Artists

Gabor Varga, Clarinetist
Gabor Varga was born in 1974 in Hungary. He received his diploma as clarinet artist at the Liszt Academy of Music of Budapest in 1998 and serves as principal clarinetist in the Hungarian Radio Orchestra since 1997.
Between 2005 and 2007, Varga performed with the Singaporean Symphony Orchestra. He also performed as a guest solo artist in Finland, Slovaki, Romania, Austria ( Musikverein ), Germany ( Gewandhaus ), France, Spain, China and Taiwan.
He is the winner of several international competitions: the Dohnanyi Prize in 2000, the XI. International Clarinet Competition in Seville – Spain as wellas the Niveau Prize from the Hungarian Radio in 2001.
He has performed chamber music with notable musicians such as Marta Gulyas, Peter Nagy, Tamas Vasary, Jeno Jando, Miklos Perenyi, Gustav Rivinius.
During his career, he has performed several world premieres, including Kovacs’s Dream Dances, Fekete’s Csardas, Durko’s Double Concerto and Szentpali’s Concerto that were all dedicated to him. He has recorded for Hungarian Radio and published CDs in Germany and Taiwan.

 

Jiaxun Caroline Yao, Cellist
Jiaxun Caroline Yao is the winner of our 2019 concerto competition. The live auditions were held
in mid-February 2019, and all the finalists were of very high level. She studies at the Juilliard School Pre-College & Evangel Christian School. Her teachers are Richard Aaron & Sieun Lin.

Ms. Yao will perform the Edward Elgar cello concerto in E minor, Op. 85

 

Christine Lyons, Soprano

Praised as “especially moving” by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and as a “sparkling soprano” by the Broad Street Review, Christine Lyons is a dynamic artist on the rise. Her most recent portrayal of Amenaide in Rossini’s Tancredi rifatto at Teatro Nuovo evoked praise from Opera News, saying Lyons showed “a generously scaled lyric soprano, her rapid vibrato adding lushness to the tone,” from Bachtrack describing her as “remarkable,” and from Gay City News, calling her performance a “revelation.”

This 2018-19 season, Ms. Lyons sings the title role in Norma with Winter Opera Saint Louis, Blanche in Dialogue des Carmelites with Saltworks Opera, Exsultate, jubilate with the Queens Symphony Orchestra, and is presented in recital with Thomas Muraco by the Art Song Preservation Society of New York. In summer, she returns to Teatro Nuovo to sing the title role in Bellini’s La Straniera.

Recent roles include Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Konstanze in Mozart’s Die Entführung at Symphony Space, the title role in Massenet’s Manon at Carnegie Hall, Micaëla in Carmen, Mimí and Musetta in La Bohème, the title role in Suor Angelica, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Adina in L’Elisir d’amore, Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, the title role in Alcina, and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at Sant’Anna dei Lombardi in Naples, Italy.

In concert, she has been presented by Vocal Arts DC at the Kennedy Center, by Denyce Graves at Wolf Trap, by Sherrill Milnes at Opera Naples and by Lyric Fest at Church of the Holy Trinity in Rittenhouse Square. Oratorio work includes singing Exsultate, jubilate with the St. Veronica Orchestra in New York and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Rusty Musicians under the baton of Marin Alsop.

Ms. Lyons has appeared extensively in theater as an Equity actor. Roles include Narrator cover in a national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Zilpah in The Blue Ridge Nightingale, Sheila in A Chorus Line, Alice’s Daughter in Big River, GiGi in Miss Saigon, Baron’s Assistant in Ragtime, and Anne in A Little Night Music with companies including Portland Center Stage, Pittsburgh Music Theater, Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, Theater of the Stars, People’s Light, and Goodspeed Opera House. Television credits include national commercials and an appearance on Season 5 of House of Cards.

A well- decorated competitor, Lyons is a 2018 Winner in the Connecticut District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a New England Region Semi-Finalist, the 2018 Grand Prize Winner in the Mary Trueman Art Song Vocal Competition, and has garnered top awards and recognition from The Gerda Lissner Foundation, Vocal Arts DC Discovery Art Song Competition, Opera Columbus Cooper-Bing International Vocal Competition, Washington International Competition, New York Lyric Opera Theater National Vocal Competition, Rochester International Vocal Competition, The American Prize for Women in Opera Competition, Partners for the Arts Vocal Competition, Talents of the World International Vocal Competition, Lois Alba Aria Competition, Opera Ithaca Edward M. Murray Competition and Alfredo Silipigni Vocal Competition. She was also the featured artist on WWFM Classical as a part of their “Celebrating Our Musical Future” live radio program.

Ms. Lyons earned a Master of Music from Peabody Institute, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University, and and completed further studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

Please see her website at christinelyonssoprano.com

 

Hsin-I Huang, Pianist

Taiwanese pianist Hsin-I Huang captivates his audiences with his virtuoso performances, in which he exhibits masterful playing and profound musical sensitivity. His impressive range has attracted much praise, and his illustrious career has earned him many awards. As a soloist and chamber musician, Mr. Huang has performed throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States and continues to hold recitals around the world.

Mr. Huang began his piano studies at the age of seven and has won numerous competitions, including the first prize of the International Music Competition Paris Grand Prize Virtuoso 2015, first prize of the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition in New York, New York; first prize of the Daniel Piano Competition for Young Artists, in Greenville, South Carolina; the University of North Carolina School of the Arts Concerto Competition, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, in Raleigh, North Carolina; the Kawai International Piano Competition, in Taipei, Taiwan; and the Taipei Piano Competition, in Taipei, Taiwan. Mr. Huang has performed in Taipei’s National Concert Hall and was the featured soloist of the Emerging Keyboard Artist Recital at Lander University, in Greenwood, South Carolina, and the Classical Series in Woodstock, Vermont.

