Frank Stadler: violin

Violinist Frank Stadler has been first concertmaster of the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburgsince 1999. His most important teacher was Helmut Zehetmair at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, where he studied and graduated with honours, before becoming Zehetmair’s assistant. This was followed by studies with Ruggiero Ricci and masterclasses with Thomas Brandis. He then directed the violin classes at the Mozarteum and at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz. Frank Stadler is the dedicatee of various contemporary violin sonatas and concertos, including by Bogusław Schaeffer, Kuzma Bodrov, Vladimir Rosinsky, Herbert Grassl, Hossam Mahmoud and Theodor Burkali. As a soloist, he has appeared at the Musikverein in Vienna, the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg and the Warsaw Autumn Festival, as well as performing with orchestras such as the Tonkünstler Orchestra, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Pays de la Loire, the International Players of Busan, the Vorarlberg Symphony Orchestra, the Camerata da Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, the österreichisches ensemble für neue musik, the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and the Egyptian Sinfonietta.

Joan Forsyth: piano

Canadian pianist Joan Forsyth, is a multi-faceted musician who has received critical acclaim as a soloist and chamber music artist. She has performed at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and the Library of Congress, and collaborated with the Cassatt Quartet, the Theater Chamber Players of the Kennedy Center and Cygnus.

She has toured the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Russia with Cygnus with programs of new American music and has performed in Japan with Trio Spark! Recent performances have been at the Austria Summer Music Festival, Inter-Harmony Music Festival, and the Festival of New American Music at CalState Sacramento, and FIC21 in Mexico. Joan Forsyth has recorded for Furious Artisans, Soundspells, Albany and CRI. In addition to her position as Piano Chairperson at the Third Street Music School, Dr. Forsyth is on the music faculty of Bennington College.

Joan Forsyth

Tomoko 

A native of Japan, Tomoko Uchino is an accomplished solo and collaborative pianist and dedicated educator whose career spans major conservatories, music festivals, and community institutions across the United States and abroad. She has performed extensively in partnership with distinguished instrumentalists and vocalists, appearing in recitals, masterclasses and festivals at the Juilliard School, Hoff-Barthelson Music School, Meadowmount School of Music, the Aspen Music Festival, the Heifetz International Music Institute, and the Great Mountains Music Festival in PyeongChang, where she served as the official pianist for the inaugural Parisot Cello Competition. Her work as a collaborative artist has taken her to concert halls throughout the country, and she has served as an official pianist for regional auditions with organizations such as the Metropolitan Opera National Council.

Damien Sneed: piano, composition

As a multi-genre recording artist and instrumentalist, Damien Sneed is a pianist, vocalist, organist, composer, conductor, arranger, producer, and arts educator whose work spans multiple genres. He has worked with jazz, classical, pop, and R&B legends, including the late Aretha Franklin and Jessye Norman, which he is featured on Norman’s final recording, Bound For The Promised Land on Albany Records. He also worked with Wynton Marsalis, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ashford & Simpson, J’Nai Bridges, Lawrence Brownlee, Brandie Inez Sutton and many others. Sneed has served as music director for Grammy Award-winning gospel artists The Clark Sisters, Richard Smallwood, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker, Marvin Sapp, Karen Clark Sheard, Dorinda Clark-Cole and Kim Burrell, among others. Sneed is a 2020 Dove Award winner and 2021 NAACP Image Award winner for his work as a featured producer and writer on the Clark Sisters’ newest project, “The Return”, released on March 13, 2020. 

Jan Loeffler: piano

Jan Loeffler’s career as a soloist, chamber musician, collaborative pianist and pedagogue has so far taken him to Hungary (where a piano recital of works by Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin was in part recorded for Hungarian television), Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Ireland, the USA and China, where he appeared at venues such as the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Cheltenham Town Hall, Warwick Arts Centre, Sheldonian Theatre Oxford, Wilton’s Music Hall London, Regent Hall London, Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal, Great Hall of the Erholungshaus der Bayer AG Leverkusen, and the Guotai Arts Centre Chongqing, as well as several universities across the USA.

Critically acclaimed appearances with the Camerata Europeana, Philharmonie Heidelberg, Helios Chamber Orchestra et al include piano concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms, under the batons of Radoslaw Szulc, Owen Leech, Jürgen Weisser, et al.

