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.

Randall Gremillion is a former Metropolitan Opera Regional Finalist and winner of the Jan de Gaetani Prize at the the Naumburg Competition in New York. He was an Apprentice Artist at Indianapolis Opera and then spent five years in the cast of Phantom of the Opera in San Francisco before turning to Engineering and helping to raise his four amazing children with his wife Kathleen.

Kathleen and Randall, both members of Pacific Chorale, currently give recitals and are section leaders at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Newport Beach.

Praised by the Orange County Register as being “resonant and warm” and by the classical music site Bachtrack as “a ringing stentorian tenor”, Hawaii native Nicholas Preston, is in demand as a soloist in Southern California and beyond, having performed throughout California, and touring as a soloist in France, Italy, and Spain. He has been a member of Pacific Chorale since 2002, and has frequently appeared as a soloist with the chorale as well as with Pacific Symphony. Nicholas currently resides in Brea, with his wife Dr. Kathleen Preston and their daughter Zelda.

I-Chin “Betty” Feinblatt, Mezzo-Soprano, is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton in Vocal Performance and Music Education. She currently sings professionally with Pacific Chorale, the John Alexander Singers and First Presbyterian Church in Old Town Orange. Ms. Feinblatt has performed as a chorister and soloist with Pacific Chorale on numerous occasions, most recently as the mezzo soloist in Duruflé’s Requiem in March 2009 and an alto soloist in Bach’s St. John’s Passion in April 2009. Among her Southland solo performances was her performance as alto soloist of “Messiah” with The National Children’s Choir formally known as The Paulist Chorister at The Broad Stage of Santa Monica in June 2009, and The Camerata Singers of Long Beach in Dec. 2009.

Ms. Feinblatt also was one of the guest artists of “Organica” a concert at UCLA’s Royce Hall with organist Christoph Bull in April 2009. Ms. Feinblatt is a frequent guest of “Organica”. In June 2008, her performance in “Organica” was reviewed by Charles Lonberger in The Beverly Hills Outlook: “Best of all the guest artists… who vocally caressed art songs by Fauré and Gounod with a low, velvety dark yet strong and sturdy instrument… She was a wonder and a revelation this night.”

Ms. Feinblatt was a featured soloist in the world premiere of The Passion of Ramakrishna by Phillip Glass at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in September 2006. She was also the mezzo soloist in Bach’s Mass in B Minor at the Orange County Performing Arts Center with the John Alexander Singers in October 2004. Ms. Feinblatt has been a vocal music teacher at Fountain Valley High School since spring 2007. She currently studies with voice teacher Monika Bruckner in Sherman Oaks and has coached with Dr. Kathleen Roland-Silverstein in Studio City.

Countless theater, television, film and comedic endeavors have pushed David Alan Grier’s career to remarkable heights and his ability to excel across all mediums and contexts is a testament to his inherent sense of comic timing and creative drive. The three-time Tony and GRAMMY Award nominee was trained in Shakespeare at Yale where he received an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. Grier has enjoyed many accolades and awards throughout his career, not the least of which was his inclusion on Comedy Central’s list of the “100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.”

On the big screen, David Alan Grier was recently seen starring in PEEPLES, produced by Tyler Perry, opposite Kerry Washington and Craig Robinson. Grier made his film debut in STREAMERS (1983), directed by Robert Altman for which he won the Golden Lion for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. He also appeared in the Wayans Brothers’ spoof movie DANCE FLICK (2009).

Grier’s television work is highlighted by a turn as principal cast member on the Emmy Award winning In Living Color (1990–1994) where he helped to create some of the show’s most memorable characters, DAG (2000–2001) and Life with Bonnie (2003) which earned an Image and Golden Satellite nomination. David created, wrote and executive produced a show for Comedy Central called Chocolate News (2008). Last fall, David starred in THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM, a Hallmark Channel adaptation of Paul Curtis’ 1996 Newbery Award-winning novel by the same name. Grier recently wrapped shooting a starring role as ‘Principal Carl Gaines’ in a new series for CBS, Bad Teacher.

Grier began his professional career on Broadway as Jackie Robinson in The First, for which he earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and won the Theatre World Award (1981). He then joined the cast of Dreamgirls before going on to star opposite Denzel Washington in A Soldier’s Play, for which both actors reprised their roles in the film adaptation, A SOLDIER’S STORY (1984).

In 2009/2010 Grier starred in David Mamet’s acclaimed play RACE opposite James Spader and Kerry Washington at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway for which he received his second Tony Award nomination. Grier received the third Tony Award nomination of his career in 2012 for his performance in the “stand-out role of the rakish, drug-dealing Sporting Life” (NY Times) in The Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess. Grier received his first GRAMMY nomination when the cast recording of The Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess received a 2013 GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Musical Theater Album.

