Twenty-seven year old American violist NATALIE LOUGHRAN is quickly establishing herself as one of the most versatile young artists of our time. Natalie was awarded First Prize at the 2021 Primrose International Viola Competition, along with the Audience Award, as well as the BIPOC Composer Prize for her arrangement and performance of William Grant Still’s ‘Mother and Child’. She has also appeared as a finalist for the 2020 Young Concert Artist Auditions, and was awarded a special prize for her performance of the Bowen Viola Sonata in C Minor at the Tertis International Viola Competition. Natalie has also been awarded with the William Schuman prize for her outstanding leadership and achievement in music, from the Juilliard School. As the newest violist of the Castalian String Quartet, Natalie has appeared in many internationally renowned chamber music series, including Konzerthaus Berlin, Wigmore Hall, 92NY, San Francisco Performances, and Dallas Chamber Music Society. The quartet is currently in residence at Oxford University and Wigmore Hall. Additionally, Natalie has performed extensively at Marlboro, Yellow Barn, The Perlman Music Program Chamber Workshop, and Kronberg’s Chamber Music Connects the World. Natalie has collaborated with renowned chamber musicians such as Mitsuko Uchida, Stephen Hough, Itzhak Perlman, Dénes Várjon, Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, Tabea Zimmermann, and Nobuko Imai. In addition to solo performance and chamber music, Natalie holds a deep love of the orchestral repertoire, and has worked as principal violist under the batons of Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev, Charles Dutoit, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. She has performed with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, under Gábor Takács-Nagy; toured internationally with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, directed by Ivan Fischer; and performed regularly with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. Natalie earned her B.M. and M.M. in Viola Performance at The Juilliard School, under the tutelage of Roger Tapping, Misha Amory, where she was a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship. Natalie is continuing her professional studies at the Kronberg Academy with Tabea Zimmermann. Natalie plays on a 1976 viola by Sergio Peresson.
TENG LI
TENG LI is a diverse and dynamic performer internationally. Recently Ms. Li was appointed as Principal Violist of the L.A. Philharmonic after more than a decade as Principal with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Li is also an active recitalist and chamber musician participating in the festivals of Marlboro, Santa Fe, Mostly Mozart, Music from Angel Fire, Rome, Moritzburg (Germany) and the Rising Stars Festival in Caramoor. She has performed with the Guarneri Quartet in New York (04/05), at Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall) and with the 92nd St. “Y” Chamber Music Society. Teng was also featured with the Guarneri Quartet in their last season (2009), and was also a member of the prestigious Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Two Program. She is a member of the Rosamunde Quartet (led by Noah Bendix-Balgley, Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic) and the Toronto-based Trio Arkel.
Ms. Li has been featured as soloist with the National Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Rosa Symphony, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Haddonfield Symphony, Shanghai Opera Orchestra, the Canadian Sinfonietta and Esprit Orchestra. Her performances have been broadcast on CBC Radio 2, National Public Radio, WQXR (New York), WHYY (Pennsylvania), WFMT (Chicago), and Bavarian Radio (Munich).
She has won top Prizes at the Johanson International and the Holland-America Music Society competitions, the Primrose International Viola Competition, the Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, Germany. She was also a winner of the Astral Artistic Services 2003 National Auditions.
Her discography includes a solo CD entitled ‘1939’ with violinist Benjamin Bowman and pianist Meng-Chieh Liu (Azica), along with many Toronto Symphony Credits, most recently their Vaughan Williams disc featuring Teng performing Flos Campi (Chandos).
Teng is a graduate of the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
KIM KASHKASHIAN
Hailed as “an artist who combines a probing, restless intellect with enormous beauty of tone,” Kim Kashkashian has forged a unique path as a performing and recording artist.
KIM KASHKASHIAN made history when she won the coveted Grammy Award – the first ever given to a violist – for her ECM recording of Ligeti and Kurtag solo viola works.
She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,and of the Royal Academy of Music.
Ms. Kashkashian performed as viola soloist with the orchestras of Berlin, London, Vienna, Milan, Amsterdam, New York and Cleveland in collaboration with Eschenbach, Mehta, Welser-Moest, Kocsis, Dennis Russel Davies, Blomstedt, and Holliger.
She is a member of Trio Tre Voce, and the long-standing duo partner of pianist Robert Levin in the great halls of Vienna, Rome, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Tokyo, Athens, London, New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
Ms. Kashkashian worked closely with György Kurtág, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Giya Kancheli, and Arvo Pärt and commissioned compositions from Eötvös, Ken Ueno, Betty Olivero, Thomas Larcher, Lera Auerbach, Tigran Mansurian, and Toshio Hosokawa.
More than 25 solo albums on ECM label have garnered a Grammy, a Cannes Classical Award, the Edison Prize and the Opus Klassik Prize.
