MICHAEL HENOCH joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1972 at the invitation of Sir Georg Solti.  He has appeared frequently as a soloist with the orchestra and has been active in several chamber ensembles, most notably The Chicago Chamber Musicians, of which he served as Artistic Director for nine seasons.  Michael has performed at the Marlboro Music Festival and Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival.  He is currently an Associate Professor of Music at Northwestern University.  Michael’s recording of Mozart’s Quartet for oboe and strings was nominated for a 2007 GRAMMY award. Michael founded Dempster St. Pro Musica in 2008 and serves as its Artistic Director.

NATHAN COLE has been a member of the first violin section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 2002.  He previously was principal 2nd violin of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.  A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and an alumnus of the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, Nathan was founding 1st violinist of the Grancino String Quartet and is on the faculty of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Since 2003 he has taught and performed at the Mimir Festival of Texas Christian University.

AKIKO TARUMOTO began her violin studies when she was five and later attended the Juilliard School Pre-College division as a student of Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki. She has been a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 2004, and was a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 2000 to 2004. Akiko received her Bachelor of Arts cum laude in English and American Literature from Harvard University in 1998 and her Master of Music from the Juilliard School in 2000, where she was a student of Glenn Dicterow.

KURT HANSEN has made solo appearances in Europe, South America, Asia, and the United States. He is a specialist in oratorio, most notably the J. S. Bach Passions, and has been a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Sir Georg Solti and Claudio Abbado. Kurt has also appeared with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and with Music of the Baroque. He has recorded on Lyra with Music of the Baroque and Colorado Mahlerfest.

DAVID SCHRADER is equally at home in front of a harpsichord, organ, piano, or fortepiano, and has performed as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Sir Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, and  Pierre Boulez.  David received a Doctor of Music degree in organ from Indiana University as well as the coveted Performer's Certificate.  He received a Bachelor of Music in piano and a Bachelor of Music in organ from the University of Colorado. David also performs with Baroque
Band (Chicago's period instrument orchestra), Music of the Baroque, the Newberry Consort, and Bach Week in Evanston.

 QING HOU, a native of China, began her violin studies with her mother at the age of nine.  Only three years later she was selected to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and in 1987, she was a prizewinner in the Chinese National Youth Violin Competition.  The following year she was awarded a full scholarship to study at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore and later earned a master of music degree at Boston’s New England Conservatory.  Hou began her professional career with the San Francisco Symphony and joined the 1st violin section of the Chicago Symphony in 1997.

JOHN SHARP was named principal cello of the Chicago Symphony in 1986 just four years after having graduated from the Juilliard School of Music.  He has also been a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and principal cellist of the Cincinnati Symphony.  Sharp has performed at the Marlboro Music Festival and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.  He is currently professor of cello at Roosevelt University and coaches the cello section of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.  Sharp plays a very rare cello made by Joseph Guarnerius made in 1694.

PETER LLOYD is Lecturer in Double bass at Northwestern University.  He was principal bass of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1986-2007 and was previously a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra.  A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Lloyd has been a visiting teacher at virtually all of the leading schools of music in America.  He has appeared with the Budapest, Guarneri, Juilliard, Emerson and Orion string quartets and has been a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

DAVID McGILL was appointed principal bassoon of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by Daniel Barenboim in 1997.  He had previously held the principal position with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony. McGill has performed at the Marlboro, Tanglewood and Aspen Music festivals  and was a winner of the 2001 GRAMMY Award for his solo part in Richard Strauss’ Duo Concertino performed with the Chicago Symphony.   He is the author of the acclaimed book,”Sound in Motion”(Indiana University Press),  and owns(and drives) a 1923 Model T Ford.

DANIEL GINGRICH joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the invitation of Sir Georg Solti in 1975.  He is now associate principal horn.  Gingrich attended Chicago Musical College and became a member of the Rochester(NY) Philharmonic at age 19.  He has also been a member of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC.  Gingrich performs frequently with the Chicago Pro Musica and Evanston’s Bach Week Festival.

OTO CARILLO is a native of Guatemala who moved to Chicago at the age of three.  In 200 he was appointed to the horn section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by Daniel Barenboim.  Carillo  attended DePaul University and holds master’s of music degrees in performance and musicology from Northwestern University.  He has participated in the Tanglewood Music Festival and has performed with the Boston Symphony, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Metropolitan Orchestra of Lisbon.

ROBERT CHEN is the Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, holding the Louis C. Sudler Chair since 1999.  He has appeared as soloist with orchestras worldwide.
As a chamber musician he has performed with Daniel Barenboim, Itzhak Perlaman, Pinchas Zuckerman, and Yo-Yo Ma.  Mr. Chen has toured extensively with Musicians from Marlboro, and is a founding member of the Johannes Quartet.  A native of Taiwan, he moved to Los Angeles when he was ten, and eventually participated in Jascha Heifitz’s master classes. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, and is a faculty member at Roosevelt University.

LAWRENCE NEUMAN became a member of the viola section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1991.  He had previously been a member of the Miami String Quartet.  A recipient of the Universal Editions Prize at the 1988 Lionel Turtis International Viola Competition, Mr. Neuman has also performed at the Marlboro Music Festival.  He has served as principal viola of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and currently performs with the Lincoln Quartet. Mr. Neuman also is a faculty member of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

YUKIKO OGURA has been a violist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 2001.  Born in Nara, Japan, she began violin studies at the age of three.  Ms Ogura earned a bachelor’s of music degree from Kyoto City University in 1995.  In 1998, she turned her attention to the viola, and soon began accepting engagements worldwide.  Ms Ogura is a founding member of the Eusia String Quartet—1st prizewinner of the Fischoff Competition.  She has appeared with the Vermeer Quartet, and regularly performs at the Winter Chamber Music Festival at Northwestern University

BRANT TAYLOR became a cellist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1998 after performing with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for one season.  A former member of the Everest Quartet, prize winners at the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and the Whitney Trio, Mr. Taylor is now cellist with the Lincoln Quartet.  With the eclectic 12-member band, Pink Martini, Mr. Taylor has performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Late Show with David Letterman. He currently is a member of the Depaul University School of Music faculty

KENNETH OLSEN has been the Assistant Principal cellist of the Chicago Symphony since 2005.  He holds the Adele Gitwitz Chair.  A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Mr. Olsen has also been a prizewinner at The Nakamichi Cello Competition (Aspen, Colorado) and the Holland-American Music Society Competition.  He has also studied at the Juilliard School and Bard College.  Additionally, he has been a participant at Ravinia’s Steans Institute and Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute.   A native of New York, Mr. Olsen is a founding member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra.

STEFAN HERSH enjoys a varied career, equally at home as a chamber musician, soloist, orchestral musician and teacher.  A founding member of the Callisto Ensemble, Stefan is currently on the faculty of the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.  In 1995 he came to Chicago from Minneapolis where he was the Principal Second Violin with the Minnesota Orchestra.  In Chicago he has also been a member of the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Chicago String Quartet and on the faculty at DePaul University.  Stefan has also performed at the Tanglewood, Aspen, Ravinia, Bard, Taos and Chamber Music West music festivals.

ROBERT WATERS has concertized throughout the U. S. and abroad as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician.  In 2003 Robert was appointed Associate Professor of Music at DePaul University, and is the newly appointed concertmaster of Music of the Baroque in Chicago.  As a member of the Jupiter Trio he was awarded First Prize in the 2002 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and was invited to return to Japan in 2004 for an 11-city tour.  The Jupiter Trio’s first CD has received critical acclaim and the Samuel Sanders Award for Collaborative Performance from the Classical Recording Foundation.

ROGER CHASE was born in London and studied at the Royal College of Music. He made his debut with the English Chamber Orchestra in 1979 and appeared as a soloist at a Promenade Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1987.  Roger has since played as a soloist and chamber musician in major cities throughout the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, the Middle East, Europe and Scandinavia.  He has been a member of the Nash Ensemble, the London Sinfonietta, the Esterhazy Baryton Trio, the Quartet of London and the London Chamber Orchestra.  Roger has also performed as principal viola with every major British orchestra and has played with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

JULIAN HERSH, cellist, is a founding member of the Callisto Ensemble and has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the U. S., Europe, and the Far East.  He is a frequent performer at various festivals, including the Olympic(Washington), Saratoga and Caramoor festivals.  Also a member of the Jupiter Trio, he can be heard on their prizewinning CD on Bridge Records in music by Beethoven and Shostakovich.  Julian appeared with Yo-Yo Mah in Marsalis on Music on CBS Sunday Morning  and has been featured on numerous broadcasts on National Public radio. He is currently on the faculty of DePaul University.  

ELIZABETH BUCCHERI is on of Chicago’s most versatile musicians.  She is a Senior Lecturer in Piano and Collaborative Arts at Northwestern University as well as an Assistant Conductor of Lyric Opera of Chicago.  She is a much sought after chamber musician and vocal coach, having worked with many of the world’s greatest singers and instrumentalists.  Ms Buccheri was the founder, and for many years, the Music Director of Chamber Music at North Park University.  Holding a Doctor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, she was also honored as the first American recipient of the Sir Georg Solti Foundation Award.

STEVEN COHEN has been heard in solo recitals throughout the U.S., Europe, and Korea and as a guest artist with the Seoul Philharmonic Clarinet Festival and the Idaho/Montana Clarinet Symposium.  He regularly performs each summer as principal clarinet at the Brevard Music Center Orchestra. Steve is the former principal clarinetist, and featured soloist of the New Orleans Symphony, and is currently an Associate Professor of music and Coordinator of the wind and percussion program at Northwestern University.

