Sebastian is a composer & pianist based in southern California. He utilizes a combination of traditional craft and modern aesthetics to create his unique style. His first major performance as a piano soloist was the premiere of his composition Concertino for Piano and Orchestra with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra at the age of 9. Sebastian obtained his B.M. in Composition from the Curtis Institute of Music & his M.M. in Composition from the University of Southern California. From ’16-’18, he was the Resident Composer of the Louisville Orchestra. He is the youngest three-time BMI Student Composer Awards winner in the history of the competition (’02, ’05, & ’07). He won five ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Awards (’01, ’02, ’04, ’05, & ’06). He was awarded a $50K scholarship as a Davidson Fellow Laureate by the Davidson Institute for Talent Development in '02. He played in the Louisville Orchestra in “The American Project” featuring Yuja Wang as piano soloist and Teddy Abrams and Michael Tilson Thomas as composers, which won a Grammy in the “Best Instrumental Classical Solo” category in ’24. His works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, the Louisville Ballet, the Louisville Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Festival, the Britt Festival Orchestra, the Louisville Chamber Choir, and the NouLou Chamber Players. His "Classical Symphony”, premiered by the Louisville Orchestra in January ‘15, is subject of Episode 9: “First Symphony” of the Music Makes a City Now PBS documentary cycle. "Between Heaven and Earth", in collaboration with Kurdish Baghdad-native visual artist Vian Sora, premiered on February 23 & 24, ’18 by the Louisville Orchestra & Louisville Chamber Choir, in Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center, in Louisville, KY. Sebastian's new Piano Concerto "The Empress", for piano and full orchestra, premiered on June 17, '22, in the Britt Festival Pavilion by the Britt Festival Orchestra, in Jacksonville, OR. His new Piano Trio No. 2 “Beyond Silence” premiered on November 20, ‘22, by Trio Barclay, at the Barclay Theatre, in Irvine, CA. He performed the piano solo part to Bernstein’s “Symphony 2: The Age of Anxiety” with the Louisville Orchestra on March 31 & April 1, ’23, at Whitney Hall in the Kentucky Center, in Louisville, KY. His new film score for the silent horror classic “Nosferatu” premiered October 27 & 28, ’23, by the Louisville Orchestra at Whitney Hall in the Kentucky Center, in Louisville, KY. He is Louisville Orchestra’s first-call pianist. At the Orange County School of the Arts, he is an instructor for the Instrumental Music & Piano programs, and works as an accompanist for the Instrumental Music, Classical Voice, and Musical Theatre departments. His publishing company is Sebastian Press, registered under the American Society of Composers, Authors, & Publishers (ASCAP).

American pianist William Wolfram was a silver medalist at both the William Kapell and the Naumburg International Piano Competitions and a bronze medalist at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow.

​Wolfram has appeared with many of the greatest orchestras of the world and has developed a special reputation as the rare concerto soloist who is also equally versatile and adept as a recitalist, accompanist and chamber musician. In all of these genres, he is highly sought after for his special focus on the music of Franz Liszt and Beethoven and is a special champion for the music of modernist 20th century American composers.

 

His concerto debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony under the baton of Leonard Slatkin was the first in a long succession of appearances and career relationships with numerous American conductors and orchestras. He has also appeared with the San Francisco, Saint Louis, Indianapolis, Seattle and New Jersey symphonies, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington D.C.), the Baltimore Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Nashville Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Utah Symphony, the San Diego Symphony, the Edmonton Symphony, the Columbus Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, and the Grand Teton and San Luis Obispo Mozart festival orchestras, among many others. He enjoys regular and ongoing close associations with the Dallas Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra as well as the musicians of the New York Philharmonic for chamber concerts in the United States.

 

Internationally recognized conductors with whom he has worked include Osmo Vanska, Andrew Litton, Jerzy Semkow, Mark Wigglesworth, Jeffrey Tate, Vladimir Spivakov, Michael Christie, Gerard Schwarz, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Jeffrey Kahane, James Judd, Roberto Minczuk, Stefan Sanderling, JoAnn Falletta, James Paul, Carlos Kalmar, Hans Vonk, Joseph Silverstein, Jens Nygaard, Yan Pascal Tortelier and Vasily Petrenko.

 

Abroad, Wolfram has appeared with the BBC Symphony Orchestra of London, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the RTE Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (Dublin), the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Bergen Philharmonic (Norway), the Beethovenhalle Orchestra Bonn, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and many others.

 

An enthusiastic supporter of new music, he has collaborated with and performed music by composers such as Aaron Jay Kernis, Kenneth Frazelle, Marc Andre Dalbavie, Kenji Bunch, and Paul Chihara. His world premiere performance of the Chihara re-orchestration of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1, with the Milwaukee Symphony under the baton of Andreas Delfs, was met with great critical attention and acclaim.

