Nicholas Tavani, violin Rachel Shapiro, violin Gregory Luce, viola Alan Richardson, cello
During the 2010 Summer Season, our wonderful friend and violinist Michelle Yeunhae Lie will be substituting for Nicholas Tavani. Nicholas will rejoin the quartet in August for the Perlman Music Festival after undergoing chemotherapy this summer. Click here for Michelle's bio.
The Aeolus Quartet
Hailed by Strad Magazine for their "high-octane" performances and by the Reading Eagle for their "spirited and precise" playing, the Aeolus Quartet is among the finest young quartets performing today. Formed in 2006 at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Peter Salaff, William Preucil, and the Cavani Quartet, the Quartet is currently the Graduate Quartet in Residence at the University of Texas at Austin. Their activities there include extensive teaching and performing responsibilities, educational outreach to the Austin community, and intensive study with the Miró Quartet.
The Aeolus Quartet are recent winners of the 2009 Coleman International Chamber Music Competition in Pasadena, CA, where they were awarded the Coleman-Barstow Prize for Strings. Their 2010-2011 season includes performances in New York City, Dallas, Houston, Reading, and other cities across the United States, including a tour promoting the works of American composers made possible by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. Summer 2010 will see the quartet in residence at the Vail Valley Music festival in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. In addition, the quartet will perform at the Sunflower Music Festival in Topeka, Kansas, and the Perlman Music Program in Shelter Island, New York.
In 2009, the Quartet was selected for a residency at the Center for Advanced String Quartet Studies at the Aspen Music Festival and School. During their time as fellows at Aspen, they were mentored by members of the Juilliard and Cleveland Quartets and worked extensively with the Takács, American, and Jupiter Quartets. In the fall of 2008 the Aeolus Quartet was invited to participate in the Jeunesses Musicales Festival in Weikersheim, Germany. At the final concert, their performance of Bartok’s Quartet No. 5 was broadcast nationally on German public radio. In addition, they were invited to attend the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar in 2009 and 2010. The Aeolus Quartet has also received private instruction from the Artemis, Tokyo, and Borromeo Quartets.
In the summer of 2007 the Aeolus Quartet was the first College Quartet in Residence at the Pine Mountain Music Festival in Houghton, MI. There, the Aeolus Quartet toured with works by Beethoven and Sibelius throughout Michigan and Wisconsin. They also presented the world premiere performances of "The Diaries of Adam and Eve," an opera for string quartet and voice by Evan Premo. Other collaborations include the world premiere of Alexandra Bryant's String Quartet No. 1, "Of This Earth," and a performance of Milhaud's Bass Quintet No. 2, Op. 316, with Cleveland Orchestra bassist Scott Haigh. Their recording of the Sibelius Quartet in D minor, Op. 56, 'Voces Intimae,' and the Beethoven Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3, was broadcast on Minnesota public radio. In the fall of 2009 they presented the world premiere of Bryant's String Quartet No. 2, "The Still Point," in Reading, PA. Commenting on this performance, Susan Pena of the Eagle noted: "..."all of it made sense, and all of it was sensitively, lovingly performed."
Dedicated to bringing music into the community, the Aeolus Quartet designed and performed a program for elementary students in the Cleveland Public School system in an April 2009 project made possible by the Frances E. Sykora Outreach Performance Fund. The significant impact of this program has led to its becoming an ongoing project in the Cleveland Public School system.
The Quartet is named for the Greek god Aeolus, the keeper of the four winds. He is known for welcoming Odysseus and his crew with music during their journey back to Ithaca in Homer’s Odyssey.
Michelle Yeunhae Lie
substituting for Nicholas Tavani during the 2010 Summer Season
Born in Munich, Germany in 1982 and raised in South Korea since the age of 6, Michelle Yeunhae Lie did not start playing the violin until the age of 14. While some may consider this a late start for a violinist, Ms. Lie has combined dedication and talent to achieve many successes in her musical career. After graduating from the prestigious Seoul Arts High School in 2000 Ms. Lie studied at Dankook University in Seoul, Korea with DaeShick Kang. While she was getting her Bachelor’s degree Ms. Lie was awarded First prize in the 250th anniversary of J.S. Bach Competition and was the winner of Dankook University’s 2004 Concerto Competition. Ms. Lie has performed as a soloist with various orchestras in Korea. After she graduated with academic and performance honors in 2004 with a Bachelor’s Degree of Music, Ms. Lie went on to earn her Master’s degree at The New England Conservatory, studying with Eric Rosenblith. During this time, Ms. Lie gave solo recitals in Seoul as well as in Boston at the New England Conservatory. Ms. Lie made various appearances in the solo and chamber settings at the 2005 and 2006 IMAI (International Music and Art Institute) summer festival in Fryeburg, Maine. From 2004 to 2006, Ms. Lie has performed as a member of the Boston Philharmonic, led by Benjamin Zander, as well as the Bangor Symphony.
