Our Faculty
We have a first rate faculty coming from Canada, The United States, Mexico, and Europe. With a very low student to teacher ratio of about 6/1 we are able to offer a more immersive and personalized experience for each participant..
All our faculty members are approachable and accessible. We encourage interaction among students & teachers, as everybody breaks bread together in the Festival House.
2024 Faculty
Jeremy Bell
Violin
A native of Toronto, violinist Jeremy Bell earned a B. Mus degree from the University of Toronto, and from the State University of New York at Stony Brook he received his Masters and Doctor of Music.
Dr. Bell is a recipient of numerous grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts and is a prize winner of the Eckhardt Grammatté National competition and the Conseil Québécois’ Prix Opus. He has studied with David Zafer, George Neikrug, Joyce Robbins, Metro Kozak and with members of the Orford, Juilliard, Tokyo, and Orion string quartets. Joining the Penderecki String Quartet in 1999, Dr. Bell is Artist in Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University where he teaches violin and chamber music.
Described by the Toronto Star as a violinist who “agitates in the most intelligent and persuasive manner”, Bell has performed recently with the Penderecki Quartet at Arsenale Festival in Poland, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Is Arti Festival in Lithuania, MBZ Zagreb, State Museum of Music in St. Petersburg, REDCAT/Disney Centre in Los Angeles, Roxy/NOD in Prague, Fundación Juan March in Madrid, Jane Mallet Theatre in Toronto, Paris University 8, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Indiana University in Bloomington, Casalmaggiore Festival in Italy, Tovar Festival Venezuela, Virtuosi Festival Brazil, Adam Festival New Zealand, the Hong Kong Academy, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, the Banff Centre in Alberta, and the Chan Centre in Vancouver.
With the Penderecki String Quartet, Bell has recorded over 25 discs including the premiere Canadian recording of the Béla Bartók string quartet cycle and Marjan Mozetich’s ‘Lament in the Trampled Garden’ (winner of the 2010 JUNO Award for composition). From 2000-2007, Bell was the artistic director of NUMUS Concerts where he created several multi-media events at the Perimeter Institute and with Dancetheatre David Earle. He has performed a wide range of music, performing baroque with Consortium Aurora Borealis and Les Violons du Roy, Cuban jazz with Hilario Durán, as well as collaborating with pipa virtuoso Ching Wong, NYC’s DJ Spooky, and rap star Jay-Z. In addition, Bell has performed as soloist with many orchestras in Canada, the USA, and Mexico, including the Toronto Symphony, the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, performing concertos of Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Hatzis, Locatelli, Lutoslawski, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Päart, Prokofiev, Saint-Saens, and Schoenberg. As guest concertmaster he has appeared with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the New Zealand National Symphony, and the Canadian Opera Company. Dr. Bell plays an A.S. Bernadel violin (1854).
http://jeremybell.ca
Grigory Kalinovsky
Violin
Hailed by critics as a “superior poet” (Vancouver Sun) and praised for his “heart and indomitable will” (Gramophone), Grigory Kalinovsky has performed at some of the world’s major venues, from all three stages of Carnegie Hall in New York to Musikhalle Grosser Saal in Hamburg. As a recitalist and avid chamber musician, he has appeared at numerous concert series and festivals, including the Asheville Chamber Music Series, Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York, Lucas Foss’s Festival at the Hamptons, Newport Music Festival, and Pavel Vernikov's festival, “Il Violino Magico” in Italy, collaborating with such renowned musicians as Pinchas Zukerman, Shmuel Ashkeniasi, Ralph Kirshbaum, Miriam Fried, James Buswell, Dora Schwarzberg, and Paul Coletti, among others.
