Catherine Cho draws upon her experiences as a soloist, chamber musician, pedagogue, and artistic director to support and mentor artists in their quests to engage and enrich their high values as creative thinkers and communicators. She is devoted to fostering the next generation of performers, teachers, and leaders through the development of artistic excellence, curiosity, and clarity of vision through a holistic view of the artist.
She has appeared as a soloist with the Detroit, National, Edmonton, Montreal, National Arts Center, Barcelona, Haifa, New Zealand, Buenos Aires, KBS, Seoul, and Daejon orchestras, and has appeared in recitals and chamber music performances at the Kennedy Center, Ravinia, 92nd St. Y, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Casals Halls among others. She has appeared in 12 national tours with Musicians From Marlboro and participated in the festivals of Aspen, Chamber Music Northwest, Four Seasons, Heifetz Institute, Santa Fe, and Vivace. She was a member of the Johannes String Quartet and La Fenice and was awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as top prizes in the Montreal (1987), Queen Elisabeth (1989), and Joachim (1991) Competitions.
Her work as a teacher in the Juilliard Chamber Music Community Engagement Seminar highlights her passion for community connection through art and communication. She is a Music For Food artist, the artistic director of the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival, a member of the Perlman Music Program faculty (since 2007), and the artistic advisor for the Starling-Delay Symposium at Juilliard.
Cho received her BM and MM degrees at Juilliard, where she studied with Dorothy Delay, Hyo Kang, and Felix Galimir. Her mentors include Ruggiero Ricci, Franco Gulli, and Michael Avsharian Jr.
Ms. Cho lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband, Todd Phillips, and their three cats, Orso, Livie, and Ella. She is the proud mother of Brandon Phillips, the stepmom of three lovely stepkids: Lia, Eliza, and Jason Phillips, and Halmoni (Korean grandma) to the delightful Theo and Mila Stahl. When she is away from work, you may find her catching up with her reading list, practicing yoga or Pilates, or tending to her Zen garden.
Cellist Gabriel Cabezas is a true 21st century musician. Named one of “23 Composers and Performers to Watch in ’23” by the Washington Post, he is a prolific and sought-after soloist and collaborator, as comfortable interpreting new works as he is with the pillar scores of the cello repertoire.
Gabriel has appeared with America’s finest symphony orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic, and has premiered dozens of new works by some of the most acclaimed composers working today.
He recently released Lost Coast, a dynamic album of original music composed by Gabriella Smith inspired by her reflections on climate change, which she has seen devastate her home state of California. The album was named one of NPR Music’s “Favorite Albums Of 2021” and a “Classical Album to Hear Right Now” by The New York Times.
Gabriel premiered the concerto Lost Coast, reimagined by the composer as a daring work for solo cello and orchestra, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel in May 2023. Further performances of Lost Coast in the 2024-25 season include an appearance at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music with music director Cristian Macelaru, and performances with the New York Philharmonic led by John Adams.
Gabriel is a member of the genre-leading chamber sextet yMusic. Their virtuosic execution and unique configuration have attracted high profile collaborators—from Paul Simon to Bill T. Jones to Ben Folds— and inspired an expanding repertoire of original works by prominent composers including Caroline Shaw, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly and Andrew Norman. In 2023, the ensemble released their first album of self-composed work, titled YMUSIC. Written collaboratively by all six musicians, YMUSIC represents a creative breakthrough for the ensemble. “They’ve transcended all the conventions that they were trained in” (NPR Music), presenting "one of the most exciting and confident chamber music releases of the year” (Strings Magazine). yMusic’s next composition project, an evening-length work in collaboration with choreographer Kyle Abraham, Dear Lord, Make Me Beautiful, will premiere across ten performances in New York at the Park Avenue Armory in December 2024.
Gabriel recently co-founded the string group Owls, described as “a dream group...” by the New York Times. The quartet weaves together new compositions with fresh arrangements of music ranging from the 1600s to the present, made distinctive by the group’s unique instrumentation of violin, viola, and two cellos. He is also a co-founder of Duende, a new music and contemporary dance collective that focuses on the interaction between musicians and dancers in the realization of new scores. Gabriel has recorded extensively as a studio musician, appearing on releases by Phoebe Bridgers, John Legend, Rufus Wainright and Taylor Swift, among many others.
In 2016, Gabriel received the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, a career grant awarded to extraordinary classical Black and Latinx musicians, who, early in their professional career, demonstrate artistic excellence, outstanding work ethic, a spirit of determination, and ongoing commitment to leadership. Gabriel studied at the Curtis Institute of Music under Carter Brey.
Violinist Grant Houston connects with listeners through performances of unbridled energy and emotional magnetism. Known for drawing in audiences with a uniquely compelling musical voice, he has been described as playing "as ethereally as mist... the audience kept so quiet that it seemed we were holding our breath throughout." (Yale Alumni Magazine). Particularly devoted to chamber music, Houston is a founding member of Trio Gaia and appears frequently at chamber music series and festivals across the country.
In recent seasons, Houston has brought a distinct presence to a wide range of performances across the chamber music landscape. Following pre-professional summers spent at Ravinia's Steans Music Institute, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the Perlman Music Program, his recent engagements include Spoleto Festival USA (Bank of America Chamber Music), the Grand Canyon Music Festival, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia, Monadnock Music, Wellesley Chamber Players, First Mondays at Jordan Hall, and Juventas New Music. Frequently sought after for special projects and collaborations, he has been a regular guest of Castle of Our Skins, including a collaboration between Castle of Our Skins and Boston Lyric Opera, was featured in a studio recording of Florence Price’s G Major String Quartet which aired on WGBH public radio, and has performed at specially curated events for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's Weekend Concert Series. He appears often with the conductorless ensembles A Far Cry, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and in the summer of 2024 was named a Co-Artistic Director of the Portland, Maine-based Palaver Strings. Houston has also performed widely as a soloist and recitalist, including a concerto appearance with the Plymouth Philharmonic and performances of the piano and violin duo repertoire with pianists Max Levinson, Ariel Mo, and Melvin Chen.
As the violinist of Trio Gaia, Houston has helped to build the ensemble into one of today’s most exciting piano trios. Offering audiences dynamic, personally relevant experiences inside and outside the concert hall, Trio Gaia has made a name for itself performing recitals on series such as the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, the Harvard Musical Association, Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society, Davidson College Concert Series, Music on Norway Pond, Shelter Island Friends of Music, and many others. Equally known is the trio’s passion for bringing people of all ages into the experience of chamber music, leading to its repeat residencies at the Panama Jazz Festival, regular interactive workshops with elementary, middle, and high-school students, lecture-recitals at MIT’s Whitehead Institute, masterclasses for the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, and engagements at educational programs such as PRIZM International Festival in Tennessee and the Massachusetts Suzuki Festival. In recent years, Trio Gaia has garnered numerous accolades, including prizes at the 2022 WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition, the 2022 Premio Trio di Trieste in Italy, the 2021 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition, the 2020 International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition, and the 2019 Plowman Competition. In 2024, the trio completed a three-year appointment as Trio-in-Residence in the New England Conservatory's Professional Piano Trio Program.
