Michi Wiancko

Described in Gramophone Magazine as an "alluring soloist [with] heightened expressive and violinistic gifts," violinist Michi Wiancko has performed concertos with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic, and in recital and chamber appearances across the nation. Michi made her New York solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall after winning the 2002 Concert Artists Guild International Competition. An artist with a unique vision and deemed "Pure Gold" by the Des Moines Register, Michi has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Library of Congress, Sydney Opera House, Merkin Hall, Town Hall, National Gallery, Orange County Performing Arts Center, Banff Centre, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Frick Center in Pittsburgh, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, BargeMusic, and Philadelphia's Kimmel Center. Michi was featured as an "Artist to Watch" on the cover of the January 2007 issue of SYMPHONY Magazine.

Michi is a member of the renowned Los Angeles Piano Quartet, with whom she regularly tours the United States. She has attended the Marlboro Music Festival and toured several times with Musicians from Marlboro. She was a participant in Isaac Stern’s Chamber Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall, as well as the Aspen Festival Center for Advanced Quartet Studies and Music Academy of the West. She has been a guest artist at the Lincoln Center Outdoor Series, Olympic Music Festival in Seattle, Pablo Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, and the Tucson Chamber Music Festival, and has performed and toured regularly with the Mark Morris Dance Group.

Michi is a founding member of ECCO (East Coast Chamber Orchestra), an exciting conductor-less string ensemble that has performed at The Kennedy Center, Philadelphia Convention Center, New York’s Town Hall, and BargeMusic, among others. Michi arranged a version of Corelli/Geminiani’s La Follia for ECCO, a live performance of which was broadcast on NPR’s Performance Today. In 2007 she premiered a violin concerto composed for her by Margaret Brouwer with the Cleveland-based CityMusic Orchestra conducted by James Gaffigan.

A native of Southern California, Michi began playing the violin at the age of 3, and her early teachers include Haroutune Bedelian, Sharon Holland, and Mehli Mehta. She graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Donald Weilerstein, and earned her master of music degree at The Juilliard School, working with Robert Mann.

Having traveled extensively, she has many world music influences inspiring her to push the boundaries of classical repertoire and explore new genres. Kono Michi (Japanese for “This Path”) is Michi’s singing/songwriting alter ego. Described by Planet Sound Reviews as a “Bjork-like brooding wonderland,” Kono Michi has performed at Brooklyn’s BAM Café, Barbes, Merkin Hall and the World Café Live in Philadelphia. She is signed to Shark Batter Records, an independent label based in the UK. She has recently released her first album entitled 9 Death Haiku, and performed it in its entirety as a world premiere in New York’s Thalia Theater at Symphony Space.

Brittany Boulding

Violinist Brittany Boulding currently resides in New York City. Most recently she performed as Concertmaster of the Mimesis Ensemble, she also performs frequently with New York City Opera, Saint Louis Symphony and Gotham Chamber Opera. She is currently a member of the Albany, Haddonfield and New Haven Symphonies and Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic among many others. Among her most recent solo engagements Ms. Boulding performed The Four Seasons of Vivaldi with the New Haven Symphony and the Lark Ascending with the Sploleto USA orchestra. She has also performed as soloist with the National Repertory Orchestra, Northwest and Young Virtuosi chamber orchestras, Musician Emeritus of Seattle along with frequent solo performances with the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association.

Ms. Boulding received her BM from Rice University as a student of Kenneth Goldsmith and her Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn School under the tutelage of Robert Lipsett. During the summer season Ms. Boulding performed as Concertmaster of the Tanglewood Music Center, Banff Center, Spoleto USA and Evergreen Music Festival orchestras, and as Assistant Concertmaster of the National Repertory Orchestra and National Orchestra Institute. Ms. Boulding’s violin career also extends far past her experience as a classical musician. Since the age of 6 she has been performing with her family the internationally acclaimed MAGICAL STRINGS touring throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan and Ireland. She has recorded on five of their sixteen albums and been a featured soloist at their annual Celtic Yuletide Concerts, a celebrated Northwest tradition.

