The Non Profit Music Chamber Orchestra initiated its way as orchestral formation with the concert performed last March 31, 2006 in the National Auditory of Madrid with medicusmundi as a beneficiary, and with the vocation of performing at least one solidarity annual concert that fulfils Non Profit Music Foundation objectives of spreading the classic and contemporary music simultaneously with the sensiblization towards the humanitarian reasons.
This orchestra counts with the participation of brilliant young musicians belonging to diverse career and professional educations as the Symphonic Orchestra of Madrid, RTVE's Symphonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Reina Sofia, the Titular Orchestra of the Royal Theatre of Madrid or the West Eastern Divan Orchestra, which Daniel Baremboin directs.
The musicians were selected by the violinist Ara Malikian, who besides directing the orchestra, acts as a solist.
Ara Malikian
Ara Malikian is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant and expressive violinists of his generation. In possession of a personal style, forged from his own origins and rich musical experience, the voice of his violin rises as one of the most original and innovative in the world’s musical scene. Only on rare occasions has instrumental virtuosity been put to the service of musical expression in such a clear and categorical manner.
Born in Lebanon in 1968 in an Armenian family, Ara Malikian began studying the violin at a very early age with his father. His talent was recognized precociously despite the difficulties he encountered because of the war, forcing him even to study during long periods of time in air-raid shelters. He gave his first concert of significance at the age of 12 and when he was 14, German conductor Hans Herbert Joris heard him and obtained a grant from the German government to study in the ”Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover“. At 15 he was the youngest pupil to be admitted in this prestigious centre for higher musical studies.
Later on he furthered his studies in the ”Guildhall School of Music & Drama“ in London, at the same time receiving lessons from renowned professors like Franco Gulli, Ruggiero Ricci, Ivry Gitlis, Herman Krebbers or members of the Alban Berg Quartett.
An undiminishing musical and human restlessness have led Ara Malikian to deepen his relationship with his own Armenian roots and to assimilate the music of other cultures like those of the Middle East (Arab and Jewish), Central Europe (gipsy and kletzmer), Argentina (tango) and Spain (flamenco). All this is achieved within a personal language in which the rhythmic and emotional strength of these types of music go hand in hand with the virtuosity and expressiveness of the great European classical tradition.
With a wide-ranging repertoire, that includes the great majority of all the important pieces written for the violin (concerts with orchestra, sonatas and pieces with piano and chamber music) he has also premiered pieces from modern composers like Franco Danatoni, Malcolm Lipkin, Luciano Chailly, Ladislav Kupkovich, Loris Tjeknavorian, Lawrence Roman and Yervand Yernakian. Malikian is also one of the few violinists that plays recitals for solo violin with programs featuring completes cycles of such significance as the ”24 Paganini Caprices“, the ”6 Sonatas of Eugene Ysaÿe“ and the ”Sonatas and Partitas of J.S. Bach“. In his hands these pieces achieve a new musical dimension that make us forget the enormous technical difficulties that they contain.
His extraordinary level and quality as a violinist have been recognised in many competitions of world-wide reputation, among which we can note the First Prizes obtained in the International Competitions ”Felix Mendelssohn“ (1987, Berlin, Germany) and ”Pablo Sarasate“ (1995, Pamplona, Spain) besides other prizes like those from the competitions ”Niccolo Paganini“ (Genoa, Italy), ”Zino Francescatti“ (Marseille, France), ”Rodolfo Lipizer“ (Gorizia, Italy), ”Jeunesses Musicales“ (Belgrade, Yugoslavia), ”Rameau“ (Le Mans, Francia), ”International Artists Guild“ (New York, USA), and the ”International Music Competition of Japan“. In 1993 he received the ”Prize for Artistic Devotion and Achievement“ from the German Ministry of Culture.
He has played in the most important concert halls of the world in more than 40 countries on the five continents: New York (Carnegie Hall), Paris (Salle Pleyel), Viene (Musikverein), Toronto (Ford Center), Madrid (Auditorio Nacional and Teatro Real), Venice, Los Angeles, Taipei, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Cuba, Barcelona and Bilbao among others. He has also participated in the festivals at Aspen, Colamar, Prades, Schleswig Holstein, Braunschweig, San Sebastian, Segovia, Bergen, Freden, Metlach and Prague.
