Board of Trustees
The ambassadors of the “Rising Philharmonic” project are outstanding personalities from the fields of business and academic music. Together they form the Board of Trustees, those who will consult and take care of each stage of the “Rising Philharmonic” project.
Alexandra Conunova
International violinist and soloist
First Prize at the “Joseph Joachim” Violin Competition in Hanover in 2012, and prizewinner at the XV International “Tchaikovsky” Competition and at the Singapore International Violin Competition,
For the last 3 years, Alexandra worked under the guidance of one of the world’s leading professors, Edouard Wulfson in Geneva.
Nominated “Maître ès Arts” by the Moldavian president, she founded a charity foundation “Arta Vie” in her hometown Chisinau to support talented kids and social projects.
Eugen Doga
Composer, People's Artist
Eugen Doga was born on March 1, 1937, in the village of Mocra in Rîbnița district, Moldova.
Eugen Doga graduated from the Music College in Chisinau (1951 – 1955) and the Conservatory specializing in cellist (1955 – 1960). Eugen Doga decided to become a professional composer and in 1960 he enrolled at the “Gavriil Musicescu” Art Institute, in the class of Professor Solomon Lobel, from which he graduated in 1965. In 1962 – 1963, Eugen Doga taught at the music school “Eugen Coca”; In 1963 – 1967 he taught music theory at the “Ştefan Neaga” music school in Chisinau.
From 1971 until now, Eugen Doga has been involved in free creation. In 2012, Eugen Doga founded the DOMINANTA International Foundation, its mission being to facilitate the updating of the spiritual and creative principles of musicians, the consolidation and development of cooperation in the field of musical art, the establishment and development of cultural values, participation in various national and international creative projects, co-opting with governmental and non-governmental organizations, etc.
In 2014, Eugen Doga’s waltz from the soundtrack of the film “Gingașa si tandra mea fiàra” was included in the UNESCO heritage and declared among the top four in the world in terms of beauty.
Vitalie Gavrouc
Pianist, conductor, deputy in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova
Born in Chisinau, he graduated from the Rachmaninoff High School in Tatiana Sviridova’s class and then the Moscow Conservatory in Natalia Troull’s class, and is currently a student in Vladimir Ponkin’s conducting class. Holder of over 30 prizes at international competitions both as a pianist and in the sections of chamber ensemble and concert mastery. From 2021, he is elected deputy in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova from PAS, representing art and the diaspora.
Ilian Gârneț
Soloist, violinist, first concertmaster of the Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie orchestra
He collaborated with philharmonic orchestras from London, Moscow, Bucharest, Hamburg, Zurich, etc. One of the biggest projects he was involved in was a series of concerts with the famous Berliner Philharmoniker orchestra
Andrei Jilihovschi
Baritone
Moldovan baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky completed his studies in choral conducting at the Stefan Nyaga Musical College in Chișinău, Moldova. Whilst at college, he also studied as a vocalist and upon graduation was given a place at the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in Saint Petersburg, where he made his debut in the title role of Eugene Onegin.
He was a finalist in the Saint. Petersburg International Vocal Competition (2007) and went on to win third prize in the “Obraztsova” International Competition for Young Singers (2009) and third Prize at the “Maria Bieshu” International Vocal Competition.
Marcel Lazăr
Pianist, Master's student at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Vienna
Marcel Lazăr represents the new generation of pianists from the Republic of Moldova. Marcel, together with other young musicians, is the founder of the Moldo Crescendo festival, a festival that aims to promote symphonic music throughout the territory of the Republic of Moldova.
Valentina Nafornița
Soprano
Born in Moldova, Valentina Nafornita won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World launching her into the international opera scene. As a young member of the Wiener Staatsoper ensemble, she was afforded the perfect opportunity to hone her craft as she made several notable debuts. She was also honored with opening the historic Wiener Staatsoper Ball first in 2013 and again in 2018, cementing her strong relationship with the house. In the summer of 2014 Valentina made the first of many important international debuts at the Salzburger Festspiele as Zerlina (Don Giovanni). Shortly after she made her debut in France at the Théâtre Champs-Elysées, followed by debuts at Opéra national de Paris, Opéra de Lausanne, and Staatsoper Hamburg.
She has worked with such leading conductors as Bertrand de Billy, Guillermo Garcia Calvo, Karel Mark Chichon, Gustavo Dudamel, Ádám Fischer, etc. In 2021, Valentina was awarded with “The Order of the Republic” award, presented by the president of Moldova for her contribution to ‘affirming the interests and promoting the image of the Republic of Moldova in the world’.
Rusanda Panfili
Violinist, composer
Rusanda started her violin studies in Romania at the “George Enescu” music school in Bucharest, and at the age of 11 she became one of the youngest students at the Conservatory of music and art in Vienna. In 2015, she graduated her “Master of Arts” studies with excellence at the Music University in Vienna.
