Violinist Simone Porter has been recognized as an emerging artist of impassioned energy, interpretive integrity, and vibrant communication. In the past few years she has debuted with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic; and with a number of renowned conductors, including Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Stéphane Denève, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, and Donald Runnicles. Born in 1996, Simone made her professional solo debut at age 10 with the Seattle Symphony and her international debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London at age 13. In March 2015, Simone was named a recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

At the invitation of the composer, Simone has just concluded a busy season with an appearance at the New York Philharmonic’s presentation of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s “Foreign Bodies,” a multi-sensory performance experience involving live dance and a video installation. During the season she visited orchestras in Rhode Island, Albany (NY), Oregon, Texas, and Alabama with recitals in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and performances at U.S. summer festivals in Aspen and Bellingham as well as Dublin and Edinburgh’s International Festival.

This season she will join Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in subscription concerts honoring John Williams, in addition to concerts with orchestras in Oklahoma City, Boise, Orlando, Erie, Lexington, Fort Worth, Spokane, Asheville, Edmonton, Long Beach, and Costa Rica.

Simone’s emergence on the international concert circuit has occurred simultaneously with her studies at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Her Walt Disney Concert Hall debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel came in 2015 followed soon after by performances with orchestras in Detroit, Cincinnati, Houston, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Indianapolis, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Baltimore and Rochester. She also made her Ravinia Festival recital debut, her debut at the Grand Teton Music Festival, and multiple solo performances as a guest artist at the Aspen Music Festival. Having spent her formative years in Seattle, Simone made a rousing homecoming return engagement with the Seattle Symphony in 2016.

Internationally, Simone has performed with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra with Gustavo Dudamel; the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro; the Costa Rica Youth Symphony; the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong; the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Milton Keynes City Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic in the United Kingdom; and the Opera de Marseilles.

Simone is a devoted chamber musician, and has most recently performed in the Seattle Chamber Music Society series with James Ehnes in January 2018. She has appeared in multiple Colburn Chamber Music Society Series concerts with artists such as violinists Arnold Steinhardt and Scott St. John; on the South Bay Chamber Music Society series with violist Paul Coletti; and at the Miami International Piano Festival. Internationally, she has participated in the Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music Sessions and the Koblenz International Music Festival in Germany.

A 2015/16 Performance Today Young-Artist-in-Residence, Simone’s performances and interviews have been broadcast nationally on the APM syndicated network on several different occasions. She has also been featured on the renowned syndicated NPR radio program From the Top, hosted by Christopher O’Riley and featuring America’s best young classical musicians. Her performance in July 2012 marked her third appearance on the program; her first was in 2007 at the age of 11. Simone made her Carnegie Zankel Hall debut on the Emmy Award-winning TV show From the Top: Live from Carnegie Hall. In June 2016, her featured performance of music from Schindler’s List with Maestro Gustavo Dudamel and members of the American Youth Symphony was broadcast nationally on the TNT Network as part of the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award: A Tribute to John Williams.

Raised in Seattle, Washington, Simone studied with Margaret Pressley as a recipient of the Dorothy Richard Starling Scholarship, and was then admitted into the studio of the renowned pedagogue Robert Lipsett, with whom she presently studies at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Summer studies have included many years at the Aspen Music Festival, Indiana University’s Summer String Academy, and the Schlern International Music Festival in Italy.

Simone Porter plays on a 1745 J.B. Guadagnini violin on generous loan from The Mandell Collection of Southern California

Twenty-six-year-old American violinist Benjamin Beilman is recognized as one of the fastest rising stars of his generation, winning praise in both North America and Europe for his passionate performances and deep rich tone which the Washington Post called “mightily impressive,” and The New York Times described as “muscular with a glint of violence.” The Times also praised his “handsome technique, burnished sound, and quiet confidence [which] showed why he has come so far so fast.” Following his performance of the Sibelius Concerto at the Montreal Competition, the Strad described his performance of the slow movement as “pure poetry.”

In recent seasons, Mr. Beilman has appeared in subscription with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and returned to play with them at the Bravo! Vail Valley Festival, and, last Summer, at Saratoga. He also made his debut in recital at the Berlin Philharmonie, and appeared with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and with Orchestra St. Luke’s at Alice Tully Hall.  He has recently appeared both in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium with the New York Youth Symphony and Weill Hall, for his recital debut, in a program that included the premiere of a new work by David Ludwig commissioned for him by Carnegie Hall. Mr. Beilman also previously performed with the Basel Symphony, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Eugene Symphony, and Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra. Abroad, Mr. Beilman has appeared as soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich and Sir Neville Marriner, with l’Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and with the Malaysian Philharmonic and Hans Graf. He has also appeared in recital internationally at the Louvre, Tonhalle Zürich, Wigmore Hall, and Festpiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Mr. Beilman is a frequent guest artist at festivals including at Music@Menlo, Music from Angel Fire, and Chamber Music Northwest as well as at the Bridgehampton, Marlboro, Santa Fe, Seattle, and Sedona Chamber Music Festivals.  Mr. Beilman collaborates abroad at the Kronberg Academy in Frankfurt, Spectrum Concerts Berlin, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, and at the Young Concert Artists Festivals in Tokyo and Beijing.

