AMKI DUO Comes to Wigmore Hall and More on Swiss Ambassador's Award Concert Tour

AKMI Duo will embark on the Swiss Ambassador's Award Concert Tour!

Tuesday 15 October, 7.30pm - Wigmore Hall, London

Wednesday 16 October, 7.30pm - Carol Nash Hall, Chetham's School of Music, Manchester

Thursday 17 October, 7.45pm - Dora Stoutzker Hall, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Cardiff

Programme:

• Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
• Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
• William Albright (1944-1998)
• Sonata for Saxophone and Piano
• Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
• Sonata Op. 11, No. 4
• Kevin Juillerat (b. 1987)
• L'Etang du Patriarche
• In memoriam Mikhail Bulgakov written for AKMI Duo
• François Borne (1840-1920)
• Fantaisie brillante on themes from Bizet's Carmen

Valentine Michaud and Akvile Sileikaite first crossed paths in Zurich in 2015; and with that, the AKMI duo was born.

The energic saxophonist and bubbly pianist met at the Zurich University of the Arts, where they were both studying as Master students. Their friendship and enthusiasm helped them to build an extremely strong personal and musical relationship. From the early days of their collaboration, Valentine and Akvile went traveling around the world to share their music with new audiences. Their traveling anecdotes are numerous and contributed to their on stage rapport.

Valentine and Akvile are truly passionate about modern and contemporary music, performing with unmistakable joy. They have built up a repertoire that is wide and varied, encompassing everything from sonatas to tango, transcriptions to original works by composers from countries as diverse as Lithuania and the USA. They are keen to expand the repertoire for their instruments by collaborating with young composers and premiering new pieces.

Eclectic personalities both Valentine and Akvile have a wide variety of diverse interests, from dancing salsa to driving motorbikes and Muai Thai boxing, They both explore other types of arts; Akvile is an artist and her paintings are featured in different galleries around the world (including Japan, USA, Lithuania and France) and also a photographer (focusing on portrait photography and reportages, mostly from musicians' lives).

Valentine designs and makes clothes for the street and for the stage, and regularly collaborates with performing artists such as dancers or visual artists on transdisciplinary shows. Together with her brother Emmanuel, she founded a collective of artists dedicated to the creation of transdisciplinary projects, SIBJA. Aesthetics have always played an important role in their lives; Valentine fell in love with the saxophone at the age of 7 because it was golden and Akvil?- chose piano at the aged 5 as it looked too classy not to try it. Valentine and Akvile also share a passion for eccentric dresses and shoes.

Another common connection is their both admiration for charismatic female musicians and artists, such as singer Barbara Hannigan or conductor Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, both multi-talented energetic and passionate personalities involved in the development of contemporary music as well as in original collaborations.

In 2018, AKMI duo was awarded second prize in the prestigious Salieri Zinetti International Chamber Music Competition in Verona, and in 2016, first prize of the Orpheus Swiss Music Chamber Competition, as well as securing third prize in the Rising Stars Grand Prix in Berlin. They both enjoy solo careers alongside their commitment to the duo and have won numerous awards at international competitions.

The duo regularly perform in Switzerland and abroad and have been invited to numerous music festivals and events across Europe including the KKL Lucerne, St Petersburg State Cappella, Lucerne Festival, Label Suisse Festival, Musikwoche Braunwald, the Swiss Chamber Music Festival in Adelboden, Festival de la Cité and Zurich International Saxfest.

 

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