Ophélie
Gaillard
Cello Professor
An insatiable curiosity, a taste for risk, an immoderate appetite for the whole of the concerted cello repertoire, complete disregard of limits and petty quarrels: those are no doubt the features that have always set this brilliant Franco-Swiss musician apart. Her passion? Working from the sources, inquiring into the text, using her virtuosity to bring out the musical discourse and make the music loved by all.
Named “Revelation: Solo Instrumentalist of the Year” at the French Classical Music Awards (Victoires) in 2003, she has since appeared in recital at many reknowed venues: Concertgebouw Bruges and Amsterdam; Bozar and Flagey, Brussels; the theatres of Bordeaux, Avignon, Poissy, Aix-en-Provence; the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; Oji Hall, Tokyo; London’s Wigmore Hall, as well as the most prestigous Orchestras such as l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, le Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, le Czech National Symphony Orchestra ou le New Japan Philharmonic
Fond of encounters, she regularly shares the stage with Lambert Wilson, hip-hop dancer Ibrahim Sissoko, choreographers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Damien Jalet, dancer Hugo Marchand (Etoile of the Opéra National de Paris), or Brazilian star singer of bossa nova Toquinho (live album Canto de sereia recorded for Aparté at the MiTo festival in 2017).
In 2005, she found Pulcinella, a collective of virtuosos with a passion for performance practice on period instruments. The recording devoted to Vivaldi, Boccherini and Bach reaped excellent ratings and several awards, among them a DIAPAON D’OR of the year.
A sought-after teacher, she regularly gives masterclasses in Europe, Asia and Central America. She is regularly invited as a member of the Jury at the ARD and Geneva Competitions and in 2014 she was appointed Professor at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Geneva.
Ophélie Gaillard plays a cello by Francesco Goffriller (1737), generously on loan from the CIC, and also an anonymous Flemish violoncello piccolo.
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David
Pia
Professor of Cello
David Pia grew up in Basel and studied with Antonio Meneses at the University of Music in Basel and with Clemens Hagen at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. During his studies, he was the principal cellist of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and worked with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Herbert Blomstedt, and Philippe Jordan. In 2006, he became a member of the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra but decided to accept the position of principal cellist of the Munich Radio Orchestra. A year later, he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, where he also received the prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work.
In 2010, David Pia assisted his former teacher Antonio Meneses at the University of the Arts in Bern and gave master classes at the Kronberg Academy, the University of Music in Freiburg im Breisgau, and at various festivals worldwide.
In 2012, a concert tour with violinist Sarah Chang and the Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra took him to the largest concert halls in Switzerland. He has performed as a soloist with, among others, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Camerata de Lausanne, the Essen Philharmonic, and the Munich Symphony Orchestra.
As a duo partner with Bobby McFerrin, he performed with the Munich Radio Orchestra, at "Young Artists in Concert" in Davos, at "Septembre Musical" in Montreux, at the "Ravinia Festival," and at "Chamber Music connects the World" in Kronberg. Other musical partners included Kit Armstrong, Daishin Kashimoto, Menahem Pressler, and Antoine Tamestit.
In 2015, the Swiss Embassy in London awarded David Pia the "Swiss Ambassador's Award," after which he embarked on a concert tour in the UK and performed at the renowned Wigmore Hall in London. David Pia has been the principal cellist of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich since 2016 and since 2022 he holds the same position in the Bern Symphony Orchestra (BSO). He was appointed professor at the Haute école de musique de Genève in 2018.
In addition to the famous Stradivarius "De Kermadec Bläss" cello from 1698, David Pia plays a cello by Giovanni Grancino from 1697. Tradition and vision converge in David Pia; he bridges the admiration for his grandfather, Karl Richter, the legendary Munich conductor and organist of Bach, and a future with endless possibilities. For him, it is vital to expand the familiar repertoire by adding interesting pieces and never losing sight of the adventure posed by the unknown.
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Denis
Severin
Professor of Cello
Denis Severin studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow with D. Miller, at the Haute école de musique de Genève with Daniel Grosgurin, and at the Academy of Music in Basel with Thomas Demenga. He earned teaching and soloist diplomas with distinction. He furthered his studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in baroque cello, chamber music, and string quartet under Christophe Coin. He also attended masterclasses with J. Starker, N. Gutman, T. Mørk, A. Bylsma, A. Meneses, G. Hoffman, W. Böttcher, and B. Mate.
An award winner at international competitions, D. Severin has regularly performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the National Orchestra of Ukraine, the European Youth Orchestra, Les Solistes de Kiev, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Pskov (Russia), and the Kharkiv Philharmonic (Ukraine).
As a chamber musician, he plays with numerous ensembles and is frequently invited to festivals in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, Serbia, Singapore, Poland, Turkey, and England. His extensive discography includes a Rachmaninov program for cello and piano with Sony and the Brandenburg Concertos with the Swiss Baroque Soloists for Naxos, which was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Since 2006, he has taught cello and chamber music at the International Summer Music Academy at the Château de Beuggen in Germany. He is a regular guest professor for cello and early music at the National Music Academy of Kyiv and the University of the Arts in Kharkiv (Ukraine). He is a cello professor at the Haute école des arts in Bern and leads a cello class at the Haute école de musique de Genève, Neuchâtel site.
Denis Severin plays a Jean-Nicolas Lambert cello from 1750 and a Vincenzo Panormo cello from 1800.
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