A native of Oregon, Ethan Pernela joined the viola section of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra in spring of 2015. Ethan completed his Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and Graduate Diploma with honors at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he studied with James Dunham and Martha Strongin Katz.
After receiving a fellowship to the New World Symphony in 2007, Mr. Pernela won a viola position in the Honolulu Symphony under the baton of Andreas Delfs. Prior to his move to Honolulu, he performed with the Saint Louis Symphony, Portland Symphony, World Symphony Orchestra of Korea, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Verbier Chamber Orchestra and the Verbier Festival Orchestra, where he served as principal violist. Ethan also performed in festivals including Yellow Barn, Taos School of Music, Kneisel Hall, Musicorda and the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Orchestral concert tours have taken Mr. Pernela to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore as well as much of Europe and the United States, working with conductors including Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, David Robertson, David Zinman, Manfred Honeck and Michael Tilson Thomas. An active chamber musician, Mr. Pernela has been a member of Chamber Music Hawaii’s Galliard String Quartet as well as the Ebb and Flow Arts modern ensemble. He has collaborated with artists including Donald Weilerstein, Jon Kimura Parker, Chee-Yun, Joyce Yang, Natasha Brofsky and the Borromeo String Quartet. His passion for chamber music comes from his work with Eric Rosenblith and Raphael Hillyer at New England Conservatory, where his quartet was accepted into the Honors Ensemble Program. When not playing viola, Ethan Pernela enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, cellist Joanna Morrison, and their two dogs, Mochi and Riley. |
REVEL was formed in 2008 by cellist Joel Becktell and pianist Carla McElhaney to fill an abandoned niche in classical music. Their musical heroes——Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich… (the whole list is extremely long)——would never have recognized the formal, some would say “uptight,” classical music scene of the mid- to late 20th century.
Frankly, it wasn’t doing much for Carla and Joel either. So they established REVEL to return the classical music experience to its radical roots, a place where musicians and their friends got together in intimate settings to let their hair down and revel in great music. In 2010 they began to collaborate in concert with other favorite musicians, including violinist Cármelo de los Santos, violinist David Felberg, clarinetist James Shields, tenor JR Fralick, saxophonist Sunil Gadgil, baritone Ryan Heller, saxophonist and jazz vocalist Liz Love, harpist Elaine Barber, violist Matt Diekman, percussionist Graeme Francis, double bassist Pat Harris, the Bel Cuore Saxophone Quartet, and many more. The results have been inspiring. Classical music lovers have found in REVEL a new expression for their passion, and non-classical audiences have awakened to a genre and repertoire far more rich and inspired than they previously imagined. |
Colombia’s celebrated classical music star, virtuoso pianist Eduardo Rojas, is renowned for his delicate touch, colorful tone and the deep musicality with which he delivers his powerful, fiery renditions of European and PanAmerican repertoire. His flawless technique, vast knowledge of composition theory and historical background of the works he choses to present, earn him the admiration and respect of fellow musicians and critics while his big heart, courage and humanity win him the love of his audiences.
Eduardo Rojas has performed as soloist works by Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Grieg and others with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, the Bogotá Philharmonic, Valle Philharmonic (Cali, Colombia), EAFIT University Symphony Orchestra (Medellín, Colombia), the Panamá National Symphony Orchestra (Panama City), the American Wind Symphony (Pennsylvania), New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving (Texas), the Great Lakes Symphony Orchestra (Michigan), and the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra (Wisconsin). His tour with the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra of Colombia was a great success and marked the start of an active relationship between Rojas and Colombia’s system of youth orchestras, the Batuta Foundation. Eduardo Rojas has represented his native country at various music festivals in Bolivia, Ecuador, Puerto Rico and has been a featured guest artist at the Popayán International Music Festival in Colombia and at the celebrations for Chopin’s 200th birthday at the renowned Luis Angel Arango Concert Hall in Bogotá, Colombia. His recital programs span the gamut of classical European as well as North and South American composers. His uniquely authentic renditions of works by Ástor Piazzolla, Hector Villalobos, George Gershwin and others are always highlights of his solo recitals. For 2013 Eduardo Rojas returned once more to his home country to perform Piano Sonatas at the 1st Bogota Beethoven Festival and in Summer to present Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto #2 on tour with the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra of Colombia with a grand finale at the New World Symphony Center in Miami, Florida. Another highlight on last year’s calendar was the performance of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto #5 with the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra. Eduardo Rojas has finished recording his first classical album – Beethoven Piano Sonatas Vol. 1 – to be released later this year. He is currently in the studio to record an album of Latin American Art Music featuring composers Heitor Villa-Lobos, Ástor Piazzolla and others. In addition to his concertizing and recording schedule Eduardo Rojas devotes time to support programs for music education and cultural exchange between North and South America. Born in Barranquilla, Colombia, Eduardo Rojas began taking piano lessons with his father, Eduardo Rojas, at the age of five. At age thirteen he entered the University of Cauca where he completed his studies under the tutelage of Uruguayan pianist Manfred Gerhardt. In 2005 he was awarded a full scholarship to Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas. Mr. Rojas received his Artist Diploma in 2009 and his Master in Piano Performance in 2011. His piano teachers included Harold Martina, Veda Kaplinsky, Joseph Kalichstein, José Feghali, and Steve Harlos. |
Ballerina Julia Rowe was born in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania and received her training from Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet School. Straight out of school in 2008, Julia joined Oregon Ballet Theatre in the corps de ballet and was promoted to the soloist rank shortly thereafter.
