Piano

Was born in Lipetsk, Russia in 1985. From the age of 2 Sergey showed interest in music and he began his piano studies when he was 6. In childhood he became a prizewinner of several national and international competitions, most notably he received the 1st prize and a gold medal at the 3rd Tchaikovsky Junior International Piano Competition at the age of 12. He continued his studies in Moscow with professor Naum Schtarkman at the Gnessin School and later Central Music School. During his time in Moscow Sergey also took lessons from Igor Zhukov and Mikhail Pletnev. Sergey received his Bachelor Degree at the Moscow Conservatory, and a Masters of Music Degree at the Royal College of Music, London. Basukinsky performed as a soloist and with orchestras in Russia, Europe, Japan at venues such as: Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Great Philarmonic Hall, St. Petersburg, Hall Salle Gaveau (Paris), Kioi Hall (Tokyo) among others. Since 2014 Sergey has been teaching piano in London.

In starting a new music school in London based on Russian and Eastern European pedagogical tradition, Elena brought together her two strong passions - for classical music and education. Being educated in the Gnessin system in Moscow and having attended numerous masterclasses in piano performance and pedagogy, she has many years of experience teaching children and young adults across all ages and abilities, consistently achieving excellent results, both with those pupils who show exceptional promise at the start of their music journeys and those whose musical abilities might not be evident at the beginning. Her ardent belief in every child’s potential and her creative and thoughtful approach to every pupil, coupled with her wealth of knowledge, sharp music intuition and tireless energy resulted in many of her pupils achieving Diploma in Performance level by the age of 12-13 and receiving Music Scholarships and Exhibitions at top academic schools such as St Paul’s Girls’ and St Paul’s Boys, Westminster Boys, Highgate School, Eton College, Harrow School, South Hampstead School for Girls and UCS. Her pupils also gained Music Scholarships at Specialist Music Schools – The Purcell School for Young Musicians in London and St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh and have been prizewinners at many national and international music competitions. Since the launch of Camerata Tchaikovsky project in December 2021, Elena’s pupils have been among the young soloists at every of these orchestral concerts which have been happening every two months.

Apart from her dedicated teaching, Elena has been leading the Academy since its first days. She has brought together a team of exceptionally gifted professional musicians, most of whom have been educated in the Russian and Eastern European musical traditions and who have been eager to share their knowledge and artistry with their pupils. Working in close collaboration with these fine musicians, Elena has been responsible for overseeing the progress of each pupil, refining the Academy’s syllabus, developing the Academy’s links with various partners and strengthening its position as one of the leading educational institutions providing classical music education for children and young people. This teamwork resulted in creating a unique place where children can blossom and grow into cultured young musicians, whether or not they will decide to make music their profession in the future.

Pinar Celik Warsi was born in Istanbul, began playing the piano in 1991 at Istanbul Anatolian Fine Arts High school and in 1994 she was accepted to Istanbul University State Conservatory. She studied Professor Meral Yapali, one of Turkey's most distinguished teachers. Pinar obtained her BMus with honours in 2000 and continued her Postgraduate Diploma in Performance at Royal Northern College of Music with Renna Kellaway in the UK. From 2001 to 2006 she taught and worked as an accaompanist at the Istanbul University State Conservatory.

After moving to the England in 2006, she continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Tatiana Sakissova and obtained her Postgraduate Diploma in Performance in 2008.

The highlights of her many solo and chamber music recitals in Turkey and abroad include the 26th Istanbul International Music Festival, the International Interfest Bitola Music Festival (with her trio, Trio Academia) and collaborated with many musicians. Pinar has played in Istanbul's important venues such as Cemal Resid Rey Concert Hall, Is Sanat Concert Hall, Ataturk Cultural Centre, Austrian Cultural Centr, Steinway Haus in Dusseldorf. She played with Istanbul and Adana State Symphony Orchestras and Istanbul Chamber Orchestra. As well as in Turkey, Pinar has performed in Germany, Macedonia and in the U.K.

She has participated in master classes with Professor Sergei Dorensky, Irina Zaritskaya, Huseyin Sermet, Barry Synder, Andrei Diev, Leontina Margulis, Diana Ketler and Dianne Andersson.

She has participated in international competitions. She won the 2nd prize in the 3rd Interfest Bitola International Piano Competition and the 3rd prize in the 7th Shabhyt-Inspiration International Chamber Music Competition in Astana.

