Andrew Pearce, cello

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Andrew Pearce, cellist, Lakeway Masterpiece Series/Lakeway Chamber Players Founder and Artistic Director, earned his degree at University of Southern California in the class of legendary cellist Lynn Harrell. He has performed solos with the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics, Boston Pops, Utah Symphony and Polish Chamber Orchestra, among many others. During his 20 years playing cello in orchestra, he performed in many of the great halls of Europe and Asia, and also played lots of trios with his group, the Boston Trio, as well as other groups performing across Canada and New England. At the ripe age of 44, Andrew traded a tenured job in one America’s top five orchestras, the Boston Symphony, for the risk and thrill of a future in real estate in Austin, TX. And though building and developing is an adventure all its own, he never lost his passion for chamber music. Nowadays, Andrew divides his time between family, real estate, and living life to the fullest while sharing his love for music as cellist and Artistic Director of the new Lakeway Masterpiece Concert Series.

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SEUM Chamber

 

Founded in 2021, SEUM Chamber is a dynamic string ensemble that performs in a variety of configurations, including string duo, trio, piano trio, and string quartet. The ensemble’s repertoire spans a wide range of genres, from Baroque, Classical, and Romantic to Contemporary music.

 

Comprised of violinists Hyeryun Cha and Mikyung Kim Kwon, violist Rachel Kim, and cellist Hyunmi Cho, SEUM Chamber has showcased its exceptional musicianship in numerous performances throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area, appearing in prestigious concert halls and at various church events.

 

In addition to their performance careers, members of SEUM Chamber are committed educators, serving as faculty members at Semihan Music Academy and local public schools, where they nurture the next generation of musicians.

 

Since 2023, SEUM Chamber has been performing annually and is looking forward to its upcoming recital in March.

Andrey Ponochevny, piano

 

Andrey Ponochevny’s career has encompassed the globe as a preeminent talent among performing artists today. Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer has written that, “His performance seized attention from first note to last.” Additionally, The Washington Post stated that his playing had “power and finesse that brought the audience to its feet in a long-standing ovation.”

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Ponochevny has received prizes at many international piano competitions including the Bronze Medal at the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow, First Prize at the William Kapell International Piano Competition in Maryland and First Prize at the Tomassoni International Piano Competition in Cologne. His other competition accolades include awards at international competitions in Prague, Warsaw (Chopin), Dublin, Hong Kong, Riga and New Orleans.

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Among his numerous awards, he was twice named “Outstanding Artist in China” (2009 and 2011), “Honorable Professor” of Jilin College of Arts (China) and “Visiting Professor” at Beihua University (China). In his hometown of Minsk (Belarus), he was awarded the title “Minskovite of the year” in 2002.

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In the concert hall, Ponochevny has garnered equal success having performed extensively in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. He has given solo recitals at major venues including Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City, The Kennedy Center and Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., Preston Bradley Hall in Chicago, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Philharmonie in Cologne, City Hall in Hong Kong, Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria in Santander, Salle Alfred Cortot in Paris, National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw, Stadtcasino in Basel and the Harbin Opera House in China.

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Ponochevny’s appearances with orchestras include performances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic, Des Moines Symphony, Irving Symphony, Plano Symphony, Belarusian State Chamber Orchestra, East Texas Symphony, Rogue Valley Symphony, Illinois Symphony, Nashua Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, Wuhan Philharmonic, Tianjin Symphony, Xinjiang Philharmonic, Belarusian State Symphony and the Orquestra Filarmonica del Municipio de Guayaquil, among others.

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His concerts have been broadcast on WGBH Boston, WQXR New York, WFMT Chicago, WDR Cologne (Germany), Kultura Minsk (Belarus), SIRTVS Ljubljana (Slovenia), ROROR Bucharest (Romania), AUABC Adelaide (Australia), and DKDR Copenhagen (Denmark). Ponochevny has also performed at many prestigious festivals including the Ruhr Klavier Festival and International Ludwigsburg Festival (Germany), Serie de los Nuevos Virtuosos (Puerto Rico), Bravissimo Festival (Guatemala), International Keyboard Institute & Festival (New York City, NY), Changchun International Festival (China), Piano Texas (Fort Worth, TX), Music in the Mountains (Durango, CO) and Lanzhou International Piano Festival (China).

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Mr. Ponochevny is currently teaches at Southern Methodist University (Dallas) and at the University of Dallas, (Irving).

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Mr. Ponochevny is a Yamaha Artist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sari Pearce, violin

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Sari Pearce, violinist and Lakeway Masterpiece Series/Lakeway Chamber Players Founder, started her violin lessons at age 3, after given a choice of either start going to a preschool, where her 2 older sisters came home crying every day, or stay home and start taking violin lessons. It paid off and she has been playing ever since! After studying with a well-known pedagogue Gwen Thompson in Vancouver BC Canada, who populated the city with exceptional violinists, Sari went on to study with Eudice Shapiro at the University of Southern California, earning her BM in Performance, and where she met her husband/partner Andrew. She went on to play with the Boston Pops, Pasadena Chamber Orchestra, CBC Radio Orchestra, and Vancouver Opera Orchestra. Currently, she’s an award winning full-time broker associate at Christie’s International Real Estate as an inaugural agent to open its branch in Austin, TX.

 

When she’s not selling homes and playing her violin with her husband of 34+ years, she enjoys doing handstands and other high intensity training at Elite Core Pilates Studio several times a week, taking care of her flock of hens for fresh eggs, and volunteering at several organizations. She’s excited to be back performing chamber music again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minji Kim, cello
 

Cellist Minji Kim joined the DSO on February 21, 2022. Kim has appeared as a principal cellist of the Colburn Orchestra, the Music Academy Festival Orchestra and Seoul National University Orchestra.
 

She has performed as a soloist with many orchestras, including the Colburn Orchestra, Wratislavia Chamber Orchestra, the Gyeonggi Philharmonic, the Jeju Philharmonic and the Daegu Philharmonic Orchestra.  Kim has won prizes in numerous competitions, including Alice & Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition, Osaka International Music Competition, Tecchler- Foster Cello Competition at New England Conservatory and New York International Artist Competition.
 

Minji Kim received a bachelor’s degree from the Seoul National University with Youngsook Yoon and a Master of Music degree and a Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory studying under Paul Katz. She received an Artist Diploma from the Colburn School, where she studied with Clive Greensmith, Ronald Leonard and Hans Jensen.

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Eunice Keem, violin

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Violinist Eunice Keem has established herself as a dynamic and engaging artist, equally compelling as both soloist and chamber musician. A Chicago native, she attended Carnegie Mellon University for her music studies. After joining the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in September of 2011, she began her new position as Associate Concertmaster in the 2014/15 season.
 

As a soloist, Keem has been a featured with orchestras such as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, National Chamber Orchestra, Park Ridge Civic Orchestra, Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and Evanston Symphony, among others. A winner of numerous competitions, she received first and top prizes at the Irving M. Klein International Competition, Schadt International Competition, Corpus Christi International Competition, Kingsville International Competition, as well as a Paganini Prize at the 7th International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, among others.
 

As a chamber musician, Keem was a member of the Fine Arts Trio, first place winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. They also performed on Chicago WFMT’S “Dame Myra Hess Concert Series” and “Live from Studio One”. Several years later, she again received first prize at the Fischoff National Competition, this time with the Orion Piano Trio. She was also a founding member of Carnegie Mellon University’s Starling Quartet, with whom she toured Costa Rica, China and the United States in their series of concerts and masterclasses, Keem has participated in the Grand Teton, Lake George, Colorado and Breckenridge Music Festivals. She currently serves as adjunct professor of violin at the University of North Texas.

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Matthew Sinno, viola

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     Matthew Sinno, a Massachusetts native, joined the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Viola during the 2021/22 season. Prior to that he served as Associate Principal and Acting Principal Viola with the Kansas City Symphony. Mr. Sinno has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as a substitute player. Winner of the 2014 Juilliard Concerto Competition, Mr. Sinno performed Hindemith’s “Der Schwanendreher” in Alice Tully Hall with the Juilliard Orchestra. Other solo appearances include those with the Kansas City Symphony, Music Academy International Festival Orchestra and Boston Youth Symphony. An avid chamber musician, he performs regularly at Sebago Long Lake Music Festival in Maine.

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Mr. Sinno received both his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, as well as a Post-Bacclaureate Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music. His primary instructors include Toby Appel, Heidi Castleman, Roberto Diaz and Cynthia Phelps.

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Grace Kang Wollett, violin

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Korean-American violinist Grace Kang Wollett is the acting associate concertmaster of The Dallas Opera Orchestra and the violinist of MAKE, with clarinetist Danny Goldman and pianist Mikhail Berestnev. Grace began her violin studies at the age of eight in Nottingham, England and moved to New York City at the age of fourteen to pursue her dream of becoming a professional violinist. Since then, Grace has performed extensively all over the globe, including venues such as The Royal Albert Hall, Al Hussein Cultural Center, Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, Steinway Hall NYC, Dallas City Performance Hall, The Winspear Opera House, and even The Grand 'Ol Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
Grace believes very strongly in the power of music and has endeavored in numerous
community engagement activities including the Gluck Community Service Fellowship at The Juilliard School, where she performed in various hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. She has performed for the Garland Police Department and organized "For my Other Half," a concert series that raised funds for food and clothing for North Koreans. She also embarked on a 5-city tour in Turkey sponsored by the Korean Embassy.
     Grace has also been sought after for her innate teaching ability. Grace was the
Teaching Assistant to Stephen Clapp at The Juilliard School, violin faculty at The Fine Arts Music Academy, and has taught masterclasses at the Royal Music Academy in Jordan. Grace also played an integral part in launching a music program in a school in Zarqa, Jordan. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music from The Juilliard School. Grace currently resides in Plano, TX with her husband Scott and children Jonny and Maddie, and Lotte "Lottie".

