Artistic Staff
Ryan Murray
Ryan Murray, Principal Pops Conductor
Ryan Murray, Principal Pops Conductor
Guest Artists
Guest User
Crystal Monee Hall, guest artist
Crystal Monee Hall, guest artist
Guest Artists
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Capathia Jenkins, guest artist
Capathia Jenkins, guest artist
Guest Artists
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Ryan Shaw, guest artist
Ryan Shaw, guest artist
Guest Artists
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Terron Brooks, guest artist
Terron Brooks, guest artist

Classics Series

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Nicholas Hersh, Music Director

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American conductor Nicholas Hersh has earned critical acclaim for his innovative programming and natural ability to connect with musicians and audiences alike.

In the 2023-24 season, Hersh returns to the National, Houston, Baltimore, Colorado, and New Jersey Symphonies, while making debuts with the Springfield Symphony and Wintergreen Festival. Recent include engagements with the Detroit, Grand Rapids, New World, North Carolina, Phoenix, Portland (ME), Richmond, Tucson, Utah, and Winston-Salem symphony orchestras, Louisiana and Rochester Philharmonics, and the Florida and Sarasota Orchestras.

Over a remarkable tenure as Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Hersh created the BSO Pulse series, through which he brought together indie bands and orchestral musicians in unique collaborations; he led the BSO in several subscription weeks, and concerts in and around Baltimore; and he directed the BSO’s educational and family programming, including the celebrated Academy for adult amateur musicians. Hersh also maintains a close relationship with the National Symphony Orchestra, leading concerts throughout Washington, D.C. He stepped in to replace an indisposed Yan Pascal Tortelier, on subscription, to great acclaim.

Hersh is frequently in demand as an arranger and orchestrator, with commissions from orchestras around the globe for adaptations of everything from classical solo and chamber music to popular songs. His orchestration of Beethoven’s Cello Sonata Op. 69 was premiered by the Philharmonie Zuidnederland in January 2022, while his symphonic arrangement of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody continues to see worldwide success as a viral YouTube hit. He also serves as arranger and editor for the James P. Johnson Orchestra Edition.

Hersh grew up in Evanston, Illinois and started his musical training as a cellist. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Stanford University and a Master’s Degree in Conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Hersh is also a two-time recipient of the Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award. Nicholas lives in Philadelphia with his wife Caitlin and their two cats, and in his free time enjoys baking (and eating) sourdough bread.

Upcoming Performances

Calendar
October 5 / Branford Marsalis with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra
October 5 / Branford Marsalis with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra

Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Branford Marsalis, saxophone

Sat. Oct. 5, 2024 at 7:00 pm

Jennifer Lindsay, soprano

Lyric soprano Jennifer Lindsay has been widely praised for her gorgeous tone and musical intelligence.

As Mimì in La Bohème with Opera Connecticut, she was lauded for her “plummy voice” by the Connecticut Town Times, and VOICE Magazine called her a “standout singer” for her portrayal of the pivotal character Mary Warren in Robert Ward’s The Crucible with Opera Santa Barbara.  Ms Lindsay joined the Metropolitan Opera as a member of the ensemble in a new and wildly popular production of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, which received a GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording. Equally at home in the contemporary music scene, Ms Lindsay has appeared with the LA Philharmonic in conjunction with Beth Morrison Projects to perform excerpts from John Adams’ I Was Looking At The Ceiling And Then I Saw The Sky, conducted by the composer. She debuted the role of Lucha in the world premiere of HOPSCOTCH with The Industry, directed by Pulitzer Prize-nominee Yuval Sharon, and performed the role of Tasha in excerpts from Dylan Mattingly’s modern opera Stranger Love at the biannual FIRST TAKE contemporary music festival co-hosted by The Industry and wildUp, Christopher Roundtree’s acclaimed new music ensemble. Ms Lindsay has also been a featured soloist with the San Diego Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, and the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra. She currently resides in Orange County.

