Louisiana International Piano Competition

Antonio Di Cristofano, Chairman (Italy)
Robert Andres (Croatia/Portugal)
Larissa Dedova (Russia)
Georgi Mundrov (Bulgaria)
Kevin Robert Orr (USA)
Pamela Mia Paul (USA)
Jose Ramos Santana (USA)

Antonio Di Cristofano, Chairman

Antonio Di Cristofano completed his piano studies in 1986 at the Conservatory "L.Cherubini" in Florence under the supervision of Maestro Bacchelli and Maestro Damerini. He has performed as piano soloist, chamber musician and as soloist with many orchestras including the Orchestra of the University of Milan, Strings Orchestra "Cantelli" of Milan, Chamber Orchestra of Florence, Symphony Orchestra of Lecce, Magna Grecia Orchestra, Sicily Symphony Orchestra, Solisti Aquilani, Milano Classica Orchestra, Radio Orchestra of Bucharest, Orquesta Sinfonica de l'Estado de Mexico, University Orchestra of Houston, Radiotelevision Albania Orchestra, Istanbul Chamber Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, North Czech Philharmonic, Lamont Symphony Orchestra Denver, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Izmir Symphony Orchestra, Iasi State Philharmonic, Wiener Mozart Orchestra, Toronto Sinfonia, Philarmonique de Montreal, Jerusalem Symphony, Slovak Filharmonie, Kaerntner Sinfonieorchester, and Thailand Philharmonic with conductors G. Taverna, F. A. Krager, O. Balan, M. Bosch, M. Ancillotti, M. Alsop, N. Arman, C. Schulz, M. Zanini, C. Olivieri-Munroe, L. Svarovsky, A. Chernushenko, and many others.

He has performed at the most important concert venues in Italy including the "Verdi Theatre" in Florence, the "Festival dei Due Mondi" in Spoleto, "Asolo Musica", the Theatre of Alessandria, the "Bibbiena Theatre" in Mantova, the "Puccini Hall" at the Conservatory "G. Verdi" in Milan, "Politeama Theatre" in Palermo. He has also concertized worldwide including performances in Romania (Aeteneum and Radio Bucharest), Spain (Festival de Vigo, Madrid, Jeunesses Musicales de Sevilla), Mexico (Belles Artes Palacio and Revueltas Auditorium), USA (Moores Opera House of Houston and Newman Center in Denver), Turkey (Istanbul, Izmir and Adana), Croatia (Dubrovnik, Rector Palace), Czech Republic (Prague, Smetana Hall and Dvorak Hall), Russia (the Moscow Conservatoire Hall), South Korea (Seoul, Leeum Auditorium), France (Nancyphonies Festival), Austria (Klagenfurt, Konzerthaus), Germany (Munich, Gasteig), Poland (Warsaw, Chopin Society), Canada (Toronto, Glenn Gould Studio), Lithuania (Vilnius, Christopher Summer Festival), as well as in Switzerland, Albania, Israel, England, Portugal, Bulgaria, Belgium, Brazil, and Thailand. He has recorded CDs of music by Schubert and by Brahms, Berg and Scriabin. Recently he made his debut at Carnegie Hall (New York) and in Konzerthaus and Golden Hall MusikVerein (Vienna).

He has served as member of many international piano competitions including Compositores de Espana - Madrid, Varallo, Cantù, Osijek, Gante - Pordenone, Parigi, Viardo - Belmont, Rachmaninov - Moscow, Iturbi - Valencia, Parnassos - Monterrey, Francaix - Vanves among others. He has presented master classes at the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow, the Summer Academy in Dubrovnik, Denver University, the SMC Academy in Seoul, and in Thessaloniki Conservatoire.

Robert Andres

Robert Andres graduated from the Zagreb Music Academy (Croatia) and continued his studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with D. A. Svetozarov, a student of the great Russian pianist Sofronitski, and in Vienna. As a Fulbright scholarship recipient, he studied at the University of Kansas with Distinguished Professor Sequeira Costa, a student of one of Liszt's last students, Vianna da Motta, and earned there a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano, and a Master's degree in musicology. He has also received valuable advice from renowned pianists, such as Pierre Sancan, Rudolf Kehrer, Claude Frank, Leonid Brumberg and Peter Katin.

