♪ Cecilia has performed internationally as an orchestral musician and soloist. Born in Los Angeles, she has appeared as a soloist with the Mexico City Philharmonic. By special request of the First Lady of Mexico, Cecilia was twice invited to play before the President of Mexico. Her freelance performing career in California brought numerous celebrity engagements, including a concert for Princess Grace of Monaco and a performance of the Bach Double with Jack Benny. In the Pacific Northwest, Cecilia is one of the most sought-after violinists for chamber music. She participated in 12 seasons of acclaimed chamber music performances at the Olympic Music Festival. Cecilia is a member of the Northwest Sinfonietta. She also appeared with Gallery Concerts, performing on period instruments, and has performed with Seattle Symphony and the Pacific Northwest Ballet.

♫ Natasha was born in Ekaterinburg, Russia and began playing solo violin at age 5. She made her solo debut with Ural State Philharmonic Orchestra at age 9, was later invited to study under professor Belenky at Moscow Central Music School, and was one of five people chosen to participate in Yehudi Menuhin’s masterclass during his historic visit to Moscow. After graduating with honors, Bazhanov was accepted to the Moscow Conservatory and toured extensively throughout Europe, with festival appearances including Schleswig-Holstein, Evian, Bonn and Schloss Ort. Upon moving to the U.S., Bazhanov became a member of The Florida Orchestra’s violin section and later, Principal Second Violin. She relocated to Seattle in 2006 to join the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, and plays regularly with the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera.

♪ David is a graduate of Western Washington University and a member of the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra. While his career has been as a Park Ranger with the National Park Service and Whatcom County Parks, music has always been a significant avocation. While stationed at Desolation Peak Fire Lookout in the North Cascades National Park, visiting hikers and wildlife were often treated to strains of J.S. Bach’s Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin. He currently lives in Whatcom County with his wife and two sons.

♫ Nancy became a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1983 and was its Assistant Concertmaster from 1986 until 2009, when she retired to devote herself to chamber music. She is Artistic Director of 1807 & Friends, first violinist of the Wister Quartet and the Amerita Chamber Players, and violinist and violist with the Barnard Trio, the Florian Trio, Duo Paganini and Duo Parisienne. A Seattle native, she is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Jascha Brodsky and Felix Galimir. She has appeared as soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Philharmonic, the Wheeling Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony and Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia.

She has performed in chamber concerts with Wolfgang Sawallisch, Christoph Eschenbach, Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Alicia de Larrocha, Radu Lupu, Yo-Yo Ma and Garrick Ohlsson. She has recorded with Koch International and Direct-to-Tape Records. Before joining The Philadelphia Orchestra she was Assistant Concertmaster of the Santa Fe Opera Company.

♪ Isabel has a Master of Music Degree from the Stockholm Royal Music College, and a Master of Chamber Music Degree from the Edsberg Music Institute. Isabel has performed on TV, radio and on international music festivals in Europe, Scandinavia, and America. She has played in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, The Stockholm Royal Opera and The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Since 2003, she is a member of the Indra String Quartet, and since 2009 cellist in Stahlhammer Klezmer Classic Ensemble. She has toured extensively in the Baltic countries, Israel, Macedonia, Italy, and Canada. She has been Artist in Residence twice at that Banff Music Centre for the Arts in Canada and been awarded several grants such as the Ingemar Bergman grant, the Anders Wall grant, the Gabriel Urwitz grant and the Swedish Arts Council grant. In 2013 Isabel and Semmy collaborated with Israeli composer Rahel Galinne and recorded her trio.

♫ Brittany recently moved back to Seattle where she performs as Concertmaster and Soloist of the AuburSymphony Orchestra, Bellevue Philharmonic, and 5th Avenue Theater. Other recent solo appearances have been with the New Haven Symphony, Spoleto Festival and National Reperatory Orchestra. She also performs regularly with the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera. During the summer season Ms. Bouldingattends the Bellingham Festival of Music and in the past has appeared as Concertmaster of the Tanglewood Music Center, Banff Center and Spoleto USA Orchestras. Ms. Bouldingreceived her BM from Rice University as a student of Kenneth Goldsmith and her Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn Conservatory under the tutelage of Robert Lipsett. Ms. Boulding’s violin career also extends past her experience as a classical musician. Since the age of 6, she has been performing with her family the internationally acclaimed MAGICAL STRINGS touring throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Ireland. She has recorded on five of their sixteen albums and been a featured soloist at their annual Celtic Yuletide Concerts, a celebrated Northwest tradition.

