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BIOGRAPHY
Mare Nostrum is a cello ensemble founded in 2022 that performs a wide stylistic repertoire, from Renaissance and Baroque music to Romanticism and contemporary music.
Up to now, it has performed in various formations, from quartet to solo cello music. The musicians in the ensemble come from Spain, Greece and Italy and are currently within the higher education curriculum of the Prince Claus Conservatorium. Each of them completed their first musical studies in their home country, performing in professional and high-level contexts. Since 2022, Mare Nostrum has been performing its repertoire within the province of Groningen, favouring settings such as churches and cathedrals, places that amplify the communicative power of the repertoire.
ELENA ROTA
Manager
VITTORIO ZELOCCHI
Manager
EMMA ZARZUELA CASTRO
APOSTOLOS PAGONIS
VITTORIO ZELOCCHI
Vittorio started his musical studies at the age of 10 at the "Vecchi-Tonelli" Higher Institute of Musical Studies (ISSM), Modena, Italy, under the guidance of Maestro Alessandro Andriani with whom, in the winter of 2019, he completed Bachelor Degree Academic studies in Cello, graduating with 110/110.
He attended masterclasses held by E. Bronzi and D. Scarpa (at S. Cecilia Academy in Portogruaro), G. Boselli, V. Paternoster, A. Andriani, P. Andriotti, M. Montore, D. Bovo, F. Biondi and R. Baldini. In 2015 he won the 2nd prize with 95/100 at the 5th G. e S. Martinelli Music Competition in Castelnuovo del Garda, obtaining the mention for the interpretation of Sonata Op. 38 by J. Brahms. In 2018 won the audition as principal cellist of Orchestra Giovanile della Via Emilia.
In the summer of 2019 he joined in “Campus musica d’estate” in Bardonecchia, organised by the Music Academy of Pinerolo with the teacher Marianne Chen. At the same time, he recorded a CD, “Vocal Chords”, with “On the Bridge” a Cello Ensemble. In the CD are presented pieces written by Francesco Cerrato, Joseph Noyon, Pierre Petit, Benjamin Britten, Heitor Villa-Lobos, John Dowland, Giovanni Maria Nanino and Johann Sebastian Bach.
During the academic year 2019/20120 he participated in the advanced training courses offered by the 'Accademia di Musica di Pinerolo', Pinerolo, Italy and by the School of Music 'Dedalo' in Novara, Italy, under the guidance of the teachers Marianne Chen and Stefano Cerrato. From 2020 he started to study with the Cellist Jan-Ype Nota at the Prince Claus Conservatory in Groningen, Netherlands with the Pre-master program and in 2021 he begun the Master of Music in the same conservatory.
ELENA ROTA
Elena started playing the cello when she was five years old. From 2009 to 2018 she studied at Conservatorio "G. Donizetti" of Bergamo under the guide of M° Roberto Ranieri and she got her diploma of violoncello with full marks in October 2020 under the guide of M° Andrea Cavuoto at Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali "Peri-Merulo" of Reggio Emilia.
She collaborated on a professional level with important Italian cellists such as Enrico Melozzi, Claudio Giacomazzi, Manuel Zigante, Marcello Rosa, Flavio Bombardieri and she did some performances on national television and radio channels.
In September 2020 she won the audition for the Orchestra del Teatro Olimpico di Vicenza.
She played as soloist, first cello and concertino with the National Orchestra of Italian Conservatories (ONCI), Donizetti Opera Orchestra, Filarmonica Mousiké (Bergamo), the Orchestra Carish (Milan), “I Musici del Teatro” of Treviglio (Bergamo), Alpine Music Youth of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Orchestra Filarmonica Settenovecento of Rovereto (Trento) and Orchestra Giovanile della Via Emilia.
She took part in masterclasses and academies (Orchestral Academy of Teatro Comunale di Bologna and “Collegium Musicum Internationale 62. Sommer-Akademie” at the Weißenstein Schloss in Pommersfelden, Bamberg) and specialised with Andrea Cavuoto, Vadim Pavlov, Kate Gould, Enrico Bronzi, Jozef Podhoransky, Walter Vestidello, Johannes Krebs, Claudio Mondini, Francesca Monego, Jan-Ype Nota, Francesco Parazzoli, Michel Strauss and Fiona Bonds.
In September 2021 she started her Master of Music in Violoncello at Prince Claus Conservatoire (Groningen, Netherlands) under the guide of M° Jan-Ype Nota. Since then, she performed already in a few important halls and theatres, such as the Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht, De Oosterpoort in Groningen and the AE Hall in Prins Claus Conservatorium.
EMMA ZARZUELA CASTRO
Emma Zarzuela Castro is a cellist from Barcelona, Spain. Her musical education in Spain started at the age of 5 with piano lessons in Juan Pedro Carrero music school, but she would go on to pursue cello in the integrated school IEA Oriol Martorell, where she would study for 12 years under several different cello teachers until 2018, when she moved to the Netherlands to follow the bachelor's program in the Prins Claus Conservatoire, in the class of Dutch cellist Jan-Ype Nota.
During her studies in Spain, she discovered her love for chamber music, focusing mainly on ensembles such as piano trio, string quartet and piano quintet. She took part in several local chamber music competitions, where she and her ensembles would be awarded the first or second prizes. Besides that, she received valuable string quartet coaching from the Quartet Gerhard in different editions of the Curs Internacional de Quartet de Vic.
Both in Spain and in the Netherlands, she has been lucky to partake in masterclasses with many fantastic cellists, such as Asier Polo, María Casado, Natalie Clein, Claudio Bohórquez and Robert Cohen.
Currently, as she prepares to pursue a Master's degree, she mainly dedicates herself to private teaching and various chamber music ensembles, with an abundance of different instrumentations and styles. She is also an intern in the Noord Nederlands Orkest for the 2022/2023 season and regularly recieves lessons in the CRR Boulogne-Billancourt from French cellist Michel Strauss.
APOSTOLOS PAGONIS
Apostolos was born in Athens, Greece in 1992. In June of 2013 he received the Diploma in Cello from Philippos Nakas Conservatory in Athens. In September of 2015 he started his Bachelor studies in the Conservatorium of Utrecht HKU , in the Netherlands with the specialization of Classical Cello ( Prof. Ran Varon) where he graduated Cum Laude in August of 2019.
In the course of his studies he followed multiple Masterclasses on Cello performance, chamber music and orchestra ( Michel Strauss, Gary Hoffman, Marcio Carneiro, Jeroen Den Herder).
He has performed Solo, with Chamber music groups and orchestras in venues in Greece, The Netherlands, Turkey, Belgium, Germany and France.
He has participated in festivals like the Sound of Music Festival ( The Netherlands) and Delphoi festival ( Greece).
Currently he is in the course of obtaining his Master of Music Degree with the specialization of Cello performance from Hanze, Prins Claus Conservatoire, Groningen ( Prof. Jan Ype-Nota).
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