ABOUT US
Avita Duo: A Dynamic Force in Classical Music
Avita Duo, featuring Katya Moeller on violin and Ksenia Nosikova on piano, has firmly established itself as a prominent presence on the classical concert stage. Their performances are celebrated for their technical prowess, emotional depth, and remarkable cohesion, as praised by Fanfare magazine. The duo’s passionate and dedicated approach captivates audiences globally, consistently delivering powerful and concentrated performances. They have performed in Italy, Hungary, Austria, Russia, Brazil, Southeast Asia, and the United States, encompassing cities such as Vienna, Budapest, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Natal, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok. Their performances showcase versatile and exciting programs that highlight both standard repertoire and the works of lesser-known composers.
The collaborative synergy between Katya Moeller and Ksenia Nosikova has flourished over 15 years. This mother-daughter partnership culminated in their first CD recording of Lera Auerbach’s Twenty-Four Preludes for Violin and Piano, alongside the world premiere of Oskolki in 2022. This groundbreaking CD, released on the Hänssler Classic label, has garnered enthusiastic reviews from prominent critics, who lauded it as "absorbing, dramatic, compelling, audacious, and riveting".
With their unwavering commitment to broadening exposure to classical music, Avita Duo aims to impact audiences both globally and locally. The Duo prioritizes community engagement and outreach, frequently performing at public schools, community centers, and retirement homes, presenting educational workshops and teaching masterclasses.
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Pianist Ksenia Nosikova has been praised as “First rate” (Fono Forum), “Full of dramatic intensity” (International Piano), “Impressive musicianship, musically very poetic” (Boston Globe), and “Refined sensibility and exquisite pianism” (New York Concert Reviews). The scope of her concert engagements across the globe expands from professional concert venues, such as Shanghai City Hall in China, City Hall Theatre in Hong Kong, Chetham’s International Piano Series in England, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago, to major academic institutions, including over 170 performances at American universities’ guest artist series. Her extensive repertoire list reflects her commitment to presenting versatile programs of masterworks and lesser-known compositions and includes over 30 piano concertos.
Ksenia Nosikova has recorded for Profil Medien, Hänssler Classic, Albany Records, Centaur Records, and Capstone Records labels. Among her twelve critically acclaimed CD recordings are the complete three volumes of Années de Pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) by Franz Liszt, called an “outstanding achievement” by Classics Today and “super disc” by London’s “International Piano” magazine. In 2021 her double CD set of Aus Meinem Tagebuch (From my Diary), Op. 82 by Max Reger was released by Centaur Records. As a member of Avita Duo (violin and piano), she recorded “Twenty-Four Preludes for Violin and Piano” and “Oskolki” by contemporary Russian-born American composer Lera Auerbach, which were released by Hänssler Classic label in 2022.
Dr. Nosikova is a graduate of Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and University of Colorado. Among her most influential teachers are Mikhail Voskresensky, Norma Fisher, and Robert Spillman. Currently, she is a Professor and Chair of Piano Department at the University of Iowa and a member of the artist faculties of Wiener MusikSeminar International Master Classes (Austria). Dr. Nosikova has presented over 300 guest master classes and frequently serves on judging panels. Her students have excelled in numerous competitions, including first prizes at the First Swiss, Charleston, Liszt Garrison, Golden Classical Music Awards, 2020 Salzburg Grand Prize Virtuoso Solo, Second Slaka PianoArt, and Moscow International Music Competitions. They have been hired by institutions of higher education in the US and abroad and accepted to leading US music programs, such as Curtis, Juilliard, Colburn, Eastman, NEC, and Peabody. Many of them have been awarded fellowships and scholarships at prestigious summer programs, including Gilmore Festival, London International Masterclasses, Semper International Festival, Rebecca Penneys International Piano Festival, and Amalfi Coast International Music Festival, among others.
