2025 Festival Musicians
Raphael Bell
cello |
Timothy Summers
violin and viola |
Andrew Armstrong
piano and harmonium |
Edward Arron
cello |
Ayn Balija
viola |
Matthew Hunt
clarinet |
Eleni Katz
bassoon |
Erin Keefe
violin |
Dave Nelson
trombone |
Grace O'Connell
trumpet |
Simone Porter
violin 
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Aylen Pritchin
volin |
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Kelly Sulick
flute |
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Raphael Bell, Co-Artistic Director and cello
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Raphael Bell is principal cello of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra in Belgium, Co-Founder of the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, and Co-Artistic Director of La Loingtaine in Montigny-sur-Loing, France. He has performed at Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Salle Gaveau, Berlin Philharmonie, Köln Philharmonie, Luzerner Theater, the American Academy in Rome, Tokyo Suntory Hall, and Kyoto Concert Hall, and at festivals including Ferrara Musica, Wiener Festwochen, Elba Festival, Sonoro Musikland, Ravinia, Verbier and Resonance Festival Belgium. He has given many world premieres, including Olli Mustonen's Triptych for three cellos with Steven Isserlis, and chamber music by Sebastian Currier, Thomas Adès, Paola Prestini, Martin Kennedy, Jeremy Turner, Soren Nils Eichberg, Mansour Hosseini, John D’Earth, Wim Hendrickx, and Colin Jacobsen. Recent solo concertos include Beethoven Triple concerto with the Virginia Symphony and Eric Jacobsen, Lalo concerto with Antwerp Symphony and Lionel Bringuier, Saint-Saëns concerto with the Brasov Philharmonic, as well as Boccherini and Vivaldi concertos with Bruges Chamber Players. Raphael has offered masterclasses at the University of Texas, McDuffie Center at Mercer University, Lemmens Institute in Leuven, Belgium Cello Society, COSCyL in Salamanca, La Loingtaine, and travels each year to teach in Japan. He has served as guest cello professor at the Antwerp Conservatory and led student orchestral projects at the Musiq3 Festival, Royal Bruxelles Conservatory, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra Academy, and at La Loingtaine. After growing up in Charlottesville, Raphael studied at The Juilliard School with Harvey Shapiro, and later with Mario Brunello, Steven Isserlis and Ferenc Rados. He now resides in Antwerp, Belgium with violinist Aki Saulière, and their son, Tomo. |
Photo by Geoffroy Schied
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Timothy Summers, Co-Artistic Director, violin and viola
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Violinist Timothy Summers is a member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and has performed on violin, viola, and occasionally mandolin with the orchestra across the world. He serves on the orchestra’s board and is artistic director of the MCO’s ‘Future Presence’ Virtual Reality project with sound artist Henrik Oppermann. Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival since 2000, Timothy has performed as a chamber musician at festivals across the United States and Europe. He served as second violinist of the Orpheus String Quartet, and was for several years a participant in the Emmanuel Music cycle of Bach Cantatas in Boston, led by John Harbison and the late Craig Smith. Timothy has performed extensively as an improviser with electronics. He spent the 2005-2006 year as artist-in-residence at the Danish Institute of Electroacoustic Music in Århus, funded by a grant from the Fulbright Commission. He has collaborated with improvisation artist Steven Nachmanovitch on improvisation and digital music projects, and he continues to develop music learning and analysis tools for digital media, with a concentration on AR/VR and sonic interaction. Timothy Summers currently teaches violin on the faculty of the Universität der Künste (UdK) Berlin, and has taught violin, orchestral playing, improvisation, and chamber music worldwide. He holds an A.B. from Harvard University in English and American Literature and an M.M. in violin Performance from The Juilliard School. He was a student of Ronald Copes and Robert Mann at the Juilliard School, Mark Rush at the University of Virginia, James Buswell at New England Conservatory, and Robert Levin at Harvard University. Tim now lives in Berlin with his wife, violinist Annette zu Castell, and their son, Nicholas. |
Photo by Benjamin Ealovega
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Andrew Armstrong, piano and harmonium