 

Other highlights include several chamber music collaborations, including recitals and recordings with Oscar Shumsky, recitals with Harvey Shapiro and numerous collaborations with Leonard Rose.  He also performed Richard Strauss’s setting of the Tennyson poem Enoch Arden with the Oscar-winning actress Louise Rainer, and with actor Jeff Steitzer.

 

Wolfram has also performed as a guest artist with prominent ballet companies including ABT, Pittsburgh Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Carolina Ballet and Boston Ballet, working with noted choreographers including Jiri Kylian, Edward Villella, Robert Weiss, and Agnes De Mille. 

 

Wolfram has extensive experience in the recording studio. He has recorded four titles on the Naxos label in his series of Franz Liszt Opera Transcriptions and two other chamber music titles for Naxos with violinist Philippe Quint (music of Miklos Rosza and John Corigliano). Also for Naxos he has recorded the music of Earl Kim with piano and orchestra - the RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland behind him. For the Albany label, he recorded the piano concertos of Edward Collins with Marin Alsop and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.  He most recently recorded the Bach Goldberg Variations on the PlayClassics label.

 

As educator and teacher, Mr. Wolfram serves as a member of the piano faculty at Manhattan School of Music, where he also coaches chamber music. He is also a long-standing member of the piano faculty at the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, and a regular featured guest at the Colorado College Music Festival in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

 

In print and other media Wolfram was the focus of a full chapter in Joseph Horowitz's book, The Ivory Trade: Music and the Business of Music at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. On television, he was a featured pianist in the documentary of the 1986 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition.

 

A graduate of the Juilliard School, William Wolfram resides in New York City and is a Yamaha artist.

Violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti has a musical career of broad versatility and accomplishment. Former concertmaster of the Florida Orchestra and Oregon Symphony, in 2007 she was named inaugural Director of Mercer University’s McDuffie Center for Strings, a position she has held with distinction, guiding the gifted young artists to great heights. She is a member of the acclaimed Ehnes Quartet, touring and recording with violinist James Ehnes, violist Che-Yen Chen, and cellist Edward Arron.  The Cleveland Institute of Music has recognized her with an Alumni Achievement Award and she is the 2014 San Francisco Conservatory of Music Fanfare Honoree. In December 2018, Moretti was selected as one of Musical America’s “Top 30 Professionals of the Year.  Recent projects include the 2024 recording of a concerto written for her by composer Christopher Schmitz, and the filming of the documentary, “Chaos Becomes Order,” illuminating the process of the concerto's collaboration with the prestigious London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Stefan Sanderling.

Andrea (“Annie”) Daigle, violin, has been a member of the Louisville Orchestra since 2016. Prior to her time in Louisville, she spent four years as a fellow with the New World Symphony in Miami, where she appeared regularly in leadership positions and was featured as a soloist at the 2016 New World Symphony Gala. She also performs as a substitute musician with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony. During the summer season, Annie enjoys playing in the Artosphere and Britt Festival Orchestras. Previous summer activities include the New York Symphonic Ensemble Japan Tour and studies at the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA, and the Aspen Music Festival. She received both MM and BM degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where her primary teachers were William Preucil and David Updegraff.

Noted for his “expressive warmth” [Chicago Classical Review] NYC based and Los Angeles born violinist Brendan Speltz has toured the globe as an in demand chamber musician. Recently appointed as second violinist of the prestigious Escher String QuartetHighlights this year include appearances at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Aspen Music Festival, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Wigmore Hall, among others. He’s also toured with groundbreaking ensembles such as A Far Cry, Ethel, the Harlem Quartet, Shuffle Concert, and the Manhattan Chamber Players, and with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Orion, and Dover Quartets. An avid believer in the power of classical music to reach young adults, Speltz has produced innovative concert events across the U.S. and Canada which have been described by The New Yorker as “Thrilling, poignant, unexpected, and utterly DIY.” Recent productions include curating the closing concert experience of the prestigious Chamber Fest Ottawa in 2018 and before that co-creating a cross-disciplinary presentation of Steve Reich’s Different Trains with aerial dance troupe ABCirque which was sponsored by Meyer Sound Labs in Brooklyn. In NYC he has performed as guest with the New York New Music Ensemble, Mark Morris Dance Group, American Ballet Theatre, The American Symphony, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s and as a founding member of the conductorless string orchestra Shattered Glass. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California with Los Angeles Concertmaster Margaret Batjer and his Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music with Laurie Smukler. He plays a 1925 Carl Becker violin.

