About the Music Director

As a high school student, violist David Yang used to fall asleep with a string quartet score by his pillow and an LP spinning away on the turntable. Now, admired for his intensity, honesty of musical expression, and passionate communication, David has been heard throughout North America and Europe in collaboration with members of the Audubon, Avalon, Borromeo, Brentano, Cassatt, Lark, Miro, Muir and Tokyo String Quartets and Apple Hill Chamber Players, Trio Solisti, Dautremer and Eroica Piano Trios along with Bonnie Hampton, Pamela Frank, Eliot Fisk and Wendy Warner. He has studied with many of the finest string quartets today including the Amadeus, Colorado and Vermeer String Quartets and members of the American, Cleveland and Juilliard String Quartets with coaching by Josef Gingold, Karen Tuttle, Julius Levine, Robert Mann and Felix Galimir.

David was raised in New York City and has studied with Martha Strongin Katz, Heidi Castleman, Karen Ritscher and Steve Wyrczynki and also has a Master's degree in architecture. He is currently Artistic Director of the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival near Boston, MA (http://www.newburyportchambermusic.org/). As an active advocate of new music he has premiered dozens of works in the last few years including the commissioning of new works. In his role as leader of the Philadelphia-based storytelling music troupe Auricolae, he has developed a residency program to foster the creation and performance of new compositions by public school students in Philadelphia and the surrounding region. David is also founder of the Philadelphia Viola Society and member of the elite Philadelphia-based ensemble 9th Street Chamber Project, which consists of some of the finest emerging young artists on the East Coast.

A highly sought after chamber music coach and director of chamber music at the University of Pennsylvania and the Main Line Chamber Music Seminar, he also coaches at Settlement Music School in Philadelphia and Swarthmore College. He now lives in South Philadelphia with his two daughters, Eliana Razzino and Alessandra Pierson Yang. He plays on a viola made by the viola da gamba maker Johannes Tielka in 1670 and originally owned by Brahms' friend Joseph Joachim.

Other Penn Chamber Coaches

Michael Sheadel has performed in the United States and Europe as both soloist and collaborative pianist. A co-founder of the flute and piano ensemble The Hamilton Duo, he has also appeared as ensemble pianist with the Chestnut Brass Company, Encore Chamber Players, Philadelphia Virtuosi, Network for New Music, Orchestra 2001, and the Settlement Contemporary Players. An avid performer of contemporary music, he has participated in the regional and world premieres of numerous new works. His discography includes recordings with the Hamilton Duo, violinist Timothy Schwarz, composer Cynthia Folio, and Orchestra 2001. Dr. Sheadel earned degrees in piano performance from the Eastman School of Music, the Peabody Conservatory, and Temple University. In addition to the College House Music Program, he also teaches for the Main Line Conservatory, the Settlement Music School, and the Blue Mountain Chamber Music Festival.

***

Michele Kelly is the flutist with Relâche, a respected ensemble for "downtown" new music. The group performs over thirty concerts annually, and presents in excess of six world premiere commissioned works each season. She has worked directly with many of today's most innovative composers in the creation of new works, including Guy Klucevsek, Leroy Jenkins, and Mark Hagerty. The New York-born, Houston-raised flutist is highly regarded as a clinician, ensemble coach, and studio teacher. In addition to her participation in the college house music program, Michele also continues her series of workshops, master classes, and recitals involving her own teaching studio. She received her M.Mus. from the University of Michigan, where she also earned a unique post-Master's Specialist degree in chamber music performance. Her teachers include Keith Bryan and composer/theorist/flutist Cynthia Folio. The daughter of noted abstract expressionist painter James Groff lives with her family in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia.

***

Cellist Karen Meier is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music with further studies at the Julliard School of Music. A former member of the Augusta Symphony Orchestra, she performs with Musica 2000 and teaches at the Settlement Music School and Temple Music Prep. She has extensive chamber music performance experience and her cello teachers include Metta Watts, Orlando Cole and Joel Krosnick.

***

Critically acclaimed as a “musician’s pianist,” Matthew Bengtson has a unique combination of musical talents ranging from extraordinary pianist, harpsichordist, and fortepianist to composer, analyst, and scholar of performance practice. As a La Gesse fellow, he has been presented in concert festivals in France, Germany, Italy, and Hungary, at Monticello, and in solo recitals at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.  He has appeared on NPR’s “Performance Today” and XM Satellite Radio’s “Classical Confidential” with noted violinist Joshua Bell. As an advocate of both contemporary and rarely performed music, he commands a broad and diverse repertoire ranging from Byrd to Ligeti and numerous composers of the Philadelphia area. His discography includes the complete mazurkas of Karol Szymanowski and a recording of six Scriabin sonatas, which The American Record Guide compared to legendary performances by Horowitz and Richter: “Has Scriabin ever been played better?” Mr. Bengtson earned his MM and DMA degrees in piano performance at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, after undergraduate studies at Harvard University with a focus in mathematics and computer science. He also studied in Europe at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Ecole Americaine at Fontainebleau. Mr. Bengtson is also an active performer on fortepiano and harpsichord, collaborating with sopranos Julianne Baird and Laurie Heimes, with Melomanie and the Aurelio Ensemble.

