Introducing WAAPAs new Head of Strings Alexandre de Costa “He is a musician of the highest international quality… Alexandre Da Costa is one of the very few true young rising stars of the violin scene worldwide. - Hansjoerg Schellenberger (solo oboist, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Chief Conductor, Okoyama Philharmonic Orchestra) “He has a virtuoso technique and a huge sound, plus passion, commitment and musicality in equal measure. This is a major talent.”- Hugh Wolff (Chief Conductor, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra) “Prodigious technique, beautiful sound and above all a direct, expressive and very varied musicality… we are in front of one of the great violinists of today.”- Ramon Avello (El Comercio Digital, Spain) The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) is proud to announce the appointment of award-winning Canadian Violin Soloist and Educator, Alexandre Da Costa, to the position of Associate Professor, Classical Performance. Alex will commence his tenure at WAAPA in January 2015. Winner of the 2012 Juno Award, Alexandre Da Costa was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Alex has lived and breathed music his entire life. At the age of nine, he performed his first concerts with stunning virtuosity on both violin and piano, which brought him recognition as a musical prodigy. At age 18, he obtained a Master¹s Degree in violin and a First Prize from the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec. Concurrently, he also obtained a Bachelors Degree in Piano Interpretation from the University of Montreal. Subsequently, told he had to choose one instrument, he studied in Madrid at the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia with a legendary violin teacher who became his mentor, Zakhar Bron (whose previous students famously include the likes of Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin). He later pursued post-graduate studies at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst of Vienna, Austria. Among the many other prizes that followed were the Sylva Gelber Foundation Award from the Canada Council for the Arts, and in 2003 the Councils Musical Instrument Bank decided to go further and award him the 1689 Baumgartner Stradivarius. In 2010, he received the prestigious Virginia-Parker Prize, one of Canada¹s highest cultural distinctions. Winner of many national and international first prizes, Alexandre Da Costa has given over a thousand concerts and recitals throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. He has performed the major halls of Vienna (Musikverein), Berlin (Philharmonie), New York (Carnegie Hall), Beijing (Poly-Theater) and beyond. As a recording artist, he has more than 20 CDs on, variously, Warner Classics, JVC/Victor, ATMA, XXI-21 Records and Octave/Universal. In 2012 he won the JUNO award for Classical Album of the Year for his recording of the concertos by American composer Michael Daugherty, with the Montreal Symphony under Pedro Halffter for Warner Classics. He now records for Warner Classics International and Acacia Classics/Universal Music Group. In addition to his international concert schedule, Alexandre Da Costa has held the position of Professor of violin at the Gatineau Music Conservatory (Ottawa, Canada) and regularly gives masterclasses at various universities and conservatories around the world. He was also named Musical Development Director for Canimex, a company gathering an impressive collection of fine instruments for the benefit of talented artists, as well as Artistic Director of the Laurentians Classical Festival of Canada. Alexandre Da Costa now plays a Guarneri del Gesù of 1730 and a Sartory bow, loaned by Canimex. Alexandre Da Costa website: alexandredacosta/ — at Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 02:54:20 +0000
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