Chamber Music Concert 6

Dai Fujikura is a composer based in London, UK. Born in 1977 in Osaka, Japan, Dai was fifteen when he moved to the UK and then studied under Sir. George Benjamin. 

In recent years, his activities have been diverse. His opera, “A Dream of Armageddon,” based on a short story by H.G. Wells, which draws attention to the threat of totalitarianism, had its world premiere at the New National Theatre Tokyo in 2020. The opera was selected as the "Best of the Year" by numerous music magazines. In the same year, his Fourth Piano Concerto (Akiko's Piano), inspired by a piano owned by a woman who was a victim of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, had its world premiere. This was the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing and was released by Sony Music. 

Following that year, “Entwine” was performed by the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, and Hong Kong Sinfonietta. The Orchestre National de Bretagne and the New York Philharmonic are also scheduled to perform it in 2024. 

Another recent orchestral work, “Wavering World,” was commissioned and performed by the Seattle Symphony, Pacific Philharmonia Tokyo, Musikalische Akademie des Nationaltheater-Orchesters Mannheim, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. 

Unique works such as “Metamorphosis of a Living Room,” a music theatre piece created in collaboration with theatre director Toshiki Okada, was commissioned and staged by Wiener Festwochen. This piece was later performed in Hanover and Amsterdam, and it is planned to be staged in Japan. Additionally, “Green Tea Concerto” for flauto traverso and baroque ensemble was commissioned by the B’Rock Orchestra, and “Comic Breath” was commissioned by the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie and the New World Symphony Orchestra.

Daniel Chong, violin | Ken Hamao, violin | Jessica Bodner, viola | Kee-Hyun Kim, cello

Internationally recognized for their “fearless, yet probingly beautiful” (The Strad) performances, the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet has rapidly distinguished itself as one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation, dedicated purely to the sound and depth of their music. Inspired performances and exceptional musicianship are hallmarks of the Quartet, having appeared at the world’s most illustrious venues since its founding in 2002.

Recent seasons included performances around the United States and Europe, including Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Music Toronto, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Strathmore, San Antonio Chamber Music Society, University of Chicago, the Schubert Club, and Kansas City’s Friends of Chamber Music.

This season the Quartet marks their 20th anniversary with The Beethoven Project, a multi-faceted initiative which includes performances of the complete cycle of Beethoven’s string quartets; the commissioning of six composers to write encores inspired by Beethoven’s quartets; the creation of a new video library spotlighting each Beethoven quartet; and bringing Beethoven’s music to non-traditional venues around the Quartet’s home base of Boston, including homeless shelters and youth programs.

The Quartet is committed to working with composers of today — recent commissions include works by Augusta Read Thomas, Felipe Lara, Jaehyuck Choi, and Zosha di Castri. Celebrating the process of creation, the Quartet recorded three new commissions by Kate Soper, Oscar Bettison, and Vijay Iyer as part of Miller Theatre’s Mission: Commission podcast.

Additionally, the Quartet regularly collaborates with a diverse range of artists, including pianists Menahem Pressler, Orion Weiss, Shai Wosner, Billy Childs, and Vijay Iyer; members of the Silk Road Ensemble; clarinetist and composer Jörg Widmann; clarinetists Anthony McGill and Charles Neidich; flutist Claire Chase; and violist Kim Kashkashian, featured on their recent Dvořák recording. The Quartet also continues to be a strong supporter of Kashkashian’s project Music for Food, participating in concerts throughout the United States for the benefit of various food banks and shelters.

Recording projects continue to be an important facet of the Quartet’s artistic output. Described by Gramophone Magazine as a ”string quartet defined by virtuosity so agile that it’s indistinguishable from the process of emotional expression,” their newest release for ECM Records features Dvořák's Viola Quintet as well as György Kurtág's Six Moments Musicaux and Officium breve in memoriam. The Strad also declared the album as “nothing short of astonishing.” Under the auspices of the Monte Carlo Festival Printemps des Arts, they recorded a disc of three Beethoven quartets, of which Diapason “admired the group’s fearlessness, exceptional control, and attention to detail.” The Quartet can also be heard playing Mendelssohn on Nimbus Records, Bartók on Zig-Zag Territoires, and the complete Ligeti Quartets on Naxos, for which they won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance.

The members of the Parker Quartet serve as Professors of the Practice and Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University’s Department of Music. The Quartet also holds a visiting residency at the University of South Carolina and spends its summers on faculty at the Banff Centre’s Evolution: Quartet program.

Founded and currently based in Boston, the Parker Quartet’s numerous honors include winning the Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Grand Prix and Mozart Prize at France’s Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, and Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award.

