Violinist Charlene Kluegel is an active soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, baroque violinist, and orchestral player. A young artist with the Ruth and Ernst Burkhalter Stiftung since 2004, she went on to win first prize at the German Youth Music Competition “Jugend Musiziert” Lower Saxony in 2001, first prize with distinction at the Swiss National Youth Music Competition in 2004, and the Cornell University Concerto Competition in 2007.

Charlene has appeared in concert in Germany, Switzerland, China, and the US. She performed the Camille Saint-Saens Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor with the Meilemer Symphony Orchester (Switzerland) in 2005, and the Jean Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor with the Cornell Symphony Orchestra (US) in 2007.

As a chamber musician, she has appeared in concert with artists like the Cuarteto Casals, Frank Huang, Miri Yampolski, members of the Los Angeles Piano Quartet, Michael Kannen, and Maria Lambros. She has been the concertmaster of the Cornell Chamber Orchestra, Die Preisträger Orchestra (Switzerland), acting principal of the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, and member of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and has had the privilege to perform under Nicholas McGegan, David Zinman, Richard Bado, Lan Shui, and Vladimir Feltsman. Her performances have taken her to the Tonhalle in Zurich, Switzerland, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and the Cornell University’s Chamber Music Festival “Mayfest.” In conjunction with the Johns Hopkins University “Rising to the Challenge” events, her chamber music group was chosen to perform for the university board of trustees and major donors, which took her to venues in New York and Los Angeles.

An avid baroque violinist, Charlene studied with Malcolm Bilson and Risa Browder, and had advanced training with Prof. Neal Zaslaw. She was the concertmaster of and soloist for Les Petits Violons de Cornell, and the Baltimore Baroque Band. Since 2009, Charlene has been concertizing with artists like the Washington Bach Consort, Elizabeth Fields, and Harmonious Blacksmith.

As part of her musical training, Charlene has had the privilege to perform in masterclasses for the American String Quartet, the Juilliard String Quartet, the Tokyo String Quartet, the Orion String Quartet, Igor Oistrakh, Pamela Frank, Leon Fleischer, and Boris Garlitsky. At the Aspen School and Festival of Music, the Summer Academy of the Mozarteum Salzburg (Austria), and the Heifetz Summer Institute of Music, she received instruction from Igor Oistrakh, Pamela Frank, Igor Ozim, Daniel Phillips, Catherine Cho, and James Buswell.

Prior to graduating from Cornell University with a BA cum laude in 2009 where she studied with Susan Waterbury, Charlene studied at the Central Conservatory (Beijing, China) with Prof. Zhen Shan Wang and Prof. Wei Zhao, the Shanghai Conservatory (China) with Prof. Li Na Yu, the Hochschule der Künste Bremen (Germany) with Prof. Katrin Scholz, and the Hochschule der Künste Bern (Switzerland) with Prof. Monika Urbaniak Lisik. Before completing high school, she was granted exceptional admission to the bachelor of music program of the Hochschule der Künste Bern in 2005. In 2011, Charlene completed the Masters of Music at the Peabody Institute of Music of the Johns Hopkins University under Pamela Frank, where she is currently pursuing a Graduate Performance Diploma, also with Pamela Frank. Her upcoming performances include recitals in Germany for the Konzertverein (Performing Arts Society) Kassel at the Louis-Spohr Museum, featuring music for violin, cello, and harp, as well as concerts with the Ars Nova Trio.

In addition to music, Charlene has always held a strong interest in the natural sciences and became a member of the 2005 Swiss National Team for the International Young Physicists’ Tournament.

Winner of the OSCyL Concerto Competition in 2007, cellist María Victoria Pedrero is devoted to a wide range of musical performances as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. She performed the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra under the batton of A. Posada in 2007. In 2008, she performed Beethoven’s Triple Concerto touring with the Presjoven Orchestra conducted by Pablo Mielgo. María Victoria has been awarded the Ministry of Culture of Spain Scholarship, the Academic Excellence Scholarship of Castilla y Leon, and the “Cristina Bruno” scholarship prize. In April 2009, she won the prestigious Fundación Caja Madrid Fellowship for Graduate Studies.

