You know them as classy and elegant, but come find out why Mozart and Schubert are the perfect opener to a raucous, racy, and wildly exciting Friday night!

Program

Rebecca Clarke - Viola Sonata

I. Impetuoso - ma non troppo Allegro

II. Vivace

III. Adagio

Franz Schubert - Piano Trio in B-flat major, D.898

I. Allegro moderato

II. Andante un poco mosso

Joe Hisaishi/Wesley Chu - “Chihiro’s Rhapsody” from Spirited Away

W. A. Mozart - Piano Quartet in G minor, K.478

I. Allegro

II. Andante

III. Rondo

Aaron Chan, violin 

Liana Branscome, violin 

Troy Stephenson, viola 

Mairéad Flory, cello 

Chris Soong, piano 

Annie Kwok, piano 

Tong Wang, piano

Aaron Chan (he/him)

Violin

Currently as a resident of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Aaron came to public attention when he won the Golden Violin Competition in 2019. Aaron received his Bachelor of Music with Stephen Rose and Jinjoo Cho at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) and McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, and completed his Masters degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of music under the guidance of Paul Kantor. As a soloist and chamber musician, Aaron has participated in established festivals such as MISQA, Kronberg Academy Masterclass, Verbier Festival Academy (Soloist and Chamber Music), ENCORE Chamber Music, etc.

Liana Branscome (she/her)

Violin

Liana Branscome is the first prize winner of the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota Competition Scholarship Level (2015), the Boca Raton Symphonia Concerto Competition (2014), the Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition (2014) and second prize winner of the New World Symphony Young Artist Competition (2014). She has appeared as soloist with the Vidin Philharmonia in Bulgaria, Palm Beach Atlantic Symphony, the Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra and the Treasure Coast Youth Symphony. She has also performed as guest artist at the Newport Music Festival in Rhode Island and the Auras Nunes Aula de Cámara in Santiago, Spain. Liana has given numerous recitals throughout the United States, Spain, Portugal and London. She has performed solo and chamber music in venues such as the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall and Indiana University’s Auer Hall. In the spring of 2022, Liana was a member of the Heifetz Institute’s Ensemble in Residence. Liana graduated with her Master of Music in violin performance at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music where she studied under Glenn Dicterow. She received her Bachelor of Music at the New England Conservatory under the instruction of Paul Biss and Lucy Chapman. Her precollege teachers include David and Linda Cerone. Liana served as a Fellow in NEC’s Community Performances and Partnerships Program where she presented numerous solo and duo recitals in the Boston community. In 2016, she founded the Palm Beach Gardens Soirée Series, an in-house concert series designed to build connection and community between the performer and the audience. Liana served as a teaching assistant at the University of Southern California in non-major violin. She also served as a guest adjudicator for the Florida Orchestra Association’s Solo and Ensemble Competition and has presented several masterclasses and recitals at schools in South Florida, Boston and Southern California.

Troy Stephenson (he/him)
Viola

Troy is a violist from Houston, Texas. Having started playing at the age of 11, he began to develop a love for music from the very beginning. From there, he went on to pursue music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with Kirsten Docter. In 2020, Troy graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance and is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at McGill University's Schulich School of Music with Andre Roy. Troy has participated in festivals and masterclasses across North America and has worked with artists such as Jeffrey Irvine, Andrew Wan, James Dunham, Merry Peckham, the Jupiter Quartet, and more. An advocate for equity, Troy initiated a series of discussions entitled "Black Voices in the Conservatory", a round table discussion that has inspired administration and faculty alike to change the education, systems, language, and student life at his alma mater.”

Mairéad Flory (she/her)

Cello

Cellist Mairéad Flory, 22, has performed at the Augarten Palais in Vienna, Austria, the Concert Hall of the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, Belgium, and the Concert Hall, Terrace Theater, and Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. She has soloed with the Piedmont Symphony Orchestra, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, the National Philharmonic, and the US Army Orchestra. Mairéad was a National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellow for three years. She also attended the 2017 National YoungArts Week as a winner. Mairéad has participated in the Altensteiger Sommermusik Festival, the Kinhaven School of Music, the Heifetz International Music Institute, the National Arts Center Young Artist Program, the Keshet Eilon Summer Mastercourse, the Orford Music Academy, and is a Teaching Assistant at the Meadowmount School of Music. Mairead studied with Viviane Spanoghe of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, with Amit Peled of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, and recently graduated from her bachelors at Northwestern University with Hans Jorgen Jensen. She is now getting her masters at the University of Southern California with Ralph Kirshbaum and David Geringas.

Chris Soong (he/him)
Piano

Toronto native Chris Soong began his piano studies at the age of five with Professor Nancy Hou and received his ARCT in Piano Performance with Honours in 2009. Chris completed both his Bachelor (16’) and Master of Music (18’) degrees in Piano Performance at the University of Toronto, having studied with Professors Boris Lysenko and Marietta Orlov. He completed his Graduate Diploma in Performance Degree (21’) in Collaborative Piano at McGill University, under the tutelage of Professor Kyoko Hashimoto. Chris actively participates in international summer festivals such as the Orford Arts Academy (Canada), Texas State International Piano Festival (USA), Adamant Music School (USA), Gijon International Summer Festival (Spain), Bowdoin International Music Festival (USA) and The International Holland Music Sessions (Netherlands) and the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity (Canada). He has had the privilege of working with renowned faculty such as Anton Nel, John O’Conor, Menahem Pressler, Boris Berman, Robert McDonald, Ronan O’Hora, Julian Martin, Yong Hi Moon, Logan Skelton, to name a few. Chris is currently in his second year of doctoral studies (DMus) in Collaborative Piano at McGill University, continuing his studies with Professor Kyoko Hashimoto.

Annie Kwok (she/her)

Piano

Annie Kwok began studying the piano at age four in her hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii, where her teachers included the late Ellen Masaki and Dr. Thomas Yee. She received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees with a Music-In-Education concentration from the New England Conservatory of Music, studying with Bruce Brubaker. Interested in transforming the dynamics of audience-performer relationships, Annie has curated community performances and interactive programs as an NEC Community Performances and Partnerships fellow, Early Education Music intern at the Rock and Roll Daycare in Cambridge, and member of From The Top's Center for the Development of Arts Leaders. Following graduation, Annie traveled the world performing chamber music on ships as a Lincoln Center Stage pianist, eating, zip-lining, and hiking her way through 30 different countries. She currently teaches at the Masaki School of Music in Honolulu, Hawaii, where her students range from age five to 15.