She continued her studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music where she finished a Professional Studies program with William Preucil. During her time in Cleveland, Ms. Lie was also a member of the Iannis String Quartet, which was awarded the ‘Special Recognition award’ from the 2007 Plowman Competition in Missouri. As first violinist of the Iannis Quartet, Ms. Lie participated in The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival with the Tokyo String Quartet and the Vermeer String Quartet in 2007. In the same year, the Iannis Quartet was honored by invitation to the Mimir Chamber Music Festival studying with members of the Chicago Symphony. Ms. Lie was invited to the 2008 Perlman Music Program where she worked with Itzhak Perlman, Don Weilerstein, Merry Peckham, Paul Katz, and Roger Tapping. As an orchestra player she has worked with the Cleveland Orchestra as a substitute member with whom she recently performed in Carnegie Hall in New York City. As a local musician, Ms. Lie joined the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and Terre Haute Symphony as well as the Richmond Symphony Orchestra in Ohio. She is currently attending Indiana University’s Jacob School of Music, studying with Mark Kaplan and pursuing a Doctoral degree in Music while teaching as an Associate Instructor.
Lauded by the Washington Post for his “brilliant musicianship,” violinist Nicholas Tavani debuted in Washington, D.C.’s Gaston Hall at the age of eight. Since then, he has performed extensively in the United States and around the world, including at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Constitution Hall, Strathmore Hall, the State Department, and the National Gallery of Art; given concerts in London, Germany, Italy, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Denver, Austin, and Albuquerque; and toured Bolivia, Peru, Austria, and Hungary. Performances with orchestra include the Aspen Festival Orchestra, Prince William Symphony, Little River Symphony, Masterworks Festival Orchestra, CIM Chamber Orchestra, and many others.
A winner of the 2009 Coleman International Chamber Music Competition, Nicholas is an alumnus of the Aspen Music Festival, Encore School for Strings, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, and the MasterWorks Festival. With the Aeolus Quartet, he toured the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Wisconsin as well as presenting the world premieres of Alexandra Bryant's string quartet "Of This Earth" and Evan Premo's chamber opera "Diaries of Adam and Eve," scored for string quartet and two voices. In addition, he recently performed the world premiere of Alexandra Bryant's violin concerto "Such a Child" with the CIM Chamber Orchestra in Cleveland. He is also laureate of several other major competitions, including the Kingsville International Competition for Strings and the Postacchini International Violin Competition.
At present, Nicholas serves as first violinist of the Aeolus Quartet at the University of Texas-Austin's Butler School of music, where they are the Graduate Quartet in Residence. The program involves extensive teaching and performing responsibilities, educational outreach to the Austin community, and intensive study with the Miró Quartet.
In addition to the classical repertoire, Nicholas is deeply committed to exploring the rich musical offerings of diverse musical genres. For his role as the Fiddler in a 2003 production of Fiddler on the Roof, Nicholas received the east coast Critics and Awards Program “Cappie” Award for Best Cameo Actor. Nicholas is a member of the band Myrrh, which performs extensively in the Midwest and East Coast areas. They released their first full-length studio album in January 2008.
An alumnus of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Nicholas studied violin with William Preucil and chamber music with Peter Salaff and the Cavani Quartet. In addition to a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from CIM Nicholas also studied mathematical physics at Case Western Reserve University. Previous teachers include Ronda Cole, Stephen Clapp, and Ricardo Cyncynates. He has collaborated with many prominent artists, including the Miro Quartet, the Cavani Quartet, Peter Salaff, and Scott Haigh.
Rachel Kitagawa Shapiro, born in Reading, PA, has been a member of the Aeolus Quartet since its inception in 2006. Presently pursuing a Master of Music degree as part of the graduate quartet-in-residence at the University of Texas at Austin, Ms. Shapiro studies with Sandy Yamamoto and Daniel Ching of the Miró Quartet. She completed her undergraduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2009 under the tutelage of Linda Cerone and David Russell.
