17th Season Artist Biographies

Daria Adams, violin
Education: New England Conservatory of Music; State University of New York, Stonybrook
Featured Appearances: Newport, RI; Banff, Canada; Cactus Pear Festival, TX; Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society; Festival de Musica Rondeña; Lyon, France and Finland
Violinist Daria Adams, the founding Artistic Director of Music in the Vineyards along with
her husband Michael, is a member of the world-renowned Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
(SPCO) where she is featured frequently in solo and chamber music performances.
Since joining the SPCO in 1987, she has traveled the world in tours to Asia, Europe and
across North America. An ardent Baroque music performer, Daria is a founding member
of the Blue Baroque Band (BBB), made up of colleagues from the SPCO. The BBB was
a featured ensemble-in-residence at MITV in 2006 and 2009.
Daria spent four years playing in the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, where she also took an
interest in a musician sitting in the back of the pit— one Michael Adams. It soon became an
interesting summer. She now lives in suburban Minneapolis with her husband, three
children (18, 16 and 14), a dog and a cat.

Michael Adams, viola
Education: Eastman School of Music; Mannes College of Music
Featured Appearances: Minnesota Orchestra; Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra;
Denver Chamber Orchestra; Colorado Springs Symphony; Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra;
Santa Fe Opera Orchestra
Violist Michael Adams has carved out a unique career that has lead down many roads: as a chamber musician, an orchestral player, writer on music, radio commentator and producer, host of the Minnesota Orchestra’s “Adventures in Music” family concerts and—along with his violinist wife Daria— the founding Artistic Director of Music in the Vineyards. As MITV’s concert commentator and emcee, his goal is to make the music sound so interesting—with stories, explanations and analysis—that people can’t wait to hear it. (This is usually accomplished by plagiarizing the work of others.) Michael joined the viola section of the
Minnesota Orchestra in 1988 at the invitation of conductor Edo de Waart after a successful
stint as a music producer and host for classical WCAL-FM in Minneapolis/St. Paul and
later, for Minnesota Public Radio. He is the father to three children, ages 18,
16 and 14, who can’t understand how anyone would be willing to pay to hear their father
speak. Michael is an avid bicyclist, enjoys canoe camping in Minnesota’s Boundary
Waters Wilderness Area, sailing with friends on Lake Superior and planning fantasy vacation
trips with his collection of maps
.

Ruggero Allifranchini, violin
Education: The New School; Curtis Institute of Music
Featured Appearances: Boston Chamber Music Society; El Paso Pro Musica; Prague
Spring Festival; Spoleto Festival
Ruggero Allifranchini is a native of Milan, Italy. At seventeen, he joined I Solisti Aquilani
chamber orchestra, performing with the ensemble throughout Europe. Ruggero is a
past recipient of the Diploma d’Onore from the Chigiana Academy in Sienna, Italy, as
well as a founding member of the Borromeo String Quartet. He plays on a violin known
as the “Fetzer” made in 1694 by Antonio Stradivari. Ruggero is currently the Associate
Concertmaster of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Suren Bagratuni, cello
Education: Moscow Conservatory; New England Conservatory of Music
Featured Appearances: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; Newport Music
Festival; Russian Winter Festival, Moscow; El Paso Pro Musica International Festival
Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Suren Bagratuni is a distinguished international soloist, recitalist
and chamber musician, Suren appeared as a concerto soloist by the age of 13, winning
several national and international competitions. He has performed solo recitals with
all the major orchestras in the former Soviet Union, throughout Europe, North and South
America, Asia and South Africa. Chamber music appearances have included guest
invitations with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Newport Music Festival,
the “Russian Winter” festival in Moscow and the El Paso Pro Musica International festival.
Suren has recorded for Melodiya and has been featured on ARD (Germany), CBC Radio
Canada, WNYC in New York, NPR, Radio France and NHK TV Japan.