A devoted educator, Prof. Kalinovsky joined the Jacobs School of Music faculty in the fall of 2013 and continues to teach at the Heifetz International Music Institute and IU Summer String Academy. Previously a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music, he has taught at many summer music festivals, including Pinchas Zukerman’s Young Artists Program in Canada, Keshet Eilon Mastercourse in Israel, Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine, Soesterberg International Music Festival in Holland, Summit Music Festival in New York, “Il Violino Magico” in Italy, and Manhattan in the Mountains, where he was also one of the founding artistic directors.
He has presented master classes at many major U.S. festivals and music schools, including New England Conservatory, the Colburn School, Meadowmount, University of Maryland, San Francisco Conservatory, and Seattle Conservatory, and at numerous European and Asian institutions, such as the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Buchmann-Mehta School of Music and Jerusalem Music Center in Israel, Lübeck Academy of Music in Germany, Beijing Central Conservatory in China, Seoul National University, and Korea National University of Arts in Seoul.
Prof. Kalinovsky’s students have won top prizes at national and international competitions, including the Tibor Varga Youth Competition, Menuhin Young Artists Competition in England, Andrea Postacchini Young Violinists Competition in Italy, and Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition in Chicago, and have gone on to study at institutions such as Curtis, Colburn, Juilliard, Yale, New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, and Indiana University, among others.
His recording with pianist Tatiana Goncharova featuring Shostakovich’s Violin Sonata and Twenty-Four Preludes Transcribed for Violin and Piano by Dmitri Tziganov –with several of the transcriptions commissioned by Kalinovsky from the celebrated composer Lera Auerbach – was released by Centaur Records to great critical acclaim and hailed by the composer's son, conductor Maxim Shostakovich, as “a must-have for any Shostakovich music connoisseur.” The duo’s recording of the complete set of sonatas for violin and piano by Mieczysław Weinberg was recently released on Naxos label in 2017.
Kalinovsky started his music education with Tatiana Liberova in his native St. Petersburg, Russia. After coming to New York, he continued his studies with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec at the Manhattan School of Music, where he served as a faculty member shortly after graduating and until his move to Indiana University.
Christopher Wilshere
Violin
Christopher Wilshere shines as a prominent figure in Mexico's classical music community, leaving a lasting impression on the vibrant cultural tapestry of his adopted country. His journey is a testament to passion, dedication, and a commitment to nurturing musical talent. As a distinguished violinist, Christopher has graced stages in Europe, Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and has performed as concertmaster for many well-known Canadian and Mexican orchestras, including the Thunder Bay Symphony, the Ontario Philharmonic, the Jalisco Philharmonic, and the Toronto Concert Orchestra. As a soloist and chamber musician, Christopher has performed alongside notable artists such as Julian Rachlin, Anton Kuerti, the Gryphon Trio, Susan Hopper, Manuel Delaflor, and David Fung, earning critical and audience acclaim.
Christopher's influence extends deeply into education, where he has become one of Mexico's most sought-after violin teachers. His students consistently achieve remarkable success, securing scholarships and coveted positions in competitions and youth orchestras nationwide. Notably, his guidance has shaped the concertmaster and principal positions of esteemed youth orchestras, such as OSIM, OSJZ in Zapopan, and the Higinio Ruvalcaba Orchestra in Guadalajara, for over a decade. A seasoned educator, Christopher has shared his expertise through masterclasses and teaching engagements at prestigious institutions, including the University of Toronto, the University of Guadalajara, the University of Kansas, the University of Akron, Ohio, UNAM, and the Ollin Yoliztli Conservatory in Mexico City. Over 15 years of intensive teaching has cultivated a legacy, with many students traveling nationwide, often on a weekly basis, to benefit from his mentorship, and a plethora of now former students who have gone on to build their own well-established violin studios in Guadalajara.
