Evermay Concert Series

BIOGRAPHY

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Stephen Key

Oboe

Stephen Nicholas Key is the Oboe Professor at Shenandoah Conservatory and Principal Oboist for The New Orchestra of Washington. A native of Oklahoma, he had his first solo appearance at the Kennedy Center at fifteen, and has since performed throughout Europe and Russia.

As a soloist, he has performed with The Washington Chamber Orchestra, the Washington Master Chorale, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, and the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra (SCSO) as part of the school's "Pulitzer Prize" series; performing Jennifer Higdon's Concerto for Oboe. Last Spring, he performed the Strauss Oboe Concerto with the SCSO under the baton of Jan Wagner about which critics said, "I've never seen an oboe played like that… dynamics and phrasing were incredible… truly [bringing] the piece to life!" The New Orchestra of Washington premiered Key's arrangement of Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin in the Fall; New York Critic, Oberon's Grove, said of Stephen's playing, "gorgeous performance, terrific solos… rich, warm tone."

Professionally, Stephen has played with the National Symphony Orchestra, Austin Symphony, Fairfax Symphony, the Choral Arts Society of Washington, Virginia Opera, the Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio, and the New World Symphony. Also, he has recorded with the Centaur Label and Albany Records.  He attended the Kennedy Center Summer Music Institute, Aspen Music Festival, and The International Festival-Institute at Round Top where he won the chamber music competition.  

In addition to his university engagements, Stephen also maintains a private studio based in northern Virginia. His students have successfully placed in the top chairs of the American Youth Philharmonic, Virginia All-State, and summer festival orchestras, as well as competitive graduate programs with scholarships.

Stephen studied at the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Texas at Austin. His principal teachers include Rebecca Henderson, James Caldwell, Rudolf Vrbsky, Carol Stephenson, and James Moseley. Additionally, Stephen has composed works that have been performed at Oberlin Conservatory and the Juilliard School.

BIOGRAPHY

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Conor Nelson

Flute

Praised for his "long-breathed phrases and luscious tone" by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Canadian flutist Conor Nelson is established as a leading flutist of his generation.  Since his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, he has appeared frequently as soloist and recitalist throughout the United States and abroad. A regular guest of the D.C. metro area, he performs as Principal Flutist of the New Orchestra of Washington. 

Solo engagements include performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Flint Symphony, and numerous other orchestras.  The only wind player to win the Grand Prize at the WAMSO Young Artist Competition, he also won first prize at the William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition.  In addition, he has received top prizes at the New York Flute Club Young Artist Competition and the Haynes International Flute Competition. He recently performed two recitals in London, England and was featured on the McGraw Hill Young Artist Showcase (WQXR New York), Minnesota Public Radio, WGTE Toledo and WGBH Boston Public Radio.

With percussionist Ayano Kataoka he performed at Merkin Concert Hall, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Hall, Izumi Hall.  A recital at the Tokyo Opera City Hall that received numerous broadcasts on NHK Television. Their CD entitled, "Breaking Training" was released on New Focus Recordings (NYC).  His second CD "Nataraja" with pianist Thomas Rosenkranz is also available on New Focus.  He has also collaborated with Claude Frank on the Schneider concert series in NYC and has appeared at numerous chamber music festivals across the country including the OK Mozart, Bennington, Skaneateles, Yellow Barn, Cooperstown, Salt Bay, Look and Listen (NYC), Norfolk (Yale), Green Mountain, Chesapeake, and the Chamber Music Quad Cities series.

In demand as a pedagogue, Dr. Nelson has given master classes at over one hundred colleges, universities and conservatories.  He is currently the Associate Professor of Flute at Bowling Green State University. Prior to this appointment he served as the Assistant Professor of Flute at Oklahoma State University. Recent residencies include Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea, the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China, and the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico. He is also a regular guest of the Texas Summer Flute Symposium and has been the featured guest artist for the Texas Flute Society, the Austin Flute Society, the Atlanta Flute Club, the Southwest Michigan (Detroit) Flute Association, the Greater Cleveland Flute Association and several others. 

He received degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, Yale University, and Stony Brook University where he was the winner of the school-wide concerto competitions at all three institutions.  He is also a recipient of the Thomas Nyfenger Prize, the Samuel Baron Prize, and the Presser Award.  His principal teachers include Carol Wincenc, Ransom Wilson, Linda Chesis and Susan Hoeppner. Conor is a Powell Flutes artist.

He resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he studies Iyengar Yoga with Laurie Blakeney.

BIOGRAPHY

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Ryo Yanagitani, D.M.A.

Piano

Hailed by the Washington Post as "A pianist's pianist," Ryo has established himself as one of Canada's shining artists. His success includes winning the gold medal at the 10th San Antonio International Piano Competition, where he was also given special recognition for a performance of the complete Chopin Ballades. He is also the grand prize winner of the Hugo Kauder International Piano competition and a laureate of the Minnesota International Piano-e-Competition, the Dr. Luis Sigall International Piano competition in Vina del Mar (Chile), and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.

Ryo has made concerto appearances with orchestras around the world including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Metropolitan Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the Moroccan Symphony Orchestra, and the Tokyo Kioi Symphonietta. His performances have taken him to such venues as the Kennedy Center, The National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and Salle Cortot in Paris among others.

In addition to his solo career, he is much sought after as a chamber musician, performing in a wide range of settings from the duo sonata repertoire to large ensembles. Ryo is frequently invited as guest pianist to chamber music festivals across the US, in the capacity of both lecturer and collaborative pianist.

A recipient of many scholarships and awards, Ryo has been endowed twice by the Canadian Arts Council with a grant as an Emerging Artist, and is a recipient of the Arthur Foote Scholarship from the Harvard Musical Association. He was also awarded the Sony Foundation of America Career Grant through the Salon de Virtuosi of New York, and a Washington Award by the S&R Foundation of Washington DC. He has also been an artist-in-residence of the Maxwell Shepherd Fund of Connecticut. Ryo is also increasingly recognized not only as a performer but as a pedagogue, and is in demand as adjudicator to competitions and as masterclass clinician in North America and Asia. He has also released two solo CDs consisting of works by Chopin and Debussy, as well as a CD in collaboration with the cellist Dai Miyata in Japan.

Ryo Yanagitani received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of Music under Boris Berman, a Bachelor Degree in Piano Performance from the University of British Columbia under Doctor Henri-Paul Sicsic, and an Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute under Sergei Babayan. He was an instructor for the Chamber Music Program at Yale, and was a visiting Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He currently holds the title of Artistic Director of the Ryuji Ueno Foundation in Washington DC, and oversees the Evermay Concert Series in Georgetown.