Pavel Vernikov, a student of David Oistrach and S. Snitkowsky, gained a reputation as a virtuoso violinist more than twenty years ago. Among other prizes he won the International ARD Violin Competition in Munich and the Grand Prix at the International Violin Competition “Vittorio Gui” in Florence. He has appeared at such prestigious venues as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, La Salle Gaveau in Paris, La Scala in Milan and Santa Cecilia in Rome.

For the past 30 years he has been a member of the Tchaikovsky Trio.

His artistic partners have included Sviatoslav Richter, James Galway, Alain Meunier, Patrick Gallois, Maria Tipo, Natalia Gutman, Oleg Kagan, Yuri Bashmet, Elisso Virsaladze, Christian Zimmermann and Anthony Pay. He inaugurated the Russian Academy of Higher Learning in Portogruaro and was the Artistic Director of the Gubbio Music Festival, the Dubrovnik Chamber Music Festival and the Eilat Chamber Music Festival.

He teaches and gives masterclasses around the world, in Italy, France, Finland, Spain (Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia Madrid), Israel (Rubin Academy), Germany (Kronberg Academy), etc. and has been invited to be a member of the jury at international competitions (Szigeti, Kreisler, Gui, ARD-Competition in Munich, Sendai (Japan), Budapest, Sarasate, Wieniawski, etc.).

Pavel Vernikov has recorded for RCA, Ondine and Dynamic.

He was a Professor at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Lyon. At present he is a Professor at the famous Konservatorium Wien University and at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne (Site de Sion).

Among his many laureate students are people like Massimo Quarta (1. Prize Paganini International Violin Competition, Genua), Fumiaki Miura (1. Prize Hannover International Violin Competition), Lorenza Borrani (Leader of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe), Fanny Clamagirand (1. Prize Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition, Vienna and 1. Prize International Monte Carlo Violin Competition) and Miki Kobayashi (2. Prize Wieniawski Competition).

In 2013 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Sion Festival in Switzerland, and in 2023, he was appointed as the Artistic Director of the Classic Violin Olympus International Competition, whose inaugural edition is set to take place in 2025 in Dubai, UAE.

Pavel Vernikov plays a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, 1757, violin.

Svetlana Makarova was born in Moscow in 1981. She started to play violin at the age of 5 in a class of Honoured Artist of Russia Ludmila Egorova.

At the age of 10 she won the first prize at the Moscow International Youth Tchaikovsky Competition. Hereafter she won different prizes at numerous state and international competitions.

In 2005 Svetlana graduated the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and in 2008 finished her postgraduated studies with professor M. Glezarova.

Svetlana actively plays and gives concerts as a soloist and as a part of different chamber ensembles.

She also made several CD recordings (with pieces of Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Brahms, Shubert, Schönberg) as a soloist and as a member of chamber ensembles.

Since 2003 Svetlana is a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra, and from 2006 - of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, where she collaborate with such a great musicians as J. Levine, V. Gergiev, M. T. Thomas, Y. Bashmet, D. Sitkovetsky, M. Vengerov, Y. Temirkanov etc.

She takes part in different Festivals such as Verbier Music Festival (Switzerland), Miyazaki Music Festival (Japan), Musical Spring (Moldova), Musical Festival in LA (USA), Eilat Chamber Music Festival (Israel), Festival "Paganiniana" (Italy) etc.

In 2005-2008 she was teaching at famous Gnessin's Music College in Moscow.

In 2008 she was invited by Prof. Vernikov to collaborate with him in numerous master classes in Italy, Israel and Austria.

From 2008 to 2011 she was co-pricipal in the Orquestra Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia (Spain), where principal conductors were Maestri L. Maazel and Z. Mehta.

Since 2010 she teaches at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Italy.

Until 2013 she worked as an Assistant of Prof. Pavel Vernikov at the Haut Ecole de Musique de Lausanne (Site de Sion) in Switzerland and at many Master Classes in Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland and Japan.

She also performed as a violinist at many festivals in Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland and Japan.

Since 2014 she works as a Professor for Violin at the Haut Ecole de Musique de Lausanne in Switzerland.

She plays a violin by Nicola Gagliano made in 1738.

The Symphony Orchestra “Duchi d’Acquaviva” was formed in Atri in summer 2008 by the Association “Amici della Musica 2000”; the organic orchestra is formed of over 40 musicians, all residents in the Abruzzo region, who already have several years of professional activity in major orchestras.

In 15 years of activity the orchestra has held several concerts in various Italian regions. In addition to being the protagonist in August of the International Festival “Duchi d’Acquaviva” of Atri, every beginning of the year realizes the New Year’s Concert, proposing the famous Strauss waltz and the most famous overtures taken from the opera repertoire. The orchestra, which also takes concerts in the formation of chamber orchestra and string orchestra, collaborated with world famous soloists of international level which pianists Pasquale Iannone, Eugen Indjic, Nina Tichman and Yevgeni Moguilevski, violinists Ida Bieler, Oleksandr Semchuk and Marco Rogliano, cellists Ivan Monighetti, Maria Kliegel and Valentin Radutiu, flutists Angelo Persichilli and Andrea Oliva, bassoonist Valentino Zucchiatti, saxophonist Claude Delangle, guitarist Aniello Desiderio, etc.

Born in West Ukraine in 1976, she began her musical studies at 7 years of age. She studied in the Special School of Music in Kiev, and from 1996 to 2001 she attended superior studies in Bratislava at the Music and Theatre Academy, where she obtained the “Magister d’Art” Diploma in piano. In Slovakia she has participated in numerous festivals, holding concerts and collaborating as soloist with the Slovakia Chamber Music Orchestra and the Cappella Istropolitana.

Subsequently, she attended refinement studies at the Schola Cantorum in Paris in Eugen Indjic’s class (student of Artur Rubinstein). At the same time, she studied orchestral conducting at the National Conservatoire in Rueil-Malmaison, obtaining the First Prize Diploma (Gold Medal) in May 2004. In June 2007 she obtained, unanimously, the Orchestral Conducting Superior Diploma at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris in Dominique Rouits’ class. In 2008 she graduated in piano with full honors at the Musical Institute of Teramo in Italy.

Since 2002 she collaborates with the International Festival “Duchi d’Acquaviva” of Atri (Te) as a pianist and conductor. She is artistic consultant of the Association “Amici della Musica 2000” di Atri (Te). She was assistant of the principal conductor of the Opera of Massy (Paris) for the 2006/07 season.

She has worked as conductor with internationally renowned soloists such as violinist Marco Rogliano and Ida Bieler, pianists Pasquale Iannone, Eugen Indjic and Yevgeni Moguilevski, cellists Ivan Monighetti and Maria Kliegel, flutist Angelo Persichilli, clarinetists Calogero Palermo and Patrick Messina, bassoonist Valentino Zucchiatti, etc. She regularly performs in duo with the pianist Algino Battistini.