SIVAN MAGEN
harp

Praised by the press as “a magician” (New York’s WQXR) whose “brilliant sound and remarkable technical acumen shatter any stereotype of his instrument” (The NY Times), SIVAN MAGEN transforms the harp into an expressive, colorful and virtuosic instrument, moving it to center stage through the exploration of the standard repertoire, the commissioning of today’s composers and his new adaptations to the harp of some of the greatest music of the last three centuries. Since fall 2017 he is Principal Harpist of the Finnish Radio Symphony.

The only Israeli to have ever won the International Harp Contest in Israel, Magen is a winner of the Pro Musicis International Award and in 2012 was chosen by a committee headed by Dame Mitsuko Uchida as the winner of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. He appeared as a soloist across the US, South America, Europe and Israel, in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Sydney Opera House and the Vienna Konzerthaus, and with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic, Strasbourg Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony, Sydney Symphony and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra.

Aside from his activity as a soloist, Mr Magen is an avid chamber musician and has appeared at the Marlboro, Aspen, Rosendal, Kuhmo, Delft, and Jerusalem International Chamber Music festivals, with Musicians from Marlboro, and collaborated with artists such as Nobuko Imai, Shmuel Ashkenazi, Gary Hoffman, Emmanuel Pahud, Susanna Phillips, the Danel, Calder and Dover quartets and members of the Guarneri and Juilliard Quartets.

He is a founding member of trio Tre Voci with flutist Marina Piccinini and violist Kim Kashkashian, with whom he has toured extensively in Europe and the US, and has released to great critical acclaim a CD for ECM of music by Debussy, Gubaidulina and Takemitsu. They are constantly working to expand the flute-viola-harp repertoire by commissioning arrangements and original pieces – their 2018 program included a new commission of a trio by Toshio Hosokawa which had its European premiere at London’s Wigmore Hall.

Since January 2008 Mr Magen is also a founding member of the Israeli Chamber Project, a group which performs in both outreach venues and major concert halls in Israel and the US, including the Israeli Conservatoey in Tel Aviv, the Embassy Series in Washington D.C. and Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Town Hall, Merkin Hall, Symphony Space, the Morgan Library and Bargemusic in New York City. The ICP is the winner of the 2011 Israeli Ministry of Culture Outstanding Ensemble Award. This past season, which was their 10th anniversary season, included extended tours in the west coast of the US, as well as in Canada, Europe and Israel.

Sivan Magen has released two solo albums for Linn Records, Fantasien, which includes mostly his own transcriptions of fantasies ranging from Bach to Brahms, and French Reflections, which explores connections between the French repertoire of the early 20th and of the early 21st centuries. Additionally were released to great critical acclaim a CD with the Israeli Chamber Project for Azica Records as well as an all-Britten CD Still Falls the Rain with tenor Nicholas Phan for Avie (listed in the NY Times’ “Best recordings of 2012”). His performance of Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro is featured on the Marlboro festival’s 60th Anniversary CD.

Mr Magen is also gaining a reputation as a sought-after teacher, presenting masterclasses in schools such as The Juilliard School, The Curtis Institute, The Peabody Institute, The New England Conservatory, the Paris Conservatory, London’s Royal Academy, Royal College, Guildhall School and Trinity College, as well as the summer Academy in Nice, the Kuhmo Festival Academy in Finland, and the Aspen Msuic Festival. In addition, he has been invited to serve as member of the jury of the International Harp Contest in Israel, the first Netherlands International Harp Competition, the Lyon & Healy Awards and the 2011 Vera Dulova International Harp Competition in Moscow, and served as Head of the Jury of the 2007 National Harp Contest in Taiwan. Between 2013-2017 he was a faculty member of the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, and in spring 2017 he was an invited professor at the Paris Conservatory.

Born in Jerusalem, Sivan Magen studied the piano with Benjamin Oren and Talma Cohen and the harp with Irena Kaganovsky-Kessler at the Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance. After completing his military service as an “Outstanding Musician” in 2001, he continued his studies with Germaine Lorenzini in France and then joined Isabelle Moretti’s harp class at the Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP) from which he graduated with a “Premier Prix”. He has then completed a Master of Music degree as a student of Nancy Allen at the Juilliard School.

