Sunday August 25, 2019 in Mclean

Emerson Avenue Salons Proudly Presents

A Fundraiser for the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

The Baltimore Symphony Musicians have been locked out for nearly 3 months. This means that they are completely unpaid, walking a picket line most days, and working far overtime to make ends meet.

Clockwise from upper left:
Chelsea Hyojung Kim — violin
Holly Jenkins — violin
Peter Minkler — viola
Dr. Ismar Gomes — ‘cello
Lior Willinger — piano

Program

Biographies

Violinist Holly Jenkins, originally from House Springs, Missouri, has been a member of the violin section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since September, 2016. Ms. Jenkins has performed as both a soloist and a chamber musician in recitals in seven different countries, and in such venues as Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C, Cleveland’s Trinity Lutheran Church, and at St. Louis’ Sheldon Concert Hall. She began her performing career at the age of 11, when she was selected to solo with the Alton Symphony Orchestra. Subsequent concerto performances have included appearances with the Oberlin Conservatory Orchestra, St. Louis Chamber Orchestra, Richardson Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Music Festival Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, Principia College Orchestra, Belleville Philharmonic, and the Clayton Symphony. Ms. Jenkins was also a member of the New York City based conductorless string ensemble, Shattered Glass, from 2013-2016, touring the Midwest and East Coast and performing regularly across New York City. In addition to performing, Ms. Jenkins is passionately committed to promoting peace, dialogue, and cross cultural awareness through music. During the summer of 2011, she and a colleague conducted a tour of Jordan and the West Bank in cooperation with Musicians Without Borders, Nablus a Culture, and several other organizations, teaching and performing in schools and community centers. In 2012 she participated in a two-week trip to Pakistan with Cultures in Harmony to perform and conduct music workshops. Ms. Jenkins holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Manhattan School of Music. Her teachers have included Milan Vitek, Laurie Smukler, Amy Oshiro-Morales, and Winifred Crock. She is currently on faculty as a chamber music coach at Peabody Preparatory Program and Baltimore School for the Arts “TWIGS” program. In the summers she serves as faculty for the Rushmore Chamber Music Festival and concertmaster and faculty for Credo music festival’s orchestra program in Chicago.

Violinist Chelsea Hyojung Kim, born in Seoul, South Korea, recently joined Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s violin section after completing her Masters degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under the tutelage of Kathleen Winkler, with the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Scholarship. Before coming to Baltimore, she was a frequent substitute at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra and New World Symphony. Chelsea earned her Bachelors at The Juilliard School with Li Lin under the Juilliard Lester Lanin Scholarship and H. & E. Kivekas Scholarship. Her past teachers include Donald Weilerstein and Peter Rovit. In 2009, she garnered 1st prize in the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and debuted with them. She has won other numerous competitions, including first place in Tuscaloosa String Quartet Society Scholarship Competition and second place in the Lois Pickard Scholarship National Competition. In 2013, she was chosen as a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist from From the Top, and performed on the live show on NPR.
An avid chamber musician, Chelsea has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Edward Aaron, The Takács Quartet, Timothy Pitts, James Dunham, and Benjamin Kamins. She has appeared at venues including Carnegie Weill Hall, Weiner Musikverein, Boston Symphony Hall, David Geffen Hall, and Alice Tully Hall.
She has performed in masterclasses given by Joshua Bell, Stefan Milenkovich, Soovin Kim, and Philip Setzer. She has been awarded fellowships to participate summers in Music Academy of the West, Pacific Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Aspen Music Festival, Endless Mountain Music Festival, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and Yellow Barn Young Artist Program where she served concertmaster and principal positions, and performed under conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Gustavo Dudamel, Stephen Deneve, Jun Markl, Elim Chan, Paul Haas, and Ankush Bahl.

