Praised for his “fluid virtuosity” and “soulful melodies,” Los Angeles native BROOK SPELTZ has been inspired since childhood by the long tradition of deep musical mastery of artists such as Jascha Heifetz, Pierre Fournier, and the Guarneri String Quartet. Speltz is the cellist of the internationally renowned Escher String Quartet—Quartet-in-Residence at Southern Methodist University in Dallas–and an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

An extremely versatile cellist, Speltz has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. First Prize winner of the prestigious Ima Hogg Competition, he has performed as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, Colorado Music Festival Orchestra and International Contemporary Ensemble, among others, and is a regular performer at England’s IMS Prussia Cove and on tour with Musicians from Marlboro. An avid and sought after chamber musician, Speltz has been personally invited by musical giants such as Itzhak Perlman and Richard Goode to collaborate in chamber music recitals and tours throughout the country. As a result of these collaborations, he has been nominated for the inaugural Warner Music Prize, a newly established prize presented by Warner Music and Carnegie Hall.

A lover of all facets of the music world, Speltz has enjoyed performing on extensive tours with the cello rock band Break of Reality, whose online video of the Game of Thrones cover immediately went viral and has already received over 8.5 million views. Their recent U.S. tour raised funds and awareness for music programs in public schools all around the country.

Speltz studied at the renowned Curtis Institute of Music with Peter Wiley and at the Juilliard School with Joel Krosnick, after his formative years of study with Eleanor Schoenfeld in Los Angeles. He performs on a 1756 J.C. Gigli on loan from his father, a cellist and his first inspiration

Hailed by the New York Times as “a marvelous pianist,” PETER TAKÁCS has performed widely, receiving critical and audience acclaim for his penetrating and communicative musical interpretations.

Mr. Takács was born in Bucuresti, Romania and started his musical studies before his fourth birthday. After his debut recital at age seven, he was a frequent recitalist in his native city until his parents’ request for emigration to the West, at which point all his studies and performances were banned. He continued studying clandestinely with his piano teacher until his family was finally allowed to emigrate to France, where, at age fourteen, he was admitted to the Conservatoire National de Paris.

Upon his arrival in the United States, his outstanding musical talents continued to be recognized with full scholarships to Northwestern University and the University of Illinois, and a three-year fellowship for doctoral studies at the Peabody Conservatory, where he completed his artistic training with renowned pianist Leon Fleisher.

Mr. Takács has received numerous prizes and awards, including First Prize in the William Kapell International Competition, the C.D. Jackson Award for Excellence in Chamber Music at the Tanglewood Music Center, and a Solo Recitalist Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. His performances have been hailed by audiences and the press for their penetrating intellectual insight as well as for emotional urgency and communication.

Mr. Takács has performed as guest soloist with major orchestras in the U.S. and abroad, as well as at important summer festivals such as Tanglewood, Music Mountain, Chautauqua Institution, ARIA International, Schlern Music Festival in the Italian Alps, Tel Hai International Master Classes in Israel, Sweden’s Helsingborg Festival, Musicfest Perugia, and the Beijing International Music Festival. Since 2008, he has been a member of the faculty at the Montecito Summer Music Festival in Riverside, CA. He has performed and recorded the complete cycle of Beethoven Piano Sonatas, which was released on the CAMBRIA label in July 2011. In 2015, he was selected to inaugurate a new series in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall entitled “Key Pianists”, presenting three recitals of Beethoven solo and chamber music to critical acclaim. His recording of the complete Beethoven piano-cello music with cellist Robert DeMaine was released in July 2022.

Mr. Takács’ success as a teacher is attested to by his students’ accomplishments, who have won top prizes in competitions in the United States, Canada, Europe, and South Africa. They have been accepted at major graduate schools such as the Curtis Institute, Juilliard School, Peabody Conservatory, and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, among many others. Mr. Takács has given master classes in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and has been a jury member at prestigious national and international competitions such as San Antonio International Keyboard Competition, Canadian National Competition, Cleveland International Piano Competition, and Hilton Head International Piano Competition. In 2020, a generous donor established a fund for a Takács/Beethoven Piano Sonata Prize to be awarded to a student excelling in Beethoven interpretation. Mr. Takács is Professor of Piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he has been teaching since 1976.