Upcoming Performances

Maria Dominique Lopez, mezzo soprano

Praised as “a rich-voiced mezzo” (Operawire) and “a real tour-de-force” (Splash Magazine), Mexican-American mezzo soprano Maria Dominique Lopez has sung operatic roles and symphonic works throughout the United States and Europe for over a decade. Additionally, Maria has recorded vocals for independent films and major motion pictures, including Golden Globe and Academy Award-Winning Disney/Pixar film, “Coco,” and New Line Cinema’s horror film, “The Curse of La Llorona.” Recent stage appearances include Houston Grand Opera: Opera to Go! (Madrina/Madrastra, Cinderella in Spain), Arizona Opera (Dritte Dame, Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte; Bonita, Arizona Lady), Phoenix Symphony (mezzo soloist, Vaughan Williams’ Magnificat), Resonance Works / Pittsburgh (Candelas, de Falla’s El Amor Brujo), Opera Memphis (Third Lady, Mozart’s The Magic Flute), Pacific Opera Project (Madam Flora, Menotti’s The Medium; Mercédes, Bizet’s Carmen; Musetta, Puccini’s La bohème), the world premiere at The Kennedy Center and the Polish premiere at the Teatr Muzycznys Poznaniu of Jenni Brandon’s 3 Paderewskis (Ignace), the LA premiere of Mark Weiser’s The Place Where You Started (Samantha), New Opera West (Cybil, Celka Ojakangas’ Mirror Game; Jenny, Ben Stevenson’s Recovered; Sara, Jeremy Rapaport-Stein’s The Moose), Southeast Symphony (mezzo soloist, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2), Angels Vocal Art (Principessa, Puccini’s Suor Angelica), Tustin Area Council for the Fine Arts (“Somewhere” soloist, Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story), Long Beach Opera (mezzo soloist, Ungala Series), and LA Opera’s education outreach company, LA Opera Connects (Waitress/Angela, the world premiere of GG Gallegos’ Another Perfect Day; Rosina, Eli and LeRoy Vilanueva’s Figaro’s American Adventure). Dreams, and Cincinnati Opera (Third Wood Nymph, Dvorak’s Rusalka), but these performances were postponed to a future date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemic performances include “From Darkness to Light,” a livestream concert in which Maria joined other instrumentalists and vocalists from the Los Angeles area to benefit the SoCal Vocalist Relief Fund, and two online fundraisers for Resonance Works / Pittsburgh. In the Fall of 2020, Maria performed the world premiere of her first collaboration as a lyricist, “The COVID Dance” composed by Celka Ojakangas as part of a concert honoring the Women’s March produced by Resonance Works/Pittsburgh. Upcoming 2022 performances will see a fulfillment of the original contract to return to Resonance Works / Pittsburgh (Rosa, I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams), and as a soloist in LA Opera’s collaboration with The Huntington Library. A native Arizonan, Maria received her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Music degrees from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. She now lives in the Los Angeles area and owns her own energy healing and reiki practice, Ascending Arts. In addition to energy healing sessions, Maria uses her healing gifts to enhance her music performance in a program called “Sing the Light.” Through “Sing the Light,” Maria offers group Reiki during every live performance to all audience members who are open to receiving. It is her mission to help audience members tap into the transcendental healing that music can offer by creating a quantum connection between the heart of the performer and the heart of the audience member. She is a Senior Fellow in the Eric Fütterer Vocal Studio of Academy of Advanced Vocal Technique, and studies shamanic and energy practices with Shaman and Reiki Master, Jamie Jones.

More on Maria Dominique Lopez at: https://www.ascendingarts.exchange/voice

Upcoming Performances

Orson Van Gay II, tenor

Operatic Tenor, Orson Van Gay II, possesses a unique voice that captivates the audience with his charisma and command of the stage for a singer of his generation. His performances showcase vocal talents that have brought him constant recognition in Southern California and across the United States.

Recent and Upcoming: In the 2019-20 season, he created the role of Raymond Santana in the world première of Anthony Davis’s Central Park Five (Pulitzer Winning Opera 2021) with Long Beach Opera and made his role debut as Rodolfo in La bohème with Pacific Opera Project. He was Nemorino with the Phoenicia Int. Festival of the Voice and sang the romantic lead of the Young Man in Last Romance with Kansas New Theater. Equally at home as a recitalist, Mr. Van Gay has appeared in the Portsmouth Community Concert, Inc. (VA), the Rio Hondo College and at Carnegie Hall in a recital with Wang Wei. This season included working with Maestro Conlon in a supporting role at LA Opera in their production of Il trovatore and with the LA Philharmonic in their preparation of Fidelio. He debuted as Danilo in Pocket Opera’s The Merry Widow, followed by his debut as The Athlete in the West Coast premiere of, I Can’t Breathe with Pacific Opera Project. He was Vitaliano in Long Beach Opera’s Guistino with James Darrah directing; and reprised his role in The Central Park Five with Long Beach Opera in 2022. He reprised the role of Alfredo in La traviata with Piedmont Opera. Mr. Van Gay is the proud recipient of 2022 inaugural Hurst Artist of the year award.

“Orson Van Gay II was an ardent Alfredo...his sound was fluent and his high notes golden.”
— Broadway World

Mr. Van Gay has sung extensively with the Los Angeles Opera in many venues including their “Connects”, “City of Hope” “IAMLA, series. He debuted the role of Bernard Curson in the world première of Figaro 90210 with the company and was Ramerrez in The Prospector in two different seasons. Other operatic roles include Alfredo (La traviata), Ben (The Night of the Living Dead) and the title roles of Candide and Orpheus.