As an entrepreneur and project builder, in 2003, at the age of 24, he founded the Festival de Febrero, which has evolved over two decades into a cornerstone of classical music in Mexico and hosts over 30 international artists annually for two weeks of concerts in the Lake Chapala area. Additionally, in 2013, Christopher was a founding member and a director of PALCCO, a multi-million-dollar entertainment complex in Guadalajara, housing a 2000-seat opera hall, an amphitheater, and a chamber music recital hall. His creation of the Festival del Lago summer academy in 2018, with its focus on education, stands as a testament to his commitment to nurturing young talent. Approximately 60 university students from around the world attend every August, benefiting from financial aid, with many on full scholarships, all sponsored by his other festival, the Festival de Febrero.
The impact of Christopher’s accomplishments resonates not only in his violin playing but in the profound legacy he continues to build, shaping the cultural landscape of Mexico. He holds a degree in Violin Performance from the University of Toronto and was awarded a Governor General's Award from Michaëlle Jean for his commitment to strengthening relations between Mexico and Canada.
“Christopher is one of Canada’s proudest exports” - Guillermo Rishchynski, Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations.
Minju Kim
Violin
As a violinist, violist, and an educator, Dr. Minju Kim leads a multifaceted career spanning education, performance, and social advocacy. With a genuine commitment to education and to musical excellence, she continues to cultivate a career in both teaching and performing by fostering the growth of aspiring musicians while maintaining an active presence on the concert stage.
Dr. Kim is an assistant professor of Violin at the Boston University School of Music. She has held esteemed faculty positions at institutions such as the Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory Program and was previously the chair of the string area and assistant professor of Violin and Viola at the University of Akron School of Music. Dr. Kim's past experiences include teaching at institutions such as the Festival del Lago International Academy of Music, Encore Chamber Music, Community Music School at Oberlin College, IU Summer String Academy, and as an assistant instructor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and giving classes at Fredonia SUNY, University of Montréal, Portland State University, University of Texas San Antonio, Drake University, Ohio University, Miami University, Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra and others. Dr. Kim's pedagogical experience also extends beyond traditional settings, as she has worked with programs such as Habitat4Music and Fairview Violin Project, providing extracurricular music education programs to underfunded public schools.
Her music philosophy emphasizes the transformative power of music and its ability to connect communities. Combining her passion for arts education and social advocacy, Dr. Kim founded and directs the Third Culture Ensemble. This initiative unites professional musicians, music students, and local arts and social organizations to use music as a means of serving diverse communities. The ensemble's commitment to programming diverse repertoire as well as highlighting social issues such as homelessness and incarceration reflects Dr. Kim's vision of reshaping the social role of classical music, broadening the concert experience, amplifying the voices of underrepresented composers, and promoting unity and inclusivity.
Throughout her career, Dr. Kim has actively performed as a chamber and orchestral musician, both at home in North America and on international stages including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and Severance Hall. She has been a frequent guest artist at Festival de Febrero, Artosphere Music Festival, Strings Music Festival, Britt Festival, IMS Prussia Cove, and Caroga Lake Music Festival and has enjoyed extensive collaborations with esteemed members of The Cleveland Orchestra, Manhattan Chamber Players, Gryphon Trio, and other notable musicians. She was a former member of the Jankovic Ensemble for string quartet and guitar and has traveled with the Khemia Ensemble and A Far Cry, with her performances reaching a wider audience through broadcasts on media platforms like American Public Media's Performance Today, WCLV, WQXR, and Grammy-nominated album, Canto America. Previously, she served as the second violin principal of CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra and former acting concertmistress of the Evansville Philharmonic, and she continues to perform with the Cleveland Orchestra, Met Opera, and Pittsburgh Symphony.
Beyond her musical pursuits, Dr. Kim brings a holistic approach to her artistry by incorporating her background as a certified ELDOA practitioner and yoga enthusiast into the music world. Her passion for promoting musicians' well-being, mind-body health, and injury prevention has led her to conduct regular ELDOA workshops at music institutions and summer festivals.
