GIVE Music a FUTURE
Performers
Project
Organisers
Contacts
Justina Dvarionaitė, violin (Lithuania)
Born in Vilnius in 2004, October 6. She is a grand-daughter of a 20th Century Lithuanian composer Balys Dvarionas. Currently Justina is a 6th year student at National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts (violin). Justina received her first singing classes at the age of five, at Vilnius Balys Dvarionas Ten Year Music School, now she is in the 5th grade and studies with Sonata Kudžmienė.
During all these years she has given concerts in Presidential Palace of the Republic of Lithuania, Vilnius City Hall and various music school concerts, as well she is a laureate of many competitions and a TV project.
© Personal Archive
Stefan Iliev, trumpet (Macedonia)
Stefan’s interest for music started at an early age. He has been playing the trumpet for almost eleven years. In 2005 he enrolled in the elementary music school "Lazo Mitsev Rale" where he studied with prof. Zlatko Jovanov and Pere Melov. He advanced very quickly and won numerous awards at many competitions and played many concerts in Macedonia and abroad. In primary school he won five awards, three Special Prizes and two 2nd Prizes.
In 2011 Stefan enrolled in secondary music school in Stip "Sergei Mikhailov," here he studied with Prof. Baze Kostadinov. In high school he won eleven awards, including a Special Prize, three 1st and four 2nd Prizes as well as three 1st Prizes as a member of a chamber band.
In 2015 Stefan entered the Music Academy in Skopje in the class of Prof. Mr. Vaso Risto. He also won two 1st Prizes that year at national and international level (Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, among others).
Stefan is currently a member of the Symphonic Orchestra of Music Academy.
© Personal Archive
© Edith Laurent Neuhauser
Iris Maaß, flute (Austria)
Iris Maaß was born on 19th November 1997 in Vienna. At the age of five, she began her musical studies and since 2011 she has studied the flute under Sonja Korak at the J. S. Bach Music School.
Both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, Iris has been awarded several first prizes at national and international competitions. First prize and all round winner at the international flute competition of Flautiada 2015.
First prize at the international competition Woodwind and Brass 2015 in Croatia, at the Century Art Competition for young performers, 2013, at the 3rd International Flute Competition Flautiada“ 2013, at international Yamaha competition 2012.
Dr. Hans Zwölfer – prize with the Trio “Doppler – Effekt” at the U19 Camber Music Competition, Vienna, as well as the national competition Prima la Musica, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2005.
Iris has regularly participated in master classes with professors including Erwin Klambauer, Barbara Gisler – Haase, Hansgeorg Schmeiser, Michel Moragues, Jan Ostry, Nathalie Rozat, Walter Auer or Jànos Bàlint.
Iris has performed in orchestras in several concerts in Germany, Austria, Slovakia, China, Italy, and Bulgaria as a soloist as well as a second flutist.
© Flying Gorillas
The Flying Gorillas (United Kingdom)
The company was established in 1997 by Susana García and Nigel Warrack and grew out of a desire to create new dance with live music for children that is exciting and fun, performed in a European style, influenced by non-European cultures.
From 1997-2006 we toured various shows in England under the Arts Council England National Touring Programme in Theatres, Schools and unconventional venues including prisons and hospices as well village halls with the National Rural Touring Programme.
We ran several projects in South India and Sri Lanka with the British Council, with former pupils of the late Professor G Sankara Pillai; with Suhruth Nataka Kalari, a rural children's theatre in Kerala; in Nambikkai, a centre for young deaf adults in Tamil Nadu, in rural areas and Dalit tribal zones (formerly known as “untouchables”) with the Trichur School of Drama and also at Eso Natak Shikri in Kolkata (Calcutta).
From 2007-2012 we toured under EU Culture Programme with Travelling people in UK, Romania, Italy, Slovenia, Finland, Turkey and Jordan.
Since 2012 we have been working with children, young people, older people and Travellers in West London (Kensington, Hammersmith and Westminster) under the BIG Reaching Communities Programme.
In all Flying Gorillas shows, the performance is preceded by a workshop in which up to 30 children learn, devise and rehearse the exciting finale. They sit in the front row of the theatre then zoom on stage to perform alongside the professional cast.
