Igor Gruppman is one of those special artists whose career successfully spans a number of artistic fields. Critically acclaimed for his depth of interpretation and sensitive musicianship, Igor Gruppman enjoys an exciting and multi-faceted career as conductor, violin soloist, and orchestral musician.

As the Concertmaster of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and a frequent guest Concertmaster of orchestras such as the London Symphony, London’s Royal Philharmonic, and St. Martin in the Fields, Mr. Gruppman has collaborated with  some of the most esteemed musicians of his generation including Solti, Gergiev, Rostropovich, Colin Davis, Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink and Yannick Séguin. This year Mr. Gruppman will be recording Scheherazade as violin soloist with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on the famed Deutsche Grammophon recording label.

Mr. Gruppman has received glowing reviews for his recordings including a GRAMMY Award for his performance of the Arnold Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra. Additional violin solo recordings include Berlioz’ Reverie and Caprice (Naxos); Respighi’s Poema Autunnale (Koch); Miklos Rosza’s Sinfonia Concertante and the Violin Concerto(Koch), which marks the first release of the concerto since the recording by Heifetz for whom this piece was written. As well as the long-awaited reconstructed original string version of the Brahms’ F Minor Quintet recorded with the members of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields released in 2008. More recently Video Artist International released the first in the series of DVDs featuring Mr. Gruppman as conductor, violin soloist and chamber musician in partnership with a variety of acclaimed artists.

Mr. Gruppman is a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory where he studied with Leonid Kogan and Mstislav Rostropovich, followed by studies with Jascha Heifetz in Los Angeles, and now is on the faculty of the Rotterdam Conservatory. Igor and Vesna Gruppman co-founded the Gruppman International Violin Institute in 2002  to select, train and develop the careers of exceptionally gifted violinists around the world using the latest videoconferencing technology.  Mr. Gruppman plays the 1731 “Julles Garcin” Stradivarius violin generously provided by the Erasmus Foundation.

In the United States in addition to guest appearances, Mr. Gruppman holds the post of Principal Conductor of the Orchestra at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. These concerts are now regularly broadcast on cable television in the U.S. and abroad.  In recent seasons some of the world’s great artists have appeared with this orchestra, including Renee Fleming, Bryn Terfel and Ida Haendel.

Mr. Gruppman conducts orchestras on four continents. He made his conducting debut with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in the 2006/07 season conducting a special Easter performance of The Last Seven Words by Haydn and Gubaidulina in the Rotterdam Cathedral. This program was repeated during the Easter Festival in Moscow where Mr. Gruppman shared the podium with Maestro Gergiev. From 2010/11 Mr. Gruppman has conducted the Rotterdam Philharmonic Proms concerts opening with two Mendelssohn programs including the Italian Symphony and the Midsummer Night’s Dream.  He also appeared in a critically acclaimed all-Mozart program at De Doelen Great Hall in Rotterdam where in addition to conducting the RPHO Mr. Gruppman gave the Netherlands premiere of Mozart’s recently reconstructed Concerto for Violin and Piano (Op. 315F) with pianist Ronald Brautigam. From 2005 to 2009 Mr. Gruppman was the Artistic Director and Leader of the Concerto Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra.

In Asia Igor Gruppman has appeared several times as conductor and soloist with the Seoul Philharmonic. As soloist, Mr. Gruppman is critically acclaimed for his “rich and beautiful tone, elegant phrasing, drive, passion and virtuosity.”

Critically acclaimed for her “impeccable taste and beautiful singing tone” (Gramophone Magazine), Vesna Stefanovich-Gruppman is equally acclaimed as both a violin and viola soloist, receiving First Prize at the Jaroslav Kocián International Violin Competition and is the first artist to win the National Violin Competition in her native Yugoslavia six times in a row.

Ms. Stefanovich-Gruppman’s solo career began when she was still a teenager. By the age of sixteen, she had performed as a soloist with such ensembles as the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic and the Prague Philharmonic orchestras regularly appearing on radio and TV programs throughout Europe. She graduated from the Moscow Central Special School of Music and received her doctorate in performance and pedagogy from the Moscow Conservatoire where she was privileged to study under the legendary teachers Yuri Yankelevich and Igor Bezrodny.

Today, Ms. Stefanovich-Gruppman has a demanding schedule as a soloist and chamber musician. Most recently she has appeared with the Dallas Symphony, the Edmonton Symphony, Concerto Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine and London’s Beethoven Philharmonic Orchestra, and in recital at London’s Wigmore Hall and St John’s in Smith Square, Amsterdam’s Hermitage Hall, Kiev’s Philharmonic Hall, and the Mozart Hall in Prague.

Ms. Stefanovich-Gruppman’s solo and chamber music recordings have won high praise from such international publications as Gramophone Magazine, American Record Guide and Classical Disc Digest. Her recording of the Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra by Malcolm Arnold (together with her violinist husband Igor Gruppman) for Koch International won a Grammy Award. Classical Disc Digest’s article describes Vesna Gruppman’s viola performance and recording of the recreated original version of Brahms’ F Minor Quintet together with lead musicians of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields: “Vesna’s electrifyingly intense, ripe-toned viola playing has infused itself into the hearts and minds of the British contingent, who responded by playing as if their very lives depended on it.”

Her critically acclaimed 2007 performance of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the Temple Square Orchestra in partnership with the legendary Ida Haendel was broadcast numerous times on the US national cable network. The 2009 season marks the release of Video Artists International’s series of recital DVDs featuring her as a soloist and chamber musician. The 2009–2010 season will feature recital and chamber music tours of Asia and the United States. She will also record her next DVD for Video Artists International in Miami in May 2010.

Ms. Stefanovich-Gruppman also enjoys a successful teaching career. She is head of the Gruppman International Violin Institute and a Professor of Violin at the Rotterdam Conservatoire. In 2002, the American String Teachers Association honored Vesna Stefanovich-Gruppman with the “College Teacher of the Year” award.