Violinist and conductor Dmitry Sitkovetsky graduated from the Central Music School in Moscow and then studied at the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory. In 1977 he left the Soviet Union and continued his studies at the famed Juilliard School in New York. In the course of his successful musical career, he has worked with many of the world’s leading orchestras (Berlin Philarmonic, Chicago Symphony, Academy of St Martin in the Fields,), conductors (Sir Colin Davis, Mariss Jansons, Sir Neville Marriner), and soloists (Pinchas Zukerman, Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky).He is famed for his transcriptions of many works of the standard repertoire, including frequently performed arrangements of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for orchestra and for string trio. Sitkovetsky devotes himself to recording, with a discography of nearly 40 albums that demonstrate an expansive repertoire. His diverse activities also involve the management of music festivals; moreover, he is greatly in demand as a member of competition juries and as a teacher.

Stanislav Gallin is a graduate of the Musical Grammar School of Saint Petersburg, Russia, the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, and the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia. He furthered his education by studying at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and at a number of masterclasses under teachers including Lazar Berman. He has appeared on the concert stage not only in the Czech Republic and Russia, but also in other European countries, the USA, Asia, and Africa. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonia, and the Bruno Walter Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with conductors including Tomáš Brauner, Jack Martin Händler, Jakub Hrůša, Vahan Mardirossian, Ondřej Vrabec, and Peter Vrábel. He is a founding member of the Orbis Trio, which proved itself to be one of the most successful European ensembles of its generation in 2009, when it became a laureate of four international competitions, including one of the most prestigious – the International Chamber Music Competition Hamburg, Germany. Since 2009 Mr. Gallin has been teaching at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague as a specialised assistant in the piano accompaniment department.