About the performers!
Natalie Vargas-Nedvetsky:
Hailed by the epoch times as "a profoundly sensitive musician", Natalie Vargas Nedvetsky is a pianist, poet, and communicator dedicated to the intertwining of words and music through creative mediums. A student of Boris Slutsky at Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, she has previously studied with Joseph Kalichstein and Matti Raekallio at The Juilliard School. She was named a Wilhelm Kempff Scholar in 2015 and is a prizewinner of the numerous international piano competitions, including the Bradshaw & Buono and Yamaha USASU International Piano Competitions. She has been invited to perform at the Aspen Music Festival and School, as well as Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, considered the “cradle of chamber music in America”. Other recent appearances include the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series and Juilliard’s PianoScope and ChamberFest. In her solo performances - which span halls internationally such as Harris Theatre, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, Concert Noble Brussels, and more - she combines poems and piano repertoire, creating a rich and surprising artistic journey for her listeners. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Literary Music Series, an interdisciplinary performing arts series that champions the joining of art forms through weekly meaningful performances and discussions.
Nina Bernat:
Double bassist Nina Bernat is the first prize winner at the 2019 International Society of Bassists
Solo Competition. At the age of 19, she performed as guest principal of the Israel Philharmonic under Adrás Schiff and Osmo Vänskä as well as with the New York Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel. As a recipient of the 2019 Keston MAX Fellowship, she performed with the London Symphony Orchestra on a subscription series concert at the Barbican Centre and in a chamber music concert for LSO Discovery Day at LSO St. Lukes. Particularly interested in chamber music, she has performed with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players and been a part of Juilliard Chamberfest. Nina performed Mozart’s Per Questa Bella Mano with the Juilliard Chamber Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall as a winner of the Juilliard Double Bass Competition. Nina began studying under the instruction of her father and former member of the Israel Philharmonic, Mark Bernat. She has continued her studies with Tim Cobb and Rex Surany at the Juilliard School as a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship. She has been an invited participant of festivals such as the Verbier Festival Orchestra, Music Academy of the West, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Yellowbarn Young Artists Program, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar.
Caroline Yao:
18-year-old cellist Jiaxun Yao was born in Qingdao, China, graduated from Juilliard Pre-College and will begin her bachelor`s degree at The Juilliard School studying with Richard Aaron and
Timothy Eddy. Jiaxun is a recipient of From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award
and has appeared on From the Top on NPR. At the age of ten, Jiaxun was accepted by the Central Conservatory of Music Elementary School in Beijing. She is the first prize winner at the 2013 Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition, the 2017 Juilliard Pre-College Cello Concerto Competition, the 2018 New York Chamber Player Orchestra Concerto Competition, and the Spectrum Symphony Young Artist Concerto Competition. In the 35th Irving Klein International Competition, she is the second prize winner and has received the Best Performance of the Commissioned Work award. At the age of twelve, Jiaxun made her debut at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She has collaborated with many orchestras such as the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra in 2014 and 2018, the Orchestra of Qingdao Concert Hall in 2016 and 2017, the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony in 2017, the New York Chamber Orchestra in 2018, and Spectrum Symphony in 2019. She has attended prestigious summer festivals including the Aspen Music Festival in 2019, Meadowmount School of Music, Center Stage Strings, and has given solo, chamber music, and orchestral concerts. She has participated in masterclasses with Frans Helmerson, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Andres Diaz, Jian Wang, Liwei Qin.