Category: Past Festival Artists

  • Mary McGowan, company manager

    Mary McGowan, company manager

    Mary McGowan is a freelance producer, director, actor, and arts administrator based in Brooklyn, NY. Mary is currently the Ticketing Manager for the Tony Awards, Company Manager for the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC), and Line Producer for the Broadway Podcast Network (BPN). Between February-August 2021, Mary worked as Artistic Coordinator for NY PopsUp, an expansive festival consisting of 300+ pop-up performances intended to revitalize live performance across New York state. Previously, Mary served as Special Assistant to the Artistic Director (Diane Paulus) and Executive Team at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) from 2018-2021, during which time she served as Assistant Director for ExtraOrdinary, as well as the developmental readings + workshops of 1776. Other Directing/Associate work: Chautauqua Theatre Company, Little Island, New York City Center, MasterVoices. B.F.A. from Syracuse University.

  • Cath Brittan, producer

    Cath Brittan, producer

    Cath Brittan is originally from Manchester, England. She lived in Vienna for many years and was a producer for the Vienna Festival. She has worked as production manager and producer in theaters and opera houses around the world including English National Opera, London; The Bolshoi, Moscow; Teatro Real, Madrid; The National Theater of Finland, Opera de Comique, Paris; The Staatsoper, Vienna; Grand Théâtre de Genève, Geneva, and many more. Recent and up-coming productions include Aci, Galatea e Polifemo (dir. Christopher Alden) and Glass Handel (2018 & 2019), Comet Poppea (dir. Yuval Sharon), Bandwagon (New York Philharmonic) all with Anthony Roth Costanzo; Das Paradies und die Peri, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Peter Sellars; 2018/19 and 19/20 Soundbox Season, San Francisco Symphony; Orphic Moments (dir. Zack Winokur) with The Master Voices; Abraham In Flames (composer Aleksandra Vrebalov); Perle Noir (Tyshawn Sorey & Julia Bullock at The Met Museum); Arkhipov (composer Peter Knell); Birds in the Moon (composer Mark Grey); Ihpigenia (Wayne Shorter & Esperanza Spalding); and In a Grove (Composer Christopher Cerrone). Cath is also Producer for AMOC (American Modern Opera Company).

  • Doug Balliett, double bassist, composer

    Doug Balliett, double bassist, composer

    Doug Balliett is a composer, instrumentalist and poet based in New York City. The New York Times has described his poetry as “brilliant and witty,” his bass playing as “elegant,” and his compositions as “vivid, emotive, with contemporary twists.” He is a tireless performer of new music, and is professor of historic basses at the Juilliard School. With a constant stream of commissions, a weekly show on New York Public Radio, and nearly 200 performances per year, Balliett has been identified as an emerging voice for his generation.

    (more…)

  • Emi Ferguson, flutist

    Emi Ferguson, flutist

    English-American performer and composer Emi Ferguson stretches the boundaries of what is expected of modern-day musicians. Trained at Juilliard as a flutist, Emi can be heard live in concerts and festivals around the world as well as at home in New York City where she is a member of the New York New Music Ensemble, NYBI, Argento Ensemble, and New Vintage Baroque. She has spoken and performed at several TEDX events and has been featured on media outlets including the Discovery Channel and TouchPress apps talking about how music relates to our world today. Her debut album, Amour Cruel, an indie-pop song cycle inspired by the music of the 17th century French court was released by Arezzo Music in September 2017, spending 4 weeks on the Classical, Classical Crossover, and World Music Billboard Charts. Her 2019 album Fly the Coop: Bach Sonatas and Preludes, a collaboration with continuo band Ruckus debuted at #1 on the iTunes classical charts and #2 on the Billboard classical charts, mining the depths of possibility in continuo and flute performance.