Dale Barltop, violin
Education: University of Maryland; Cleveland Institute of Music
Featured Appearances: Yellow Barn, Kneisel Hall, Swannanoa and Tanglewood Music
Festivals; New York String Orchestra Seminar; Mainly Mozart Festival; Festival Mosaic
Hailing from Brisbane, Australia, Dale Barltrop has performed across North America,
Europe and Australia. He served as Principal Second Violin in the Saint Paul Chamber
Orchestra for six years prior to his appointment as concertmaster of the Vancouver
Symphony. During that time, he appeared regularly as soloist with the SPCO. Dale also
served as associate concertmaster of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and first violinist
of the Verklärte Quartet, which won the grand prize at the 2003 Fischoff National Chamber
Music Competition. Dale has a keen interest in teaching and has served on the faculty of
the National Orchestral Institute and worked regularly with the Greater Twin Cities Youth
Symphonies.

Borromeo String Quartet
Nicholas Kitchen, violin
Kristopher Tong, violin
Mai Motobuchi, viola
Yeesun Kim, cello
MITV 2011 Performances: Beringer Vineyards
Residencies: Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, Boston; Tenri Cultural Institute,
NY; Dai-Ichi Semei Hall, Tokyo; New England Conservatory of Music
Awards: Avery Fisher Career Grant; Aaron Copland House’s Borromeo Quartet Award;
Martin E. Segal Award, Lincoln Center; Cleveland Quartet Award; Chamber Music America;
Young Concert Artist International Auditions; International String Quartet Competition
Winner, Evian, France
Considered “Simply the best there is” by the Boston Globe, the critically acclaimed
Borromeo String Quartet is one of the most sought after string quartets in the world.
Audiences and critics alike champion their revealing explorations of Beethoven,
Bartók, Schoenberg, Shostakovich and Golijov and their affinity for making even the
most challenging contemporary repertoire approachable and enlightening has become a
hallmark. In 2003 they made classical music history with their pioneering record label,
The Living Archive, making it possible to order on-demand DVDs and CDs of many
of its concerts around the world, a feat only previously attempted in rock music.

Thomas Cooley, tenor
Education: Depauw University, University of Minnesota; Richard Strauss Conservatory, Munich
Featured Appearances: St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Music of the Baroque Series,
Chicago, Il.; Carmel Bach Festival; Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Minnesota Orchestra;
tours of Spain and Germany American tenor Thomas Cooley is quickly establishing a reputation on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond as a singer of great versatility, expressiveness, power and virtuosity. He is equally at home on the concert
stage and in the opera house. Cooley spent a formative ten years in Munich, where he
was a member of the ensemble at the Staatstheateram Gärtnerplatz for four of them,
singing such roles as Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Belmonte
in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, the title role in Idomeneo and Almaviva in Rossini’s
Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Thomas’ recordings include Mathan in Handel’s Athalia with Peter Neumann and the Kölner Kammerchor (MDG), Vivaldi’s Dixit Dominus (Deutsche Grammophon) Cherubini’s Chant sur la mort de Haydn (Carus), as well as Mozart’s Requiem and Schubert’s Mass in A Flat with the Windsbacher Knabenchor (Sony).

