Evgenia Markova is a virtuoso domra and mandolin player, soloist, and concertmaster of the St. Petersburg State Russian Concert Orchestra. A graduate of the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, she refined her orchestral artistry over two decades under the guidance of the orchestra's founder, Honored Artist of Russia Vladimir Popov.

Alongside her orchestral leadership, Evgenia pursues an active solo and chamber career. She is a Grand Prix winner of the Golden Key International Music Festival (New York) and a laureate of the Omiš Guitar Fest (Croatia). As co-creator of the research programs "Longing for the Baroque" (with artists of the musicAeterna orchestra) and "Metamodern and Baroque" (with Mariinsky Theatre soloist Maria Fedotova and Vladimir Volkov), she regularly appears on leading academic stages and records for the Melodiya label.

Vladimir Kirasirov is a classical and electric guitarist, wandervogel player, composer, and arranger. He graduated from the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory and earned his Master of Music degree from the Conservatorium Maastricht (Netherlands) under Carlo Marchione. He is a winner of the Golden Key Music Festival (New York), a laureate of the Omiš Guitar Fest (Croatia), and First Prize winner at the Lanote Jazz Competition.

Since 2019, Vladimir has served as Music Director of the Andrei Petrov International Composers Competition (pop/variety category). As an arranger and guest soloist, he collaborates with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, and the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra (RNYSO). In addition to his chamber duo with Evgenia Markova, he is the founder of Continuo Orchestra, a member of Continuum Quintet, and the composer of the chamber musical "Dorothea".

The Wandervogel, also known as the lute guitar or German lute, is a German instrument that resembles a Renaissance lute but has six strings (up to 11 in some variants!) and metal pegs like a guitar. It is tuned the same way as a guitar. It was created by the German Wandervogel youth movement, which existed between 1890 and 1936. This movement played a significant role in reviving folk songs in wider German society. The neck of the lute guitar is similar to that of a modern classical guitar, but the fretboard design may be different, occasionally being scalloped.

The instrument was presented to Vladimir by the grateful listeners John and Manon Machiels in the Netherlands.

The mandolin is a small, pear-shaped, plucked instrument that belongs to the lute family. It is an ancestor of the Arabic oud, which appeared in Spain in the 8th century during the Arab conquest of the Iberian Peninsula and then spread eastwards to other countries in Western Europe. The name mandolin (known since 1634) is a diminutive form of the word mandola (known since 1235), meaning it is a smaller instrument. Unlike the “baroque mandolin”, the modern mandolin, which was invented in the 18th century and improved in the 19th century, has metal strings and peg mechanics which increase the volume of the resonating body.

The instrument was purchased when Evgenia decided to broaden the horizons of her musicality and to immerse herself more in her Western European repertoire.

The domra is a traditional Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian plucked-string instrument that originated in the Middle Ages. It has a round body and three or four strings, picked with a plectrum. It is known for its tremolo sound. The three-stringed domra is traditionally used in Russia, while the four-stringed domra is most common in Belarus and Ukraine. It was widely used by the “Skomorokhi” (wandering minstrels) in Russia in the 16th and 17th centuries, but disappeared under persecution by the church and civil authorities. In 1896, Vasiliy Andreev settled on the appearance of the modern domra, and a family of orchestral domras was created in the early 20th century.

The instrument was purchased when Evgenia entered music school in St. Petersburg. The warm and relatively matte timbre of the domra immediately was much to the young artist’s liking and exerted a considerable influence on her performance technique.

The guitar has a long history dating back to ancient civilisations, and emerged more or less in its modern form in 16th-century Spain. It has become one of the most popular and versatile musical instruments, finding its place in a wide variety of styles and genres. The Brazilian seven-string guitar is an acoustic guitar used primarily in choro and samba, introduced to Brazil in the late 19th century. It is typically tuned like a classical guitar, but with an additional C, B or A below the low E.

The special design of this particular instrument was conceived by the Lithuanian luthier Max Cuker, from whom Vladimir ordered it. An additional bass string has been added to expand the range of the instrument, as per the master craftsman’s design.