In 2013, she joined San Francisco Ballet, and was promoted to soloist in 2016. Julia has performed a wide variety of classical and contemporary repertory throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. With San Francisco Ballet, she has danced roles such as Princess Florine, more famously known as the Bluebird Pas de Deux in Helgi Tomasson’s The Sleeping Beauty, Cupid in Don Quixote, Russian Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade, and Stepsister Clementine in Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella. Julia has appeared in principal roles in Divertimento No.15 (Balanchine), Trio (Tomasson), Myles Thatcher’s Ghost in the Machine, Val Caniparoli’s Ibsen’s House, Tears and Lambarena, Yuri Possokhov’s Fusion, Alexei Ratmansky’s From Foreign Lands, and William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude. Additionally, she has originated featured roles in works by Myles Thatcher (Otherness), Edwaard Liang (The Infinite Ocean), and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa (Guernica). She is celebrated for creating her principal role in William Forsythe iconic Pas/Parts. Since the pandemic, Julia has created a series of dance music videos in collaboration with her husband, the award winning cellist Jonah Kim. Their work is featured on many popular online forums including the string magazine Violinist.com and the UK-based arts station ClassicFM. |
Gabriel Sánchez is on the keyboard staff of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under Jaap van Zweden and collaborates often with DSO musicians including new Concertmasters, Alexander Kerr and Nathan Olson.
Sánchez was a top prize winner in the 1997 Casablanca International Piano Competition in Morocco and is a laureate of other international competitions, including the Marguerite Long in Paris (France), the Gina Bachauer in Salt Lake City (USA), and the Paloma O' Shea in Santander (Spain). He has performed throughout the United States and internationally in recital and as soloist with orchestra, including performances at Pianofest in the Hamptons, New York, with the Dallas Symphony under Kerry-Lynn Wilson and the Orquesta Filarmonica de Jalisco and the Irving Symphony under Hector Guzman. Robert Carlos Contreras Roman, Mexican music critic, wrote that Sanchez performed with "gran passion yexpresividad estilistica." In London, he performed at the Royal Academy of Music, in Paris at the Salle Gaveau, in Santander, Spain at the Palacio de Festivales, in Casablanca, Morocco at the Salle de l'Office des Changes, and in the Dominican Republic with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional. In Thessaloniki, Greece, he performed a solo recital to benefit Lions Club International. He studied at London's Royal Academy of Music under a full scholarship and continued his studies at the University of North Texas under his beloved teacher and mentor, Vladimir Viardo, 1973 Van Cliburn Gold Medalist. Sánchez is in high demand as a collaborative pianist and has partnered in recitals with Stanislav Katenin (principal bassoon, National Philharmonic of Russia), Gordon Hunt (principal oboe, Philharmonia Orchestra, London), Jacques Zoon (former Principal Flute, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam), Mark Nuccio (Associate Principal Clarinet, New York Philharmonic) and Paul Edmond Davies (former Principal Flute, London Symphony Orchestra), as well as world renowned artists Gary Schocker, Alexa Still, Marco Granados, Thomas Robertello, Rolf Smedvig, Ian Clarke, Mike Mower and Jean Ferrandis. Recent MSR CD releases, all received with critical acclaim, include Ballade, Works for Flute and Piano (with Kara Kirkendoll Welch, flutist), Scree (with Elena Yarritu, flutist) and Rêver en Couleurs (with Lisa Garner Santa, flutist). Recent reviews include: Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, "Sánchez dispatched [the Nielsen Flute Concerto piano reduction] with such èlan that it sounded utterly idiomatic," Carla Rees, Music Web International, "[he] plays with wonderful sensitivity," and American Record Guide, "…Sánchez is superb." Mr. Sánchez is also a dedicated educator. He taught piano, music history, music theory and accompanying at the celebrated Booker T. Washington High School for the Arts in Dallas from 1996-2003. Since then, he has maintained a select private piano studio and has been involved with DSO educational outreach programs, and served on the faculty of the Conservatory of Music in the Mountains in Durango, Colorado. |
Esther Sanders is an active performer and teacher currently living in Austin, Texas. She was appointed Principal Second Violin of Austin Opera in 2013 and joined the First Violin section of the Austin Symphony in 2015. She gives recitals and house concerts as a soloist and chamber musician, including performances with Tetractys, a new music concert series based in Austin. A native of Richmond, Virginia, Esther Sanders has performed as a soloist with the Richmond Symphony and Petersburg Symphony.
She has also given chamber music performances in Vienna and southern France as part of the Aix Festival. She received a Bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University where she studied with Christian Teal. While in Nashville, she performed with the Nashville Symphony and Chattanooga Symphony, taught at Belmont University’s Belmont Academy, and was an active studio musician playing on several soundtracks for Sony Playstation, Sega, and Warner Brothers. She has performed with artists such as Michael Buble, Il Volo, and Michael W. Smith. Esther received a Master’s degree in violin performance from UT Austin where she studied with Sandy Yamamoto. She also worked with the Miro Quartet and David Kim. An avid teacher of all ages and levels, she maintains a private violin studio and is on faculty at Texas Lutheran University, Concordia University, Austin Community College, Texas Strings Camp, and Austin Chamber Music Center. |
Described by Gramophone Magazine as a "violinist who most often takes your breath away" and praised as an "expressive and passionate chamber musician" by the San Antonio Express-News, Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio enjoys a varied performing and recording career as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader.
