Manuel Gomez Ruiz & Albert Mena

Leeds Lieder Young Artists 2018

Manuel Gómez Ruiz tenor

Born in Gran Canaria Spain, Manuel Gómez Ruiz studied at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” Berlin with Anneliese Fried and at the Universität der Künste Berlin with the tenor Robert Gambill.

He has sung in concert halls including the Auditorio di Roma, Konzerthaus Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin, Auditorio de Zaragoza, Teatro Leal La Laguna, Teatro Principal de Zaragoza, Teatro Pérez Galdós Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Laeiszhalle Hamburg, and with the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra, Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, RIAS Youth Orchestra, Oviedo Filarmonía Zaragoza Symphonic Orchestra and Lauten Compagney.

He has been invited by the president of the German Federal Republic, Joachim Gauck, to perform at the official residency of Bellevue Palace, by the UEFA to sing the anthem in the final game of the Champions League in the Olympic Stadium of Berlin; and by the Schubertiade of Hohenems and Schwarzenberg to participate in the Masterclasses lead by Thomas Hampson and Thomas Quasthoff. Manuel has been awarded the Richard Wagner Scholarship, Deutschlandstipendium and Premio Joven Canarias 2015 given by the Canary Government and the Gran Canaria Prize from the Real Sociedad Económica del País.

 

Albert Mena piano

Born in Xàtiva, Valencia (Spain) in 1994, he started studying music at the age of 7, playing clarinet and piano. When he was 12, he began studying in the Conservatori Professional Municipal “Lluis Milà” of Xàtiva, always receiving the highest marks. When he finished his studies there, he won the prize of the most outstanding pianist of his generation.

Following his studies in Musikene, the Center of High Musical Education of the Basque Country with the pianist Gustavo Díaz Jerez, he is currently studying at the University of the Arts Berlin (UdK), with Prof. Markus Groh. He has completed his studies with courses and masterclasses with renowned pianists, such as Nikolai Lugansky, Rasa Vitkauskaite, Joaquín Achúcarro, Pascal Devoyon, Lilya Zilberstein, Felix Gottlieb, Ingrid Fliter or Ivo Pogorelich.

He won several prizes in national and international competitions in Spain. He made his début as a soloist in the Young Artists series of the 75th edition of the Quincena Musical de San Sebastián Festival, receiving excellent reviews. He was selected to participate in the same Festival in the following years, appearing as a chamber music player and vocal accompanist.

His teachers for vocal repertoire included Maciej Pikulski, Prof. Axel Bauni and Prof. Eric Schneider. While studying, he works as an accompanist in the UdK classes of Prof. Aris Argiris (Singing) and Axel Bauni (Contemporary Lied).