Season Artists
Shanley Horvitz
Shanley Horvitz is a distinguished American soprano known for her versatility in the zwischenfach repertoire been reviewed to have "lovely, warm legato phrases, holding obvious power in reserve.” Recently, she made a captivating debut with the Wagner Society of New York in concert performing Wagner’s Wesendonck and also as Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff with Opera San Jose. As a young artist, Shanley has achieved remarkable success in prestigious competitions, claiming 1st place in renowned events like the Wagner Society of New York, International Czech and Slovak Competition, International Orpheus Competition, Mario Lanza Institute Competition, and Houston Gilbert & Sullivan Competition, showcasing her exceptional vocal prowess. Her recent debuts have been met with resounding acclaim, including a captivating portrayal of Anacoana in Franchetti's Cristoforo Colombo with Teatro Grattacielo and a concert debut at Carnegie Hall, where she assumed the title role in Bizet's Carmen, solidifying her reputation as a gifted and versatile artist. Hailing from New Jersey, Shanley is a distinguished graduate of Westminster Choir College and now is under Jennifer Rowley's expert tutelage. Her dedication to musical excellence continues to shine, as evidenced by her enthralling performances in Vienna at the Palais Ehrbar, performing with the esteemed PolyMuse Orchestra and recently when she debuted as La Gran Vestale in Spontini's La Vestale this past fall.
Kingsley Hsieh
Kingsley Hsieh, a 20-year-old American-Taiwanese clarinetist from Taipei, Taiwan, is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree at Mannes School of Music under Professor Charles Neidich, with eligibility for full tuition exemption. Kingsley is passionate about performing contemporary music. He is now the finalist in The George and Elizabeth Gregory Concerto Competition, where he is playing John Corigliano’s Clarinet Concerto. He won the 2023 Soloist Competition at Taipei National University of the Arts and performed Jörg Widmann’s Fantasie in April 2023. Additionally, Kingsley won 1st prize in the college division of the 2024 Adelphi Concerto Competition last April. He and his wind quintet have been invited to perform at various events, playing music from different periods, including Samuel Barber’s Summer Music, Carl Nielsen’s Wind Quintet, and works by several American composers.
Kingsley began learning the piano at a young age and majored in piano during elementary and middle school. Since high school, he majored in clarinet while continuing his piano studies. Throughout his youth and into high school, Kingsley participated in numerous piano competitions, played in piano chamber ensembles, played as a piano accompanist, and performed as the second pianist in piano concertos.
Matthew Hakkarainen
Matthew Hakkarainen is the first American violinist to win first prize at the Premio Rodolfo
Lipizer International Violin Competition, in Gorizia, Italy, where he also received three special
prizes for “a young, deserving talent,” the best interpretation of a 19th century sonata, and the
best interpretation of a 19th century concerto. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Curtis
Institute of Music, where he studied with Pamela Frank, and he currently attends the Juilliard
School, studying with Sylvia Rosenberg and Ronald Copes. Previous teachers Matthew has
studied with include Charles Castleman, Mauricio Fuks, Borislava Iltcheva, Huifang Chen, and
Maree Sawhney.
Matthew was recently awarded third prize at the Stuttgart International Violin Competition in
Germany. He also won the second prize, audience prize, and contemporary piece prize at the
Mirecourt International Violin Competition in France. In 2018, he won first place in the New
World Symphony’s Concerto Competition and performed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with
Michael Tilson Thomas and the NWS. Later that year, Matthew served as Concertmaster of
NYO-USA for its concert tour in Asia. In 2022, he won the Aspen Music Festival and School’s
Violin Competition, and performed as a soloist with the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra.
This past summer, he won first prize ex æquo in the Prix Ravel at the Conservatoire américain
de Fontainebleau with his performance of Maurice Ravel’s Tzigane. He has served as
Concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, the latter for which
he recorded the violin solos from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade for the orchestra’s first
Curtis Studio Label album, now available on Apple Music, Spotify, and other streaming
platforms. He is currently Associate Concertmaster of Symphony in C, and has also appeared
as a Substitute Violin with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Matthew has been featured on National Public Radio’s “From the Top,” and has performed as a
guest artist at FestivalSouth. In 2019, he went on a solo recital tour across three towns in
Northern Italy. Matthew has appeared as a soloist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra,
Jacksonville Symphony, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra,
Orchestra Sinfonica Bulgaria Classic di Plovdiv, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, New River
Orchestra, and others. Festivals he has attended include the Conservatoire américain de
Fontainebleau, Aspen Music Festival and School, Music Academy of the West, Castleman
Quartet Program, Orford Musique, Ferme de Villefavard Summer Academy, Meadowmount
School of Music, and Music@Menlo Chamber Music Institute. Matthew is also honored to be a
Center for Musical Excellence Young Artist, and a faculty member at Musart Music.
A native of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Matthew completed his Master of Music in
violin performance. He is very grateful to perform on a 1790 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin and an
Étienne Pajeot bow graciously provided by the company CANIMEX INC., from Drummondville
(Québec), Canada. Matthew also recently received his dual citizenship with Finland.
Gilad Cohen
Gilad Cohen is an active composer, performer, and theorist in various genres including concert music, rock, and music for theatre. His music adapts features from a wide range of musical realms and explores possible interactions among them, bringing to his creative table influences from rock, impressionism, grunge, klezmer, Arabic music, and avant-garde. Gilad has received commissions from Barlow Endowment, Chamber Music America, ASCAP, Concert Artists Guild, Parlance Chamber Concerts, and the Jerusalem Music Center, among others. His music was performed in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle-East by artists such as Nash Ensemble of London, Decoda, Brentano Quartet, Mivos Quartet, PUBLIQuartet, Israeli Chamber Project, and principal players of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Budapest Festival Orchestra, and his works were released on Albany Records, Naxos/Delos, and Navona Records. Gilad’s notable awards include the Barlow Prize, the Israeli Prime Minister Award for Composers, and top prizes in international competitions in the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle-East. Gilad has played piano, bass guitar and guitar with various ensembles at venues in the US, Canada, Mexico and Israel including New York’s Merkin Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Symphony Space. An Associate Professor of Music at Ramapo College of New Jersey, Gilad holds a Ph.D. in composition from Princeton University. His research about the music of Pink Floyd has resulted in publications in books and academic journals (such as Music Theory Spectrum), lectures in the US and Israel, and the first-ever academic conference devoted to the band that he produced in 2014 at Princeton University together with composer Dave Molk. www.giladcohen.com
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