JOEL BRAUN is Associate Professor of Double Bass at the University of Texas at Austin. As an orchestral musician he has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and the New York City Ballet Orchestra. He participated in over a dozen national and international tours with the New York Philharmonic, including the Philharmonic’s historic trip to North Korea in 2008 under the direction of Lorin Maazel. He has performed under such eminent conductors as Kurt Masur, Jaap van Zweden, Gustavo Dudamel, Riccardo Muti, Herbert Blomstedt, Christoph von Dohnányi, Zubin Mehta, Paavo Järvi, and Alan Gilbert, among many others. He is a former member of the Ft. Wayne Philharmonic and currently serves as Assistant Principal Bass of the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra under the direction of Gerard Schwarz.

On this release, he performs a program of works by Lera Auerbach, J.S. Bach, Caleb Burhans, and Olga Magidenko, alongside an original work.

Jennifer Olson holds a Master’s degree in voice from the University of Michigan and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in voice from the University of Minnesota. She is fluent in French and in addition to her education in the United States, has studied in Milan Italy and in Orford Québec. For the past eight years, Jennifer has been teaching voice at the collegiate and high-school levels. She joins the Bemidji State University Music Department as an assistant professor of voice. She, along with esteemed pianist Ana Maria Otamendi, presents this program of works by Jaime Leon Ferro, Alberto Ginastera, and Juan Bautista Plaza.

In this program, Tutti Bassi explores the rich and varied repertoire for baroque cello by sampling works from across 18th century Europe. With them, we will visit the forests of Germany, the elegant palaces of France, sunny Italy, and foggy London Town, to hear the fascinating differences and similarities of these works, and to appreciate the variety within them. Colleen McGary-Smith & Sarah Freiberg, cellos. Tutti Bassi formed in 2012. Their inaugural concert, presented at the Belmont Public Library, was made possible by the Belmont Cultural Council. Since then, they have performed throughout New England, at library concert series, retirement communities and churches--perfect venues for their intimate, informative performances.

Kelly Sulick currently teaches at the University of Virginia and serves as Principal Flute in the Charlottesville Symphony. Prior to her appointment, she served as Principal Flute with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and as Consortium Instructor of Flute at the University of Evansville for three years. She earned her Master of Music degree in Flute Performance from the University of Southern California; prior to her graduate studies, she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan, where she graduated with highest honors and was named a James B. Angell Scholar for her academic achievements. Pianist John Mayhood enjoys a busy performance schedule that in recent seasons has taken him across the North America and Europe in a wide variety of solo and collaborative settings and in repertoire that spans from the English virginalists to music of the present day. His concerts often explore the works of a single composer, combining solo piano and chamber music – he has dedicated complete evenings to the works of Poulenc, Hindemith, Feldman, and Schubert, and to new works by emerging composers.

While Crystal Jarrell Johnson and Angela Malek have long enjoyed thriving careers as soloists, they have always genuinely preferred collaboration. Both singers are professionally based out of San Antonio, and in the fall of 2017 they made their official debut as Deux. They have appeared together in over 40 recitals and concerts throughout South Texas and beyond. They have appeared on the Artist Series at Texoma NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), have been featured artists on Texas Public Radio, and have been named to the Touring Artist Roster by the Texas Commission on the Arts. Their repertoire includes a wide range of styles from early 17th century to art song, sacred music, opera, and also contemporary commissioned works.

Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) was a prolific Polish composer and accomplished violinist in the inter-war, WWII, and postwar eras of the twentieth century. Often labeled neo-classical, her compositional style continued changing throughout her work, from early influences of Karol Szymanowski to her own distinctive atonalism. Polish-American Kinga Augustyn is a versatile New York City-based virtuoso concert violinist and recording artist. “Stylish and vibrant” (The Strad Magazine), and “beyond amazing, one hell of a violinist!” (The Fanfare Magazine), Ms. Augustyn has performed as a soloist with orchestras in the United States, Europe and Asia, and they include the Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin, Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum, the Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra, Queens Symphony and the Riverside Symphonia.

A native of Ukraine, pianist Sophia Agranovich continues her superb series of recordings for Centaur Records. Internationally acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and educator, Sophia Agranovich is “a bold, daring pianist in the tradition of the Golden Age Romantics…A tigress of the keyboard” – Fanfare. Her performances are captivating audiences by the “orison of uncommon beauty” – Audiophile, “interpretation that dares to be different”, “magnificent shading and superior musicianship” – American Record Guide. A Steinway Artist, Ms. Agranovich has performed in USA, Europe, Israel, and Canada. Recently she played solo recitals at the Pennautier Festival and Juan-les-Pins in France and was invited to China and Brazil. A six-time Grammy® balloted artist, Sophia Agranovich has released ten solo albums from 2010 through 2022, including seven on Centaur label.