♪ Carolyn’s hometown is Seattle. She was educated in the U.S, Europe, and Canada. Vancouver, B.C. was home for her 36-year career as a symphony and opera violinist, as a music educator, festival adjudicator, and chamber music. Carolyn Canfield played 25 years with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in the First Violin section — including one year acting concertmaster — and 10 years with the Vancouver Opera. Other performances include: CBC Radio Orchestra, Carmel Bach Festival, Carmel, CA; Pacific Baroque Festival Orchestra Vancouver; and Vancouver Film Orchestra.

Carolyn Canfield recorded the world-premiere of Frederick Schipizky’s Variations for Solo Violin, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation SM5000 Series. It can be found here:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyncanfieldcole/

‍In 2018, life changes took Carolyn from Canada back to the U.S., moving to New York for new performance experiences: New Haven Symphony Orchestra; Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Ithaca; Pitstop Players; Christchurch Festival Chorus/Orchestra; Harmonia Chamber Players New Jersey; New York Symphonic Arts Ensemble; Brooklyn Metro Orchestra; Canterbury Choral Society; OMNI Ensemble; Broadway with Phantom, amongst others. Carolyn Canfield was invited to audition for the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. She is a former faculty member at Bronx House Performing Arts Center, Bronx, NYC.

Carolyn, now living on the West Coast in Ferndale, Washington, was inspired to re-design her career when covid hit. In Seasons 2020 and 2021, she worked as Caption Artist for the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra for their Zoom Concerts.  Carolyn is also on the coaching staff for the Bellingham Youth Chamber Players. While lessons were previously taught online, her Artist Drive Teaching Studio is now "in person". She enjoys playing chamber music with new and old artist friends up and down the coast, and she continues to play on both coasts, and in Canada: Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra; Bellingham Festival of Music, and the new East Hampton Arts Festival, Long Island, NYC.

Influential teachers were: Max Rostal (Germany) - two consecutive Fulbrights in Hochschule Köln; Master Classes with Nathan Milstein (Zurich) and Aaron Rosand (Nice); Denes Zsigmondy (Seattle UofW); Jeanne Lamond (Tafelmusik, UofToronto); and Elizabeth Wallfisch (Carmel Bach Festival, CA and Irsee, Germany).

♪ Acclaimed throughout the music world as not just a performer, but an “artiste,” Italian violinist Roberto Cani has continued to bring his art to the highest of levels, captivating and delighting audiences in the United States and abroad, since his solo debut at the Gaveau Hall in Paris. Beginning his studies at the tender age of seven, Mr. Cani has been a first and grand prize winner of numerous competitions, including the Paganini International Competition in Genoa, the Courcillon International Competition, and the Jeunesses Musicales International Competition in Belgrade, where he also captured a special award for the best performance of a contemporary work.

In addition, he has been the winner of the Minetti Prize and received honors at the Tchaikovsky Competition. A current resident of Los Angeles, Mr. Cani has performed throughout the United States as well as in Italy, South Africa, Germany, Russia, Croatia, Belgium, Poland, Serbia, France, Taiwan, Japan, Austria and Spain. He has appeared as soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic, the RAI Symphony (Italy), the Belgrade and Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestras, the Haydn Symphony, the American Youth Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Missouri Chamber Orchestra, the Burbank Philharmonic, the Glendale Symphony, the West Los Angeles Symphony, the Paradise Symphony and the Marina Del Rey Symphony. His performances have been televised nationally for PBS, RAI in Italy, RB in Yugoslavia, NHK in Japan, ZDF in Germany and in Taiwan. He has been featured on several occasions in radio broadcasts on both KMZT and KKGO in Los Angeles. Other notable appearances include his widely acclaimed performance of the first concerti of Paganini and Szymanowski in Italy and his premiere of a piece by Polish composer, Gorecki, for violin and piano. Mr. Cani is a graduate of the Milan Conservatory, the Gnessin Institute in Moscow, and the University of Southern California. He has studied with world-renowned violinists Viktor Tretiakov, Abrahm Shtern, Pavel Vernikov, A.Schoenfeld, R.Lipsett.