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Praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique, pianist Andrew Armstrong has delighted audiences across Asia, Europe, Latin America, Canada, and the United States. His repertoire encompasses more than 60 concertos with orchestra as well as solo recitals and chamber music concerts at festivals. He has performed at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Warsaw’s National Philharmonic, and at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Conservatoire de Musique de Geneve, and the Dresden Music Festival. He crisscrossed Canada with concerts at the Scotia Fest in Halifax, the Festival Musique de Chambre in Montreal, and the Vancouver Chamber Music Society. After joining violinist James Ehnes to perform the complete Beethoven Violin Sonata cycle in Melbourne, Australia as well as a duo recital in Sydney, he gave a solo recital in Singapore. The 2024-25 season was an extraordinarily productive season for Andrew. He performed Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in Winnipeg and Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto with the Waterbury Symphony in Connecticut. In addition to his thriving chamber music series in Beaufort (USCB Chamber Music) and Columbia, SC (SC Philharmonic’s Andy & Friends), New Canaan, CT (New Canaan Chamber Music), and at the Fabbri Mansion in New York City (Fabbri Chamber Concerts), Andrew directed chamber music performances in Charleston and Kiawah Island, SC and in Glens Falls, NY. Finally, Andrew launched two new chamber music series last season. Sigal Music Museum presents Andy & Friends in Greenville, SC, and A Little Night Music at Tuckerman Hall in Worcester, MA. Performing on Sept. 16, 17, 19 & 20 |
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Edward Arron, cello
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A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Edward Arron made his New York recital debut in 2000 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Since that time, he has appeared in recital, as a soloist with major orchestras, and as a chamber musician, throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The 2025-26 season marks Mr. Arron’s 13th season as co-artistic director with his wife, pianist Jeewon Park, of the Performing Artists in Residence series at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Mr. Arron tours and records as a member of the renowned Ehnes String Quartet and is a regular performer at the Boston and Seattle Chamber Music Societies, the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Bargemusic, Caramoor, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, Seoul Spring Festival in Korea, Music in the Vineyards Festival, Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Manchester Music Festival, and the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland. Other festival appearances include Salzburg, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Mostly Mozart, PyeongChang, Bridgehampton, Spoleto USA, Santa Fe, Evian, La Jolla Summerfest, Chamber Music Northwest, Chesapeake Chamber Music, and the Bard Music Festival. Mr. Arron’s performances are frequently broadcast on American Public Media’s Performance Today. In 2021, Mr. Arron’s recording of Beethoven’s Complete Works for Cello and Piano with Jeewon Park was released on the Aeolian Classics Record Label. The recording received the Samuel Sanders Collaborative Artists Award from the Classical Recording Foundation. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Mr. Arron currently serves on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Performing on Sept. 14 & 16 |
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Ayn Balija, viola
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Ayn Balija is a dynamic violist dedicated to expanding the viola’s expressive range through innovative performances and collaborations. She has performed as a guest artist in Canada, Hungary, Brazil, New Zealand, and various locations in the United States showing her commitment to sharing musical diversity. Dr. Balija actively champions new works by contemporary composers like Libby Larsen, Leah Reid, Judith Shatin, and Jorge Variego, commissioning and premiering pieces that push the boundaries of the instrument. Her versatility in performance styles allows her to collaborate with a range of organizations, including the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, Charlottesville Opera, Charlottesville Ballet, Early Music Access Project, Victory Hall Opera, Carolina Chamber Music Festival, the Richmond Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony and the Staunton Music Festival. She is a founding member of Piedmont Duo, a viola and percussion ensemble who perform and commission new works bringing these unique and versatile instruments into prominence. As an educator, she fosters creativity in younger musicians through initiatives like Violapalooza, an annual viola event in Central Virginia, serving on the faculty in the summer at the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts and offering masterclasses and coachings at the college level. Currently, she serves as the Associate Professor of Viola at the University of Virginia and holds the position of Principal Violist with the Charlottesville Symphony. Ayn Balija’s passion for the viola and commitment to education make her a prominent figure in the music community. Performing on Sept. 20 |