Houston has performed with artists such as Jeremy Denk, Inon Barnatan, Paul Biss, Marcus Thompson, Paul Wiancko, and Todd Phillips, and counts Donald Weilerstein, Ayano Ninomiya, Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, and Merry Peckham among his primary mentors. Committed to music education himself, he got his start in teaching at El Sistema Oklahoma, has given masterclasses at Duke University and the Winsor School, and now serves on the faculties of New England Conservatory Preparatory School and Point CounterPoint. Houston completed both undergraduate and graduate study at the New England Conservatory of Music.
Imani Winds is the 2024 GRAMMY® winner in the Classical Compendium category for Jeff Scott’s “Passion for Bach and Coltrane” released on their recently formed record label, Imani Winds Media.
Celebrating over a quarter century of music making, the three time GRAMMY® nominated group has led both a revolution and evolution of the wind quintet through their dynamic playing, adventurous programming, imaginative collaborations and outreach endeavors that have inspired audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
The ensemble’s playlist embraces traditional chamber music repertoire, and newly commissioned works from voices that reflect historical events and the times in which we currently live. Recent and upcoming projects include a Jessie Montgomery composition inspired by her great-grandfather’s migration from the American south to the north, a work by Carlos Simon celebrating iconic figures of the African American community and a new sextet by Viet Cuong. These works and more have been commissioned as a part of the Legacy Commissioning Project. Reflecting on the issues of mass incarceration, Imani Winds 11th studio recording, “Belonging” by and with Andy Akiho will be released Summer 2024.
Twenty-seven seasons of full-time touring has brought Imani Winds to virtually every major chamber music series, performing arts center, and summer festival in the U.S. They regularly perform in prominent venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center and have a presence at festivals such as Chamber Music Northwest, Chautauqua Institution and Banff Centre.
Imani Winds thoughtfully curates unique residencies that include performances, workshops, and masterclasses to thousands of students each year at institutions such as the University of Chicago, Eastman School of Music and Duke University.
Their international presence includes concerts throughout Asia, Brazil, Australia, England, New Zealand and Europe.
Appointed in 2021 as Curtis Institute of Music’s first ever Faculty Wind Quintet, Imani Winds commitment to education runs deep. The highly successful Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival launched in 2010, is an annual summer program devoted to musical excellence and career development for pre-professional instrumentalists and composers. The curriculum includes mentorship, masterclasses, entrepreneurial workshops, community engagement activities and performances, with the goal of fostering the complete musician and global citizen.
In 2019, the group extended their mission even further by creating the non-profit organization, Imani Winds Foundation, which exists to support, connect and uplift their initiatives and more. Imani Winds’ travels through the jazz world are highlighted by their multi-faceted association with luminary musicians and composers Wayne Shorter, Paquito D’Rivera and Jason Moran. Their ambitious project, "Josephine Baker: A Life of Le Jazz Hot!" featured jazz songstress René Marie in performances that brought the house down in New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Los Angeles and St. Louis.
In 2021, Imani Winds released their 9th studio album, “Bruits” on Bright Shiny Things Records, which received a 2022 GRAMMY® nomination for “Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.” Gramophone states, “the ensemble’s hot rapport churns with conviction throughout.” Imani Winds has recordings on Koch International Classics and E1 Music, including their 2006 GRAMMY® nominated recording, “The Classical Underground”. They have also recorded for Naxos and Blue Note and released an acclaimed arrangement of Stravinsky’s "Rite of Spring" on Warner Classics. They are regularly heard on all media platforms including NPR, American Public Media, the BBC, SiriusXM, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
To date, one of Imani Winds’ most humbling recognitions is a permanent presence in the classical music section of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC.
Two-time Grammy nominated violinist Jesse Mills enjoys performing music of many genres, from classical to contemporary, as well as composed and improvised music of his own invention.
Since his concerto debut at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, Mr. Mills has performed throughout the U.S. and Canada. He has been a soloist with the Phoenix Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony, the Green Bay Symphony, Juilliard Chamber Orchestra, the Denver Philharmonic, the Teatro Argentino Orchestra (in Buenos Aires, Argentina), and the Aspen Music Festival's Sinfonia Orchestra.
As a chamber musician Jesse Mills has performed throughout the U.S. and Canada, including concerts at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y, the Metropolitan Museum, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Boston's Gardener Museum, Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, and the Marlboro Music Festival. He has also appeared at prestigious venues in Europe, such as the Barbican Centre of London, La Cité de la Musique in Paris, Amsterdam’s Royal Carré Theatre, Teatro Arcimboldi in Milan, and the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels. Mills is co-founder of Horszowski Trio and Duo Prism, a violin-piano duo with Rieko Aizawa, which earned 1st Prize at the Zinetti International Competition in Italy in 2006. With Ms. Aizawa, Mills became co-artistic director of the Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival in Colorado in 2010.
Mills is also known as a pioneer of contemporary works, a renowned improvisational artist, as well as a composer. He earned Grammy nominations for his performances of Arnold Schoenberg's music, released by NAXOS in 2005 and 2010. He can also be heard on the Koch, Centaur, Tzadik, Max Jazz and Verve labels for various compositions of Webern, Schoenberg, Zorn, Wuorinen, and others. As a member of the FLUX Quartet from 2001-2003, Mills performed music composed during the last 50 years, in addition to frequent world premieres. As a composer and arranger, Mills has been commissioned by venues including Columbia University’s Miller Theater, the Chamber Music Northwest festival in Portland, OR and the Bargemusic in NYC.
Jesse Mills began violin studies at the age of three. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School in 2001. He studied with Dorothy DeLay, Robert Mann and Itzhak Perlman. Mr. Mills lives in New York City, and he is on the faculty at Longy School of Music of Bard College and at Brooklyn College. In 2010 the Third Street Music School Settlement in NYC honored him with the ‘Rising Star Award’ for musical achievement.