Brittany MacWilliams has a rich and diverse career both as performer and educator. She made her professional solo debut at age ten with the Louisville Orchestra and went on to win numerous competitions including the Music Teachers National Association competition. Ms. MacWilliams has performed extensively as soloist and concertmaster in such diverse locales as Istanbul, Beijing, Salzburg, Munich, Lisbon, and New York. She has had solo engagements with such orchestras as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Munich Hochshule Orchestra, Kentucky Symphony, and Aspen Chamber Symphony. Ms. MacWilliams can be heard as soloist on two critically acclaimed compact discs of Giornovichi Violin Concerti for the Arte Nova Classics/BMG label. Ms. MacWilliams is a passionate educator and has an active and varied teaching background. She has been a professor of violin and viola at the University of Louisville School of Music for fourteen years. She has also been the Director of the UofL String Academy, a program for talented and dedicated pre-college students, and is founder and director of LaPS (Leadership and Performance for Strings) at the Oldham County Schools Arts Center. She taught as a member of the collegiate violin faculty at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and taught violin, viola and chamber music at Xavier University. She served as director and a member of the violin faculty of the Starling Preparatory String Project at the University of Cincinnati for twelve years. During the summers, Ms. MacWilliams has served on the faculties of the Aspen Music Festival and the Great Wall International Music Academy in Beijing, and she currently teaches at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, where she has been a member of the artist faculty for ten years. In 2001, Ms. MacWilliams was the first winner of the prestigious Dorothy Richard Starling Teaching Fellowship, and over the years her students have won national competitions, performed with major orchestras, won teaching positions at numerous institutions, and received music scholarships to many top universities and conservatories. Ms. MacWilliams’ teachers include Kurt Sassmannshaus, Dorothy Delay, David Updegraff, Peter Oundjean, Henri Meyer, Virginia Schneider, Peter McHugh, Hiroko Driver and Cho-Liang Lin.

A Pacific Northwest native, Dillon Welch has been a member of the Louisville Orchestra since February 2023. Previously, he was a member of the Louisiana Philharmonic and a fellow at the New World Symphony. He has also been a member of the Canton Symphony, the Akron Symphony, the Firelands Symphony, and the Round Rock Symphony, where he served as Concertmaster. He has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic, the Erie Philharmonic, and has spent summers playing with the Britt, Spoleto, and Round Top Festivals, along with the National Repertory Orchestra. Mr. Welch began playing the violin at the age of five in Olympia, Washington. He later took lessons with Jan and Kent Coleman in the Seattle area, followed by former Seattle Symphony Second Assistant Concertmaster Simon James. He received a Bachelors in Violin Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, studying with Brian Lewis. He went on to get a Masters from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with former Cleveland Orchestra Concertmaster William Preucil. In his spare time, Mr. Welch loves reading, seeing how fast he can do the New York Times Crossword, and exploring the Louisville area on his bike.

Gabriel Lefkowitz is an acclaimed violinist, conductor, & composer enjoying a dynamic and multi-faceted career as a performer, creator, and educator. Gabriel is the Concertmaster of the Louisville Orchestra (and its Cover Conductor for the 2021-2022 season), Artistic Director & Conductor of the Louisville Civic Orchestra, an active soloist and chamber musician, a frequent masterclass clinician, and a guest conductor with various orchestras and ensembles. Gabriel has also composed the music for several video games, various YouTube and Twitch channels, a circus show, and a themed resort, and was the featured violin soloist on the soundtrack for the film Harriet (Focus Features).

Named one of the best string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine, Julianne Lee joined the Dover Quartet as its violist in September 2023. She has forged a remarkable career as both a violinist and violist, frequently appearing as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. She holds the position of assistant principal second violinist at the Boston Symphony Orchestra and has been a member of the BSO violin section since 2006, serving as acting assistant concertmaster from 2013 to 2015. Ms. Lee has toured nationally and internationally with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Marlboro Music Festival, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, where she held the title of guest principal violist. She also served as the second violinist of the Johannes String Quartet from 2015 to 2018. Throughout her illustrious career, she has performed as a soloist with orchestras in Germany, the United States, and South Korea and as a chamber musician at numerous music festivals, including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music at the Banff Centre, and the Marlboro Music Festival. Ms. Lee graduated with a unanimous first prize from the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris in France. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory, where she double majored in violin and viola. Ms. Lee holds a strong belief in the importance of teaching and shaping the next generation of musicians. She teaches at the Curtis Institute and frequently gives masterclasses.