    (more…)

  • Davóne Tines, bass-baritone

    Davóne Tines, bass-baritone

    Heralded as “a singer of immense power and fervor” by The Los Angeles Times, Davóne Tines came to international attention during the 2015-16 in breakout performances at the Dutch National Opera premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s Only the Sound Remains directed by Peter Sellars and at the Ojai Music Festival presenting works by Caroline Shaw and Kaija Saariaho with the Calder Quartet and the International Contemporary Ensemble. Recent highlights include the European premiere of David Lang’s prisoner of the state with Ilan Volkov conducting the BBC Symphony, Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri with Louis Langrée and the Cincinnati Symphony, John Adams’s El Niño with David Robertson and the Houston Symphony, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Stéphane Denève and the Saint Louis Symphony.

    (more…)

  • Jay Campbell, cellist

    Jay Campbell, cellist

    Armed with a diverse spectrum of repertoire and eclectic musical interests, cellist Jay Campbell has been recognized for approaching both old and new works with the same probing curiosity and emotional commitment. His performances have been called “electrifying” by The New York Times, “gentle, poignant, and deeply moving” by the Washington Post, and on WQXR by Krzysztof Penderecki for “the greatest performance yet of Capriccio per Sigfried Palm”. A 2016 recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Jay made his debut with the New York Philharmonic in 2013 and worked with Alan Gilbert in 2016 as the artistic director for Ligeti Forward for the New York Philharmonic Biennale. (more…)

  • Coleman Itzkoff, cellist

    Coleman Itzkoff, cellist

    Hailed by Alex Ross in The New Yorker for his “flawless technique and keen musicality,” cellist Coleman Itzkoff enjoys a diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. A prize winner at the 2019 Houston Symphony’s Ima Hogg Competition, Itzkoff made his professional debut at the age of 15 with Ohio’s Dayton Philharmonic and has since appeared as soloist with orchestras and in chamber music series countrywide.

    Recent season highlights include performances with the Houston Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, American Youth Symphony at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, Mason Home Concerts, The Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Caramoor, Texas’s Sarafim Music, and Virginia’s Moss Art Center. (more…)

  • Bobbi Jene Smith, dancer, choreographer

    Bobbi Jene Smith, dancer, choreographer

    Bobbi Jene Smith is an alumnus of The Juilliard School, North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Her choreography has been presented by The Batsheva Dance Company, CORPUS of The Royal Danish Ballet, LADP, VAIL Dance Festival, LaMama Experimental Theater, and The Martha Graham Dance Company. In 2019 she was awarded The Harkness Promise Award and was The Martha Duffy Resident Artist at Baryshnikov Art Center.

    Smith’s film and video work include “Annihilation,” directed by Alex Garland starring Natalie Portman; “MA,” directed by Celia Rowlson-Hall; and “Yossi,” directed by Eytan Fox. The documentary “Bobbi Jene,” which follows Smith’s trajectory of leaving a dance company to create her own work, swept the Tribeca Film Festival, winning Best Documentary, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing in 2017. In 2018, Bobbi starred in and choreographed the feature films “Mari,” directed by Georgia Parris and choreographed by Maxine Doyle, which premiered at BFI; and “Aviva,” directed by Boaz Yakin, which was a SXSW selection.

    (more…)

  • Or Schraiber, dancer, choreographer

    Or Schraiber, dancer, choreographer

    Or Schraiber studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. In 2010, Schraiber joined the Batsheva Dance Company, in which he danced for seven years. In parallel to his time in the company, he served at the IDF for three years. In 2017, Schraiber moved to New York City to study acting at the Stella Adler Studio. In 2019, he starred in and co-choreographed Boaz Yakin’s feature film “Aviva.” Later that year, he starred as Thaddeus and choreographed scenes in Terrence Malick’s The Way of the Wind and appeared in the national Broadway tour of The Band’s Visit.

    (more…)

  • Conor Hanick, pianist

    Conor Hanick, pianist

    A pianist that “defies human description” for some (Concerto Net) and recalls “a young Peter Serkin” for others (New York Times), Conor Hanick is one of his generation’s most inquisitive interpreters of music old and new.

