Woodwinds

Eli Eban

Clarinet*, Master class during Weeks 2 & 3
Eli Eban is professor of clarinet at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

He was appointed principal clarinetist of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra under Lukas Foss immediately after graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music, and shortly thereafter, he joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the invitation of Zubin Mehta.

In high demand as teacher, Eban was a visiting professor at the Eastman School of Music for two years before joining the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music. Many of his former students are pursuing active solo careers and have won orchestral positions in Israel, Denmark, Korea, Poland, Singapore, and South Africa. In the United States, they can be heard in the orchestras of Indianapolis, New Mexico, Toledo, and the New World Symphony, and in the premier service bands in Washington, D.C. He divides his time between teaching at the Jacobs School, touring as a soloist and chamber musician, and performing as the principal clarinetist of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. His summers are spent performing and teaching at the Sarasota Music Festival and playing principal clarinet in the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra while also teaching for the School of Music.

Jan Eberle 

Oboe*
Jan Eberle is professor of oboe at the Michigan State University College of Music.

She received her Bachelor of Music degree in oboe performance and a Certificate of Special Study from the Curtis Institute of Music.

For 18 years, Eberle held the position of principal oboe in the Fort Worth Symphony. In addition, she has been a guest principal oboist with the Detroit, Houston, Minnesota, and North Carolina Symphonies, and has served as assistant principal oboe in the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Chamber music has also been an integral part of her musical career. As a member of L'Ensemble de Trois, she was a winner of the Coleman International Chamber Music Competition Nadie di Kibort Award and the Southbay Chamber Music Competition. She was a member of the Harvard Chamber Players for three years. She has also made guest appearances with the Atlanta Virtuosi; Dallas Fine Arts Chamber Players; Suzuki and Friends; and the Oxford String Quartet.

Eberle spends her summers in New York as principal oboe of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, and instructor at the Chautauqua School of Music.

Diana Haskell 

Clarinet, Weeks 5–6

Ms. Haskell is currently Associate Principal Clarinet with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Haskell has also performed numerous times with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as soloist, including with Maestro David Robertson and Maestro Jahja Ling. She has been Associate Principal or Principal Clarinet with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Savannah Symphony and Charleston Symphony. She was also Principal Clarinet with Santa Fe Opera for one season. As a result of being a finalist in the Naumberg International Competition, Haskell performed a solo recital in the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall.

Haskell is a respected teacher in the tradition of the Daniel Bonade school, through her training at Eastman School of Music with D. Stanley Hasty, as well as with Mitchell Lurie, with whom she studied at Music Academy of the West. In addition, her studies with Joseph Allard at Juilliard and piano training with Maria Louis-Faini have given her a well-rounded foundation for building her own teaching and coaching expertise.

Haskell is currently Woodwind Coordinator at Chautauqua Institution School of Music, where she gives individual instruction to conservatory clarinetists and coaches mixed chamber groups. For five years Haskell recruited, organized and led her own Clarinet Intensive, a rigorous two-week immersion program for 5-7 advanced conservatory and high school students as part of the MasterWorks Festival. A supporter of minority arts initiatives, Haskell participates in the In Unison program with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as a performer, instructor and mentor at various locations in St. Louis. Ms. Haskell also teaches clarinet and is on the board for HEAL Center For the Arts, a vigorous after-school arts program in St. Louis for students in urban centers.  

Haskell's students have been accepted at Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, University of Southern California, Roosevelt University, DePaul University, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Northwestern University, University of Minnesota, and Bowling Green State among others. Her students occupy positions with regional orchestras, in bands of the Armed Forces, as clarinet professors, and as orchestra and band directors.

She can be heard on several recordings, including her CD Clarinet Enchantments, which is at iTunes. She is a Buffet Artist and a Vandoren Artist. She has a teaching blog called Clarinet Divas and her website may be found at www.dianahaskellclarinet.com.

