YOUNG ARTISTS PROGRAM

Brian Anderson is a violist from Northern Virginia working towards a Master’s degree at Stony Brook University under the direction of Matthew Lipman and Lawrence Dutton, with additional studies in the Emerson String Quartet Institute as a member of the Proust Quartet. A graduate of the Peabody Institute, where he studied with Choong-jin Chang and Victoria Chiang, Brian is a passionate chamber musician and teacher of both violin and viola. His performance activities include concerts with the Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players, frequent appearances for the Music at the MART program at the Stony Brook Cancer Center, and freelance gigs throughout Long Island. He has held fellowships at Manchester Music Festival, Madeline Island Chamber Music, the Garth Newel Emerging Artists Program and the Renova Music Festival, previously having spent three summers of study at the Eastern Music Festival. Brian has collaborated in chamber music with artists such as Andres Diaz, Isaac Melemed, and Judith Ingolfsson, and he has played in masterclasses with Kim Kashkashian, Ettore Causa, Ara Gregorian, Cynthia Phelps, Misha Amory, and the American String Quartet, among others. In his spare time, Brian enjoys playing soccer, composing and arranging music, and playing in a jazz combo.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Two
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
Music & Mixer - MMF@50 Presentation and Young Artists Solos I
GIVEN A CHANCE - Concert and Discussion

Pianist and composer Andrew Cannestra is the grand prize winner of the 2021 Aeolian Classics Emerging Artist Competition. His debut album, Mystic Pool, was released in 2022, featuring one of his own compositions alongside works by William Grant Still, Alexander Scriabin, Frederic Chopin, and Henri Dutilleux.

As a soloist, Andrew maintains an active performance schedule. He has given recitals at some of Chicago’s premier venues such as Guarneri Hall and Ganz Hall, and he has also been featured as guest artist for the recital series Henry Fogel Presents. In addition, he performed the Ravel Concerto in G across the Midwest on tour with the St. Olaf Orchestra. He is passionate about programming music by living composers and historically under-represented composers alongside more familiar masterworks. Upcoming highlights include a performance of the Amy Beach Piano Concerto with the University of Oregon Symphony, the world premiere of Ryan Johnston’s Piano Concerto no. 1 with Boston-based Horizon Ensemble, and a recording of works by Josef Wieniawski to be released on the Naxos label in 2024.

Andrew also regularly collaborates as both a chamber musician and duo partner. He is a member of Eugene, Oregon-based Oasis Ensemble with former Oregon Symphony principal flute Dawn Weiss and former Chicago Symphony cellist Louis Lowenstein.

Equally accomplished as a composer, Andrew often performs his own solo piano music in concert. Other notable performers of his works include the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, St. Olaf Orchestra, the St. Olaf Band, the St. Olaf Philharmonia in 2017, and the Artaria String Quartet. His music has also been featured in Peter Nelson’s award-winning animated film, Intruder Man.

Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Andrew currently resides in Eugene, Oregon, where he teaches secondary piano at the University of Oregon. He is also currently pursuing his doctorate in piano performance, studying with Alexandre Dossin and David Riley. Outside of music, Andrew enjoys fly fishing, hiking, tending his basil plants, and spending time with his wife, fellow pianist Kaitlyn Clawson-Cannestra.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Three
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
Music & Mixer - MMF presents The Steinway Spirio and Young Artists Solos II
GIVEN A CHANCE - Concert and Discussion
Melody's Mostly Musical Day with pianist Jenny Lin, MMF Young Artists and special guest Mary Anne Van Degna

