FACULTY
jeri jorgensen
DIRECTOR, VIOLIN
Violinist, educator, and conductor Jeri Jorgensen is fascinated with finding musical freedom within structure. A seasoned performer of music from all eras, she is especially drawn to creating a stimulating audience experience through the nuances, subtleties and constraints of the classical style period, and on the same program contrasting Beethoven, Mozart or Schubert with works from the early 20th century that break past traditional harmonies and form.
Entranced after hearing a classical orchestra performance on period instruments, Jeri has become an expert practitioner of classical performance practice on the subtly different instruments for which the music was originally composed. With her duo partner, pianist Cullan Bryant, Jeri has presented classical period historical performances at the National Music Museum (Vermillion, SD), the Frederick Collection of Historic Pianos (Ashburnham, MA), and at the Historic Keyboard Society of North America's conference at the University of Michigan. In the fall of 2019 they toured campuses in North Carolina, playing a program of Beethoven's Op. 12 sonatas for historical performance enthusiasts. The duo's recently released recording of Beethoven's complete sonatas for piano and violin has been hailed as "nothing short of revelatory...emotionally satisfying, and true to both the letter and the spirit of Beethoven's compositional process." (Transcentury Blogspot).
At the other end of the spectrum, Jeri's projects have included the creation of a festival devoted to the works of Paul Hindemith, in which she played sonatas, collaborated in larger chamber ensembles, and conducted the rarely performed Kammermusik No. 2, presented both at Colorado College and SUNY Potsdam. A committed music educator, she pulls engaging and enthusiastic performances from student ensembles, teaching from her chamber music background to open their ears to phrasing and sound.
Jeri was founding first violinist of the DaVinci Quartet, prizewinners in the Shostakovich International String Quartet Competition and finalists in the Naumburg Chamber Music Competition. Her recordings with the quartet appear on the Naxos label. During the 24-year history of the quartet she performed at the Phillips Collection (Washington, DC), the Palm Springs Desert Museum, the Buell Theatre (Denver), the Wilshire-Ebell Theatre (LA), chamber music societies from Sedona to Albany, as well as taught in visiting residencies at Yale University, Tufts University, Williams College, and UC Davis.
Jeri has designed and delivered classroom and concert presentations about music to students and adults, including "Emotion in Music" for Chicago Young Audiences and "Exploring Rhythm" for gifted non-musician middle school students, as well as developing and implementing curriculum for beginning strings in under-resourced public schools. She also founded and leads the Manitou Chamber Music Festival, now in its eighth year, in which students play side-by-side with established artists. And in response to the 2020-21 pandemic, Jeri created an interactive, real-time online chamber music program that served ensemble students of the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association, the Lamont Pre-College Academy, and Colorado College.
A member of the performance faculty of Colorado College and co-orchestra director, Jeri has also been a faculty member at the Lamont School of Music of the University of Denver, and visiting assistant professor at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School.
CULLAN BRYANT
artistic director, piano
Cullan Bryant is among the most active chamber and collaborative pianists in New York City, maintaining a schedule of over 50 recitals a year. Sought-after for his sensitive and supportive partnership, he has performed with such artists as Emanuel Borok, Oleh Krysa, Mikhail Kopelman, Midori, Peter Rejto, Paul Tobias, and members of the American and Borromeo Quartets. He has also appeared in recitals with members of the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, New York City Ballet Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony in such venues as Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr. Bryant made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1992 in recital with violinist Patmore Lewis.
As a solo artist, Mr. Bryant has been heard in the New York series Piano Lunch, at the Frederick Collection in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, and at the Long Island Beethoven Festival where he performed 16 Beethoven piano sonatas in a 2-day marathon. Recent orchestral solo appearances have spanned repertoire from Beethoven's Choral Fantasy to Hindemith's Kammermusik No. 2.
Intensely involved in all things musical, Cullan has also written and co-hosted the radio show "Why Do We Only Listen to Dead People?" for Radio Free Brooklyn, and was co-producer of the Canadian Juno-nominated CD "The Coming of Sobs". His critically acclaimed recording "Beethoven and His Teachers", encompassing the complete four-hand music of Beethoven, was released on the Naxos label in 2012, followed by the complete Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin on the Albany label in July 2020.
Committed to the education of young musicians, Cullan has accompanied students at all the major New York music schools - the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, and Mannes College - and is currently on the accompanying faculty of Queens College, where he works with students from all of the string studios.
When not at the piano, Mr. Bryant can be found in the kitchen cooking his way through the national dishes of countries of the world, or exploring cemeteries doing genealogical research. He has also begun working on a project to catalog and provide performance examples of the unrecorded compositions of Beethoven, including the sketches, which are being added to his YouTube channel as they are completed.
Cullan began playing the piano at age two, giving his first public recital at age six. At eleven he toured campuses in his native Arkansas and in Texas including several televised recitals. His prizes and awards include the Leschetizky International Competition, the National Arts Club of New York, the Memphis Beethoven Competition, Miami Arts Competition and a certificate of outstanding citizenship from Arkansas Governor Frank White. His principal teachers were Christopher Kabala, Robert Goldsand and Artur Balsam. In July of 2002 he toured Japan in 14 recitals with violinist Midori.
sophie verhaeghe
violin
Violinist Sophie Verhaeghe maintains a year-round schedule of performing and teaching. Currently based in Austin, TX, she is member of both the Austin Symphony Orchestra and the Austin Opera Orchestra. Her love of orchestral music has led her to perform with the crossover duo 2Cellos and singer-songwriter Christopher Cross. Additionally, she has played with the Houston Symphony, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the San Antonio Symphony as a contracted member. As a chamber musician, Sophie has collaborated with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Artisan, Axiom, Cordova, and Carpe Diem Quartets, and Latitude 49, as well as clarinetist Dimitri Ashkenazy and pianist Anton Nel.
A passionate educator as well as performer, Sophie maintains a private studio in Austin of students of all ages and is on the summer faculty of the Manitou Chamber Music Festival in Colorado. For four years, she was the violin instructor at Texas Lutheran University. Sophie is also a co-founder, violinist, and Director of Operations for Austin Camerata, a collective ensemble that brings artistic collaborations and classical chamber music to unconventional venues. Austin Camerata has been featured on KUTX and Austin360, and was nominated by the Austin Critics Table in 2019 for “best classical ensemble.”
Sophie began playing the violin at age 3 and made her solo debut at the age of 12. She has performed in Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center. Summer festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Talis Festival and Academy in Switzerland, and the National Repertory Orchestra, where she was a featured soloist.
Sophie holds degrees from the University of Michigan (Bachelor of Music, with Highest Honors), Boston University (Master of Music), and the University of Texas at Austin (Artist Diploma). Her previous teachers include Jeri Jorgensen, Aaron Berofsky, Bayla Keyes, and William Fedkenheuer. In her spare time, Sophie enjoys cooking, running (she completed her first – and possibly only - marathon in February 2023), reading, and trying to convince her dog and cat to become friends.
Hanna Pederson
viola
Originally from Lancaster, PA, Hanna Pederson is a violist and teacher in the Chicago area. Hanna is a member of the Madison Symphony viola section, performs frequently with many orchestras around the midwest such as the Illinois Philharmonic, and recently served as guest principal viola of the Elmhurst Symphony. She has performed with orchestras in Carnegie Hall, The Cleveland Orchestra’s Blossom Music Center, Chicago Symphony Center’s Orchestra Hall, and Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion with conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Ken-David Masur, Brett Mitchell, Leonard Slatkin, and Larry Rachleff. Hanna’s recent chamber music performances include guest violist with the KAIA String Quartet and string quartet performances through the Civic Orchestra of Chicago’s Chamber Music Program.
An interest in new music has led to transformative experiences working with living composers, most recently on a performance of Katherine Young’s bow breath crow for string trio and electronics. Over the summers she has performed with the National Repertory Orchestra, Contemporary Performance Institute, Kent Blossom Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and Chautauqua Music Festival. Alongside her performance calendar she maintains extensive educational activities including leading sectionals for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, coaching chamber music at area high schools, and maintaining a large private teaching studio in which she has helped students successfully audition into ILMEA district and all-state festivals.
Hanna’s primary teachers include Ivo-Jan van der Werff, Katherine Murdock, Ning Mu, and Nancy Levasseur. She has also had significant studies with Li-Kuo Chang, Peter Slowik, Joan DerHovsepian, Daniel Foster, and Caroline Coade. She is a recent alum of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and holds degrees from Rice University and the University of Maryland.
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Alex Chambers-Ozasky
cello
An experienced musician and versatile performer, cellist Alex Chambers-Ozasky performs and frequently collaborates with artists across a variety of genres and styles. Having performed and taught throughout North America, he is now based in Wisconsin.
Alex currently serves as the Assistant Principal cellist of the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he is an associate member with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and has performed regularly with the Wisconsin Philharmonic and Illinois Symphony. In recent years, Alex has appeared as a core member of the Lake Lanier Music Festival, performing chamber music throughout North Georgia. Summer festival appearances include the Festival Napa Valley Academy Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado. Most recently, he recorded tracks for the upcoming album of Toronto-based artist STORRY.
Alex has been featured in multiple music videos of Chicago-based Pakistani pop music group SAMAA. Working with choreographer Lin Kahn and renowned Jerusalem-based dancer Miriam Engel (artistic director of the Angela Dance Company), he presented two concerts of music and dance in Chicago. Alex also performed with dancer Courtney Henry, of the Alonzo King LINES Ballet, in the 2014 Minnesota Fringe Festival.
An enthusiastic and dedicated teacher, Alex has taught musicians of all ages for the past decade and maintains a private studio of curious, thoughtful, and expressive cellists of all levels. While cellist of the Hunt String Quartet, Alex gave dozens of outreach concerts in partnership with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and UW-Madison. Combining his chamber music experience with his passion for teaching, Alex has coached young chamber ensembles at the MacPhail Center for Music, International Cello Institute, and the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras.
Alex’s early experiences with the cello led to him winning the Minnesota Sinfonia’s Young Artist competition in 2009, where he subsequently performed Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C with the orchestra at age fourteen. In 2011, during a six month stay in Spain, Alex studied with cellists Angel Garcia Jermann and Israel Fausto at the royal conservatories of Madrid and Seville, respectively. Alex holds degrees from DePaul University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His previous teachers include Stephen Balderston and Uri Vardi.
Alex is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, where he studies with Joseph Johnson, Principal cellist of the Toronto Symphony. For his dissertation, Alex is researching the Feldenkrais Method (a somatic method of movement) and cello pedagogy.