Principal cellist of the Galicia Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Presjovem Orchestra, and the Fundación Caja Duero Chamber Orchestra, Ms. Pedrero has also been a member of JONDE (Spanish National Youth Orchestra). She has been invited to play with the Oviedo Filarmonía, the Galicia Symphony Orchestra, the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra, and the Cadaqués Orchestra. Under conductors such as Eliahu Inbal, Carlos Karmer, Víctor Pablo Pérez, Gianandrea Noseda, Lionel Bringuier, Pietro Rizzo, Guillermo García-Calvo, and Leon Fleisher, she has performed at festivals such as the XVIII Arolser Barockfestspiel Matinee der Jüngsten (Germany), the LXVII Quincena Musical Donostiarra (Spain), the XLV Semana de Música Religiosa de Cuenca (Spain), and the Euro Arts Festival (Germany). She has also appeared for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and the 92nd St Y Chamber Series in New York.

María Victoria has performed in masterclasses for artists such as Daniel Barenboim, Leon Fleisher, Bernard Greenhouse, Colin Carr, Steven Isserlis, David Etheve, Markus Nyikos, Tilmann Wick, Maria Kliegel, Daniel Grosgurin, Anne Gastinel, Marc Coppey, Marta Gulyás, and Patrick Cohen. She began musical studies with Eelko Haak and later Marius Diaz with whom she studied at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Salamanca where she obtained the Bachelor of Music Degree Summa Cum Laude. At the same time, she studied with Michel Strauss at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional Boulogne-Billancourt, where she received the Diplôme d’Études Musicales. In 2011, she received her Graduate Performance Diploma in Cello Performance from the Peabody Institute of Music of the Johns Hopkins University. Currently, María Victoria is pursuing a Graduate Performance Diploma in Chamber Music at the Peabody Institute under Amit Peled.

Born in Seoul, Korea, Kyung Wha Chu began piano studies at the age of eight, and continued her education at the New England Conservatory in Boston with Wha-Kyung Byun at the age of fifteen. She received her Bachelor of music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with Paul Schenly and Daniel Shapiro. She has been a winner of many competitions including the Korean Broadcasting System competition, Korean newspaper music competition, Baltimore Music Club competition, Cleveland Institute of Music concerto competition and Royal conservatory of music concerto competition. She has performed many solo recitals and with orchestras including Seoul Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music orchestra, and Royal Conservatory of Music Orchestra. Also an active participant in chamber music, her performances have included appearances at New York’s 92nd street Y, Kennedy Center Washington, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. She recently had the privilege to participate in the Carnegie seminar where she worked with Pamela Frank and Yo-Yo Ma. In May 2010, Kyung Wha Chu was one of seven students of Leon Fleisher to perform all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas in one day marathon concert. Kyung Wha Chu studied with John Perry and David Louie at Glenn Gould School at the Royal conservatory of Music, completing an Artist Diploma. She has also worked with Claude Frank, Arie Vardi, Garrick Ohlson, Marc Durant, Stephen Hough and Kum-Sing Lee and Richard Goode. Kyung Wha Chu is currently studying with Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Institute of Music.

Hailed by the Baltimore Sun as “an extraordinary musical talent,” violinist Colin Sorgi is embarking on an international career. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Colin holds degrees from both the Peabody Conservatory and Indiana University studying with renowned musicians Herbert Greenberg and Jaime Laredo. A passionate chamber musician, Colin was first violinist of the Kuttner String Quartet in Residence at Indiana University and has worked with some of the world’s leading musicians such as Michael Kannen, Maria Lambros, Jorja Fleezanis, Eric Kim, Atar Arad, Steven Dann and Levon Chilingirian. Colin has been a top prizewinner in recent competitions including Grand Prize at both the 2009 William Marbury Violin Competition and 2011 Latin American Music Center Competition, 1st prize at the 2011 Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition and 2nd prize in the 2011 IU Violin Competition. A devoted performer of contemporary music, Colin is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Baltimore-based SONAR new music ensemble and is the violinist for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival and School. He has collaborated with members of Alarm Will Sound and Ensemble Intercontemporain and was a participant in the Lucerne Festival Academy under the direction of Pierre Boulez in Lucerne, Switzerland. Colin’s highly anticipated debut album was released in October 2011 and features premiere recordings of five works by celebrated living Latin American composers.

