NEUAR ensemble
About Us
NEUAR ensemble with its dedication to performance and promotion of new music is created by musicians from England (UK), Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Russia, who are all based in Norway and the United States and actively perform new music in various venues of Europe, United States and Asia. Our goal is to question boundaries, borders, commonly established associations in music, so does our name, NEUAR. May it either sound as "new art" or let it be simply the first letters of our countries.
Scroll down to check out bios of our members.
Zhala Aliyeva (cello)
Zhala Aliyeva, born in 1989, Baku, Azerbaijan, began to play cello at the age of 8 for Elmira Kalowovna. She continued her studies with Nazmiya Abbaszadeh, Agness Rugevick and Sebastian Dørfler.
Zhala won the first prize in competition “Art 21 century” in Italy, Lonigo. She has taken part in masterclasses with world-class cellists such as David Geringas, N.Gutman, D.Yablonski, A.Seleznov, Marko Ylönen,Peter Horr, Agnessa Rugevic , Liv Opdal, Ilmari Hopkins. Since 2012 Zhala has played in the Baku Piano trio. She was elected as a solo cellist of The Baltic Youth Philharmonic, which toured Scandinavian republic with concerts under the direction of Kristjan Järvi in 2015, solo cellist in Orkester Norden under the conductor Thomas Søndergård in 2014, solo cellist in “Caspian virtuoses” ensemble, (Wien) under the young conductor Mustafa Mehmandarov.
She participated in many orchestra projects such as Young Euro classic, «21 Hundisburg castle» summer academy, EnB1 Ensemble Bjergsted 1, Norden orchestra. She was participant in summer academies, such as Savonlinna Music Academy , Academy of Bashmet, 21st Hundisburg, Internatioanl Summer Academy 12th to 16th of August 2013 Stavanger. She took part in festivals as International 5th Qabala music festival (Azerbaijan, Qabala), Borealis contemporary music festival, Avgarde contemporary music festival, (Norway, Bergen), International Rostropovich music festival, Uzeyir Hacibeyov music festival, Bergenkulturnat. She had a concert tour as a member of Shur Duo in London (London University, June 9), Budapest (at the Hall of Azerbaijan Embassy, June 10) in 2014.
Besides her solo carrier, Zhala is also an artistic director of several projects. Among those are “Her abstract dream” , “Schnittke project” and “The ache for home”. These are collaborative projects between dancers, musicians, composers and film makers.
This year Zhala is pursuing her master degree at the Institute of Music and dance , University of Stavanger with Professor Liv Opdal.
Zhala Aliyeva is Technical Director of NEUAR Ensemble.
Mariya Karpinets (oboe)
Mariya Karpinets was born on December 4, 1989 in Lviv, Ukraine. Mariya started her music studies at the Lviv specialized music boarding school named after Solomiya Krushelnytska from 1998 to 2008. Her first oboe teacher was Alexander Serbynskiy.
In 2008, Mariya entered the College of Music Toneheim Folkehøgskole in Hamar, Norway, where she studied oboe with Henrik Eurenius. In Between 2009-2013, she earned her Bachelor Degree at The Norwegian Academy Of Music in Oslo. She studied with Professor Erik Niord Larsen and Matz Pettersen - oboist and English horn player with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.
During this period, Mariya had several performances in Norway and Europe. In 2012, she played first oboe at The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo (children's opera "Lillebror og Knerten"). She has also participated in orchestra courses with The Norwegian National Youth Orchestra. They had performed in Norway, Germany and France. Mariya has also received master classes with well-known oboe players like Yurdi Mora, David Friedemann Strunck, Jonna Staas, Jerome Guichard, David Walter, Sandro Caldini, Gregor Witt, Bjørn Carl Nielsen and Christoph Hartmann.
In Between 2013-2015, Mariya received her Master degree at The Grieg Academy in Bergen (Norway). She studied with Steinar Hannevold – Principal oboe of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.
