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.

Acclaimed by The New York Times as “an outstanding actress, as well as a singer of extraordinary grace and finesse,” soprano Corinne Winters has sung over twenty-five leading roles at major opera houses around the world. Recent performances include the title role in both Moniuszko’s Halka at Theater an der Wien and Katya Kabanova at Seattle Opera, Rachel in La Juive and Desdemona in Otello at Opera Vlaanderen, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin at Michigan Opera Theatre and Arizona Opera, Leïla in The Pearl Fishers at Santa Fe Opera, Magda in La rondine at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Mimi in La bohème at Washington National Opera, Arizona Opera, and English National Opera, and Liù in Turandot with the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar de Venezuela under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. Corinne has brought her Violetta, praised by The Guardian as “a wonderful combination of feistiness and fragility, sung with unflagging intensity,” to audiences around the world – at Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Theater Basel, Opera Australia, San Diego Opera, Seattle Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, English National Opera, Opera Lyra Ottawa, and Opera Hong Kong. Future engagements include debuts in Frankfurt, Brussels, Geneva, Valencia, and Salzburg.

On the concert stage, Corinne has appeared as soprano soloist in a European tour of Verdi’s Requiem led by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Les nuits d’été with Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, and Bachianas Brasileiras with True Concord. She joined tenor Matthew Polenzani in recital for the George London Foundation, where she was praised by Opera News as “a striking brunette who manages to be simultaneously gamine and seductress, reveal[ing] an arresting, uniquely plum-colored soprano that could pass for mezzo in the middle but explodes with vibrant color on top.” She has also appeared in recital with the New York Festival of Song, Tucson Desert Song Festival, and Vocal Arts DC, showcasing Spanish song repertoire from her debut album, Canción amorosa.

Conrad has appeared worldwide as a pianist and composer. He is acclaimed as a musician of “probing intellect and open-hearted vision” (The New York Times), a “thoughtful and mature composer” (NPR) and “ferociously talented” (TimeOut New York). In 2011, Conrad was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, a Gilmore Young Artist, and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts awarded him a YoungArts gold medal in music. He received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2012.

In 2018 Conrad made his Lincoln Center debut with a solo recital. He held a residency with the Utah Symphony, and had debut engagements with the Atlanta, New Jersey and Seattle Symphonies. Internationally, he has made appearances with Berner Symphoniker, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Verdi Milano and with the Malaysian Philharmonic. 

Conrad’s career as composer has garnered an eight consecutive ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards and the Carlos Surinach Prize from BMI. His solo recitals and orchestral appearances often include his own compositions and he receives frequent commissions for orchestral, chamber and multimedia works. As the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s artist-in-residence, he premiered his orchestral composition, The world is very different now, commissioned in observance of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Most recently, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia commissioned a new work for piano, orchestra, and electronics, An Adjustment. 

In 2013, Conrad curated and produced the inaugural UNPLAY Festival at the powerHouse Arena in Brooklyn. The festival explored the fleeting ephemera of the Internet, the possibility of a 21st-century canon, and music’s role in social activism and critique. 

Conrad is a Warner Classics recording artist. conradtao.com.

Grammy-winner Jason Vieaux, “among the elite of today’s classical guitarists” (Gramophone), is described by NPR as “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation”. 

Jason recently made his debuts for Domaine-Forget Festival, Carmel Bach Festival, Wolf Trap, and made returns to San Francisco Performances, Caramoor, Ravinia, and Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.  Other recent venues include the National Gallery of Art, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the 92Y, Seoul Arts Center, and Shanghai Concert Hall.  Jason Vieaux has performed as soloist with over 100 orchestras, including Cleveland, Toronto, Houston, Nashville, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

In March 2021, Jason Vieaux performs the premiere recording of a new solo work, “Four Points of Light” composed for Jason by jazz legend Pat Metheny for his new album Road To The Sun.  Jason performed the live recording of Jonathan Leshnoff’s Guitar Concerto with Nashville Symphony in 2019 (Naxos).  Jason’s passion for new music has also fostered recent premieres from Jeff Beal (House of Cards Symphony, BIS, 2017), Avner Dorman, Vivian Fung, Mark Mancina, Dan Visconti, and many more.  Slated for Summer 2021 release is a new solo Bach recording on Azica.  Of his Grammy-winning 2014 solo album Play, The Huffington Post declared that Play is “part of the revitalized interest in the classical guitar.”  

Vieaux’s multiple appearances over the years with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Music@Menlo, Strings Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, etc., have forged his reputation as a top chamber musician.  Regular collaborators include the Escher String Quartet, Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, and accordion/bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro. 

As a teacher, Vieaux co-founded the guitar department at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2011, and has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music for 25 years.  Jason’s online Guitar School has subscribers from over 30 countries.

Stefan is one of America’s foremost violinists hailed for playing of “uncommon musical substance” that is “striking for its intelligence and sensitivity” (Boston Globe). He has appeared as soloist with the Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, and such ensembles as the London, Seoul, Tokyo Philharmonics and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Festivals and concert series appearances include the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival, the Celebrity Series of Boston, the Philharmonie de Paris, and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.   

An active chamber musician, Stefan is a member of the Junction Trio, together with pianist Conrad Tao and cellist Jay Campbell. His discography includes the complete Brahms violin sonatas on Sony, and a forthcoming recording of the complete Ives violin sonatas with his frequent collaborator, pianist Jeremy Denk. Jackiw also recently recorded the Beethoven Triple concerto with cellist Alisa Weilerstein, pianist Inon Barnatan, and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, conducted by Alan Gilbert on Decca. Stefan is a committed teacher and has recently joined the Faculty at the Mannes School of Music. He frequently gives masterclasses at prestigious conservatories and universities, such as the Colburn School, Harvard University, University of Michigan, Bard College, Manhattan School of Music, Vanderbilt University, Sydney Conservatorium, and the Australian National Academy of Music. In 2020, Jackiw started a free monthly online masterclass series, called Stefan’s Sessions, in which he leads an analysis of one of the masterpieces of the violin repertoire, addressing matters of interpretation, technical solutions, historical context, and performance preparation.

Described as “trailblazing” (LA Times) and “an imaginative composer” (NY Times), Andy Akiho is a composer and performer of new music. 

​Recent engagements include commissioned premieres by the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony, China Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony, Oregon Symphony with Soloist Colin Currie, American Composers Orchestra, Music@Menlo, Chamber Music Northwest, Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, LA Dance Project, and experimental opera company The Industry.

Akiho has been recognized with many prestigious awards and organizations including the Rome Prize, Lili Boulanger Memorial Prize, Harvard University Fromm Commission, Barlow Endowment, New Music USA, and Chamber Music America. Additionally, his compositions have been featured on PBS’s “News Hour with Jim Lehrer” and by organizations such as Bang on a Can, American Composers Forum, The Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong, and the Heidelberg Festival.
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Akiho is also an active steel pannist and performs his compositions with various ensembles worldwide. He has performed his works with the Charlotte Symphony, South Carolina Philharmonic, Grand Rapids Symphony, Nu Decco Ensemble, LA Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella Series, the Berlin Philharmonic’s Scharoun Ensemble, Miyamoto is Black Enough, the International Drum Festival in Taiwan, and has had four concerts featuring his compositions at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Akiho’s recordings No One To Know One (innova Recordings) and The War Below (National Sawdust Tracks) features brilliantly crafted compositions that pose intricate rhythms and exotic timbres inspired by his primary instrument, the steel pan.
 
Akiho was born in 1979 in Columbia, SC, and is currently based in New York City and Portland, OR.