Ksenia Nosikova is a member of the American Liszt Society’s National Board of Directors and Artistic Director of the “Key Change: Piano Revolutionaries” and “Piano Sundays at Old Capitol” Concert Series. She is a Steinway Artist and 2021 Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame inductee.
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Violinist Katya Moeller, 19, was called a “phenomenal instrumentalist” and praised for her “fresh, committed playing, always powerful and concentrated”, “dramatic and convincing performances”, and “exquisite interpretations” by Fanfare Magazine. Katya played her first solo recital at the age of six and made her orchestra debut when she was twelve. As a member of the vibrant Avita Duo, she performed concerts in Brazil, Thailand, Singapore, Italy, Austria, Russia, and United States. Praised for “technical excellence, emotional intensity, and unity of purpose”, the Duo produced their first recording of Lera Auerbach’s Twenty-Four Preludes for Violin and Piano and world-premiere of Oskolki in 2021. Called an “absorbing, dramatic, compelling, audacious, and riveting’”, this CD was released on the Hänssler Classic label and has received enthusiastic reviews from several prominent critics.
A successful competitor, most recently, Katya was named the First Prize Winner of the World Bach Competition (2020), ODIN International Music Competition (2020), and 1st World Violin E-Competition Napolinova (2020), Grand Prize Winner of the ENKOR International Violin Competition (2019), and Second Prize Winner of the Togliatti International Violin Competition (Russia, 2021) and 1st Harmonium OnlinePlus International Music Competition (Armenia, 2020). Nationally, she earned the American Opera Society of Chicago Scholarship Award in honor of Katherine Buell (2022), Grand Prize at the Walgreens National Concerto Competition (2021), First Prize in the Musicians Club of Women-Chicago Competition (2021), the Charleston Baroque Music Competition (2021), and Honorable Mention in the National YoungArts Foundation Competition (2020). She also was a prize-winner at Schubert Club Student Scholarship Competition, MTNA West Central Division Auditions, American Music Institute Violin Competition, and Sejong Music Competition. As a member of the Peresson String Quartet, she was the Gold Medal Winner at the 2022 St. Paul String Quartet Competition, and in 2020, as a member of Dasani String Quartet, Katya was the Grand Prize Winner at the Chicago International Music Competition and received a Silver Medal Award at the Fischoff Chamber Music National Competition. Katya has performed several times on Chicago’s WFMT and Iowa Public Radio’s classical music stations.
Katya recently moved to New York City to pursue her Bachelor of Music Degree at the Juilliard School of Music, studying violin performance under the tutelage of Professor Masao Kawasaki. She started violin lessons at the age of four at the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City with Christie Felsing. At the age of eight she was accepted into the studio of Professor Almita Vamos, with whom she studied for the next ten years. Katya was a fellowship member of the prestigious Music Institute of Chicago Academy for four years. Furthering her studies, she attended the Aspen Music Festival, the Yellow Barn Festival Young Artist Program, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and the Semper International Music Festival in Italy. She has participated in master classes and lessons with renown musicians and pedagogues, such as Midori Goto, Rachel Barton Pine, Georgy Pauk, Paul Huang, Sergey Kravchenko, Paul Kantor, and the Cavani and Ying Quartets.
Katya has been honored as one of nine solo violinists invited to the 2024 Verbier (Switzerland) Festival Academy's Soloists and Ensembles program. Her recent engagements featured a repeat invitation from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic (NEPA) to perform the Concerto for Two Violins in D minor and performances of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with Orchestra Iowa, Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 with Ottumwa Symphony Orchestra, Coleridge-Taylor’s Violin Concerto with NEPA and the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra, and Barber’s Violin Concerto with the Claudio Santoro National Theater Symphony Orchestra in Brazil. An avid chamber musician, she also collaborated with Red Cedar Chamber Music. This past summer she performed at festivals in Vienna, Budapest, and Natal (Brazil). Katya plays a 1978 Sergio Peresson violin.