LORNA McGHEE
flute

Scottish-born LORNA McGHEE was appointed principal flute of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2012. Known for her “exceptionally rich and vibrant tone” (Washington Post) Lorna has performed as guest principal with Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and has been fortunate to work with conductors such as Haitink, Gergiev, Rattle, Solti, Harnoncourt, Muti and Honeck. Before immigrating to North America in 1998, Lorna was co-principal flute of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, England. As a soloist, she has given concerto performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in the UK and Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Philharmonia, and Victoria Symphony in Canada and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, San Luis Obispo Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in the USA. Career highlights include a performance of Penderecki’s flute concerto with the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra under the baton of the composer in 2004 and more recently, a performance of the Nielsen Flute Concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony in 2014 with Maestro Tortelier. As a chamber musician and recitalist, she has performed in Europe, North America, Australia, Singapore and Japan in such venues as London’s Wigmore Hall, Edinburgh International Festival, the Louvre, Paris, the Schubertsaal of Vienna’s Konzerthaus, Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. Her performances have been broadcast on CBC Radio in Canada, BBC Radio, NPR (USA), Netherlands Radio and ABC (Australia). She has made chamber music recordings for EMI, Decca ASV, Naxos and Meridian. Her recording for Naxos of Bax’ Chamber Music with the group ‘mobius’ was selected as Editor’s Choice in Gramophone Magazine. Along with Duo partner Heidi Krutzen, Lorna has released two CDs on Skylark Music: “Taheke, 20th century Masterpieces for flute and harp” and “Canada, New Works for flute and harp.” As a member of Trio Verlaine (with her husband, violist David Harding and harpist, Heidi Krutzen) Lorna has recorded two CDs: “Fin de Siècle,” the music by Debussy and Ravel, and “Six Departures”, featuring works by Bax and Jolivet as well as new commissions by Schafer and Cotton. Both the Trio and Duo are committed to broadening the repertoire and have contributed eight new commissions to date. Lorna’s first flute and piano recital disc, “ The Hour of Dreaming” with pianist, Piers Lane was released on the Beep label in 2014.

Having taught at the University of Michigan and the University of British Columbia, Lorna is now a member of the flute faculty at Carnegie Mellon University. She has given master classes at universities, conservatoires and flute festivals in the UK, USA, Japan and Canada, including Julliard School and the Royal Academy of Music. She often teaches at summer schools, including the Pender Island Flute Retreat, the William Bennett International Summer School, and the Galway Flute Festival. Lorna studied with David Nicholson in Scotland, and with Michie and William Bennett at the Royal Academy of Music, London. She is an honorary “Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.”

DAVE MORGAN
doublebass

The composer, improviser, and double bassist Dave Morgan has collaborated with a wide range of jazz, pop and classical artists. His most recent recording is “Blue Is More Than A Color” Morgan was a recipient of a “New Works: Creation and Presentation” grant from Chamber Music America, which resulted in his recording, The Way of the Sly Man, featuring Jack Schantz, Howie Smith, Jamey Haddad, and Dan Wall. Morgan also composed the music for The Surprise of Being—Live at Birdland by the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra featuring Joe Lovano. A Tri-C Jazz Fest concert of Morgan’s transcriptions and arrangements of the music of Frank Zappa for the Jazz Unit featuring Ernie Watts and Mark Wood earned an Award of Achievement from Northern Ohio Live. He performed this music as guest artist with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra in December 2012. Morgan collaborates in crossover projects with Apollo’s Fire, the Internationally-acclaimed Baroque ensemble, and occasionally performs with The Cleveland Orchestra as a jazz bassist and bass guitarist. The American Wind Symphony Orchestra has commissioned several pieces, including “Colors of Your Dreams,” “Reflections and Mediations”, and “The Art of Seven.” Several of Morgan’s orchestral pieces are recorded on Centaur Records. The YSU Symphonic Wind Ensemble directed by Stephen Gage has released “Made In Youngstown” which includes three of his compositions for wind ensemble, featuring several YSU faculty members as guest soloists.

