Meet the SJCMF Musicians
2023
Max Levinson
Concert Pianist, SJCMF Artistic Director
Pianist Max Levinson has served as Artistic Director of the San Juan Chamber Music Festival for nineteen seasons. He is known as an intelligent and sensitive artist with a fearless technique. His international career was launched when he won First Prize at the Dublin International Piano Competition. He is also recipient of other prestigious prizes including the Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Andrew Wolf Award. He has performed as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Colorado Symphony, New World Symphony, Utah Symphony, Boston Pops, the Sun Symphony (Hanoi, Vietnam). and National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, and in recital at New York’s Alice Tully Hall, Washington DC’s Kennedy Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Zürich’s Tonhalle, the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, and throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. He is highly sought after as a performer of chamber music. He is an Artist-Member of the Boston Chamber Music Society, and has collaborated with such musicians as James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Anne Akiko Meyers, Pinchas Zukerman, Stefan Jackiw, Lynn Harrell, and the Tokyo, Vermeer, Mendelssohn, Borromeo, Muir, and Ulysses Quartets. In addition to his annual performances at the San Juan Chamber Music Festival, he is a frequent performer at prestigious music festivals including Seattle, Rockport, Santa Fe, La Jolla, Marlboro, Mostly Mozart, Perugia, and Davos.
His recordings include the complete Brahms Sonatas with violinist Stefan Jackiw (Sony), two solo piano CD’s for N2K Encoded Music, and other recordings on the Albany and Stereophile labels. Upcoming releases include a multi-CD collection of live recordings from the Boston Chamber Music Society and recital with violinist Christina Bouey.
Max Levinson is a graduate of Harvard and the New England Conservatory. His principal teachers were Patricia Zander, Aube Tzerko and Bruce Sutherland. He serves on the faculty at both the Boston Conservatory and New England Conservatory, and gives master classes at conservatories and colleges throughout the world. He also frequently serves as a jury member for competitions. Max Levinson is a Steinway Artist. He lives in the Boston area with his daughters Natalie and Jessica.
Christina Bouey
Violin
Canadian/American violinist, Christina Bouey, is hailed by the New York Times for playing “beautifully,” the New York Post, “When violinist Christina Bouey spun out that shimmering tune, I thought I died and went to heaven,” and by Opera News, for playing “with exquisite, quivering beauty.” She is praised by Seen and Heard International, “Bouey responded with the kind of beguiling poetry that technical brilliance alone cannot liberate.” Her recent prizes include Grand Prize at the Vietnam International Chamber Competition, 1 st Prize at the Schoenfeld International String Competition in the chamber division, Grand Prize at the Fischoff Competition, 1 st place in the American Prize, and 2 nd prize at the Osaka International Chamber Competition. Among her other top awards include the “Rooted to the Island Award” from Music PEI, Hugo Kortchak Award for outstanding achievement in chamber music, Heida Hermann International, Canadian National Music Festival, Queens Concerto Competition, and the Balsam Duo Competition. In addition, her ensemble, the Ulysses Quartet were Lisa Arnhold Fellows at the Juilliard School, serving as the School’s Graduate Resident String Quartet, from 2019-22.
Christina made her solo debut in Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium playing Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Senior Concert Orchestra of NY in the fall of 2022 under the baton of Maestro David Gilbert. She has performed as soloist with the Greenwich Symphony, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Salina Symphony, River Cities Symphony, Symphony of the Mountains, Tonkünstler Ensemble, Metro Chamber Orchestra, Bergen Symphony, Prince Edward Island Symphony, and the Banff Orchestra to name a few. Her solo and chamber highlights in the United States include Carnegie Hall- Weill and Zankel Halls, Alice Tully Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Gilder Lehrman Hall, Schneider Series, Rockefeller Tri Noon Series, Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, Merkin Concert Hall, National Gallery of Art in DC, Jordan Hall, Dame Myra Hess series, La Jolla SummerFest, Kneisel Hall Festival, Highlands-Cashiers Music Festival, Music Mountain, Chautauqua Institution, Buffalo Chamber Music Society, Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music, Friends of Chamber Music Kansas City, Rhode Island Chamber Music Concerts, Chamber Music Society of Bethlehem, Eastman School of Music, Westchester Chamber Music Society, Mayfest at Cornell University, and the Kansas International Music Festival. Christina has also been invited to perform internationally in the Esterházy Palace in Austria, Taiwan National Recital Hall, Harbin Grand Theatre, Wigmore Hall, Fundacion Juan March in Madrid, Sociedad Filarmonica de Bilbao, Ciclo De Camara y Solistas in Salamanca, Sociedad Filarmonica de Vigo, Picasso Museum in Malaga, Premiere Performances Hong Kong, Vietnam Connection Music Festival, Kanagawa Kenmin Hall in Yokohama, Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy, Teatro Mayor Julio Santo Domingo in Bogota, Sala Nezahualcoyotl in Mexico City, Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall in Istanbul, Winnipeg Virtuosi Concerts, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Cecilia Concerts in Halifax, Montreal Chamber Festival, Kelowna Community Concert Association and the Under The Spire Music Festival. She toured as a soloist for Prairie Debut during the 2021-22 season and Debut Atlantic during the 2017-18 season with pianist Pierre-Andre Doucet.
