Kaleidoscope Piano Concert Series

Moldovan-born pianist Maria Sumareva has been heard as a soloist and as a collaborative artist in Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Germany, Hungary, and across the United States. Her solo and chamber music repertory reflects her versatile musical interests spanning from the Baroque period to newly composed works. Ms. Sumareva has made appearances in numerous international festivals including the Budapest Spring Festival (Hungary), Les Nuites Pianistiques, International Festival of Contemporary Music (Moldova), Northern Lights Music Festival (U.S.A.), and Festival Miami: Emerging Composers concerts (U.S.A.). Some of her live performances were broadcast by Moldovan, Romanian, and Hungarian radio and television. Ms. Sumareva is the recipient of numerous awards at national and international competitions in Europe and the U.S.A. Winning the 2013 Presser Music Award at the University of Miami made possible her recording debut with Elan Recordings (The Complete Sonatinas by J.A. Benda). Ms. Sumareva holds degrees from Rowan University and Indiana University, where she studied with Veda Zuponcic and Menahem Pressler. Currently, she is completing her DMA in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the Frost School of Music under the guidance of Santiago Rodriguez and Naoko Takao.

Brazilian composer Rodrigo Bussad is the recipient of numerous awards. His work Loin, for amplified ensemble, won the 2014 American Prize in Composition, Student Chamber Music Division; Depois da Chuva was the winner of the 2013 Frost Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and the recipient of the second prize at the 2014 American Prize in Orchestral Music Student Division; Urizen was awarded the second place in the 2013 American Prize in the Chamber Music Student Division.

Bussad is also the winning composer of the 2015 Valencia International Performance Academy (VIPA), selected by a board of composers from the Ithaca College and Eastman School of Music. Bussad was a visiting composer at festivals in North/South America and Europe. He has presented his works and has given lectures in North/South America, Europe, and Asia. He has received commissions from renowned ensembles and performers such as the Brower Trio B3, cross.art Ensemble, Ensemble Paramirabo, NanaFormosa Percussion Duo, Composit Ensemble, the Ithaca College Contemporary Ensemble (ICCE), the NOMOS Ensemble, Svet Stoyanov, Céline Papion, Ermis Theodorakis, Allison Balcetis, and Pedro Gadelha. Bussad holds a Master's Degree in Theory and Composition from the Frost School of Music (UM), where he studied with Dr. Lansing McLoskey. This year he will begin his Ph.D. studies at the University of Chicago.

Akina Yura has given performances throughout the United States, Japan, and Europe. A graduate of Indiana University and the University of Maryland, she is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in Keyboard Performance at the Frost School of Music under the tutelage of Santiago Rodriguez. She is also a piano faculty member of the Frost Preparatory Program at the University of Miami. Ms. Yura’s appearances in music festivals include the Kirishima International Music Festival (Japan), Edward Auer Summer Music Piano Workshop (U.S.A.), and Chautauqua Summer Music Festival (U.S.A.). She was also an awardee at piano competitions including the New Orleans Piano Institute Concerto and Solo Competitions and the MTNA Young Artist Piano Competition. Highlights of her recent concert activity include the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with the New Orleans Civic Orchestra and a solo recital at the Pianodrom International Piano Festival (Albania). Her most recent pursuit is focused on bringing to light the life and piano music of the Japanese composer Mutsuo Shishido (1929-2007). Ms. Yura has both performed and recorded his complete solo piano works.

Albanian pianist Redi Llupa has distinguished himself by performing in important venues in Europe, North and South America, and Asia. As an avid advocate of contemporary repertoire, Mr. Llupa has performed Olivier Messiaen’s Oiseaux Exotiques, and he is currently collaborating with the Percussion Ensemble of the Frost School of Music to perform Alejandro Viñao’s "Water." He performs regularly at the International Piano Festival "Pianodrom" in Tirana in an effort to promote Albanian contemporary repertoire. Mr. Llupa is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory and Indiana University. His professors include Nadjezhda Porodini, Dario De Rosa, Alberto Miodini, Max Levinson, and the renowned Menahem Pressler. He is currently pursuing his DMA in Piano Performance with Santiago Rodriguez at the Frost School of Music. Important highlights of his career include a Carnegie Hall debut in Weill Recital Hall, a tour in Japan with the Boston Tango Trio, and the Albanian premiere of Béla Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto in Tirana. In July of 2015, Mr. Llupa was invited by Fundación Batuta Caldas as a guest artist and pedagogue in Manizales, Colombia.

Albanian pianist Inesa Gegprifti has established a versatile performing life by appearing as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout Europe, South America, and the U.S.A.  A graduate of the Boston Conservatory and Indiana University, she is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Keyboard Performance and Pedagogy at the Frost School of Music with Santiago Rodriguez and Naoko Takao. She is a teaching assistant at the Frost School of Music, as well as a member of the faculty of the Frost Preparatory Piano Program. Her teachers include Valbona Kasaj, Alberto Miodini, Igor Cognolato, Evelyne Brancart, Max Levinson, and the distinguished pianist Dario de Rosa. Highlights of Ms. Gegprifti’s concert activity include 2012 performances with the National Radio Television Orchestra of Albania and the Indian Hill Orchestra, as well as a series of chamber performances in Italy, Slovenia, and Puerto Rico. She was featured as a guest artist at the "Vivace Vilnius International Summer Festival" in Lithuania and the International Portogruaro Festival "A tempo" in Italy. In addition, she held a one-week residency at the Conservatory of Cuenca and delivered a solo recital at the Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporaneo in Ecuador.