Dr. Kim received her Doctor of Music in violin performance with a minor in music education from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where she was a recipient of Artistic Excellence Award and assistant instructor fellow, and where she studied under Mauricio Fuks, the late Ik-Hwan Bae, Grigory Kalinovsky, and the Pacifica Quartet. Her doctoral dissertation, focusing on the works of Pulitzer prize winner Caroline Shaw, showcases her commitment to highlighting the contributions of living female composers. She received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Paul Kantor. She also had the opportunity to study under Nam-Yun Kim, Stanley Ritchie for baroque violin, and Alexander Kerr and Stephen Rose for orchestral repertoire. The foundation of her early musical education was solidified under the guidance of Henri Gronnier at the Colburn School.
Away from music, she enjoys spending time learning design, listening to Audibles, running, practicing yoga, hiking, and being in nature.
Juan Miguel Hernández
Viola
An artist defined by the critics as "…tender, lyrical, loaded with personality" (Atlanta Journal Constitution, Pierre Ruhe). In September 2009, Juan-Miguel won the first Prize at the 16th International Johannes Brahms Competition, for which he is delighted to join as a juror for the 2017 edition, in Austria, adding to other top prizes won at the National Canadian Music Competition, and the 9th National Sphinx Competition in 2006, presented by JPMorgan Chase.
As a featured guest soloist, Juan-Miguel has appeared with the Atlanta, Seattle, Colorado Symphonies, as well as the Rochester Philharmonic and the Chicago Sinfonietta. Performances in recent seasons have brought Juan-Miguel on tour throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, South America, Canada and the United States. In 2010, he was honored with the medal of the National Assembly of Quebec.
Juan-Miguel has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell, Kim Kashkashian, Gérard Caussé, Nicolas Dautricourt, Misha Dichter, the Weilerstein trio as well as Jazz living legends Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Stanley Clark and Paquito D’Rivera. Recent festival and program appearances as guest artist and teacher include the Festival Pablo Casal (Prades, France), the Festival Des Arcs (France), the Amalfi Coast Music Festival (Italy), Orford Academy (Canada), Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (South Africa), the Salzburg Festival, the Brevard Summer Institute, the Mozaic Festival, Festicamara (Colombia), Montreal Jazz & Panama Jazz Festivals and Musica Mundi International Festival (Belgium).
A dedicated chamber musician, Juan-Miguel is the newest member of the legendary Fine Arts Quartet and a founding member of the Harlem Quartet with whom he performed from 2006 to 2012. Juan-Miguel is also a founder and member of the "Trio Virado" (Flute, Viola, Guitar) as well as the "Boreal Trio” (Clarinet, Viola, Piano), both specializing in the creation of new repertoire.
From 2005 to 2010, he was also an active member of the I Palpiti orchestra, a cast of international laureates forming a world-class string orchestra based in Los Angeles. The 2017 summer season saw his return with the I Palpiti orchestra, this time as soloist, performing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in Disney Hall (Los Angeles), and the Mozarteum's Solitaire Hall (Salzburg).
On radio airwaves and television broadcasts, Juan-Miguel has been heard and seen on nationally syndicated programs throughout Canada and the United States. His discography includes four quartet CDs, released on the Naxos, Cedille records, the White Pine, and Navona labels, as well as multiple collaborations on various other labels, including with artists like Chick Corea and Gary Burton as well as Norah Jones. The fall of 2015 saw the release of Trio Virado’s debut album, “Mangabeira,” featuring music by Piazzolla, and Leo Brouwer, and original music by Sergio Assad.
His strong commitment to educate and engage new audiences all around the globe has brought him to reach young musicians and various communities through art convoys in South Africa and Venezuela, various music festivals in South America, and outreach projects in Europe and North America. In the Fall of 2016, Juan-Miguel was appointed to the faculty of the prestigious Royal Academy of Music (London) as Professor of Viola.
