Concert 2 Guest Artists
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Slava Grigoryan
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Regarded as a ‘wizard’ of the guitar, Slava has forged a prolific reputation as a classical guitar virtuoso.
Grigoryan was born in Kazakhstan and immigrated with his family to Australia in 1981. He began studying the guitar with his violinist father Edward at the age of 6. By the time he was 17 he was signed to the Sony Classical Label. His relationship with Sony Classical, ABC Classics in Australia, ECM in Germany and his own label Which Way Music has led to the release of over 30 solo and collaborative albums spanning a vast range of musical genres.
At the age of 18, his first tour was with guitar legends Paco Pena and Leo Kottke. Since then he has travelled the world as a soloist in recitals and with orchestras in Europe, Asia and North America. Appearances with orchestras have included the London Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Halle, the Dresden Radio Orchestra, the Israel Symphony and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.
He has performed at dozens of national and international arts festivals and guitar festivals. He has won four ARIA awards for Best Classical Album and performs regularly as a soloist with all of Australia’s symphony orchestras. He has had three critically acclaimed tours with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and internationally his performances have taken him to some of the world’s leading venues. From numerous appearances in London’s Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall, to New York’s Carnegie Hall, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, and Tokyo’s Sumida Triphony Hall, Slava Grigoryan has developed a talent for bewitching his audiences.
Collaborations have played a huge part in Grigoryan’s career, most notably the guitar duo with Leonard Grigoryan. Together they have released more than ten duo albums and appeared on many others. Their touring has seen them perform throughout Europe, America, Asia, Russia and the Middle East. From 2017 to 2019, they played to sell-out audiences in Australia, the US, the UK and Ireland as part of k.d. lang’s Ingénue Redux tour, making their debuts in iconic venues such as the Beacon Theatre in New York City, the Hammersmith Apollo in London, Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and the National Concert Hall in Dublin amongst many others.
Grigoryan’s other collaborations in the classical sphere have been with ensembles including the Goldner, Flinders and Australian String Quartets in Australia, and the Endellion, Skampa and Chilingirian Quartets in Europe. He regularly performs with the Southern Cross Soloists and has worked extensively with pianist Michael Kieran Harvey and baritone José Carbó, and was a founding member of Saffire, the Australian guitar quartet. He has also collaborated with numerous composers and premiered many new works, significantly with composers William Lovelady, Nigel Westlake and Shaun Rigney.
Outside the classical world Grigoryan has had long term collaborations with MGT – a guitar trio featuring jazz icons Ralph Towner and Wolfgang Muthspiel – and a duo with Austrian electric bassist Al Slavik. Alongside the Australian String Quartet he has recorded quintets by Muthspiel, Towner and Iain Grandage. With Leonard Grigoryan and with Joseph and James Tawadros he has formed Band of Brothers, performing a fusion of contemporary jazz, classical and Middle-Eastern music. For the last six years his duo with cellist (and wife) Sharon Grigoryan has become another productive and meaningful collaboration in a full musical life.
Grigoryan was born in Kazakhstan and immigrated with his family to Australia in 1981. He began studying the guitar with his violinist father Edward at the age of 6. By the time he was 17 he was signed to the Sony Classical Label. His relationship with Sony Classical, ABC Classics in Australia, ECM in Germany and his own label Which Way Music has led to the release of over 30 solo and collaborative albums spanning a vast range of musical genres.
At the age of 18, his first tour was with guitar legends Paco Pena and Leo Kottke. Since then he has travelled the world as a soloist in recitals and with orchestras in Europe, Asia and North America. Appearances with orchestras have included the London Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Halle, the Dresden Radio Orchestra, the Israel Symphony and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.
He has performed at dozens of national and international arts festivals and guitar festivals. He has won four ARIA awards for Best Classical Album and performs regularly as a soloist with all of Australia’s symphony orchestras. He has had three critically acclaimed tours with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and internationally his performances have taken him to some of the world’s leading venues. From numerous appearances in London’s Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall, to New York’s Carnegie Hall, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, and Tokyo’s Sumida Triphony Hall, Slava Grigoryan has developed a talent for bewitching his audiences.
