The RNO Camerata was founded by oboist Vitaly Nazarov in 2003, bringing together six musicians of the orchestra in an ensemble full of innovation and energy. The group was an immediate success, with audiences savoring the rich and diverse repertoire performed by these young virtuosos. The ensemble champions new music and musical experimentation, as well as traditional works written for oboe and strings.
In November 2004, Russia's Culture Radio broadcast a live performance of the RNO Camerata to a nationwide audience, following its first tour of Russia that took the ensemble to Ulyanovsk, Kazan, Cheboksary and Nizhny Novgorod.
Also in 2004, the RNO Camerata debuted in Asia with performances in Singapore and Malaysia as part of the RNO Promenade, and in London, when Lady Ustinov invited the ensemble to perform at the memorial service for Sir Peter Ustinov in the Church of St. Martin's in the Fields, Trafalgar Square.
Vitaly Nazarov (oboe)
Sergei Shakin (violin)
Andrey Provotorov (violin)
Alexander Akimov (viola)
Kirill Varyash (cello)
Grigory Krotenko (double bass)
Vitaly Nazarov
oboe
Vitaly Nazarov is a graduate of the Moscow State Conservatory, where he studied with professor Gennady Kerentzev and professor Alexey Utkin.
During his studies, Vitaly received scholarships from the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation, Elina Bistritzkaya Charity Foundation, Konstantin Oberlian International Foundation, and Charity Foundation 'New Names'.
Vitaly was a laureate at Moscow's 1998 Oboe and Chamber Ensemble Competition, and at Moscow's 2000 International Festival of Young Soloists. He also received a grant from the 2000 All-Russian Open Competition "New Names." In 2000, he became one of the youngest ever laureates of the All-Russian Competition of Wind and Percussion Instruments (St. Petersburg). In 2005, he was awarded a European Cultural Prize.
Vitaly has an active solo career and has performed widely in Russia and abroad. He has been a soloist with the Russian National Orchestra, the State Symphony Orchestra 'New Russia', the Chamber Orchestra 'Ermitazh', and the Academic Chamber Orchestra 'Musica Viva'. Since 2001, he has been a soloist with the contemporary music ensemble 'New Music Studio' (artistic director professor Igor Dronov).
Vitaly particpated in master classes with Professor Alexey Ogrintchouk in Ferrara and Portogruaro, Italy (2006), and in Bilbao, Spain (2008). In 2009 he participated in the Chamber Music Festival (Lokenhaus, Austria) founded by Gidon Kremer. In August 2005, Vitaly was awarded the European Foundation for Culture Prize in Weisbaden, Germany.
Nazarov joined the Russian National Orchestra in 2003. That same year, he founded the RNO Camerata; he is also a member of the Russian National Orchestra Wind Quintet.
Andrey Provotorov
violin
Born in 1982 in Krasnoyarsk, Andrey Provotorov began his higher musical education at the age of 11, in Voronezh. In 1998, he moved to Moscow and entered the Moscow Conservatory.
Provotorov has won several awards, including first prize at the All-Russian Competition (Ryazan, 1994), first prize at the Erdenko All-Russian Competition (Belgorod, 1994), third prize at the International Competition of Youth Ensembles (Moscow, 1996), and second prize at the "Classical Heritage" International Competition (Moscow, 1997).
Provotorov has been a member of the RNO since 2003.
Kirill Varyash
cello
Kirill Varyash was born in 1971 in Moscow. He studied at the musical high school attached to the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, then at the Conservatory, where he completed graduate work under Professor Knyazev.
Varyash was the winner of the Moscow City Competition (1982),and was a diploma recipient at the Brahms International Competition (Austria, 2001). He was a member of the State Symphonic Cappella from 1997 to 2000 and the Philharmonia of Nations from 2000-2003. He joined the RNO in 2003.
Varyash also participates in the Sheremetyev Ensemble and performs in solo concerts both in Moscow and abroad. His solo repertoire embraces a wide range of works, from baroque to contemporary compositions.
Grigory Krotenko
double bass
While still a student at the Moscow Conservatory (2002-2007), Grigory Krotenko (born 1983) began developing, with Professor Evgeny Kolosov, concert programs that brought together the works of a variety of composers, from early music to contemporary compositions.
In 2002, Krotenko joined the Russian State Academic Symphonic Orchestra. He became a member of the Russian National Orchestra in 2003 and is a part of both the RNOboe+Strings ensemble and the RNO Double Bass Ensemble.
He is also a member of The Pocket Symphony (HIP) ensemble of soloists led by Nazar Kozhuhar, where he performs on the continuo group of instruments (violone, viola da gamba, chitarra battente).
As a chamber ensemble player, Krotenko regularly collaborates with other leading Russian musicians, including Alexander Rudin, Mark Pekarsky, Boris Andrianov, Alena Baeva, Alexander Buzlov, Peter Aidu and others.
Krotenko won 1st prize at the Third International Serge Koussevitzky Competition in St. Petersburg (2009), for which he was awarded a bass specially built at the Thomas Martin Workshop.
Alexander Akimov
viola
Born in 1982 in Tashkent, into a family of musicians, Alexander Akimov began studying music at the age of four. He has performed in numerous concerts at the Moscow Conservatory, and worked in the Muscovy Chamber Orchestra. He is a graduate of the Central Music School attached to the Moscow Conservatory and the Moscow Conservatory (studying under Yuri Bashmet). He is presently a graduate student at the Conservatory.
Akimov is a laureate of the Young Soloists of Moscow Festival (1987), and the Third International Competition in Togliatti (1998). He won the First International Rubinstein Competition (Moscow, 1998), and took first prize at the International Brahms Competition (Austria, 2003). He is an honoree of the New Names and International Spivakov Fund, and was awarded a European Cultural Prize in 2005.
Akimov has taken part in the master classes of Professor E. Grach and T. Gaydamovich and has performed in the Great, Small and Rachmaninov Halls of the Moscow Conservatory and has had solo performances in Sweden and Belgium. He joined the RNO in 2003.
