Lydia Chernicoff began her violin studies at the age of eight with Alla Zernitskaya in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. She has performed in venues across the Berkshires as a soloist as well as a chamber musician. As a student in New England Conservatory’s Pre-College Program (2003-2006), Lydia travelled to Brazil and Venezuela as a member of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Benjamin Zander. While in the New England Conservatory Pre-College Program, Lydia continued her violin studies under Magdalena Richter. She earned an Associate of Arts Degree from Bard College at Simon’s Rock in 2006, where she was awarded a prize for Excellence in the Arts. In 2010, Lydia graduated from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she received her Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance as a student of Violaine Melançon. At Peabody, Lydia served as concertmaster of both the Peabody Concert Orchestra and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra.

Lydia has played professionally with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and with members of the renowned contemporary music ensemble, Alarm Will Sound. In December 2009, she traveled to China with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, playing concerts at the Cultural Arts Center in Suzhou. Lydia has been awarded prizes and scholarships by the Berkshire Lyric Theatre Competition (2002, 2004), and from the South Mountain Concert Association (2007-2010). In 2010, she received the Grace Clagett Ranney Prize in chamber music from the Peabody Institute.

Lydia has performed in master classes and studied with such artists as Peter Zazofsky, Elmar Oliveira, Boris Garlitsky, Charles Castleman, Milan Vitek and Weigang Li. She has spent her summers playing music at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, the Heifetz International Music Institute, California Summer Music, The Quartet Program, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival.

Lydia is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree at the Peabody Institute, where she has been granted a two-year Chamber Music Assistantship. She is continuing her violin studies with Violaine Melançon and majoring in both violin performance and pedagogy.

Recently announced winner of the I Solo Cello Competition Illa de Menorca-FIDAH 2010 and Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition 2009, Andrea Casarrubios has been awarded first place in numerous competitions including the SOR Solo String Competition (USA, 2009), the Baltimore Music Club String Competition (USA, 2008), the Castilla y León Piano Competition Rio Orbigo (Spain, 2004) and the National Piano Competition Rio del Oro (Spain, 2005). In 2009 and 2010, she won the cello scholarship of Juventudes Musicales of Spain. Andrea has received the Annual Anonymous Scholarship and the Beatrice Feldman Kahn and Raymond S. Kahn Endowed Cello Scholarship since 2007, in order to pursue a Bachelor's degree in cello performance with Amit Peled at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University.

A native of Spain, Andrea began her piano studies at the age of two with composer María Escribano and contiued her studies with pianists Ludmil Angelov and Seth Knopp. At the age of five she started to take cello lessons as a student of Maria de Macedo in Madrid. Her other cello teachers have included Lluis Claret in Barcelona and Amit Peled in Baltimore. Andrea has performed solo and chamber music concerts in many countries throughout Europe and America and participated in festivals such as the Casals Festival in France, the Heifetz Music Festival in New Hampshire, the Cello Forum in Spain, and the Menuhin Festival in Switzerland working with musicians like Ralph Kirshbaum, Frans Helmerson, Leon Fleisher, Steven Doane, Paul Katz, David Dolan, Martti Rousi, Christophe Coin, Daniel Grosgurin and Laurence Lesser.

As a winner of the "SOR Solo Competition" she was invited as a guest artist to perform Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata (arrangement for cello and orchestra) in Montana in May 2009. During the 2011 season she will be performing several works for Cello and Orchestra as the first prize winner of the Solo Cello Competition FIDAH 2010. Andrea is also an active new music performer, and has premiered contemporary pieces such “Lambda” for cello solo and dancer by composer Ariyo Shary, and "As the Universe Unfolds" for cello and acoustics (First Prize "Prix D'Eté 2010") by composer Griffin Cohen.

