The Whole Note Podcast

Oliver Herbert is a concert cellist with a rapidly growing international presence. The recipient of a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Oliver's natural musicianship and connective performances are carving a unique path in the world of music. As a soloist, Oliver has appeared with world renowned orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, working with conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Juanjo Mena, and Alexander Shelley. His work is fueled by a passion for music ranging from past centuries to the present, with concerto performances spotlighting works from C.P.E. Bach to Haydn, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Ibert, Elgar, Barber, Shostakovich, Schnittke, Lutoslawski, and Vasks, among others. Working closely with composers, Oliver has commissioned several works including a new solo cello piece by Chelsea Komschlies as well as Andrew Moses' Ecstatic Immanence for cello, percussion, and electronics which was recently premiered at the 2023 TICA Festival, Hong Kong. At the 2023 Kronberg Festival, Oliver gave the world premiere of Žibuoklė Martinaitytė's new solo cello work, Spiral Spins. In recent seasons, his projects have included performances of the complete Bach Cello Suites at Capital Region Classical and the complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas at Guarneri Hall in Chicago. Oliver's recital engagements have brought him across the United States to venues such as the Ravinia Festival and Kravis Center, as well as on tour to Greece, Germany, Switzerland, and Hong Kong. His programs are known for combining beloved with lesser known works, contextualizing them with equal advocacy and commitment. Oliver appears regularly at leading chamber music festivals and venues such as the Rheingau Festival, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Marlboro, La Jolla SummerFest, Verbier Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland, 92nd Street Y, and the Ravinia Festival. He has performed with luminaries such as Mitsuko Uchida and Tabea Zimmermann. Oliver's recordings include a release of Haydn's D Major Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas by Warner Classics as part of highlights of MTT's final season as music director. In June of 2020, Oliver released his debut album with pianist Xiaohui Yang, Frame of Mind: Fauré and Janáček, featuring the two cello and piano sonatas of Gabriel Fauré, as well as Leoš Janáček's Pohádka (Fairy Tale). Oliver is the recipient of the 2017 Verbier Festival's Jean-Nicolas Firmenich Prize, as well as top prizes in the Lutoslawski International Cello Competition, Klein Competition, and Stulberg Competition. He has been featured on PBS's Now Hear This, NPR's From the Top, the popular online interview series, Living the Classical Life, and more. Oliver is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Colburn School, where he studied with Carter Brey, Pamela Frank, Clive Greensmith, and Peter Wiley. He is now a student of Frans Helmerson in the professional studies program at the Kronberg Academy, generously funded by the Nanno Lenz patronage. He plays on a Guadagnini cello that belonged to the great Italian cellist Antonio Janigro, on generous loan from the Janigro family.

Rising star of the cello Jonathan Swensen is the recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant and was recently featured as both Musical America's ‘New Artist of the Month' and ‘One to Watch' in Gramophone Magazine. Jonathan first fell in love with the cello upon hearing the Elgar Concerto at the age of six, and ultimately made his concerto debut performing that very piece with Portugal's Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música. September 2022 saw the release of Jonathan's debut recording ‘Fantasia', on Champs Hill Records, an album of works for solo cello which received rave reviews on its release, including from Gramophone, BBC Music, and The Strad which printed “An exciting young talent emerges. I would gladly buy a ticket to see Swensen on the strength of this appealing calling card.” Jonathan has performed with orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Mobile Symphony, and the Greenville Symphony. He made his critically acclaimed recital debuts at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater and New York's Merkin Concert Hall, with additional performances in Boston's Jordan Hall, the Morgan Library and Museum, and the Krannert Center's Foellinger Great Hall. In addition to his many solo appearances, Jonathan is a frequent performer of chamber music in the U.S. and Europe, appearing at the Tivoli Festival, Copenhagen Summer Festival, Chamberfest Cleveland, Krzyżowa-Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Vancouver Recital Society, San Francisco Performances, and the Usedomer Musikfestival, among others. Jonathan will join the Bowers Program of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in 2024. He has captured First Prizes at the 2019 Windsor International String Competition, 2018 Khachaturian International Cello Competition, and the 2018 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. ‍The 2022-23 season sees Jonathan Swensen returning to the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra under Hartmut Haenchen and the NFM Leopoldinum in a play-direct programme, as well as his debut with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra under Douglas Boyd. He will also appear performing the Dvorak Concerto with the Slovak State Philharmonic Košice both in Košice and at the Festival Allegretto Žilina following his recital debut in 2022, where he was awarded the Festival Prize for the most distinguished performance. In the U.S., he performs Shostakovich's 2nd Concerto with the New England Conservatory Philharmonia and Hugh Wolff, Lalo Concerto with Aiken Symphony in South Carolina, give recitals at the Casals Festival and the Morgan Library and Museum, and performs chamber music at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Chamberfest West, and Camerata Pacifica. ‍Jonathan has captured First Prizes at the 2019 Windsor International String Competition, 2018 Khachaturian International Cello Competition, a recipient of the Musikanmelderringens Artist Prize in 2020, and the Jacob Gades Scholarship in 2019 in Denmark. He made his critically acclaimed recital debuts at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater and New York's Merkin Concert Hall under the auspices of Young Concert Artists in 2020 after winning first prize in the YCA International Auditions in 2018. A graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Jonathan continued his studies with Torleif Thedéen at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, and Laurence Lesser at the New England Conservatory, where he will complete his Artist Diploma in May 2023. Link to Shostakovich 2nd Cello Concerto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgFM5KrCHjw Link to full performance of the Chopin Cello Sonata with Soyeon Kate Lee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3-myxX2DKw

