STEPHANIE JUTT AND JEFFREY SYKES - ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

Press Release

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FOR RELEASE March 3, 2025​
Samantha Crownover, Executive Director
608.255.9866
Crownover@bachdancinganddynamite.org

BACH DANCING & DYNAMITE SOCIETY
34th CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL: FIRE FROM HEAVEN
Chamber Music Festival, Madison, June 6 – 22, 2025

Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society (BDDS) presents its 34th summer chamber music festival, FIRE FROM HEAVEN, June 6 – 22, 2025. This festival features nine concerts over three weekends, each weekend offers three different programs. Performances will be held in the state-of-the-art new Hamel Music Center in Collins Hall, part of the Mead Witter School of Music, on the UW-Madison campus, 740 University Avenue.

One moment, silence; the next, a composer ablaze with ideas, creating music that will endure for centuries. That’s the power of Fire from Heaven, the inspiration behind the great chamber works we celebrate in Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society’s 34th season. Where does it come from? When will it strike? Whatever its source, it arrives like a bolt of lightning, igniting music that transforms, uplifts, and astonishes. This season, we revel in that thrilling unpredictability, as each concert brings forth a blaze of musical brilliance, lighting up the stage with passion, energy, and fire.

Concerts are spiked with stories about the music, mystery guests, and even door prizes. Artistic co-directors and performers Stephanie Jutt, flute, and Jeffrey Sykes, piano, are joined by 14 musicians from Madison and around the country including violinists Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio (Fresno Symphony Orchestra), Carmit Zori (Brooklyn Chamber Music Society), and Hye-Jin Kim (East Carolina University); violists Ara Gregorian (New England Conservatory) and Sally Chisholm (Pro Arte Quartet); cellist Parry Karp (Pro Arte Quartet); pianist Christopher Taylor (UW-Madison); harpist Johanna Weinholts (Madison Symphony Orchestra); and Madison’s own bassist, David Scholl. This season also welcomes thrilling new artists: clarinetist Alicia Lee, violinist Dawn Wahn, cellist Wilhelmina Smith, oboist Izumi Amemiya, and violist Aurelien Pederzoli. Also, Madison Choral Project will appear on stage with us as well as accordionist Stas Venglevski (international bayan virtuoso) with the Houston Accordion Orchestra in tow.

BDDS’s Incendiary Artist Spotlight series sets the stage ablaze with three intimate, one-hour concerts featuring beloved BDDS musicians. Just Ken showcases the extraordinary Kenneth Olsen, whose cello playing blazes with warmth, depth, and power, Collins Hall, Friday, June 6, 7:30 – 8:30 pm. Gregorian Chant turns up the heat with violist Ara Gregorian, whose soulful interpretations bring fire and nuance to Rebecca Clarke’s stormy Viola Sonata, Collins Hall, Friday, June 13, 7:30 – 8:30 pm. Finally, Hye-Jin Your Bets is a high-stakes evening of virtuosic and heartfelt music-making with violinist Hye-Jin Kim, weaving Dvořák, Ponce, and Smetana into a luminous tapestry of sound, Collins Hall, Friday, June 13, 7:30 – 8:30 pm. With lively on-stage conversations punctuated by stunning performances, these Friday night programs offer an up-close encounter with the kind of artistry that fuels Fire from Heaven. All are welcome for a reception in the lobby following, to meet the artists.

The first spark of Fire from Heaven flares in Your Ears Are Burning, a program that sizzles with inspired musical conversation. The title playfully suggests whispers spreading like wildfire—just as musical ideas ignite between composers and performers. Mozart’s Kegelstatt Trio delights in effortless musical dialogue, while Miguel del Aguila’s Submerged plunges into rich, evocative sonorities. Schubert’s monumental E-flat major Trio—written in a creative blaze near the end of his life—radiates warmth, urgency, and transcendence. As we embark on this season of musical fire, this opening concert promises to set hearts—and ears—alight. Collins Hall, Saturday, June 7, 7:30 pm.

Some fires burn slow and steady, while others blaze with intensity—Ring of Fire is the latter, a program alive with passion, drama, and dazzling energy. Schumann’s Märchenerzählungen conjures magical fairy-tale worlds, while Louise Farrenc’s trio showcases her fiery brilliance. Saint-Saëns’ Fantaisie shimmers with elegance and mystery, leading to the grand finale—Stravinsky’s Petrushka, a whirlwind of color and electrifying rhythm. Collins Hall, Sunday, June 8, 2:30 pm.

For centuries, eternal flames have burned as symbols of memory, resilience, and the enduring power of the human spirit. From the sacred fires of ancient temples to modern memorials honoring those we must never forget, these unquenchable flames remind us that some lights never fade. The Eternal Flame pays tribute to that lasting strength through Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, presented here in a luminous chamber arrangement. Offering solace and reflection, this masterpiece burns with warmth and transcendence, its message undiminished across centuries. With the Madison Choral Project’s soaring voices and an ensemble of extraordinary musicians, this program honors the fire of remembrance and the music that keeps it alive. Collins Hall, Saturday, June 14, 7:30 pm.