    He has performed internationally to wide acclaim in repertoire ranging from the early Baroque to the recently written, and collaborated with conductors Alan Gilbert, James Levine, David Robertson, Pierre Boulez, James Conlon, Anne Manson, Carlos Izcaray, Jeffrey Milarsky, and others. In addition to the Kennedy Center, Mondavi Performing Arts Center, the Kultur und Kongresszentrum Luzern, Kyoto Concert Hall, the Dewan Pilharmonik Peronas in Malaysia, Hanick has performed in virtually every prominent arts venue in New York City, ranging from (le) Poisson Rouge and The Kitchen to Alice Tully Hall and all three halls of Carnegie Hall.

    (more…)

  • Keir GoGwilt, violinist, writer

    Keir GoGwilt, violinist, writer

    Keir GoGwilt is a violinist, writer, and musicologist, whose work spans a range of critical and creative disciplines. As a violinist he has been described as a “formidable performer” (New York Times) noted for his “evocative sound” (London Jazz News) and “finger-busting virtuosity” (San Diego Union Tribune). He is a core member of AMOC, and he co-composes, improvises, and performs music with bassist Kyle Motl as part of their duo, Treesearch.

    He has soloed with groups including the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Chinese National Symphony, the Orquesta Filarmonica de Santiago, the Bowdoin International Music Festival Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia, and the La Jolla Symphony. He works closely with composers Matthew Aucoin, Celeste Oram, and Carolyn Chen, choreographer Bobbi Jene Smith, bassist Mark Dresser (as part of the Dresser Quintet/Septet), taonga puoro musician Rob Thorne, and percussionist/conductor Steven Schick.

    (more…)

  • Julia Eichten, dancer, choreographer

    Julia Eichten, dancer, choreographer

    Julia Eichten grew up dancing in Minnesota. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she received the Hector Zaraspe Award in recognition of her choreography. Her work has appeared at venues ranging from Le Poisson Rouge to the Dumbo Dance Festival and Dance Theater of Harlem, and was choreographer-in-residence at The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard in 2011. In 2015, Eichten had the world premiere of her piece, O’de, in collaboration with Los Angeles Dance Project and Lil Buck at the Palace of Versailles. With ‘Kids Dance,’ at the Joyce Theater, she showed her work, Monsieur, which The New York Times dubbed “an elegantly clumsy solo.” She has danced with Camille A. Brown & Dancers and Aszure Barton & Artists and was a founding member of Los Angeles Dance Project, internationally performing works by Merce Cunningham, Justin Peck, Martha Graham, Danielle Agami, Emanuel Gat, Sidi Larbi, Ohad Naharin, and William Forsythe. Eichten continues to work with Gerard & Kelly as a performer and collaborator in works including Solange’s collaboration with Uniqlo, Metratronia, as well as a month of performances at Pioneer Works (NY) in Clockwork.

    (more…)

  • Miranda Cuckson, violinist, violist

    Miranda Cuckson, violinist, violist

    Violinist and violist Miranda Cuckson is a favorite of audiences for her performances of a great range of repertoire and styles, from music of older eras to the most current creations. From a strong grounding in the classical repertoire, she has become one of the most active and acclaimed performers of contemporary music. Downbeat magazine recently stated that she “reaffirms her standing as one of the most sensitive and electric interpreters of new music.”

    Called “a prodigiously talented player who [can] make even the thorniest contemporary scores sing” (New York Times), she appears as soloist and chamber musician in concert halls large and small, schools and universities, galleries and informal spaces. (more…)

  • Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor

    Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor

    Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo began performing professionally at the age of 11 and has since appeared in opera, concert, recital, film, and on Broadway. His debut album, ARC, on Decca Gold, was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY Award, and he is Musical America’s 2019 Vocalist of the Year.

    Costanzo has appeared with many of the world’s leading opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Los Angeles Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, Dallas Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Spoleto Festival USA, Glimmerglass Festival and Finnish National Opera. In concert he has sung with the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and National Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has performed at a wide-ranging variety of venues including Carnegie Hall, Versailles, The Kennedy Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Sawdust, Minamiza Kyoto, Joe’s Pub, The Guggenheim, The Park Avenue Armory, and Madison Square Garden.