Jennifer Curtis

Praised for her interpretations, premieres and virtuosity, Ms. Jennifer Curtis is an artist who navigates with personality and truth into the essence of each piece of music she performs. The New York Times recently recognized Ms. Curtis' recital in Weill Hall as "one of the gutsiest, most individual recital programs..." and proclaimed her an "artists of keen intelligence and taste, well worth watching out for." Winner of Artists International Presentations' 2009 outstanding alumni award, Ms. Curtis is also a winner of Astral’s 2006 National Auditions, as well as the recipient of the inaugural MILKA/ASTRAL VIOLIN PRIZE, designated for a violinist invited to join the Astral Artists roster. Astral presented her Philadelphia recital debut, and her solo debut with Symphony in C in the Kimmel Center, which was praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer as “a startlingly authoritative performance." Ms. Curtis was presented in recital at New York’s Merkin Concert Hall, where she gave the New York Premiere of George Enescu's Suite for solo violin in Romanian Folkstyle. Highlights of past seasons have included a solo appearance with the celebrated Simón Bolívar Orchestra in Venezuela, performances with the International Contemporary Ensemble (with whom she is a member) at Mexico's Festival Internacional de Música Contemporánes, Muisca Nova in Helsinki, Finland as well a musical exploration in the Amazon Jungle of Peru.

Ms. Curtis is the founder and director of the Tres Americas Project, and was featured with this ensemble as part of the Brooklyn Philharmonic's Nuevo Latino Festival. Possessing an avid interest in music of all kinds; she has studied West African, Haitian, and Afro-Cuban percussion, and plays the mandolin professionally. Also an accomplished composer, her works have been performed in New York City, at Italy’s Spoleto Festival, the Verbier Festival de Musique in Switzerland and throughout Latin America. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Mills College in California, where she studied with David Abel and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Robert Mann.

Keats Dieffenbach

Since making her concerto debut at the age of eight with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, Keats Dieffenbach has made her mark as a unique artist with infinitely varied interests and abilities. She is a sought-after interpreter of contemporary music, an avid chamber musician, and an experienced concertmaster, equally comfortable on the stages of Carnegie Hall and the set of Saturday Night Live. Ms. Dieffenbach frequently appears with Argento New Music Project, Axiom Ensemble, and Second Instrumental Unit, and has worked closely with composers Steve Reich, Shulamit Ran, Fred Lerdahl, and countless others. She has collaborated with many of the world’s foremost musicians including Paula Robison, Roger Tapping, Donald Weilerstein, and Michael Kannen, and she appears frequently with indie rock sensation Vampire Weekend. At The Juilliard School she was a frequent concertmaster under such renowned conductors as Gerard Schwarz, David Atherton, Dennis Russell Davies, Sir Roger Norrington, Andrew Litton, and Ransom Wilson. As a student of Robert Mann and Donald Weilerstein, Ms. Dieffenbach holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from The Juilliard School and a Graduate Diploma from New England Conservatory where she served as Mr. Weilerstein’s teaching assistant.

Meg Freivogel

Meg Freivogel, second violinist of the Jupiter String Quartet, grew up playing chamber music with her siblings in a quartet of their own. Originally from St. Louis, she was fortunate to grow up in a big family in which it was possible to play team sports on a regular basis (quartets included, of course)-- among her favorites Ultimate Frisbee. Inspired by childhood music teachers Ronda Cole and John Kendall, she attended the Cleveland Institute of Music for a Bachelor of Music degree, studying with Donald Weilerstein and participating in the flourishing chamber music program run by Peter Salaff and the Cavani Quartet. From there, Meg moved to Boston and the New England Conservatory where she fulfilled her Master of Music and Master of String Quartet degrees, acting as teaching assistant to Donald Weilerstein and studying closely with Paul Katz. She now lives in Boston concertizing extensively with the Jupiter String Quartet, devoting her life to keeping chamber music easlily accessible, current and interesting to young and old audiences alike.

Angelia Cho

Lauded by critics for her expressive and dynamic performances, Violinist Angelia Cho’s solo and ensemble performances have taken her all over the US, England, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Vienna, and Israel performing in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall, Kennedy Center, Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center, and The Musikverein Hall.

In Fall 2007, Ms. Cho joined The Academy—a fellowship program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute. Since joining The Academy, she has performed chamber music regularly in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall among other venues in New York and on the East Coast. She has appeared as soloist with many ensembles including Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Israel Kibbutz Orchestra and Allegro Society, NEC Symphony, and has collaborated with conductors Mark Laycock, Daniel Meyer, Luis Biava, Shlomo Mintz, and David Lobel.

The Albany Times, of New York recently praised Ms. Cho as “formidable”. The New York Times, on a performance of Bartok’s Contrast for violin, clarinet and piano called Ms. Cho “a dynamic violinist…won and deserved whoops and bravos from the audience for their visceral account of this familiar work, which had the music sounding freshly and audaciously modern.” Of her recital at The Ethical Society of Philadelphia, The City Paper wrote she “Displayed bottomless technique and electrifying passion. Her future would seem to be without limit.”

