Please join us on Saturday, July 23 for a very special concert, featuring the SaxAmour Duo with guest pianist Yoni Levyatov.  These three extraordinary young musicians have gained worldwide acclaim as classical musicians, as well as in cross-over genres, including tango, jazz and world music.

8-9 pm: Concert - "SaxAmour Duo Plays Tango & More"

9:30 pm-2 am: Milonga Qilombo with DJ TBA

SaxAmour Duo

The Paris Conservatory was the place where the Chinese-Russian saxophone duo started their journey. Aiwen Zhang and Valentin Kovalev were the only two saxophonists admitted to this prestigious school in 2018. In 2020, Aiwen and Valentin moved from France to the US to pursue their education at the University of Michigan as the most historical classical saxophone program in the country. Natives of Shanghai and Siberia, both of them had launched their solo careers as concert artists since their childhood, and together they had received over 50 prizes and awards internationally, as well as performed across North America, Europe, and Asia. 

Since their first collaboration, their musical connection led to a strong romantic relationship. During the pandemic, the couple decided to stay in touch with the listeners and colleagues through the making of creative content. That was the time they developed their passion for filming and editing. Aiwen and Valentin grew out of their love for musical exploration, thanks to the versatility of the saxophone and their cultural diversity, they are able to fuse different music genres with their classical background to present audience boundary-pushing performances.

They are now located in Philadelphia, where they share the home with a furry audience of three cats and one dog.

Pianist Yoni Levyatov

Yoni Levyatov, winner of the San Jose International Piano Competition, is recognized as a soloist with “an appealing electricity” (The New York Times). The Russian-born Israeli pianist and composer made his recital debut at the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and his New York City concerto debut performing the Schumann Piano Concerto under the baton of Philippe Entremont. He has also been heard with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, the Bogota Philharmonic, Denver Brass, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas.

His compositional oeuvre includes works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and orchestra, and has been performed throughout Europe, the United States, and Israel. Beyond the classical realm, he has toured with the JP Joffre Hard Tango Band across the US and internationally. Highlights have included the Panama Canal, as well the Vermont Music Festival performing the Bacalov Triple Concerto for Piano, Bandoneon, Soprano, and Orchestra. Touring Alaska, he has been featured at the Sitka Music Festival and Juneau Jazz and Classics, presenting the first-ever concert in the Eskimo village of Chevak. Mr. Levyatov's teachers have included Alexander Volkov, Solomon Mikowsky, Jerome Rose, Constance Keene, and Harvey Wedeen.

Mr. Levyatov was a recipient of the Dorothy McKenzie Artist Recognition Award, Harold Bauer Award, and was a Silver Medalist at the International Boesendorfer Piano Competition. He was awarded the Clairmont Prize in Tel Aviv and has been a scholar of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation since 1990. Recent appearances have included performances at Steinway Hall, Barge Music, United Nations and the Prestige Series at IKIF, Mannes School of Music, NYC; Music in the Mountains, Colorado; St.-Mary College of Maryland; Thornton School of Music at USC, San Francisco; Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles; Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix; Xavier University, Cincinnati; Menora Hall in Manchester, England; Philharmonic Hall in St.Petersburg, Russia; Spiegelsaal in Rheinsberg, Germany; Auditorium de Cajacanarias in Tenerife, Spain; Jerusalem Music Center and the Tel Aviv Museum of Arts.