A wisp of smoke is often the first sign of something powerful stirring—Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire traces the spark of inspiration as it grows into full musical brilliance. Mason Bates’ The Life of Birds flutters and soars with vivid energy, while Elgar’s Violin Sonata smolders with deep emotion. Rebecca Clarke’s Prelude, Allegro, and Pastorale blends playfulness and introspection, leading to Beethoven’s Gassenhauer Trio, where wit and charm burst into full flame. This program kindles a journey through sound, proving that even the smallest spark can ignite unforgettable musical fire. Collins Hall, Sunday, June 15, 2:30 pm.

Great Balls of Fire is an evening of high-voltage energy and exhilarating artistry. Henriëtte Bosmans’ Impressions shifts from haunting lyricism to vibrant Spanish flair, while Paul Wiancko’s Cities of Air swirls with luminous textures. Moszkowski’s Suite for Two Violins and Piano dazzles with fiery virtuosity, setting the stage for a thrilling, surprise-filled finale. Stas Venglevski and the Houston Accordion Orchestra will ignite the concert’s second half, played with passion, rhythm, and sheer musical joy. Collins Hall, Saturday, June 21, 7:30 pm.

Some moments in music glow quietly, while others burst into brilliance—Sparks of Glory celebrates both. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 13, in his own intimate arrangement, shimmers with elegance and charm. Zhou Tian’s Viaje embarks on a journey of vivid colors and expressive depth, while Brahms’ towering Piano Quintet—his Op. 34, a perfect match for BDDS’s 34th season—ignites with stormy passion and triumphant grandeur. With an all-star lineup of BDDS musicians, this grand finale crackles with energy, sending sparks of brilliance into the musical heavens. Collins Hall, Sunday, June 22, 2:30 pm.

TICKETS ON SALE MARCH 3, 2025!

Single general admission tickets can be purchased at https://tinyurl.com/BDDS2025. Single tickets start at $47. Student tickets are always $10! Tickets are available at the door at all locations. Series tickets, starting at $123 for three different concerts, are available through Campus Ticketing until May 1. For tickets visit https://tinyurl.com/BDDS2025 For information visit www.bachdancing.org or call (608) 255-9866.

Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society always features great music played with joy, creativity, spontaneity, and a technique that is second to none. BDDS is aimed at people who are curious, open-minded, and up for anything. People who want to have serious fun.

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Double bassist DAVID SCHOLL was recently appointed to the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently serves as principal bass of the Madison, Quad City, and Dubuque Symphonies and frequently appears with the Elgin, Rockford, and South Bend Symphonies. He is also active in the new music community, including performing as a guest artist on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW series and the University of Chicago’s Contempo series, and with the Spektral Quartet. He also appears as a guest clinician in music programs in the Midwest. A product of the public school system himself, he makes it a priority to perform in public schools and non-profit music programs, including the UW-Madison’s Summer Music Clinic. Mr. Scholl received both his Bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Indiana University, where he studied bass with Bruce Bransby. While there, he also studied historical performance with Stanley Ritchie and spent the summers studying bass with Owen Lee, Jeff Turner, and Peter Lloyd. He continued studies as a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and at the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where he was principal bass and studied with Alex Hanna.

Trumpet MATTHEW ONSTAD A Wisconsin native, Dr. Onstad serves as assistant professor of trumpet at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he teaches applied trumpet, coaches chamber music, and performs with the Whitewater Brass Quintet. While earning his Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from UW-Madison, Dr. Onstad performed with the Wisconsin Brass Quintet, a faculty ensemble-in-residence. He holds the rank of staff sergeant in the 132nd Wisconsin Army National Guard Band and has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Iowa, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and the Isthmus Brass. He held the position of principal trumpet with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra from 2016-2021. Dr. Onstad has previously taught trumpet at St. Ambrose University, UW-La Crosse, and UW-Oshkosh. He has served as a master clinician with the Wisconsin Brass Quintet, the 132nd Army Band, and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Onstad received his Bachelor of Music degree from UW-Oshkosh. matthewonstad.com

Bassoonist ADRIAN MOREJON is a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician based in New York City. As a soloist, Mr. Morejon has appeared with the Talea Ensemble (New York City), the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and the Miami Symphony, and has also performed in Vienna, Prague, and Memphis. He is co-principal of IRIS Orchestra and a member of the Dorian Wind Quintet, Talea Ensemble, and Radius Ensemble, and he has appeared with many other ensembles and festivals. Mr. Morejon is a prize-winner of the IDRS Gillet-Fox and Moscow Conservatory international competitions and a recipient of a Theodore Presser Foundation grant. He holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and Yale School of Music and currently teaches at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Longy School of Music of Bard College, Purchase College Conservatory of Music, and Brooklyn College. (Website)

Michael Bridgeman is the retired Communications Director for Wisconsin Public Television where he oversaw promotion, public relations, design, special events and online services. He has been active in historic preservation and neighborhood organizations and served for ten years on the Madison Arts Commission, including two as chair. Michael has attended BDDS concerts since the first season and also enjoys orchestral music, opera and theater.

