Born and raised into a musical family, Shaza’s passion for music started at a young age. She is the daughter of the Egyptian composer, Abd El-Azim Oweda.

She began studying the violin at Cairo Conservatory by the age of 8, under Professor Mona Garrana and resumed her education with Professor Marlis Yunuskhanov, then with Professor Hassan Sharara. Shaza proceeded to obtain her bachelor’s degree in 2006 at Cairo Conservatory, where she graduated with excellence with honours. She is a trained classical violinist with over fifteen years of orchestral experience.

Numerous masterclasses and workshops have been components of her comprehensive musical education. The musical expertise she has acquired encompasses the knowledge and understanding necessary for the performance of classical violin music within the Western and Arabic canons on a professional level basis.

As a professional violinist, Shaza was a member of the Cairo Opera Orchestra and the Egyptian Philharmonic Society Chamber Orchestra with the Egyptian conductor Dr. Ahmed El Saedi. In 2007, she participated with the Cairo Conservatory Symphony Orchestra at Beethoven’s Festival in Bonn. Along with the several concerts she has taken part in with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and Bibliotheca Alexandria Chamber Orchestra.

Several recitals and chamber music performances have been given by Shaza in numerous Cairo and Alexandria venues, including Cairo Conservatory, Cairo Opera House, the Russian Cultural Center, Bibliotheca Alexandria, Alexandria Center of Arts, and others. And also performing as a soloist with Cairo Conservatory Orchestra and Cairo Symphony Orchestra in multiple occasions.

In 2008, Shaza joined The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra and continues to this day.

Born is 1983, Reem Khoury did all her musical studies in Switzerland. She got a Concert and a Teaching Diploma from the High Conservatory of Music in Geneva, and a Master degree in Musicology from the University of Geneva.

She studied with famous teachers like Edward Gyr, Armene Stakian and Robert Zimansky. Reem is a part of the West Eastern Divan Orchestra under the baton of Daniel Barenboim. She has performed in most European cities, in the United States, Arab countries and Latin America.

Reem joined the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra since its beginning in 2006, and has performed with world class conductors.

Born in 1979, in Zekrit- Lebanon, Georges Yammine took his first violin lesson at the age of 14 in the Lebanese National Conservatory in Beirut with Professor Michel Kheirallah. Six years later, in 1999, he received a scholarship from the West Eastern Divan project and the Barenboim-Said Foundation to study in Germany at the “Franz Liszt Hochschule” in Weimar with Professor Friedemann Eichhorn, and in Berlin with Mathis Fischer.

He completed his studies in 2003 with an Artistic Diploma in Violin, then moved to Paris where he studied for two years and received his Golden Medal in Chamber Music from Conservatoire of Montreuil. Since 1999, Georges Yammine is a member of the West Eastern Divan Orchestra directed by Maestro Daniel Barenboim. And since 2008, he is a member of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.

In addition to his musical performances around the world, he has established an international career as a Fine Art Photographer and exhibited his work in Qatar, USA, Germany, Switzerland and Australia. In 2014, he published his first book: “Funkelnde Hoffnung”, (A Spark of Hope).

Born in Halle – Saale, Germany on September of 1977. At the age of 4 he began studying the violin under the tutelage of his father. In the coming years he attended schools with an arts and music focus, eventually being accepted into the prestigious Latina August Hermann Francke School, an institution with a strong curriculum and tradition in musical training. During his high school years, he supplemented his school education with additional violin study under Professor Antje Weithaas in Berlin.

Upon graduating from Gymnasium, Gette moved to St. Petersburg, Russia to continue his studies with Professor Mischa Estrin at the St. Petersburg Conservatory (1997-1999). From the year 2000 he began studying with Professor Isabella Petrosian at Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hamburg, graduating in 2006 in the class of Professor Christoph Schickendanz.

After touring extensively in Europe with a number of prominent chamber orchestras and ensembles, Gette relocated to Qatar as a founding member of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra at its launch in 2008. Today, in addition to the regular orchestra performance schedule, Gette appears frequently in the QPO’s chamber music and spin off projects and performances.

Born in a family of musicians in 1973 Lviv, Ukraine. His first public performance took place in Lviv with the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra in 1986, was performed Symphony Espagnole by E. Lalo. From 1991 to 1996 he studied in the class of Professor L. Shutko (assistant of D. Oistrakh in Moscow).

In 1992, Pavlo gained II prise in First International Violin competition named after M. Lysenko (Kiev, Ukraine). Between 1992 to 1996 he received special scholarship from the President of Ukraine. From 1999-2001 he lived and worked in Switzerland and took master-classes from Ana Chumachenko, Professor of Munich High School, Pierre Amoyale, Professor of Lausanne Music High School, and Mr. Viktor Tretiakov, and received the best recommendations.