DIMITRI MURRATH
viola

DIMITRI MURRATH has performed concertos with Orchestre National de Lille, Toho Gakuen Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Brussels Philharmonic, and London Mozart Players. He has appeared at the Kennedy Center, Boston’s Jordan Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Royal Festival Hall in London, among other venues. A member of the Boston Chamber Music Society and of Mistral Music, he has collaborated with Miriam Fried, Pamela Frank, Richard Goode, Gidon Kremer, Menahem Pressler, Mitsuko Uchida, and members of the Mendelssohn, Takacs, Guarneri, Cleveland, Jerusalem, and Juilliard String Quartets. Festival appearances in addition to ChamberFest Cleveland include IMS Prussia Cove, Ravinia’s Steans Institute for Young Artists, Caramoor Rising Stars, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Juventus, Verbier, and Marlboro, and has taken part in the Park Lane Group Young Artists New Year Series in London. A recipient of a 2014 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Mr. Murrath was a first prize winner at the Primrose International Viola Competition. Other awards include second prize at the First Tokyo International Viola Competition, special prize for contemporary work at the ARD Munich Competition, and a fellowship from the Belgian American Educational Foundation. In 2012, he was named laureate of the Juventus Festival, an award recognizing young European soloists. He is on the viola faculties of San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Bowdoin International Music Festival. His recordings include music of Hindemith, Vieuxtemps, Clarke, and Jeremy Dale Roberts.

EVREN OZEL
piano

American pianist EVREN OZEL began his musical studies at age 3 in his hometown of Minneapolis, MN.  He has won numerous honors and awards including scholarships from the U.S Chopin Foundation and Young Arts Foundation, first prize at the 2016 Boston Symphony Concerto Competition, second prize at the 2016 Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition, and second prize as well as Mozart and Chopin special prizes at the 2018 Dublin International Piano Competition.  Most recently, he received second prize and special prizes for Best Mazurka and Best Polonaise at the 2020 U.S. National Chopin Competition securing the honor of representing the U.S.A in the International Chopin Competition which will take place in Warsaw, Poland in October 2021.  

Ozel has performed with orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, RTE National Symphony and Boston Pops among others.  In 2018, as a freshman at New England Conservatory, Evren won both the Honors Piano Competition and the NEC Chamber Concerto Competition which garnered him an opportunity to play on the Jordan Hall stage with the school’s conductor-less orchestra.  

An avid chamber musician, Ozel was selected by Mitsuko Uchida to participate in the prestigious Marlboro Music Festival.  There he performed with Jonathan Biss, Alice Neary, Marcy Rosen and Joseph Lin, among others. Three of his performances at the festival have already been featured in the archived Historic Recordings from Marlboro. In 2019, he participated in ChamberFest Cleveland, featured in their Rising Star program, performing along side artists such as Franklin Cohen, Peter Wiley and Hsin-Yun Huang.  Of his performance of Franck Sonata with Nathan Meltzer, Cleveland Classical wrote “Meltzer and Ozel attended to every contour of the music with care, crafting a longform melodic idea that flowed effortlessly from phrase to phrase and movement to movement.  It was a privilege to witness.”

Other chamber experiences include invitations to play with Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players and Chamber Music Live! at Queen’s College.  He was also a member of Gruppetto Trio which was selected as a New England Conservatory Honors Ensemble in the 2018/2019 school year.  

Other summer festival experiences include the International Mendelssohn Akademie Leipzig in 2018 as a Mendelssohn Fellow, taking masterclasses with Pavel Gililov and Matti Raekallio, and the Oxford Philomusica Piano Festival in 2015, where he had masterclasses with Ferenc Rados, Menahem Pressler, and Andras Schiff.  He has also been selected to perform in masterclasses for Richard Goode, Paul Lewis, Mitsuko Uchida, Garrick Ohlssohn, Robert Levin, Hugh Wolff, Lang Lang and others.  

In the 2020/2021 season, Ozel appears again with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players and performs with NEXUS Chamber Music for Hayden’s Ferry Chamber Music Series in Tempe, AZ.  Other concerts this season include solo recitals for the Paderewski Festival in Raleigh, NC, the U.S. Chopin Foundation in Miami, FL, and the Gilmore’s Rising Stars Series in Kalamazoo, MI.  

Ozel is currently in his senior year at the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA where he has been studying with Wha Kyung Byun since 2014.  He is represented by Concert Artists Guild, as one of the Ambassador Prize winners of their 2021 Victor Elmaleh Virtual Competition.