Violinist Stephen Tavani is Assistant Concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra and has appeared as guest concertmaster with many other orchestras including the Indianapolis, Houston and Kansas City Symphonies. The New York Times commented about his playing that “…Tavani sometimes cooled his tone to the smoothness of frosted glass, adding a soft-focus filter to the chiseled melodies…”. Mr. Tavani was featured playing Rismky Korsakov's Scheherazade with the Cleveland Orchestra at the 2022 summer Blossom season. He has collaborated as soloist with conductors Carlos Miguel Prieto, Andrew Litton, and Miriam Burns. Before joining The Cleveland Orchestra in 2018, he was concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia for one season.

An avid chamber musician, Tavani has collaborated with many great musicians, such as Edgar Meyer, members of Quatuor Ébène, Roberto Díaz, Peter Wiley, Paul Katz, Shai Wosner, Meng-Chieh Liu, Jon Kimura Parker, Ronald Leonard, Clive Greensmith, Marcy Rosen, José Franch-Ballester, and Daniel Hope. He has appeared at the Dresden Music Festival, Music From Angel Fire, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Colburn Chamber Music Society, Curtis Recital Series, and at the Marlboro Music Festival as well as on tour with Musicians from Marlboro. He also has taught masterclasses at the Cleveland Institute of Music young artist program and at conservatories in Spain and Germany.

Tavani has appeared at the Sibelius International Violin Competition in Helsinki, the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, and the Michael Hill Violin Competition in New Zealand. Tavani holds an Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Ida Kavafian and Arnold Steinhardt. While at Curtis, he held the Dorothy J. del Bueno Fellowship. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles, where he studied with Robert Lipsett. He also received an Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he worked with William Preucil in the Concertmaster Academy program. Other previous teachers include Aaron Rosand, Shirley Givens, and Ronda Cole. He plays on a W.E. Hill & Sons bow generously loaned by Tom Frisina.

Tavani volunteers bringing string programs to Northeast Ohio inmates with the Cleveland based Renovare to help provide hope and healing through music. He is a member of Third Culture Ensemble, which serves diverse communities across Northeast Ohio through music. He also is involved with the MasterWorks Festival, which seeks to integrate Christian faith and life in the performing arts. Tavani resides on the East Side of Cleveland with his wife Amanda, a double bassist and music educator, and their son, Gabriel. He grew up in Northern Virginia in a musical family of six brothers. His mother is a voice teacher and lyric soprano, his father a family physician and pianist. Learn more about Mr. Tavani at his website: stephentavani.com, and visit his youtube page at youtube.com/stavani1 to see many of his performances.