Emily Nebel is assistant concertmaster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, associate concertmaster of the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center, and a chamber musician and guest leader of both opera and symphony orchestras. Originally from Arizona, Ms. Nebel got her start playing old time fiddle and bluegrass, winning the state fiddle championship at age 12. She maintained her love of folk music and improvisation while pursuing a career in classical music, going on to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. During further studies in Frankfurt, she was co-concertmaster of Staatstheater Darmstadt and went on to lead several other orchestras in Germany, Sweden, and Belgium. Subsequently, Ms. Nebel was offered a place as Bicentenary Scholar in the Advanced Diploma program at the Royal Academy of Music in London. While living in the UK, she appeared as guest concertmaster at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Welsh National Opera, and Opera North, and also led productions with the London Symphony, Royal Scottish National, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras. Ms Nebel has been invited to chamber music festivals worldwide, such as IMS Prussia Cove, Domain Forget, and Krzyzowa Music Festival, and has recorded an album of French sonatas with Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula for Linn Records. Emilynebel.com

Violinist DAWN DONGEUN WOHN has performed in concert halls across five continents, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and has appeared as a soloist on live-broadcast radio performances with the Korean Broadcasting Symphony, the New York Sinfonietta, and Japan’s Telemann Ensemble. Her debut solo album, Perspectives, featuring works by women composers, was chosen by New York's classical station WQXR as one of the best albums of the year. Her recent release, Unbounded, explores music by American women. Ms. Wohn often performs with new music ensembles, with recent projects including international tours with DJ Kid Koala and the Afiara Quartet as part of an interdisciplinary show Nufonia Must Fall. As a chamber musician, Ms. Wohn has performed at the Banff Centre, Music@Menlo, and Aspen music festivals. She holds degrees from The Juilliard School, Yale University, and Stony Brook University. She is currently on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music. Previously, she was associate professor of violin at Ohio University’s School of Music and associate concertmaster of the Harrisburg Symphony. She is the artistic director and co-creator of Coppia Concerts, a multi-sensory concert series that combines music with wine and food. Ms. Wohn performs on a 1732 Nicolo Gagliano violin.

Cellist WILHELMINA SMITH was awarded a 2015-2016 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians. She made her solo debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra while a student at the Curtis Institute of Music and in 1997 was a prizewinner in the Leonard Rose International Cello Competition. She has been a soloist with orchestras nationally and internationally, including the Orquesta Millenium of Guatemala and the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, and has performed recitals across the U.S. and Japan. She has been a guest artist with the Philadelphia and Boston Chamber Music Societies, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and is a founding member of Music from Copland House. She has performed regularly at the Marlboro Music Festival and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. In 2005, she formed the Variation String Trio with violinist Jennifer Koh and violist Hsin-Yun Huang; in 2012 she formed a piano trio with pianist Lydia Artymiw and violinist Erin Keefe; and she is the founder and artistic director of Salt Bay Chamberfest, on the coast of Maine. Ms. Smith’s solo CD of sonatas by Britten and Schnittke with pianist Thomas Sauer was released in 2006. Her recordings of chamber music include the complete chamber works of Aaron Copland and works by Jennifer Higdon, Osvaldo Golijov, and Aaron Jay Kernis. (Website)

Violist AURELIEN PEDERZOLI is one of the founders of the Musique dans le Gers music festival, based in southwest France. In 2008, he founded the Anaphora Ensemble, a chamber music project, which appeared frequently on national radio and performed in venues ranging from a jazz club to a symphony hall. From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Pederzoli was first violinist of the Corky Siegel Chamber Blues band and toured nationally and internationally with them. He has also collaborated with Rachel Kolly, Christian Chamorel, Daniel Baremboim, Kent Nagano, the Ysaye Quartet, H.J Lim, members of Eighth Blackbird, Shmuel Ashkenasi, the Lincoln Trio and Mathieu Dufour. From 2009 to 2014, Mr. Pederzoli performed as a founding member with the Grammy- nominated Spektral Quartet, in residence at the University of Chicago. In 2015, he co-founded the Black Oak Ensemble, a string trio at its core, and has been performing with them ever since. 2018 marked the release of their debut album Silenced Voices on the Cedille label. Mr. Pederzoli is a graduate of the Paris Conservatory and also attended the Bern Hochschule in Switzerland.

Clarinetist ALICIA LEE, as a resident of New York City for over a decade, performed and toured regularly with The Knights, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, and NOVUS NY. Since 2015, she has been a member of NOW Ensemble, with whom she has premiered dozens of new works written for the group. She is a founding member of Decoda, the affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall, whose artists are committed equally to virtuosic performance and audience engagement. She also serves as co-director of the Decoda Chamber Music Festival, one of the ensemble’s flagship educational programs. Her festival appearances include Marlboro, Lucerne, Spoleto USA, Yellow Barn, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Bay Chamber Concerts. Ms. Lee is formerly the associate principal clarinetist of the Santa Barbara Symphony, a position she held for seven seasons. She also performed as solo bass clarinetist of the Bergen Philharmonic in Norway during the 2013-14 season. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in French Language and Literature from Columbia University and pursued musical studies at The Juilliard School. She earned additional degrees from the University of Southern California and The Colburn School, where she was a student of Yehuda Gilad. She is assistant professor of clarinet at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she also performs with the Wingra Wind Quintet.

