Trans Europe Express : Concert, Masterclasses & Conferences by the Ensemble des Equilibres and Maltese composers to put the spotlight on women in musical composition

European tour "Trans Europe Express" by the Ensemble des Equilibres, a series of concerts, conferences and masterclasses to highlight the place of women in the field of contemporary musical composition. All events are free but bookings are kindly required: https://cutt.ly/Registrations_Trans_Europe_Express ◼︎CONFERENCE ☛ Tuesday, February 4, 2025 / 4:30 PM / Valleta Design Cluster - Presentation of the composer's work (Speakers: Florentine Mulsant (France), Veronique Vella (Malta), Mariella Cassar Cordina (Malta), Andrea Szigetvari (Hungary). ◼︎ CONCERT ☛ Tuesday, February 4, 2025 / 8:00 PM / Malta Society of Arts - Ensemble Des Équilibres String Trio (Mulsant,Dohnányi, Cras). ◼︎ CONFERENCE ☛ Wednesday, February 5, 2025 / 6:00 PM / Valleta Design Cluster - Place of women contemporary composers in the musical industry (Speakers: Florentine Mulsant (France), Veronique vella (Malta), Mariella Cassar Cordina (Malta), Andrea Szigetvari (Hungary). ◼︎ COMPOSITION MASTERCLASS ☛ Wednesday, February 6, 2025 / 6:00 PM / Catholic Institute. Composition and Performance (with the composers: Florentine Mulsant, Veronique Vella, Mariella Cassar Cordina, Andrea Szigetvari), Catholic Institute ◼︎ INSTRUMENTAL MASTERCLASS ☛ Thursday, February 7, 2025 / 6:00 PM / Catholic Institute. - Performance (with the french musicians: Agnès Pyka (violin), Jean Sautereau (alto), Éric Villeminey (cello) Reserve your spot: https://cutt.ly/Registrations_Trans_Europe_Express Detailed Program: ◼︎ CONFERENCE: Discovering the Works of Contemporary Female Composers (Tuesday, February 4, 2025 / 4:30 PM / Valletta Design Cluster) This conference offers an immersion into contemporary female musical creation. Renowned composers Florentine Mulsant (France), Véronique Vella and Mariella Cassar Cordina (Malta), as well as Andrea Szigetvari (Hungary), will share their artistic journeys and the specificities of their work. They will present in particular the work created for the European project Trans Europe Express. ◼︎ CONCERT: Ensemble Des Équilibres (Tuesday, February 4, 2025 / 8:00 PM / Malta Society of Arts) The Ensemble Des Équilibres, known for its dedication to contemporary music and artistic dialogue, offers a musical journey with a program featuring works by contemporary composer Florentine Mulsant, alongside pieces by renowned masters Ernő Dohnányi and Jean Cras. ◼︎CONFERENCE: The Place of Contemporary Female Composers in the Music Industry (Wednesday, February 5, 2025 / 6:00 PM / Valletta Design Cluster) This conference will offer a space for dialogue of gender equality issues in the music world. Renowned composers Florentine Mulsant (France), Véronique Vella and Mariella Cassar Cordina (Malta), as well as Andrea Szigetvari (Hungary), will share their experiences, perspectives and the challenges they have encountered throughout their careers. ◼︎ COMPOSITION MASTERCLASS: Composition and Interpretation (Wednesday, February 6, 2025 / 6:00 PM / Catholic Institute) This masterclass, led by renowned composers (Florentine Mulsant, Véronique Vella, Mariella Cassar Cordina, Andrea Szigetvari), offers the opportunity to develop their composition skills, discover new approaches and benefit from personalized advice, exchange on contemporary practices. ◼︎ INSTRUMENTAL MASTERCLASS: Interpretation (Thursday, February 7, 2025 / 6:00 PM / Catholic Institute) Under the direction of Agnès Pyka (violin), Jean Sautereau (alto) and Éric Villeminey (cello), three talented French performers, this masterclass will allow musicians to deepen their instrumental technique, develop their expressiveness and perfect their reading of works. Biographies: Florentine Mulsant (composer) Florentine Mulsant trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, before completing her studies at the Schola Cantorum. Today her works are performed internationally. She is inspired by Debussy, Ravel, Messiaen and Dutilleux. Her musical language, both free and emotional, is distinguished by intense expressiveness and formal rigor. She won multiple prizes includin gthe Nadia and Lili Boulanger Prize in 2011, Grand Prix Sacem 2019 and the medal of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters 2019. Mariella Cassar Cordina (composition) Mariella Cassar-Cordina is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music and educator. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Music Education and a Post Graduate Diploma in Administration and Management from the University of Malta. In 2005 she was awarded the M. Phil (Music) from the Mediterranean Institute at the University of Malta. Having been a regular student of Maltese composer Charles Camilleri, she decided to further her studies at Falmouth University incorporating Dartington College of Arts, UK. Besides being a violinist, she also plays the violoncello. Her works vary from solo, chamber to full-orchestral works and have been performed in Malta, Manchester, Bristol, Florence, Montepulciano, Austria, Prague, and NYC, one of her pieces being recorded live by Dunelm Records. Cassar-Cordina has been a member of jury in a number of international singing festivals, including the Malta International Choir Festival in 2011. Dr Mariella Cassar-Cordina is also the Education Officer for Music in Malta, lecturer at the School of Performing Arts and Faculty of Education at the University of Malta, founder of the Malta Association of Music Educators (MAME) and co-founder of Ars Vitae Ensemble. Veronique Vella (composition and piano) A composer, arranger, pianist, and educator, Veronique Vella was the first Malta woman awarded a Ph.D in Music Composition. Her works, performed by top ensembles like the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and Edinburgh Quartet, feature on multiple recordings. A ŻfinMalta pianist and University of Malta lecturer, she also leads the Ian Tomlin Napier Music Scholarships Trust. Andrea Szitgetvari (composition) Andrea Szitgetvari is an electroacoustic music composer. Her creative and research interests are timbre in new music, interactive performance, audiovisual art and politically involved electroacoustic music theater. She likes to compose every detail of her works leaving space for improvisation and expression as performative interpretations of her ideas. She studied at the F. Chopin Academy of Music in in Warsaw and then as a Fulbright scholar in the USA, later completing her doctorate studies at the Liszt Academy Budapest. Currently, she is a reader of Composition Faculty at the Liszt Academy, Budapest leading the Electronic Music Media Art program. She is a member of the Széchenyi Academy of Letters and Arts of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Agnès Pyka (violin) After studying in France and abroad with some of the greatest masters (Franco Gulli, Mariana Sirbu, Giuliano Carminoglia, Ferenc Rados, Lorand Fenyves, etc.), in 2006 she founded Des Équilibres, a chamber music ensemble of variable geometry and a creative laboratory specialising in 20th-century music. Programmes range from recitals to sextets, with a predilection for rare or unpublished works and a particular focus on women composers. Her discography has been widely acclaimed by national and international critics: the latest album by the ensemble Des Équilibres César Franck, Complete Chamber Music, released in 2023 on the Klarthe label, was immediately hailed by the critics and received the Supersonic Pizzicato Award, the Joker Absolu from Crescendo magazine and 5 stars in Classica magazine. It was a finalist in the 2024 Victoires de la Musique Classique and nominated for the 2024 International Classical Music Awards. Her next album, Fado em movimento, will be released at the end of February 2025. Agnès Pyka plays a Stefano Scarampella violin from 1900. Jean Sautereau (alto) Virtuoso and sensitive, soloist and chamber musician, such is the viola of Jean Sautereau. From his rigorous training at the Paris Conservatoire, this rising artistic figure draws a keen sense of consistency and generosity. He has won the Maurice Ravel and Mélomanes Côtes Sud prizes under the patronage of Jean-François Heisser, as well as the André Hoffmann Prize at the Sommets musicaux de Gstaad under the patronage of Renaud Capuçon. The virtuoso is supported by the Académie des beaux-arts, the Fondation du Clos Vougeot, the Porosus Endowment Fund, the Association Musiques Vivantes, the Fondation Safran, the Fondation de France, the Fondation Vincent Meyer and the Société Générale Musical Mécénat. Playing on a new viola from 2017, he tunes his instrument to his visions for the future, for a living, shared music, in the image of tradition. Éric Villeminey (cello) Trained by Michel Marchesini, Eric Villeminey went on to study with Etienne Péclard at the Conservatoire National de Région de Bordeaux, where he was awarded the city's medal of honour. He went on to study with Stefan Popov and the Takacs Quartet at the Guildhall School of Music in London, where he won all the internal competitions: the Elsie Doris Moss Prize, the Toussaint Prize and the Dorothy Adams Chamber Music Prize. He has also been invited to the Manchester Cello Festival and has performed at London's Wigmore Hall, as well as in Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Cello teacher at the British School of Paris from 1995 to 2001, he then joined the Opéra de Rouen Haute-Normandie and later joined London's prestigious Philharmonia Orchestra as 4th soloist under Esa-Pekka Salonen. Since then, he has been a regular guest principal cellist with many orchestras, including Glasgow Opera, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.