Faculty

Violin

MARKO DREHER
Marko Dreher is currently an artist faculty member of the Music Institute of Chicago and director and founder of the Okemo Young Artists' Program. He received his Bachelor's Degrees in both violin and viola from the Oberlin Conservatory, and his Master's Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. His teachers have included Professors Roland and Almita Vamos, Dora Schwarzberg, Rachel Barton, and Stanley Konopka. He has performed concerts at the Kennedy Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Severance Hall, Symphony Center, Powell Hall, and the Vienna Conservatory. Mr. Dreher was a soloist with "I Soloisti Di Zagreb" on their European tour and has performed extensively as a chamber musician in Europe as well as in the United States. He has recorded for Traditional Crossroads, Smithsonian Folkways, the National Endowment for the Arts record label, and Omnium, and is an Ohio Arts Council Premier Artist. He is an alumnus of the Weathersfield Music Festival and Bowdoin Music Festival. Mr. Dreher's students have retrieved top prizes at international competitions and have been accepted to top U.S. conservatories including Curtis Institute of Music, Julliard, NEC, CIM, and Rice.

DAVID BOWLIN
Violinist David Bowlin is enjoying an active musical career as both a soloist and chamber musician. He is the 2003 first-prize winner in violin of the Washington International Competition for Strings, for which he was awarded a debut recital at Washington, D.C.'s Phillips Collection. As a winner of the 2005 Stony Brook University Concerto Competition, he performed Mendelssohn's Concerto in e minor with the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra this season. Other recent solo appearances include performances in New York of Bartσk's Solo Sonata, Luciano Berio's Sequenza VIII on Chicago's WFMT radio, performances of Davidovsky's Synchronisms No. 9 in Chicago and Morelia, Mexico, and concerto appearances with the Dennison (OH) Symphony Orchestra, and the International Contemporary Ensemble. Recent recitals include performances at The Stone (New York City), Harris Hall (Memphis TN) and at Paul Hall.

An active performer of new music, David is a founding member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), which performs in Chicago and New York. He has also made two recent tours to Morelia, Mexico with ICE. He is also a member of the Naumburg Award-winning Da Capo Chamber Players, with whom he has toured extensively in the US and former Soviet Union. David has served as concertmaster of numerous orchestras, including the IRIS Chamber Orchestra, the Juilliard Orchestra, the Juilliard Symphony, and the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, working in that capacity under such conductors as Robert Spano, Jahja Ling, Lukas Foss, Otto Werner-Mueller, Paul Polivnick, Jeffrey Milarsky, David Stern, and Michael Stern. David is currently a participant at the Marlboro Music Festival, both this summer and last. He has also attended the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival (2003-2004) the Aspen Music Festival (2001-2002), and the Weathersfield Music Festival (1995, 1997, and 1999).

As a chamber musician, David has performed in New York at such venues as Weill Recital Hall, Bargemusic, Alice Tully Hall, the Knitting Factory, Miller Theater, and Merkin Concert Hall. He recently made his chamber music debut at the 92nd St Y performing music of Mozart with Fred Sherry and Charles Rosen. As a member of the Rothko Quartet David was a top prizewinner in the 2004 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, as well as a finalist in the 2003 Concert Artists' Guild Competition with the Andros Quartet.

In addition to his performing activities, David served as Ronald Copes' teaching assistant at Juilliard from 2002-2005. His principal teachers include Roland and Almita Vamos, Ronald Copes, and Stephen and Kimberly Sims. He received his BM from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 2000, and his MM from The Juilliard School in 2002. Currently he is a doctoral student of Pamela Frank, Ani Kavafian, and Philip Setzer at Stony Brook University.

"Bowlin is a formidable violinist, combining dulcet sweetness of tone with incisive drive."
--The Chicago Sun-Times

"David Bowlin was the impressive soloist, taming the most awkward double stops with ease and carefully delineating the rapid changes of character."
--The Chicago Tribune

"The first violin in this piece, David Bowlin, made the most of his singing lines."
--The New York Times

Additional guest artist(s) to be announced

Flute

CONOR NELSON

Praised for his “long-breathed phrases and luscious tone” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Canadian flutist Conor Nelson is established as a leading flutist of his generation. He gave his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and has since appeared frequently as soloist and recitalist throughout the United States and abroad.  Recent performances include engagements with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra among numerous others. The only wind player to win the Grand Prize at the WAMSO Young Artist Competition, he recently won first prize at the William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition. In addition, he has received top prizes at the New York Flute Club Young Artist Competition, the Haynes International Flute Competition, and the Fischoff, Coleman and Yellow Springs Competitions. He received degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, Yale University, and Stony Brook University where he was a winner of the school-wide concerto competitions at all three institutions. He is currently Assistant Professor of Flute at Oklahoma State University and his principal teachers include Carol Wincenc, Ransom Wilson, and Linda Chesis.  For more information, visit conornelson.com.