Violinist Angelia Cho, originally from Columbia, South Carolina began to study violin at the age of three. A year later she made her public recital debut at South Carolina Women’s College, and performed on NBC-TVs critically acclaimed PM Magazine. Ms. Cho made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age 11 with the Wieniawski Concerto at the Mann Music Center and appeared with them again in the Academy of Music three years later.

Angelia Cho attended The Curtis Institute of Music in 1996 to study with the late Jascha Brodsky, and later continued her studies with Ida Kavafian. After receiving her Bachelors from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2002 Ms. Cho went on to complete Masters and graduate studies with Donald Weilerstein at The New England Conservatory.

Ms. Cho was the first prize-winner in the National Society of Arts and letters Violin Competition and The New England Conservatory Concerto Competition in 2006. In that same year, Ms. Cho performed ‘Song and Dance’ for violin and wind ensemble by Gunther Schuller as part of a Festival honoring the legendary composer. Of the performance, New Music Connoisseur wrote, “ Angelia Cho, whose violin playing traversed both expressive and rambunctious passage work with seemingly effortless expertise.” Ms. Cho has explored and dedicated her time to performing contemporary works that led her to work closely with today’s most renowned composers such as Gyorgy Kurtag, Gunther Schuller, Steve Reich, and Michael Gandolfi.

Angelia’s festival appearances have included Kneisel Hall, Sarasota, Verbier, Keshet Eilon Violin Mastercourses in Israel, International Musicians Seminar and Open Chamber Music Sessions at Prussia Cove, England and Yellow Barn Music Festival. Ms. Cho has also performed and collaborated with world-renowned artists such as, Ida Haendel, members of the Cleveland Quartet, Donald Weilerstein, Paul Katz, Michael Cannon, Katherine Murdock, Roger Tapping and some members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Ms. Cho, a passionate chamber musician is one of the founding members of the New York based Ansonia Trio which formed in 2009.

Annaliesa Place

The Cleveland Plain Dealer hailed American violinist, Annaliesa Place, as “the epitome of poise and intelligence” and the Baltimore Sun wrote, “Place left a serious and effective impression.” She made her solo debut at the age of twelve with the Heidelberg Orchestra and has since appeared with orchestras throughout the United States including the Jackson, Peabody, and North State Symphonies, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, and Concert Artists of Baltimore. Upcoming performances include chamber music concerts at Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival in Alaska, the Thurnauer Chamber Music Society, and the Kennedy Center with the conductor-less string orchestra, ecco.

An active chamber musician, Ms. Place has appeared as violinist and violist in the United States and Europe. She is a past participant at Encore, Sarasota, Music Academy of the West, Yellow Barn, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, Holland Music Sessions, and Verbier. She recently performed at the Laguna Beach Chamber Music Festival with Claude Frank, Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello, and the French Embassy in Madrid. She was featured on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center as part of the National Symphony’s Beethoven Festival.

Annaliesa’s degrees include a B.M. from Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University and a M.M. from The Juilliard School. Her principal teachers have included Vasile Beluska, David Russell, David Updegraff, Victor Danchenko, and Robert Mann. Ms. Place is on the faculty of the JCC-Thurnauer School of Music, Summertrios Festival, and EMS Summer String Festival.

