Hailed "Queen of the Flute" (New York Magazine) at the outset of her, now, brilliant 50 year career, flutist CAROL WINCENC was First Prize Winner of the (sole) Walter W. Naumburg Solo Flute Competition, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient from the National Flute Association, the National Society of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Music, and Distinguished Alumni Awards from Manhattan School of Music and the Brevard Music Center. During the past two seasons she performed, recorded and gave masterclasses as an exclusive Burkart Flutes Artist in Beijing, Shenyang, Seoul, Warsaw, Prague, Venice, Nice, and Thessoloniki. In North America she performed as soloist and chamber musician from coast to coast, including Seattle, Phoenix, Dallas, Edmonton, Banff, Iowa City, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Tucson, Palm Beach, Sarasota, Philadelphia, Boston and her home city, New York. Recently she recorded an all Uebayashi album with the award winning Escher String Quartet, and video/audios in partnership with her collaborator/pianist Bryan Wagorn of the Metropolitan Opera. Most recently she and Mr. Wagorn performed to a sold out house at Weill Carnegie Hall for the "Naumburg Looks Back" series.
Delighting audiences for over four decades with her signature charismatic, high virtuosity and deeply heartfelt musicality, she has appeared as soloist with such ensembles as the Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Detroit and London Symphonies, the BBC, Warsaw and Buffalo Philharmonics, as well as the Los Angeles, Stuttgart and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestras, the latter for which she was Principal and Solo Flute from 1972-77.
The muse of today's most prominent composers, Ms. Wincenc has premiered numerous works written for her by legends Christopher Rouse, Henryk Gorecki, Lukas Foss, Jake Heggie, Paul Schoenfeld, Tod Machover, Yuko Uebayashi, Thea Musgrave, Andrea Clearfield, Shi-Hui Chen and Joan Tower.
A Grammy nominee, she has recorded for Nonesuch, London/Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Telarc (Diapason D'Or Award), Music Masters (Recording of Special Merit with Andras Schiff) and Naxos (Grammophone Magazine "Pick of the Month with Buffalo Philharmonic).
View her full bio here.
Delighting audiences for over four decades with her signature charismatic, high virtuosity and deeply heartfelt musicality, she has appeared as soloist with such ensembles as the Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Detroit and London Symphonies, the BBC, Warsaw and Buffalo Philharmonics, as well as the Los Angeles, Stuttgart and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestras, the latter for which she was Principal and Solo Flute from 1972-77.
The muse of today's most prominent composers, Ms. Wincenc has premiered numerous works written for her by legends Christopher Rouse, Henryk Gorecki, Lukas Foss, Jake Heggie, Paul Schoenfeld, Tod Machover, Yuko Uebayashi, Thea Musgrave, Andrea Clearfield, Shi-Hui Chen and Joan Tower.
A Grammy nominee, she has recorded for Nonesuch, London/Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Telarc (Diapason D'Or Award), Music Masters (Recording of Special Merit with Andras Schiff) and Naxos (Grammophone Magazine "Pick of the Month with Buffalo Philharmonic).
View her full bio here.
PAUL SCHLIFFER studied flute with Eleanor Lawrence in New York City and Robert Willoughby at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and later worked with the renowned flute virtuoso Marcel Moyse. A founding member of the French/ American group Ensemble Resonance, he can be heard on their recordings which were the first to present the Gurdjieff/De Hartmann piano repertoire in instrumental arrangements. In 2007, as a result of a major grant from the New York State Music Fund, Mr. Schliffer produced two recordings: Latin Landscapes, featuring the original work and arrangements of Cuban/American composer Jose Lezcano, and Reflections, the result of a year-long project in free improvisation. Mr. Schliffer annually attends the International Flute Festival in Quito, Ecuador and concertizes widely in North & South America with the Latin Landscapes Trio, which includes Jose Lezcano, guitar and Matthew Shubin, bassoon.
Described as one of “Canada’s finest flutists” by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, LOUIS PAPACHRISTOS has had the pleasure to perform for audiences internationally. He has served as principal flute with Orchestra Toronto, The Focus! Festival New Music Ensemble in New York, The Sarasota Summer Festival Orchestra, The Banff Centre Summer Festival Orchestra, The Juilliard Orchestra, The Hart House Orchestra, and for performances and recordings with professional freelance orchestras worldwide.
As a soloist and chamber musician Louis has been invited to perform at The 33rd International Peru Flute Festival in Lima, The Toronto Latin American Flute Festival, The Summer in The City Flute Festival, The National Flute Association Convention, Lincoln Centre, The Royal Hall in England, Roy Thomson Hall, The Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts, Place Des Arts, The National Arts Centre, The Glenn Gould Studio and at other concert series venues.
