Angela Massey’s debut album, “The Elements,” has been described as “beautiful and enchanting, the performances on this CD are magical!” by Jeanne Baxtresser, former principal flute of the New York Philharmonic. As a soloist, she has been a featured guest artist with the Tryon Concert Association, Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City, Artist Series of Tallahassee, and the National Flute Association. Outside of the United States, she has performed in England, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, and Switzerland. As Artistic Director and flutist of the Astralis Chamber Ensemble, she arranges and performs over sixty recitals each year. She holds a flute and piccolo position with the Southwest Florida Symphony and is the flute instructor at Florida Gulf Coast University. She was awarded prizes in the Alexander and Buono Competition, Frank Bowen Competition, Myrna Brown Competition, Tiziano Rosetti Competition in Switzerland, and a certificate in the Gheorghe Dima International Competition in Romania. Her instructors have been Jeanne Baxtresser, Alberto Almarza, Jack Wellbaum, Martha Kitterman, and Brooks de Wetter- Smith. She received degrees in flute performance from Carnegie Mellon University, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and UNC at Chapel Hill. For more information, visit www.angelamasseyflute.com.
Venezuelan-American violinist and violist Paul Aguilar joined the Houston Symphony viola section in 2024. He has won top prizes at the Banff, Bordeaux, Fischoff, Melbourne, Wigmore Hall, and Manhattan International chamber music competitions as well as the Grand Prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. He has appeared in concert across North America and Europe, some highlights including Carnegie Hall, the Ravinia Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland, La Jolla Summerfest, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Heidelberg String Quartet Festival, and the Emilia-Romagna Festival. His chamber music collaborators include artists such as James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Lawrence Power, Paul Watkins, and Jon Kimura Parker. He has studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Rice University, the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía School in Madrid, and the University of Music and Performing Arts, in Vienna. His primary influences have been Jaime Laredo, Si-Yan Li, Gunter Pichler, and Gerhard Schulz. In addition to traveling and performing, Paul enjoys sharing music with his family, at his church, and throughout his community. Paul plays on a very fine violin and viola that were commissioned from master luthier Kevin Lee.
Since 2023, Joseph Skerik has served as violist of the Vega String Quartet, in residence at the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta and Emory University. Quartet activities include recording for PBS and collaborating with the Juilliard Quartet, Zuill Bailey, Jon Kimura Parker, Mark O’Connor, Ettore Causa and Amy Moretti, with appearances at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, The National Gallery in Washington D.C. and venues in Charlotte, Raleigh, Mexico, Atlanta, New York, Memphis, Maine, Washington, Texas and Alaska. Joseph’s solo and chamber music accolades include the Yale School of Music’s Broadus Erle Prize in Chamber Music, and prizes in the Nedbal Viola Competition in Prague, American Viola Society Competition in Los Angeles and National YoungArts. Joseph also appears on series and festivals such as the Highlands-Cashiers Festival, Newport Classical, Classical Music Chicago, Montecito Music Festival, Tallgrass Chamber Music Festival, Methow Valley Festival, Vivace Festival and the Lake George Festival. He has also appeared on numerous tours for the Heifetz Institute as a soloist chamber musician. Committed to presenting chamber music in his home state, Joseph serves as co-artistic director of Viridian Strings, a chamber series in Northern Michigan.
Laura Usiskin enjoys a versatile career as a cellist and educator. Her playing has taken her to concert halls throughout the United States and Europe, including the Kennedy Center, Palazzo Chigi Saracini, Symphony Hall (Boston), Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall, Zankel Hall, Merkin Hall, Miller Theatre, Barge Music, Steinway Hall, and Klavierhaus. While completing an Artist-In-Residency with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, Usiskin founded and served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Montgomery Music Project, an El Sistema strings program in Montgomery, Alabama. The program, now more than 10 years old, has given intensive string instruction to hundreds of low-income children across three counties. Usiskin is a member of the Bayberry String Quartet as well as the Atlanta-based new music group ensemble vim. She has served on the faculty of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, through which she founded the chamber series Chamber Music @ AEIVA, as well as Birmingham-Southern College. Usiskin graduated from Columbia University cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience and Behavior, The Juilliard School with a Master of Music, and Yale University with a Doctor of Musical Arts. For more information, visit www.laurausiskin.com.
Violinist Seeun Baek has been praised for her expressive artistry and refined technique. A prizewinner of numerous international competitions, she has received First Prize at the New York International Competition, Fanny Mendelssohn International Competition, and Caneres Music Competition Vienna, among others. As a soloist, she has performed at Carnegie Weill Hall and Lincoln Center’s Bruno Walter Auditorium. She has appeared under distinguished conductors including Manfred Honeck, Marin Alsop, John Adams, and Tito Muñoz while serving as Concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra and Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed at major venues such as Alice Tully Hall, David Geffen Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Seoul Arts Center. A devoted chamber musician, she has worked with renowned artists including Emanuel Ax, Joel Krosnick, and members of the Emerson, Juilliard, and Shanghai Quartets. Passionate about championing underrepresented composers, Seeun is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts at Stony Brook University under Hagai Shaham, with a full scholarship and teaching assistantship, following her Master’s degree at The Juilliard School under Ronald Copes and Laurie Smukler, and her Bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Seoul National University.
