Nimbus Ensemble Guest Artists
[in alphabetical order]
Sarkis Baltaian [website], piano
Emerging as tone of the most promising young pianists of his generation, Sarkis has gained an international reputation as a concert pianist, soloist, chamber musician and recording artist. Praised by critics for his “beautiful tone and ability to project even the most delicate pianissimos” and compared to George Gershwin and Oscar Levant for his performance of Gershwin’s Concerto in F, Mr. Baltaian made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1999 and has performend extensively throughout the Uninted States, Germany, Austria, Holland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. He has frequently appeared as a soloist with various orchestras including USC Thornton Symphony, American Youth Symphony, Plvdiv, Pleven, Silven Philharmonics, Sofia Soloist Orchestra (Bulgaria), to name a few. Together with his sister Aroussiak Baltaian (concertmaster for the Nimbus Ensemble’s inaugural concert), he has been featured as a guest artist at the 1999 Los Angeles Philharmonic International Gala and at the 2000 World Piano Pedagogy Convention in Las Vegas.
Jason Calloway, piano
Cellist Jason Calloway has performed to acclaim throughout North America, the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East as soloist and chamber musician. He gave his Carnegie Hall recital debut under the auspices of Artists International and has given other important recitals in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. A champion of new music, Calloway played the cello obbligatos in the American premiere of Milos Bok’s “Missa Solemnis” also at Carnegie Hall as well as the premiere of Oliver Knussen’s “Eccentric Melody” for cello alone at the Casals Festival. In addition to performing as guest artist with Philadelphia’s Network for New Music, he has participated in the premieres of many new works both in New York and abroad with the New Juilliard Ensemble, and has collaborated intensively with composers including Harrison Birtwhistle, Elliott Carter, Mario Davidovsky, and Karel Husa. He recently gave the local premiere of Luciano Berio’s “Sequenza XIV” for cello solo, and is a graduate of both the Juilliard School and the University of Southern California. Mr. Calloway is grateful for the assistance of the Maestro Foundation.
Rebekka Hartmann [German website | English website], violin
Rebekka’s talent was recognized early on in her native Germany where she won numerous competitions for her solo and chamber ensemble performances. Coming to Southern California to study on a Jascha Heifetz scholarship, she went on to win the American String Teachers Association competitions regionally in Los Angeles, and the national solo competition sponsored by the L.A. Philharmonic and was concertmaster of the USC Thornton Symphony and the Schelswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra where she played under Christoph Eschenbach, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Heinrich Schiff and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. In 2004 she won the prestigious Pacem in Terris international music competition in Bayreuth. Rebekka has appeared as soloist with the Klausenburg Philharmonic, the Budapest Chamber Orchestra, the USC Thornton Symphony, the Schelswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra, and the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra.
Paul Sherman, oboe
Paul grew up in Ojai, California with its famous new music festival. It was there that he first gained an appreciation for Carter, Boulez, Ligeti and Berio — composers of high modernism. His Bachelors degree was taken at another hotbed of new music, CalArts. He is currently finishing his doctorate at USC, and as a freelance musician has performed with EnsembleGREEN, Musica Angelica, the L.A. Chamber Orchestra, the L.A. Master Chorale, and Harmonia Baroque.
Nadia Shpachenko [website], piano
Nadia is both a highly accomplished soloist and teacher. She’s appeared with orchestras in Mexico, the Ukraine, and on both coasts in the U.S. She’s also sought after as a recitalist, and has performed in Europe, in such places as Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Italy’s Saluzzo Festival, in Jerusalem’s Hilei Concert Hall, and throughout the U.S., from Carnegie Hall and the Aspen Music Festival to auditoriums throughout the Southland. Among Nadia’s many distinctions are prizes in the Wideman International Piano Competition, the Grace Welsh International Competition, and the National Federation of Music Club’s Young Artist Competition. At USC she was selected as the Outstanding DMA Graduate in addition to winning the Keyboard Studies Ensemble Award.
Nadia’s recordings can be found on the Ullanta and VITEL labels.