As a soloist, Mr. Huang has performed with such distinguished orchestras as the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts Symphony Orchestra. He has also had the honor of performing with venerable musicians such as Zuill Bailey, Joshua Bell, Alexander Kobrin, Alan Neilson, Phil Setzer, Ransom Wilson, and Rousseau Quartet. Mr. Huang also traveled extensively with Taiwan’s EVA Airlines orchestra, Evergreen Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Huang gave his first public performance at the age of eight and debuted in the United States at the age of fourteen at the world-renowned Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, in New York, New York. He was awarded a full scholarship for summer study at the prestigious Meadowmount School of Music, in Westport, New York, in 2008, 2009, and 2010. He was also invited to participate at the 2012 and 2015 International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York City. He was invited to the Bowdoin international Music Festival as the Kaplan Fellows in 2014. In 2017, Mr. Huang was invited as the pianist for the La Lingua Della Lirica in Italy. Besides the demanding performance schedule, Mr. Huang is now an adjunct professor at Queens College and he has also been invited to conduct masterclasses in both US and Taiwan.

Additionally, Mr. Huang is a jury member for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 Forte International Music Competition in New York. In 2017, he has also been invited to be a board member for the Spectrum Symphony New York. Mr. Huang is currently a doctoral candidate at Stony Brook University.

Mr. Huang’s first solo album “Bach/Busoni-Brahms-Schumann” was published in 2015 and the recording was featured in the movie “warmth.” The second album “Mighty Shadow – Rachmaninoff – Mussorgsky” was published in 2016. Both albums are available on iTunes and in 14,000 stores worldwide.

Read more at http://hsinihuang.com/

January 27th, 2018

Sidney Outlaw, Baritone
Lauded by The New York Times as a “terrific singer” with a “deep, rich timbre” and the San Francisco Chronicle as an “opera powerhouse” with a “weighty and forthright” sound, Sidney Outlaw was the Grand Prize winner of the Concurso Internacional de Canto Montserrat Caballe in 2010 and continues to delight audiences in the U.S. and abroad with his rich and versatile baritone and engaging stage presence. A graduate of the Merola Opera Program and the Gerdine Young Artist Program at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, this rising American baritone from Brevard, North Carolina recently added a GRAMMY nomination to his list of accomplishments for the Naxos Records recording of Darius Milhaud’s 1922 opera trilogy, L’Orestie d’Eschyle in which he sang the role of Apollo.

Last season for Mr. Outlaw included his Dandini in La Cenerentola with Greensboro Opera, appearances with the Charlotte Symphony, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music and Colour of Music Festivals, his Spoleto Festival debut as Jake in Porgy and Bess, and Madison Opera’s Opera in the Park. The 2016-2017 season includes Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with Madison Opera, Vaugh Williams’ Dona nobis pacem with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, a recital with Warren Jones, and a return to the New York Philharmonic.

Mr. Outlaw has been a featured recitalist with Warren Jones at Carnegie Hall and performed Elijah with the New York Choral Society. He traveled to Guinea as an Arts Envoy with the U.S. State Department, where he performed a program of American music in honor of Black History Month and in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Mr. Outlaw made his English National Opera debut in the 2011-12 season as Rambo in The Death of Klinghoffer and joined the Metropolitan Opera roster in 2014-2015 also for The Death of Klinghoffer. Recent engagements include Dallapiccola’s Il Prigioniero with the New York Philharmonic, Schaunard in La bohème with the Ash Lawn Festival, and Guglielmo in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte with North Carolina Opera. Other mainstage roles include Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Atlanta Opera, the title role in Moses with the American Symphony Orchestra, Malcolm in Malcolm X at New York City Opera,

Prince Yamadori in Madame Butterfly at Opera on the James, the cover of Dandini in La Cenerentola with Florida Grand Opera, Ariodante in Handel’s Xerxes and Demetrius in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the International Vocal Arts Institute, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte and a sensational international debut as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, in both Germany and Israel.

A sought-after concert singer and recitalist, Mr. Outlaw made his Schwabacher Recital debut at the San Francisco Opera center with pianist John Churchwell and collaborates regularly with renowned pianists Warren Jones, Carol Wong, Steven Blier, and Michael Barrett. His concert and recital appearances include debuts of renowned works at major concert
halls: Haydn’s The Creation and Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Avery Fisher Hall, Mahler’s Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen with Music Academy of the West and “Wednesday At One” at Alice Tully Hall, John Stevens in the world premiere concert of H. Leslie Adam’s opera Blake at the prestigious Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, and the world premiere of Wayne Oquin’s A Time to Break Silence: Songs inspired by the Words and Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr., commissioned by The Juilliard School.

Mr. Outlaw won 2nd Prize in the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation’s International Competition, 2nd Prize in the
2011 Gerda Lissner Foundation Awards, National semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, semi- finalist in the Francisco Viñas International Singing Competition, finalist in both Concours International Musical de Montreal and George London Foundation, and grand prize in the Florida Grand Opera/YPO Vocal Competition. He holds a Bachelor in Music Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Master of Vocal Performance from The Julliard School.

