Colors of Virtuosity
with violinists Danbi Um and Paul Huang

© photo by Marco Borggreve

Danbi Um was praised as an “utterly dazzling” artist (The Strad), with “a marvelous show of superb technique” and “mesmerizing grace” (New York Classical Review), Um captivates audiences with her virtuosity, individual sound, and interpretive sensitivity. A Menuhin International Violin Competition Silver Medalist, she showcases her artistry in concertos, chamber music, and recitals. Recent highlights include solo appearances with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (Kimmel Center), a national tour with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and debut performances at premier national series including Wolf Trap, Cincinnati’s Linton Chamber Series, and Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Concerts. An avid chamber musician, she is an artist member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Her festival appearances have included those at Marlboro, Ravinia, Yellow Barn, Moab, Seattle, Caramoor, Moritzburg, and North Shore. Her teachers have included Shmuel Ashkenasi, Joseph Silverstein, Jaime Laredo, and Hagai Shaham. She plays on a 1683 “ex-Petschek” Nicolò Amati violin, on loan from a private collection.

© photo by Marco Borggreve

Paul Huang was a recipient of a 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and a 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists. Huang makes recent and forthcoming appearances with the Mariinsky Orchestra with Valery Gergiev, Detroit Symphony with Leonard Slatkin, Houston Symphony with Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Rotterdam Philharmonic with Lahav Shani, Seoul Philharmonic with Markus Stenz, and return to the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan as its artist-in-residence. A frequent guest artist at music festivals worldwide, he recently stepped in for Anne-Sophie Mutter at Bravo! Vail Music Festival playing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 with Chamber Orchestra Vienna-Berlin as well as recital debuts at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland and Aspen Music Festival, both to critical acclaim. He is an artist member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and plays on the legendary 1742 ex-Wieniawski Guarneri del Gesù on loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Amy Yang, piano. Praised by the Washington Post as a “jaw-dropping pianist who steals the show…with effortless finesse,” pianist Amy Yang has collaborated with Patricia Kopatchinskaya, Richard Goode, Ida Kavafian, Roberto Díaz; members of Guarneri String Quartet and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra; and the Dover, Jasper, and Aizuri string quartets. An advocate for new music, Ms.Yang has premiered music by Caroline Shaw, Avner Dorman, Michael Hersch, Ezra Laderman, and her father, composer Hua Yang. She has appeared in such venues as the Marlboro, Ravinia, Aldeburgh, and Ojai music festivals; Verbier Academy; Cal Performances; and Chamber Music Northwest. She has recorded four CDs for release in 2018, including a debut solo disc, a recording with violinist Tessa Lark, a recording of Ben-Haim’s music with violinist Itamar Zorman, and a recording of solo works by Ezra Laderman. Ms. Yang is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, and the Yale School of Music. She joined Curtis faculty in 2011 and currently is the program director and a member of the piano faculty of the Curtis Summerfest Young Artist Summer Program.