She won her first international competition in Italy at the age of 10. Rusanda earned numerous international prizes such as “R. Lipizer” in Italy, “L.Spohr” in Germany, “Fidelio” in Austria and the “Herbert von Karajan”, “Tokyo foundation” and “Yamaha” scholarships in Austria.
She performs as a soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestra of the State of Mexico, Weimarer Stadtskapelle, Santo Domingo Philharmonic, Moldovan and Romanian Symphonic Orchestras among many others.
Among the biggest projects in which she was involved are the tours with the famous Hans Zimmer: Hans Zimmer Live and The World of Hans Zimmer.
Radu Rățoi
Accordionist
Radu Ratoi is the winner of more than 30 international competitions, including the 2019 Klingenthal Akkordeonwettbewerb in the Senior Classic Category and World Music Category, the 2016 Coupe Mondiale in the Junior Category, the 2018 Coupe Mondiale in the Coupe Mondiale Category and Entertainment Virtuoso Category, etc. He has held concerts in Russia and most of the European and North American Countries. He has obtained the President Scholarship of the Republic of Moldova in 2018 and won the title of “2018 Best Artist of Moldova”.
Ion Storojenco
Violoncellist in Tonkünstelerorchester, Austria
Ion Storojenco took his first cello lessons at the age of 4. He won several 1’st prizes at Romanian national and international competitions, 2’nd prize at “Gradus ad Parnassum” Competition in Austria, as well as 2’nd prize at Liezen International Cello Competition 2012. Ion plays often as a soloist with philharmonic orchestras in Romania and Moldova. In March 2013 Ion was accepted as a substitute at the Vienna State Opera and Vienna Philharmonic.
Ion Sturza
Businessman, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova
Ion Sturza was born in the village of Pîrjolteni, Călăraşi district, Moldovan SSR. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the State University “V.I. Lenin” from Chisinau.
In 1991, Ion Sturza founded the SA company “Incon”, a company that became one of the main financial-industrial groups in the Republic of Moldova at that time. He founded and later managed FinComBank in Chisinau.
In March 1998, he was elected a deputy in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. On May 22, 1998, Ion Sturza was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Reforms, in the Government of the Republic of Moldova. After that, for a good period of time he was the president of the Association for Foreign Policy of Moldova
(APE). He also held the position of honorary consul of Kazakhstan in the Republic of Moldova. On February 19, 1999, Ion Sturza was appointed as Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova.
In 2002, together with the Rompetrol group, he founded the company “Rompetrol Moldova” and became its president-general manager. In 2006, Ion Sturza was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the Rompetrol N.V. Group.
In 2009, he established the Fribourg Capital Investment Fund, which over the years made several investments in the Republic of Moldova and Romania. The best known are the Elefant.ro online store and Liberty Technology Park Cluj.
Ion Sturza is a member of the Boards of Directors of several companies and non-governmental organizations.
Pavel Efremov
Acordeonist
Pavel Efremov was born in Chisinau (Republic of Moldova) in 1994. He graduated from the “Ștefan Neaga” College of Music in Chisinau. The accordionist completed his bachelor’s degree with Marko Kassl at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and, within the Erasmus program, at the Centro Superior del Pais Vasco “Musikene” with Inaki Alberdi.
In 2019, Pavel Efremov won the 1st prize at the GFF Alumni interpretation competition in Detmold. In 2021 he received the GWK Music Sponsorship Award from the GWK Society for Westfälische Kulturarbeit, Münster, as well as a scholarship from Germany. In December 2021, he was awarded the award for the best Moldovan student of the year in the “Art” category in Chisinau. In 2022 he received a GWK Cordes scholarship and became a fellow of the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Rhein-Ruhr.
Pavel Efremov is the president of the non-governmental organization “Accordion Soul” in Chisinau, which he founded in 2019 to promote young accordionists from Moldova. In the same year, he organized the first accordion festival in Moldova.
Alexandra Târşu
Violinist, soloist
Alexandra graduated the “Serghei Rachmaninov” music school from Chisinau. She continued her studies at the University of Music in Vienna (MDW Wien Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien) and MUK Privat Konservatorium Wien. In 2021, Alexandra defended her master’s thesis at HEMU Sion. Among the most important performances in Alexandra’s career are: the debut with the London Symphony Orchestra and the release of her first album in collaboration with them at Abbey Road Studios; obtaining the audience prize and 3rd place at the ARD competition in Munich; the opportunity to play the Stradivarius violin of the famous Ida Händel, but also collaborations with famous artists such as Janine Jansen, Sol Gabetta, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Igudesman & Joo, Andrea Bocelli, etc.