Born in Odessa, Pavel Vernikov studied with David Oistrach and Semjon Snitkowsky. For more than 20 years he has been performing as a soloist and as a chamber musician – i.e. with the Tchaikovsky Trio – on Europe’s and America’s most notable stages, such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Salle Gaveau, La Scala di Milano and the Accademia di Santa Cecilia.

He performed with Swjatoslaw Richter, Krystian Zimerman, James Galway, Christian Ivaldi, Alain Meunier, Patrick Gallois, Maria Tipo, Natalia Gutman, Oleg Kagan, Yuri Bashmet, Eliso Virsaladze and Antony Pay.

Founder of the Accademia Russa di Alto Perfezionamento in Portogruaro and teacher at Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität, Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, Kuhmo Violin Academy (Finland). Juror at many important competitions and teaching Master Courses in Paris, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv, and the Casals Festival in Prades. Pavel is also Artistic Director of Le Sion Festival.

Svetlana Makarova is Professor for violin at Haute Ecole de la Musique in Lausanne. She started to play violin at the age of 5 in the class of Ludmila Egorova. At the age of 10 she won the first prize at Moscow International Youth Tchaikovsky Competition.

Hereafter she won different prizes at numerous state and international competitions. In 2008 Svetlana finished her postgraduated studies at Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with professor M. Glezarova.

Svetlana performs as soloist and as part of various chamber ensembles. Among her partners are N. Gutman, F. Helmerssohn, P. Vernikov, A, Meunier, A. Lucchesini, C. Henckel, K. Bogino and others. She takes part in Verbier Music Festival (Switzerland), Miyazaki Music Festival (Japan), Eilat Chamber Music Festival, “Paganiniana” (Italy), Aurora Chamber Music Festival (Sweden ), Sion Festival ( Switzerland) etc.

In 2005-2008 she was teaching at Gnessin’s Music College in Moscow. From 2008 she was co-principal in Orquestra Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia (Spain). Since 2009 she collaborates with P. Vernikov in masterclasses throughout the world, such as European Music Institute Vienna, Wiener Meisterkurse and courses in Italia, Israel, Japan and Switzerland.