Alla Penkina
(born in 1960 in Pavlovo in the Nizhegorodsky region, resident in Spain). Alla studied piano at the Pavlovo Music School. In 1975 she entered the music institute of Dzerzhinsk, where she graduated in 1980. She studied at the faculty of music theory. From 1984 until 1989 she studied composition at the Conservatory of Ashhabad at the composition faculty with professor R. Allayarov. In 1995 she postgraduated in composition under R. Allayarov. Alla Penkina is a member of the Russian Composers Union, jury member of the "Young composer" contest and the International festival of contemporary music "Pictures from an Exhibition" organizing committe member.
Selected Works: Como un graffiti, 2009, pf, cb; Como un graffiti, 2009, pf; Cuarteto de cuerda, 2009, 2 vl, vla, vlc; Siciliana, 2009, chi; Tensión para piano, 2010, pf; Banda Sonora para la película, 2011, symphony orchestra; Expectation, 2010, vlc; On the height of light, 2012, string chamber; Lamentabile, 2013, vl, vlc, pf; Kazus Maya, vl, pf.
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Ana Popović
(Belgrade, 13 th May, 1976), blues guitarist and singer, daughter of guitarist and bass player Milutin Popović, performed in public from the age of fifteen and set up her first band, Hush in the mid nineties. Their first album, Hometown, was released in 1998, performed in Belgrade‟s clubs and at blues festivals in Greece and Hungary. In the same year she enrolled in the Music Conservatory in The Hague but left after signing a contract with Ruf records. In order to make her first album she went to Memphis, worked with Jim Gaines (whose production credits include Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughan), and published an album, Hush, in homage to her first band. After excellent reviews and popular success she sang with well known blues and jazz artists: Bernard Allison, Eric Burdon, Walter Trout, Popa Chubby, Jimmy Thackery, Taj Mahal and Buddy Miles. For her album, Comfort to the Soul, she received a nomination at the Memphis WC Handy Awards as Best New Artist of 2003, the only European ever to be nominated in this category. This album included some of her first compositions including Don't Bear Down on Me (I'm Here to Steal the Show). In 2006, she was Blues Artist of the Year for BluesWax Magazine and also received a six-time nomination for Living Blues Awards. She signed with Eclecto Groove records and played over one hundred and fifty concerts (in 2007), including the famous Sundance Film Festival. Her album, Still Making History was third on the Billboard Blues Chart for nineteen weeks. In 2009, she participated in the legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise with Susan Tedeschi, Larry McCray, and Bob Margoli and also published Blind for Love.
Andreia Pinto-Correia
Born in Lisbon, Portugal, she began her musical studies at the Academia de Amadores de Música and at the Escola Luís Villas Boas, and is currently a doctoral candidate in composition (dissertation stage) at the New England Conservatory in Boston. She also received her Master of Music degree from NEC, with Academic Honors in Jazz Composition as a student of legendary jazz composer Bob Brookmeyer. In addition to composing, Ms. Pinto-Correia has taught for many years. She is currently a fellow at the New England Conservatory of Music leading one of the Composition Seminars She has held positions as a music tutor and assistant coordinator at the Berklee College of Music. She has also collaborated with her father at the Centro de Tradições Populares Portuguesas at the University of Lisbon, developing a catalogue of ethnomusicology field work. From 2007 to 2010, she served as the New England Conservatory of Music Composition Department Assistant.
