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Andrea Gajic

Andrea has performed as a soloist and chamber ensemble player in Britain, United States, Russia, Lithuania, Finland, Germany, Australia, Yugoslavia and France, and she has been invited to give recitals and Masterclasses in Serbia, at the Victoria International Arts Festival, Gozo, at Dartington International Music Festival, and at the Menstrelle International Chamber Music Academy, St Petersburg.

She enjoys performing regularly with husband Djordje Gajic on classical accordion as duo AdLibitum.  She has also led the Fibonacci Sequence chamber ensemble at the Conway Hall in London and worked with the Research Ensemble, which resulted in a number of contemporary music performances including birthday celebrations for Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and James MacMillan.  In April 2013 she gave a recital of Beethoven Sonatas in the Max-Joseph-Saal at the Munich Residenz with pianist Michael Leslie.

For radio, she has recorded for BBC Radio, Bavarian Radio, Lithuanian Radio, Yugoslavian Radio and Radio Baltimore. On television, she has appeared on BBC, STV, ITV, and on Russian and Yugoslavian stations. CD releases include a recording of Beethoven’s Theme and Variations Op 107, performed with Michael Leslie, Thomas Rugge and Michael Shopper for Bavarian Radio and released by Büchergilde Gutenberg.
In addition to her numerous performing commitments, Andrea is a dedicated teacher.

International pop star, Madonna, studied with Andrea for several months before pulling out of Wes Craven’s Hollywood film “50 Violins,” also known as “Music for the Heart,” which eventually starred Meryl Streep.  Andrea was also invited to be the strings advisor for the film.

Currently Andrea teaches violin at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow where she was made Professor in 2018, and this year looks forward to joining the string faculty at the  Royal Northern College of Music.  She has given classes and workshops for the European String Teachers’ Association, University of Music and Performing Arts (Graz), Rostov State Conservatory (Russia), Sydney Conservatorium (Australia), Sabac Music School (Serbia), Kragujevac Music School (Serbia), Victoria International Arts Festival (Malta), University of Delaware (USA), Peabody Conservatory (USA) Komitas State Conservatory (Armenia) and the Benedetti Foundation.  Since 2014, she has been course leader for the String Summer Course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which attracts students from all round the world.

Andrea has performed at a number of international festivals throughout Europe and USA.  Her most recent concerto performances include performances of the Sibelius Violin Concerto, Barber Violin Concerto, Brahms Violin Concerto.  She is also a regular performer with the Malta Philharmonic at the closing concerts of Victoria International Arts Festival, Gozo having performed Brahms’ Violin Concerto, the Sibelius Concerto, and more recently in July 2022, Beethoven’s Concerto in D major.

She was a major contributor to the COP26 concert ‘Vital Signs of the Plant’ held in Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall in November 2021, where she played excerpts from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with the RCS chamber orchestra, and recently she was interviewed by the Strad magazine. She was also honoured with a Professorship at the RCS and in August 2023 was promoted to Head of Strings.

Recently Nicola Benedetti has restarted sporadic lessons with Andrea to help regain confidence after a wrist injury that forced her to pull out of a residency last summer at the Aldeburgh Festival.

Andrea plays on a violin made by Nicolaus Gagliano in 1766.

Da Vinci Piano Trio

Turning by James Black, premier performance, recorded 30 June 2024

Anthony Moffat, violin

Hailing from the Borders, Anthony Moffat was trained at the Royal Academy of Music, London by Armenian Soloist and Orchestra Leader, Manoug Parikian. He gained the highest award for violin on his graduation in 1987 winning the Marjorie Hayward Prize. His passion for Chamber music was encouraged and nurtured for many years by the members of the Amadeus Quartet but it is as devotee of the Piano Trio that he is best known outwith the orchestra.He was a founder member of both the Duke String Quartet and the Borante Piano Trio.  As member of the Da Vinci Piano Trio he has toured the breadth of the country and broadcast on BBC Radio3.

His career as Orchestra Leader began as Co-leader of the Halle Orchestra until taking the post of Leader of the Orchestra of Scottish Opera in 2000. He has appeared as Guest Leader with BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. He plays on a fine violin by C.G. Testore of Milan ca. 1705

He has been leader of the Orchestra of Scottish Opera since 2001.

Rudi de Groote, cello

Rudi de Groote grew up in South Africa and studied at the Royal College of Music in London and has undertaken masterclasses with Torlief Thedeen, David Geringas, Franz Helmerson and Moray Welsh. He is currently principal cello with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He started his career as principal cello with this orchestra and then went on to hold the principal position in the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of English National Opera in London, and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway, before returning to Scotland to rejoin the BBCSSO.