Ms. Kashkashian is Founder of “Music for Food”, a musician-led hunger relief initiative that offers a model for all musicians who wish to act as artist -citizens in their home communities. Music for Food has created more than one and a half million meals for people in need.
To learn more, please go to musicforfood.net or kimkashkashian.com
NJORD KÅRASON FOSSNES
Norwegian violist and composer NJORD KÅRASON FOSSNES (b. 2001) is a rising star in the classical music world, celebrated for his artistry and versatility. Having finished his bachelor in 2024 studying at the New England Conservatory in Boston under the renowned Kim Kashkashian, Fossnes has already achieved remarkable milestones in his young career. Fossnes has earned accolades from the Midgard and Virtuoso & BelCanto Competitions and won second prize at the inaugural Hindemith International Viola Competition in 2021. At 17, he gained widespread acclaim as the youngest participant in the ARD International Music Competition in Munich and returned at 22 to be the youngest semifinalist, performing and leading his own arrangement of Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Munich Chamber Orchestra. Fossnes has also appeared as a soloist in Bartok Viola Concerto, Mozart Sinfonia Concertante and Hindemith Kammermusik 5 with Peter Tilling and HSO München in addition to Kurt Atterberg’s Suite for violin, viola and orchestra with violinist Gustav Rørmark and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. Together with solo performances, Fossnes is a passionate chamber musician and performs at some of the most prestigious chamber festivals in the States and Europe such as Marlboro Music Festival, Cleveland ChamberFest, Caramoor Evnin Rising Stars, Fjord Classics, IMPULS festival and Festival&Friends. In 2023, he competed with Quartet Luminera in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition where they won the silver medal. Fossnes is also frequently invited to play with some of the leading chamber orchestras in Europe such as the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and Camerata Bern which has led to tours in Shanghai, Norway and Switzerland. From a young age, Fossnes has always been an avid composer. His works have been commissioned and played at Ose Kammerspel in Norway and PULSAR festival in Copenhagen, and in 2018 his orchestra piece Etyde was performed by the Oslo Philharmonic. Fossnes currently lives with his husband in Copenhagen where he pursues a master at the Royal Danish Academy of Music with Asbjørn Nørgaard, violist in the acclaimed Danish String Quartet. With a growing international presence, Fossnes continues to captivate audiences and shape the future of classical music. Fossnes plays on a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Piacenza 1745 viola, generously on loan from Anders Sveaas’ Charitable Foundation.
About our Rising Stars
ChamberFest Cleveland’s Rising Stars are recognized for their extraordinary talent. They are invited to deepen their connection to the art of chamber music by immersing themselves in the festival, rehearsing side by side with the leading chamber musicians of our time, and performing in a professional concert setting for discerning audiences and critics alike.
The Rising Stars program is generously sponsored by Michael Frank and the late Pat Snyder.
KIRSTEN DOCTOR
KIRSTEN DOCTER is associate professor of viola and chamber music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. First prize wins at the Primrose International and American String Teachers Association Viola Competitions launched her on a career that includes a 23-year tenure with the Cavani Quartet, concerts on major series and festivals, and numerous appointments as a master class clinician and teacher.
Docter’s festival appearances include performances at the Aspen Music Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Society, and Kneisel Hall. Her work can be heard on the Azica, Albany, and New World labels.
Docter formerly served on the chamber music and viola faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of Michigan. She has been a jury member of the Primrose International Viola, Fischoff National Chamber Music, and Sphinx competitions. In the summer she serves on the viola faculty of the Perlman Music Program and Bowdoin International Music Festival.
JESSICA BODNER
JESSICA BODNER, described by the New York Times as a “soulful soloist”, is the violist of the Grammy award-winning Parker Quartet. A native of Houston, TX, Jessica began her musical studies on the violin at the age of two, then switched to the viola at the age of twelve because of her love of the deeper sonority.
Ms. Bodner has recently appeared at venues such as Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, Library of Congress, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Wigmore Hall (London), Musikverein (Vienna), Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Seoul Arts Center, and has appeared at festivals including Chamber Music Northwest, Chamberfest Cleveland, Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Yellow Barn, Perigord Noir in France, Monte Carlo Spring Arts Festival, San Miguel de Allende, Istanbul’s Cemal Recit Rey, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Hitzacker, and Heidelberg String Quartet Festival. As a member of the Parker Quartet, she has recorded for ECM, Zig-Zag Territoires, Nimbus, and Naxos.
Recent collaborators include mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron, clarinetists Charles Neidich and Jörg Widmann, pianists Menahem Pressler, Shai Wosner, Gloria Chien, and Orion Weiss, violinists Soovin Kim and Donald Weilerstein, violists Kim Kashkashian and Roger Tapping, cellists Deborah Pae, Marcy Rosen, Natasha Brofsky, and Paul Katz, and percussionist Ian Rosenbaum.
