Participants of the International Musical Olympus festival (St. Petersburg) have had a debut performance in France. Concerts of young musicians were held in Rennes, Brittany’s capital city, at the Centre culturel le Triangle and the Cour de la Banque Populaire de l'Ouest concert stages on August, 27-28 and September, 1. The performances took place within the frameworks of the annual summer music festival held under the auspices of the Brittany Symphony Orchestra.

The audience was delighted by young performers: Solenne Paidassi (violin, France, I prize at the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition in Paris), Anna Kasyan (soprano, Georgia / France, I prize at the JulianGayarre InternationalSingingCompetition) and Mario Chang (tenor, Guatemala, I prize at the FranciscoVinas InternationalSingingCompetition in Barcelona) were accompanied by the Brittany Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Darrell Ang (Singapore, I prize at the International Besançon Competitionfor YoungConductors, France).

It was Darrell Ang’s initiative to arrange concerts of the International Musical Olympus festival participants in Rennes. In January 2012, Darrell Ang, being a frequent participant of the St. Petersburg festival, was appointed Music Director of the Brittany Symphony Orchestra.

A series of concerts included performances by the International Musical Olympus festival participants: Ilya Maximov (pianist, Russia, II prize and Audience Award at the Maria Canals InternationalMusicCompetitionin Barcelona) and Signum Quartet (saxophone quartet, Germany, I Prize at the International Music Tournament (TIM) in Verona).

‘Our soloists have got a rare skill and superior technique proved by numerous awards of the most prestigious international music competitions, – says Irina Nikitina, president of the Musical Olympus Foundation. – But the most valuable part of their performance is the sincerity with which they present their high art to the public and also a stunning gift to charge the audience with positive energy’.

Each year geography of the Musical Olympus festival expands (Zurich, New York, Berlin). In January 2011, the festival had a debut concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore. Now, having held a debut performance in France, the festival participants are to leave for the capital of Azerbaijan in September.