Joo Young Oh

Joo Young Oh is one of the most established multi-grounded violinists of our time. He earned his first international recognition at the age of fourteen when he became the Winner of the 1996 Young Concert Artists International Auditions held in New York.

A native of Jinju, South Korea, he has been active as a soloist performing worldwide, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, San Jose Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Hungarian Chamber Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony, Ukraine National Orchestra, Poland National Symphony, Salzburger Kammer-Philharmonie, Tacoma Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, Los Angeles Theater Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, and KBS Symphony Orchestra among many various ensembles.

He has performed recitals and made solo appearances at the Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, the Performing Arts Center in Washington DC, Wigmore Hall in London, Dvorak Hall in Prague, Grand Hall in St. Petersburg, and Opera City Concert Hall in Tokyo, among many different venues around the world.

He has studied with the late Dorothy DeLay, Zahkar Bron, Hyo Kang, Stephen Clapp, Glenn Dicterow (former Concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic), and Lisa Kim (Associate Principal of the New York Philharmonic). He received Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from The Juilliard School, and a Degree in Orchestra Performances from the Manhattan School of Music. He joined the New York Philharmonic as one of their tenured-violinists in 2010. Recently, he has been appointed as the Concertmaster of Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra and continues to be active as a concert violinist worldwide.

Dmitri Torchinsky

Dmitri Torchinsky was surrounded by music from a very early age. His father was the leader of the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre orchestra and his mother was a flute teacher. He started to play the violin at the age of 5 under careful guidance of the best teachers, curators of the Russian violin tradition.

At the age of 14 Torchinsky left Moscow and attended the Purcell School of Music and the Royal College of Music in London, as well as the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. Having won several violin competitions, he enjoyed a busy international career as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, before joining the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, and the faculty of the Qatar Music Academy.

Dmitri is a member of the Doha String Quartet which is a flexible music ensemble that is highly in demand in Qatar and further afield. As well as performing, Dmitri is much in demand as a successful teacher. His students have won numerous prizes all over the world. In what little free time he has left, he is busy with his three children.

Dina Leini

Dina Leini was born in 1980 in the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan. At the age of 4, she began studying the violin at a music school with the famous teacher Mikhail Fradkin. In 1999, she graduated from the “Zhubanov” specialist music school. In 2003, she graduated with the highest score from the Kurmangazy State Conservatory.

As she was earning her diploma, Dina performed as a soloist with the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and became laureate of various Kazakhstani and international competitions. Still in Kazakhstan, for over 2 years, she was a member of the 1st violins section of the State Chamber Ensemble “Camerata of Kazakhstan”.

In 2003, her professional life took her to Germany. Dina entered the Munich Higher School of Music in the class of Professor J. Ellerman. She earned her diploma in 2005. 2 years of further study followed, and she successfully completed her postgraduate studies.

While in Germany, Dina was in demand as an educator, specializing in early learning, instilling love for music in young children at several schools. She remained active as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. Dina was working with the Munich Symphony Orchestra when she learned about the recruitment for the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. A successful audition took place in Munich and she was selected from hundreds of applicants to join the newest orchestra in the Middle East.

As one of the founding members of the QPO, she has been a member of the first violin section since 2008.

Annemari Ainomäe

Born in 1981, is from Tallinn, Estonia. In 2000, she graduated from Music High School. From 2001 to 2006, Annemari studied with Professor Josef Rissin at University of Music in Karlsruhe, Germany, where she graduated with a Master’s Degree Cum Laude.

In 2006, Annemari reached the finals at competition of young interpreters “Con brio” and won the award of Estonian Radio. During 2007-2008, Annemari continued her studies at Josef Rissin’s Soloist class at University of Arts in Zürich, Switzerland.

Since 2008, Annemari is member of Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.

Victor Sumenkov

Victor Sumenkov was born in Novosibirsk, Russia. At the age of 4 he started having violin classes in the Primary Music School No. 8. Then 3 years later he was accepted to the Specialized Music School, which he graduated in 1997.

He had been part of the school’s Chamber Orchestra for several years and performed as a viola group leader in Russia and around the world. In 1997, he was accepted to the Novosibirsk State Conservatory named after Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka and became a viola student of Professor Yury Mazchenko.

