After the rollercoaster ride of COVID-19, the iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates, conducted and directed by Temple’s Eduard Schmieder, Laura H. Carnell Professor of Violin, has returned as strong as ever.
Current world struggles–such as COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine War–highlight that iPalpiti’s well-established message of using music to promote world unity has become more important than ever. iPalpiti’s international network of classical artists forges lifetime associations that transcend the conflicts of our time.
This past summer in Southern California, from July 11th-24th, iPalpiti, which means heartbeats in Italian, celebrated its 25th season, featuring 28 artists from countries ranging from Norway to Kazakhstan, including Temple students, alumni and even a professor.
When Schmieder, a 2020 Temple Great Teacher awardee, came to Temple in 2006, he brought with him iPalpiti, which he established in 1991. Immediately, it was clear that his globally-centered orchestra was a perfect fit. As Temple’s orchestra in-residence, iPalpiti has performed at the Kimmel Center and Carnegie Hall and has released numerous CDs on Temple’s BCM&D label.
Like Temple, iPalpiti is dedicated to promoting young talent. Its additional goal of promoting global unity through music complements Temple’s commitment to diversity to advance understanding.
At Walt Disney Concert Hall. Aisha Dossumova in front of Eduard Schmieder, with Conrad Chow to the left of her. Soloist/chamber musician and Canadian post-graduate from Boyer. Chow is also violin faculty of the Phil & Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, adjunct professor of Music at the University of Toronto, and the director of the Community Lab School at the Faculty of Music’s String Pedagogy Program.
The iPalpiti Orchestra has played throughout the world including Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Currently at almost 400 worldwide, iPalpiti alumni have benefitted from their participation in this special orchestra and have become soloists, concertmasters and professors.
Among the many Temple Made musicians who have played with iPalpiti is Catharina Chen (Norway), an international soloist appointed as the youngest concertmaster of the Norwegian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. Another successful Temple alum is violinist Samuel Nebyu (Ethiopia-Hungary), a Grammy-nominee for his CD, “Violin Gems from Black Composers.”
Past players now serving as Temple violin faculty include Aisha Dossumova (Kazakhstan), Azer Damirov (Azerbaijan), Joseph Kauffman (USA), Nina Vieru (Romania), all who are active performers/leaders in Philadelphia and regional orchestras.
“Through iPalpiti I’ve met many wonderful musicians from different countries and made lasting friendships and musical connections,” said Dossumova. “Dr. Schmieder promotes each musician individually by showcasing them in solo and chamber recitals featuring pieces from their respective countries,” she added.
“When musicians from different cultures sit next to each other making music, their hearts are beating together.”
Eduard Schmieder
The diversity of orchestra members’ backgrounds has led many to call iPalpiti, the “United Nations of Classical Music” or the “Musical Peace Corps”. Music, something everyone can appreciate and agree on, can help achieve harmony and peace.
Schmieder applies these same goals–promoting young talent, unity, and understanding through music–in his work as a music professor at Temple University. His commitment to promoting global diversity as a tool to understanding attracts many on campus to study with him.
“I was completely impressed by his personality, his way of musical thinking, and his students’ performing. Now, I am so excited to study with him at Temple University,” said Taisiya Losmakova, a first-year graduate student and violinist from Belarus studying for her master’s degree in music who attended one of Schmieder’s prior masterclasses.
Whether in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, or performing worldwide Schmieder’s students in iPalpiti and Temple have become part of a constantly expanding musical and global network of connection and heartbeats.
“In the future I see iPalpiti continuing to be the place where our successful students and alumni inspire future generations of musicians,” said Schmieder. “In my role as an educator, I want to continue teaching the next generation to communicate with audiences not only through sound and rhythm but through positive emotional energy,” he added.
By Jadyn Amelia Howard, communications intern ’22-’23
Photo courtesy of Dana Ross