Robert DeMaine, cello
Education: Juilliard School of Music; Eastman School of Music; Yale University;
University of Southern California
Featured Appearances: Marlboro Festival; Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, NY; Teatro
Colón, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Praised by The New York Times as “an artist who makes one hang on every note,” Robert
deMaine has distinguished himself as one of the finest and most versatile cellists of
his generation, having performed to critical acclaim as soloist, recitalist, orchestral principal,
recording artist and chamber musician throughout the world. A fourth-generation string player, Robert was introduced to the cello at the age of four by his mother and sister, both accomplished cellists and by the time he was ten years old was performing such demanding works as Tchaikovsky’s “Rococo Variations.” A first-prize winner in many national and
international competitions from the time he was 12 years old, Robert became the first
cellist ever to win San Francisco’s prestigious Irving M. Klein International String Competition
in 1990. Currently, Robert serves as the Principal Cellist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Francesca dePasquale, violin
Education: current student at Colburn School, Conservatory of Music
Featured Appearances: Colburn Orchestra; American Youth Symphony; Peninsula
Symphony Santa Cruz Symphony; Chamber Music Tulsa
Born into a musical family in 1990, Philadelphia native Francesca dePasquale began the violin at age three as a Suzuki method student. Francesca made her solo orchestral debut at age nine touring Spain with The Main Line Chamber Orchestra and has since performed in prestigious chamber recitals and as a soloist with numerous orchestras across the country.
As the First Prize winner of the 2010 Irving M. Klein International String Competition, Francesca has been celebrated for her “purity and intensity of artistry,” “is technically
superb and performs with flair and astounding grace.” Francesca is currently
Concertmaster of The Colburn Orchestra and Associate Concertmaster of The American
Youth Symphony.

Michelle Djokic, cello
Education: Juilliard School of Music
Featured Appearances: Carnegie Hall; Aspen Music Festival; Banff Music Festival;
Princeton Music Festival; Mozart Festival, Roycroft Chamber Music Festival; Bowdoin
College Music Festival; Denver Symphony; Jupiter Symphony; Orpheus Chamber
Orchestra; McGill Chamber Orchestra and Rhode Island Philharmonic.
Michelle Djokic is the Founding Artistic Director of the Concordia Chamber Players
based in New Hope, PA, now in their 12th season. Residing in the San Francisco Bay
area since 2004, she is currently the cellist for Quartet San Francisco. Michelle has served
with the New Century Chamber Orchestra and as Assistant Principal Cellist of the San
Francisco Symphony. As a child Michelle captured the Philadelphia Orchestra Young Artist Competition first prize giving her a debut with the Orchestra at the age of 13. In 1985 she made her Carnegie Hall debut with the New Jersey Symphony. Other prizes include the Prince Bernard Award for Excellence in the Scheveningen International Cello Competition and the coveted People’s Prize in the Pablo Casals International Cello Competition in Budapest, Hungary.

David Harding, viola
Education: The Juilliard School of Music
Featured Appearances: Music Toronto Chamber Society; Triskelion String Trio;
American String Project; Chester String Quartet and Toronto String Quartet.
David Harding has performed throughout Europe, the US, Canada and Central America.
His performances have been broadcast on the BBC, NPR and Deutschland Radio,
Berlin and the CBC Radio in Canada. David was the winner of the Sir John Barbirolli
award at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. Having served on the faculty of
Indiana University South Bend, he is currently Professor of Viola at the University of British
Columbia. David plays on a viola made by Pietro Antonio dalla Costa, circa 1750.

Qing Hou, violin
Education: Central Conservatory, Beijing; Peabody Conservatory; New England Conservatory of Music
Featured Appearances: Andover MA Chamber Music Society; Token Creek (WI) and El
Paso Pro Music Festival
Qing Hou has been a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1997. A native
of China, Qing came to the US in 1988 to continue her studies. Before joining the CSO, she was a member of the San Francisco Symphony. Qing has been heard on NPR’s Performance Today and performs regularly in the Chicago area in various ensembles. In 1997 Qing—along with her sister, CSO violinist Lei Hou and CSO violist Lawrence Neuman (Qing’s husband)—founded the Lincoln String Quartet. As a soloist, Qing Hou has appeared with orchestras in Boston, Baltimore, Chicago and China. In the fall of 2003, she made her first appearance as soloist with the Chicago Symphony performing Mozart’s Violin Concerto in G Majorconducted by Daniel Barenboim.