At the age of 15, Ms. Shapiro performed with the Reading Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Sidney Rothstein as a winner of the Reading Symphony Orchestra League’s Annual Concerto Competition. She has also performed as soloist with the Lower Merion Symphony. The first prize recipient of the 2005 Atonement Bach Scholarship Competition, Ms. Shapiro was also awarded the Samuel L. Correnti Scholarship by the Reading Musical Foundation. Ms. Shapiro has been a member of the Pennsylvania All State Orchestra, in addition to serving as concertmistress of the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra. She is an alumna of the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, where she was awarded an Advanced Study Scholarship for String Quartet. Having held the position of concertmistress of the Settlement Chamber Orchestra, Ms. Shapiro appeared with this ensemble on a broadcast of NPR’s “From the Top” radio show in 2005.
She has spent summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School, International Music Academy of Pilsen, Czech Republic, ENCORE School for Strings, Meadowmount School of Music, and Interlochen Arts Camp. Ms. Shapiro's past teachers include Yumi Ninomiya Scott and Yayoi Numazawa of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has performed in masterclasses for such distinguished artists as Joel Smirnoff, Charles Castleman and Sherry Kloss.
Gregory Luce is currently an artist diploma scholar studying with John Largess of the Miró Quartet at the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Luce has performed in the Akron and Mansfield Symphonies, the Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, and as the associate principal violist of the Erie Philharmonic from 2007-2009. He has performed at festivals in Austria, England, Hungary, Germany, Canada, and the United States, and has premiered dozens of pieces in varied ensembles across the United States, with concert venues including the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Severance Hall and the Meyerhoff Concert Hall in Baltimore. As an educator he is also in demand, having been invited to coach, teach privately, and perform at the ICMP chamber music course at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and at other festivals in Tennessee and Colorado.
Mr. Luce graduated from the Peabody Conservatory (B.M.), where he studied with Stephen Wyrczynski of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Victoria Chiang, and afterwards graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music (M.M.), where he studied with Mark Jackobs of the Cleveland Orchestra. Before entering Peabody, he was principal violist of the Memphis Youth Symphony for three years, in which he won the concerto competition in 2000, and was invited to perform with the Scheidt School of Music’s symphony orchestra. Mr. Luce was awarded the first two Viola Assistant Fellowships to attend the MasterWorks Festival in 2007 and 2008, and was invited by the same festival to attend Recreatio, a week-long arts summit in Winchester, England.
Since 2008 he has been violist of the Aeolus Quartet, Coleman-Barstow Prize for Strings Winners of the 2009 Coleman International Chamber Ensemble Competition.
A founding member of the Aeolus Quartet, Alan Richardson is a student in the Masters of Music program at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studies with Joshua Gindele of the Miró Quartet. Mr. Richardson is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree and studied with Melissa Kraut and Richard Aaron.
At the age of 16, Mr. Richardson performed as principal cellist of the Virginia All State Orchestra. He also served as principal cellist of the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra for three years, and performed with the National High School Honors Orchestra in 2005. As a winner of the 2005 Richmond Symphony Concerto Competition, Mr. Richardson performed as soloist with the Richmond Symphony. Mr. Richardson is an alumnus of the Arcato School of Chamber Music in Richmond, VA, where he studied with James Wilson, formerly of the Shanghai Quartet. Additionally, he coached with members of the Shanghai Quartet and pianist Joanne Kong at the University of Richmond.
As a member of the Aeolus Quartet, Mr. Richardson has premiered works by Evan Premo, Alexandra Bryant, and Norwegian composer Rolf Wallin. He has also performed new works by San Francisco based composer Gabriela Lena Frank for the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia.
Festivals in which Mr. Richardson has participated include the Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland International Chamber Music Course, Aspen Music Festival and School, ENCORE School for Strings, Pine Mountain Music Festival, Meadowmount Music Festival, and Eastern Music Festival. Mr. Richardson has also performed in master classes for cellists David Hardy, Sharon Robinson, Alisa Weilerstein, Clancy Newman, Zuill Bailey, and many others. His past teachers include Neal Cary, James Wilson, Hannah Holman, and Joseph Wargo.