Tim Reudeman: saxophone

Praised for his “extreme virtuosity” (Philadelphia Inquirer), his “elegant and pure sound” (Saxophone Journal), and as “versatile and virtuosic” (Fanfare Magazine), American saxophonist Timothy Ruedeman is active as a soloist, collaborator, orchestral musician, and woodwind doubler. 

Performing highlights from recent seasons include: an appearance as soloist for the New York Philharmonic CONTACT! performing Franco Donatoni’s Hot for solo sopranino/tenor saxophone and ensemble, performance for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Celebrating Sax: Adolphe Sax bicentenary exhibit, radio broadcast for WWFM Classical with the New Hudson Saxophone Quartet, Lincoln Center Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival, featured guest artist at soundScape festival in Macagno, Italy, appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and Live! with Kelly and Michael, and the Bang On A Can Marathon. 

Winner of the 2004 Olga Koussevitzky Winds and Brass competition, Mr. Ruedeman has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Bridgeport Symphony, Long Island Philharmonic, New Jersey Pops, Discovery Orchestra, Metro Chamber Orchestra, and Juilliard Symphony, and has appeared as soloist with Greenwich Symphony, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Metamorphosis Orchestra, the S.E.M. Ensemble, Hanover Wind Symphony, University of Houston Winds, Rutgers Orchestra, Montclair State Wind Ensemble, and NYU Symphony. 

Vered Resnik: piano

Born and raised in Israel, pianist Vered Reznik has delighted audiences in solo and chamber music recitals throughout Europe, Israel, and the United States. Performances have included Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, the Beethovenhaus in Bonn, and the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Vered has also performed at Oslo’s Munch Museum, the Tel Aviv and Israel Museums, and the Henry Crown Hall at the Jerusalem Theater. She has appeared at the Bayreuth, Janacek, and Israel Festivals and was a featured performer on WQXR’s “Young Artists Showcase”.

A recipient of the American-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship for ten consecutive years, Vered was awarded second prize at the Foundation’s Claremont Piano Competition, and first prize at the Rubin Academy Concerto competition. She was also a founder and pianist of the Amber Trio which took the first prize at the 1994 Jeunesses Musicale international competition and performed live on Austrian and Bavarian television and radio. Throughout her career, Vered has proudly served as a musical ambassador for her home country.  She was especially honored to have the opportunity to perform for President Yitzchak Navon in Jerusalem, and President Bill Clinton in Washington D.C.

Vered holds degrees from the New England Conservatory in Boston, and the Rubin Academy of Music, Jerusalem. She studied chamber music with the renowned Alban Berg Quartet at the Musikhochschule in Vienna. In 2003 she moved to New York to study with the noted teacher Sophia Rosoff.

Vered is an Abby Whiteside Foundation teacher and an AmSAT Certified Teacher of the Alexander Technique. She is also on the board of the Westchester Musicians Guild and co-ordinates the Young Artists Audition and Recital. Vered is an active member of the New York Music Teachers Association (District 4) and has been a member of the Hoff-Barthelson Piano Faculty since 2008.

Chiu Chen Liu: violin, viola


Violist Chiu-Chen Liu enjoys a diverse career in orchestra, chamber music and pedagogy. Recent performances include engagements with Cremona International Music Academy, Alion Baltic International Music Festival, Festival Suoni D’abruzzo in Italy, BAMcafé Live, American Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Chamber Music Ensemble, New York Classical Quartet, Attacca Quartet and Lecture-Performance Series at Columbia University.

Violist Chiu-Chen Liu enjoys a diverse career in orchestra, chamber music and pedagogy. Recent performances include engagements with Cremona International Music Academy, Alion Baltic International Music Festival, Festival Suoni D’abruzzo in Italy, BAMcafé Live, American Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Chamber Music Ensemble, New York Classical Quartet, Attacca Quartet and Lecture-Performance Series at Columbia University. Chiu-Chen has served as principal viola with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, the Sarasota Opera, Di Capo Opera, Fairfield County Chorale Orchestra. Her chamber music performances have been broadcast on NPR and WQXR radio. The latest album Alto Under the Radar: Soviet Viola Music with pianist Ilya Kazantsev was released under Centaur Records.

Currently residing in New York City, Chiu-Chen relocated from her native Taiwan at age seventeen to study at the Manhattan School of Music. She later earned her Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes College The New School for Music, receiving full scholarship as a student of Hsin-Yun Huang, Mark Steinberg and Laurie Smukler. A dedicated teacher, Chiu-Chen was appointed the String Department Chairperson from 2013 to 2016 at the Third Street Music School where she is currently serving as a full time violin, viola and chamber music faculty.