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Nina Bernat, double bass
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Double bassist Nina Bernat, acclaimed for her interpretive maturity, expressive depth and technical clarity, emerges onto the world stage with awards and accolades, thrilling audiences everywhere. She was hailed by the Star Tribune as a “standout” for her recent concerto debut with the Minnesota Orchestra, praising her performance as “exhilarating, lovely and lyrical… technically precise and impressively emotive.” In 2023, Nina was honored as a recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and winner of the CAG Elmaleh Competition. Recent 1st prizes include the Barbash J.S. Bach String Competition, the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, the Juilliard Double Bass Competition, and the 2019 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. Engaged in all aspects of double bass performance, Nina has been invited to perform as guest principal bassist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Oslo Philharmonic, serving under the batons of conductors such as András Schiff and Osmo Vänskä. She is in demand as a passionate chamber musician and began her involvement with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as a member of the Bowers Program in 2024. Summers have been spent at Marlboro Music Festival, Verbier Festival, Music@Menlo and Chamber Music Northwest. Nina has quickly established herself as a sought-after pedagogue, teaching masterclasses at the Colburn School, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and University of Texas at Austin. She is on the faculty of Stony Brook University. Nina performs on an instrument attributed to Guadagnini and passed down from her father, Mark Bernat. Performing on Sept. 17, 19 & 20 |
Photo by Marco Giannavola
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Brooklyn Rider, quartet
Johnny Gandelsman, violin; Colin Jacobsen, violin; Nicholas Cords, viola; Michael Nicolas, cello Visit Website
“A string quartet of boundless imagination.” —NPR Celebrating twenty years of shared musical exploration, Brooklyn Rider originated in a living room, four friends in search of an outlet for their curiosities. Inspired by the probing spirit of Germany’s pre-WW1 artistic collective Der Blaue Reiter, they recognized parallels with their creative community and began to build projects. In the following two decades, Brooklyn Rider has undertaken a staggering amount of work, carving a singular space in the world of string quartets. Through thoughtful programmatic framing, deep-rooted collaborations, and innovative commissioning projects, Brooklyn Rider has used the medium at every point in their adventurous journey as a vehicle for exploration and discovery. To mark the twenty year milestone, a wide range of projects are on the horizon for 2025 and beyond that celebrate the key elements of their work. Honoring a long-standing relationship with the string quartets of Philip Glass, Brooklyn Rider has embarked on the first ever retrospective of the composer’s complete works for the medium. Initially presented by the Yale Schwarzman Center, the retrospective was repeated at the Met Cloisters in NYC in May 2025. A major commission by Gabriela Lena Frank, Frida’s Dreams is due for the 2025-26 season. Their latest recording, The Four Elements (May 2025, In A Circle Records) serves as a dual metaphor for the complex inner world of the string quartet and the future of planet Earth. The quartet expands their reach into the orchestral world in upcoming seasons with a major new work for quartet and orchestra by Nico Muhly, to be presented by a wide ranging consortium of orchestras across Europe and North America. Lastly, a special concert at Tanglewood this August will feature the Schubert Cello Quintet as the centerpiece alongside the quartet’s friend and mentor Yo-Yo Ma. Performing on Sept. 7 |
Photo by Lucca Mezzacappa
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Cristian Budu, piano
