03 ARCHIPELS

Hristeya Markova began her musical education at the age of 7 in the piano class of Antoaneta Vodenicharova at the National School of Arts "Panayot Pipkov" in Pleven, Bulgaria. This early training paved the way for her future musical successes. She has won prizes in national and international competitions in Bulgaria and abroad, including the German and Austrian Music International Competition in Burgas, the "Franz Schubert" International Competition in Rousse, the "Scriabin, Rachmaninov" International Competition in Sofia, the EPTA "Young Pianists" International Competition in Osijek, Croatia, among others. She continued to perfect her skills at the Regional Conservatory of Paris (CRR de Paris) in the piano classes of Romain Descharmes and Olivier Gardon. She then pursued her studies at the Haute École de Musique in Geneva, Switzerland, where she obtained a bachelor's degree, followed by a master’s degree in performance in the class of Cédric Pescia. In June 2024, she earned a master’s degree in pedagogy from the same institution. In 2022, Hristeya won the Special Prize André Boucourechliev at the 15th International Piano Competition of Orléans in France, as well as the HES-SO Award of Excellence in Geneva, Switzerland. Among her notable recent performances in 2025 and 2024 are concerts at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Comédie de Genève, the Folle Journée de Nantes with the NIMM Quartet. In 2023, she performed as a soloist in Ligeti’s Piano Concerto under the baton of Ricardo Castro at Victoria Hall in Geneva. She has been a soloist multiple times with the Pleven Philharmonic and the Brevis Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Georgi Patrikov, Michael Balke, and Plamen Markov. Since September 2024, she has been teaching at the Conservatoire de l’Ouest Vaudois in Morges, Switzerland.

Born in Pleven, Bulgaria, Nikolay Ivanov began his musical education at the age of 11 with Simeon Serafimov at the National School of Arts “Panayot Pipkov.” He is a laureate of numerous national and international competitions in Bulgaria and abroad. In addition to his active participation in solo competitions and concerts, Nikolay was a member of the percussion ensemble Accent. After turning 18, Nikolay moved to Paris, where he spent three years refining his skills as a percussionist and musician, studying with world-renowned artists such as Jean-Baptiste Leclère, Vassilena Serafimova, Michel Gastaud, Didier Verité, Benoît Morin, and others. Later, in 2017, he continued his studies at the Haute École de Musique in Geneva, Switzerland, where with the guidance of his teachers Philippe Spiesser, Claude Gastaldin, Christophe Delanoy, and François Desforges, he honed his musical style and artistic identity obtaining his master’s degrees. His energetic and explosive playing style, combined with subtle and gentle musical phrasing, make him a versatile and contrasting performer. In 2018, he won the Second Prize and the Audience Prize at the TROMP International Competition in Eindhoven, Netherlands, and in 2021, he was awarded First Prize at the IPEA International Percussion Competition in Shanghai, China. As a soloist, Nikolay has performed in Switzerland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Bulgaria, and China. He has appeared at the PAS Festival in Beijing, China, and at the IPEA International Percussion Festival in Shanghai, among others. In addition to his solo career, Nikolay also works as an orchestral and ensemble musician. He frequently performs as a percussionist with the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris, the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie, the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Paris Percussion Group, the percussion collective Eklekto and the Ensemble Contrechamps of Geneva, Switzerland.