Asmira Woodward-Page

Described as “a remarkable and auspicious talent” by The Sydney Morning Herald and praised for her “transforming intensity and beauty of tone” by Allan Kozinn of the New York Times, Australian violinist Asmira Woodward-Page has received international recognition for her artistry. As First Prize winner of the 2003 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, she was awarded the Victor and Sono Elmaleh Prize, a management contract with CAG, composer commission, and her New York solo recital debut at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall the following year. This spring she will return to Weill on April 9th 2008 with pianist Steven Beck performing a 20th century program entitled “Dusk to Dawn”. See “engagements” for sneak previews of this show in other cities. Ms. Woodward-Page performs internationally as soloist and chamber musician, appearing last season in New York City as guest soloist with SONYC (the unconducted String Orchestra of NYC) and The Little Orchestra Society. Anya Grundmann of Symphony magazine recently singled her out in a feature story as one of six “young solo artists in peak form…who typify the talent and breadth of the best in a new generation of classical-music hopefuls.” She has soloed with her native Australia’s major orchestras; the Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland Symphonies. In North America she has also performed with the Evanston, Altoona, Wartburg, Oakville and Indiana University Symphonies, the Charlotte and Colgate Philharmonics, and the Metropolitan Orchestra of New Jersey. She has collaborated with many conductors including Andre Previn, Kurt Masur, Christopher Hogwood, Jahja Ling, Michael Christie, Muhai Tang, Matthew Coorey and Nicholas Braithwaite. Ms. Woodward-Page was recently presented in recital by both the Ravinia Festival’s Rising Stars and Dame Myra Hess series in Chicago (the latter broadcast and televised on public radio and television), the Rockerfeller University’s Tri-Institutional Noon Recital concerts, The Chamber Music Society of Little Rock, the University of Central Florida, Macon Concert Association, Saint Vincent College Concert Series, Maverick Concerts’ “Music in the Woods” series and several libraries in the New York City area. She has toured with pianists Inon Barnatan, Ieva Jokubaviciute and Einav Yarden, and concertized extensively in her native Australia with pianist Scott Davie. Her debut album of Australian music was selected by ABC-FM and 2MBS-FM (Australia) as CD of the Week. “Both Woodward-Page and Davie are inspired interpreters encouraging return visits to the disc”, writes Rob Barnett of musicweb-international.com. Ms. Woodward-Page is heard frequently on national radio and TV in Australia, where she was recently the cover story in Australia's Fine Music magazine and the subject of two ABC-TV features: "The Little Box that Sings" and Andrea Stretton's "Sunday Afternoon."

An avid chamber musician, Ms. Woodward-Page has collaborated in concert with artists like Gilbert Kalish, Miriam Fried, Inon Barnatan, Nina Lee, Mark Kosower, Lara St.John, Corey Cerovsek, Jennifer Frautschi, guitarist Slava Grigoryan, soprano Lauren Flanagan, the Avalon and Antares Quartets, the Omega Ensemble, and toured with Ravinia’s Rising Stars. Her North American summer festival appearances include Ravinia, Aspen, Internacional Cervantino (Mexico), Cooperstown, Manchester and Maui and her chamber music collaborations have included guest appearances with performances in New York City venues like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Columbia University’s Miller Theater; also Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum among others. Her wide musical interests have led to collaborations with hip hop artists Jay-Z and Kanye West, jazz clarinetist Don Byron, and to India where she studied Hindusthani Classical music with Pandit Prabakhar Dhakde.

As a passionate advocate of contemporary music, Ms. Woodward-Page has received recognition for her interpretation of this music. For three years she was the violinist of counter)induction, the five-musician/two-composer collective who receive frequent praise from the New York Times for its contemporary music performances: “What kept the program fascinating was the vitality the players brought to the music. These performances were not merely dutiful; they sang and danced.” She is also a founding member and rotating concertmaster of SONYC (String Orchestra of New York City); the twenty-member conductorless ensemble featured in the documentary “Breathing Together”. Their recently released debut album on the Albany Records label features the music of New York composers Christopher Theofanidis, Lisa Bielawa, Michael Gatonska and Pulitzer Prize-winner Paul Moravec, who describes this group as “a composer's dream come true. Their amazing virtuosity, comprehensive artistic intelligence and passionate spirit combine to make brilliant music on every level. SONYC is an avatar of all that is right and true in our musical universe."

Aside from her Concert Artists Guild competition win in New York City, Ms. Woodward-Page is the recipient of many awards internationally. Among them she has garnered prizes at the Queen Elizabeth International Violin Competition of Belgium and won Sydney’s 2MBS-FM Young Performer of the Year award. She is the four-time winner of the City of Sydney Violin Award, two-time winner of the Australian Music Foundation in London Award, recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Music Award, the Ernest Llewellyn String Award. She also won the Gisbourne International Wind String and Brass Competition, Dorcas McClean Violin Competition (Australia), and the Indiana University Concerto Competition.

Asmira believes deeply in presenting music to young people through whatever means necessary to inspire in them a love for Classical music. She has lead many outreach programs individually, and with SONYC in New York City’s public schools and across the country, drawing upon her extensive teaching and performing experience…and a few crazy ideas.

Asmira Woodward-Page began her violin studies with Jan Cooper then Harry Curby at Sydney University's Conservatorium of Music, and later became a student of Miriam Fried and Paul Biss at the Indiana University School of Music, where she received her Bachelor of Music and Artist Diploma, and was awarded the Performer’s Certificate for outstanding musical performance. She went on to earn a Master of Music degree at Juilliard where she studied with Robert Mann. She currently lives in Brooklyn New York.