Over the years he has extensively been playing solo as well as in accompaniment with different orchestras and chamber music with colleagues-musicians. Pavlo has numerous recordings from SDR – Freiburg, Germany, SAT-1 Warsaw, Poland, and National TV and Radio of Ukraine.

Born in Vienna. Supported by musical parents, she had her first violin lesson at age 4. Michaela studied in Vienna at the University for Music (Professor Frischenschlager and Professor Kamilarov) at the Vienna Conservertoire, and at the Conservatoire national de musique et danse in Paris and gained her diploma with distinction.

Master classes with international musicians such as Shlomo Mintz, Zakhar Bron, Igor Oistrakh, Sergei Fatkoulin, and Erich Gruenberg completed her training. She was a fellow of the Academy of the Symphonieorchester des Bayrischen Rundfunks (Munich), and as a member of the Tonkunstler Orchestra she has performed in Vienna.

Invitations for solo and chamber music performances have taken Michaela throughout Europe and Asia.

Motivated by a lifelong fascination for Islamic philosophy and culture, Lorena Manescu joined QPO since it’s founding in 2008, after graduating with distinction from the prestigious Vienna Conservatory. Born in 1986, in Romania, she spent her early childhood in a mountain village, Polovragi, with her grandparents Maria and Marin Chiritescu, renowned preservers and teachers of traditional music.

Inspired by their enthusiasm for folklore, Lorena started to play the violin at the age of 5 under the tutorship of her grandfather. She then attended the primary and secondary music school in the town of her birth, Ramnicu-Valcea, afterwards joined Dinu Lipatti boarding high-school for music in Bucharest.

Lorena was granted a scholarship by the Vienna Conservatory where she studied with highly acclaimed professors. She won many prizes and awards at national and international competitions, performed concerts and recitals on some of the most prestigious stages around the world (Royal Albert Hall-London, Konzerthaus, and Musikverein-Vienna, Teatro alla Scala-Milan, Gasteig- Munich, Kennedy Center-Washington D.C, United Nations-New York, etc.), and appeared as a soloist with several orchestras, and participated in numerous TV and radio broadcasts, and has been involved in numerous recordings (one of which is the Qatar Airways boarding soundtrack).

Lorena is very fond of QPO and it’s distinguished musicians, and considers it as her second larger family. Within QPO, she is also an active chamber music player, as a member of Doha String Quartet and founding member of CineMoon ensemble. Besides being a passionate orchestral, chamber music and solo performer, Lorena is a devoted educator. Since 2010 she teaches violin at Qatar Music Academy.

Lorena Manescu embraces Qatar Foundation’s mission of “unlocking human potential”, and works ceaselessly to deliver soulfulness and cultural enrichment.

Renowned for his phenomenological approach to music, the French violinist Lyonel Schmit likes to  think about his work that it is more sounds than notes: Ouest France quoted “His rich and subtle sonority acts like a magic spell”.This deep and holistic approach started with obtaining the highest distinctions of the Conservatory of Paris in 1997, thanks to the meeting of Ivry Gitlis but especially of Michael Hentz, heir and close to Sergiu Celibidache until his death.

His fertile ground was shaped when he was a 7 year old boy in Metz, thanks to Patricia Reibaud and his mentor Nadezhda Beshkina (professor at the Tchaikovsky conservatory of Moscow).Later he went to the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris in the class of Devy Erlih, and achieved his cursus with the pre-PHD of Régis Pasquier.

Lyonel is also a laureate of the international competition T.Varga, R.Lipizer and young European soloists, where he won the gold medal. Besides he is supported by Foundations such as the Cziffra Foundation, Fondation de France, Fond instrumental français, Fondation Zilber …Curious and unclassifiable artist, he has been increasing the wealth of his experience with the symphonic repertoire since his earliest childhood.Invited for many years as concertmeister of various orchestras such as the Opéra de Marseille, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Tasmanian Symphonic Orchestra, La Monnaie de Bruxelles, the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, he has been as well the concertmeister of the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra since 2012.

Most recently, from September 2019, he has join the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra as the 1st concertmeister position.An eclectic violinist, his repertoire ranges from chamber music to soloist repertoire, from contemporary music to electro-acoustic and tango with the encounter of Richard Galliano.He shared the stage with him around the world nearly two hundred times between 2004 and 2008.

Recording side, “The Rothschild violin” is obviously the project that characterizes the most his artistic approach.Listen urgently to the Fondamenta label !Lyonel Schmit plays a violin by Domenicus Busan, made in Venice around 1770, graciously loaned by the Ghasarossian company.