Jessica is a faculty member of Harvard University’s Department of Music as Professor of the Practice in conjunction with the Parker Quartet’s appointment as Blodgett Quartet-in Residence. She has held visiting faculty positions at the New England Conservatory and Longy School of Music, served as faculty at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and Yellow Barn Festival, and has given masterclasses at institutions such as Eastman School of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, Amherst College, University of Minnesota, and at the El Sistema program in Venezuela.
Outside of music, Jessica enjoys cooking, running, practicing yoga, and hiking with her husband, violinist Daniel Chong, their son, Cole, and their vizsla, Bodie.
WILLIAM BENDER
WILLIAM BENDER grew up just south of Nashville, Tennessee. He started playing the viola at Vanderbilt University’s Blair Academy at age thirteen. After studies at The Juilliard School and Cleveland Institute of Music, Mr. Bender joined The Philharmonia Orchestra in London as Assistant Principal Viola under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen. With The Philharmonia, Mr. Bender performed in many of the great concert halls of the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Japan, China, and South Korea. Concurrently, he regularly performed chamber music concerts as part of the Philharmonia Chamber Players and worked on new compositions through the orchestra’s “Music Of Today” series. Mr. Bender has played Principal Viola with The Philharmonia, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Echor Music, and London Concertante. He joined the viola section of The Cleveland Orchestra in November 2021, under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst.
As a teacher, Mr. Bender has coached the students of Oberlin Conservatory, Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, Trinity-Laban Conservatoire, the Australian Youth Orchestra, and the Colombian Youth Philharmonic.
ITAMAR ZORMAN
Awarded the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award for 2014, violinist ITAMAR ZORMAN is the winner of the 2013 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia.
Mr. Zorman has performed as a soloist with such orchestras as the Mariinsky Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, KBS Symphony Seoul, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, German Radio Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Kremerata Baltica and American Symphony, conductors Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Michael Tilson-Thomas, David Robertson, James DePreist, Karina Canellakis, Nathalie Stutzmann and Yuri Bashmet, at Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Tonhalle Zurich, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and Amsterdam Concertgebouw. As a recitalist he performed at Carnegie Hall’s Distinctive Debut series, Wigmore Hall, People’s Symphony Concerts, the Louvre Museum, Suntory Hall and Frankfurt Radio.
Mr. Zorman was invited to the Verbier, Marlboro, Rheingau, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Bowdoin and Radio France Festivals. He is a member of the Israeli Chamber project, and a member of the Lysander Piano Trio, which won the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Competition.
He has released solo CD’s with First Hand Records, BIS Records, and Hänssler Profil.
Mr. Zorman studied at the Jerusalem Academy, The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and the Kronberg Academy, working with Sylvia Rosenberg, Christian Tetzlaff and Mauricio Fuks. He is currently a Visiting Guest Artist at the Eastman School of Music. Mr. Zorman plays a 1734 Guarneri Del Gesù violin from the collection of Yehuda Zisapel.
ITAMAR ZORMAN
Awarded the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award for 2014, violinist ITAMAR ZORMAN is the winner of the 2013 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia.Mr. Zorman has performed as a soloist with such orchestras as the Mariinsky Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, KBS Symphony Seoul, German Radio Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Utah Symphony and American Symphony, conductors Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, David Robertson, James DePreist and Yuri Bashmet, at Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and Amsterdam Concertgebouw. As a recitalist he performed at Carnegie Hall’s Distinctive Debut series, People’s Symphony Concerts, the Louvre Museum, Suntory Hall and Frankfurt Radio.Mr. Zorman was invited to the Verbier, Marlboro, Rheingau, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Radio France Festivals. He is a member of the Israeli Chamber project, and a member of the Lysander Piano Trio, which won the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Competition.Mr. Zorman studied at the Jerusalem Academy, The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and the Kronberg Academy, working with Sylvia Rosenberg and Christian Tetzlaff. He plays a 1734 Guarneri Del Gesù violin from the collection of Yehuda Zisapel.
JASON YU
Violinist JASON YU joined The Cleveland Orchestra as Assistant Principal Second Violin in January 2024 after spending nine seasons with the New York Philharmonic. Previously, he was a fellow at the New World Symphony, in which he served as concertmaster under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas and appeared as a soloist, having won the concerto competition. Yu has performed in the Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Yu started playing the violin at age 5 and attended the Interlochen Arts Academy, where he was concertmaster and winner of the concerto competition as well as a valedictorian. He went on to receive his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at The Juilliard School, studying with Naoko Tanaka and Joseph Lin. He received additional instruction from Mark Steinberg at the CUNY Graduate Center.