Featured Artists and Musicians:
Frederick Kaufman - Composer
Fredrick Kaufman is the composer of over one hundred and fifty compositions that have been performed worldwide by orchestras such as the Warsaw Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Czech Radio Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Czech Symphony Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Moldova Symphony Orchestra, Instrumental Ensemble of Grenoble, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra Novi Musici (Naples, Italy), Novi Sad Symphony Orchestra, Dominican Republic National Orchestra, Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, National Orchestra of Brazil, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New World Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony orchestras and numerous orchestras and ensembles throughout the United States.
Kaufman is a former Fulbright Scholar, and author of The African Roots of Jazz, a groundbreaking study that drew heavily upon his early musical life as a jazz trumpet player with the Woody Herman Band. He is the recipient of the Darius Milhaud Award in Composition from the Aspen Music Festival, and honors and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller, Guggenheim and Ford Foundations, the California, Montana and Pennsylvania Arts Councils as well as the Norwegian Government.
His Pulitzer Prize nominated composition Kaddish, premiered by Yacov Bergman and Yahdi Hanani a work which Bernard Holland of The New York Times described as "having the most expressive writing for strings to be heard today," has been performed over 145 times in the major concert halls of Europe, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Israel, South America, the Carribean Asia and throughout the United States. His works have received prizes at international competitions and have been performed throughout the world at major music festivals. Israeli television has paid tribute to him as a composer in the thirty-minute documentary film Fredrick Kaufman-Life of an Artist.
Critics from the: New York Times, Newark Star-Ledger, Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald, Jerusalem Post, London Times, Perpignan Independent have described Kaufman's music as “striking…individual…an interesting combination of overwhelming pathos and infectious joy…brought one into the realm of musical genius”.
His Kaminarimon (for Taiko drums and Flamenco dance) has been called "remarkable" and "stunning" and was voted as the number one classical composition of 2002 and "the most imaginative new work of the year" by music critic James Roos of The Miami Herald. String Quartet #6, "The Urban" was called "stunning" by New Yorker Magazine. The Quartet was nominated by Lukas Foss in 2007 for a Pulitzer Prize, Kaufman's second nomination, and his Grammy nominated Guernica Piano Concerto, recorded by Kemal Gekic and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra “absolutely brilliant” by the Prague Musical Review. The premiere performance took place at the Sibelius Concert Hall (Feb, ’13) in Prague and was a spectacular success. Kaufman’s recent recording Starts & Distances featuring the Florida Grand Opera received his second Grammy Award nomination in 2016.
Kaufman currently resides with his artist wife Florence Kaufman in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He holds the distinguished title of Professor Emeritus in Composition at Florida International University.
Prior to that, he held the position at FIU of Composer in Residence for the University,
a position that was created specifically for him. He is Founding Director of the FIU Wertheim School of Music, a post he held for 10 years. Maestro Kaufman was formerly academic Dean of the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts, a faculty member of the University of Wisconsin, the University of Montana , the University of London and the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem, Israel.
Robert Davidovici - Violinist
Acclaimed on five continents, ROBERT DAVIDOVICI is a virtuoso, known for his spectacular technique and wide-ranging repertoire, fused with magnificent artistry and a compelling stage presence. Born in Transylvania, Romania, Robert Davidovici began his studies with a student of the legendary David Oistrakh, subsequently studying with Ivan Galamian at The Juilliard School, where, upon graduating, he served as a teaching assistant to the famed Juilliard String Quartet.
He is the recipient of several distinguished First Prize honors, among them the Naumburg International Violin Competition and the Carnegie Hall International American Music Violin Competition.
In addition to his solo engagements, Mr. Davidovici is Artist-in-Residence and Professor of Violin at Florida International University and serves as guest professor at distinguished music schools around the world, most recently at Tokyo’s Musashino Academia Musicae, the universities of Washington and British Columbia and the Australian National University. His multi-faceted career has included appointments as Concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, The Netherlands’ Residentie Orkest and Japan’s Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra and Guest Concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, as well as the orchestras of the Chautauqua, Colorado and Grand Teton music festivals.
As an avid chamber musician, Robert Davidovici has collaborated with numerous esteemed colleagues, among them Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Lynn Harrell, Cho Liang-Lin, Yo-Yo Ma and Isaac Stern. Carnegie Hall has featured him as part of its “American Music Masters” series, and he was the subject of a television special on Boston’s WGBH. Robert Davidovici’s recordings appear on the labels of CALA, Centaur, JVC, Meister Music, New World, RPO. Of special note is his 2013 world premiere recording of Paul Kletzki’s Violin Concerto with Grzegorz Nowak conducting London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, an album that also includes Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto #2 and Lutoslawski’s Partita.
German Marcano - Cellist
Germán Marcano currently excels among the most important cellists in the Latin American music scene. His performances have received the best acclaims from musicians and the specialized critic, and his chamber music work with the Rios Reyna Quartet and recently with Venezuelan folk music, acclaim him as one of the most versatile cellist in Latin America. German Marcano holds a BMus degree from the University of Surrey, England, the Premier Prix diploma from the Guildhall School of Music in London, and Masters and DMA degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
At age 17 he received by unanimous decision of the jury, the "Best Young Musician of the year Award” granted by the Reading Symphony Orchestra, England, subsequently being invited to perform as a soloist with them, in addition to performing in several concerts in some cities of the United Kingdom. In the following years, he was regularly invited as a soloist with ensembles such as the Surrey University Symphony Orchestra, the Guildford Camerata and the Surrey Philharmonia. Marcano studied under the guidance of Stefan Popov and William Pleeth in London, and Uri Vardi in Wisconsin, participating in masterclasses with Franz Helmerson, Mstislav Rostropovich, Lynn Harrel and Janos Starker.