Photo by Beowulf Sheehan

Enzo Kok was generously supported by the Maria Francisca Josepha Brouwer Fund for Dutch Artists

Enzo Kok (14th of August, 2002) born and raised in Kerkrade, The Netherlands, got his first violin lesson at the age of 6. With guidance of his teachers Ilya Grubert and Eliot Lawson he finished his bachelor studies in 2023 at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with the highest score. From October 2023-2025, Enzo continued his studies at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with Professor Ulf Wallin. Since October 2025 he’s studying at the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover with Liza Ferschtman.

In 2018 he was one of the three finalists of the Dutch Violin Competition ‘Davina van Wely’. In 2019 he received the 1st prize during the national finals of the Prinses Christina Concours. In 2024 Enzo won the 3rd prize as well as the audience prize at the Dutch Violin Competition “Oskar Back Prijs” during the finals. Enzo performed on multiple occasions in concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Tivoli Vredenburg Utrecht. He gave concerts all across Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. As a soloist he appeared with orchestra’s such as the Residente Orchestra and the Hamburger Kamerata. Enzo performed with musicians as: Daniel Rowland, Lisa Jacobs, Iris Hond, Anna Federova and members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Enzo plays a violin built by J.B. Vuillaume generously in loan from André Rieu.

Shintaro Taneda was generously supported by the Cyril and Elizabeth Challice Fund for Musicians

Violinist Shintaro Taneda is active both as a chamber and orchestral musician. Along with being violinist in the Ethea Trio, he has recently collaborated with acclaimed artists including Kim Kashkashian, Parker Quartet, Inon Barnatan, and Shai Wosner. Shintaro is also a member of the Oregon Symphony, and a violin coach with the Portland Youth Philharmonic.

Aidan Garrison was generously supported by the Cyril and Elizabeth Challice Fund for Musicians

As avid chamber musician, Aidan Garrison has collaborated with members of the St. Lawrence string quartet, and Rosemary Elliot, and performed for artists such as Ani Kavafian, Dimitri Murrath, and Christian Colberg, as well as members of the Emerson, Shanghai, and Pacifica string quartets. He has attended the Aspen, Bowdoin, Blairsville, and Heifetz international music festivals, and was a fellow at the Napa Valley Blackburn academy.

Aidan is currently pursuing his Doctoral degree at Stony Brook University, studying with Lawrence Dutton and Matthew Lipman. While at Stony Brook his string quartet was awarded first prize in the school’s Ackermann chamber music competition. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at the New England Conservatory, studying with Mai Motobuchi and Nicholas Cords.

While at NEC, his string quartet was chosen for the Community Performances and Partnerships Ensemble Fellowship, where they developed educational programs designed to bring chamber music to audiences beyond the scope of a formal concert setting. This has led to engagements across the US, including a teaching residency as part of the Virginia Arts Festival.

Beyond the scope of classical music, Aidan has collaborated with musicians from many different disciplines. He has performed with the Scottish fiddle duo Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, took part in the premiere of Wayne Shorter’s opera Iphigenia (co-written by Esperanza Spaulding), and performed as part of the backup string quartet for Jazz/Pop artist Laufey.

Hyunah Lee was generously supported by the Margaret (Peggie) Sampson Memorial Endowment

South Korean cellist Hyunah Lee is a versatile performer whose passion lies in chamber music and collaborative music-making. She has performed at notable festivals, including the Maine Chamber Music Seminar, Toronto Summer Music, the Tianjin International Chamber Music Festival, and the Tibor Varga Music Academy in Switzerland. Her collaborative highlights include performances with distinguished artists such as Weigang Li, Jinjoo Cho, Colin Carr, Tom Sauer, Jonathan Crow, Sharon Wei, Scott St. John, Alvin Zhu, and Philip Setzer. She is currently a member of the Arco Ensemble and the Velaris String Quartet, and studies at the Emerson String Quartet Institute at Stony Brook University.

Hyunah won First Prize at the Seoul Chamber Competition, Second Prize at the Music Association of Korea Competition, and Second Prize (with no First Prize awarded) at the Sung Jung Music Competition. In addition to her extensive chamber music activities, she regularly presents solo and chamber recitals throughout the United States and South Korea.

She received her Bachelor of Music from Seoul National University and her Master of Music in Chamber Music from The Tianjin Juilliard School, where she was awarded a full scholarship and a graduate fellowship. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Stony Brook University under the guidance of Colin Carr, where she also serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant.

Sierra Gao was generously supported by the Frederick Louis Crosby Memorial Endowment

Sierra Gao is an oboe and cor anglais player based in Melbourne Australia. She recently completed a Graduate Diploma in Music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, where she studied under Jeffrey Crellin, former Principal Oboe of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

She has performed with ensembles including the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Youth Orchestras, performing major orchestral repertoire. Sierra has also participated in masterclasses with oboists including Johannes Grosso, Bobby Cheng, Eve Newsome, Ricardo Barbosa, and Federico Curti.

