Rachel Choe was the special presentation winner of the Artists International New York and a first prizewinner of the Korea Flutist Association, Chunchu Music, Ewha Concerto, Chosun Newspaper, and Seoul Youth Chamber Competitions. She was also a finalist in the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra Concerto Award in California. Ms. Choe has participated in the Norfork, Orford, Bowdoin, Aspen Festival and Zurich International Masterclass, and toured Asia as principal flutist with the Asian Youth Orchestra under Maestro Sergiu Comissiona. She was selected to perform for the Carnegie Hall's Professional Workshop of David Robertson. She has appeared as a chamber and orchestral musician across Asia, Middle East and North America. Ms. Choe is currently pursuing her doctoral studies with Marina Piccinini at Peabody, where she received both Master of Music and Graduate Performance Diploma. She holds Bachelor of Music degree from Ewha Women's University in Korea. Ms. Choe taught music theory at Peabody Conservatory, and currently is a flute faculty member at the Peabody's Preparatory Division.

Akiko Sumi is a native of Tokyo, Japan, where she began playing guitar at the age of nine, and five years later won first prize at the 1990 Asahi Broadcasting Corporation Guitar Festival Competition.  She was also a prizewinner in the 1993 Spanish Guitar Music Competition, the 1996 Nagoya Guitar Competition, and the 1998 Classical Guitar Competition, all of which were held in Japan. Ms. Sumi has studied with world renowned guitarist Manuel Barrueco at the Peabody Conservatory. Ms. Sumi continues to develop her chamber music career as a founding member of the Sumi Guitar Duo, the Aurora Guitar Quartet and Duo Mare.The Sumi Guitar Duo won first prize in the 1992 Sendai International Guitar Festival Competition and the 1998 Japan Guitar Ensemble Competition. With the Aurora Guitar Quartet she has debuted at Carnegie Hall, and given performances in numerous cities in U.S, Japan and Central America. Ms. Sumi has three recordings to her credit, and will be releasing her second recording with the Aurora Guitar Quartet in the summer of 2006. Also, her chamber music interests extend to collaborations with wind instruments, strings and vocalists. Recently, she has performed with flutist Boney Lake of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the Guitar Quintet “Fandango” by Boccherini and Quintet Op.2, No.2 by Haydn for guitar and string quartet with Michael Kannen and Maria Lambros. She is currently on the faculty of the Levine School of Music and the International School of Music.