Jeff Robinson 

Bassoon*
Bassoonist Jeff Robinson recently relocated to Manhattan from Houston, TX, where he has been a member of the Houston Symphony since 1992.  Hired during the tenure of Christoph Eschenbach to play bassoon and contrabassoon, he acted as Associate Principal Bassoon from 2003 to 2007.  He also serves as Principal Bassoon in the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra (2004-present).   During the summer, Robinson teaches and performs at the Texas Music Festival and plays Principal Bassoon with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra where he teaches and coaches for the college program.  He has performed with the National Symphony, the Santa Fe Opera, the Grand Tetons Festival Orchestra, and Ars Lyrica Houston.  He has also been a soloist with the Houston Symphony, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, and the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra.  A native of Palo Alto, CA, Robinson attended the Eastman School of Music, studying with K. David Van Hoesen.  While continuing to perform with the Houston Symphony, Robinson works from New York as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, and teaches private lessons and master classes throughout the U.S.

Richard Sherman 

Flute*
Richard Sherman is professor of flute at the Michigan State University College of Music.

Active as a soloist, orchestral musician, and recitalist, he is a dynamic performer of outstanding dramatic power. He received a bachelor of music degree from the Eastman School of Music, a master of music degree from Northwestern University, and had postgraduate study at the Royal College of Music in London. Sherman is former principal flute with the Rochester (New York) Philharmonic Orchestra, and is principal flute with the Chautauqua (New York) Symphony Orchestra and the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. He has given performances with the Chicago Symphony, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony and the Toronto Symphony. He has performed as a soloist with the Columbus Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, Youngstown Symphony, Lansing Symphony, and Chautauqua Symphony, among others.

Strings

Aaron Berofsky 

Violin
Chair, Strings Department, Chautauqua Music Festival; Professor of Violin, the University of Michigan; Former violin teacher at Meadowmount School of Music and the Hochschule fur Musik in Detmold, Germany: Concertmaster, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra; first violinist of the Chester String Quartet; has performed in Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd Street Y, the Corcoran Gallery, Het Doelen, L'Octogone (the Netherlands), Seoul National University (Korea), the Teatro San Jose (Costa Rica) and the Museo de Bellas Artes (Mexico); has recorded for Sony, Naxos, ECM, Chesky, Equilibrium, New Albion, and others.  Annual concert tours to Europe.

Curtis Burris 

Double Bass
Born in Lubbock, Texas. Graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and Northwestern University. Student of Oscar Zimmerman, Jon Deak, Warren Benfield. Teaching experience includes De Paul University, Glassboro University, University of Arizona, University of Maryland and Chautauqua Institution. Performed with Houston Symphony, Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Grant Park Symphony,Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra and Chautauqua Symphony. Also performed with Philadelphia Chamber Players and American Chambers Players.

Ilya Kaler 

Violin
Ilya Kaler is one of the most outstanding personalities of the violin today, with a career ranging from that of soloist and recording artist to chamber musician and professor. He is the only violinist in the world to win the Gold Medal at three of the world’s most prestigious international violin competitions: the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1986), the Sibelius Competition in Helsinki (1985), and the Paganini Competition in Genoa (1981).

Praised by Gramophone magazine as "the magician, bewitching our ears," Kaler has earned rave reviews for his solo appearances with distinguished orchestras such as the Leningrad, Moscow, and Dresden Philharmonic Orchestras, the Montreal Symphony, the Danish and Berlin Radio Orchestras, the Moscow and Zurich Chamber Orchestras, and most major American orchestras. He has collaborated with a number of outstanding conductors, including Valery Gergiev, Dmitri Kitayenko, Mariss Jansons, and Jerzy Semkow. Kaler’s solo recitals have also taken him to five continents, where he received enthusiastic reviews.

Kaler performs across the globe as a member of The Tempest Trio with cellist Amit Peled and pianist Alon Goldstein, a constellation of internationally acclaimed soloists. The trio recently released their debut album for Naxos Records, featuring the complete set of piano trios by Antonin Dvorák. His musical versatility extends to the symphony orchestra, as well, and he has appeared as guest Concertmaster with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore Symphonies, and on tour with the World Orchestra for Peace under Valery Gergiev. Kaler also held the Concertmaster position with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in New York.