About our Rising Stars
ChamberFest Cleveland’s Rising Stars are recognized for their extraordinary talent. They are invited to deepen their connection to the art of chamber music by immersing themselves in the festival, rehearsing side by side with the leading chamber musicians of our time, and performing in a professional concert setting for discerning audiences and critics alike.

JUHO POHJONEN
piano

JUHO POHJONEN is regarded as one of today’s most exciting and unique instrumentalists. The Finnish pianist performs widely in Europe, Asia, and North America, collaborating with symphony orchestras and playing in recital and chamber settings.  An ardent exponent of Scandinavian music, Pohjonen’s growing discography offers a showcase of music by Finnish compatriots such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kaija Saariaho and Jean Sibelius.
In 2021-2022 Pohjonen performs Daniel Bjarnason’s concerto for piano Processions with the Helsinki Philharmonic with the composer at the podium. Additional orchestral highlights include performances of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Rune Bergmann and the Colorado Symphony as well as performances of Mendelssohn’s concerto for violin, piano and strings, beside Erin Keefe, Maestro Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra. Continuing his long-standing relationship with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Pohjonen performs at Alice Tully Hall on two separate occasions this season in programs featuring works by Stravinksy, Debussy, Shostokovich and Mendelssohn. Additional chamber projects include a performance at Parlance Chamber Concerts with Danbi Um and Paul Huang and Cliburn Concerts with Danbi and Karim Sulayman. Juho will perform recitals in Helsinki and at Vancouver Recital Society.

Last season, Juho performed with the Tampere Philharmonic following his debut with the orchestra in 2017-2018 and also performed Daniel Bjarnason’s Processions with Finland’s Tapiola Sinfonietta.

Following the September 2019 performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota, Pohjonen returned to the orchestra in January 2020 to repeat the program at Indiana University in Bloomington.  Additional highlights included two orchestra debuts: with the New Jersey Symphony performing Grieg, conducted by Markus Stenz; and with the Rochester Philharmonic performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Fabien Gabel. Pohjonen made his Philadelphia recital debut at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and returned to Howland Chamber Music Circle in Beacon, NY with a recital. An alumnus of The Bowers Program (formerly CMS Two), Pohjonen enjoys an ongoing association with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with whom he played two performances in New York’s Alice Tully Hall and Chicago’s Harris Theater.
Pohjonen launched MyPianist in 2019, an AI-based iOS app that provides interactive piano accompaniment to musicians everywhere. Designed and programmed by Mr. Pohjonen himself and infused with his keen musical sensibility, MyPianist acts as a “virtual pianist” for musicians looking to hone their skills or learn new material. MyPianist carefully “listens” to the musician’s playing and recreates the piano part in real time, matching the timing and nuances of the live performance. More information at https://mypianist.app.

Pohjonen’s illustrious resume of concerto performances reveals a musician in demand internationally. He has appeared as a soloist with Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, Finnish Radio Symphony & Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestras, Philharmonia Orchestra of London, with the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York City, and a large number of additional North American orchestras. This includes the Atlanta Symphony where Pohjonen has performed three times. Pohjonen has collaborated with today’s foremost conductors, including Marin Alsop, Lionel Bringuier, Marek Janowski, Fabien Gabel, Kirill Karabits, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Markus Stenz, and Pinchas Zukerman.

The pianist has previously appeared in recital at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and in San Francisco, La Jolla, Detroit, Savannah, and Vancouver.  He made his London debut at Wigmore Hall, and has performed recitals throughout Europe including in Antwerp, Hamburg, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, and Warsaw. Festival appearances include Lucerne; Savonlinna Finland; Bergen, Norway; and Mecklenberg-Vorpommern in Germany, as well as the Gilmore Keyboard Festival. With CMS  he has performed significant chamber music repertoire with Escher and Calidore String Quartets in New York, Chicago, and at Wolf Trap, among many other programs. Other highlights of recent seasons include a recital debut at the 92nd Street Y in New York, in which Pohjonen performed a program that featured Scriabin’s Sonata No. 8 and Dichotomie by Salonen. In a review comparing Pohjonen’s performance of the same piece in 2019 to his 2009 performance, the New York Times commented that the Salonen “no longer seemed nearly impossible. You might say he played it like a master.”