Michelle Skinner is currently pursuing her Master of Music Degree from The Peabody Institute as a student of Herbert Greenberg. An avid chamber musician, she is a member of The János Quartet, which was recently named one of the 2011-12 Honors Ensembles at The Peabody Institute under the instruction of Michael Kannen. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Wheaton College Conservatory of Music where she studied with Paul Zafer. In 2008-9 she was awarded the Virginia Grossman Prize and Ben Heppner grand Prize in the annual Wheaton College Concerto Competition. In 2008 her piano trio The Dumky Trio won the annual Wheaton College Chamber Music Competition. Among her chamber music instructors are members of Eighth Blackbird, Sharon Polifrone, Claudia Lasareff-Mironoff, and Dr. Daniel Paul Horn. Michelle has performed as soloist with the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra, The Paducah Symphony and at The Southern Illinois Music Festival. In the summers she participates in festivals such as The Aspen Music Festival, Camp Musicale des Laurentides, Southern Illinois Music Festival and Summit Music Festival.

Violist Jaclyn Dorr is completing a Master of Music degree in viola performance and pedagogy at the Peabody Conservatory, where she is teaching assistant to Victoria Chiang and principal violist of the Peabody Symphony Orchestra. Jaclyn was a student of and teaching assistant to Dr. Catharine Carroll and Masao Kawasaki. Ms. Dorr was first prizewinner of the 2009 Gee Viola Competition, a recipient of the Richard Franko Goldman prize in performance, and a fellowship violist at the Aspen Music Festival, where she was a finalist in the 2007 Concerto Competition. Jaclyn’s passion for chamber music has lead her to work with members of the Tokyo, Orion, Belcea and Chilingirian quartets, as well as the Peabody Trio, Michael Kannen, Maria Lambros, Amit Peled, Pamela Frank, Alison Wells, Richard Lester and Bill Grubb. She also has extensive orchestral performing experience, having performed with the Aspen Concert Orchestra (principal), CCM Philharmonia (principal), and Kentucky Symphony Orchestra (principal), the San Antonio Opera, Mid-Atlantic Symphony and the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen. Ms. Dorr has also performed in masterclasses for Roberto Diaz, Heidi Castleman, Mischa Amory, Pamela Frank, Atar Arad, Hsin Yun Huang, Karen Ritscher, Lynn Ramsey and Jutta Puchhammer-Sedillo. A contemporary music enthusiast, Jaclyn is the co-founder and managing director of the SONAR New Music Ensemble. She has also collaborated on concerts with members of the Alarm Will Sound Contemporary Music Ensemble and has performed on the Cafe MoMus Contemporary Music series.

Mia Barcia-Colombo was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where she began her musical studies at the age of four and began playing cello at the age of 8 with Bongshin Ko. At 10 she continued her studies at the prestigious Colburn School of the Performing Arts with Dr. Richard Naill. In her youth, Mia was a member of the Colburn Chamber Orchestra as principal cello and participated in the Colburn School’s “Honors Trio,” which routinely performed in master-classes and in concerts on 105.1 K-MOZART’S broadcast, “Sunday’s Live.” In 2005, she competed and placed as a Laureate in the Sphinx Competition and a finalist at the Los Angeles Spotlight Awards. At age 18 she was accepted into the studio of Eleonore Schoenfeld at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music where she studied and played principal cello in the American Youth Symphony until 2008. She completed her bachelor’s degree in cello performance at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University under the tutelage of Amit Peled. Mia has attended several music festivals locally and internationally, including the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California, Encore School for Strings in Ohio, the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the Forum de Violoncello de España in Madrid, Spain. She has participated in master-classes with the Emerson, Guarneri, Tokyo, Miro, Takács, and Orion string quartets as well as with the Eroica Trio. Her chamber group, the János Quartet, recently won the position of Honors quartet at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. Mia is a musical egalitarian with a great passion for Jazz, and enjoys playing a myriad of instruments. She recently recorded backing vocals for an indie rock band Meekos&Me’s debut album, released on iTunes in June 2011.

