Joseph Calleja
tenor
Joseph Calleja is already one of the tenors most sought after by leading opera houses on both sides of the Atlantic. His voice has routinely inspired comparisons to “legendary singers from earlier eras: Jussi Björling, Beniamino Gigli, even Enrico Caruso” (Associated Press). The Maltese tenor’s recent successes include role debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, where he “gave his all, singing with ardor, stamina, and poignant vocal colorings and winning a rousing ovation” in the title role of Bartlett Sher’s new Tales of Hoffmann (New York Times), and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where, almost “steal[ing] the show” (Independent), he proved himself a “thrilling Adorno” (Financial Times) opposite Plácido Domingo in Simon Boccanegra.

Sarah Chang
violin
“Her gifts are at a level so removed from the rest of us that all we can do is feel the appropriate awe and then wonder on the mysteries of nature. The ancients would certainly have had Ms. Chang emerging fully formed from some Botticellian scallop shell.” The New York TimesSarah Chang is recognised as one of the world’s great violinists.

Jason Danieley
actor / singer
Currently starring on Broadway in NEXT TO NORMAL, Jason is possibly most recognized from his performance as Lt. Joe Cable in the Emmy nominated PBS Great Performance airing of SOUTH PACIFIC at Carnegie Hall.  On Broadway, he also starred as Aaron Fox in Kander & Ebb’s CURTAINS (Outer Critics Circle Nomination).  He made his Broadway debut as the title character in CANDIDE, directed by theater legend Harold Prince. (Theatre World Award, Drama League Award, and Drama Desk nomination).  He took it all off for THE FULL MONTY in the original Broadway and West End casts.  A frequent guest of New York’s highly acclaimed City Center Encores! series, Jason has had leading roles in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN and STRIKE UP THE BAND.  His Off-Broadway appearances include: THE TROJAN WOMEN: A LOVE STORY by Charles Mee, Jr., DREAM TRUE by Ricky Ian Gordan, and  FLOYD COLLINS by Adam Guettel.  Some of his Regional Theatre appearances include: THE HIGHEST YELLOW by Michael John LaChiusa (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actor in a musical), BEAUTY by Tina Landau, CASINO PARADISE by William Bolcolm, 110 IN THE SHADE (Garland Award, Actor in a Musical), and BRIGADOON at Los Angeles’ Reprise! concert series.

Christoph von Dohnányi
conductor
Christoph von Dohnányi is recognized as one of the world’s pre-eminent orchestral and opera conductors. In addition to guest engagements with the major opera houses and orchestras of Europe and North America, his appointments have included opera directorships in Frankfurt and Hamburg; principal orchestral conducting posts in Germany, London and Paris; as well as his legendary 20 year tenure as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Joyce El-Khoury
soprano
Soprano Joyce El-Khoury is currently a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. A graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia, Miss El-Khoury performed the roles of Tatyana inEugene Onegin, the title role in Massenet’s Manon, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, the title role in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut (Act II), and Violetta in La Traviata.

Emerson String Quartet
The Emerson String Quartet stands alone in the history of string quartets with an unparalleled list of achievements over three decades: thirty acclaimed recordings produced with Deutsche Grammophon since 1987, eight Grammy Awards (including two for Best Classical Album, an unprecedented honor for a chamber music group), three Gramophone Awards, the coveted Avery Fisher Prize and cycles of the complete Beethoven, Bartók, Mendelssohn and Shostakovich string quartets in the world’s musical capitals, from New York to London to Vienna.  The Quartet has collaborated in concerts and on recordings with some of the greatest artists of our time.

Christoph Eschenbach
conductor
In demand as a distinguished guest conductor with the finest orchestras and opera houses throughout the world, Christoph Eschenbach begins his tenure in September 2010 as Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra as well as Music Director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. Since his appointment to these positions in 2008, he has been playing a key role in planning future seasons, international festivals and special projects for these two prestigious institutions.