He currently teaches at the Summer Festivals in Positano, Italy and Hvar, Croatia. Mr. Cani has also had the pleasure of touring with conductor and pianist Justus Frantz, participating in Chamber Music Festivals in Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, and the Canary Islands. Recently, he has performed as Concertmaster for La Scala Orchestra in Milan. Mr. Cani has recorded the Vivaldi “Four Seasons,” sonatas by Respighi and Busoni with pianist Jeffrey Swann, and the solo sonatas of Bartok, Ysaye, Bloch, and Prokofiev under the Arkadia and Agora labels. His other recordings include the Tchaikovski violin concerto and a CD of favorite encores. Mr. Cani currently plays on a Pietro Guarneri of Venice on loan from the Canale foundation in Italy.

♫ Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick is an active soloist, chamber musician and specialist in contemporary music. She has performed world and local premieres of solo and chamber works throughout the U.S. and Europe including the Los Angeles Olympic Festival, the Computer Music Festival in Zurich, the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz and the San Francisco Symphony New and Unusual Music series. She recently recorded Elliott Carter’s “Enchanted Preludes,” a work written for her and flutist Dorothy Stone. She has toured with Joan LaBarbara and Morton Subotnick since 1981. Jacob’s Room, on Wergo Records, marks her fourth appearance in recordings of Mr. Subotnick’s music. She is a founding member of the California E.A.R. Unit, a Los Angeles-based new music ensemble, with whom she tours throughout the U.S. and Europe. She has also given master classes and recitals under the auspices of the U.S.I.A. Arts America Program in Central and South America. A native of Los Angeles, her principal studies were with Cesare Pascarella and she has been coached by Mischa Schneider, William Pleeth, and Pierre Fournier.

♪ Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mark Gasbarro now lives and works in Los Angeles. Mark’s work as a pianist, composer/arranger/orchestrator, and producer has taken him around the world, though his home base has been his work in Hollywood. His work may be heard on hundreds of productions from blockbuster feature films and television series through album projects, awards shows and more.

Among these many are: Star Trek Beyond, Jurassic World, Disney/Pixar’s Zootopia, Tomorrowland, Pixar’s Inside Out, Up, Ratatouille, Cars 2, The Incredibles, Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, Mission Impossible III, the Academy Awards,  Star Trek Into Darkness, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, TV series Lost, Revenge, Big Love, What About Brian, Ghost Whisperer, Friday Night Lights, Heroes, Castle, among many others.

His live concert work ranges from opera through musical theater to jazz and pop. He is also an adjunct professor of both piano and composition at Azusa Pacific University. Equally comfortable with varying styles of music, Mark moves smoothly through jazz, pop, film, classical and world music. As a composer, his work has supported dozens of shows seen on the Fox Network, ABC, PBS, A&E, HBO, the History Channel and the Discovery Channel.

Some of Mark’s recent work as orchestrator may be heard in Inside Out, Jurassic World, John Carter, Land of the Lost, Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, Mission Impossible III, Robert Altman’s film The Company and scores to video game projects including Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, (winner BAFTA Award -Best Interactive Score) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Call of Duty, several of the Medal of Honor titles, , many others.

He has also served as arranger/producer/pianist and conductor on over 70 CD & video productions for Integrity Media, Inc., Brentwood Records, Columbia Records Japan, Monarch Records, Tidal Wave, and his own new production company Gasbarro Music Group.

♫ Prior to joining the piano faculty at Western Washington University in 1992, Jeffrey Gilliam taught at The Juilliard School; The University of Michigan School of Music; and at The International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad, Switzerland. He has performed and taught all over the world, including guest university teaching positions in Thailand and South Africa, as well as receiving two Fulbright awards. He has recorded with violinists Yehudi Menuhin, Alberto Lysy, and Ruggerio Ricci for the EMI, Dinemec Classics, and Opus 111 labels. Originally from Akron, Ohio, Jeffrey Gilliam studied piano with Cécile Genhart at The Eastman School of Music, and with Theodore Lettvin at The University of Michigan. He also studied collaborative piano with Martin Katz and Margo Garrett. In addition to teaching piano and collaborative piano at Western, he is Artistic Director of Western’sSanford-Hill Piano Series.

