Istvan Loga, Viola

Istvan Loga has followed his passion for classical music across borders. At the George Enesco School of Music, under the guidance of Professor Alexander Gavaller, he won numerous prestigious awards. His talent was noticed by the famous prof. Ervin Schiffer, who proposed to him to continue his studies at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. In 2010 he continued his studies with the Cordis Quartet at Nederland’s Strijkkwartet Academie in Amsterdam under the guidance of Stefan Metz (Orlando Quartet) and Marc Danel (Quatuor Danel). Istvan had frequent concerts across Europe, such as France, Switzerland, Germany and many more.

In April 2011, following the devastating earthquake in Japan, Istvan performed at a charity concert held in Brussels alongside world-renowned pianist Martha Argerich and Japanese violinist Yuzuko Horigome. Istvan also became a full-time member in several orchestras both in Europe and the United States, such as the Charlemagne Orchestra in Belgium, the Ars Viva Symphony, Camerata Chicago in Wheaton, Oisktrakh Symphony and Chicago Philharmonic in Chicago.

Throughout his career, Istvan Loga collaborated as a recording artist with renowned musicians in the industry. Most recently, he collaborated with Maroon 5 keyboardist and solo R&B artist PJ Morton through Matt Jones Orchestra. He was the principal violist on all the MJO recordings and live performances, including the Grammy-winning track “How Deep Is Your Love” and critically-acclaimed Tiny Desk Concert NPR Radio Headquarters.

Mr. Loga played one of the leading roles in the orchestra as the first chair for Pj Morton’s Valentine’s Day show at the Kennedy Center in DC. Istvan also worked with artists such as Austin Mahone, Dorinda Clark-Cole (Grammy Award winner), Benjamin Wright Jr., Will Downing, Gerard Singh, Eric Benet (Grammy Award nominee), Ruslan Sirota (Grammy Award winner), BJ The Chicago Kid, Guy Sebastian, Myron Butler (Grammy Award winner), Percy Bady (Grammy Award Winner), Spike Lee, Kirk Franklin (Grammy Award Winner), Brandon Williams and Big Sean (Grammy Award nominee and BET Awards winner).

Furthermore, Istvan Loga worked with nationwide broadcasting channels such as ABC/Disney. He was on the television show Betrayal. He was selected out of over 90 applicants to play the violin for the show’s ninth episode. Being selected from such a competitive pool for national television proves that he has come to national level.

Aside from these prestigious experiences, he played in national concerts such as Warner Bros. Presents Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, Johnny Mathis Show at Akoo Theater and Andrea Bocelli in Concert at Allstate Arena.

Istvan was selected for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago as a regular member for the 2014-2016 season. In addition to working with Yo-Yo Ma and CSO musicians, and performing at the CSO’s historic Orchestra Hall with distinguished conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Semyon Bychkov, Nicholas Kraemer, Daniel Boico, Matthew Aucoin, Sir Andrew Davis, Charles Dutoit, Cristian Macelaru, and George Daugherty, he also had opportunities to participate in various education and community engagement programs of the CSO’s Institute for Learning providing music education to local students. He won first prize and audience prize with the Tito Quartet at The 7th Plowman Chamber Music Competition in Missouri, USA.