Musikschatulle
Vitaly Makarenko
baritone, double bass
Vitaly Makarenko was born in Vladikavkaz, Russia.
He graduated as a cellist from the Republican Lyceum of Arts in his hometown in 2000. He then studied double bass and singing at the State Gnessin Institute of Music in Moscow.
After completing his studies, he was accepted as a double bass player in the Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir I. Fedoseev, with whom he performed all over the world. At the same time, he took part in numerous international competitions and received many awards.
He started his active concert career as a singer with the founding of the vocal ensemble "Open Opera Project", with which he realized joint projects with the Bolshoi Theater, the Mariinsky Theater, the Liechtenstein National Museum and others until 2022 and performed mainly in theaters, concert halls and museums in Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Germany, France and Russia.
In 2022 he settled in Bern, where he has been working and teaching as a singer and double bassist ever since.
At the beginning of 2023, he also founded the chamber music ensemble "Musikschatulle" together with musician friends, with which he has been performing throughout Switzerland ever since.
Born in Siberia, in the city of Tyumen, Russia. She graduated with honors from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in Moscow, in the class of classical singing of Lolitta Semenina.
She took part in concerts of the Elena Obraztsova Foundation and sang as part of the music project of Dmitry Korchak and the Obraztsova Foundation "Opera Class" in the performance of the opera-ballet "The Child and the Magic Things" by M. Ravel (roles: Nightingale, Fire and Princess).
From 2022 to 2024 she was a scholarship holder of the Swiss Federal Program for Outstanding Talents and is currently a Master's student in music at the Bern University of the Arts (HKB).
On November 22, 2022, she performed at a charity event at the United Nations Geneva office dedicated to supporting children and women in difficult life situations.
In December 2023 she took part in a concert series "Rossini Gala" with the orchestra "La banda storica" under the direction of conductor Jakob Lehmann.
Since September 2024, Albina Asadullina has been Vice President of the Global Artistry and Enterprise Club (GAEC).
Albina Asadullina
soprano
Irina Bedoeva
Piano
The young pianist, born in Russia in 1998, first studied at the Special Music School-Lyceum of the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory under Prof. Vladimir Suslov before entering the piano class of Prof. Tomasz Herbut at the Bern University of the Arts in 2016. She completed her bachelor's degree in 2020, her master's degree in performance in 2022 and is now pursuing a master's degree in pedagogy.
She has won several awards in her home country and in Europe, including:
- 06.2022 - Prize of the "Clavarta" Foundation in Berlin, Germany
- 03.2013 - 1st prize at the national competition "Concert with Orchestra" in Voronezh, Russia.
- 03.2011- 3rd prize at the national competition "Young Musician" in Tallinn, Estonia.
- 01.2011 - 2nd prize at the national competition "Perpetuum Mobile" in Hilversum, Holland
- 02.2010 - Diploma at the "Chopin Piano Competition" in Narva, Estonia
- 02.2009 - 3rd prize at the national competition "Window to Europe", Saint Petersburg, Russia
- 01.2009 - 1st prize at the national "Chopin" competition in Petrozavodsk, Russia
- 10.2008 - 1st prize at the regional competition "St.Petersburg Assamblies", in Saint Petersburg, Russia
She can also look back on a lively concert schedule, both in her homeland, especially in St. Petersburg (in the St. Petersburg Imperial Choir, in the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, in the Aleksander Nevsky Monastery, in the Concert Hall of St. John's Church, in the Composers' Union, in the Konstantinovsky Palace, in the Mariinsky Theater) as well as in France (concerts at the Conservatoire Saint-Etienne) and in Switzerland: in Bern, Zurich, Winterthur, St. Immer, Vevey, Rapperswil, Bellinzona, Basel.
On November 23, 2011, she made her debut with the HKB Orchestra as part of a concert "Über Grenzen" in the concert hall of the Casino Bern. A concert piece by Cècile Chaminade was performed under the direction of Ekkehard Klemm.
Gleb Lukonin
lute, balalaika
Gleb Lukonin was born on May 14, 1998 in a small town in the Sverdlovsk region.
He was passionate about music from a young age, as his mother played the accordion. At the age of seven, he began studying at the local music school, specializing in the balalaika. At the same time, he learned to play the guitar and piano and took an active part in the school's children's theater.
After graduating from music school, he accepted the invitation of Professor Sh.S. Amirov and continued his education at the Ural Music College. During his studies, he also learned to play the contrabass balalaika and became the concertmaster of the bass group of the Russian Folk Orchestra.
After successfully graduating from music college, Gleb enrolled for a bachelor's degree at the prestigious Gnessin Music Academy in Moscow. He graduated with honors. During this time, he won numerous national and international competitions, received special prizes for outstanding interpretations of original and contemporary works, and was regularly invited to various festivals as a balalaika player. In addition, he was awarded various scholarships, including the scholarship from the "Talent and Success" foundation, which supports gifted young musicians.
Gleb has performed several times as a soloist with chamber and folk orchestras, where he interpreted works from different eras composed specifically for the balalaika.
In 2021, Gleb began to seriously consider studying in Europe. Since balalaika is not taught in European music academies, he began to learn to play the lute.
After successfully completing his master's degree at the Bern University of the Arts under the direction of the respected teacher Peter Croton, Gleb is now pursuing his own projects, studying conducting and sound engineering and continues to be committed to the idea of multi-instrumentalism.