Praised for his “sweet, luxurious” sound (Fanfare), and the “thoughtfulness and seriousness” (Nashville Scene) of his interpretations, Stephen Miahky is the Joseph Joachim Professor of Violin at Vanderbilt University and first violin of the Blair String Quartet. He has garnered acclaim for his performances throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia in concert halls and music festivals. Some of his recent engagements include performances at New York City’s Merkin Hall, Symphony Space, and Bargemusic, Atlanta’s ProMozart Society, the Princeton Chamber Music Society, the American Academies in Rome and Berlin, and NPR’s Performance Today. He has been featured in chamber music performances with musicians such as Lynn Harrell, Joseph Silverstein, Andres Cardenes, Glenn Dicterow, Steven Doane, and Jinjoo Cho. Miahky is a member of Brave New Works and a rotating concertmaster of the IRIS Orchestra, based in Memphis, Tennessee. He has also performed as guest concertmaster of the Illinois Symphony, the Columbus ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Houston’s River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, and the Kansas City Symphony. As a recording artist, Miahky can be heard on numerous world-premiere recordings on the AMP, New Dynamic, Edition Modern, Albany, and Naxos record labels. Originally from Akron, Ohio, Miahky earned B.M. and M.M. degrees from the University of Michigan and a D.M.A. degree from Rutgers University. He studied violin with Arnold Steinhardt, Paul Kantor, and Alan Bodman, and chamber music with Andrew Jennings, Martin Katz, and members of the Cleveland, Brentano, Emerson, Juilliard, American, and Tokyo String Quartets. He received additional training at the Aspen Music Festival, Canada’s National Arts Centre, the Perlman Music Program, and the Meadowmount School of Music, where he was recently recognized as a distinguished alumnus. Miahky spends his summers teaching and performing at ENCORE Chamber Music in northeast Ohio and the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival in eastern Washington.

Evan Vicic has been the Assistant Principal Violist of the Louisville Orchestra since January 2014. He frequently appears as a substitute with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In the summers of 2017 and 2019, Evan had the honor of playing in the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, California. In October 2021, Evan was featured as the violist in Erwin Schulhoff's Concerto for String Quartet & Wind Orchestra with the Louisville Orchestra. Originally hailing from Minnesota, Evan grew up studying the violin. He switched to viola prior to attending Northwestern University to study with Dr. Roland Vamos. After attaining his Bachelor’s in Music, he continued studies at Indiana University with Stephen Wyrczynski. Evan is interested in many different genres of music and performed on the NPR nationally broadcast radio show "Live From Here" with Bruce Hornsby and Chris Thile. Evan is a proud member of the NouLou Chamber Players in Louisville, KY. Evan is available to teach both violin, and viola. He also is a recording/mixing engineer and producer. See Vicic Audio & Media for details.

Jonathan Mueller, Viola, has been a member of the Louisville Orchestra since the 2006-2007 season. Mr. Mueller completed a Master of Music in Viola Performance at Rice University's Shepherd School in May of 2006 under the instruction of former Cleveland Quartet Violist, James Dunham. While at the Shepherd School, Mr. Mueller performed in master classes for the Tokyo, American, and Mendelssohn Quartets. During his time at Rice, Mr. Mueller's orchestral experience was with the Austin Symphony and the Symphony of Southeast Texas in Beaumont. Before attending Rice University, Mr. Mueller received his Bachelor of Music from Indiana University where he studied with former L.A. Philharmonic Principal Violist, Alan DeVeritch. While at IU, Mr. Mueller performed with the Evansville Philharmonic for two seasons. Mr. Mueller currently teaches Violin and Viola at Bellarmine University and lives in the Highlands with his wife, Krista, son, Everett and daughter, Coral.

Named one of the best string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine, Julianne Lee joined the Dover Quartet as its violist in September 2023. She has forged a remarkable career as both a violinist and violist, frequently appearing as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. She holds the position of assistant principal second violinist at the Boston Symphony Orchestra and has been a member of the BSO violin section since 2006, serving as acting assistant concertmaster from 2013 to 2015. Ms. Lee has toured nationally and internationally with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Marlboro Music Festival, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, where she held the title of guest principal violist. She also served as the second violinist of the Johannes String Quartet from 2015 to 2018. Throughout her illustrious career, she has performed as a soloist with orchestras in Germany, the United States, and South Korea and as a chamber musician at numerous music festivals, including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music at the Banff Centre, and the Marlboro Music Festival. Ms. Lee graduated with a unanimous first prize from the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris in France. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory, where she double majored in violin and viola. Ms. Lee holds a strong belief in the importance of teaching and shaping the next generation of musicians. She teaches at the Curtis Institute and frequently gives masterclasses.

Praised for her warm and beautiful sound, Laura brings enthusiasm and energy to her performances. She has enjoyed performing with acclaimed ensembles such as Chattanooga Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, Quad City Symphony, Mankato Symphony, and is a tenured member of the Duluth-Superior Symphony. Currently, Laura holds a position with the Paducah Symphony and regularly performs with Orchestra Kentucky in Bowling Green. Laura has performed with Roberto Diaz, Leon Fleischer, Sharon Isbin, Jennifer Koh, Itzhak Perlman, Christopher O’Reilly, and The Joffrey Ballet. As a soloist, she has performed Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante at the University of Minnesota with conductor, Dr. Jeffrey Specht.

As a chamber musician who has performed across the United States and Canada, she has been a participant in chamber music festivals such as The Castleman Quartet Program, Lyricafest, North American Viola Institute, Niagara International Chamber Music Festival, Bravo!, Madeline Island Music Camp, Chamber Music Midwest, and Northern Lights Chamber Music Festival.  In 2014, Laura was the Assistant Dean for The Castleman Quartet Program and has served as junior faculty and counselor at Stringwood Chamber Music Festival and Green Lake Chamber Music Festival. Laura has participated in readings with Natasha Brofsky, Charles Castleman, Norm Fisher and Roger Tapping. She has played in masterclasses for members of Arianna, Artaria, Concord, Emerson, Julliard, Pacifica, Parker and Takács String Quartets, as well as the Minnesota Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Since moving to Louisville in March 2015, Laura has kept up a busy schedule including performances with Stevie Wonder at the Yum! Center while on his Tour in the Key of Life, Louisville Ballet, and Louisville Master Chorale. As an educator, she maintains a private studio at Suzuki Stars Music Academy in addition to teaching strings at Montessori School of Louisville.

Laura holds viola performance degrees from Texas Tech University (BM) and the University of Minnesota (MM). She is nearly complete with a Doctorate of Musical Arts also from the U of M. Her most influential teachers and mentors include violists, Alice Preves, Renee Skerik, Korey Konkol; violinist Laura Bossert; and cellist Terry King.

Praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for his “glowing refinement,” violist Luke Fleming's performances have been described by The Strad as “confident and expressive...playing with uncanny precision," and lauded by Gramophone for their "superlative technical and artistic execution.”   Festival appearances include the Marlboro Music School and Festival, the Steans Institute at Ravinia, Perlman Music Program, the Norfolk and Great Lakes Chamber Music Festivals, the Melbourne Festival, Bravo!Vail, and Festival Mozaic.  Formerly the violist of the internationally acclaimed Attacca Quartet, he has served as Artist-in-Residence for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and received the National Federation of Music Clubs Centennial Chamber Music Award.  He was awarded First Prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and top prizes at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition.   In 2015, Mr. Fleming became the Founding Artistic Director of both the Manhattan Chamber Players, a New York-based chamber music collective, and the Crescent City Chamber Music Festival.  He currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Viola at the University of New Orleans School of the Arts.  He has performed as a guest artist with the Escher, Modigliani, Pacifica, Serafin, and Solera String Quartets, the Eroica, Lysander, and Gryphon Piano Trios, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Decoda, and Ensemble Connect.   Mr. Fleming holds the degrees of Doctor of Musical Arts, Artist Diploma, and Master of Music from the Juilliard School, a Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music in London, and a Bachelor of Music summa cum laude from Louisiana State University.   lukefleming.com

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, cellist Anne Richardson began musical studies with Wayne Krigger and Louise Harris at the age of 6. Since then, she has embarked on a versatile and international career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. A graduate of the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Richard Aaron, Anne made her Lincoln Center debut at the age of 19, performing Henri Dutilleux's Cello Concerto, "Tout un monde lointain..", with the Juilliard Orchestra under the baton of Alan Gilbert at David Geffen Hall. Additional solo appearances include concerts with the Louisville Orchestra, Massapequa Philharmonic, Bryan Symphony Orchestra, and Juilliard’s Pre-College Symphony, among others. She has been a featured soloist at the Juilliard in Aiken Festival, Lincoln Center’s Great Performance Circle, and Vail International Dance Festival. She was also named the Kentucky Center’s Gheens Artist in Residency in 2019 and was honored to be a guest faculty member and artist in residence at the 2018 Tennessee Cello Workshop. Anne has performed extensively as a chamber musician, collaborating with many inspiring colleagues at Nymphenburger Sommer in Munich, Tegernsee International Music Festival, Rome Chamber Music Festival, Kneisel Hall, United Nations Chamber Music Society, and Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players. As an orchestral player, she has performed with the Aspen Chamber Symphony, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and enjoys regularly subbing with the Pittsburgh Symphony. From 2022-2024, Anne was an akademist with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, a position which she held while simultaneously completing her Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Michigan. She held a temporary contract with the Gewandhausorchester in Leipzig before recently moving back to the States. Anne is excited to join the San Francisco Symphony next season as their Associate Principal Cellist.

Praised for his “fluid virtuosity” and “soulful melodies,” Los Angeles native Brook Speltz is the cellist of the internationally renowned Escher String Quartet – Quartet-in-Residence at Southern Methodist University – and an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. An extremely versatile cellist, Mr. Speltz has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. First Prize winner of the prestigious Ima Hogg Competition, he has performed as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, and International Contemporary Ensemble, and is a regular performer at England’s IMS Prussia Cove and on tour with Musicians from Marlboro. Mr. Speltz has been personally invited by Itzhak Perlman and Richard Goode to collaborate in chamber music recitals throughout the country, and as a result of these collaborations, has been nominated for the inaugural Warner Music Prize presented by Warner Music and Carnegie Hall. A lover of all facets of the music world, Mr. Speltz has enjoyed performing on tour with the cello rock band Break of Reality, whose recent U.S. tour raised funds and awareness for music programs in public schools all around the country. Mr. Speltz studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Peter Wiley and at The Juilliard School with Joel Krosnick, after his formative years of study with Eleanor Schoenfeld in Los Angeles. He performs on a 1756 J.C. Gigli on loan from his father, a cellist and his first inspiration in a family of professional musicians.

Described as “an assured soloist” with “fearless technique,” Dr. Cecilia Huerta-Lauf brings passion and heart to her performances as an accomplished cellist. A native of Dickson, Tennessee, she made her solo debut with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra at age 16. Cecilia has enjoyed tenures with groups such as the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Discovery Ensemble, Florida Grand Opera, and the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra & founding String Quartet, and founding administrative director/principal cellist of the Boston Latin-American Orchestra. In 2012, Cecilia was a semi-finalist in the Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition. Currently, Cecilia is the founder, co-director, & cellist of NouLou Chamber Players; and substitutes with the Louisville Orchestra. She also served as President of the Chamber Music Society of Louisville Board. Cecilia has participated in music festivals across the United States, Canada, France, and Italy. Degrees include pre-college at Vanderbilt University, B.M. at DePaul University in Chicago, M.M. at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and her D.M.A. at University of Miami in FL.

Since performing as a concerto soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at age 18, cellist Nicholas Finch has established himself as an artist of great depth and diversity, both within and beyond the classical genre. This season, Finch will lead the third year of the Derby City Chamber Music Festival as its Artistic Director, featuring some of the best chamber musicians from Louisville and around the country, including members of the Escher String Quartet, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Dover Quartet, and many more. Last year Finch recorded his debut album "Nou Edition" with the NouLou Chamber Players, featuring three world-premiere cello concertos written for him by composers Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin, Alyssa Weinberg, and Dorian Wallace, to be released in the fall of 2024. He served as a secondary soloist with cellist Yo-Yo Ma in Teddy Abrams' 'Mammoth', and performed by the Louisville Orchestra in Mammoth Cave National Park, and performed the American premiere of Kelly-Marie Murphy's concerto for cello and harp with the Skagit Symphony in Mt. Vernon, Washington. He served as cello artist-faculty at the Eastern Music Festival in the Summer of 2022, and will return in this role the summer of 2023. In recent seasons, Finch has collaborated with musicians from the Louisville Orchestra and others in the role of conductor, in works by Copland, Glinka, Saint-Saens, Elgar, Dvorak, and more. Just months prior to the onset of COVID-19, he appeared as cello soloist in Richard Strauss's "Don Quixote" with the Louisville Orchestra. Finch was appointed Principal Cellist of the Louisville Orchestra during the 2013-2014 season by music director Teddy Abrams. He has appeared with the Boston-based chamber orchestra ‘A Far Cry’ on numerous concerts and recordings, one recording having been nominated for a Grammy Award. He has additionally appeared numerous times with the Jupiter Chamber Players in New York City. A native of Boston, Finch began his cello studies at the age of 12. He attended Harvard, Juilliard, the University of Michigan, and the Mannes College of Music, studying the cello with Andrew Mark, David Soyer, Harvey Shapiro, Richard Aaron, and Marcy Rosen. He has studied orchestral conducting with Markand Thakar, Kenneth Kiesler, and with Michael Jinbo and Ludovic Morlot at the Pierre Monteux School. During the 2023-24 season, Finch will attend the University of Michigan again, this time to earn a Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting.</p/>

Brian Powell (DMA) is Associate Professor of Double Bass and Music Education at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. He has degrees in Performance and Music Education from Indiana University and the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. He is a former member of The New World Symphony, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, and has also performed with several professional orchestras such as the Louisville Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, he has toured and recorded with the Amernet String Quartet among many others, and he has his own chamber music recordings with Centaur Records. A prolific arranger, Dr. Powell has several solo and chamber bass music publications, including a recently published solo bass arrangement of Igor Stravinsky's music through Boosey & Hawkes. Dr. Powell maintains an active schedule as a performer, low strings clinician,  and guest conductor for youth honors orchestras throughout the United States.

