Under the Same Sun

Mimi Stillman

Mimi Stillman, one of the foremost flutists of her generation, captivates audiences with her technical prowess, insightful interpretation, and compelling artistry. Praised by The New York Times as “not only a consummate and charismatic performer, but also a scholar, whose programs tend to activate ear, heart, and brain.”

Mimi Stillman began flute study at age six. Recognized by the legendary flutist Julius Baker as a prodigious talent, she was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music at age 12, the youngest wind player ever accepted, where she studied with Baker and Jeffrey Khaner.

She won the prestigious Young Concert Artists International Auditions at age 17, launching her career as soloist with major orchestras and recitalist and chamber musician at distinguished venues and festivals internationally.  She has performed as soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, The President’s Own Marine Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Yucatán, Bach Collegium Stuttgart, recitals and chamber music at Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, Verbier Festival (Switzerland), and Kol HaMusica (Israel).

Mimi’s intellectual curiosity and spirit of innovation have resulted in remarkable artistic achievements. She is founding Artistic Director of the renowned Dolce Suono Ensemble (DSE), a Philadelphia-based chamber music group whose projects include repertoire from Baroque to contemporary. With DSE, Mimi has given 73 world premières in 21 seasons, including commissioned works by Jennifer Higdon, Richard Danielpour, David Serkin Ludwig, Steven Mackey, Shulamit Ran, and Zhou Tian. These composers and others who have written for her have been inspired by her virtuosity, emotional depth, and charismatic stage presence – leading to important new repertoire and a testament to her influence on the music world. A Spanish speaker, she is passionate about Dolce Suono Ensemble’s Música en tus Manos (Music in Your Hands) engagement initiative with Philadelphia’s Latino communities, featuring chamber and popular music by Latino and Latin American composers.

Mimi is a highly effective educator who has taught masterclasses for the National Flute Association, Eastman School of Music, École Normale de Musique de Paris, and universities and conservatories throughout the United States, Europe, and Latin America. Ms. Stillman has performed and taught in residencies at the Universities of California, Arizona, Virginia, Texas, Delaware, Florida, Michigan, at Brandeis University, Princeton University, and Bard College. She is faculty Artist-in-Residence at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance.

A prolific recording artist, Mimi’s albums are critically acclaimed. She is the producer of her popular livestream Tea with Mimi, appears frequently on radio and online broadcasts for her music and commentary, and offers flute tips on her social media platforms.

A talented writer, she has contributed to publications including The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World and authored a book of her arrangements of Debussy songs published by the Theodore Presser Company. She is Instructor in music and art at the celebrated Barnes Foundation. She holds a BM from the Curtis Institute of Music, and an MA in history from the University of Pennsylvania.

www.mimistillman.com & www.dolcesuono.com

Ricardo Morales

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.

Amy Oshiro-Morales

Amy Oshiro-Morales joined The Philadelphia Orchestra’s second violin section in January 2008; she was previously assistant concertmaster of the Saint Louis Symphony. She also previously held the associate concertmaster chair of the Colorado Symphony and was assistant concertmaster of the Grant Park (IL) Orchestra. She has also performed as a guest musician with the New York Philharmonic.

Ms. Oshiro-Morales made her debut with the Chicago Symphony at the age of 12 and has appeared numerous times as a soloist with the Saint Louis Symphony, the Napa Valley Symphony, the Minnesota Sinfonia, and others. She has collaborated with such artists as Vadim Repin, Alban Gerhardt, Jason Vieaux, and Gil Shaham.

Ms. Oshiro-Morales began violin studies when she was three years old. She studied with Almita and Roland Vamos at Oberlin Conservatory, where she received the Dean’s Talent Award scholarship. She continued her studies at the Juilliard School with Robert Mann, the founder and former first violinist of the Juilliard Quartet.

In the summers Ms. Oshiro-Morales has been a guest artist at the Sun Valley Summer (ID) Symphony, the Cactus Pear Music Festival (TX), the Grand Teton Music Festival (WY), the National Orchestral Institute (MD), and the Innsbrook Institute (MO), among others.

Aside from music Ms. Oshiro-Morales enjoys hiking and running and has completed the Chicago Marathon and the New York City Marathon.

Carrie Bean Stute

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).

Efi Hackmey

Praised for his highly personal interpretations and “feather-light pianism” (Washington Classical Review), Efi Hackmey is recognized for his lyricism and beauty of tone. As Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Chiarina Chamber Players he performs regularly on Chiarina’s concert series, which has won critical acclaim for its artistry and innovative programming, called “some of the most compelling chamber programs in town” by the Washington Post.

Efi has performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Rose Studio, the Kennedy Center and Bargemusic, and in the Friends of Mozart series in NYC. In his native Israel he performed as soloist with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, as well as at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Jerusalem Music Center. Efi is often featured on WETA Classical’s Front Row Washington.

A passionate chamber musician, Efi has collaborated with the Attacca Quartet, Imani Winds, clarinetists Ricardo Morales and Charles Neidich, baritone Randall Scarlata, cellist Marcy Rosen and violinists Catherine Cho, Todd Phillips and Nurit Bar-Josef, among others.

Efi’s recordings include the 2025 release of The Best Cuisine: Music of Carlos Simon on the Azica label, and the 2013 album Polish Violin Music on the Naxos label, among others.

Efi has served on the piano faculty at DePauw University, and he also taught at the Indiana University system. He holds a Doctor of Music degree 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 and Jaime Laredo.