As one of the most sought-after teachers in the world, Kaler was recently invited to join the violin faculty at the distinguished Cleveland Institute of Music, where he will begin teaching full-time in the Fall of 2018. He has also held professorships at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, IN, and at the DePaul University School of Music in Chicago, IL. Kaler regularly serves as a jury member at international violin competitions, including the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow, Russia, the Jean Sibelius International Violin Competition, the Henri Marteau International Violin Competition in Germany, the International Music Competition Harbin (IMCH), the Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition, and the Karol Lipinski International Violin Competition in Torun, Poland.

 

Owen Lee 

Double Bass
Owen Lee is Principal Bass of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra since 1996 and Principal Bass of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra since 2012.

Lee is heard regularly as a soloist with orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and the New World Symphony in Miami and on tour to New York's Lincoln Center.

Lee’s prizes in competitions include First Prize at the 1995 International Society of Bassists Competition and Fourth Prize at the 1992 Irving M. Klein International String Competition in San Francisco. He has recorded the Misek Sonata No.2 and Bach Suites No.3 and No.5 for Boston Records. He can also be heard on all of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's numerous recordings for Telarc International since 1996, most notably the prominent bass solos in Prokofiev's Lt. Kije Suite, Shostakovich's 15th Symphony, Mahler's 10th Symphony and Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.

Lee’s extensive international chamber music experience includes three summers as the bassist of the Marlboro Festival. While there, he performed with Richard Stoltzman, Midori, Nobuko Imai, Bruno Canino, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and members of the Beaux Arts Trio, Guarneri Quartet and Juilliard Quartet. Lee has also performed with the Tokyo String Quartet on tour to Mexico, Andre Watts, Yefim Bronfman, Jaime Laredo, Ida Kavafian, Sharon Robinson, Eugenia Zukerman, the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Mainly Mozart Festival, Ojai Festival, and on tour in Europe and China.

In addition to his performing career, Lee is a highly sought after teacher and serves on the faculties of University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Chautauqua School of Music.

Tobias Werner 

Cello
Tobias was the cellist in residence and co-artistic director at Garth Newel Music Center from 1999 until 2012. He is the music director at The Chamber Music Conference of the East, artistic director of Pressenda Chamber Players, and is an Arts for the Aging (AFTA) teaching artist. He has performed at the Cape and Islands Chamber Music Festival, Villa Musica Mainz, the San Diego Chamber Music Workshop, the Vail Valley Bravo! Colorado Music Festival, the Maui Classical Music Festival, in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Strathmore Hall, the Phillips Collection, the Library of Congress, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the New York Society for Ethical Culture, and at Bargemusic. Tobias has appeared as soloist with orchestras in the US, France, Germany, and Romania, and recent performances have included the concertos of Dvorák, Elgar, Haydn, and Boccherini. He has recorded on the ECM, Darbringhaus & Grimm, Bayer Records, and Orfeo labels. Recent CD releases include Piano Quartets by Mozart, Brahms, Dvorák, and Martinu with the Garth Newel Piano Quartet, the Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by J.S. Bach, and the Sonatas for Piano and Cello by Beethoven with Victor Asuncion. Tobias studied at the Musikhochschule Freiburg in Germany, and at Boston University. His teachers have included Andrés Díaz, Christoph Henkel, and Xavier Gagnepain. He plays on an 1844 J.F. Pressenda cello.

John Michel 

Cello
John Michel, cello professor of 29 years at Central Washington University, enjoys his eclectic career as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. His formal training includes Bachelor and Master’s degrees from the University of Michigan and the New England Conservatory. Mr. Michel is a member of the Kairos String Quartet, which holds an endowed professorship as the resident ensemble of Central Washington University. For the past fourteen years, the Kairos Quartet has been regularly performing and teaching throughout the Northwest. In double series concerts, Mr. Michel has performed all of the six Bach Cello Suites for memory, and regularly appears in the Seattle Bach Suite marathon. In 2001, he was one of seven guest artists featured at the First Kobe International Cello Festival, Japan. In addition to a solo recital and masterclass, he performed in grand cello choir concert with 750 other cellists from around the world. Mr. Michel is the founder and former director of the Internet Cello Society (cello.org), a cyber-community of cellists, that shares the knowledge and joy of cello playing with enthusiasts from around the globe. Currently, the 12,000 ICS members represent 84 different countries. The American String Teacher Association, Washington chapter, named him Outstanding College String Teacher in 1996. Mr. Michel is married to Kairos violinist Carrie Rehkopf, and father of three active, younger boys.

