Ying Li is the First Prize winner of the 2021 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, as well as recipient of The Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Prize and the Tri-I Noon Recitals Prize. She has received top awards in numerous national and international competitions including the inaugural Antonio Mormone International Prize, Sarasota Artist Series Piano Competition, Brevard Music Festival, and was a finalist at Concours musical international de Montréal. Ms. Li has performed with many leading orchestras such as The Philadelphia Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Brevard Music Festival Orchestra, L'Accademia Orchestra del La Scala, NWD-Philharmoniker, and the Stuttgart Philharmonic with conductors such as Lina Gonzalez-Granados, Xian Zhang, Dan Ettinger, Eric Jacobsen, and Jonathon Heyward. This season she makes her debut with the Buffalo Philharmonic and embarks on a 8 city tour of Italy. Ms. Li made her New York City recital debut at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall and her Washington, DC debut at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater. Upcoming and recent recitals also include Sala Verdi in Milan, Hammerklavier International Piano Festival in Barcelona, Musica Insieme Bologna, Teatro Alighieri in Ravenna, Fazioli Pianoforti in Sacile, and the C. Bechstein Series at the Konzerthaus in Berlin. Ying was also featured on WQXR's “Eine-kleine Birthday-musik,” a free, all-Mozart live streamed concert from The Greene Space in New York City, to celebrate Mozart's 266th birthday. As an avid chamber musician, Ms. Li has appeared at prestigious festivals around the world including the Verbier Festival Academy, ClassicheFORME International Chamber Music festival in Lecce, Ravinia's Steans Institute, La Jolla Music Society and the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival. Ms. Li began piano lessons at age five in China and was a student at the Elementary School division of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, then she moved to Philadelphia in 2012, at age fourteen, to study at the Curtis Institute of Music with Jonathan Biss and Seymour Lipkin. After receiving the Bachelor of Music degree at Curtis Institute in 2019, she received her Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School in New York with Robert McDonald and finished her studies with McDonald at the Juilliard School's Artist Diploma Program.

Jack Gao was named the winner of the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 2023. Most recently he was personally selected by Martha Argerich to be the second recipient of the Martha Argerich Piano Award which was presented in collaboration with Steinway Hamburg. This prize is awarded to a pianist under the age of 30, whom Argerich would like to draw the attention of the public and the music world. Part of the award includes a concerto performance with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra. He began playing the piano at age four and studying composition at age nine. In 2016, he entered Middle School affiliated to the China Conservatory of Music to study piano with Tianhong Tan, and composition with Xin Xie. Additional studies have been with Huiqiao Bao, Xu Fei, and Elmar Gasanov. Currently he studies at Julliard with Jerome Lowenthal. Among his awards at Juilliard include: the Gina Bachauer Piano Competition and winner of the concerto competition. He was awarded second prize in the 9th Steinway National Competition and 83rd Steinway International Piano Competition. His performances include playing John Corigliano's Piano Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra conducted by Simone Young, and performing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with En Shao and the Orchestra Academy of China Conservatory of Music. As part of Jack's Naumburg prize, he will be performing his Naumburg commissioned work, Van Vechten Variations for solo piano (2025) on his second Naumburg concert to take place on September 29, 2025 in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

https://www.timothychooi.com/

Instagram: @timmychooi Timmy was our first in-person guest on episode 15. Please consider watching that episode if you haven't already. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-WB2ZNJ3S8&t=1426s

Korean-American cellist Sydney Lee has established herself as an artist of refined elegance and profound sincerity. She garnered recognition when she claimed both 1st prize at the 2022 Washington International Competition and 2nd prize at the 2022 Classic Strings International Competition. Most recently, she was awarded the inaugural $50,000 Gurrena Fellowship from Meadowmount School of Music. Additional accolades include 1st prize at the International Antonio Janigro Cello Competition in Croatia, where she subsequently debuted with the Zagreb Soloists.

Since her solo debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at age 13, Sydney has continued to perform extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia in many of the world's leading venues, including the Kennedy Center, Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, and Konzerthaus Berlin.

Renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber praised her performance with the Armenian Symphony State Orchestra, “Sydney Lee's playing of Prokofiev's Sinfonia Concertante was mesmerizing. She surmounted all of its technical challenges with ease and gave us a joyous musical experience. It was a performance to treasure.”