In addition to Music, Chiu-Chen is also an active visual artist. She is currently serving as the Visual Artist-In-Resident for the Olympic Music Festival in Washington State, VivaViola Festival in Taiwan and the Sejong International Music Festival at the Curtis Institute from 2013-2014.

Chih-hui Chang: cello and Baroque cello

​Chih-hui Chan began her studies in violoncello at the Music School in Taichung in 1988. From 1995 until 2004 she studied with Dankwart Gahl and Johanna Picker at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. From 2000 until 2002 she studied with Professor Lluis Claret at Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya, and from 2004 until 2005 she studied for the Performance Diploma with Maestro Janos Starker at the Indiana University (USA). She also holds a Master of Music degree from the University Mozarteum in Salzburg.

Ms. Chang has participated in master classes given in Croatia by Eleonare Schoenfeld (Los Angeles), Lluis Claret and Bernhard Greenhouse in Prades (France), Janos Starker, Lluis Claret and Stevan Isserlis at the Piatigorsky Seminar in Los Angeles, chamber music classes with the Ysaye Quartet and Charles Tunnel in Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya and participated at the World Cello Congress III 2000 in Baltimore (USA). She was the recipient of the Föderkreis für Musik (Munich) from the Austrian Government.

From 2000 to 2006 she was a member of the Aspekte New Music Ensemble, performing in Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic; the Orquestra Filharmonica de Catalunya in Spain; the Orchestra Academy of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, with the music directors Kurt Masur, Neville Marriner, Dennis Russel Davies and Christoph Eschenbach and with Tilorler Festspieleorchester under director Gustav Kuhn in 2009. Between May and October 2010 she

played with the Trio of Austrian Pavilion at the Expo, 2010 in Shanghai.

Laurel Zucker: flute

Laurel Zucker, Emeritus Professor of Music at California State University, Sacramento since 1988, has received the honors of: President’s Award for Creative & Scholarly Research, Creative Research and Professional Promise Award, The Creative Achievement and Research Award.

Prior to her tenure at Cal State University she won

Artists International Competition and gave her Carnegie Recital Hall Debut. Her first performances in Carnegie Hall & Kennedy Center were at the age of 16 performing 1st flute in the celebrated Alexander Schneider’s Orchestra. Zucker graduated from Juilliard where she studied with Samuel Baron for 3 years. She studied with Paula Robison for two years at New England Conservatory of Music. She studied privately with Marcel Moyse. Ms. Zucker holds a Masters in Music Composition from New York University. Her numerous compositions are currently published by Presser, Alry Music Publications, Cayambis Music Press, Subito Music, Lyra International & Bourne Music Company and are recorded on Cantilena Records. Laurel has 85 releases on Cantilena Records.

In 2000 The Year of the Rome Aureole Jubilee, hosted by the city of Rome and the Pope, 3 Cantilena Records CDs, featuring Ms. Zucker were played non-stop for over six months throughout the largest Convention Center in Rome, Italy, and was also featured on a Documentary created at UCLA on the Santa Maria Maggiora Chapel of Rome. Gramophone Magazine describes Laurel Zucker ”as polished and gratifying as Rampal and Galway. Zucker’s interpretations are splendid. Her tone is airy and sweet, her virtuosity graceful. Her performances are intelligent, naturally phrased and highly musical with a rich sound beyond reproach.” Fanfare Magazine refers to Ms Zucker “as a forceful advocate for 20th century music,” and when awarded The Aaron Copland Fund for Music from the American Music Center to record Take a Walk on the Wilder Side CD, Fanfare Magazine stated”this disc fills an important niche in American Music as well as flute literature!” In the book, Inspirational Stories from the Worlds Best Flute Players, Laurel Zucker is featured along with Ian Andersen, Paula Robison, James Galway, Herbie Mann, Julius Baker.

In 2023 Ms Zucker was featured artist for Florida Flute Festival; and June 2023 Ms Zucker visited Japan with Tucson Flute Club and composed a flute choir piece, Andante, for the tour; Each July she teaches/performs at InterHarmony Music Festival in Italy. NPR regularly features Zucker’s recordings.

Aleksandra Lambert-Raschke: voice

Aleksandra Lambert-Raschke, mezzo-soprano, is  well-known in the Salzburg area, for her performances with the Salzburg Landestheater and involvement in the Internationale Sommerakademie Mozarteum (International Summer Academy of the Mozarteum). She has appeared in operas and concerts, often featuring contemporary works, and is recognized for her vocal versatility and stage presence in Salzburg's vibrant music scene.