Sierra is a co-founder of Auralis Ensemble, a Melbourne-based wind quintet dedicated to collaborative and expressive chamber music performance. The ensemble has performed at venues including Tempo Rubato, a well-known Melbourne concert venue recognised for its intimate chamber music programming, and Lennox St Gallery. Their repertoire spans core wind quintet works such as Barber’s Summer Music and Françaix’s Wind Quintet No.1, alongside Poulenc’s Sextet for Piano and Winds and contemporary Australian composer Ross Edwards’ Incantations. In 2025, Auralis attended the Portillo Music Festival in Chile, further expanding their international artistic collaborations.

Maija Flood was generously supported by the Frederick Louis Crosby Memorial Endowment

Maija Flood is a clarinettist from Dja Dja Wurrung Country in Australia. Maija completed her Bachelor of Music (Hons.) at the Melbourne Conservatorium in 2025, learning under the tutelage of David Thomas and David Griffiths. Maija is an avid chamber musician, performing across Melbourne with her group ‘Auralis Ensemble’ and participating in the 2025 Portillo International Music Festival in Chile. In 2026, she is excited to continue progressing her musical identity through the Banff Chamber Music Residency and to travel to Europe for further development of her clarinet playing, including through the Voksenåsen Summer Academy. Maija has a particular interest in exploring the relationship between fine arts and music, which saw her receive a grant from the University of Melbourne in 2025. With this, she presented a curated chamber music concert in collaboration with Lennox St Gallery, responding to Jason Cordero’s surrealist landscape exhibit, ‘The Place of Concord.’

Each Zhang was generously supported by the Frederick Louis Crosby Memorial Endowment

Yichi Zhang is in his honours (fourth) year of studying with Lyndon Watts at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. He has played with the Melbourne Youth Orchestra and the University of Melbourne’s Philharmonic Orchestra, Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra. Highlights include concerts in Geelong, Sydney and Brisbane with the Wind Symphony, and the Symphony Orchestra’s 2023 international tour of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, where he played in Gustav Mahler’s first symphony, and premiered Hun Tur by Melody Eötvös, Senior Lecturer of Music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.

Yichi is an enthusiastic chamber musician, having been a member of multiple wind quintets during his time at the Conservatorium, performing works such as György Ligeti’s Six Bagatelles for wind quintet and Samuel Barber’s Summer Music. Him alongside his wind quintet were selected to participate in the Portillo International Festival and Academy in Chile for 2025, where they performed Wind Quintet no.1 by Jean Françaix.

He is also a passionate pianist and conductor, and has conducted Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Gran Partita with ensembles of his own making, as well as conducted compositions by his fellow students at the university.

Ciara Wrede was generously supported by Frederick Louis Crosby Memorial Endowment

Ciara Wrede is a horn player from Melbourne, Australia. In 2025, she completed her Bachelor of Music with Honours at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, where she studied under Carla Blackwood. Ciara discovered her passion for the horn in high school and transitioned fully to the instrument at the beginning of her undergraduate degree. 

Ciara has had the opportunity to participate in various inspiring masterclasses with Australian and international horn players,including Katy Woolley, Andrew Bain, Přemysl Vojta, Genevieve Clifford, Anneke Scott, and Simen Fegran. She is looking forward to studying with Benjamin Jacks and Peter Luff at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in 2026.

Chamber music has become an unexpectedly important part of Ciara’s musical journey, especially after co-founding Auralis Ensemble. In 2025, she travelled to Chile with Auralis and also performed as principal horn in the Portillo Festival Academy Orchestra, touring major concert halls and working with leading international tutors.

Ciara’s true passion for the horn lies in orchestral performance. She performs regularly with Orchestra Victoria, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the Symphonic Cinema Orchestra. She has also been a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra.

Ayoun Kim was generously supported by the Cyril and Elizabeth Challice Fund for Musicians

Cellist Ayoun Alexandra Kim, a prize-winning performer from Korea, has been recognized by the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition and has performed at leading festivals including Music@Menlo and Kneisel Hall. She has collaborated with the Telegraph Quartet and artists such as Shai Wosner and Inon Barnatan. She holds degrees from The Juilliard School and SFCM. Her primary mentors are Natasha Brofsky, Astrid Schween, Hans Jensen, and Jennifer Culp.

Jonathan Lee was generously supported by the Cyril and Elizabeth Challice Fund for Musicians

Pianist Jon Lee is a first-prize laureate at the Cliburn International Amateur and San Diego International Piano Competitions, and has performed widely across North America and Europe at venues including Symphony Hall in Boston and Salle Cortot in Paris. Active as both a chamber musician and arts leader, he collaborates with artists including Clive Greensmith, the Telegraph Quartet, Nicholas Phan, and Jonathan Vinocour, and serves in leadership roles with the Hawaiʻi Chamber Music Festival and SF Chamber Sessions. He also developed MusicPodium, an iPad app for digital score reading, and holds degrees from MIT and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
 

Lorena Navarro was generously supported by the David and Peggy Leighton Endowment

Lorena Navarro is a percussionist, educator, and composer. She has had the honor of sharing the stage with members from Sō Percussion, Sandbox Percussion, Bang on a Can All-Stars, and Akropolis Reed Quintet. She has performed internationally as an Artist in Residence at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada. As an educator, Lorena serves as the Assistant Instructor of Percussion at University of Central Missouri, where she teaches private lessons, coaches percussion ensemble, and teaches the UCM Marching section. As a composer, she explores writing for percussion and mixed chamber ensembles. She premiered her first solo written for marimba at the 2024 Gather Listen Hear Festival at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Her arrangement, My Neighbor Totoro: 3 Movements for Percussion Ensemble, was premiered by the Michigan State University Percussion Ensemble. She currently arranges for the UCM Marching percussion section and has previously written for the MSU Spartan Drumline. Lorena is currently pursuing her D.M.A. in Music Performance at Michigan State University. She earned her M.M. in Percussion Performance from Michigan State University and her B.S. in Music Education from Utah Valley University.

Chi-En Wong was generously supported by the Helen Graham Artist Award

Taiwanese percussionist Chi-En Wong is a versatile performer and artistic researcher dedicated to the intersection of technical precision and narrative storytelling. Currently a Doctor of Musical Arts student at the University of Toronto, Chi-En’s work explores the art of concert curation, focusing on how narrative integration can transform the solo percussion concert experience.
Her professional orchestral career includes performing as a section percussionist with the Eugene Symphony and Orchestra Next, where she has navigated a vast repertoire ranging from classical masterworks to contemporary world premieres. An accomplished soloist, Chi-En’s commitment to excellence has been recognized through numerous accolades, including participating in the 2025 IPEA International Percussion Competition, winning second place at the 2022 Great Plains International Marimba Competition, and winning the 2020 Missouri State University Concerto/Aria Competition.
Chi-En holds a Master of Music from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor of Music from Missouri State University. Today, her artistry is driven by a deep commitment to the stage, blending rigorous formal training with a modern, dramaturgical lens to create immersive and conceptually driven musical experiences for audiences worldwide.
 

Jonathan Huard was generously supported by the Helen Graham Artist Award

Born in Rimouski, Qc, Jonathan Huard holds a bachelor’s degree in percussion from the Rimouski Conservatory of Music, a master’s degree with distinction from the Quebec Conservatory of Music, and an Advanced Certificate in Performance from the University of Toronto. Passionate about contemporary music, improvisation, and orchestral music, he actively pursues these interests by collaborating with several specialized ensembles in Canada, including GGRIL (Rimouski), the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, and Esprit Orchestra (Toronto). Jonathan has participated in the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, the So Percussion Summer Institute, and several competitions, including the Prix d’Europe and the Canadian Music Competition, where he twice won first prize in percussion. In 2026, he was awarded Fourth Prize, Prix de l’Académie de musique du Québec, and Prix du Centre de musique canadienne au Québec at the Prix d’Europe Competition. In recognition of his artistic quality, 
advanced playing skills, and determination to pursue his career, Jonathan has received the Award of Excellence from the Quebec City Symphony Orchestra Foundation.

He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Charles Settle’s studio. His career is marked by a constant pursuit of artistic excellence, great musical versatility, and a sustained interest in contemporary composition.

Yueyu Liu was generously supported by the Isobel and Tom Rolston Fellowships in Music Endowment

Yueyi Liu is a North America–based percussionist and educator currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of British Columbia. As Founder and Artistic Director of the Vancouver Youth Percussion Ensemble, she is dedicated to fostering music education and community engagement through percussion.

As a versatile percussionist, Liu’s performance career spans solo, chamber, and contemporary works. She has collaborated with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Turning Point Ensemble, Vancouver Brass Ensemble, and the Canadian Music Centre, and has participated in interdisciplinary projects at the Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery. Her international performance experience includes performances at Lincoln Center and New York City Center in collaboration with the Martha Graham Dance Company, as well as numerous orchestral performances in China.

As an educator with over a decade of teaching experience, she has mentored students who have earned top prizes in international percussion competitions and gained admission to prestigious ensembles, guiding young musicians toward both artistic excellence and professional development.