Valentin Kovalev, saxophone
Amy Yang, piano

Saxophonist, educator, and content creator Valentin Kovalev is an ebullient and highly eclectic performer whose unique style was developed after studying in Russia, France, and the US. Hailing from Siberia, he strives to demonstrate how passion and perseverance can transcend geographical boundaries, using his music to inspire and empower others in the pursuit of their dreams. His work is driven by his passion for fostering connections, offering support to Ukrainian saxophonists, and amplifying marginalized voices in the classical music world.

A passionate and dedicated classical saxophonist, Kovalev is seeking to explore the possibility of positioning the saxophone at the heart of classical music. He won the esteemed Naumburg Foundation 2022 Saxophone Competition and made his Carnegie Hall Debut recital during the 2023-24 season. In addition, he is the winner of several international competitions including the Manhattan International Music Competition (U.S.), MTNA Young Artist Woodwind Competition (U.S.), Classic Winds Competition (Israel), AndorraSaxFest (Andorra), Anches Simples de Toulouse (France), EkaterinburgSaxFest (Russia), GoldenSax (Ukraine), and is a recipient of the 2023 Career Advancement Award from the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia. One of Valentin’s most significant achievements has been cultivating an engaged community of over 55,000 subscribers across his social media platforms. He is a Henri Selmer, Paris artist, and a winner of the 2021 Astral National Competition.

A “jaw-dropping pianist who steals the show…with effortless finesse” (Washington Post), pianist Amy Yang aspires to affirm connections between the arts and our inner humanity through her committed expressions of music and leadership on and off stage.

In Spring of 2023, she joined forces with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä playing Schumann’s Piano Concerto at Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center. Additionally, she gave the world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s “Four Portraits” for solo piano at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she is the Associate Dean of Piano Studies and Artistic Initiatives.

2023 summer brings her to Chamberfest Cleveland, Texas Music Festival, Curtis on Tour, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Kingston Chamber Music Festival, and Perelman Music Festival. Her recent appearances include solo and chamber recitals for Hawaii Concert Society, Coastal Concerts (DE), Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Santa Fe Music Festival, Wigmore Hall, Gardner Museum, Cal Performances, Rockport Music Festival, and to the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis Series.

At the height of the pandemic in 2020, she was invited by Anne-Marie McDermott to share a unique summer of 41 concerts with Yefim Bronfman, Paul Neubauer, and the Dover Quartet in a myriad of performances at Bravo! Vail. Additionally, she gave her debut solo recital as well as joined forces with the Jasper String Quartet in piano quintets by Tania Léon and Joan Tower for Philadelphia Chamber Music Society’s 35th season. She was also featured in a full episode with Emmy® Award-winning producer Jim Cotter of Articulate, aired on PBS in 2021.

Collaborating with trailblazing musicians, Ms. Yang toured with Patricia Kopatchinskaya, Tito Muñoz and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and premiered a large chamber work by Michael Hersch at Cal Performances, Ojai Music Festival and Aldeburgh Festival. Further exhilarating collaborations include those with Richard Goode, Anne-Marie McDermott, Ida and Ani Kavafian, Miriam Fried, Paul Huang, Alexi Kenney, Bomsori Kim, Tessa Lark, Roberto Díaz, Kim Kashkashian, Paul Neubauer, Tara Helen O’Conor, David Shifrin, Joseph Silverstein, Philippe Tondre, Danbi Um, members of Guarneri String Quartet, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Dover Quartet, Aizuri String Quartet, Jasper String Quartet and A Far Cry. In addition to working with Dame Mitsuko Uchida at Marlboro School of Music, she was chosen to participate in her Carnegie Hall Workshop on Mozart’s Piano Concerti.

Ms. Yang’s energetic exploration of contemporary voices has brought forth giving world premieres of music by Caroline Shaw, Richard Danielpour, Avner Dorman, Michael Hersch, Ezra Laderman, Paul Wianko, and commissions from Edward Babcock, Alistair Coleman and Hua Yang. Festival experiences include Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Prussia Cove, Verbier Academy, Bravo! Vail, Chamber Music Northwest, Chelsea Music Festival, Caramoor, Olympic Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire, Twickenham Fest, and Saltbay Chamberfest.  She has loved soloing alongside the collective voices of Houston Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Mansfield Symphony and Orquesta Juvenil Universitaria Eduardo Mata at UNAM.

Her discography includes her solo album Resonance (MSR Classics), a world premiere recording of piano music by Ezra Laderman (Albany Records), a world premiere recording of Michael Hersch’s I hope we get a chance to visit soon (Live from Aldeburgh Festival, New Focus Records), and albums with violinists Itamar Zorman (BIS Records), Tessa Lark (First Hand Records), Danbi Um (Avie Records), Carol Jantsch, and José Franch-Ballester (iTinerant Records).

Ms. Yang is an alumna of the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, and the Yale School of Music, where she received the Parisot Award for Outstanding Pianist and the Alumni Association Prize. Her past teachers include Li Qing, Timothy Hester, Claude Frank, Robert McDonald, and Peter Frankl. Ardent to champion young voices on this pedagogical legacy, her own students have soloed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and entered Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Bard Conservatory, Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music, Eastman School of Music, Peabody Institute, and Indiana University. She has given masterclasses at UCLA, Mannes College of Music, University of Oklahoma, The Suzuki School, and for New York Youth Symphony. She won the 2018 Musical Fund Society prize and the Kosciuszko National Chopin Piano Competition. At Curtis Institute of Music, she previously held the roles of program director and faculty of Curtis Summerfest’s Young Artist Summer Program for nine summers.

When not serving the various keyboards related to her roles, her intentionally incognito presence may be revealed by a quivering Micron pen as she sketches from the back of concert halls. The work of a lifetime is where she hopes to question, explore, and linger.