John Rubinstein is an actor, director, composer, singer, and teacher. He was born in Los Angeles, California in 1946, the same year his father, the renowned Polish-born concert pianist Artur Rubinstein, became an American citizen. He is the youngest of four children. His sister, Eva, danced and acted on Broadway, originating the role of “Margot” in the original production of The Diary of Anne Frank; she later became an internationally known photographer. His brother, Paul, recently retired from his career as a stockbroker in New York; his sister, Alina, is a psychiatrist in Manhattan. John attended St. Bernard’s School and Collegiate School in New York City, and then returned to Los Angeles in 1964 to study theater at UCLA. During his college years, he began his professional career as an actor, appearing in 1965 with Howard Keel in Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot in San Carlos and Anaheim; playing a role in the Civil War film, Journey to Shiloh (1968); and starting his long list of television appearances in shows, such as The Virginian (1962),Dragnet (1967) and Room 222 (1969). It was also at UCLA that he began composing and orchestrating music: incidental music for theatrical plays, and a musical, The Short and Turbulent Reign of Roger Ginzburg, with book and lyrics by David Colloff, that won the 1967 BMI Varsity Musical Award as Best Musical.
Marc Neikrug has had an international career for 30 years. He has written chamber music, symphonic music, music-theater and opera. Major performances have taken place with the New York, Los Angeles and Buffalo Philharmonics, as well as the symphonies in Pittsburgh, Houston, Atlanta, Cincinnati, New World (Miami), St. Louis, Washington DC, Chicago, Utah, Dallas, Phoenix, New Mexico, the Minnesota and Cleveland orchestras, and the St. Paul and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestras.
Mr. Beaver was first violin of the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet from June 2002 until its final concert in July 2013. As such, he appeared to critical and public acclaim on the major stages of the world, including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Berliner Philharmonie, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and the Sydney Opera House.
Violist Steven Tenenbom has established a distinguished career as a chamber musician, soloist, recitalist, and teacher. He’s worked with composer Lukas Foss and jazz artist Chick Corea, and he’s appeared as a guest artist with ensembles and organizations such as the Guarneri Quartet, Emerson String Quartet, Beaux Arts Trio, Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Felix Fan’s versatility has made him one of the most sought-after cellists of his generation. As a chamber musician, he’s performed with cellists Yo-Yo Ma and János Starker and violinist Gil Shaham, and he’s appeared in such venues as Carnegie Hall in New York City, The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Royal Festival Hall in London. Fan’s recent solo engagements include the San Diego Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Macau Orchestra, and Munich Chamber Orchestra. In 2006, Fan and violinist Cho-Liang Lin recorded Gordon Chin’s Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with the Kansas City Symphony, led by Music Director Michael Stern, on the Naxos label.
Flutist Tara Helen O’Connor is a charismatic performer noted for her artistic depth, brilliant technique, and colorful tone spanning every musical era. A highly sought-after chamber musician and soloist, O’Connor is a season artist of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and a regular performer at numerous festivals, including Music@Menlo; Chamber Music Northwest; Mainly Mozart; Chesapeake Music; Summer Music at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity; the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival; Spoleto Festival USA; and Bravo! Vail Music Festival. She and her husband, violinist Daniel Phillips, are the artistic directors of the Music from Angel Fire festival in New Mexico.
Frank Rosenwein joined The Cleveland Orchestra as principal oboe at the beginning of the 2005–06 season. He made his solo debut with the Orchestra in February 2007, in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. Since then he has performed many times as soloist, including playing the Richard Strauss Oboe Concerto in 2012 and the first Cleveland Orchestra performances of the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto in 2017.
For clarinetist Carol McGonnell, the word ‘play’ takes center stage. It reaches far beyond the formal act of making music. It starts by acknowledging our natural state; open, receptive, awake, alive.
With these as innate qualities, music is an unfolding experience in which we can exist in the exquisite present moment. A shift from observing to becoming, moving together into a space of heightened energy. In this sense, play is a path to be actively followed by listeners and performers alike. Play is about bravery and ferocious curiosity.
Colin Currie is a solo and chamber artist who champions new music at the highest level, hailed as being “at the summit of percussion performance today” (Gramophone). Currie is the soloist of choice for many of today’s foremost composers and conductors, performing with leading orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Philharmonia Orchestra, and London Philharmonic Orchestras.
Pianist Katia Skanavi’s combination of Greek-Russian cultural roots and Central European musical traditions results in music-making with a unique blend of spontaneity, intuition, and erudition.
A Greek citizen born in the former Soviet Union, Skanavi is based in Moscow and Berlin. Equally active as a soloist and a chamber music partner, she’s appeared worldwide with conductors such as James Conlon, Kurt Masur, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, and Jaap van Zweden. Skanavi has collaborated with the major orchestras in Russia and, internationally, with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Camerata Salzburg, Kremerata Baltica, the Orchestre National de France, and the Cincinnati, Dallas, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Tokyo symphony orchestras. She’s also presented recital programs in Amsterdam, London, Madrid, Vienna, and New York. Skanavi has partnered with Gidon Kremer in concert-duo performances and on a recording, and she’s played sonatas with Leonidas Kavakos and Yuri Bashmet.
Baritone Michael Hix has been praised by critics for his “expressive voice” and “commanding stage presence.” His career highlights include performances at Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood Music Center, Boston’s Symphony Hall, and Vienna’s Musikverein.
On a chilly evening in December 2002, Chatter – A Chamber Ensemble was created by violinist/Associate Concertmaster of the NMSO, David Felberg, and cellist/composer Eric Walters (1968-2016). Its purpose was to perform concerts featuring contemporary repertoire and promoting the use of unusual instrumentations.