♪ Hal has been enthusiastically acclaimed by critics and audiences alike for his “vibrant tone” and “superb technique”. Grand Award Winner of the Lima Young Artist Competition and Silver Medalist of the International Stulberg String Competition, Mr. Grossman also received First Prize Awards at the prestigious International Cleveland Quartet Competition and the National Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. His New York Debut at Carnegie Hall received exceptional reviews from the New York Times. He was invited to perform for their Royal Highnesses, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, in a CBC television and radio broadcast. Recital appearances have taken him throughout North America and Europe. In the United States he has also been heard on National Public Radio, WQXI-New York, and WFMT-Chicago. Mr. Grossman served as the Concertmaster of the Estranach Festival Orchestra in Luxembourg, a position he has also held with the Illinois Philharmonic, the Boise Philharmonic, the Lansing Symphony and the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. He has been featured at the Casals (Puerto Rico), Evian (France), Orfeo (Italy), InterHarmony (Germany) music festivals and, in the continental U.S., the Aspen, Lancaster, Breckenridge, Fontana, Great Lakes, Marrowstone, Manitou, and Garth Newel music festivals.

Mr. Grossman is Professor of Violin at The University of Louisville and on the violin faculty at the Aria International Music Academy, Marrowstone Music Festival and the Northwest Music Retreat. He is the founder and creator of The Grossman Method, a course of study addressing musician’s health issues. The Grossman Method has been nominated for Outstanding Achievement in String Research Award by the American String Teachers Association.

www.halgrossman.com
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www.TheGrossmanMethod.com

♫ Paula received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from USC. There, she studied with Gabor Rejto and coached with Aaron Copland. She studied further at Yale Summer Quartet Program with the Tokyo String Quartet and Raphael Hillyer. Her quartet performed on the east coast and in Europe at the Munich Chamber Music Festival. She has worked with major recording artists over the past 35 years, including Andrea Bocelli, Barbara Streisand, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, James Taylor, etc.

She has been a member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, The New West Symphony, and the Santa Barbara Symphony, and is now a member of the Malibu Coast String Quartet. There she has recorded extensively on composer Maria Newman’s original works.

She has been a performer at various festivals around the country, including the Mozart Festival in San Luis Obispo and the Strawberry Creek Festival in Malibu. She has also been a staple for many jazz musicians including Chick Corea and Don Ellis, as well as film composer John Williams, Danny Elfman, James Horner, Marco Beltrami, Maria Newman, and Mark Isham.

♪ Internationally acclaimed violist, Scott Hosfeld, is a favorite collaborator among the world’s most renowned chamber musicians and has toured the globe to critical acclaim. He was violist of the Manhattan-based Riverside String Quartet, and with that ensemble won the prestigious Artists International Musicians Competition. Under the auspices of Artists International, the Riverside Quartet presented a critically acclaimed Carnegie Recital Hall debut and toured extensively. A former violin student of Camilla Wicks, Mr. Hosfeld received his Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees at the Manhattan School of Music, working with the renowned violist Lillian Fuchs. Hosfeld served as violist and founding member of the ValCoeur String Quartet and was artist-faculty-in-residence at the University of Arizona. With the ValCoeur, Hosfeld toured nationally and internationally. Tours included concert performances at Mexico’s Cervantino Festival Internacional, and in Moscow, Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), and Alma Ata in Kazakhstan, then a part of the Soviet Union.

For ten years Scott Hosfeld served as founder, executive and artistic director of the internationally lauded Icicle Creek Music Center in Leavenworth, Washington. During that period Hosfeld realized a lifelong dream: to establish a world-class chamber music festival, chamber music institute and year-round school of music in a truly inspiring environment. A respected and entrepreneurial conductor, Hosfeld is the founding conductor of the Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra, which has recorded extensively and received many honors including a commendation from the U.S. Congress.   In a recent collaboration with the newly formed Barak Ballet, the reviewer  from Neon Tommy wrote, “The Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra under music director Scott Hosfeld shone in their interpretation of Maria Newman’s (violin concerto) score “Lux Aeterna.”–Wiebke Schuster,  and  an upcoming review in Fanfare Magazine   “I would be remiss if I did not also praise the committed conducting of Scott Hosfeld” –Lynn René Bayley

He has these led orchestras for such respected solo collaborators as Nathaniel Rosen, Steven Doane, the Turtle Island String Quartet, violinists David Perry, Darol Anger and cellist Andrew Shulman, among others.

♫ A young bass/baritone and banjoist from the Los Angeles area. He has grown up surrounded by music and the arts and has been featured in many projects and productions. As a young boy, Matthew was featured as a singer on movie soundtracks such as those for The Polar Express and Christmas with the Kranks. He has also been featured musically on numerous commercials, such as those for Nintendo and Chevron. At Calabasas High School, Matthew performed the roles of Beast in Beauty and the Beast and the role of Moonface Martin in Anything Goes. Matthew also performed at the Jazz Singer with the Calabasas Jazz A and B bands. While at the Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival in New York City, Matthew sang at Lincoln Center.

