BERNADENE BLAHA
Bernadene Blaha's "brilliant command of the piano", whether featured as recitalist, concerto soloist, or chamber player, has been heralded in performances throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Mexico.
Originally from Canada, Ms. Blaha first came to international attention as a prize winner in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition, and the Young Keyboard Artists International Piano Competition. A highly regarded chamber musician, she has been a regular guest at international festivals such as the Newport Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, the Banff Festival of the Arts, and the Festival de San Miguel de Allende.
In her first CD, featuring the music of Chopin, Ms. Blaha’s artistry was lauded by a review in PIANO & KEYBOARD as a “pianist of integrity, with lovely sonorities and total clarity of line.” Ms. Blaha currently resides in Los Angeles where she has been a member of the faculty at the Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California, since 1993

KEVIN FITZ-GERALD
Canadian pianist Kevin Fitz-Gerald enjoys a versatile performing career as recitalist, orchestra soloist and chamber musician.  His performances have garnered  international acclaim, and he has been recognized for his “hypnotically powerful and precise pianism” and for his “dynamic and distinguished interpretations.” 
Born in British Columbia, Mr. Fitz-Gerald studied at the Victoria Conservatory, the Banff School of Fine Arts, and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. In constant demand as a chamber musician, he has appeared at music festivals in Texas, Utah, California, Rhode Island, Mexico, Canada, and Australia.
Mr. Fitz-Gerald is Professor of Piano and Collaborative Arts at the Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California, in los Angeles. He resides in Altadena with his wife Bernadene Blaha and their son Sean.

THOMAS HRYNKIW
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.

CELESTE GOLDEN
Celeste Golden began her musical studies when she was three years old.  Making her orchestral debut as soloist with the Dallas Symphony at the age of eleven, Miss Golden has gone on to win major competitions such as the 2006 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and the 2006 Kingsville, Texas, International Young Artist Competitions, and to appear with orchestras such as the Dallas Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Royal Chamber Orchestra in Brussels, Belgium, the Knoxville Symphony, the Waco Symphony,  and the Amadeus Chamber Players in Hannover, Germany.
Miss Golden was accepted into the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music at the age of fifteen,where she studied with Jaime Laredo and Ida Kavafian.  She received her bachelor’s degree in 2005, and she is currently working toward a master’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

GEOFF NUTTALL
Hailed by the NEW YORK TIMES as “intensely dynamic” and with a “stunning technique and volatility”, Geoff Nuttall began playing the violin at the age of eight. He studied at the Banff Center for the Arts, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Toronto, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree.
Mt. Nuttal co-founded the St. Lawrence String Quartet in 1989, and as first violinist of this world-renowned foursome, he has performed well over fifteen hundred concerts throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

Currently under the exclusive contract of EMI Classics, the quartet received two Grammy nominations for their latest release “Yiddishebuk”, a collection of works by the Argentine-American composer Osvaldo Galijov. Their premiere recording of the quartets of Robert Schumann won a Juno Award, granted by the Canadian Academy for Arts and Sciences for BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM, as well as the coveted German critics’ award PREIS DER DEUTSCHEN SCHALLPLATTENKRITIK.

LIVIA SOHN
Livia Sohn gained international attention when she won the First Prize in the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition at the age of thirteen. Now a rising star as a soloist and chamber musician, Ms. Sohn has been described as a “a soloist with everything: youth, talent and beauty.” Still in her twenties, her career has included appearances with
over sixty-five orchestras on five continents with conductors such as Yehudi Menuhin, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, James DePriest, Gerard Schwarz, Myung-Whun Chung, Jorge Mester, and Lukas Foss.
Ms. Sohn has been a guest artist at the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland, the Newport Festival, the Bay Chamber Concerts, the Brevard Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Caramoor International Music Festival, Maverick Concerts, and the Festival de San Miguel de Allende.
She plays a G.B. Guadagnini violin made in 1770. She makes her home in San Francisco with her husband, violinist Geoff Nuttal, and their son Jack.

DORIS LEDERER
A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Doris Lederer has performed with the Marlboro Music Festival and toured with Music from Marlboro.  She has appeared as soloist with orchestra and as a recitalist in the United States and Canada, and as a member of the Audubon Quartet since 1976, Miss Lederer has performed throughout the world and has recorded extensively on the RCA, TELARC, CENTAUR, and OPUS ONE labels.
Born in Istanbul, Miss Lederer grew up in Seattle, Washington, where she began her study of the viola at the age of nine.  Currently an Associate Professor of viola and chamber music at the Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia, Miss Lederer also serves on the faculties of Kneisel Hall in Maine, the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program in California, and the Chautauqua Institution in New York.

SHAUNA ROLSTON
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.

CLYDE SHAW
Founder of the Audubon String Quartet, Clyde Shaw attended the Oberlin Conservatory and holds degrees from Stetson University and the State University of New York.  Since forming the quartet in 1974, Mr. Shaw has made appearances worldwide and has recorded for the RCA, TELARC, CENTAUR, CRI, and OPUS ONE recording companies.  His appearances include featured performances on CBS SUNDAY MORNING, recitals in the major halls in New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Rome, Tel Aviv, Munich, and Beijing.  He has made several tours abroad for the United States Department of State and has appeared at the White House.
In addition to his performing schedule with the Audubon Quartet, Mr. Shaw holds the position of Associate Professor of Music at the Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia, where he teaches cello, chamber music, and music literature.

LUIS HUMBERTO RAMOS
Luis Humberto Ramos was born in Fresnillo, Zacatecas.
He made his musical studies at the Conservatorio Nacional in Mexico 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 Mexico 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 Mexico.

GILBERTO MUNGUIA
The distinguished cellist Gilberto Munguia has performed in many of the major cities and renowned concert halls in Europe, Asia,  North America and South America. From Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Florence, Brusells, Manila, Vienna, and Bombay to New York, critical reviews have praised him as “a splendid virtuoso on his instrument and a fascinating artist” (Aftenposten, Oslo), who “plays with great virtuosity and extraordinary beauty” (Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Zurich) and who “once again, playing at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, displayed his big sound –full and noble- and his enormous musicality.” (Excelsior, Mexico City).
In 1987, Mr. Munguia founded the Festival de San Miguel de Allende. Presented during the last two weeks of the year, the festival grew from four concerts to eighteen, and has come to be recognized “as one of the most extraordinary festivals of our time” (International Herald Tribune).

YUQING MENG
Sokokis Institute Scholar
Born in Shanghai, Yuqing Meng began his piano studies at the age of four, and he won his first competition in his native city two years later.  Soon after his arrival in the United States at the age of nine, Yuqing entered the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School of Music, where he currently studies with Dr. Yoheved  Kaplinsky.  Yuqing continues to win first prizes in prestigious competitions such as the Kingsville, Texas, International Isabel Scionti Piano Competition and the Oberlin International Piano Competition, both in 2007.  As a recipient of the coveted Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award this year, he was the featured artist on  FROM THE TOP hosted by Chris O’Riley on National Public Radio.  Yuqing’s performance on the program in Atlanta’s Symphony Hall, elicited a rare standing ovation.