Juan-Miguel Hernández was born in Montreal, Canada in 1985 and began studying the violin at age seven, then switched to viola at age twelve under the tutelage of Jean McRae. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the Colburn Conservatory in 2010 studying with Paul Coletti and Graduate Diploma in the Professional String Quartet program in 2012 with Paul Katz at the New England Conservatory, working privately with Kim Kashkashian and Dimitri Murrath. He also worked before Pinchas Zukerman, Roberto Díaz, Paul Neubauer, Karen Tuttle, Steven Dann, James Dunham, Barbara Westphal, and Robert Vernon.
Juan-Miguel plays a beautiful 2008 Miralles viola from Altadena CA.
www.jmhernandez.com
Luke Fleming
Viola
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.” 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, and Festival Mozaic. Formerly the violist of the internationally acclaimed Attacca Quartet, he has served as Artist-in-Residence for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and received the National Federation of Music Clubs Centennial Chamber Music Award. He was awarded First Prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and top prizes at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition.
In 2015, Dr. 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, and in 2024 he was named Artistic Program Director of Chamber Music Monterey Bay. He currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Viola at the University of New Orleans School of the Arts, and is also a founding member of the Delaware-based Serafin Ensemble.
He has performed as guest violist with the Escher, Modigliani, and Pacifica Quartets, the Eroica, Lysander, and Gryphon Piano Trios, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Decoda, Ensemble Connect, Sejong Soloists, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the New York Classical Players, and has given masterclasses at UCLA, Louisiana State University, Ithaca College, Columbus State University, Syracuse University, Melbourne University, and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, among others. Dr. Fleming has served on the faculties of the Atlantic Music Festival, Innsbrook Institute, Renova Music Festival, Festival del Lago, and Houston ChamberFest, and Fei Tian College and as Lecturer-in-Residence for Project: Music Heals Us.
Dr. 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 with the Manhattan Chamber Players by Arts Management Group.
lukefleming.com
Michael Klotz
Viola
Born in 1978 in Rochester, NY, Michael Klotz has established an international reputation as a performer and pedagogue of the viola. Klotz made his solo debut with the Rochester Philharmonic at the age of 17 and has since then appeared worldwide as a soloist with orchestra, recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral principal. After a performance of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 with violist Roberto Díaz, the Portland Press-Herald proclaimed, “This concert squelched all viola jokes, now and forever, due to the talents of Diaz and Klotz.” The Fort Worth Star-Telegram recently proclaimed Michael Klotz to be “a superb violist, impressive, with an exceptionally attractive sound,” and the Miami Herald has consistently lauded his “burnished, glowing tone and nuanced presence.”
Michael Klotz joined the Amernet String Quartet in 2002 and has toured and recorded commercially with the ensemble throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Israel, Japan, South Ko-rea, Romania, Colombia, Belgium, and Spain. His festival appearances have included Seattle, Newport, Caramoor, ChamberFest Cleveland, Festival Mozaic, Great Lakes, Mediterranean Notes Festival (Montenegro), Cervantino, Festival Baltimore, Festival Mozaic, Piccolo Spoleto, Sunflower, Martha’s Vineyard, Skaneateles, Virginia Tech Vocal Arts and Music Festival, San Miguel de Allende, Beverly Hills, Music Mountain, Bowdoin, Madeline Island, and Miami Mainly Mozart.
Passionately dedicated to chamber music, Klotz regularly performs with many of today’s most esteemed artists. He has appeared as guest violist with the Borromeo, Shanghai and Ying Quartets, the Manhattan Piano Trio, and has performed with artists such as Shmuel Ashkenasi, Arnold Steinhardt, Cho-Liang Lin, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Andrés Cárdenes, Paul Neubauer, Vadim Gluzman, Gary Hoffman, Clive Greensmith, Michael Tree, Andres Diaz, Cynthia Phelps, Roberto Diaz, Chauncey Patterson, Joseph Kalichstein, Angela Cheng, Jon Nakamatsu, Anthony McGill, Franklin Cohen, and Alexander Fiterstein, as well as with many principal players from major U.S. and European orchestras.