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Brazilian pianist Cristian Budu, winner of the 2013 Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Switzerland, has been described by Gramophone as "a stunningly original pianist with musical insight and maturity comparable to colleagues twice his age," and by famous critic Alain Lompech as “grand, worthy of [Claudio] Arrau in his fifties.” But the honor that has special meaning for Cristian came from another Brazilian classical artist. Nelson Freire, regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his generation, said in his last interview that he thought Cristian would become his successor. Cristian has performed as a soloist with such orchestras as the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Orquestre de la Suisse Romande, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Basel and Lausanne Chamber Orchestras, and as a soloist at festivals such as the Verbier Festival, and La Roque D'Antheron Piano Festival. He has played in duos with Renaud Capuçon and Antonio Meneses, and in chamber music with musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Cristian has served on the juries of important competitions such as Cleveland International Piano Competition (USA) and Santa Cecilia International Piano Competition (Portugal). In Brazil, Cristian was co-curator of the SESC International Chamber Music Festival (2022, 2024), directed a Piano Festival in Ouro Preto (2021, 2022) and created a Chamber Music Festival in Campinas (2023). Cristian Budu’s solo recordings have entered exclusive lists by Gramophone: the monthly “Top 10 Recent Beethoven Recordings,” “Top 10 Chopin Recent Recordings.” The latter went on to make Gramophone’s “Top 50 Greatest Chopin Recordings,” which lists recordings by great artists of all times. Performing on Sept. 10, 11, 12 & 14 |
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I-Jen Fang, percussion
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Described as an “intrepid percussionist” by Fanfare Magazine, I-Jen Fang has a career as a solo performer, chamber musician, orchestral player, and teacher. She joined the faculty of the Music Department at the University of Virginia in 2005 and serves as the Principal Timpanist and Percussionist of the Charlottesville Symphony. As a soloist, I-Jen has performed in Taiwan, U.S., Austria, France, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and South Africa. As a chamber musician, I-Jen has performed or recorded with artists such as Keiko Abe, William Cahn, Christopher Deane, Mark Ford, Edward Janning, Heini Kärkkäinen, Mike Mainieri, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Diane Pascal, Ed Smith, Nanik Wenton, Nyoman Wenton, EcoSono Ensemble, Cantata Profana, Attacca Percussion Group, DaCapo Chamber Players, Victory Hall Opera, and Charlottesville Opera. She has appeared in Heritage Theater Festival, Staunton Music Festival, Wintergreen Festival, DrumFest (Poland), TechnoSonics Festival, International Viola Congress, Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS), Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) and Regional PAS Day of Percussion. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, I-Jen began her musical education at age six taking piano lessons. Taking up percussion at the age of nine, she came to the United States at age fifteen to pursue her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Percussion Performance at Carnegie Mellon University. She received her Master of Music degree from Northwestern University and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas where she served as a teaching fellow. I-Jen is an Innovative Percussion, Marimba One, and Sabian Cymbals artist. Performing on Sept. 19 & 20 |
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Jennifer Frautschi, violin
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Two-time GRAMMY nominee and Avery Fisher career grant recipient violinist Jennifer Frautschi has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and St Paul Chamber Orchestra. As chamber musician she has performed with the Boston Chamber Music Society and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and appeared at Chamber Music Northwest, La Jolla Summerfest, Music@Menlo, Tippet Rise Art Center, Toronto Summer Music, and the Bridgehampton, Lake Champlain, Moab, Ojai, Santa Fe, Seattle, and Spoleto Music Festivals. Jennifer’s extensive discography includes discs for Naxos: the Stravinsky Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, conducted by the legendary Robert Craft, and two GRAMMY-nominated recordings with the Fred Sherry Quartet, of Schoenberg’s Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra, and the Schoenberg Third String Quartet. Recent releases are with pianist John Blacklow on Albany Records: the first devoted to Robert Schumann’s three violin sonatas; the second, American Duos, an exploration of recent additions to the violin and piano repertoire by Barbara White, Steven Mackey, Elena Ruehr, Dan Coleman, and Stephen Hartke. She recorded three widely praised CDs for Artek: an orchestral recording of the Prokofiev concerti with Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony; the violin music of Ravel and Stravinsky; and 20th-century works for solo violin. Born in Pasadena, California, Jennifer attended the Colburn School, Harvard, the New England Conservatory, and the Juilliard School. She teaches in the graduate program at Stony Brook University. She performs on a 1722 Antonio Stradivarius violin known as the “ex-Cadiz,” on generous loan from a private American foundation with support from Rare Violins In Consortium. Performing on Sept. 12, 14 & 16 |