Pohjonen’s most recent recording with cellist Inbal Segev features cello sonatas by Chopin and Grieg, and Schumann’s ’Fantasiestücke, hallmarks of the Romantic repertoire. Plateaux, his debut recording on Dacapo Records, featured works by late Scandinavian composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, including the solo piano suite For Piano, and piano concerto Plateaux pour Piano et Orchestre, with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Ed Spanjaard. His recital at the Music@Menlo 2010 festival was recorded as part of the Music@Menlo Live series.  Entitled Maps and Legends, the disc includes Mozart’s Sonata in A major, K. 331, Grieg’s Ballade (Op. 24), and Handel’s Suite in B-flat Major.  Pohjonen joins violinist Petteri Iivonen and cellist Samuli Peltonen to form the Sibelius Trio, who released a recording on Yarlung Records in honor of Finland’s 1917 centennial of independence. The album, described by Stereophile as “a gorgeous debut,” included works by Sibelius and Kaija Saariaho.

Pohjonen began his piano studies in 1989 at the Junior Academy of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and subsequently earned a Master’s Degree from Meri Louhos and Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna at the Sibelius Academy in 2008. Pohjonen was selected by Sir Andras Schiff as the winner of the 2009 Klavier Festival Ruhr Scholarship, and has won prizes at international and Finnish competitions.

AMANDA POWELL
soprano

AMANDA POWELL has been praised as “the star of the evening” (Seen and Heard International, UK) and “charismatic and theatrically arresting” (San Francisco Chronicle). A highly versatile musician, she is at home in repertoire from Monteverdi to Mozart to Ravel, and has toured internationally as soloist in baroque opera, oratorio, and crossover folk programs. Her tour performances with GRAMMY-winning baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire (Jeannette Sorrell) include such venues as the National Concert Hall of Ireland in Dublin, the Irish National Opera House, the Aldeburgh Festival (UK), the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the National Gallery in Washington, and Zellerbach Hall in San Francisco, among others. Her 2019 debut as Messiah soloist with the Calgary Symphony won kudos as “the soloist of the night… singing to perfection.”

As a recording artist, Ms Powell has been featured on several Apollo’s Fire albums including Sugarloaf Mountain, Sephardic Journey, and Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain, all of which received rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic and debuted in the top ten on the BILLBOARD Classical Chart. Her 2015 solo debut album, Beyond Boundaries, is an intimate program of folk, jazz, and global music. She is a fluent improvisor and has collaborated with such artists as Bobby McFerrin and Sheila Jordan.

JUSTIN WISNER

JUSTIN WISNER is a freelancing clarinetist in the Northeast Ohio area. He has performed with many orchestras in the area including The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Pops, Youngstown Symphony, Akron Symphony, Firelands Symphony, and CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Wisner has recently played under Franz Welser-Möst, JoAnn Falletta, Ludovic Morlot, Robert Spano, Richard Kaufman, David Effron, Joel Smirnoff, and Tania Miller. He has appeared on other world-renowned stages including Severance Hall, Blossom Music Center, The New World Center, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Devos Performance Hall, and Koerner Hall. Mr. Wisner has been active with various summer festivals, such as the Aspen Music Festival, Hidden Valley Music Seminar, Mostly Modern Music Festival, The Henri Selmer International Clarinet Academy, and the Miami Music Festival. Justin was the third-prize winner of the Henri Selmer International Solo Competition. Justin Wisner recently completed his Master’s Degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He holds an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor in Music Education from Michigan State University. His other notable teachers include Afendi Yusuf, Franklin Cohen, Joaquin Valdepeñas, Mingzhe Wang, and Tasha Warren-Yehuda.

JAZMIN PASCUAL FLORES

Clarinetist JAZMIN PASCUAL FLORES was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico and is currently an undergraduate student at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the guidance of Mr. Afendi Yusuf. Previously she completed the pre-college program at The Colburn School where she was under the instruction of Mr. Yehuda Gilad.

Jazmin made her debut as soloist with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Aguascalientes in 2016 and has participated in a number of competitions earning prizes and awards such as second prize at the 1st World Clarinet E-Competition “Napolinova” (2020), third prize at the Festival Internacional de Clarinete Monterrey (2018), first prize at the “Luis Fernando Luna Guarneros” Pan-American Clarinet Competition (2022), second and first prizes at Tuesday Musical Scholarship Competition 2022, Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition (2023) and Artist Presentation Society top prize in 2023.