Ieva Jokubaviciute, pianist
Education: Curtis Institute of Music, Mannes College of Music
Featured Appearances: Carnegie Hall; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; NPR’s Performance Today; Musicians from Marlboro; Ravinia Festival; Dame Myra Hess Concert,
Chicago
Known for her deep musical and emotional commitment to a wide range of repertoire,
Lithuanian pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute performs regularly for audiences in the US, Europe and
South America. Her ability to communicate the essential substance of a work, whether
in recital, with orchestra, in chamber music, or in art song, has led critics to describe her
as possessing ‘razor-sharp intelligence and wit’ (The Washington Post) and as ‘elegant
and engaging’ (The Wall Street Journal). In 2006, she was honored as a recipient of a
Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship. Her piano trio, Trio Cavatina with Harumi Rhodes and Priscilla Lee, won the Naumburg Chamber Music Competition in 2009 and made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2010.

Erin Keefe, violin
Education: Juilliard School of Music; Curtis Institute of Music
Featured Appearances: New Mexico Symphony; New York City Ballet Orchestra;
Amadeus Chamber Orchestra; Allentown Symphony; Marlboro Music Festival; Music@Menlo; Music from Angel Fire; Ravinia and Seattle Festivals; Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival
Winner of the 2006 Avery Fisher Career Grant, American violinist Erin Keefe is quickly establishing a reputation as a compelling artist who combines exhilarating temperament and
fierce integrity. A top prize winner of several International Competitions, she recently took
the Grand Prizes in the 2007 Torun International Violin Competition (Poland), the 2006 Schadt Competition and the Corpus Christi International String Competition. She was the Silver Medalist in the Carl Nielsen, Sendai (Japan) and Gyeongnam (Korea) International
Violin Competitions. Erin has collaborated with many leading artists of today including the Emerson String Quartet, Edgar Meyer, Gary Graffman, Richard Goode, David Soyer, Colin Carr, Menahem Pressler and Leon Fleisher.

Kyu-Young Kim, violin
Education: Curtis Institute of Music; Juilliard School of Music; Cleveland Institute of Music
Featured Appearances: St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Amadeus Chamber Orchestra;
Poland; Korea; Japan; Germany
Violinist Kyu-Young Kim is an award-winning soloist and chamber musician. Hailed by the Chicago Tribune for his “flawless musical and technical command,” Kim has performed
throughout the US and abroad. He is a founding member of the Daedalus Quartet, winner
of the Grand Prize and two special prizes at the 2001 Seventh Banff International String
Quartet Competition. A former member of the Pacifica Quartet, with which he won the Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award, he has presented solo recitals throughout the US and in Korea, Japan, Germany and New Zealand. Kyu and his wife, cellist Pitnarry Shin, were
awarded a 2002 McKnight Fellowship as the Soyulla Duo. He has also been the winner of the Marcia Polayes National Young Artists Award and a Jury Commendation Award at the Michael Hill World Violin Competition in New Zealand.

Lorna McGhee, flute
Education: Royal Academy of Music
Featured Appearances: London Symphony Orchestra; Scottish Chamber Orchestra; BBC
Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Manitoba Chamber Orchestra; Toronto Philharmonia;
Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra; Victoria Symphony and Nashville Chamber Orchestra
At the age of 22, Scottish-born Lorna McGhee was appointed Co-Principal Flute of London’s BBC Symphony Orchestra, a position she held until 1998. She has performed as Guest Principal with numerous orchestras, including the London Symphony, the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields and the CBC Radio Orchestra in Canada. In July 2004 she performed Krystof Penderecki’s flute concerto with the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra under the baton of the composer. Lorna has served on the faculty of the University of Michigan and is currently teaching at the University of British Columbia. Beginning in the fall of 2011, Lorna begins her new job as the Principal Flautist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Lawrence Neuman, viola
Education: Eastman School of Music; University of Southern California;
Cleveland Institute of Music
Featured Festival Appearances: Andover, MA; Bach Dancing and Dynamite, WI; La
Jolla Summerfest; Marlboro Portland and Davenport Chamber Music Festivals
A native of Saint Louis, Lawrence Neuman has been a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1991. Before coming to Chicago, Lawrence was violist with the Miami String Quartet. As a chamber musician, he is heard frequently throughout the Chicago area and has performed across the US and in Europe. During the 1998-99 season, Lawrence took a leave of absence from the CSO to serve as principal viola of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. A founding member of Chicago’s Lincoln String Quartet, Lawrence has also taught viola and chamber music at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

