EVGENIIA ALEKSEEVA is a professional oboist who grew up in a musical family of pianists. She started piano at age five. She progressed rapidly and won several international piano competitions in Russia and Europe. After graduating with honors from music school, Evgeniia decided to continue her musical education and began to study oboe orchestra perfomance.  In 2013, after one year of studying oboe, she was admitted to Saint-Petersburg Music College with high scores. Orchestra music and ensembles prepared her for a career as an oboist. In 2017 she graduated and entered the Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory. During her first year at the Conservatory she was employed with the Saint-Petersburg Philarmonic Orchestra as a second oboist. Evgeniia has performed in numerous concerts with a variety of conductors including Mariss Jansons, Alexander Dmitriev, Dimitris Botinis, Alexander Vedernikov, Mikhail Urovsky, Ben Glassberg and other.

 

ELEANOR BARTSCH, praised for her “clarion tone and technical aplomb” (Chicago Classical Review), enjoys a dynamic career as a chamber musician, orchestral musician, concertmaster, soloist, educator and entrepreneur. Bartsch was appointed to the first violin section of the Chicago Lyric Opera orchestra in 2024 by Maestro Enrique Mazzola. She is additionally first violinist of the critically acclaimed Kontras Quartet, with whom she has toured the US and Europe, appeared as a regular guest on 98.7 Chicago Classical WFMT radio, released two studio albums and held residencies at many US higher learning institutions. Bartsch is Professor of Violin and Head of Strings at Elmhurst University and is a performing member and frequent principal player of the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra where she also serves on the board of directors.

Bartsch has appeared as a soloist with many regional orchestras including the Chicago Philharmonic, Elgin Symphony, Dubuque Symphony, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and many others. Other recent solo highlights include Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” with the Elmhurst University Orchestra (2024), Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy” with the Middleton Community Orchestra (2022) and the world premiere of Laura Schwendinger’s “Nightingales” for two violins and orchestra with violinist Ariana Kim, the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra and UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra (2022).  Bartsch plays a fine violin by Giuseppe Gagliano, Naples, Italy, 1775.

 

ALESSANDRO TENORIO BUCCI, hailing from Chicago, holds the second clarinet position with the Las Vegas Philharmonic. He is also an active freelance musician and educator in the Chicago area and the Midwest. Alessandro’s notable performances include guest principal clarinet for the Lake County Symphony Orchestra tour with the World Ballet Company’s production of Tchaikowsky’s Swan Lake. He has also performed with the West Michigan Symphony, Quad Cities Symphony, Rockford Symphony Orchestra, and Chicago Clarinet Ensemble under the direction of John Bruce Yeh. Early in his musical career Alessandro was an Associate Member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago where he performed under Ken David Masur’s baton.  A passionate advocate for New Music, Alessandro performs regularly with the Chicago Composers Orchestra, which exclusively features music from living composers. Additionally, Alessandro has played with Modern Reeds, an ensemble dedicated to contemporary chamber music and small ensemblepieces. He has participated in multiple world premiers.

 

JACOB DARROW is a bassoonist and contrabassoonist currently based in Chicago. As a freelance musician, Jacob has had the privilege of performing with many leading orchestras, including the Chicago, Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Columbus Symphony Orchestras as well as the National Repertory Orchestra. Jacob has also performed with professional summer festival orchestras, including the Breckenridge Music Festival and the Ohio Light Opera festival Orchestras.

As a student, he was a winner of the Ohio State University concerto competition in 2013, and was a recipient of the Indiana University Artistic Excellence Fellowship from 2013-2015. His principal teachers have been Dennis Michel, Lewis Kirk, Kathleen McLean, Karen Pierson, and Bruce Hammel. Outside of music, Jacob enjoys studying wine at the sommelier level, cooking, tabletop gaming, and distance running having recently run the Chicago Marathon.

 

DAVID HALL has been Assistant Principal Percussionist and Assistant Principal Timpanist with the Grand Rapids Symphony since 1987. As one of America’s leading marimbists, David has been delighting audiences with his virtuosity and musical sensitivity. In addition to his many recitals throughout the Midwest, David often solos with the Grand Rapids Symphony and other West Michigan arts organizations. He has toured as a soloist in Taiwan, in Guatemala, and together with the North American Choral Company.  A native of Concord, Massachusetts, David completed his undergraduate studies at Ithaca College, where he studied with Gordon Stout and was a three-time winner of the college’s Annual Concerto Competition. He received his master’s degree in music from the Eastman School where he also was awarded a Performer’s Certificate. His 2000 compact disc, Saudação!, featuring the Grand Rapids Symphony, is one of the most popular marimba recordings today.

