27 musicians, 1 orchestra, 1 Europe

Robert Schuman said « More than a military alliance, more than an economical entity, Europe must be a cultural community in the most noble sense of the word ».

Following these words, the French institute in Finland created the PFUE Digital Orchestra to celebrate the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 27 talented musicians from the 27 EU countries join forces to perform the Finale of the carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns.

As bonus, every musical part can be watched separately to understand better how each musician is playing its part to create the finale composition.

The result is fascinating!

Direction and production: Dimitri Soudoplatoff
with the help of James Salomon Kahane

Piano
Aaron Haola Piano, Finland I’m pianist, composer and pedagogue and master student of the Sibelius-Academy. I like especially solo playing and lied, chamber music and many artistic projects like music video projects. Contemporary music is one of my strongest interests.	Akvilė Šileikaitė, Piano, Lithuania Lithuanian pianist, photographer, painter. Because of Akvilė Šileikaitė’s great interest in chamber, orchestra and new music, her repertoire consists of a wide scope of different styles and compositions. Due to her enthusiastic attitude towards working with various instrumentalists, her exceptional skills, curiosity and passion for music, she is often asked to join musicians, ensembles, orchestras and take part in a variety of music projects all over the world.
Violin 1
Aino Szalai, Violin 1, Hungary I’m a half Hungarian, half Finnish violinist based in Helsinki. I’m finishing my master’s degree at the Sibelius Academy next year. https://www.instagram.com/szalaino/	Gloria Ilves, Violin 1, Estonia Estonian violinist, currently studying at the Sibelius Academy in Finland. Always happy to make wonderful music together with fellow musicians around the world. I strongly believe that music can connect people from near and far. Together we can make the world more peaceful and brighter place.	Marios Loannou, Violin 1, Cyprus Marios Ioannou (Violin): 27 years old BMus at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London MMus at Royal Academy of Music, London Member of Cyprus Symphony Orchestra since 2018
David Seixas, Violin 1, Portugal David Seixas, emerging violinist from Portugal, based in Helsinki, has received several solo and chamber music awards and has also collaborated with many orchestras internationally. In 2021 his 1st violin solo album Serene Bach is released by the American label Centaur Records worldwide, album presented in a national tour in Portugal. https://www.facebook.com/davidvlnseixas / Spotify	Sophie Ackermann, Violin 1, Belgium I am a Prize winner of the New Tenuto national competition, I play violin and viola in several chamber music ensembles (from duos to septets) all over the world.	Kurt Falzon, Violin 1, Malta I am a 19-year-old violinist from Malta. I am currently studying violin at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree. I am an active member of the Malta Youth Orchestra and of several ensembles in The Hague. I have also been part of other orchestras, one of which was the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, with which I undertook an internship in 2021. https://www.instagram.com/kurt_falzon/
Violin 2
Dora Dimitrova, Violin 2, Bulgaria Dora Dimitrova holds Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the State University of New York, Stony Brook University. After spending 10 years in the US, in 2019 Dora returns to her homeland Bulgaria where she works as a freelance musician and violin teacher.	Philip Zuckerman, Violin 2, Sweden	Júlia Mušáková, Violin 2, Slovakia My name is Julia Musakova, I come from little village Dohňany in Slovakia and currently finishing master of violin performance at the Sibelius Academy in Finland.
Alto
Marta Sikora, Alto, Poland	Margarethe Breit, Alto, Austria	Krishna Nagaraja, Alto, Italia Violist, composer, arranger, PhD candidate at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki: in constant search of a musical home, constructed through the collection and synthesis of the influences I find on my path.
Serguei González Pavlova, Alto, Spain Study at the Sibelius Academy Actually play the violin, but also enjoy the viola Love people
Cello
Carina Drury, Cello, Ireland Carina’s cello playing has been described on BBC Radio 3 as ‘signing across the centuries’ and she enjoys a busy career as a soloist, chamber musician and continuo player. Her album Irlandiani was released in 2020 thanks to Arts Council of England funding and it explores the musical life of 18th century Ireland. When she’s not playing the cello Carina loves taking walks at home by the sea and baking cakes to bring to rehearsals! https://www.instagram.com/carinadrury/ Facebook- Carina Drury Cello Twitter- @CarinaDrury	Tomass Ančs, Cello, Latvia Latvian born cellist not only with huge passion for classical music but also for modern music genres. Has been playing cello for more than 18 years and can’t imagine life without his instrument. Always up for any kind of musical adventure. https://www.instagram.com/tomassancs/	Torbjørn Eika Jørgensen, Cello, Denmark
Fransien Paananen, Cello, Nederland Dutch-Finnish cellist, studying her Masters at the Sibelius academy in Helsinki.	Romana Šimbera, Cello, Slovenia	Marie Dorazilová, Cello, Czech republic I’m a czech cellist, based in Prague. I’ve spent last two years in Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. I am also a member of Krása Quartet- young string quartet named after jewish composer Hans Krása.
Picollo
Claudia Pana, Piccolo, Romania Claudia is a Romanian flutist living in Switzerland since 10 years. She plays a lot in orchestras like: Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, CityLight Orchestre and many others. Claudia is also teaching flûte and piano. In two weeks she will be part of the jury in international competition in Chieri, Italy, where she won first prise 5 years ago. https://www.instagram.com/claumyau/ Facebook – Claudia Pana
Clarinet
Panagiotis Marios Giannakas, Clarinet, Greece I’m a student in Geneva’s Haute école de musique de Genève. I’m very passionate about arts and sports.
Glockenspiel
Franko Štrbac, Glockenspiel, Croatia 21 years old percussion student from Zagreb, likes to DJ in free time, likes to cook and massage.
Xylophone
Leila Martin, Xylophone, France I am a french percussionist from Normandy studying in my first year of master at the Sibelius Academy. Happy and enthusiastic, I love to play my instruments and during my free time to walk in the nature and climb. Speaking German, English, Finnish and French, I enjoy learning languages as it is important for me to communicate with people across Europe and exchange with them in their mother tongue.
Double Bass
Gonzalo Jiménez Barranco, Double Bass, Luxembourg Spanish/Luxembourguish 29 years old double bass player. Born in Spain, raised in Luxembourg, studied in Switzerland, and currently based in Prague, working as Co-Principal double bass at Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. facebook.com/gonzalo.jimenezbarranco Gonzalo Jiménez Barranco (@gonzalobassist)	Svenja Dose, Double Bass, Germany Svenja Dose, born near Hamburg in 1999, startet playing the double bass at the age of 13. She is currently studying at the Hanns-Eisler School of Music in Berlin and participated in several masterclasses of renowned bassists. Right now she is an academist in the Deutsche Oper Berlin.