Oboeist IZUMI AMEMIYA is principal oboe of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Ms. Amemiya began her musical studies on the piano at the age of eight, and started playing the oboe three years later. In 2018, she made her solo debut at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival as a winner of the SSMF Jacqueline Avent Concerto Competition. Before moving to Madison, she completed her graduate degree at the New England Conservatory with John Ferrillo in 2022, and her undergraduate degree at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with Linda Strommen in 2020. Ms. Amemiya also performs with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and is a private instructor of oboe in Madison.

Harpist JOHANNA WEINHOLTS is principal harp of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. She regularly performs with Madison Opera and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and has been a featured soloist with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. She is also lecturer of harp at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Mead Witter School of Music. Before moving to Madison in 2017, Ms. Weinholts was a freelance harpist in New York City and Toronto and has performed with orchestras all over the U.S. and Canada. She is an avid performer of both the standard symphonic repertoire as well as contemporary music, having been called to perform with numerous contemporary ensembles in New York. She has recorded for musical artists of other genres and has been featured on hip-hop, pop, and folk albums. Ms. Weinholts holds a Bachelor’s degree in classical harp performance from the University of Toronto and a master’s degree in performance from the Manhattan School of Music. She attended Interlochen Arts Academy, where she studied with Joan Holland, professor of harp at the University of Michigan. In Toronto, Ms. Weinholts studied with Judy Loman, one of the last pupils of Carlos Salzedo, a founder of the modern harp technique. (Website)

Horn player DAFYDD BEVIL is Acting Principal Horn of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and La Crosse Symphony. He is also Associate Lecturer of Horn at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, performs with the Whitewater Brass, and is the director of the UW-Whitewater Fall Horn Festival. He performs throughout the Upper Midwest as a symphonic, chamber, and solo musician. Dr. Bevil has performed at regional and international conferences of the International Horn Society and maintains an active recital schedule, performing for audiences throughout southern Wisconsin and at universities throughout the country. In 2019, Dr. Bevil completed an album titled “From Screen to Concert Hall” as part of his doctoral research. It is a collection of concert works for horn written by prominent film composers. The album includes the debut recording of Timeline (1945- ), a trio for horn, viola, and piano by Emmy-winning composer Bruce Broughton, as well as seldom recorded works by Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, and John Williams. He plays on Jungwirth horns crafted in Freischling, Austria. (Website)

Norma Sober, now retired, had a long career as an arts administrator in Madison as the director of outreach at the Madison Civic Center and as director of development and education at Madison Repertory Theatre. She is a member of the Madison Arts Commission and is an occasional consultant to cultural organizations, for which she sometimes gets paid.

David PoletDavid Polet was born in Holland, Michigan into a family of Dutch immigrants.  One of his passions was living in Russia, studying language and literature, and attending the St. Petersburg Philharmonic.  Having worked at Epic Systems, and CUNA Mutual Group, he is currently employed at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board as a project manager.  He likes to attend Chamber Orchestra concerts and is a member of the Salon series at Farley’s House of Pianos.

Beth LarsonBeth Larson has a wealth of experience in nonprofit administration, fundraising, program development, and education as well as performance. As a violinist, Beth has performed with numerous ensembles including the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Willy Street Chamber Players, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She is the former Director of Development-Corporate Partnerships at Overture Center for the Arts in Madison. She is currently Vice President of Development for Habitat for Humanity.

Sarah BestSarah Best is the award winning CEO/chief strategist of Sarah Best Strategy, a social media company.  She has been invited to speak at various conferences around the country, and is an avid traveler, foodie, and multi-faceted creative.  Sarah is also a poet who has been published in The Yale Review.  She is a visual artist and film curator who has shown work at many significant Chicago institutions as well as the Echo Park Film Center, in Los Angeles.  She is a Madison Downtown Rotarian and is secretary of the board of New Harvest Foundation.

Teri Venker has led arts marketing as the director of marketing for the Madison Symphony Orchestra, from which she recently retired, and for the Wisconsin Union Theater.  Teri enjoys bicycling and international travel.  She also volunteers at Lakeview Elementary School and with the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation.

Larry Bechler grew up playing music: first piano, then trumpet all the way through college marching band and into post-college bands. He has a love of live chamber music, spawned by BDDS and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston. He practices law at Murphy Desmond S.C and has served on various committees and commissions throughout his life.

Miriam Simmons served as the Assistant Dean for Professional Development in the Graduate School at UW-Madison. A major responsibility was directing the Wisconsin Idea Seminar, a five-day tour of the state that immerses forty faculty and academic staff members in the realities of Wisconsin. She is on the board of the Madison Civic Club and considers BDDS her new BFF.