Margaret Gawrysiak
mezzo-soprano 

Lynn Harrell
cello
Mr. Harrell is a frequent guest of many leading orchestras including Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and the National Symphony. In Europe he partners with the orchestras of London, Munich, Berlin, Tonhalle and Israel. He has also toured extensively to Australia and New Zealand as well as the Far East, including Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the summer of 1999 Mr. Harrell was featured in a three-week “Lynn Harrell Cello Festival” with the Hong Kong Philharmonic. He regularly collaborates with such noted conductors as James Levine, Sir Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, André Previn, Sir Simon Rattle, Leonard Slatkin, Yuri Temirkanov, Michael Tilson Thomas and David Zinman.

Miguel Harth-Bedoya
conductor
Now celebrating his tenth season as Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Miguel Harth-Bedoya is one of this country’s most exciting and sought-after conductors.  Under his leadership, the artistic level of the Fort Worth Symphony and its contribution to the cultural life of the community have grown enormously.

Martin Helmchen
piano
With his highly virtuosic yet unpretentious style, pianist Martin Helmchen continues to make an impression on the international music scene. A recipient of the “Echo Klassik” and the “Credit Suisse Young Artists Award” he has already achieved two of the most significant prizes in the music scene as well as recent debuts with major orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic with Herbert Blomstedt, Vienna Philharmonic and Valery Gergiev, London Philharmonic with Valdimir Jurowski and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons.

Pablo Herras-Casado
conductor
During the 2010/11 season his operatic projects include Mahagonny with Teatro Real Madrid and La Fura dels Baus, Nixon in China with Canadian Opera Company and the world premiere performances of Hosokawa’s Matsukaze with La Monnaie in association with Sasha Waltz & Guests. He also makes debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Freiburger Barockorchester, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Netherlands Radio Kammerphilharmonie at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. He returns to the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Radio Philharmonique de Radio France, BBC Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Mostly Mozart Orchestra New York and will give his debut performance with the Berliner Philharmoniker in October 2011.

Norman Fischer
cello
Norman Fischer has performed on five continents and in 49 of the 50 United States.. After completing his cello studies with Richard Kapuscinski, Claus Adam and Bernard Greenhouse, he first graced the international concert stage as cellist with the Concord String Quartet, a group that won the Naumburg Chamber Music Award, an Emmy and several Grammy nominations, and recorded over 40 works on RCA Red Seal, Vox, Nonesuch, Turnabout and CRI. The New York Times recently said, “During its 16 years, the supervirtuosic Concord String Quartet championed contemporary work while staying rooted in the Western tradition.”

Leon Fleisher
piano
Renowned pianist, conductor and teacher Leon Fleisher, now in his sixth decade before the public, started piano lessons in his native San Francisco at age four, and gave his first recital at eight. A year later he began studying with the great German pianist Artur Schnabel, and by 16, in 1944, made his debut with the New York Philharmonic. He was the first American to win the prestigious Queen Elisabeth of Belgium competition, in 1952.

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
conductor
Born in Burgos, Spain, in 1933, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos studied violin, piano, music theory and composition at the conservatories in Bilbao and Madrid, and conducting at Munich’s Hochschule für Musik, where he graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the Richard Strauss Prize. He currently is Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Dresden Philharmonic.

Andrew Jennings
violin
Naumburg-Award-winning violinist Andrew Jennings has achieved international acclaim as both a performer and a teacher. As a soloist and chamber musician he has appeared in virtually every state and province in the US and Canada as well as most of the major cities of Europe. He can be heard on recordings for RCA, Nonesuch, Vox, Turnabout, CRI, Danacord, Crystal and MMO and these recordings have twice received Grammy recognition. Television appearances both here and abroad have also received numerous awards including an Emmy. His chamber music career has included a sixteen-year tenure with the acclaimed Concord String Quartet as well as the Gabrielli Trio and his current membership in the Concord Trio.

Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor is the host and writer of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer’s Almanac heard on public radio stations across the country and the author of more than a dozen books…

Bernard Labadie
conductor
Bernard Labadie has established himself worldwide as one of the leading conductors of the Baroque and Classical repertoire, a reputation that is closely tied with Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec which he founded and continues to lead as music director to this day. With the two ensembles he regularly tours Canada, the US and Europe, in major venues and festivals such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Kennedy Center, Barbican, Concertgebouw, and the Salzburg Festival, among others.

Dominique Labelle
soprano
Soprano Dominique Labelle, whose voice has been called “angelic,” “silvery,” and “vibrant,” could easily lay claim to the title “diva.” Instead, she simply calls herself a musician, and takes greatest pride not in her rave reviews, but in her work with colleagues and in her probing explorations of the repertoire from the Baroque to new music.

Benedetto Lupo
piano
Benedetto Lupo has been described by critics as an “exceptionally fine pianist … who has a remarkably fine touch and beautiful tone control” (The Oregonian). Praised for his “keen musical intelligence and probing intellect” (Miami Herald), and for combining “meticulous technique with romantic sensitivity” (Birmingham News), he has gained worldwide recognition. After winning the bronze medal in the 1989 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, he made acclaimed debuts with several major American orchestras, as well as chamber appearances with the Tokyo String Quartet. His New York City recital debut at Alice Tully Hall followed in 1992, the same year he won the Terence Judd International Award, which in turn led to his debut at London’s Wigmore Hall.

Kurt Masur
conductor
KURT MASUR is well known to orchestras and audiences alike as both a distinguished conductor and humanist. In September 2002, Mr. Masur becameMusic Director of the Orchestre National de France in Paris. Effective with the beginning of the 2008/2009 season he will assume the title of Honorary Music Director for Life of the Orchestre National de France ensuring his close and active involvement with this Orchestra for many more years to come.

Wolf Matthias Friedrich 

Angela Meade
soprano
Less than three years after her professional debut, American soprano Angela Meade has quickly become recognized as one of the outstanding vocalists of her generation. The New Yorker hailed her as “a lavishly gifted young soprano who sings across a very wide range with uncommon beauty and strength of tone…this fast rising soprano will undoubtedly have many triumphs”. Angela Meade excels in the most demanding heroines of the nineteenth century bel canto repertoire as well as in the operas of Verdi and Mozart.

Brad Mehldau
piano
Jazz pianist BRAD MEHLDAU has recorded and performed extensively since the early 1990s. Mehldau’s most consistent output over the years has taken place in the trio format. Starting in 1996, his group released a series of five records on Warner Bros. entitled The Art of the Trio. Mehldau also has a solo piano recording entitled Elegiac Cycle, and a record called Places that includes both solo piano and trio songs. Elegiac Cycle and Places might be called “concept” albums. They are made up exclusively of original material and have central themes that hover over the compositions. Other Mehldau recordings include Largo, a collaborative effort with the innovative musician and producer Jon Brion, and Anything Goes—a trio outing with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy.

Susan Graham
mezzo-soprano
Last season, she sang Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony and recorded the song cycle for the Symphony’s own record label. After an October return to the Metropolitan Opera for a signature role – Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier – Graham portrayed Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Nicholas McGegan on the West Coast. Lyric Opera of Chicago welcomed her back for her first company performances in Berlioz’s Damnation de Faust, which she performed during the 2008-09 season at the Met and in The Met: Live in HD. In April with Houston Grand Opera, she took on the title role in Handel’s Xerxes (Serse), singing the famous aria “Ombra mai fù.” Graham closed out the 2009-10 season performing Chausson’s Poème de l’amour et de la mer with the New York Philharmonic under Sir Andrew Davis.

Nicholas McGegan
conductor
Nicholas McGegan is loved by audiences and orchestras for performances that match authority with enthusiasm, scholarship with joy, and curatorial responsibility with evangelical exuberance. The London Independent calls him “one of the finest baroque conductors of his generation” and The New Yorker lauds him as “an expert in 18th-century style.”

