Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival Musician Bios (for the 2010 Season, six veteran musicians confirmed their participation.)

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Artistic Director, Edward Arron, Cellist

Cellist Edward Arron is rapidly gaining recognition worldwide for his elegant musicianship, impassioned performances, and creative programming. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Arron made his New York recital debut in 2000 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Earlier that year, he performed Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Cellos with Yo-Yo Ma and the Orchestra of St. Luke's at the Opening Night Gala of the Caramoor International Festival. Since that time, Mr. Arron has appeared in recital, as a soloist with orchestra, and as a chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

The 2010-2011 season marks Mr. Arron's eighth season as the artistic coordinator of the Metropolitan Museum Artists in Concert, a chamber music series created in 2003 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Museum's prestigious Concerts and Lectures series. In the fall of 2009, Mr. Arron succeeded Charles Wadsworth as the artistic director, host, and resident performer of the Musical Masterworks concert series in Old Lyme, Connecticut, as well as concert series in Beaufort and Columbia, South Carolina. He is also the artistic director of the Caramoor Virtuosi and of the Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival in Summit County, Colorado.

Mr. Arron has performed numerous times at Carnegie's Weill and Zankel Halls, Lincoln Center's Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Halls, New York's Town Hall, and the 92nd Street Y, and is a frequent performer at Bargemusic. Past summer festival appearances include Ravinia, Salzburg, Mostly Mozart, BRAVO! Colorado, Tanglewood, Bridgehampton, Spoleto USA, Santa Fe, Seattle Chamber Music, the Chamber Music Conference of the East, and Isaac Stern's Jerusalem Chamber Music Encounters. Mr. Arron has participated in the Silk Road Project and has toured and recorded as a member of MOSAIC, an ensemble dedicated to contemporary music.

Edward Arron began his studies on the cello at age seven in Cincinnati and, at age ten, moved to New York, where he continued his studies with Peter Wiley. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he was a student of Harvey Shapiro. Currently, Mr. Arron serves on the faculty of New York University.

This fall marks Edward's twelth appearance at Alpenglow.

Rieko Aizawa, Pianist

Japanese pianist Rieko Aizawa is known for that rare combination of technical mastery and musical sensitivity, which has repeatedly earned the admiration of musicians and critics alike.

In 1988, Ms. Aizawa was brought to the attention of Alexander Schneider by the recommendation of pianist Mitsuko Uchida. Schneider engaged her as soloist with his Brandenburg Ensemble at the opening concerts of Tokyo's Casals Hall; later that year, Schneider presented 14-year-old Ms. Aizawa in her U.S. debut concerts at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall, performing Mozart's Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414, with his New York String Orchestra. To complete her triumphant season of U.S. debuts, during January of 1989 Ms. Aizawa stepped in as soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, guestconducted by Schneider.

Since then Ms. Aizawa has performed in solo and orchestral engagements throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, including Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, Boston's Symphony Hall and Chicago's Orchestra Hall. Highlights of recent seasons have included acclaimed performances with the New Japan Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa, the English Chamber Orchestra under Heinz Holliger, the Festival Strings Lucerne in Switzerland under Rudolf Baumgartner, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra under Hugh Wolff, the Curtis Institute Orchestra with Peter Oundjian, the St. Louis Symphony under David Loebel and, most recently, a wonderfully received performance with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Aizawa also has a great interest in exploring unusual repertoire. In October 2007, the St. Paul Pioneer Press described her performance with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra conducted by Hans Graf "the Salieri Piano Concerto in C was played so splendidly by Rieko Aizawa. Hers was a graceful reading. .... Aizawa's performance lent the work a respect it rarely receives." In the same year, she received the Washington Award.

As a recitalist, Ms. Aizawa has been heard in many North American cities, including New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, St. Louis, Seattle, Boulder, Los Angeles, Houston, and Toronto; at the Caramoor International Festival; at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival; Ravinia Festival, Gilmore Keyboard Festival. Following a recent all-Beethoven recital in Dresden, Germany, a reviewer wrote: "Her listeners followed her playing -full of details and delicate contrasts- breathlessly." Ms. Aizawa recently has started her "Prism" series in Japan, with tributes to Beethoven, Brahms and Schumann, and specially commissioned works for each program. She also will continue her exploration of Beethoven's music with a Beethoven cycle at Rutgers University in New Jersey. In 2006, Ms. Aizawa performed a series of all-Mozart recitals, a project jointly presented by WFMT-Chicago and Fazioli.