Horn DANIEL GRABOIS is associate professor of horn at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he plays with the Wisconsin Brass Quintet. He also conducts the UW-Madison Horn Choir; serves as curator of the interdisciplinary series SoundWaves, which he founded in 2012; and directs EARS (Electro-Acoustic Research Space), a research facility for faculty and students. For 30 years, Mr. Grabois has been a member of the Meridian Arts Ensemble, a New York-based new-music brass and percussion ensemble that performs around the world and has released twelve CDs. With Meridian, he has performed in 49 states, given over 75 world premieres, received two ASCAP/CMA awards for adventuresome programming, and has worked with students in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, South America, and Asia. Mr. Grabois has also played with many of the performing ensembles in New York City, including the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and New York City Ballet. As a composer, Mr. Grabois has published three etude books for horn as well as solo and chamber music. He recently released Air Names, his first solo CD recording, featuring his own compositions for electric horn, bass, and drums. Danielgrabois.com

Piano INNA FALIKS is an Ukrainian-born American pianist and professor of piano at UCLA. After her teenage debuts at the Gilmore Festival and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, she has performed with numerous orchestras, in solo appearances, and with conductors such as Leonard Slatkin and Keith Lockhart. Highlights of recent seasons include recital tours of China, and performances at the Ravinia Festival, the Festival Internacional de Piano in Mexico, the Fazioli Series in Italy, and Israel’s Tel Aviv Museum. Ms. Faliks collaborates with and premieres music by contemporary composers such as Billy Childs, Richard Danielpour, Timo Andres, and Clarice Assad. She created the poetry-music series Music/Words and regularly tours with her monologue-recital Polonaise-Fantasie, the Story of a Pianist, which tells the story of her immigration to the U.S. from Odessa. Her recordings include all-Beethoven and Rachmaninoff/Ravel/Pasternak discs for MSR Classics. Upcoming recordings include Reimagine Beethoven and Ravel (with nine world premieres) on Parma and the Master and Margarita project, with three world premieres and Liszt's Sonata in b minor, on Sono Luminus. Innafaliks.com

Viola KATARZYNA BRYLA-WEISS was born into a family of musicians and has gone on to earn more than two dozen prizes and awards in the U.S., France, and her native Poland. Ms. Bryla-Weiss regularly performs with orchestras, chamber groups, and as a soloist in an international career that has taken her across four continents. In 2019 she became a member of St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, the artistic core of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York City. She is also a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and New York Pops Orchestra, and regularly appears with New York City Opera. Ms. Bryla-Weiss was a soloist with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra in their 2010 tour of China, and was soloist for the Maazel/Vilar Conducting Competition in Cracow in 2001. She has performed in numerous music festivals, including Classical Tahoe, Napa Valley Music Festival, Central Vermont Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Cactus Pear Music Festival, Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Singapore Sun Music Festival, and Las Palmas Music Festival in Grand Canary Island, Spain.

Violinist Paran Amirinazari, an avid chamber musician, is a founding member and artistic drector of the Willy Street Chamber Players. She is a former member of the Hunt String Quartet and has recently earned her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Cello TRACE JOHNSON, is committed to music-making of all styles and genres. Johnson has appeared as a chamber musician, soloist, and orchestral musician in a wide variety of settings in the U.S. and around the world. Equally at home teaching in the studio or performing on stage, he enjoys a varied career as a cellist, teacher, and musician. He is a cellist in the Sarasota Orchestra in Sarasota, Florida, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. He is a regular substitute with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed in chamber recitals with faculty from SUNY Purchase, the University of Toronto, Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Florida International University, Shenandoah University, and Queens College in New York City. Johnson is a Collins Fellowship Recipient at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree. (Website)

Pianist RANDALL HODGKINSON, grand prize winner of the International American Music Competition sponsored by Carnegie Hall and the Rockefeller Foundation, has performed with orchestras in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Boston, and Cleveland, and abroad in Italy and Iceland. In addition, he has performed numerous recital programs spanning the repertoire from J.S. Bach to Donald Martino. He is an artist member of the Boston Chamber Music Society and performs the four-hand and two-piano repertoire with his wife, Leslie Amper. Festival appearances include Blue Hill (Maine), Bargemusic, Chestnut Hill Concerts (Madison, Connecticut), Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest (Portland, Oregon), and Mainly Mozart in San Diego. Mr. Hodgkinson recently released a CD of solo piano music on the Ongaku label. Other recordings include a live world premiere of the Gardner Read Piano Concerto for Albany records. Mr. Hodgkinson is on the faculties of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and the Longy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Website)

Pianist CHRISTOPHER TAYLOR is known for his advocacy of music written in the past 100 years, but his repertoire spans four centuries and includes the complete Beethoven sonatas, the Liszt Transcendental Etudes, and Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Mr. Taylor has concertized around the globe, with his most recent international tours taking him to Korea, China, Singapore, Italy, and Venezuela. In the U.S. he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Houston Symphony, and the Milwaukee Symphony. As a soloist he has performed in New York’s Carnegie and Alice Tully Halls, in Washington’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and at the Ravinia (IL) and Aspen festivals. His recordings have featured works by Liszt, Messiaen, and present-day American composers William Bolcom and Derek Bermel. Mr. Taylor serves as the Paul Collins Associate Professor of Piano Performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (Website)