As a soloist, Mariya played with professional wind orchestra Sjøforsvaretsmusikkorps in Bergen and Symphony orchestra in Volda (Norway). In 2014 she got a substitute position in the Trondheim symphony orchestra. At the same time she became the winner of the First prize at the III Stockholm International Music Competition in Sweden. In 2015 Mariya won the First prize at the Paolo Serrao Special Award Competition inItaly. The same year Mariya won the International Soloist Competition in Austria and as the winner she got the opportunity to play a concert as a soloist with the Klaipeda State Music Theatre Orchestra, held in October 2015 in Lithuania. February 2016 Mariya was the First prize winner on The International Music Competition 'London' Grand Prize Virtuoso 2016 and she got the opportunity to play concert at The Royal Albert Hall, Elgar Room in London on March 28.
Summer 2016, she was invited as a soloist under the XXXV Virtuosos International Festival of Music Art in Lviv, Ukraine.
At the moment Mariya Karpinets is a student at the University of Stavanger in Norway, Department of Music and Dance.
Humay Gasimzade (piano)
Humay Gasimzade got her bachelor degree in Piano Performance at Baku Music Academy (2008-2012), and Masters Degree in Piano Performance in the studio of professor Einar Rottingen at the Grieg Academy in Bergen, Norway (2012-2014) as a Quota Student, and Post Graduate Diploma in Piano Performance in the studio of Professor Daniel Rohm at Institutt for Musikk og Dans/Stavanger University.
Her achievements include participation in many concerts and festivals such as Avgarde, Internatioanl Chamber Music Festival in Stavanger, Youth Chamber Music Festival in Stavanger, Borealis Contemporary Music Festival in Bergen in my capacity of both a soloist and chamber music performer. Gasimzade is a co-founder of Shur Duo consisting of cello and piano, and member of the NEUAR ensmeble. Humay won the 1st prize in Stavanger University Chamber Music Competition for the performance of Bartok Sonata for two pianos and percussion.
In 2014, she was chosen to perform "Oiseaux Exotiques" by Messiaen as a collaboration with Bit 20 Ensemble (musicians from Bergen Philarmonic Orchestra). Gasimzade made her Europe concert tour with Shur Duo along with solo repertoire in London ( London University ), Budapest (Azerbaijan Embassy) and Italy (New Music Festival). She also took part as an accompanist at Stavanger Opera Project - "David and Bathsheba" by Stale Kleiberg from December 2014 till March 2015.
Humay Gasimzade presented her film-music performance project in Bergen both as a script writer and performer: titled "Her abstract dream", it has become an art product of her collaboration with Ida Cecilie Madsen, Norwegian film director, and Turkar Gasimzada, Azerbaijani composer.
Gasimzade got accepted to Manhattan School of Music in New York, USA for Master Degree in Contemporary Music Performance and will start her studies there in Fall of 2016.
Ljubov Katerli (piano)
Ljubov Osterberg began her piano lessons in St. Petersburg, Russia. At age 14, she moved to Finland and continued her studies there. During her studies she played as а soloist with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Turku city. She received her Bachelor degree in Piano Performance in 2005. She also received a master's degree in 2014 from the Grieg Academy in Bergen, Norway.
Contemporary piano performance being her speciality as a pianist, Ljubov is also interested in performing works from the Romantic era, more specifically the works of Russian Romanticism. Her solo recital for her masters consisted entirely of the works by composers from the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21th.
Ljubov participates actively in contemporary music concerts in various cities of Europe and collaborates regularly with different musicians and composers who are dedicated to the development of contemporary piano music.
Maria Mercedes Diaz Garcia (conductor)
Described as “A dynamic performer…. with a sensitive, natural gesture and musical phrasing, a clear command of orchestral forces” and “an extraordinary, talented conductor”, Maria Mercedes Diaz Garcia has broad experience with baroque and romantic repertoire and is a strong advocate of new music, having performed many premieres. Her performance has been described as “nothing shy of brilliant”.