He joined the Cal Philharmonic Orchestra in celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s 100th anniversary and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 as tenor soloist at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Reviewed by George van Wagner he stated, “beautifully sung and strongly acted...audience members were visibly moved.” He has sung the haunting role of Orlando in The Industry’s nationally acclaimed production of Hopscotch. In addition to performing in the romantic and Germanic languages of opera, Mr. Van Gay was selected to perform in Mandarin last season making his debut with SINO U.S. Performing Arts Organization as tenor soloist for their concert series with performances in Los Angeles and Phoenix, Arizona.

He premiered Golden; a composition based on the life of Polish composer, Igancy Paderewski by Nathan Wang in Los Angeles and sang the role of Prince in the world première of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Morning Star.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Vocal Performance from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and has been honored by the NATS organization in first place on several occasions.

As a native of southern California, Mr. Van Gay is also an actor in several nationally recognized television series. He has been featured in major television commercials and starred on a variety of shows for Netflix; including foreign film and television. He co- starred on the Disney series Coop & Cami Ask the World.

More on Orson Van Gay ll at: http://www.orsonvangay.com

Colors of a Lyric by Orson Van Gay II

releases May 14, 2023

“After performing for nearly two decades, I was often asked, "do you have a record available?" I often referred fans to my website or YouTube where they could find highlights from operatic performances. The pandemic gave me the time to reflect and curate some of my favorite arias. I wanted to give the world a sneak peak into the pieces that have helped shape and inspire my journey, as an artist. As a budding musician, I remember listening to the iconic opera singers and thinking, 'this is how I want to connect to humanity!" This has been a labor of love brought to fruition through years of performances. I hope you enjoy.”

Upcoming Performances

Zachary Gordin, baritone

Praised for his “arresting musical insights”, Zachary Gordin has been active in many facets of the Classical Music industry. He has established himself as a leading baritone soloist, collaborative pianist, conductor, organizational consultant, and artist mentor; training singers who perform in the world's great opera houses and concert halls. 

His debut disc: Amour sans ailes - Songs of Reynaldo Hahn on the MSR Classics label was named "Best Lieder Recording of 2017" by Voix des Arts. On the operatic stage Gordin is well known for his performances of Joseph De Rocher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, a role that won him critical acclaim when he premiered it at Dayton Opera in 2015. Other major roles include Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Escamillo in Carmen, Silvio in Pagliacci, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Germont in La traviata. A veteran of the concert and recital stage, Gordin’s recent engagements include performances with San Francisco Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic, YOSA Philharmonic, Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, Olympic Music Festival, and many others.

“A voice that is commanding and intense without ever descending into coarseness”
— The Seattle Times

During his early childhood, he was inspired by his Great-Grandfather, an organist, and began training as a pianist at a young age. His commitment to education and access to the arts reinforces his work as General and Artistic Director of Festival Opera. He has served on the voice faculty of Sonoma State University and Santa Clara University, as a judge for regional and national voice competitions, and has given master classes at some of the country’s most renowned opera companies and schools. Gordin is also widely recognized as a frequent presence on Barihunks, a site dedicated to physically fit and vocally gifted operatic baritones from around the globe.

Upcoming Performances

Christopher Dragon, conductor

Australian conductor Christopher Dragon is the Music Director of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra and Resident Conductor of the Colorado Symphony. He joined the Colorado Symphony in the 2015/2016 Season as Associate Conductor – a position he held for four years. For three years prior, Dragon held the position of Assistant Conductor with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, which gave him the opportunity to work closely with Principal Conductor Asher Fisch.

Dragon has a versatile portfolio ranging from live-to-picture performances of Nightmare Before Christmas, Jurassic Park and Mary Poppins, a wide variety of collaborations with artists such as The Flaming Lips, Cynthia Erivo and Wynton Marsalis, to standard and contemporary orchestral repertoire such as Danny Elfman’s Violin Concerto, Eleven Eleven, all areas of which he has become highly sought after. Christopher has become known for his charisma, high energy and affinity for a good costume, consistently delivering unforgettable performances that has made him an audience favourite.

Recent season highlights include his subscription series debut with the San Diego Symphony, performances of Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton with Danny Elfman reprising the role of Jack Skellington and the historic Colorado Symphony performances with the Wu-Tang Clan at Red Rocks and the Mission Ballroom. Dragon’s upcoming debuts include concerts with the San Francisco Symphony and the Utah Symphony.

Christopher works regularly in Australia and has guest conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and West Australian Symphony Orchestras. His 2015 debut performance at the Sydney Opera House with John Pyke and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was released on album by ABC Music and won an ARIA the following year. Christopher’s other guest conducting includes Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

He has also conducted at numerous festivals including the Breckenridge and Bangalow Music Festivals, with both resulting in immediate re-invitations. At the beginning of 2016 Dragon conducted Wynton Marsalis’ Swing Symphony as part of the Perth International Art Festival alongside Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Christopher began his conducting studies in 2011 and was a member of the prestigious Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program in Australia under the guidance of course director Christopher Seaman. He has also studied with numerous distinguished conductors including Leonid Grin, Paavo and Neeme Jarvi at the Jarvi Summer Festival, Fabio Luisi at the Pacific Music Festival and conducting pedagogue Jorma Panula.

