Yamen Saadi

Violin

As a soloist, Saadi has performed with orchestras such as Staatskapelle Berlin, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra de València and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, among others. Saadi has performed with conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Lionel Bringuier, Lawrence Foster, Leonidas Kavakos, Christoph Poppen and Lahav Shani.

Saadi has performed in recital and concerto at various festivals and venues across Europe, Asia and the US. These include; Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Rheingau Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Pau Casals Festival, Jerusalem Festival and Schloss Elmau. In November 2023, he makes his recital debut in Tokyo at the Hamarikyu Asahi Hall and the Musashino Civic Cultural Hall.

In January 2022, Saadi released his first recital album Voices From Paris to critical acclaim. Recorded with pianist Nathalia Milstein and featuring works by Poulenc, Ysaÿe and Fauré, Saadi’s album was described as “the blend of virtuosity, lyricism and controlled expressivity” Pizzicato.

As a chamber musician, Saadi co-founded the award-winning Chianti Ensemble. The piano quintet tours Europe and was awarded the prestigious Kersjes Prize in 2022.

Yamen Saadi was born in Nazareth and began studying the violin at the Barenboim-Said Conservatory in Nazareth, before studying under the guidance of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra concertmaster, Chaim Taub. At age 11, he joined the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and, at age 17, became concertmaster of the orchestra. Saadi completed his Bachelor’s degree at the Barenboim-Said Academy and gained his Master’s degree at the Kronberg Academy where he studied with Mihaela Martin. In 2020, Saadi won first prize at both the Aviv and Paul Ben Haim Competitions in 2020, and has held scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and The Prince von Hessen Award.

Yamen Saadi plays the 1734 “Lord Amherst of Hackney” Stradivari violin, previously owned by Fritz Kreisler, and a Jacob Eury bow, both generously loaned to him by Stephan Jansen on behalf of a member of the Stretton Society.

Marc Bouchkov

Violin

www.bouchkov.com

Daniel Lozakovich

Violin

www.lozakovich.com

Pablo Ferrández

Cello

www.pabloferrandez.com

Brendan Kane

Double Bass

Double Bassist Brendan Kane has performed extensively throughout North America, South American, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Australia. In the spring of 2022, Mr. Kane was appointed Principal Bass of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra by Music Director Lahav Shani. Prior to the IPO, he was a member of the MET Orchestra for nine seasons, under the direction of Music Directors James Levine and subsequently Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Previously, Mr. Kane held the positions of Principal Bass of the Orquestra Filarmônica de Minas Gerais in Brazil, Assistant Principal Bass of the Vancouver Symphony in Canada and performed as Guest Principal Bass of the Hong Kong Philharmonic at the invitation of Edo de Waart. For over a decade he has been touring the world as Principal Bass of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra (VFCO) under the direction of Music Director Gábor Takács-Nagy, including annual residencies at the Verbier Festival (Switzerland) and Schloss Elmau (Germany). Additionally, Mr. Kane is a regular guest with the Budapest Festival Orchestra at the invitation of Maestro Iván Fischer and performs every January at the St. Barths Music Festival in the Caribbean. He has also performed with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa), New York Philharmonic, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra (London), Pittsburgh Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Mr. Kane has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, at the Verbier Festival, Schloss Elmau, toured with the International Sejong Soloists and appeared at numerous festivals on both sides of the Atlantic alongside musicians such as Pinchas Zukerman, Maxim Vengerov, Leonidas Kavakos, Tabea Zimmerman, Misha Maisky and Sir András Schiff among others. He was Principal Bass of the New York String Orchestra Seminar as well as a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, where he has returned numerous times as visiting faculty to coach and perform alongside current fellows at the invitation of Michael Tilson Thomas. A passionate educator, Mr. Kane has served as the Bass Coach for the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra and currently serves as the Bass Coach of the Pan Caucasian Youth Orchestra (PCYO) at the Tsinandali Festival in the country of Georgia in collaboration with Music Director Gianandrea Noseda. He is frequently invited to give masterclasses and lectures at conservatories and universities around the US, Europe, Brazil and Israel. Mr. Kane’s teachers have included Tim Cobb, Don Palma, Brian Liddle, Leigh Mesh and Jim Orleans. He holds degrees from the New England Conservatory and the Juilliard School.

Julien Quentin

Piano

www.julienquentin.com