Felix Wang 

Cello
In addition to being the cellist of the Blair String Quartet, Felix Wang is a founding member of the Blakemore Trio and co-principal cellist of the IRIS Orchestra under the direction of Michael Stern. He has performed throughout the United States and Canada as a chamber musician, soloist, and in recital, receiving critical acclaim for “beautifully wrought,” “dazzling” and “soulful” performances. Wang has been the winner of several esteemed competitions, including the National Society of Arts and Letters Cello Competition, where he appeared with the Phoenix Symphony. Judges included Mstislav Rostropovich, Raya Garbousova and Laszlo Varga. He has been heard on NPR stations across the country and has recorded for the Albany, Blue Griffin, Centaur and Naxos labels. In demand as a rising young pedagogue, Wang is Professor of Cello at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. He is also on the faculty of the Brevard Music Center during the summer. Wang received a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan, a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Music from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Wang was also a recipient of the prestigious Frank Huntington Beebe Grant for study abroad, using it to study in London with William Pleeth. His teachers have included Erling Blondal Bengtsson, Laurence Lesser, Stephen Kates, Jeffrey Solow and Louis Potter Jr.

Nurit Pacht 

Violin
Violinist NURIT PACHT was a top prize winner in international competitions including the Irving Klein International Music Competition in California and the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition in Switzerland. As a soloist she was featured in major world events such as the European conference for the inauguration of the Euro in Brussels and under the auspices of the European Commission and United Nations she toured the former Yugoslavia, during the cease-fire in 1996. In 2015, she performed for Pope Francis on his visit to New York and gave a State Department funded recital tour of Ukraine. She has collaborated with stage director Robert Wilson, choreographers such as Bill T. Jones and has worked closely with many of today's celebrated composers. She has toured as soloist with orchestras around the world including the Houston Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the Israel Chamber Orchestra. The Israeli Composer Noam Sheriff dedicated the violin concerto "Dibrot" to her and she performed it in several prestigious venues of Israel. As a baroque violinist, she has a master's degree from Juilliard's Historical Performance program. Ms. Pacht has recorded for Nimbus Records and Toccata Classics.

Sheila Browne

Viola
Violist Sheila Browne has concertized on six continents in many of the world’s major halls as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra principal. She has soloed with the Juilliard Orchestra, Kiev Philharmonic, New World Symphony, and more.

Devoted to promoting the viola as a solo instrument, Ms. Browne was honored to be named the William Primrose Memorial Recitalist of 2016. She was the only viola solo finalist at Carnegie Hall in the 2004 Pro Musicis International Solo Awards.

Ms. Browne has worked closely with many living composers, including Krystof Penderecki, William Bolcom, and Joan Tower. She has been heard on NPR and classical radio stations across South America and Europe and featured in Philadelphia, NYC, Albany Buffalo, Chicago, and many more cities.

As a passionate and dedicated teacher, Ms. Browne was Karen Tuttle’s teaching assistant for four years. She served further as an associate professor of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts for ten years, as well as Duke and NYU. She is presently an associate professor of viola at University of Delaware and beginning in fall 2019 Ms. Browne will be the viola faculty of the new Tianjin-Juilliard School in China.

Stephanie Baer

Viola
Stephanie Baer, Director of String Studies, Professor of Viola and Professor of Chamber Music at NYU, has been an active member of the New York musical community for many years. A widely experienced chamber musician, Ms. Baer has toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia and Africa. She has toured throughout the United States as a member of the Arioso Ensemble, has been principal violist and chamber soloist at the Carmel Bach Festival where she performed on Baroque and modern viola.