In 2015 he was named a Charter Member of the Ensemble with the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth and regularly appears on this series. In 2002 and 2009, he was was invited by Maestro Jaime Laredo to perform with distinguished alumni at anniversary concerts of the New York String Orchestra Seminar in Carnegie Hall.
Michael Klotz is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where he was awarded the Performer’s Certificate. In 2002 he became one of the few individuals to be awarded a double Master’s degree in violin and viola from the Juilliard School, where he was the recipient of the Tokyo Foundation and Gluck Fellowships. His principal teachers and influences include Zvi Zeitlin, Lynn Blakeslee, Lewis Kaplan, Toby Appel, Peter Kamnitzer, and Shmuel Ashkenasi.
Michael Klotz is a dedicated teacher and serves as Teaching Professor and Artist-in-Residence at Florida International University in Miami, where he teaches viola and chamber music. Additionally, he mentors a select number of highly gifted pre-college students. Klotz has presented masterclasses at many of the leading institutions of music in the U.S. He is currently a member of the faculty of the Heifetz International Music Institute, an artistic advisor and viola faculty of The Josef Gingold Festival of Miami, and a viola coach at the New World Symphony. His former students currently attend and are graduates of prestigious conservatories, including the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, Indiana University, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and are already achieving leading roles in the music world.
During the isolation period of the coronavirus pandemic, Michael presented a series of video interviews called “Teacher Talks with Michael Klotz” which can be found on his YouTube channel. Michael was recently featured in the “Mind Over Finger” podcast series, the November 2013 issue of the “Alumni Spotlight” in the Juilliard Journal and as the subject of Strad Magazine’s “Ask the Teacher” column in the November 2013 issue.
Noémie-Raymond-Friset
Cello
Noémie Raymond-Friset has been called one of the most promising Canadian cellists of her generation, known for her refined and sensitive playing. In recognition of her artistry, she was named by CBC Music as one of the “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30.” She was also one of the top prizewinners at the Edwin H. and Leigh W. Schadt String International Competition, the Stepping Stone Competition and the WAMSO Young Artist Competition. At the Prix d’Europe 2014 and 2017, she was awarded the Beatrice Kennedy-Bourbeau Award (Best Interpretation of a Work) and Guy-Soucie Award (Best Interpretation of a Canadian Work). Previously, Ms. Raymond-Friset was awarded the First Prize at the “Grand Prize Virtuoso” of England and debuted at the famous Royal Albert Hall of London in December 2016. In addition, Ms. Raymond-Friset has been awarded a professional development grant by the Canada Council for the Arts and was a laureate of the 2015 edition of the Musical Instrument Bank Competition. Ms. Raymond-Friset took part in the XVIII Chamber Music Festival in Lima (Peru) and was previously invited by the Musical Corporation of Viña del Mar to perform in La Calera (Chile) as part of an introductory program to classical music for young students. In Canada, her appearances include recitals at the Lanaudière International Music Festival, the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Les Concerts de la Chapelle and the Orford International Music Festival. In June 2016, she recorded the Prokofiev Cello Sonata for CBC (Radio-Canada) with pianist Lysandre Ménard and was heard soon after on ICI Musique and CBC Radio. As a soloist, she was invited to perform with the National Arts Center Orchestra, the Francophonie Orchestra, the Longueuil Symphony Orchestra, the Mansfield Orchestra, the Carlos Costa Chamber Orchestra, the Agora Symphony Orchestra, the Montérégie Youth Orchestra and the Montreal Conservatory of Music Orchestra with whom she performed a cello arrangement of Sarasate’s famous violin piece Zigeunerweisen. She was also invited to play the solo cello part in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins and Cello with Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Center Orchestra, the maestro himself playing the first violin. Ms. Raymond-Friset had the chance to work with many internationally renowned cellists. In 2014, Noémie performed in a master class led by Yo-Yo Ma at Claude-Champagne Hall in front of an audience of more than 1000 people, a