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Matthew Hunt, clarinet
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One of Europe’s leading clarinetists, Matthew Hunt is renowned for the vocal quality of his playing. He is Solo Clarinetist of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Bremen, performing under such conductors as Trevor Pinnock and Paavo Järvi. Matthew has performed as a soloist with the Helsinki Philharmonic, Nathalie Stutzmann conducting, and collaborated with the Ernen Musikdorf string soloists directed by Daniel Bard in Switzerland, the Musikfreunde Orchester under Thomas Klug, and the Estonian Festival Orchestra under Paavo Järvi. He enjoys performing in many of the great halls of Europe, such as the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, but returns every year to the more intimate Wigmore Hall in London. Matthew is in high demand at festivals. Recent invitations have included the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Ilumina Festival (Brazil), Aldeburgh, Lewes, and North Yorkshire Moors Festivals (UK), Budapest (Hungary), Naantali (Finland), Pärnu Music Festival (Estonia), and Risør and Horten Festivals (Norway). He is a member of the British Orsino Wind Ensemble, serves as Artistic Director of Hellens Music in Herefordshire, and holds the position of Professor of Chamber Music at the Folkwang University of Arts in Essen, Germany. Movie buffs may know that Matthew Hunt recorded the solo clarinet music for “Love Actually,” but classical music lovers - and critics - thrill to his recording of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet with the Elias Quartet on the ASV label. The BBC Music Magazine hailed it as “the benchmark recording of this much recorded work.” Performing on Sept. 14, 16, 17, 19 & 20 |
Photo by Kevin Hau
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Eleni Katz, bassoon
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Recognized for her virtuosity and vibrant musical spirit, bassoonist Eleni Katz has established herself as a prominent soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. Her “thoughtful and expressive” (San Diego Union Tribune) approach to music-making has led her from performances by the bright blue waters of Bermuda to the lights of Carnegie Hall. Eleni is a winner of the 2022 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition. She has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Nu Deco Ensemble, Jupiter Chamber Players, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, and as a member of the New World Symphony. Other recent appearances include La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest (California), Bridgehampton Chamber Music Series and Lake George Music Festival (New York), Phoenix Chamber Music Society, Newport Classical (Rhode Island), and Death of Classical: The Crypt Sessions (yes, it’s a real thing: a chamber music series held in crypts, catacombs, and cemeteries, which the New York Times praised as “intimate, charmingly creepy concerts that offer tightly focused programs from top-flight musicians”). Eleni has always believed that the bassoon should strive to emulate the organic resonance of the human voice. According to The Royal Gazette, she has succeeded, describing her approach to playing the bassoon as “uncannily human.” In January, Eleni announced that she will assume her role as bassoon teaching faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. Performing on Sept. 17 & 19 |
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Erin Keefe, violin
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American violinist Erin Keefe is currently the Concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra and on the violin faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music. Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as numerous international competitions, she has appeared as soloist in recent seasons with the Minnesota Orchestra, New York City Ballet Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony, Lahti Symphony, Sendai Philharmonic and the Gottingen Symphony. She has given recitals throughout the United States, Austria, Italy, Germany, Korea, Poland, Finland, Japan, and Denmark. Ms. Keefe has been performing with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2005 and has been featured with them on “Live from Lincoln Center.” She has collaborated with artists such as the Emerson String Quartet, Edgar Meyer, Gary Hoffman, David Finckel, Wu Han, Richard Goode, Menahem Pressler, Gary Graffman and Leon Fleisher, and she has recorded for Naxos, the CMS Studio Recordings label, BIS and Deutsche Grammophon. She has made festival appearances with Music@Menlo, the Marlboro Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire, Music in the Vineyards and the Bridgehampton, Seattle, OK Mozart, La Jolla Summerfest and Bravo! Vail Valley chamber music festivals. As a guest concertmaster, Ms. Keefe has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic and the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra. She earned a Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music Degree from The Curtis Institute of Music. Her teachers included Ronald Copes, Ida Kavafian, Arnold Steinhardt and Philip Setzer. Performing on Sept. 9, 10, 11 & 12 |