About our Rising Stars
ChamberFest Cleveland’s Rising Stars are recognized for their extraordinary talent. They are invited to deepen their connection to the art of chamber music by immersing themselves in the festival, rehearsing side by side with the leading chamber musicians of our time, and performing in a professional concert setting for discerning audiences and critics alike.

ISMAIL LUMANOVSKI

The extraordinary clarinetist ISMAIL LUMANOVSKI is a musical force of passion and dynamic virtuosity. Already of international distinction, Lumanovki has launched a major career as a soloist, chamber musician in both classical and cross-over repertoire. His synergistic blend of natural talent and training combines the spirit of folk music with the discipline of classical music.

Lumanovski’s performances throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, South America, and Asia have received critical acclaim. Lumanovski has mesmerized audiences across the globe.Taking the stage in countless venues including; Carnegie Hall (New York), United Nations (New York), Musikverein (Vienna), Luzerner Saal (Luzern), World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) Lufthansa Technik (Hamburg), Pierre Boulez Saal (Berlin), National Radio Symphony Hall (Katowice), Emirates Palace (Abu Dhabi), Cemal Resit Rey (Istanbul), Expo Yeosu (Korea), Heydar Aliev Merkezi (Baku), Casa de la Musica (Quito), Berklee Performance Center (Boston) and many more. He is proud to have been the soloist of the Carter Clarinet Concerto for Elliot Carter’s 100th birthday celebration in New York with musicians from the New Juilliard Ensemble and the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra under the legendary musical director maestro Pierre Boulez.

His performances have been widely reviewed. The New York Times reviewed his performance, “the soloist — the brilliant, fearless young clarinetist Ismail Lumanovski — aligned himself with various instrumental contingents of the large ensemble”.

Lumanovski has had the privilege to perform as a soloist with innumerable extraordinary musicians and orchestras including: Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Wursburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Tonkunstler Orchestra, Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra,The Berklee Middle Eastern Fusion Ensemble.

Among his many awards and honors, the “Golden Ladybug of Popularity” named Lumanovski “Musical Maestro of The Year 2015” in the Republic of Macedonia. He’s also won The Juilliard Clarinet Concerto Competition, International Young Artist Competition in Bulgaria, Arriaga Chamber Music Competition, Andreas Makris Clarinet Competition. In addition the Macedonian Radio Television produced a documentary film for him in 2019.

Born in Bitola, Macedonia, Lumanovski started playing the clarinet at age eight. His United States debut performance of Weber’s First Clarinet Concerto at Interlochen, Michigan was in 2002. He holds a Bachelor of Music Degree and Master of Music Degree from the Juilliard School of Music. He studied with Charles Neidich and Ayako Oshima.

Lumanovski is a master improviser and performer of Balkan, Turkish, Middle Eastern and Gypsy music. He leads the NY Gypsy All Stars. This jazz influenced fusion and folk music group exemplifies Lumannovski’s fantastic originality. His sound blends Balkan folk music and western classical music with breathtaking dexterity, musicality and tenacity, lending his style a gratifying complexity. Of his performance with the All-Stars, Lumanovski plays a “blistering series of haunting dance numbers” (Lucid Culture Blog) “infectious and hypnotic” (WNYC), “Eclectic and full of inquisitiveness’ (The Huffington Post). He co-founded both “The Secret Trio” and the “Grneta Ensemble.” Thriving on musical conversation, he’s collaborated with bands like Inspector Gadje Balkan Brass Band and Ljubojna, and with an international set of musicians, including Trilok Gurtu, Marcel Khalife, Keyhan Kahlor, Erkan Ogur, Ibrahim Maalouf, Al Di Meola, Becca Stevens and Michael League.

His albums include NY Gypsy All Stars; “Romantech” and “Dromomania,” The Secret Trio; “Soundscapes” and, “Three of Us.” Grneta Ensemble; “Sea of Reeds”. Ismail Lumanovski and
Ljubojna; “Serbet.” Ismail Lumanovski and Inspector Gadje “Live at Kafana Balkan”.