Upcoming Performances

Gabriela Martinez, piano

Versatile, daring, and insightful, Venezuelan-born pianist Gabriela Martinez is establishing a reputation both nationally and internationally for the lyricism of her playing, her compelling interpretations, and her elegant stage presence.

Since making her orchestral debut at age 7, Ms. Martinez has played with such distinguished orchestras as the San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, New Jersey, Tucson, West Michigan, Pacific and Fort Worth symphonies; the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Germany’s Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, MDR Rundfunkorchester, Nürnberger Philharmoniker, and MDR Leipzig Radio Philharmonic Orchestra; Canada’s Victoria Symphony Orchestra; the Costa Rica National Symphony; and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela. In the past four seasons she has appeared with the Knoxville, Pacific, Richmond, Charlotte, Grand Rapids, Pasadena, Billings, Richardson, Springfield, Wichita, and Waco symphony orchestras; the Orlando, Boise, and Dayton philharmonics; the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia; the Atlantic Classical Orchestra; and the Symphony of Southeast Texas. Orchestral engagements in the 2021-22 season include the Omaha, Hartford, Texarkana, and San Antonio symphony orchestras.

She has performed with conductors Gustavo Dudamel, James Gaffigan, James Conlon, Marcelo Lehninger and Guillermo Figueroa, among many others, and at such esteemed venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Merkin Hall, and Alice Tully Hall; the Broad Stage in Santa Monica; the El Paso Pro Musica and Kansas City Harriman-Jewell series; Canada’s Glenn Gould Studio; Salzburg’s Grosses Festspielhaus; Dresden’s Semperoper; Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens; and Paris’s Palace of Versailles. Her festival credits include the Mostly Mozart, Ravinia, and Rockport festivals in the United States; Italy’s Festival dei Due Mondi (Spoleto); Switzerland’s Verbier Festival; the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier; and Japan’s Tokyo International Music Festival.

Amplified Soul, her debut solo album released in 2016 by Delos Records, features a wide-ranging program including works by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Szymanowski. The album also pays homage to acclaimed composers Mason Bates and Dan Visconti, whose title selection Amplified Soul (world premiere recording), was written for Ms. Martinez. She collaborated with Grammy Award-winning producer David Frost on the album. A music video of Visconti's Amplified Soul can be found on Ms. Martinez's YouTube Channel.

Her wide-ranging career includes world premieres of new music, live performance broadcasts, and interviews on TV and radio. Ms. Martinez’s performances have been featured on National Public Radio, CNN, PBS, 60 Minutes, ABC, From the Top, Radio France, WQXR and WNYC (New York), MDR Kultur and Deutsche Welle (Germany), NHK (Japan), RAI (Italy), and on numerous television and radio stations in Venezuela.

Ms. Martinez was the First Prize winner of the Anton G. Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Dresden, and a semifinalist at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, where she also received the Jury Discretionary Award. She began her piano studies in Caracas with her mother, Alicia Gaggioni, and attended The Juilliard School, where she earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees as a full scholarship student of Yoheved Kaplinsky. Ms. Martinez was a fellow of Carnegie Hall’s The Academy, and a member of Ensemble Connect (formerly known as Ensemble ACJW), while concurrently working on her doctoral studies with Marco Antonio de Almeida in Halle, Germany.

Read our exclusive interview with Gabriela!

Upcoming Performances

George Li, piano

Praised by The Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command, and depth of expression,” pianist George Li possesses  brilliant virtuosity and effortless grace far beyond his years. Since winning the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition and being named the recipient of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Li has rapidly established a major international reputation as he performs regularly with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, such as Gustavo Dudamel, James Gaffigan, Valery Gergiev, Gustavo Gimeno, Manfred Honeck, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Kirill Petrenko, David Robertson, Leonard Slatkin, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Spivakov, Michael Tilson Thomas, Long Yu, and Xian Zhang.

Highlights of the 2021–22 season include orchestral engagements with the Nashville, San Diego, New World, North Carolina, Pacific, and Valencia Symphonies, as well as the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia. In addition, Mr. Li will perform recitals presented by the Chicago Symphony, University of Washington in Seattle, The Cliburn Foundation in Ft. Worth, Emory University in Atlanta, and StuttgartKonzert in Germany.