Jonathan Bisesi held the position of Percussionist with The “President's Own” United States Marine Band from May 2004 to May 2024. He has been a featured soloist with the Marine Band on multiple occasions, most notably on the Filene Center stage at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in 2011 & 2016, and the “President's Own” 2011 & 2017 National Concert Tours. Other work through the Marine Band includes numerous chamber percussion performances and masterclasses, most notably at the 2008 Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Austin, Texas, Florida State University, The Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Luzerne Music Center, University of Maryland Percussion Seminar, The Manhattan School of Music, as well as countless presentations at universities and high schools across the nation. As a jazz performer he has been featured on vibraphone with the Marine Band Big Band, Latin Ensemble and Jazz Combos, and as a conductor, he has conducted the Marine Band, Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Ensembles.
Mr. Bisesi received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, as a student of Allen Otte, founder of the Percussion Group Cincinnati. He then completed a Masters of Music degree at Boston University, as a student of Timothy Genis, Principal Timpanist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. As a student, Bisesi was a fellow of the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan and The Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts.
Upon completing his formal education, Bisesi was appointed to the Percussion Faculties at both Boston University (2002-2004) and the prestigious Boston University Tanglewood Institute (2002-2003). Mr. Bisesi was on Percussion Faculty at the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College from 2013-2016 and is currently on the Percussion Faculties of George Mason University School of Music, (2015; Co-Coordinator of the Percussion Department since 2022) the Boston Conservatory at Berklee (2021), the University of Maryland (2022; Director of the Percussion Studio since 2023) and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (2024; Director of the Percussion Workshop). During the summer of 2020, Mr. Bisesi was the Co-Founder and clinician of the Dragonfly Online Percussion Experience (DOPE) sponsored by Dragonfly Percussion.
As an active performer and educator Mr. Bisesi has performed with The Cleveland Orchestra, The Boston Symphony Orchestra, The National Symphony Orchestra, The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (2024 European Tour), The Boston Ballet, The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, The Kennedy Center Opera and Ballet Orchestras, The Buffalo Philharmonic, The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, The New World Symphony, and The International Festival Cervantino (The largest arts festival in Latin America) in Guanajuato, Mexico. He has presented masterclasses at the The Tanglewood Music Center, The Boston Conservatory, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and his signature xylophone mallets are created by Dragonfly Percussion.
As a composer, arranger and children’s book author, his works are published by Meredith Music (distributed by GIA Publications), Pocket Publications and Acute By Design. THEN/NOW, his debut solo percussion album released in March 2021, spanning 19 years of musical influences.
Mr. Bisesi has been on the Board of Directors of the Vienna Jammers, a youth percussion ensemble located in Vienna, VA from 2016-2020, and Vice President of the Board from 2018-2020. In 2020, he is a Co-founder and Board member of the Network for Diversity in Concert Percussion, a non-profit who's mission is to "...serve as a resource for, and support to, aspiring professional percussionists from underrepresented and underserved communities in an effort to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion in the concert percussion community."
He currently lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife and daughter.
Lauded as “exquisite” by The Philadelphia Inquirer and “a pianist of sterling artistry” by Gramophone, Michelle Cann has become one of the most sought-after pianists of her generation. She made her debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2021 and has recently performed concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de São Paulo, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, and Cincinnati.
Highlights of Cann’s 2023-24 season included appearances with the Charlotte, Hawaii, Indianapolis, Québec, Sarasota, and Winnipeg symphony orchestras, and recitals in New York City, Portland, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, and Denver. She also has teaching and performance residencies at the University of Indiana South Bend and Meany Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Washington.
Recognized as a leading interpreter of the piano music of Florence Price, Cann performed the New York City premiere of Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement with The Dream Unfinished Orchestra in July 2016 and the Philadelphia premiere with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin in February 2021. Her recording of the concerto with the New York Youth Symphony won a Grammy Award in 2023 for Best Orchestral Performance. Her acclaimed debut solo album Revival, featuring music by Price and Margaret Bonds, was released in May 2023 on the Curtis Studio label. She has also recorded two Price piano quintets with the Catalyst Quartet.
Cann was the recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization. She also received the Cleveland Institute of Music’s 2022 Alumni Achievement Award and the 2022 Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award.
A celebrated chamber musician, Cann has collaborated with leading artists including the Catalyst, Dover, and Juilliard string quartets, violinists Timothy and Nikki Chooi, and cellist Thomas Mesa. She has appeared as co-host and collaborative pianist with NPR’s From The Top, collaborating with actor/conductor Damon Gupton, violinist Leila Josefowicz, and violinist and MacArthur Fellow Vijay Gupta. Cann’s numerous media appearances include PBS Great Performances’ Now Hear This hosted by Scott Yoo and Living the Classical Life with host Zsolt Bognár.
Embracing a dual role as performer and pedagogue, Cann is frequently invited to teach master classes, give lecture-demonstrations, and lead teaching residencies. Recent residencies include the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival and the National Conference of the Music Teachers National Association. She has recorded lessons for tonebase, the popular piano lesson platform. She has also served on the juries of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the Kauffman Music Center International Youth Piano Competition, and the piano competition of the Music Academy of the West.
A staunch believer in community-building through music, Cann has served as the director of two children’s choruses in the El Sistema-inspired program Play On Philly and was part of the inaugural class of ArtistYear fellows at the Curtis Institute of Music. Through ArtistYear, she worked with community partners City Year, Teach for America, and AmeriCorps to provide arts education and access to underserved communities in Philadelphia.
Cann holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Paul Schenly and Dr. Daniel Shapiro, and an Artist’s Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Robert McDonald. She joined the Curtis piano faculty in 2020 as the inaugural Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies. She joined the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Music in 2023.
Listen now to Michelle Cann’s solo album Revival, Music of Price and Bonds, by scanning the QR code below using the camera on your mobile phone. More information at Curtis.edu/revival.
Follow Michelle Cann on Instagram: @michelleacann
Regino Madrid, from Los Angeles, CA, is currently the concertmaster of The American Pops Orchestra frequently featured on PBS and “54 Below” in NYC, the associate concertmaster of NatPhil at Strathmore, a member of Sound Impact, 21st Century Consort, and the Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra. Regino was the associate concertmaster of “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Chamber Orchestra and played at the White House for 20 years. He currently plays with The National Symphony Orchestra and has played with the Pittsburgh and Baltimore Symphonies. He is a member of the tango band “Quintango” that holds a residency at Blues Alley in Georgetown. In 2021, he recorded Kyle Werner’s violin sonata for its premiere with The Washington Ballet on Marquee TV with a live performance at Wolf Trap. In 2024, he was a soloist with the NATO Symphony Orchestra at the Library of Congress. Regino received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music after pursuing a Physiological Science degree from UCLA. He currently plays a violin from 1845 by J.B. Vuillaume.