An ardent devotee of chamber music, Sydney is the founder of the Galvin Cello Quartet, which has rapidly been building an international profile following their silver medal win at the 2021 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Furthermore, they have earned the distinction of joining the Concert Artists Guild roster as winners of the esteemed 2022 Victor Elmaleh Competition. The quartet's upcoming 2023-24 season include performances at New York City's Merkin Hall, Newport Classical, and Ravinia Music Festival.

Sydney's dedication to fostering arts education is evident through her active role as a Board of Director, Social Media Manager and Back to Bach Soloist at The Back to Bach Project Charitable Foundation. This global initiative, with over 70 regions and 800 members, seeks to inspire young children through arts education and community engagement, imparting the values of commitment, dedication, and passion. She spearheaded the establishment of the Calgary, Canada, and Delaware County, PA regional chapters. Additionally, one of her notable collaborative achievements at Back to Bach involved a three way collaboration between Play on philly, The Curtis Institute of Music, and The Back to Bach Project under the guidance of violinist Midori. Furthermore, as a Back to Bach Soloist, she has led numerous virtual music education seminars to young audiences all across the United States. Sydney's unwavering commitment to her philanthropic endeavors led to Back to Bach's receipt of funding in 2020 from the esteemed U.S. Presidential Scholars Foundation and Alumni Association Seed Grant Program.

Born and raised in New York City, Sydney is an alumna of both The Curtis Institute of Music and Northwestern University, where she studied with Carter Brey, Peter Wiley, and Hans Jorgen Jensen. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern, continuing her studies under the tutelage of Hans Jorgen Jensen. Throughout her artistic journey, other past influential teachers include Richard Aaron, Jens Peter Maintz, Sophie Shao, Julie Albers, Minhye Clara Kim, Wendy Warner, and mentorship by acclaimed cellist Lynn Harrell.

In her spare time, Sydney served as a Content Assistant for The Violin Channel. Sydney finds joy in the art of crafting captivating lifestyle content through her vlogs, where she unveils the tapestry of her journeys, offering glimpses into her life as a musician, surviving the Chicago winters, and even her exhilarating escapade of maneuvering a dune buggy through the vast expanse of the Dubai desert.

Motivated and hungry for new experiences, Korean-born, Philadelphia-made cellist and activist, Christine J. Lee, crosses cultural boundaries through music and aims to connect people around the world. She is the most recent winner of the Isang Yun international competition in Korea as well as a laureate of the first Queen Elisabeth International Cello Competition. Some of her highlights for this season includes the American premiere of Andrea Tarrodi's Concerto, as well as her debut at the Berlin Philharmonie lunch series. In her previous seasons, she successfully made her debut with the Brussels Philharmonic playing the Brahms Double Concerto with Augustin Dumay on violin and under the baton of Giancarlo Guerrero. She has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Monterey Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra Symphony, Houston Symphony, as well as Young Belgian Strings, Orchestra of Mons, and the National Orchestra of Belgium as a soloist. Christine began playing the cello at the age of seven, and she made her debut with the Seoul Philharmonic only two years later. She was accepted to The Curtis Institute of Music at the age of ten. Since then, she has performed around the globe as a soloist and a chamber musician. She has appeared in many prestigious venues, such as the Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, Musée du Louvre, and the Victoria Hall. As a musician of versatility and diverse interest, she has worked with contemporary music ensembles like eighth blackbird and Juilliard AXIOM. Christine also enjoys playing Baroque, especially the Bach Cantatas, and has worked with Anner Bylsma and Roel Dieltiens. In addition to exploring and performing different styles of classical music, she is one of the original members of “CelloPointe”, whose performances combine classical ballet and music in an intimate setting with music encompassing from Baroque through contemporary works and genres. She is currently living her dream of traveling around the world educating and communicating through music. She especially loves working with other musicians from different backgrounds in a chamber music setting, and her passion has led to appearances in prestigious festivals such as La Musica Festival, Music@Menlo, La Jolla Summerfest, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Music@Angelfire, and Marlboro Festival. Christine studied with Orlando Cole, Peter Wiley, and Carter Brey at the Curtis Institute of Music where she received a B.M. and with Joel Krosnick at The Juilliard School, where she completed her M.A. She is an artist-in-residence at Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth where she works closely with Gary Hoffman and Jeroen Reuling. Furthermore, she is pursuing an Advanced Performance Diploma under the guidance of Christoph Richter at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In addition to her performances, Christine is an avid advocate for charitable and philanthropic causes. In January 2017, she organized a charity concert as well as coat & backpack drive for the refugee children in Brussels. This season, she will be participating in community projects with Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth and Nativitas and organize concerts for homeless people in Brussels. She plays on a Francesco Stradivarius on a generous loan from an anonymous sponsor.

