Join us for a special, free, one- hour chamber music concert sponsored by the Upper Main Line Rotary Club and Trinity Presbyterian Church!
Esther Kwon is a Korean-American double bassist from the Pacific Northwest. At age 17, she began to learn the double bass and enrolled at the University of Washington to start her musical studies. As an eager student, Esther transferred and completed her undergraduate music study at the University of Cincinnati under the tutelage of Rachel Calin, while simultaneously earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
In the past three years, Esther has performed in orchestral concerts alongside esteemed double bassists Hal Robinson of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Scott Pingel of the San Francisco Symphony, and participated in masterclasses with acclaimed artists Anthony Manzo of the Chamber Music Society, Jeremy McCoy of the MET opera, and Jordan Anderson of the Seattle Symphony. She attended summer festivals such as the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Festival Napa Valley, and Taipei Music Academy, having the opportunity to play a variety of solo, chamber, and orchestral repertoire with respected musicians such as pianist Orli Shaham and violinist David Kim. Coming from a musical family, Esther helps her parents run an orchestra academy during the summer, and is active in the Korean-American arts community, performing in recitals, concerts, and teaching in the Seattle-Tacoma area.
Currently, Esther is completing her masters in music at the Yale School of Music studying with Professor Donald Palma.
American violinist Kenneth Ryu Naito has been dazzling audiences since his international concerto debut at the age of 11 with the Kostroma Symphony Orchestra in Russia. An active recitalist and chamber musician, he made his solo recital debut at the Peabody Conservatory, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland at the age of 8, and has gone on to perform at venues around the world, from Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, 92nd Street Y, and The German Consulate in New York; to the Franz Liszt House in Weimar, Germany, The Big Hall of the Philharmonic in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, The Kennedy Center Terrace Theatre, The Music Center at Strathmore, The National Gallery of Art, and The Embassy of Japan.
Kenneth has been a prize winner at national and international competitions, including the prestigious 2nd Viktor Tretyakov International Violin Competition, where his performances were broadcast live on The Violin Channel. He has twice been featured as a Student Artist for the Starling-DeLay Symposium on violin studies held at The Juilliard School, and has performed at many summer festivals and programs, including Music Academy of the West, the Heifetz International Music Institute, Sarasota Music Festival, Summit Music Festival, and the Taipei Music Academy Festival.
Performing highlights include concerto appearances with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, the United States Army Orchestra, the Columbia Orchestra, the Kennett Symphony, the Londontowne Symphony Orchestra, the Krasnoyarsk Chamber Orchestra, and the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra.
Kenneth holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Li Lin, and is currently pursuing his Master’s degree at Yale, where he studies with Ani Kavafian. Kenneth performs on a 1780 Nicolò Gagliano violin, graciously loaned to him by the Ryuji Ueno Foundation.
Miu Ishikawa began her musical journey in Tokyo, Japan. She is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Yale School of Music under the tutelage of Prof. Boris Slutsky. She completed her B.M. study at New England Conservatory in 2023, where she studied with Prof. HaeSun Paik. Previously she studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts with Prof. Akira Eguchi.
After winning top honors at the PTNA Piano Competition in Japan, she won numerous national competitions such as the first prize at the Tokyo International Piano Competition, the second prize at Concert Marronnier 21, and the third prize at the Osaka International Music Competition in 2017. After 2017, she got to be invited to international competitions such as Hilton Head International Piano Competition in 2017, and she was selected as a finalist at New York International Piano Competition and at the 2nd Betty Dickinson Piano Competition. She got the second prize at Chicago International Piano Competition in 2021 and the third prize at 2023 Pacific Stars International Piano Competition. She spent her previous summers at Interharmony Music Festival in Germany, CLASSICAL BRIDGE in NYC, Gijon International Piano Festival in Spain, Texas State International Piano Festival.
She has studied in masterclasses and had lessons with renowned teachers such as Mikhail Voskresensky, Julian Martin, Robert McDonald, Erik T.Tawaststjerna, William Grant Nabore, Yong-Hi Moon, Emanuel Ax, Piotr Paleczny, John O’Conor, and Soo-Jung Shin.
Outside of solo performances, Miu is also a passionate chamber musician who always find pleasure in playing with her colleagues at New England Conservatory and Yale School of Music.
Taiwanese Canadian cellist, Amanda Chi, has studied and performed internationally since the age of seven. She is currently pursuing her Master’s of Musical Arts degree at Yale University studying with Paul Watkins. Amanda has performed in prestigious venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, Symphony Hall, and The National Concert Hall in Taipei.
At eleven, Amanda moved to Toronto, Canada, earning a scholarship to the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists. Under the tutelage of David Hetherington, she focused on cello studies and continued her piano education with Li Wang of the Glenn Gould School. In 2013, Amanda became the youngest cello prize winner of the 8th Toronto Sinfonietta Concerto Competition. Amanda's orchestral experience includes leading cello sections of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the Yale Philharmonia, The Juilliard Orchestra and the Aspen Conducting Academy. As a chamber musician, Amanda has shared the stage with notable artists Frank Huang and Cynthia Phelps, and worked with esteemed composers such as Helen Grime and Sebastian Currier.
Amanda holds a B.M. degree from New England Conservatory and a M.M. degree from The Juilliard School. She plays on a cello made by Andrew Carruthers, Santa Rosa, CA 2019.
Jack Kessler is a Master of Music student at the Yale School of Music, where he studies viola
with Ettore Causa. He recently attended the Curtis Institute of Music for his Bachelor of Music
degree, studying viola with Roberto Diaz and Edward Gazouleas. Jack was a National
YoungArts Foundation finalist and performed on NPR’s From The Top with Jeremy Denk at
Dartmouth College. In recent summers, Jack studied at The Perlman Music Program,
Ashkenasi-Kirshbaum Chamber Music Seminar at the Heifetz International Music Institute, the
Verbier Festival Academy, and the Fontainebleau American Conservatory. At Curtis, he was the
Chamber Music Coordinator alongside his mentor Steven Tenenbom. They organized a concert
in the spring of 2023 to honor composers who perished in the Holocaust. Jack’s other passions
include geography, history, and archeology. To further these interests, he enrolled in "Inca
Culture" and "Seapower and Maritime Affairs" courses at Yale last year.