Thursday, June 3rd, 2010, at 9:30 PM
In the first of its "Night Owls" series, JP Concerts presents Dvorak Piano Quintet and Kodaly Trio for two violins and viola. Performers featured are Sharon Cohen and Megumi Stohs, violins; Sarah Darling, viola; Michal Shein, cello; and Hannah Shields, piano. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Israeli violinist Sharon Cohen has decided to make Boston a home since co-founding Boston's self-conducted Chamber Orchestra 'A Far Cry'. She received her Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA, after finishing her first degree at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.
An avid chamber musician, Sharon has participated in many festivals around Israel and Europe. In this past year she has performed in the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival in Israel, and the Rolandsek Festival in Germany. She has collaborated with artists including Yo Yo Ma, Pinchas Zukerman, members of the Berlin Philharmonic and members of the Jerusalem quartet.
Alongside 'A Far Cry', Sharon is also a member of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra. Since 2003 she is a member of the West Eastern Divan, which is an orchestra that brings together Israelis and Arabs under the Baton of Daniel Barenboim for the purpose of promoting dialogue and coexistence. The orchestra has performed all over the world in major festivals such as the Salzburg Festival in Austria and the BBC Proms in London.
A native of Boston, Sarah Darling takes enthusiastic part in the city's tradition of playing music of all ages and styles. Sarah studied at Harvard, Juilliard, Amsterdam, and Freiburg (as a recipient of the Beebe, Paine, and DAAD grants) and is currently in the doctoral program at NEC with Kim Kashkashian. She is the director of the Arcturus Chamber Ensemble, concertmaster and assistant director of the award-winning Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra, and a member of the
Rosetta Trio, the Sanssouci Quartet, Musicians of the Old Post Road, the Rhode Island and Portland symphonies, and A Far Cry. Sarah has performed in the Ravinia, Lucerne, Norfolk, Sarasota, and Yellow Barn festivals, and has collaborated with members of the Juilliard, Takacs, Borromeo, Ying, Orion, and Cleveland quartets. She is the winner of the NEC, Harvard Bach Society, GBYSO, Arlington, Marlboro, and Freiburg concerto competitions. A passionate advocate of new music, she has been involved in the premiere of more than 100 works, and just released a critically acclaimed solo recording featuring American composer Leland Smith on the Naxos label.
Israeli-Mexican-American cellist, Michal Shein is an active free-lancer in Boston. Most recently, Michal was selected to play with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, which had its successful debut at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. The musicians were chosen via online auditions and represented over 30 countries. In Boston, Michal is a member of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and is the principal cellist of Discovery Ensemble. Michal also performs regularly with groups all over New England. Michal has additionally performed concerts in Central America, Europe and Israel. A dedicated teacher, Michal holds a private cello studio as well as teaching at the Sharon Music Academy. Michal is also the Education Director of Discovery Ensemble's educational program. Michal received a Masters in Music from the New England Conservatory and a B.A. in Music from UC Berkeley. She has won numerous competitions and awards, including the New England Conservatory Honors Chamber Group, the Harriet Woolley Scholarship in Paris, the Hertz Traveling Fellowship, and the Witzel prize. Important mentors and teachers have included Natasha Brofsky, Benjamin Zander, Gary Hoffman, Antonio Meneses, Mark Drobinsky, Irene Sharp, and Milly Rosner. You can check out her videos on YouTube.
Hannah Shields has performed widely throughout the US both as a soloist and a chamber musician. She has appeared as a soloist in the Bach concerto for four keyboards at Carnegie Hall under the baton of Itzhak Perlman, and she has performed in major venues throughout the country, including Alice Tully Hall, Boston's Jordan Hall, the Metropolitan Museum, the Seattle Opera House, and Carnegie's Weill Hall. She holds a Bachelor's degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, a Master's degree from Yale School of Music, and a Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Music. Her primary teachers have been Daniel Shapiro, Claude Frank, and Vivian Hornik Weilerstein; her chamber music coaches include Paul Katz, Lawrence Lesser, Kim Kashkashian, Donald Weilerstein, Lucy Chapman, Joel Krosnick, and Robert Mann. She is a prizewinner of the Kosciuszko Chopin Competition, and has attended numerous music festivals, among them the Yellow Barn Music Festival, the Banff Chamber Music Festival, and the Taos School of Music. Ms. Shields has collaborated with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Barbara Stein Mallow, Andre Emelianoff, and Myung-Wha Chung, among others, and is a founding member of the "Musique a la Mode" chamber music series in New York City.
Megumi Stohs grew up playing the violin in Portland, Oregon. She has soloed with orchestras on both US coasts and in Japan, and has toured with ensembles throughout Australia, New Zealand and Europe. In the New England area she is a co-founder of A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra, has been a guest with the Radius Ensemble, the Andover Chamber Music Series, and the North Country Chamber Players and regularly plays with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Opera Boston, the Rhode Island Philharmonic and has served as concertmaster for the National Lyric Opera. Starting in 2008, Megumi picked up the baroque violin and quickly fell for the gut strings and a variety of period bows. She also loves to fiddle and play rock and regularly tours with Britain's Jethro Tull.
During the summers, Megumi is able to satisfy her longing for the country in many beautiful places, including the Olympic, Yellowbarn, Kneisel Hall, Taos, Marrowstone, and Aspen Festivals. She hikes, swims, and spends time outdoors as often as possible during the year. Listening to vinyl, cooking for friends and reading also fill her time away from the violin.
Megumi received her musical training at the San Francisco and New England Conservatories studying with Camilla Wicks, Ian Swensen, and Lucy Chapman.