Canadian violinist Hannah Corbett is currently pursuing her Master’s degree at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she studies with Cho-Liang Lin as the recipient of the Anne and Charles Duncan Concertmaster Chair Endowment. Hannah has received prizes at the Shean Strings Competition, Kocianovo Violin Competition, and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, where she performed Sibelius’s Violin Concerto. As an orchestral musician, Hannah has performed at Carnegie Hall as the principal second violin of the 2023 New York String Orchestra, and has served as the concertmaster of the Shepherd School Symphony and Opera Orchestras, the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, where she received an Award of Excellence in 2019 and 2021. As a chamber musician, she has performed at the Galveston Symphony Moody Mansion Music Group series and the Archway Gallery in Houston, Texas, on Vermont Public Radio, and at the Arts and Letters Club and 21C New Music Festival in Toronto. She was a two time winner of the Felix Galimir Chamber Music Award at U of T, and has worked with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Dover, St. Lawrence and Emerson String Quartets. Hannah has enjoyed summers spent at Toronto Summer Music, Manchester Music Festival, Orford Music, and the National Arts Centre’s Orchestral Mentorship Program. She is an alumna of the Phil and Eli Taylor Academy, and completed her bachelor’s degree in 2022 at the University of Toronto, where she studied with Jonathan Crow. Hannah is excited to continuing her orchestral training as a New World Symphony Fellow, beginning in September 2024.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Three
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
Music & Mixer - MMF presents The Steinway Spirio and Young Artists Solos II
GIVEN A CHANCE - Concert and Discussion

American violinist Bree Fotheringham is a dedicated artist and advocate for classical music in the 21st century. A passionate collaborator, she has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Noah Bendix-Balgley, Andrew Marriner, and Clive Greensmith, and has appeared as a guest artist with BalletNext, Palaver Strings, and the Grammy-nominated conductorless chamber orchestra A Far Cry. As a soloist, she has garnered top prizes in numerous competitions including the New England Conservatory’s Bales Violin Competition, where she was granted a loan of an 1803 Josef Guadagnini violin. She has appeared as a soloist with the Utah Symphony, the Colburn Zipper Orchestra, Palaver Strings, the American Fork Symphony, and the Whittier Regional Symphony, among others. Fotheringham has performed as an artist at festivals including the Bay Chamber Concerts' Screen Door Festival, Manchester Music Festival, Colorado College Summer Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival. Fotheringham considers community engagement to be the most meaningful part of her career and envisions a world where classical music concerts are inviting, invigorating, and relevant experiences shared by all members of the community. She has been a recipient of several community-focused fellowships, including the New England Conservatory’s Community Performances and Partnerships Program’s Ensemble and Community Fellowships, and the Musician Citizen Fellowship at the American Youth Symphony. Fotheringham has held residencies at the Virginia Arts Festival, performing for hundreds of K-12 students in the Virginia Beach area, and at Street Symphony, performing concerts for those directly affected by homelessness and incarceration in Los Angeles. A Utah native, Fotheringham studied violin with Eugene Watanabe, founder and artistic director of the Gifted Music School. She is a graduate of the Colburn Conservatory of Music where she studied with Robert Lipsett, the Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair, and the New England Conservatory where she studied with Ayano Ninomiya.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
Music & Mixer - MMF@50 Presentation and Young Artists Solos I
GIVEN A CHANCE - Concert and Discussion

Born 2006 in Denmark had her first violin lesson at the age of five. She won the 1st prize and the orchestra prize in the Southern Denmark Talent Competition 2019, the 1st prize and talent prize at the Jacob Gade Violin Competition 2022 and the 3rd prize in the Danish String Competition 2022. In addition, she was awarded with the Jacob Gades Legat talent prize 2022. As a soloist Antonia played with the Odense Symphony Orchestra ,with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and Anjo city Symphony Orchestra.

Antonia studies with Professor Mo Yi and Nicolas Sublet at the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus. She has participated International Masterclasses with Philip Setzer, David Frühwirth, Nora Chastain, Stéphanie-Marie Degand, Maciej Rakowski and Grigory Kalinovsky.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Two
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
Music & Mixer - MMF presents The Steinway Spirio and Young Artists Solos II
GIVEN A CHANCE - Concert and Discussion

