Bringing classical music to unexpected places

Bringing classical music to unexpected places 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

“My primary responsibilities consisted of collaborative piano work with master and Doctoral students of various instruments, assisting in preparation for lessons, juries, master classes, dress rehearsals and recitals. Among my other duties has been participating in small and large ensembles, such as regular rehearsals and concerts of Women’s Glee Choir, University Symphony Orchestra, and chamber ensembles for students’ degree recitals,” Zotov explains.

In 2019, Zotov joined the music faculty of George Fox University in Newburg, OR. Zotov is an adjunct professor of piano and a staff accompanist to both instrumentalists and choirs. He also worked as a teacher and lecturer at Clark County Music Teachers Association, a substitute collaborative pianist at Clark Community College, and music director at the Washougal United Methodist Church.

However, recently Zotov has moved his career in a slightly different direction from teaching and performance. “In recent years, I have continued my career as a solo and collaborative pianist, teacher, and gained extensive administrative experience as a co-owner and manager of the Musica Lanterna Classical Concert Series Project in Vancouver, WA. This is a new and exciting project that I launched together with my friend, colleague, pianist and IU South Bend alumni Dimitri Zhgenti,” Zotov says.

Zhgenti was born and raised in the Tbilisi Republic of Georgia. Much like Zotov, Zhgenti started playing the piano at a very early age and he knew that was his career path. At the age of nine, he began studying with Medea Javahia and Rusudan Hodjava. In 2002, he moved from Georgia to the United States, where he furthered his education with the piano with Joanna Hodges in Vancouver, WA.

He then was accepted to IU South Bend, to study under Toradze and Badridze. While at IU South Bend, Zhgenti received his undergraduate and master’s degree in piano performance.

“I did not really choose piano performance,” Zhgenti recalls. “I started playing the piano as a child and was exposed to music early in my life. It was not a matter of choosing but rather where and with whom would I study was the decision I had to make. For me it was quite easy to choose since I knew who I wanted to study with, and in 2008, I was accepted at the Alexander Toradze Piano Studio at IU South Bend.”

Since graduating in 2015, Zhgenti continued his studies with Mark Westcott, an award-winning pianist, and performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 2015 and 2017.

Currently, Zhgenti maintains a full-time private studio, serves on the board of directors of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and with Zotov, stared the classical concert series Musica Lanterna. Musica Lanterna is a project unlike anything else, according to the pianists. The goal of this concert series is to bring classical music out of where one might traditionally hear it. Rather, by bringing classical music to neighborhoods where people socialize, relax, and play, this will bring connections to each other and through music.

“We present world-class musicians and partner with local artists, fusing both performance and visual arts into unique and exciting experiences in an intimate setting,” Zotov says.

Musica Lanterna’s concerts are presented in downtown Vancouver, in a contemporary space that can hold up to 250 people. In addition to professional pianists and musicians, Zotov and Zhgenti also invite local, young musicians to participate in the concerts, creating an opportunity to share the stage with professional musicians.

“My former teacher and IU South Bend professor and pianist, Ketevan Badridze, together with her husband, cellist, David Machavariani, took part in our project as guest artists. We are so grateful to be able to hear their outstanding performance and share their artistry with the local southwest Washington community. This project gives me a lot of new opportunities to meet with new people, expand experience in arts administration and share my love of music with greater audiences,” Zoltov says.

There were six concerts planned for the 2019-20 season, with guest artists from across the United States and abroad.

“We were able to run four highly successful concerts before the Washington State stay at home order took place and had to cancel our April and May concerts due to a public events ban,” Zoltov explains.

Although the pandemic did affect their concert series, Musica Lanterna will continue challenging where classical music is performed once it is safe to do so. For more information, tickets, and updates on Musica Lanterna, head on over to their website https://www. musicalanterna.com/.