***

Adela Pena, tours the U.S., Europe and Asia with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, for which she has served as concertmaster, and recorded several CD's on Deutsche Grammophon. As a founding member of the Eroica Trio, she can be heard on seven CD's released by EMI and has received two Grammy nominations. She has appeared as soloist in the Beethoven Triple Concerto with notable orchestras worldwide, including the Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh symphonies, as well as the Hong Kong and Budapest philharmonic and Prague Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, she has played with the English Chamber Orchestra, performed at Carnegie Hall, the Sorbonne in Paris, and toured England, Italy and South America. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Juilliard School and studied with Felix Galimir and Harry Shub. Ms. Pena has participated in various summer festivals, including Ravinia, Caramoor, Bridgehampton, Monadnock and Central Vermont.

***

Samuel Lorber received his Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Swarthmore College, and both a Master of Music and a Graduate Diploma in saxophone performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. His principal studies in saxophone were with Kenneth Radnofsky and Charles Salinger. Mr. Lorber has played the major saxophone solos in the orchestral repertoire with ensembles including the Delaware Symphony, the Reading (PA) Symphony, the Boston Philharmonic, the New England Philharmonic, the Civic Symphony of Boston, the Wellesley (MA) Symphony, and Philadelphia's Orchestra 2001. In December of 1995, Mr. Lorber was one of 43 saxophonists world-wide to premiere John Harbison's San Antonio - Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, giving what Harbison called an "excellent performance." He has also premiered or co-premiered works by Gunther Schuller, James Matheson, and John McDonald. He was formerly a member of the extension faculty at The Boston Conservatory, and has recorded for Albany, Centaur, Mode, and Neuma Records.

***

Pianist Yuko Izuhara Gordon captivated audiences throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East and the United States with her refreshing approach, powerful presence, and brilliant interpretation. Her New York debut at Alice Tully hall with the Juilliard Symphony under the baton of Otto Werner Muller established Mrs. Izuhara-Gordon as one of the most accomplished young pianists of her generation. In Japan Yuko graced the stages of Izumi Hall, Tsuda Hall, Luna Hall, Vienna Hall at Fuchu-no-mori Theater, Chofu Green Hall, and NHK Recital Hall in Tokyo, and was presented on NHK - FM Live Recital Broadcast. An active chamber musician, Mrs. Izuhara-Gordon, performed with her brother, violinist Takashi Izuhara in Japan, Europe and the United States since age 9. Most recently Yuko began collaboration with extraordinary young violist Victoria Voronyansky. Their inspiring performances and innovative programs have won over audiences around United States. Their debut recording is scheduled for release in the spring of 2007, and will be followed by an international concert tour during the summer. In Japan Yuko studied with Michiko Okamoto, Hidemitsu Hayashi, Mikhail Voskresensky, and Etsuko Tazaki at the celebrated Toho Gakuen School of Music. Triumphs at numerous competitions followed her early success, culminating with an award of the prestigious grant in 2002 from the Japanese Cultural Affairs Council, of which she was a sole recipient in Japan for two consecutive years. The grant fully funded Yuko's education at the world renowned Juilliard School. She soon became teaching assistant to the author, professor, Emmy-award winner, David Dubal. Yuko holds BM and MM degrees from Juilliard School where she worked with Joseph Kalichstein, Yoheved Kaplinsky, and Bartok's protégé, Gyorgy Sandor.

***

Beverly Shin made her solo debut with the Houston Symphony at age 17 and has since appeared with numerous orchestras throughout the United States.  As an active chamber musician, she has performed at Bargemusic, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, The Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, the Banff Centre for the Arts, Yellow Barn, Kneisel Hall and the Newburyport Chamber music Festival.  She has collaborated with such artists as Anton Kuerti and Ruth Laredo, as well as members of the Borromeo, Chicago, and Kronos Quartets.  Ms. Shin has been Professor of Violin at the University of Memphis and Donald Weilerstein's teaching assistant at the Cleveland Institute of Music in addition to the first violinist of the Ceruti Quartet. She has attended Curtis, the University of Pennsylvania, the Cleveland Institute of Music and New England Conservatory. In 2004, she was one of the first musicians to receive an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, for which she is developing experimental outreach programs in under-served Boston elementary schools.