This program features music by Mel Bonis and Carl Reinecke performed by Emma Gerstein, flute; Alexander Love, horn; and Winston Choi, piano.
Emma Gerstein is second flute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She was appointed to the post in 2017 by Music Director Riccardo Muti. Before her appointment to the CSO, she appeared with the Orchestra as a guest several times, including performances during the Asia 2016 tour with Riccardo Muti. Prior to joining the CSO, Gerstein most recently served as Principal Flute of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand. Gerstein was a Flute Fellow at the New World Symphony and Principal Flute of the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra in Kentucky. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as the Milwaukee and Seattle Symphony Orchestras.
Outside of her chair in the orchestra, Emma enjoys playing in smaller settings such as CSO MusicNow, a series featuring contemporary works curated by the CSO Composer in Residence, the CSO Chamber Series, and Once Upon A Symphony, a concert series for young children and families. Gerstein also serves as a flute coach for the students in the Civic Orchestra.
Known for her “especially beautiful work” (Chicago Reader), Emma remains an active chamber musician and soloist, recently appearing in Paquito D’Rivera’s Flute Concerto, Gran Danzon with the Lexington Philharmonic. Gerstein has performed with eighth blackbird, Chicago Chamber Musicians, Dempster Street Pro Musica, Civitas, and Spektral Quartet. Spring 2020 brings Gerstein back to Australia for more concerts with harpist Emily Granger.
A native of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, Gerstein began her flute studies at age 8 with Susan Levitin and was a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. She went on to study at Manhattan School of Music with Robert Langevin and at Indiana University with Thomas Robertello, and has participated in the Aspen, Spoleto USA, Sarasota, Orford and Cabrillo festivals.
Gerstein teaches at Roosevelt University and has given masterclasses at the University of Kentucky, Auckland University, Northwestern University, Indiana University, The Australian National Academy of Music, and as a guest of the Chicago Flute Club and the Utah Flute Association.
Courtesy of the artist’s website.
Alexander Love is an Australian Horn player currently living and working in the USA, serving in the capacity of Acting Associate Principal Horn with the Utah Symphony since early 2016.
Born and raised in Sydney, Alex first took up the Horn at the age of 9 to join the newly formed concert band at his primary school and fill out the under represented Horn section. Falling in love with the horn, Alex went on to attend the Sydney Conservatorium of Music High School. He completed a Bachelor of Music in performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studying with Ben Jacks, and then a year in the Sydney Symphony Fellowship program before moving to the US in 2010 to pursue a Master’s in Orchestral Performance at the Manhattan School of Music in New York with Erik Ralske as his teacher.
Alex relished his time in New York, performing in a wide array of settings from educational schools performances, to Off Broadway shows and jazz ensembles, whilst attending as many concerts as he could at Carnegie Hall, the Met Opera, Jazz clubs and other venues throughout the city. In 2011, while still in New York, Alex won a position in the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in New Jersey.
In 2012 Alex moved to Miami Beach to join The New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. The New World Symphony provided a unique environment to perform week to week with other inspiring young colleagues, whilst having periodic instruction from guest teachers, notably Julie Landsman and William Vermeulen among many others. Also during his time at New World Symphony Alex was involved with teaching and giving horn classes at Miami Northwestern High and had the opportunity to teach in Medellin, Colombia through the New World Symphony’s exchange with Academia Filarmónica de Medellín.
Alex has been a member of and performed with various Festival Orchestras around the world including the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland, Pacific Music Festival Orchestra in Japan, Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra and the Santo Domingo Music Festival Orchestra in the Dominican Republic. Previously, Alex was also a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra and toured with them to France, Germany, China, England, and Denmark as Principal Horn. Other orchestras Alex has performed with include the Australian Chamber Orchestra on tour and in Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Among the notable conductors Alex has worked with are Michael Tilson-Thomas, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Charles Dutoit, Neemi Jarvi, Manfred Honneck, Kent Nagano, Gianandrea Noseda, and Kurt Masur.
With additional experience in recording and musical theatre work, Alex has recorded on the soundtracks of major Hollywood movies including “Mad Max: Fury Road”, “Happy Feet,” “Australia”, “Jumper” and “Knowing”. He has also performed in productions in Sydney, Australia of “Phantom of the Opera” and “Wicked” and on the Off-Broadway production “Queen of the Mist” in NYC.
Biography courtesy of the artist’s website.
Canadian pianist Winston Choi is the Head of the Piano Program at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. His professional career was launched when he was named Laureate of the 2003 Honens Piano Competition and winner of France’s Concours International de Piano 20e siècle d’Orléans in 2002. An inquisitive performer, his fresh approach to standard repertory, and masterful understanding, performance and commitment to works by living composers, make him one of today’s most dynamic young concert artists.