Recent concerto highlights include performances with the Los Angeles, New York, London, Rotterdam, Oslo, St. Petersburg, and Buffalo Philharmonics; the San Francisco, Tokyo, Frankfurt Radio, Sydney, Montreal, Baltimore, Utah, and Pittsburgh Symphonies; as well as the Philharmonia, DSO Berlin, and Orchestra National de Lyon.  His eight-concert tour of Germany with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra included performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Philharmonie am Gasteig Munich, and the Stuttgart Liederhalle. Mr. Li frequently appears with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, including performances at the Paris Philharmonie, Luxembourg Philharmonie, New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music, Verbier Festival, Grafenegg Festival, and in various venues, such as the Mariinsky Concert Hall, and others throughout Russia. Li has also performed with major Chinese orchestras, such as the NCPA, China Philharmonia, and Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras, under the baton of Long Yu and Xian Zhang.

“A bracing, fearless account…Mr. Li’s playing combined youthful abandon with utter command.”
— New York Times

In recital, Li performs at venues including Carnegie Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco, the Mariinsky Theatre, Elbphilharmonie, Munich’s Gasteig, the Louvre, Seoul Arts Center, Tokyo’s Asahi Hall and Musashino Hall, NCPA Beijing, Shanghai Poly Theater, and Amici della Musica Firenze, as well as appearances at major festivals including the Edinburgh International Festival, Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival, Vail Festival, Seattle Music Festival, La Jolla Festival, Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence Festival, Colmar Festival, and Montreux Festival.

An active chamber musician, Li has performed alongside Benjamin Beilman, Noah Bendix-Balgley, James Ehnes, Daniel Hope, Pinchas Zukerman, Amanda Forsythe,  Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Kian Soltani, Pablo Ferrandez, and Daniel Lozakovich.

George Li gave his first public performance at Boston’s Steinert Hall at the age of 10. In 2011, he performed for President Obama at the White House in an evening honoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among George Li’s many prizes and awards, he was the First Prize winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the inaugural Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition, and the Grand Prix Animato, as well as a recipient of the 2012 Gilmore Young Artist Award and the 2018 Arthur Waser Prize.

George is an exclusive Warner Classics recording artist. His debut album, “Live at Mariinsky,” which was recorded live at the Mariinsky Concert Hall, won an Opus Klassik award for Soloist Recording of the Year in 2018. His second recording for the label features Liszt solo works and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, which was recorded live with Vasily Petrenko and the London Philharmonic, and released in October 2019.

George began his piano studies at age 4 with Dorothy Shi, before continuing with Wha Kyung Byun at New England Conservatory beginning at age 12. In 2019, he completed the Harvard/New England Conservatory dual degree program, with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s degree in Music. He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory. When not playing piano, George is an avid reader and photographer, as well as a sports fanatic.

Upcoming Performances

Andrew Grams, conductor

With a unique combination of intensity, enthusiasm and technical clarity, American conductor Andrew Grams has steadily built a reputation for his dynamic concerts, ability to connect with audiences, and long-term orchestra building. He’s the winner of 2015 Conductor of the Year from the Illinois Council of Orchestras and has led orchestras throughout the United States including the Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, and the Houston Symphony.

Andrew Grams became music director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra after an international search in 2013 and recently concluded his tenure there after 8 seasons. His charismatic conducting and easy accessibility have made him a favorite of Elgin Symphony audiences.

A frequent traveler, Mr. Grams has worked extensively with orchestras abroad, including the symphony orchestras of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, the Orchestre National de France, Hong Kong Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra London, the symphony orchestras of Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and Het Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, Netherlands. He has led multiple performances of New York City Ballet’s George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® and the first performances of the new production of The Nutcracker for the Norwegian National Ballet in Olso.

Also an educator, Mr. Grams has worked with orchestras at institutions such as the Curtis Institute of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Indiana University, Roosevelt University, the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland, and the Amsterdam Conservatorium.

Born in Severn, Maryland, Mr. Grams began studying the violin when he was eight years old. In 1999 he received a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from The Juilliard School, and in 2003 he received a conducting degree from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Otto-Werner Mueller. He was selected to spend the summer of 2003 studying with David Zinman, Murry Sidlin and Michael Stern at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen and returned to that program again in 2004. Mr. Grams served as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra from 2004-2007 where he worked under the guidance of Franz Welser- Möst, and has since returned for several engagements.

As an accomplished violinist, Mr. Grams was a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra from 1998-2004, serving as acting associate principal second violin in 2002 and 2004. Additionally, he has performed with ensembles including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the New Jersey Symphony.

Upcoming Performances

Simone Porter, violin

Violinist Simone Porter has been recognized as an emerging artist of impassioned energy, interpretive integrity, and vibrant communication. In the past few years she has debuted with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic; and with a number of renowned conductors, including Stéphane Denève,

Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, and Donald Runnicles. Born in 1996, Simone made her professional solo debut at age 10 with the Seattle Symphony and her international debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London at age 13. In March 2015, Simone was named a recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Recent highlights include Mendelssohn with New Jersey Symphony, Brahms with Pacific Symphony and an extensive tour throughout the US including concerts with the Santa Rosa, Amarillo, Pasadena, Fairfax and Midland Symphonies; the Rochester, Westchester, Orlando and Great Bay Philharmonics; the Sarasota Orchestra and the Northwest Sinfonietta. With the cessation of live concerts Simone continued to record streamed events with Seattle, Pittsburgh, Charlotte and Greater Bridgeport Symphonies. Beginning with the Aspen festival where she is a frequent guest, in July 2021 she resumed a full season of orchestral and recital concerts to include Denver, North Carolina, St. Louis, Grand Rapids, Quebec, Sarasota, Bakersfield, Princeton and Monterey Symphonies and recitals including Boston where the program includes the world premiere of a commission from composer Reena Esmail.