An avid chamber musician, Ms. Aizawa has performed as a guest with string quartets including the Guarneri Quartet, the Orion Quartet and the Shanghai Quartet, and she has participated in numerous festivals, such as the Marlboro Music Festival, U.S.A.; the Kammermusik Festival Moritzburg, Germany; and the Evian Festival, France. She has been a guest artist of Boston's, Philadelphia's and Seattle's Chamber Music Society. Ms. Aizawa is a founding member of Duo Prism with a violinist Jesse Mills, which earned the 1st Prize at the Zinetti International Competition in Italy in 2006.

Ms. Aizawa received her Masters Degree from the Juilliard School, where she worked with Peter Serkin. She is also a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she was awarded the prestigious Rachmaninoff Prize and studied with Seymour Lipkin, Peter Serkin, and Mieczyslaw Horszowski as his last pupil. March 2005 marked the release of Ms. Aizawa's first solo recording on the Japanese label Altus Music - a tour-de-force CD of Shostakovich's and Scriabin's "24 Preludes." She will be recording Faure's and Messiaen's preludes in 2009.

Ms. Aizawa is a Steinway Artist.

This fall marks Rieko's thirteenth appearance at Alpenglow.


Jesse Mills, Violinist

Grammy-nominated violinist Jesse Mills enjoys performing music of many genres, from classical to contemporary, as well as composed and improvised music of his own invention.

In 2004, Mills made his professional concerto debut with the Ravinia Festival Orchestra conducted by Nicholas McGegan in a unique partnership with Salsa trombonist, Jimmy Bosch. This project combined a classical performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, with Mills as violin soloist, and a Salsa band arrangement of the same piece, fronted by Bosch and Mills as improvising soloists. A successful performance at Ravinia led to bookings with the Phoenix Symphony, the Colorado Symphony and the Green Bay Symphony. In past years Mills has performed as soloist with orchestras including the Juilliard Chamber Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, the Denver Philharmonic, the Teatro Argentino Orchestra in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the Aspen Music Festival's Sinfonia Orchestra as winner of the Festival' 's E. Nakamichi Violin Concerto Competition.

As a chamber musician Jesse Mills has performed throughout the U.S. and Canada, including concerts at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y, the Metropolitan Museum, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Boston's Gardener Museum, Chicago's Ravinia Festival, and the Marlboro Music Festival. He has also appeared at prestigious venues in Europe, such as the Barbican Centre of London, La Cité de la Musique in Paris, Amsterdam's Royal Carré Theatre, Teatro Arcimboldi in Milan, and the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels. Mills is co-founder of Duo Prism, a violin-piano duo with Rieko Aizawa, which earned 1st Prize at the Zinetti International Competition in Italy in 2006.

Mills is also known as a pioneer of contemporary works, a renowned improvisational artist, as well as a composer. He earned a Grammy nomination for his work on a CD of Arnold Schoenberg's music, released by NAXOS in 2005. He can also be heard on the Koch, Centaur, Tzadik, Max Jazz and Verve labels for various compositions of Webern, Schoenberg, Zorn, Wuorinen, and others. Soon to be released on the NAXOS label are recordings of Schoenberg's String Quartets #3 and #4, as well as the Ode to Napoleon. As a member of the FLUX Quartet from 2001-2003, Mills performed music composed during the last 50 years (including the famous six-hour-long String Quartet No. 2 by Morton Feldman), in addition to frequent world premieres. As a composer and arranger, Mills has been commissioned by venues including Columbia University's Miller Theater and the Chamber Music Northwest festival in Portland, OR.

Jesse Mills began violin studies at the age of three. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School in 2001. He studied with Dorothy DeLay, Robert Mann and Itzhak Perlman. Mr. Mills lives in New York City, and he is on the faculty at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

This fall markes Jesse's sixth appearance at Alpenglow.

Danielle Farina, Violist

Violist Danielle Farina enjoys a varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician, teacher, and recording artist in both the classical and pop genres. As a soloist, Ms. Farina recently recorded Jon Bauman's Viola Concerto with the Moravian Philharmonic, Andy Teirstein's Viola Concerto with the Kiev Philharmonic and premiered Peter Schickele's Viola Concerto with the Pasadena Symphony.

She was a member of the Lark Quartet, touring extensively in North America, Europe, and Scandinavia performing at some of the most prestigious venues and festivals including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, Schleswig Holstein Festival, and the International Istanbul Music Festival. While with the Lark, Ms. Farina recorded Aaron Kernis' string quartets, music of Amy Beach, and music of Giovanni Sollima. As a member of the Elements Quartet, she has participated in the Tibor Varga Festival in Budapest, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, been in residence at Utah Valley State College, and premiered "Snaphots", a project commissioning dozens of composers from Regina Carter to Angelo Badalamenti, to John Corigliano and many more.