Dylan Kinneavy is a dynamic, expressive, and versatile cellist whose artistry extends to a variety of musical styles. He has a particular love of chamber music and has performed in numerous ensembles and festivals, including the Manchester Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Madeline Island Chamber Music Institute. Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dylan began studying Suzuki cello with Adrianna O’Brien at age four. His teachers have included Peter Howard and Julie Albers, past and present principal cellists of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. A graduate of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where he studied with Eric Kim, Dylan has held principal and associate principal positions with the JSoM Chamber, Concert, Symphony, and University Orchestras, and New Music Ensemble, as well as the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic. As a soloist, Dylan has performed with the Minnesota Sinfonia and Minnesota Youth Symphony, and in public masterclasses for esteemed cellists such as Philippe Muller, Johannes Moser, Alban Gerhardt, and Peter Wiley, among others. He is passionate about modern and innovative programming as well as making classical music more accessible and relatable for a wider variety of audiences.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Two
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
Music & Mixer - MMF@50 Presentation and Young Artists Solos I
GIVEN A CHANCE - Concert and Discussion

Kenichi Kiyama is a versatile California-born violinist with a passion for performing and teaching. Starting the violin at age 9, he progressed from his elementary school music program to private lessons, leading to a broad musical career.

Kenichi, as an orchestral musician, has served as assistant principal of the Dana Point Symphony and concertmaster and principal in various university orchestras. He has played with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and performed with several professional orchestras in the CA and Midwest area, including the Minnesota Orchestra, Elgin Symphony, Rockford, Madison Chamber, and San Luis Obispo Symphony. He has collaborated with renowned conductors/orchestral giants like Ricardo Mutti, Ken David-Masur, Sarah Hicks, Thomas Wilkins, Robert Chen, Carl St. Claire, Mei Ann Chen, and more.

As a soloist, Kenichi has won multiple competitions and performed notable pieces such as Lalo's Symphony Espagnole and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. He has been featured in the several concert series both in and out of university. He was the featured soloist in the award-winning animations Bruised and Don’t Croak. He recently commissioned a violin sonata by Sebastian Huydts.

Kenichi is also an active chamber musician, performing diverse music styles and collaborating with various artists. He has performed in the Ear Taxi Festival where he re-debuted Ralph Shapey’s Piano Trio No. 1 and music written by Ilya Levinson and Tim Edward’s. He regularly performs with faculty and students from Columbia College and Northwestern University.

He holds a BM from CSULB and a Master’s and Performance Diploma from Roosevelt University. Additionally, Kenichi is the owner/sole practitioner of Kiyama Bodyworks LLC, specializing in Sotai-Ho, a non-invasive bodywork modality that helps clients, particularly musicians and athletes, move freely and pain-free.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
Music & Mixer - MMF@50 Presentation and Young Artists Solos I
GIVEN A CHANCE - Concert and Discussion

Ignacio García Núñez, a native of Spain, began his musical studies at the Kithara School of Music. During the following years, he studied with teachers such as Diego Arbizu, Miriam Roycroft, and Fernando Arias. After finishing his Bachelor's degree at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, he is currently studying for a triple master's degree in modern cello, baroque cello and performance practice with professors Reinhard Goebel and Giovanni Gnocchi at the same university.

Ignacio has been awarded first prize in numerous national and international competitions such as Soncello for young cellists, Jaime Dobato Benavente Competition, and César Uceda Competition. Last October he won first prize in the I International Music Competition of Lugano.

In addition, he has performed as soloist with orchestras such as the 430 Vigo, CSMA Philharmonic, JOSS, and Pablo Sarasate Symphony, playing concertos by Dvorak, Haydn in C, Ibert, and Saint-Saëns.