Violist Peter Minkler is heralded by the Baltimore Sun as an inspiring artist who “makes the viola sing.…”  Having firmly secured his reputation as a musician of rare communicative warmth and possessing eloquent depth of expression, he was awarded Baltimore’s prestigious Mary Sawyers Baker Prize, and is a two-time recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Classical Music Solo Performance.  Minkler began his undergraduate studies with Robert Vernon at the Cleveland Institute of Music and earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he was a student of Francis Tursi.  Intensive master classes with mentor William Primrose offered additional guidance, enduring wisdom and inspiration.  A longtime member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, he also holds the position of Principal Viola of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society Orchestra.  Prior to his arrival in Baltimore, he served as Associate Principal Viola with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
He has appeared as soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, as well as with the Reading Symphony Orchestra, Prince George’s Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Johns, Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra, The Columbia Orchestra, Baltimore Choral Arts Society and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.  As soloist, he has worked with such distinguished conductors as Andrew Constantine, Tom Hall, Marvin Hamlisch, Raymond Harvey and Daniel Hege.
An avid and versatile musician, Minkler is highly sought both locally and nationally as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician.  Recently, he has presented the world and US premieres of solo and chamber works by Jeremy Gill, Jonathan Leshnoff and Boris Pigovat.
Dark Bells by Jonathan Leshnoff, a major new work for viola, chorus and orchestra, was commissioned by Mr. Minkler in partnership with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra.  Based upon the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe, this oratorio received its world premiere in May 2014 with Music Director Andrew Constantine and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra, Chorus and IPFW University Singers.
Mr. Minkler has released two solo CDs on the Centaur Records label, both garnering exceptional reviews.  The first, Viola Seul: Works for unaccompanied viola, is a compilation of seven works that showcase the extraordinary qualities of the oft-maligned viola and was praised by allmusic:  “Minkler’s playing is…thoroughly musical, insightful, witty, and highly nuanced…this album is likely to please anyone interested in solo string works or just solid, unpretentious, musical artistry.”  Inner Voice, his second project recorded in collaboration with pianist, Lura Johnson, features four major twentieth century compositions by Britten, Rochberg, Pärt and Shostakovich.
This CD has also received high praise from critics:  Carlos María Solare of The Strad writes, “Britten’s Lachrymae…is given an unusually well-structured performance that goes beyond superficial tonal beauties to reveal the score’s constitutive elements.  While listening I felt that this is how William Primrose – the piece’s dedicatee – might have played it….”  It was this recording of Arvo Pärt’s spiegel im spiegel that was used in multiple trailers for the Academy Award winning film, Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.
This as well as other critical acclaim continues to affirm his artistry and command of the instrument.
As John Peter Thompson of the Prince Georgian writes, “If you get a chance to hear Mr. Minkler perform, you need to grab it.”

‘Cellist Dr. Ismar Gomes is a chamber musician, recitalist and orchestral player. Recent performance highlights include collaborations with members of the Pittsburgh Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Emerson Quartet, and the Johannes Quartets. He is a member of the Virginia and Richmond Symphonies. His ensemble, Duo Sorolla has been performing on distinguished across the US for nearly a decade and most recently he joined the early music group, Mélomanie.
On faculty at Gettysburg College, Mr. Gomes spends his summers mentoring students in cello and chamber music at the Rushmore Music Festival, the Baltimore International Piano Festival, and CelloSpeak. Past faculty appointments include the Cleveland Institute of Music Summer Chamber Music Festival, StringFest at Merkin Hall, the Performing Arts Institute, and the Three Bridges Festival. Mr. Gomes also enjoys the process of commissioning and performing new compositions; he has worked closely with leading composers including Aaron Malone, William H. Weigel, Marc Neikrug, Aaron, Jay Kernis, David Lang, and James Lee III.
Ismar attended the Peabody Conservatory, studying with Alison Wells and Amit Peled. Previous teachers include Marc Johnson and Clive Greensmith of the Vermeer and Tokyo Quartets. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Stony Brook University, under the tutelage of Colin Carr.

Award-winning pianist Lior Willinger performs as a solo and chamber artist in the US and abroad. At the age of 19, he made his New York concerto debut at Carnegie Hall performing Piano Concerto No. 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich. He won grand prize and audience prize in the Camerata Artists International Piano Competition following his performance of Piano Concerto No. 3 by Sergei Prokofiev at Merkin Hall.
An avid chamber musician, Mr. Willinger has collaborated in recitals with musicians of the Boston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, and Minnesota Orchestra. He currently serves as Director of the Homewood Chamber Music Seminar, coaching student chamber groups at Johns Hopkins University. Passionate about the music of our time, Mr. Willinger has premiered countless works and is currently releasing a 10-part  commissioning/performance/video/article series on I CARE IF YOU LISTEN called Active Listening. Each work in the project hopes to bring awareness and action to a social justice issue chosen by the composer.
Mr. Willinger earned the Bachelor of Music degree and the Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory, where he is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree with renowned artist-teacher, Yong Hi Moon. During his graduate studies, Peabody Conservatory honored Mr. Willinger with the Sidney Friedberg Prize in Chamber Music and the Presser Music Award “given to a student demonstrating excellence and outstanding promise for a distinguished career in the field of music.”
Active in the Baltimore community, Mr. Willinger performs weekly for infusion patients at Sinai Hospital’s Lapidus Cancer Institute. He is the Founder/Artistic Director of the If Music Be the Food concert series in Baltimore which acts to increase support and awareness for those struggling with food insecurity. The series, which partners with Maryland Food Bank, has raised thousands of meals for those in need. He has also served as faculty and resident pianist for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Orchkids program which provides a free music education to students in impoverished areas.