Photo by Antonia Nelson
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Dave Nelson, trombone
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Dave Nelson is a trombonist, arranger, composer and producer with roots in Nashville and New York City. His musical range encompasses classical, pop, and ambient electronic styles, frequently employing looping pedals and innovative technology to expand the possibilities of live solo performance. Dave is solo trombonist of The Knights Orchestra, a position he has held since 2008. He has also performed with many of today’s premier classical and new music ensembles including ICE, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, NYC Opera, NOVUS, Signal and Talea. Broadway credits include West Side Story (2010 revival) and Gigi (2015 revival). He can also be heard on numerous film and television scores including Succession (HBO), Barry (HBO), The Mysterious Benedict Society (Disney +) and the 2012 Sundance Winner, Beasts of the Southern Wild. A versatile studio musician and engineer, Dave has contributed to recordings by a range of popular artists including Taylor Swift, John Legend, The National, and Sufjan Stevens. Notably, he received a Grammy certificate for engineering and performing on Taylor Swift’s Folklore, which won Album of the Year in 2020. Touring credits include Mumford and Sons, David Byrne/St. Vincent, and Beirut, with performances at iconic venues, international festivals, and on major TV shows like SNL, Colbert, and Fallon. Dave’s innovative spirit shines in his experimental duo with Marlon Patton - “Nelson Patton” - collaborating with Lonnie Holley on the acclaimed album Mith and with Paola Prestini on their collaborative album Ancient City. He is also a founding member of Pfarmers, releasing two albums with Bryan Devendorf (The National) and Danny Seim (Menomena). Performing on Sept. 19 |
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Grace O'Connell, trumpet
Grace O’Connell is a musician with highly diverse interests, equally passionate about soloing, orchestral playing, chamber music and teaching. She is a current fellow with Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect program. Grace has performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and The Knights and is a frequent addition to orchestral trumpet sections including the Nashville Symphony, Huntsville Symphony, Greenwich Symphony, Princeton Symphony and others. Always a dynamic soloist, Grace is an active recitalist and competitor in national and international competitions.
Most recently, Grace was named the first-place winner of the Roger Voisin Memorial Trumpet Competition (2024) and was a finalist in the Ellsworth Smith Competition. She was also named the first-place winner in the International Trumpet Guild Solo Division (2023), MTNA Young Artist Solo Division (2022), as well as the National Trumpet Competition Undergraduate Division (2022). She has been a featured soloist with the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra, Southern Stars Symphonic Brass Band, and Middle Tennessee Sinfonietta. In 2021 and 2023, Grace was the recipient of two separate URECA Grants from Middle Tennessee State University, aiding her in completing several solo trumpet recordings for digital release. Grace O’Connell holds a Master of Music degree from Yale University and a Bachelor of Music degree from Middle Tennessee State University. She has studied with John Aley, Kevin Cobb and Michael Arndt. Performing on Sept. 17 & 19 |
Photo by Elisha Knight
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Simone Porter, violin
