2017 Festival Artists

Manhattan Chamber Players, Ensemble-in-Residence

The Manhattan Chamber Players is a chamber music collective of New York-based musicians who share the common aim of performing the greatest works in the chamber repertoire at the highest level.  Formed in 2015 by Artistic Director Luke Fleming, MCP is comprised of an impressive roster of musicians who all come from the tradition of great music making at the Marlboro Music Festival, Steans Institute at Ravinia, Music@Menlo, Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival and Perlman Music Program, and are former students of the Curtis Institute, Juilliard School, Colburn School, New England Conservatory, and Yale School of Music.

MCP was recently praised in Strings Magazine for “A fascinating program concept…It felt refreshingly like an auditory version of a vertical wine tasting.” The article went on to applaud MCP for “an intensely wrought and burnished performance…Overall, I wished I could put them on repeat.” At the core of MCP’s inspiration is its members’ joy in playing this richly varied repertoire with longtime friends and colleagues, with whom they have been performing since they were students.  Building upon that foundation, new works commissioned from its composer members keep the ensemble firmly grounded in the music of both the past and present.  Its roster allows for the programming of virtually all the core string, wind, and piano chamber music repertoire—from piano duos to clarinet quintets to string octets.  While all its members have independent careers as soloists and chamber musicians, they strive for every opportunity to come together and again share in this special collaboration.

Members of MCP are current and former members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, ACJW, and the Amphion, Attacca, Dover, Escher, Vega, and Ying Quartets, and the Lysander, Madison, and Sheridan Piano Trios.  They are top prizewinners in the Banff, Concert Artists Guild, Fischoff, Melbourne, Naumburg, Osaka, Primrose, Queen Elisabeth, Rubenstein, Tchaikovsky, Tertis, and Young Concert Artists Competitions, and are some of the most sought after solo and chamber performers of their generation.  During its inaugural season, in addition to numerous concerts across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia, the Manhattan Chamber Players has been featured multiple times on NPR’s Performance Today, and is the Ensemble-in-Residence at both the Northern Lights Music Festival in Mexico and the Crescent City Chamber Music Festival in New Orleans. Upcoming seasons add tours of Israel, France, and China to MCP’s busy concert schedule in NYC and across the U.S.

Manhattan Chamber Players is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

manhattanchamberplayers.com
Photo credit: Sophie Zhai

Luke Fleming, Founding Artistic Director and Violist

Praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for his “glowing refinement,” violist Luke Fleming‘s performances have been described by The Strad as “confident and expressive…playing with uncanny precision,” and lauded by Gramophone for their “superlative technical and artistic execution.”  Strings Magazine said of a recent performance by Mr. Fleming: “With tender lyrical lines, the viola’s richness suited the music wonderfully…I wished I could put [him] on repeat.” Festival appearances include the Marlboro Music School and Festival, the Steans Institute at Ravinia, Perlman Music Program, the Norfolk and Great Lakes Chamber Music Festivals, the Melbourne Festival, Bravo!Vail, Festival Mozaic, and the Virginia Arts Festival, as well as concerts and residencies across North and South America, Europe, and Asia.  From 2009 – 2015, Mr. Fleming was violist of the internationally acclaimed Attacca Quartet, with whom he served as Quartet-in-Residence for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Graduate Resident String Quartet at the Juilliard School.  He was also awarded First Prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and top prizes at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, as well as the National Federation of Music Clubs Centennial Chamber Music Award.