At age 20, virtuoso flutist Maron Anis Khoury became the youngest musician to join the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Born in the village of Tarshiha, Galilee, to a musical family, Khoury started playing the flute at the age of 11. Three years later, he was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia to study with renowned flutist Jeffrey Khaner.

Prior to his enrollment at Curtis, Khoury studied with Eyal Ein-Habar and Uri Shoham (Israel Philharmonic), Sara Andon (Idyllwild Arts Academy), and David Shostak (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.)

Khoury is a recipient of several grants from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Charles M. Kanev Memorial Fellowship. In addition, he is a winner of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship and the Schoen Fellowship Grant in honor of Charlotte White. He performed under many notable conductors including James Levine, Riccardo Muti, Simon Rattle, Christoph Eschenbach and Daniel Barenboim.

Khoury has performed numerous concerts and recitals throughout the U.S. and Europeand has a long list of invitations to lead workshops. He has performed with The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under the direction of the renown conductor Daniel Barenboim. Maron has also participated in the New York Mostly Mozart festival, The Lake Tahoe summer festival, and has performed as soloist with iPalpiti Festival among others.

Maron has a wide range of repertoire which includes operatic, symphonic, solo and chamber music repertoire. He has performed many of the most challenging flute pieces such as Rodrigo, Ibert, Jolivet concertos, In living memory by Ichyanagi. In addition he performed Daphnis and Chloe, afternoon of the faun with the Curtis institute orchestra. Maron can regularly be heard performing in operas at the Met, which include Bizet's Carmen, Rossini and Verdi operas among many others.

Little known fact about Maron is that he can play the piano with as much passion, as he does playing the flute. Maron has developed the passion to play the flute at an early age after hearing Jean Pierre Rampal's recordings of J.S.Bach and Handel's Sonatas.

Maron's older brother, Hanna Khoury, is a renown violinist and is currently the Artistic Director of the Arabesque Music Ensemble, as well as former Artist-in-Residence and Music Director with Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture in Philadelphia for many years.

During the summer of 2016, Maron started to work on his album Showpieces with the talented pianist Patrick Kreeger and is anticipated to be released in the beginning of 2017.