Collaborations have played a huge part in Grigoryan’s career, most notably the guitar duo with Leonard Grigoryan. Together they have released more than ten duo albums and appeared on many others. Their touring has seen them perform throughout Europe, America, Asia, Russia and the Middle East. From 2017 to 2019, they played to sell-out audiences in Australia, the US, the UK and Ireland as part of k.d. lang’s Ingénue Redux tour, making their debuts in iconic venues such as the Beacon Theatre in New York City, the Hammersmith Apollo in London, Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and the National Concert Hall in Dublin amongst many others.
Grigoryan’s other collaborations in the classical sphere have been with ensembles including the Goldner, Flinders and Australian String Quartets in Australia, and the Endellion, Skampa and Chilingirian Quartets in Europe. He regularly performs with the Southern Cross Soloists and has worked extensively with pianist Michael Kieran Harvey and baritone José Carbó, and was a founding member of Saffire, the Australian guitar quartet. He has also collaborated with numerous composers and premiered many new works, significantly with composers William Lovelady, Nigel Westlake and Shaun Rigney.
Outside the classical world Grigoryan has had long term collaborations with MGT – a guitar trio featuring jazz icons Ralph Towner and Wolfgang Muthspiel – and a duo with Austrian electric bassist Al Slavik. Alongside the Australian String Quartet he has recorded quintets by Muthspiel, Towner and Iain Grandage. With Leonard Grigoryan and with Joseph and James Tawadros he has formed Band of Brothers, performing a fusion of contemporary jazz, classical and Middle-Eastern music. For the last six years his duo with cellist (and wife) Sharon Grigoryan has become another productive and meaningful collaboration in a full musical life.
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Emily Sun
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"Possessed of a superb talent” (The Australian), with “a searing and poetic tone” (The Guardian), violinist Emily Sun is in demand internationally for her compelling and captivating interpretations.
Her genuine connection with audiences and engaging presence have thrilled her growing audiences, as she performs as a concerto soloist with leading orchestras, as a chamber musician and recitalist in major concert halls around the globe.
Emily is the 2024 Artist-in-Association with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, with several concerto appearances during the season including the world premiere of Elena Kats-Chernin’s Violin Concerto, which received 5 star reviews “The memorable premiere of a new musical landmark, Elena Kats-Chernin’s violin concerto, featuring a wondrous performance by violinist Emily Sun”(5* Limelight Magazine) and the Australian premiere of Fazil Say’s Violin Sonata No 2 ‘Kaz Daglari’.
Upcoming projects include recordings and performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra with conductors Mark Wigglesworth, Andrew Litton, Shiyeon Sung and Johannes Fritzsch. Emily will make her debut with Johannesburg Philharmonic and return to Western Australia Symphony Orchestra to play Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Asher Fisch.
Recent performances have included with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Qingdao Symphony Orchestra working with conductors Vasily Petrenko, Jaime Martin, and Benjamin Northey. As a concerto soloist, Emily has appeared globally with orchestras including all the Australian symphony orchestras, the European Union Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Royal Wallonie and Orchestre de Chambre Namur in Europe; Arlington and Arizona Symphonies in the USA; and Shanghai Youth Orchestra and Qingdao Symphony Orchestra in China.
Emily’s solo album, Nocturnes, was released on ABC Classics/Universal to critical acclaim; it reached No. 1 for four weeks in the ARIA Classical Charts and was shortlisted for ‘Best Classical Album 2021’ in the ARIA Awards. Emily also features in a Rubicon Classics disc on the forgotten chamber works of Robert Kahn which received a 5-star review from BBC Music Magazine. Emily’s next release for ABC Classics in Spring 2024 will be a concerto disc of Korngold, Williams and the world premiere recording of the new Kats-Chernin concerto.
Emily was invited to perform at Buckingham Palace alongside Maxim Vengerov in Bach’s Double Violin Concerto at the Royal Gala in the presence of King Charles III, and at the Royal Palace of Brussels in the presence of the King and Queen of Belgium.