You may read more at http://sidneyoutlaw.com/

 

Rhodes Scholar Nick DiBerardino (b. 1989) is an American composer of orchestral, chamber, and vocal music. His work is strongly motivated by harmony and often invests in melodic lyricism, intricate contrapuntal textures, and idiosyncratic forms. He crafts his pieces around broad, often overtly dramatic narrative arcs, always working to engage and challenge listeners with his art. Nick’s orchestral music has been performed by the American Composers’ Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and the Minnesota Orchestra. He has sustained lasting collaborations with Curtis’ Brass Project and the percussionists of arx duo, among many other ensembles, and his music has received recognition from the Music Teachers’ National Association, the National Federation of Music Clubs, the New York Art Ensemble, the Boston New Music Initiative, PARMA Recordings, the New York Youth Symphony, ASCAP, and the American Composers’ Forum. Other accolades include winning the Portland Chamber Music Festival Composition Competition, garnering a soundSCAPE Composition Prize, and receiving a Horizon Award from Connecticut’s Westport Arts Advisory Committee, given to young artists who have achieved “measurable excellence” in their field.

Nick earned his bachelor’s degree at Princeton University, where he founded the Undergraduate Composers Collective, was elected early to Phi Beta Kappa, and was awarded the Edward T. Cone Memorial Prize for excellence in music theory and composition. At the University of Oxford, Nick obtained an M.Phil with distinction, co-founded and chaired the Oxford Laptop Orchestra, and was awarded the John Lowell Osgood Memorial Prize for composition. Nick also holds an M.M. from the Yale School of Music, where he received the Charles and Philippa Richardson Memorial Scholarship and was awarded the Frances E. Osborne Kellogg Memorial Prize.

You may read more at http://www.nickdiberardino.com/

 

Introducing the first-place winner of our inaugural Young Artist Concerto Competition:

Noam Yeshaya Ginsparg, Cellist

Thirteen-year-old cellist Noam Ginsparg was born in Ithaca, New York to an academic family dominated by scientists and engineers. He began his cello studies at the age of 6 ½, several years after his older sister began her viola studies in public school and, not to be outdone, he announced that he wanted a cello. He currently studies with cellist Zachary Sweet at Ithaca Talent Education, and has also studied with Elizabeth Simkin of Ithaca College. He is a piano student of Ithaca pianist Michael Salmirs since the age of 6.
Noam is an alumnus of the Kinhaven and Greenwood Junior programs, as well as Sewanee Summer Music Festival, where he studied with Anthony Kitai. At Sewanee Noam was a semi-finalist and received an honorable mention for his performance in the 2016 Jacqueline Avent Memorial Concerto Competition. He is currently a summer student of cellist Jonathan Koh at the Meadowmount School of Music.
An avid chamber musician, Noam is cellist for Del Ori Trio, a piano trio coached by Dr. Madeline Schatz-Harris at Opus Ithaca Music School. He also performs duos with violinist and trio-mate Maya Johnson, and is second chair cello for the newly formed Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Youth Symphony.

Noam is an 8th grader at Boynton Middle School in Ithaca, where he participates in school ensembles and also regional honor ensembles. In his free time, he enjoys composing and listening to music, exercising, reading novels, and recreational mathematics. Noam plays a Rogeri model cello by Seattle luthier Jason Starkie.

Argentine-born composer and violinist, Nicolas Repetto, enjoys an active career in the Los Angeles film music community. Nicolas fuses ideas using orchestral and exotic instruments, creative processing, and electronic techniques to create edgy, dramatic, and, most importantly, memorable music for all his clients.
Most recently, Nicolas was selected to participate in the 2016 ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop with Richard Bellis (composer for Stephen King’s IT) where 12 composer participants are selected among 300 applicants, to study among A-List composers such as Hans Zimmer, Thomas Newman, John Powell, among others, as well as with film music agents, music executives and film music industry leaders.
Nicolas recently composed original music for Angel of Anywhere starring Briana Evigan (Step Up 2: The Streets), and Ser’Darius Blain (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), and the We The Future launch video, both for James Kicklighter, completed The Plural of Blood for Mary-Lyn Chambers which recently won a Silver Medal at the Global Music Awards, and composed music for Debris (Escombros) which screened at the 2016 Festival de Cannes (France) as part of the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase. Other films include: Digital Edition, A Few Things About Cancer, Newton’s Grace, and Ode In Blood (which was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award and won a Global Music Award) can be viewed on Amazon Video on Demand.
On television, Nicolas’ music can be heard on the TLC network, on Univision’s Amas de Casas Deseperadas (Desperate Housewives on Spanish television), and on various TV advertisements and jingles for the Beber Silverstein Group.
He has also written custom trailer music for Harry Lennix’s (NBC’s The Blacklist, Man of Steel) feature film, H4.

Nicolas honed his film scoring skills and techniques at the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program under Emmy-winning composer, Hummie Mann (Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Dracula Dead and Loving It). Since moving to Los Angeles in 2012, Nicolas has been accepted into the esteemed Society of Composers and Lyricists Mentorship Program, the Christopher Young Tilden House Residency Program for Film Scoring, and has also been featured on ASCAP’s Composer Spotlight.
He also assists composers, Penka Kouneva (Transformers: VG, Woman Astronaut) and Cliff Eidelman (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) with additional music and orchestration on various media and concert music projects.
Equally comfortable in the concert music world, Nicolas has written music for the South Florida Youth Symphony, Greater Miami Youth Symphony, and orchestrations/arrangements for the Alhambra Orchestra in Coconut Grove. His chamber music has been performed in and around California, Florida, and Washington.

You may find out more about Nicolas on his website: http://nicolasrepetto.com/

Stay tuned!

Mélanie Genin, Harp

Mélanie Genin, a native of France, was noted as a “singular harp virtuoso, with an exquisitely sensitive playing” (Epoch Times) after her recent debut at Carnegie Hall in the International Shining Star series, and as a “very promising soloist to follow” (Classic info) at the Festival des Flâneries, France.
In 2014 Ms Genin is the only harpist in finale of the Concert Artist Guild competition and in the semi-finales of the International Young Concert Artist Audition. Passionate and dedicated chamber music player, she forms with the flutist Mathilde Calderini (1st prize winner of the Kobe Flute Competition, Japan) the Duo Galilée.