Cellist JOSEPH JOHNSON has been principal cello of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 2009, and previously held the same position with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as principal cellist of the Santa Fe Opera. Mr. Jonson was a member of the Minnesota Orchestra for 11 years. He is a founding member of the Prospect Park Players and the Minneapolis Quartet,  which was honored with the McKnight Foundation Award in 2005. He has appeared throughout the world as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. His festival appearances include performances at Santa Fe, Bard, Cactus Pear, Grand Teton, and Music in the Vineyards as well as the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and the Virtuosi Festival in Brazil. Mr. Johnson's recent appearances include the Canadian Première of the Unsuk Chin Cello Concerto with the Esprit Orchestra, as well as Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Kingston Symphony and Etobicoke Philharmonic. He is also Assistant Professor of Cello at the University of Toronto as well as the cello coach for the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, FL. Mr. Johnson performs on a magnificent Paolo Castello cello crafted in Genoa in 1780. (Website)

Composer JOHN WINEGLASS has written several scores for shows on MSNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS and ABC as well as documentaries. He is a recipient of three Emmy Awards for outstanding achievement in music direction and composition for a drama series, and three ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards. He has received commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pittsburgh Foundation, and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, along with a wide cadre of private sponsors. Recent commissioned works in the 2018-2019 season included four symphonic works, two with full chorus. His latest symphonic 2019 premiere of three movements, Unburied, Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice, was dedicated to the lives of African and African-American forced laborers who cultivated the rice economy in the Lowcountry and based on research in South Carolina, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and The Gambia.  Mr. Wineglass is currently serving as composer-in-residence with the Monterey Symphony, where both of his pandemic response works, Alone for Solo Violin, Live EFX and Electronica and Alone Together for Percussion, Harp and Strings have been curated to be included in the permanent collection of COVID-19 response art at the Library of Congress. (website)

Cellist BION TSANG is the winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and bronze medal in the International Tchaikovsky Competition. Mr. Tsang has appeared with the New York, Mexico City, Moscow, Busan, and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras, the Atlanta, Pacific, Civic, American and National Symphony Orchestras, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Saint Paul and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestras, and the Taiwan National Orchestra. He has been a guest of the Chamber Music Societies of Boston, Brooklyn and Fort Worth, Chamber Music International (Dallas), Da Camera of Houston and Camerata Pacifica (Los Angeles), and has performed at the festivals of Marlboro, Portland, and Tucson, the Bard Festival, Bravo! Colorado, and the Laurel Festival of the Arts, where he served as Artistic Director for ten years. Mr. Tsang’s discography includes three live recordings: Beethoven: Sonatas and Variations for Cello and Piano (Artek), Brahms: Cello Sonatas and Four Hungarian Dances (Artek), and Bion Tsang and Adam Neiman: Live at Jordan Hall (BHM). Mr. Tsang released The Blue Rock Sessions (BHM) in 2017, featuring eighteen virtuoso cello and piano miniatures, Dvořák and Enescu Cello Concertos (Sony) in 2019, and Bach Cello Suites (Sony) in 2021. Mr. Tsang holds the Long Chair in Cello at the University of Texas-Austin.

Percussionist MIKE KOSZEWSKI is a member of Mr. Chair, Madison's genre-defying quartet, which recently released its second original album Better Days. With this ensemble he has toured extensively, held residence at Caroga Lake Music Festival, collaborated with Filipina vocalist and visual artist Leslie Demaso, created and performed a rearrangement of Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite, and is currently producing the debut album for hip hop/spoken word artist Dequadray. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison percussion studio, Mr, Koszewski performed, taught, and lectured throughout the Midwest and East Coast in the 2010s with the percussion ensemble Clocks in Motion. He is a member of the band Lovely Socialite, plays drum kit in the Ben Ferris Octet, and in recent years has performed with Oakwood Chamber Players, LunArt Festival, and Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. Mr, Koszewsk is also a versatile pit orchestra musician, performing regularly with Four Seasons Theatre, Forward Theater Company, Capital City Theatre, and Children's Theater of Madison.

Cellist LACHEZAR KOSTOV is associate principal cello of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 2009, performing rarely heard works for cello and piano by Ellen Zwilich, Nikolay Roslavets, and Dimitri Kabalevsky. Mr. Kostov was the national winner at the 2006 MTNA Young Artists Competition and has won the cello award at the Kingsville Competition, the grand prix at the International Music and Earth Competition in Bulgaria, and the concerto competitions at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Rice University. With pianist Viktor Valkov, he won the first prize and all the special prizes at the Third International Liszt-Garrison Piano and Duo Competition. Prior to his appointment with the Baltimore Symphony Mr. Kostov was a tenured member of the San Antonio Symphony, and also performed with the Houston Symphony. He has appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the  Gewandhaus (Leipzig, Germany), and as a guest soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.S, Japan, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Bulgaria, and has performed at La Jolla Summer Fest and Cactus Pear Music Festival, and is a guest on faculty at the Texas Music Festival.

