Yibin Li

yibinli.com

Yibin Li was born in Jiuquan, China, a small city near the Gobi Desert. When she was just 4 1/2, she began playing the violin under the guidance of her father. Just 7 years later, she left home to study at Xi’an Conservatory, where she remained until moving on to Shanghai Conservatory. Upon her graduation, she was appointed to the violin faculty, and taught in Shanghai for six years as a young member of the tenured faculty. At 25, she felt the need to continue her studies in the US and moved to New York, where she went on to earn two additional graduate degrees at The Juilliard School and Mannes School of Music. Her teachers have included Lewis Kaplan, Seymour Lipkin, Earl Carlyss, Peiwen Yuan and Xiaolong Liu.

Ms. Li has performed as a soloist with major symphonies in China and the US, including the Beijing National Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Gaoxiong Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Hunter Symphony and Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. She was the first violinist and founder of the Iris String Quartet, and the founder of French-American Ensemble, and has directed and played chamber music concerts in many New York City venues including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall and Scandinavia House. In China, she traveled to over 20 cities performing both solo and chamber concerts in major performing arts centers.

Ms. Li performs and teaches regularly at summer music festivals including the Bowdoin International Music Festival and Bach Virtuoso Festival in Maine., MusicAlp International Academe, LaSalle Music Festival in France, Sesto Rocchi Chamber Music Festival in Italy and the Lake Lugano Chamber Music Festival in Switzerland.

Yibin Li is currently on the faculties of Mannes School of Music and The Juilliard School Pre-College Division, and is a visiting professor in China at the Xi’an Conservatory of Music and Beijing Central University for Normal Studies.

Philippe Muller

Born in Alsace, Philippe Muller was raised in both the French and German musical traditions that characterize that province. His early experiences opened his mind to varying cultures and lead him to a multi-faceted career. He performs and has recorded a wide range of repertoire, from the Bach Suites, through the music of living composers.

In 1970, Mr. Muller founded a Piano Trio with pianist Jacques Rouvier and Jean- Jacques Kantorow, violin, which was widely known to be one of Europe’s most venerated chamber music ensembles. He worked closely with Pierre Boulez’ Ensemble Intercontemporain, for seven years, giving him an understanding of and an affinity for the music of our time. He continues to be active in commissioning new cello works and premiers of new music and performs frequently as soloist and in various chamber music ensembles at festivals in Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Philippe Muller’s teaching career is legendary. He succeeded his mentor André Navarra as cello teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1979, continues his teaching legacy today here in New York, at the Manhattan School of Music. Many cellists from his studio have gone on to major careers as soloists including Xavier Phillips and Gautier Capuçon. He travels often giving master-classes in the top conservatories across the globe and has spent twenty years teaching at the Academy of French Music in Kyoto, Japan.

Philippe Muller frequently serves on the juries of the major international cello competitions such as the Tchaikovsky in Moscow, Paulo in Helsinki and Rostropovitch in Paris.

Chung-Hsi Hsieh

Pianist Chung-Hsi Hsieh is from Taiwan. He won top prizes in the Nena Wideman International Piano Competition, Taipei International Chopin Competition, Taiwan Concerto Competition, Corpus Christi Young Artists Competition, and Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. He has appeared in renowned recital halls such as Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, Klavierhaus, and Steinway Hall, in New York City, as well as the National Recital Hall in Taiwan. As a chamber musician he often collaborates with the principles of Boston Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, and A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Hsieh has performed recitals in Boston, Los Angeles, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang.  He was a young artist at the Irving Gilmore International Keyboard Festival in Kalamazoo, MI, as well as Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival.

After winning the top prize from Taiwan National Music Competition in 1991, he was awarded the opportunity to continue his musical studies in USA where he obtained his high school diploma from Interlochen Arts Academy, BM and MM from The Juilliard School, and DMA from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. His principle teachers were Victoria Mushkatkol, Seymour Lipkin, and Susan Starr.  During this time he also worked with Lynn Harrell, Lewis Kaplan, Arnold Steinhardt, Jane Coop, and Douglas Lundeen.

Mr. Hsieh started his musical training on the piano at age 4. He also learned violin, and Erhu, a traditional Chinese instrument when he entered the music training class at age 9. At a young age he already showed his musical talent, as he frequently won competitions on piano and violin, and he started performing as soloist and conductor, leading the school symphony orchestra, Chinese instrument orchestra and school choir to public performances.

Currently he is a piano and music faculty at the Diller-Quaile School of Music.  Besides honing his craft and working with aspiring talents, Chung-Hsi also enjoys exploring culinary arts and fine wine around the world.

 Pierre-Henri Xuereb

Soprano Hyunju Song is widely praised for her vocal artistry and refined musicianship, and was described by Opera News as possessing “an exceptionally lovely voice, exquisitely touching.” She is the winner of the German Lieder Society Competition and First Prize recipient of the William Garrison Competition, and she also received the Best Liszt Interpretation Award from the American Liszt Society. From 2003 to 2005, she was a recipient of the New Triad for Collaborative Arts Fellowship, which included numerous concert engagements throughout the New York City area.

Ms. Song made her Korean operatic debut in the title role of Hänsel und Gretel at the National Theater of Korea. In 2009, she made her New Jersey State Opera debut as Serpina in Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona. Her operatic repertoire includes Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore, Pamina and Königin der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte, Gilda in Rigoletto, First Witch in Dido and Aeneas, and The Widow in The Boor by Dominick Argento.

As a concert artist, Ms. Song has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras in works such as Schubert’s Mass in C Major, Bach’s Magnificat, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Vesperae solennes de Domenica, Fauré’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, and Dvořák’s Mass in D Major. She has been invited to perform at distinguished venues and series including the Washington Square Music Festival, the Midday Concerts at the United Nations, and the Alta Schrock Memorial Concerts.

Ms. Song has served on the faculty of the Bard College Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division and is currently on the voice faculty of the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University, as well as a Master of Music degree and a Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music.

Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams is an NYC-based actor, director, and educator. Although a third-generation native of New York City, Sam was raised in a small farm-town upstate. He received his undergraduate education from the London Dramatic Academy and Adelphi University and his graduate degree from the George Washington University in collaboration with the Shakespeare Theater Company. He has worked as a director and an actor in films, television, and theaters across the nation, recently playing Mozart in Peter Schaffer’s celebrated play Amadeus at Folger Shakespeare Theatre and the titular character in Shakespeare's Henry V in at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. In addition to these pursuits, he has worked extensively as a teacher, arts-administrator, and gardener. Visit him on Youtube and Instagram at @TheUnweededGarden.