Combining exceptional lyricism and insight with consummate technique, Alessio Bax is without a doubt “among the most remarkable young pianists now before the public” (Gramophone). He catapulted to prominence with First Prize wins at both the Leeds and Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, and is now a familiar face on five continents, not only as a recitalist and chamber musician, but also as a concerto soloist who has appeared with more than 150 orchestras, including the London, Royal, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, the Boston, Dallas, Cincinnati, Sydney, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, and the NHK Symphony in Japan, collaborating with such eminent conductors as Marin Alsop, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Yuri Temirkanov, and Jaap van Zweden. Bax constantly explores many facets of his career. He released his eleventh Signum Classics album, Italian Inspirations, whose program was also the vehicle for his solo recital debut at New York’s 92nd Street Y as well as on tour. He recently embarked on a trio tour of Spain with violinist Joshua Bell and cellist Steven Isserlis. Bax and his regular piano duo partner, Lucille Chung, gave recitals at New York’s Lincoln Center and were featured with the St. Louis Symphony and Stéphane Denève. He has also presented the complete works of Beethoven for cello and piano with cellist Paul Watkins in New York City. Next season he will make his debut with the Milwaukee Symphony, performing Brahms’ second piano concerto and will return for the fourth time for two recitals at the historic Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

Sponsored by Jill & Steven Stone

Violinist Tessa Lark is one of the most captivating artistic voices of our time, consistently praised by critics and audiences for her astounding range of sounds, technical agility, and musical elegance. In 2020 she was nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category and received one of Lincoln Center’s prestigious Emerging Artist Awards: the special Hunt Family Award. Other recent honors include a 2018 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and a 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Silver Medalist in the 9th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and winner of the 2012 Naumburg International Violin Competition.

She solos regularly with many of the major orchestras around the world, from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra to Seattle Symphony, and has appeared in recital in such prestigious venues and series as Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Carnegie Hall’s Distinctive Debuts series in Weill Hall (2017).

She is also a highly acclaimed fiddler in the tradition of her native Kentucky, delighting audiences with programming that includes Appalachian and bluegrass music and inspiring composers to write for her – most notably SKY, a bluegrass-inspired violin concerto written for Tessa by Michael Torke which earned both a GRAMMY nomination for Tessa and a Pulitzer finalist distinction for Torke.

Lark is a graduate of New England Conservatory and completed her Artist Diploma at The Juilliard School. She plays a ca. 1600 G.P. Maggini violin on loan from an anonymous donor through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Sponsored by Martha Pleiss

Praised by the Washington Post as having a voice of “unearthly power,” The Houston Press as being a “blow away singer,” and the San Jose Mercury News as a “natural comic actor,” award winning bass-baritone, Nathan Stark, has performed on opera, concert and recital stages throughout United States, Europe and China.

Hailing from Hughson, California, Mr. Stark has performed over 50 professional roles with opera houses throughout North America, including The Metropolitan Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Arizona Opera, Atlanta Opera, Virginia Opera and Opera San Jose, among others. Some of his noted roles have included Mustafà in L’Italiana in Algeri, both Don Basilio and Don Bartolo in il Barbiere di Siviglia, both Leporello and il Commendatore in Don Giovanni, both Monterone and Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Colline in La Boheme, Fernando in Il Trovatore, Banco in Macbeth and Bottom in A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Equally comfortable on the concert stage, he has performed as a soloist with leading ensembles including Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Long Beach Symphony, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, and the Holland Symphony Orchestra.

He holds degrees in vocal & opera performance from Modesto Junior College (A.A. and Theater Arts Certificate), California State University, Long Beach (B.M. & M.M.) and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (A.D.) His voice teachers have included Dr. Lewis Woodward, Dr. Cherrie Llewellyn, Ms. Shigemi Matsumoto, Ms. Marilyn Horne and Mr. Kenneth Shaw.

Sponsored by Virginia & Michael Geheb

The Pelia String Quartet was formed at the Emerson String Quartet Institute of Stony Brook University in 2019.

The quartet received a special prize at the 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, a bronze medal at the 2022 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and were winners of the 2022 Ackerman Chamber Music Competition. Festival appearances include the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, and Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland. The Pelia Quartet served as the resident string quartet for the SUNY Artist Residency in 2020-2021. They have collaborated with artists David Shifrin, John Bruce Yeh, Tim McAllister, Nicholas Phan and Colin Carr, among others.

The Pelia Quartet has received instruction from members of the Mirò and Vogler Quartets, Heime Muller, Valentin Erben among others, and continued guidance from the Emerson String Quartet.

Sponsored by Kathleen O’Toole Schein & Randolph Schein