Professor of Violin and Viola at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and member of the Argenta Trio, she is also Artistic Director of Cactus Pear Music Festival, which she founded in 1997 while serving as Concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony. Previously First Assistant Principal Second Violin of The Cleveland Orchestra, under Christoph von Dohnányi, she toured and recorded internationally with this ensemble for eight seasons. Ms. Sant'Ambrogio has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.S. as well as in Mexico, Canada, Estonia, Sweden, Ghana, Italy, Peru and Chile. In 2009, she was appointed Concertmaster of the Lancaster Festival Orchestra and the following year was appointed Concertmaster of the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra. That same year she was awarded UNR's prestigious Alan Bible Teaching Excellence Award. In addition to her active performing career, Stephanie is devoted to teaching serious young violinists, many who have won positions in America's symphonies and universities. Ms. Sant'Ambrogio has a discography of over seventy-five orchestral and chamber music CDs. Audiophile Review described her Johannes Brahms: The Violin Sonatas CD as one of "fine readings of great finesse, rich coloring and complete understanding." Her other releases include Late Dates with Mozart; Going Solo: Unaccompanied Works for Violin & Viola and Soaring Solo: Unaccompanied Works for Violin & Viola, II on the MSR Classics label, as well as Argenta Trio: The Piano Trios of Felix Mendelssohn on Bridge Records. In addition to her performances as violinist, violist and Artistic Director of Cactus Pear Music Festival, Ms. Sant'Ambrogio frequently performs and teaches at various festivals including: Bach, Dancing & Dynamite Society (WI); Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival (WA); Nevada Chamber Music Festival (NV); Music in the Vineyards (CA); Round Top Festival Institute (TX); and, Tuckamore Festival (Newfoundland, Canada). Her chamber music activities have included performances and recordings with such noted artists as William Preucil, Ida Kavafian, Richard Stoltzman, David Shifrin, Richard Goode, Walter Trampler, Anne Epperson, Jon Kimura Parker and Gunther Schuller. She is featured in chamber music recordings under the Arabesque, Bridge Records and MSR Classics labels, and her live concert performances are heard on National Public Radio's Performance Today. Ms. Sant'Ambrogio has performed as first violinist with the Miami String Quartet and has been a guest artist with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, performing at both the Lincoln and Kennedy Centers. She toured Italy with Mikhail Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project, toured extensively throughout Ohio with Cleveland's Myriad, and for ten years performed with the Amici String Quartet, of which she was a founding member. Ms. Sant'Ambrogio studied with and was the graduate assistant to Donald Weilerstein at The Eastman School of Music, where she received her Master of Music degree. Previously she received her Bachelor of Music degree with distinction from Indiana University as a scholarship student of Laurence Shapiro and James Buswell. The name Sant'Ambrogio is frequently found in concert programs throughout America. John Sant'Ambrogio, former Principal Cellist of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, gave his daughter Stephanie her first violin lessons at the age of five. Her sister Sara is a cellist with the Naumberg Award-winning Eroica Trio. For thirty years the Sant'Ambrogio family directed Red Fox Music Camp, which was founded by grandmother Isabelle Schiebler Sant'Ambrogio, a celebrated concert pianist. The legacy of teaching music has been passed down in the Sant'Ambrogio family for four generations. Ms. Sant'Ambrogio plays a violin crafted in 1757 by J.B. Guadagnini of Milan, Italy, the city from which the family name Sant'Ambrogio originates. She and her graphic designer husband Gary Albright, enjoy exploring Lake Tahoe with their daughters, nineteen-year-old Isabel and seventeen-year-old Gabrielle. |
Critics have hailed Michael Schneider as “a pianist with exceptional insight” and a “performer with great panache” in performances across the states and abroad. Michael has performed in legendary venues such as the château of George Sand in Nohant, France, Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, and the Library of Congress.
He has been a featured guest artist at the International Chopin Festival in France, the Music Festival of the Hamptons, directed by Lukas Foss, ‘Pianotune’ Festival in Brussels, the Hungarian Festival in Cancun, Mexico, the American Liszt Society Annual Conference, the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles, CA, and for seven summers was an audience favorite at Pianofest in the Hamptons. On February 5, 2011, with one day’s notice, Michael gave a full length solo recital in place of the cancelled San Angelo Symphony Concert due to inclement weather. In recent years, Michael has performed the Liszt E-flat Concerto with the San Angelo Symphony, the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Irving New Philharmonic Orchestra, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F with the San Angelo and Plano Symphonies, the Brahms D minor Concerto with the Lewisville Lake Symphony, and the Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos with the UT University Orchestra. Other concerto appearances have included the Elgin Symphony Orchestra (IL), the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (TX), the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra (OK), the Harding University Orchestra (AK), and the Big Spring Symphony (TX). Championing the music of Franz Liszt, Michael is quickly becoming known for his portrayal of Franz Liszt in his monodrama “Liszt and the Last Years”, which combines an original script based off of factual events with performances of works completed with a PowerPoint backdrop. This has been featured at the annual conventions of the Music Teachers Association of California and the Texas Music Teachers Association as well as performed at the University of Texas at Austin for numerous donor groups. Other lecture/presentations Michael has given include “Gottschalk: Life and Works”, “The Common Mistakes of Practicing”, and “Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue” – a children’s book by Anna Harwell Celenza read by Michael while providing soundtrack from the piano. As a collaborator, he has performed recitals with violinists Frank Almond (concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony), Jun Iwasaki (concertmaster of the Oregon Symphony), cellist Boris Andrianov (3rd prize winner of Tchaikovsky Competition) and many others. He is a regular performer with Mélange Musical, a chamber series in the Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex. In July 2010, with only a few days notice, he performed with several stars in the trombone world, including full recitals with Jorgen van Rijen (international recording artist ), Ian Bousfield (principal trombonist of the Vienna Philharmonic), and Jacques Mauger (trombonist of the Paris Opera and teacher at the Paris Conservatoire). In 2014, Michael finished recording a CD entitled "Multiple Personae: The Family of Clarients" for clarinet and piano by Virko Baley with clarinetist Dr. Timothy Bonenfant on the TNC Classical Label. Michael is the creator and artistic director of the San Angelo Piano Festival, a classical music festival in West Texas with an emphasis on the piano repertoire. Annual events include guest artist recitals, impromptu musicales, a composition contest, and a young artist program that includes a competition, master classes and a showcase recital. Michael is also a co-creator of the Austin Piano Festival, established in 2013. Michael holds degrees from the University of North Texas, where he studied with Dr. Pamela Mia Paul, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Mr. Paul Schenly. After two years as adjunct Professor of Piano at Youngstown State University in Ohio, he returned to Texas to study with Anton Nel at the University of Texas at Austin where he received his Doctorate of Music in May 2011. In the fall of 2010, Michael guest taught in place of artist -in-residence Dr. Michelle Schumann at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. He has also been adjunct faculty at the University of Texas at Austin and Concordia University-Austin. |
Principal clarinetist of the San Antonio Symphony and Principal clarinetist of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Ilya Shterenberg balances a busy career as an orchestral musician, chamber music performer, and a soloist.