Diana Moore
mezzo-soprano
With a combination of musicianship and beauty of tone, coupled with her trademark sense of presence and ability to communicate, Diana Moore has established herself at the forefront of a new generation of British singers. Born in Lowestoft, Diana Moore pursued her musical studies at the University of Birmingham and the Royal Academy of Music, winning the prestigious Dip RAM and many prizes, as well as being awarded an Associateship in 2002.

Mark Morris
choreographer
MARK MORRIS was born on August 29, 1956, in Seattle, Washington, where he studied with Verla Flowers and Perry Brunson. In the early years of his career, he performed with the dance companies of Lar Lubovitch, Hannah Kahn, Laura Dean, Eliot Feld, and the Koleda Balkan Dance Ensemble. He formed the Mark Morris Dance Group in 1980, and has since created more than 120 works for the company.

Mark O’Connor String Quartet
A product of America’s rich aural folk tradition as well as classical music, Mark O’Connor’s creative journey began at the feet of a pair of musical giants. The first was the folk fiddler and innovator who created the modern era of American fiddling, Benny Thomasson; the second, French jazz violinist, considered one of the greatest improvisers in the history of the violin, Stephane Grappelli. Along the way, between these marvelous musical extremes, Mark O’Connor absorbed knowledge and influence from the multitude of musical styles and genres he studied. Now, at age 49, he has melded and shaped these influences into a new American Classical music, and a vision of an entirely American school of string playing. As The Los Angeles Times recently noted, he has “crossed over so many boundaries, that his style is purely personal.”

Kelli O’Hara
actress/vocalist
Kelli O’Hara has unequivocally established herself as one of Broadway’s great leading ladies. She recently starred in the Tony Award-winning revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center, enrapturing audiences and critics alike with her soulful and complex interpretation of Nellie Forbush, garnering a third Tony-nomination in the process.

Itzhak Perlman
violin
Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world who respond not only to his remarkable artistry, but also to the irrepressible joy of making music, which he communicates. In January 2009, Mr. Perlman was honored to take part in the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, premiering a piece written for the occasion by John Williams and performing with clarinetist Anthony McGill, pianist Gabriela Montero, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. In December 2003 the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts granted Mr. Perlman a Kennedy Center Honor celebrating his distinguished achievements and contributions to the cultural and educational life of our nation. In May 2007, he performed at the State Dinner for Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, hosted by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush at the White House. Born in Israel in 1945, Mr. Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He came to New York and soon was propelled into the international arena with an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. Following his studies at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, Mr. Perlman won the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1964, which led to a burgeoning worldwide career. Since then, Itzhak Perlman has appeared with every major orchestra and in recitals and festivals around the world.

Pepe Romero
guitar
Celebrated worldwide for his dazzling virtuosity, compelling interpretations, and flawless technique, guitarist Pepe Romero is constantly in demand for his solo recitals, performances with orchestras, and with the world famous Romeros Quartet. Born in Málaga, Spain, Pepe Romero is the second son of “The Royal Family of the Guitar,” the Romeros. His father, the legendary Celedonio Romero, was his only guitar teacher; his first professional appearance was in a shared concert with his father in Sevilla’s Teatro Lope de Vega, when Pepe was only seven years old. After relocating to the United States, Pepe, together with his father and brothers, helped establish the Romeros Quartet as the leading guitar ensemble in the world. Although best known for his classical performances, Pepe’s passion for the traditional flamenco of his native Andalucia has never wavered. His first recording, Flamenco Fenómeno!, for Contemporary Records, was made when he was only fifteen. Since then, Pepe has made more than sixty recordings, among which are over twenty concertos with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields conducted by Sir Neville Marriner and Iona Brown, as well as collaborations with many other artists.

Susanne Rydén
soprano
The Swedish soloist Susanne Rydén is one of Europe’s sucessful sopranos specialising in early music. Her love and understanding of the colourful Baroque repertoire regularly has led her to work with internationally acclaimed ensembles and conductors, recent concert seasons having included Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Nicholas McGegan and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Fransisco, the St. Matthew Passion with the Nederlandse Bachvereiniging, a programme of Handel with Harry Bicket and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Stockholm, Haydn’s Creation with the Kölner Akademie, Handel’s Messiah with the Bach Collegium Japan under Masaaki Suzuki, concerts with Lars Ulrik Mortensen and Concerto Copenhagen, Mozart Concert Arias with the Australian Brandenburg Baroque Orchestra and Paul Dyer, and European tours with Emma Kirkby as well as Collegium Vocale and Philippe Herreweghe.