Born in Russia, Lilija began to play the piano at the age of 6, when she joined the Sabitov Music School in Ufa. She continued her music education at the Ufa College of Art, specialising in piano, chamber music and piano accompaniment, and later gained a place at the Ismagilov Institute of Art to study with the renowned concert pianist Prof. V. Monastyrskiy (now Prof. of Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance). Lilija graduated with Masters in piano performance, chamber music, piano accompaniment and pedagogy.

During her studies at the Institute of Art, she taught piano at music schools and also had a position of an accompanist at the State Academic Choir (“Capella”) directed by T. Saifullin. Working with this exceptional musician, Lilija gained invaluable musical insights and experience. She also gave numerous solo performances at various music festivals and competitions and took part in chamber music concerts, playing duets and piano trios with her chamber partners.

Having graduated from the Institute of Art, Lilija did her postgraduate studies at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Department of Ancient Music, specialising in harpsichord under the tutelage of Prof. E. Parmentier from the Michigan University School of Music, Theatre and Dance, USA, completing her studies in 1994.

Having moved to Budapest with her family, Lilija started teaching piano at the Budapest State Music School and continued to play in concerts as a chamber musician and choral accompanist. The family later moved to London, where Lilija started teaching privately and in 2011 joined the RMA in its first year (known as Belsize Music Academy at that time).

Lilija has brought up many talented young musicians who have been consistently achieving Distinctions in ABRSM Grade 8, Diploma in Performance and Licenciate Diploma. She is in high demand due to her excellent record of teaching children across all ages, as well as adults.

Marta Gourska was born 1970 in Ukraine.

Since 1989 she has been studying piano at the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine.

She studied with wonderful pianists E. Tkach (solo piano, methodology, pedagogy); I. Ryabov (solo piano); I. Borovik, L. Grishko (chamber ensemble class); N. Kozinav (accompaniment class).

She had an active concert life during her studies and gave many solo and chamber music performance.

In 1996 she moved with her family to Croatia.

From 1996 to 1999 she lived in Zagreb and collaborated with the Croatian Symphony Orchestra and Radio and Television Orchestra. She gave performances throughout Croatia (Zagreb, Zadar, Čakovec, Split, Omiš) as soloist, accompanist and member of chamber ensembles. Also, she was performing as an accompanist in the special edition of HRT “Russian Chamber ensemble” (first broadcast - autumn 2000).

From 2002 to 2007 she worked as an accompanist at the Music Academy in Split, where she had a position of the chief accompanist. She was also appointed Artistic director for the Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet production at the Croatian National Theatre in Split.

From 2000 until 2019 she was teaching piano at many music schools in Croatia: the Music school Lovro pl. Matacic Omis, High Music school Pregrada, Vatroslav Lisinski Music College Bjelovar, High Music school Ferdo Livadic Samobor, Jastrebarsko music school and Elly Basic Music school.

In her twenty-one years of teaching and work as a concertmaster, Marta has received numerous awards in recognition of her high achievements and outstanding results.

Marta’s pupils are prizewinners at regional, national and international competitions. Many of them went on to study music for the degree and became professional musicians.

In 2014 Marta received Master's degree in Musicology in Ukraine.

She has written several papers on music published in in Croatia and Ukraine, as well as dissertation about "Genesis of Croatian Musical Art". She is actively involved in international music conferences.

In October 2019 Marta moved with her family to London and joined the RMA shortly after that.

“Klinton generally highlights the lyrical side of Prokofiev, though she doesn't play down the sonatas' sardonic, motoric and percussive elements, which are essential characteristics in most of the composer's piano works. She also tends to impart an epic sense to the music… Nothing in the set is less than compelling.” --- MusicWeb International (Prokofiev Complete Piano Sonatas)

"This account by Dinara Klinton holds its own against all comers." -- Gramophone (Liszt 12 Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139)

"An astonishing achievement...Dinara Klinton's interpretative gift gives her a wonderful instinct...and her response to the Byronic sweep of Liszt's imagination enthrals at every point...Klinton can find a complete world in a single quiet chord." -- BBC Music (Liszt 12 Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139)