Pacifica Quartet
Simin Ganatra, violin
Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin
Masumi Per Rostad, viola
Brandon Vamos, cello
Residencies: Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; University of Illinois; University of Chicago; Longy School (Boston)
Awards: Grammy Award, Best Chamber Music Performance, 2009; Musical America’s
Ensemble of the Year; Naumburg Prize; Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet
Award; Avery Fisher Career Grant
Recognized for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style and often daring repertory
choices, the Pacifica Quartet tours extensively throughout the US, Europe and Asia.
Ardent advocates of contemporary music, the Quartet commissions and performs many new works. In 2002 and 2003 it won wide acclaim for the first single-concert performances of Elliott Carter’s complete cycle of five string quartets in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and abroad. The New York Times called the accomplishment “brilliant” and “astounding,” and the Chicago Tribune praised the Quartet’s “astonishing talent, energy and dedication.” In 2009 the Quartet’s recording of Carter’s Quartets Nos. 1 and 5 earned them a Grammy Award in Best Chamber Music Performance.

Scott Pingel, bass
Education: University of Wisconsin; Manhattan School of Music; New World Symphony
Featured Appearances: Festivals at Bellingham, Spoleto, Verbier, Tanglewood and
Attergau/Salzburg; Metropolitan Opera; Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra; National
Arts Center Orchestra, Canada
Scott Pingel began playing the double bass at age 17 because of a strong interest in
jazz, latin and classical music. In 2004, at age 29, he became principal bass of the
San Francisco Symphony. Previously he served as principal bass of the Charleston
Symphony Orchestra. Scott is also an active educator, having taught master classes at
the Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School, Colburn School, Manhattan School of Music,
Shanghai Conservatory and the New World Symphony.

The Rhythm Sisters Ensemble
Dawn Harms, violin
Candace Guirao, violin
Emily Onderdonk, viola
Vanessa Ruotolo, cello
Residencies: Adventures in Music Program, San Francisco Symphony
Featured Appearances: Kohl Mansion; Friends of Music at Stanford; La Belle Vie at
the Legion; Music at Shasta
In the summer of 2008, four Bay Area musicians decided to combine their talents into one group specifically designed to perform for kids and families. Collectively, these four string players have over 50 years of experience creating family and outreach concerts and performing in some of the top educational programs in the country. The Rhythm Sisters (TRS), with over 200 performances under their belt, have touched the lives of thousands of children and their families, inspiring their audience members to try an instrument, write a song, go to a concert—always with the goal of instilling a love of music in people of all ages. Comprised of some of the most seasoned musicians in the Bay Area, The Rhythm Sisters share between them members of the San Francisco Opera, New Century Chamber Orchestra and the Sacramento Philharmonic. Included are former members of the Del Sol and Harrington string quartets, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and Quartet San Francisco. TRS members are among the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Stanford University and UC Santa Cruz.

Pitnarry Shin, cello
Education: Curtis Institute of Music; Yale University; Juilliard School of Music
Featured Appearances: Festivals at Ravinia, Edinburgh, Dartington, Evian, Banff, Ensemble Intercontemporain and Manchester; Piatigorsky Seminar
Cellist Pitnarry Shin is a dynamic soloist and chamber musician and has been praised in
the Strad magazine for her beautiful tone and passionate interpretations in her New
York debut recital at Carnegie Hall. She has toured throughout the US, Europe and her
native Korea. Pitnarry is the recipient of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Prize and is a founding member of the Soyulla Duo, along with her husband, violinist Kyu-Young Kim. The Soyulla Duo won the prestigious McKnight Fellowship in 2002 and has toured throughout the US and Korea. Pitnarry can be heard on the Grammy nominated recording of Dominick Argento’s music on the Gothic label. Pitnarry’s other projects have included collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma at the Tanglewood Festival on the Silk Road Project and the American premiere of Paul McCartney’s production of “A Garland For Linda” to help raise money for cancer research.