As a teen, Emily shot to national fame after being featured in the acclaimed award-winning Australian documentary ‘Mrs Carey’s Concert’. Her media presence continues as the ABC Artist-in-Residence, BBC Introducing Artist, regular broadcasts on Classic FM, BBC Radio 3 (UK), Kol Hamusica (Israel), WXQR (USA), and Musiq 3 (Belgium).
Awards and prizes have included the Tagore Gold Medal from the Royal College of Music, the 2018 ABC Young Performers Award (Australia), the 2016 Royal Overseas League Music Competition (UK), and the Brahms (Austria), Yampolsky (Russia) and Lipizer (Italy) international violin competitions. She was a Young Concert Artist for the Tillett Trust, The Worshipful Company of Musicians and City Music Foundation.
Emily studied with Dr Robin Wilson (Sydney Conservatorium of Music), Itzhak Rashkovsky (Royal College of Music, London), Augustin Dumay (Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, Belgium), and received further mentoring from Pinchas Zukerman, Maxim Vengerov and Ivry Gitlis.
Emily is currently Violin Professor at the Royal College of Music, London, and she performs on a 1753 G.B. Guadagnini ‘The Adelaide’ violin, kindly loaned to her by the UKARIA Cultural Trust.
Her genuine connection with audiences and engaging presence have thrilled her growing audiences, as she performs as a concerto soloist with leading orchestras, as a chamber musician and recitalist in major concert halls around the globe.
Emily is the 2024 Artist-in-Association with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, with several concerto appearances during the season including the world premiere of Elena Kats-Chernin’s Violin Concerto, which received 5 star reviews “The memorable premiere of a new musical landmark, Elena Kats-Chernin’s violin concerto, featuring a wondrous performance by violinist Emily Sun”(5* Limelight Magazine) and the Australian premiere of Fazil Say’s Violin Sonata No 2 ‘Kaz Daglari’.
Upcoming projects include recordings and performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra with conductors Mark Wigglesworth, Andrew Litton, Shiyeon Sung and Johannes Fritzsch. Emily will make her debut with Johannesburg Philharmonic and return to Western Australia Symphony Orchestra to play Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Asher Fisch.
Recent performances have included with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Qingdao Symphony Orchestra working with conductors Vasily Petrenko, Jaime Martin, and Benjamin Northey. As a concerto soloist, Emily has appeared globally with orchestras including all the Australian symphony orchestras, the European Union Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Royal Wallonie and Orchestre de Chambre Namur in Europe; Arlington and Arizona Symphonies in the USA; and Shanghai Youth Orchestra and Qingdao Symphony Orchestra in China.
Emily’s solo album, Nocturnes, was released on ABC Classics/Universal to critical acclaim; it reached No. 1 for four weeks in the ARIA Classical Charts and was shortlisted for ‘Best Classical Album 2021’ in the ARIA Awards. Emily also features in a Rubicon Classics disc on the forgotten chamber works of Robert Kahn which received a 5-star review from BBC Music Magazine. Emily’s next release for ABC Classics in Spring 2024 will be a concerto disc of Korngold, Williams and the world premiere recording of the new Kats-Chernin concerto.
Emily was invited to perform at Buckingham Palace alongside Maxim Vengerov in Bach’s Double Violin Concerto at the Royal Gala in the presence of King Charles III, and at the Royal Palace of Brussels in the presence of the King and Queen of Belgium.
As a teen, Emily shot to national fame after being featured in the acclaimed award-winning Australian documentary ‘Mrs Carey’s Concert’. Her media presence continues as the ABC Artist-in-Residence, BBC Introducing Artist, regular broadcasts on Classic FM, BBC Radio 3 (UK), Kol Hamusica (Israel), WXQR (USA), and Musiq 3 (Belgium).
Awards and prizes have included the Tagore Gold Medal from the Royal College of Music, the 2018 ABC Young Performers Award (Australia), the 2016 Royal Overseas League Music Competition (UK), and the Brahms (Austria), Yampolsky (Russia) and Lipizer (Italy) international violin competitions. She was a Young Concert Artist for the Tillett Trust, The Worshipful Company of Musicians and City Music Foundation.