Among his latest projects are concerts with the Berliner Kammerphilharmonie in Saudi Arabia, with the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble in Germany and France, concerts with the Thieriot Trio in Hamburg, and his participation in the Traume Sonore festival in Mantua.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
Music & Mixer - MMF presents The Steinway Spirio and Young Artists Solos II
GIVEN A CHANCE - Concert and Discussion

Maureen Sheehan is a freelance violist and Master’s student in Boston, mentored by Nicholas Cords and Wenting Kang at the New England Conservatory. In addition to NEC’s premier, conductorless Chamber Orchestra, Maureen has performed around the northeast with Palaver Strings, the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra, and Grammy-nominated A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra. She holds the first prize title from Ohio Viola Society’s 2021 Competition for Young Violists, is the 2023 Viola Prize winner of Tuesday Musical’s Scholarship Competition, and has appeared at Carnegie Hall as principal violist with the Oberlin Orchestra. A passionate chamber musician, Maureen’s festival experiences include the Encore String Quartet Intensive, Blackburn Music Academy, and the Carmel Bach Festival, where she performed as the Academy Quartet violist.  

Outside her classical endeavors, Maureen plays traditional Irish fiddle and is a member of NEC’s Ceol Ensemble led by renowned Irish fiddler Liz Knowles-O’Hare. She also spent four months living in Dublin, Ireland in 2021, traveling the country to attend festivals and learn from traditional musicians. 

In addition to performing, Maureen enjoys the opportunity to work with younger musicians, and has spent time teaching at Harpa International Music Academy in Lakeside Chautauqua, OH and Madison Conservatory, near her hometown in Wisconsin. She has also worked with the up-and-coming artists of Chamber Music Northwest’s Young Artist Institute, serving as a Resident and Operations Assistant. Maureen holds Bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and Viola Performance from Oberlin College and Conservatory, where she was a student of Peter Slowik.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
Music & Mixer - MMF presents The Steinway Spirio and Young Artists Solos II
GIVEN A CHANCE - Concert and Discussion

Kevonna Shuford is a vibrant violist who has a passion for collaborative projects. She has collaborated with New England based ensembles such as Boston Philharmonic, Erie Philharmonic, Atlantic Symphony and Palaver Strings. Other collaborative efforts have led her to be an artist at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar, Encore Chamber Music Program and the Meadowmount School of Music. She has played with artists such as; Clive Greensmith, Janine Jansen, Yura Lee, Tai Murray, Anton Nel, Philip Setzer and Paul Watkins. A native of Florida, she helped to establish a youth string program at Faith’s Place Center for Arts Education. With a continued love for teaching, she has held the position of Resident Musician at Musiconnects. As an alumni of the National Youth Orchestra (2016), Kevonna greatly enjoyed traveling to new places through past performances at major concert halls across Europe and the US, such as the Concertgebouw and Carnegie Hall. Kevonna is a student at Stony Brook University under the mentorship of Lawrence Dutton and Matthew Lipman. She holds a bachelor's degree at the New England Conservatory with Martha Katz.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Two
MMF Young Artists - Program One
Music & Mixer - MMF@50 Presentation and Young Artists Solos I

Pianist Hang Zhong is pursuing his Master of Music at New England Conservatory, studying with Doctor Bruce Brubaker. He has performed with NEC Wind Ensemble, Juilliard Orchestra, New Juilliard Ensemble, Central Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, and played solo and chamber recitals in New York, Tianjin, Hefei, Chengdu, Shanghai, Changshu and Dali. Hang has also been awarded among many competitions domestically and internationally, including Semi-finalist of the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht (2020), the winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition in New York (2019), 4th place in Golden Bell National Piano Competition for Young Pianists in China (2015), the 1st place in Cooper Festival Piano Competition in Oberlin (2015), and the 4th place in CCTV National Piano Competition in China (2014). Additionally, he was awarded scholarship 10000 yuan by Yamaha Music&Electronics China for his amazing performance in the scholarship selection competition. During the summer time, he studied and performed in Aspen Music Festival, Mozarteum Summer Academy, as well as Manchester Music Festival.

Hang began to study the piano at the age of 4 with his mother Litao Fu. He graduated from the Juilliard School in 2022 with a B.M. degree where he studied with Doctor Yoheved Kaplinsky.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Three
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
Music & Mixer - MMF@50 Presentation and Young Artists Solos I
GIVEN A CHANCE - Concert and Discussion
Melody's Mostly Musical Day with pianist Jenny Lin, MMF Young Artists and special guest Mary Anne Van Degna