Assistant Concertmaster
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Eugene Cherkasov has been a member of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra for over 20 years. He was born and trained in Baku, USSR, and started his career after winning a National Competition at the age of eighteen. Eugene received international acclaim after performing as a soloist and first violinist with the Quartet of Modern Music at the Frankfurt Feste-89 and at Beethovenhaus in Bonn, Germany. At that time he traveled extensively promoting new composers for wide audiences throughout the USSR and abroad. He later served as the concertmaster of several orchestras in Moscow. In 1990 Eugene and his family moved to Mexico, where he performed with the Mexico State Orchestra. Winning the position of first violinist with the Thouvenel String Quartet brought him to the United States in 1991.
Eugene has served as concertmaster and appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras. He has also performed in festivals in Michigan, Colorado, Texas, Washington, Vermont, Canada and Germany, was a faculty member of the Wintergreen festival in Virginia. Eugene has participated in various summer festivals in Italy, including Geminiani and Nei Suoni dei Luoghi, where he performed violin-piano recitals with his wife, Larissa. In 2004 Eugene was a soloist with the renowned Ensemble Archi Della Scala di Milano, performing Bach and Haydn concertos in France.
Eugene graduated with honors from the Baku State Conservatory with a Master’s Degree in Violin Performance and Pedagogy. He also obtains an Artistic Diploma and a Doctorate from the Moscow State Conservatory, where he studied with professor S. Kravchenko.
Currently Eugene is Assistant Concertmaster of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and dedicates much of his time to teaching and performing chamber music.
AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIA
BIYMF / Presto 2026 is delighted to welcome internationally acclaimed oboist and artistic director Tania Frazer OAM as our Woodwind Adjudicator.
Recognised as one of Australia’s leading classical musicians, Tania has performed with major orchestras and artists across Australia, Europe and the Middle East, including collaborations with Zubin Mehta, Leonard Bernstein, Mstislav Rostropovich and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. She is the founder and Artistic Director of Collectivo and former Artistic Director of Southern Cross Soloists and the Bangalow Music Festival.
A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, Tania has held principal oboe positions with both the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Israel Opera. In 2024 she was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to music and the arts.
We are honoured to have Tania join our distinguished adjudicating panel for 2026 and look forward to the insight, inspiration and musical excellence she will bring to our young performers.
AUSTRALIA
Associate Professor and Head of Strings Griffith University, QLD, Brisbane, Australia
Michelle currently serves as Associate Professor and Head of Strings at the Queensland Conservatorium, where she plays a central role in developing the next generation of Australian musicians. Her career encompasses extensive performance, teaching, and adjudicating engagements across Australia and internationally, including work in London and major cultural centres around the world.
Her depth of experience, artistic insight, and commitment to musical excellence make her an invaluable member of the BIYMF 2026 adjudication panel.
AUSTRALIA
Head of Keyboard
Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University
As well as performing in Australia and in the territories of the former USSR, Natasha has also played and gave masterclasses in Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Korea and New Zealand.
Natasha was born in Moscow and graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Professor Jakob Flier. She later pursued her postgraduate studies with her father, Professor Lev Vlassenko. As a student she was awarded the prestigious Tchaikovsky Scholarship and after this went on to win major prizes in international competitions, including the Beethoven International Piano Competition in Vienna and the Busoni International competition in Bolzano, Italy.
Natasha has played under the baton of conductors such as Mikhail Pletnev, Gennady Rozdestvensky, Karl Osterriher, Vladimir Verbitsky, Karl Martin, Edvard Chivzel, Veronica Dudarova, Richard Hickox, Grant Huvellin, John Curro and others. Natasha is currently head of keyboard at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University.
AUSTRALIA
Senior Lecturer in Piano
Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University
A soloist and ensemble player, Oleg has performed in the USSR, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Cuba, China, Japan and Vietnam. He also features on radio and television. For several years, he performed in ensemble with internationally renowned cellist Daniel Shafran, giving numerous recitals all over the world.
Oleg won first prize and Gran prize at the prestigious international competition “Music de chamber” in Florence, Italy. Born in Riga, Latvia, Oleg studied at the Riga Music College with Professor Lifshits. He continued his studies at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Professor Lev Vlassenko and later taught there.
Oleg is currently in charge of the Young Conservatorium Piano Program as well as a senior lecturer at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University.