“A strong and endearing performer, already a partner of the greatest in the United States” (Diapason Magazine), Venezuelan-American cellist Edward Luengo is the first musician from a family of pilots. He has performed at the Rheingau Musik Festival, Music for Food, Kronberg Festival, Brussels Cello Festival, and the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad by invitation from Steven Isserlis. His artistry has led him to receive the First Prize Concurso Jóvenes Intérpretes, Third Prize IX Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition, Festival Ravel Chamber Music Prize, First Prize III Buchet International Cello Competition, and a performance at BOZAR’s Next Generation Artists Series. Working closely with artists such as Alfred Brendel, Christoph Eschenbach, Gidon Kremer, and Sir András Schiff, Edward has also been invited to Festival Ravel, IMS Prussia Cove, Festival MusicAlp, and Yellow Barn Festival. Completing his studies at the Manhattan School of Music and the Kronberg Academy, his teachers and mentors include Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Philippe Muller, Heasook Rhee, Sylvia Rosenberg, Frans Helmerson, Kim Kashkashian, and Steven Isserlis. Passionate about education, Edward joined the University of South Florida as Adjunct Faculty of Cello and Chamber music in the Fall of 2025.
Jason Sheng-Chieh Lan is a versatile violist with a dynamic artistic voice and extensive international performance experience. He is the youngest violist to present a debut recital at Taiwan’s National Concert Hall to a sold-out audience. A prizewinner in Taiwan’s national competitions, he has appeared as soloist with the Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra and the Austin Civic Orchestra. Jason has received major scholarships and fellowships from Idyllwild Arts Academy, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Tianjin Juilliard School, and the University of Texas at Austin. A Juilliard alumnus, he is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at UT Austin, where he studies with Wilhelm Magner and Roger Myers and serves as a teaching assistant. He began studying the viola at age nine. An active and passionate chamber musician, Jason has participated in the inaugural Tianjin Juilliard International Chamber Music Festival, the Music Academy of the West, and the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival. He has collaborated with Donald McInnes, Richard O’Neill, and Nobuko Imai, as well as members of the Juilliard, Takács, Miro, and Shanghai String Quartets, and has competed in the Concours de Genève and the Hindemith International Viola Competition.
Kris Marshall is principal trumpet with the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, Venice Symphony, and has built an active career performing with multiple orchestras across the state of Florida, including the Jacksonville Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, and regular performances with The Florida Orchestra. Marshall has been a featured soloist with the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra on many occasions and with the Fifth Avenue Chamber Orchestra in Naples, Florida. As a founding member of the Astralis Chamber Ensemble, he presents several chamber recital tours each year and participates in commission projects to increase the chamber repertoire for trumpet. He won first prize in the Florida Orchestra Young Artist Competition and was later selected to attend the Chautauqua Institution Summer Music Festival where he studied with Chuck Berginc, principal trumpet with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. Other significant instructors include Robert Smith and Ed Cord. Marshall pursued degrees in trumpet performance at Florida State University, Indiana University, and the University of South Florida.
Dr. Alexandra Snyder Dunbar is an award-winning harpsichordist, pianist, and pedagogue. She was awarded a full scholarship to The Juilliard School, where she was a resident of the prestigious C. V. Starr Doctoral Fellowship program. She also earned a Master of Music degree in Harpsichord Performance from Juilliard and a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano from the Manhattan School of Music. As a high school student, she studied piano, organ, and violin at the Interlochen Arts Academy and Interlochen Arts Camp. Her solo harpsichord performances with orchestra include appearances with Orchestra 54, Dorian Baroque Orchestra, The Memphis Chamber Music Society, The Symphony of Westchester, and The Chamber Orchestra of New York. She has also performed with The Dryden Ensemble, the Foundlings Ensemble, and the New York Philharmonic. Dr. Dunbar serves on the music faculty at the University of North Georgia and the Interlochen Arts Camp. She also maintains a private teaching studio and an active performance schedule with the Amethyst Baroque Ensemble, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Astralis Chamber Ensemble, New Orleans Jazz Stompers, and as organist at Madison First United Methodist Church (Madison, GA).
Pianist Caroline Owen has played in venues across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including the DiMenna Center for Classical Music (New York) and the Wiener Saal and Solitär at the Mozarteum (Salzburg). Owen was the winner of the Florida MTNA Young Artist Competition and a semifinalist in both the 14th International Mozart Competition Salzburg and International Keyboard Odyssiad. She also won the 2018 Pro-Mozart Society of Atlanta Competition, from which she received a scholarship to study at the Salzburg Mozarteum. Owen has performed at festivals including PianoFest in the Hamptons, PianoTexas, Atlantic Music Festival, and the Prague Piano Festival, and she has worked with artists including Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Richard Goode, and Ursula Oppens. Owen is committed to promoting new music. She performed as soloist with the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra in 2021 and 2023, and her dance background has fostered unique multidisciplinary collaborations with composer Badie Khaleghian. Owen earned her Doctorate of Music in piano performance from Florida State University. She resides in Atlanta, where she holds positions at the University of Georgia and Emory University and serves as Co-Director of the Decatur Fine Arts Academy. For more information, visit www.carolineowenpiano.com.
Singaporean harpist Lishan Tan is known for her dynamic artistry and elegance across orchestral stages, solo engagements, and contemporary collaborations. Newly appointed Principal Harp of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, she also performs regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops. Highlights of her career include appearing as a soloist alongside Yo-Yo Ma with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the 2024 Tanglewood Music Festival. She was awarded First Prize at the VI Mexico International Harp Competition, which led to her debut with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional at Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes. She has also appeared with The Metropolitan Opera, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Borromeo String Quartet, and The Beach Boys. Beyond the stage, Lishan is an educator, arranger, and writer whose work continues to expand the harp’s possibilities. She writes for HarpColumn, leads Writing for Harp workshops for composers, and creates digital content that has garnered millions of views worldwide. Lishan became the first harpist admitted to the doctoral program at New England Conservatory, where she earned her Doctor of Musical Arts with a minor in Music Theory under Jessica Zhou.