Rudi has performed as soloist under many orchestras including the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra , the Irish Chamber Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and under the baton of Edward Gardner, Ilan Volkov, Francesco Corti, Martin Brabbins, Jerzy Maksimiuk and Garry Walker. He is frequently invited to be guest principal cello with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Liverpool Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham
Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of Opera North, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Sinfonia of London and the John Wilson Orchestra.

He has frequently performed as cellist with the Chilingirian String quartet, and has performed with Marcia Crayford, Robert Cohen, Steven Osborne, Isabelle van Keulen, Jorg Widmann, Garfield Jackson and the Belcea string quartet. As a teacher, Rudi has been on the faculty at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and has taught and coached chamber music at the Royal College of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Grieg Academy in Norway.

He has broadcast live for BBC Radio 3, DR, Norwegian Radio and BBC Scotland and has performed in recital at the Edinburgh and Cheltenham International Festivals. He plays on a cello by Ferdinand Gagliano dated 1777.

He is delighted to have been invited to take over from Robert Irvine in the Da Vinci Piano Trio and looks forward to many exciting concerts ahead.

Liivi Arder, piano

Estonian pianist Liivi Arder studied at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre under Professor Toivo Nahkur and Nata-Ly Sakkos. In 2010 she completed an Advanced Accompaniment Course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland under Professor Fali Pavri and in 2013-2014 she studied at the RCS as a recipient of the Sam Hutchings Fellowship award.Liivi has taken part in several competitions including the Valentino Bucchi Competition in Rome (1st Prize ), 11th Pietro Argento Music Competition in Gioia del Colle (3rd prize in chamber music category), Con Brio competition (Estonian National Television prize ) and she was awarded the Hester Dickson accompanist prize.

Liivi has been a soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EMTA) at the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, and was active with EMTA New Music Ensemble that took part in the Contemporary Music Festival in South Korea, Seoul.

As an accompanist Liivi has been working for music summer courses and many masterclasses at the RCS and also for Royal Scottish National Orchestra.  She has given chamber music concerts with Nikita Naumov, Ana Cordova Andres and Peter Wesley and has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Glasgow West End Festival with the Daniel’s Beard ensemble. Along with Scottish mezzo-soprano Laura Margaret Smith she has performed at the Scottish Parliament House European Commission Estonian Presidency reception.

Currently Liivi is working as an accompanist and coach at the RCS String Department and Junior Conservatoire of Scotland.

The following was recorded at Music in the University, Glasgow University, 20 January 2022.

Arvo Pärt :  Mozart Adagio from 3:20 minutes

Brahms Piano Trio no 1 in B major from 28:40 minutes

Performances

3pm, Sunday 17 January 2027:  Biggar Music Club, Municipal Hall, Biggar

3pm, Sunday 21 February 2027:  Melrose Music Society tbc

7.30pm, Friday 16 April 2027:  Bute Arts Society

7.30pm, Friday 16 January 2026:  Music in West Kilbride (Robert Irvine standing in for Rudi de Groote)

7.30pm, Friday 9 May 2025, Bute Arts Society

3pm, Sunday 13 April 2025, Melrose Music Society

7.45pm, Friday 21 March 2025, Music in Lanark

7pm, Sunday 30 June 2024, The Barn, Banchory

7.30pm, Saturday 29 June 2024, Universal Hall, Findhorn

7.30pm, Sunday 21 April 2024, Newton Stewart Cinema

Derek Clark

He was Head of Music at Scottish Opera from 1997 until March 2023, and conducted more than 25 operas for the company, including major works by Handel and Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Massenet, Puccini, and Gilbert & Sullivan – his most recent conducting engagement being the outstanding production of “Il Trittico” at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre.

He provided re-orchestrations for recent touring productions of Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Die Fledermaus, Carmen, Rodelinda and The Elixir of Love and devised twenty-two Opera Highlight/Essential Scottish Opera programmes. His re-orchestration of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ has also been used by other companies and colleges, both in the UK and in America.

He has also specialised in contemporary music, as conductor of all three seasons of Scottish Opera’s highly successful Five:15 project. He conducted the Scottish premieres of James MacMillan’s Clemency, Philip Glass’ The Trial and the world premieres of Craig Armstrong’s ‘The Lady from the Sea’ and Rory Boyle’s Kaspar Hauser: Child of Europe.

He works as an accompanist, appearing regularly throughout the country, and is a regular Guest Coach at the major conservatoires and colleges and at the National Opera Studio. Though most of his professional life has been spent in the opera house, he has also found time to compose and arrange music for a wide variety of people and circumstances.

He was appointed Musical Director of Dundee Choral Union in 2011, and since 2014 has been Director of Music at Helensburgh Parish Church.

After retiring from Scottish Opera in March 2023, his diary is quickly filling up with new and exciting projects, including concerts with The Antonine Trio, Opera Alba, and “Celebrating Irving Berlin”.

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