round Top, and the International Chamber Music Institute at Melbourne, Australia. He has collaborated with international artists such as Richard Stolzman, Camilla Wicks, and the Bartok, St.Petersburg, and St. Lawrence String Quartets. Mr. Fitz-Gerald has won several prestigious competitions, including the CBC National Radio Auditions and the Young Artists’ National Piano Competition. The Blaha/Fitz-Gerald Duo performs extensively throughout Canada under the auspices of the Piano Six and Cross Country Classics programs. Mr. Fitz-Gerald also enjoys an international reputation as a teacher, presenting Master Classes, lectures, and symposiums throughout the world. He is Professor of Piano at the University of Southern California, with the distinction of having students who are prize winners in many major international piano and chamber music competitions.