CYNTHIA KOLEDO DEALMEIDA was appointed by Lorin Maazel as principal oboe of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1991. For two years prior, she was associate principal oboe of the Philadelphia Orchestra under Riccardo Muti.

DeAlmeida received the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan, studying with Arno Mariotti, and the Master of Music degree from Temple University, as a student of Richard Woodhams. She is also grateful to her other teachers — Sarah Young, Robert Sorton, Elaine Douvas, John Mack, H. Robert Reynolds and Max Rudolf. DeAlmeida proudly plays on F. Loree oboes of Paris, France.

In November 2002, DeAlmeida’s first solo CD was released on the Boston Records label. Classic Discoveries for Oboe was hailed by American Record Guide as “a masterly recording… Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida is simply one of the finest exponents of the instrument anywhere.” Her second solo CD, entitled Mist Over the Lakeon the Crystal Record label, was released in 2006 to rave reviews: “Ms. DeAlmeida is hands down one of the best players in the world…” In 2015, her third CD Silver and Gold was released on the Crystal Records label. Gramophone magazine called her “a poetic artist” and Fanfare magazine wrote “she is a soloist of immense technique and considerable charm…”  DeAlmeida can also be heard on Crystal Records’ recording of Sir Andre Previn’s Sonata for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano with Sir Andre Previn, as well as all the Pittsburgh Symphony recordings since 1991 under Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, Marek Janowski and Manfred Honeck. In 2009, DeAlmeida travelled to Berlin to perform and record the German Requiem of Brahms with Marek Janowski and the Radio Orchestra of Berlin (RSB) on the Pentatone label.

DeAlmeida has been featured with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in concertos by J.S.Bach, Leonardo Balada, Alan Fletcher, Francaix, Haydn, Mozart, Lucas Richman, Richard Strauss and Vaughan Williams. She performed these concertos with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andres Cardenes, Sir Andrew Davis, Gunther Herbig, Manfred Honeck, Lorin Maazel, Sir Andre Previn, Lucas Richman, Alessandro Siciliani, Leonard Slatkin, Jeanette Sorrell, Yoav Talmi and Pinchas Zukerman. The concertos by Balada, Richman and Fletcher were all commissioned for DeAlmeida by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in 1992, 2006 and 2015 respectively. The Balada was recorded for New World Records with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Lorin Maazel conducting. The Richman concerto was recorded for Albany Records with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Lucas Richman conducting. Four different times, DeAlmeida has performed Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe with the Pittsburgh Symphony, partnering with violinists Vladimir Spivakov, Andres Cardenes, Pinchas Zukerman and Noah Bendix-Balgley. DeAlmeida also has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Haddonfield Symphony, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, the Knoxville Symphony, the U.S. Army Orchestra and the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic. 

DeAlmeida is an avid chamber musician, having performed 10 recitals at Carnegie Mellon University since 1993. For one of these recitals, she commissioned, published and recorded a piece for Oboe, Horn, Cello, and Piano by Michael Moricz, entitled “Three Consequences for Four Players.” Each summer since 2002, she performs and teaches as a faculty member of the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. Several of her performances there have been featured on NPR’s Performance Today. DeAlmeida has also performed at the Strings Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado; the La Jolla Festival in La Jolla, California; and the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont as well as several “Music from Marlboro” tours.

Teaching has always been a rewarding part of DeAlmeida’s artistic life. She has been associate teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music since 2012, and a faculty member there since 1991. She has held teaching positions at Temple University in Philadelphia and Trenton State College in New Jersey, and has taught at the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland as well as the New World Symphony. She has given masterclasses at universities in the United States and abroad including the Manhattan School of Music, the University of Tennessee, Eastern Michigan University, the University of South Carolina and the Seoul Conservatory. 

In 2003, DeAlmeida was featured on national television on the CBS Early Show in a story relating to the oboe and its remarkable health benefits for asthma sufferers, which led to her work as an ambassador for the American Respiratory Alliance in Pittsburgh.

DeAlmeida volunteers at Pittsburgh’s classical radio station WQED in their fundraising pledge drives. She participates in the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Education and Community Engagement department playing and speaking to young people in various venues throughout the Pittsburgh area. Each summer, DeAlmeida enjoys volunteering at the Woodlands Foundation’s Notes from the Heart music camp in Wexford, Pennsylvania.