Artistic Collegium

ARTISTIC COLLEGIUM

OMF's Artistic Collegium represents an international group of artists who are contributors to the well being and success of Oregon Music Festival. As such, the Collegium provides a steady hand of artistic leadership and serves as its artistic resource.

Zvonimir Hačko, conductor (USA/Austria)
       Festival Artistic Director/Director of Artistic Collegium
Carla Trynchuk, violin (Canada)
       Director of String Program
Dimitri Ashkenazy, clarinet (Swittzerland)
       Director of Chamber Music
David Jacobs, conductor (USA)
       Resident Conductor
Travis Hatton, conductor (USA)
       Pincipal Conductor, Orpheus Academyr
Birgit Kolar, violin (Austria)
       Artist in Residence/Concertmaster, Oregon Festival Orchestra
David Jacobs, conductor (USA)
Harry Baechtel, baritone (USA)
A lexander Kobrin, piano (Russia)
Franko Bozac, accordion (Croatia)
Dimitri Ashkenazy, clarinet (Swittzerland)
Mario Hossen, violin (Bulgaria/Austria)
Carla Trynchuk, violin (USA)
Charlene Farrugia, piano (Malta)
Nicholas Ross, conductor (USA)
Jan Simon, piano (Czech Republic)
Patrick Vida, violin (Austria)

ZVONIMIR HAČKO - Festival Artistic Director/ Director of Artistic Cellegium
A conductor of international stature, Mr. Hačko has brought to Oregon Music Festival a broad artistic perspective and rich international connections. In addition to his leadership of OMF, he also serves as Artistic Director of Österreichische Symphoniker (Austrian Symphony Orchestra) and Artistic Director of Lentia Festival (Upper Austria). He is a frequent guest conductor with orchestras in Europe, USA, Asia and South America. Born and raised in former Yugoslavia, he came to the United States where he completed advanced degrees in conducting at the University of Washington and Indiana University (Bloomington). Since the late 1980's he has maintained an active international conducting schedule leading such orchestras as Haifa Symphony, Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, State of Mexico Symphony, Symphony Orchestra of Serbian Radio-Television, Poznan Philharmonic (Poland), Istanbul Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana (Italy), Sacramento Philharmonic (USA), Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra (USA), Orchestra and Chorus of Croatian National Theater, Croatian Philharmonic, Orquesta de Camara de Bellas Artes (Mexico City), and many others. His multicultural background and experience have contributed to his in-depth knowledge of European classical tradition as well as avid interest in contemporary music.

Mr. Hačko is also known for his flare for creative programing and innovative project design. His activities on the international scene have led him to many great concert halls and work with a number of prominent artists. The last year's three-week tour of China, for example, was praised by the Beijing press as "mesmerizing" and "as if plugged into a high-voltage current."

Pertinent Links:
Artist website
Oesterreichische Symphoniker/Austrian Symphony Orchestra
Lentia Musikfestival/Martinu Festival Linz

BIRGIT KOLAR - Violinist/Concertmaster
Concertmaster of Oregon Festival Orchestra, Birgit Kolar is a violinist of international reputation and experience. An Austrian by birth and a former concertmaster of several top orchestras, Ms. Kolar brings with her a wealth of experience to her leadership position with Oregon Music Festival.

Since the early 90s she has been active as a soloist and concertmaster. Concerts as a soloist at several festivals in Austria and abroad brought her together with conductors like Marcello Viotti, Georg Mark, etc. and orchestras like the City of London Sinfonia, the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the the Munich Radio Orchestra, etc. Later, Ms. Kolar became the concertmistress of the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and until 2005 she has been concertmistress of the Munich Radio Orchestra. Since than she has been playing as a guest concertmistress in several European orchestras like the Bavarian State Orchestra (Munich State Opera), the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Capitol de Toulouse, the Gulbenkian Orchestra Lissabon, the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, the Camerata Salzburg, the Orquestra Sinfónica de Castilla y León and as a guest violinist she ist regularily invited from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Birgit Kolar plays a violin Sanctus Seraphin “ex Hamma”, Venedig 1742 from the “collection of rare instruments” owned by the National Bank of Austria.
Artist website

ALEXANDER KOBRIN - Pianist
BBC Russia named Alexander Kobrin the "Van Cliburn of today", putting him in the front row of musicians of his generation.