Ricardo Morales is one of the most sought after clarinetists of today. He joined The Philadelphia Orchestra as principal clarinet in 2003. Prior to this he was principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, a position he assumed at the age of 21. His virtuosity and artistry as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician has been hailed and recognized in concert halls around the world. He has been asked to perform as principal clarinet with the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, and at the invitation of Sir Simon Rattle, performed as guest principal clarinet with the Berlin Philharmonic. He also performs as principal clarinet with the Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra and the Mito Chamber Orchestra, at the invitation of Maestro Seiji Ozawa.
A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mr. Morales began his studies at the Escuela Libre de Musica along with his five siblings, who are all distinguished musicians. He continued his studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and Indiana University, where he received his Artist Diploma.
Mr. Morales has been a featured soloist with many orchestras, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Seoul Philharmonic, and the Flemish Radio Symphony. During his tenure with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, he soloed in Carnegie Hall and on two European tours. He made his solo debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2004 and has since performed as soloist on numerous occasions. Ricardo performed the world premiere of the Clarinet Concerto by Jonathan Leshnoff, commissioned for him by the Philadelphia Orchestra.
An active chamber musician, Mr. Morales has performed in the MET Chamber Ensemble series at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the Seattle Chamber Music Summer Festival, and the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival, on NBC’s The Today Show, and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He has performed with many distinguished ensembles, such as the Juilliard Quartet, the Pacifica Quartet, the Miró Quartet, the Leipzig Quartet, and the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. He has also collaborated with Christoph Eschenbach, André Watts, Emanuel Ax, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, James Ehnes, Gil Shaham, and Kathleen Battle. Mr. Morales is highly sought after for his recitals and master classes, which have taken him throughout North America, Europe and Asia. In addition, he currently serves on the faculty of Temple University.
Mr. Morales’s performances have been met with critical acclaim. The Philadelphia Inquirer hailed his appointment to The Philadelphia Orchestra, stating that “… in fact, may represent the most salutary personnel event of the orchestra’s last decade.” He was praised by the New York Times as having “ … fleet technique, utterly natural musical grace, and the lyricism and breath control of a fine opera singer.” Mr. Morales was also singled out in the New York Times review of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Berlioz’s Les Troyens, describing his playing as “exquisite” and declaring that he “deserved a place onstage during curtain calls.”
Mr. Morales’s debut solo recording, French Portraits, is available on the Boston Records label. His recent recordings include performances with the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, with the Pacifica Quartet, which was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award, as well as the Mozart Concerto with the Mito Chamber Orchestra for DECCA. Ricardo is a sought after consultant and designer of musical instruments and accessories, and enjoys a musical partnership with F. Arthur Uebel, a world renowned manufacturer of artist level clarinets.
Conductor Robert Wood founded UrbanArias in 2009. Under his guidance, the company has achieved national recognition as an innovator in the field of opera, and has produced over 25 works in Virginia, DC, and New York City, eleven of which were world premieres, and seven of which were UrbanArias commissions. He conducts all of UrbanArias’ productions. Highlights include Glory Denied (Cipullo), The Roost (Migó/de los Santos – world premiere, UrbanArias commission), The Last American Hammer (Hilliard/Boresi – world premiere, UrbanArias commission), Paul’s Case (Spears/Walat – world premiere), Three Decembers (Heggie/Scheer), Blue Viola (Hilliard/Boresi – world premiere, UrbanArias commission), As One (Kaminsky/Campbell/Reed), After Life/ Josephine (Cipullo – world premiere, UrbanArias commission and Independence Eve (Boquiren/Neer – world premiere).
Maestro Wood made his début with the San Francisco Opera in 2004 with Verdi’s La Traviata. He also conducted L’italiana in Algeri there, as well as several concerts. He recently conducted Rigoletto at Austin Opera, Silent Night at the University of British Columbia with the Vancouver Opera orchestra, Roméo et Juliette and Carmen at Opera Colorado, Die Fledermaus and As One at Hawaii Opera Theatre, and Three Decembers at Kentucky Opera. Engagements for this season include leading Lucia di Lammermoor for Opera Orlando.
Mo. Wood was appointed Conductor in Residence at the Minnesota Opera from 2006-2008, leading productions of L’italiana in Algeri, Le nozze di Figaro, La donna del lago, Rusalka, and Il barbiere di Siviglia. Mr. Wood has also conducted concerts at San Francisco Opera featuring Stephanie Blythe and Lawrence Brownlee, and with the Merola Opera Program’s young artists. Other career highlights include L’italiana in Algeri at Vancouver Opera, Die Entführung aus dem Serail for Hawaii Opera Theatre, The Love for Three Oranges at Indiana University Opera Theater, La Cenerentola at New Jersey Opera Theater, Lakmé at Minnesota Opera, and The Nutcracker for San Francisco Ballet.
Steinway Artist Lisa Emenheiser has been heralded for her intense music-making and pianism. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she has performed as both keyboardist and soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra for the past 30 years.
As described by the New York Times, Lisa "played the piano dazzlingly", and by the Washington Post, she "shimmered and beguiled, shifting easily between virtuosity and transparency." She has performed under the batons of some of the world's most distinguished conductors and was hailed by Christoph Eschenbach as having "a stunning technique and profound musicality... to match the greatest artists".
Lisa is an established chamber musician and has performed with many world-renowned soloists. Ms. Emenheiser has been presented in both national and international summer music festivals, including Aspen, Hidden Valley, Strings in the Mountains, Snake River Chamber Players, Penn-Alps, Garth Newell, Masterworks, and L'Academie Internationale d'Ete de Nice.
Lisa is an avid performer of contemporary music. As pianist for the 21st Century Consort in Washington, D.C., she has premiered works by Stephen Albert, Nicholas Maw, Eugene O'Brien, David Froom, Donald Crockett, and many others. She recently performed the world premiere of Stephen Jaffe’s “Tableaux”, a major work for solo piano commissioned for Lisa by the 21st Century Consort. Additionally, Lisa was featured on national television as an expert artist commentator and performer in the PBS documentary entitled “Exploring Your Brain”, in which she performed Ginastera’s Piano Sonata No. 1 and discussed the topic of memory.
Ms. Emenheiser has recorded Respighi’s “Three Preludes on Gregorian Melodies” for the Steinway Spirio collection and recently added Rzweski’s “Winnsboro Cottonmill Blues” and “Down by the Riverside”. She has also recorded for the Bridge, Albany, Decca, Pro Arte, Naxos, VAI Audio, Centaur, Arabesque, Delos, AUR, Jubal House, and Cascades labels.
