KRISTINA REIKO COOPER- Cello

GUSTAV HIGHSTEIN- Oboe

Oboist Gustav Highstein has performed with many of the top orchestras in the country including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Richmond Symphony. Gustav has appeared on such prestigious festivals as the Lincoln Center Festival 2000 and Lyrique-en-mer Festival de Belle-Ile. He attended the Curtis Institute of Music and Yale University and has studied with Alfred Genovese, Richard Woodhams, and Lois Wann.

YUMI KENDALL-Cello
Twenty-two-year-old cellist, Yumi Kendall is completing her Bachelor’s studies this year at the Curtis Institute of Music with David Soyer. Since her orchestral solo debut with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in 1998, she has performed throughout the United States and in Japan. Recipient of several awards and honors, Yumi won first place in the Friday Morning Music Club Competition, first place in the National Symphony Orchestra Young Soloists’ Competition and the judges’ commendation award at the Johansen International Competition.

YURI KIM - Piano
A native of South Korea, pianist Yuri Kim performs extensively throughout North America, Asia, Russia and Europe as a recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist.
Kim’s recording, “Beethoven Works for Piano” received rave reviews from Billboard, American Record Guide, Allegro Quarterly and Pulse and was awarded “Best Debut Album” by the National Public Radio. Her 2004 concert season will include performances in Russia, Italy, Spain and France. She is a faculty member at Mannes College of Music, where she earned Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Music.

TENG LI -Viola
Violist Teng Li has appeared with the National Chamber Orchestra and the Santa Rosa Symphony, at the Marlboro, Santa Fe and Music from Angel Fire chamber music festivals and was presented in recital for the French Embassy in Beijing . This season she will perform on the “Rising Stars” series at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. She is the recipient of numerous awards including Astral Artistic Services 2003 National Auditions, first prize at both the Johansen International and the Holland-America Music Society competitions, among others. Teng pursues her degree at the Curtis Institute of Music with violists Michael Tree and Joseph DePasquale.

TODD DARREN PALMER-Clarinet
Clarinetist Todd Palmer studied at the Mannes College of Music where he received awards in Outstanding Performance and Academic Excellence. Todd has appeared as recitalist, concerto soloist and clinician at major performing arts centers and universities in 47 States. His appearances abroad have included performances in Germany , France , Italy , England , Canada , Mexico , Brazil , the Caribbean , and Japan where his performance with pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn was broadcast nationwide. In 2002 his CD recording Yiddishbbuk (EMI Classics) received two Grammy Award nominations.

SEXTET

Joy of Sextet (program 3): Lily Francis, Chen Xi, Susie Park, Meng-Chieh Liu, Teng Li, Yumi Kendall (from left to right)

Violinist Susie Park from Sydney , Australia has appeared as soloist with all of the major Australian orchestras and with ensembles around the world, including Korea 's KBS Orchestra and the Lille National Orchestra under the direction of Yehudi Menuhin. Winner of numerous awards, Susie garnered first prizes in the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists, the Richard Goldner Concerto Competition, and the City of Sydney Reg Marsh Award for Most Outstanding String Performer, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Young Performers Award, and the Victorian Premier's Award. Susie entered Curtis in 1999 to study with Ida Kavafian and Jaime Laredo.

ALEXEI ROMANENKO-Cello
Cellist Alexi Romanenko’s busy concert schedule has included performances in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Cambridge, and Montgomery in the last season alone. His radio broadcasts have included regular appearances on Boston’s “Classical Performances”, in addition to live broadcasts in San Francisco and “Voice of America” in Russia. Born in Vladivostok, Russia, Alexei Romanenko currently resides in New York City and holds an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Music.

LARA ST. JOHN –Violin
Described as "something of a phenomenon" by The Strad magazine, Canadian-born violinist Lara St. John has performed as soloist with, amongst others, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra of Budapest and in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls. Also a successful recording artist, Lara St. John was signed to an exclusive multi-release recording contract with Sony Classical that includes innovative and core classical projects. Her first disc for Sony, Re:Bach, will be available worldwide by the beginning of 2004. She performs on the1779 Salabue Guadagnini, thanks to an anonymous donor, and Heinl & Company of Toronto.

ALEXANDER TALL-Baritone
Twenty-one year old baritone Alexander Tall has performed at venues throughout New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Miami and St. Louis and internationally in France, England and Portugal. His operatic roles have included Horatio in Thomas’ Hamlet at the Opera Theater of St. Louis and Seiji Ozawa’s Veroza Opera Company. His upcoming engagements include his debut with Chicago Opera Theater in Il Viaggo a Reims in the role of Il Barone di Trombonok; Schaunard in La Boheme with the Curtis Opera Theater and John in Ned Rorem’s Miss Julie at the Kimmel Center. He is currently a student of voice at The Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.

ZHOU TIAN-Composer
Composer Zhou Tian’s has received many awards and honors, including first prize in The Kathryn Thomas International Composition Competition for Flute (2000), Honorable Mention for the 1999 Jazz Composer's Alliance / Julius Hemphill Composition Awards, the ASCAP / Morton Gould Young Composer’s Awards 2002 and Composition Fellowship at Tanglewood Music Festival 2002. Mr. Zhou’s compositions have been performed by various chamber ensembles and orchestras including The Arditti String Quartet, the New Fromm String Quartet, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the Symphony Orchestra of the Curtis Institute of Music and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. He was also selected as a member of the Sonic Convergence Project, a composition project involving the United States, the People’s Republic of China, and Sweden.

MARK TIMMERMAN - Bassoon
An accomplished orchestral musician, Mark Timmerman is the Principal Bassoonist of the Jacksonville Symphony in Florida , and this season is performing as Principal Bassoonist at the Metropolitan Opera in New York . Mark has played with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, National Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Hawaii Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, and the New York Philharmonic. He has performed at numerous international music festivals in Japan , Italy , St. Bart , Brazil , and the former Soviet Union . Mark's domestic appearances have included festivals at Marlboro, Blossom, Spoleto and Glimmerglass Opera.

CHEN XI-Violin
The 18-year-old violinist Chen Xi from Shenyang , China , made his recital debut in 1992 at the Shenyang Conservatory of Music Hall. One year later, at age nine, Chen Xi won the “Young Genius Cup” Competition and was also awarded first prize in the “Broadcasting Cup” Youth Competition in Liaoning , China . Additional awards include Silver Prize in the International Tchaikovsky Violin Competition, first place in the National Violin Competition in China and first place in the International Youth Violin Competition. Chen Xi has performed as soloist with the Russian National Orchestra and the China Philharmonic Orchestra. He entered Curtis this year to study violin with renowned violinist Joseph Silverstein.