Oboist LINDSAY FLOWERS is the assistant professor of oboe at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, where she is a member of the Wingra Wind Quintet and guides student-generated community engagement projects. She received a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Her background in athletics distinguishes her pedagogical approach through her emphasis on performance visualization, disciplined commitment, and supportive teamwork. Dr. Flowers is an oboist and English hornist with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra. She previously was a member of the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Dr. Flowers was a founding member of the Arundo Donax Reed Quintet, bronze medal winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and has recorded a duo album with Dr. Andrew Parker released in 2023. She has performed with the Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, Utah, and Nashville Symphony Orchestras and during recent summers with the Santa Fe Opera, Grant Park, Midsummer’s, Lakes Area, Apollo, Lake George, Castleton, Aspen, and Banff Music Festivals. In addition to performing and teaching, she is recognized for her maintenance and repair of oboe and English horn gouging machines. (Website)

Violist MADLEN BRECKBILL learned to play the violin in the Madison music scene—with the Suzuki Strings of Madison, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Gene Purdue of the Buddy Conservatory of Music. She continued her studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and then at the Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto, Ontario.. Breckbill lived in Berlin for four years, working as an orchestral trainee with Konzerthaus Berlin, as the violist of the TAIGA String Quartet in Denmark, and as a chamber music player for Villa-Musica in Rheinland Pfalz. Since her early years, Madlen has developed a love for the many-layered, communicative world of chamber music. She has participated in the Jupiter String Quartet at Madeline Island Music Camp, performed with violist Steve Dann at Domaine Forget (Quebec), and with Music by the Sea (British Columbia). In the summer of 2019, Ms. Breckbill started the Stoughton Chamber Music Festival. She enjoys working with both children and adults as a Suzuki teacher. (Website)

Percussionist DAVE ALCORN is a founding member of the percussion group, Clocks in Motion, committed to performing classic percussion literature and chamber music, as well as commissioning new repertoire. He was the principal timpanist of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra and has performed on a regular basis with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. In addition to western classical music, he is also active in music from various other cultures. He is the former president of the Brazilian Samba group Vencedores, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mr. Alcon has studied instruments of the Middle East and is a former member of the University of Michigan Arabic Ensemble. Since 2007, he has been a staff arranger and composer for the Mt. Lebanon Percussion Ensemble. His arrangements and compositions have been performed by groups throughout the United States, including at the University of Michigan and the University of California-Los Angeles. Mr. Alcorn’s diverse background includes video and audio recording and editing of live concerts, closed studio sessions, and documentaries. He regularly records recitals and other musical events in the Madison, WI area. Mr. Alcorn holds a Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance from UW-Madison and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan.

Conductor KENNETH WOODS was appointed artistic director and principal conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra in 2013, and was recently appointed artistic director of both the Elgar Festival in Worcester, England, and the Colorado MahlerFest. As a guest, Mr. Woods has conducted ensembles including the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, and the English Chamber Orchestra; has been featured on broadcasts for BBC Radio 3, National Public Radio, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; and has appeared at music festivals such as Aspen, Scotia and Lucerne. Under Mr. Woods’ leadership, the English Symphony Orchestra responded to the2020 Covid-19 lockdown, “Music from Wyastone," a series of virtual concerts including dozens of world-premieres of new works and new arrangements, such as a chamber version of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle. Mr. Woods’s blog, “A View from the Podium,” is one of the 25 most popular classical blogs in the world. He has spoken on Mahler on NPR’s All Things Considered and is a regular speaker on BBC radio programs. Kennethwoods.net

Bass NICK MORAN, a veteran of the Madison, Wisconsin, music scene, performs on both electric bass and the double bass in varied genres including jazz, Afro-Latin, hip hop, reggae, and funk. Mr. Moran has toured internationally and performed with a diverse collection of acts, including Ben Sidran, Lee ‘Scratch‘ Perry, Clyde Subblefield, and David ‘Fathead‘ Newman (Ray Charles’s sax player). He has also worked with such Madison music institutions as Harmonious Wail, the Gomers, Tony Casteneda, Anna Laube, Joy and the Boy, and the Tim Whalen Nonet. As a freelance bassist, Mr. Moran has recorded tracks and albums for a wide-ranging roster of artists including Gerri DiMaggio, University of Wisconsin-Madison music professor Les Thimmig, Clyde Stubbelfield, Hanah John Taylor, and reggae giants Natty Nation. His playing can also be heard in various Afro-Cuban, hip hop, R&B and funk loop libraries from Sony Music and Apple. In addition to his music career, Mr. Moran works as a production and development consultant for the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium. In 2014, he was named "Jazz Personality of The Year" at the Isthmus Jazz Festival by mayoral proclamation. In 2016, he joined the UW-Madison School of Music as jazz bass instructor.

Cellist KENNETH OLSEN joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as assistant principal cello in 2005. He is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and a winner of the school's concerto competition. His other awards include first prize in the Nakamichi Cello Competition at the Aspen Music Festival and second prize at the 2002 Holland-America Music Society Competition. His teachers have included Richard Aaron at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Joel Krosnick at New York's Juilliard School of Music, and Luis Garcia-Renart at Bard College. He also has been a participant at the Steans Institute for Young Artists (the Ravinia Festival's professional studies program for young musicians) and at Boston University's Tanglewood Institute. A native of New York, Mr. Olsen is a founding member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, a conductorless string orchestra comprised of young musicians from orchestras and ensembles all over the country.

