ENCINITAS – Due to popular demand, the iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates will return to the Encinitas Library to kick off the 2013 summer concert series from July 11 to July 14.
The seven soloists will continue their tour of southern California with events in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, culminating in a performance at the Walt Disney Concert Hall July 27.
iPalpiti Artists International was founded in 1997 by renowned violinists and music educators, Eduard and Laura Schmieder. iPalpiti (pronounced ‘ee-PAHL-pit-ee’) is Italian meaning “heartbeat.” The nonprofit discovers and promotes talented young professional artists from around the world. Each summer, 25-30 are selected to travel to the organization’s home base in Los Angeles for the festival where they perform in solo, ensemble and orchestral concerts. iPalpiti artists, often referred to as the “Musical Peace Corps,” hold more than 100 international competition awards among them.
The Encinitas concerts will feature Conrad Chow, violin (Canada); Irina Chepizhnaya, violin (Russia); Davide de Ascaniis, violin (Italy); Victor de Almeida, viola (United States-Brazil); David Kaplan, piano (United States); Joseph Kauffman, cello (United States); and Jacob Shaw, cello (United Kingdom-Denmark).
Laura Schmieder is director of iPalpiti Artists International and explains that the seven musicians chosen to perform each year are done so on criteria based strictly on talent. She added that this year it just turned out that only one of the seven to be selected is a woman: Russian violinist Irina Chepizhnaya.
“Irina was born in the Ukraine and lives in Russia,” Laura Schmieder explained. “She is the soloist with Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.
“We select musicians for their talent corresponding with iPalpiti’s mission of peace and understanding through music. Talent comes first, then personality. The camaraderie is unprecedented. There is no competition whatsoever between musicians and there is a remarkable friendship and professional respect between all of them.
An example, Schmieder added, is Jacob Shaw, a celloist from the United Kingdom-Denmark.
“Jacob is the founder and director of the Musique de Chambre en Charent [festival] in southwest France,” she said. “This is his fifth season and this summer he invited six iPalpiti artists including Irina. This is our mission: to create a cultural network among world musicians.”
Schmieder is pleased with the success of last year’s concert.
“It was a remarkable experience for Eduard and myself, particularly seeing the pride among audience members after the performance,” she said. “They left the concert in awe, saying ‘We don’t have to go to La Jolla anymore. We have our own festival with such great international musicians here in Encinitas.’”
Encinitas residents Lauren and Ken Golden were among those in the audience last year and say they are particularly looking forward to hearing Victor de Almeida play the viola again.
“There were certain artists that took your breath away,” Lauren Golden recalled. “Victor is fairly young and is a polished musician, but that was true for all of them. Usually, a young musician can play well technically but a lot don’t know how to put their heart in the music. Those who can are the ones who win the competitions. They evoke emotions, and make you feel something, and it reflects who they are. You walk away feeling fulfilled.”
Prior to arriving in Los Angeles iPalpiti performed in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Norway, Germany, Denmark, France, Italy and Israel.
“Classical music is the spiritual factor which brings people together and unites them irrespective of religion and culture, appealing to sublime senses,” added maestro Eduard Schmieder.
iPalpiti was established with support of the late Lord Yehudi Menuhin, musician and humanitarian who served as founding member and honorary artistic advisor. The advisory board includes internationally-acclaimed artists such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yefim Bronfman, Ida Haendel, Gary Karr, Gidon Kremer and Wynton Marsalis.
For more information or to purchase tickets call (310) 205-0511 or visit Palpiti.org. Tickets for the Walt Disney Concert Hall event are available through Ticketmaster at (213) 480-3232 or at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office.
