About Me
LATEST ALBUM "Music for Solo Violin" now available at www.gillesapap.com! READ MORE about Gilles in the January, 2007 issue of The STRAD Magazine!!!Hailed THE violinist of the twenty-first century by the late Yehudi Menuhin, Gilles Apap seems to find praise wherever he turns. He is embraced worldwide for his distinct talent of incorporating styles of music as diverse as American bluegrass and Gypsy fiddling with the standards of the classical repertoire, suggesting that Apap is of the opinion that all music is created equal.
Born in Algeria, Gilles Apap was raised in Nice, France where his violin studies commenced with Andr Robert. He continued his education at the Conservatoire de Musique de Nice with Gustave Gaglio and then at the Conservatoire National Suprieur de Lyon with Veda Reynolds. He traveled to the United States to attend the Curtis Institute of Music and soon after, chose to settle in California. He was later appointed Concertmaster of the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra and served in that role for over a decade. Apaps talent was recognized by Menuhin in 1985 when he brought himself to the attention of the great pedagogue by winning the Contemporary Music Prize at the prestigious International Menuhin Competition. Apap gained the affection of Lord Menuhin who later invited him to perform in Berlin for the Enescu Foundation in 1989.
In March of 1999, at the invitation of Yehudi Menuhin, Apap joined the Sinfonia Varsovia for concerts in Paris and Montepellier. These performances led to a very successful series of concerts at the 2000 Octobre en Normandie Festival in France, and further concerts and recording projects with the orchestra. In October, 2001, Apap was invited by the prestigious Chatelet Theatre in Paris to play a series of three concerts with his then recently formed ensemble Colors of Invention (with accordion-player Myriam Lafar, cymbalist Ludovit Kovac and double bassist Philippe Noharet).
Apap's has appeared as soloist in recitals, in concerto performances and eclectic programs with the Colors of Invention on both coasts of the United States including a performance with the San Franciso Symphony; with the Vancouver and Winnipeg Symphonies in Canada ; with the Russian National Orchestra; the WOMADelaide Music Festival in Australia; tours with the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra; tours throughout China and Japan; guest artist appearances at the Aspen Music Festival, Music Academy of the West and Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Camp in San Diego, California; and throughout Europe, including solo appearances with the Berliner Symphoniker, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre Ile de France, Sinfonie de Bretagne, at the Lille Mozart Festival, at Germanys Rheinghau Music Festival with the Prague Chamber Orchestra, with the Dresden Philharmonic, Hamburg Symphony, the Israel Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra, Strasbourg Philharmonie as well as the Orchestre National de Lille and the European Soloists Orchestra in Brussels among many others. As founder of his first ensemble, Transylvanian Mountain Boys, Apap shook the classical music scene with his unparalleled arrangements and interpretations of classical standards and traditional folk tunes for violin (Apap), viola (with brother Jean-Marc Apap), guitar (Chris Judge) and double bass (Brendan Statom). Apap has garnered much praise not only for his performances, but also during his residencies in Sofia, Bulgaria, at Le Grenier de la Mothe in France, and at the Malmo Conservatory in Sweden and at other educational institutions through his inspiring workshops.
Highlights of the 2006-2007 season include performances of the Alban Berg Concerto with the Orchestre de Chambre de Geneve; Shostakovich Concerto No. 1 with the Bursa Symphony in Turkey; a U.S. tour with Irish fiddler Kevin Burke and the Celtic Fiddle Festival; world premiere performance of David Balikrishnan's Violin Concerto with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and several solo recitals and ensemble performances with the COI and TMB throughout Europe and the US and a return to the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara for a one-week residency.For more information about Mr. Apap and for future concert engagements, please contact Miwa Gofuku at M.I.W.A. Management (Musically Innovative World Artists Management) at http://www.miwartists.com. Apap's various recordings can be found on his label Apapaziz Productions, available online at his website http://www.gillesapap.com.Thank you for visiting this site!
