Italian born pianist Sandro Russo graduated summa cum laude from the V. Bellini Conservatory, and earned the Pianoforte Performing Diploma (with honors) from the Royal College of Music in London. Mr. Russo’s numerous national and international competition prizes include Senigallia, and the Ibla Grand Prize.

Since his arrival in the United States in 2000, Sandro Russo has performed with the Bergen Philharmonic (New Jersey) under the baton of Maestro David Gilbert, and in New York where he played Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto. He has been heard at Zankel Hall (Carnegie Hall) for a concert in honor of the Italian Ambassado Antonio Bandini and the “One Bright World” Foundation, and has presented a solo recital at Carnegie Recital Hall.
 
October 5 Concert: Bach-Feinberg, Chopin, Liszt, Taneyev,
                               Rachmaninoff-Leyetchkiss

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Cavatina Duo
Eugenia Moliner, flute
Denis Azabagic, guitar

Since winning the "Young Musicians of the Doelen" competition in the Netherlands in 1996, the Cavatina Duo has performed across North America, Europe and Asia. Appearances include Ravinia, Da Camera Society (Los Angeles), Aix-en-Provence Summer Festival (France), Eem & Veem Festival (Netherlands), International Guitar Festival of Frechen (Germany), and the National Concert Hall of Taipei (Taiwan).

"Eugenia Moliner is an excellent, exciting and imaginative flute player, totally in control of the sometimes ferocious technical demands of the scores. Denis Azabagic plays with both great virtuosity and sensitivity."

The duo’s extensive repertoire is highlighted with music inspired by the folk traditions of their native lands of Spain and the Balkans.

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The Metropolis Quartet
Deb Stevenson, oboe/English horn
Thomas Yang, violin
Jeri-Lou Zike, violin/viola
Sreven Houser, cello 

Metropolis performs the major oboe quartet repertoire written by composers such as Mozart, J.C. Bach and Benjamin Britten. They also seek out lesser-known works by composers of all periods, and take familiar melodies and perform their own arrangements. Each performance is a sparkling mix of wonderful compositions, memorable melodies and fun conversation between the musicians and audience members.

The quartet is also the driving force behind the Metropolis Symphony — an orchestra that can be found at Symphony Center for the Apollo Chorus’ Messiah and Chicago’s premiere St. Patrick's Day event; at the Oak Park Handel Week Festival; and in performance and recordings with some of Chicago’s major vocal groups such as the St. Charles Singers and the choirs of Holy Name Cathedral, St. Clement Church and Old St. Patrick's Church.

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Ken Olsen and Brant Taylor , cellists

Ken Olsen and Brant Taylor both currently play cello with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  Ken is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and a winner of its prestigious Concerto Competition.  He currently is the assistant principal cellist at CSO and holds The Adele Gidwitz Chair.

Brant's career includes both teaching and performing.  A winner of numerous awards, he is a frequent performer and teacher at music festivals, including the Festival der Zukunft in Ernen, Switzerland, the Portland Chamber Music Festival, the Shanghai International Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival.  Currently on staff at the DePaul University School of Music,  Brant was appointed to the CSO in 1998. 

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St Petersburg String Quartet

Alla Aranovskaya, Violin

Alla Krolevich, Violin

Boris Vayner, Viola

Leonid Shukayev, Cello

The St. Petersburg String Quartet was founded as the Leningrad Quartet by Alla Aranovskaya, Alla Krolevich and Leonid Shukayev, all graduates of the Leningrad Conservatory. The quartet won prizes at the All-Soviet Union String Quartet Competition, Tokyo International Competition of Chamber Ensembles, Vittorio Gui International Competition for Chamber Ensembles (Italy) and the International Competition for Chamber Ensembles (Australia). Violist Boris Vayner joined the quartet in 2005. 

The Quartet has received a Grammy nomination, "Best Record" honors in both Stereo Review and Gramophone Magazines, and the Chamber Music America/WQXR Prize for Best CD of 2001. The Quartet has performed in Great Britain, Germany, Mexico and many festivals in the United States, including Lincoln Center.    They were the Quartet-in-Residence at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music from 1999 to 2003.

Upcoming appearances include the Library of Congress, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, and Amsterdam Concertgebouw.   And, of course, Mostly Music Chicago.

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The Chicago Ensemble

Olga Kaler, violin
Andrew Snow, cello
Gerald Rizzer, piano

The Chicago Ensemble is dedicated to the presentation and perpetuation of small group chamber music.   For over 30 years The Chicago Ensemble has been known for its exemplary performances in intimate and accessible settings. Their repertoire is wide and varied, encompassing challenging, rarely heard, treasures from the early to the contemporary. Diverse periods, styles, and forms are juxtaposed, and illuminated, by accompanying commentary. This approach leads audiences to an understanding of the history, context, and thematic concerns of the music they are hearing, as well as to a heightened appreciation of this essential art form. The Chicago Ensemble is critically acclaimed and performs regularly on WFMT. Robert Marsh, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, commented "I was delighted… by the excellence of the performance, which was thoroughly idiomatic and persuasive."

The Chicago Ensemble was founded by Gerald Rizzer, who is the artistic director and a pianist. He studied piano with Gavin Williamson. Mr. Rizzer holds degrees from the University of Chicago and Yale and he also attended Juilliard.