Axel Strauss, violin
Education: Juilliard School of Music
Featured Appearances: Hamburg Symphony; Seoul Philharmonic; Shanghai
Symphony; Utah Symphony; New York Chamber Symphony; Budapest Philharmonic
The first German artist to ever win the international Naumburg Violin Award in New York,
Axel Strauss has been equally acclaimed for his virtuosity and his musical sensitivity.
Axel frequently performs at various music festivals in the US and abroad, taking him
to Germany, India, Korea and Japan. At the age of 17 he won the silver medal at the
Enescu Competition in Romania and has been recognized with many other awards,
including top prizes in the Bach, Wieniawski and Kocian competitions.
Axel has been residing in the US since 1996. He maintains a busy performance
schedule and serves as Professor of Violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Axel Strauss performs on an outstanding violin by J.F. Pressenda, Turin 1845, on
extended loan through the generous efforts of the Stradivari Society in Chicago.

Jeffrey Sykes, piano
Education: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Franz-Schubert-Institute, Vienna;
University of Pennsylvania; Fulbright Scholar at Hochschule für Musik, Frankfurt; University
of Wisconsin-Madison
Featured Appearances: Carnegie Hall; WGBH Boston Public Radio, NPR’s Performance Today; Cactus Pear Music Festival; Painted Sky Festival, AZ
Acclaimed by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as “a commanding solo player, the
most supportive of accompanists and a leader in chamber music,” pianist Jeffrey Sykes has
performed throughout the US, Canada, Mexico and Western Europe, holding a discography
including eleven CD’s published by various labels. Jeffrey is the founder and artistic
director of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society of Wisconsin, a highly-acclaimed and
innovative chamber music festival. He is the co-founder, along with violinist Axel Strauss
and cellist Jean-Michel Fonteneau of the San Francisco Piano Trio. Jeffrey also serves as the Music Director of Opera for the Young, a professional opera company that gives more than 200 fully-staged performances a year to schoolchildren throughout the upper Midwest.
He works extensively as a vocal coach throughout the US, teaches and coaches at the University of California at Berkeley and recently completed his third guest teaching
residency at the University of Houston.

Richard Todd, horn
Education: University of Southern California
Featured Appearances: 2011 International Horn Society Conference; La Jolla Summerfest; Festival Miami; Monterey Jazz Festival; Carnegie Hall; Hollywood Bowl; Jazz Bakery; Birdland
Richard Todd has earned acclaim as one of the finest horn soloists today. Gold medal
winner of the 1980 Concours Internationale Toulon, Richard is a Pro Musicis International
Foundation Award winner and continually expands the boundaries of the horn world.
Renowned for his performances that “are simply startling in their dexterity” with “a heart-clutching sound”; he is also deeply committed to arts education and making the
arts more accessible to all listeners. He hasperformed in hospitals, shelters, retirement
homes and prisons (including San Quentin, where there had been no performances of
any kind in two years). Richard is principal horn with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra as well as a film industry recording artist, where he has contributed on over 1,000 motion picture
soundtracks and on recording projects with performers such as Streisand, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Manhattan Transfer, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Natalie Cole and Dave Grusin. Richard is currently a faculty member at USC and the Henry Mancini Institute. He
has taught at UCLA, Cal Arts and Occidental College.