The following year, he received an honorable mention for his performance at the Reno Jazz Festival. Shortly after graduating from high school, Matthew began studying classical voice and has studied with Rod Gilfrey, Juliana Gondek, and Elisabeth Howard. He currently studies exclusively under Dr. David Sannerud at California State University Northridge. In the past year at CSUN, Matthew has performed in multiple concerts and a University Choir festival with the Northridge Singers has sung solos in productions of works such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Handel’s Messiah, and performed in his operatic debut as Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea, by Monteverdi. He will continue his studies at CSUN as a junior in the Autumn of 2014.

♪ Peter is a native of Philadelphia, and a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music and The Settlement Music School, having studied with Roger Scott and Eligio Rossi. Upon graduation from Curtis, he immediately joined The Philadelphia Orchestra, remaining there for more than eight seasons before accepting the position of Principal Bass of The Minnesota Orchestra, a title he held from 1986 to 2007. Throughout his career, Mr. Lloyd has worked with many of the world’s greatest conductors, including Riccardo Muti, Klaus Tennstedt, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leonard Bernstein, Bernard Haitink, Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Kurt Masur, Charles Dutoit, Yuri Temirkanov, Eugene Ormandy and James Levine. Mr. Lloyd’s orchestral career continues today, regularly appearing as principal bass with a variety of ensembles worldwide.

Having dedicated much of his career to the chamber music repertoire, Mr. Lloyd has performed with the Guarneri String Quartet, Jamie Laredo at The 92nd Street Y and for many years with members of the Budapest, Guarneri, Emerson, Juilliard and Orion string quartets as well as the Beaux Arts Trio and the Penderecki, Miami, Miro, Brentano, Borromeo and Biava quartets. He has been a regular participant at The Marlboro School of Music, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Music Northwest, Music From Angel Fire, Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, The Brooklyn Chamber Music Society, Chicago Chamber Musicians, The Boston Chamber Music Society, The Brandenburg Ensemble, BargeMusic in New York City and La Musica. His concerts with these groups have taken him throughout North America, Europe, and the Far East.

Over the past three decades, Mr. Lloyd has worked with many of the major recording labels, having participated in dozens of recordings with RCA, EMI, Sony, Telarc, Virgin Classical, BIS, and Reference Recordings. In addition to his concert schedule, Mr. Lloyd maintains an active teaching career. He is a regular visitor to many of the leading music schools in the United States, giving master classes, lectures and recitals at The Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, The Tanglewood Music Festival, The Manhattan School of Music, The Mannes School, Indiana University, The Peabody Conservatory, The Chautauqua Institute, Youth Orchestra of the Americas and many others. He serves as an annual coach at The New York String Orchestra Seminar held at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Jamie Laredo, is a regular visiting teacher at The New World Symphony and has been invited to teach and perform in China at The Guangzhou International Music Academy under the direction of Charles Dutoit and The Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan.

Mr. Lloyd is currently a member of the faculty at The Colburn Conservatory of Music and Indiana University and has served as a member of the board of directors for The International Society of Bassists. Mr. Lloyd performs on a world-renowned bass violin made by Daniel Hachez, graciously provided by Robertson Violins of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

♫ At the age of 11, Marina Manukian joined the Radio and Television Violin Ensemble of Armenia thus becoming the youngest professional musician in the former Soviet Union. She received her musical training from Georgi Ajemian, Alice Schoenfeld, Yehudi Menuhin, Sandor Vegh, Edward Schmieder, and Sidney Weiss. Marina has studied at the prestigious Mozarteum School of Music in Salzburg, Austria and is also a USC graduate with Highest Honors. Since childhood, Marina has performed radio and television broadcasts, recordings, solos with orchestras, chamber music concerts and recitals. Her passionate artistry has been heard and embraced throughout Europe, former U.S.S.R., and the United States.

She is the winner of numerous music awards and prizes including the 1st prize for National Young Artist Competition, in former U.S.S.R., Aspen International Music Festival and Herb Alpert Music Award from A & M Records.

Marina has performed with such renowned artists as Mstislav Rostropovich, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Valeri Giergiev, Kent Nagano, James Conlon, Lynn Harell, and others.