After sharing the top prize at the 2006 Busoni Piano Competition age 18, Dinara took up a busy international concert schedule, appearing at many festivals including the “Progetto Martha Argerich” in Lugano, the Cheltenham Music Festival, the Aldeburgh Proms and “La Roque d’Antheron”. She has performed at many of the world's major concert venues, including the Royal Festival Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, Berliner Philharmonie and Konzerthaus, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, New York 92Y, Cleveland Severance Hall, Tokyo Sumida Triphony Hall, Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory and Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. In concerto engagements, Klinton has worked with The Philharmonia, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Svetlanov State Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a recording artist, Dinara has received widespread critical acclaim for her interpretations. Among many dazzling reviews, her album Liszt: Études d'exécution transcendante, S. 139, released by the German label GENUIN classics, was selected by BBC Music Magazine as Recording of the Month. Dinara’s debut album Music of Chopin and Liszt was made at the age of 16 with an American label DELOS. Her third CD is a part of renowned recording series Chopin. Complete Works on contemporary instruments, released by The Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Poland. This year’s release with PianoClassic is featuring Prokofiev Complete Sonatas.

Dinara’s music education started in the age of five in her native Kharkiv, Ukraine. She graduated with highest honours from Moscow Central Music School, where she studied with Valery Piassetski, and the Moscow State P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where she worked with Eliso Virsaladze. Dinara completed her Master’s degree at the Royal College of Music under the tutelage of Dina Parakhina and became the inaugural recipient of highly prestigious RCM Benjamin Britten fellowship during her Artist Diploma course. After that, Dinara attended masterclasses at the Lake Como Piano Academy and worked with Boris Petrushansky in Imola Piano Academy.Sowicz is a Savarez Artist and performs on a 2001 Matthias Dammann guitar kindly loaned to him by David Russell.

Kateryna Levchenko is one of the most brilliant pianists and piano teachers of our generation. She has been a pupil of V. Krainev and S. Zakharova, from whom she inherited the Neuhaus and Horowitz School.

She graduated with the highest marks from the HMTM - Hochschule fur Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover (Germany), earning a BSc in Methodics and Didactics of Piano Teaching and an MSc in Piano Performance.

Kateryna is currently finalising her PhD degree in Piano at the same university. She holds a second master's degree in Piano Performance at the International Piano Academy "Incontri col Maestro" in Imola (Italy), where she has been a student of V. Ashkenazy.

Kateryna is a prize-winner of numerous international competitions as a solo artist and a chamber ensemble partner. She is an active concert artist across Europe, Australia and the Middle East.

In over 10 years of teaching experience, she has been teaching all possible levels starting from holding musical classes at the nurseries and up to preparing advanced young musicians for participation at musical contests and admission exams at famous conservatories. Since 2020 Kateryna is based in London and splits her life between the concert pianist life and teaching.

Winner of the Nikolai Rubinstein Piano Competition and a pupil of Maria João Pires and Dmitri Alexeev, award-winning Russian-British pianist and conductor Petr Limonov frequently performs across Europe and the UK, having collaborated with, among others, Boris Berezovsky, Maria João Pires, Nicola Benedetti, Laura van der Heijden, Jennifer Pike, Leonard Elschenbroich, Natalie Clein and Van Kujik Quartet. He has recorded for Decca, Onyx Classics, Chandos and Champs Hill labels; the “1948” album, recorded with Laura van der Heijden, received the “Edison Klassiek” award in 2018 and the BBC “Newcomer of the Year” award in 2019.

Petr’s notable appearances include La Roque d’Antheron festival (Boris Berezovsky’s Carte Blanche, broadcast by radio France Musique), Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Kings Place, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Southbank Cen- tre, the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, a recital in The Duke’s Hall for HRH Prince Charles, iTunes Festival, TV appearances for BBC Proms Extra, Podium Witteman and broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and “Culture” TV channel (Russia). In 2017, his arrangement of the Auld Lang Syne (from Nicola Benedetti’s “Homecoming” album, Decca, 2014) was performed in the Albert Hall at the BBC Proms. His repertoire stretches from Orlando Gib- bons to Arvo Pärt.

Born in Moscow, Petr started playing the piano at the age of 5. A year later he entered the prestigious Moscow Central Music School, where he studied under the guidance of Siavush Gadjiev, Valery Piasetsky and, later, Andrei Pisarev. After winning First Prize at the Nikolai Rubin- stein International Piano Competition in Paris he started giving con- certs throughout Europe and Russia, supported by the Vladimir Spivakov International Foundation. He went on to study with Hamish Milne and Al- exander Satz at the Royal Academy of Music (London) on a full scholar- ship, followed by a year spent at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot, where his teachers were Ramzi Yassa and Wolfram Schmitt- Leonardy. In 2010 Petr returned to London to commence his postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music with Dmitri Alexeev on a full scholarship, obtaining his Masters degree in 2012. During his studies Petr took part in masterclasses given by Ferenc Rados, Alfred Brendel, Stephen Hough, Vitaly Margulis and Stephen Kovacevich; whilst in RCM he also studied conducting under Peter Stark. In November 2013 Petr made his conducting début at Cadogan Hall with London International Chamber Orchestra, directing works by Glazunov and Rachmaninov.

