Marija Bokor, piano

Marija Bokor was born in 1992 in St.Gallen, Switzerland in a family of Serbian parents. Her father Robert Bokor is a violinist and conductor, and her mother is a cellist. Surrounded by music from an early age, Marija began her piano studies when she was six years old with Prof. Emma Friedman, in the tradition of the Russian piano school. Within a short time she went on to win numerous awards and competitions in Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein, which brought her soon invitations for the solo recitals and engagements with the orchestras. She continued her studies on the State Conservatory in Feldkirch, Austria, after which she studied privately with Oliver Schnyder. She received further training in master classes with Arbo Waldma and Homero Francesh and is currently studying in Luzern University with Konstantin Lifschitz.

In 2008 Marija Bokor won first prize at the International competition "Vittoria Caffe Righetti" in Italy, and in 2009 first prize at the International competition "Davorin Jenko" in Belgrade, Serbia. After that she was invited by the Austrian Chamber Orchestra Arpeggione to perform in their prestigious concert cycle "Stars of Tomorrow".

Her recent and future engagements include recitals in Austria, Germany, Liechtestein, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey and concerts as a soloist with the Bremgarten Sinfonieorchester, Cukurova State Symphony Orchestra, Hradec Kralové Philharmonic, Kärntner Sinfonieorchester, Arpeggione Kammeorchester, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and Orquestra Curitiba Sinfonica. In summer 2011 Marija gave her US debut performing Mozart piano concerto with the Endless Mountain Festival Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Stephen Gunzenhauser.

Robert Bokor, violin

Celebrated by The Miami Herald for his "effortless technique, big, febrile tone, blazing speed, faultless articulation and virtuosic diablerie" and praised by the Jerusalem Post for his "virtuosity, commanding tone and formidable technique", Serbian violinist Robert Bokor is a frequent guest at major concert halls in Europe, Israel, Asia, South, Central and North America, including the Sala Verdi of Milan, Konzertgebouw Amsterdam, Auditorium Conciliazione of Rome and Franz Listzt Academy of Budapest, amongst others.

Since his solo debut with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, when he was 11 years old, Robert Bokor has regularly collaborated with many orchestras including the Budapest Symphony Orchestra MAV, Romanian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, Sinfonieorchester St.Gallen, Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, Kärntner Sinfonieorchester, Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein, Koszalin Philharmonic, Wroclaw Philharmonic, Rubinstein Philharmonic, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta, Daejeon Philharmonic, Amazonas Philharmonic, Cukurova State Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra del Teatro Olimpico, Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Toronto, Bucharest Radio Chamber Orchestra and Arpeggione Kammerorchester, amongst others. Robert Bokor has also appeared at several music festivals including the Summerfest, Rozsa Festival, Erlacher Musiksommer, Les Jardins Musicaux and this year for second time at the Endless Mountain Music Festival in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. His recent and future engagements include concerts and tours in Austria, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Brazil, USA and Canada.

Born in Macedonia into a family of musicians, he grew up in Belgrade, where he also studied at the Belgrade University of Arts. Within a short time he went on to win numerous awards and competitions as well as frequently appearing on European radio and television broadcasts. After serving for several seasons as a concertmaster of the Sinfonieorchester St.Gallen in Switzerland, he continued his rich musical activities as a chamber musician, soloist and conductor.

Since 2008 he also holds the position of the Artistic Director of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra of Serbia and in March 2011 he took over as Chief Conductor of the Austrian Arpeggione Kammerorchester.

Sought after as a performer of great stylistic diversity, Robert Bokor has been a strong advocate of contemporary music with his concert appearances including many world premieres of new works dedicated to him.

As an active educator Robert Bokor holds master-classes worldwide, appears as a guest lecturer on several universities and serves as a juror on International music competitions.

Nancy Boston, piano

Nancy Boston, Professor of Music at Mansfield University of PA, earned the Bachelor of Music degree, cum laude, from Lawrence University. She received the MM and DMA in Piano Performance from the Peabody Conservatory. Nancy has specialized in the performance of music by female composers for the past 20 years, presenting many solo and chamber concerts. Her interest in the field of women and music has also led to the lecture "Good Daughters of Music" tracing the emergence of female composers in the United States. Nancy has presented this at numerous college campuses in the eastern U.S. She has also presented a lecture/recital at two of the "International Festival of Women Composers". Nancy is an active member of the International Alliance of Women in Music association.

