Where Are They Now?
Updates on musicians from past Festivals
By:  Patricia Morgan 

Laguna Beach Chamber Music Festival 2003: 

Distinguished Mentor Musician, Pianist Claude Frank

 Calder Quartet ~ In January 2004 they were featured on the front page of the L. A. Times “Calendar” section, as a most promising chamber group who push the boundaries of classical music.  At the time, Violist Jonathan Moerschel spoke of losing his wife to cancer.  On a personal level, the exciting news is that he is engaged to marry a lovely violinist in the Fall.  Based in Los Angeles, they are the Founding Ensemble-in-Residence for the recently-formed Carlsbad Music Festival, and will perform at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa on March 14^th, 2007.

 Trio Movado ~ Angela Jia Kim has developed an impressive international career as a solo Pianist, while she continues to perform chamber music with her Trio.

 Laguna Beach Chamber Music Festival 2004:

Distinguished Mentor Musician, Pianist Bruno Canino 

Biava Quartet ~ Recognized as one of the top American quartets, they captured a top prize at the 2005 Premio Paolo Borciani (Italy), and are now teaching assistants to the Tokyo Quartet at Yale University.  They will perform a world premiere of  Stacy Garrop’s second String Quartet in Connecticut before coming back to California, where they are included in the Philharmonic Society’s Chamber Music Series.  They will perform at the Irvine Barclay Theatre on February 22, 2007.

Orion Wind Quintet ~ Though Damian Montano is no longer the bassoonist for the Orion, he is now a member of the L.A. Chamber Orchestra, and is developing a strong following as a composer.  In August he premiered his Concerto for Piccolo, Contrabassoon & Orchestra at UCLA’s Royce Hall, with Orion Flautist Jenni Olson Scott on Piccolo and himself on Bassoon.

Jenni soloed with Bear McCreary on Accordion at the Alternajazz Festival of Los Feliz this summer.  Her new CD, entitled simply “Jenni Scott” has just been released, and includes her work with Orion, with individual members of the group, and as a soloist in both classical music and jazz. 

Oboist Myka Miller has been pushing the boundaries of her instrument by playing in a rock band, a hip-hop orchestra, and is also recording a CD of her own music. 

Orion Winds has been praised in the L.A. Times for “attempting to find the common flow between jazz and classical music”.  In May, they performed a world premiere by Rachel O’Kaine.

 Audiences at the 2005 Festival were entranced with Distinguished Mentor Musician Christopher O’Riley’s interpretations of Radiohead, which have made him world famous.  Pianist O’Riley has now turned his attention to Elliott Smith tunes, producing classical-style transcriptions of his songs in a new CD, “Home to Oblivion”, which has received excellent reviews.  “From The Top”, his most popular classical music National Public Radio program which features O’Riley mentoring young musicians, in 2007 will be filmed for public television at Carnegie Hall. 

 While concertizing and playing at many festivals and competitions, Bella Hristova (Violin) & Abraham Feder (Cello) are both studying at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Philadelphia: Abraham with Peter Wiley & David Soyer, and Bella with Ida Kavafian.  Bella performs on a 1655 Amati on permanent loan to her.

 Laguna Beach Chamber Music Festival 2006:

Distinguished Mentor Musician, Basist Edgar Meyer and his Special Guest Musician at the Festival, Mandolinist Mike Marshall, were fascinating to watch, their communication so profound that there seemed to be a ritual dance taking place between them.  They continue to work their magic together, and in 2006/07 they are playing together in Korea and the West Coast of the U.S.  Mr. Meyer has just released a new CD with banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, called “Music for Two”, and was awarded the $500,000 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, money which is given over five years with “no strings attached”!

In August, Joshua Bell premiered a new piece for violin and piano that Meyer wrote for him, and in September Edgar, Bela Fleck & Zakir Hussain (percussionist specialized in tabla) premiere the new triple concerto they wrote together for the opening of the Nashville Symphony’s new hall.

 The California Quartet has been very active since playing in Laguna Beach.  In May, they spent some time perfecting their craft at the Juilliard Quartet Seminar in NY, where they also performed.  By June, they were at the Great Lakes Music Festival in Michigan collaborating with Paul Katz, and received rave reviews.  In July they were at the Utah Music Festival performing a world premiere of NY composer Gordon Beeferman.

 The Laguna Beach Festival helps establish friendships.  Katie Hyun (Violin), Soyeon Lee (Piano), Kevin Kwan-Loucks (Piano), & Mihai Marica (Cello) knew of  each other’s existence, but first met in person at the Festival.  They have become fast friends, and see each other frequently in New York. 

Katie Hyun is completing her Master’s in Music at Stony Brook University.

Soyeon Lee is presenting her debut recital in D.C. at the Kennedy Center in September, followed by her Chicago debut at the Ravinia Festival Rising Stars series.  Her Scarlatti CD is in production for world-wide release this winter on Naxos.

After graduating from Juilliard with his Master’s Degree, Kevin Kwan-Loucks worked as artist-in-residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Young Composer’s Program.  He then traveled to France, where he was on the artist faculty at ChamberArtsFest in Normandy, performing there and in Paris.  In September he will play at the French Embassy in Washington DC.  He is also preparing for auditions and interviews for his Doctorate in Musical Arts.

In October, Mihai Marica will receive a $5,000 Career Grant from the Salon de Virtuosi in New York City, which he won for his performances during their last concert season. He recently spent some time enjoying Mexico, where he took a top prize in a cello competition in Morelia, Michoacan.