Hailed by the press: “He possesses that miraculous gift of an innate musical sense… music seemed to flow toward the infinite, as if divinely ordained”, he has been featured as a soloist with San Antonio and Charleston symphonies, performing works by Mozart, Weber, Rossini, Debussy, and Strauss, as well as rarely heard clarinet concertos by Krommer and Kurpinsky. He has been featured as Principal clarinetist with Cincinnati and Seattle Symphonies and has collaborated with some of the most notable conductors of our time, including Roger Norrington, Seiji Ozawa, Dennis Russell Davies, Herbert Blomstedt, Daniel Barenboim, George Solti, Pierre Boulez and others. Away from the orchestras, Ilya is very active as chamber musician, festival performer, and educator. He is a member of the Olmos Ensemble, a chamber group made up of principal woodwind players from the San Antonio Symphony. His summer appearances have included Colorado Music Festival and Britt Festival, as well as the Piccolo Spoleto Festival – USA. As an educator, he has been a faculty member of the College of Charleston, the University of Texas San Antonio, and UT Austin. A native of Ukraine, Ilya began his music education at the Kosenko Music College, in Zhitomir, city of his birth. After his immigration to the United States in 1989, he received an Artist Certificate diploma from the Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, after which he did further study at DePaul University in Chicago. His principal teachers have included Larry Combs, Stephen Girko, and Charles Neidich. Mr. Shterenberg’s performances have been heard on National Public Radio stations throughout the country as well as Chicago’s WFMT nationwide classical music network. He performs frequently as a recitalist and chamber music artist with Cactus Pear Music Festival and the North Shore Chamber Music Festival. Ilya is a Buffet Crampon USA performing artist. |
Celebrating its 25th season, SOLI Chamber Ensemble has upheld its reputation for giving new voice to 20th and 21st century classical contemporary music and for its strong commitment to commissioning new works. Known for breathing life into the music of living composers, SOLI has twice been voted “Best Chamber Ensemble” by The San Antonio Current and continues to mesmerize audiences with its cutting edge performances around the country and the world.
Winner of 2013 CMA/ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award Founded in 1994, the San Antonio, Texas-based ensemble annually presents seasons of innovative programs and breaks down stereotypes linked with classical music by performing in art galleries and other intimate spaces, allowing audiences to get up close to the performers and the music, and enhance their concert going experience. SOLI’s touring schedule has taken them to such cities as Alba, Busca, San Remo, New York City, Houston, Denver, Austin, Colorado Springs, Louisville, and Dallas, and more. SOLI was one of the first chamber groups invited to perform in the first-ever classical music event at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music & Media Festival in Austin, Texas. SOLI performed the music of American composers Steve Reich, Elliott Carter, Michael Torke, and John Adams to a sellout crowd at this Boosey & Hawkes Music Company-sponsored program. SOLI’s strong commitment to commissioning new works has resulted in more than over 80 works from emerging and established composers. The ensemble has premiered works by Steven Mackey, Matthew Aucoin, Clarice Assad, Paul Moravec, Ned Rorem, Robert X. Rodriguez, Tim Kramer, David Heuser, Alexandra Gardner, Elliott McKinley, Erich Stem, and many others. SOLI is also deeply devoted to education. Each season, SOLI presents a series of short concerts for young people entitled “SOLI Saturday’s”. These concerts introduce the music of today and tomorrow to our next generation of listeners. As Trinity University’s Ensemble in Residence since 2008, SOLI performs frequently on the campus, conducts open rehearsals, advises, guides and coaches student chamber groups, and closely works with the student composers. Annually SOLI takes its residency program on tour to other universities and colleges throughout the U.S. SOLI’s outreach programs enables music to reach audiences that otherwise may not be able to attend live performances of any kind. SOLI uses the music of our time to reach people in hospitals, hospices, clinics, and rehabilitation centers SOLI has received numerous awards including the 2013 Chamber Music America/ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award, and grants from the City of San Antonio, Department of Arts & Culture, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Tobin Endowment, New Music USA’s Creative Connections, the Cornyation Foundation, Meet the Composer, The Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts, the Argosy Foundation, The Amphion Foundation, among others. |
Appointed principal flute of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in 2012 at the age of 22, Sonora Slocum “has wonderful resonance and a delightfully relaxed vibrato. It’s easy to love such vocal playing, and any orchestra is blessed to have her big sound.” (American Record Guide 169).