Mercedes Diaz Garcia started her musical career as an oboist and pianist in Spain where she received degrees in both instruments. She played in orchestras in Spain, Germany, and England, and performed as soloist, including an appearance on Spanish national television. She also held a tenured position teaching oboe in the Spanish National Conservatories and held professorships in both Murcia and Madrid, Spain.
As a conductor she received degrees from Bard College in New York, and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in Ohio. Her talent was duly recognized when she was selected to participate in various prestigious masterclasses with Edo de Waart, Neeme Jarvi, and Paavo Jarvi, among others. She has since conducted orchestras in North America, South America and Europe, and has participated in festivals such as MIMO in Sao Paolo (Brazil), National Music Festival (USA), Pacific Region International Music Academy (Canada), and the International Conductors Festival (Ukraine).
She currently serves as Conducting Fellow at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where she is pursuing a Doctorate in Contemporary Music in between her various guest appearances. Recent performances include the Opera Ophelia Forever (Amy Beth Kirsten), Lutoslawski’s piano concerto, the ballet Giselle (Adolph Adams), La Boheme (Puccini) and Sign Sounds by Earle Brown.
Turkar Gasimzada (electronics)
Turkar Gasimzada is an award-winning composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music, having composed very diverse range of music including works for solo instruments, ensembles, vocal, and orchestras. His music is being successfully performed throughout Europe, Asia and in the United States.
Gasimzada holds a Doctorate degree in composition from University of Cincinnati, Conservatory of Music (CCM) where he studied with Mara Helmuth, Michael Fiday. He also holds a Masters degree in composition from the Manhattan School of Music (MSM), New York. He studied at MSM with Reiko Fueting, Nils Vigeland. He also attended composition master classes with such composers as Beat Furrer, Mark Andre, Stevan Tickmayer, Gabriela Lena Frank and others.
His recent achievements include: a finalist in ALEA III International Composition Competition, Boston University, Boston, USA, 2012; a winner of the International Composition Competition “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space” held by the Italian Institute of Culture, Melbourne, Australia, 2010; a winner of the Jordan Berk Memorial Prize for saxophone quartet, Manhattan School of Music (MSM), New York, USA, 2009.
He has been collaborating with and having his works performed by ECCE Ensemble (France), Ensemble Courage (Germany), Ensemble Sans Maitre (New York,USA), Contemporary Music Ensemble of Boston University (USA), Cochlea Freedom Ensemble (New York,USA), Ecoute Ensemble (Switzerland), Frontiers New Music Ensemble (Oklahoma, USA), CNM Ensemble (Iowa, USA), Noise-Bridge Duo (Stutgart, Germany), Café Momus Ensemble (Cincinnati, USA), CCM Percussion Enseblme (Cincinnati, USA), Contempo Ensemble (Baku, Azerbaijan), Oneplusone Ensemble (Lithuania), Manhattan School of Music Symphony Orchestra (New York, USA), Shur Ensemble (Bergen, Norway), NUAR Ensemble (Bergen, Norway) Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra (Azerbaijan), Azerbaijan State Chamber Orchestra (Azerbaijan).
Gasimzada’s music has been performed in many festivals of contemporary including Etchings (France, 2014), Cortona Sessions for New Music (Italy, 2014), “tonArt” (Germany, 2014), “Up Close With Music” Festival (Ireland, 2014), “Computer Music Space” (Bulgaria), Tonlagen (Germany, 2012), Druskomanija (Lithuania, 2010), “Culturescapes” (Switzerland, 2009).
A committed teacher, Gasimzada has taught courses in Music Composition, Electronic Music Techniques, Music of the Middle East at University of Cincinnati, College- Conservatory of Music and currently teaches courses on Music Composition, Advanced Orchestration and Electronic Music Techniques for the National Conservatory of Azerbaijan.
Gasimzada is currently Artistic Adviser for NEUAR Ensemble, also performs electronics with the ensemble.
Turkar Gasimzada’s scores are published by Babel Scores in Paris, France.