Professors

Ervin Schiffer Master Classes

Violin:

Kati Sebestyén violinist - Belgium

Kati Sebestyén, a native of Hungary, is Professor of Violin and head of the string-department at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels. Graduated and later professor at the prestigious Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth. She is ta member of the artistic commission of the "Concours International Reine Elisabeth de violon". She is regularly invited as a member of the jury or to hold master classes: Mozarteum Salzburg, Jong Talent Amsterdam, Hannover, Lübeck, University of North Carolina, etc. Ms Sebestyén is an active concert artist and performs in recitals for Radio-TV recordings in the most of European lands and in the USA. She is the founder and director of the Sebastian Strings, member of the Haydn Quartet and Contrasts Ensemble. With these ensembles she has made several CD recordings.

Viola:

Gergely Kóta violinist and violist - Belgium

Hungarian-born violinist and violist Gergely Kóta has built a career as a versatile chamber musician and educator across Europe. Since 2022, he has been teaching chamber music at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels. After studying violin in Hungary, he moved to Brussels to continue his studies at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel under Katalin Sebestyén, graduating in 2005. He joined the Quatuor Coryfeye, which studied with the Artemis Quartet at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and with members of the Alban Berg Quartet at ProQuartet in France. In 2017, he co-founded the BECEL Trio (flute, viola, harp), which received the Octaves de la Musique award from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation in 2023. Gergely performs as a member of Ensemble Mendelssohn and as principal violist of the Ataneres string orchestra in Belgium, appearing at major venues and festivals throughout Europe. He has released several critically acclaimed CD recordings with his various ensembles.

Cello:

Domonkos Nagy cellist - Hungary

Domonkos Nagy is a renowned cellist on the Hungarian and international music scenes and a member of the Hungarian State Opera and the Budapest Philharmonic Society. His career and musical philosophy were deeply shaped by the ten years he spent in Germany, where he studied at the most prestigious institutions of higher education and gained first-rate professional experience in leading German orchestras.

He completed his studies at the music academies in Munich, Dresden, and Stuttgart under the guidance of renowned artists such as Professor Claudio Bohorquez, Professor E. Rovner, and Professor R. Ginzel.

He earned his master’s degree in Stuttgart in 2015.

During his time in Germany, he was an active participant in the life of various ensembles, both as a permanent member and as a guest artist. He worked as a section leader with the Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra, as a contracted artist at the Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe, and as a regular substitute with ensembles such as the Jena Philharmonic (as principal cellist), the German National Theatre and State Orchestra in Weimar, and the Altenburg-Gera Philharmonic Orchestra.

Even at a young age, at the very beginning of his career, he achieved outstanding success: he won first prize at the János Starker National Cello Competition and was also awarded the prestigious Éva Czakó Special Prize.

The world’s most renowned cello professors and chamber musicians contributed to the development of his artistic personality.

In his masterclasses, Domonkos imparts the highest level of German methodology, precise orchestral and solo preparation, and profound musical self-expression.

Piano:

István Lajkó pianist - Hungary

István Lajkó is graduated from Budapest, Hanover University and New York's Juilliard School of Music with numerous diploma's "summa cum laude" and titel of Ph.D. He is currently a lecturer at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, as well as a professor at the Universität der Künste in Berlin and at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Weimar. He has been awarded from numerous national and international competitions, including Junior Prima Award, and won the Hungarian State Eötvös Scholarship for his postdoctoral research, most recently he was the winner of the Liszt Ferenc Society's 40th "International Record Grand Prix".