Ms. Baer is a former member of “New Music Today” and has been a guest artist with The Group of Contemporary Music, the Steve Reich Ensemble and “Meet the Moderns”. She has recorded with such artists as Philip Glass, John Adams, Steve Reich and The Modern Jazz Quartet. Ms. Baer is currently principal violist for the Broadway show “The Phantom of the Opera” and is a member of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

Ms. Baer holds B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Mannes College of Music and a Diploma of Honor from the Academia Chigiana, Siena, Italy. Her teachers include William Primrose, Karen Tuttle and Karen Ritscher. She has coached chamber music with members of the Juilliard and Guarneri Quartets as well as with Felix Galimir.

Caroline Coade

Viola
A San Diego native, Caroline Coade began taking Suzuki violin lessons at age 6 and switched to the viola at age 14. She graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy (MI) and went on to receive a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory, and artist diploma from The Curtis Institute of Music, and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School. Her principal teachers include Karen Tuttle, Joyce Robbins, Jeffrey Irvine, and Eugene Becker.

Since Septermber 2005, Coade has been a member of the viola faculty at the University of Michigan School of Music, theatre, and Dance. In 2016, she was named assistant professor of viola at SMTD. She has given master classes at the Oberlin conservatory, Moston university, and many more.

In 2018, Coade was a member of the prestigious Primrose International Viola Competition (PIVC) as a preliminary round judge. In 2014, Coade was one of nine international judges for the final rounds of the Primrose Competition at the Colburn School.

Concurrent with her teaching activities, Coade is a long-time member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and served as the assistant principal violist during the 2013-16 seasons. She is currently 3rd chair violist with the DSO. In addition to her position in Detroit, Coade has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic.

Lynne Ramsey

Viola
Lynne Ramsey has performed as a soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the North Carolina Symphony. A member of The Cleveland Orchestra since January 1989, Ms. Ramsey taught at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music from 1985 to 1997. She currently teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Music and is on faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and School. Before coming to Cleveland, she served as principal viola of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Rochester Philharmonic. Active as a chamber musician, Ms. Ramsey is a member of the Amici Quartet and the newly formed Panorámicos.

Almita Vamos 

Violin
Six-time recipient, Presidential Excellence in Teaching Award. Winner, Distinguished Service Award, American String Teachers Association; named Distinguished Teacher by National Endowment for the Arts. Winner, Chautauqua Award and Concert Artists Guild Award. Faculty member, Roosevelt University , Music Institute of Chicago. Former faculty member, Northwestern University, Western Illinois University, University of Minnesota, and Oberlin Conservatory. Cofounder, Weathersfield Summer Music Festival. Students have won top prizes in numerous international competitions. Studied with Mischa Mischakoff and Louis Persinger at the Juilliard School.

Kathryn Votapek 

Violin
A member of the Chester String Quartet for fifteen years, violinist Kathryn Votapek now maintains an active career as soloist and as guest artist at chamber music festivals throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. She has participated in numerous commissioning projects and premieres and can be heard with the Chester Quartet on the Koch International Classics and New Albion labels. She is currently on the faculty at the University of Michigan and is the Associate Concertmaster of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Votapek received her Bachelor of Music degree at Indiana University and Master’s degree from the Juilliard School.

Percussion

Michael Burritt 

Percussion
Michael Burritt is currently Professor of Percussion and head of the department at The Eastman School of Music where is only the third person in the history of the school to hold this position. Prior to his appointment at Eastman Mr. Burritt was Professor of Percussion at Northwestern University from 1995-2008 where he developed a program of international distinction.

Having performed on four continents and more than forty states Michael Burritt is one of the World’s leading percussion soloists. He is in frequent demand performing concert tours and master classes throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and Canada. Mr. Burritt has been soloist with the United States Air Force Band, Dallas Wind Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Ju Percussion Group (Taiwan), Percussion Art Quartet (Germany), Amores Percussion Group (Spain), Nexus and the Third Coast Percussion.

Stuart Chafetz 

Timpani*
Stuart Chafetz is the newly appointed Principal Pops Conductor of the Columbus Symphony. Chafetz, a conductor celebrated for his dynamic and engaging podium presence, is increasingly in demand with orchestras across the continent and this season Chafetz will be on the podium in Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Naples, Philly Pops, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Vancouver. He enjoys a special relationship with The Phoenix Symphony where he leads multiple programs annually.