Award-winning Brazilian pianist Ronaldo Rolim has been praised for his interpretive power, brilliant virtuosity and rich sonorous palette. Born in 1986, he began his musical studies with his mother at the age of four, and was later admitted as a full scholarship student at the Magda Tagliaferro School in São Paulo, where he was guided by professors Zilda Candida dos Santos and Armando Fava Filho. After winning both the Nelson Freire Competition (Rio de Janeiro) and the Magda Tagliaferro Piano Competition (São Paulo) in 2004, he was invited by pianist Flavio Varani to study at Oakland University (Michigan) for one year. While studying in Michigan, he was awarded Outstanding Student in Piano Performance by Oakland University and by the Detroit Mu Phi Epsilon Association. Besides giving several recitals he performed the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.3 with the Pontiac Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Greg Cunningham. In 2007, Ronaldo was accepted into the prestigious Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore as a student of Benjamin Pasternack. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance in 2010. Due to his outstanding achievements within the conservatory, Ronaldo received the Pauline Favin Memorial Award in Piano.

Since his admission at Peabody, he has participated in many performances including master classes with Richard Goode, Leon Fleisher, Menahem Pressler and Vladimir Feltsman. In December 2008, Ronaldo won the first prize at the Harrison Winter Piano Concerto Competition in Baltimore by unanimous decision of the jury, which gave him the opportunity of performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra in 2009 under Hajime Teri Murai. In April 2009, he took part in the Peabody Camerata performance of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, conducted by Gene Young.

Ronaldo is active as a solo and chamber musician in his native Brazil and abroad, having performed in such venues as Steinway Hall (London), Théâtre de Vevey (Vevey, Switzerland), Mesa Arts Center (Mesa, Arizona), Friedberg Hall (Baltimore, Maryland) and in the most important Brazilian concert halls. As a soloist, he has performed in Brazil with several orchestras, including the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, São Paulo Radio Orchestra, São Paulo University Orchestra, Piracicaba Symphony Orchestra, Sorocaba Symphony Orchestra and Campinas Symphony Orchestra, having worked with conductors Aylton Escobar, Yeruham Scharovsky, Ernst Mahle, Jonicler Real, Lutero Rodrigues and Ronaldo Bologna. In 2010, he performed twice at the Rio de Janeiro edition of the Folle Journée Festival (which is held every year in Nantes, France, and also in cities like Tokyo, Warsaw and Bilbao), which paid tribute to the anniversary of 200 years of Chopin’s birth. Ronaldo took part in important projects such as the TV program Brasil Piano Solo, presented by TV Cultura in 2000 and 2001, and the recording of the CD Furnas Geração Musical in 2005, both projects dedicated exclusively to the diffusion of Brazilian music. In 2004 he made a musical participation in the documentary Magda Tagliaferro: The World Inside a Piano, by Norma Bengell.

Ronaldo is a prizewinner of more than 20 competitions held around the globe. He has received several special prizes for his performances of works by Bach, Chopin, Schumann, Scriabin and Szymanowski. Among his latest achievements, the 3rd prize at the James Mottram International Piano Competition (2010) in Manchester, UK (what resulted in a performance of Grieg Piano Concerto with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Owain Arwel Hughes), and, in 2011, the 1st prize at the Bösendorfer International Piano Competition in Tempe, Arizona. Ronaldo concludes his Master of Music degree in Piano Performance in 2011 at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where he is a recipient of the Douglas and Hilda Goodwin Scholarship for Chamber Music.

Jin-Sung Moon is an active soloist and an orchestra player. His career as an orchestra player stands out as the Clarinetist of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra since 2007 and the Orchestra of St. John's clarinetist since 2008. He participated in the recording released by Naxos in 2009. Past activities as an orchestral clarinetist include the principal clarinetist of the Asian Philharmonic Orchestra under Myung-Whun Chung during the 2005-2006 season and concertmaster of the Seoul Wind Ensemble. He was also invited to participate in the Jeju International Wind Festival.

