An internationally acclaimed violinist known for his exquisite tone and passionate performances. Praised by The Washington Post for his "gorgeous tone" and called "astonishing" by The New York Times, he debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2005 with pianist Edward Newman.

Sushansky began his musical studies under his mother, Rimma Sushanskaya, and performed Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto on TV at age 12. He studied at Juilliard under Dorothy DeLay and Isaac Stern, and debuted with the New York Philharmonic at 15, performing Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto.

As an educator, Sushansky teaches at the Levine School of Music in Washington, DC. He is also the Artistic Director of the National Chamber Ensemble, performing at venues like the Kennedy Center.

Born in Ivrea in 1995, Simone Delbene began his musical journey at age six. He resides in Borgo d'Ale and continues to hone his conducting skills under M. Ennio Nicotra at the ILYA MUSIN SOCIETY.

Simone is the Artistic Director of "Notes for FAI" and Music Director of the Biella Chamber Orchestra, which he founded in 2023. He is also the Music Director of the Concert Band of Borgo d'Ale.

Simone made his conducting debut with the Orchestra “Sinfonica Città di Roma” in 2023 and returned to the podium with them in May 2024. He teaches Rhythmic Theory and Musical Perception at the Conservatorio L. Marenzio di Brescia. Active in promoting classical music, Simone will hold lectures in Biella's schools in spring 2024.

Simone's trumpet career includes studying at the Conservatorio A. Vivaldi Alessandria and a scholarship to study with Philip Smith at the University of Georgia. He has won several national and international prizes, including 1st Prize at the IMKA Music Competition in Sarajevo.

An award-winning composer who studied composition and film scoring at the University of Southern California, where he worked with legends like Henry Mancini and Jerry Goldsmith. His style blends classical training with film-scoring experience, creating music that is technically well-crafted and emotionally powerful. Known for his concert, choral, and holiday pops music with a cinematic flair, Peter combines influences from Bach to Broadway and Romantic to modern.

Peter writes in many genres, including orchestral, chamber, holiday pops, choral, and church music. He is currently working on several commissions and collaborative projects, such as tone poems for orchestra, holiday pops pieces, a string orchestra serenade, art songs for soprano, and sonatas for various instruments.

Described as a pianist who,

"Performs with a sound both beautifully varied and controlled."

Bluthner Concert Artist Emata has thrilled audiences in the US and abroad with his reimagined solo concerts, delivering a delightfully eclectic repertoire ranging from the standard repertory to 21st-century works, plus the luxurious arrangements of Bill Evans.

He has performed with orchestras, and his concerts have been broadcast by National Public Radio, including the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago.

Trained at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, Emata studied under renowned artists and taught at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.

He is a sought-after juror and master class presenter, having adjudicated for the Music Teachers National Association and the National India Musicquest Piano Competition.
 

Emata has received numerous grants and awards, including the Nevada Arts Council's Professional Artist Fellowship and the Steinway & Sons Top Teacher Award.

His upcoming CD, "La Bella Vibrazione," follows his previous album, "From the Hands to the Heart."

American conductor Michael Avagliano is passionate about redefining what's possible for an orchestra. He serves as Music Director for the Summit Symphony and Somerset Symphony orchestras, with a focus on inclusive collaborations and active community involvement. 

Michael Avagliano has guest conducted internationally, with orchestras such as the Balimore Chamber Orchestra, Bohuslav Martinu Philarmonic, Pleven Philarmonic, Italian Scuola Populare di Testaccio, Plainfield Symphony and University of Oregon Symphony.

A doctoral candidate for Orchestral Conducting at Rutgers University (D.M.A.), Mr. Avagliano has worked in masterclasses and workshops with Neil Varon, Kenneth Kiesler, Diane Wittry, and Kirk Trevor. He studied under Kynan Johns and Markand Thakar, and also serves as associate faculty at Thakar’s workshops with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. 
 

At the age of 13, Victoria Sánchez joined the “Simón Bolívar” Conservatory of Music where she also joined El Sistema. El Sistema is a social rescue project for low-income youth. Victoria came from a slighty violent Venezuelan neighborhood, and is proud to be a  product of the program. Inside the conservatory, Victoria met Eduardo Marturet, director of the Miami Symphony Orchestra, who mentored her in conducting. In 2018, she made her international debut as Music Director with the Symphony Orchestra of the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo (UAEH) in Mexico. With UAEH, she developed classical academic concerts and also didactic concerts for children, with a reach of 3,000 spectators. Victoria loves continuing the tradition of uplifting the youth, and founded and directed the “Garzas de la Música” Youth Symphony. Today, she's the President of Victoria Sánchez International Music Foundation, CEO of the Vienna Conducting Competition, and has an academy called 'Piano con Clase'. From humble beginnings to soaring heights, her journey through music has been a symphony of determination and passion. 