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Violinist Simone Porter has been recognized as an emerging artist of impassioned energy, interpretive integrity, and vibrant communication. She has debuted with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle and Pittsburgh Symphonies and with a number of renowned conductors, including Stéphane Denève, Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, Donald Runnicles, David Robertson, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Manfred Honeck, Louis Langrée and David Danzmayr. 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, she was named a recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Recent seasons have included extensive tours and debuts across the US and internationally. In 2024-2025 Simone performed with the Nashville and Baltimore Symphonies, as well as Santa Rosa, Monterey and Westchester Symphonies, and Johnson City Symphony, TN. She debuted with the Arkansas Symphony, performing Philip Glass’ 1st violin concerto. An avid chamber musician, Simone was heard at La Jolla Summerfest in August of 2024, followed by projects with Bay Chamber Music, Moab Music Festival and Charlottesville. Together with her colleagues violinist Blake Pouliot and pianist Hsin-I Huang, Simone presented a program at Cliburn Foundation in Fort Worth, TX and Broad Stage in Santa Monica, CA in spring of 2025. Simone Porter performs on a 1740 Carlo Bergonzi violin made in Cremona, Italy on generous loan from The Master’s University, Santa Clarita, California. Performing on Sept. 9, 10 & 11 |
Photo by Andrej Grilc
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Aylen Pritchin, violin
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Praised as “the future of the violin” (ClassiqueHD) and lauded for his “outstanding musical culture” (Bruno Monsaingeon), Aylen Pritchin is one of today’s most versatile and sought-after violinists. Equally at ease with early and contemporary music, he performs on both period and modern instruments. Winner of the First Grand Prize at the 2014 Long-Thibaud International Competition in Paris, he has since built an impressive international career and released acclaimed recordings on Aparté and Mirare, featuring works by Brahms, Debussy, Hahn, and Stravinsky. Pritchin’s engagements span Europe and Asia. Performances as a soloist with orchestras include the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, and Orchestre de Chambre de Paris as well as the Taiwan Philharmonic, Osaka Philharmonic, and Hong Kong Sinfonietta. A passionate chamber musician, Pritchin has shared the stage with artists such as Maxim Emelyanychev, Nicolas Altstaedt, Lukas Geniusas, David Geringas, Alexander Melnikov, and Olli Mustonen at premier venues including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wiener Konzerthaus, Salzburg Mozarteum, and Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. He has collaborated with leading conductors including Emelyanychev, Teodor Currentzis, Jun Märkl, and Christian Arming. In 2025–2026, Pritchin’s schedule includes a debut at the Philharmonie de Paris and a return to the Würzburg MozartFest with a chamber music program, among other concerts and recitals. Alongside his active performing career, he is deeply involved in teaching, serving on the faculty of the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp and the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, where he makes his home. Performing on Sept. 14, 16, 17, 19 & 20 |
Photo by Andrej Grilc
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Muriel Razavi, viola
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Muriel Razavi is an American-Iranian violist performing internationally across various formations and genres of classical music. She is the founder and artistic director of Leipzig’s Soundseed Festival, focusing on contemporary works by female composers from the Middle East - North Africa (MENA) region. Previously, Razavi served as Deputy Principal Violist of the MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig. As a soloist, she has performed with the Bridges Chamber Orchestra, Ankara State Orchestra, and Lviv Philharmonic, among others. She is a 1st prize winner of the Washington International String Competition (2018) and a laureate of the Michael Spisak and Città di Cremona competitions. Festival appearances include Ultraschall Berlin, Heidelberger Frühling, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival. She is a long-standing member of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and Soloists Ensemble Mutter’s Virtuosi. Razavi is pursuing her doctoral studies at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre under the artistic supervision of Daniel Barenboim. Her research examines Re-Orientalism in contemporary music by Iranian female composers. In 2022, she received the Dbü Prize for Socially Relevant Programming, and in 2024, she was awarded the Theodor Körner Prize for her artistic-scientific research. A committed teacher, Razavi holds professorships in viola at the Mozarteum University Salzburg and the State University of Music Trossingen. While in Leipzig, she taught for the German National Youth Orchestra and Saxony Youth Orchestra and mentored students at the Leipzig University of Music and Theatre. She studied under Tabea Zimmermann, Nils Mönkemeyer, Tatjana Masurenko and Wilfried Strehle. Performing on Sept. 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16 & 17 |