Slocum has performed with orchestras around the country including guest principal flute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; She has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra on flute and piccolo. Her collaborations as guest principal include touring and audio recordings with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra as well as visual recordings with the Philharmonia Orchestra of New York at Lincoln Center. Slocum has worked under such renowned conductors as Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Sir Simon Rattle, Edo de Waart, Otto-Werner Mueller, John Williams and David Zinman, among many others. In addition to her debut album Return with Affetto Records, featuring John Wilson on piano, Slocum has released a new album, Mozart Flute Quartets, recorded with members of the Dover and Escher Quartets with record label Acis Productions. Both albums are available on all platforms. Signed CDs can be purchased on her website or at the concert. A regular soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony, Slocum is recognized for her “pure, sparkling sound” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Slocum's performances of Carl Nielsen’s Flute Concerto with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Johnson City Symphony earned her critical acclaim. “Slocum takes in vast quantities of air and spins it into gold. Hers is a dynamic range that whispers clearly and coherently and grows without tearing at the edges. Slocum has a HUGE sound...and a wizard’s bag resplendent with technical prowess and musical freshness. Slocum played with full-blooded intensity, convincing artistry, and astonishingly, she did it from memory.” (William Barnewitz, Urban Milwaukee). |
Formed in 2009, the Texas Guitar Quartet has been hailed as “Impeccable in every respect” by Classical Guitar Magazine. Throughout the United States, Central America, Spain, and China, audiences have embraced the quartet for their daring programs, dazzling virtuosity and joyful music making.
Recent highlights include performances for the Encuentro Internacional de Guitarra 2016 (Nicaragua), Victoria Bach Festival, Guitar Foundation of America Convention, Festival Internacional del Noreste (Mexico), and Texas Music Festival. During the summer of 2015, the quartet presented a series of concerts in historic cathedrals along the Camino de Santiago, Spain. The TxGQ premiered a landmark new work by lauded American composer Nico Muhly in collaboration with Grammy-winning chamber choir Conspirare, Grammy-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and the Dublin Guitar Quartet. The group continues to push the boundaries of the guitar quartet medium by premiering new works by Joseph Williams II, Peter Lieuwen, Mark Anthony Cruz, Benoit Albert, and John Truitt and creating daring arrangements of orchestral works by Mozart, Beethoven and Ravel. Red, the quartet's first album, was released to critical acclaim and was praised by Guitar International as a “tremendous accomplishment for the classical guitar...the TxGQ perform with virtuosity, clarity, balance, and a refined character which will no doubt help to establish them as one of today’s leading guitar quartets.” Their upcoming album, Icon, features the complete 40th Symphony by Mozart and was released in 2017. The TxGQ has been featured in concertos with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra (Maestro Marcelo Bussiki), Camerata Bach and Nicaraguan Youth Symphony (Maestro César Bermúdez Rodriguez), Sam Houston State University Symphony Orchestra (Maestro Zachary Carretin), Abilene Philharmonic (Maestro David Itkin), and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (Columbus, GA). Their commitment to performing outreach concerts led them to be part of the Texas Commission on the Arts Texas Touring Artist Roster from 2010 to 2018. The TxGQ is Isaac Bustos, Joseph Palmer, Jay Kacherski, and Alejandro Montiel. |
Quickly becoming one of the most talked about and sought after musical ambassadors to Generation Z, violinist Chloé Trevor has combined her technical brilliance, spirit for classical music and her passion for mentoring the youth of today to connect with audiences in exciting and innovative ways. Silver medalist of the Ima Hogg Competition, critics have acclaimed Chloé for her “dazzling technique”, “excellent musicianship”, “huge tone”, “poise and professional grace”, and “bold personality unafraid to exult in music and ability”.
She has appeared as a soloist with orchestras worldwide, including the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Latvian Chamber Orchestra, Slovak State Philharmonic, Plano Symphony, and the Knoxville Symphony. She made her New York concerto debut in 2013 and Avery Fisher Hall debut in 2014. Chloé was the Grand Prize winner at the 2006 Lynn Harrell Competition and the 2005 Lennox Competition. She has been a featured soloist with the Dallas Symphony at the Meyerson Symphony Center, and with the Missouri Symphony on tour throughout the state. At age thirteen she appeared on the nationally syndicated radio program From the Top. Chloé has appeared as a soloist with the Lutoslawski Filharmonie (Poland), the Teplice Philharmonic (Czech Republic), and a tour with the Latvian Chamber Orchestra. She was also invited as a soloist in the Young Prague Spring Festival to give recitals and perform the Mendelssohn Concerto in and around Prague. More recent performances included Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Dallas Symphony and Prokofiev's 2nd Concerto both at Sala São Paulo in Brazil and with the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra as a result of winning the Cleveland Institute of Music's Concerto Competition. She went on to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Houston Symphony and recitals at the Music in the Mountains Festival with pianist David Korevaar. She opened the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra’s 2010-11 season with the Barber Violin Concerto and the Missouri Symphony’s “Hot Summer Nights” 2011 Opening Gala with the Brahms Concerto. She returned to perform the Beethoven Concerto with the Knoxville Symphony for their Diamond anniversary season. In 2013, Chloé performed the Shostakovich Concerto No. 1 with the Missouri Symphony and was a guest soloist with the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic in the Czech Republic for their annual Christmas concert. In November 2014, the Dallas Morning News described Chloé as an artist “supplying tonal refinement, technical facility and natural musicality” in her performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5. Chloe’s September 2017 performance of Glass’ Violin Concerto No. 2 was hailed as “thrilling and seamless” by Arts+Culture Magazine, “[bringing] out the nuanced drama inherent in Glass’ music.” Having recently concluded her first tours of Australia, Singapore, Spain, and Mexico, Chloé’s upcoming engagements include multiple recitals in North America and appearances with Filarmonia Xalapa, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, the Midland Symphony Orchestra, the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, and the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. Dedicated to music education and outreach, Chloé regularly connects with students and teachers through interactive performances, masterclasses, and lectures, both in person and online. With an extensive and ever-growing following via social media, Chloé enjoys spreading her message of positivity and encouragement to hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis in order to influence present and future generations of classical musicians. Summer 2018 marks the inaugural year of the Chloé Trevor Music Academy, an intensive two-week program for string players and pianists offering one-on-one instruction, chamber music coaching, masterclasses, orchestral training, and career guidance by the world's premier soloists, teachers, and conductors. Chloé was introduced to the violin at age 2 by her mother, Heidi Trevor Itashiki, Dallas Symphony violinist. She later studied with Arkady Fomin, Dallas Symphony violinist and Artistic Director of the New Conservatory of Dallas. Chloé has made numerous appearances on the concert stage with her father, internationally recognized conductor and teacher, Kirk Trevor. She completed her undergraduate degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with David and Linda Cerone, and her graduate degree as a scholarship student at Rice University studying with Kenneth Goldsmith. Chloé plays on a Carlo Landolfi violin made in Italy in 1771 and bows by Etienne Pajeot and Émile-Auguste Ouchard. |
Soloist, collaborative pianist, chamber musician, producer, and arts administrator Jonathan Tsay maintains an artistic career as diverse as his interests. A recent multi-city tour of Taiwan included solo recital stops at the National Recital Hall in Taipei, Kaohsiung Music Hall, and the Pingtung Arts Center. Other recent solo engagements include performances for The Cliburn, Music at Southminster in Ottawa, Blanco Performing Arts, and Fine Arts Chamber Players.