Maestro Paul Polivnick is a prominent figure on the world stage, conducting fine orchestras across the United States, Europe and Asia.

In recent seasons he has focused on guest conducting, continuing long associations with the National Orchestra of Lille, France and Symphony Silicon Valley in San Jose, California for performances and recordings. Other notable recent engagements have included a production of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, return engagements with the orchestras in Barcelona, Spain, Bucheon and Gwangju, Korea and Portland, Maine and debuts with the UNAM Orchestra in Mexico City and the new orchestra in Boca del Rio. On the educational front, Paul conducted a filmed concert with the Carnegie Mellon University Philharmonic.

Currently the Music Director and Conductor Laureate of the New Hampshire Music Festival, Paul was also its Music Director from 1993-2009 enjoying both critical and popular success. Due to his energetic and inspired leadership, the Festival season expanded, the orchestra roster grew, the first commercial recording, “Summer Lightning” was met with enthusiasm and high praise, and ticket sales went over the 100% mark. Musicians came from near and far to live closely together for six weeks each summer creating musical magic, renewing friendships and recharging their energies.

From 1997-2002 Polivnick served as Music Director of the Oberlin Conservatory Orchestras while maintaining an active schedule of national and international guest conducting engagements.

Prior to that he served as Music Director of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra for eight years, during which time the season grew from 40 to 46 weeks. His talent, charisma and energy were very much in evidence at the ASO’s debut at the Kennedy Center in 1988, which resulted in an impressive review in the Washington Post praising… “a fine collection of musicians who gave a bright, precise, energetic and highly enjoyable performance. After three seasons under conductor Polivnick, the ASO seems to be leaving its regional status to claim national attention.” This national attention was further enhanced by the production of a series of critically acclaimed commercial recordings.

From 1988-1993 Polivnick was the Principal Conductor of Harmonia Classica of Vienna, Austria, a composers’ society devoted to “beautiful new music.” This post enabled him to conduct concerts and recordings in all of the principal Viennese halls. The tonal qualities of these great musical spaces have become an inseparable part of Maestro Polivnick’s “sound.”

In the spring of 1987, Mr. Polivnick was nominated for the Seaver Award, an award given annually to the most outstanding young conductor in the USA. In August of the same year, he made his European debut in Portugal with the Gulbenkian Orchestra. Since that time, he has been seen on many podiums abroad including those of the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Austrian Radio Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, National Orchestra of Lille, France, Orchestral Ensemble of Paris, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Russian Philharmonic of Moscow, Kiev Camerata, Brno Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra London, Ontario, UNAM Symphony Orchestra of Mexico City, Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and all of the leading orchestras in Korea: the KBS Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Korea Symphony, and the Philharmonic Orchestras of Busan, Bucheon, Daejon, Taegu and Gwangju.

Polivnick has also guest conducted over 40 orchestras and opera companies in the USA including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Silicon Valley in San Jose, California, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, San Diego Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, Central City Opera, Santa Barbara Grand Opera and Charleston Opera.

Maestro Polivnick conducted the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 1981-85, first as Associate Conductor and then as Associate Principal Conductor. During those four years, Paul conducted an amazing 360 concerts with a vast amount of repertoire while serving in the demanding role of spokesman to the community-at-large for the orchestra. One of the highlights of his time in Milwaukee was a performance of Messiaen’s monumental “Turangalila Symphony” that was broadcast on 300 classical radio stations nationwide through the WFMT network. This performance prompted the composer to write a personal letter to maestro Polivnick praising the performance as “truly remarkable” and his direction as “magnificent!”

Prior to the MSO, he held a similar title and post with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for three years. While in Indianapolis he was popularly received by its critics, audiences and musicians. He conducted subscription and Bach series concerts, regional touring engagements, Youth Concerts, the “Sunday Night Pops” series, outdoor concerts and special events. He was also the very popular host of the TV show, “Symphony Backstage”.

Maestro Eckart Preu (Eck-art Proy) begins his tenure with Long Beach Symphony as its 8th Music Director. He also serves as Music Director of the Spokane Symphony (WA) and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. Previously, he held the positions of Music Director of Stamford Symphony (2005–2017), Associate Conductor of the Richmond Symphony (2001–2004), Resident Conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra (1997–2004) and of the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra (1999–2004). Other former posts include Music Director of the Norwalk (CT) Youth Symphony and Principal Conductor of the New Amsterdam Symphony (NY). He was associated with the Bard Music Festival from 1997 to 2004 as both Assistant and Guest Conductor. In Europe, Maestro Preu served as Music Director of the Orchestre International de Paris (1993–1995).