"...Petr Limonov, avec un détachement apparent, a joué les morceaux les plus ardus avec une aisance incroyable, une simplicité et une sincérité parfaite." - La Nouvelle République

“Petr Limonov is one of the finest pianists and musicians I have had the honour of playing with and hearing. His profound sensitivity is extreme- ly rare, his musical intelligence is of the highest degree and his pia- nistic power is formidable. Petr is one of the most enlightened musical souls I have come across.” - Nicola Benedetti

"His mastery is mesmerising.” - Rubric News

Petr’s other talent is in the field of teaching and educating aspiring young musicians. He has a rare gift of opening up the world of music to children starting their musical journeys as well as already advanced in music. He has 15 years of experience in teaching piano, composition and conducting and has been working at the RMA since it was founded in 2011 (known as Belsize Music Academy at that time). Among his pupils are those who achieved Diploma in Performance level and above and went on to study music at the professional institutions, inclduding the Royal Academy of Music.

Born in Moscow, Veronika moved to the UK at the age of five when her father Vladislav Shoot became the composer-in-residence at Dartington Hall. By the age of seven years old she had performed her first recital at the Dartington International Summer School music festival.

Performing across the UK and worldwide, Veronika has broadcasted on platforms such as BBC Spotlight News and BBC Radio 3. She has been invited to play on some of the most prestigious stages in classical music, including London’s Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, St John’s Smith Square, Purcell Room, Steinway Hall, BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, The Rachmaninov Hall in Moscow, Amsterdam Conservatoire, International Mozart Festival in Istanbul, Koblenz Gymnasium and L’Opéra Gabriel at the Château de Versailles.

Veronika studied with full scholarships at The Yehudi Menuhin School under the tutorship of Professor Irina Zaritzkaya, The Purcell School of Music and The Royal Academy of Music, with Professor Tatiana Sarkisova—graduating with a First—and The Royal Scottish Conservatoire with Professor Fali Pavri, where she received a Distinction for her Masters. She has taken part in numerous masterclasses over the years, receiving artistic guidance from musicians such as Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Murray Perahia, Dmitri Bashkirov, Dmitri Alexeev, John Lill, Boris Berman, Pascal Devoyon, Joanna Macgregor and many others.

She is a Laureate of International Competitions including the Yamaha International Piano Competition and the Two Moors Festival, and has been awarded with prizes such as the Frederic Jackson Award, the Michal Hambourg and Elise Campbell Prizes.

Playing a wide-ranging repertoire of solo and chamber music, Veronika is passionate about collaborating with instrumentalists, singers, writers, artists and actors. Recent concerto performances included piano concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Saint-Saëns, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky and Gershwin, and she has worked with conductors such as Christian Kluxen, Joachim Gustaffson, Tom Hammond, Diego Masson, Jean-Louis Gosselin, Roderick Dunk and James Ross, as well as with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra, Torbay Symphony Orchestra, Hertford Symphony Orchestra, Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra and Les Voix Nouvelles Orchestra.

Veronika is dedicated to creating compelling and innovative programmes that can be performed to a wide audience. She is also a strong believer in the importance of musical education, and has a great joy in sharing her passion for music. In recent projects she devised a series of workshops in schools combining music and art that the students found “the most exciting” of its kind. Veronika was recently appointed ‘Music Ambassador’ for SaMM (the Saturday morning music school at King Edward VI Community College).

Her debut album “Journey Through Childhood” featuring an array of childhood-inspired music, including well-known masterpieces by Debussy and Schumman, rarely heard musical gems by Lyadov, Korngold and Takemitsu, and the first ever recording of “Children’s Album” by Vladislav Shoot, the Artist’s father, is released on May 10th 2019 on the Ulysses Arts record label and is available for purchase on iTunes, Idagio and all major streaming platforms.

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Nafis Umerkulova began playing the piano at the age of five inspired by her mother who was a pianist. She started performing from the age of seven and soon became a laureate of the “Sog’lom Avlod Uchun” National Piano Competition in Tashkent, the International Balys Dvarionas and the Nikolai Rubinstein Piano Competition.