Emily studied with Dr Robin Wilson (Sydney Conservatorium of Music), Itzhak Rashkovsky (Royal College of Music, London), Augustin Dumay (Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, Belgium), and received further mentoring from Pinchas Zukerman, Maxim Vengerov and Ivry Gitlis.
Emily is currently Violin Professor at the Royal College of Music, London, and she performs on a 1753 G.B. Guadagnini ‘The Adelaide’ violin, kindly loaned to her by the UKARIA Cultural Trust.
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Sharon Grigoryan
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Based in Adelaide, Sharon Grigoryan was the cellist with the Australian String Quartet from 2013-2020. As part of that group she has collaborated with artists such as the Goldner and Tinalley Quartets, Pieter Wispelwei, Sara Macliver, Slava Grigoryan, Pepe Romero, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Katie Noonan, Lou Bennett, William Barton, Konstantin Shamray, Caroline Almonte, and the Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmanian and West Australian Symphony Orchestras.
Born in Melbourne, Sharon studied at the University of Melbourne and the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) under David Berlin, Philip Green, and Howard Penny. From 2008-2012 Sharon held a position with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and in 2011 Sharon was a recipient of the MSO Friends’ Travel Scholarship which took her to Berlin to study with Professor Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt and Nicolas Alsteadt. Whilst there she performed with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Spira Mirabilis Chamber Orchestra.
Still an avid chamber musician, Sharon has enjoyed performing with artists such as Vilde Frang, Lawrence Power, Torlief Thedéen, Tipi Valve, Satu Vänskä, Richard Tognetti, Elizabeth Layton, Andrea Lam, Thalia Petrosian, Joseph Tawadros, Kristian Chong, and many others.
Sharon has performed as a guest with the Australia Ensemble and Australian World Orchestra, and has been invited to be guest principal cellist with most of the Australian Symphony Orchestras. Sharon was the Artistic Director of the “Barossa, Baroque and Beyond” music festival from 2013-2021. In 2019 Sharon curated a chamber music series, “Live at the Quartet Bar” as part of the Adelaide Festival Centre, and made her debut as a radio presenter on ABC Classic.
Apart from teaching the cello privately, Sharon has tutored ensembles such as the Melbourne Youth Orchestra, the Australian Youth Orchestra, is on staff at the University of Adelaide, and been a guest chamber music tutor at ANAM and the University of Melbourne.
Sharon formed the cello/guitar duo with husband Slava Grigoryan in 2014, and this has been a particularly joyful musical and personal collaboration for her. She is currently on contract as acting Associate Principal Cello of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
Born in Melbourne, Sharon studied at the University of Melbourne and the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) under David Berlin, Philip Green, and Howard Penny. From 2008-2012 Sharon held a position with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and in 2011 Sharon was a recipient of the MSO Friends’ Travel Scholarship which took her to Berlin to study with Professor Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt and Nicolas Alsteadt. Whilst there she performed with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Spira Mirabilis Chamber Orchestra.
Still an avid chamber musician, Sharon has enjoyed performing with artists such as Vilde Frang, Lawrence Power, Torlief Thedéen, Tipi Valve, Satu Vänskä, Richard Tognetti, Elizabeth Layton, Andrea Lam, Thalia Petrosian, Joseph Tawadros, Kristian Chong, and many others.
Sharon has performed as a guest with the Australia Ensemble and Australian World Orchestra, and has been invited to be guest principal cellist with most of the Australian Symphony Orchestras. Sharon was the Artistic Director of the “Barossa, Baroque and Beyond” music festival from 2013-2021. In 2019 Sharon curated a chamber music series, “Live at the Quartet Bar” as part of the Adelaide Festival Centre, and made her debut as a radio presenter on ABC Classic.
Apart from teaching the cello privately, Sharon has tutored ensembles such as the Melbourne Youth Orchestra, the Australian Youth Orchestra, is on staff at the University of Adelaide, and been a guest chamber music tutor at ANAM and the University of Melbourne.
Sharon formed the cello/guitar duo with husband Slava Grigoryan in 2014, and this has been a particularly joyful musical and personal collaboration for her. She is currently on contract as acting Associate Principal Cello of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.