Tanya Tomkins, cello
Education: Royal Conservatory of Music, The Hague
Featured Appearances: Frick Collection; Lincoln Center; 92nd Street Y; San Francisco
Performances; Concertgebouw Kleine Zaal; American Bach Soloists; Oregon Bach Festival;
Olympic Chamber Music Festival; Moab Chamber Music Festival
Cellist Tanya Tomkins returned to the US in 1998 after living in Holland for 14 years,
where she toured and recorded extensively as a chamber musician. The first cellist ever
to win the international Bodky Competition for Early Music Soloists, she is equally at
home on baroque and modern instruments. Currently one of Philharmonia Baroque and
Portland Baroque’s principal cellists, she has performed as soloist with both orchestras.
Tanya is a member of the Tomkins-Zivian Duo, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and the
San Francisco String Trio. She also organizes a series of house concerts in Berkeley and
Marin County.

Bion Tsang, cellist
Education: Juilliard School of Music; Harvard University; Yale University
Featured Appearances: New York, Moscow and Hong Kong Philharmonics; Atlanta,
Pacific, Civic, American and National Symphonies; Stuttgart Chamber and Taiwan
National Orchestra; Marlboro Music Festival; Cape Cod, Tucson, Portland and Seattle
Chamber Music Festivals; Bard Festival; Bravo! Colorado
A 2010 Grammy-nominee, cellist Bion Tsang has been internationally recognized as one of the outstanding instrumentalists of his generation. A versatile collaborator, he was featured on the soundtrack to Recapturing Cuba: An Artist’s Journey, a PBS documentary by Trinity Films, winning two Gold Medals—Director’s Choice and Artistic Excellence—at the Park City Film Music Festival, coincident to the Sundance Film Festival. Bion’s chamber music career is marked by collaborations with violinists Pamela Frank, Jaime Laredo and Kyoko Takezawa, violist Michael Tree, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, bassist Gary Karr and pianist Leon Fleisher. He performs at many festivals including the Laurel Festival of the Arts, where he served as Artistic Director for ten years. Bion resides in Austin, TX where he is on the faculty of the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin.

William Wolfram, piano
Education: Juilliard School
Featured Appearances: San Francisco, Saint Louis, Indianapolis, Seattle and New Jersey
Symphonies; Buffalo Philharmonic; National Symphony; Minnesota Orchestra; Grand
Teton and Obispo Mozart Festival Orchestras; Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Warsaw,
Moscow and Budapest Philharmonics; Capetown and Johannesberg Symphonies of South
Africa; L’orchestre De Bretagne and National Symphony of Peru
American pianist William Wolfram was a silver medalist at both the William Kapell and the
Naumberg International Piano Competitions and a bronze medalist at the prestigious
Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow. A versatile recitalist, concerto soloist and
chamber musician, he has won the respect of musicians and critics across the country
and abroad. Wolfram has several recordings on the Naxos label and has played recitals
in cities throughout the U.S. and Europe. His concerto debut with the Pittsburgh
Symphony under the baton of Leonard Slatkin was the first in a long succession
of appearances and career relationships with numerous American conductors and
orchestras. William resides in New York City with his wife and two daughters.

Wei-Yi Yang, piano
Education: Manhattan School of Music; Yale University
Featured Appearances: Lincoln Center; Steinway Hall; Merkin Hall; Kumho Art Hall, Seoul
Born in Taiwan of Chinese and Japanese heritage, internationally acclaimed pianist Wei-Yi
Yang enjoys a flourishing concert career, in solo recitals, chamber music concerts and
with symphony orchestras, appearing before audiences in North and Central America,
Asia, Europe and Australia. Most recently, Mr. Yang was praised by the New York Times
as the soloist in a “sensational” performance of Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie at
Carnegie Hall. Winner of the Gold Medal and Grand Prize in the San Antonio International Piano
Competition, Wei-Yi has performed with orchestras around the world. Yang has presented master classes and performances in such institutions as Princeton University, University of Missouri, Syracuse University and Ithaca College. Wei-Yi’s performances have been featured around the world via international television, radio and web broadcasting media. He can be heard on the Renegade Classics, Albany Records and Holland-America Music Society labels.
Wei-Yi Yang joined the faculty at Yale University in 2005 as Associate Professor of Piano.