Andrea Saposnik: voice

Dr. Andrea Saposnik has 25 years of experience teaching voice to students ranging in age from 5 to 92, and at all levels of advancement. She has taught singing at the InterHarmony International Music Festival (Italy), Greenwich House Music School, Broadway Training Center, and the Masters School. Her students are regularly cast in professional, school and community productions, and selected for All State Choruses. Many have continued their vocal studies at top music schools including Eastman, and Oberlin, and Berklee College of Music, among others.

Andrea values a healthy, embodied, and natural approach to all aspects of life. As a teacher, she aims to cultivate each student’s individual wishes and strengths, nurturing singers of all ages and levels on their vocal and musical journeys.

As a professional mezzo-soprano, Andrea has performed extensively in opera, oratorio, musical theater, and recitals, and has recorded for the Sony and Naxos labels. Her recent performances include Respighi’s Il Tramonto with string quartet in Arcidosso, Italy, and numerous solo appearances with the Long Island Choral Society, where she has also served as Artist-in-Residence. She has been a fellow at the Ravinia Festival and the Bach Aria Festival, and has been a frequent collaborator with members of the Bach Aria Group. Andrea is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), New York Singing Teachers’ Association, The Voice Foundation, and the American Guild of Musical Artists.

Andrea’s esteemed teachers and coaches include Richard Miller, Christa Ludwig, Sherrill Milnes, Laura Brooks Rice, and Ruth Falcon.

Yvonne Zehner: guitar

Yvonne Zehner studied with Matthias Seidl, Eliot Fisk and Joaquin Clerch at the University Mozarteum, with Oscar Ghiglia in Siena and Basel and with Nicolas de Souza Barros at the "UNIRIO" in Rio de Janeiro. In 2001 she finished her musical studies achieving a Masters degree "with distinction". She has taught guitar at the University of Passau since 2001 and is artistic co-director of the Hallein International Guitar Festival and the “Passauer Saiten” Festival. Chamber Music is a special passion – she perfomres regularly with the Gunnar Berg Ensemble Salzburg (contemporarian music, including a CD published in 2011), with the Enemble Mobile (including a CD, published in 2010 with Works by Sofia Gubaidulina and Klaus Ager) and with Trio Collage.Her close collaboration with contemporary composers has led to the dedication of several works to her; these include Agustin Castilla-Avila’s “Strings – A play” for guitarist and actor, and Julia Deppert’s solo work “Sand”, recorded for the ZHDK label in 2012 (Road to Skye,). In 2011 she premiered the piece Don`t flinch by Michael Edwards for Computer and Guitar, published on the CD “Slippery Chicken. Algoritmic Compositions by Michael Edward on sumtone records. She has worked with Sofia Gubaidulina, Konstantia Gourzi, Benjamin Lang, Louis Aguirre, Greg Caffrey, Siegfried Steinkogler, Niels Rasmussen, Eirik Moland, Klaus Ager and Andor Losconzy on premieres of their works. In october 2010 she released her first solo album “passages” at the “Neo-Loop Department (Sony Music)” label. In 2013 she released her sencond solo album “vals total” at the “ZAYrecords” label. She has performed at a variety of international festivals and concert series . During her career she has appeared in concerts in South America, China, Taiwan and various European countries such as the Czech Republic, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany and Austria.

William Anderson: guitar, theory and composition

Guitarist/composer William Anderson began performing chamber music at Tanglewood at age 19. He now performs in guitar festivals and new music festivals in Europe, the U.S., Latin America and in Japan. In New York Anderson performs regulalry with many ensembles including Sequitur, and the Cygnus Ensemble, which he founded in 1985.

For ten years he was a member of the Theater Chamber Players in Washington D.C., under the direction of Leon Fleisher and Dina Koston. He has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Chamber Players, under James Levine, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Da Capo Chamber Players, Speculum Musicae and the New York Philharmonic.

Anderson appears on many CD recordings, and he has made four CDs that feature him: The Guitar Music of Meyer Kupferman, on Soundspells; Diary of a Seducer, on CRi; and Hausmusik, on Furious Artisans; and Music of J.K. Mertz on Titanic Records.

He appears on numerous other CDs on various lables including Koch, Bridge Records, and Open Space.

