Jessica Rivera
Jessica Rivera is considered to be one of the most creatively inspired vocal
artists today. The intelligence, dimension, and spirituality with which she infuses her
performances on the great international concert and opera stages has garnered Ms. Rivera
unique artistic collaborations with many of today's most celebrated composers, including
John Adams, Osvaldo Golijov, and Nico Muhly. She has also appeared with such esteemed
conductors as Bernard Haitink, Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Robert Spano, and
Michael Tilson Thomas. Her performances during the 2010-2011 season include Adams's El
Niño under the composer's baton at the San Francisco Symphony and at the Edinburgh
International Festival with James Conlon and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Golijov's
She Was Here with Roberto Minczuk and the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira,
Britten's Spring Symphony with Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,
and Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra. Ms. Rivera
covers the role of Pat Nixon for The Metropolitan Opera's company premiere of Nixon in
China directed by Peter Sellars, and joins the Grammy Award-winning Angelique Kidjo
for the world premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff's Hope: An Oratorio at the Kimmel
Center with The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.
Hamilton Berry
Cellist Hamilton Berry's eclectic taste has led him to pursue a range of musical projects.
As a participant in Carnegie Hall's Porous Borders of Music workshop, he performed Edgar
Meyer's Duet for Cello and Bass with the composer at Zankel Hall. He has appeared as
soloist with the Macon Symphony Orchestra and the Columbia University Bach Society, and in
diverse roles at venues that include Alice Tully Hall, Miller Theatre, Terminal 5, and the
Jazz Gallery. He has attended the Yellow Barn, Sarasota, Banff, and Orford music festivals.
In 2009, Hamilton received his master's from The Juilliard School, where he was a student
of Timothy Eddy. In June 2010, he and several Juilliard colleagues presented master classes
and interactive performances to underprivileged children in São Paulo, Brazil, in
partnership with the Guri Santa Marcelina program. As part of his Academy program, Hamilton
teaches in Staten Island at IS 61.
Paul Won Jin Cho
Clarinetist Paul Won Jin Cho studied at the University of Southern California under Yehuda
Gilad and at Yale University with David Shifrin. He has earned the Leni Fe Bland Music
Scholarship, Koussevitzky Young Artists Award, Nyfenger Memorial Prize, and The Dean's
Prize at Yale University. Paul has also won awards at Yale's Woolsey Hall Concerto
Competition and Korea's Donga Competition. He has performed as a soloist with the Suwon
Philharmonic Orchestra, Torrance Symphony, and Yale Philharmonia. Paul has also appeared
with the New Haven Symphony, Singapore Symphony, and Suwon Philharmonic orchestra under
such conductors as Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Myung-whun Chung, Plácido Domingo, James
Levine, and Kent Nagano. He has participated in the Aldeburgh, Menton, Tanglewood, and Riva
del Garda music festivals, as well as others in East Asia, including the 2010 Great
Mountains Music Festival. As part of his Academy program, Paul teaches in Brooklyn at PS
200K.
Yves Dharamraj
A top-prize winner at Ima Hogg (Houston), Irving M. Klein, Juilliard, and the Florida
Orchestra competitions, cellist Yves Dharamraj enjoys an international career as soloist,
recitalist, and chamber musician. Past highlights include concerto performances with the
Houston Symphony, Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, Asian Artists and Concerts Orchestra, and
the Juilliard Orchestra. Last season featured a return engagement with Itzhak Perlman, an
appearance with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de la Republica Dominicana, a performance
of Morton Feldman's epic six-hour Second String Quartet, and several concerts in Carnegie
Hall's Neighborhood Concert Series with the Moët Trio, of which he is a founding member.
Following studies with Mussie Eidelman and Scott Kluksdahl, Yves graduated cum laude from
Yale University. As part of his Academy program, Yves teaches at the Brooklyn High School
of the Arts.
