The artistry of violinist Liana Bérubé is inextricably intertwined with self-knowledge and self-compassion. Her openly expressive aesthetic, described as “searching mastery” (Charleston Gazette-Mail), has been heard in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. She is co-founder and violinist of the Delphi Trio. Concerto performances include appearances with Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Toronto, Bear Valley Music Festival Orchestra, Oakland Symphony, Eureka Symphony, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. She has been heard on NPR, CBC, VH1, WFMT Chicago, and Dutch Radio 4, and has collaborated with artists such as Emmanuel Ax, Toby Appel, Anthony Marwood, Elizabeth Blumenstock, Monica Huggett, and the Alexander String Quartet. Concert appearances include Chamber Music Concerts Ashland, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Orlando Festival, Artist Series of Sarasota, Kronos Festival, Morrison Artist Series, Harry Jacobs Chamber Music Society, Valley of the Moon Music Festival, the Verbier Festival, and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. Liana is concertmaster of the San José Chamber Orchestra and the Magik*Magik Orchestra, and is on faculty at Sonoma State University and St Mary’s College of California. She strongly believes in listening to intuition, subconscious, and instinct in order to express the innate knowledge of personal truth through art.

Described as an “excellent soloist” of “great virtuosity” (NY Concert Review), delivering “thrilling” performances (Boston Globe), Venezuelan violinist Rubén Rengel is quickly gaining recognition as a remarkably gifted artist. Rubén has appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Venezuela Symphony, among others. This season he appears with the Dallas Symphony and the New York String Orchestra. Rubén was the winner of the Robert F. Smith Prize at the 2018 Sphinx Competition and has been featured at Carnegie Hall, Severance Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Library of Congress. As a passionate chamber musician, he has performed with artists such as Joseph Silverstein, Pamela Frank, Peter Wiley, David Shifrin, Joel Krosnick, Timothy Eddy, and Gilbert Kalish. He has appeared at the Brevard Music Festival, the Evnin Rising Stars at the Caramoor Center, Music@Menlo, and the Perlman Music Program.

In addition to classical music, Rubén enjoys performing other genres such as Venezuelan folk music, Latin American music, and Jazz. He also has an interest in conducting and enjoys performing as a violist. Rubén’s teachers and mentors include Iván Pérez Núñez, Jaime Laredo, Paul Kantor, and Mark Steinberg. Currently, Rubén is a Fellow at Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect.

Cellist Alice Yoo has warmly been hailed for her sensitive musicianship, expressive nuance, and passionate commitment to chamber music and teaching. Co- Artistic Director of Denver Chamber Music Festival, she is a sought after chamber musicians and has collaborated with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Mitsuko Uchida, Pamela Frank, Kim Kashkashian, Midori Goto, Miriam Fried, Jonathan Biss, and members of the Cleveland, Guarneri, and Juilliard Quartets. Festival appearances include tours with Musicians from Marlboro and Marlboro Music Festival, Caramoor, Ravinia, Yellow Barn, Moab, and Olympic Music Festivals. She frequently performs with ensembles The Knights, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Connect, and New York Classical Players. Passionate for new music, Alice has worked closely with the esteemed composers Sophia Gubaidulina, Jennifer Hidgon, Paul Wiancko, Andy Akiho, Samuel Carl Adams, and John Harbison. Top prize wins include the Holland-America Music Society, Schadt, and Klein International String Competition . Solo appearances with orchestra include USC Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Philharmonic, New York Classical Players, Billings Symphony, and the Bozeman Symphony. Alice’s teachers include Dr. Ilse-Mari Lee, Richard Aaron, Ralph Kirshbaum, and Paul Katz. She holds degrees from the New England Conservatory, Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, and USC’s Thornton School of Music. Alice is currently on the chamber music faculty of University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music and has been guest cello professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder from 2018-2019. She is on faculty at the Boulder Cello Festival, Green Mountain Music Festival, and others. She resides in Denver, CO with her husband, cellist Matthew Zalkind, and plays on a cello made for her by Ryan Soltis.

Kenji Bunch is one of America’s most engaging, influential, and prolific composers.
Through an expansive blend of classical and vernacular styles, Bunch makes music that the Washington Post called “clearly modern but deeply respectful of tradition and instantly enjoyable.”

Cited by Alex Ross in his seminal book The Rest Is Noise, Bunch’s wit, lyricism, unpredictability, and exquisite craftsmanship have earned acclaim from audiences, performers, and critics alike. His interests in history, social justice, and cross-cultural connections mirror the diversity of global influence on American culture.

His music has been performed on six continents and by over sixty American orchestras and has been recorded numerous times. Recent commissions include premieres from the Seattle Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Lark Quartet, the Britt Festival, Music From Angel Fire, Chamber Music Northwest, the Eugene Ballet, and the Grant Park Music Festival.

Also an outstanding violist, Bunch was the first student ever to receive dual Master of Music degrees in viola and composition from The Juilliard School and was a founding member of the highly acclaimed ensembles Flux Quartet and Ne(x)tworks. Bunch currently serves as Artistic Director of Fear No Music, and teaches viola, composition, and music theory at Portland State University, Reed College, and for the Portland Youth Philharmonic.