American violinist Isabelle Ai Durrenberger is praised for her imaginative, striking performances and her ability to communicate with sincere artistry. Currently based in New York City, Isabelle is a 2023-25 fellow of Carnegie Hall's renowned Ensemble Connect program. An avid chamber musician, Isabelle is recognized nationally for her unique collaborative instincts. Her 2024-25 season features solo and collaborative invitations including performances with the Boston Chamber Music Society, Jupiter Chamber Players (NYC), Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in Carnegie Hall (NYC), THe Knights (NYC), and the Grammy-nominated conductorless chamber orchestra, A Far Cry (Boston). In 2022, she completed her graduate studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston with Soovin Kim and Don Weilerstein. Isabelle spent recent summers making chamber music at the Marlboro Music Festival, Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, and Four Seasons Spring Workshop. Isabelle also enjoys exploring music through teaching: she has a private violin studio in New York City and serves on the violin faculty at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School in Boston where she teaches violin lessons and coaches chamber music. More information on how to study with Isabelle can be found under lessons. Isabelle's musical life began at birth; both of her parents are pianists and music educators. She began playing piano at age 4, but her parents noticed that she loved singing and thought she might enjoy “singing” on the violin — she began lessons at age 7. Isabelle grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and was extremely lucky to be introduced to Jaime Laredo at age 13. She attended Meadowmount School of Music for four years, graduated high school a year early, and began her undergraduate program in Cleveland at age 16. She completed her B.M. at the Cleveland Institute of Music where she was mentored by Jaime Laredo for seven years. Her other mentors and influences include Jennifer Koh, Sharon Robinson, Joan Kwuon, Jinjoo Cho, Jan Mark Sloman, and Jun Kim. Isabelle was the Artist Fellow of the 2021 Alone Together educational project led by Jennifer Koh and ARCO Collaborative. This unique introduction to composers such as Tania León, Du Yun, and Missy Mazzoli has inspired her to prioritize programming living composers, especially highlighting female and multicultural composers. Isabelle has received many recognitions and awards for her musicianship. Isabelle was the winner of the 2021-22 Borromeo String Quartet Guest Award and performed alongside the quartet in Jordan Hall. In 2020, she was highlighted as the Featured Young Artist of the Music from the Western Reserve concert series. In 2019, Isabelle won the First Prize and Performance Prize from the Tuesday Musical Competition. She was awarded the Milton Preves Memorial 3rd Prize at the 2018 Irving M. Klein International String Competition in San Francisco, as well as the first prize in the 2017 Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition. Isabelle has collaborated with the Columbus Symphony, Asheville Symphony, Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, and Lakeside Symphony Orchestra amongst many others. Isabelle was a semifinalist in the 2022 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, a semifinalist in the 2021 Young Concert Artists Audition, a candidate in the 2019 Sendai International Music Competition, 2017 Isang Yun Violin Competition, and 2017 Stulberg International String Competition. She has participated in masterclasses with Mihaela Martin, Olivier Charlier, David Chan, Noah Bendix-Balgley, and attended the IMS Prussia Cove in the class of Gerhard Schulz. Isabelle performed several times at Carnegie Hall as a member of the New York String Orchestra Seminar. Born in Taipei in 1998, Isabelle is of Japanese, Taiwanese, and American descent. She performs on a 2020 Zygmuntowicz violin generously loaned to her by a private patron in New York City.

Gaeun Kim, a 20-year-old cellist based in New York, has been spotlighted as an outstanding virtuosic performer and a winner of numerous competitions worldwide. Her journey began with winning both the first prize and the special award at the Antonio Janigro Competition in Zagreb, Croatia at her age of 10. She has also secured first prizes in the Liezen International Competition, David Popper International Cello Competition, East Coast International Competition. Gaeun is recognized as one of “26 Representative Stars in the Culture & Arts Industry of the Republic of Korea,” a “Samsung Foundation Rising Star,” and as one of the six winners of the ‘Classe d'Excellence de Violoncelle,' led by Gautier Capucon. She performed as a Louis Vuitton Foundation Artist until 2021. From 2023, she has been invited as a jury member at the “World's Biggest Stage International Competition.” Her most recent accolades include receiving the First Prize at the 2024 Schadt String Competition, First Prize and Honor Award at the 2024 France International Competition, First Prize at the 2023 New York Young Artist Award, First Prize and the Pablo Casals Special Award at the 2022 Irving M. Klein International Competition. She was one of the top prizewinners at the 2023 Paulo International Cello Competition and 2024 Koussevitzky Young Artist Awards, and is scheduled for numerous concerts around the world through the upcoming season. In the 2023-24 season, Gaeun will make concert appearances in major halls worldwide, including solo performances in Germany, Switzerland, Korea, New York, Boston, Michigan, San Francisco, Palo Alto, St. Thomas, Poland, and others. Her engagements include performances with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Lahti Sinfonietta, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Santa Cruz Symphony Orchestra, Peninsula Symphony Orchestra, Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra, and Long Island Philharmonic Orchestra. She will also participate as a featured cellist and invited chamber musician at festivals such as “The Seoul Spring Music Festival,” “Music in the Vineyards,” “Water Island Music Festival,” “Moritzburg Festival,” and the “Jupiter Symphony Chamber Series.” Nationally, Gaeun has won first prizes in numerous competitions, including the Seoul Classic Music Competition, the Music & Chunchu Competition, the Little Mozart Competition, the Yewon Competition, the Youngsan Music Competition, the Sungjong Music Competition, and the Ehwa & Kyunghyang Competition. She has also received the Shinhan Music Award, the Yewon Music Award, and the Director Award from the Korean National Institute for Gifted in Arts. Her performance highlights include concerts for the Queen of the Belgians and the First Lady of the Republic of Korea, participation in the Antonio Janigro Cello Festival, and appearances at the Asian Forum of Legislative Information Affairs, CBS's 17th Anniversary Celebration Concert in Jeju Island, and various other prestigious events. As a soloist, she has played with ensembles like the Zagreb Soloists, the Euro-Asian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Long Island Philharmonic Orchestra, Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra, the Suwon Symphony Orchestra, and many more. Beyond the stage, Gaeun has been featured on radio programs and TV shows including From the Top, MBC, KBS Radio, C Channel, and others. She has also appeared in major music magazines such as The Strad, New York Concert Review INC, and Music Journal. A proponent of contemporary music, she has performed and recorded premiere pieces by composers such as Gloria Justen, Julian Gargiulo, Seounyun Kim, Jacky Liu, Nichagarn Chiracha-rasporn, Yuxuan Lin, and more. Currently studying at The Juilliard School under Richard Aaron as an honorary scholarship recipient since 2020, Gaeun is an ambassador for Jargar Strings. Her educational background includes studies at Yewon School, Seoul Arts High School, and Korea National University of Arts.