Christina has collaborated with artists such as David Chan, Jeremy Denk, Paul Coletti, Lynn Chang, Robert DeMaine, Simone Dinnerstein, Steven Doane, Rosemary Elliott, David Geber, Clive Greensmith, Marc-André Hamelin, Toby Hoffman, Chee-Yun Kim, Yura Lee, Max Levinson, Cho-Liang Lin, Paul Neubauer, Bright Sheng, Lara St. John, and Benjamin Verdery.
Christina graduated from Manhattan School of Music (2013) with a Professional Studies Certificate in Orchestral Performance, studying with Glenn Dicterow and Lisa Kim as a full scholarship student, (2012) with a Professional Studies Certificate, studying with Laurie Smukler, and in 2011 she received a Master of Music, while studying with Nicholas Mann. Her Bachelor of Music (Magna cum laude) is from The Boston Conservatory; where she studied with Irina Muresanu as a full-scholarship student.
In June 2014, as part of the 150 year celebrations on PEI, Christina was commissioned to compose a solo violin piece for professional dancers from Ballet Jazz de Montreal and performed her own work for all 8 performances while being intertwined with the choreography. Christina is currently serving as concertmaster of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and is a member/founder of the Ulysses String Quartet. In addition, Christina was recently appointed Assistant Professor of Violin at Ithaca College. She plays a 1790 Storioni violin on generous loan from a private donor. Christina is very excited to announce her debut album being released later this year including the premiere of her own composition “Orpheus Romps Through The Underworld.” as well as the violin sonata “The Tempest” by Grammy nominated composer Joseph Summer. To keep up to date with Christina, you can follow her website www.christinabouey.com and various other social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Rhiannon Banerdt
Violin
Violinist Rhiannon Banerdt made her solo debut at age 14 with the New England Symphonic Ensemble in Johannesburg, South Africa. She has since made solo and chamber music appearances at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, New York's Weill Hall at Carnegie, and Boston's Jordan Hall, among others, with performances hailed by Edith Eisler of Strings Magazine as “real music-making–concentrated and deeply felt”. Ms. Banerdt performs regularly throughout New England with a variety of ensembles and is a founding member of the Ulysses String Quartet, winners of the First Prize at the 2018 Schoenfeld International Chamber Music Competition, Grand Prize at the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, First Prize at the 2017 American Prize Chamber Ensemble, and Silver Medal at the 2017 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition.
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A recipient of the 2012 Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award, Ms. Banerdt was invited to perform with the quartet in Jordan Hall. Other collaborations have included performances with the Chiara Quartet, Kim Kashkashian, Paul Biss, and Frans Helmerson. Ms. Banerdt has participated in numerous eminent chamber music festivals including La Jolla Summerfest, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Taos School of Music, and the Castleman Quartet Program.
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Ms. Banerdt holds the position of Assistant Concertmaster with the Cape Symphony and has served as Principal Second Violin Boston’s Discovery Ensemble. She was one of two Violin Fellowships for the 2013-2015 seasons with the flagship music education organization Community MusicWorks in Providence, RI, where she taught individual lessons and group classes for disadvantaged youth and performed regularly with the Fellowship Quartet and Community MusicWorks Players. Ms. Banerdt is currently a member of the violin faculty at the Bloomingdale School of Music on New York City’s Upper West Side and a Graduate Teaching Fellow at CUNY Brooklyn College.
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A native of Los Angeles, Ms. Banerdt attended the New England Conservatory, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with honors from the New England Conservatory of Music as a student of Lucy Chapman and Paul Biss, and is currently pursuing doctoral studies at The CUNY Graduate Center studying with Mark Steinberg.
Colin Brookes
Viola
Praised as “master of the strong lines”, concert violist Colin Brookes is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he made his solo debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony at the age of 17. A founding member of the award-winning Ulysses Quartet, Colin has taught in the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School, and the undergraduate programs of Yale University and SUNY Stony Brook.
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Colin performs regularly with The Knights, A Far Cry, and other critically acclaimed ensembles. Festival appearances include Kneisel Hall, Geneva Music Festival, Manchester Summer Chamber Music, and Tanglewood. In June 2013 he gave a solo recital with pianist Euntaek Kim for the St. Gaudens Concert Series in Cornish, NH.
