Natalia Tokar received her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in piano performance from St. Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in Russia and Michigan State University in the United States. She has been developing her interpretation skills under the leadership of Russian pianists and scholars Nadezhda Eismont and Ivan Rosanov, American pianist Deborah Moriarty, Japanese pianist Sean Botkin, and Korean pianist Minsoo Sohn. Natalia has performed as a soloist and collaborative pianist in Russia, the United States, Hong Kong, and China including performances in St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall and Carnegie Hall. As a skillful collaborative pianist, she was invited to serve at multiple international vocal and instrumental competitions in the United States and Hong Kong including recent Hong Kong International Operatic Singing Competition in 2018. 

​

After residing in Hong Kong, Natalia became an active performer with HK Musica Viva, HKUST Center for the Arts and Music Alive, Musica del Cuore, Russian Culture Festival, Sai Kung Sound Collective as well as produced several concert programs in 2018, such as Slavic Celebration Gala, Palace Assemblies and others. Natalia is a founder and director of Russian Sound Music Academy in Hong Kong. As a passionate music educator, she serves frequently as an adjudicator at the local piano competitions and works on developing programs creating performance opportunities to young local talents. 

“The playing of Ekaterina Mochalova exuded joy and positive energy in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Mandolin in C major, which she performed convincingly with an infectious musical lilt”. Southern China Morning Post  

Ekaterina Mochalova is Russian mandolin and domra performer, native of  Vitebsk–Belarus where she grew up immersed in music and graduated with honours from the Sollertinsky musical college. 

Graduating with honors from the Gnesins' Russian Academy of Music (Moscow) in 2012 and a post-graduate course (2014) led by famous Russian mandolin and domra performer, professor Vyacheslav Krouglov, she has played as a soloist with numerous symphonic, chamber and folk instrument orchestras like the chamber ensemble «Moscow Soloists» led by Yuri Bashmet, «Virtuosos of Moscow» led by Vladimir Spivakov, the Ossipovs’ National Russian orchestra led by Vladimir Andropov, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, the ensemble of early music «Telemann Consort», took part in  Osaka International Mandolin festival (Japan), «Sulle vie del Prosecco» (Italy), Tamburica-Fest (Serbia), Yuri Bashmet International Musical Festival and many others. 

Ekaterina is a laureate of 20 international and all-russian competitions, among her awards are the first prizes at IX Osaka International Mandolin Competititon, The XXIII Mandolin Competition of Japan, The 1st All-Russian Musical Competition, The Necheporenko International Competititon, the Gold medal at the 10th Delphic Games of Russia. 

​

Since 2014 she is a lecturer in the Gnesins' Russian Academy of Music and a leading soloist of the Ossipovs’ National Russian folk instruments orchestra. 

​

Ekaterina’s deep interest in outreach activities focused on her instruments is witnessed by her collaborations with contemporary composers. She has played about 15 world premieres of new compositions for mandolin and domra written by Efrem Podgaits, Alexander Tsygankov, Michael Bronner, Kirill Volkov, Natalia Khondo.  In 2018 she became the candidate of  Art Criticism with the dissertation «Mandolin and domra performing art: ways of development and collaboration». 

​

She is regularly invited as a jury member of various musical competitions, teachers seminars and workshops in many cities of Russia. Together with her teacher Vyatcheslav Krouglov in 2011 she founded the International Festival «Strings of Young Russia» in Moscow, which aims to develop the plucked stringed instruments’ art. 

The native of Russia, Daria Kovtunova received her Master Degree in violin performance from one of the oldest in Russia music institutions – Saratov State Conservatory named after Sobinov. After graduation, she has been continued polishing her skills under the supervision of a world-renowned professor of violin Sergei Fatkulin. Daria was awarded numerous competitions prizes and performed extensively across Russia and Asia. 

Since relocating to Hong Kong, Daria became an active member of local cultural life frequently performing with HKUST, Sai Kung Sound Collective, Russian Culture Festival, and Russian Sound Music Academy concert series. Daria is serving as a core player at the City Chamber Orchestra and the violin faculty at the Russian Sound Music Academy. 

Founded in 2012, Russian Ballet School in Hong Kong offers a unique RUSSIAN BALLET SCHOOL. Principal and Director of the School, Leila Alpiyeva, graduated from professional ballet school in Kazakhstan,  is a former Prima Ballerina hailing from the Russian Ballet Tradition - recognized as the best in the world today. 

