Sergey Ostrovsky
Violin
Founder and first violin of the Aviv Quartet for 27 years, he has won numerous prizes at international competitions: the Grand Prize at the 3rd Melbourne Chamber Music Competition, the Bordeaux String Quartet Competition, the Prague Spring Competition and the “Schubert and Modern Music” Competition in Graz, Austria. Since 2013 he has devoted himself intensively to conducting, leading the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the Armenian Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonietta Estonia, the North Baltic Chamber Orchestra, the Lviv Soloists, the Avetis Festival Orchestra, the Neuchâtel Soloists and the Nizhny Novgorod Soloists. In 2023 he founded the Ensemble Symphonique de Genève, where he is artistic director and principal conductor.
David Castro-Balbi
Violin
He grew up in a family of musicians and at 13 graduated from the CRR in Besançon (DEM) in the class of Bernard Mauppin. In 2007 he joined Larissa Kolos’s class at the CRR in Paris, and then Svetlin Roussev’s at the CNSM in Paris. In 2016 he earned his master’s degree at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar with Professor Friedemann Eichhorn. From 2018 to 2020 he was a member of the prestigious Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, and since 2023 he has been solo violinist of the Neues Orchester Basel in Switzerland. He plays a violin made especially for him by Jacques Fustier, with the support of CIC Nord.
Christophe Morin
Cello
“A cellist with brilliant technique and an exceptional sound. His musical expression is intense, and his rich, impetuous and passionate character immediately captures our attention.” These words from Roland Pidoux best describe Christophe Morin’s talent and dedication. His thirst for knowledge led him to masterclasses with János Starker, Mstislav Rostropovich and Yo-Yo Ma, who offered him private lessons. Today he performs with internationally renowned soloists such as Renaud Capuçon and Jérôme Ducros, with whom he recorded a live album of Schubert’s Trio Op. 100, and collaborates with Nicholas Angelich, Augustin Dumay, Jean-Marc Luisada, David Grimal and the Modigliani Quartet.
Pedro Franco
Clarinet
Principal clarinet of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist and chamber musician he has performed across Europe, Asia and the United States, in halls such as the Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Tonhalle in Zurich, Carnegie Hall in New York and the KKL in Lucerne. A prizewinner at the 2012 Turin International Clarinet Competition, he has recorded for ARTE, BBC, Mezzo, WDR, NDR, DR and Radio Swiss Classic, and has played at the Verbier, St-Prex Classics and Moritzburg international festivals.
