Ariel String Quartet

The Ariel Quartet is a string quartet,founded in 1998,in Jerusalem, by musicians associated with the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Its current members are:
* Sasha Kazovsky - violin
* Gershon Gerchikov - violin
* Sergey Tarashchansky - viola
* Amit Even-Tov - violoncello

They debuted at the Jerusalem Music Centre in February 2000, and have performed in major venues in Israel and in the Daniel Days Festival in Holland (1999). Later that year they participated in a workshop coached by Michael Tree and in summer 2000, 2001 and summer 2003 in the Amadeus Summer Course in London, with full scholarships.

In 2002 they performed a recital at the Chopin Academy in Warsaw and participated in the Premio Paolo Borciani String Quartet Competition in Italy. In 2003 the Quartet won 1st prize in the international competition "Franz Schubert And The Music Of Modernity" in Graz, Austria. Further that year they have participated in the first International Music Festival of Limmasol, Cyprus (where they also played in 2004), played in the Koenigsaal in Frankfurt, Germany, and have participated in Itzhak Perlman's chamber summer course under a special invitation.

Members

Alexandra Kazovsky

Born in Moscow Alexandra Kazovsky began playing violin at age six working with the late Victor Legoshin. Two years later, she immigrated with her family to Israel and began studying with Ludmila Feldman at the Jerusalem Conservatory and later at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. . Ms. Kazovsky has performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Yad Harif Chamber Orchestra and in 2002, she won 2nd prize at the “Kol Ha Musica” (Israel Broadcasting Authority) Young Artists Competition and performed as a soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Currently she is studying with Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory in Boston.

Gershon Gerchikov

Gershon Gerchikov, born in Israel, began studying violin with Daniel Fradkin, continuing for a brief period with the late Prof. Gershovitz, and subsequently with Ludmila Feldman at the Jerusalem Conservatory and later at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. While in Israel, Mr. Gerchikov has performed with several professional orchestras, and was a prize winner in the violinists-composers competition in St. Petersburg, Russia in September 2001. Presently a student at the New England Conservatory in Boston, he has studied with Lucy Chapman and currently Miriam Fried. .

ergey Tarashchansky

Violist Sergey Tarashchansky began his musical studies at the age of six on violin, studying with Michael Pritzker in his native country of Ukraine. In 1998 he started playing viola with late Prof. Simon Basovsky and then with Ludmila Feldman at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. In 2005, Sergey played with Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma in a benefit concert of the Perlman Music Program. He is currently a student of Martha Strongin Katz at the New England Conservatory in Boston.

Amit Even-Tov

Israeli cellist Amit Even-Tov started studying cello at age 6 with Sabina Frankenberg at the Jerusalem Conservatory and then continued studies with Uzi Weisel, Hillel Zori, briefly with the late Prof. Michael Homizer and then with Zvi Plesser at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. She has also performed as a soloist in a special concert with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra broadcast live on Israel Radio. At present, Ms. Even-Tov studies with Paul Katz at the New England Conservatory in Boston.