September 28 Concert: Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart

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Tanatalus Guitar Quartet
Kristian Anderson
Matthew Cochran
Kevin Manderville
Stephen Mattingly

The Tantalus Quartet has delighted audiences with their “perfect ensemble” (Reinischer Post, Germany) and “infectious rhythmic drive” (Allmusic.com). Their repertoire includes brilliant arrangements of masterworks by Brahms and Mozart, folk-inspired favorites from Scotland to Nova Scotia, and new music by award-winning composers. Tantalus has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Canada. Strong advocates of new music, the recently premiered “A Feast for Tantalus”, dedicated to the quartet by Grammy-nominated composer Apostolos Paraskevas. In 2006, the quartet was awarded the Florida Artists Enhancement Grant given by the Florida Department of State.

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Fifth House Ensemble
Melissa Snoza, flute
Andrew Williams, violin
Clark Carruth, viola
Herine Coetzee Koschak, cello
Adam Marks, piano

 

Artist information for this concert will be posted soon.  Please check back.

January 25 Concert:  Mozart, Weber, Schumann, Kodaly, Jolivet

 

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Avalon String Quartet
Blaise Magniere, violin
Marie Wang, violin
Anthony Devroye, viola
Cheng-Hou Lee, cello

The Avalon String Quartet has earned international acclaim for the bold musicality and passionate intensity of its performances. Formed in 1995 at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Quartet has performed in the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Encounters in Jerusalem and in Weill Recital Hall. The Quartet made its New York debut on the Alexander Schneider Series at the New School in 1998. The Avalon Quartet won First Prize, the Channel Classics Prize, and the Rockport Chamber Music Festival Prize at the 1999 Concert Artists Guild Competition. The quartet is in residence at Northern Illinois University, a position formerly occupied by the distinguished Vermeer Quartet.

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Julia Bentley, Claudia Lasareff-Mironoff, Huang-Hao Kuang

Artist information for this concert will be posted soon. Please check back.

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Lake Effect Piano Quartet
Lori Ashikawa, violin
Terese Parisoli, viola
Ellen Frolichstein, cello
Marie Alatalo, piano

The Lake Effect Piano Quartet brings together a group of musicians from the Chicago area committed to performing both standard and new repertoire to audiences in traditional and non-traditional settings. Members of Lake Effect are graduates of celebrated music programs, including the Eastman and Julliard schools, Tanglewood, Interlochen and the University of Southern California. Individual performing and recording credits include the San Diego Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Spoleto Music Festival, Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, Baroque Band, Fulcrum Point, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and SONY, Capitol and Cedille records.
 
September 14 Concert:  Mozart, Hoiby, Brahms

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Vanessa Perez, piano

Venezuelan-American pianist Vanessa Perez began her studies at the age of seven in Caracas. She gave her debut at age eleven, playing the Grieg Piano Concerto with Orquesta Sinfonica Municipal in Caracas. She has studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Accademia Pianistica in Italy and at Yale University. Ms. Perez has appeared in concert halls and festivals throughout the world, including the Montpellier Festival, Beethoven-Haus (Bonn), Gothic Hall (Brussels) and the La Jolla Music Society “Discovery” series (San Diego). In chamber music collaborations, she has performed at Wigmore Hall (London), Schnitke Festival at the RAM (London) and Montpellier Festival (France). Vanessa Perez has recorded with the Berliner Symphoniker and was soloist with L’Orchestra “Pro Arte” Marche (Italy), and the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra (London).

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Lincoln Piano Trio
Desiree Ruhstrat, violin
David Cunliffe, cello
Marta Aznavoorian, piano

Formed in 2003, the Lincoln Trio has traveled throughout the United States appearing as guest artists of the Indianapolis Symphony Beethoven Series, Central Texas Orchestral Society and the Oakmont Concert Series in California. In Chicago they have performed at the Chicago Cultural Center, NEIU Jewel Box Series, Music in the Loft, Unity Temple, Sejong Cultural Society, Fazioli Concert Series and on WFMT. The Lincoln Trio has performed works written for them, including the world premiere of “Moon Jig” by Augusta Read Thomas. They recorded Pierre Jalbert’s Piano Trio for the Cedille Label and are working on another project for Cedille featuring the works of poet Billy Collins. As part of their 2008-09 season, the Lincoln Trio has been invited to perform the Beethoven Triple Concerto in Europe and Japan, and will be performing throughout Illinois the winning composition for the Ravinia Festival’s Lincoln Trio Composition Competition. The Lincoln Trio is Ensemble-in-Residence at the Music Institute of Chicago.

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The Chicago Ensemble

Elizandro Garcia-Montoya, clarinet
Mathias Tacke, violin
Gerald Rizzer, piano

The Chicago Ensemble is dedicated to the presentation and perpetuation of small group chamber music. For over 30 years The Chicago Ensemble has been known for its exemplary performances in intimate and accessible settings. Their repertoire is wide and varied, encompassing challenging, rarely heard, treasures from the early to the contemporary. Diverse periods, styles, and forms are juxtaposed, and illuminated, by accompanying commentary. This approach leads audiences to an understanding of the history, context, and thematic concerns of the music they are hearing, as well as to a heightened appreciation of this essential art form. The Chicago Ensemble is critically acclaimed and performs regularly on WFMT. Robert Marsh, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, commented "I was delighted… by the excellence of the performance, which was thoroughly idiomatic and persuasive."

The Chicago Ensemble was founded by Gerald Rizzer, who is the artistic director and a pianist. He studied piano with Gavin Williamson. Mr. Rizzer holds degrees from the University of Chicago and Yale and he also attended Juilliard.

May 17 Concert:  Hindemith, Bartok, Berg, Stravinsky

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