Christopher Schmitt Christopher Schmitt

Erika Gray, Viola

Violist Erika Gray has performed internationally in venues such as the Sydney Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Wiener Konzerthaus, and the Helsinki Music Centre. and joined the National Symphony Orchestra in May 2019 for their performances of Liszt’s Dante Symphony and Rossini’s Stabat Mater in Carnegie Hall. She has appeared at the BBC Proms on the Royal Albert Hall stage with Maestro Valery Gergiev, and performed at the Pacific Music Festival in Japan and the New York String Orchestra Seminar in Carnegie Hall. She frequently substitutes with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra and the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, and traveled to Cambodia in December 2019 as a part of Midori’s International Community Engagement Program. Erika is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Roberto Díaz and Hsin-Yun Huang.

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Christopher Schmitt Christopher Schmitt

Jaram Kim, Violin

A laureate of the 2000 Yehudi Menuhin International Young Violinists Competition, Jaram Kim made her debut at the age of six in GwangJu Namdo Art Concerto Hall. After receiving the Keum Ho scholarship, Jaram came to the United States to study at the Juilliard PreCollege in the studio of Hyo Kang and made her New York concerto debut performing with the Jupiter Symphony under the baton of Maestro Jens Nygaard.

Jaram graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree in 2007 from the studio of Ida Kavafian; while at Curtis she performed under the baton of conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Otto­-Werner Mueller. Then in 2008, she began her graduate studies at the Yale School of Music under the direction of Ani Kavafian. In 2009, Jaram moved to Italy to continue her studies at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Florence under the tutelage of M. Pavel Vernikov, and in 2010, Jaram joined the studio of M. Salvatore Accardo at the Accademia Walter Stauffer Fondazione in Cremona, Italy.

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Emi Ferguson, Flute

Hailed by critics for her “tonal bloom” and “hauntingly beautiful performances,” English-American performer and composer Emi Ferguson stretches the boundaries of what is expected of modern-day musicians. Emi’s unique approach to the flute can be heard in performances that alternate between the Silver Flute, Historical Flutes, and Auxilary Flutes, playing repertoire that stretches from the Renaissance to today.

Emi is very proud to be a 2023 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and can be heard live in concerts and festivals around the world as a soloist and with groups including AMOC*, Ruckus, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Manhattan Chamber Players. Emi has been named the new music director of Camerata Pacifica Baroque in Southern California, dreaming up programs of and inspired by Baroque music for Californian concert goers. Emi was a featured performer alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Simon, and James Taylor at the 10th Anniversary Memorial Ceremony of 9/11 at Ground Zero, where her performance of Amazing Grace was televised worldwide. Her performance that day is now part of the permanent collection at the 911 Museum.

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Loewi Lin, Cello

Taiwanese-Canadian cellist Loewi Lin grew up in Taiwan and moved to Calgary when he was seven. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute, the University of Ottawa, and New England Conservatory, he has appeared at Carnegie Hall in the New York String Orchestra as well as the Taos School of Music, Tanglewood Music Festival, and the Ravinia Steans Music Institute. Loewi lived in Boston for 11 years where he helped found the unique conductor-less chamber orchestra A Far Cry. The group is now an established institution in the music fabric of Boston, with residencies at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the New England Conservatory. In the past, he has played with the Toronto Symphony, Canadian Opera Company, and the Boston Symphony, in addition to teaching at Phillips Exeter Academy. Currently, Loewi is the principal cellist of the Boston Lyric Opera and a member of the National Symphony Orchestra.

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Christopher Schmitt Christopher Schmitt

Zino Bogachek, Violin

Ukranian-born American violinist Zino Bogachek has received broad critical acclaim for his technical facility and emotional expressiveness. Known for his uncompromising individuality and wide-ranging musical interests, he has performed extensively as a soloist, recitalist and chamber music collaborator throughout the former USSR, Poland, Austria, Mexico, Italy and the U.S. His appearances as soloist have included performances with the Lviv Philharmonic, Lviv Chamber Orchestra, Centennial Philharmonic, Cape Ann Symphony, Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, and Summer Music from Greensboro Festival Orchestra among others. A graduate of the Lviv Conservatory, he continued his studies at the Vienna Academy of Music and Boston University. Mr. Bogachek was Principal Second Violin of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra before joining the the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra in 1999.

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Christopher Schmitt Christopher Schmitt

Joseph Gotoff, Cello

Cellist Joseph Gotoff is recognized as a thoughtful and passionate performer, scholar, and teacher. Dr. Gotoff works closely with a number of composers working today, with premiers including Lowell Liebermann’s Piano Trio (2013) and Binna Kim’s Shibboleth for solo cello (2016). Dr. Gotoff appears frequently as a soloist and chamber musician in concert across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Recent performance highlights include a 19-city concert tour of China with the award-winning Petrucci String Quartet, of which he is a founding member, and a performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Thames Valley Youth Orchestra. He gives frequent solo and chamber recitals throughout New England, and recent concerto appearances include performances of the Beethoven Triple Concerto and Monn Cello Concerto with the New England Conservatory Chamber Players, as well as Lalo’s Cello Concerto with the Williamsport Symphony. Dr. Gotoff serves on the faculty of the Levine School of Music and Towson University. He holds a Doctorate from New England Conservatory.

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Christopher Schmitt, Piano

Described as "carefully colored" and "sensitive" by The Washington Post, pianist Christopher Schmitt was also hailed as a “formidable talent” and “mature beyond his years” by The Santa Barbara News-Press, regarding his performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Having completed his doctorate at The Juilliard School in 2016, he has been sponsored for concerts by The Chopin Foundation of the United States, The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation, and The Embassy Series. He performs at the festival Málaga Clasica in Spain, as well as in July of 2016 in his own concert series in Barcelona, Classics in Catalan. A collaborator with cellist Kian Soltani on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts in March 2019. Dr. Schmitt currently resides in Washington DC, and as pianist of “The President's Own" US Marine Chamber Orchestra, performs regularly in the White House and in concert halls across the Washington DC metropolitan area, leading a multifaceted career as chamber musician, pedagogue, and soloist. In 2024, he founded the Classical Arts Society of Washington, where he hopes to share the Beauty of classical music with the world through engaging public concerts, educational outreach initiatives, and the cultivation of a core community of classical music lovers.

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