performance that was warmly acclaimed by the public and described as a “beautiful and sensitive performance” – The Scena Musicale. She also worked with Lynn Harell, Philippe Müller, Ralph Kirshbaum, Garry Hoffman, Johannes Moser, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Richard Aaron, Raphael Wallfish, Andreas Diaz, Paul Katz, Michel Strauss, Colin Carr and Laurence Lesser. Comfortable under the spotlight, Noémie acted as Ambassador of the New England Conservatory at the Amsterdam Cello Biennale Festival in 2014 and has served as an Ambassador for the Orford International Academy between 2015 and 2017. Ms. Raymond-Friset is also an accomplished and experienced educator. Currently Steve Doane’s Teaching Assistant at the Eastman School of Music, she is pursuing her Doctorate of Musical Arts and has previously earned a Graduate Diploma and Master’s Degree from the New England Conservatory and the University of Montreal, respectively. During her studies at the New England Conservatory, she was awarded one of the coveted Community Performances and Partnerships Program Fellowship, for which she presented recitals throughout the city of Boston and its surrounding areas to promote classical music in the community.
Horacio Contreras
Cello
Venezuelan cellist Horacio Contreras has gained esteem through a multifaceted career as a concert cellist, chamber musician, pedagogue, and scholar. He has collaborated with prestigious institutions across the Americas and Europe as a concerto soloist, a recitalist, a chamber musician, and a master class clinician.
Highlights of his career include solo performances with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and the Municipal Orchestra of Caracas in Venezuela, the EAFIT University Orchestra in Colombia, the Camerata de France in France, and the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra and the Music Institute of Chicago’s Chamber Orchestra in the US; chamber collaborations with members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and members of the Detroit, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras and the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin; and master classes at Bloomington, Juilliard, Michigan, Oberlin and the ASTA National Convention, as well as at many renowned programs from Latin America.
Recent collaborations include the recording of the works for cello and piano by Ricardo Lorenz, the commission and premiere of Diáspora for cello and piano by the Schubert Club’s composer-in-residence Reinaldo Moya, and the recording of Shuying Li’s World Map Concerti with the Four Corners Ensemble.
Horacio serves on the faculty of Lawrence University, the Music Institute of Chicago, and the University of Michigan’s MPulse summer institute Center Stage Strings. His students have made solo recordings, soloed nationally and internationally, attended festivals such as Aspen, Orford, and Domaine Forget, and won awards at regional and national competitions. They have continued their education at institutions including the University of Michigan, the San Francisco Conservatory, the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne in Switzerland, and the Hochschule for Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Mannheim, Germany. Some of his former students have pursued successful careers as orchestral musicians, chamber musicians, teachers, and freelancers. Others have devoted their energies to grow in other professional areas and enjoy a meaningful connection with music through the cello.
He is the coauthor of The Sphinx Catalog of Latin-American Cello Works, a comprehensive database with information about works for cello written by Latin American composers, created in partnership with the Sphinx Organization and CelloBello.org. His pedagogic book Exercises for the Cello in Various Combinations of Double-Stops has received recognition as a significant contribution to the instrument’s literature.
He is a member of the Four Corners Ensemble and the Reverón Piano Trio. He started his musical studies in Venezuela through El Sistema, and holds degrees from the Conservatoire National de Région de Perpignan, France, the Escola de Musica de Barcelona, Spain, and the University of Michigan.
Past Faculty
Paul Wiancko
Cello
Paul Wiancko has led an exceptionally multifaceted musical life as a composer and cellist. As a performer, Paul has shared the stage with Midori, Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Goode, Mitsuko Uchida, Nico Muhly, and members of the Guarneri, Takács, JACK, Parker, Orion, Kronos, Pro Arte, and Juilliard quartets.