Cheryl Bentyne, Trist Curless, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, vocals
with
Ross Pederson, drums 
Boris Koslov, acoustic, electric bass 
Yaron Gershovsky, piano, electric keyboard

Founded in the early 1970’s in New York City, and garnering international popularity soon after, legendary ensemble The Manhattan Transfer  are known for their amazing harmony and versatility, incorporating pop, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, swing, symphonic, and a cappella music. The multi-GRAMMY winners have recorded over 30 albums and worked with countless musical greats including Tony Bennett, Smokey Robinson, Bette Midler, Phil Collins, B.B. King, Chaka Khan, James Taylor, Frankie Valli of The Four Seasons, Laura Nyro, Dizzy Gillespie, Ron Carter, and the Count Basie Orchestra. 

Their newest release The Junction, is dedicated to the memory of founder Tim Hauser who passed away in 2014. On it, the ensemble embraces a new dynamic and fresh possibilities for their legendary sound that artfully incorporates new member Trist Curliss’ low range into their established blend. Well-renowned for their spectacular re-imaginings of classics The Junction draws inspiration in part from The Transfer’s classic 1975 version of Glenn Miller’s “Tuxedo Junction”. A much anticipated national tour and PBS special with Take 6,“The Summit”, coincided with the album’s 2018 release. Of the album, The Transfer’s soprano Cheryl Bentyne said “As…the theme of the album reflects, democracy is the fabric of the group, and has been from the beginning, We all have a different take on music and appreciate different styles, so each member brings something to the table that is unique. We have tremendous faith in that process. This album is completely us, a true snapshot of who we are right now, having survived so many hardships, but looking forward to exciting new chapters in the band’s story.” 

Matt Munisteri’s journey through 20th century American music yields a vision which feels intrinsically whole, with his own music always serving as one-of-a-kind reflection of a life immersed in all the far-flung variants of American popular song. Matt’s debut CD Love Story in 2003 got him on the “Best Of” lists, and garnered him top slots on Amazon’s Top Ten Jazz CDs of The Year. He has been featured on France’s ARTE television, profiled in Downbeat magazine, honored with Acoustic Guitar Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award, and been the subject of several broadcasts on NPR. When not working on his own projects his primary sideman gigs for the last few years have been playing with violinist Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing; Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra; and with the singer Catherine Russell. His skills and originality as an accompanist have led to many recording opportunities with singers including Holly Cole, Madeline Peyroux, Liz Wright, “Little” Jimmy Scott, Geoff Muldaur, Sasha Dobson, and Kat Edmondson. Inside and outside of the jazz world, Matt is credited on over seventy CDs.

Three renowned visionary artists of the next generation combine talents in this eclectic new piano trio, Junction. Violinist Stefan Jackiw, recognized for musicianship that combines poetry and purity with an impeccable technique, returns with pianist Conrad Tao and cellist Jay Campbell. Tao, who appears worldwide as a pianist and composer, has been dubbed a musician of “probing intellect and open-hearted vision” by the New York Times. Approaching both old and new works with the same curiosity and emotional commitment, Campbell has been called “electrifying” by the New York Times. Recent concerts of the trio have included performances at Washington Performing Arts, Portland Ovations and the Royal Conservatory in Toronto.

Widely recognized for his vocal talents, George Takei has been a guest narrator with numerous symphony orchestras. Takei is thrilled to be returning to the stage with conductor Michael Barrett. In July 2018, Takei joined the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by maestro Barrett in singing and performing the role of Pangloss in “Auto-da-fe” from Leonard Bernstein’s operetta Candide at Wolf Trap’s “Bernstein at 100” celebration.

In October 2019, Takei was guest narrator with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Northey commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the moon landing. In February 2012, Takei narrated “A Survivor from Warsaw” with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra conducted by Philip Mann. He narrated “Sci-Fi Spectacular” with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in June 2012, Toronto Symphony Orchestra in May 2012, Detroit Symphony Orchestra in March 2012, Kansas City Symphony in January 2012,Naples (Florida) Philharmonic Orchestra in January 2011,Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in July 2010, Cleveland Orchestra in August 2009, Ottawa Symphony Orchestra in April 2009, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in January 2009, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in January 2008, and Seattle Symphony in September 2007. All “Sci-Fi” concerts were conducted by Jack Everly. Takei narrated “Look to the Future” with the San Francisco Symphony in July 2009. In February 2008, Takei hosted “To Boldly Go” with the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Sarah Hatsuko Hicks. In November 2004, Takei narrated Copeland’s Lincoln Portrait with the Honolulu Symphony conducted by Samuel Wong. He has narrated Johan de Meij’s Symphony No. 1: The Lord of the Rings with the Springfield, Mass., Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kevin Rhodes as well as with the Long Island Philharmonic, Denver Symphony Orchestra, Orange County California Wind Orchestra, and the Imperial Symphony Orchestra of Lakeland, Florida, all conducted by David Warble.