As a soloist, Mr. Moon has won many national competitions, such as the Korea Clarinet Association Competition, Korea Clarinet Association Ensemble Competition, Nanpa Music Competition, Busan Music Competition, and Korea Music Association Competition, during his studies in Bachelor’s of Music Degree in Korea National University of Arts under Prof. Kwang-Ho Oh. Mr. Moon has been a student at the Peabody Conservatory since 2008 and is pursuing his Graduate Performance Diploma and Master Music Degree under Professor Steven Barta.

Jong Bin Kim began playing the cello at age five and gave his first public performance at six. After graduating from the Yewon School and Seoul Art High School, he entered Seoul National University where he got his Bachelor degree in 2000.

JongBin quickly made his mark as a soloist by winning many national competitions, such as the First Baroque Competition, the Daegu TBC Competition, the Chosun Broadcast Competition and the Suri Competition. His major performances as soloist include performances with the Daegu Philharmonic and the Kwachon Philharmonic in Korea. As an orchestral player, he served as the principle cellist of National Police Orchestra for two years.

Having been accepted as a full scholarship Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival in 2009, Mr. Kim served as principal cellist in a performance of Wagner’s ‘Die Meistersinger’ under the baton of James Levine, and performed the Mozart Sextet for Strings with renowned violinist Joseph Silverstein. Mr. Kim has appeared in master classes held by Emanuel Ax, Donald Weilerstein, Roger Tapping, Norman Fischer, Lluis Claret, and Alto Noras.

A student of Amit Peled, Mr. Kim has received a Masters Degree from the Peabody Conservatory where he is currently continuing his studies in the Graduate Performance Diploma program.

Jee In Hwang began studying the piano at the age of eight and gave her first recital in the same year. Her talent was quickly recognized as she won the grand prize in the Samick-Bechstein Piano Competition, as well as top prizes in the Korea-Germany Brahms Association Piano Competitions, and Eumak Chunchu Competition. Other major prizes include the Mozart Preis Competition at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, A.M.A Calabria International Competition, Harrison L. Winter Concerto Competition at the Peabody Institute, the Russian Music International Competition, Louisiana Competition, and Russell Wonderlic Competition.

Jee In received her Bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the Seoul National University. She performed with the Seoul National University Orchestra as a result of winning their concerto competition. She went on to study at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg in Austria, where she graduated with the highest honor in the Master of Arts program. She is currently studying with Boris Slutsky in the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.

Georgi Videnov was born in Sofia, Bulgaria and began percussion instruments lessons at the age of six. He graduated from the National Musical School in Sofia, where he studied with Maria Palieva, and he is currently a junior student in the Bachelor of Music Degree program studying with the world-renowned contemporary musician, Robert van Sice. Mr. Videnov participated in a number of national and international competitions, both as a soloist and as a member of a chamber ensemble. In April 2008 Mr.Videnov performed as a soloist with the Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra. He appeared in concerts dedicated to Bulgaria's joining the European Union in Clermont-Ferrand, and as the principal timpanist of the Youth Symphony in Prague, Czech Republic. Currently, he is a member of the Peabody Symphony Orchestra. He has been a participant of master classes with Nebojsa Zivkovic, Peter Sadlo, Li Biao, Tatyana Koleva , Alexander Kamenarov, Svet Stoyanov, Tom Freer, So percussion, Amadinda, Cynthia Yeh, Michael Zell, Michael Burritt, Conrad Alexander, Charles Ross. In the summer of 2010 he attended Brevard Music Festival where he performed under the batons of Keith Lockhart, Joanne Falletta Kraig Williams, Andres Cardenes and Matthias Bamert; He is the recipient of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Outstanding Student Award given by the faculty members at Brevard which provides him a full scholarship and invitation to come back to Brevard in 2011.