    (more…)

  • Jennifer Chen, managing director

    Jennifer Chen, managing director

    Jennifer Chen completed her undergraduate degree at Harvard University (History of Art and Architecture cum laude) and is a 2017 MBA graduate of the Yale University School of Management. Her career has brought her from producing operas in dining halls at Harvard to working with institutions including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York City Ballet, Peabody Essex Museum, Celebrity Series of Boston, and Villa I Tatti in Florence, Italy.

  • Julia Bullock, soprano

    Julia Bullock, soprano

    American classical singer Julia Bullock is “a musician who delights in making her own rules” (New Yorker). Combining versatile artistry with a probing intellect and commanding stage presence, she has headlined productions and concerts at some of the preeminent arts institutions worldwide. An innovative programmer whose artistic curation is in high demand, her curatorial positions include collaborative partner of Esa-Pekka Salonen in 2020-21, his inaugural season as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony; 2019-20 Artist-in-Residence of the same orchestra; Artist-in-Residence of London’s Guildhall School for the 2020-22 seasons; opera-programming host of new broadcast channel All Arts; and 2018-19 Artist-in-Residence of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Chosen as a 2021 “Artist of the Year” by Musical America, which hailed her as an “agent of change,” Bullock is also a prominent voice of social consciousness.

    (more…)

  • Matthew Aucoin, co-founder

    Matthew Aucoin, co-founder

    Matthew Aucoin is an American composer, conductor, writer, and pianist. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2018, and is both Artist-in-Residence at Los Angeles Opera and co-founder of the American Modern Opera Company. Aucoin’s newest opera, Eurydice, a collaboration with the playwright Sarah Ruhl, had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Opera in February 2019, and will travel to the Metropolitan Opera in the 2021-22 season.

    The role of Artist-in-Residence at Los Angeles Opera, created for Aucoin, fuses his work as composer and conductor. Aucoin has conducted LA Opera mainstage productions ranging from Verdi’s Rigoletto to Philip Glass’s Akhnaten; he has also conducted his own works, including the opera Crossing, and founded a new late-night concert series, AfterHours. In addition, Aucoin coaches the singers in LA Opera’s Young Artist program, and advises the company on new music.

    (more…)

  • Paul Appleby, tenor

    Paul Appleby, tenor

    Admired for his interpretive depth, vocal strength, and range of expressivity, tenor Paul Appleby is one of the most sought-after voices of his generation. Appleby continues to grace the stages of the world’s most distinguished concert halls and opera houses while collaborating with leading orchestras, instrumentalists, and conductors. Opera News claims, “[Paul’s] tenor is limpid and focused, but with a range of color unusual in an instrument so essentially lyric… His singing is scrupulous and musical; the voice moves fluidly and accurately.” Recent appearances include performances of John Adams’ Girls of the Golden West with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and productions of Candide at the Grand Théâtre de Genève and Die Zauberflöte at the Glyndebourne Festival.

    (more…)

  • Jonny Allen, percussionist

    Jonny Allen, percussionist

     

    Described by the Washington Post as “revitalizing the world of contemporary music” with “jaw-dropping virtuosity,” Jonny Allen is a Brooklyn-based percussionist whose passion for music is contagious. He has won prizes at both the International Chamber Music Competition and the International Marimba Competition in Salzburg, giving respective performances at Carnegie Hall and Schloss Hoch in Flachau, Austria. Allen has also performed as a drum set soloist with Ghana’s National Symphony Orchestra at the National Theatre in Accra. He performs across the United States and internationally with his percussion quartet, Sandbox, and his jazz trio, Triplepoint, and is the percussion director at Choate Rosemary Hall. (more…)

  • AMOC, 2022 Music Director

    AMOC, 2022 Music Director

     