A sought after collaborator, Dr. Tsay has also performed alongside some of the world’s premier musicians, including Chee-Yun, David Cooper (Principal Horn, Berlin Philharmonic), Jing Wang (Concertmaster, Hong Kong Philharmonic), dramatic soprano Alessandra Marc, Chloé Trevor (“musical ambassador to Generation Z”), the Cézanne Quartet, and Nathan Olson (Concertmaster, Dallas Symphony Orchestra). Jonathan performs regularly as Principal Keyboard of the Las Colinas Symphony. Jonathan also serves as Artistic Director of Ensemble75, a chamber music series based out of Dallas, Texas. Jonathan's recordings can be found in Brahms - A Listener's Guide: Unlocking the Masters Series, as well as on Chloé Trevor’s album Immortal and Danse Macabre. A solo CD, Portfolio, was released in 2009, and Jonathan's collaborative album Harmonic Allusions was released in September 2017. Away from the piano bench, Jonathan is the host of the classical music podcast entitled "Between the Barlines" which explores the lives of the various personalities that make up the classical musical landscape in the DFW Metroplex. Increasingly popular as a masterclass teacher, Dr. Tsay has given masterclasses for Taiwan National University of the Arts, Kaohsiung Normal University, Soochow University, Stephen F. Austin State University, and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He has served on the screening jury for the Dallas International Piano Competition as well as adjudicator for numerous competitions including the Texas Music Teacher's Association Solo Competition and Austin Youth Music Ambassadors. Dr. Tsay started his piano studies with Carolyn Savko at the age of five. Under the tutelage of Dr. Carol Leone, Jonathan earned a Bachelors of Music with Honors at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University. Jonathan entered l’Université de Montréal as a Masters of Music student of Marc Durand, and received his doctorate through an accelerated program. Jonathan’s musical background also includes composition studies with Simon Sargon and David Karp, and conducting with Jack Delaney and Paul Phillips. |
Violist Blake Turner, a native of San Antonio, Texas, has appeared in a wide range of venues around the world including performances in China, New York’s Carnegie Hall, the World Trade Center in Curaçao, Netherland Antilles, and Miami’s New World Center. Blake is an accomplished orchestral musician, performing regularly as Assistant Principal Viola of the Austin Symphony and as a substitute with the Houston and New World Symphonies. He also performed with the San Antonio Symphony after winning the American Viola Society’s Orchestral Excerpt Competition.
Blake is a sought after chamber musician who has performed alongside members of the Cordova and Miró Quartets and collaborated with musicians such as Robert McDonald and Anton Nel. Blake has been invited to appear at music festivals in Aspen, Colorado, and Madeline Island, Wisconsin, and developed a winter concert series in collaboration with the Aspen Music Festival to bring chamber music to Aspen during ski season. Blake is an active music educator. He has coached chamber music ensembles at the Austin Chamber Music Center and Rice University’s Preparatory Program, and assisted the Austin Symphony in redesigning their education programming. Blake completed his Bachelor’s degree in viola performance at Rice University and received a Master’s degree in chamber music performance from The University of Texas at Austin. His principal teachers include Ivo van der Werff, James Dunham and John Largess of the Miró Quartet. Beyond classical music, Blake enjoys bluegrass and fiddling. He has won first prize in several regional fiddling competitions in the Texas Hill Country and particularly enjoys impromptu jam sessions with his brothers. |
Collin Turner grew up as a Suzuki student studying piano with Vickie Pautz and violin with Suzy Perlman. He studied Violin Performance at Mercer University as part of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings in Macon, Georgia and performed chamber music at the Rome Chamber Music Festival.
Collin graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy from Southern Methodist University. Throughout his years at SMU, he performed as a violinist in the renowned Meadows Symphony Orchestra and studied with Kim Chee-Yun. He recently completed his 6-month Music Therapy internship at Florida Hospital in Orlando specializing in work with infants in the NICU. While in Orlando, Collin set up a heartbeat recording station to record patients’ heartbeat and assisted the patients in composing lyrics and music to go along with the heartbeat. This was an effective intervention for patients recovering from heart transplant surgery and cancer to document their experience. Collin is a Board- Certified Music Therapist for Southwestern Music Therapy LLC in Dallas, Texas. He uses his music skills in violin, guitar, percussion, piano, and voice to develop and implement goal-driven, specialized treatment interventions to maximize each client’s potential. |
United States Air Force Band of the West Freedom Brass, the brass ensemble of the United States Air Force Band of the West, is stationed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. The ensemble is comprised of two trumpets, French horn, trombone, tuba, and percussion and is dedicated to presenting to its audiences the total spectrum of today's musical literature.