As a soloist he has been invited by orchestras of the significance of the Tokio Symphony Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Zürich Chamber Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Genova Opera Orchestra, Sinfónica de Madrid, Sinfónica de Portugal, Chamber Orchesta of Tubingen, Moscu Virtuosi, Belgrade Philharmonic, Toulouse Chamber Orchesta, Armenia Philharmonic and Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid among others, under the direction of such important directors as Mariss Janssons, Peter Maag, Jesús López Cobos, Vladimir Spivakov, Miguel Ángel Gómez-Martínez, Luis Antonio García Navarro, Vassili Sinaisky, Edmond de Stoutz, Gudni Emilson, Juan José Mena or Jo Ann Falletta.
At the moment he lives in Madrid, where he is the concertmaster of the ”Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid“ (Teatro Real), with which he has recently obtained clamorous applause as a soloist in ”Le Boeuf sur le Toit“ by D. Milhaud, in the version for violin and orchestra, under the direction of Gómez Martínez; and in the ”Concerto for Violín and Orchestra in D minor“ by Khachaturian under the baton of Jesús López Cobos. It would have been difficult in any of these to find a more suitable player.
One of his most productive relationships has been the one he has established since 1995 with the wonderful pianist Serouj Kradjian, also of Armenian origin, with whom he recorded the complete cycle of Sonatas by Robert Schumann (Hänsler) and the record ”Miniatures“ (Malkrafon), an exquisite anthology of music for violin and piano written by Armenian composers. He has also recorded numerous discs for record companies such as BMG, Auvidis, Trittico Classics and Elite Music, including among many other compositions, the ”Four Seasons“ of Vivaldi (more than 80,000 copies sold).
His close collaboration with José Luis Montón, one of the most noteworthy flamenco guitarists at this moment, has opened new roads for Spanish music. He has also worked with, among others: the Lebanese singer Fairuz, the flamenco dancers Joaquín Cortés and Belén Maya, the Ensamble Nuevo Tango and the jazz pianist Horacio Icasto. His musicianship has also been called upon by film-music composers like Alberto Iglesias, with whom he recorded the soundtrack for ”Hablé Con Ella“, the last movie by Almodovar, or Pascal Gainge in ”Otro Barrio“ by the director Salvador García Ruiz.
José Ángel Vélez
Jose Ángel Vélez borns in Granada in 1975. Is soloist of viola in the Non Profit Music Chamber Orchestra has a bachelor degree in violin from the Royal Academy of Music in London. Teacher of violin from the Royal Academy of Music and Granada's Conservatory, he studied barroque violin with Simon Standage, orchestra conduction with Denise Ham, and chamber music with members of Amadeus and Alberni Quartet.
He has received mastery courses and master classes from Jean Harvey, Fabio Biondi, Howard Davis, Mateja Marinkovich, Maurice Hasson, Norbert Brainin, Manuel Villuendas, Santiago Juan etc.. and in Chamber Music with the Brodsky Quartet, Greenwich Quartet, Borodin Quartet, and in the Orlando Festival (Holland) with the First violin of the Bartok Quartet, among others.
Actually is member of the European Union Chamber Orchestra and the Suggia Quartet. Plays at the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Salzburg Chamber Soloist, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, Bilbao Philarmonie, London Philarmonic Youth Orchestra, Cambra XX, Orquesta de Cámara Andaluza, Arsian, etc, collaborating with conductors like Sir Colin Davis, Sir Charles Mackerras, Christopher Hogwood, Josep Pons, Salvador Mas...
He was teacher of violin and director of the Escuela de Música de Nigüelas, and at the Baza conservatory in Granada (Spain).
Dragos Balan
He was born in Lasi, Romania in a musicians' family. Cello soloist of the Non Profit Music Chamber Orchestra, he has played with the Philharmonic of Berlin in the most prestigious halls of the world under the conduction of Simon Rattle, Daniel Baremboin, Maris Jansons, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Bernard Haitink, David Zinman, Lorin Maazel, Cristian Thielemann or Claudio Abbado. Actually he is the first cello of the titular Orchestra of the Teatro Real of Madrid, connecting his orchestral activity with different groups of chamber music.
Nace en Lasi, Rumanía en una familia de músicos. Violonchelo solista de la Non Profit Music Chamber Orchestra, ha actuado con la Filarmónica de Berlín en las más prestigiosas salas del mundo bajo la batuta de directores como Simon Rattle, Daniel Baremboin, Maris Jansons, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Bernard Haitink, David Zinman, Lorin Maazel, Cristian Thielemann o Claudio Abbado. En la actualidad es Primer Violonchelo de la Orquesta titular del Teatro Real de Madrid, enlazando su actividad orquestal con la camerística en distintos grupos de música de cámara.