 

ANNE MARIE HOOVER, Canadian Mezzo-Soprano, is a graduate of the Master’s Program from the Manhattan School of Music in New York, and has two degrees with distinction from the University of Alberta in Music and Education. Ms. Hoover has performed operatic roles, recitals and chamber music in North America, Italy, and Austria. She made her Carnegie Hall Debut signing Respighi’s Il Tramonto with the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Operatic performances include leading roles in Le Nozze di Figaro (Cherubino & the Countess), La Cenerentola (Angelina & Tisbe), Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina & Berta), Der Rosenkavalier (Octavian), Cosi fan tutte (Dorabella), I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Romeo), Turn of the Screw (Mrs. Grose) and others. Ms. Hoover taught voice for a decade at Alberta College and has maintained an active teaching career with Edmonton Public for the last 26 years. She has staged and conducted over a dozen children’s musicals and also enjoys acting in local theater productions. In her spare time she and her husband travel around the world scuba diving. Other passions include slalom racing, painting, birding and exploring nature with her beloved labradoodle Farley. Ms. Hoover is delighted to be sharing her love of music and theater with you during this festival.

 

MARINA HOOVER, The White Lake Chamber Music Society’s Artistic Director, was born in Edmonton. She studied cello under David Soyer and Felix Galimir at the Curtis Institute of Music, and obtained a Masters at Yale under Aldo Parisot. She was founding cellist of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, which rocketed to international prominence after winning both the Young Concert Artists auditions and the Banff International String Quartet Competition.

In her time with the St. Lawrence Quartet, Ms Hoover performed at The White House, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the 92nd Street “Y”, the Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall (London), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and Theatre De Ville (Paris). She performed at the Festival Consonance (St. Nazaire, France), Turku Festival (Finland), Tanglewood Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Rockport Festival, Santa Fe Music Festival, and at the Newport Festival for four consecutive years. The St. Lawrence was resident quartet at the Spoletto Chamber Music Festival for 7 years. With the quartet, Ms. Hoover played over 1000 concerts in North America, Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Viet Nam, Brazil, Uraguay, Israel, and Australia. Ms Hoover’s solo career has included concerts with Toronto Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, Red Deer Symphony, Saskatoon Symphony, Belo Horizonte Symphony (Brazil), Yale Chamber Orchestra and Curtis Orchestra.

 

KUANG-HAO HUANG, commended for his “perceptive pianism” (Audiophile) and “playing that is sensitive and wonderfully warm” (American Record Guide), is a highly sought-after collaborative pianist whose performances have taken him throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He has performed in New York City’s Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Merkin Hall; in Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and NPR’s Tiny Desk; and at every major venue in the Chicago area, including the Harris Theatre and Symphony Center. He is often heard live on WFMT and has also performed on WQXR and on Medici.tv. Mr. Huang has recorded for Aucourant, Cedille, Innova and Naxos, including a CD of flute fantasies with flutist Mathieu Dufour, a premiere recording of early songs by Alban Berg with mezzo-soprano Julia Bentley, and a survey of songs by Chicago composers with baritone Thomas Hampson. He has appeared on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW series. A dedicated teacher, Mr. Huang serves on the faculties of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and Concordia University-Chicago.

 

KATARINA IGNATOVICH is a Latvian-American flautist currently based in Chicago. Last year, she completed her final year with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. During her time with Civic, she performed in the full training orchestra program and in several additional ensembles. Prior to Chicago, she obtained her Master’s degree from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and received her Bachelor’s degree from Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music in Riga, Latvia. Through an Erasmus exchange program provided by her Latvian Conservatory, she spent one year also studying in Munich, Germany. Since arriving in Chicago, she has regularly worked with orchestras and participated in independent projects throughout Chicagoland and Illinois.

 

SANG MEE LEE, a graduate of The Juilliard School,  earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Violin Performance.  Hailed as a “rising star” by the Korean Broadcasting System and “first among equals” by the Boston Globe, she has warmed the hearts of audiences around the world since she began performing in her native Chicago at the age of three. Winner of top prizes at the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition, Leopold Mozart International Violin Competition, Irving M. Klein International String Auditions, Seventeen Magazine/General Motors Concerto Competition, William C. Byrd Competition, and the Julius Stulberg Auditions, Sang Mee has since been heard in concert halls around the world including the Berlin Philharmonic, Alice Tully Hall, and Chicago’s Symphony Center. She has performed extensively in the United States as well as Europe and Asia, both in recital and as soloist debuting in New York, Chicago, Stuttgart, Baden-Baden, Berlin and Seoul, South Korea. She has also performed in Switzerland, Germany and France. Sang Mee has been guest soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, and Korean Broadcasting Symphony among others, collaborating with such luminaries as Erich Leinsdorf, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, and Mstislav Rostropovich. She has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, the Phil Donahue Show, and the Anneliese Roethenberger Show in Germany. In 2009, Sang Mee was named one of the fifty most influential persons of Korean descent by Newsweek Korea.