The Los Angeles Times identifies Marina Manukian as “a violinist extraordinaire…whose virtuosity is exceeded only by her calmness and confidence, working through the intricacies with masterful grace and strength”.

Since 2006 Marina has been the Music Director and Concertmaster of The Enlightenment Chamber Music Series which present concerts performed by the selection of expert chamber musicians, soloists, and recording artists from around the world. In addition to her solo and chamber music performances, Marina has recorded for over 600 television and motion picture scores working with numerous composers including John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Newton-Howard, James Horner, Alan Silvestri and Danny Elfman.

♪ Recognized and commended by the United States Congress for her work in the field of classical music composition and performance, Maria Newman is an award-winning composer, violinist, violist, pianist, conductor, and pedagogue. An Annenberg Foundation Composition Fellow, Mary Pickford Library Composition Fellow, Variety Music Legend, and featured concert composer and soloist, Newman’s music has been heard in such diverse venues as the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C., WR Hearst Castle’s Private Theater, the Washington State Capitol Dome & Rotunda, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Music Scoring Stages of 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, MGM, Paramount, Universal Pictures, and in numerous international settings on radio, television and in live performance from Europe to Asia.

Newman is Composer-in-Residence with the Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra and Soloists, the Malibu Coast Madrigals, and holds the Louis & Annette Kaufman Composition Chair at the Montgomery Arts House for Music and Architecture in Malibu. A visible symbol in modern classical music, Maria Newman’s extensive original library of scintillating, highly discussed works represents a range of genres, from large-scale orchestra and choral, to chamber music, works for ballet, vocal solo works, song cycle/vocal chamber works, to original collaborative musical scores for historic silent films. NPR’s Jim Svejda, the popular on-air icon of musical opinion, (“The Record Shelf Guide to the Classical Repertoire”), has hailed Maria Newman as, “Hugely musical, bewitching, profound and playful, with an instantly recognizable and unusually appealing musical personality, Maria Newman is one of the most charming and distinctive composers of her generation.”

♫ Patrick began music studies at age 8, with cello and piano his interest, he then switched emphasis to the double bass at age 12. He received his MM Degree from the Juilliard School in 1981, where he was a prodigy of David Walter. During his 48 years in the music profession, performing solo, in chamber and symphonic groups, Patrick has traveled five continents. He has published more than 45 compositions for chamber, symphonic, and modern dance ensembles.

For 28 years, Patrick Neher taught music and cross-disciplinary collaborations at the University of Arizona. In 2015, Patrick moved residence to Bellingham, Washington, USA. He maintains a small publishing house and a recording studio dedicated to acoustic artists (ISG Publications and Acoustic Art Studio). Patrick recently established WAVE, Washington Allegro Vivace Ensemble, with its performance home at The Firehouse Performing Arts Center.

♪ Massimo was born in Rome, Italy. He is a versatile artist: soloist of viola and viola d’amore, composer, conductor, pedagogue. He is considered by audience and critics as one of today’s leading violist “one of the best violist of the last generation”.“

Mr. Paris is with no doubt the best violist ever heard. The beauty of his sound is insuperable, his virtuosity is superb” (Diapason R.C.T.) “Mr. Pars was energetic, precise and polished…with lush burnished tone, impressive articulation and strong bowing…” (E Rothstein-New York Times). “A joy was this Italian artist. Aesthete and monument of the viola performances world” (El Diario de Caracas).His concert career has led him as soloist of viola and viola d’amore and conductor in the world’s major concert halls such as: Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center (Avery Fisher and Alice Tully Halls) New York,Teatro alla Scala Milano, Berlin Philarmonie, Accademia S. Cecilia Rome, Paris Opera,Concertgebouw Amsterdam,Royal Festival and Barbican Halls London, Sidney Opera House,Tokio Bunka Kaikan and Suntory Hall, Teatro Colòn Buenos Aires, Gewandhaus Leipzig. Soloist of viola and viola d’amore with “I Virtuosi di Roma”of Renato Fasano,Mr.Paris joined since 1977 as solo viola ”I Musici”. Member of Faurè piano quintet : Maureen Jones,Pina Carmirelli,Federico Agostini, Francesco Strano, and of the Faurè piano Quartet,and of the „European string Trio“ with Federico Agostini and Thomas Demenga, he is a founder member in 1994 of the “Stradivari” string quartet,Mariana Sirbu, Cristina & Mihai Dancila and in the chamber music field he performed with such artist as: Nino Rota, Pina Carmirelli. Michele Campanella, Bruno Canino, Mario Brunello, Severino Gazzelloni, Bruno Giuranna, Peter Lukas Graf, Heinz e Ursula Holliger, Steven Isserlis, Aurelè Nicolet, Rafael Orozco, Boris Pergamenschikow, Menhamen Pressler, Franco Petracchi, Pepe Romero & Los Romeros, Klaus Thunemann, Ėlisso’ Virsaladze, Christian Zacharias,Trio di Milano, Quartets Artis, and with members of Trio Beaux Arts, & Eroica , and of strings quartets: Guarnieri, Emerson,Academica, Orlando, Orpheus. He is regular guest at Festivals such as: Marlboro,(invited by Rudolf  Serkin)Montreux Edinburgh, Lucerne, Schleswig-Holstein,Mostly Mozart New York , Santa Fe New Mexico,Orlando,Spoleto.