Grace Roepke is an international award winning soloist and the newly appointed Principal Harpist of the Louisville Orchestra. As the first and only harpist to be awarded The Grand and First Prize at the FRIENDS of the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, she has also received top prizes in numerous competitions including the American Harp Society National Competition, the Dutch World Harp Competition, and the Lyon & Healy Awards. As a soloist she has appeared with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Long Bay Symphony, the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, and the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra.   As an orchestral musician, Ms. Roepke has performed as second harpist with The Cleveland Orchestra and Grant Park Music Festival, and has served as guest principal harpist with the Akron Symphony Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, and Quad City Symphony Orchestra. She has spent summers as a fellowship recipient at the Lucerne Festival Academy, Round Top Festival Institute, and Texas Music Festival. Passionate about exploring the capabilities of the harp, Ms. Roepke is a sought after contemporary music performer and collaborator. She has premiered a number of works, including “Mammoth” by Teddy Abrams with solo cellist Yo-Yo Ma, “Air”, by Thomas Adès with solo violinist Anne Sophie Mutter, and presented the live premiere of “Time Lapse” by Patrick Harlin as a part of Yolanda Kondonassis’ FIVE MINUTES for Earth Project. While a student at The Cleveland Institute of Music, she was a frequent soloist and chamber musician in CIM’s New Music Ensemble and worked closely with composers Marcos Balter, Sebastian Currier, and Keith Fitch among others. ​ In addition to her performance career, Ms. Roepke is a passionate music educator. She is a Suzuki certified teacher, having trained in the Suzuki method herself as a young student. Ms. Roepke currently maintains a private studio, offering both in-person and virtual lessons, and has been on the faculties at Avon School of the Arts and the Gilmour Academy.   Ms. Roepke began her musical journey at the age of six, and is a proud third-generation harpist, following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with GRAMMY nominated soloist Yolanda Kondonassis. Additionally, she received an Artist Diploma as an inaugural member of the Robinson Orchestral Career Fellowship, continuing her studies with Kondonassis as well as various Cleveland Orchestra musicians. Upon graduation, she was awarded the Maurice and Judith Kaplow Prize for Uncommon Creativity, the Jocelyn Chang and Michael Leese Award in Harp, and the Alice Chalifoux Prize in Harp. Ms. Roepke is a native of Chanhassen, Minnesota where she was a student of Phala Tracy.

Known for her quirky and engaging performances, Dr. Rosanna Moore is fast gaining recognition as both a harpist and actor. Comfortable performing as a soloist, chamber musician or orchestral player, she is a tenured member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and actively works with groups such as Slee Sinfonietta, Vancouver Symphony, Anchorage Symphony, Ensemble Signal as well as her chamber groups: Sticks&Strings, Les Masques and Hats+Heels.   Moore actively performs internationally and won accolades for her performances with the World Harp Festival, Marcel Tournier and Tierra47 competitions. Her writings have recently been published by both Harp Column and Contemporary Music Review. She was awarded the O1B visa which recognises her as an ‘individual of extraordinary ability’. Solo highlights from the 22/23 season include performing the Ginastera and Debussy concerto’s and performing the US premiere of Kelly-Maire Murphy’s En El Escuro Es Todo Uno concerto for cello and harp. In the coming seasons she will be premiering ‘Extraordinary Motion: Concerto for Electric harp and Orchestra’ by Grammy winner, DJ Sparr across the US, and tour and record Michael Betteridge’s new work ‘Goodwin Sands’ for harp and voices in the UK, US and Canada.   As an educator, Rosanna will start as full time Assistant Lecturer of Harp at Dublin Conservatoire (TU Dublin) in Ireland in the fall ‘23. She also teaches at Opus Ithaca and has given masterclasses and clinics around the world. Previously, she was professor at the University of Oregon, Nazareth College (now university) and Eastman Community Music School. and Opus Ithaca. She completed her doctorate at the Eastman School of Music with a minor in theatre, Performers’ Certificate and Arts Leadership Program certificate, where she also earned her Masters degree. Prior to this, she studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music.

Jake Chabot was appointed 2nd flute of the Louisville Orchestra in 2018. Before moving to Louisville, Jake studied at The Juilliard School, where he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in 2016 and 2018 as a student of Jeffrey Khaner and Carol Wincenc. He won his first orchestral position, 2nd flute with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, after finishing his Bachelor’s degree. An avid orchestral player, he has been engaged as a substitute with multiple orchestras, including the New York City Ballet Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, New World Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, and Owensboro Symphony. Jake has been featured as a soloist with the Louisville Orchestra on Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #4 and Lisa Bielawa’s Fictional Migrations.