A committed teacher, Lisa has represented the NSO in numerous masterclasses and has served as piano instructor for cultural exchange liaisons. She has been a regular coach for the NSO Summer Music Institute and is excited to once again be piano mentor for the 2024-25 NSO Youth Fellowship program. Recently Lisa was inducted into the Steinway Teacher's Hall of Fame and was also awarded the Steinway & Sons Top Teacher Award, with many of her students achieving top recognition in both local and international competitions. She holds a private studio in her home.
Coloratura soprano and bandleader Melissa Wimbish is a genre-defying vocalist known for her ability to move between opera, art song, oratorio, Renaissance polyphony, and pop music with alarming ease. She has premiered works for the stage written especially for her, most notably in the title role of JOSEPHINE presented by UrbanArias when “... the afternoon belonged to Melissa Wimbish ... Beautifully prepared, vocally stunning, and theatrically riveting, [she] effortlessly held the audience in her hand throughout this one-woman show.” (WASHINGTON POST)
Melissa made her Carnegie Hall debut as winner of the NATS Artist Award Grand Prize. Career highlights include the 50th anniversary of Bernstein’s MASS at The Kennedy Center, the world-premiere of PAUL'S CASE with UrbanArias and the later NYC-premiere at The Prototype Festival, Anna in Kurt Weill’s SEVEN DEADLY SINS at the National Gallery, Alice in the US-premiere of HARRIET by Hilda Paredes at Yellow Barn Music Festival, her Baltimore Symphony debut in MYSTERIES OF THE MACABRE, and the role of Nimue in the Helen Hayes Award-winning production of CAMELOT with Shakespeare Theatre DC.
This season, Melissa was the soprano soloist in Bach’s B MINOR MASS and ST. JOHN PASSION presented by Bach in Baltimore and the soprano soloist for the entire MESSIAH by Handel presented by the Baltimore Basilica. At Yellow Barn Music Festival, Melissa performed the one-woman opera LA VOIX HUMAINE as well as traditional spirituals and chamber works by Balch, Pesson, Sokolovic, Tulve, Debussy, and Widmann. She gave the world-premiere of Robert Manno’s PORTRAIT OF MILLAY for soprano and string orchestra at the 2024 Windham Chamber Music Festival.
Melissa is lead singer, clarinetist, and songwriter for the critically-acclaimed and award-winning pop duo, OUTCALLS. Since 2017, they have released three studio albums, several singles, and written an interdisciplinary stage show titled RELEASE THE GOWNS. Outcalls has toured throughout the US and Canada. Learn more at melissawimbish.com and outcallsband.com.
Equally at home in the solo, chamber, and orchestral stages, Sarah Frisof is a passionate flutist and educator. As a soloist, Ms. Frisof was the second-prize winner of both the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition and the Heida Hermanns International Woodwind Competition, and she was a semi-finalist in the 2009 Kobe International Flute Competition. Ms. Frisof and her collaborative partner, Daniel Pesca, piano, have released two solo albums. Her most recent album, Beauty Crying Forth, a survey of music by female composers across time, was released in August of 2020.
In addition to Ms. Frisof’s work as a solo artist, she is an active orchestral and chamber musician, having worked with major symphony orchestras across the country, including the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, and many others. Ms. Frisof is an active member of Sound Impact, a chamber collective of musicians dedicated to serving communities and igniting positive change in the US and abroad through live performance, educational programs, and creative collaborations with other artists and art forms.
She has taken her passion for education and community engagement to global audiences, including working with communities and students in both Zimbabwe and Brazil. A graduate of the Eastman School, The Juilliard School, and the University of Michigan, Ms. Frisof is currently the Associate Professor of Flute at the University of Maryland.
Violinist, composer, and arranger Domenic Salerni is a member of the two-time Grammy Award-winning Attacca Quartet. Attacca was featured on Billie Eilish’s most recent Album “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” and earlier this season made their Concertgebouw debut. Attacca can be heard on the soundtrack to Alfonso Cuarón’s upcoming seven-part film series on Apple TV+ “Disclaimer,” playing the music of Finneas. They will also be featured, alongside Sō Percussion and Roomful of Teeth, in Caroline Shaw’s film score to Ken Burns’ newest PBS documentary, “Leonardo da Vinci,” airing this November. Attacca looks forward to a number of upcoming releases with the record label Platoon, and can also be heard on albums with Nonesuch Records and Sony Classical.
As a recitalist and composer, Domenic can be heard at Richmond, Virginia’s newest chamber music salon, The Belvedere Series, founded by pianist Ingrid Keller. The Belvedere Series commissioned Salerni’s “Seven Meditations” for piano trio last season thanks to a grant from the Allan and Margot Blank Foundation. Domenic also arranged 60s Civil Rights era protest songs for the Palaver Strings’ album “a change is gonna come,” featuring tenor Nicholas Phan and jazz vocalist Farayi Malek. In 2022, Attacca created and recorded original music for the podcast “The Sound: Mystery of Havana Syndrome,” which was featured in the New York Times’ Best Podcasts of 2023. Domenic’s first string quartet commission, “Trilobites: a Musical Excavation,” was made possible by the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival, founded in 2021 by cellist Katie Terrell, and is featured on West Virginia Public Television.
A graduate of the Yale School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music, Domenic regularly performs with the Chiarina Chamber Players in Capitol Hill, DC. Recipient of the 2020 CMA Commissioning Grant, Chiarina looks forward to its debut album in its 10th season of the music of Carlos Simon, including the commissioned work, “The Best Cuisine,” featuring co-artistic directors Efi Hackmey and Carrie Bean Stute and bass-baritone Carl DuPont.
Philip Kramp is a versatile performer and teacher whose playing has been heard worldwide. Praised by the New York Times for his “impressive” performances, he has participated in chamber music festivals at Marlboro, Ravinia, Yellow Barn, Sarasota and many others.
Based in Washington, DC, Phil is a former violist in the Kansas City Symphony and a former faculty member of the University of Kansas. Currently, Phil is on the faculty at the University of Maryland and he plays regularly with the National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony. He has performed on tours worldwide with many orchestras and can be heard on recordings with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony, Metropolis Ensemble and The Roots. Phil can also be heard on many motion picture soundtracks and television shows.
In chamber music settings, Phil plays regularly with the Chiarina Chamber Players, as well as in concerts with members of the National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra. He is a past participant of the Marlboro Music Festival and has performed on several tours with Musicians from Marlboro. He is also a regular participant and the Twickenham Music Festival and the Music in the Mountains Festival in Durango, Colo. Phil has also enjoyed collaborating with the Mark Morris Dance Group, and has performed alongside many of the world’s greatest artists, such as Richard Goode, Peter Wiley, Michael Tree, Arnold Steinhardt, Marcy Rosen, Miriam Fried and many others.
