Fall 2026 - Spring 2026
ARTIST BIOS
TIEN-HSIN CINDY WU, VIOLIN & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Featured as the cover story of Monterey County Weekly's 2023 September 7th issue, violinist Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu has been praised by the Seattle Times as “Simply marvelous” and Taiwan’s Liberty Times for “astonishingly capturing the spirit of the music.” With an infectious charm and blistering dedication towards chamber music, Cindy is a beloved performer, artistic director and educator throughout America, Europe and Asia.
Cindy has collaborated in concerts with renowned artists such as Yefim Bronfman, James Ehnes, Lynn Harrell, Leila Josefowicz, Cho-Liang Lin, Midori, Thomas Quasthoff, Yuja Wang, and members of the Alban Berg, Emerson, Guarneri, Miró, and Tokyo string quartets at prominent venues such as the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and festivals such as Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, Marlboro Music Festival, Music@Menlo, and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. She has also collaborated as a guest violist with the Dover, Orion, and Shanghai quartets.
Cindy is a recipient of many awards including the Milka Violin Artist Prize from the Curtis Institute of Music, and third prize at the International Violin Competition of David Oistrakh. She has taught at the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California, as well as the summer programs of the Curtis Institute of Music and Yale School of Music. As a passionate concert programmer, she has curated concerts for the Da Camera Society in Los Angeles as the Artistic Partner, Hidden Valley Music Seminars as the Director of Chamber Music. She is currently the Music Director of New Asia Chamber Music Society, and founded her omakase-style concert series, Sunkiss’d Mozart in Salinas where she resides with her family.
Cindy performs on a 2021 and 2025 Samuel Zygmuntowicz violins made for her, a 1918 Stefano Scarampella and a 1734 Domenico Montagnana.
ANI AZNAVOORIAN, CELLO
The Strad magazine describes cellist Ani Aznavoorian as having “scorchingly committed performances that wring every last drop of emotion out of the music. Her technique is well-nigh immaculate, she has a natural sense of theater, and her tone is astonishingly responsive.” Ms. Aznavoorian is in demand as a soloist and chamber musician with some of the most recognized ensembles, and she has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Finnish Radio Symphony, the International Sejong Soloists, the Belgrade Philharmonic, the Juilliard Orchestra, and the Edmonton Symphony. This season marks Ms. Aznavoorian’s fifteenth year as Principal Cellist with Camerata Pacifica.
Ms. Aznavoorian received the prestigious Bunkamura Orchard Hall Award for her outstanding cello playing and artistry. Some of her other awards include first prizes in the Illinois Young Performers Competition (televised live on PBS with the Chicago Symphony), the Chicago Cello Society National Competition, the Julius Stulberg Competition, and the American String Teachers Association Competition. She was a top prizewinner in the 1996 International Paulo Competition, held in Helsinki, Finland. As a recipient of the Level I Award in the National Foundation for the Arts Recognition and Talent Search, Ms. Aznavoorian was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and performed as soloist at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. where she met former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
As a first-year student at The Juilliard School, Ms. Aznavoorian won first prize in the institution’s concerto competition—the youngest cellist in the history of the school’s cello competitions to do so. As a result, she performed with the Juilliard Orchestra in a concert with conductor Gerard Schwarz at Avery Fisher Hall. With only 12 hours notice, Ms. Aznavoorian stepped in to replace Natalia Gutman in three performances of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 with the San Jose Symphony—concerts that were hailed by the San Jose Press. Other notable appearances include concerts at Weill Hall and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Ravinia’s Bennett Hall, Aspen’s Harris Hall, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, WFMT Live from Studio 1, and NPR’s Performance Today. She has been a member of the renowned string ensemble the International Sejong Soloists, and also performs frequently on the Jupiter Chamber Music series in New York. Ms. Aznavoorian received both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School where she studied with Aldo Parisot.
