Chamber Music Institute

Russian-born pianist Oksana Ezhokina appears frequently as guest recitalist and chamber musician on concert series across the United States and abroad. She has soloed with the Seattle Symphony, Tacoma Symphony and UW Symphony Orchestra, among others. Two of her long-term collaborations are with pianist Christina Dahl and Volta Piano Trio, whose recordings for the Con Brio label received accolades in international music magazines, such as The Strad, Gramophone and American Record Guide. A sought-after teacher, Ezhokina is Chair of Piano Studies and Associate Professor of Music at Pacific Lutheran University.

(Blaise Magniere and Marie Wang, violin; Anthony Devroye, viola; Cheng-Hou Lee, cello)

Described by the Chicago Tribune as “an ensemble that invites you-ears, mind, and spirit- into its music”, the Avalon String Quartet has established itself as one of the country’s leading chamber music ensembles. They have performed in many major venues including Alice Tully Hall, 92nd St Y, Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington DC; Wigmore Hall in London; and Herculessaal in Munich. The Avalon is quartet-in-residence at the Northern Illinois University School of Music.

Violinist Jennifer Caine Provine was the first-prize winner of the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe Competition in 2004 and the recipient of several other prestigious awards. She has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe in venues including the Phillips Collection and Weill Recital Hall, and at music festivals such as the Soesterberg International Music Festival and Music@Menlo. Caine is the violinist of the Volta Piano Trio, with whom she recorded two discs on the Con Brio label to critical acclaim. She holds Masters degrees from the Royal College of Music and Oxford University.

First Prize winner of the 2008 Naumburg International Violoncello Competition, David Requiro has emerged as one of today’s finest American cellists. Mr. Requiro has made concerto appearances with the National Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic, and several orchestras from California and has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Mr. Requiro is currently Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. He previously served as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Puget Sound as well as Guest Lecturer at the University of Michigan.

Pianist Christina Dahl has established a reputation as one of the leading teachers of her generation. She has recently given masterclasses at New England Conservatory, Royal College of Music Stockholm and the Steinhardt series at NYU. Christina can be heard on the Bridge, Albany and Tzadik labels and has twice been a cultural ambassador for the US State Department. She has played at the Gilmore International Piano Festival, Aspen, the Banff Centre, the Steans Institute at Ravinia, and Tanglewood. She has been on faculty at Stony Brook University for nearly twenty years.

Rose Hashimoto grew up in Seattle and recently returned to the area after a long stint in New York City. Rose has performed with ensembles including A Far Cry, Shattered Glass Ensemble, the Thalia Quartet, the Aeolus Quartet, and the Argus Quartet; as a soloist with the Mannes Orchestra; and at music festivals including Birdfoot Chamber Music Festival, Manchester Summer Chamber Music, Yellow Barn, Taos, and Kneisel Hall. She played with the Experiential Orchestra on the Grammy-winning recording of Ethel Smyth’s The Prison and on A Far Cry’s Grammy-nominated album, Visions and Variations. Rose earned a B.M. from Juilliard and a M.M. and Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes College.
A dedicated violin and viola teacher, Rose currently serves on the faculty of Kaleidoscope School of Music and the Suzuki Institute of Seattle.

Applauded for her virtuosity in the standard repertoire, violinist Elisabeth Perry is an avid proponent of contemporary music, a committed chamber musician, and a dedicated pedagogue. She shared the stage with Yehudi Menuhin at Royal Albert Hall at age 14. A winner of New York’s Concert Artists Guild Competition, the list of her other awards includes the Greater London Arts Award and the ISM Award. She served as concertmaster of the Deutsche Kammerakademie and First Concertmaster of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic with numerous recordings to her credit.

American cellist META WEISS (pronounced MAY-ta) made her international debut at the age of seven in Utrecht, Holland, and has established herself as one of the leading artists of her generation. An acclaimed soloist and chamber musician, her performances have taken her to venues throughout the US and internationally, including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Boston Symphony Hall, The Kimmel Center, Royal Albert Hall, The Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Recital Centre, and Teatro Britanico (Peru). Weiss serves as Chamber Music Coordinator at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Artistic Director of the Boulder Cello Festival. Previous faculty appointments include the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University and the University of Puget Sound. She received her Bachelor of Music from Rice University, and her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from The Juilliard School.

Recently appointed Artist-Teacher of Piano at Ohio University, pianist Emely Phelps enjoys a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. Praised by the Boston Globe for her “fleet, energetic, and bright-toned” playing, Emely made her solo orchestral debut with the National Symphony Orchestra as the grand prizewinner of their Young Soloists Competition, and has since been a featured soloist with the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, Little River Symphony, McLean Symphony, and the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra. She has presented solo recitals throughout North America and Europe, with annual appearances in New York and Boston beginning in 2016, and additional highlights including recitals at Slot Schagen and Muiderslot in the Netherlands, Strathmore Hall’s Music in the Mansion Series, Banff Centre for the Arts, the Alden Theater, Meredith College, and Glen Eyrie.

Violist Richard Wolfe pursued violin studies with Aaron Shapinsky, Dorothy Delay, and Walter Levin. A former member of the Israel Chamber Orchestra, in 1982 he settled in the Netherlands, and four years later became principal violist of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. He was a founding member of ‘Music in Context’ in Houston and is a member of Ensemble ‘Explorations’ in Belgium. Richard Wolfe is on viola faculty of the Utrecht Conservatory, Amsterdam Conservatory, and teaches and performs each summer at the L’Ecole Americain for Music and Fine Arts in Fontainebleau, France.

Mikhail Shmidt, violin, was born in Moscow, Russia. He began his musical education at the age of five, and at fourteen became the winner of the International Chamber Music Competition “Concertino Prague.” He graduated cum laude from Gnessin Institute of Music in 1987. His major teachers were Halida Akhtiamova and Valentin Berlinsky of the celebrated Borodin Quartet. While still at college, Mikhail participated in the highly successful Gnessin String Quartet. After college Mikhail Shmidt played in the State Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Radio String Quartet and was concertmaster of “Camerata Boccherini” Baroque Orchestra. One of the highlights of Mikhail’s Russian career was collaborating with Alfred Schnittke, one of the greatest composers of our time.
Since immigrating to the United States in 1989, Mikhail Shmidt has established himself as a leading chamber musician. He was a founding member of the Bridge Ensemble which recorded and toured successfully in the U.S. and Europe. As a guest violinist of the Moscow Piano Quartet he tours Portugal regularely, and his “remarkable musicianship” was hailed by Lisbon newspaper Tempo. Among the highlights of Mikhail’s chamber music activities are his collaborations with such diverse and distinguished composers and musicians as Steve Reich, John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, Giya Kancheli, Paul Schoenfield, Dmitri Sitkovetsky, Vadim Repin, and many others.
Mikhail has recorded on Melodia, Delos, Naxos, ECM, Tzadik, Dux, Six Degrees and Inova labels. Mikhail is a member of Seattle Chamber Players – leading New Music group of Pacific Northwest and Music of Remembrance.