He is also composer of symphonic and chamber music:his own Chritmas Suite  composed and dedicated to the legendary „ Los Romeros“ has been recorded for Deutsche Grammophon,performed and acclaimed in the main concert halls in Germany in December 2011: Berlin Philharmonie, Hamburg, Munich,Essen,Nurnberg etc 12 concerts. and in a great  tour in USA coast to coast form California to New York in December 2012 The cadenzas of his own CD of A. Rolla  Viola Concertos and the corpus of 18 cadenzas for the Locatelli „Art of the Violin“has been recorded for PHILIPS. Mr.Parisand alternate his activity with conducting. In 1986 he founded in Italy a Symphonic Orchestra:”Accademia Musicale Italiana”A.M.I.T.,and he is regular guest conductor in many countries:Europe, South America,Asia,In 2003 he has been appointed Principal Conductor and Musical Director of “Concerto Malaga orchestra,as well at the Festival of the International Forum of South Europe of Nigüelas (Sierra Nevada). Professor of viola and chamber music at the Musikhochschule Köln in Aachen, and at the Conservatory of Music  and at the prestigious „Accademia di S. Cecilia” in Rome (postgraduate master),he is invited to held master classes in Italy,Germany,Switzerland, France,Spain, Venezuela,Mexico,Hong Kong, Japan, China,Korea,Taiwan,Thailand. He is often nvited guest member of International Competition Jury and some students have been awarded first prize in some competitions.. He recorded for many Radio Television broadcasting, in Europe,U.S.A.,South America,Japan, Australia and for the main record labels such as: Columbia, Denon. Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, Sony,Dynamic, Eloquence, Arcadia,Genuin, Claves, and 3 charity Cd for UNICEF.

He accomplished his musical training at “Conservatory S. Cecilia” of Rome where he graduated with the highest honour in Composition, Viola and Conducting. Successively he attended masters at : Accademia Chigiana ,Siena; Conservatoire de Musique in Geneve; International Music Seminar Prussia Cove Cornwall; with Professors such as: Piero Bellugi and Franco Ferrara (Conducting), Dino Asciolla, Bruno Giuranna, Corrado Romano and Renzo Sabatini (Viola), Irma Ravinale (Composition) Riccardo Brengola and Sandor Vegh (chamber music).

♫ Malia, is an up and coming young artist and is a member of the Skagit Symphony Orchestra and former principal violist with the Fidalgo Youth Symphony.

♪ Lloyd has been a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1967, was named Assistant Principal cellist in 1988 and Acting Associate Principal in 2002. He retired from the Orchestra in 2003 to devote himself to chamber music and composing. He is cellist of the Wister Quartet, 1807 & friends, the Amerita Chamber Players, the Florian Tri and the Barnard Trio. A graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, his teachers were Leonard Rose and Orlando Cole. He was a participant at the Marlboro Music Festivals where he was coached by Pablo Casals and member of the Budapest String Quartet. His compositions have been featured on 1807 & Friends concerts and recordings.

♫ Page is the principal cellist of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra and the Auburn Symphony Orchestra. In addition to having been the solo cellist of the Northwest Chamber Orchestra for 30 years, she is one of the region’s beloved chamber musicians, performing regularly with the Gallery Concerts series, the NWCO’s Showcase Chamber Music Series, the Second City Chamber Music Series, the Mostly Nordic series, the Belle Arte series, the Music Northwest series and the Arts Northwest series. Smith performed for four summers as principal cellist of the Aspen Chamber Symphony, performing on tour with them in the Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival and the Kennedy Center’s Festival of Festivals. While living in New York, Smith performed as principal cellist with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and in the Chelsea Chamber Ensemble. She has been the featured soloist with the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, the Auburn Symphony, the Federal Way Symphony, the Tudor Choir, Opus 7, Choral Arts Northwest and Seattle Pro Musica. Her teachers have included Ronald Leonard, Lynn Harrell, Gabor Rejto and in Seattle: Eva Heinitz, Phyllis Allport and Raymond Davis.

