Daredjan Baya Kakouberi, piano

Daredjan Baya Kakouberi was born in Tsilisi, Georgia, and made her debut at the age of eleven. After graduating from Tbilisi Special School of Music for the Talented and Gifted, she entered the Moscow Conservatory, where she continued her studies on the Master’s and Doctoral levels under the tutelage of famous pianist and professor, Sergei Dorenski, and Tchaikovsky Competition Gold Medalist Vladimir Krainev.

Ms. Kakouberi has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in Moscow, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Italy and the United States. In 1996, she was among the “World’s Ten Most Distinguished Pianists” chosen by the Palm Beach Invitational Piano Competition. In the summer of 2000, Ms. Kakouberi was chosen as recipient of the “Most Outstanding and Distinguished Pianist” award in the IBLA International Competition in Italy. In addition to her solo recitals, she has appeared as guest soloist in concerts throughout the U.S. and Europe, including performances at Moscow Conservatory Great Hall, Steinway Hall in New York, and the Cerritos Center for Performing Arts in California. As a chamber performer, Ms. Kakouberi made her debut at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in New York in February 2002.

Noted as an outstanding Chamber Music Artist, Ms. Kakouberi is the Artistic Director of the Blue Candlelight Music Series in Dallas, Texas, where she enjoys collaborating with internationally renowned artists. She is a household name at the major venues in North Texas, such as the University of North Texas in Denton, TX, the Dallas Museum of Art and the Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts.

Gary Levinson, violin

Gary Levinson is the senior associate concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Chosen at age twenty-one by Zubin Mehta to join the New York Philharmonic, he made his New York Philharmonic solo debut in 1991, the same year he earned his Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School. His teachers included Dorothy DeLay, Masao Kawasaki, Glenn Dicterow and Felix Galimir. A laureate of the Jacques Thibaud and Romano Romanini International Violin competitions, he toured Italy last spring, opening the chamber music season of the Fondazione di Romano Romanini Recital Series with a solo recital at Teatro San Carlo. As a chamber musician Mr. Levinson has collaborated with renowned artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Lukas Foss, Lynn Harrell, Eugenia Zukerman and Christopher O’Riley. As first violinist of the Elysium String Quartet, he recorded two critically acclaimed CDs and toured Greece as part of the annual Mykonos International Music Festival.

Mr. Levinson’s recordings have been released on the Cala, New World and Elysium Records labels. His CD including music of Prokofiev, Beethoven, Mozart and Martinu was released in January,2007. Due out in January 2009 are the complete violin and piano sonatas of Beethoven with Asher Fisch at the piano.

Eugene Osadchy, cello

Eugene Osadchy is Associate Professor of Cello at the University of North Texas, co-Artistic Director of the Vetta Chamber Music Series, and Principal cellist with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra. Mr. Osadchy regularly performs throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. He has participated in numerous chamber music series and festivals around the world including Amsterdam and Groningen International Festivals in Holland, Music at Blair Athol in Scotland, the Castel Franko Festival in Italy, the Mozart Festival in Woodstock, Illinois, as well as Vancouver, Banff, Seattle, Sitka and Maui Music Festivals. He has appeared at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, the Lincoln Centre Alice Tully Hall and Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. In addition, Mr. Osadchy makes frequent appearances at the Bargemusic Series in New York, the Autumn Classic series in Anchorage, Chamber Music International in Dallas, Strings in the Mountains at Steamboat Springs and Durango, Colorado, and the Mozart Festival in Long Island, New York.

Born in Kiev to a family of professional musicians, Eugene started his musical education at the age of five on the piano and a year later on the cello. After graduating from The Special Music School for Talented and Gifted Children, Eugene continued his education at the Kiev State Conservatory of Music and graduated with honors. Mr. Osadchy became a Laureate of the Republic of the Ukraine Cello Competition. Other music credits include composition of two film scores and releases of several CD’s on Melodia label featuring Mr. Osadchy’s compositions and arrangements. He also has numerous recordings on the CBS label.

Ronald Neal, violin

Ronald Neal, a noted pedagogue, performer and director of International Music Festivals, is currently Director of Orchestra at the School of Arts and Humanities at UT Dallas. From 1974-2007 Mr. Neal served as a member of the faculty of the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University. Prior to 1974 he held faculty positions at the New York State University of Arts and Sciences at Genesseo, NY and as well as the pre-college faculty of the Juilliard School. Ronald Neal has served as music director and founder of numerous international music festivals including the Manchester Music Festival, Killington Music Festival, Stowe International Music School and Festival, Elan International Music Festivals in Angel Fire, New Mexico, and Stratton, Vermont as well as the Beijing International Music School and Festival and Shenyang Music Festival. He has served as Director of the New England Chamber Orchestra, Austin Chamber Orchestra and is currently in his thirtieth season as Director/Concertmaster of the Dallas Chamber Orchestra.

An interest in the music of living composers led Neal to the co-founding of the contemporary music ensemble "Voices of Change". During his tenure Voices of Change premiered over 200 new works, performed throughout the US and Europe, and recorded extensively. Concert activities have taken Mr. Neal throughout North, Central and South America, Iceland, Europe, Korea, China and Japan.

Mr. Neal received the Performers Certificate and the Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and the Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School. In both institutions he served as a teaching fellow and as a member of the pre-college faculty.

Barbara Sudweeks, viola

Barbara Sudweeks is Associate Principal Viola of the Dallas Symphony and has been a member of that orchestra since 1976. Ms. Sudweeks has been a concerto soloist with the Dallas Symphony, the Shanghai Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Latvian Chamber Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra in Durango, Colorado and the New Philharmonic of Irving, Texas. She is a member of the October Trio (flute, harp and viola) and the new music group, Voices of Change. She has also played with other groups such as the Dallas Bach Society, the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, the Richardson Chamber Music Society and the Fort Worth Chamber Music Society. She has appeared in chamber music concerts with Pinchas Zukerman, William Preucil, Vadim Gluzman and Yefim Bronfman. A former member of An die Musik, she has recorded and performed extensively throughout the US and Europe. She has been a recital soloist throughout the United States as well as Australia and China. Ms. Sudweeks has participated in summer festivals such as the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, San Diego’s Mainly Mozart Festival and Music in the Mountains in Durango, Colorado. Before coming to Dallas, Ms. Sudweeks was Principal Viola of the Hamilton Philharmonic and a member of the Utah Symphony. She also teaches viola, chamber music and orchestral repertoire at Southern Methodist University.

Besides playing the viola, Ms. Sudweeks loves Chinese music and enjoys playing and teaching the Chinese erhu. She has been an erhu soloist with the Kaohsiung City Chinese Orchestra in Taiwan, the Shanghai Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Jiangsu Symphony Orchestra in Nanjing, China, the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra in Durango, Colorado and the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving, Texas. She has also been a recitalist in Shenyang, China.