    Current and past projects include The No One’s Rose, a devised music-theater-dance piece featuring new music by Matthew Aucoin, directed by Zack Winokur with choreography by Bobbi Jene Smith; EASTMAN, a multi-dimensional performance piece contending with the life and work of Julius Eastman; Winokur’s production of Hans Werner Henze’s El Cimarrón, which has been performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Repertory Theater; a new arrangement of John Adams’s El Niño, premiered at The Met Cloisters as part of Julia Bullock’s season-long residency at the Met Museum; Davóne Tines’s and Winokur’s Were You There, a meditation on black lives lost in recent years to police violence; and Bobbi Jene Smith and Keir GoGwilt’s dance/music works With Care and A Study on Effort, which have been produced at San Francisco’s ODC Theater, Toronto’s Luminato Festival, and elsewhere. Conor Hanick’s performance of CAGE, Zack Winokur’s production of John Cage’s music for prepared piano, was cited as the best recital of the year by The New York Times in 2018 and The Boston Globe in 2019. Additionally, AMOC will serve as the Ojai Music Festival’s 2022 Music Director, only the second ensemble, and first explicitly interdisciplinary company, to hold the position in the Festival’s 75-year history.

    CO-FOUNDERS

    MATTHEW AUCOIN, composer, conductor, pianist
    ZACK WINOKUR, director, choreographer, dancer

    ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
    ZACK WINOKUR

    MANAGING DIRECTOR
    JENNIFER CHEN

    PRODUCER
    CATH BRITTAN

    CORE ENSEMBLE
    JONNY ALLEN, percussionist
    PAUL APPLEBY, tenor
    DOUG BALLIETT, double bassist, composer
    JULIA BULLOCK, soprano
    JAY CAMPBELL, cellist
    ANTHONY ROTH COSTANZO, countertenor
    MIRANDA CUCKSON, violinist, violist
    JULIA EICHTEN, dancer, choreographer
    EMI FERGUSON, flutist
    KEIR GOGWILT, violinist, scholar
    CONOR HANICK, pianist
    COLEMAN ITZKOFF, cellist
    OR SCHRAIBER, dancer, choreographer
    BOBBI JENE SMITH, dancer, choreographer
    DAVÓNE TINES, bass-baritone

    Check out “What’s on your playlist” with AMOC

    Visit AMOC 

  • Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group

    Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group

     

    The Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group was launched in 1981 under composer-in-residence and Philharmonic percussionist William Kraft, as one of several contemporary music projects envisioned and organized by the Philharmonic’s Managing Director at the time, Ernest Fleischmann. Praised for its imaginative programming and expert and enthusiastic performances, the New Music Group is recognized as one of the leading performing groups of its kind in the country. 

    Kraft headed the ensemble from 1981-85 and was followed by two other leading American composers: John Harbison (New Music Advisor and later Composer-in-Residence from 1985-88) and Steven Stucky (Composer-in-Residence and later the Philharmonic’s Consulting Composer for New Music). The ensemble’s annual Green Umbrella series at Walt Disney Concert Hall is currently guided by John and Samantha Williams Creative Chair John Adams. The upcoming 2021-22 season has concerts guest curated by flutist/composer Nathalie Joachim and composer/media artist Pamela Z, violinist Pekka Kuusisto, and composer Ellen Reid, composer inti figgis-vizueta and cellist Jay Campbell, and the inventive Noon to Midnight extended event, with music of Louis Andriessen, curated and conducted by John Adams. 