Dr. Boston has appeared as soloist throughout the United States. Foreign appearances include concerts in Paris, France, St. Petersburg, Russia, Ernen, Switzerland, New Zealand and Guelph, Canada. She has been an active adjudicator for piano competitions and festivals on the local, state and regional levels.

After a concert tour in spring of 2006, Nancy recorded a CD "American Women: Modern Voices in Piano Music". Since its release in September, the CD has received glowing reviews, including: "All the selections are attractive, but it is Boston’s clear and colorful playing that make this disc a must" and "Nancy Boston brings strength and power along with her fluid singing tone and her wonderful sense of poise to the performance of these unusually interesting pieces". The CD has been featured on classical radio programs, including Classical Discoveries in New Jersey, and Women’s History Month on WVYI (PA), which included an interview.

Doris Hall-Gulati, clarinet

After being awarded First Prize in the Louise D. McMahon International Music Competition, Doris gave her New York debut, performing the world premiere of John Carbon's "Rhapsody For Clarinet and Orchestra," at Avery Fischer Hall, Lincoln Center, with Gerard Schwarz and the New York Chamber Symphony. About the performance, Allan Kozinn of The New York Times wrote, "... a demandingly agile clarinet line, played with both virtuosity and nuance by Doris J. Hall-Gulati, wove its way through a variegated orchestra fabric." Ms. Hall-Gulati made her Carnegie (Weill) Hall debut playing with the Alaria Chamber Ensemble, and her Merkin Hall debut, premiering Thea Musgrave's "Ring Out Wild Bells," with the Philadelphia Trio.

Doris can be heard on the MMC, Naxos and New World record labels. About the recent Naxos recording of Hansen's "Nymphs and Satyr Ballet Suite," Paul Cook of classicstoday.com, was moved to say, "I was particularly taken (by) Doris Hall-Gulati on the clarinet."

An advocate for "new and old" music, Doris has performed in music festivals and on multiple series as soloist and chamber musician, throughout the US as well as China and Russia. She toured the Silk Road with the International Music Festival in West China in July 2007, touring six cities as performer and teacher. Due to this latest trip, Doris was invited to serve as a Visiting Professor at the Lanzhou Multicultural University.

Peter Kenote, viola

Peter Kenote was born in Seattle, Washington. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, and his master’s and doctorate degrees in music performance from The Juilliard School. Since 1983 he has been a member of the New York Philharmonic viola section. In February 2008 he performed Berio’s Sequenza VI for solo viola at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater as part of the New York Philharmonic’s Day of Berio. In the 2009–10 season he played the premieres of a new viola concerto with the South Dakota Symphony written for him by composer Neal Harnly, and Moto Perpetuo, a new work for viola and percussion ensemble by Braxton Blake. He especially enjoys performing in concert with his daughters — soprano Rebekah, and mezzo-soprano Ruth.

Gita Ladd, cello

"Superb cellist' and "..among Baltimore’s most popular musicians", are but two of the accolades from the Baltimore Sun, regarding the performances of Gita Ladd. Ms. Ladd has been one of the most sought after cellists of the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area for almost twenty years. For most of that time she performed as a titled member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, including several appearances as Principal Cello for the annual "Messiah" performances and at the SummerMusicFest Series. Ms. Ladd is currently Principal Cello with the Baltimore Opera Company, Concert Artists of Baltimore, and Post Classical Ensemble of Washington D.C. During the summer, Ms. Ladd performs as Principal Cello at the Endless Mountain Music Festival in Wellsboro, PA. She has also performed as Principal Cello with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Assistant Principal Cello of the Knoxville Symphony and a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Pops with Eric Kunzel. Ms. Ladd also performs throughout the year at the Kennedy Center with various ensembles including the Washington Opera, Washington Ballet, Washington Chorale and American Ballet Theatre.

Charles Rex, violin

Born into a musical family in Winter Park, Florida, where his father was a composer and instructor at Rollins College and his mother taught piano, Charles Rex started his violin studies at age four under Alphonse Carlo, professor of violin at Rollins. Following his debut with the Florida Symphony at age thirteen, Mr. Rex won the Hinda Honigmann Scholarship Award to the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina and toured as soloist with the BMC Orchestra throughout North and South Carolina.

