Nicola Mazzanti, IT

Nicola Mazzanti, piccolo

www.piccoloflute.it

Nicola Mazzanti currently serves as Solo Piccolo of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino orchestra, a position he has held since 1988. Many composers have written pieces for him, for piccolo and piano or orchestral concerts. His name is associated with many premières. As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras such as “I Pomeriggi Musicali” of Milan, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Florence Symphony Orchestra and Akronos of Prato.

Mr. Mazzanti performs frequently as both a flute and piccolo soloist and in chamber ensembles in Italy and abroad. In his role of advocate for the piccolo as a solo voice, he has performed at many festivals in Europe and America.

Since 2001, he has held annual piccolo courses at the “MusicArea” association in Florence and at the Italian Flute Academy in Rome. Since 2009 he teach piccolo at the Hochshule in Luzern and since 2011 at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano (Switzerland). He is frequently invited to give masterclassses for flute associations and music schools in Italy and abroad. He has released three solo CD’s. His web site is a regular destination for dedicated piccolo players.

Mr. Mazzanti is a 1982 graduate of the “Luigi Cherubini” Conservatory of Florence, where he studied with Sergio Giambi. He later took lessons or participated in masterclasses given by James Galway, Aurèle Nicolet, Raymond Guiot, Emmanuel Pahud and Mario Ancillotti. In 1986, he earned an additional degree in Music History With Honors from D.A.M.S. (University of Arts and Music).

Patricia Siffert, piano.

After  Professional studies in her native town of Fribourg ,where Patricia Siffert succeeded in acquiring a Virtuosity Diploma in 1984 , she then continued to perfect her art with Victor Rosenbaum in Boston, Tibor Hazay in Fribourg-en-Brisgau and Peter Feuchtwanger in London .
Following this with formations of accompaniment at the Chamber Music at the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama and also the Canadian Banff Art Centre.

Patricia has also participated in Master Courses at the Britten Pears School in Aldeborough, England with Graham Johnson and Martin Isepp. She has won many prizes including, notably, that of the AMS and of “Concours Piano 80.”

She has also given many concerts in Switzerland ,and elsewhere, England, France, Belgium and Canada , participating in the first International Festival for piano duettists in Israel, playing Bach’s “C Major Concerto for two pianos” with The Israel Chamber Orchestra conducted by Noam Serif.

Patricia has also played Poulenc’s ” Concerto for two pianos” with the Fribourg Youth  Orchestra conducted by Theophanis Kapsopoulos and the Allgemeine Kozertgesellschaft from Thoune , conducted by Laurent Gendre.

Patricia Siffert has contributed and participated in two CD’s including the works of Rosemary Duxbury, of which there were piano solo pieces.

She has been teaching piano at the Jacques Dalcroze Institute since 1998.
Among numerous musical activities she has played in a tour of the Czech Republic with Mozart’s Concerto” Jeune Homme” and  Hindemith’s “Quatre Temperaments” with The Youth Orchestra of Suisse Romande. (OJSR) and the Fribourg Youth Orchestra under the direction of Théophanis Kapsopoulos . With the latter orchestra she has played Schumann’s Piano Concerto.

Teodora Sena Ducariu, piccolo

Teodora Sena Ducariu was born in 1986 in Kronstadt (Romania) and has taken piano lessons with her mother at early age. At 8, she heard James Galway and chose the flute. She gave her first recital at the age of 14.

She began her studies in Kronstadt at the Tudor Ciortea Music School, and at the National Conservatory of Music in Bucarest, with Catalin Opritoiu. Since September 2013, she studies for a master in orchestra at the “Hochschule für Music” of Luzern with Sarah Rumer (flute) and Nicola Mazzanti (piccolo). During her studies, she has obtained scolarships from the Hirschmann and Kupper foundations. She has followed many masterclasses, in particular with Sir James Galway, Benoît Fromanger, Mario Caroli, Pierre-Yves Artaud, Sophie Cherrier, Janos Balint, Patricia Morris, Christina Fassbender and Juliette Hurel.

Teodora Ducariu has played as a soloist with romanian orchastras at early age (Philarmonic Orchestre Kronstadt, Philarmonia Paul Constantinescu, Ploiesti) and gave recitals at Sutu Palace in Bucarest, the museum of the Muresenilor house in Kronstadt, the George Enescu Hall of the national Conservatory of Bucarest, etc…). She has been flutist and piccolist of the Romanian Youth Orchestra, conducted by Cristian Mandeal, at the National Radio Orchestra, the Philarmonic orchestra George Enescu and the Romanian Opera Orchestra.

Between 2008 and 2012, she has participated to many academies in Germany and Romania, and she has won many prizes between 2001 and 2009, in Romania, Poland and Grece.