Dr. Luba Sindler is a pianist of brilliant virtuosity, graceful elegance, and powerful presentation. Her performances have found enthusiastic audiences in many countries on three continents. A musician of great versatility, she has amassed an enormous repertoire and expertise, having appeared in Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Wigmore Hall in London, among other places.

Luba Sindler was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she studied at St. Petersburg Conservatory, graduating with a doctoral degree in piano and chamber music. She later taught at the same institution while maintaining an active performance schedule. Having moved to the United States in 1987, she continued concertizing extensively both as a soloist and as a chamber artist. Ms. Sindler participated in major music festivals and was twice a guest artist at the Holland Music Sessions in the Netherlands. In 1993, she returned to Russia for sold-out performances in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Luba Sindler received her second doctoral degree in piano performance from Rutgers University in 1995 and served on the faculty of San Jose State and Rutgers Universities. She has presented her pedagogical research findings at major national conventions and continues her active consulting in this area. Dr.Sindler is an internationally recognized lecturer and clinician in the areas of chamber music and piano technique.

Luba Sindler founded and for seven years coordinated the Music Heritage Series in Princeton, New Jersey notable for a unique concept and creative programming. She also co-founded and coordinated Sundays of Note Series in San Jose, CA as well as set up the chamber music program at Westminster Conservatory. Her chamber music CD was released in 1995 on the Chatsworth label in England. and first solo CD, containing works by Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, and Prokofiev, was released in January 1999. Her next CD will feature the nineteenth century lesser-known virtuosic piano transcriptions.

Testimonials:

"Of the two [performers] Sindler shone much the brighter-each song she played was endowed with its own specific character, and here was a pianist who did not shrink from exerting musical pressure on the singer where such was musically necessarily. On these occasions, Sindler was invariable right."

Michael Redmond, The Star Ledger, New Jersey

"...this dark night of the Russian soul, a harrowing hint of menace present in asperous colorings of the uncompromising phrasing and the unflinching pianism of Luba Sindler."

Christopher Morley, The Birmingham Post, England

"At every point she had a marvelous partner in Luba Sindler. The way they handled their De Falla encore showed that they are not just virtuosos, but superb musicians."

Peter Paul Fuchs, The Washington Post

"a stunning performance of Schnittke's piano quintet by Luba Sindler."

The Star Ledger, New Jersey

"The greatest surprise of the evening was the performance of pianist Luba Sindler. She is a great musician and a sensitive chamber player. Her piano sound is magnificently voluminous, but never overwhelming. Her many and varied colors create tremendously picturesque images."

Musical Life, St. Petersburg

Links:
Dr. Luba Sindler's Website 

Sherri Anderson, Director of Blue Mountain Festival, is well known for her dedication to the art of music pedagogy. Ms. Anderson received her Bachelor of Music degree from Wheaton College, her Master of Sacred Music degree from Westminster Choir College and completed additional graduate study in String Pedagogy and Choral Conducting at Temple University where she studied with Helen Kwalwasser and Alan Harler.

She maintains an unusually diverse and highly successful teaching career: Faculty Violin/Viola, the Lawrenceville School (Lawrenceville, NJ); Faculty Violin/Viola Trenton Community Music School (Trenton, NJ); Founder and Director, Stretto Youth Chamber Orchestra (Greater Princeton, NJ); Director of Children's Music, Snyder Avenue Congregational Church (South Philadelphia, PA).

Links:
Stretto Youth Chamber Orchestra
Trenton Community Music School

Mezzo soprano Susan Gaylord is a versatile performer and a dedicated teacher who is equally at home on the operatic, oratorio and symphonic stages as well as in more intimate venues where a pianist or a small ensemble are her musical partners.

Ms. Gaylord also has a passionate commitment to teaching and has 20 years of experience in private voice instruction. Currently residing in Central NJ, she is a vocal instructor at both The Lawrenceville School and The Pennington School, and is a member of the musical enrichment staff for the Trenton Children’s Chorus.

Olivia Hajioff, a Fulbright scholar, received a BBC Young Musician of the Year Award and was also a prizewinner in the European Violin Competition.