In addition to performing, teaching plays an important part in Ms. Aznavoorian’s career. She has been a member of the distinguished music faculty at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana, and in the summers has served on the faculty of the Great Mountains Music Festival in South Korea. Ms. Aznavoorian enjoys performing new music and has made the world premiers of many important pieces in the cello repertoire. Some of these include Ezra Laderman’s Concerto No. 2 with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic under the baton of Lawrence Leighton Smith, Lera Auerbach’s 24 Preludes for Cello and Piano on stage at the Hamburg Staatsoper with the Hamburg State Ballet—choreographed by John Neumeier, and Lera Auerbach’s Dreammusik for Cello and Chamber Orchestra, which was written for her and commissioned by Camerata Pacifica. Ms. Aznavoorian records for Cedille Records, and she proudly performs on a cello made by her father Peter Aznavoorian in Chicago.
INES IRAWATI, PIANO
Known for her expressivity, virtuosity, and versatility, Ines Irawati is in demand both as a solo recitalist and a collaborative pianist. Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, she began piano and composition instruction at age six at the Yamaha Music School in Indonesia. At age 12, she made her official debut playing the third Beethoven Piano Concerto and Chopin's first concerto with the Indonesian Youth Symphony.
Irawati is currently enjoying a richly varied performance career, excelling in solo performance, chamber music, collaborative piano, and operatic vocal coaching. Her recent engagements include performances for TEDxSan Diego at Copley Symphony Hall, the Art of Élan, Musikamar chamber concerts, concerts in Centro Cultural Tijuana, and performances all over Southern California. She is a member of the piano trio, Aviara Trio, and the Hidden Valley Virtuosi, the resident chamber music group of Hidden Valley Music Seminars in Monterey. She has collaborated with many other esteemed chamber musicians such as violinist Cindy Wu, cellist Sophie Webber, double-bassist Jeremy Kurtz-Harris, Strings of the West, the Hyperion String Quartet, and members of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, with singers Josh Arky and Alex Rodrick, Ms. Irawati is involved in La Cena è Pronta, a project which explores the nourishing ways of food and music enrich our lives through intimate vocal performances. Ms. Irawati recently served as the musical and artistic director of San Diego Opera Young Artist Training Program, where she directed the company’s outreach concert series, Opera Exposed!, and its production of Little Red Riding Hood, a children's opera by Seymour Barab. Since the summer of 2008, Ms. Irawati has been invited by renowned dramatic mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick to serve as a coach and vocal pianist at the prestigious Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. She was the vocal coach and collaborative piano faculty at Point Loma Nazarene University from 2004-2017. She is the founder of Musikamar, a music series which brings exquisite chamber music performances into smaller and intimate spaces.
EUNICE KIM, VIOLIN
A young artist with a unique voice, violinist Eunice Kim has been proclaimed “just superb” by The New York Times and “a born performer” by Epoch Times. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, the award-winning violinist has been featured soloist with many orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Louisville Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Seongnam Philharmonic, Bakersfield Symphony, and the Albany Symphony Orchestra, with which she recorded George Tsontakis’s Unforgettable, released in 2017 on Naxos Records. She made her solo debut at the age of seven with the Korean Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Kim’s past performances include playing for the United Nations and Secretary General at Bohemian National Hall and the Henry Kissinger Prize Ceremony at the American Academy in Berlin. She was featured as a soloist at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall as a part of the Curtis Chamber Orchestra’s residency with Krzysztof Penderecki performing his Duo Concertante. She has appeared multiple times at the Kennedy Center as a performer for the Millennium Stage Series, representing the Curtis Institute of Music and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. As a guest artist for Curtis on Tour, she has performed across the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Germany with Roberto Diaz. She was invited to perform on the “Ward” Stradivarius violin at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.