     

     

    Viola 
    Teng Li 

    Percussion 
    Joseph Pereira 
    Amy Ksander* 
    Eduardo Meneses* 
    Abby Savell* 

    Piano 
    Joanne Pearce Martin* 
    Vicki Ray* 

    Harp 
    Emily Levin* 
    Julie Smith Phillips* 

     *guest artist 

     

  • Emi Ferguson, flute

    Emi Ferguson, flute

     

    Emi Ferguson can be heard live in concerts and festivals around the world as a soloist and with groups including Camerata Pacifica, AMOC*, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Manhattan Chamber Players. She has spoken and performed at several TEDX events and has been featured on media outlets including The Discovery Channel, Vox’s “Explained” series on Netflix, Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Juilliard Digital’s TouchPress apps talking about how music relates to our world today.  Her debut album, Amour Cruel, an indie-pop song cycle inspired by the music of the 17th century French court was released by Arezzo Music in September 2017, spending 4 weeks on the Classical, Classical Crossover, and World Music Billboard Charts. Her 2019 album with continuo band RUCKUS, Fly the Coop: Bach Sonatas and Preludes, debuted at #1 on the iTunes classical charts and #2 on the Billboard classical charts, and was called “blindingly impressive…a fizzing, daring display of personality and imagination” by The New York Times. Emi works closely with many composers of our time, developing new works for the flute and can be heard in performances this fall in Ojai, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Boston, Milwaukee and New York. Emi is honored to have shared music as part of the 9/11 memorial over the past decade and was a featured performer alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Simon, and James Taylor at the 10th Anniversary Memorial Ceremony of 9/11 at Ground Zero, where her performance of Amazing Grace was televised worldwide. Her performance that day is now part of the permanent collection at the 911 Museum. Born in Japan and raised in London and Boston, she now resides in New York City. For more information please visit www.emiferguson.com

     

  • Julie Smith Phillips, harp

    Julie Smith Phillips, harp

    Julie Smith Phillips, principal harpist of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, is one of the most prominent American harpists today, performing as both an orchestral musician and concert artist. She is a two-time medalist in the USA International Harp Competition having received the silver medal in 2004cand bronze in 2001. She made her National Symphony Orchestra debut in 2003 and has been honored in numerous other competitions throughout the country.

    A recitalist and soloist with orchestra, Ms. Phillips’s appearances include multiplecsolo performances with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the South Dakota Symphony, the West Los Angeles Symphony, the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, among others. She has been a featured soloist for American Harp Society National Conferences, thecUSA International Harp Competition, Lyon
    & Healy’s 150th Birthday Celebration & Harptacular Concert series, the International Harp Festival, Harp Oklahoma Workshop, and has served as guest artist at the Young Artist Harp Seminar.

    Equally experienced as a chamber and orchestral musician, Ms. Phillips collaborates with renowned musicians across the country. A founding member of The Myriad Trio, she regularly appears in chamber concerts across the country and has performed abroad as well. Her chamber and orchestral festival credits include the Piedmont & Kingston Chamber Music Festivals, Breckenridge Music Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, Mainly Mozart, Mozaic Festival, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Tanglewood Music Festival, and numerous others.

    Prior to her post in San Diego, she servedcas acting principal harpist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (2006–07) and principal harpist for the New World Symphony (2004–06). Ms. Phillips is an avid promoter and performer of new music. Numerous pieces have been written for and premiered by Ms. Phillips including Tree Suite for Harp by Hannah Lash; Cactus, a double concerto for harp and violin by Michael Torke; The Eye of Night by David Bruce; Variations on a Simple Theme by Avner Dorman; Petal by Petal Lei Liang; andSonata by Jeremy Cavaterra. She is also a recipient of the Mario Falcao Prize for Best Performance of Mischa Zupko’s Despedida (contemporary music selection at the
    2004 USA International Harp Competition). Formerly head of the Harp Department at Arizona State University (2013–17), Ms. Phillips is the founder and director of the Nebraska Harp Workshop and maintains a private studio out of her home working with harpists on skills and career guidance. She is a certified instructor in the Suzuki harp method and is president of the San Diego Harp Society. She has recorded two albums: The Rhapsodic Harp and The Eye of Night. Ms. Phillips received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in harp performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Yolanda Kondonassis. Julie Smith Phillips is a native of Hastings, NE, and now resides in San Diego with her husband and three children.