In her native England, she has performed chamber music at the Dartington International Festival with David Owen Norris and Stephen Bishop Kovacevich. She has performed concerts throughout Europe and the United States, notably in London's Wigmore Hall, the South Bank, Cheltenham Festival, Paderewski Hall in Switzerland, and the Kennedy Center. Arnold Steinhardt of the Guarneri Quartet described her as a "compelling performer."

Olivia Hajioff and Marc Ramirez perform as the Marcolivia Duo - a violin and violin/viola duo giving over 30 concerts annually in recital and as double concerto soloists.

The Marcolivia Duo has been featured many times on NPR's "Performance Today" and “Front Row Washington”. They are regular guest artists at the Tokyo College of Music, Japan, and have performed for the Federal Reserve Board in Washington DC, for the Hungarian American Coalition at the Cosmos Club, and annually at the Phillips Collection (where they are included on several CDs of Series Highlights and Distinguished Performers), also the Kennedy Center, Strathmore, Merkin Hall and Symphony Space, NYC. Marcolivia has adjudicated and given masterclasses for events organized by the Washington Performing Arts Society.

Marcolivia performed at Chamber Music America's 25th Anniversary Concert in NYC, alongside groups such as the Juilliard Quartet. They were the only chamber music finalists in the Concert Artists Guild International Competition in 2000. The duo is on the roster of the Millenium Stage at the Kennedy Center and the Virginia Commission For The Arts Touring Roster.

During the summers, Marcolivia perform in Japan, Italy, Spain and England at various music festivals. They have also taken part in US festivals such as Garth Newel, Blue Mountain, Las Vegas, and Shenandoah Performs.

Links:
www.marcolivia.com

Susan J. Kim, violinist, studied with Sally Thomas and Joel Smirnoff at The Juilliard School, where she earned her B.M. and M.M. She was the recipient of the Charles Petschek Award and the Michael Cohen Scholarship, which are given to exceptional students based on their music performance. During her studies at The Juilliard School, she won the concerto competition and performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Juilliard Symphony. She has worked with distinguished artists, such as Joseph Gingold, Charles Castleman, Roland Vamos, Stephanie Chase, Mitchell Stern, Steven Doane, Charles Reiner, and Gibert Kalish, as well as members of the Vermeer Quartet and the Juilliard Quartet. As a performer, Kim has performed as a soloist, a member of an orchestra, and a chamber musician across the United States, Canada, Germany, Japan, and South Korea.

In pursuit of becoming a music educator, she recently received a Doctor of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Since earning her doctorate, she has published an article in the American String Teachers Journal and has presented her research in a juried poster session at the American String Teachers Association National conference. Currently, she is a violin faculty member of the Preparatory Division at the Mannes College of Music and has a thriving private studio in northern New Jersey. Her students have won numerous awards and competitions and have been accepted to reputable music institutions.

Award winning cellist Regina Mushabac is in demand as recitalist and soloist with orchestras in this country and abroad. Winner of the prestigious Concert Artists Guild Award and numerous others, Mushabac has given highly acclaimed performances in Europe, Central America, South America and throughout the U.S.

Mushabac is professor of cello at the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music (Cleveland). She was a founding member of the Elysian Trio (19 years) and the Coryton Trio (5 years).  Her background includes the Harvard Chamber Players, the Klemperer Trio and the Concord Trio. She was professor at the University of Kentucky and a guest artist and visiting professor at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

Beginning music at an early age, Mushabac was trained by some of the most distinguished cellists of the era.  She studied for six years with Leonard Rose at Juilliard and continued with Bernard Greenhouse.  Subsequently she worked with Janos Starker at Indiana University for four years and became his teaching assistant. 

Mushabac plays the entire standard repertoire of concertos and recital material including her own transcriptions of classics from the violin repertoire.  In addition she is well known for her exploration into new music. She has performed dozens of world premieres and dedications including solo works by: Roger Reynolds, Camargo Guarnieri, Don Freund, Rodolph Bubalo, Frederick Koch, Kellach Waddle, Justin Merritt, Anne Wilson and Loris Chobanian.  She has also worked intensively with composers: Gunther Schuller, Karel Husa, Steven Mackey, Witold Lutoslawski, Krzysztof Penderecki, John Corigliano, and Virko Baley.