Having been born into a musical family, Karisa began her studies at age two with her father, Cornelius Chiu, a violinist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She also performs frequently with her mother, pianist Inah Chiu. The Chiu family has given annual concerts at the Festival of the Arts at Mohonk Mountain House where her immediate family is joined with her uncle, pianist Frederic Chiu. She has performed in many music festivals around the globe including Music@Menlo as an International Program Artist, Chigiana Summer Academy, Four Seasons Winter Workshop, Music from Angel Fire, Aspen Music Festival, and Sarasota Music Festival. In addition to her performance career, Karisa is co-director of the concert series, Plymouth Chamber Players, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2018, Karisa won a Chicago Symphony Orchestra substitute violin position and has been performing with them regularly since. She was also invited to give a solo recital at the prestigious Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago which was broadcasted live over WFMT radio. The same year, she was also selected to be a participant in the 2017 YoungArts Week where she was awarded the Bronze Medal and nominated to be a U.S. Presidential Scholar. Karisa has appeared on several broadcasts including the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), WFMT, and NPR's From The Top. She has played in master classes given by renowned artists such as Augustin Hadelich, Leonidas Kavakos, Victor Danchenko, Pamela Frank, Mauricio Fuks, Ilya Kaler, Dora Schwarzberg, and Joel Smirnoff. An avid chamber music player, Karisa has performed with renowned musicians including Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Todd Phillips, Steven Tenenbom, and Paul Biss. She won first prize at the Rembrandt Chamber Music Competition and Silver Medal at the M-Prize International Chamber Music Competition as a member of the Vieira String Quartet. Her previous chamber group, the Calliope Trio, won first prize at the Discover Chamber Music Competition. As a member of the Atara String Quartet, she won the Gold Medal from the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition, Silver Medal from the Pearl G. Barnett Chamber Music Competition, and the Honorable Mention prize from the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. This spring, Karisa will receive her Master's degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Jaime Laredo and Malcolm Lowe. She received her Bachelor's degree from the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Ida Kavafian and was a student of Almita Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. In the fall, she will begin her studies in the Artist Diploma program at the Juilliard School with Catherine Cho and Donald Weilerstein.

Genevieve Smelser joined the violin section of The Cleveland Orchestra in August 2023. She comes from a family of musicians in Chicago, Illinois, and her primary teachers included Mathias Tacke of the Vermeer Quartet and Gerardo Ribeiro. Smelser received her bachelor's degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2017 as a student of Stephen Rose. During her studies at CIM, she won the 2015 Concerto Competition — performing Brahms's Violin Concerto with the CIM Orchestra as a result — and received the 2017 Award of Violin Excellence upon graduating. In 2019, Smelser received her master's degree from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music as a student of Paul Kantor. She performed Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto with the Shepherd Symphony after winning the school's 2019 Concerto Competition. From 2019 to 2021, Smelser was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where she served as concertmaster under the direction of Ken-David Masur. Smelser has performed in music festivals across the world including the Grant Park Music Festival, Verbier, Spoleto, Fontainebleau, The Perlman Music Program, and Music Academy of the West. She has also performed extensively with many orchestras including the Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras, as well as the Chicago, Houston, and Milwaukee symphonies. Outside of orchestral playing, Smelser enjoys reading, chamber music with friends, and gardening.

A native of Manchester, N.H., Roric Cunningham joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra cello section in August 2023 at Tanglewood. He began cello studies at age 12 and two years later started taking lessons at the Manchester Community Music with Harel Gietheim. In 2017, he won the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra and Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra competitions and subsequently performed with those orchestras. He has also appeared as soloist with the New Hampshire Philharmonic. Cunningham attended the National Youth Orchestra in 2018 and 2019, touring with the ensemble to London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, and other cities around the world, playing at such venues as London's Royal Albert Hall, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, LOTTE Concert Hall in Seoul, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. In 2020 and 2021, Roric attended the Heifetz Institute and in 2022 was a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra, playing under the batons of Gianandrea Noseda, Klaus Mäkelä, and Charles Dutoit. Cunningham received his bachelor's degree from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Natasha Brofsky and Clara Kim.

Originally from the greater New York area, violinist Kevin Lin has received international recognition for his musicianship and “soulful” playing (The Arts Desk). Lin currently serves as Concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Lin is a highly sought after Concertmaster, previously holding the position of Co-Leader in the London Philharmonic Orchestra. His Guest Concertmaster appearances have included the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and the Taiwan Philharmonic. In addition to his Concertmaster duties, Lin has appeared as soloist with major orchestras throughout the United States, Asia and United Kingdom, having worked with renowned conductors such as Vladimir Jurowski, Peter Oundjian, Matthias Pintscher, JoAnn Falletta, and Michael Francis. An equally active chamber Musician, Lin has collaborated with Martin Beaver, Clive Greensmith, Cho Liang Lin, Mathieu Herzog, Edgar Meyer, Orion Weiss, Meng-Chieh Liu, Andrew Bain, and Roberto Diaz. Lin spent his early years studying with Patinka Kopeck the Manhattan School of Music. He went on to study with Robert Lipsett at the Colburn School and Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music. Lin is currently Artist-in-Residence at Butler University, Jordan College of the Arts and spends his summers at the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego and the Colorado Music Festival. Kevin performs on the 1683 Ex-Gingold Stradivari on loan to him from the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.