Classical Duet
Svitlana Remniakova, violin & Reneé Pérez, classical guitar
Sunday, November 23, 2025 - 3:00 pm
St. Albert United Church
The Alberta based “Classical Duet”, is a duo formed by the experienced violinist Svitlana Remniakova and classical guitarist Reneé Pérez, originally from Ukraine and Venezuela, respectively.
They are intrigued and specialized in music from the classical period, specifically by German compositions of Joseph Kuffner, and Italian works by Nicolo Paganini and Mauro Giuliani. Their advanced studies and training allow them to transport the listeners through a rich tapestry of emotions, while maintaining the beauty and elegance of the classicism. Their captivating program blends the timeless charm and passionate intensity of the classical period.
Both Svitlana and Reneé maintain busy schedules as solo and chamber musicians, usually traveling to cities within Canada, playing for chamber music societies and festivals, delivering a message of elegance and virtuosity.
Svitlana Remniakova-Ostrovska's passion for music began back in Ukraine, where she studied violin at the Music College of Dniepropetrovsk, and then at the Kiev Conservatory of PTchaikovskiy in the class of a David Oistrakh's graduate Elena Buchinskaya. After graduation, Svitlana worked at the State Circus Orchestra, State Television and Radio Orchestra in Kiev, and then at the Dniepropetrovsk Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gurgen Karapetian and at the Dniepropetrovsk Chamber Orchestra in the Dnipropetrovsk House of Organ and Chamber Music conducted by Anatoliy Abayev.
In 1996, Svitlana's career took a sharp turn, whereby she moved to Egypt and for 23 years worked at the Cairo Symphony Orchestra in the Cairo Opera House conducted by Ahmed El Saedi. The Cairo Symphony Orchestra has been conducted by many great international guest conductors such as Daniel Barenboim and others. Among the soloists who have performed with the orchestra are Mstislav Rostropovitch, Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, Magda Rumiand El Divo. During these years, the orchestra regularly toured many European and Asian countries with great success.
Since 2019, Svitlana has made Edmonton home, and she now works at the Edmonton Music Academy and is the principal second violin at the Concordia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Danielle Lisboa. Svitlana is the co-organizer of the International String Connections festival and cofounder of the Classical Duet together, a virtuosic and stylistic classical music duo that regularly plays around Alberta and Western Europe.
Reneé Pérez, a highly motivated classical guitarist, is a graduate in classical guitar performance (University of Alberta), holds a Performers Certificate from King’s University, Edmonton, and is currently pursuing a Performance Diploma. He is interested in solo and chamber music from the classical and baroque period, from both European and South American sources. His musical interests also include basso continuo with the baroque guitar and archlute. Reneé has toured several times Houston in the USA and northern Portugal—specifically the city of Porto and vicinity—as a soloist and chamber musician, and toured, playing the Fasch D minor concerto for guitar and strings, with several string quartets and Venezuelan orchestras belonging to “El Sistema”. He was featured as an emerging solo artist by the Calgary Classical Guitar Society. Reneé is currently the President of the Edmonton Classical Guitar Society. He is an enthusiastic guitar teacher and conducts the Edmonton Adult Classical Guitar Orchestra. His discography with the Classical Duet includes “Reverie”, an album dedicated to Joseph Küffner, a German violin/guitar player and 18th century composer.