An avid chamber musician, Ms. Kim has performed at festivals such as Marlboro Music School and Festival, Ravinia’s Steans Institute of Music, Music@Menlo, Music From Angel Fire, Taos School of Music, Aspen Music Festival, Great Mountains Music Festival, amongst others. She has collaborated with prominent artists including Miriam Fried, Nobuko Imai, Peter Wiley, Gary Hoffman, Ralph Kirshbaum, Cynthia Raim, and Eighth Blackbird. She is the former violinist of Ensemble39, a contemporary mixed string and wind quintet devoted to commissioning new music and pushing the boundaries of the concert experience. She performed at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts for two years as an artist in the Evnin Rising Stars series and performs regularly at the Chamber Music Festival of Black Hills.
A winner of Astral Artists 2012 audition, she has been partnered with the Philadelphia Orchestra Department of Education to perform outreach series and has also been invited to be a teaching artist for the William Penn Residency at schools in the Philadelphia area. Ms. Kim has been invited to perform and teach at numerous international music festivals, the latest ones including Teatro Del Lago Festival in Chile and Valdres Music Academy in Norway.
Ms. Kim graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree at the Curtis Institute of Music with Ida Kavafian, where she was the recipient of the Rose Paul Fellowship. She won the concertmaster position of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, participated as a mentor in the Curtis Community Engagement program, and was awarded with the prestigious Milka Violin Artist Prize upon graduation. She started the violin at age six and formerly studied with Wei He at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
ROB PATTERSON, CLARINET
Rob is Assistant Professor of Clarinet at Boston University's School of Music, founder of the online program The Clarinet Sessions, and Acting Principal Clarinet of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. A passionate educator, Rob is on the faculty for Aria International Summer Academy, has been a guest instructor at the Curtis Institute of Music and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and is a frequent coach with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Upcoming performances include Aaron Copland’s Concerto with the Modesto Symphony, John Adams’ Gnarly Buttons with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Brahms and Mozart Quintets with the Needham Concert Society, and a recital at Taipei National University of the Arts. Mr. Patterson has commissioned two new works for Clarinet and Piano from composers Clarice Assad and Jessica Meyer, and will give the world premiere performances at the International Clarinet Society’s 2025 Conference.
Past performances have included Copland’s Clarinet Concerto with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and the Charlottesville Symphony as well as the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Lyrique-En-Mer (Le Palais, France) Orchestra, Binghamton Philharmonic, Middletown Symphony Orchestra, and the Howard County (Maryland) Concert Players. As a former Strathmore Music Center Artist in Residence, Mr. Patterson presented a series of solo recitals, masterclasses, educational concerts, and a recital at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including the World-Premiere of John B Hedges’ Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet.
Recent masterclass invitations have included the Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan National University of the Arts, National Taiwan Normal University, Soochow University, San Francisco Conservatory, Peabody Institute, University of North Texas, University of Toronto, Grieg Academy (Norway), Sibelius Academy (Finland), and Royal College of Music (Sweden), Interlochen and many others. Rob has served on the faculty at the University of Virginia, where he was featured in recital and as soloist with the Charlottesville Symphony as well as Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States.
Rob has served as Acting Principal Clarinet with the Baltimore and Louisville Orchestras as well as Principal Clarinet with the Charlottesville Symphony and Lyrique-en-Mer Festival Orchestra in France. Additionally, he has served as guest Principal Clarinet for the orchestras of Albany, Chautauqua, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Huntsville, Pasadena, Peoria, Richmond as well as the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. He can be heard as principal clarinet with several recordings with the Albany and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras.
Rob’s chamber music performances have taken him across North and South America, Europe and Asia. He has performed contemporary music with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Ensemble and as a member of the VERGE Ensemble in Washington, DC and was previously a member of the Philadelphia-based Ensemble 39, which was also invited to serve in residence at the Teatro del Lago in Frutillar, Chile.
Festival appearances include Moab, Classical Tahoe, Birch Creek, Mendocino, Festival Napa Valley, The Peninsula Music Festival, Bravo! Vail, Festival Lyrique-En-Mer, Garth Newel Music Center, Music from Angel Fire, and the Yellow Barn Music Festival.