♪ Atida started playing violin at the age of 5 and cello at 8. She is currently studying at the Royal College of Music in London, and has earlier studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music. She was recently soloist in the Goulda cello concert with the Nordic Youth Orchestra in Sweden, an orchestra of which she has been principal cellist since 2013. In Sweden Atida has performed on Swedish Television, in the City Hall, Stadshuset, and at the Royal Castle. In Norway at the Norwegian Opera, and in London at the Munthe Mansion. She frequently plays chamber music concerts with her string quartet and in other combinations.

♫ Semmy is a Swedish born violinist and has performed to great critical acclaim in America, Asia, Australia and Europe.

Mr. Stahlhammer is First Concertmaster at the Stockholm Royal Opera, a faculty member at the Stockholm Royal Music College, and appears as a solo artist on 20 CD recordings. His CD anthology, Swedish Turn of the Century, was chosen as “Records of the year 2000” by Sweden’s largest newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Semmy also leads the “Stahlhammer Klezmer Classic Ensemble”, an ensemble founded by Semmy’s grandfather around 1910, in Poland.

Mr. Stahlhammer won first prize at the Scandinavian Violin Competition in Helsinki, Finland, the Haddonfield competition in Philadelphia, USA, and third prize at the J.S. Bach International Violin Competition in Washington DC, USA.

He has been Artist in residence at the Banff Music Center in Canada, and in 2016 he will have a residency at Oregon State University, and at University of Oregon, Eugene, USA.

He has been awarded several grants and prizes from such institutions as the Ingemar Bergman Foundation, Léonie Sonning Foundation, Gabriel Urwitz Foundation, Wachtmeister Foundation, Ivar & Gertrude Philipssons Foundation, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, Swedish Performing Arts Agency, Swedish Arts Council, the Swedish Royal Academy of Musicstand the Sweden-America Foundation.

In Stockholm, he has been a founder, and Artistic Director of “Chamber Music in the Mirror Hall”, “Chamber music in the Parks”, Chamber Music in the Stockholm Butterfly museum, and in Italy of the “San Giovanni Music Festival” in Tuscany.

Collaborations include chamber music performances with such known musicians as Jaime Laredo, Salvatore Accardo, Marcy Rosen, Zvi Plesser, singers from the Stockholm Royal Opera and dancers from The Swedish Royal Ballet.

Mr. Stahlhammer received his Bachelor Degree of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music, Master of Music Degree from Kent State University, Soloist Diploma from the Stockholm Royal Music College and has studied at Juilliard School, Yale University, Cleveland Institute of Music och San Francisco Conservatory.

His teachers have included Isidore Cohen, Ivan Galamian, Felix Galimir, Josef Gingold, Szymon Goldberg, Mieczyslav Horszowski, Louis Krasner, Jaime Laredo, Nathan Milstein, Oscar Schumsky, Josef Silverstein, Isaac Stern, Henryk Szeryng, Karen Tuttle, Efrem Zimbalist, and members of the Budapest, Guarneri and Juilliard String Quartets.

In his atelier in Stockholm he restores string instruments and has worked on instruments by Stradivarius and Guarnerius. He also works with various inventions, which have afforded him three patents.

His book “Codename Barber” is published in Swedish by Albert Bonnier’s Publishing House, and was published in English 2010.

♪ Classically trained at the Academy of Music in Voronezh, Russia,Sergei Teleshevhas won many regional and international accordion competitions. Being accordion player of Trio Voronezh and Valinor Quartet, he collaborates with many internationally recognized artists, ensembles, and orchestras (including London Philharmonic Orchestra, Doc Severinsen, Halie Loren, and many others…), composing and arranging music, participates in recording projects of different genres. Sergei has been a jury member at International accordion competitions in Russia, Canada and the USA. Recently, he won the National V-Accordion Competition. As the U.S. champion, Sergei represented the United States at the 7th Roland International V-Accordion Festival, in Rome, Italy, where he received a special prize for most online votes on the festival’s webcast.