 
With 20 years of stage experience, Leila is a former Principal Dancer at the Opera and Ballet Theatre in Almaty, Kazakhstan , as well as at the Slovak National Theatre. 
During the time of stage career, Leila performed the following ballets as principal Dancer - Don Quixote, The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, The Sleeping Beauty, Silifida, Spartacus, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Paquita, Swan Lake  and  
the Children of Titanic (Modern ballet choreographed by Christopher d'Ambuas). 

Leila won the Prestigious Varna International Ballet Competition in Bulgaria in 1996 and in the same year she won International Ballet Competition in Memory of Nureyev, Budapest. 

 
1993 - 1998 Studied at The Art Universtity of Theatre and Cinema in Almaty and graduated as professional ballet teacher and choreographer. 

 
In 2008 moved to England and worked as a ballet teacher at Danceworks Studio and Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London. 

 
Throughout her career, Leila has worked alongside famous ballet teachers and choreographers and has professional and personal contacts with many respected and well-known people in the world of ballet. 

Hailed as a “deeply expressive” pianist in Music and Vision , Helen Cha enjoys a versatile career as a concertized pianist and educator. She is currently the Music Director of weekly concert series Musica del Cuore and the Artist-In-Residence at Academia de Musica S. Pio X.

​

Cha claimed top prizes at the 12th Hong Kong (Asia) Piano Open Competition Open Class, the concerto competitions at Piano Texas and at the Eastman School of Music, and Thousand Islands International Chopin Competition. A keen solo pianist and a chamber artist, Cha performed at various music festivals and concert series, including Fête de la Musique , ISCM World Music Days, Le French May , HKS ArtisTree Residency, and the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival. She has given concerts in North America, Belarus, England, Italy, Moldova, South Korea and mainland China, collaborating with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Moldova National Chamber Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, and performed under the baton of Yip Wai Hong, Yip Wing-sie, Takuo Yuasa, Mikhail Sechkin, Neil Varon, Patrick Souillot and Emil de Cou, among others.

A sought-after young pedagogue, Cha was the former Lecturer and Coordinator in Performance Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University Department of Music. She has appeared in public lectures and masterclasses presented by Music Office (LCSD), EXCEL Summer Piano Festival (HKAPA), The Hong Kong Professional Piano Education Academy and the Hong Kong Piano Music Association, and was on the faculty of the Hong Kong International Piano Performance and Education Conference since 2013. She serves regularly as Western Music Advisor for the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Department of Music), and has been an adjudicator for local and international competitions, including the finals of Hong Kong (Asia) Piano Open Competition and International Competition for Young Musicians “Paleski Agenchyk” in Belarus.

Cha is the presenter of RTHK 4 programs “Chamber Fragrance”, “Debussy Recollection” and “Non-Stop Classics”. She is a featured performer in Hong Kong Sinfonietta's latest CD recording “This is Classical Music 3” (2014), and the presenter of 68 th Hong Kong Music Festival Graded Piano Pieces (Performance and Teaching Demonstration) DVD set.

Cha attended the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Junior Programme from 1993 and became the first recipient of Fellowship (with distinction) in Piano Performance from the Associated Board Royal Schools of Music in Hong Kong at age 19. She finished her Bachelor Degree with first class honours in 2005, under the tutelage of Professor Gabriel Kwok. Upon scholarships awarded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, she furthered her musical studies at the Eastman School of Music, becoming the teaching assistant at the Theory Department and the studio assistant of Professor Nelita True at age 22, and earned the Performer's Certificate (2007), Master of Music (2007), Master of Arts (2009) and her Doctorate of Musical Arts (2010) with highest academic achievement. She was the Master and Doctorate Marshals respectively in 2009 and 2010.

International award-winning American soprano Michelle Lange has been featured in Asia, Europe and the United States, appearing in Vienna with “The Sound of Austria,” singing over one hundred performances of Contessa in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, to the title role in the matinee performance of Puccini’s Turandot with Mississippi Opera. Ms. Lange has taken the stage as the leading soprano in Così fan tutte, The Magic Flute, La Bohème, Rigoletto, and Die Fledermaus. She brought Carlotta to life in Southern Opera and Musical Theatre’s production of The Phantom of the Opera, and made her Asia debut as Kate in Musica Viva’s production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Ms. Lange is excited to make her debut with Opera Hong Kong as Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni this May, as well as reprising Contessa with Hong Kong Kammeroper’s Le nozze di Figaro this fall.  