At the invitation of Esa-Pekka Salonen, Simone performed his work ‘Lachen verlernt’ (‘Laughing Unlearnt’), at the New York Philharmonic’s “Foreign Bodies,” a multi-sensory celebration of the work of the composer and conductor. In recent seasons, she has also appeared at the Edinburgh Festival performing Barber under the direction of Stéphane Denève, and at the Mostly Mozart Festival performing Mozart under Louis Langrée. She has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl with both Nicholas McGegan and Ludovic Morlot, and at Walt Disney Concert Hall with Gustavo Dudamel.

Internationally, Simone has performed with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra with Gustavo Dudamel; the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro; the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica; the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong; the Royal Northern Sinfonia; the Milton Keynes City Orchestra in the United Kingdom; and the Opera de Marseilles.

Simone made her Carnegie Zankel Hall debut on the Emmy Award-winning TV show From the Top: Live from Carnegie Hall followed in November 2016 by her debut in Stern Auditorium. In June 2016, her featured performance of music from Schindler’s List with Maestro Gustavo Dudamel and members of the American Youth Symphony was broadcast nationally on the TNT Network as part of the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award: A Tribute to John Williams.

Raised in Seattle, Washington, Simone studied with Margaret Pressley as a recipient of the Dorothy Richard Starling Scholarship, and was then admitted into the studio of the renowned pedagogue Robert Lipsett, with whom she studied at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Summer studies have included many years at the Aspen Music Festival, Indiana University's Summer String Academy, and the Schlern International Music Festival in Italy.

Simone Porter performs on a 1740 Carlo Bergonzi violin made in Cremona Italy on generous loan from The Master’s University, Santa Clarita, California.

Upcoming Performances

Anthony Parnther, conductor

American conductor, Anthony Parnther, is the Music Director and Conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra and the Southeast Symphony & Chorus in Los Angeles.

Recent guest conducting engagements include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, Jacaranda - Music at the Edge, Hear Now Music Festival, Mann Center Festival Orchestra, Pittsburgh Microtonal Festival, Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, Brightwork NewMusic, and the World Opera Forum in Madrid, Spain. 

Over the next season, Anthony will premiere Kris Bower’s Concerto for Horn with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Tamar-kali Brown’s Oratorio “We Hold These Truths” with the Los Angeles Opera, work alongside composer Anthony Davis on his Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Central Park Five with the Long Beach Opera, and premiere a new work for narrator and orchestra by Oscar-winning, GRAMMY-nominated Jon Batiste, host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with the Gateways Festival Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

Anthony has led the Hollywood Studio Symphony in recording sessions for many international feature film and television projects including Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Tenet, Star Wars: Book of Boba Fett, Little, American Dad, The Hunt, Fargo, The Way Back, The Night Of, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Encanto,  and Ice Age: Adventures of Buck Wild. His live orchestral concert appearances for e-sports titan League of Legends in Barcelona, Beijing, Seoul, and Los Angeles are among the most widely viewed symphonic concerts in the world, with live audiences of 50,000-75,000 spectators and a viewership that outpaces the World Series with approximately 100 million live streaming each League of Legends Finals Opening Ceremony concert.

Anthony has restored and performed orchestral works by Florence Price, Zenobia Powell Perry, Margaret Bonds, William Grant Still, Duke Ellington, and Samuel Coleridge Taylor. He has premiered and recorded works by Anthony Davis, George Walker, Errollyn Wallen, John Wineglass, Gary Powell Nash, Marian Harrison, Renee Baker, James Wilson, Phillip Herbert, Daniel Kidane, Chanda Dancy, and James Newton. In 2015, Anthony was profiled by Los Angeles' KCET/TV as a "Local Hero" for his extensive community outreach and advocacy for the performance of works by Black, Latino, and Women artists. 

Anthony studied music performance at Northwestern University and continued his musical studies at Yale University where he studied orchestral conducting with Lawrence Leighton Smith and Otto Werner Mueller.  He resides in Los Angeles.

