Senior Faculty Biographies

Svetlana Klempner /piano/ made her musical debut at the age of 7. She is a native of Kharkov, Ukraine, where she completed her BA in Piano Pedagogy and Accompanist at the Kharkov Musical College. She then proceeded to receive her Master in Piano Performance, Piano Pedagogy and Accompanist, under Professor L.I. Lazovaya in the period 1979–1984. After moving to Canada Svetlana continued her music career by completing a Master of Arts at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) under Professor Pierre Jasmin, a student of Professor Svyatoslav Neuhaus, specializing in Piano Performance. Svetlana Klempner is a professional piano teacher with experience of thirty plus years, spanning Ukraine, Israel and Canada. She taught at the Kharkov Music School between 1976–1990, where she later became Chair of Piano Department. After she moved to Israel in 1991 Svetlana continued teaching piano at the Kfar Geladi Music School until 1998. That year, after moving to Canada, she founded a private piano studio, which would later become Music Academy Fortissimo. Svetlana has given master-classes in Kharkov, Toronto, Weisbach (Germany), Carmiel Music School (Israel). She is a winner of Grand Prix at the Young Performers Competition in Tashkent, 1973 and a Winner of 1st Prize in the Student Competition at UQAM, 2003.

Julia Gavrilova /music theory, piano/ was born in Russia and made her debut at the age of five. She studied in Moscow Gnessin Institute of Music with Theodor Gutmann and Eugene Liberman, where she graduated with a Master in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy. After moving to Canada in 1991 she continued her music studies at McGill University under Professor Marina Mdivani and obtained her doctorate in Piano Performance. Julia Gavrilova specializes in chamber music and collaborative piano repertoire and appears in concerts as soloist and accompanist. Her playing represents the Russian piano school tradition, going back to Nicolas Rubinstein and Heinrich Neuhaus. Julia Gavrilova currently teaches piano and piano ensemble classes at the Schulich School of Music and Conservatory of Music at The McGill University.

Svetlana Pailler /voice, early childhood development, choir/ choral conductor and mezzo-soprano, holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting and Vocal Performance from the Conservatory of Music of the Academy of Arts in Vladivostok, Russia. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Choral Conducting at the College of Music in her home city of Irkutsk, Russia. In her youth Svetlana took master classes from renown Russian Choral Masters as well as with Germany’s Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival in Eugene, U SA. In her home town she directed the Children’s Concert Choir, was the Assistant Music Director and a Chorus Master of the professional Chamber Choir. In 1992 Svetlana took the Assistant Professor position in the Department of Voice and Choral Music at the Irkutsk Pedagogical Institute at the same time becoming Head of the Department of Choral Music at the Special Music School in Angarsk. In 1994-1996 she was invited to be a Guest Conductor of the Oregon Slavonic Choir in Eugene, Oregon. In 1996 Svetlana became the Music Director and Conductor of the Billings Symphony Youth Choral in Billings, Montana. In 2000 her reputation as top-class Choral Conductor followed her to New Hampshire. Ms. Pailler is a Founder and a Music Director of the NH Choral Academy in Manchester, NH. In 2003 Ms. Pailler was chosen to be an Interim Conductor of the Manchester Choral Society. In 2006 Ms. Pailler was offered a position of Director of Children’s Chorus at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA.

Oleg Grinfeld /guitar, guitar ensemble/ started his musical career in his home city of Chelyabinsk, Russia, where during his studies in a musical school he became a winner of a VII Regional Young Performers Contest (1984). Later he studied Directing, Arranging and Performance at the Chelyabinsk Academy of Arts, where he became a winner in the Student Competition of 1988. After his arrival to Israel Oleg completed his Master in Guitar Performance at the Music Faculty of the Tel Aviv University, under professor Yehuda Schryer. Oleg Grinfeld is a professional guitarist and educator with 20 years of rich pedagogical experience. During the10 years (1995–2005) of his pedagogical practice in Beer Sheba City Conservatory his students became winners of various competitions. Under Oleg’s guidance children’s Guitar Ensemble performed on various stages and in concerts. From 2002 and until his departure to Canada Oleg was participating in a unique project – the "Playing School", under the supervision of the Ministry of Education of Israel where his work as a group mentor and arranger was highly estimated. As a performer Oleg participated in a pedagogical project "Keren Karev" (2000-2003) - concert tours for children where Oleg played as a chamber performer with other musicians (flutists, violinists and xylophonists). Oleg Grinfeld is well known as an author of many transcriptions and arrangements both for solo guitar and guitar ensembles.

Oksana Zotova /piano/ Ukrainian-born pianist Oksana Zotova graduated with distinction from both the Glier Kiev State Music College and the legendary Kiev State Conservatory. She subsequently studied as an assistant post-graduate at the Ukrainian Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music and worked for several years at the Kiev State Conservatory and the Kiev National University of Culture and Fine Arts. Oksana has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in Italy, Canada, Russia, Yugoslavia, Latvia and the Ukraine. She has been a prize winner in the 21st Century Art International Competition and the Ibla Grand Prize World Music Competition, held in Italy (Distinguished Musician Award). Oksana has been invited for a series of concerts by the Ukrainian Philharmonic Society, has recorded for CBC Radio, and has been a recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious Glier Scholarship for three consecutive years, and awards of recognition from the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia and the Rachmaninov Society. She moved to Canada in September 2002, and has been receiving rave reviews since then. She has also gained recognition as a distinguished chamber musician, collaborating with artists such as French violinist Frederic Pelassy, erhu virtuoso George Gao and the Canadian Blue Engine String Quartet. Her deep understanding of music and ability to learn virtually any piece in a matter of days has allowed her to develop an extensive repertoire, ranging from Scarlatti, Bach and Liszt to Scriabin, Hindemith and contemporary composers.

Luciné Chaglassian-Balikian /violin/ born in Yerevan, Armenia, studied music at the Tchaikovsky Specialized Music School; subsequently she graduated from the Komitas State Conservatory with a Masters degree, with a specialization in Violin Teaching at All Levels and Soloist in Violin Playing for Chamber Orchestras. Luciné moved to Montreal in 1986 and further pursued violin teaching privately and at the McGill Conservatory. She has been teaching in Canada for 15 years, preparing students for concerts, competitions, and festivals. In her teaching method Luciné introduces a special approach to children with attention deficit problems.