Christophe Giovaninetti

Following musical studies in France, Romania and Germany (with the members of the Amadeus Quartet), Christophe Giovaninetti founded the YSAYE Quartet in 1984. After 11 successful years as first violinist, he left for a new challenge, creating, in 1995, the Elysée Quartet.

The two ensembles secured recordings with Decca, Harmonia Mundi, Philips, Zig-Zag Territories, Naxos… and enjoyed performances in such venues as Carnegie Hall (New York), the Musikverein (Vienna), the Mozarteum (Salzburg), Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall (London), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), the Théâtre des Champs Elysées à Paris.

Chamber music partners during that time included Augustin Dumay, Shlomo Mintz, Maria Joao Pires, Renaud Capucon, Frank Braley, and Michel Portal.

Since 2012, Giovaninetti toured widely in Japan performing with pianist / writer Izumiko Aoyagi. In 2016 he founded a piano trio in Paris with Michael Levins and Emmanuelle Bertrand. Outside of his performing activities, he also teaches at the Conservatoire National Supérieure de Paris.

The late Sir Yehudi Menuhin once remarked of Giovaninetti: “I am indebted to this angelic musician for one of the purest musical emotions of my life.”

Yibin Li

Yibin Li was born in a small city in China near the Gobi Desert called Jiuquan and began playing the violin under the guidance of her father at the age of six. Just six years later, she left home to study at the Shanghai Conservatory, where she remained through college. Upon her graduation, she was appointed to the violin faculty where she taught for six years as a young member of the tenured faculty. At 26, she felt the need to continue her studies in New York at Juilliard and Mannes where she earned 2 additional graduate degrees. Her teachers have included Lewis Kaplan, Seymour Lipkin, Earl Carlyss, Peiwen Yuan and Xiaolong Liu.

Ms. Li has performed as a soloist with major orchestras in China and the USA including the Beijing National Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Symphony, the Gaoxiong Symphony Orchestra, and the San Diego and Syracuse Symphonies. Her New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall took place in 2001, and she performed solo recitals, in various chamber music ensembles, and as first violinist of the Iris Quartet at venues throughout the world including at Alice Tully, Carnegie and Merkin Halls and in more than 20 cities in China, France, Italy and the USA.

Ms. Li performs and teaches regularly at summer music festivals including the Bowdoin International Music Festival and Bach Virtuoso Festival, ME., the LaSalle Music Festival, France, Sesto Rocchi Chamber Music Festival, Italy and the Lake Lugano Chamber Music Festival, Switzerland.

Yibin Li is currently on the faculties of the Mannes School of Music, Juilliard’s Pre-college Division and as visiting professor in China at the Xian Conservatory and Beijing Central University for Normal Studies.

Philippe Muller

Born in Alsace, Philippe Muller was raised in both the French and German musical traditions that characterize that province. His early experiences opened his mind to varying cultures and lead him to a multi-faceted career. He performs and has recorded a wide range of repertoire, from the Bach Suites, through the music of living composers.

In 1970, Mr. Muller founded a Piano Trio with pianist Jacques Rouvier and Jean- Jacques Kantorow, violin, which was widely known to be one of Europe’s most venerated chamber music ensembles. He worked closely with Pierre Boulez’ Ensemble Intercontemporain, for seven years, giving him an understanding of and an affinity for the music of our time. He continues to be active in commissioning new cello works and premiers of new music and performs frequently as soloist and in various chamber music ensembles at festivals in Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Philippe Muller’s teaching career is legendary. He succeeded his mentor André Navarra as cello teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1979, continues his teaching legacy today here in New York, at the Manhattan School of Music. Many cellists from his studio have gone on to major careers as soloists including Xavier Phillips and Gautier Capuçon. He travels often giving master-classes in the top conservatories across the globe and has spent twenty years teaching at the Academy of French Music in Kyoto, Japan.

Philippe Muller frequently serves on the juries of the major international cello competitions such as the Tchaikovsky in Moscow, Paulo in Helsinki and Rostropovitch in Paris.

Pierre-Henri Xuereb

At age 13, Pierre Xuereb won first prize in viola from the Conservatoire in Avignon; and he received first prize in viola again, at 16, from the CNSM in Paris. Mr. Xuereb studied at The Juilliard School and Boston University, where his teachers were Walter Trampler and Lillian Fuchs from the Juilliard Quartet. At 19, he went on to become  solo viola of the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris, conducted by Pierre Boulez. In the winter of 1981, he was one of the last students of William Primrose in Provo, Utah.

Since then his international career has brought him to many concert halls throughout the world: Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, Théatre des Champs Elysées, Teatro La Scala(Milano), Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), Luzern Festival and others. He has performed as a soloist with the Ensemble Instrumental de France, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Alternance, Ensemble Contrechamps, Orchestre Symphonique de Tel Aviv, Israel Sinfonietta, Orchestre OLRAP, Orchestre Paca, Caracas Chamber Orchestra, Victoria Symphony (Canada), Prussian Chamber Orchestra, and Dusan Skovran Orchestra (Belgrade). 

Mr. Xuereb has given numerous world premieres of work by composers K.Stockhausen, Klaus Huber, Philippe Hersant, Jean Michel Damase, Bruno Mantovani, Philippe Schoeller, Philippe Manoury, Heinz Holliger, Alessandro Solbiati, Joseph Vella and Edith Lejet. He has recorded over 70 records and has recently recorded, under the direction of the composer, Vladimir Cosma’s Concerto for viola, which was written for him. He is regularly invited to give master classes in Beijing, Kyoto, Gwangju (Korea), Tignes (Musicalp), Les Arcs, Fontainebleau, Berkshires (USA), Novisad, Malta, and Domaine Forget (Canada). As a chamber musician he has been regularly invited to Festivals, among them Prades, Cheltenham, Miami, Gex, Crans Montana, and Kuhmo.

Mr. Xuereb teaches viola in the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, Conservatoire Royal de Musique de Liège and the CRD in Gennevilliers. His viola is made by Friedrich Alber (Montpellier). He also plays the viola d’amore and appears regularly in concerts and recordings with his instrument built by Michiel de Hoog in 1995 (copy of a Stradivarius).

Clarisse Valbon

Clarisse Valbon is a classical music composer. She was born in France and currently resides in New York City.

She studied composition with Denis Bosse (“Champs de l’Inaudible”, “La Lettre Volée”) at the Conservatoire Regional de Cergy-Pontoise as well as harmony with Alain Besson. In parallel she graduated from Sorbonne University with a Maîtrise in Musicology. Clarisse Valbon started writing the melodies that resonated in her head in her childhood. Her pieces have been performed by chamber ensembles, orchestras and soloists in France and most recently in New York City, at Carnegie Hall, New York City Bar

Kaitlyn Schirard

Kaitlyn Schirard is a theater creator and arts administrator based here in NYC. She has graced stages regionally and internationally and has an avid love for the classics. Some of her favorite credits include As You Like It (Ophelia Theater Group), Your Alice (BAM, Edinburgh Fringe, Arcola Theater), and Romeo and Juliet (Sheen Center). When she's not on stage or in the rehearsal room, Kaitlyn works as an educator and arts administrator developing and producing new works with companies like Thistle Dance, the NYPL, the NYBG, Pinkhouse Productions, and Scranton Shakespeare Festival, as well as with many other talented individual creatives.

She is so pleased to be joining the OneMusic Project's artists and audience for an evening of chamber music and Shakespeare.