Artist - Moab Music Festival

Cynthia is an esteemed violist whose wide-ranging career has taken her to stages across the world as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. Principal Violist of the New York Philharmonic for over two decades, she is a regularly featured soloist with the orchestra both at home and abroad, in a variety of repertoire, including two world premieres written solely for her. Other concerto appearances have been with the Minnesota Orchestra, Shanghai, Vermont, Santa Barbara, Eastern Music Festival, and San Diego Symphonies, Orquesta Sinfonica de Bilbao, and Rochester and Hong Kong Philharmonics. Known for her emotional nuance, virtuosic technique, and plush tone, she is a founding member of both the New York Philharmonic String Quartet, and Les Amies trio, and is a frequent guest with chamber series across the globe. She has been featured in several nationwide “Live from Lincoln Center” telecasts, on National Public Radio, Radio France, Italy‘s RAI, and in regular broadcasts from the 92Y, including collaborations with Emanuel Ax and Daniil Trifonov. She is on the faculty of the Juilliard School Shanghai Academy, Music Academy of the West, and Mannes College of Music.

Upcoming Performances:

Aug 28 – A Movable, Musical Feast

Aug 29 – Grotto I: 19th Century Classics

Aug 31 – Music Hike I: Mozart in the Morning

Aug 31 – Red Cliffs I: Colorado Currents

Sep 1 – Red Cliffs II: BAILEN

Praised as a “gifted, adventuresome violinist” by the Chicago Tribune and as a “remarkable, unbelievable violinist/violist extraordinaire” by the syndicated radio program Relevant Tones, Austin has gained critical and audience attention through his “wide technical range and interpretive daring” (New Music Box) as a soloist and chamber musician. He first forged his reputation in Chicago with the collective Ensemble Dal Niente, serving as the group’s Program Director, and winning the Kranichstein Music Prize (the grand prize for interpretation) at the Darmstadt Summer Course in 2012. Austin was also a founding member of Spektral Quartet, serving as Ensemble-in-Residence (as well as Adjunct Instructor of Violin) at the University of Chicago from 2011-2016. Consistently in search of new musical pathways through ensemble work, Austin has collaborated with a wide range of musical voices, from artists like Deerhoof and Julia Holter, to Miguel Zenon and Billy Childs, or Brian Ferneyhough and Kaija Saariaho. Furthermore, he has also been a guest artist with groups such as Eighth Blackbird, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNow Ensemble. His debut solo release Diligence Is to Magic as Progress Is to Flight was released in 2014 in collaboration with bassoonist/composer Katherine Young. Austin holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Northwestern University, as well as having held fellowships at the Aspen Music Festival and Lucerne Academy. Austin serves on the faculty of the Mannes School of Music, where JACK is Quartet in Residence.

Winner of numerous prizes including the Walter Naumburg International Competition,
Tibor Varga International Competition, Astral Artists National Auditions, Young
Performers Career Advancement, and Lili Boulanger awards, Ayano has performed with
orchestras across the U.S., Switzerland, Bulgaria, and most recently in Carnegie Hall.
Praised for her “deeply communicative and engrossing” (The New York Times)
performances, she has performed at the Marlboro, Ravinia, Moab, Bowdoin, Kingston,
Adams (New Zealand), Canberra International (Australia), and Prussia Cove (England)
festivals. She has been featured on Musicians from Marlboro tours in the U.S. and
France, and gave a TEDx talk at the University of Tokyo. She was first violinist of the
Ying Quartet and was Associate Professor at the Eastman School of Music until 2015
when she joined the violin faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music. As a
recipient of the Beebe Fellowship, Ayano studied in Budapest, Hungary, at the Liszt
Academy after graduating from Harvard University and The Juilliard School. In her
spare time, she loves to paint and practice Aikido.

Upcoming performances:

Aug 24 – New Music at Red Earth

Aug 25 – American Minimalism: A Retrospective

Aug 27 – Floating Concert

Announcing the Leslie Tomkins Endowment Fund

To honor Leslie Tomkins as Moab Music Festival co-founder and celebrate over 32 years of her visionary artistic leadership, we are excited to announce the Leslie Tomkins Endowment Fund. We invite you to make a contribution today! By giving to this endowment, you’re helping enshrine for future generations the work near and dear to Leslie’s heart: connecting people intimately to the magic that is music in concert with the landscape. CLICK HERE to give online. For more ways to give, visit our SUPPORT PAGE.

Leslie was inspired by the red rocks of Moab to create the Moab Music Festival of which she is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director. Now in its 32nd year, the critically acclaimed chamber music festival is known for presenting music in concert with the landscape among the striking red rocks of southeastern Utah. Additionally, she is the Artistic Director of Summertrios (summertrios.org), an organization that offers chamber music coaching and performance opportunities to adult non-professional musicians of all levels. She is a member of the Dal Sogno chamber ensemble which is dedicated to sharing the works of under-recognized composers. Based in the Bronx, Leslie enjoys the richly diverse musical life that New York City offers, performing at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, Lincoln Center, and playing chamber music and coaching student and professional chamber ensembles. Leslie is on the Advisory Committee of the Valley of the Moon Music Festival and mentors women in leadership roles of several non-profit arts organizations. She enjoys hiking with her poodle Lulu, gyrotonics, speed skating, bungee fitness, travelling and looking at art.

Upcoming Performances:

Aug 27 – Opening Night: Celebrating 33 Years of Moab Music Festival

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