Ms. Genin is very dedicated to gaining a larger audience for the harp and developing its repertoire. A fervent advocate of new music she has commissioned several pieces, and premiered several works of composers such as Wei-Chieh Lin, Jules Matton and Yuri Boguinia.

She cherishes all genres of music and styles of performance, from the classic concert format to underground venues, new music, contemporary improvisation and collaborations with jazz artists. Keen to sharing with the community and aware of the importance of art in our society, she enjoys particularly working with organizations for underprivileged children.

Since her arrival in New York in 2013 she has performed with various ensembles such as Evermay Chamber Orchestra, New England Symphonic Orchestra, Metropolis Ensemble,TAK ensemble, MIse-en Ensemble, Tactus, New Juilliard Ensemble, The Sheep Island Ensemble, Sugar Hill Ensemble, DCINY, and currently serving as a member of the Metro Chamber Orchestra and the contemporary ensemble ECCE.

As an orchestral player she has performed in some of the most prestigious halls in the world, including Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Royal Albert Hall London, KKL Luzern, Audi Hall München, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Salle Pleyel, Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, under such conductors as Pierre Boulez, Sir Mark Elder, Alan Gilbert, Pablos Heras-Casado, and Leonard Slatkin.

Ms. Genin received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where she studied with Isabelle Moretti. She received a special scholarship from the Bruni-Sarkosy Foundation to study abroad at the Juilliard School with Nancy Allen. She was in 2014 the first harpist ever admitted into the Artist Diploma program at Manhattan School of Music, where she studied under the guidance of the late Deborah Hoffman, Susan Jolles and Mariko Anraku.

Nilko Andreas Guarin, Guitar

“Nilko Andreas is a gifted Musician, and a great performer”. -Rafael Puyana, Paris 2009
Colombian/American Classical Guitarist and Composer Nilko Andreas Guarin has been praised as an “electrifying performer for his powerful stage presence and spontaneity that grows irresistible” Backstage New York. Since his Carnegie hall debut in 2009 Nilko Andreas has been captivating audiences in over fifteen countries and three continents as a soloist, Composer and chamber musician performing on such prestigious stages as New York’s Carnegie Hall, Wildthurn Castle in Germany, The Strathmore Hall In Bethesda, Jay Priztker Pavilion in Chicago, Adolfo Mejia Theater in Cartagena, Museum of fine arts in Houston TX, Gandhi Hall in Geneve, Switzerland Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Palacio Foz in Portugal, Unesco Concert Hall in Paris, Surabaya concert Hall In Indonesia, Shenzhen Symphony Hall in China , Museo Belber Gimenez in Mexico, among others. Recipient of many international awards including the “Recognition award” by the city of New York for his contributions to the Arts. Mr.Guarin has appeared as soloist with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Shenzhen Symphonic orchestra of China, , Surabaya Symphony orchestra in Indonesia, the “Mariuccia Iacovino” orchestra and Barra Mansa orchestra from Brazil, The Baja California Orchestra in Mexico, The Azlo Orchestra, Tactus contemporary ensemble, The New York Chamber Ensemble The rebow ensemble of NY among others.
He has participated in renowned international festivals as Cooperstown Music festival, Vale do Café and Festival do Inverno do Petropolis in Brazil, The Mannes Guitar seminar and Long Island Guitar Festival in NY, “Wildthurn” in Munich, Germany, “Moment Musicaux” in Normandie, France. He has worked with prominent composers including Alba Potes, “Prix de Rome” winner Juan Pablo Carreno, Kevin Purcell, Juan Pablo Contreras, Ricardo Calderoni, Reinaldo Moya, Francisco Zumaque, Juan Calderon and Ricardo Llorca, Francisco Zumaque. and with conductors such as Bartholomeus Van de Velde, Solomon Tong, David Gilbert, Vince Lee, Michel Adelson, Laurine Fox, Alondra de la Parra and Eduardo Garcia Barrios, Nilko Andreas has appeared with Time Warner TV, RCN TV, Univision 41, Fox News, Cuny TV, HJUT, “W” Radio in Colombia and WQXR in New York. He has recorded with Multiplatinum Artists. Born in Colombia Nilko Andreas has great interest for the composers of Latin America, constantly commissioning and premiering new works. He premiered at Carnegie Hall “Tukanos” Concerto for guitar and orchestra by Alba Potes and Ricardo Calderoni’s “Concerto Chamaleon” as part as the “Amazonas Series” a concert series that promotes Music from Latin-America.
He began playing Cello at the age of five at the National Conservatory of Music in Bogota, he holds a BM and a Master of Music degree from The Manhattan school of Music in NY where he graduated on Classical Guitar, Composition and orchestral conducting.
An accomplished educator, Nilko Andreas has given master classes and conferences on Classical Music at distinguished universities such as Columbia University, the Mannes College of Music in New York, NYU, The Berkley School of Music, the French Alliance in Cartagena Universidad del Norte and Bellas Artes in Barranquilla, the Eafit University In Colombia. Campos dos Goytacases in Brazil, And Redes 2025 in Tijuana , Mexico. Among others.
As a composer, Nilko Andreas has written music for independent films, theatre, Dance and solo artists. His score for silent film “Pancho Villa’s Revenge” was celebrated at the world-renowned Flaherty Film Seminar. His collaboration with award-winning theatre group Artificio, in Federico García Lorca’s “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell”, won him several honors, awards and rave reviews. Recently he was comissioned by Mordance to write a piece for chamber ensemble that was premiered in NY at the Sheen Center to great reviews.