Upcoming Performances

Calendar
May 12 & 13 / Mozart Requiem
May 12 & 13 / Mozart Requiem

Anthony Parnther, conductor
MSO Chorus; Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director

Fri. May 12, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Sat. May 13, 2023 at 7:30 pm

Alexander Korsantia, piano

Alexander Korsantia is one of the leading pianists of our time. A “major artist” (Miami Herald) and a “quiet maverick” (Daily Telegraph), Alexander Korsantia has been praised for a “piano technique where difficulties simply do not exist” (Calgary Sun).

In recent seasons Mr. Korsantia performed with the Stuttgart Philharmonic, Boston Philharmonic and Xiamen Philharmonic, Israel Symphony and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. With The Far Cry Chamber Group he played Galina Ustvolskaya's Piano Concerto in Boston und Tblisi.

Ever since winning the First Prize and Gold Medal at the Artur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition and the First Prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition, Korsantia’s career has taken him to many of the world’s major concert halls, collaborating with renowned conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Gianandrea Noseda, Valery Gergiev, and Paavo Järvi, with such orchestras as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in Turin, Cincinnati Symphony, and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Alexander Korsantia is a frequent guest in many of the world's leading concert series including in Warsaw, Boston, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Vancouver, Calgary, San Francisco, Lodz, St. Petersburg, and Blaibach and at major international festivals in Tanglewood and Verbier. A passionate chamber musician, he has collaborated with other leading soloists such as Vadim Repin, Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, Sergei Nakariakov and the Stradivari Quartet.

His award-winning recordings include works by Beethoven, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, and Copland. In 2020 his recording of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 was released to great critical acclaim (with Stuttgart Philharmonic under Dan Ettinger, at German label Hänssler). His solo piano transcription of Ravel’s La valse was published by Sikorski.

Born in Tbilisi, Alexander Korsantia began his musical studies at an early age with his mother, and later became a pupil of Tengiz Amiredjibi, Georgia’s foremost piano instructor. In 1992, he joined the famed piano studio of Alexander Toradze at Indiana University in South Bend, USA. In 1999, then-President Eduard Shevardnadze awarded him the Order of Honor. Mr. Korsantia is a recipient of the Golden Wing award (2015) and Georgia’s National State Prize (1997). Korsantia resides in Boston where he is a Professor of Piano at the New England Conservatory.

Upcoming Performances

Akiko Fujimoto, conductor

Akiko Fujimoto was named Music Director of the Mid-Texas Symphony in May 2019. Fujimoto has electrified audiences throughout North America and has guest conducted the National Symphony Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Houston Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Lexington Philharmonic, and the Corpus Christi Symphony.

Upcoming highlights include debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, Vermont Symphony and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, return engagements with the Virginia Symphony and the Florida Orchestra, and world premieres by Suad Bushnaq and Tania León.

At the Minnesota Orchestra, Fujimoto was appointed as Assistant Conductor for the 2017–18 season under Music Director Osmo Vänska and promoted to Associate Conductor for the following two seasons. During 2017–2020, Fujimoto also served as cover conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Esa-Pekka Salonen, Zubin Mehta, and Susanna Mälkki. Prior to arriving in Minnesota, she was Assistant then Associate Conductor of the San Antonio Symphony and Conducting Associate for the Virginia Symphony.

A passionate advocate for young musicians, Fujimoto has held conducting appointments at Harvard University, Stanford University, and the College of William & Mary. While in Virginia, she also served as Music Director of the Williamsburg Youth Orchestras. Born in Japan, Fujimoto holds a bachelor’s degree in music and psychology from Stanford University and Master of Music degrees in conducting from Boston University and the Eastman School of Music.

Upcoming Performances

Francisco Vila-Haas, cello

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“Vila brought out the fervor and vitality…consummate projection.”
— The Strad Magazine (April 2012)

Francisco Vila began playing the cello at age 8 and had his solo debut with orchestra at 14. Concert activities have taken him throughout Europe, North and South America. Performing collaborations have included those with artists such as Nobuko Imai, Cho-Liang Lin, Gary Hoffman, Wolfram Christ, Toby Hoffman, Sunwook Kim, Martin Chalifour, and members of the Juilliard String Quartet.

Vila has appeared as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Aalborg Symfoniorkester, Liege Royal Philharmonic, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Santander Festival Orchestra, Indiana University Philharmonic, and all principal orchestras of his native Ecuador.

He has been a participant at the Ravinia Steans Institute and guest artist at the Beaumaris, Santander, and Stavelot music festivals among others. As a member of the iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates he performed in such venues as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Los Angeles’ Disney Hall, Mozarteum Salzburg, and on international tours.

Mr. Vila views teaching as an important aspect in music-making. In March of 2015, he founded and directs the International Music Festival of Esmeraldas (Ecuador) in his hometown. This is a social project that awards full-tuition scholarships to numerous gifted young talents from Central and South America for two weeks of masterclasses with some of the world’s great artists. For his work with this platform, Mr. Vila has received coveted grants from the US State Department, Tarisio Trust, and the Sphinx MPower Grant.