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Traveling and performing allow for many unexpected opportunities to capture moments in time. An interest that evolved recently into a passion, film photography has profoundly changed Colin’s appreciation for perspective and awareness.
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Colin holds a Bachelor of Music from the Juilliard School and a Master of Music and Artist Diploma from Yale University. His mentors include Ettore Causa, Heidi Castleman, Misha Amory, Nicholas Cords, Larry Dutton, Marylene Gingras-Roy, Roger Chase, Jeffrey Irvine, and Carolyn Hills. He currently plays a 19th-century Italian viola generously on loan from Maestro Foundation, and an English Thomas Tubbs bow, circa 1845 .
Grace Ho
Cello
Taiwanese-American cellist Grace Ho is an active soloist and chamber musician in the United States and Asia. Ms. Ho has appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, Ho Chi Minh City Symphony Orchestra, Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, Sun Taipei Philharmonic, Lewisville Lake Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Ensemble, Kansas Wesleyan Orchestra, Manhattan School of Music Philharmonic Orchestra, University of North Texas Chamber Orchestra, and National Taiwan University Symphony Orchestra.
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Ms. Ho has performed in Carnegie Hall, Harbin Grand Theatre, Jordan Hall, Meyerson Symphony Center, Taiwan National Concert and Recital Halls, and the Opera House in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. She was a soloist in the 2018 Toyota Tour in Vietnam.
Ms. Ho is a founding member of the Ulysses Quartet, who was the 2019-2022 Lisa Arnhold Fellows, serving as the Graduate Resident String Quartet at the Juilliard School. Ms. Ho also serves as Guest Principal Cellist in the Miami Symphony Orchestra.
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Ms. Ho received her Doctor of Musical Arts and Master degrees from Manhattan School of Music, and her Bachelor degree from University of North Texas. Former teachers include David Geber, Clive Greensmith, and Eugene Osadchy.
Guest Artist
Georgina Isabel Rossi
Viola
Georgina Isabel Rossi is a Chilean-American classical violist. Her 2020 album, Mobili: Music for Viola and Piano from Chile (New Focus Recordings), with pianist Silvie Cheng, was praised as “expertly played” (WQXR), “a startling new recording” (CVNC Journal), and “one of my favorite discoveries of the year” (KDFC’s Brian Lauritzen). Her sophomore album with Cheng, Chorinho: Music for Viola and Piano from Brazil (Navona Records/PARMA Recordings), will feature premiere recordings of contemporary Brazilian repertoire. It will be released in August of 2023 with support from the NYC Women's Fund, the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, and the New York Foundation for the Arts.
A dedicated pedagogue, she is on the music faculty of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile - Instituto de Música), where she is Assistant Professor of Viola and serves as Coordinator for upper strings. Georgina has been invited to give master classes by institutions across Latin America and the United States, including the Universidad de La Serena, the online-based International Viola Academy (@viola.academy) and the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, WI. A sought-after soloist and chamber musician, she has performed as soloist with the Orquesta de Cámara de Chile and with the Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad de Cuyo. Recent season highlights include: recitals alongside her longtime collaborator, pianist Silvie Cheng, in the Catholic University of Chile's chamber music season; solo engagements with the Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad de La Serena (OSULS); and at the Festival Internacional de Música del Elqui, in Coquimbo, Chile.
Born and raised in Santiago, Rossi is a product of the Chilean national youth orchestra program (F.O.J.I.). Her first teacher was her mother, violist Penelope Knuth, and she moved to the U.S. to attend Interlochen Arts Academy. She holds a Master’s from the Juilliard School, where she studied with Roger Tapping, a Bachelor’s from the Manhattan School of Music, and is a Fellow of the Toronto, Bowdoin, and Kammermusik Akademie Hohenstaufen international festivals. Rossi is a former member of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, where she held the Wes & Chloe Horton chair.
She plays an Argentinean viola by Leonardo Anderi from 2014, and her bow is a Christian Whilhelm Knopf. She is passionate about painting and trained by Chilean artist Susana Larraín and at the Art Students League of New York. She lives between New York and Santiago de Chile with her cat, Duquesa.
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Ms. Rossi's website is www.georginarossi.com
Ulysses Quartet
ulyssesquartet.com
"Emotively and dynamically, the quartet is particularly astounding, too, where they can collectively wield a fervour of intense expression and at once bring it to a simmered-down mesmerizing hum of synchrony". - The Guardian, Prince Edward Island
Recorded Performances
Additional Ulysses Quartet performances may be
found on their website at ulyssesquartet.com/media-1
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