Mr. Beilman is the recipient of the prestigious 2014 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, a 2012 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and a 2012 London Music Masters Award.  In 2010, he won First Prize in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and First Prize in the 2010 Montréal International Musical Competition. In 2009, he was a winner of Astral Artists’ National Auditions.  Beilman recorded Prokofiev’s complete sonata for violin on the Analekta label in 2011.

Mr. Beilman studied with Almita and Roland Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago, Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank at the Curtis Institute of Music, and Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy. Mr. Beilman plays an Antonio Stradivari violin kindly loaned to him through the Beares International Violin Society.

For nearly a decade, the virtuoso violinist Caroline Goulding has performed with the world’s premier orchestras, in recital, and on record and has blossomed from “precociously gifted” (Gramophone) 13-year-old soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra to “a skilled violinist well on her way to an important career” (Washington Post).

Remerging from a sabbatical from concertizing to focus her attention on meditative practices and the merging of meditation and music, Caroline will reopen the 2018 season with the release of her third album on Clives Records since her GRAMMY-nominated and chart-topping debut recording on Telarc in 2009. A prize of the Sommets Musicaux De Gstadd’s Prix ierry Scherz, this recording embodies Korngold’s luscious Violin Concerto and Mozart’s exuberant A major Concerto with the Berner Symphonieorchester led by conductor Kevin John Edesui. Last season’s release of Caroline’s album with pianist Danae Dörken on the ARS label including works by Schumann, Enescu, and Dvořák celebrated a nomination for the prestigious Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik in the Chamber Music.

Since her 2006 Cleveland Orchestra debut, Caroline has appeared as soloist with the Symphony Orchestras of Toronto, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Boise, Victoria, Denver, Milwaukee, Stamford, Pasadena, Alabama, the National Symphony, Florida Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in North America. She has also appeared extensively in Europe and Asia with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Netherlands Philharmonic, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. She has appeared in recital at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall, the Tonhalle-Zurich, the Louvre Museum, KKL-Lucerne, Beethoven-Saal Stuttgart, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. A past participant of the Marlboro Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival and Interlochen Arts Academy, Caroline enjoys connecting with others through chamber music masterpieces.

Widely recognized by the classical music world’s most distinguished artists and institutions for her “vibrant and intensely musical” playing (Cleveland Plain Dealer), Caroline was a recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2011 and in 2009, she won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and was the recipient of the Helen Armstrong Violin Fellowship. She has also garnered significant attention from music and mainstream press, appearing on NBC’s Today, MARTHA and Germany’s Stars von Morgen hosted by Rolando Villazón. Caroline has also been heard on NPR’s Performance Today, From the Top, and SiriusXM Satellite Radio.

Caroline has studied with Christian Tetzlaff, Donald Weilerstein, Paul Kantor, Joel Smirnoff and Julia Kurtyka. She plays a violin made by Brooklyn-based maker Sam Zygmuntowicz.

Born in Toronto, violinist Ellen Jung has performed as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician all over the world.  She has been featured with the Korean Philharmonic, Taejon Symphony, Republic of Tatarstan Symphony, North York Symphony, and the University of Toronto Chamber and Symphony Orchestras.

As a member of the award-winning Jung Trio with her two sisters, Jennie and Julie, she has performed globally, won top prizes in numerous chamber music competitions including Fischoff and Yellow Springs, and released the trio’s first album with Groove Note Records in 2009. The Jung Trio has been selected to be featured as Debut Artists at the !0^th Annual iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates, Trio-In-Residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Orford, Mozarteum and Norfolk Music Festivals.

Ms. Jung completed her Bachelor of Music in Performance at the University of Toronto, and earned a Master of Music and Artist Diploma from Yale University School of Music.

Currently, she resides in Los Angeles, and has been a member of the Long Beach Symphony since 2006.

Award-winning violinist Carrie Kennedy has been the featured soloist with orchestras throughout the United States including the San Antonio, Richardson, University of Southern California, Torrance, Suburban, Brevard Festival, Clear Lake, Westchester, Solano and Magic Valley symphonies, and has performed concerts around the world.