Sami Seif (b. 1998) is a Lebanese composer, music theorist and pianist. His music is inspired by the aesthetics, philosophies, paradigms and poetry of his Middle-Eastern heritage. His work has been described as “very tasteful and flavorful” with “beautiful, sensitive writing!” His latest musical concerns center around the phenomenology of time and of differing degrees of focus. Seif's music has been performed by such renowned artists as Mary Kay Fink and Stanley Konopka of The Cleveland Orchestra, and has been recognized internationally by a number of institutions.

Originally from the small town of Ashkout in Mount Lebanon, he was in Abu Dhabi and started out at the age of twelve as a self-taught musician, composing and playing keyboard instruments. Seif studied composition and music theory at the Cleveland Institute of Music where he earned prizes in composition and in music theory. He is currently pursuing his doctoral studies as a fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Internationally acclaimed violinist Timothy Chooi, (pronounced as “Chewy,”) has captivated audiences worldwide with his virtuosic and finely nuanced performances. He is highly sought after for his passionate renditions and extensive repertoire, as well as his exceptional ability to connect with a global audience, amassing a media following of millions of viewers who have tuned in to his music. Chooi gained international recognition by winning First Prize at the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Hannover, Germany, and Second Prize at the Queen Elisabeth International Competition. He also received the prestigious classical music award, the “Yves Paternot Prize” at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. He has performed with renowned orchestras such as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Belgian National Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and Wiener Concert-Verein, among others. His performances have garnered glowing reviews from venues such as Carnegie Hall, Musikverein Wien, Berlin Philharmonie, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, and the Royal Albert Hall in London. Additionally, he has collaborated with esteemed artists including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Pinchas Zuckerman, Jukka Pekka Saraste, Lang Lang, and James Ehnes. This upcoming year marks an exciting touring year from Chooi, which includes collaborations with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring Emmy Award nominee composer Brian Tyler, a return to the Toronto Symphony, and debuts with the European Union Youth Orchestra, Brucknerhaus Orchester, and at the Wimbledon Music Festival. Chooi's music has been broadcasted on several prestigious stations worldwide. In 2023, he recorded with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Mutter's Virtuosi on Deutsche Grammophon, and his performance with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra was featured on Medici TV. His music has also been aired on NPO Radio Klassiek Amsterdam, WQXR New York, RTBF Belgium, Swiss Public Radio, CBC Radio Canada, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, and Danish Public Radio. Born in Canada and raised in the United States of America to Indonesian parents of Chinese ethnicity, Chooi embarked on his violin journey inspired by his older brother, Nikki Chooi. At the age of sixteen, his debut performance with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal) catapulted his career onto the global stage. Currently, Chooi serves as the Professor of Violin at the University of Ottawa in Canada. He performs on two exceptional rare violins: the Titan Guarneri Del Gesu violin from 1741, on loan from CANIMEX INC. in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, and the Engleman Stradivarius violin from 1709, on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation in Japan.