Pacific Quintet
Aliya Vodovozova, flute / PMF 2017, 18
Fernando José Martínez Zavala, oboe / PMF 2017, 19
Liana Leßmann, clarinet / PMF 2017, 18
Kenichi Furuya, bassoon / PMF 2017, 18
Haeree Yoo, horn / PMF 2017

1st prize winners of the “Ton & Erklärung 2021” (Sound & Explanation) Competition of the Association of Arts and Culture of the German Economy and 2nd prize winners of the “Carl Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition 2019” in Copenhagen, the Pacific Quintet celebrated their debut concert in the Chamber Music Hall of the Philharmonie Berlin in 2019.
The five musicians met in 2017 at the Pacific Music Festival, founded by Leonard Bernstein in Sapporo. Inspired by the passionate attention to music, the intercultural exchange, and the respectful company with each other at the festival, they decided to carry Bernstein’s spirit to Europe and form the Pacific Quintet in Berlin. Because its members hail from Honduras, Japan, Ukraine/Türkiye, South Korea, and Germany, the quintet considers tolerance and inclusion to be of the utmost importance. Taking inspiration from the words of Leonard Bernstein as well - "This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before" - they strive to use music as a means of communication in order to make their wealth of different cultures, origins, and traditions visible to all, amidst a society in which fear of the foreign and blanket condemnation based on stereotypes are gaining more relevance again.

In addition to their dedication to chamber music, the musicians are currently performing with orchestras like the WDR-Sinfonieorchester, the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, and the Bremer Philharmoniker.

The members of the Pacific Quintet studied at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, the Hochschule für Musik “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig, and the Karajan-Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Renowned artists such as Christian Wetzel, Nick Deutsch, Christian-Friedrich Dallmann, and Wenzel Fuchs have supported the ensemble with their guidance. Since 2020, the Pacific Quintet has studied chamber music with Martin Spangenberg at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin.

Initially scheduled to appear at PMF 2020, in light of the festival’s cancellation that year, 2023 marks their first appearance at PMF as a quintet.