As a guest conductor, he has appeared with the Jerusalem Symphony (Israel), Symphony Orchestra of Chile, Auckland Philharmonia (New Zealand), Radio Philharmonic of Slovenia, Pecs Philharmonic (Hungary), Varna Philharmonic (Bulgaria), and in Germany with the Jenaer Philharmoniker. Recent and upcoming guest conducting engagements include concerts with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Delaware Symphony, the Duluth Superior Symphony, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony, and the Portland Symphony (Maine). Recent international appearances include performances with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile, the Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand, and the Philharmonie Baden-Baden in Germany.

Career highlights include performances at Carnegie Hall, the Sorbonne in Paris, a live broadcast with the Jerusalem Symphony, and his first commercial recording of the world premiere of Letters from Lincoln – a work commissioned by the Spokane Symphony from Michael Daugherty featuring baritone soloist Thomas Hampson. 2012 also saw a live CD recording featuring Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with Sergey Malov and the New Zealand Philharmonia. His concerts have been aired from coast to coast and on Jerusalem Radio.

An innovative and passionate force both on and off the conductor’s podium, Mei-Ann Chen is one of America’s most dynamic young conductors. Music Director of the Memphis Symphony since 2010 and of the Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, she has infused both orchestras with energy, enthusiasm and high-level music-making, galvanizing their audiences and communities alike. A sought-after guest conductor, Ms. Chen’s reputation as a compelling communicator has resulted in growing popularity with orchestras both nationally and internationally.

Following debut performances with Sweden’s Gothenburg Symphony, Canada’s Calgary Philharmonic, and Brazil’s Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra, closing the season for the Wintergreen Festival in Virginia and the Texas Music Festival in Houston, and concerts with Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago, Maestra Chen’s 2014-15 season includes concerts throughout the United States and in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and Taiwan. Performances of note include Maestra Chen leading Germany’s Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe and Taiwan’s National Symphony Orchestra in November 2014, and San Francisco Symphony’s renowned Chinese New Year celebration and the Netherlands Philharmonic at the Concertgebouw in February 2015.

Recent performance highlights include an impressive debut with the Indianapolis Symphony as a last-minute step-in engagement, debuts with the Chicago Symphony on its subscription series, the San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony (where she stepped in on short notice and was immediately re-engaged), and San Diego Symphony nationally, and engagements abroad with Austria’s Gross Orchester Graz, Brazil’s São Paulo Symphony, Finland’s Tampere Philharmonic, the Netherlands Philharmonic, NorrlandsOperan (Norrland’s Opera), the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, and Sweden’s Göteborgs Symfoniker. Among her many North American guesting credits are appearances with the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Colorado, Columbus, Florida, Fort Worth, Grand Rapids, Nashville, North Carolina, Oregon, Pacific, Phoenix, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and the National Symphony in Washington, D.C. Overseas guesting credits include the principal Danish orchestras, the BBC Scottish Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, Orquestra Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and the Trondheim Symphony. U.S. summer music festivals credits include the Aspen Music Festival, Britt, Grand Teton, Wintergreen, and the Chautauqua Institute.

In addition to the 2012 Helen M. Thompson Award from the League of American Orchestras, Mei-Ann Chen’s skill on the podium, and as a music educator, has been recognized with several honors, awards and posts. In 2005 Ms. Chen became the first woman to win Copenhagen’s esteemed Malko Competition. She served as Assistant Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony and Baltimore Symphony, under the aegis of the League of American Orchestras, with the Oregon symphony as well. Recipient of the 2007 Taki Concordia Fellowship, she has appeared jointly with Marin Alsop and Stefan Sanderling in highly acclaimed subscription concerts with the Baltimore Symphony, Colorado Symphony and Florida Orchestra. In 2002, Ms. Chen was unanimously selected as Music Director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic in Oregon, the oldest of its kind and a model for many youth orchestras in the United States. During her five-year tenure with the orchestra, she led its sold-out debut in Carnegie Hall, received an ASCAP award for innovative programming, and developed new and unique musicianship programs for the orchestra’s members. She was also the recipient of a Sunburst Award from Young Audiences for her contribution to music education.

Born in Taiwan, Mei-Ann Chen has lived in the United States since 1989. She was the first student in New England Conservatory’s history to receive master’s degrees, simultaneously, in both violin and conducting, later studying with Kenneth Kiesler at the University of Michigan, where she earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting. Ms. Chen also participated in the National Conducting Institute in Washington, D.C. and at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen.

Photo credit: Rosalie O’Connor