Viola

MARKO DREHER

See above

Cello

MINNA ROSE CHUNG
Cellist Minna Rose Chung performs internationally as a recitalist and chamber musician. In 2008, Dr. Chung joined the University of Manitoba Faculty of Music as Professor of Cello.

At age 12, Minna Rose debuted with Maestro Isaiah Jackson of the London Royal Ballet and Dayton Philharmonic. Her performances garner national recognition and continued collaborations with the world’s leading musicians. She holds performance degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, Northwestern University, and her Doctorate from Stony Brook University, NY with renowned cellist Colin Carr.
Minna Rose made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2007 with her Pangea String Quartet. She is a returning guest artist with the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Santo Domingo Music Festival, and the Rio de Janeiro International Cello Encounter. She has served as Hans Jorgen Jensens’ teaching assistant at both Northwestern University and the Meadowmount School of Music.
Minna can be heard in exclusive broadcasts for NPR, WFMT Chicago, WPNE Green Bay, and KUAC Alaska. Minna Rose performs on a 1770 AUGUSTINIUS CHAPPUY French cello and a 1999 Isaac SALCHOW bow.

DAVID HOPPE
David Hoppe teaches and performs as a soloist and chamber musician
throughout the Chicago area. A past member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic
and Spoleto Festival Orchestras, as well as Principal Cellist and
Associate Conductor of the Jewish Arts Center Orchestra, he has performed
recitals and chamber music concerts on five continents. David is a
certified Suzuki instructor, having studied pedagogy with Tanya Carey.
With a Masters in Music from SUNY-Binghamton, David studied cello with
Sharon Robinson, Laurence Lesser, and Karl Fruh. He has been on the
faculty of DePaul University and Elmhurst College and maintains an active
private studio in both violin and cello.

JI-HEE KIM
--On leavc for 2010 season--
Ji-Hee Kim began her formal training in Korea at the Seoul Arts School with Min-Ja Hyun and continued onto the Julliard Pre-College Program with Channing Robbins.  She received her Artists’ Diploma and Master’s degree from Northwestern University with Hans Jorgen Jensen and a Bachelor’s degree from The Julliard School of Music with Fred Sherry.  She has previously been on faculty at Seoul National University and has widely concertized in Asia and North America.  She is a founding member of the Maurice String Quartet.  Ji-Hee serves as teaching assistant to Hans Jorgen Jensen at Northwestern University, Meadowmount School of Music, and the Academy Program at the Music Institute of Chicago. 

Piano

AKIKO KONISHI
Pianist Akiko Konishi received her early training in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and subsequently completed her undergraduate studies at Rice University as a double major in English and Music.  She continued her graduate studies at Yale University and University of Houston, under the guidance of Peter Frankl and Abbey Simon.  She has appeared as soloist with the Shepherd School Symphony, D’Angelo Competition Orchestra, Oakland Symphony, Rio Hondo Symphony, and Symphony North Houston, and performs extensively in guest artist recital venues across the United States.  As an active chamber musician, she performs regularly with members of the Houston Symphony in the Channing Chamber Series, and has recently toured Italy and Bulgaria as a winner of the Mercadente International Chamber Music Competition.  Additional honors include finalist prizes in the Ima Hogg Houston Symphony Concerto Competition and the F. Awerbuch International Piano Competition (New York), as well as grand prizes in the Young Texas Artist Competition and Rio Hondo Symphony Concerto Competition.  In addition to her work with instrumentalists, she has collaborated with vocalists through the Yale Opera Program, and currently serves as vocal coach at Houston Baptist University.  Upcoming engagements include a world premiere of Marcus Maroney’s composition, Chamaeleon, and a second performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto, K 488, with Symphony North Houston, as well as a chamber appearance at the Centrum Performing Arts Center (Houston) with her piano trio.