In 2015, Mr. Fleming became the Founding Artistic Director of both the Manhattan Chamber Players, a New York-based chamber music collective, and the Crescent City Chamber Music Festival, a mission/outreach-centric festival held every summer in his hometown, New Orleans. Mr. Fleming has been featured on a Live from Marlboro CD release on the Archiv Music label, and his recordings with the Attacca Quartet on Azica Records were released to widespread critical acclaim.  He has performed as a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Sejong Soloists, Ensemble Connect, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York Classical Players, and the Serafin and Canterbury String Quartets, and has given masterclasses at UCLA, Louisiana State University, Ithaca College, Syracuse University, Melbourne University, and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, among others.  He has served on the faculties of the Innsbrook Institute, Renova Music Festival and Houston ChamberFest, and Fei Tian College, writes frequently for Strings Magazine, and is currently Director of Outreach Activities at Louisiana State University’s School of Music and Dramatic Arts and Lecturer-in-Residence for Project: Music Heals Us.  Mr. Fleming holds the degrees of Doctor of Musical Arts, Artist Diploma, and Master of Music from the Juilliard School, a Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music in London, and a Bachelor of Music summa cum laude from Louisiana State University.  He is represented by Arts Global, Inc.

lukefleming.com
Photo credit: Sophie Zhai

Katie Hyun, Violinist

Praised for her “sensitivity and top-shelf artistry” (Cleveland.com), violinist Katie Hyun has performed as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, Concerto Soloists Orchestra in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Columbia Festival Orchestra, among others. Other highlights include concerto performances with the Busan Sinfonietta and Incheon Philharmonic in South Korea, the world premiere of Wei-Chieh Lin’s Concerto for Violin and Cello with cellist Michael Katz and the New York Classical Players, and recitals with pianist Roman Rabinovich as the Maxwell Shepherd Fund’s Artist-in-Residence. Festival appearances include ChamberFest in Cleveland, Chelsea Music Festival in New York, Habitat4Music in Vermont, Bravo! Vail in Colorado, Chamber Music Northwest Winter Festival in Portland, Bright Sheng’s “Intimacy of Creativity” in Hong Kong, and “New York in Chuncheon” and the Busan Chamber Music Festival, both in South Korea.

Ms. Hyun is the founder and director of Quodlibet Ensemble, a small chamber orchestra that made its debut in 2008 to great acclaim and has since performed at the Shepherd Music Series in Collinsville, CT, the Yale British Arts Center, and Drew University in Madison, NJ.  Quodlibet Ensemble released its debut album in the spring of 2014.  Ms. Hyun is also a member of the award winning Amphion String Quartet, which is under Concert Artists Guild Management and is in residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s CMS Two Program. Ms. Hyun received her Artist Diploma at the Yale School of Music, studying with Ani Kavafian, and her Masters Degree at the State University of New York in Stony Brook, where she studied with Pamela Frank, Ani Kavafian, and Philip Setzer.  Ms. Hyun studied with Aaron Rosand and Pamela Frank at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she received her Bachelor degree.

Photo credit: Sophie Zhai

Michael Katz, Cellist

Hailed by the press for his “bold, rich sound” (The Strad) and “nuanced musicianship,” (The New York Times), Israeli cellist Michael Katz has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in venues such as Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, Tokyo’s Oji Hall, and Jerusalem’s Henry Crown Auditorium. His musicianship has been recognized with many awards, among them all three prizes at the 2011 Aviv Competition, and First Prizes at the Juilliard School’s 2010 Concerto Competition and the 2005 Turjeman Competition.

High in demand as a chamber musician, Mr. Katz has collaborated and performed with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Midori, Anthony Marwood, Donald Weilerstein, Peter Frankl, Roger Tapping, Charles Neidich, and others. As the cellist of the Lysander Piano Trio, Mr. Katz was a winner of the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Competition, and was awarded first prize in the 2011 Coleman Competition and 2011 J.C. Arriaga Competition. His festival appearances include performances at Ravinia, Music@Menlo, Lucerne, Yellow Barn, Sarasota, Malaga Clasica, and the Holland Music Sessions. Deeply committed to audience engagement and community outreach, Mr. Katz was a Fellow in Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect from 2014 – 2016

Born in Tel-Aviv, Mr. Katz began his cello studies at age seven, and his early teachers included Zvi Plesser, Hillel Zori and the late Mikhail Khomitzer. Mr. Katz received his Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory as a student of Laurence Lesser and his Master of Music from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Joel Krosnick. He has completed a Doctor of Music degree at SUNY Stony Brook as a student of Colin Carr.