In 2004, Nafis was invited to continue her musical education at the Purcell School, Royal Academy of Music (2006) and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (2010). During these years, she studied with professors William Fong, Tatiana Sarkissova and Aaron Shorr and was the first pianist from Uzbekistan awarded a full scholarship at every place of study.

Nafis has received mentorship from artists such as Pascal Devoyon, Pascal Rogé, Steven Osborne, Steven Kovacevich, Robert Levin and many others. She was also among a select few granted a scholarship and chosen to participate at the Tel-Hai International Masterclasses under the tutelage of Dmitri Bashkirov. Passionate both as a soloist and a chamber musician, Nafis regularly performs in the UK and abroad. Her numerous performances in the UK include recitals in Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Glasgow City Halls, Manchester Bridgewater Hall, Birmingham Symphony & Town Halls.

Nafis has also enjoyed performing internationally at the Tashkent State Conservatoire, Philharmonic Hall in Ljubljana, Casa della Musica in Arezzo, Florence Lyceum Club, Centro Caprense Ignazio Cerio in Capri, La Casa de los Pianistas in Seville. After completing her formal studies, Nafis chose to undertake further advanced study projects at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire with Prof. Deniz Gelenbe and at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with Professors John Thwaites and Margaret Fingerhut. Nafis is a recipient of numerous awards and prizes, which include the prestigious Myra Hess Award by Help Musicians UK, Edith Steinitz Prize and a 3rd prize at the International BRANT Piano Competition. Her performances have been broadcast for a BBC documentary about Schubert’s works, by national radio and television in Uzbekistan and Slovenia. In addition to her performing career, Nafis is highly enthusiastic about teaching and regularly dedicates time to sharing her experience with younger students. She is currently a member of the piano department at the Purcell School, Rachmaninoff Music Academy and the Philomel Music Academy.

Nafis is deeply grateful to the Fagus Anstruther Memorial Fund and the Matthiesen Foundation for their continued interest and support in her career.

Amiran frequently appears as a concert soloist and in chamber music ensembles in public recitals and concerts in Russia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Spain, USA (incl. Carnegie Hall), and the United Kingdom (incl. Wigmore Hall, St.James Piccadilly Church, Steinway Hall, London) and successfully combines extensive teaching career with performing.

He started studying piano at the age of five at the Gnessin Special Music College, Moscow under the guidance of Professors Ada Traub and Tatiana Vorobieva, and in 2009 continued his education at the Central Music School (College) of Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory as a student of Professor Alexander Mndoyants. During his studies in Russia, he became a prizewinner of many international competitions (incl. VIIth Concorso Internazionale Valsesia Musica juniors (Varallo, Italy, 2006) – 1st Prize, VIIIth International Balys Dvarionas Competition for Young Pianists and Violinists (Vilnius, Lithuania, 2008) – Grand Prix etc) and received a special scholarship from the Government of the Russian Federation.

After graduating from the Central Music School with Highest Honours in June 2013 Amiran was admitted to the Royal Academy of Music with full entrance scholarship, where he studied on the Bachelor of Music and then the Master of Arts programme with Professors Christopher Elton and Joanna MacGregor CBE. Amiran completed both degrees with First Class and achieved prestigious DipRAM award for an outstanding final recital as well as LRAM teaching diploma. His most important recent public appearances include the Finals of the Jaques Samuel Pianos Intercollegiate Piano Competition (held at Wigmore Hall, October 2014), the Piano Festival of the Royal Academy of Music (July 2016, 2018, 2019), Encuentro de Musica Festival in Santander, Spain (July 2016&July 2017), and the 9th Chopin Birthday Concerts Festival in Warsaw, Poland (February 2018). In April 2018 he was invited by the Autonomous University of Zacatecas, Mexico, to perform a concerts series and give piano and chamber music masterclasses.

In 2019 Amiran was appointed Hodgson Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music for the 2019-2020 academic year where he was one of the youngest teachers at the Academy teaching Score Reading, Song Accompaniment and Sight-reading for pianists. At present he continues to teach various classes for pianists at the Academy as well as being an RMA teacher since 2019. In the RMA Amiran teaches piano performance, music theory, solfeggio as well as his own designed course of harmony based on the distinguished traditions of P. I. Tchaikovsky, S. Taneev, N. Rimsky-Korsakov. His students are very successful in various competitions, concerts, festivals as well as in ABRSM grade exams.

Amiran is also very fond of conducting and has a strong interest in historical keyboards.