Chosen as one of Kronos Quartet’s “50 for the Future”, Paul’s own compositions have been described as “dazzling” and “compelling” (Star Tribune) as well as “vital pieces that avoid the predictable” (Allan Kozinn). His quartet LIFT “teems with understanding of and affection for the string-quartet tradition” (New York Times) and is featured on the Aizuri Quartet’s Grammy-nominated album Blueprinting, one of NPR’s top 10 classical albums of 2018.
As a college student, Paul was simultaneously winning international cello competitions (which led him, most notably, to Poland to perform the Lutoslawski Cello Concerto with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra) and recording strings for local punk bands in his dorm room. That duality is embedded in Paul's artistic DNA, and over the years has resulted in close collaborations with a wide range of artists, from Chick Corea, Etta James, Norah Jones, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and Max Richter, to members of Arcade Fire, The National, Blonde Redhead, Dirty Projectors, Wye Oak, and many others.
An avid chamber musician, Paul’s performances with Musicians From Marlboro have been described as "utterly transparent" and "so full of earthy vitality and sheer sensual pleasure that it made you happy to be alive" (Washington Post). In 2009, he joined the award-winning Harlem Quartet, with whom he spent 3 years performing and teaching extensively throughout the US, Europe, South America, and Africa. Paul currently writes and performs as a member of the viola and cello duo Ayane & Paul and appears regularly with the International Contemporary Ensemble and American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME).
Winner of the S&R Foundation's Washington Award for Composition, Paul has been composer-in-residence at the Caramoor, Spoleto USA, Angel Fire, Twickenham, Newburyport, Portland, and Methow Valley Festivals. Recent commissions include works for the Aizuri, Parker, St. Lawrence, Kronos, Eybler, Calder, and Attacca Quartets, yMusic, Alexi Kenney, Tessa Lark, David Byrd-Marrow, and the Raleigh Civic Symphony. NPR writes, “If Haydn were alive to write a string quartet today, it may sound something like Paul Wiancko's LIFT.” Paul Wiancko performs on a 2010 Mario Miralles violoncello and lives in New York.
He is passionate about woodworking and hiking, and never travels without a tenkara fly-fishing rod.
Paul Wiancko composer & cellist www.paulwiancko.com
Tony Rymer
Cello
Cellist Tony Rymer has performed major concerti to critical acclaim with the Atlanta Symphony, Boston Pops, Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, and Pittsburgh Symphony, among others. He was the first prize winner in the Washington International Competition and the Sphinx Competition Senior Division, Second Prize Winner in the Enescu Competition, and took third place in the Stulberg International String Competition.
A native of Boston, Tony began playing cello at age five, attended the Walnut Hill Arts School, was a Project STEP scholarship student from 1996-2007, and was awarded the prestigious Kravitz scholarship in 2007. One of the first recipients of the Jack Kent Cooke Award on the NPR national radio show From the Top, he has also been heard as soloist on WGBH Boston, WCLV Cleveland, and NPR's Performance Today. He received a scholarship from the DAAD to study in Berlin.
An avid chamber musician, Tony has performed at many festivals and concert series throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Most recently he has performed at the Marlboro Music Festival, Krzyzowa Music, Eufonia Music Festival, Perlman Music Program, Bard Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, and Incontri Musicali. Tony has performed chamber music with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Midori, Ani Kavafian, Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, Paul Katz, Martin Helmchen, Dénes Várjon, and members of the Guarneri, Takacs, Juilliard, and Cleveland Quartets. Tony has worked privately with Yo-Yo Ma and performed in master classes with Anner Bylsma, Gary Hoffman, Steven Isserlis, and Pieter Wispelwey.
He completed his BM and MM at the New England Conservatory where he studied with Paul Katz and Laurence Lesser while holding the Laurence Lesser Presidential Scholarship. Tony then received a Masters of Music, with highest marks, as a student of Frans Helmerson at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin.