Mozart Clarinet Quintet and Schubert Octet: Alexander Fiterstein and Mark Peskanov with Semplice Players

• with Semplice Players:

Mark Peskanov, violin– American virtuoso violinist and artistic visionary Mark Peskanov was born in Odessa. Peskanov sang before he could walk or talk, and soon became a star violin student at the famed Stolyarsky school. His phenomenal facility and musicianship won him both the Aspen and Juilliard concerto competitions, bringing him to the notice of Isaac Stern and Mstislav Rostropovich and rocketing him into the top echelons of the music world. Peskanov’s major accolades include the Avery Fischer Career Grant, the first Frederick R.Mann Award, and Carnegie Hall’s first Isaac Stern Award. Since 2005, he is president and artistic/executive director of Bargemusic. Peskanov has curated over 3,000 chamber concerts at Bargemusic, encompassing a vast range of genres and styles, presenting over 200 concerts annually to New York audiences. Under his leadership Bargemusic continues to evolve as an innovative, influential, and integral component of New York City’s cultural world.

Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet– Clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein is considered one of today’s most exceptional artists. Fiterstein has performed in recital, with distinguished orchestras, and with chamber music ensembles throughout the world. He won first prize at the Carl Nielsen International Clarinet Competition and received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant Award. The Washington Post has described his playing as “dazzling in its spectrum of colors, agility, and range. Every sound he makes is finely measured without inhibiting expressiveness” and The New York Times described him as “a clarinetist with a warm tone and powerful technique.” As soloist he has appeared with the Czech, Israel, Vienna, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestras, Belgrade Philharmonic, Danish National Radio Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic, China National Symphony Orchestra, KBS Orchestra of South Korea, Jerusalem Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Lincoln Center, Kansas City Symphony, and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela.

SEMPLICE PLAYERS In music, the Italian marking “Semplice” means the performance should sound fresh, simple, and satisfying. Semplice Players has taken that approach in close to one hundred concerts in beautiful New York City venues since its founding in 2016. The concerts have attracted listings and critical attention from the New York Times (most recently in the NYT’s “Fall Preview” of must-see music performances for the 2020-21 season in New York and the US), the New Yorker, and the New York Classical Review. Whether playing the great masterworks or a piece written yesterday, expert musicians and emerging artists join together in bringing the always living, evolving tradition of music-making to audiences of every age and walk of life, wherever chamber music can be enjoyed.

Zoë Martin-Doike, violin- is a versatile artist who engages in a wide variety of musical activities. A top prize winner at the Primrose International Viola Competition and the Lennox International Young Artist Competition on viola and violin, respectively, Zoë has appeared as a soloist with the Honolulu, Indianapolis, Richardson and Bloomington Symphony Orchestras, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and the World Youth Orchestra in Rome, Italy. Most recently, she won the 2019 Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra Competition, earning a solo appearance with the group next fall. Zoë has also been featured on the National Public Radio programs “From the Top” and “A Prairie Home Companion,” and has had the distinct pleasure of performing for his holiness, the Dalai Lama. A passionate chamber musician, Zoë was a founding violinist of the Aizuri Quartet which garnered top prizes at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition and held residencies at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, as well as the Ernst Stiefel String Quartet Residency at Caramoor while she was a member. Zoë is a tenured member in the viola section of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

Beatrice Chen, viola-  is an award-winning violist who hails from Chicago. Appointed by Riccardo Muti, she served as a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s viola section during the 2022–23 season. Chen has been awarded first prize in competitions including the Johansen International Competition for Young String Players and Albert M. Greenfield Competition. In 2019, she was named a finalist and Silver Medalist in Classical Music from the National YoungArts Foundation. Chen is a member of the Grant Park Orchestra.

Noah Chen, cello- is currently studying with Joel Krosnick and Clara Kim at the Juilliard School. He recently performed the Schoenberg-Monn Cello Concerto in D Major with Juilliard’s AXIOM Ensemble. As a member of the Chen Quartet, he performed over 200 virtual concerts during the COVID-19 pandemic. In his spare time, he can be found cooking, watching the latest sumo tournaments, and hiking. He has been featured on NPR’s From the Top, the IMF’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, and WFMT’s Introductions. He plays on a Romeo Antoniazzi cello from 1906.

Nathaniel Chase, double bass- performs a wide range of music, from period performance with the Sebastians and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, to new music with Ensemble LPR and Ensemble Échappé, to orchestral repertoire with the Experiential Orchestra and Riverside and Allentown Symphonies. He performed on Broadway in the critically acclaimed production of Farinelli and the King with countertenor Iestyn Davies.

Sarah Boxmeyer, french horn- is a freelance French horn player and educator based in New York City. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and Yale School of Music, she has had success in the orchestral world as well as on Broadway. After auditioning for and winning a job with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Sarah was offered a job in the orchestra of King Kong on Broadway. Most recently, Sarah was the horn player at Sweeney Todd and is currently in the orchestra at Pirates! The Penzance Musical.

Cynde Iverson, bassoon-  is recognized as one of the finest bassoonists today. She is Principal bassoonist with the Stamford Symphony and a member of the American Ballet Theater Orchestra. She performs with many of New York’s prestigious ensembles including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the American Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Iverson has toured the US, Europe, Japan and been a soloist in Asia with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.