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Mimi Solomon, piano
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American pianist Mimi Solomon brings warmth, sensitivity and curiosity to her multifaceted career as a chamber musician, soloist, teacher, and artistic director. She has performed throughout the United States, China, Japan and Europe, has appeared as soloist with orchestras including Shanghai Symphony, Philharmonia Virtuosi, and Yale Symphony Orchestra, and has been featured on radio and television broadcasts, including the McGraw-Hill Young Artist’s Showcase, France 3, France Inter, and National Public Radio. An avid chamber musician, she has appeared at music festivals on both sides of the Atlantic, such as Santander, IMS Prussia Cove, Lockenhaus, Rencontres de Bel-Air, Ravinia, Taos, Norfolk, Yellow Barn, Charlottesville, and La Loingtaine. Mimi regularly performs and records with her husband, violinist Nicholas DiEugenio. Their award-winning duo project, “Unraveling Beethoven,” includes a full cycle of Beethoven violin sonatas alongside five newly commissioned response works. An enthusiastic and dedicated pedagogue, Mimi is co-artistic director of MYCO Chamber Players, a pre-college chamber music program, and is on the faculty of UNC at Chapel Hill. Mimi lived in Paris for several years, during which time she fell in love with historic keyboard instruments. She graduated from Yale and Juilliard and has worked with Peter Frankl, Robert McDonald, Ferenc Rados and fortepianist Patrick Cohen. She lives in Chapel Hill, NC with her husband, Nicholas DiEugenio and their Plott hound Tengo. Unraveling Beethoven Performing on Sept. 20 |
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Kelly Sulick, flute
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Kelly Sulick teaches at the University of Virginia and serves as Principal Flute in the Charlottesville Symphony. Prior to her appointment, she served as Principal Flute with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and as Consortium Instructor of Flute at the University of Evansville. She earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Peabody Conservatory, her Master of Music degree from the University of Southern California, and a Bachelor of Music degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan, where she graduated with highest honors and was named a James B. Angell Scholar for her academic achievements. A champion of new music, she has commissioned and recorded dozens of works for solo flute, flute with electronics, and chamber ensemble. She is the co-founder of .thrum, a new music collective, and is a member of the EcoSono Ensemble, an eco-acoustic cohort that explores connections between music, technology, and environmental activism. She can be heard on several compact discs, including William Bolcom's “Songs of Innocence and of Experience” under Leonard Slatkin, a Naxos release that received four Grammy awards including Best Classical Album. Duo, her album of twentieth- and twenty-first century American flute and piano music recorded with John Mayhood, was released on Centaur Records in 2022. Additional recordings are available on the Equilibrium, Other Minds, and Ravello Records labels. Performing on Sept. 20 |
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Osmo Vänskä, clarinet
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Conductor and clarinetist Osmo Vänskä was born in Finland and began his clarinet studies at the age of 11 at the music school in Kotka. He undertook further studies at the Sibelius Academy as a pupil of Sven Lavela, and spent a short but significant period as a pupil of Karl Leister in Berlin in 1974. He has been the principal clarinetist of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra (1971-76) and assistant principal clarinetist of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (1977-82). He was the Artistic Director of the Crusell Festival in Uusikaupunki, Finland, from 1989 until 1993. As a conductor, Mr. Vänskä was the Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra from 2003-2022, the Seoul Philharmonic from 2020-2022 and previously spent twenty years as the Music Director of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. He is a frequent guest conductor of leading orchestras around the world and has enjoyed returning to the clarinet in recent years, performing chamber music regularly in Europe, Asia and the United States. Mr. Vänskä has made festival appearances at the Seattle Chamber Music Society, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla SummerFest and the Crusell and Naantali festivals in Finland. He has recorded Bernhard Henrik Crusell’s three Clarinet Quartets and Kalevi Aho’s Clarinet Quintet for the BIS label and is in the process of recording several duos for clarinet and violin which he has commissioned with his wife, violinist Erin Keefe. Performing on Sept. 9, 11 & 12 |