Andres has performed in recitals, with orchestras, and in chamber music concerts in many European countries, such as Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Portugal, and also in Venezuela and the United States, having collaborated with artists such as Zakhar Bron, Grigori Zhislin and Linda Maxey, and performed twice with the Madeira Classical Orchestra for the Madeira Music Festival. In 1998, he was the principal guest artist of the Amadeus Piano Festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U. S. A., with a return invitation of the University of Tulsa in 2004. The duo with his wife, the Irish pianist Honor O'Hea, celebrated in 2010 fifteen years of activity.

After teaching at the Kalamazoo College in Michigan, U. S. A., since 1993 he has been teaching at the Madeira Conservatory - Professional School of Arts (Portugal), where he is at present a tenured professor of piano and music history. He is often invited to teach masterclasses, most recently in Poland, Ukraine, Croatia, Cyprus and Ireland, and to be on juries of international competitions, including the 17th Vianna da Motta International Competition (Lisbon, Portugal), 12th Scriabin International Competition (Grosseto, Italy), 12th Jean Francaix International Competition (Paris), 12th Luciano Gante International Competition (Pordenone, Italy), 13th Evangelia Tjiarri International Competition (Cyprus), 14th and 16th AMA Calabria International Competitions, and 12th and 14th International Competiton Città di Barletta (Italy).

Since 1997 he has been Managing Director of the Association of the Friends of the Conservatory, a concert-organising benefit organisation that supports young talented musicians from the Region and that in its concert seasons continues to present internationally renowned musicians to Madeiran audience. He was also the co-organizer of the 28th annual European Piano Teachers Association conference that took place in Madeira in July 2006.

Andres has contributed to a number of prestigious music journals, encyclopaedias, and magazines in various countries, including Encyclopedia of Keyboard Instruments (Garland), New Grove Dictionary of American Music and American National Biography (OUP), and from 1995 to 2002 he was music critic and author of a weekly music page for the Jornal da Madeira. In 2001 the Scarecrow Press (U.S.A.) published his book on the beginnings of the scientific approach to piano technique. In 2008 he recorded a CD with piano works by the Madeiran composer J. V. Costa.

Larissa Dedova

For over twenty-five years, Larissa Dedova has performed extensively as a soloist and in duo with her husband Mikhail Volchok in concert halls throughout the world. She has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras including St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, Orchestre de Chambre de Budapest, Moscow Philharmonic, Estonian State Symphony Orchestra, and many others.

As a recitalist, Ms. Dedova appears frequently in major venues throughout Europe, Russia and the United Stated. She has appeared as festival artist for numerous music festivals such as the William Kapell International Piano Competition at Maryland, Semaines Musicales de Tours in France, White Nights in Russia and Russian Stars in South Korea. Her chamber music activities include performances with the Guarneri String Quartet, flutist Raimond Guiot and cellist Menahem Meir.

By the age of five, Ms. Dedova had begun her studies at the Gnessin Special Music School and then continued her education at the Moscow State Gnessin College. She holds both a Master's and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory where she studied with Lev Oborin and Evgeny Malinin. A prodigious technique and musical aplomb have earned her the most important honors and awards from both the Moscow State Conservatory Beethoven Concerto Competition and the Bach International Competition of Leipzig.

The lyricism, romanticism and virtuosity of Ms. Dedova's performances have brought her critical acclaim and the love and affection of her audiences. Recently, the Washington Post described Ms. Dedova's performance of the Brahms Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor with the Fairfax Symphony as a "performance that went straight to the heart of the music."

A dedicated teacher who is regarded highly for her masterclasses presented throughout the US, Europe and Asia, Ms. Dedova has prepared many winners of most notable international piano competitions. Her recording credits include releases for the "Melodia" label in her native country as well as for ConClaRec and Morning Storm labels. She is currently a Professor of Piano at the University of Maryland.

Georgi Mundrov

Bulgarian pianist Georgi Mundrov is not only a virtuoso in the conventional sense, he is rather a poet on the piano who lets the audience participate in his musical reflections. He graduated with distinction from the Sofia Music Academy, where he was significantly influenced by Professors Milena Mollova and Triphon Silyanowski. Postgraduate studies in Frankfurt am Main/Germany and subsequent concert examination in the master class of Professor Kristin Merscher at the University of Music Saarland/Germany complete his education.

Georgi Mundrov has been a regular guest to international music festivals, such as the Robert Schumann Endenicher Herbst festival in Bonn/Germany; the Sofia Music Weeks/Bulgaria, the Musikfestspiele Saar, the Internationale Musiktage Saarlouis, the Internationale Musiktage Koblenz, and the Internationales Open Air Klavierfestival Langenselbold/all in Germany.

Mr. Mundrov has established his reputation as soloist far beyond Europe's borders in the course of several orchestral appearances throughout Latin America, Australia, and the Middle East. He performed with such orchestras as Maracaibo Symphony Orchestra/Venezuela, Baden-Badener Philharmonie, Filharmonia Slaska Katowice/Poland, Mainzer Kammerorchester, Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha-Suhl, Mainzer Kammerorchester/all in Germany, Sofia Academiy Orchestra, and Stara Zagora Philharmonics/Bulgaria in cooperation with such conductors as Werner Stiefel, Pavel Baleff, Dariusz Mikulski, Jonathan Kaell, and Eduardo Werner Rahn.

In recent years he has performed in Bangkok (Thailand), Singapore, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia (USA), and Tel Aviv (Israel). He has also made a series of radio and television recordings on several channels and stations such like Hessischer Rundfunk, Saarländischer Rundfunk/Germany, RTV Sofia/Bulgaria as well as Kuwait TV.

As the Artistic Director of the Dreieicher Musiktage im Mai musik festival, Georgi Mundrov is one of the youngest program and concept designers of such international music venues. Currently Georgi Mundrov is on the faculty at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater des Saarlandes in Saarbrücken/Germany. He has served as a jury member of many international piano competitions and has presented master classes around the world.

Kevin Robert Orr

Concert pianist Kevin Robert Orr enjoys an dynamic agenda as performer, professor, masterclass clinician, lecturer and adjudicator that has taken him to major music institutions and festivals across North America, Europe, China, South Korea and Australia.

A University of Florida Research Foundation Professor, Orr's live performances and CD recordings have earned critical acclaim across the globe. In particular, his recent solo CDs of Johannes Brahms' complete Piano Sonatas and Ballades have been universally praised in the major music publications of North America and Europe.

A strong advocate of the music of living composers, Orr has premiered and recorded solo and ensemble works by composers Jennifer Margaret Barker, Paul Basler, Houston Dunleavy, Paul Richards, Robert Rollin, and John Weinsweig, Orr's performances of both new and standard classical repertoire have been heard on Public Radio throughout the United States.

Committed to the broad growth and enrichment of music education, Orr is Founding Director of both, The Chinese-American International Piano Institute, Chengdu, China and The University of Florida Young Pianists Festival, annual events that assemble gifted young pianists with renowned pedagogues from around the world.

While focusing primarily upon the performance and teaching of classical music, Orr also pursues interests in other musical styles, including improvisation, in which his university course, "Improvisational Keyboard Skills and Related Technology," exposes students to practical keyboard skills outside the classical realm.

Dr. Orr studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music at Case Western Reserve University, and at The Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University. He was the recipient of the William Kurzban Prize in Piano from the Cleveland Institute, and the Aurora Ragiani Martin Piano Award from The Dana School. His teachers have included Paul Schenly, Robert Elliot Hopkins, Caroline Oltmanns, Melva Huebert, and Doris Arnold-Cunningham. In addition to advanced degrees in piano performance, Dr. Orr also holds a degree in Music Education.

A Steinway Artist, Kevin Robert Orr records for Meyer Media, LLC. His CDs are available via the internet at www.kevinrobertorr.com, and electronically at iTunes, Amazon and Rhapsody.

Pamela Mia Paul

Pamela Mia Paul is both a brilliant performer and a deeply dedicated teacher. On stage, she has performed with the world’s great orchestras. She has given concerts throughout the U.S., and in Europe, the People’s Republic of China, South Korea and Turkey both as soloist and as chamber musician. In the studio, or in the setting of a Master Class, she is an internationally sought-after pedagogue whose students hold teaching positions throughout the United States and Asia, and who have participated in and won competitions including the Nina Widemann Competition and the Naumburg International Piano Competition. Ms. Paul has commissioned and premiered works for the piano; Robert Beaser’s Piano Concerto, which was written for her, had its world premiere in the U.S., with the St. Louis Symphony conducted by Leonard Slatkin, and in Europe with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic under the baton of American conductor Richard Dufallo. The Beaser Concerto had its New York premiere in 1992 at Carnegie Hall, with Dennis Russell Davies conducting the American Composer’s Orchestra.