In 2001, he received his Bachelor’s Degree and subsequently Master’s Degree of Music a year later. During his study he won the 1st Prize and Grand Prix in both regional and international string instrument competitions, while being part of the Conservatory String Quartet and Novosibirsk Academic State Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Arnold Mikhailovich Katz.

In 2002, he was accepted to the Cologne High School of Music (with Professor Matthias Buchholz). During his study in Germany, Victor had been having temporary contracts as a viola player with the Guerzenich Orchestra Köln as well as Bochumer Symphoniker. In 2008, he was offered a permanent contract with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra as Viola Sub-Principal and is honoured and pleased to be part of the QPO to this day.

Merve Bulun

Born in 1977, Merve’s natural aptitude for music got discovered by her parents at a young age. In 1988, she enrolled at Istanbul State Conservatory to begin her viola education.

Under a special law for exceptionally gifted students, she graduated from the university of the same school; both by skipping a year and being top of Selçuk Kundakçı’s viola class.

Throughout her education in Turkey, she received many scholarships and awards from both domestic and foreign organizations such as Turkish Education Foundation scholarship, a masterclass in Sermonetta, Italy with Professor Bruno Giuranna that was funded by Istanbul Philharmonics Foundation. A masterclass in Professor Thomas Riebl’s class at Salzburg Mozarteum Academy, which was funded by Austrian Government and she was also chosen as “Young Musician of the Year”, performing solo concerts which are accompanied by Istanbul State Philharmonic Orchestra and recital in International Istanbul Festival.

After enrolling in Music College at Cologne, Germany in 1998, Merve Kenet Bulun graduated from Professor Matthias Buchholz’s course program and received her master’s degree in 2001. She began to work with the West German Radio and Television Orchestra (West Deutsche Rundfunk, Koeln) in the same year of her graduation and
continued to participate in their recordings for the following decade until she arrived at Qatar.

Furthermore, besides working as both a tutti and a solo viola player between years 2004-2007 at the Bergische Symphoniker in Remscheid in Germany. She actively toured as chamber musician both domestically and internationally with a Quartet and Sinfonietta Koeln; a chamber music orchestra, which allowed her to meet and interact with a myriad of different cultures.

After entering and passing Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra’s entrance exam – which has been conducted throughout the globe – from Germany, she got accepted and moved to Qatar. Besides her work in the orchestra, the artist also leads of “CineMoon Ensemble”, a chamber music ensemble that has been founded by her in 2014. Since its foundation, CineMoon has participated in many successful projects such as, Ajyal Film Festival 2019, Special Anime Concerts , Film Music Concerts, Embassy Concerts , Collaborations with Qatar Concert Choir and various children concerts.

Being a very versatile artist, Merve Kenet Bulun wrote and produced “Yasmin, the Camel, and the Orchestra”, a puppet play and concert for kids, with supports of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. Upon the success of the play, the Qatar Philharmonic asked for another work from her, and the artist wrote the musical story telling , “Mozart, A Musical Sitcom”, designing the 18th-century costumes of the play herself.

In addition to her work in the orchestra, Merve Bulun organized and presented a Musical Quiz Program for Qatar Philharmonic in 2020. Besides the theatrical concerts shared in the social media accounts of Qatar Philharmonic on the occasion of Beethoven’s 250th birth anniversary, and she wrote “Curious Desert Dwellers”, a musical children book which was supported by Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra with special recordings and compositions by Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra’s deputy executive director Mr.Nasser Sahim.

The artist is also interested in archaeology, general and art history as well as designing costumes, tiles, writing animee scenarios that explain classical music pieces, painting, drawing illustrations, travelling, and cooking as a mother of two.

Andrea Mereuta

Born in into a family of musicians in Bucharest /Romania,Andrea moved to Germany with her parents at the age of two. After attending the “Musikgymnasium Schloss Belvedere” in Weimar,she studied Viola at the “Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin” with Prof.Felix Schwartz and Prof.Alfred Lipka,before continuing her studies at the ” Universtät der Künste Berlin” with Prof. Hartmut Rohde.

She won the second prize for viola at the prestigious National Music Competition “Bundeswettbewerb Jugend Musiziert”.

