Archive of Guest Musicians

Horacio Contreras, cello, Project Costa Rica  
Venezuelan cellist Horacio Contreras is considered one of the most outstanding cellists of his generation in his country. Trained in El Sistema, and prize winner at the Carlos Prieto Cello Competition, he has developed a diverse career as a chamber musician, recitalist, and soloist; he is also engaged in an interesting pedagogical activity. As a part of his activities at El Sistema, he has been repeatedly invited to work with the Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra cello section where he has had the opportunity to work with Simon Rattle and Gustavo Dudamel and perform at the Salzburg Music Festival.  He has appeared as a concerto soloist with orchestras including the Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, the Municipal Orchestra of Caracas, the Perpignan Conservatory Orchestra, the EAFIT University Orchestra of Medellín, the Virtuosi of Caracas and the Camerata de France. As a chamber musician and recitalist Contreras has performed at numerous festivals and music series including Festival del Nuevo Mundo, the Aruba Piano Festival, the Mérida Music Festival and the Michigan Chamber Players. He has shared the scene with gifted musicians, as are conductors Christian Vázquez, Rodolfo Saglimbeni, Pablo Castellanos and César Iván Lara, the members of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society and faculty members of leading conservatories and schools of music such as Geneva, Lausanne, Oberlin and the University of Michigan. 

Jae Young Cosmos Lee, violin, Project Haim & Shall We Dance
Jae Young Cosmos Lee, violin, has been hailed as "Beguiling" & "Bursting with color" (Boston Globe), is concertmaster of Camerata New England based in New Hampshire, the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra & a founding member of A Far Cry, the resident chamber orchestra of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. He is also assistant concertmaster of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra & first violinist with the QX String Quartet. Jae has been a guest artist with the Audubon, Borromeo & Jupiter Quartets, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, ECCO, the Firebird & Radius Ensembles. He is a recipient of numerous awards & honors, and has performed in many of the finest music festivals including Apple Hill, Aspen, Chautauqua, Norfolk, Sarasota, Banff, Seoul, Scotia, New South, Salzburg, Prussia Cove & Kneisel Hall. Jae holds degrees from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the New England Conservatory & has been heard on Performance Today, Boston's WGBH and Maine & Vermont Public Radios. 

Christine McLeavey Payne, piano, Project Haim
A prizewinner at the Lyon International Chamber Music Competition, Christine McLeavey Payne was featured on Radio France and France TV. Ms. Payne is the pianist and co-founder of Ensemble San Francisco. Ms. Payne has collaborated with several leading chamber musicians, including musicians from the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, San Francisco Symphony, and Philadelphia Orchestra. She has performed in such venues as Alice Tully Hall,  the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, the Banff International Keyboard Festival, and the Tanglewood Music Festival. Locally, she has performed at the Montalvo Arts Center, Music in May, Classical Music Sundaes, and as soloist with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Payne holds a masters from Juilliard and graduated as valedictorian of Princeton University, with a degree in Physics. 

Natalie Parker, clarinet, Project Haim
A native of South Carolina, Natalie Parker is currently the principal clarinet of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. Ms Parker joined the Ballet Orchestra in January of 2012 and received her masters in music from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music the following May. Ms Parker has recently attended such music festivals as Brevard Music Center, the Madeline Island Chamber Music Camp and the Texas Music Festival. While in school, she actively participated in the Houston Da Camera Young Artist's Program and JUMP!, the community music outreach program at Rice University. In 2010, Ms Parker won second prize in the International Clarinet Association's Young Artist Competition and performed in recital at the Association's annual ClarinetFest.  Since arriving in San Francisco, Ms Parker has played frequently with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and enjoys performing chamber music throughout the Bay area.  She currently is on faculty at San Francisco State University.

Frédéric Rosselet, cello, Project Imagine
Swiss-American cellist Frédéric Rosselet has performed widely across Europe and North America. A passionate orchestral and chamber musician, he has been a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra, a participant at the Yellow Barn Music Festival as well as a faculty member at the Yellow Barn Young Artists Program. Having a keen interest in early and new music, he enjoys discovering new repertoire for the cello and exploring old works on baroque cello and viola da gamba. After finishing studies at both the Basel Music Academy and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Frédéric obtained his DMA from the University of Southern California, where he was awarded first prizes in both the solo Bach and the concerto competitions. He has mainly benefited from the teachings of cellists Ralph Kirshbaum, Paul Katz, Rafael Rosenfeld and David Geringas.

Ashley William Smith, clarinet, Project Haim
Described as ‘incandescent... a masterly display of skill and insight... as an apologist for contemporary music-making, you would search hard to find this young clarinetist's equal’ (The Age), clarinetist Ashley William Smith has emerged as one of Australia’s most exciting young musicians. The current Music Council of Australia Freedman Fellow and ABC Symphony International Young Performer Award winner, Ashley has been identified as a ‘rising star’ by the world's leading clarinet manufacturer and is a Buffet-Crampon Artist. Ashley has performed as a soloist with several of Australia's major orchestras. His Melbourne premiere of the Lindberg Concerto was ranked amongst The Age's Top 5 Classical Performances 2010. In 2013 Ashley shall perform extensively in Australia with the Australian String Quartet, the Syzygy Ensemble, as well as in recital with his duo partner, pianist Aura Go. Internationally, Ashley has engagements with Bang on a Can, the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center and the Beijing Modern Music Festival. Ashley is a Fellow of the Australian National Academy of Music and a graduate of the University of Western Australia where he was awarded the Sir Harold Bailey as the most outstanding graduate of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. In 2014 Ashley is Artist in Residence at the University of Western Australia where he was also recently appointed an Assistant Professor position as the Head of Winds and Contemporary Performance. 

Konstantin Soukhovetski, piano, Project Haim
Konstantin Soukhovetski's charismatic personality and ease in communicating with his audiences has already won him the title of the "rock star" of classical music while critics call him a "...pianist who captivates” with his “distinctive lyricism”, “immaculate technique” and “vigor…refinement… and drama”. Winner of a number of top international awards including Cleveland International Piano Competition and William Petschek Debut Recital Award this season Konstantin will appear with Miami Symphony Orchestra, Piano en Valois in Cognac, France and Symphony Space, NYC. Host and producer of first-ever classical music reality show Real Pianists of The Hamptons. Konstantin also makes his feature film debut as actor in Dishonorable Vendetta, out in 2014. Konstantin is also Artist in Residence at Pianofest in The Hamptons and serves on the boards of Southampton Cultural Center and Hamptons Music Sessions. Konstantin is an Arts Global Artist.