Mushabac can be heard in solo recordings on GM Recording Label, Trumedia Records, and New World Records.

Marc Ramirez has performed concerts throughout Europe and North America, including such halls as the Tretyakov Museum in Moscow, Carnegie Recital Hall, and the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. His recitals have been broadcast on the radio, including stations in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Among his awards are first prizes in the Henryk Szeryng Competition, the Parisot-Friedman International Competition, and the Cavallaro International Competition for a two-year fellowship to Yale University. From 1983 to 1986, he was invited by Henryk Szeryng to study and tour with him, visiting many European cities. The Washington Post has described his playing as "intensely beautiful."

Olivia Hajioff and Marc Ramirez perform as the Marcolivia Duo - a violin and violin/viola duo giving over 30 concerts annually in recital and as double concerto soloists.

The Marcolivia Duo has been featured many times on NPR's "Performance Today" and “Front Row Washington”. They are regular guest artists at the Tokyo College of Music, Japan, and have performed for the Federal Reserve Board in Washington DC, for the Hungarian American Coalition at the Cosmos Club, and annually at the Phillips Collection (where they are included on several CDs of Series Highlights and Distinguished Performers), also the Kennedy Center, Strathmore, Merkin Hall and Symphony Space, NYC. Marcolivia has adjudicated and given masterclasses for events organized by the Washington Performing Arts Society.

Marcolivia performed at Chamber Music America's 25th Anniversary Concert in NYC, alongside groups such as the Juilliard Quartet. They were the only chamber music finalists in the Concert Artists Guild International Competition in 2000. The duo is on the roster of the Millenium Stage at the Kennedy Center and the Virginia Commission For The Arts Touring Roster.

During the summers, Marcolivia perform in Japan, Italy, Spain and England at various music festivals. They have also taken part in US festivals such as Garth Newel, Blue Mountain, Las Vegas, and Shenandoah Performs.

Michael Sheadel has performed extensively as a collaborative pianist with strings, winds, and voice. A co-founder of the flute and piano ensemble The Hamilton Duo, he has also appeared with the Encore Chamber Players, Philadelphia Virtuosi, Network for New Music, Orchestra 2001, the Settlement Contemporary Players, and the University of Pennsylvania Music Fellows. He has participated in the regional and world premieres of numerous new works, and appears on CD recordings with the Hamilton Duo, Orchestra 2001, violinist Timothy Schwarz, and the chamber ensemble for composer Cynthia Folio. Dr. Sheadel earned degrees in piano performance from the Eastman School of Music, the Peabody Conservatory, and Temple University. He teaches for the University of Pennsylvania, the Main Line Conservatory, and the Settlement Music School.

Amy Goodman Wulfman has had an international career as a concert violinist, performing with orchestras in Europe and in the U.S. She studied at the Vienna Academy with Günter Pichler and Michael Frischenschlager, performing and recording with the baroque ensemble Capella Academica under Eduard Melkus. In the U.S., Ms Wulfman received her B.A. from Yale University and her M.M. from the University of Wisconsin.

Ms Wulfman has been an active performer, playing numerous chamber music concerts including performances at the Bach Aria Festival in Stonybrook, New York. In the Boston area she spent a decade on the faculty of the New England Conservatory, the Phillips Andover Academy and Music on the Hill. Ms. Wulfman was co-founder of the New Haven Summer Quartet Camp. Ms. Wulfman has a private violin studio in Princeton, New Jersey, and is on the faculty of The Lawrenceville School and Princeton Day School.

Links:
Stretto Youth Chamber Orchestra

Cellist Miho Zaitsu performs regularly at music festivals throughout the United States and Europe, including the Aspen Music Festival, Banff Arts Centre, Truls Mørk’s International Chamber Music Festival, and Schleswig Holstein Festival. Recent performances have included a performance of Robert Moran’s Trinity Requiem for children’s chorus, four violoncelli and harp for the tenth anniversary of 9/11 at Trinity Church Wall Street, which was released by Naxos and presented on over 450 radio stations around the world. A tour of Japan brought her to all of the major cities in Japan. In New York, she has been heard at Lincoln Center, Carnegie’s Stern Auditorium and Weill Hall, Symphony Space, and the United Nations.