She performs with a number of ensembles in the New York area, among them, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Lukes, Concertante, American Modern Ensemble (AME) and Music From Copland House with whom she recorded music of John Musto. As an orchestral musician, Ms. Farina has served as principal violist of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, guest principal violist of the American Symphony Orchestra, and is currently associate principal violist of The Eastern Festival Orchestra and a member of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra at Lincoln Center in New York.

An active teacher, she is now on the faculty of the Juilliard School's Pre-College Division and The Eastern Music Festival. In addition to recording classical music, Ms. Farina also records for feature film soundtracks and well as pop albums. A graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, Ms. Farina has studied with Karen Tuttle, Joseph dePasqaule, Stephen Wyrczynski, and Byrnina Socolofsky.

This fall marks Danielle's fourth appearance at Alpenglow.

Aaron Janse, Violinist and Violist

Aaron Janse has performed across the globe as both a violinist and violist. Washington Post critic Daniel Gawthrop wrote of him, "Rarely have I heard Ravel's Tzigane played with such intensity and authority." After a performance of Paganini's First Violin Concerto, the El Paso Times called him "a tour-de-force at any age". He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at important venues such as Lincoln Center's Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Halls, Kennedy Center's Concert Hall, and Carnegie Weill Recital Hall. As a violist, Mr. Janse has performed, toured and recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Bernard Haitink, Daniel Barenboim, and Simon Rattle. He has also performed often as a violist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival and at Symphony Hall. Additionally, Mr. Janse has collaborated in chamber music performances with such esteemed artists as Gil Shaham, Alicia DeLarrocha, Joseph Silverstein, Charles Castleman, and Stephen Hough at the Aspen Music Festival, the Linton Series in Cincinnati, Sommerfest in Minneapolis, and the Las Vegas Music Festival. As a violinist with the Minnesota Orchestra, Mr. Janse has performed throughout the most important concert halls throughout the United States, Europe and Japan. As a recipient of the Fritz Kreisler Scholarship, Mr. Janse received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the Juilliard School where he studied with Dorothy DeLay, Joel Smirnoff, and Piotr Milewsky. Prior to his studies at Juilliard, he worked primarily with Daniel Heifetz. His chamber music studies included extensive work with Felix Galimir, Joseph Fuchs, and Zoltan Szekely as well as the members of the Guarneri and Juilliard String Quartets. While at Juilliard, Mr. Janse served as a teaching fellow for Dorothy DeLay as well as Concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra.

This fall marks Aaron's sixth appearance at Alpenglow.

Kyung Sun Lee, Violinist

Violinist Kyung Sun Lee captured sixth prize in the 1994 Tchaikowsky Competition, a bronze medal in the 1993 Queen Elizabeth Competition, first prizes of the Washington and D'Angelo International Competitions, and third prize in the Montreal International Competition, where she also won the Audience Favorite and the Best Performance of the Commissioned Work prizes. Subsequent to winning these awards she has enjoyed ever-increasing popularity as a performer.

For years a highly sought after teacher in the United States including Oberlin Conservatory and University of Houston, she became Associate Professor at Seoul National University since March 2009. She has taught two summers at the Aspen Music Festival, and has also been involved with the Texas Music Festival and Green Mountain Chamber Music Festivals, the Euroart Chamber Music Festival in Leipzig, as well as numerous festivals in Korea. Lee is a former member of the acclaimed KumHo/Asiana String Quartet of Korea, with whom she performed worldwide. In addition to her busy international performing career, in recent years she has been in some demand as a judge of violin competitions.

Lee has recorded two CDs with pianist/husband Brian Suits, "Salut d'Amour" with pianist HaeSun Paik on EMI, several recordings with KumHo/Asiana String Quartet, and "Spanish Heart" with German pianist Peter Schindler and guitarist Sung-Ho Chang on Good International. Her latest album, with cellist Tilmann Wick, was released in January of 2004 on Audite Records. Kyung Sun Lee studied at Seoul National University, Peabody Conservatory and The Juilliard School. Her teachers have included Nam Yun Kim, Sylvia Rosenberg, Robert Mann, Dorothy Delay and Hyo Kang.

This fall marks Kyung Sun's third appearance at Alpenglow.