Upcoming engagements include Fantasia para un Getil Hombre by J. Rodrigo in Jakarta, Indonesia with the Surabaya Symphony Orchestra under Mto. Solomon Tong, and Concerto de Aranjuez by J. Rodrigo with the Varsaw Philharmonic in Poland on Feb 2017. Artistic residency, Masterclasses and concerts in Tijuana, Mexico in 2016, European tour with German Violist David Inbal during the 2016 season. and concerts with Cellist Serafim Smigelskiy and Harpist Melanie Genin, Concerts in NY with Pianist Hyemin Kim, solo concerts in Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Austria, as well as a Concert at Carnegie Hall with the Azlo Orchestra on Nov 2016. He is the Founder and Artistic director of the Latin American Chamber Music society of New York and Artistic Director at AZLO productions. www.nilkoandreas.com

Nicholas Tolle, Cimbalom

Nicholas Tolle is one of North America’s premiere cimbalom artists. In 2017 he will appear as a soloist with Steven Schick and musicians from UCSD performing Pierre Boulez’ Repons and will also present the complete solo and small ensemble cimbalom works of György Kurtág at Tufts University. In August he will make his ninth visit to the Lucerne Festival to perform the works of Kurtág and Heinz Holliger. He has recently performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, the New York Philharmonic, and the International Contemporary Ensemble.

In 2012 he was a soloist with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal performing Pierre Boulez’ Repons, which he also performed with the composer conducting at the Lucerne Festival in 2009. He has appeared as a soloist with Collage New Music and Orchestra 2001 performing Steve Mackey’s 5 Animated Shorts, and with numerous orchestras performing Kodály’s Háry János Suite. Based in Boston, MA, locally he can be seen regularly with such groups as the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Callithumpian Consort, and Sound Icon. He is also a frequent collaborator with Ensemble Signal. He is the founder and artistic director of the Ludovico Ensemble, and is the sole proprietor of Boston Percussion Rentals, New England’s largest percussion rental company.

Originally (and still) a percussionist, he began learning cimbalom in 2008 after being inspired by the music of György Kurtág. He is deeply committed to expanding the repertoire for cimbalom and has commissioned numerous solo and chamber works for the instrument. He has worked closely with many of the leading composers of the 21st century, including Louis Andriessen, George Benjamin, Pierre Boulez, and Hilda Paredes, and has had works written for him by Marti Epstein, John Harbison, Brad Lubman, Mischa Salkind-Pearl, Juri Seo, Andy Vores, and many others. He has also presented lectures on composing for cimbalom at Princeton University, Tufts University, the Eastman School of Music, and the Tanglewood Music Center.

Nicholas was a Tanglewood Music Center fellow in 2006 and 2007 and has spent eight summers in residency at the Lucerne Festival Academy. He attended the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and the New England Conservatory. Nicholas’ performance of Repons is featured in the Euroarts documentary Inheriting the Future of Music: Pierre Boulez and the Lucerne Festival Academy.

Nicholas plays on a Všiansky light model cimbalom, the first instrument of its kind to be imported to the United States.

 

Kaganovskiy Duo

Artur Kaganovskiy, violin
Eszter Szilveszter Kaganovskiy, viola
…
“Artur Kaganovskiy has been captivating audiences around the world with his unique and distinctively rich sound, superb musicianship and outstanding interpretations, having been compared on numerous occasions to violinists of the Golden Era. Artur Kaganovskiy is one of the great violinists of our generation. His playing is characterized by technical virtuosity, a warm tone and musical intelligence.” -James DePreist

Balint Karosi, composer

Bálint Karosi is an award-winning composer, concert organist, harpsichordist and conductor.

” … he possesses an ear for silvery orchestral sonorities..”
— The Boston Globe (2015)

” .. a most impressive musical interpreter..”
— The Boston Musical Intelligencer (2011)

” .. a must-hear recording”
— Early Music America (2014)

“ Bálint Karosi inspired awe with the work’s marvelous scalar passages and fiery finish…”
— The Diapason (2014)

1st Prize: Leipzig International J. S. Bach Competition

1st Prize & Audience Prize: Dublin International Organ Competition

M.M.A. Yale University
A.D., M.M., Oberlin Conservatory
M.M. Liszt Academy
Premier Prix, Conservatoire de Geneve

Mélanie Genin, Harp

Mélanie Genin, a native of France, was noted as a “singular harp virtuoso, with an exquisitely sensitive playing” (Epoch Times) after her recent debut at Carnegie Hall in the International Shining Star series, and as a “very promising soloist to follow” (Classic info) at the Festival des Flâneries, France.
In 2014 Ms Genin is the only harpist in finale of the Concert Artist Guild competition and in the semi-finales of the International Young Concert Artist Audition. Passionate and dedicated chamber music player, she forms with the flutist Mathilde Calderini (1st prize winner of the Kobe Flute Competition, Japan) the Duo Galilée.

Ms. Genin is very dedicated to gaining a larger audience for the harp and developing its repertoire. A fervent advocate of new music she has commissioned several pieces, and premiered several works of composers such as Wei-Chieh Lin, Jules Matton and Yuri Boguinia.

She cherishes all genres of music and styles of performance, from the classic concert format to underground venues, new music, contemporary improvisation and collaborations with jazz artists. Keen to sharing with the community and aware of the importance of art in our society, she enjoys particularly working with organizations for underprivileged children.