Before becoming sub-principal viola of the  Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra ,Andrea had a two year contract with the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin,followed by three years as Co-Principal Viola with the Bremer Philharmoniker.

She was invited as a guest musician to play with Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin,Staatsoper Hamburg (as principal viola), NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg and Kammerphilharmonie Bremen among others.

Andrea is a founding member of the Doha String Quartet.

 

Anca Bold

Anca Bold comes from a Romanian family with a musical background. Her father was a violinist and a member of “George Enescu” Philharmonic Orchestra of Bucharest, while her mother was teaching music and choir to young students.

Anca loves music and since an early age has been interested in composing while playing the piano and the violin. She went to the “George Enescu” Music School in Bucharest and later graduated from the Music Academy of Bucharest (University) adding, later on, a Master in chamber music.

She became a member of “G. Enescu” Philharmonic, getting to be her father’s colleague. But her real desire to travel and get to know different cultures is yet to be fulfilled. Anca first travelled to Brazil where she became a member of Orchestra Sinfonica do Estado de São Paulo (OSESP). Eager to try new things, Anca learned to play the viola and she loved everything about it. She then moved to Denmark as a viola player and became a member of Odense Symphony Orchestra, right in the city of Hans Christian Anderson, the Danish king of fairy tales.

After few years, a new challenge attracted Anca in auditioning for a brand new orchestra that was about to be founded in 2008 in Doha, Qatar. She was delighted to become a member of Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra and has been working as co-principal viola player ever since.

In the last few years, Anca has learned to play on an instrument called “theremin” – the first electronic instrument invented 100 years ago – which she played for the first time in a concert in Doha, Qatar, on December 13th, 2020.

Anca is married to the Romanian tenor Giorgio Martin.

Philipp Rebmann

Born in Freiburg, Germany, Philipp Rebmann began studying at the Hochschule for Music in Freiburg with Professor Anthony Plog, and continuing with Professor Klaus Schuhwerk in Basle, Switzerland.

His orchestral experience as a trumpet player, encompasses a vast number of international ensembles and orchestras in Europe. They include the Schleswig Holstein Festival Orchestra, the Göttinger Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Chamber Orchestra, the German Chamber Orchestra in Bremen, the Symphony Orchestra of Tenerife, the Netherlands Symphonic Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Toulouse, the Southwest German Philharmonic Orchestra Constance, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and the Klangverwaltung in Munich.

In 2008, he moved to Qatar to become a member of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.

Islam Elhefnawy

Born in Cairo in 1981. Islam Elhefnawy joined Cairo Conservatory at the age of 6 and studied violin with Professor Irakly Beridze and Professor Hassan Sharara.

– In 2001: Graduated from Cairo Conservatory (Excellent with honor)

– In 2005: Diploma

– In 2010: Masters Degree (Excellent with honor) in Musical Arts (violin)

– In 2017: PHD Degree (Excellent with honor) in Musical Arts (violin) from Cairo Conservatory.

 Work Experience

– For 11 years (From 1996 – 2007):

 Member of Cairo Opera Orchestra and was the second concertmaster in the last 3 years (2005-2007)

– In 2004:

 The concertmaster of Egyptian Philharmonic Society Orchestra in Cairo

– From (2008 – till present):

 A tutti member of Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.

Competitions

Took part in several local and international competitions:

– In 1997: Wieniawsky and Lipinski International violin Competition in Poland.

– In 1999: Jacques Thibaud International violin Competition in France.

Activities

– Had a master class in Germany with Professor Lucas David in 1996 and Professor Wolfgang Marschner in 1997.

– Participated in several concerts and tours:

 In 1995: Mediterranean Sea Orchestra.

 In 1997 and 1999: Schleswig Holstein Music Festival Orchestra.

 In 1999 and 2000: West Eastern Divan Orchestra with Maestro Daniel Barenboim.

 In 2004, 2005 and 2006: UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra.

 In 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2016: Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.

Chamber Music

– From (2008 till present):

 Member of “Mosaic” Ensemble.

 Member of “CineMoon” Ensemble.

 Member of “Doha Baroque” Ensemble.

Solo Performances

– Appeared as a soloist with several orchestras, including: Alexandria Chamber Orchestra, Cairo Opera Orchestra, Cairo Symphony Orchestra and Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.