Management
Liina Leijala
ARTISTIC AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Originally from Finland, cellist Liina Leijala is currently the ARTISTIC AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of the Barenboim-Said Center for Music. Liina Leijala graduated from Sibelius Academy in Finland and continued her studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna as well as in Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia. Previously, she has worked with the Orchestra Academy Ossiach (of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra), the Barbirolli Quartet, and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. She also holds a position at the Wiener Musikakademie in Vienna, Austria. She has performed both as a soloist and a chamber musician all over the world, and has been a finalist or prize-winner in competitions like the EBU Young Soloists, Gaetano Zinetti etc.
Liina believes that classical music education at a highest level has a deep impact in individuals intellectual and cognitive capacities.
SIMÓN IBÁÑEZ
Artistic Coordinator
simonibanez@barenboim-said.ps
Spanish clarinetist Simón Ibáñez is currently clarinet teacher at the Barenboim-Said for Music, and Clarinet Professor and Head of the International Department at the Center Superior of Music of Galicia.
He has played in concert halls such as Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, Auditorio Nacional, Madrid, Barbican Hall London, Royal Albert Hall London, Musikverein Großer Saal Vienna... Under the baton of conductors like Sir Colin Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Valery Gerguiev, Adrian Leaper, or Vladimir Azkenazhy.
Simon Ibáñez studied his bachelor 's degree at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu , Barcelona with Professor Isaac Rodríguez. After that he studied for a Master Degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama of London with Professor Julian Farrel and London Symphony players.
Ibáñez has appeared as a soloist and as a chamber music player in Europe, Asia, North America and South America. Recently he made a concert tour playing W. A. Mozart Clarinet Quintet K581 with members from Wiener Philharmoniker.
He is founder and Artistic Director of the La Vilavella Classical Music Festival, the event is taking place every July from 2013 in La Vilavella (Spain), with artist as a Liina Leijala ( Artistic and Executive Director at the Barenboim-Said for Music) Helen Chen Lee ( The School of Music Voice Faculty at the University of British Columbia) David Rejano ( Principal Trombonist at Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra), Wolfgang Vladar (Hornist at the “Wiener Philharmoniker Orchester”) or Julio Lopez (Violist at the“Münchener Philharmoniker Orchester”).
Nassri Lada
PROJECT COORDINATOR
Nassri Lada has finished his Bachelor Degree in Accounting . Since 2008, he has been working for the Barenboim-Said Center as Project Coordinator.
In addition to working on the various programs of the BSCFM project, Nassri Lada is coordinating the production of the online audio and video contents as well as concert recordings.
Through his broad experience at the BSCFM Nassri believes he can help young Palestinians bring out their talent and confidently show it anywhere in the world.
Music teachers
Petar Klasan
PIANO
Petar Klasan is a Croatian pianist based in Vienna Austria. Currently, he is piano teacher at the Barenboim-Said Center in Ramallah. Petar graduated from the University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna and has won prizes at the prestigious National and international Piano competitions. Petar regularly performs as a soloist in different Chamber music formations and with the orchestra. He is also the founder of the 'Con Brio' concert series in Vienna.
Adele Posani
FLUTE
Adele Posani started playing the recorder and singing in the choir at a young age, she then continued her studies in the Conservatory of L'Aquila "A. Casella" under the guidance of M° Paolo Rossi. Her education then brought her to Ferrara, where she specialized in contemporary music, playing and participating in festivals such as 900ePresente. She then moved to Palestine, where she has been playing, teaching and developing musical educational projects.
Robin Burlton
MUSIC THEORY AND CHOIR
Robin is theory and choir teacher at the Barenboim-Said Center in Ramallah, where he is a performer, conductor, teacher and composer. He has worked as a teacher of music theory for around 15 years and has also taught singing and piano both in Palestine and in the UK. As a composer, he has written for choirs and small vocal ensembles in the UK and his music has been performed in concerts, festivals and on radio in locations across Europe. He continues to write for wide-ranging projects in Palestine and is currently working on a violin sonata and small ensemble pieces using Arabic poetry.
Hikmat Qaimari
OBOE
Hikmat Qaymari is a Jerusalemite musician studying for her Master’s degree in Oboe Performance at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance with Professor Dudu Carmel. She received her Bachelor degree in Oboe Performance and Music Education, and currently she is the oboe teacher at the Barenboim Said Center. She is also playing the oboe and the English horn with the JASO Jerusalem Academy Symphony Orchestra, the PYO Palestine Youth Orchestra, and FYMO (Filasteen Young Musicians Orchestra) In addition to her music experiences, she has a history of Palestinian folklore dancing as a performer/teacher for many students, schools, and dabke troupes.
Gennady Kozhevnikov
BRASS AND CONDUCTING
Gennady Kozhevnikov (horn) studied at the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory and graduated as a conductor, pianist and baritone trombone player. He then worked as Principal Conductor for the President Military Orchestra of the Kremlin. Gennady now teaches children at the Barenboim-Said Center in Ramallah, working as conductor and also as a brass teacher.
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Jordan Mora
BASSOON
Jordan Mora Hofmeister was born in Costa and began his studies at Bassoon in 2012. He attended the University of Costa Rica and the National Institute of Music and has played with orchestras such as the Central American Youth Symphony and the Costa Rica National Symphony Orchestra. In 2016 he received a scholarship to continue his studies at Bassoon at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance with Professor Mauricio Paez. At present he works as the Bassoon teacher in the Barenboim Said Center in Ramallah and is also the bassoon player in several orchestras in the area.
Daniele Spada
CELLO
Daniele Spada is an Italian cellist and music teacher specializing in cello and chamber music. He graduated in his hometown of Verona, and has performed in Firenze (I) and Den Haag. In his career as a musician, he focuses mostly on chamber music and Italian baroque repertoire. For 10 years he has lived in Palestine as a member of the Palestine National Orchestra,
Naseem Halabi (Rimawi)
VIOLIN
Naseem Halabi (Rimawi) was born and raised in Beit Rima. Started his music education at the age of 7 in the ESNCM in Ramallah on the violin. In 2015 he got a scholarship to study jazz performance in the Saint-Petersburg Institute of Culture in Russia and graduated with bachelor degree in 2020. Played many concerts in Palestine and around the world with PYO and Palestine strings since 2013
Rémy Ballot
GUEST CONDUCTOR (FYMO)
The conductor Rémy Ballot has been described by music critics as a rising star among today’s young and aspiring conductors, thanks largely to the overwhelmingly positive reception of his recordings of the symphonies of Anton Bruckner. Much of the praise and honour given to his work in the music press has approached the reverential.
His first recording, of Bruckner’s 3rd Symphony (2014), was awarded the prestigious French diapason d’or decouverte and the highly coveted Pizzicato Supersonic Award, which has been given three times in succession for the latest volumes in the series. Other accolades have included Record of the Month (8th Symphony, 2015) from the American magazine Stereophile.