FVAGF
ARTIST BIOS
2019
Piotr Pakhomkin
"Piotr Pakhomkin is one of the bright lights of the younger generation of classical musicians, a player of tremendous skill and sensitivity."
~ CLASSICAL GUITAR MAGAZINE
Hailed by Classical Guitar Magazine as "one of the bright lights of the younger generation of classical musicians, a player of tremendous skill and sensitivity," Russian-American guitarist, Piotr Pakhomkin has extensively performed and given masterclasses in Europe, Central America, and the U.S. Based in Washington, D.C., he was the only guitarist to be featured at Strathmore, Kennedy Center, and Phillips Collection series in the span of a single concert season in 2014.
After finishing his studies with Manuel Barrueco at Peabody, Piotr became the First Prize winner of the 2012 Mexican International Guitar Competition in Culiacan and has taken top prizes at the 2012 Boston GuitarFest International Guitar Competition, Great Lakes Guitar Competition, Montreal International Guitar Competition, and the European International Guitar Competition, Enrico Mercatali, in Italy. After finishing the prestigious Strathmore Artist-in-Residence program in 2014, he returned to serve as a faculty member and mentor in their Institute for Artistic Development.
"Amazing concert."
~ Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Association, 2014
"The young guitar virtuoso gave an example of his mastery of the instrument on Friday, with a diverse repertoire."
~ www.debate.com, Mexico 2013
w https://piotrpakhomkin.business.site
Vinicius Linhares da Silva
Vinicius (Vinny) is a young classical guitarist who was born and raised in Brazil but relocated to British Columbia in 2015. He has been active as a music teacher, researcher, and performer for over 15 years, and has toured Canada, the USA, and Brazil.
Vinny holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in music granted by the Universidade Federal de Goiás (Federal University of Goias), located in his born town Goiania, Brazil.
In this same city, he was laureated with the first prize at the National Competition for Classical Guitar of the 25th International Music Festival of School of Music and Performing Arts of Federal University of Goias, in 2004; and recently was a special guest for playing as a soloist the "Concerto No.1, op.99", by the Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, along with the Symphonic Orchestra of Goiania during his tour in Brazil in July, 2018.
In addition, Vinny had participated in dozens of music festivals, seminars, symposiums, and others, where he had classes with worldwide-renowned guitarists, highlighting Paul Galbraith, Eduardo Fernandez, Fabio Zanon, Eduardo Isaac, João Luiz Lopes (Brasil Guitar Duo), and many others.
Currently, Vinny is an active member of Vancouver Classical Guitar Society (VCGS), as well as integrant of a guitar duo with his VCGS fellow Joel Thomson with whom is preparing an interesting program consisted of traditional (renaissance, baroque, romantic...) as well as 20th and 21st centuries Brazilian compositions.
Don Hlus
Don Hlus has performed throughout Southwestern British Columbia as a soloist as well as a chamber musician, including performances with members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, and the CBC Radio Orchestra. He has been on Faculty at Kwantlen Polytechnic University since 1993 and served as Chair of the Music Department from 2012-2018. He is also the Founder and Artistic Director of the Fraser Valley Acoustic Guitar Festival, now entering its twenty-second season.
f https://www.facebook.com/DonHlusMusic
Borealis String Quartet
"With its intense, focused style of playing, drawing the maximum expression from every phrase, the quartet presents itself as a group of star players, the energy radiating from them like the stars."
- Calgary Herald
"The youthful Borealis String Quartet plays with a passion I haven't heard since the heyday of the fabled Budapest Quartet in the 1950s."
- Music at Kohl Mansion, Burlingame, CA
One of the most dynamic and exciting world-class ensembles of its generation, the Borealis String Quartet has received international critical acclaim as an ensemble praised for its fiery performances, passionate style, and refined, musical interpretation.