Holgen Gjoni - Cellist

M.M., The Juilliard School; G.D., Boston Conservatory; B.M., National University of Music Bucharest. Studies with Bonnie Hampton, Andrew Mark, Marin Cazacu. Recordings on Romanian National Radio and Television, Albanian Radio and Television. Alien with Extraordinary Abilities, as granted by the United States Government.

Albanian cellist Holgen Gjoni has been highly praised by critics and audiences alike for his solo and chamber music performances throughout America, Asia and Europe. Cultura e Spettacoli of Bari, Italy praised him for his “technique, beauty of sound and emotional projection”, while the prestigious Actualitatea Muzicala of Bucharest, Romania hailed him for his “seriousness and profoundness of an authentic concert soloist”, “turmoiled musical sensibility, marked by an ineffable luminosity of expression”, calling him an “excellent cellist” and an “elite musician”.

Holgen Gjoni is the recipient of The Virtu Foundation Instrumental Scholarship Award and a top prize winner at the Mihail Jora International Cello Competition, Jeunnesse Musicales International Competition, Concerto Competition of the National University of Music Bucharest, in addition to receiving Boston Symphony’s Karl Zeise Memorial Cello Award, Boston Conservatory Presidential Award and APERTO Foundation Award.

Since his debut at age twelve with Korca String Orchestra,Albania, Mr.Gjoni has soloed and toured with the National Romanian Radio Orchestra, Philharmonia and Symphony Orchestras of Bucharest, Concerto and Academica Orchestras of the National University of Music Bucharest. As a member of the Hamburg-based Philharmony of the Nations, he gave solo performances as an Ambassador of Peace throughout the world, including a papal audience in Vatican City.

Holgen’s versatile career includes numerous concertos, recitals, chamber music and orchestra concerts internationally, appearing at venues such as New York’s Carnegie, Avery Fisher, Alice Tully and Merkin Halls, Kennedy Center, Strathmore, Jordan, Seiji Ozawa and “Tchaikovsky” Concert Halls, Berlin and Budapest Opera Houses, Tokyo City Opera, Shanghai Center Theatre and Beijing Century Theatre.

As an avid chamber musician, Holgen joins virtuoso harpist Ina Zdorovetchi to found Arpello Duo, a cello and harp ensemble promoting the writing and commissioning of new works for this rare group setting. He was twice a Tanglewood Music Center fellow and, each year, won the audition for performing concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Featured in masterclasses with Yo-Yo Ma, Franz Helmerson, Radu Aldulescu, Juilliard String Quartet, Guarnieri String Quartet, Mr. Gjoni has given orchestra performances under maestros Seiji Ozawa, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Kurt Masur, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, James Conlon, Charles Dutoit, Sir Roger Norrington, Sir Colin Davis, Leonard Slatkin and Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos and many others.

Version: April 2007