Vila was granted a Presidential Scholarship to the Boston Conservatory for his Bachelor studies, after which he received a Performance Diploma from Indiana University where he was a student of Janos Starker, Sharon Robinson and Menahem Pressler.

In 2012, he was selected to the inaugural cello class at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, where he earned an Artist Diploma under the famed cellist Gary Hoffman. In the same year he became the second-prize laureate of the Sphinx Competition in Detroit Michigan.

Mr. Vila serves on the faculty at the Longy School of Music of Bard College and performs on a fine cello crafted by Vincenzo Panormo in 1790 on generous life-term loan from the “Karl McNutt Family Trust” as well as the “ex-Janos Starker” Edward Tubbs bow.

Upcoming Performances

Charles Yang, violin

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Recipient of the 2018 Leonard Bernstein Award and described by the Boston Globe as one who "plays classical violin with the charisma of a rock star", Juilliard graduate Charles Yang began his violin studies with his mother in Austin, Texas, and has since studied with world-renowned pedagogues Kurt Sassmanshaus, Paul Kantor, Brian Lewis and Glenn Dicterow. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras and in concert in the United States, Europe, Brazil, Russia, China, and Taiwan, and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. On June 9th of 2005, the Mayor of Austin presented Mr. Yang with his own "Charles Yang Day".  In 2016 Mr. Yang joined the crossover string-band, Time for Three.

Not only confined to classical violin, Mr. Yang's improvisational crossover abilities as a violinist, electric violinist, and vocalist have led him to featured performances with a variety of artists in such festivals as The Aspen Music Festival, The Schleswig- Holstein Music Festival, The Ravinia Festival, The Crested Butte Music Festival, The Cayman Arts Festival, The YouTube Music Awards, The Moab Music Festival, TED, Caramoor, The EG Conference, Google Zeitgeist, Interlochen, and onstage at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera House, David H. Koch Theater, Dizzy’s and David Rubinstein Atrium; The Long Center, Rudolfinum, The Royal Danish Theatre, Le Poisson Rouge, Highline Ballroom, Ars Nova, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Forbidden City in Beijing among many others. He has performed in the presence of two former US Presidents, the Queen of Denmark and has shared the stage in collaborations with artists including Peter Dugan, CDZA, Steve Miller, Jesse Colin Young, Jake Shimabukuro, Ray Benson, Michael Gordon, Marcelo Gomes, Savion Glover, Twyla Tharp, Misty Copeland, and Jon Batiste. Mr. Yang recently made his solo debut with Marin Alsop and The Chicago Symphony at The Ravinia Festival. His career has been followed by various news media including The New York Times, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, The Financial Times, The Austin-American Statesman, The Austin Chronicle and The Strad. Mr. Yang is featured in Nick Romeo's book, Driven as well as Discovery Channel's Curiosity.

“Mr. Yang is a true crossover artist, a pioneer who can hop between classical and popular music and bring fresh ideas to fans of both genres.”
— The Texas Observer

Regarding Mr. Yang, The Texas Observer has noted, “Mr. Yang is a true crossover artist, a pioneer who can hop between classical and popular music and bring fresh ideas to fans of both genres. Rather than maintaining an insular focus and simply assuming that an audience for classical music will always exist, he wants to actively create that audience, to persuade and seduce others into enjoying a type of music as passionately as he does.”

Upcoming Performances

Sandeep Das, tabla

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A Guggenheim Fellow and Grammy-winning musician, Sandeep Das is one of the leading Tabla virtuosos in the world today. Since his debut concert at the age of 17 with legendary Sitar player Ravi Shankar, Das has established himself as one of India’s leading Tabla maestros, building a prolific international reputation spanning over three decades. Das has collaborated with top musicians and ensembles from across the world such as Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, with whom he has performed for the past 21 years, as well as Paquito D’Rivera, Bobby McFarin, and iconic orchestras like the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, and Chicago Symphony, among others. His original compositions have been performed in over 50 countries, including events at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Sydney Opera House; for the 150th anniversary of the United Nations; and by university and children’s ensembles across the globe. 

Das is the founder of Harmony and Universality through Music (HUM), a nonprofit organization in India that has promoted global understanding through music performance and provided learning opportunities and scholarships for visually-impaired children with artistic potential since 2009. Passionate about sharing his ideas and experiences, Das has presented at The New York Encounter, The EG Conference, TEDx events, and multiple university residencies. In 2015, he established Das Tabla School, where he currently trains musicians from 6+ countries both online and in-person in Boston, MA. To learn more about him, please visit www.sandeepdas.com.

“Sandeep transcends his instrument– when he plays the Tabla he is a creator of myths, a master communicator and an orchestra, all in one. In my decades of collaboration around the world, he is easily one of the greatest artists I have ever met. Not only is he one of the best artists I have met, but he is also one of the best teachers I have met. I believe there is no one he cannot engage!”
— Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Upcoming Performances

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