Internationally acclaimed, pianist Alexander Kobrin was born in 1980 in Moscow, Russia. He began playing the piano at the age of 5 and in the same year he was enrolled in the world-famous Gnessin Special School of Music. He completed his studies there with professor Tatiana Zelikman, and went on to further his skills at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire with professor Lev Naumov, completing his post-graduate studies when he was 25.

Alexander Kobrin is the winner of numerous international piano competitions - notably the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and was a winner of the renowned Busoni, Hamamatsu, and Glasgow International Piano Competitions. He has received numerous special awards for his brilliant technique, his musicality, and his emotional engagement with the audience through music.
Artist website

TRAVIS HATTON - Conductor/Music Director of OMF
Selected to serve as Music Director for OMF's 2013 season after an extensive search, Travis Hatton brings to OMF both international experience and great ties with the Oregon music scene. A versetile conductor, nurtures musical interests that range from opera companies, orchestras, chamber orchestras, choruses all the way to bands and youth orchestras. As an opera conductor, he has appeared with opera companies in Europe as well as America. He has conducted over 200 opera and ballet performances.

Mr. Hatton held two posts during his five years in Europe (1992 -1997) - Conductor of the Moravian Opera Theater (Olomouc, the Czech Republic) and Artistic Director of the City Opera Theater of Usti nad Labem (also in the Czech Republic). Mr. Hatton conducted the Eugene (Oregon) Opera's recent production of the Marriage of Figaro, and Amahl and the Night Visitors, Hansel and Gretel and The Magic Flute in Vancouver, Washington with the Vancouver Children's Opera.

As an orchestral conductor, Mr. Hatton has appeared as a guest conductor with orchestras in Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and in Boston, Tennessee, Indiana, California, Alaska, Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Texas. In November 2007, Mr. Hatton appeared as a guest conductor with the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra in North Dakota. In the 2008-2009 season, Mr. Hatton will guest conduct the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (WA), the Beaverton Chamber Symphony (OR) and the Washington-Idaho Symphony Orchestra (Pullman, WA - Moscow, ID). Since arriving in the Portland area, he has appeared with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Columbia Symphony Orchestra and the Rose City Chamber Orchestra. As a choral conductor, Mr. Hatton has conducted opera choruses in Europe, and symphonic and sacred choruses in California, Indiana, Oregon and Washington.
Artist website

DIMITRI ASHKENAZY - Clarinet
Clarinettist Dimitri Ashkenazy performs widely as both soloist and chamber musician. He has appeared with such orchestras the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (at Hollywood Bowl), at the Sydney Opera House with the SBS Youth Orchestra, at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and in Japan with the Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony and Mito Chamber Orchestras.

An active chamber musician, he has performed with the Kodály and Faust Quartets and with partners such as Barbara Bonney, Antonio Meneses, Cristina Ortiz, Maria João Pires andVladimir Ashkenazy. Dimitri Ashkenazy has made numerous CD, radio and television recordings, and been invited to give master classes throughout Europe and in Japan, Australia and the USA. Engagements in the 2012-13 season include concerts in Germany (Usedom Festival) Switzerland, Italy, Australia, Belgium (Flanders Festival), and the U.K., as well as a tour to South America as principal clarinet of the Camerata Bern.
Artist website

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Hačko recently returned from a spectacular tour to China with Camerata Philadelphia and Baltimore Opera Chorus where his performances were hailed as "mesmerizing" (Shenyang) and "as though plugged into a high voltage current" (Beijing Press)