Artur Kaganovskiy has released a recording of the Brahms and Tchaikovsky violin concertos on Centaur. Transylvanian born pianist Attila Székely is a superb musical partner in the Schubert Sonatinas. Recognized for his intense richness of tone, remarkable technique and exceptional musicality, the Russian-born violinist Artur Kaganovskiy was discovered at the age of six and mentored by the renowned violinist Isaac Stern. A graduate of The Juilliard School studying with Masao Kawasaki, he was also first prize winner of the Waldo de Mayo Competition and recipient of the Fritz Kreisler and Joseph Fuchs Awards at The Juilliard School. Artur Kaganovskiy made his Carnegie Hall debut at the Stern Auditorium in 2007, performing Elgar’s Violin Concerto with conductor David Gilbert and members of the New York Philharmonic. Since then, his solo engagements have taken him throughout Europe, North Americas and China, collaborating with orchestras including the Napa Valley Symphony, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, and the Salzburg Chamber Soloists to name a few.

Dr. Susan Hochmiller, soprano, is an accomplished performer of chamber music, art song, oratorio, opera, musical theater, and jazz. Performance highlights include singing at the Teatro Mancinelli in Orvieto, Italy, Carnegie Hall with the Susquehanna University Masterworks Chorus and Orchestra, in the Mozart 101 Series with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Colorado Bach Ensemble, concerts with the Music, Gettysburg! series, and numerous recitals in Italy and across the United States. She has been the soprano soloist for many concert works, including Orff’s Carmina Burana, Vaughan Williams’s Hodie, Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis, Schubert’s Mass in C and Mass in G, and Bach’s St. John Passion and Cantata BWV 61. Dedicated to the promotion and performance of chamber music, she is an avid chamber recitalist who co-founded the soprano and trumpet collaboration Aire Duo, and is the author of So You Want To Sing Chamber Music published by Rowman & Littlefield (2019). She presents here an album of compositions by female composers.

This release features the works of Gywneth Walker, one of the most important composers of our modern day. Widely performed throughout the world, the music of Gwyneth Walker is beloved by performers and audiences alike for its energy, beauty, reverence, drama and humor. Dr. Walker is a graduate of Brown University and the Hartt School of Music. Walker's catalog includes over 300 commissioned works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, chorus, and solo voice.

This new release features major works of music for violin and piano from the era of WWII that were inspired by the holocaust. Dr. Betul Soykan is the Assistant Professor of Violin at Wichita State University, having previously taught at the University of Texas-RGV IN Brownsville. Being trained at one of the best conservatories of Europe, she holds four degrees in violin performance and string pedagogy. Some of her influential teachers throughout her studies were; Iwona Wojciechowska, the great Romanian virtuoso Ion Voicu and world-renowned violinist and pedagogue Igor Ozim. Costa Rican pianist Juan Pablo Andrade maintains a very active international career as a soloist, recitalist, collaborative pianist, pedagogue, adjudicator and clinician. He is the recipient of numerous awards, among them are the First Prize at the Artlivre International Piano Competition in Sao Paulo, Brazil; First Prize in the National Piano Competition in CR; First Prize in the Concert of Soloists Competition at Arizona State University; First Prize at the UNCG Concerto Competition and Second Prize in the University of Costa Rica Concerto Competition.

Little is known about the life of German violinist and composer Johann Jakob Walther. It is said that he was a violinist in the orchestra of Cosimo III from 1670 to 1674, and afterwards was concertmaster at the court of Dresden. Forty of Walther’s compositions are extant, and are contained in two volumes: Scherzi da Violino solo con il basso continuo, published in 1676, and Hortulus chelicus, published in 1688. This release features his Hortulus Chelicus, which scholars believe was composed between 1650 and 1688. In this collection, Walther wrote at a new, higher technical playing level for the violin. The musicians featured on this recording perform on period instruments- Baroque violin, harpsichord, and Baroque cello.

German violinist and composer Johann Jakob Walther (1650-1717) was one of the most important German violinists of the 17th century. His works feature virtuosic techniques including arpeggios and doublestops. This album includes some of Walther’s best works, including his Suite XX in E minor, Sonata VII in A major, and Sonata VII in d minor. All of these works are performed by Eco dell’Anima on period instruments.

George Speed began his career with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic in 2004 as a substitute bass player but was selected as principal bass in 2006. He began playing bass because of an outstanding string program at his school back in Spartanburg, South Carolina. His main musical influences are Edgar Meyer, bass soloist and his professor at Vanderbilt, where he received a bachelor of music in Bass Performance and European History, and Edwin Barker, Principal Bassist of the Boston Symphony and his professor at Boston University, where he received a master of music degree. In addition to the OKC Phil, Speed has played with the Boston Pops Orchestra, where he performed during the pregame show at Super Bowl XXXVI, the Boston Symphony, Boston Classical Orchestra, New England String Ensemble, Fort Worth Symphony, Tulsa Symphony, and former Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also an Assistant Professor of Double Bass at Oklahoma State University. On the present release, Speed presents Vivaldi Cello Sonatas. He has studied these works for many years, and it shows fully in these idiomatic performances.