  • Joanne Pearce Martin, piano

    Joanne Pearce Martin, piano

     

    Pianist Joanne Pearce Martin was appointed to the Los Angeles Philharmonic by Esa-Pekka Salonen in 2001. She holds the Katharine Bixby Hotchkis Chair. A native of Allentown, PA, and a graduate of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute, she balances
    a busy career as soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist. Ms. Martin has been featured with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on multiple occasions at both the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall. In 2016 she was the piano soloist in a sold-
    out and critically acclaimed performance of Messaien’s epic 100-minute work Des canyons aux etoiles at London’s Barbican Centre with the LA Phil & Gustavo Dudamel.

    She has also performed at dozens of music series and festivals, collaborating with such artists as Joshua Bell, Lynn Harrell, James Galway, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Julius Baker, and Joseph Silverstein. She has been guest soloist with many other orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Florida West Coast Symphony, and England’s Huddersfield Philharmonic. Ms. Martin has played on Hollywood film soundtracks and made numerous television appearances, the more recent ones having been with violinist Joshua Bell at Las Vegas’s Smith Center and on PBS’s “Tavis Smiley Show.” In 2019 she was also featured on PBS television’s “Grammy Salute to Music Legends,” representing the Los Angeles Philharmonic, performing John Williams’s Air and Simple Gifts. Ms. Martin enjoys delving into new musical projects, such as playing the Theremin. She has performed and recorded a commissioned piece (Theremin’s Journey) by Gernot Wolfgang, in which she plays both the Theremin and piano. Another recent commissioned solo piano work is D’Nato, by composer and LA Phil Principal Timpanist Joseph Pereira.

    For over three decades, Ms. Martin and her husband, Gavin, have performed in the U.S. and abroad as a two-piano team. She also collaborates periodically with pianist Jeffrey Kahane in performances of Mozart’s Double Concerto as well as the world premiere of Andrew Norman’s Frank’s House and the West Coast premiere of John Adams’s Roll Over Beethoven. When she’s not making music, you may find Ms. Martin up in the air: She is an instrument-rated airplane pilot and a master-rated skydiver. Joanne Pearce Martin is a Steinway Artist.

     

     

  • Vicki Ray, piano

    Vicki Ray, piano

    Described as “phenomenal and fearless,” Grammy-nominated pianist Vicki Ray is a leading interpreter of contemporary piano music. Known for thoughtful and innovative programming that seeks to redefine the piano recital in the 21st century, Ms. Ray’s concerts often include electronics, video, recitation, and improvisation. As a founding member of Piano Spheres, a series dedicated to exploring the less-familiar realms of the solo piano repertoire, her playing has been hailed by the Los Angeles Times for “displaying that kind of musical thoroughness and technical panache that puts a composer’s thoughts directly before the listener.

    As a pianist who excels in a wide range of styles, Ms. Ray’s numerous recordings cover everything from the premiere release of the Reich You Are Variations to the semi-improvised structures of Wadada Leo Smith, from the elegant serialism of Mel Powell to the austere beauty of Morton Feldman’s Crippled Symmetries. Recent releases include David Rosenboom’s Twilight Language on Tzadik Records and Feldman’s Piano and String Quartet with the Eclipse Quartet on Bridge Records. Her 2013 recording of Cage’s The Ten Thousand Things on the Microfest label was nominated for a Grammy.

    Ms. Ray’s work as a collaborative artist has been extremely diverse and colorful. She was the keyboardist in the California E.A.R. Unit and Xtet. Her chamber music contributions to the vibrant musical life in greater Los Angeles include frequent performances on the Dilijan, Jacaranda,
    and Green Umbrella series. She performs regularly on the Monday Evening Concert Series. Ms. Ray has been heard in major solo roles with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the German ensemble Compania, and the Blue Rider Ensemble of Toronto, with whom she made the first Canadian recording of Pierrot Lunaire.

    She is currently head of the piano department at the California Institute of the Arts, where she has been on the faculty since 1991. In 2010 she was awarded the first Hal Blaine Chair in Music Performance. For the past eight years she has served on the faculty at the Bang on a Can summer festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Vicki Ray is a Steinway Artist.