She joined the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in January 2012. Currently, she is also a member of the New West, Long Beach and Pasadena Symphonies, and the Fiato Quartet. She also performs with Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, Pacific Symphony and the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra. She has toured with the Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra in South America, the Percy Faith Orchestra in Japan, the Fiato Quartet in Costa Rica and with Andrea Bocelli. She has also recorded music for many commercials, motion pictures and records.

Kennedy is an alumnus of intensive chamber music programs at Tanglewood and Amelia Island where her quartet was coached by the American, Guarneri, Emerson, and Takacs quartets. While at Tanglewood, she served as concertmaster under Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos and was broadcast live on New York’s WQXR in Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. She has also spent summers at the International Holland Music Sessions where she studied with Hermann Krebbers, the Santander Master Courses in Spain with Zakhar Bron, and the London Master Classes where she studied with György Pauk and was chosen to have her lesson filmed by Online Classics for a television documentary on the master classes.

She holds a Master of Music degree from The State University of New York at Stony Brook, where she studied with Pamela Frank and Ani Kavafian, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California with Robert Lipsett.

Carrie resides in Pasadena with her husband and fellow LACO violinist Joel Pargman.

A Southern California native, violinist Roger Wilkie has been the beloved concertmaster of the Long Beach Symphony for over 27 years. He has appeared as a soloist throughout his career with the Symphony, performing the concertos of Brahms, Mendelssohn, Bruch, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, and more recently Sibelius to critical acclaim. Mr. Wilkie’s professional career began at age 21 when he joined the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, eventually being appointed Principal Second Violin, a position he held until 1989. He has since returned to the ensemble as Guest Concertmaster. He has also served as Guest Concertmaster with the LA Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the Real Filharmonia De Galicia, Spain under Music Director, Helmut Rilling.

Mr. Wilkie’s career extends to the Hollywood Studios, where he has participated in the soundtracks of over 1000 films as well as television recordings. Mr. Wilkie has received the honor of serving as concertmaster for John Williams’ scores for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Indiana Jones IV, Munich, and Memoirs of a Geisha. You may hear his recent solo work on the score of the movie A Single Man and in The Adventures of Tintin score by John Williams. Wilkie has also performed on scores for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Deadpool, Avatar, Gone Girl, The Town, and many more.

Mr. Wilkie is an accomplished and sought-after chamber musician and is the founding member of the Angeles String Quartet, performing and touring with them from 1988–1993. He was the solo violinist with Santa Barbara-based Camerata Pacifica, on whose series he played hundreds of concerts as recitalist and chamber musician over a ten year period. He has appeared at many chamber music festivals including La Jolla Summerfest, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Festival. Presently, Mr. Wilkie is a member of the Pacific Trio. The Trio has made several tours of Europe and participated in the Silver Lire International Festival of Chamber Music in St. Petersburg.

Violinist Agnes Gottschewski grew up in a family of musical amateurs where playing chamber music for fun was a frequent event. Even now, as a professional violinist she enjoys reading chamber music with friends. She has coached at Chamber Music Workshops in Santa Ana and Santa Barbara.

She has been a frequent guest artist with Camerata Pacifica for many years, and a regular chamber music artist at the Sitka Summer Music Festival in Sitka, Alaska since 1997. Other recent chamber music performances have been with the High Desert Chamber Music Festival in Bend, Oregon; the Sitka Music Festival’s Autumn Series in Anchorage, Alaska; and El Paso Pro Musica, El Paso, Texas, as well as performances at the Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival in Washington State.

For several years she was a member of Southwest Chamber Music, playing many premieres of contemporary chamber music and recording several CDs, including their Grammy ­winning Complete Chamber Works of Carlos Cha´vez. She has also been an artist faculty member at the chamber music festival, Aberystwyth MusicFest (Wales/England).

Agnes presently holds the position of assistant concertmaster of the Long Beach Symphony and has been a member of Pacific Symphony’s first violin section since 1996. She teaches at Long Beach City College and is an active studio musician.

Agnes is originally from West Berlin, Germany, where she started playing the violin at age 6. After receiving an undergraduate degree from Berlin’s Hochschule der Künste, she moved to Southern California for graduate studies at the University of California, San Diego where she concentrated on contemporary music; and at the University of California, Santa Barbara where she was a member of the graduate string quartet in residence.

When not busy rehearsing, recording or performing music, Agnes spends time at a pottery studio making mostly functional ceramics, making jewelry, going walking or hiking with her husband and her dog, or spending an occasional evening at home.

Chyi-Yau Chen Lee was born in Taiwan and began her study of violin at age five with her father. After winning numerous violin competitions in Taiwan, she came to Los Angeles to study with Professor Alice Schoenfeld in 1980. She furthered her education in New York where she received a prestigious scholarship to study with Margaret Pardee, Earl Carlyss, Felix Galimir, and received her Bachelor and Master degree from The Juilliard School. She has been a member of Long Beach Symphony since 1993.