FAREED HAQUE moves easily between jazz and classical guitar and has worked with Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Holland, Sting, Cassandra Wilson, Kurt Elling, Ramsey Lewis, Nigel Kennedy, and members of the Vermeer Quartet.  He has performed all of the major guitar concertos with orchestras in the U. S. and abroad.  Fareed has led nine recordings and has appeared on WTTW, NBC, PBS.  He has won national and international awards from Downbeat Magazine and Guitar Player Magazine and is an Associate Professor of Music in jazz and classical guitar studies at Northern Illinois University.



ALISON ATTAR specializes in contemporary and historical music.  A champion of new music, Alison performs regularly with numerous new music groups, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW, Chicago Chamber Musicians, Contempo, Pinotage and Milwaukee’s Present Music.  She has also performed with Fulcrum Point, CUBE, Esemble NoAmnesia, the Colorado Chamber players, and Harvard’s Group for New Music.  Alison holds a BM,MM,and DM in harp performance and a BA in Italian culture, all from Northwestern University where she studied with Elizbeth Cifani.

CHRISTOPHER MARTIN was appointed principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2005.  Prior to that he was principal trumpet of the Atlanta Symphony orchestra and associate principal trumpet of the Philadelphia Orchestra.  A native of Marietta, Georgia, Martin comes from a distinguished musical family.  He was educated at the Eastman School of Music and has taught at Emory and Temple Universities.  Martin is currently a faculty member at Northwestern University and presents master classes throughout the United States.



CHRISTOPHER MILLARD has been principal bassoon of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 2004.  He was also first bassoonist of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and CBC Radio orchestra for 29 years.  In addition to performing throughout Canada, Millard has appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and the music festivals of Santa Fe, Marlboro, and the Grand Tetons.  He has been a long-time faculty member of the University of British Columbia, the University of Ottawa, and the Domaine Forget.  Millard is a Lecturer in bassoon at Northwestern University.

DENNIS MICHEL is second bassoonist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Chicago Chamber Musicians. He serves as head of woodwinds at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, and since 1988, he has spent his summers teaching and performing at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. Dennis previously held the position of principal bassoonist of the San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera, and he was a founding member of the Arioso Wind Quintet. He holds degrees from Eastern Washington University and Yale University.

JAMES GILES has received numerous honors and awards, including First Prizes in the New Orleans International Piano Competition and the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition Association Competition.  James has performed as a soloist with the Jupiter Symphony, London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, and Opera Orchestra of New York. He has also presented recitals at Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, Kennedy Center. 

JAMES ROSS has been a percussionist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1979. He made his solo debut with the Orchestra in 1986 in Milhaud’s Concerto for Percussion and Chamber Orchestra. A member of the Grant Park Symphony from 1973 to 1978, Jim returned to that orchestra in the summer of 1993 as a soloist in Toru Takemitsu’s From me flows what you call Time. He has performed with the Chicago Pro Musica, the Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players, and the Vermeer Quartet. In 1995, Jim performed Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion with Daniel Barenboim and András Schiff.

JOSEPH GENUALDI is one of the most gifted and versatile musicians of his generation, celebrated by the most prestigious chamber music organizations in the world, a highly sought-after teacher, and orchestral violinist of distinction, recording artist, and reJnowned soloist. At the age of 22, he became an Associate Concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony. Joe was a founding member of the Muir Quartet, under the aegis of Yale University. He is also a founding member of the Chicago Chamber Musicians serving as Artistic Director most of its 25 years.

RAMI SOLOMONOW is a graduate of the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel-Aviv, Israel where he studied with Oedoen Partos. He was a member of the Israel Chamber Orchestra until 1972 and received prizes in viola and chamber music from the American-Israel Foundation. From 1974 to 1995 he served as Principal Violist of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He has been a faculty member at DePaul University since 1981 and is a member of the Chicago Chamber Musicians. In recent years, has performed chamber works with Menachem Pressler, Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, Gil Shaham, Shlomo Mintz, Christoph Eschenbach, and Midori.

ROBERT KASSINGER was appointed to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1993. Prior to Chicago, Rob performed as assistant principal bass with the Colorado Symphony and also played with the New Orleans Symphony.  He is an active chamber musician performing with the Revolution Ensemble, the Orion Ensemble, Fulcrum Point, Ars Viva, Music of the Baroque, the Callisto Ensemble, MusicNow, and broadcasts on WFMT and WTTW. Rob has been a featured guest with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and has performed Schubert’s Trout Quintet with Daniel Barenboim.

STEPHEN BALDERSTON joined the DePaul School of Music faculty as String Coordinator and Professor of Cello after twenty successful years as an orchestra and chamber musician.  Steve was Assistant Principal Cello of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for ten years and also was previously a member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.  He earned both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, while studying with Lynn Harrell.  Known internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and musical coach, Steve regularly participates in major chamber music concerts and festivals.

THOMAS ROBERTELLO is a former member of the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the National Symphony. He has performed as guest principal flutist with the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Houston Grand Opera. Thomas has also appeared as a soloist throughout the United States, Japan, South Korea, China, and South America He is currently a faculty member at the Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University.  Thomas has frequently performed  at the Pacific Music Festival, Sarasota and Grand Teton Festivals, and at the Brevard Music Center.