He has had the privilege to collaborate and perform with some of the finest conductors and musicians including Sir Andrew Davis, James De Preist, Otto-Werner Mueller, Richard Bradshaw, Jose Luis Garcia, The St. Lawrence String Quartet and The Amici Ensemble. Louis is frequently heard on standard and satellite radio broadcasts as a result of live performances and diverse musical CD projects that have reached gold record certification status.
Louis is a laureate of many competitions and festivals including The CIBC National Music Festival, The Toronto Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and The Montreal Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. Following his studies at the University of Toronto with Douglas Stewart, Louis was awarded The Chalmers Foundation Arts Grant to study with Julius Baker at the renowned Juilliard School.
As a passionate advocate for the next generation of flutists and music lovers, Louis continues to be a guest adjudicator for the Taylor Academy at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, an Advisory Board Member for The Canadian Flute Association and a passionate educator for the Toronto District School Board where has worked with children of all ages for the past 22 years. He currently lives in Toronto with his wife Venessa and their two children Marina and Daniel.
As a soloist and chamber musician Louis has been invited to perform at The 33rd International Peru Flute Festival in Lima, The Toronto Latin American Flute Festival, The Summer in The City Flute Festival, The National Flute Association Convention, Lincoln Centre, The Royal Hall in England, Roy Thomson Hall, The Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts, Place Des Arts, The National Arts Centre, The Glenn Gould Studio and at other concert series venues.
He has had the privilege to collaborate and perform with some of the finest conductors and musicians including Sir Andrew Davis, James De Preist, Otto-Werner Mueller, Richard Bradshaw, Jose Luis Garcia, The St. Lawrence String Quartet and The Amici Ensemble. Louis is frequently heard on standard and satellite radio broadcasts as a result of live performances and diverse musical CD projects that have reached gold record certification status.
Louis is a laureate of many competitions and festivals including The CIBC National Music Festival, The Toronto Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and The Montreal Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. Following his studies at the University of Toronto with Douglas Stewart, Louis was awarded The Chalmers Foundation Arts Grant to study with Julius Baker at the renowned Juilliard School.
As a passionate advocate for the next generation of flutists and music lovers, Louis continues to be a guest adjudicator for the Taylor Academy at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, an Advisory Board Member for The Canadian Flute Association and a passionate educator for the Toronto District School Board where has worked with children of all ages for the past 22 years. He currently lives in Toronto with his wife Venessa and their two children Marina and Daniel.
ROSA JANG is a New York-based flutist who is originally from Seoul, South Korea. After finishing her first year at Seoul Arts High School, Ms. Jang moved to the United States to attend Idyllwild Arts Academy in California. Ms. Jang has appeared in various venues including Morse Hall and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, and the Seoul Arts Center. As a concerto soloist, she has performed with the Seoul Arts High School Orchestra, Yale Baroque Ensemble, Symphony S.O.N.G Orchestra, and Flute Ensemble Adina. She has been a residential artist of the Forte New York Chamber Music Series since 2016.
As a devoted teacher, Ms. Jang served as undergraduate flute lesson and chamber music instructor at Stony Brook University and secondary instrument instructor at Yale University. Ms. Jang also served as a faculty for 4 years at the Morse Summer Music Academy (Yale School of Music). She is currently serving as a flute lesson instructor at Rudolf Steiner School.
Ms. Jang completed her Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory, a Master’s degree from Yale University, and a Doctorate degree in Musical Arts from Stony Brook University. Her major teachers include Rocksun Moon, Sara Andon, Fenwick Smith, Ransom Wilson, and Carol Wincenc.
As a devoted teacher, Ms. Jang served as undergraduate flute lesson and chamber music instructor at Stony Brook University and secondary instrument instructor at Yale University. Ms. Jang also served as a faculty for 4 years at the Morse Summer Music Academy (Yale School of Music). She is currently serving as a flute lesson instructor at Rudolf Steiner School.
Ms. Jang completed her Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory, a Master’s degree from Yale University, and a Doctorate degree in Musical Arts from Stony Brook University. Her major teachers include Rocksun Moon, Sara Andon, Fenwick Smith, Ransom Wilson, and Carol Wincenc.