Since her arrival in New York in 2013 she has performed with various ensembles such as Evermay Chamber Orchestra, New England Symphonic Orchestra, Metropolis Ensemble,TAK ensemble, MIse-en Ensemble, Tactus, New Juilliard Ensemble, The Sheep Island Ensemble, Sugar Hill Ensemble, DCINY, and currently serving as a member of the Metro Chamber Orchestra and the contemporary ensemble ECCE.

As an orchestral player she has performed in some of the most prestigious halls in the world, including Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Royal Albert Hall London, KKL Luzern, Audi Hall München, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Salle Pleyel, Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, under such conductors as Pierre Boulez, Sir Mark Elder, Alan Gilbert, Pablos Heras-Casado, and Leonard Slatkin.

Ms. Genin received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where she studied with Isabelle Moretti. She received a special scholarship from the Bruni-Sarkosy Foundation to study abroad at the Juilliard School with Nancy Allen. She was in 2014 the first harpist ever admitted into the Artist Diploma program at Manhattan School of Music, where she studied under the guidance of the late Deborah Hoffman, Susan Jolles and Mariko Anraku.

 

Ariadne Greif, soprano

Ariadne Greif, soprano, praised for her “luminous, expressive voice” (NYTimes), her “elastic and round high notes” (classiqueinfo), and her “mesmerizing stage presence” (East Anglian Daily Times), recently gave a triumphant run as the title role in Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias with the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme in Aldeburgh, UK. Ariadne starred as the title role in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortileges, Ivona in Jeff Myers’ The Hunger Art, the title role in Rusalka, Lucy in Menotti’s The Telephone, Sandmann in a concert version of Hänsel und Gretel, the title role in the workshop of Aleksandra Vrebalov’s Mileva, Phaedra in Christopher Park’s Phaedra and Hippolytus, and the only female role, Madeline, in Debussy’s unfinished opera La Chûte de la Maison Usher with the Opéra Français de New York. She sang a nameless main role in Gabrielle Herbst’s new opera BODILESS, as a part of Roulette’s Jerome Commissions program, alongside Contemporaneous. And most recently, she gave a triumphant run in the opera Atthis by Georg Friedrich Haas, in a production by the Chicago-based company Opera Cabal at The Kitchen in New York, alongside ACME, which the New York Times called “a solo high-wire act for Ms. Greif,” “one of the most searingly painful and revealing operatic performances in recent times,” “a vehicle for Ms. Greif’s raw, no-holds-barred performance,” calling her “a beautiful and physically fearless young singer,” and her voice “fragile but focused, with searing top notes and dusky depths.” Please read more on Ariadne’s website.

 

Tania Stavreva, Pianist / composer

Described by the music critics as “exceptional, entrancing, fun!” (Harry Rolnick, ConcertoNet.com), “a fully formed and fearsomely talented pianist” (Steve Holtje, CultureCatch.com) and “bold, dynamic, magnificent” (Harris Goldsmith, NY Concert Review”), “Bulgarian-born piano dynamo” (Steve Smith, Time Out NY) Tania Stavreva is recognized as one of the most versatile young artists of her generation, renowned internationally for having “some of the most precise fingering of any of the twenty-something generation of pianists, bar none” (Mark Greenfest, SoundWordSight Arts Magazine), for her “superior technical abilities”, “unlimited virtuosity”, “personal sensitivity difficult to find elsewhere”, and “huge dynamic range” combined with “demanding and diversified programs”. Her “masterfully delivered” (San Francisco Chronicle) performance of the “White Lies for Lomax” (Winner of the 3rd Van Cliburn American Composers International Competition) by Mason Bates, released on Innova Recordings “is a stunning display of intricate blues playing and a highlight of the recording” (Karl Ackermann, All About Jazz CD Review), where Ms. Stavreva is among artists such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Tania Stavreva made her New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in April 2009. She is returning at Carnegie Hall in June 2016, this time on the biggest stage – Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage. She has performed also at many other top venues including Lincoln Center, Kaufman Center, Symphony Space, Kosciusko Foundation Auditorium, Steinway Hall, Embassy of Bulgaria in New York, and the CSV Cultural Center where she was featured live on NY1 News by NBC reporter Asa Aarons. She has performed also at the GRAMMY Museum Theater, Clive Davis Auditorium in Los Angeles, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Sanders Theater at Harvard University and the French Cultural Center in Boston, The National Ethnographic Museum in Bulgaria, Radio Plovdiv – Bulgarian National Radio Concert Hall, Cathedral San Lorenzo in Italy, Sala dei Notari (Italy), 1901 Arts Club in London, UK and the Ruinekerk in The Netherlands. In January 2013 her sold out Chicago recital debut was broadcast live on WFMT 98.7. She has been featured also on CBS New York, BBC Music Magazine, Keyboard Magazine, KUSC 91.5, ABC7 and Musical America. On June 12th, 2012 she was invited to perform at the Miles Davis/Edith Piaf Commemorative USPS Stamp Dedication Ceremony at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York where Ms. Stavreva was featured on CNN and shared the stage with the legendary bassist Ron Carter, the Miles Davis Family, Grammy-award winning songwriter Mike Stoller and legendary music producer George Avakian (Columbia Records). Please read more on Tania’s website.

 

Sergio R. Reyes, composer

Sergio R. Reyes (b. Guatemala City, 1974), a classically trained violinist and composer, is one of the most sought-after tango musicians in New York City, where he plays in a variety of renowned ensembles dedicated to that genre. He has shared New York’s most important stages (Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, City Center, and NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, among others) with several tango masters from Argentina and Uruguay: pianists Pablo Ziegler, Octavio Brunetti, Emilio Teubal; bandoneonists Héctor del Curt0, Daniel Binelli, Tito Castro, Raúl Jaurena, Juan Pablo Jofre; bassists Pablo Aslán and Pedro Giraudo. The New York Times described his rendering of Astor Piazzolla’s Oblivion as ‘soulful playing’.