Miss Paul has received critical acclaim for her appearances with orchestras in the U.S. and Europe, where her interpretations of both standard repertoire and twentieth-century piano concertos have garnered consistent critical praise.

Miss Paul's European orchestral appearances include the Vienna ORF Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Berlin Stadskapelle, and the Dutch Radio Symphony; her U.S orchestral appearances include those with the New York Philharmonic, symphonies of Detroit, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Houston, American Composers Orchestra, Boston Pops, New York Pops, the Minnesota Orchestra, and Caramoor Festival Orchestra.

In both orchestral performances and recitals, Ms. Paul has appeared in world’s major concert halls including Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, and the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam.

As a chamber musician, she has been an invited guest artist at the Salzburg and Bregenz Festivals in Austria, Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, and at Music Mountain in Connecticut. Quartets with which she has performed include Cassatt, Penderecki, Borromeo, Chester, Orlando, Leontovich, Miro, DaPonte and St. Petersburg.

Summer programs at which Ms. Paul has taught include the Prague International Master Classes, The Institute for Strings, and the Vienna International Piano Academy. She has presented master classes in Europe, the People’s Republic of China, Turkey, South Korea, and throughout the U.S. Pamela Mia Paul received the doctor of musical arts, master of music, and bachelor of music degrees from the Juilliard School. She is currently Regents Professor of Piano at the University of North Texas and is a Steinway artist.

Jose Ramos Santana

A native of Puerto Rico, Jose Ramos Santana is one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation. He performs a wide and diverse repertoire while being an acknowledged master of Spanish Music. Mr. Ramos Santana has appeared as a guest soloist with such major orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, Detroit Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, 92nd Street Y Orchestra, The New York Virtuosi, Casals Festival Orchestra, Puerto Rico Symphony, Orchestra of L’Hermitage of Saint Petersburg, Russia, Moscow Philharmonic, and the orchestras of New Mexico, Sioux City, Utah, Syracuse among many others. He has collaborated with distinguished musicians and conductors such as Krzsztoff Penderecki, John Adams, Dennis Russell Davies, Jerzy Semkow, Dimitri Kitaenko, Joseph Silverstein, cellist Arto Noras, violinist Gregory Zhislin, and pianist Vladimir Viardo.

Jose Ramos Santana’s much lauded guest appearance with the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall during the Sonidos de las Americas Festival was described by critic Allan Kozinn of The New York Times as “ powerful…Mr. Ramos Santana played with virtuosity and precision”. This event marked his third Carnegie Hall performance in one year.

A top prize winner of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, he has performed extensively in the United States, Latin America, Europe and the Far East. He has appeared in music festivals such as Spoleto, Caramoor, Casals Festival, Grant Park Festival in Chicago, Festival de Musica Contemporanea in El Salvador, and Festival Bravissimo in Guatemala as a soloist with the Guatemala Symphony Orchestra.

As a recitalist, Mr. Ramos Santana has performed at The Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theatre and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Radio Svizzera Italiana in Lugano Switzerland, Bösendofer Hall in Osaka, Japan, Cherbourg’s 50th Anniversary of the American Invasion in France, Center for the Arts in Hong Kong, China and at the 25th Annivesary of Musica de Camara Series at Merkin Hall in 2004.

A frequent performer on radio and television, he has been featured in documentaries including the 1986 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition on the PBS network, “Casals Festival 1995” on the Arts and Entertainment Channel and on “CBS Sunday Morning”. In 1989 he was selected from over one hundred pianists to participate in the prestigious Xerox Affiliate Artist Program.

Mr. Ramos Santana is a graduate of the Juilliard School where he studied with Adele Marcus, William Masselos and Sylvia Rabinof. He has also coached with Leon Fleisher and Alicia de Larrocha.

Jose Ramos Santana’s recently released world premiere recording of “Glosas” by Roberto Sierra with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, has been described by the Hong Kong Hi Fi Review magazine as “Jose Ramos Santana who established his career as an interpreter of Spanish Music is indeed extraordinary in his performance, which excites our desire to repeat this auditory experience”. Other works included in this CD are Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G and Saint-Saens Piano Concerto in Gminor op. 22, on the Fleur de Son Label.

During the summers Mr. Ramos Santana is an artist faculty member of the Washington International Piano Festival in Washington D.C. and International Keyboard Institute and Festival at Mannes College in New York City. Mr. Ramos Santana is a Steinway Artist.