Back in Venezuela in 1985, Marcano occupied the principal cello chair with the Simón Bolívar Symphonic Orchestra, doing numerous tours and record productions with them. Since then, he has been a regular invited soloist with Venezuela’s main orchestras. He developed an important teaching work at the Simón Bolívar Conservatory, the Emil Friedman School, the Simón Bolívar University Music Master Studies, and the Mozarteum Center’s Music School. He has been guest professor and lecturer in Grand Valley State University, Louisiana State University, University of South Florida, Lawrence University, Andrews University in Michigan, the San Diego Youth Orchestra in California, and the Madison Cello Institute in Wisconsin. He was founder member of the Rios Reyna String Quartet, one of the most important chamber groups in Venezuela, with 2 commercial recordings, one of them devoted to Latin-American works.
Marcano has combined his instrument’s traditional repertoire with Latin American compositions of the past and present times, thus promoting this high quality but very little known repertoire. He has premiered works from renowned Venezuelan composers, as well as giving first auditions in Venezuela from different Latin American composers. In 2008 Marcano premiered the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra by Puerto Rican composer Carlos Vázquez, piece composed specially for him. Recently together with the violinist Robert Davidovicci Marcano gave the first performance of the violin and cello version of Frederick Kaufman “Jacob wrestling with the Angel”. His catalog of Latin American works for cello was published in 2004 by the Vicente Emilio Sojo Foundation (Funves), with whom he also published an edition of the Suite for cello and piano by Venezuelan composer Modesta Bor, and the cello works of Juan Bautista Plaza. The catalog in its digital form is now part of the website of both the Sphinx Organization and CelloBello.
Three commercial recordings complete his profile as a cellist: the first one including works by Schumann, Beethoven, Debussy and others, and the other two devoted to folk Venezuelan music. As a teacher Marcano held important positions in his native Venezuela at the Simon Bolivar Conservatory (“El Sistema”), The Simon Bolivar University Masters Program, Centro Mozarteum and Colegio Emil Friedman. He has been invited regularly to give masterclasses in the US (Louisiana University, Andrews University, University of Wisconsin, Miami Cello Lab), and in Spain, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Bolivia, Brasil and and Argentina. In late 2022 Marcano participated in concerts and Masterclasses at the University of South Florida, Louisiana University, University of Wisconsin both in Eau Claire and Madison, and in 2023 will be part of the Miami Cello Lab 2023 and the Boston Conservatory, in Massachusetts. His students have been accepted in important schools around the world such as Conservatorio Reina Sofía, Madrid-Spain, University of Wisconsin, Madison, The Julliard School, Joseph Haydn Konservatorium- Austria, Cleveland Institute of music, University of Otawa, Manhattan School of Music, and Norges musikkhogskole-Norway among others. Former students are currently teaching and performing actively in Latin America, Europe and the US.
He currently lives in Florida, performing actively in the country and with faculty from FIU, Music in Miami series, Palm Beach Symphony and Florida Grand Opera.
Victoria “Tori” Hauk - Flautist
Flutist Victoria “Tori” Hauk loves exploring the beauty of music through collaboration with fellow Bay Area musicians and by sharing it with the next generation of musicians through coaching and teaching.
She is an avid chamber musician and can be seen performing with groups including: Avenue Winds, One Found Sound, Areon Flutes, and Nomad Session.
Orchestras she has worked with include: Marin Symphony, Vallejo Festival Orchestra, Napa Valley Festival, Midsummer Mozart Festival, Berkeley Symphony, California Symphony, Stockton Symphony, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and New World Symphony.
She maintains an active private teaching studio and also teaches at San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Pre-College Division and California State University, East Bay.
She is the winner of the National Flute Association’s 2022 Convention Performers Competition, University of Arizona President’s Concerto Competition and Arizona Flute Society Competition and is an award winner of the Musical Merit Foundation of Greater San Diego, MTNA Southwest Regional Competition, San Diego Flute Guild Young Artist Competition and has received the Presser Foundation Award.
She received her professional studies diploma at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music studying with Tim Day, her master’s degree in music at Lynn Conservatory studying with Jeffrey Khaner and Renée Siebert, and her bachelor’s degree in music at the University of Arizona studying with Brian Luce.
Zach Ben-Amots - Filmmaker and Journalist
Zach Ben-Amots is a filmmaker and journalist, based out of his hometown of Colorado Springs. His video work has been featured on Hulu, Good Morning America, The Washington Post, and CBS News, as well as ABC, CBS and PBS stations around the country. As a documentary filmmaker, Ben-Amots is drawn to intimate stories that reflect a greater truth, especially those that relate to social justice issues. As an artist and writer, he prefers to turn inward to reflect on his family history and Jewish heritage.
