FINE ARTS
QUARTET
Ralph Evans, violín
Efim Boico, violín
Chauncey Patterson, viola
Wolfgang Laufer, chelo
Founded in Chicago in 1964, the Fine Arts Quartet is one of the most distinguished
ensembles in chamber music today, with an illustrious history of performing success and
an extensive recording legacy. The quartet, whose members are artists-in-residence at
the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is one of the elite few to have recorded and toured
internationally for over half a century. Ralph Evans, Efim Boico, and Wolfgang Laufer, have
now been performing together for 25 years. Chauncey Patterson has joined them as interim
violist, replacing Yuri Gandelsman who recently retired from the quartet.
Each season, the Fine Arts Quartet tours worldwide, with concerts in such
musical centers as New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Moscow, Tokyo,
Beijing, Istanbul, Jerusalem, México City, and Toronto.
THOMAS HRYNKIW, piano
Hailed as a pianist of “dramatic power and poetry,” Thomas Hrynkiw has been appearing in public since the age of thirteen. At nineteen, his peformance of the Tchaikovsky concerto with the great conductor Leopold Stokowski was acclaimed as a “stunning performance.” Mr. Hrynkiw was a winner of the Gold Medal at the Geneva Competition, the Frank Huntington Beebe Award, the Harold Bauer Award, and the National Music Teachers Association Award. Mr. Hrynkiw has played in the major concert halls in the United States, Europe, and Mexico. He appears annually at the Newport Festival in Rhode Island and at the Festival de San Miguel de Allende.
Thomas Hrynkiw is one of the most sought after chamber music performers. He has a long association with Metropolitan Opera basso Paul Plishka, with whom he has performed in the United States, Europe and the USSR. He has recorded over 800 solo pieces and accompaniments for the Yamaha Disklavier.
JORGE
FEDERICO OSORIO, piano
Jorge Federico Osorio is one of the most eminent pianists of our
time, an artist who has been acclaimed internationally for his mastery of the
keyboard. He plays regularly with the world’s major orchestras, such as the
Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Israel Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic,
the National Orchestra of France, the Orchestra of the RTV Española,
as well as the orchestras of Chicago, Detroit, Seattle, Milwaukee, and Dallas. His recordings for EMI, CBS, ARTEK, CEDILLE, IMP, and ASV include the five
Beethoven concertos, the concertos of Mozart, Schumann, Ravel, Rodrigo, and
Tchaikovsky, as well as recitals and programs of chamber music.
Jorge Federico Osorio was born in México City. He studied at the conservatories
of México City, Paris, and Moscow.
SHAUNA ROLSTON, chelo
A cellist since the age of two, Shauna Rolston has developed a distinguished
international reputation as a soloist, recording artist, proponent of
new music, and chamber player. As one of Canada’s most celebrated musicians,
Miss Rolston has received the Pro Musicis International Award, the
Award for Excellence from the Government of Alberta and the Commemorative
Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. She
was recognized as the “Young Artist to Watch” by MUSICAL AMERICA, and
she was named one of the “Canadian leaders of the Future” by MACLEAN’S
MAGAZINE.
Since making a spectacular Town Hall debut in New York at the age
of 16, Mrs. Rolston has appeared in many of the major music centers around
the world, performing regularly on four continents in recital and concerto
engagements.
LUIS HUMBERTO RAMOS, clarinete
Luis Humberto Ramos was born in Fresnillo, Zacatecas. He made his
musical studies at the Conservatorio Nacional in México City and the Academy
of Music in Vienna. He has been principal clarinetist of the Orquesta Filarmonica
de la UNAM, Filarmonica de las Americas, Sinfónica de Jalapa, Opera de Bellas
Artes, and the Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México. He lived in London for
one year doing a special course of studies in the chamber music repertoire.
Upon his return to México in 1984, he was appointed Director of the Escuela
de Perfeccionamiento “Vida y Movimiento”, a position he held for five years.
Mr. Ramos has appeared as soloist with the principal orchestras of the country
with the conductors Fernando Lozano, Efrem Kurtz, Enrique Dimecke and
Guadalupe Flores. He has made several recordings of contemporary music
and appears regularly in the major festivals and concert halls of México.
VIOLINES INTERNACIONALES DE LOS
HERMANOS AGUASCALIENTES
Born in San Miguel de Allende, the Hermanos Aguascalientes (Daniel
and Jose Luis, violinists, Gregorio, on the guitar, Mario, keyboard, and Daniel
Junior, bass) are graduates of the Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramirez “El Nigromante,”
where they studied with Leonard Brooks. For several years, Daniel and
Jose Luis played with the Orquesta Sinfonica de la Universidad de Guanajuato,
the chamber orchestra of the same university, and the state band.
They formed the present group in 1977, and since then, have
claimed a prominent place in the musical world of México. Their extensive
discography includes popular and light-classical music of all parts of the
world. They appear in the most important halls of México, South America,
and Europe.
LUKE HSU, violín
Eighteen-year old Luke Hsu, was the grand prize winner of the 2008
Kingsville, Texas Young Performers Competitions. He is currently a freshman
of Rice University and a pupil of the renowned violinist Cho Liang Lin. Born
into a very musical family Luke began his musical studies on the violín with
his mother when he was four years old.
Luke is a winner of several other important competitions, and he
has performed with orchestras in Texas and the Southeast of the United
States.