KATHERINE LEE
BM, USC; MM, Cleveland Institute of Music; Artist Diploma, Yale; prize-winner and laureate at Fifth & Sixth National Chopin Competition, MTNA, ARTS, APA, Fischoff, Illinois Young Performer's, Seventeen Magazine/GM National Concerto Competition; 1993 Presidential & Illinois Scholar; 1996 Young Gilmore Artist; 2006 APA Nominee; NPR's Debut Young Artist of the Year nominee. Appearances with CSO, CYSO, Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, among others and performances in Milan, Miami, New Haven, Pebble Beach, and Chicago. Attended Aspen Music Festival, California Summer Music, and Fontainebleu (France). Teachers include Peter Frankl, Peter Schenly, John Perry, Emilio del Rosario, Sofia Zukerman, and Nell Novak (cello). SAM Competition Director & former KANWIN board member.

DEBBIE MASLOSKI
Debbie Masloski began her formal training at the Mozart Conservatory in Augsburg, Germany. As a recipient of the Presidential and Goodbrod Scholarships she received a Bachelors Degree from the University of Northern Colorado. She received her Masters degree from The Juilliard School where she studied with Nadia Reisenberg, Herbert Stessin and David Diamond. Ms. Masloski completed a Doctor of Music degree at Northwestern University, where her research examined the influence of social and religious trends on the piano literature. Her teachers/advisors included David Kaiserman, Francis Larimer, Marcia Bosits, Peter Webster and John Buccheri. She has won competitions both here and abroad and has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Chicago Civic Orchestra, New Mexico Symphony, Colorado Springs Orchestra and the UNC Symphony. She has performed on WFMT radio and is an active chamber musician. She has been on the faculty of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago State University, Lake Forest College, The Merit Music Program, The Jemez Music School in New Mexico and artist in residence at California State University. She is a member of the Music Teachers National Association, Pi Kappa Lambda, and is active as an adjudicator. Currently she teaches and accompanies at Northwestern University and is a member of the faculty at Carthage College.

Chamber Music

DAVID BOWLIN, MINNA ROSE CHUNG, MARKO DREHER, JI-HEE KIM, KATHERINE LEE, DEBBIE MASLOSKI

Guest Artists

Violin

ALMITA VAMOS
Six-time recipient, Presidential Excellence in Teaching Award. Winner, Distinguished Service Award, American String Teachers Association; named Distinguished Teacher by National Endowment for the Arts. Winner, Chautauqua Award and Concert Artists Guild Award. Faculty member, Music Institute of Chicago. Former faculty member, Western Illinois University, University of Minnesota, and Oberlin Conservatory. Cofounder, Weathersfield Summer Music Festival. Students have won top prizes in numerous international competitions. Studied with Mischa Mischakoff and Louis Persinger at the Juilliard School.

Viola

MAIYA PAPACH
Violist Maiya Papach, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra's newest member, has made frequent national and international appearances as a chamber and orchestral musician, performing both traditional and contemporary repertoire. She is a founding member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), which is rapidly establishing itself as one of the leading new music ensembles in the United States. She has twice performed across the former Soviet Union with the Da Capo Chamber Players and recently toured the Phillipines with Music for the People, an organization seeking to promote cultural exchange in developing nations. Maiya has performed regularly with IRIS Chamber Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. In New York, Maiya has also performed in chamber concerts at Bargemusic, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and Miller Theater, among others. As a former member of the Andros and Rothko String Quartets, she has been a finalist and prizewinner in a number of competitions including the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and Concert Artists Guild. She attended both the Kneisel Hall and Yellow Barn Music Festivals as well as the Marlboro Music Festival, with whom she will perform on the Musicians from Marlboro tour in the 2008-09 season. Maiya is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and the Juilliard School as a student of Roland Vamos, Karen Tuttle, and Hsin-Yun Huang.

