Evermay Concert Series

BIOGRAPHY

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Mayu Kishima

Violin

Appointed Visiting Producer

First Prize winner in the First Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition in 2016.

In 2000, she caused a stir in the music world when she took top prize as the youngest-ever Japanese top prizewinner in the Junior Division of the 8th Wieniawski International Competition in Lublin. In 2011 she was awarded First Prize, as well as the David Garrett Award for outstanding musical interpretation in the International Music Competition Cologne.

In June 2004, Kishima performed with the Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Spivakov. Her performance was lauded by a Russian newspaper, which said: "It's no wonder the great Mstislav Rostropovich calls her 'the world's best young violinist.' She awed the audience with her superb technique and mature understanding of the music."

In 2005, Kishima performed with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich (Rome and Madrid, February); the National Symphony (Washington, D.C., May); the London Symphony Orchestra (London, June); and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Munich and other locations, July). She was praised by the influential Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, which said: "She was made known to the world by Rostropovich in the same way that Karajan made Anne-Sofie Mutter famous and Maazel made Hilary Hahn famous."

Kishima has participated in several recordings thus far. On the strong recommendation of Vladimir Ashkenazy, who had become Music Director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, she performed "Tzigane" on Ravel: Orchestral Works. She has also released the solo albums Chaconne and Rise. The recording of her performance at the 2015 Progetto Martha Argerich festival in Lugano was included in the live recording CD Argerich & Friends, released on Warner Music in May 2016.

Currently Kishima is based in Paris and Cologne and performs frequently in Europe. Her recent activities include performances at the Martha Argerich festival in Lugano, and concerts with the Saito Kinen Orchestra and Mito Chamber Orchestra.

Kishima has received instruction from Izumi Hayashi, Kazuyo Togami, Toshiya Eto, Dorothy DeLay, Masao Kawasaki, Machie Oguri, Chihiro Kudo and others. She also participated in the Seiji Ozawa Academy in Switzerland in 2008 and 2009. In spring 2012, she graduated with the top grade from the Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne, where she studied with Zakhar Bron. In autumn 2015, she graduated at the top of her class from the graduate school of the Hochschule fur Musik, with all professors awarding her highest grades, and received Germany's national qualification for musicians.

In 2002, Kishima received a fellowship for overseas study from the Japanese Ministry of Culture.

Official website: http://kishimamayu.seesaa.net/

BIOGRAPHY

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Edward Arron

Cello

Cellist Edward Arron has garnered recognition worldwide for his elegant musicianship, impassioned performances, and creative programming. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Arron made his New York recital debut in 2000 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Since that time, he has appeared in recital, as a soloist with major orchestras, and as a chamber musician throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

In 2013, Mr. Arron completed a ten-year residency as the artistic director of the critically acclaimed Metropolitan Museum Artists in Concert, a chamber music series created in 2003 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Museum's prestigious Concerts and Lectures series. Currently, he is the artistic director, host, and resident performer of the Musical Masterworks concert series in Old Lyme, Connecticut, as well as the Festival Series in Beaufort, South Carolina and Chamber Music on Main at the Columbia Museum in Columbia, SC. Additionally, Mr. Arron curates a series, "Edward Arron and Friends," at the Caramoor International Music Festival, and is the co-artistic director along with his wife, pianist Jeewon Park, of the new Performing Artists in Residence series at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Mr. Arron has performed numerous times at Carnegie's Weill and Zankel Halls, Lincoln Center's Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Halls, New York's Town Hall, and the 92nd Street Y, and is a frequent performer at Bargemusic. Festival appearances include Ravinia, Salzburg, Mostly Mozart, Bravo! Vail, Tanglewood, Bridgehampton, Spoleto USA, Santa Fe, Seattle Chamber Music, Kuhmo (Finland), PyeongChang, Charlottesville, Telluride Musicfest, Seoul Spring, Lake Champlain Chamber Music, Chesapeake Chamber Music, and Bard Music Festival. He has participated in Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project as well as Isaac Stern's Jerusalem Chamber Music Encounters.

Edward Arron began playing the cello at age seven in Cincinnati and continued his studies in New York with Peter Wiley. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he was a student of Harvey Shapiro. Mr. Arron joined the faculty at University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2016, and has served on the faculty of New York University since 2009.

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 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 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. He also presided as one of the core members of the Evermay Chamber Ensemble.

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 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.