Hailing from Cincinnati, OH, Mr. Patterson earned degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the University of Southern California. His principal teachers were Yehuda Gilad, Richard Hawley, and Donald Montanaro.
Mr. Patterson is proud to be a D'Addario and Buffet-Crampon performing artist.
YURI CHO, VIOLIN
Canadian violinist, Yuri Cho, has had the privilege of performing on 4 continents as a chamber, orchestral and solo musician. Notable performance venues include Wigmore Hall, Esterházy Palace, the Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall.
Yuri received her Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School, as well as an Artist Certificate in Chamber Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
As a founding member of the Afiara String Quartet, Yuri has won 2nd prize and the Székely prize for the best performance of Beethoven at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and 2nd prize at the Munich ARD String Quartet Competition. The quartet has also won Concert Artists Guild, was the first ensemble to win the Young Canadian Musicians Award, and has recorded works by Mendelssohn, Schubert, Bartók and Beethoven.
Yuri enjoys teaching and this season, she has had the pleasure of traveling to Kenya to teach and perform at the Kenya International Chamber Music Festival. She has also served as faculty at University of Auckland School of Music, San Francisco Conservatory Preparatory and Extension Divisions, and as visiting faculty at the University of Alberta, Stanford University and the Glenn Gould School. During the summers, she has taught at Indiana University's Summer String Academy, Southern Ontario Chamber Music Institute and has performed at Ravinia Festival, The Banff Centre, Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Festival of the Sound and Ottawa Chamberfest.
Until 2021, Yuri was based in Auckland, New Zealand, where she was a member of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and taught at the University of Auckland. In the years prior, she was based in Scandinavia, spending a season with Ensemble MidtVest in Herning, Denmark and a season with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Stavanger, Norway. Yuri enjoys a variety of non-musical activities that include, but are not limited to, eating, knitting, running, swimming, and exploring the local burrito and craft beer scene.
DAVID SAMUEL, VIOLA
David Samuel is a violist whose love of four strings and a bow have taken him across the globe as a performer, educator, and chamber musician. A native of the Great White North, he is the violist of the Alexander String Quartet and serves as Assistant Professor of Viola at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. Before settling in Nashville, David journeyed abroad for many years, living, playing and teaching in Denmark, New York, New Zealand, Norway, San Francisco, and Toronto.
A founding member of the Afiara String Quartet, David and his colleagues quickly made their mark on the international chamber music scene, earning top prizes at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and the Concert Artists Guild Competition. Their achievements also earned them the prestigious Young Canadian Musicians Award. With the Afiara Quartet, he collaborated on innovative projects that bridged classical music with new media and interdisciplinary art, reinforcing his commitment to pushing the boundaries of chamber music.
Beyond the quartet world, David has built a diverse and dynamic career. He was a member of Ensemble MidtVest in Denmark, and served as Associate Principal Viola of the Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand. His teaching career has been just as varied, having previously held positions at the University of Stavanger in Norway, San Francisco State University, SFCM Pre-College, and the University of Auckland, where he was Convenor of Classical Performance. His passion for mentorship continues to shape the next generation of violists and chamber musicians.
Throughout his career, David has collaborated with many esteemed artists, performing chamber music alongside Sergio Azzolini, James Campbell, Colin Carr, Robert Mann, Michael Tree, Jörg Widmann, Pinchas Zukerman, and members of the Emerson and Juilliard String Quartets among others. David has taken the stage at some of the world’s most legendary concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Esterházy Palace, the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Kennedy Center, and the Library of Congress. But he’s also had a blast bringing music to some more unexpected spots—like the headquarters of LinkedIn and Meta—and even on The Late Show with David Letterman.
David’s musical education reflects his deep dedication to the art of viola and chamber music. He holds a Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s degree, and an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School, as well as an Artist Certificate in Chamber Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His teachers included Paul Hersh, Henry Janzen, Michael Tree, and Karen Tuttle, all of whom continue to influence and shape his approach to music making and teaching.