His early years were spent in an art-loving home, and in 1991 he was awarded a scholarship to study violin and music composition at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy, in Michigan. Later, he continued studying at Manhattan School of Music, the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, the European Arts Academy (Poland) and the Ecoles d’Art Américaines (Fontainebleau, France).

From 1999 to 2009 he worked as an active performer and music consultant for Horizon Concerts, an organization which sponsored free classical music to schools, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers, especially in areas where people lack exposure to New York City’s rich cultural life.

As a composer, Mr. Reyes has long collaborated with the New York-based Dzuldance Company, which has choreographed original music of his in theaters throughout North America, Latin America, and Asia.
In 2012 he wrote the music for Catherine Filloux’s play ‘Luz’, premiered at La Mama Theater. In the summer of 2015 he presented the symphonic suite ‘900’, a musical voyage through Guatemala’s recent history, which was commissioned by Multi-Cultural Group in New York.

 

Vadim Lando, clarinet

Praised by the New York Times for his “consistently distinguished, vibrant and virtuosic playing”, clarinetist Vadim Lando has won top prizes in many international competitions including the Gold Medal at the National Festival of Music Competition in Canada and the Yale University Concerto Competition. As soloist, he has performed with numerous orchestras in the United States and Canada, and most recently with the Kazakhstan National Symphony Orchestra in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Mr. Lando’s recitals and chamber music concerts include performances at virtually every major performing landmark in New York City, the Israel Philharmonic’s Chamber Music Series at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel; the Talalyan Brother’s Festival in Yerevan, Armenia; the Summer Concert Festival in Martha’s Vineyard; and on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago. His concerts are often broadcast on radio stations such as WQXR New York, WFMT Chicago and National Public Radio. Mr. Lando performs and records regularly as the principal clarinetist with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players.

Former faculty of the Rutgers University, Mr. Lando holds a Master of Music from Yale University and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from SUNY at Stony Brook, where he studied with the virtuoso clarinetist Charles Neidich. Mr. Lando is the Co-Director of the Great Neck Music Conservatory in Great Neck, New York.

 

Trumpeter Christopher Scanlon has performed with orchestras and chamber ensembles in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico and across the United States. Scanlon is currently a member of the Miami Symphony and has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Boston Lyric Opera, Singapore Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Springfield Symphony, Vermont Symphony, New World Symphony, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas. He has performed as a soloist with the Garden State Philharmonic and recorded new music with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the Callithumpian Consort. As a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center he was the recipient of the Roger Voisin Award and has also performed at Spoleto USA, Banff and the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. Scanlon was a student of Mark Gould at the Manhattan School of Music, Marie Speziale at Rice University, and Thomas Rolfs at Boston University.

 

Russell J. Courter, Composer

Russell J. Courter is graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory, where he studied music composition with William Averitt and Thomas Albert and trumpet with Scott Nelson. He has written music for TV commercials and independent films as well as incidental music for various theatre projects. Russell recently completed the score for the short film Six DeadBodies Duct-Taped to a Merry-Go-Round. Russell’s song cycle, Seasons: for Soprano and Harp, has been performed in both the U.S. and in Europe. His orchestration of Mozart’s opera, The Impresario, was performed by Anchorage Opera as part of its 2014-2015 season. As a trumpet player, Russell was a member of the 283rd Army Band at Ft. Benning GA, and he has performed with the Maryland Symphony, the Northern Tier Symphony, and, most recently, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra. He currently serves as the Production Manager for Anchorage Opera. In 2015, he conducted the Anchorage, Alaska production of Handel’s “Messiah.”

 

Victoria Mushkatkol, Pianist

Victoria Mushkatkol’s artistry has taken her to leading stages worldwide from Moscow, Russia to Japan and the Republic of China, including the Royal Family of Thailand in Bangkok. In a recent concert at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, presented by the Vladimir Nielsen Foundation, Ms. Mushkatkol was proclaimed a “splendid pianist” by the New York Concert Review, which went on to write: “Her command of the keyboard is complete; her technique is so relaxed and effortless.”

Both as a performer and a pedagogue, Victoria Mushkatkol has appeared at numerous festivals, including the Puigcerda International Festival in Spain, the Festival Soesterberg in Netherlands, the Taiwan Music Festival in Taipei, the Hamptons’ Pianofest in New York, Juilliard-in-Korea Summer Festival Casual Classics, Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, Burgos International Music Festival in Spain, Escuela internazional de musica in Oviedo, Spain; Garfagnana Arts Academy , Perugia and Narnia summer festival in Italy and the Prague International piano Festival.

An internationally recognized pedagogue, Ms. Mushkatkol was on the faculties of the Interlochen Arts Academy and the Oberlin Conservatory, and has presented master classes throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia (recently in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and J’inan) Throughout her career, many of her students emerged as prize-winners on the international competition circuit, taking prominent places in the music world.

Her performances have been broadcast on radio stations throughout the US, while her recent discography includes recordings of Bach’s French Overture and Chopin’s Mazurkas, Ballades and Scherzi among others.

Ms. Mushkatkol was a protégé of one of Russia’s most eminent piano teachers – Vladimir Nielsen – at the Petersburg Conservatory, from which she has graduated with the highest honors.

In recent years, Victoria Mushkatkol has returned to Russia, performing at the Gnessin
Institute in Moscow, the Museum of Music (Sheremetiev Palace), Philharmonia Maly Zal in St-Petersburg , State Philharmonia in Novgorod, as well as giving master classes and serving as the guest performer at the Festival International Conservatory week in St. Petersburg Rimsky – Korsakov Conservatory.

Victoria Mushkatkol is currently on the faculty at the Juilliard School Pre College Division.
She has been Artistic Director and founder of Vladimir Nielsen Piano Festival during summers of 2007-2011.

Anthony Iannaccone, Composer

Composer-conductor Anthony Iannaccone studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the Eastman School of Music. His principal teachers were Vittorio Giannini, Aaron Copland, and David Diamond. During the 1960’s he supported himself as a part-time teacher (Manhattan School) and orchestral violinist. He later taught at Eastern Michigan University for 42 years. Many of his more than 50 published works have received awards and are performed by major orchestras and chamber ensembles in the US and abroad. An active conductor of new music and standard orchestral repertory, his Waiting for Sunrise on the Sound received a 2nd prize in the London Symphony Orchestra Masterprize competition from a field of 1151 works. Describing his music, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians states, “organic growth inspires music of great strength and formal clarity, as opening bars generate the textural and thematic contours that forge contrasting sections of reflection and cross-rhythmic dynamism.” [For additional information, see www.iannacconeworks.com]

 

January 14th, 2015

Susan Heerema, Violinist

Ms. Susan Heerema, performing as violin soloist since age 9 and Concertmaster since age 11, graduated the Juilliard School of Music in 1992 (BM) under the tutelage of Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, and Richard Simon. Ms. Heerema is and has been the Concertmaster of Spectrum Symphony of New York since 2012. Among her past positions, she has performed all the various opera repertoire with conductors Joel Revzen, Anton Coppola, Kathy Kelly, and Alfredo Silipigni. She has been the personnel director of orchestras and an opera company, and has performed in different countries. Ms. Heerema has played under the baton of Rostropovich, Rampal, and Menuhin in France; toured Norway, Iceland and Scotland; performed with the Spoleto and Sarasota Opera Festivals, and with every major Baroque festival in the U.S. She has held positions of Concertmaster and Principal for multiple orchestras, some of which include the Westchester Symphony, Ocean Grove Orchestra, First Baptist Orchestra, Amor Artis, Collegium Westchester, and the Berkshire Opera Company. She has been both choral and orchestral director and on orchestral tours like Concertmaster for the Phantom of the Opera national tour. Ms. Heerema has also performed on various TV shows including soap operas, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien with celebrities such as U2, Doc Severnson, Matchbox Twenty VH1, and Blackstreet MTV Unplugged. She has recorded on labels for artists such as Vanessa Williams, Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennet and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Susan served as contractor and Concertmaster for “Prayers for America,” a service at Yankee Stadium for the victims of September 11 terrorist attacks. For nine years, Ms. Heerema was Berkshire Opera’s Personnel Manager, music librarian, and housing and hiring all musicians. Ms. Heerema continues to perform in all these mediums of both small and large ensembles including solo performances of classical, pop, rock, and jazz. The concertos she has frequently performed with orchestras include the Mendelssohn, Bruch and Barber violin concertos.
She plays on a 1906 Romeo Antoniazzi violin.

Gerard Reuter, Oboist

“Reuter clearly held the spotlight…richly earned… with a brilliant performance.” -The Washington Post

Gerard Reuter has enjoyed a varied and distinguished career as soloist, conductor and in chamber music, touring the United States, Europe, India and Africa. He is a member of the Dorian Wind Quintet and was a founding member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, An Die Musik and the Chelsea Chamber Ensemble. His many guest appearances at music festivals in the United States have included Caramoor, Marlboro, Tanglewood, LaJolla, Malibu, Tucson, Round Top, the Chamber Music Festival of the Library of Congress, Grand Tetons, Bar Harbor, and Market Square Concerts Summerfest;and in Europe at the Flanders and Dartington festivals, as well as the International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove. As a soloist, in New York he has appeared with the Jupiter Symphony, the Soviet Emigré Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuoso, Orchestra of the Bronx and in Washington, DC with the National Chamber Orchestra. He has been heard on major radio stations throughout this country and in Europe. He has recorded for Sony, New World, Summit, Telarc, Columbia, Musical Heritage Society and in concert for the Voice of America.

As a recipient of the Pro Musicis Foundation’s International Award, Mr. Reuter has been presented in recitals in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Boston as well as in major cities in Europe and Asia. Mr. Reuter has served on the faculties of New York University, Mannes College and Sarah Lawrence College.

Increasingly active as a conductor, Mr. Reuter directs The Wind & Brass Ensemble of the Stamford Young Artists Philharmonic. As a guest he has conducted the Jupiter Symphony, Riverside Symphony, Claremont Strings, New York Mandolin Orchestra, the St. Joseph’s Choir (Danbury, CT) in performances of Handel’s Messiah and the Requiems of Duruflé and Rutter, and the Schenectady Symphony, of which Albany’s Times-Union reported: “The Schenectady Symphony Orchestra under Reuter were in fine form… [he] led a fine, rollicking, crisp performance.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beverly Butrie, soprano, is a singing actress with a voice of surprising size and beauty. She recently performed Leonora in Il Trovatore with the Westside Opera Society of NYC. Bruce-Michale Gelbert of New York Q News wrote of her performance as Anina in La Sonnambula – a colorful soprano encompassing a bright high range and low register of dark, almost mezzo-soprano timbre…Butrie’s instrument took on an eerie purity… after a creamy legato, she brought the evening, punctuated by her ringing high F, to a conclusion with a brilliant “Ah! non giunge”. This past season she performed the title role of Norma with Harmony Project NYC at Carnegie Hall. She also was the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with Harmony Project NYC in April 2011.

 

Soprano Christine Lyons sings Exsultate jubilate on January 26, 2019

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