Tomasz Kowalczyk was born in 1988 in Krakow, Poland. He started percussion at the State Primary Music School in Myslenice (1999). He was awarded a distinction on All-Polish Percussion Students Auditions in Jaroslaw at the age of twelve. He continued his education at the Fryderyk Chopin State Comprehensive Music High School in Krakow under Artur Ciborowski. As a student of this school he won the first prize at the European Music Prize for the Youth International Marimba Competition in Münster, Germany, and performed Keiko Abe "Prism Rhapsody" with the Symphonic Orchestra of Münster at the final concert. He graduated in 2007, and studied under the renowned Polish percussion teacher, Professor Jacek Wota, at the Karol Lipinski University of Music in Wroclaw (2007-2008). His most important recitals took place in Fürth, Germany, as a guest performer at the European Prize Winners concert during the Jugend Musiziert competition (2007), at the International Percussion Art Festival "Crossdrumming" (July 2007) in Warsaw, and the International Percussion Festival "Sources and Inspirations" in Krakow (May 2006). Mr. Kowalczyk participated in many marimba masterclasses conducted by renowned artists such as Keiko Abe, Eric Sammut, Katarzyna Mycka, Linda Maxey and Robert van Sice. As a orchestral musician he collaborated with The Wroclaw Philharmonic orchestra during the 2007-2008 season. In September 2008 he began his studies at Peabody Conservatory in the Bachelor of Music Performance degree program, studying under Robert van Sice.

Kei Maeda was born in Japan in1989. He began playing percussion at the age of seven and marimba at the age of fifteen under the tutelage of Takako Nakama. When he was a high school student, Maeda took first prize in the South Japan Music competition in both 2005 and 2006. He has performed many concerts as a solo percussionist, and in 2007 Maeda performed a percussion concerto with the Shoyo Symphonic Band. In 2010, Maeda had the opportunity to attend the Brevard Music Festival. He has played in many master classes and had private lessons with renowned teachers such as Tom Freer, Jim Atwood, Shoichi Kubo, Cynthia Yea, Charles Ross. Maeda is currently a student in the Bachelor of Music program at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University where he studies with Robert van Sice.

Eunkyung Yoon, originally from Seoul, Korea, moved to the United States at the age of 13 to study piano at the Juilliard Pre-College. Since then she has won numerous prizes and competitions both in the United States and Korea, including the grand prize in the Korea Times Piano Competition at the age of 9. She placed first in the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and the Raleigh Symphony Concerto Competition, leading to performances with both orchestras. She has also performed as a soloist with the Brno Philharmonic in the Czech Republic and twice with the Seoul Royal Philharmonic in the Seoul Arts Center. Ms. Yoon completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Juilliard School of Music, where she studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky, Matti Raekallio and Oxana Yablonskaya. She is currently a Graduate Performance Diploma student at the Peabody Institute studying with Yong Hi Moon.

Violinist Luri Lee earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Performance from the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Erika Raum. Having attended the renowned arts school, Sunhwa Art Middle School in Korea, she won the first place at the Korean National Youth Musician Competition (2001), and the second place at the Kigwang Music Competition (2001). In 2002, Luri moved to Canada with her family and her musical education continued; Upon her high school graduation, Luri appeared as a soloist with the Earl Haig Symphony orchestra at George Weston Hall. Luri has appeared as the concertmaster of the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra. She was the winner of the 2008 Concerto Competition at University of Toronto, and played the Brahms concerto with the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Luri is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree at the Peabody conservatory with Pamela Frank.

Soeun Kim started playing the cello at the age of 10. She graduated from the Pohang Arts High School with awards for high excellence and achievement. She awarded First Prize in the Ulsan University Competition, and also received a prize at the Eumhyeop Competition. In 2005, she performed with the Rumania Yashi Orchestra. In 2007, she premiered a composition for solo cello and also played with the Seoul Tutti Ensemble. In 2010, she performed with the Wonju Symphony Orchestra for Symphony Festival. She graduated from The Korea National University of Arts in 2010. Soeun is in her first year of a Graduate Performance Diploma at the Peabody Conservatory where she studies with Amit Peled.