2000-2001 Season Soloists
Gene Pokorny, Tuba
Peter Blagoev, Violin
Charles Sernatinger, French Horm
Dylana Leung, Violin
Gene Pokorny, Tuba

Gene Pokorny succeeded Arnold Jacobs as the tuba player of the Chicago Symphony in 1988, when he was appointed to the position by Sir Georg Solti. He began playing full time with the Orchestra the following year. During the 1992-1993 season, he took a leave of absence to serve as the tuba player for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and while in California, he also worked in the film studios, playing scores for the movies Toys, The Fugitive, The Program, Jurassic Park, and Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas.

A native of Southern California, Pokorny studied tuba with Jeffrey Reynolds, Larry Johansen, Tommy Johnson, Roger Bobo, and Arnold Jacobs. After attending the University of Redlands and graduating from the University of Southern California, he played in the Israel Philharmonic, the Utah Symphony, and the Saint Louis Symphony, in addition to his work in Los Angeles. Sir Georg Solti invited him to perform with his Musiciens du Monde in Geneva, which celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, as well as with the Solti Orchestra Project at Carnegie Hall. In 1997, Maestro Daniel Barenboim invited him to play three of Wagner’s Ring Cycle operas with the Deutsche Staatsoper in Berlin.

Pokorny also appears with the Chicago Chamber Musicians and with members of the Orchestra’s trombone section in concert. Occasionally, he can even be seen in the third clarinet section of the Do-It-Yourself Sousa Band in Mount Prospect, Illinois. He is an advocate for the appreciation of art music and regularly finds himself in classrooms bringing music to young people at the grass roots level.

He teaches music to professional and would-be professional tuba players, and to this end, has recorded the tuba parts from orchestral pieces which are regularly used in auditions. As an additional outlet, he has made several recordings of the tuba as a solo instrument.

Pokorny is a “foamer” (a railfan who watches and chases trains) and is a member of the Union Pacific Historical Society. He is a card-carrying member of The Three Stooges Fan Club and is an avid enthusiast of his good friend, David “Red” Lehr, the greatest Dixieland sousaphonist in the known universe.

Gene, his wife Beth Lodal (a musician who happens to have a real job), as well as his basset hound Angel and golden retriever Kennelly (non-musicians who happen to have real lives), live in Oak Park.
Peter Blagoev, Violin

A native of Bulgaria, Europe, Peter Blagoev received his education at the Bulgarian National Academy of Music. He studied with Joseph Radionov, International competitions winner, soloist and concertmaster of the Bulgarian National Orchestra, and Stoika Milanova, internationally recognized soloist and former student of David Oistrach.

In his native Bulgaria, Peter was the assistant concertmaster and soloist for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and was first violin for the Bulgarian National State Theatre of Music and the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Blagoev was a co-founder and soloist of the New Youth Symphony, in addition to his solo recital appearances.

Since 1993, Peter has resided in the United States, and is a member of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Blagoev is currently concertmaster and soloist for the Chicago Philharmonia. His most recent performance with this orchestra was in February, 1999, when he performed the Violin Concerto by Tchaikovsky, in Mendel Hall at the University of Chicago. He is Principal Second violin with the Skokie Valley Symphony, and has served as first violinist and substitute concertmaster for the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra and the New Philharmonic of the College of DuPage. In addition, Mr. Blagoev plays first violin with the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra and the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra.

He is a member of the Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra and has played with the Chicago Sinfonietta. Mr. Blagoev has served as the concertmaster of the Lake Shore Symphony and the Classical Symphony Orchestra, and has played with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, under Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez, and Sir Georg Solti. Peter Blagoev is a frequent soloist of the Chicago Businessmen’s Orchestra, with which he has performed the concertos of Mendelssohn, Lalo, and Mozart and is the Concertmaster of Chicago Philharmonia.

Mr. Blagoev is a very active chamber music performer. He and his wife, Iordanka Kissiova, also a professional musician, founded a string quartet, which performs frequently in the area and has made recordings and performed on live radio broadcasts. They are members of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra. Peter Blagoev, his wife, and daughter are currently residents of Des Plaines, Illinois.
Charles Sernatinger, French Horn

Charles Sernatinger is the Principal Horn of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, and has been a member of the group since 1998. Charles started his horn studies on the east coast in Connecticut, where he grew up, studying with James Jacobs, principal horn of the Hartford Symphony, and then carried his studies to Oberlin College in Ohio. Two years of University time were spent studying in Germany, where he studied under Jaroslav Kotulan, former First Horn of the Czechoslovakian Symphony Orchestra and the Basel Symphony, before returning to Oberlin. Upon graduation, Charles moved to Chicago to commence his career on the Chicago Board of Trade, also studying with Ethyl Merker in his spare time. He has performed with many groups in the Chicagoland area, and has held Corno Primo positions with several groups, including the Northwinds Ensemble, the Northshore Orchestra and the Lake Shore Symphony. Charles is presently also the Principal Horn of the Highland Park Winds, and a member of the Sheffield Winds, a Woodwind Quintet, as well as second horn of the Wheaton Symphony. Presently employed as a Vice President of Man International, a commodity brokerage firm, he enjoys spending time with his four boys and his wife, Marie-Pierre, as well as playing the odd round of golf in between concerts.
Dylana Leung, Violin

Eighteen year old Dylana Leung has been playing the violin since the age of four and spent the majority of her years studying under Cyrus Forough. Some of her more recent accomplishments include: first prize in the DuPage, Stanger Young Artist, Northwest, SAM, and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) Competitions. As the winner of these competitions, she had the opportunity to solo with the DuPage, Elmhurst, Evanston, Northwest Symphony, and CYSO where she played in the Chicago Symphony Center last fall.

Dylana was also chosen to perform in the 1997 Steinway Young Artists Series and play for Maxim Vengerov in a Master Class sponsored by UNICEF in 1998. She attended the Indiana Summer Music Camp in 95-96, toured Europe as a member of the CYSO in 97, and took part in the 1st National Youth Orchestra Festival held in Interlochen in 1998. In the summer of 1999, she attended a two-week series of Master Classes at Chateau do Champs in Noisiel, France. Last year Dylana took second prize at the Stulberg International Competition and was a finalist in the ASTA National Competition.

Dylana currently studies with Paul Kantor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, double majoring in Civil Engineering and Music Performance. In her spare time she enjoys running and catching up on sleep.