Juho Pohjonen is a highly acclaimed Finnish pianist who has captivated audiences worldwide with his exceptional talent and unique musical expression. He has garnered international acclaim for his performances across Europe, Asia, and North America. His versatile artistry is evident in appearances with symphony orchestras, in recital, and through chamber music collaborations. Across these settings, his repertoire frequently highlights works by acclaimed Finnish composers such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kaija Saariaho, and Jean Sibelius, reflecting his deep affinity for Scandinavian music.
Recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2015 and Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists in 2017, violinist Paul Huang is considered one of the most distinctive artists of his generation. In 2012, in a review of Huang’s recital debut at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, The Washington Post called him “an artist with the goods for a significant career.” In 2016, following Huang’s recital with pianist Jessica Xylina Osborne at The Phillips Collection, The Washington Post praised him again, noting that he “possesses a big, luscious tone, spot-on intonation and a technique that makes the most punishing string phrases feel as natural as breathing.”
In 2019, Ida Kavafian completed her 35-year tenure as artistic director of the Music from Angel Fire chamber music festival in New Mexico. A frequent artist of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for more than 40 years and former violinist of the renowned Beaux Arts Trio, Kavafian currently performs as a soloist; in recital with her sister, violinist Ani Kavafian; as a guest with distinguished ensembles; and as a faculty member at the Curtis Institute of Music. She’s premiered many new works, toured and recorded with fiddler/composer Mark O’Connor and with jazz greats Chick Corea and Wynton Marsalis, and had a solo feature onCBS Sunday Morning. She premiered and recorded Michael Daugherty’s violin concertoFire and Bloodwith the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and, as a violist, toured and recorded with the Guarneri Quartet and performed with the Orion, Shanghai, and American string quartets.
Toby Appel has appeared in recital and concerto performances throughout North and South America, Europe, and the Far East. He’s been a member of such renowned ensembles as TASHI and the Lenox and Audubon quartets; a guest artist with the Vermeer, Manhattan, Alexander, and Dover quartets; and a frequent guest with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and jazz artists Chick Corea and Gary Burton. His festival appearances include Mostly Mozart; Chamber Music Northwest; the Seattle Chamber Music Society; Music from Angel Fire; the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival; the Marlboro, Manchester, Colorado College Summer, and Bravo! Vail music festivals; and festivals in England, France, Korea, Germany, Italy, Finland, and Greece.
Yura Lee is a multifaceted musician, both as a soloist and chamber musician and as one of the very few who’s equally virtuosic on both the violin and viola. Her career spans various musical mediums. She’s known for captivating audiences with a repertoire that ranges from the baroque to the modern era, and she enjoys a nearly three-decades-long career that takes her around the world.
Nicholas Canellakis has become one of the most sought-after and innovative cellists of his generation, praised as a “superb young soloist” (New Yorker) and for being “impassioned … the audience seduced by Mr. Canellakis’s rich, alluring tone” (New York Times). A multifaceted artist, Canellakis has forged a unique voice combining his talents as soloist, chamber musician, curator, filmmaker, composer/arranger, and teacher.
A modern player with a “signature sound” and distinctive style of playing, cellist Mark Kosower embodies the concept of the complete musician performing as concerto soloist with symphony orchestras, in solo recitals, and as a much admired and sought-after chamber musician. He is Principal Cello of The Cleveland Orchestra and a scholar and teacher of cello. Mark’s performance repertoire and discography are testaments to a deep devotion, not only to frequently heard repertoire such as Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations and concertos of Haydn, Walton, Elgar, and Dvořák but, significantly, to less well-known concertos of Alberto Ginastera, Miklos Rozsa, Frederich Gulda and Victor Herbert. Mr. Kosower has recorded for the Ambitus, Delos, Naxos International and VAI labels, including as the first cellist to record the complete music for solo cello of Alberto Ginastera (Naxos). He was described as a “powerful advocate of Ginastera’s art” by MusicWeb International, and Strings Magazine noted of his Hungarian music album (also with Naxos) that “the music allows Kosower to showcase his stunning virtuosity, passionate intensity, and elegant phrasing.”
