Angela Massey’s debut album 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, National Flute Association Convention, and invited to perform a Vivaldi Piccolo Concerto with the Southwest Florida Symphony. Outside of the United States, she has performed in England, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, and Switzerland. In regard to chamber music, she serves as Artistic Director and founder of the Astralis Chamber Ensemble arranging and performing over 60 recitals each year. She holds flute positions with the Southwest Florida Symphony, Venice Symphony, and performs with the Sarasota Orchestra. She was awarded prizes in the Alexander and Buono Competition, Frank Bowen Competition, Myrna Brown Competition, and certificate in the Gheorghe Dima International Competition in Romania. Her instructors have been Alberto Almarza, Jeanne Baxtresser, Martha Kitterman, Jack Wellbaum, and Brooks de Wetter-Smith. She received degrees in flute performance from Carnegie Mellon University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For more information, visit www.angelamasseyflute.com.
Violinist-violist hybrid Christine Wu has been hailed for her “strikingly bold sound” and “technical facility” (Theater Jones), and performs internationally with recent solo appearances in Chicago, Sendai, New York City, and Berlin. Her live premiere of Jeffrey Mumford’s verdant cycles of deepening spring with the Chicago Composers Orchestra debuted on Jeffrey Mumford: Echoing Depths with Albany Records in 2023. She has also been named a recipient of an Audience Prize at the 8th Sendai International Music Competition, the CD Recording Prize with Outhere Music at the inaugural Berlin Prize for Young Artists competition, as well as the winner of the Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition, Lynn Harrell Concerto Competition, and at the Aspen Music Festival and School’s Low Strings Concerto Competition as a violist. Christine studied at the Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School and Cleveland Institute of Music with Sylvia Rosenberg, Nicholas Mann, Masao Kawasaki, and Jaime Laredo. She also holds a minor in Business Management from Case Western Reserve University.
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.
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.
Yeim Lee is an active concert violinist and passionate chamber musician. A winner of the Oberlin Conservatory Concerto Competition and recipient of the Susan W. Rose Graduate Fellowship at The Juilliard School, she performs regularly with the Sejong Soloists and has served as Concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra and the Oberlin Orchestra. As a committed chamber musician, she has appeared at festivals including Music@Menlo’s International Program, Kneisel Hall, Taos School of Music, and the Perlman Music Program’s Chamber Music Workshop. Her current ensemble, the Resi Quartet, earned the Silver Medal at the 2025 Coltman Chamber Music Competition. Yeim holds an Artist Diploma from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. She earned her Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School on a full scholarship, studying with Laurie Smukler, and a Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory, where she studied with David Bowlin.
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. At Juilliard, she received a full scholarship as a resident in the prestigious C. V. Starr Fellowship in the Doctoral program. Dr. Dunbar received a Masters of Music in Harpsichord Performance at Juilliard and a Bachelor of Music in Piano from Manhattan School of Music. Solo performances with orchestra include with Orchestra 54, Dorian Baroque Orchestra, The Memphis Chamber Music Society, The Symphony of Westchester, and The Chamber Orchestra of New York. Dr. Dunbar performed with The Dryden Ensemble, the Foundlings Ensemble, The New York Philharmonic, and the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra. Dr. Dunbar is on the music faculty at the University of North Georgia, Interlochen Arts Camp, and maintains a private teaching studio and busy performance calendar. Currently, she serves as organist at Madison First United Methodist Church in Athens, Georgia and is co-artistic director for Amethyst Baroque Ensemble.
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 enjoys a multifaceted career as a performer, arranger and writer. As the winner of the VI Mexico International Harp Competition, she made her debut with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional at Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes. Most recently, Lishan appeared as a soloist alongside cellist Yo-Yo Ma with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the 2024 Tanglewood Music Festival. In 2022, she performed two sold-out opening night concerts with Vista Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also shared the stage with groups such as The Metropolitan Opera, the Boston Pops and The Beach Boys. As a founding member and resident arranger of Singapore’s premier harp quartet The Harp Quarterly, Lishan aims to push the boundaries of her instrument and her music videos ranging from Metallica to Debussy have garnered millions of views online. Lishan is also a freelance writer for the international harp magazine, HarpColumn. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts at the New England Conservatory with BSO Harpist Jessica Zhou, where she is the first harpist admitted to the doctoral program.
Jane Yoo is an internationally recognized harpist and prize-winner, known for her performances around the globe. She has garnered numerous prestigious awards, including the USA International Harp Competition, 1st Prize at the Korean International Harp Competition, and the Special Prize at the Szeged International Harp Competition in Hungary. In 2022, she earned an Honorable Mention at the Lyon & Healy Awards. Most recently, she was named a Young Artist in Residence on Minnesota Public Radio’s Performance Today in 2024. Jane has been featured as a soloist at the World Harp Congress’s “Focus on Youth” event in Hong Kong in 2017 and was selected twice as a Kumho Young Concert Artist (2014, 2017). She has performed with the Yale Philharmonia under Peter Oundjian and serves as associate principal harpist with both the New World Symphony and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Jane holds a Bachelor of Music from Seoul National University and a Master of Music from the Yale School of Music. She is the only musician to be admitted to the Artist Diploma program at Peabody Institute, where she is currently pursuing a DMA program under Dr. June Han.