Sophie Branson and Ilva Eigus, students of Liana Tretiakova, debuted as soloists with orchestra on 31 October 2015.

 
The young violinists performed in Pskov (Russia) with the Pskov Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Arif Dadashev (Moscow). It was the first time that our young soloists Sophie (9) and Ilva (8) performed in a concert hall with more than a 1000 seats accompanied by a symphony orchestra. Sophie played the Concerto in A minor by Bach in three movements, and Ilva presented the three movements of the Kabalevsky Concerto in C major.
 

 
Despite a very limited amount of rehearsal time (only one full rehearsal and a dress rehearsal before the concert) and their very young age, – our violinists didn’t get overwhelmed by the situation. Instead they showed the power of concentration and presented their best performance. They were strongly supported by the conductor Arif Dadashev, who was extremely sensitive to the musical intentions of the young soloists and made sure that the orchestra followed them unconditionally. Ilva and Sophie received lots of flowers and presents from the grateful audience. Their parents, grandparents, relatives and friends travelled to Pskov from Switzerland, Latvia and Russia in order to attend the concert. Ilva and Sophie will remember the warm reception of the orchestra and ovations from the audience for a long time to come.