David’s discography is as varied as his musical journey, with recordings spanning early classical masterpieces to 21st-century commissions—and even fresh takes on the music of The Beatles, Sting, and Led Zeppelin. His work can be heard on Brilliant Classics, CPO, Delos, Dacapo, Etcetera, Foghorn Classics, and Naxos labels.
Despite his many musical adventures, David’s greatest joys are his wife, violinist Yuri Cho, and their senior Kiwi cat, Milo, who regularly interrupts supervises his practice sessions with great authority (and occasional judgment).
TANYA TOMKINS, CELLO
Cellist and co-Founder and Director of the Valley of the Moon Music Festival, Tanya Tomkins is equally at home on historical and modern instruments. Passionate about chamber music, Tanya has been featured in recitals and at chamber music festivals across the United States, Canada, and Europe, and is a member of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble. Tanya is particularly renowned for her interpretation of the complete Bach Cello Suites, which she recorded for the Avie label and has performed many times at venues including New York’s Le Poisson Rouge, Seattle’s Early Music Guild, Vancouver’s Early Music Society, Santa Fe’s Pro Musica, and the Library of Congress. For many years, Tanya was principal cellist and a frequent soloist for both San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the Portland Baroque Orchestra. She has recorded the complete piano trios by Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn with the Benvenue Fortepiano Trio (with Monica Huggett, violin and Eric Zivian, fortepiano) for the Avie label.
A strong believer in the positive impact of music on society, Tanya is now devoting more time to mentoring the next generation of musicians. She learned the importance of mentorship from the great cellist Anner Bijlsma, with whom she studied in the Netherlands. As Bijlsma’s student, she was welcomed into his family’s household, which was the center of rehearsals, lessons, and the musical lifestyle he shared with his wife, violinist Vera Beths. These experiences of musical friendship and mentoring are what inspired Tanya, together with VMMF co-Director Eric Zivian, to create the Apprenticeship, Laureate and Emerging Artists Programs at the Valley of the Moon Music Festival, where young musicians are absorbed into an intergenerational musical community and are exposed to the non-hierarchical, collaborative values of chamber music. Tanya has mentored young musicians in master classes at Yale, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and through her frequent appearances as a guest teacher at Juilliard’s Historical Performance Department.
HAO YANG, GUITAR
Hailed as a “technical wizard”, Chinese classical guitarist Hao Yang is the winner of the 2024 Koblenz International Guitar Competition “Hubert Käppel”, the second prize winner of the 2024 GFA International Concert Artist Competition, and recipient of the 2026 Harvard Musical Association Foote Award. Her other competition successes include first prizes at the Twisted Spruce Music Foundation, GFA International Youth Competition, CSU International Guitar Competition, and Andres Segovia 7th International Guitar Competition, as well as second prize at the 54th Markneukirchen International Instrumental competition in Germany. Hao is also a recipient of the 2026 CAG Louis and Susan Meisel Prize. Hao actively engages in solo and chamber music performances internationally. She has appeared as soloist with the Chusachsische Philharmonie in Germany, and regularly performs in major venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kimmel Center, National Centre for the Performing Arts, New York Subculture, Miller Theatre, and Princeton University. She also frequently gives solo recitals at major guitar festivals, including past performances at the Cleveland, Panama, and Beijing International Guitar Festivals. A passionate chamber musician, Hao made her Carnegie Hall debut premiering the guitar duo “Talking Guitars” by renowned composer Paul Lansky alongside JIJI. She has also performed at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and has been a guest artist at the NEXUS Chamber Music and Concordia Chamber Festival. Hao regularly collaborates with friends and colleagues to present guitar in various chamber ensemble settings, and recent concert projects include a Chinese poetry-inspired program for soprano and guitar. She is also a member of SOLARIS, an innovative music collective bridging classical and pop music styles, which was featured in the workshop premiere of James Rhee’s Red Helicopter: An American Rock Opera.
Hao holds degrees from the Yale School of Music, University of Denver, and the Curtis Institute of Music.