​

Ms. Lange won the 2016 and 2017 Voices of Mississippi Competition as well as the 2017 William T. Gower Concerto Competition at the University of Southern Mississippi, and placed second in the 2017 Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Competition with Mobile Opera. Other engagements include San Antonio Opera, Arizona Opera, San Antonio Mozart Festival, Incarnate Word Orchestra, Starlight Symphony Orchestra and the San Antonio Municipal Band. Ms. Lange holds a Master of Music degree from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and is ABD for her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Southern Mississippi. 

Isaac Droscha is an operatic Baritone and actor who has performed numerous roles with various regional companies in the United States, including the Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera New Jersey, and Arbor Opera Theater, for which he is currently serving as a board member. He has also worked for Michigan Opera Theater in Detroit and The Motor City Lyric Opera on Wheels, and most recently performed as Escamillio in Musica Viva’s production of The Story of Carmen in Hong Kong and as Leporello in a production of Don Giovanni at the Estates Theater in Prague, CZ. Other major roles from his repertoire include the title roles in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, the Musik Lehrer in Stauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, Nick Shadow in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, and Dr. Falke in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. He is also a prolific concert performer of oratorio and art song and has performed roles in Handel’s Messiah, Faure’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, and Hayden’s The Creation. He has sung as a soloist with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Symphonette, and The Pro Arte Orchestra of Hong Kong. He received fellowships and Scholarships from the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Michigan for study. He performs recitals regularly in the United States, Russia, and Hong Kong, and is a frequent collaborator with Hong Kong MusicaViva. Upcoming performances include the role of Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore on September 29 and 30 and the role of Officer Lockstock in Urinetown in November, 2017. Isaac received his Doctorate in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan and is currently serving as a Professor of Humanities at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and co-presenter of shows “Morning Call” and “Artbeat”  on RTHK4.  

Café 852 is one of Hong Kong’s finest world music ensembles and the only musical group in Asia performing Argentinian Tango, Milonga, Eastern European gypsy and gypsy jazz music. Formed in late 2016, the ensemble has been performing regularly in concert halls, festivals, performing arts spaces and music clubs in Hong Kong and has developed a strong following of music fans and aficionados of world music. 

A Café 852 performance takes the audience on a musical trip around the world, from the birthplace of tango, Buenos Aires, Argentina, to gypsy camps in Serbia, Moldova, Ukraine and Russia, to smoky cafés in 1920’s Paris, France, where gypsy jazz was first born. The ensemble’s performances are engaging, picturesque, entertaining and educational. The band often performs with live dancers, creating a full experience of sight and sound for the delight of the senses. 

​

The band often performs with live dancers, creating a full experience of sight and sound for the delight of the senses. 

Café 852 has performed to large and small live audiences around Hong Kong, consistently entertaining and engaging audiences at venues such as the Freespace Festival, Kwun Tong Performance Space, TEDx, Taste of Hong Kong and at the Hong Kong Cultural Center for an audience of thousands in collaboration with the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s Swire Denim Series. Café 852 released a full length album on January 1, 2018 entitled Camino de Tango which is available online at all major retailers. 

​

Café 852 has also developed orchestral pops and educational programs featuring the ensemble’s core repertoire with small orchestra and dancers. With the Café 852 core ensemble, 2 pairs of dancers and chamber orchestra, these programs are a delightful, educational and entertaining offering for the crossover classical and orchestral education audiences. Please contact us for more information on this exciting project. 

The brilliant Ukrainian accordion virtuoso Nazar Tabachyshyn is Café 852’s featured soloist. Classically trained from a young age, Nazar is an international award winning musician with a deep understanding of both the classical and folk music traditions. From 2004 to 2008 he studied at Ternopil Music College in Ukraine. After that, he was a solo performer, conductor of folk musical instruments and accordion instructor at the Tchaikovsky National Musical Academy of Ukraine in Kiev. Nazar has won many international awards for his performances, including the 1st prize of the International Musical Contest in Erbezzo, Italy and 1st prize of the International Musical Contest in Prague, Czech Republic. 