Photo credit: Sophie Zhai

Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Violist

Praised by The Strad as having “lyricism that stood out…a silky tone and beautiful, supple lines,” violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt has already established herself as one of the most sought-after violists of her generation. In addition to appearances as soloist with the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Jacksonville Symphony, and the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra, she has performed in recitals and chamber music concerts throughout the United States, Latin America, and Europe, including an acclaimed 2011 debut recital at London’s Wigmore Hall. Festival appearances include the Marlboro Music School and Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, Bravo!Vail, SummerFest at LaJolla, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the Perlman Music Program.

Ms. Pajaro-van de Stadt is the founding violist of the Dover Quartet, recipient of the Cleveland Quartet award and First Prize winner and sweeper of every special award at the Banff International String Quartet Competition 2013 and winner of the Gold Medal and Grand Prize in the 2010 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. Her numerous awards also include First Prize at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and top prizes at the Tokyo International Viola Competition and the Sphinx Competition.

Ms. Pajaro-van de Stadt graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Roberto Diaz, Michael Tree, Misha Amory, and Joseph de Pasquale. She then received her Master’s Degree in String Quartet with the Dover Quartet at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music as a student of James Dunham. She and the Dover Quartet currently serve on the faculty of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.

Photo credit: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco

Grace Park, Violinist

Grace Park is a dynamic violinist, dedicated chamber musician, and passionate pedagogue. Her diverse career has carried her from the world’s concert halls to inner city schools as a soloist, collaborator, coach, and multi-disciplinary educator. As part of a residency at Carnegie Hall – the Academy Carnegie Juilliard Weill (ACJW) program, Ms. Park pairs her elite musicianship with a fervent commitment to community engagement. As a soloist, Ms. Park has been the featured artist at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Jordan Hall in Boston, Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum’s Grace Rainey Auditorium in New York, the Rudolfinum in Prague, and Glinka Hall in St. Petersburg, with orchestras including the North Czech Philharmonia, Russian Chamber Philharmonic, and Napoli Chamber Orchestra. A laureate of the National Symphony Orchestra’s Young Soloist Competition, Ms. Park has also achieved many competitive successes.

A devoted chamber musician, Ms. Park has performed with a variety of ensembles around the world and has led chamber orchestras from the principal chair. She has performed the world premieres of renowned emerging composers Samuel Carl Adams and Andy Akiho, and has been recognized for her work in the Vitas Quartet and collaborations with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Park has also performed and taught at many of the world’s leading music festivals, such as the Yellow Barn Music Festival, Innsbrook Music Institute, Bravo!Vail, Music@Menlo, IMS Prussia Cove, and the Perlman Music Program’s Chamber Music Workshop.

Photo credit: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco

Anna Petrova, Pianist

Bulgarian pianist Anna Petrova has been praised for her “hallmark performances” of “excellent technical mastery and powerful control of timbre.” – Levante, Spain. Prizewinner of numerous international competitions, including the José Roca (Valencia), Val Tidone (Italy) and Maria Yudina (St. Petersburg), Anna was a semifinalist at the prestigious Queen Elizabeth International Piano Competition in Belgium, 2010, where she performed as soloist with the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia under Paul Goodwin. At her North-American orchestral debut with conductor Philippe Entremont, which was shortly followed by a second invitation, Anna was praised for her “ultra-smooth playing style”- New York Fine Arts Examiner.

Other conductors with whom she has performed include Bruno Aprea, JoAnn Falletta, Ramón Tébar, and Francisco Valero-Terribas. Highlights of recent seasons include concerto performances with the Plovdiv Symphony Orchestra, the Monterey Symphony Orchestra of California, and the Virginia Beach Symphony Orchestra, as well as solo recitals in halls such as Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Brussels’ Conservatoire Royal, and Carnegie’s Weil Recital Hall.  Future performances include a solo tour of China and concerto performances with the Monterey Symphony Orchestra and the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra.