2024 SUMMER SEASON
ALL CONCERTS START AT 4PM
Saturdays @ 4pm
July 13 – ULYSSES QUARTET
July 20 – JAMES BAIK, cello and ALBERT CANO SMIT, piano
Sundays @ 4pm
August 4 – The CHAMPLAIN TRIO
August 11 – NATHAN LEE, piano
Saturday, July 13 @ 4pm
ULYSSES QUARTET
Management: Halac & Meluk Artists Management, LLC
The Ulysses Quartet has been praised for their “textural versatility,” “grave beauty” and “the kind of chemistry many quartets long for, but rarely achieve” (The Strad), as well as their “avid enthusiasm … [with] chops to back up their passion” (San Diego Story), “delivered with a blend of exuberance and polished artistry” (The Buffalo News). Founded in the summer of 2015, the group won the grand prize and gold medal in the senior string division of the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and first prize in the 2018 Schoenfeld International String Competition. In 2017, the quartet finished first in the American Prize and won second prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. They were winners of the Vietnam International Music Competition in 2019. Ulysses garnered a career development grant in the 2016 Banff International String Quartet Competition. The quartet’s members hail from Canada, the United States and Taiwan. They have performed in such prestigious halls as Carnegie Hall, the Harbin Grand Theatre, Jordan Hall and the Taiwan National Recital Hall. Recent performance highlights include their debut at Carnegie Hall along with appearances at the Chautauqua Institution (NY), Sociedad Filarmónica de Bilbao (Spain), Ciclo de Cámara y Solistas in Salamanca, the Picasso Museum in Málaga, Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo in Bogotá, Highlands Cashiers Festival (NC), Music Mountain (CT) with pianist Tanya Bannister, Chelsea Music Festival and PS21 (NY), National Gallery of Art (DC), Jasper Arts Center (IN), and San Juan Chamber Music Festival (CO).
Ulysses recently released their debut album, “Shades of Romani Folklore,” on the Navona label. The quartet also has two new collaborative albums out: “Sea Change Quartets” by Grammy-nominated composer Joseph Summer, and “A Giant Beside You” with guitarist Benjamin Verdery.
The Ulysses Quartet believes intensely in the power of music to inspire, enlighten and bring people together. This is the guiding principle of the Ulysses Quartet Foundation, dedicated to the performance and promotion of classical music of the past and present day to benefit the broadest possible audience of music lovers and potential music lovers by expanding their understanding and appreciation of the musical arts. Ulysses aims to use this platform to raise the voices of under represented BIPOC and female composers.
The members of Ulysses hold degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, Boston Conservatory, the Juilliard School, and University of North Texas. The musicians perform on instruments and bows graciously on loan from the Maestro Foundation and private donors. Ulysses is grateful for the support of Shar Music and Connolly Music as YSOA ambassadors.
Saturday, July 20 @ 4pm
JAMES BAIK, cello and ALBERT CANO SMIT, piano
Management: Young Concert Artists
Cellist James Baik has been described as “an undeniable authority,” and possess “a real warmth emerging in lyricism… and displays mixture of sonic mastery and interiority,” by Belgian newspaper Le Soir, after his astounding performance at the 2021 Queen Elisabeth competition. Recently, James was a finalist at the 2019 Stulberg International String Competition and would go on to receive the first prize at the prestigious Irving M. Klein International Competition. He made his debut solo appearance in 2015 with the Houston Civic Symphony Orchestra and the Clear Lake Symphony in Saint-Saens’ Cello Concerto No. 1. In 2018, James won the DePaul Concerto Competition, reached the finals at the Johansen International Competition in Washington D.C and Baik rounded the year by being named a YoungArts finalist, participated at YoungArts Week in Miami and awarded the grand prize at the Walgreens National Competition, resulting in a performance of the Schumann Cello Concerto with conductor Dr. Allen Dennis at Northwestern University.
Highlights from recent and upcoming performances include the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Colburn Orchestra, under the baton of Sir Andrew Davies at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie with conductor Vahan Mardirossian, a performance of Brahms’ Double Concerto alongside violinist Gabrielle Després and the Peninsula Symphony under the baton of Mitchell Sardou Klein, and chamber music performances at the Ravinia Festival, the Music in the Vineyards Festival in Napa Valley, and Nevada Chamber Music Festival, where he is an invited guest artist. In 2021, James, alongside his colleagues’ violinist Ray Ushikubo and pianist HyeJin Kim, performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Pasadena Symphony under the baton of David Lockington, where he also performed a new work for two celli with the conductor as composer and cellist.
An active chamber musician, James has worked with many notable musicians such as Noah Bendix-Balgley, David Finckel, Wu Han, Emanuel Ax, Arnaud Sussmann, Dmitri Murrath, Miriam Fried, Gary Hoffman, Tessa Lark, Gilbert Kalish, Bob McDonald, David McCarroll, members of the Tokyo String Quartet, the American String Quartet, the Pacifica String Quartet, and the Escher String Quartet. James has attended the Meadowmount School of Music and the Aspen Music Festival, where he participated in the Finckel Wu Han Chamber Music Program, and was invited as a guest artist for the Music of the Vineyards Festival. Recently, James was a fellow at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, where he gave a widely praised performance of Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata.
Raised in Houston, Texas, James’ early education included tutelage from Houston Symphony Associate Principle Christopher French and with esteemed pedagogue Hans Jørgen Jensen in Chicago. James is currently a Bachelor of Music candidate at the Colburn Conservatory of Music where he studies with Clive Greensmith. The instrument being used by Baik is a cello made by J.B Vuillaume and is on generous loan from the Ravinia Institute of Music.
Spanish/Dutch pianist Albert Cano Smit won First Prize at the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, as well as The Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize, the Alexander Kasza-Kasser Concert Prize for support of his Kennedy Center debut, the Friends of Music Concert Prize (NY), and the Sunday Musicale Prize (NJ). He also won First Prize at the 2017 Walter W. Naumburg Piano Competition, which presented him in recital at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall.
This season, Mr. Cano Smit performs the Brahms Concerto No. 2 with the Las Vegas Philharmonic conducted by Donato Cabrera, and debuts with the Seattle Symphony, Boca del Río Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfònica de Barcelona and Glacier Symphony. He has also appeared with the San Diego Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Manchester Camerata, Nottingham Youth Orchestra, and American Youth Symphony.
Albert Cano Smit has given solo recitals at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, for the Steinway Society The Bay Area in San Jose, New York’s Salon de Virtuosi, and Bravo! Vail Festival, and has been in residency at the Tippet Rise Art Center. He has given recitals abroad in Xiamen, China, in France at the Wissembourg Festival and Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, at Germany’s Rheingau Music Festival, and throughout Spain. Mr. Cano Smit tours with violinist William Hagen in venues throughout the U.S. and in Germany, and with flutist Anthony Trionfo. He has performed in New York at Merkin Concert Hall and the Morgan Library & Museum, and at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater in Washington, DC.
Mr. Cano Smit currently studies with Robert McDonald at The Juilliard School. Previous teachers include Ory Shihor, Graham Caskie and Marta Karbownicka. He has benefitted from extensive artistic advice by YCA alumni Richard Goode and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, with whom he gave four-hand performances at Zipper Hall in Los Angeles and Wallis Annenberg Center Hall in Beverly Hills. Mr. Cano Smit is an alumnus of the Verbier Festival Academy.
Sunday, August 4, @ 4pm
THE CHAMPLAIN TRIO
Management: Emily Taubl, cello
It’s been said that out of adversity comes opportunity, and out of the COVID-19 pandemic the Champlain Trio was formed. Violinist Letitia Quante, cellist Emily Taubl and pianist Hiromi Fukuda each call Vermont home and with concerts, tours and festivals being put on hold, the spring of 2020 brought the unique opportunity to come together as an ensemble.
All three musicians earned degrees from The Juilliard School among others and hold positions in the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Amherst College, and the University of Vermont. With a shared passion for chamber music and supporting the arts in Vermont, the trio created a documentary film project in 2020 entitled “Empty Stages”, with the goal of drawing attention to the many amazing concert venues across the state and to show how COVID-19 has impacted the arts. The documentary aired on Vermont PBS in June of 2021.
In 2022, the trio was awarded a Vermont Arts Council Grant to record the Croatian composer Dora Pejacevic’s Piano Trio, Op. 29. The album is now out and can be found on all major streaming platforms. The trio continues to expand their active performing schedule in addition to forming chamber music programs for students across Vermont. For a full list of concerts and programs, please visit their schedule.
Violinist Letitia Quante began her studies with the Suzuki method studying with David Einfeldt at the Hartt School of Music. At the age of eleven she entered the Juilliard Pre-College Program studying with Louise Behrend. She also minored in conducting until she graduated at age 15.
Letitia completed her BMA from the Peabody Conservatory studying with Victor Danchenko. While living in Maryland, she was principal of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony and assistant concertmaster with the Lancaster Symphony. She also concertized both as a soloist and chamber musician with ensembles throughout New England, as well as the Singapore Symphony, New World Symphony, Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. She has collaborated with musicians such as Mikhail Kopelman, Leon Fleisher, Eugene Drucker, Phil Setzer, Sarah Chang, Kanye West, Bajofondo, and Natalia Lafourcade.
Since moving to Vermont in 2012, Letitia has joined the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. She also acts as concertmaster for both the Vermont Philharmonic and the Middlebury Opera Company. She performs regularly with the Handel Society at Dartmouth, Vermont Contemporary Ensemble, and Vermont Virtuosi and was a founding member of the Arka Quartet – the founding ensemble for the VSO’s acclaimed Jukebox series. Letitia plays a 1840 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume.
Pianist Hiromi Fukuda performs extensively across the US and her native Japan. Recent concert appearances include performances at Hyde Hall at Glimmerglass, the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Five College New Music Festival, Music Academy of The West, Ongaku-no-tomo Hall in Tokyo, Hidden Valley Music Seminars, An Appalachian Summer Festival, the Reflection Series at Bass Museum in Miami, the Tri-institution Noon Concert Series at Rockefeller University as well as Lincoln Center in New York City.
Hiromi has performed with many distinguished artists including Elmar Oliveira (violin), Saeka Matsuyama (violin), Matt Haimovitz (cello), Judith LeClair (bassoon), Mark Nuccio (clarinet), and Julie Landsman (french horn) and was featured as solo pianist for Messiaen’s Couleurs de la cité céleste with conductor Larry Rachleff. She was a fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival and the Tanglewood Music Center, and has served on the piano staff at Aspen, the McDuffie Festival for Strings, and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition.
Hiromi is an Instructor of Piano at Amherst College, staff pianist at The Juilliard School, and an artist-faculty the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School.
Cellist Emily Taubl has been called “an outstanding cellist with a bright future” (Hartford Courant), and her playing has been described as “sheer poetry” (Rutland Herald). She currently serves as the Principal Cellist of the Springfield Symphony (MA), on the faculty of the University of Vermont, and maintains a busy schedule of solo, chamber music, and orchestral performances.
Emily has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Hartford Symphony, Boston Virtuosi, New England String Ensemble, Nashua Chamber Orchestra, Burlington Chamber Orchestra, Granite State Symphony, Vermont Philharmonic, University of Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony. She has performed recitals at the University of Vermont, Amherst College, Dartmouth College, and Williams College.
She performed as a soloist at the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival in Los Angeles and on the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Prelude Concert Series. She performs regularly on Vermont Public Radio, and was a featured performer for The Colors of Claude Debussy: A 150th Birthday Celebration on Boston’s WGBH that was broadcast internationally. She has also performed chamber music at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Scrag Mountain Music, Faulkner Chamber Music Festival, and Capitol City Concerts.
In addition to teaching at the University of Vermont and Middlebury College, Emily founded and directs the Conservatory Audition Workshop – an annual summer program that prepares top string students from around the world for auditions at elite music schools. Her articles about audition preparation and pedagogy been published in Strings Magazine on several occasions. Additionally, she has served on the faculties of Middlebury College, the Faulkner Chamber Music Festival, the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival and the Lyra Music Festival.
Having studied at The Juilliard School, Yale School of Music and the New England Conservatory, her major teachers include Paul Katz, Aldo Parisot, and Ardyth Alton. Emily is based in Burlington, VT and performs on a cello made by Tetsuo Matsuda in 1984.
Sunday, August 11 @ 4pm
NATHAN LEE, piano
Management: Young Concert Artists
Pianist Nathan Lee is an artist who connects with his audiences by sharing a depth of musical expression well beyond his years. He was recently honored with the special Tabor Foundation Award at the 2019 Verbier Festival Academy in Switzerland. Mr. Lee has appeared as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Buffalo Philharmonic on NPR’s From the Top, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico, and the Daejeon Philharmonic in Korea.
Mr. Lee won First Prize in the 2016 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions and holds the Mortimer Levitt Piano Chair. He made his New York debut at sixteen in The Peter Marino Concert, opening the YCA Series at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall, with additional support from the Paul A. Fish Memorial Fund. The Korean Concert Society Prize sponsored Mr. Lee’s sold-out, critically-acclaimed Kennedy Center debut in Washington, DC, a co-presentation of YCA and Washington Performing Arts. He appeared on the YCA “Encores” Series at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York last season, in a program that included the New York premiere of composer Chris Rogerson’s ‘Til It Was Dark. In recital this season, Nathan will perform at Ridotto Classical Concerts (NY) and Tri-County Concert Association (Wayne, PA).
Mrs. Lee began playing the piano at the age of six and made his orchestral debut at the age of nine. He is from the Seattle area, where he studied with Sasha Starcevich. Mr. Lee has also worked with Craig Sheppard, and regularly works with YCA alumni Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Ilana Vered. He recently graduated from The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he was a student of Robert McDonald.
YCA represents pianist Nathan Lee for worldwide engagements.
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