JESSICA SCHURY is a versatile flutist and educator originally from Pennsylvania. She has been awarded first prize in several regional and university competitions including the Pennsylvania MTNA Young Artist Competition, the Philadelphia Flute Society Collegiate Young Artist Competition, and the West Chester University Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition. Most recently, she was awarded second prize with the Puerto Rico Flute Symposium’s Young Artist Competition where she will give a full recital at their 2022 Flute Symposium. As an avid chamber musician, Jessica has performed internationally and throughout the United States at several conferences including the International Horn Symposium and the Flute New Music Consortium.
As an educator, Jessica is the co-founder of Flute Foundations, an online community for students of all ages to learn at the highest level from home. She has previously taught young beginners through the Long Island Conservatory of Music and the West Chester University Community Music School. Among teaching several summer camps, Jessica continues to teach at Carol Wincenc’s Creating Resonance Retreat every fall.
Jessica holds a masters degree in Music Performance from Stony Brook University as well as a bachelors degree in Music Performance and Education from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Her primary teachers include Carol Wincenc, Dr. Kimberly Reighley and Robin Kani. In the fall of 2021, Jessica will begin a teaching fellowship at the University of North Texas while pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree under the study of Professor Terri Sundberg.
As an educator, Jessica is the co-founder of Flute Foundations, an online community for students of all ages to learn at the highest level from home. She has previously taught young beginners through the Long Island Conservatory of Music and the West Chester University Community Music School. Among teaching several summer camps, Jessica continues to teach at Carol Wincenc’s Creating Resonance Retreat every fall.
Jessica holds a masters degree in Music Performance from Stony Brook University as well as a bachelors degree in Music Performance and Education from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Her primary teachers include Carol Wincenc, Dr. Kimberly Reighley and Robin Kani. In the fall of 2021, Jessica will begin a teaching fellowship at the University of North Texas while pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree under the study of Professor Terri Sundberg.
Pianist XU CHENG is an active soloist and chamber musician based in New York City. Xu is the winner of the Recognition Award in the 9th Chinese Golden Bell Music Awards and has won first prize at the “Sunflower” National Piano Competition held by China Merchants Bank. Highlights of the 2020-21 season include performances at The Juilliard School, New York Athletic Club, Union League Club and collaborations for Midori and Friends. The past 2019-20 season includes working as an accompanist for flute entrance auditions at The Juilliard School and Ensemble Connect at Carnegie Hall. Other ongoing work includes performances at various health facilities, nursing homes and private homes through Concerts in Motion, in which Xu has had the pleasure to collaborate with other musicians, primarily on Zoom since the covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, as a teacher, Xu has experience working at The Juilliard School and as a private teacher, conducting theory class, piano sight-reading class and secondary piano class.
A native of China, Xu attended Shanghai Conservatory of Music and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from The Juilliard School, where he was enrolled in the accelerated BM/MM program and studied with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky. He has also been under the tutelage of Dr. Brian Zeger in the collaborative piano program at The Juilliard School.
A native of China, Xu attended Shanghai Conservatory of Music and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from The Juilliard School, where he was enrolled in the accelerated BM/MM program and studied with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky. He has also been under the tutelage of Dr. Brian Zeger in the collaborative piano program at The Juilliard School.
RUSSELL HALL completed training in the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education in 2001. From 1977 to 2012, he was a licensed Physical Therapist. Russell met Paul Schliffer and Carol Wincenc during his first year (of only two), at Oberlin College in 1967. Having grown up in Penns Grove, New Jersey, he had little exposure to classical music beyond the snippets in cartoons. Russell still has a vivid memory of having been taken somewhere special while attending a performance by Carol at Oberlin. Russell has enjoyed being part of the Creating Resonance Retreat for the past two years.
Currently, Russell is in his eighth year of collaborating with a fellow Feldenkrais teacher in teaching two sections of Awareness Through Movement at the Cleveland Institute of Music. This class began as part of CIM's plan to address the nationwide problem posed by 75% of students in high-level music programs requiring time off due to pain and/or injury. Having also worked individually with professional musicians, Russell finds it gratifying to see that what relieves discomfort can then continue to contribute to life-long learning. Russell helps a wide variety of people in his Feldenkrais practice.
Currently, Russell is in his eighth year of collaborating with a fellow Feldenkrais teacher in teaching two sections of Awareness Through Movement at the Cleveland Institute of Music. This class began as part of CIM's plan to address the nationwide problem posed by 75% of students in high-level music programs requiring time off due to pain and/or injury. Having also worked individually with professional musicians, Russell finds it gratifying to see that what relieves discomfort can then continue to contribute to life-long learning. Russell helps a wide variety of people in his Feldenkrais practice.