unexpected places
Bringing classical
music to
By Kate Luce
Oftentimes, classical music is reserved for concert halls, but for two IU South Bend piano graduates, they are bringing classical music to a wider audience in unexpected places. Anton Zotov and Dimitri Zhgenti launched their own classical concert series, Musica Lanterna, in Southwest Washington.
Bowling Green State University, Ohio, and was granted a Music Talent Award scholarship. IU South Bend was my next step in achieving my goal of higher education in the United States. I have been following a musical path since the young age and continued doing so in the following year,” Zotov says.
Zotov was born and raised in Ukraine. At just the age of six, Zotov’s piano education began. Piano performance became a lifelong passion under the direction of Maryna Matveyeva, Zotov regarded her as one of his first mentors.
While at IU South Bend, Zotov trained under Alexander Toradze and his assistant at the time, Ketevan Badridze. Badridze is now the interim Martin Endowed Chair of Piano at IU South Bend. In 2011, he received his master’s degree in piano performance, but continued to take lessons from Badridze for a year before he applied for his doctorate degree.
During his time in Ukraine, he was actively involved in performing in Nikolaev. At eight, he had his first solo recital with complete “Children’s Album” by P. I. Tchaikovsky and at the age of 12, debuted as a soloist with Grieg Piano concerto in A minor, in special orchestral arrangement by conductor Vladimir Luuk for the Nikolaev State Orchestra of Folk Instruments. “After completion of my studies at Nikolaev State College of Music, I was awarded a Junior Specialist Diploma with distinction and successfully entered the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music. In 2005, I was invited to join the studio of concert pianist Maxim Mogilevsky at
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arts.iusb.edu
The extra lessons and performances paid off for Zotov. In 2012, he received his Certificate in Performance under George Vatchnadze, also an IU South Bend graduate and former student of Toradze. From there, he continued his studies at Florida State University, where he received his doctorate degree in Piano Performance. During his time as a doctoral student, he worked as an assistant at Florida State University and was involved in many aspects of the music department.