Immediately after graduating cum laude from Florida State University with Bachelor and Master of Music degrees, Mr. Rex joined the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy where he played for eight years before accepting the position of Associate Concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. He relinquished the position in 1999 due to an increasing demand of his time for solo appearances and recordings. Mr. Rex has also served as guest concertmaster of the London Symphony under Sir Colin Davis and also acted as concertmaster of the Dallas, Reading and Delaware Symphonies. He is also the concertmaster of the Oregon Festival of American Music.

In 1982, Florida State University honored him as a Distinguished Alumnus, and the FSU School of Music presented him with the Ernst von Dohnanyi Faculty Citation for Excellence in Performance. In 1988, he toured Egypt and Jordan as soloist with the Princeton Chamber Orchestra and was the first American to appear as soloist in the new Cairo Opera House. The Borough of Staten Island of New York City also made March 13 of that year "Charles Rex Day" on the occasion of a special recital he performed there on behalf of the New York Philharmonic. At Lincoln Center, Mr. Rex has been soloist with the New York Philharmonic in performances of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," the Hindemith Concerto and the Nielsen Concerto to great critical acclaim, and he also gave the New York premiere of the Harbison Violin Concerto and the world premiere of Gunther Schuller's "Concerto Quaternio." He performed the Bach Double Concerto on a Philharmonic tour of Japan, India, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Mr. Rex plays on a violin made by J. B. Guadagnini in 1740 known as the "Ex-Hill" and formally owned by theremin virtuosa Clara Rockmore.

Santiago Rodriguez, piano

Mr. Rodriguez made his Carnegie Hall debut under the baton of Dennis Russell Davis, and in recent seasons has returned for engagements in Finland, Korea and Taiwan. His international career was launched in 1981 when he won the Silver Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; he also received a special prize for the best performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Touches, a work commissioned for the competition. Mr. Rodriguez’ unique life and artistry were profiled on CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Kurault in 1993.

One of today’s foremost interpreters of the music of Sergei Rachmaninov, Santiago Rodriguez has performed all of the composer’s major piano works in concert. He is currently recording The Rachmaninov Edition, which, when completed, will encompass the entire catalog of Rachmaninov’s original solo piano compositions. Mr. Rodriguez has recorded numerous world premieres, including Piano Concerto No. 1 by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco; the Concertino for piano, strings, and cymbals of Carlos Surinach; and the Piano Sonata No. 2 of Alberto Ginastera, which was premiered by Mr. Rodriguez at Alice Tully Hall in New York.

Santiago Rodriguez also enjoys a distinguished reputation as a teacher and master-clinician. Since 1980, he was a member of the Piano Division at the University of Maryland where he held the rank of Professor and Artist-in-residence. Mr. Rodriguez holds a masters degree from the Juilliard School, where he studied on full scholarship as a pupil of Adele Marcus, and he completed his undergraduate studies magna cum laude with William Race at the University of Texas.

Bram Wijnands, piano

Born in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, Bram Wijnands began playing piano at an early age. By the time he turned eight, he studied Barrelhouse Blues (Boogie Woogie) and stride-piano recordings of Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, Meade Lux Lewis, Jack Dupree and Memphis Slim. One thing led to another and in 1991, he graduated in Jazz instrumental education and performance at the Hilversum Conservatory in the Netherlands, the largest school of Jazz in Europe. During and after graduation, he performed with Jazz-artists Slide Hampton, Gene Connors, Jos Moons, Richard Ross and Deborah Brown, then immediately embarked with his trio on a tour throughout eastern Europe, Russia, western Europe and the United States. Performances included the Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival, 18th&Vine Heritage Festival and the Topeka Jazz Party.

Currently he is involved with the UMKC Conservatory of Music headed by Bobby Watson teaching Jazz-piano, arranging for small bands, combo and Jazz piano techniques and theory. Also he teaches Jazz piano and bass at Kansas City Kansas Community College in Jim Mair's program. This creates a unique opportunity for conservatory students to fill in or sit in at the Majestic and get some live experience.

Lately this pianist performed with such luminaries as Hal Melia, Bob Kindred, Marilyn Maye, Bobby Watson, Jimmy Slide, Warren Vache, Jon Hendricks,Duke’s Boys, James Carter and the world famous Glenn Miller Orchestra.