He previously held posts as resident conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and associate conductor of the Louisville Orchestra. As principal timpanist of the Honolulu Symphony for twenty years, Chafetz would also conduct the annual Nutcracker performances with Ballet Hawaii and principals from the American Ballet Theatre. 

Pedro Fernandez

Percussion*
Recently appointed to the Indianapolis Symphony, Panamanian percussionist Pedro Fernández has appeared as a recitalist, chamber musician, and in orchestral settings across Latin America, the United States, Spain, China, and Japan. Previously, Pedro held positions with the Houston Ballet Orchestra and with the Cincinnati Symphony (2014 ­ 2015 season). Additionally, he has performed with the Houston, Hawaii, Columbus, Palm Beach, and New World Symphonies; the Louisville Orchestra, and the Florida Grand Opera. Internationally, Pedro has appeared with the National Symphony of Costa Rica as well as in solo and percussionist/timpanist roles with the National Symphony of Panama.

Pedro holds degrees from University of Miami and Sam Houston State University. He also attended the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Aspen, Pacific, and Texas Music Festivals. Pedro is an Evans Drumheads endorser.

Brian Kushmaul

Percussion*
Percussionist Brian Kushmaul enjoys a career as a versatile musician and educator. He currently serves as principal percussionist of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and principal timpanist of the IRIS Orchestra. As a teacher he has taught at the University of Evansville, University of Louisville, and the University of Trinidad and Tobago, and he currently leads the percussion program at the Chautauqua Music School. He has performed with many US orchestras, including Saint Louis, Cleveland, Columbus, Phoenix, San Diego, and Louisville. He has recorded with the Central Standard Time jazz quartet and Al Sur flamenco ensemble as well as several new music projects with the IBIS Ensemble in Trinidad. Brian currently resides in Western New York with his wife and two daughters.

Beth Robinson 

Harp*
New York City freelance harpist; former principal with San Antonio, New Jersey and Pittsburgh symphonies; member, Interlude Trio and Enchantment Duo

 

Collaborative Pianist

Shannon Hesse 

Collaborative Pianist
Shannon Hesse, keyboard area coordinator at Houston Baptist University, has performed both nationally and internationally as a solo and collaborative pianist, including a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall with soprano Marion Dickson in 2009. Her concert schedule consists of recurring guest appearances in recitals sponsored by organizations such as the College Music Society, National Association of Teachers of Singing, Society of Composers, Inc., Tuesday Musical Club, Galveston Island Arts Academy Concert Series, Greenbriar Consortium, and the Houston Composers Alliance. She regularly performs with musicians from the Houston Symphony, including her husband, cellist Anthony Kitai. A devoted teacher, Dr. Hesse is a long-standing member of Music Teachers National Association, where she is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music. She is frequently in demand as an adjudicator and her students have been prizewinners in Houston-area piano competitions.

Akiko Konishi 

Collaborative Pianist/Chamber Music
Akiko Konishi completed her studies at Rice University, Yale University, and the University of Houston, under the guidance of renowned pianists Peter Frankl and Abbey Simon. Recent performances include repeat concerto appearances with the Chicago Federation of Musicians Orchestra and guest artist recitals at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Plovdiv Conservatory of Music (Bulgaria). Upcoming engagements include a solo recital at St. Benedict’s Cathedral (Chicago) and a performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Triton Jazz Orchestra in 2017. She currently teaches at Triton College and the Music Institute of Chicago.

Luthier

Igor Gersh 

Resident Luthier
For over ten summers Igor has been the “Luthier in Residence” at the Chautauqua School of Music where he services the needs of the professional Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and the student Music School Festival Orchestra. During the rest of the year Igor works at “Potter Violins” in Washington, DC as well as in his private studio and his recently launched rehair by mail service MyBowExpress.com. Igor provides a full spectrum of professional luthier services. His specialties are sound adjustment, professional setup, and expert bow rehair, restoration and maintenance.