From Durham, North Carolina, nineteen-year-old violinist Orin Laursen is an active performer of chamber music as well as the solo violin repertoire.

His accomplishments include winning the 2008 Durham Symphony Competition, the 2007 NC Symphony Youth Concerto Competition (junior division), and the 2007 NC ASTA Solo Competition (junior division) among others. In 2007, Orin participated in the 39th annual New York String Orchestra Seminar under conductor Jaime Laredo, collaborating with pianists Yefim Bronfman and André Watts in two Carnegie Hall concerts. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Saint Petersberg Symphony Orchestra, the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Durham Symphony, and the Tar River Orchestra. Orin was first violin and founding member of Goat String Quartet, with which he performed from 2002 to 2010.

Orin currently attends the Peabody Conservatory, where he studies with Victor Danchenko. He plays a violin made in 2005 by Barrington, Illinois maker Tetsuo Matsuda.

21 year old violinist Songeun Jeong is an artist whose playing combines natural temperament with technical ease. A winner of various competitions, Ms. Jeong has won 1^st place in the Phone Classic Competition in 2009 and 2^nd place in the Concerto Competition of the Moores School of Music in 2008. As a result of her successes, Ms. Jeong was soloist in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Haydn’s Violin Concerto in C, and Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 5 “Turkish” with the Young Artist String Orchestra, in which she was also concertmaster for two years. A versatile and probing musician, Ms. Jeong’s was part of the AURA Contemporary Ensemble at the University of Houston and also as concertmaster of Peabody Concert Orchestra. Ms. Jeong is currently studying with esteemed pedagogue Pamela Frank at the Peabody Conservatory.

21- year-old violinist and violist Dian Zhang is a probing musician who is dedicated to bringing and revealing the essence of the music he plays to the public through performance. A winner of various competitions, Dian was the winner of Marbury Competition at Peabody in 2009, the ASTA Competition for the Los Angeles Area in 2006, the 8^th Annual Young Artists Concerto Competition sponsored by the Torrance Symphony in 2004, a recipient of Fe Bland Scholarship Foundation in 2008, and many others. He has also performed in recitals in the Los Angeles area as well as a solo engagement with the Torrance Symphony.

Dian has studied with Xue Wei and Alice Schoenfeld and he is currently a senior at Peabody Conservatory studying with esteemed pedagogue Victor Danchenko.

19- year-old cellist Javier Iglesias Martin, is an exciting solo and chamber music performer as well as an active orchestra player.

The Spanish cellist began playing cello at the age of 7 with Eduardo Palao and Adolfo Gutierrez and has performed in master classes for Lluis Claret, Jens Peter Mainz and Gary Hoffmann. Javier has been an active orchestra player participating as principal cellist in Orquesta Ciudad de Alcala, Joven Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid and Festival junger Kunstle Bayreuth, and also collaborated with orchestras such as JONDE and Orquesta Filarmonia. His accomplishments include winner of the Hazen Chamber Music and Solo Competition, Curso Ciudad de Toledo Competition and Best Academic Music Record in Madrid in 2009. Javier made his public debut at the age of 16 with a solo recital and at the age of 17 he made his debut as a soloist playing Elgar Cello Concerto.

He is currently in his second year pursuing a Bachelors of Music degree at Peabody Conservatory studying with world-renowned soloist and professor Amit Peled.