 

BRIAN MORRIS, a Grand Rapids, Michigan based guitarist, has been performing, teaching, and writing music for over five decades. His love of music is infectious and many of his students have gone on to have successful careers as teachers, performers, composers, and recording artists. Brian is currently in his thirty-fourth year as a member of the Grand Rapids Community College Music Faculty and has also been a faculty member for the Interlochen Summer Guitar Workshops, Grand Valley State University and several other colleges. He has released four CD’s, and holds music degrees from Grand Rapids Community College, Montana State University and Florida State University. His past teachers include the renowned guitarist Christopher Parkening and the celebrated teacher Bruce Holzman.

Brian’s performances throughout the US and Canada have included numerous classical guitar performances as well as children’s programs, and jazz, rock, and pop performances. His compositions and arrangements are featured on Blue Lake Public Radio, and have been performed by the Kent Philharmonia, the West Shore Symphony, and other groups. He has published guitar music with Guitar Chamber Music Press. In 2018 Brian was inducted into the Rockford High School Hall of Fame for his contributions to the arts. In addition to his solo concerts Brian performs with the Grand Rapids Guitar Quartet and the Grand Rapids Guitar Duo.

 

THE RED CEDAR QUARTET, comprised of doctoral students at Michigan State University, is a distinguished quartet of musicians hailing from Italy, Taiwan, China, and the USA. The group has a diverse and vibrant blend of expertise, performance, and education, drawing from experiences across a multitude of prestigious institutions and celebrated festivals. Members have attended top-tier schools such as the Manhattan School of Music, National Taiwan Normal University, The Hartt School, and the “Niccolò Paganini” Conservatory in Genoa, where they have each studied under internationally renowned professors. Each musician is an active performer in Michigan, performing with ensembles such as the Jackson Symphony, Battle Creek Symphony, and Adrian Symphony. In addition to their performance careers, each member is deeply committed to the art of teaching. Their experiences range from directing Suzuki programs to serving as teaching assistants and graduate fellows at Michigan State University, and serving as board members for chapters of the American String Teachers Association. Their shared passion for music continues to inspire and shape the next generation of musicians, making them an exceptional force in both the performance and educational realms. Summer of 2025 will see the group take up a residency position at the renowned Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (Michigan). We appear today with the support of Michigan State University and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.

 

ANDREA SWAN, acclaimed chamber musician, collaborative pianist, orchestral keyboardist, soloist, and teacher in the Chicago area, plays with the Grant Park Music Festival and the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra. In addition to frequent appearances on the Chicago Symphony chamber music series and live WFMT radio broadcasts, she has performed recitals throughout the United States and the Far East. She regularly accompanies instrumentalist auditions for the Chicago Symphony and Lyric Opera orchestras and serves as official pianist for local and national music competitions, including the Stulberg International String Competition, held annually in Kalamazoo.

 

THOMAS VIENNA – Born and raised in Chicago’s Indiana-side suburbs, I first found my love for music on the piano.  Before I was tall enough to see the keys, I reached high and slowly worked out the melody to my parent’s favorite Beatles tune.  Although piano lessons were a very rewarding and  intimate musical experience, I was introduced to the horn in middle school, and it exposed me to the challenges of playing in a section and a wonderful sense of being a part of something grander.

After playing in band and multiple local youth orchestras such as the Northwest Indiana Youth Symphony and the Protégé Philharmonic in Chicago, I followed my passion into higher education.  I graduated with degrees in horn performance from Roosevelt University, Indiana University, and Valparaiso University, where I would study with David Griffin and Dale Clevenger of the Chicago Symphony, Jon Boen of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Richard Seraphinoff, Jeff Nelsen, and John Schreckengost.  I also attended the Brevard Music Center Summer Institute for two years, where I studied with Elizabeth Freimuth of the Cincinnati Symphony.  I have also enthusiastically pursued the natural horn, the historical method of playing the horn. I studied the natural horn with Richard Seraphinoff at Indiana University, and I now play second natural horn for the Chicago Arts Orchestra.

 

ARTURO ZIRALDO, American violist, is an engaging performer who believes deeply in the power of art to change the world for the better. Mr. Ziraldo has performed across North America, Europe and Asia as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral leader. He has performed with orchestras such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Seattle Symphony, and Detroit Symphony. Arturo’s true love is chamber music, and he enjoys regular opportunities to perform as a soloist as well.

Mr. Ziraldo is the Principal Violist of the Kalamazoo and West Michigan Symphony Orchestras. He is also Professor of Viola at Hope College and maintains a private studio as well. Arturo also enjoys a career as a singer, songwriter and guitar player.