In competitions, Phil has won prizes in the Irving Klein String Competition, Chicago Viola Society Competition, NEC Concerto Competition and has participated in the Stulberg Competition and the HAMS Viola Competition. Phil received his formal training at the Curtis Institute and the New England Conservatory. His primary mentors include Michael Tree, Roberto Diaz, Kim Kashkashian, Roger Tapping, Joe DePasquale, Peter Wiley and Steven Tenenbom.
Robert DiLutis is currently professor of clarinet at the University of Maryland, School of Music, College Park. Previously Mr. DiLutis was professor of clarinet at the Louisiana State University School of Music from 2009-2012, assistant principal and e-flat clarinetist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and a clarinet professor at the Eastman School of Music. Mr. DiLutis has also served on the faculties of the St. Mary's University in Texas and Nazareth College in New York. Most recently Mr. DiLutis developed and taught an Orchestral Audition Training Program for the Eastman School of Music. His many clinics and master classes have included Ithaca College, Hartt School of Music, Boston University, New England Conservatory, Longy School of Music and the Academia y Banda De Musica De Norena, Oviedo, Spain.
Making his Carnegie Hall Recital debut in 1989, Mr. DiLutis has also performed as a featured soloist with ensembles such as the San Antonio Symphony, Baton Rouge Symphony and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Recently Mr. DiLutis toured with the New York Philharmonic on its historic trip to Pyongyang, North Korea. Mr. DiLutis is a graduate of the Juilliard School where he studied with David Weber. In addition to his performance career Mr. DiLutis is the creator of the Reed Machine, a reed-making device used by top professionals around the world. Mr. DiLutis is an Artist for Buffet Group USA , Selmer, Lohff & Pfeiffer and Rovner.
As part of Professor DiLutis' comprehensive program at the university, he is offering classes in Clarinet Choir, Instrument Repair, Single Reed Making, Orchestral Repertoire, Clarinet Master Class, How to Win an Orchestral Audition, Chamber Music, Clarinet, Eb Clarinet and Bass Clarinet lessons. In 2016, Mr. DiLutis had been principal clarinetist with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra for the past 8 years and will tour with the Maryland Clarinet Society to Dublin Ireland this summer. You can hear Mr. DiLutis on his recording on the Delos, Centaur, New World and Tonsehen recording labels.
Patrick Morgan’s playing has been praised by the Washington Post as “riveting” and “...a mystical experience.” He has been performing in the DC area since 2008. He attended Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he was a student of Howard Klug. Patrick accepted a position with the United States Marine Band and Chamber Orchestra at the age of 22, and was appointed principal clarinet in 2015. As a teacher, he has given masterclasses at prestigious universities across the country, including Northwestern, Eastman, Baylor, and the University of Michigan. He lives in Springfield, VA with his wife and two children.
Cellist Carrie Bean Stute is co-founder and co-artistic director of the Washington, DC-based Chiarina Chamber Players, a chamber music series and flexible ensemble that has won critical acclaim for its artistry and innovative programming. Carrie’s chamber music performances have been broadcast on Classical WETA’s Front Row Washington. In DC, she performs with the National Symphony Orchestra, has served as an adjunct professor of music at George Washington University, and is currently assistant principal cellist of “The President’s Own” Marine Chamber Orchestra, where she performs in such diverse settings as the White House, area public schools, and for events hosted by the United Nations and State Department.
A performer who seeks out the voices of today, she collaborates with a growing set of composers, including Reinaldo Moya, Mary Kouyoumdjian, Juhi Bansal, and Kennedy Center composer-in-residence Carlos Simon. Carrie authored a doctoral dissertation on the cello works of Pēteris Vasks and in 2021 performed as soloist in the North American premiere of his Cello Concerto No. 2. She took part in the Carnegie Hall workshop “New Voices, New Music” and has performed chamber music at such venues as the Phillips Collection, Zankel Hall, Le Poisson Rouge, Roulette, and an in-house educational residency at the 92nd Street Y.
Carrie holds degrees from The Graduate Center at the City University of New York (Doctor of Musical Arts), Indiana University, and the Eastman School of Music. She was a fellow at the New World Symphony and Tanglewood Music Center. Forthcoming in 2024-25 are recordings of chamber music by Carlos Simon (with Domenic Salerni, Efi Hackmey, and Carl DuPont) and clarinet trios by Brahms and Beethoven (with Robert DiLutis and Rita Sloan).
Pianist Efi Hackmey is Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Chiarina Chamber Players, together with cellist Carrie Bean Stute. Mr. Hackmey is an active soloist and chamber musician in NYC and in the DC area. In 2013 he released an album on the Naxos label, which includes several world premiere recordings (Polish Violin Music with violinist Kinga Augustyn). Efi has performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Rose Studio, Kennedy Center, Bargemusic, Arion Chamber Music, and the Friends of Mozart series in NYC. He performed many additional concerts in Alabama, California, DC, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wyoming. In his native Israel he performed as soloist with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, as well as at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Jerusalem Music Center, and in special concerts presented by the Arthur Rubinstein International Music Society. He has performed on Israeli TV Channel 2, and his recordings have been broadcast on the Israeli National Public Radio,and in the US on WTSU, WRWA and WTJB. A review of one of his New York performances quotes “excellent Israeli musician... under his fingers the piano sounded noble, and each phrase was full of character”, and further praises his “highly personal, thought through interpretation.” (Roman Markowicz, “Nowy Dziennik”).
Mr. Hackmey has served on the piano faculty at DePauw University, and he also taught at the Indiana University system, Montgomery College in Rockville, MD, and Levine School of Music in Washington, DC. He holds a Doctor of Music degree in piano performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and degrees in piano and conducting from Tel Aviv University. He studied with Menahem Pressler, Pnina Salzman and Dina Turgeman, and has had additional coaching with Lazar Berman, Emanuel Ax, Richard Goode, Janos Starker, David Zinman, Richard Stoltzman and Jaime Laredo.
Acclaimed by the Strad for "eloquent” and "vibrant" playing, Paul is the 1st Prize winner of both the 13th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, and the 14th National Sphinx Competition, Gold Medalist with High Distinction at the 5th Manhattan International Music Competition and has been soloist with major orchestras such as the Pittsburgh Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Filharmonica de Bogata, New Jersey Symphony, Nashville Symphony, New Haven Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Sphinx Virtuosi, in addition to being featured soloist at London's Wigmore Hall, the Shalin Lui Performance Center, the 40th International Viola Congress, the Kennedy Center in DC, and in various venues across NYC, Philadelphia, and Boston.
In 2023 Paul joined the faculty of the Boston Conservatory at the Berklee School of Music with the hope of passing on his belief in music’s power to heal and to connect people. Paul is also a recipient of the Sphinx Organization's 2019 MPower artist-grant for his innovative work in self produced/engineered recording projects and a 2024 MPower grant to fund his A Zarabanda Project. Paul’s music, as well as his musical writings have been featured in the NYtimes, Strad Magazine, on NPR, and WQXR multiple times.
Paul regularly performs internationally in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Detroit's Symphony Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Suntory Hall, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall, Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, Auditorio Leon de Greiff in Colombia, the Lincoln Center, and many others. Additionally, he has been an artist at festivals such as the Yellow Barn, Sarasota, Vail International, Festival Del Sole, incheon music hic et nunc!, Hong Kong Generation Next Arts, Macau International, Sitka, Banff, Grand Canyon, and Portland’s Chamber Music Northwest, where he was artist in residence for the 2022-2024 seasons. The 2022-2024 seasons also featured Paul’s Catalyst Quartet as artists in residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where they curated a series of inspired collaborations and performances throughout the year.
Paul has performed and collaborated with some of the greatest classical artists of our times such as Gil Shaham, Joshua Bell, Anthony Mcgill, Yo-Yo Ma, Jorg Widmann, Vadim Repin, Edgar Meyer, Donald Weilerstein, Khatia Buniatishvili, Kim Kashkashian, Anthony Marwood, Zlatomir Fung, Paul Huang, JP Jofre, and incredible artists of other genres such as Herman Cornejo, Cecile Mclorin Salvant, Aaron Diehl, Machine Dazzle, Caleb Teicher, and Calvin Royal. An avid new music proponent, Paul has worked directly with many of the leading voices in composition such as Jessie Montgomery (played together in Catalyst Quartet), David Ludwig Serkin, Gabriella Lena Frank, Richard Danielpour, Jimmy Lopez, Todd Machover, and maintains an especially close artistic partnership with Taiwanese composer Shiuan Chang.
Paul comes from a Philadelphian viola lineage, beginning studies with Brynina Socolofsky (student of Leonard Mogill), and then continuing with Choon-jin Chang (Principal, Philadelphia Orchestra) and Che-hung Chen, through Temple University’s Center for Talented Youth and the Settlement Music School. In 2007, Paul entered the New England Conservatory of Music with full merit scholarship and began the most central stage of his training under Kim Kashkashian for 4 years. At NEC Paul made musical friends and colleagues that continue to influence him to this day and musical mentors including Dimitri Murath, Roger Tapping, Donald Weilerstein, Paul Katz, and after NEC, Steven Dann at the Glenn Gould School.
Paul believes that it is crucial to expose the highest level of classical music to all people, and actively engages in community performances, gives masterclasses, composes and performs new music, and explores the boundaries of how classical music is traditionally presented. Paul has brought music to inner city schools, Native American Reservations, hospitals, nursing homes, and has presented concerts to areas and communities with limited access to live concert music.
Paul performs on a beautiful Hiroshi Iizuka viola in the ‘viola d’amore’ style, a prized Belgian bow by Pierre Guillaume awarded by the Bishops Strings shop in London, and is a proud supporter of Pirastro’s Eva Pirazzi Strings.
Marcy Rosen has established herself as one of the most important and respected artists of our day. Los Angeles Times music critic Herbert Glass has called her “one of the intimate art’s abiding treasures” and The New Yorker Magazine calls her “a New York legend of the cello”. She has performed in recital and with orchestra throughout Canada, England, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South America, Switzerland, and all fifty of the United States. She made her concerto debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of eighteen and has appeared with such noted orchestras as the Dallas Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony, the Caramoor Festival Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, the Jupiter Symphony and Concordia Chamber Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall, and the Tokyo Symphony at the famed Orchard Hall in Tokyo. In recital, she has appeared in New York at such acclaimed venues as Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street “Y” and Merkin Concert Hall; in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center, Dumbarton Oaks, the Phillips Collection and the Corcoran Gallery, where she for many years she hosted a series entitled “Marcy Rosen and Friends.” Sought after for her riveting and informative Master Classes, she has been a guest of the Curtis Institute of Music, the New England Conservatory, the San Francisco Conservatory, the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China, the Seoul Arts Center in Korea and the Cartagena International Music Festival in Colombia. In 2024, she was appointed Artistic Director of the Evnin Rising Stars program at the Caramoor Center for the Arts.
Recent recordings released by Bridge Records include the Complete Works for Cello and Piano by Felix Mendelssohn with the pianist Lydia Artymiw and the Sonatas of Richard Strauss and Edvard Grieg with pianist Susan Walters.
A consummate soloist, Ms. Rosen’s superb musicianship is enhanced by her many chamber music activities. She has collaborated with the world’s finest musicians including Jonathan Biss, Jeremy Denk, Leon Fleisher, Richard Goode, Andras Schiff, Peter Serkin, Mitsuko Uchida, Isaac Stern, Robert Mann, Sandor Vegh, Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, Jessye Norman, Lucy Shelton, Charles Neidich and the Juilliard, Emerson, and Orion Quartets. She is a founding member of the ensemble La Fenice, a group comprised of Oboe, Piano and String Trio, as well as a founding member of the world-renowned Mendelssohn String Quartet. With the Mendelssohn String Quartet, she was Artist-in-Residence at the North Carolina School of the Arts and for nine years served as Blodgett-Artist-in Residence at Harvard University. The Quartet which disbanded in January of 2010, toured annually throughout the United States, Canada and Europe for 31 years.
She performs regularly at festivals both here and abroad, including the Caramoor, Four Seasons, Lake Champlain, Santa Fe, Ravinia and Saratoga Chamber Music Festivals, the Seattle International Music Festival, the Lockenhaus Kammermusikfest in Austria and the International Musicians Seminar in England. A long-time participant at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont she has taken part in 25 of their “Musicians from Marlboro” tours and performed in concerts celebrating the 40th, 50th and 60th Anniversaries of the Festival.
Since 1986 Ms. Rosen has been Artistic Director of Chesapeake Chamber Music in Maryland. That organization houses the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival, an International Chamber Music Competition, a Jazz Festival and YouthReach, an educational program that provides free lessons to beginning string players. She is also an artist member of Music for Food, a musician led initiative to fight hunger in our local communities.
The recipient of many awards and prizes, Marcy Rosen twice won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, in 1981 with the Mendelssohn String Quartet and again in 1986, as a soloist. She was further honored by YCA with the Walker Fund Prize and the Mortimer Levitt Career Development Award. She is also the winner of the Washington International Competition for Strings and was the first recipient of the Mischa Schneider Memorial Award from the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation.
