Duo Musicians from Zurich, Switzerland
Swiss Duo Pianocello
Music Duo Zurich
Duo Musicians Zurich Switzerland
The Swiss pianist and composer Irina Grebaus and the world-class cellist Sandi Toka Nova have been forming this musical Piano & Cello Duo from Zurich, Switzerland for years. The two musicians have studied classical music at the highest level and are now creating together their own original arrangements of popular classical pieces, jazz, pop and rock songs as well as well-known melodies from films. As professional musicians based in Zurich, they bring the elegance of live popular & classical music to events and venues across Switzerland. Their concerts include compositions by Franz Schubert or Charles Gounod as well as heroic film music, such as a “Game of Thrones Medley” and the biggest titles from “Twilight” and “The Mission”. Some of their interpretations became YouTube and Instagram hits and earned them widespread praise and recognition.
Piano Cello Duo Pianist Cellist
Meet the Artists of Swiss Duo
Their journey as Duo from Switzerland began at a school for musically gifted children, where they first discovered a shared musical language. This deep , intuitive connection laid the foundation for this Zurich-based Music Duo.
Pianist & Composer
Versatile Swiss pianist and composer Irina Grebaus is based in Zurich (Switzerland) playing a wide variety of music in many different musical styles such as classical, jazz, swing, pop and more with several music bands such as Pianocello , Pianobeat , 2foryou, Swingbeat and others. Having taken advanced music education and holding degrees from both the Lausanne’s University of Music (also called HEMU) and Zurich University of the Arts (ZHDK), Irina believes that every musician should not only understand and master his or her instruments but should also understand and experience music in every aspect.
An innovative, highly accomplished and incredibly versatile pianist and creator of her own compositions Grebaus’s longstanding career has established her as one of the most demanded pianists on the local scene.
Cellist & Performer
Sandi Toka Nova was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She gave her first cello recital at the age of 13 and made her solo debut with the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Kazakhstan at 15. A graduate of the Republican Specialized Music School, she moved to Switzerland in 2000 at the invitation of Maestro Tibor Varga. There, she continued her studies at the Tibor Varga Academy of Music in Sion under Professor Marcio Carneiro and performed as a cello soloist with the Tibor Varga Chamber Orchestra under the batons of Maestros Tibor Varga and Gabor Takacs-Nagy.
After obtaining a Soloist Diploma from the Lausanne Conservatory in the class of Professor Patrick Demenga and an Orchestra Diploma from the Zurich University of the Arts under Professor Susanne Basler, Sandi held positions with the Zurich Opernhaus Orchestra and the Camerata of Lausanne. She also served as the principal cellist of the Jura Symphony Orchestra and worked as an assistant to Professor Susan Ribicki Varga at the Lausanne Conservatory.
A winner of numerous national and international competitions,
including first prizes at the National Competition of Young Performers and the G. Zhubanova Competition, she has also been a prize-winner at the Shabyt International Festival, the Nicati de-Luz Foundation Competition, and a fellow of the Tibor Varga, Vontobel, and Rotary Club of Lausanne foundations. Her career has taken her to prestigious concert halls worldwide.
Following an injury that prevented her from playing the cello, she expanded her artistic pursuits to include conducting. In 2008, Sandi interned in the Conducting Department at the Lausanne Conservatory and won the Collard Prize at the Kiefer Hablitzel Competition in Switzerland as a promising young conductor.
From 2011, Sandi worked for the prestigious Verbier Festival as an artistic assistant to the executive director and coordinator of the summer music camp. She remains actively involved in contemporary and chamber music projects as both a soloist and an ensemble member.
In 2017, as the Artistic Director for the classical program of the Expo2017 cultural agenda in Astana, Sandi successfully curated and led a series of notable concerts. The program featured stars such as cellist Mischa Maisky, the Igor Butman Moscow Jazz Orchestra, and a live performance of “The Artist” with composer Ludovic Bource. The event also marked Kazakhstani debuts for several renowned artists, including the Berlin-based baroque ensemble Lautten Compagney with recorder virtuoso Maurice Steger, pianist David Fray, and the Kuss Quartet, who performed a quintet with Mischa Maisky. Other distinguished soloists, including Enrico Dindo, Andrea Lucchesini, Julien Quentin, Thomas Gould, and soprano Mary Bevan, performed with the State Academic Symphony Orchestra under Kanat Omarov. During this series, Sandi Toka Nova, Thomas Gould, and Julien Quentin performed Beethoven’s Triple Concerto.
Sandi Toka Nova is the founder and Artistic Director of the Benefiz-Festival Zürich in Switzerland.