Violinist HYE-JIN KIM has performed as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and has appeared as a recitalist at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and London's Wigmore Hall. An active chamber musician, Ms. Kim has toured throughout the U.S. with Musicians from Marlboro, and has made festival appearances at Marlboro, Ravinia, and Martha's Vineyard. Ms. Kim has also served as a cultural representative for South Korea in Switzerland, Australia, and Kazakhstan through concert and outreach engagements. Awarded first prize at the Yehudi Menuhin Competition at age nineteen, Ms. Kim is also the winner of the 2009 Concert Artists Guild Competition and the Philadelphia Orchestra Concerto Competition. Ms. Kim's debut CD, From the Homeland, featuring music by Debussy, Sibelius, Smetana, and Janacek, in a collaboration with pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute, was released in 2014 on CAG Records. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Ms. Kim studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and earned her master's degree at the New England Conservatory. She is assistant professor of violin at East Carolina University. She plays a Gioffredo Cappa violin, crafted in Saluzzo, Italy, in 1687. (Website)

Baritone TIMOTHY JONES has performed in opera houses and with symphony orchestras in the U.S., Ecuador, Mexico, and the Czech Republic. He has appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, and the Jacksonville Symphony. In opera houses he has performed leading roles in "The Marriage of Figaro," "Carmen," Die Zauberflöte," "Cosi Fan Tutte," "Don Giovanni," "Don Pasquale," "La Boheme," "Falstaff," "Macbeth," and "La Traviata." He has been a frequent guest with the Victoria Bach Festival, New Texas Festival, Round Top Music Festival, Ars Lyrica Houston, Cactus Pear Music Festival, and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. As a committed performer of contemporary music, Mr. Jones has commissioned and premiered numerous compositions by leading composers of our time. He currently lives in Houston, where he serves on the faculty of the University of Houston.

Violist ARA GREGORIAN made his New Recital Hall debut and his debut as soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1997. Since then, he has performed in New York's Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Alice Tully Hall; Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center; and in major cities throughout the world, including Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tel Aviv, and Helsinki. Throughout his career, Mr. Gregorian has been active as a performer and presenter of chamber music. He is the founder and artistic director of the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival in Greenville, North Carolina, and has appeared at festivals worldwide. He has also performed as a member of the Daedalus Quartet, Concertante, and the Arcadian Trio and has recorded for National Public Radio and the Bridge and Kleos labels. Mr. Gregorian is the Chair of String and Piano Chamber Music at New England Conservatory. He is a recent past violin/viola/chamber music faculty member at East Carolina and has created opportunities for established musicians to mentor and perform with talented students through the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival's Next Generation concerts. Mr. Gregorian received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School. He performs on a Francesco Ruggeri violin from 1690 and a Grubaugh and Seifert viola from 2006. (Website)

Violist SALLY CHISHOLM is a member of the Pro Arte Quartet and professor of viola at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has had an extensive career in chamber music. She was a founding member of the Thouvenel String Quartet, which won first prize at the Weiner International Chamber Music Competition; was a finalist of New York’s Naumburg Competition; and toured China and Tibet. Since joining the Pro Arte Quartet, Ms. Chisholm has performed in Eastern Europe and North Korea, served as an international juror in Warsaw, Poland, and for two decades performed in Ernen, Switzerland, at the Festival der Zukunft. Ms. Chisholm is a permanent member of the Northern Lights Chamber Music Institute and the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota and performs annually in Midsummer's Music in Door County, WI. She frequently serves as principal violist of the Chicago Philharmonic and the Joffrey Ballet. In 2018 and 2019 she performed at the Otaru Festival in Japan, in 2019 gave the world premiere of the John Harbison Viola Sonata, and in 2020 taught viola master classes at the Manhattan School in New York. She returned to Marlboro Music Festival this past summer for her fifteenth season. Her former students include violists in major orchestras, active chamber musicians, and internationally recognized teachers. She performs on the viola formerly owned by violist Georges Janzer.

Violin SUZANNE BEIA is co-concertmaster of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, concertmaster of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and second violinist in the Pro Arte Quartet. A native of Reno, Nevada, she began her musical studies on the viola at the age of ten. Three years later, she shifted her attention to the violin and made her solo debut at the age of fourteen with the North Lake Tahoe Symphony. Since that time, she has performed as a soloist with orchestras throughout the U.S. and Germany. Before coming to Madison, Ms. Beia held the position of principal second violin in the Wichita Symphony and has held concertmaster positions with the Reno Chamber Orchestra, Bay Area Women's Philharmonic, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, and Chamber Symphony of San Francisco. She also held the assistant concertmaster position in the New World Symphony. Her chamber music experience has been extensive: she has performed at festivals such as Chamber Music West, Telluride Chamber Music Festival, Token Creek, Festival de Prades, and Chamber Music at the Barn. Ms. Beia has served on the faculties of the Rocky Ridge Music Center and Florida International University.