Harmonizing grace, the artistry and precision of Ballet Maestro Gabriel Gordon is unparalleled. Since 2019, Gabriel has served as a Cover and Guest Conductor for Ballet West, conducting The Nutcracker, Rodeo, and Les Noces. He is also Conductor of The New American Philharmonic and a frequent guest conductor with the Chamber Orchestra Ogden and The Nova Chamber series. Gabriel also serves as the Artistic Director of The Ogden Bach Festival, is the Orchestra Director at Syracuse Arts Academy, and is board member of the David Arts Council.

Gold Prize Winner in the 2022 World Classical Music Awards and 2nd Prize Winner in the 2019 Mozart & Tchaikovsky International Conducting Competition, Thomas Taylor Dickey is praised as a "dynamic and exciting conductor" with "aplomb, energy, and pathos." Currently, he is the Director of Orchestral Studies at Oklahoma State University and the Music Director & Conductor of the OSU Youth & Community Orchestra.

Thomas has led orchestras across North America, Europe, and Asia, including the Bucharest Symphony, Danube Symphony Orchestra, Belgrade Chamber Orchestra, and the London Classical Soloists. He has also conducted many professional and youth orchestras in the United States and internationally.

With degrees from the University of Georgia, LSU, and Eastern Illinois University, Thomas has trained under renowned conductors such as Jin Wang and Jorma Panula, and has participated in masterclasses at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts, Cleveland Institute of Music, and more.

Cellist Gloria Kim has appeared in the US and across the globe as both a soloist and chamber musician. She has performed extensively in renowned concert venues in the New York metropolitan area, and toured throughout Europe, China and Korea. Gloria Kim also had the honor to perform at the United Nations and United States Capitol for president Bill Clinton.  

Her first Album “An Evening of Sentimental Classic” was released in April, 2023 in Korea - sponsored by Huks Music.

Born into a family of musicians, she studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and Manhattan School of Music on a full scholarship. 

Kim is currently on faculty at the County College of Morris and the Summit Music Festival in NYC.  She is a founding member of the BeneSori Quartet and a member of the Trio Portinari.

Two-time national finalist for the American Prize in Conducting, Dr. Joshua Shepherd brings expertise as violinist, violist, singer and conductor to both classical and commercial music audiences in his role as Music Director of The People’s Orchestra of Nashville. Joshua has sought ways to meaningfully serve the community by providing live orchestral music experiences for both musicians and audiences, during and since the pandemic lockdown. In summer 2020, he founded the Nashville Reading Orchestra so local musicians could play together in a safe environment. Under his baton, the group began performing publicly with a new name: The People’s Orchestra of Nashville. Shepherd has attended workshops led by Dr. Donald Portnoy, Peter Jaffe, Cristian Măcelaru, Octavio Más-Arocas, and Mark Gibson. Joshua has also served as cover and guest conductor for ensembles across the U.S. In addition to his love of repertoire from the Western classical music canon, Joshua is a passionate advocate of music composed for Broadway, film, television, and video games. 

Scott E. Woodard is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Butler Philharmonic Orchestra, and Founding Music Director of the West Virginia State Philharmonic Orchestra. Woodward holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University. 

Dr. Woodard's primary teachers were Dr. Leonid Kochmar of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory of Music and the Mariinsky Theatre, Dr. Oleg Proskurnya, and Dr. Paul A. Balshaw. 

In 2006, Scott Woodard was named first prize winner of the International Conductor's Workshop Competition and served as Guest Conductor of the Macon Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Woodard was also awarded first prize at the International Academy of Advanced Conducting. 

Dr. Woodard is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the International Conductors Guild, and has worked with internationally acclaimed soloists Cristian Fatu, Yip Wai Chow, Victora Fatu, Anton Shelepov, Michael Riksin, and Elizabeth Pitcairn. 