Anderson’s compositions have been heard on Danish National Radio, Polish National Radio, and at festivals including the Europe/Asia Festival in Kazan, the Weekend of Chamber Music in the Catskills, the Rotenburg Festival in Northern Germany, and various music festivals in Spain and Italy. He teaches guitar at Sarah Lawrence College, and at Queens College.

William Anderson

Noam Beili: guitarist and composer

Noam Beili is a guitarist, composer, and educator based in Queens, NY. Noam grew up in Jerusalem and studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance before moving to New York City. He earned his BM in Music Performance, with specializations in audio production and music education, at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, where he was named a Presser Scholar. He has written, arranged, and composed music ranging from classical and jazz to musical theatre and rock. As a guitarist and vocalist, Noam has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Palace Theatre, and Green Room 42. Noam was a featured classical guitar soloist for The Village Trip, and the YXIE Festival in Villeblevin, France. His compositions have been performed in the US, France, and in Austria with the Kohr Quartet. In addition to his own artistic pursuits, he has been teaching at private studios and public schools for over 10 years, alongside directing classical and pop ensembles. He currently teaches Music Appreciation and Theory at The Eisman Center for Preparatory Studies in Music at Queens College.

John Chang: guitar & composition

Guitarist John Chang has performed in venues ranging from CBGB'c to Carnegie Hall. He has worked closely with eminent composers David Amram, William Anderson, Frank Brickle, Agustin Castilla-Avila, Georg Frederic Haas, David Lang, Alvin Lucier, John McLachlan, Charles Wuorinen among many others. He is a founding member of Bodies Electric, an electric guitar choir based in New York City that is dedicated to the performance of new music by living composers and can be heard on labels such as Furious Artisans, New Focus Recordings and others. He plays the guitar, banjo and mandolin for the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra.

As a composer, he has written and produced music for various indie films and dance productions. His music can be heard on labels such as Digitalis, Hobo Cult, Los Discos Enfantasmes and others.

As an educator, he teaches guitar, theory, composition/songwriting and coaches chamber music at Concordia Conservatory and at the University of Mount Saint Vincent.

Marc Wolf: guitarist

Marc Wolf is an award winning guitarist, composer, producer and educator with more than 3 decades of teaching experience. Mr. Wolf received a BFA in Classical Guitar Performance from Purchase College, under the guidance of the world renowned guitarist David Starobin. Subsequently Mr. Wolf earned a MFA in Classical Guitar Performance, also at Purchase, under Frederick Hand. Mr. Wolf is the managing director of the Furious Artisans classical record label and also a label manager at New Focus Recordings, both of which are distributed by Naxos. Mr. Wolf is a certified Suzuki Guitar instructor, having earned certification with William Kossler at the Hartt School of Music. He has since managed several Suzuki Guitar programs at notable institutions like the School of the Holy Child in Rye, the JCC of Stamford, NWCA in Mount Kisco, Katonah Art Center in Katonah, as well as privately through Goldens Bridge Studio. In addition to classical, Mr. Wolf is an accomplished Jazz guitarist and was one of the youngest students at Berklee College to participate in the pro level Jazz Band and ensembles, and also studied with the world famous player Chuck Wayne. As a composer, Mr. Wolf has written music for commercials, television, film and dance productions. He maintains an active local, national and international performing career.

Agustin Castilla-Avila: composer, guitarist

Agustín Castilla-Ávila is a composer, guitarist, improviser, graphic artist, author and artistic researcher. As a composer, he worked in Europe, Asia and America. His music has been conducted by D. Russell-Davies, J. Kalitzke, T. Ceccherini, A. Soriano, H. Lintu and H. Schellenberger, among others. He has written solo and chamber music, orchestras, plays, choreographies and five chamber operas. His music has been played at international centers including Brucknerhaus Linz, Glinka Hall Saint Petersburg, Harpa Hall Reykjavik or Musiekgebouw Amsterdam. He is currently writing the opera «Cerro Rico» for the New York Opera Society. He has published for Doblinger Verlag, Bergmann Edition, Verlag Neue Musik, Da Vinci Edition, Mackinger Verlag and Joachin Trekel. His music has been recorded on thirteen CDs and two DVDs.

He is president of the International Society for Ekmelic Music and director of the symposium «Microtones: Small is Beautiful» in Salzburg (2015, 2017 2019 and 2021). He created a 36EDO system for guitar using scordatura. His microtonal ideas were presented in «The Contemporary Guitar» by John Schneider or in Franck Jedrzejewski’s «Dictionnaire des musiques microtonales», among other publications.