Marcy Rosen was born in Phoenix, Arizona and her teachers included Gordon Epperson, Orlando Cole, Marcus Adeney, Felix Galimir, Karen Tuttle and Sandor Vegh. She is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. Ms. Rosen is currently Professor of Cello at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and on the Faculty at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. She has also served on the faculties of the North Carolina School of the Arts, the Eastman School of Music, the New England Conservatory and the University of Delaware.
Her performances can be heard on numerous recordings from the BIS, Bridge. Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, CBS Masterworks, Musical Heritage Society, Phillips, Nonesuch, Pro Arte, and Koch labels among others. Please visit her website at www.marcyrosen.com.
Praised by the Washington Post for her “molten phrasing” and tone of “sheer iridescence,” Adria Sternstein Foster enjoys a multi-faceted musical career.
Adria is the Principal Flutist of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra (KCOHO), the resident orchestra of the Opera House of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In this role she performs for the Washington National Opera, Kennedy Center ballet programming and musical theater productions.
For many years Adria performed chamber music for flute, harp and strings throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area with the IBIS Chamber Music Society. She has been heard on NPR’s Front Row Washington and appears in the 2017 documentary film Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty.
Recordings include Vivaldi’s flute concerto “Il Gardellino” on the disc IBIS x 2, and Iridescence, a CD of works for flute and harp with KCOHO principal harpist Susan Robinson. In 2022 Adria toured South Africa along with a quintet of orchestra colleagues giving masterclasses and performing music for flute, harp, and strings sponsored by the Classical Movements organization.
A native of New York City, Adria attended LaGuardia High School of Music and the Arts and was a student of Bonnie Lichter at Juilliard’s Pre-College Division. She continued her education at Juilliard where she received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees as a student of Julius Baker and Jeanne Baxtresser.
Adria is honored to have collaborated on Volume 2 of the indispensable publication for flutists, “Orchestral Excerpts for Flute with Piano Accompaniment,” with her mentor Jeanne Baxtresser, former Principal Flutist of the New York Philharmonic.
For more information please visit www.adriasfoster.com
Violinist Wanzhen Li was appointed to the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C. by Christoph Eschenbach in September of 2015. The Boston Globe describes her playing: "Li established a sense of nostalgia... that provided a framework for the musical journey. Her tone seemed to cry. It was great playing; fun to hear." As a soloist, Ms. Li appeared with the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, Xi'an Symphony Orchestra, Binghamton Philharmonic, Guilford Symphony, Grosse Point Symphony, and Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra.
Ms. Li has performed frequently with violinist Itzhak Perlman, accompanying him to Israel, Florida, and Vermont for residencies with the Perlman Music Program. She has also performed solo recitals as part of the Perlman Music Program's Alumni recital series at the Clark Arts Center.
An active chamber musician, Ms. Li has been invited to prestigious festivals including Yellow Barn, Kneisel Hall, The Perlman Chamber Music Program, and "Spannungen: Musik im Krafwerk Heimbach" in Germany. She has shared the stage with artists including Christian Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt, Peter Frankl, Laurence Lesser, Alban Gerhardt, Paul Katz, members of the Juilliard String Quartet, and musicians from the New York Philharmonic. Her solo and chamber performances have been broadcast on German radio “Deutschlandfunk”, IPRInterlochen public radio, and released on the Avi-Music record label.
Prior to joining the NSO, Ms. Li performed frequently with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the New York Chamber Soloists, and the Grammy Award-nominated ensemble A Far Cry. She has also led the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, and New England Conservatory Philharmonia as concertmaster.
Ms. Li maintains a private teaching studio and is a chamber music coach and teacher for the NSO’s Summer Music Institute and Fellowship Programs throughout the year. In addition, she has served on faculty at the Eastern Music Festival in Wu Han, China.
Carl DuPont is an artist, innovator and educator dedicated to Transformational Inclusion in the arts and Care of the Professional Voice. He has held center stage in performances at The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Carolina, First Coast Opera, Toledo Opera, Opera Saratoga, Sarasota Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera, El Palacio de Bellas Artes, Opera Company of Brooklyn, The In Series, Carnegie Hall and Leipzig Opera. He has been invited to present research and recitals in Salzburg, Rome, Stockholm, New York, Portland, and Miami. This season Carl returned to Opera Columbus as Hawkins Fuller in a production of Fellow Travelers after previously appearing there in productions of The Barber of Seville as Don Basilio and Don Giovanni as Leporello. He also recently debuted with Bach in Baltimore in the title role of Elijah.
A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, and the University of Miami, Carl currently serves as a voice professor at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University where he has developed a course on art song by African American composers, co-chairs the Culturally Inclusive Task Force, and serves on the Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee. He also creates and leads dynamic workshops in the private and public sector as a faculty member of the Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business Executive Education team. His articles can be found in The Laryngoscope and Voice and Speech Review and he can be heard on the world premiere recording of the Caldara Mass in A Major, The Death of Webern, and his solo album of art songs by Black composers entitled The Reaction.
As CEO/founder of DuPont Consulting, LLC, he leverages his research, expertise, and compassion to design and implement strategic initiatives in diversity, equity, and inclusion. This includes training, programming, and talent acquisition within academic and performing arts institutions.
Aaron Clay distinguishes himself regularly as a uniquely versatile double bassist. He commands great respect as a performer in both the classical and jazz worlds of bass playing, but it was The Washington Post that observed, "What sets [Clay] apart is elegant bowing ....His melodic lines have a cello-like glow and flexibility...."
A native of Fairmont, West Virginia, Mr. Clay began his musical training at the age of 10 when he taught himself to play jazz on the electric bass. He later pursued classical training on the upright double bass prior to attending West Virginia Wesleyan College, where he studied with Richard Manspeaker. After graduating in 1989, he was selected to join the United States Navy Band in Washington, DC. Upon completing one enlistment with the Navy, Mr. Clay auditioned for "The President's Own" United States Marine Band where he has been a member since 1993.
Mr. Clay is a founding member of the highly acclaimed string duo, Bridging the Gap, in which he performs with violinist Peter Wilson. Hailed by The Washington Post for "superior arrangements and uncommon musicianship," the unique duo performs works covering a wide range of musical styles. They released their first CD in 2003. Mr. Clay enjoys performing with Bridging the Gap for educational and community outreach programs throughout the United States.
Mr. Clay is also developing a reputation as a composer and arranger of works for the violin and bass duo as well as larger ensembles. Mr. Clay serves as Principal Bassist of the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, and performs with other Washington area jazz and pop groups. Mr. Clay resides in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife, Cindy.