Katy Smith made her concerto debut performing Lalo's Symphony Espagnole in Birmingham's Adrian Boult Hall, aged ten, after winning the Junior Department’s concerto competition. Since then she has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras throughout the UK and abroad. In 2022, with just five days notice, she stepped in for a tour to Prague with the Kimichi Symphony Orchestra performing the Tchaikovsky concerto twice on the same day.

Katy was soloist with the New English Concert Orchestra at the Battle Proms - a series of six concerts across the summer to audiences of up to 10,000. She was the first soloist to be invited back for a second year running, and again as their favourite soloist for their 20 year anniversary concert. She has worked with notable conductors such as; Ben Palmer, Keith Slade, Russell Keable and Douglas Coombes MBE, and appeared on national television as a strings finalist of BBC Young Musician of the Year.

After auditioning for a Master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music, Katy was propelled straight onto the Advanced Diploma course due to her experience and standard, studying with György Pauk.

Katy is an advocate for musicians with disabilities, being diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome herself. She has begun telling her story as a successful musician with a disability on social media gaining 1.1k followers in a fortnight, inspiring others to share their stories.

Katy plays on a fine 18th century English violin made by Nathaniel Cross and is generously sponsored by Pirastro.

Daniel Perttu's second piano concerto, A Planets Odyssey, and has been characterized by critic Tom Wachunas as a “sensational non-stop trek across millions of miles” that “possesses an uncanny acuity for translating visual and tactile phenomena into palpable realities in themselves, endowing the work with a phantasmagorical dimensionality” (Artwach).

Perttu's recent overture, To Spring, is based on an ode of the same name by poet William Blake.  Writing for The Whole Note, Tiina Kiik characterizes To Spring as being “majestic” and “lyrical.”  And, in Textura, the authors describe To Spring as “vivid, multi-hued scene painting packed with orchestral detail [that] feels like a blossoming, whether it be of youth or the natural world, and a triumphant one at that.”

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Daniel Perttu's music has been performed on four continents and in more than 40 of the United States.  His concert opener Phoenix was released on a recording by the London Symphony Orchestra in October, 2022, and his “Spring” overture was recently recorded by the Moravian Philharmonic (Czech Republic).  Both recordings are on the GRAMMY-winning Navona Records label, an imprint of PARMA Recordings.

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Upcoming performances slated for the 2023-2024 season include the world premieres of pieces with the Grand Junction Symphony (Colorado), Butler County Symphony (Pennsylvania), and Western Piedmont Symphony (North Carolina). Additional performances will include Dan's "Planets Odyssey" Piano Concerto with the Springfield Symphony (Ohio), his “Spring” overture with the Rapides Symphony (Louisiana), Perrysburg Symphony, and Butler Philharmonic, and his concert opener Phoenix with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony.

Adam Piotr Żukiewicz is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed concert pianist. Mr. Żukiewicz has performed in some of the most important concert venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, Residenztheater in Munich, Goldensaal at the Musikverein in Vienna, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, KKL Luzern, and many others.

Mr. Żukiewicz’s creative musical activities led to a recording of a debut album The Beginnings, exploring musical ideologies and languages of the great masters of the past and the present. The Beginnings was released to critical acclaim by the DUX label in November 2018, and selections of the album are broadcast regularly by the Colorado Public Radio Classical in the USA.

Following his long-lasting interest in the music of Fryderyk Chopin, in 2021, Mr. Żukiewicz has received a USA government grant to complete the "Chopin Unknown" recording research project. The project will have wider educational implications through the presentation of the recently published and never recorded study works of Chopin (Three Learned Fugues after Cherubini) as well as more renowned works, directly influenced by those.

As an avid performer of new music, Mr. Żukiewicz regularly presents modern works and premieres new compositions: most recently Jim Klein’s Piano Sonata The Abyss.

Adam Piotr Żukiewicz holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Toronto and Masters of Music degree from Indiana University. He has also studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, UK, and was a music scholar at the United World College of the Adriatic in Duino, Italy.

Winner of the prize for best female conductor in the second International Orchestra’s Conductor competition, and 3rd prize overall, Libi Lebel is reshaping the arts landscape.

Recognized for her charismatic and passionate musicianship, conductor Libi Lebel is known for her abilities to infuse orchestras with energy, enthusiasm and commitment to high artistic standards. 

Driven by her strong belief in the healing and transformative powers of music, she is commiteed to making music accessible to audiences of all ages. 

Ms. Lebel served as Principal Conductor of Princeton University's Sinfonia and has appeared as guest conductor with various orchestral and choral ensembles, including Westminister Community Orchestra, Garden State Philharmonic Chorus, Brazosport Symphony Orchestra, Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Congress Orchestra, Bacau Symphony Orchestra, Socrates Symphony Orchestra, Ploiesti Philarmonic and the Moldova Teleradio Orchestra.  

Conducting teachers include Josef Flummerfelt, Leonid Korchmar, Piotr Gribanov, Robert Franz, Kennth Kiesler and Eduardo Portal

Through her dynamic presence on the podium, her innovative programming, and tireless advocacy for music and medicine, she has played a pivotal role in reshaping the arts landscape in Houston, where she proudly serves as Music and Artistic Director of the Texas Medical Center Orchestra - a nationally recognized ensemble she founded in 2000.

Vedrana Subotic, a Steinway Artist, studied music in Europe and the US, and holds five degrees. She maintains a busy concert and masterclass schedule with engagements in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Subotic has performed more than 500 works in the solo, chamber, and concerto genres, including the 32 piano sonatas, and complete chamber works with piano by Beethoven. Her recent live-streamed performance of Liszt’s “Dante” Sonata drew over 500K views. 

Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Subotic is a Professor (Lecturer) at the University of Utah, and serves as President of the World Piano Teachers Association for the US; as the Music Director of INTERMEZZO Concert Series; and as the state President for the Utah Chapter of the American Liszt Society.

Venezuelan conductor Abimael Melendez grew up immersed in orchestra music in his hometown of Carora, Venezuela, participating in the El Sistema program.

Renowned globally as a successful music initiative, El Sistema provides a sophisticated musical academic foundation for young musicians where Mr. Melendez had the chance to engage in various capacities as a student, teacher, and conductor.

With a passion for music as a potent instrument for community transformation, Mr. Melendez has undertaken studies in Music Education, concentrating on conducting, at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has enhanced his expertise through masterclasses and workshops with notable figures such as Andrea Vela, Antonio Berdugo, Diane Wittry, Anna Edwards, Kenneth Kiesler, Mark Shapiro, Luis Miguel Gonzalez, Eduardo Portal, Gary Lewis and Silas Nathaniel.

Abimael Melendez currently holds the position of String Program Director at Homer OPUS in Homer, Alaska, and continues to foster his ties with Venezuela through El Sistema, the Yaracuy Philharmonic, and the Fundacion para el Desarrollo e Impulso de las Artes en Venezuela (FIDAV).

1st prize winner of the International Violin Competition 'Luigi Zanuccoli', Rimini, Italy 2018, Chang has done solo performances with the Musikkollegium Winterthur, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, National Taiwan University Orchestra, Wenzhou City Symphony Orchestra and Taiwan Philharmonic. Chang is actively performing in Southeast Asia and Europe. 

In 2016, Max debuted as a soloist at Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall in their Honors Performance Series. In May 2017, Max was awarded first place at the American Protege International Piano and String Competition and performed his solo at Weill Auditorium, Carnegie Hall. Under the baton of Itzhak Perlman, Max is the only Perlman Music Program Super Strings performer that has played with them consecutively for seven years, from 2013 - 2023. In 2018, he won the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra's Young Artist Competition. He was recently invited to the Paganini International Violin Competition preselection round.

Levi is an avid solo and chamber musician, having had international success in both respects. Namely, he has recently won 1st Prize at the International Society of Bassists in the Youth Solo Division. He has attended the Yehudi Menuhin School in London with Caroline Emery since September 2020, and will continue his studies with Caroline at the Royal College of Music London beginning in 2023. In addition to his success in competitions, Levi was asked to record Andres Martin's 'La Feria de San Telmo' with Nathan Perry for Orchid Classics' CD 'Around the World in 80 Days' with the Yehudi Menuhin School. This was subsequent to the duo's performance of Andres Martin's 2 Tango at King's Place London. Levi became a member of the Missouri philharmonic in 2017 and now holds the Principal Bass position since 2021. In 2018, he performed the second movement of Bottesini's Concerto no. 2 with the ensemble, after being named winner of the Charles R. Hall competition. He will soon return to perform Bottesini's Gran Duo Concertante in August of 2023. Other competition successes include 1st prizes in London Classical Music Competition and Caneres International Music Competition Vienna, among others.