Keats Dieffenbach
Equally comfortable on the stages of Carnegie Hall and on the set of Saturday Night
Live, violinist Keats Dieffenbach has established herself as a unique artist with
infinitely varied interests and abilities. Keats has appeared as soloist with the North
Carolina Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, and Lake Placid Sinfonietta. She performs
regularly with Orchestra of St. Luke's, A Far Cry chamber orchestra, and Argento Chamber
Ensemble; and her chamber music partners have included Paula Robison, Roger Tapping, Donald
Weilerstein, and indie-rock sensation Vampire Weekend. She has served as concertmaster
under many of the world's leading conductors and has worked closely with composers Steve
Reich, Shulamit Ran, Nico Muhly, and many others. Keats holds degrees from The Juilliard
School, where she studied with Robert Mann, and New England Conservatory, where she served
as Donald Weilerstein's teaching assistant. As part of her Academy program, Keats teaches
in Queens at PS 63Q.
Margaret Dyer
Violist Margaret Dyer has charmed audiences worldwide as a chamber musician and soloist.
She has appeared with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, International Contemporary
Ensemble, New England String Ensemble, Ikarus Chamber Players, and the Brooklyn and Long
Island philharmonics, where she also served as principal violist. Margaret was recently
presented by the Brooklyn Philharmonic as a featured soloist at the Nuevo Latino Festival
with the Tres Americas Ensemble. A founding member of A Far Cry, a self-conducted string
orchestra, Margaret has served on the faculty for the Yellow Barn Music Festival's Young
Artists Program and has recorded with several non-classical artists, including HUMANWINE,
Grizzly Bear, the Monolith, and David Saw. Her playing can be found on Iris Records,
Fortune Records, and NEOS Recording Label. As part of her Academy program, Margaret teaches
in Staten Island at Curtis High School.
Emily Popham Gillins
Violinist Emily Popham Gillins has traveled throughout the US, Europe, Korea, and Israel
as a soloist and chamber musician. As first violinist of The Degas String Quartet and a
member of the Sejong Soloists, Emily has performed at the Library of Congress and at the
Kennedy Center. Other collaborations include concerts at the Prussia Cove International
Musicians Seminar, and the Aspen and Ravinia music festivals. She completed degrees from
Indiana University, The Juilliard School, and Manhattan School of Music, studying with
Miriam Fried, Robert Mann, and Sylvia Rosenberg. Emily has served as concertmaster of the
Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra, assistant concertmaster of the Sarasota Opera, and as a
faculty member of the Summertrios festival in Pennsylvania. She is currently a member of
the New York Chamber Soloists. As part of her Academy program, Emily teaches in Queens at
PS 62Q.
Marina Radiushina
Ukrainian-American pianist Marina Radiushina is a prizewinner of numerous competitions,
including the Vladimir Horowitz International Piano Competition in Ukraine, Arthur
Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Poland, and the Cleveland Institute of Music
concerto competition. Marina made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2008 and appeared to critical
acclaim as recitalist, orchestral soloist, and chamber musician in various venues
throughout Europe and the Americas. She is a recipient of the Presser Award at the
University of Miami, the Sadie Zellen Prize at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and was
named a presidential scholar in her native Ukraine. Marina has studied under Sergei
Babayan, Ivan Davis, and Alexander Bugaevsky. Marina holds degrees from Odessa
Conservatoire, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the University of Miami. As part of
her Academy program, Marina teaches in Brooklyn at PS 130.
Nathan Schram
Growing up in a constantly mobile family, violist Nathan Schram developed his skills as a
musician in multiple regions of the US. Initially beginning his studies in a Virginia
public school, Nathan has gone on to perform at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and
throughout Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Indiana, Spain, and Portugal. As a student of Alan
deVeritch at Indiana University, Nathan was a prizewinner at the 2008 Primrose
International Viola Competition. He has also been influenced by such mentors as Diemut
Poppen, Yuval Gotlibovich, Martha Gulyas, Ralf Gothóni, Menahem Pressler, and Mauricio
Fuks. Other performances include chamber music concerts with Joshua Bell and Atar Arad. An
avid cyclist, Nathan has toured the US on bicycle from Indiana to San Francisco during the
summer of 2008. As part of his Academy program, Nathan teaches in Brooklyn at PS75K.
Michael Zell
Percussionist Michael Zell is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. Since 2006, he has
served as principal timpanist with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. Michael was an adjunct
faculty member at the Peabody Conservatory, and also served as assistant to the director of
bands at Yale University. He received his master's from the Yale School of Music, where he
was a teaching assistant to Joan Panetti, and his bachelor's from the Peabody Conservatory.
At both institutions, Michael was a student of Robert van Sice. As part of his Academy
program, Michael teaches in Queens at MS 137Q.
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