The members of Freedom Brass bring to the United States Air Force many years of professional experience with symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, touring shows, and today's popular artists. This group has been featured in performances at the New York Brass Conference and Boston University's Tanglewood Music Center. Freedom Brass performs for civilian and military audiences throughout the southwestern region of the United States of America with a repertoire spanning five centuries. Freedom Brass travels more than twenty thousand miles annually and appears in more than 100 concerts and clinics. The group performs at military ceremonies, conducts educational clinics, and presents entertaining community concerts throughout the Band of the West's touring region. |
The Vienna Boys Choir is made up of 100 choristers between the ages of nine and fourteen, divided into four touring choirs. Each choir spends nine to eleven weeks of the academic year on tour. Together, the choirs give around 300 concerts each year, attended by almost half a million spectators around the world. The choir regularly tours Europe, Asia and Australia, and the Americas. The choir’s first journey to Chile took place in 1936. On Sundays, the boys perform with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and of the Vienna State Opera Chorus in Vienna’s Imperial Chapel, as they have done since 1498. In 2012, the choir opened its own concert hall, MuTh; the state-of-the art facility seats 400 and has proven highly popular with both artists and audience. The choir’s repertoire includes everything from medieval to contemporary music. Motets and lieder form the core of the touring repertoire, as do the choir’s own arrangements of Viennese music. The choir also performs children’s operas and world music.
The first ever sound recording of the choir was made on a wax cylinder in 1907; since then, the boys have recorded 43 shellacks, 55 singles, 128 LPs and 150 CDs on every major label. In 2015, the choir signed a longterm deal with Deutsche Grammophon. A CD of holiday music was released in 2015, a CD offering a selection of music by Strauss followed in 2018. 26 films and 17 TV documentaries attest to the choir’s international appeal. The Vienna Boys Choir performs with major orchestras, such as the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Muti (honorary member of the Chapel Imperial), Andrés Orozco Estrada, Christian Thielemann, Simone Young. A particular highlight are the appearances at the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's New Year’s Concert. In 2012 and 2016, the boys performed under the baton of Mariss Jansons. |
Hailed by the Washington Times as “beauteous soprano Laurelyn Watson” and by the New York Post for her “gorgeously sung Mabel,” soprano Laurelyn Watson woos audiences with her beautiful voice. Miss Watson has been lauded by the New York Times for her recent appearance at New York’s City Center as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance: “But first honors are taken by Laurelyn Watson…. {whose} pure, agile lyric soprano negotiates the coloratura runs of her music with impressive ease.”
Her creation last season of the role of Kay in Sorg Opera’s production of Curtis Tucker’s new opera The Strangers Tale earned her the following mention in Opera News: “Watson’s Kay was sheer delight, a combination of an engaging stage persona and a lush soprano voice.” This season, Miss Watson makes her debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, presented by the Performing Arts Foundation and will return to the Music at Saint Alban’s concert series as soprano soloist in the March presentation of Mozart’s “Coronation” Mass. Laurelyn Watson sings regularly with regional opera companies and orchestras such as Sorg Opera, Lake George Opera, The Buffalo Philharmonic and the Sioux City Symphony and is a leading soprano with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players (NYGASP). With NYGASP, she has toured the country and performed at such venues as City Center, Wolf Trap, New Jersey Performing Arts Center and The Mann Center. Winner of the National Arts Club’s Voice Competition, she has appeared in solo recital and in concert at the Liederkranz Foundation, Caramoor, the Hewlett-Woodmere Library and Steinway Hall. In 2005, Miss Watson appeared as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance with Hal Linden at New York City Center to great critical acclaim (above), as Yum-Yum in The Mikado with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Kay in the world premiere of The Stranger’s Tale with Sorg Opera, and The Sultana Rose-in-Bloom in Arthur Sullivan’s rarely performed The Rose of Persia at Symphony Space. She also performed as soprano soloist in concerts with the Lake George Opera and the Music at Saint Alban’s concert series. Miss Watson returns to City Center as Angelina in Trial by Jury and Yum-Yum in The Mikado this January. She is a graduate of The Manhattan School of Music, University of North Texas, the Bel Canto Institute, and The Sommelier Society of America. For Music at Saint Alban’s, she has performed in solo recital and as soprano soloist in Saint Alban’s Festival Choral Society performances of John Rutter’s Gloria, Igor Stravinsky’s Mass and Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria and J.S. Bach’s Magnificat in D and Johannes-Passion (Saint John Passion). |
An internationally celebrated soloist and chamber musician, clarinetist Nathan Williams has recently been praised for his “sublime control”, “silky sound”, and “dazzling technique”. He is the principal clarinetist of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in Houston and, along with pianist Audrey Andrist and violinist James Stern, is a founding member of Strata, a trio that for more than 20 years has been honing and augmenting this ensemble’s repertory.
Strata’s latest commissions include works by Stephen Paulus, which the trio premiered in Merkin Concert Hall, and by Kenneth Frazelle, which Strata premiered on the Secrest Series in Winston-Salem, NC. Most recently, Strata participated in a commissioning consortium for a new trio by Libby Larsen which they premiered in March, 2016. Williams is a frequent guest performer and teacher across the country and abroad. He has been heard in Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, Merkin Hall, and the Kaufman Center at the 92nd Street Y in New York. Abroad he has given concerts in Austria, Canada, China, France, Italy, Israel, Hungary, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Portugal. Broadcasts of his performances can be heard regularly on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today”. He has recorded for Albany Records, Composers Recordings, Inc., Naxos, New Dynamic Records, and Arizona University Recordings. During the summer months, he teaches and performs at festivals such as the Xi’an International Clarinet Festival in China, the International Clarinet Festival in Taichung, Taiwan, as well as serving on the artist faculty of the Adult Chamber Music Institute at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. His students have garnered prizes in national and international competitions, most recently including the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition, Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Young Artist Competition, the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition, the Texas Young Artists Competition, Minnesota Orchestra, the Theatro Municipal de Sao Paulo, and the Shen Yun Performing Arts Orchestra. Former students hold positions in major symphony orchestras and universities in the United States and abroad, including the St. Louis Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, Shanghai Symphony, Danish National Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Santa Barbara Symphony. A graduate of the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria (Artist’s Diploma), the Eastman School of Music (MM), and the Juilliard School (DMA), Williams is an artist/clinician for Vandoren and a Buffet Group USA Performing Artist. He performs exclusively on Buffet R13 Prestige clarinets, Vandoren V12 reeds, and uses mouthpieces made by Brad Behn and Vandoren. |
American pianist John Wilson has established himself as an artist who is both refined in style, and also a “marvelous musical mad scientist” (Music Critics Association of North America). With a repertoire ranging from the Baroque to the Contemporary, John has performed extensively in North America, in recital halls such as Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco), Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall (New York), New World Symphony Center (Miami).
John played piano on the San Francisco Symphony’s 2021 Grammy-winning recording of Michael Tilson Thomas “Meditations on Rilke”, winning “Best Classical Compendium.” As soloist he has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, New World Symphony, the New Amsterdam Symphony and Orchestra Camerata Notturna in New York City. He most recently won 1st prize in the 2019 International Respighi Competition, which resulted in an invitation to perform as soloist with The Chamber Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall; other prizes include 1st place in the American Prize Foundation 2019 Competition, and "Best Performance of an American Work" at the 2017 Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition. A sought-after collaborator for the world’s most prolific composers, Wilson has had the pleasure of being a part of numerous world premieres, performing on the U.S and World premieres of solo piano works by Michael Tilson Thomas, duo works by Timo Andres and Judith Lang Zaimont, and ensemble-orchestral works by John Adams, Steve Reich, Reinbert de Leeuw, HK Gruber, and Bernd Deutsch. A devoted chamber musician and collaborator, he has appeared in chamber ensembles with musicians of the San Diego Symphony, San Francisco Symphony and Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Wilson has performed in duo recitals with violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Johannes Moser, violinist Anthony Marwood and soprano Audra McDonald. Wilson was trained at the Peabody Conservatory, where he received his B.M., M.M., and Performance Diploma. He is a regular keyboardist for the San Diego Symphony and San Francisco Symphony, where he served as Principal Keyboard for their 2018, and 2020 tours. John has recorded for Naxos USA, MSR Classics, SFS Media Label, and performances can be heard on Medici.tv and WQXR. Wilson’s debut solo CD was released fall 2021 on the Avie Label, featuring the world premiere of new piano works by Michael Tilson Thomas. |
WindSync is a collective of five outstanding North American wind musicians who come together as performers, educators, and community-builders. WindSync concerts are intimate, joyful, and thoughtfully programmed with people and places in mind. The quintet eliminates the "fourth wall" by performing from memory, connecting quickly and memorably with audiences. Recent winners of the Concert Artists Guild and Fischoff competitions, they approach their mixed repertory of wind quintets and arrangements with the highest level of artistic dedication.
WindSync has appeared in recital at the Met Museum, Schubert Club, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. In 2015, WindSync was invited by the Library of Congress to perform the world premiere of Paul Lansky's "The Long and the Short of it", commissioned by the Carolyn Royall Just Fund and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Their 2018-2019 season includes performances at the New School, Ravinia, and the Hobby Center, and premieres by composers Ivan Trevino, John Steinmetz, and Marc Mellits. WindSync takes a special interest in reaching children, families, and underserved audiences. Part of the burgeoning creative placemaking movement, the ensemble has recently focused on performance in public spaces in Houston and in Opelousas, LA. They have been featured in educational concerts presented by the Seattle Symphony, Midland Symphony, and Orli Shaham's "Baby Got Bach", and their concerts for young people reach over 10,000 students per year. Advocates of 21st century musicianship models, the members of WindSync have led master classes at New World Symphony, Texas Music Festival, and the University of Maryland Renegade Series, among others. WindSync has also served as ensemble-in-residence for Adelphi University, the Chamber Music Festival of Lexington (KY), and the Grand Teton Music Festival. www.windsync.org/ |
The Zenith Quintet from Austin's chamber music cooperative, REVEL, is an electro-acoustic project created by saxophonists Rami El-Farrah, Sunil Gadgil, Michael Hertel, and Spencer Nielsen of the Bel Cuore Quartet, and Revel’s pianist and co-founder, Carla McElhaney.
BCQ and McElhaney first came together in 2012 as featured guest artists at The University of Texas at San Antonio, performing composer Asha Srinivasan’s Janani for Saxophone Quartet and Piano during her UTSA residency. It is not without significance that Janani is a piece celebrating birth and new life; it served as the catalyst for the formation of Zenith, a sky’s-the-limit collaboration between forward-thinking artists from two of Austin’s most beloved and original chamber ensembles. After making their debut as the Zenith Quintet on After Hours Concerts at Springdale Farm, the ensemble went on to appear on the Donald Grantham Concert Series, the Blanco Performing Arts Series, the Texas Lutheran University Guest Artist Series, and on a variety of Revel events. In addition to premiering original arrangements of works by an eclectic array of composers, including Vivaldi, Piazzolla, Aero Smith, and more, Zenith premiered their first commission, Zackery Wilson’s joySTICK IT, a piece for saxophone quartet, keyboard, and fixed media, which later went on to win both 2nd Prize and the Public Prize at the 2014 International Alkema Composition Contest in The Netherlands. Later, in collaboration with Revel, Zenith premiered Son of Cimetiére for Saxophone Quartet and Piano Trio by award-winning composer Donald Grantham. Zenith is now officially under the REVEL umbrella to collaborate with Revel on an ongoing basis, and to actively commission progressive composers to create new works for their unique configuration. |