ROLAND VAMOS
Former member, Houston and Dallas Symphony Orchestras, Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, Contemporary String Quartet. Recordings on Rizzoli and Atlantic labels. Active as performer and conductor; adjudicator at national and international competitions. Faculty member, Music Institute of Chicago. Former faculty member, Western Illinois University and University of Minnesota. Cofounder, Weathersfield Summer Music Festival. Winner, Distinguished Teacher in the Arts Award, American String Teachers Association. Students have won top prizes in numerous international competitions. Studied with Oscar Shumsky and William Lincer

Cello

HANS JORGEN JENSEN
Faculty member, Meadowmount School of Music. Soloist with Copenhagen Symphony, Danish Radio Orchestra, Irish Radio Orchestra, and Basel Symphony Orchestra. Winner of Jacob Gades Prize, Danish Ministry of Cultural Affairs Grant for Musicians, Copenhagen Music Critics Prize of Honor, and Artist International Competition in New York. Named outstanding Studio Teacher of the Year by Illinois chapter, American String Teachers Association; recipient, U.S. Presidential Scholar Teacher Recognition Award, U.S. Department of Education. Students have won prizes in numerous national and international competitions. Studied at the Juilliard School with Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins. Private studies and master classes with Pierre Fournier.

DANE JOHANSEN

Winner of The Juilliard School’s 2008 Concerto Competition, young American
cellist Dane Johansen has performed with orchestras and in solo recitals
throughout the United States and Europe. Among his recital credits are
the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Chicago’s Young Steinway Performance
Series, Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy, Prague’s Academy of Music, and Paris’
Conservatoire National Superiuer de Musique. The Houston Symphony,
Juilliard Orchestra, The National Repertory Orchestra and the Fairbanks
Symphony are among the orchestras with which he has guested. His music
festival appearances are numerous, and include The Marlboro Music
Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Festival and Ravinia’s Steans Institute
for Young Artists in the United States, and abroad, at Musique de Chamber
a Giverny, IMS Prussia Cove and The Kronberg Cello Festival.

This 2008-09 season, Mr. Johansen can be heard in performances at
Bargemusic in Brooklyn and on BBC Live Radio from London. Recent
appearances of note include invitational performances at the Kronberg
Cello Festival in memory of Mstislav Rostropovich (at the invitation of
legendary cellist Bernard Greenhouse), and in concert at the Marlboro
Music Festival. He is working on an independent DVD production of the Six
Suites for Solo Cello by J.S. Bach, scheduled for release in the spring of
2009.

Mr. Johansen, described by the New York Times as “brave and virtuosic,”
was recently praised for “playing with staggering aplomb”, by New York
Magazine for his appearance under Maestro James Levine with The Juilliard
Orchestra, performing Elliott Carter’s Cello Concerto at a concert in
honor of Carter’s centennial. Mr. Johansen has won first prize in the
Juilliard School’s Concerto Competition, the Cleveland Institute of
Music’s Concerto Competition and the Cleveland Cello Society Competition.

A native of Fairbanks, Alaska, Dane Johansen grew up in a music-rich
environment, with a mother (Gail Johansen) who is a Suzuki violin teacher.
At sixteen, he was invited to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s
Young Artist Program as a student of Richard Aaron. Following his studies
in Ohio, Dane moved to Paris, France, where he studied with Michel
Strauss at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse de
Paris, where he was named top in his class by a unanimous jury. He then
moved to New York City to study at The Juilliard School. He has had
further studies with cellist Steven Isserlis at The International
Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove and studied privately with the cellist
Bernard Greenhouse during 2007-08. In 2008, he received his Master’s
degree from The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and
Darrett Adkins. In addition to his professional performances, Mr. Johansen
is currently enrolled in Juilliard’s prestigious Artists Diploma program,
and also continues private studies with cellist Bernard Greenhouse.

KENNETH OLSEN
Kenneth Olsen joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Principal Cello in 2005. Mr. Olsen is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and a winner of the Institute's prestigious Concerto Competition. Other awards received by the 24-year-old cellist include first prize in the Nakamichi Cello Competition at the Aspen Music Festival and second prize at the 2002 Holland-America Music Society competition. Mr. Olsen's teachers have included Richard Aaron, Cleveland Institute of Music; Joel Krosnick, Juilliard School of Music; and Luis Garcia Renart, Bard College. He has also been a participant at The Steans Institute for Young Artists, the Ravinia Festival's professional studies program for young musicians, and Boston University's Tanglewood Institute. A native of New York, Mr. Olsen is a founding member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO), a group of talented young musicians from orchestras and ensembles all over the country.

Piano

EUGENIA MONACELLI

 

Additional guest artist(s) to be announced