Featured Soloists
Chi-chi Nwanoko, bassist
A double bass player and professor of Historical Double Bass Studies at the Royal Academy of Music, she was a founder member and principal bassist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, a position she held for 30 years. Amal El-Shrafi, soprano Award winning Palestinian-American soprano, acclaimed for her powerful stage presence and luscious tone. |
Gity Razaz, composer
Iranian-American composer hailed by the New York Times as “ravishing and engulfing”, Gity Razaz’s music ranges from concert solo pieces to large symphonic works. Milad Yousufi, composer Afghan composer and pianist who came to the United States as a refugee. Composed "Freedom," which had its debut in 2017. |
Moshe Shulman, composer
Russian-born Israeli composer, violin, viola, and bandoneon player. In 1990, at the age of 12, he escaped from Russia to Israel along with one million other Jewish people. His music has been performed in Israel, Canada, Russia, France, Hungary, and the United States. |
DoYeon Kim, composer
Korean composer and gayageym player. Kim incorporates traditional Korean music into her composition and promotes music performed on the gayageum. |
2017 Featured Musicians
Zhanna Alkhazova
Award winning, NY-based soprano who has earned critical acclaim performing lyric and dramatic operatic repertoire. Olga Lisovskaya A native of Kiev, Ukraine and hailed by critics as a “wonderful coloratura soprano with the flexibility to caress the highest range notes”, Olga Lisovskaya regularly performs leading operatic roles and recitals with world-renowned artists. Mátti Kovler Russian-born Israeli-American composer and artistic director of Floating Tower, specializing in cross-cultural music/theatre productions. |
Amal El-Shrafi
Award winning Palestinian-American soprano, acclaimed for her powerful stage presence and luscious tone. Gity Razaz Iranian-American composer hailed by the New York Times as “ravishing and engulfing”, Gity Razaz’s music ranges from concert solo pieces to large symphonic works. Gourmet Symphony For "Refuge Through Music" on April 10th, 2017, the Refugee Orchestra Project teamed up with DC's Gourmet Symphony. Gourmet Symphony assisted in recruiting musicians from the area and conductor John Devlin joined ROP's Artistic Director Lidiya Yankovskaya in leading the musicians in concert. |
2016 Featured Soloists: New York
Mikhail Svetlov
Russian bass, praised for his rare technique in the bel canto style, winner of the prestigious Viotti International Competition, and principal soloist with the Bolshoi Theater Ralph Iverson Multi-instrumentalist with two awards for composition in Bulgaria; and specializing in traditional music of Eastern Europe and other regions Yelena Dudochkin Award winning Ukrainian-American soprano acclaimed for her shimmering voice and dramatic intelligence, accomplished in both operatic work and jazz performance, principal with New Opera NYC and Commonwealth Lyric |
Lubana Al Quntar
Acclaimed soprano awarded the title of Syria’s first Opera Singer Zhanna Alkhazova Award winning, NY-based soprano who has earned critical acclaim performing lyric and dramatic operatic repertoire Percy Martinez NY-based, Peruvian-born tenor, acclaimed for his powerful and dramatic vocalism Korin Kormick NY-based dramatic soprano skilled in opera, oratorio, and art song, praised for her unique voice and vivid theatricality |
2016 Featured Soloists: Boston
Lubana Al Quntar
Acclaimed soprano awarded the title of
Syria’s first Opera Singer
Barbara Quintiliani
Award-winning soprano from Quincy, MA and the first American woman in twenty-five years
to win the prestigious Francisco Viñas Singing Competition in Barcelona, Spain
Yelena Dudochkin
Award winning Ukrainian-American soprano acclaimed for her shimmering voice and dramatic intelligence,
accomplished in both operatic work and jazz performance, principal with New Opera NYC and Commonwealth Lyric
Sammy Andonian
Boston-based 17-year-old Armenian violinist, winner of New England Philharmonic’s
19th Annual Young Artist Competition, and 2015 Boston Pops Orchestra soloist.