Paolo Bordignon is the harpsichordist for the New York Philharmonic. In the 2022–23 season, he appears with the Philadelphia Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and Mark Morris Dance Group; Camerata Pacifica; and the New York City–based orchestra The Knights. Recent engagements include performances with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra musicians, the All-Star Orchestra, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, ECCO (the East Coast Chamber Orchestra), and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He’s also appeared at the Bard Music Festival in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York; on the Parlance Chamber Concerts series in Ridgewood, New Jersey; and at festivals in Aspen, Bridgehampton, Jackson Hole, Palm Beach, and Vail. He’s also been a frequent recitalist at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he’s held a 10-concert residency.
Kathleen Brauer made her solo debut with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra at the age of 15. She’s a member of the first violin sections of the Lyric Opera Orchestra and The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and she’s an assistant concertmaster of and frequent soloist with the Music of the Baroque chamber orchestra. Previously, she was a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the assistant concertmaster of the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit.
Marlena Chow Morgan received her Bachelor of Music in violin performance at the New England Conservatory in Boston, where she studied with Malcolm Lowe, the concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Before joining the Naples Philharmonic, she was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach.
Violinist Carla Ecker currently performs as Concertmaster of the Rogue Valley Symphony in Ashland, OR, as well being a member of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra since 1993. She currently resides in Phoenix, AZ where she performs regularly with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Ecker previously held the post of Associate Concertmaster of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra where she also performed as Interim Concertmaster for several seasons. She has performed as Guest Concertmaster for Opera Southwest and held principal positions in the Sarasota Opera Orchestra, New Mexico Symphony and the El Paso Symphony. In addition, her career has included positions with the Santa Fe Pro Musica, Santa Fe Symphony, Charleston Symphony, and Pacific Symphony.
Acclaimed by critics worldwide for his exceptional talent and magnificent tone, American violinist Chad Hoopes has remained an impressive, consistent, and versatile performer with many of the world’s leading orchestras since winning First Prize at the Young Artists Division of the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition.
Hoopes is a 2017 recipient of Lincoln Center’s Avery Fischer Career Grant. Former winners include Kirill Gerstein, Yuja Wang, Leila Josefowicz, Joshua Bell, and Hilary Hahn.
Daniel Jordan is the concertmaster of the Sarasota Orchestra and the principal second violinist of The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. He’s also the director of artistic planning for the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota. Formerly, he was the assistant principal first violinist of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach.
Bryan Lee is a violinist with the Dover Quartet, the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. Mr. Lee has performed as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Delaware, Lansdowne, and Temple University symphony orchestras, among others. He was awarded the bronze medal at the 2005 Stulberg International String Competition and won second prize at the 2004 Kingsville Young Performers Competition. He has been featured on NPR’s From the Top and has attended Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest, Music from Angel Fire, Encore School for Strings, Sarasota Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and the Perlman Music Program.
Joel Link is a violinist with the Dover Quartet, the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. Mr. Link is an active soloist and chamber musician; and has been a top prize winner of numerous competitions including the Johansen International Competition in Washington, D.C. and the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition in England, for which he was featured in The Strad magazine. Mr. Link has appeared on numerous radio shows, including NPR’s From the Top.
Violinist/Violist Philip Payton enjoys a diverse career in New York city, throughout the country and abroad. He is currently in the orchestra of Broadway’s West Side Story as well as performing regularly with the symphonies of Sarasota, Harrisburg, New Jersey, Gotham Chamber Opera and others. He also performs with Ritz Chamber Players, Argento Chamber Ensemble, Chamber Dance Project and has played in the productions of Phantom of The Opera, Wicked, A Tale of Two Cities, Crybaby and Spring Awakening on violin, viola and electric guitar.
Known for her versatility as both a violinist and violist, Ashley Vandiver has performed in more than 30 countries on five continents. She’s currently the fourth-chair viola in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and she’s a violinist in The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra during the summer. Prior to joining the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, she was a violinist in the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.
Vandiver was a founding member of and rotating concertmaster for the Grammy-nominated chamber orchestra A Far Cry, which The New York Times praised for “[brimming] with personality or better, personalities, many and varied.” She’s also performed regularly with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, and the New York City–based orchestra The Knights.
Margaret Dyer Harris is assistant principal viola for The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and a member of the New York City–based orchestra The Knights. She was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated chamber orchestra A Far Cry, and she’s performed with various other ensembles, such as ECCO and the Moscow, Orpheus, and Saint Paul chamber orchestras. Her first exposure to chamber music was in her childhood living room, watching her mother, Saskia, join friends to read string quartets. Since then, she’s had the pleasure of performing these works all over the world (and sometimes in her childhood living room with her mother).
Cellist Alastair Eng is assistant principal cello of The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO). Prior to joining the TSO, Eng, who was born and raised in Toronto, was associate principal cello of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. His playing has been described as “exquisite” (Broadway World), “a highlight” (The Classical Review), and “songfully performed” (National Post).
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.
Camden Shaw is the cellist of the Dover Quartet, the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. He has appeared with the ensemble in performances all over the world to great acclaim. Mr. Shaw has collaborated in chamber music with such renowned artists as Daniel Hope, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and the late Leon Fleischer, and maintains an active career as a soloist. Highlights from recent seasons include a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, Op. 56 with the Artosphere Festival Orchestra, where Shaw also holds the principal chair; and the release of his solo album by Unipheye Music, which was met with critical praise.
Mark Tatum is a member of The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, principal bass of the Opera Southwest Orchestra, and assistant principal bass of the New Mexico Philharmonic.