Gil Shaham
violin
Violinist Gil Shaham is internationally recognized by audiences and critics alike as one of today’s most virtuosic and engaging classical artists. He is sought after throughout the world for concerto appearances with celebrated orchestras and conductors, as well as for recital and ensemble appearances on the great concert stages and at the most prestigious festivals.

Alan Smith
vocal coach, piano; Piano Programs Coordinator
Alan Smith enjoys a reputation as one of the United States’ most highly regarded figures in the field of collaborative artistry.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet
piano
Hailed as “one of the best pianists in the world,” Jean-Yves Thibaudet continues to captivate audiences around the world with his thrilling performances, profound artistry, poetic musicality and dazzling technical prowess. Thibaudet is sought after by today’s foremost orchestras, festivals, conductors and collaborative musicians for his enlightened interpretations and charisma. On June 18, 2010, the Hollywood Bowl honored Thibaudet for his musical achievement by inducting him into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame.

Bramwell Tovey
conductor
A musician of striking versatility, GRAMMY Award winning conductor Bramwell Tovey is acknowledged around the world for his artistic depth and his warm, charismatic personality on the podium. Tovey’s career as a conductor is uniquely enhanced by his work as a composer and pianist, lending him a remarkable musical perspective. His tenures as music director with the Vancouver Symphony, Luxembourg Philharmonic and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras have been characterized by his expertise in operatic, choral, British and contemporary repertoire.

Alfred Walker
bass
Gaining rapid international and national acclaim for his commanding performances, Alfred Walker he sings his first performances of the title role in Der fliegende Holländer at Theater Basel and Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde at Angers Nantes Opera in addition to joining Seattle Opera for Orest in Elektra in the 2008-09 season. He also joins the Utah Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

Yuja Wang
piano
Twenty-three year old Chinese pianist Yuja Wang is widely recognized for playing that combines the spontaneity and fearless imagination of youth with the discipline and precision of a mature artist. Regularly lauded for her controlled, prodigious technique, Yuja’s command of the piano has been described as “astounding” and “superhuman,” and she has been praised for her authority over the most complex technical demands of the repertoire, the depth of her musical insight, as well as her fresh interpretations and graceful, charismatic stage presence. Following her San Francisco recital debut The San Francisco Chronicle wrote “The arrival of Chinese-born pianist Yuja Wang on the musical scene is an exhilarating and unnerving development. To listen to her in action is to re-examine whatever assumptions you may have had about how well the piano can actually be played,” and The Washington Post called Yuja’s Kennedy Center recital debut “jaw-dropping.”

Nikolaj Znaider
violin
Nikolaj Znaider is not only celebrated as one of the foremost violinists of today, but is fast becoming one of the most versatile artists of his generation uniting his talents as soloist, conductor and chamber musician.This season Nikolaj Znaider was invited by Valery Gergiev to become Principal Guest Conductor of the Maarinsky Orchestra in St. Petersburg a post he assumes immediately. He has been invited to guest conduct orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, WDR Köln and already has re-invitations to conduct the Dresden Staatskapelle, Russian National Orchestra, the Halle Orchestra, Swedish Radio Orchestra and Gothenburg Symphony.As a soloist, Znaider is regularly invited to work with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis, Valery Gergiev, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Christian Thielemann, Mariss Jansons, Charles Dutoit, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Ivan Fischer and Gustavo Dudamel. In recital and chamber music he appears at all the major concert halls.

Jaap van Zweden
conductor
Jaap van Zweden was born in 1960 in Amsterdam and began his musical life as a violinist before moving from stage to podium. He is presently Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Radio Kamer Filharmonie, and Chief Conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra.