«Only through music can suffering be healed.»

NIC MAEDER (singer and guitarist with Swiss rock band Gotthard) was born in Lausanne but spent many years living in Australia. Music has been his companion for much of his life and is an important facet of his personality. In 2011, he joined the band Gotthard as lead singer and began touring in Switzerland and abroad. Since then, he has become a household name among rock fans.

“I saw the benefits of music therapy for myself when I worked with a group of disabled people for three years when I lived in Australia, and I was won over by the mission of the ART-THERAPIE Foundation and the enthusiasm of its staff and the art therapists I met during a visit to Zurich’s paediatric university hospital (Kispi). The positive effects of art therapy and its ability to help children in hospital recover are undeniable.“

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Ilva Eigus, born in Switzerland in 2007, is an exceptional talent. She received her first violin lesson at the age of three from Liana Tretiakova and continued to study with her at the Zakhar Bron School of Music in Zurich until 2023. Her current mentor is Professor Marc Bouchkov, with whom Ilva studies at the Pre-College of the Royal Conservatory of Liège in Belgium. Ilva is also an honoured recipient of scholarships from the Verbier Festival Academy, the Seiji Ozawa Academy in Rolle and the Liechtenstein Academy of Music. Ilva’s exceptional talent was recognized early on and she has been taught by the renowned violin professor Zakhar Bron since the age of seven. She has been inspired by Ingolf Turban, Priya Mitchell, Janine Jansen, Augustin Dumay, Sadao Harada, Marie Chilemme, Nobuko Imai, Michaela Martin, Alexandra Soumm, Claire Oppert und Maxim Vengerov. Ilva made her orchestral debut at the age of eight with the Kabalevsky Violin Concerto. Since then, she has played as a soloist with Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Moscow Philharmonic, Novosibirsk Philharmonic, Prague Royal Philharmonic and SWD Philharmonie Konstanz, among others. In 2023, Ilva made her debut at the Zurich Tonhalle with Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor and at the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad. She was also a Junior Soloist at the renowned Verbier Festival Summer Academy. She is eager to explore contemporary music, having premiered works by Nik Bärtsch, Daniel Schnyder and Samy Moussa. Ilva is a repeated winner of the Swiss Youth Music Competition and winner of numerous awards at International competitions, including 1st prize at the International Nutcracker Competition (2020), Rotary Prize at the Verbier Festival (2023), Swiss Charity Award (2023) and 1st prize at the Arthur Grumiaux Violin Competition in Brussels (2024). Ilva plays a 1707 Stradivarius Omobono, generously on loan from the Habisreutinger-Huggler-Coray Stradivarius Foundation. Ilva’s playing is characterised by precise intonation, depth and artistic maturity. She is also very passionate about chamber music and performs regularly with pianist Alexandra Dovgan and cellist Maxime Grizard. In her free time she enjoys reading, photography and sports.

«What can I do to get involved in a good cause? – a question that preoccupied me as a young violinist. I’ve always been convinced of the positive impact of music and art in general. It’s so important for everyone to have the opportunity to express themselves, to create, to listen and to pay attention. That’s why I’m all the happier to have become an ambassador for the ART-THERAPIE Foundation and to see how the lives of children and young people in difficulty are enriched by exposure to the fascinating world of art.»