Kathleen Karr is the Principal Flutist of the Louisville Orchestra and Flute Professor at the University of Louisville. In 2012, she was awarded the Distinguished Teaching Professor Award for the University of Louisville. At the University of Louisville, Kathleen teaches all applied flute students, flute ensemble, flute studio class, flute literature, flute pedagogy, chamber music coaching and performs with the faculty woodwind quintet. A frequent soloist with the Louisville Orchestra, Kathleen has most recently performed the Mozart G Major Flute Concerto with the Louisville Orchestra during the 2014-15 season. Kathleen has taught flute and chamber music at the Interlochen Arts Camp (Interlochen, Michigan), Bellarmine University, Centre College (Danville, Kentucky) and Indiana University Southeast.   Kathleen has twice performed at the National Flute Association’s annual convention (Las Vegas in 2012 and Washington D.C. in 2015), and frequently tours with her flute and guitar duo, The Astral Duo. The Astral Duo has commissioned four pieces for flute and guitar and a CD of the commissioned pieces is in process. She is also a member of the Flutes Fleur de Lis – a two flute and piano trio that most recently commissioned a piece that was performed at the University of Louisville’s New Music Festival in November 2015. A founding member of the Kentucky Center Chamber Players, Kathleen is also the flutist with the Grawemeyer Players. She has performed masterclasses and recitals throughout Israel, Mexico, and the USA. Most recently, Kathleen performed a masterclass and recital in Charleston, South Carolina.   Kathleen has performed as Principal Flute with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Huntsville (Alabama) Symphony, the North Charleston Pops, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Kentucky, and the Orquestra Sinfonica da Mineria in Mexico City.   Kathleen Karr received her Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University and her Master of Music degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.   Kathleen Karr is an Altus Flutes Performing Artist.

A native of Queens, New York, Andrea Levine was appointed Principal Clarinet of the Louisville Orchestra in 2003.  She also served as Acting Principal Clarinet of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for the 2017-2018 season. She won the position of interim assistant principal of the Colorado Symphony during the 2011-2012 season. She also won the position of interim second clarinet of the Cleveland Orchestra during the 2007-2008 season and joined them on two European tours. Prior to coming to Louisville, she spent a year as a member of the New World Symphony in Miami, Florida.  Before joining New World, she served as Interim Principal Clarinet of the Akron Symphony while completing a Professional Studies Diploma at the Cleveland Institute of Music.  She completed her undergraduate degree at the Eastman School of Music.  In addition to serving as Principal Clarinet of the Britt Festival Orchestra, she has held the same position at the Artosphere Festival.  She has appeared as guest principal clarinet of the Cincinnati Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Detroit Symphony and the Saint Louis Symphony. She has also appeared as a soloist with the Louisville Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Artosphere Festival Orchestra, the New World Symphony, and with the Eastman Philharmonia. She is also an active teacher, having presented masterclasses at the Eastman School of Music, University of Michigan, University of Florida, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, University of Tennessee, and the University of Louisville. She recently served as Adjunct Professor at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Teachers with whom she has studied include Daniel Gilbert, Kenneth Grant, Franklin Cohen, Yehuda Gilad, Mitchell Estrin, and Ricardo Morales She loves living in Louisville with her husband, Jack Griffin, and their two Cockapoos, Gus and Leo.

Matthew Karr received a bachelors degree from Oberlin Conservatory in 1978 and a Masters degree from SUNY at Stonybrook. In 1979 Mr. Karr won the Principal Bassoon position with the Louisville Orchestra. He has also served as Associate Principal Bassoon with the Houston Symphony during the 2000-01 season, taking a one year leave from the Louisville Orchestra. An active chamber musician, Mr. Karr attended the Marlboro Festival in Vermont in 1989 and 1990. He is a regular guest performer with the Ronen ensemble of Indianapolis (a chamber group made up of members of the Indianapolis Symphony) since 1986. Mr. Karr was a founding member of the Kentucky Center Chamber Players and has performed with the group since its inception in 1983. Matthew has been featured as soloist with the Louisville Orchestra on seven different ocassions, most notably for the North American premieres of both Michael Daugherty’s “Hells Angels” and Simon Bainbridge’s “At an Uncertain Hour.” He has also performed Concerti by Telemann, Mozart, Haydn and Vivaldi. Matthew has performed as soloist with the Civic Orchestra of Louisville, the Manhattan School of Music Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Filarmonic UNAM of Mexico City, and the Indiana University SE Orchestra. Mr. Karr began teaching at the University of Louisville in 1979. He has served on the faculties of the Music Academy of the West (Santa Barbara CA.), and the Interlochen Arts Camp (Michigan). His principal teachers include Kenneth Moore, Willard Elliot, Arthur Weisberg and Lou Skinner. Matthew produced a compact disc, “A Bassoonists Voice,” in 1997. The American Record Guide said of this CD: “The Bach Partita is immaculately played… The villa Lobos is given a technically flawless reading… Schumann’s splendid Fantasiestucke is given a fine reading, played on the instrument that is sounds best on.” The international Double Reed Journal said of the CD: “Matthew Karr has a fine, clean technique, and a lovely lyrical style and vibrato. This is a fine, carefully prepared and beautifully performed CD by a talented young artist.”