Cafe 852’s bassist and trumpeter Farley Sangels’ (aka Joshua MacCluer) has enjoyed a long international performance career. This dynamic American musician has performed with many of the world’s finest artists on the greatest stages of the world on multiple instruments and many styles of music.  

​

A highly accomplished orchestral musician, he enjoyed a 21 year orchestra career with the world’s finest orchestras, including six years performing as Principal Trumpet of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra with whom he performed in the best concert halls in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. As a jazz, Latin, contemporary and New Age performer and composer, he has performed in over 25 countries and in countless halls, clubs, festivals and private performances. 

​

Some of the great artists with whom Joshua has shared a stage include Yo Yo Ma, Lang Lang,Wayne Shorter, Arturo Sandoval, Doc Severinsen, Liza Minelli, Placido Domingo, Jaap Van Zweden, Yuja Wang, Joe Hisaishi, Leah Salonga,  and many others. 

British-Indian Soujit Guitar is Café 852’s guitarist. A lifelong musician, he began playing music at a young age, perfecting his technical skills on classical guitar under the ABRSM in London. He then spent time living in Spain, studying Flamenco Guitar in Seville and Granada with the old Spanish masters as well as tracing his roots to India to study Indian classical music. 

​

Following years of experience performing on stage and at events in Europe and Asia and lending his musical talent to different recordings of many genres, he has firmly established himself as the most versatile guitarist in the Hong Kong live music scene. In addition to his solo guitar performances, Soujit regularly collaborates with Hong Kong’s top musicians in recordings and live performances of classical, Flamenco, tango, gypsy, jazz, Latin, acoustic rock and pop music. He has also performed on Korean National TV, and was the solo musician for a production of Flamenco Carmen with the Korea Flamenco Association at the National Theatre of Korea. 

Cafe 852’s bassist and trumpeter Farley Sangels’ (aka Joshua MacCluer) has enjoyed a long international performance career. This dynamic American musician has performed with many of the world’s finest artists on the greatest stages of the world on multiple instruments and many styles of music.  

​

A highly accomplished orchestral musician, he enjoyed a 21 year orchestra career with the world’s finest orchestras, including six years performing as Principal Trumpet of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra with whom he performed in the best concert halls in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. As a jazz, Latin, contemporary and New Age performer and composer, he has performed in over 25 countries and in countless halls, clubs, festivals and private performances. 

​

Some of the great artists with whom Joshua has shared a stage include Yo Yo Ma, Lang Lang,Wayne Shorter, Arturo Sandoval, Doc Severinsen, Liza Minelli, Placido Domingo, Jaap Van Zweden, Yuja Wang, Joe Hisaishi, Leah Salonga,  and many others. 

British-Indian Soujit Guitar is Café 852’s guitarist. A lifelong musician, he began playing music at a young age, perfecting his technical skills on classical guitar under the ABRSM in London. He then spent time living in Spain, studying Flamenco Guitar in Seville and Granada with the old Spanish masters as well as tracing his roots to India to study Indian classical music. 

​

Following years of experience performing on stage and at events in Europe and Asia and lending his musical talent to different recordings of many genres, he has firmly established himself as the most versatile guitarist in the Hong Kong live music scene. In addition to his solo guitar performances, Soujit regularly collaborates with Hong Kong’s top musicians in recordings and live performances of classical, Flamenco, tango, gypsy, jazz, Latin, acoustic rock and pop music. He has also performed on Korean National TV, and was the solo musician for a production of Flamenco Carmen with the Korea Flamenco Association at the National Theatre of Korea. 

British-Indian Soujit Guitar is Café 852’s guitarist. A lifelong musician, he began playing music at a young age, perfecting his technical skills on classical guitar under the ABRSM in London. He then spent time living in Spain, studying Flamenco Guitar in Seville and Granada with the old Spanish masters as well as tracing his roots to India to study Indian classical music. 

​

Following years of experience performing on stage and at events in Europe and Asia and lending his musical talent to different recordings of many genres, he has firmly established himself as the most versatile guitarist in the Hong Kong live music scene. In addition to his solo guitar performances, Soujit regularly collaborates with Hong Kong’s top musicians in recordings and live performances of classical, Flamenco, tango, gypsy, jazz, Latin, acoustic rock and pop music. He has also performed on Korean National TV, and was the solo musician for a production of Flamenco Carmen with the Korea Flamenco Association at the National Theatre of Korea.