Choi maintains an active international performing schedule. In demand as a concerto soloist, orchestras he has appeared with include the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the CBC Radio Orchestra, the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the East Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Iowa, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Iowa, the New Philharmonic, the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, La Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, the Symphony Orchestra of Oak Park and River Forest, l’Orchestre Symphony d’Orléans, l’Orchestre National de Lille, the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and the Victoria Symphony Orchestra.
Known for his colorful approach to programming and insightful commentary from the stage, Choi has recently appeared in recital at the National Arts Centre of Canada, the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, New York’s Carnegie-Weill Recital Hall and Merkin Recital Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., the Kravis Center in Florida, and the “Cicle Grans Solistes” in Spain. Choi performs extensively in France, having played venues such as the Salle Cortot, Lille’s Festival Rencontre Robert Casadesus, the Messiaen Festival, and the Strasbourg Festival. Frequently in demand throughout his native Canada, his numerous performances can often be heard on CBC radio broadcasts. Recently, he toured Eastern Ontario and Quebec under the auspices of Jeunesses Musicales and embarked on a 10-city Prairie Debut tour of the Canadian Prairie provinces. An accomplished chamber musician, he has performed with the Aeolus, Avalon, Philomusica and Spektral string quartets He also tours regularly with the Civitas Ensemble, and as a part of Duo Diorama (with his wife, violinist MingHuan Xu). As Duo Diorama, they are the Artistic Directors of the Unity Chamber Music Series held at the Unity Temple in Oak Park, IL.
As a dedicated champion of contemporary music, Choi has premiered and commissioned over 100 works by young composers as well as established masters. A composer himself, being involved with the creative process is an integral part of his artistry. He was the first pianist to perform Pierre Boulez’s last version of Incises in North America and made the South American premiere of Luciano Berio‘s Sonata for pianoforte solo. He also regularly appears in concert at IRCAM, the world’s most renowned institution for contemporary music. Composers he has collaborated with include William Bolcom, Elliott Carter, John Corigliano, Brian Ferneyhough, Jacques Lenot, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Bright Sheng, Christian Wolff, Chen Yi and John Zorn. He is also a core member of Ensemble Dal Niente. A frequent performer on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW Series, Choi has also performed with Contempo and the Fulcrum Point New Music Project.
A prolific recording artist, Choi’s debut CD, the complete piano works of Elliott Carter (l’Empreinte Digitale in France) was given 5 stars by BBC Music Magazine. He has also recorded the complete piano music of Jacques Lenot for the Intrada label, having won the Grand Prix du Disque from l’Académie Charles Cros for Volume I. His recording of the piano works of Thomas Adès was recently released on the Buisonne label. Other labels he can be heard on include Aeolian Classics, Albany, Arktos, BIS, Cedille, Crystal Records, Naxos, New World Records and QuadroFrame.
Choi obtained his Bachelor and Master of Music from Indiana University, and his DM from Northwestern University. His studies were with Vivienne Bailey, James Tweedie, Menahem Pressler and Ursula Oppens. An accomplished teacher, Choi is also in demand as a master class clinician and lecturer on a variety of pedagogical topics. Two of his presentations: “Towards a More Organic Approach to Phrasing at the Piano” and “Symmetrical Inversion: A Pianist’s Journey Towards Ambidexterity” have been presented nationally and internationally at conferences. Prior to his position at Roosevelt University, he was on the faculties of Bowling Green State University and the Oberlin Conservatory. He has been a guest professor at Indiana University, and he also currently teaches at the Academy of the Music Institute of Chicago
institution for contemporary music. Composers he has collaborated with include William Bolcom, Elliott Carter, John Corigliano, Brian Ferneyhough, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Bright Sheng, Christian Wolff, Chen Yi and John Zorn. He is also a core member of Ensemble Dal Niente. A frequent performer on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW Series, Choi has also performed with Contempo and the Fulcrum Point New Music Project.
Already a prolific recording artist, Choi’s debut CD, the complete piano works of Elliott Carter (l’Empreinte Digitale in France) was given 5 stars by BBC Music Magazine. He has also recorded the complete piano music of Jacques Lenot for the Intrada label, having won the Grand Prix du Disque from l’Académie Charles Cros for Volume I. His recording of the piano works of Thomas Adès was recently released on the Buisonne label. Other labels he can be heard on include Albany, Arktos, Crystal Records, Naxos and QuadroFrame.
Choi obtained his Bachelor and Master of Music from Indiana University, and his DM from Northwestern University. His studies were with Vivienne Bailey, James Tweedie, Menahem Pressler and Ursula Oppens. An accomplished teacher, he is also in demand as a master class clinician and lecturer on a variety of pedagogical topics. Prior to his position at Roosevelt University, he was on the faculties of Bowling Green State University and the Oberlin Conservatory. He has regularly been a guest faculty member at Indiana University, and he also currently teaches at the Academy of the Music Institute of Chicago.
Biography courtesy of Roosevelt University.