Mikhail Berestnev, piano

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Equally adept as a recitalist, soloist, and chamber musician, Mikhail Berestnev brings to every performance the experiences of a career spanning the globe, including performances in cities such as Sydney, Dublin, Moscow, Brussels, Rio de Janeiro, and Barcelona in addition to concert halls across the United States.
He has performed as a featured soloist with the Sydney Symphony, Brazilian Symphony, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Fort Worth Symphony, Corpus
Christi Symphony, Irving Symphony, Plano Symphony, San Angelo Symphony, Russian Philharmonic Orchestras of Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh, and Yaroslavl.
Recent collaborations include solo appearances under the direction of Maestro Hector Guzman, composer Dr Robert Xavier Rodriguez. In chamber music with violinists Emanuel Borok, Aaron Boyd, Hubert Pralitz, Eunice Keem, with the MAKE Trio (Danny Goldman, clarinet & Grace Kang Wollet, violin), Julius String Quartet. Performed as a soloist and collaborative at music festivals such as Piano Texas International Festival and Academy (Fort Worth, TX), Basically Beethoven Festival (Dallas, TX), International Keyboard Odyssiad & Festival (Fort Collins, CO).

Mikhail Berestnev is Artist-in-Residence with the St Matthews Cathedral Arts Program in Dallas, guest artist and collaborative pianist with the "Musica Nova" Ensemble at the University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Ballet Theater, and featured artist at the "Cliburn in the Classroom" Program by The Cliburn Foundation. He won prizes at Gnessins International Competition, Stanislav Neuhaus International Competition, Sydney International Competition of Australia, BNDES International Piano Competition in Rio de Janeiro and American International Piano Festival & Competition in Washington DC. Graduated from the Russian Academy of Music named after Gnessins, Texas Christian University College of Fine Arts and Meadows School of Arts at the Southern Methodist University. He studied piano with Irina Grebyonkina, Andrei Khitruk, Alexei Skavronski, Vladimir Tropp, Tamás Ungár and Joaquin Achucarro.

Stas Chernyshev, clarinet

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An "eloquent" clarinetist with "incredible artistry” Russian-born Stas Chernyshev has established a versatile career as an orchestral musician, soloist, chamber musician, and educator (Dallas Morning News, Theater Jones). Principal clarinetist of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Chernyshev has performed at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall in New York, Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as in Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Russia, South Korea and Japan. A devoted chamber musician, Mr. Chernyshev has collaborated with Grammy-winning ensembles Eighth Blackbird and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra,  commissioned new works for his instrument. He has
been featured on WQXR -New York’s classical music station and WHYY’s television program - On Stage at Curtis. Mr. Chernyshev holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and a Master’s degree from St. Petersburg Conservatory.

Christopher McGuire, classical guitar

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Christopher McGuire commands the many expressive qualities of the guitar with what one critic called “unselfconscious intensity.” His engaging performance style invites people of all ages to feel as if they are taking part, not just taking a seat.

Andrés Segovia wrote that he is “…an artist, sensitive, with perfect technique…he will be appreciated and applauded everywhere.”

McGuire’s direct influences include private lessons with Maestro Segovia and jam sessions with Stevie Ray Vaughn. Christopher has also shared a stage with legendary pianist Van Cliburn.

He is the founder and Artistic Director of the *Allegro Guitar Society, serving North Central Texas since 1995.

McGuire has performed more than 1500 solo concerts in the United States, Mexico, Japan, Venezuela, Germany, Spain, and the Canary Islands. He has played for past presidents of the United States and Mexico, and for members of the Spanish Royal Family.

A great lover of chamber music, he has been a guest artist with many orchestras and ensembles and also performs his own compositions and arrangements with his eclectic chamber group D’Accord and the Allegro Jazz Ensemble.

Christopher has collaborated with many great musicians including Charlie Byrd, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Bucky Pizzarelli, Howard Alden, Roland Dyens, Carlos Bonell, Karin Schaup, José Feghli, and Swang Lin.

He has presented more than 2,500 community outreach performances at various schools (including many Title 1 schools), assisted living facilities and other venues in cities throughout North America, Spain, Venezuela and Japan.

In 1985, Chris won First Prize in the Dallas Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition and subsequently performed Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for Guitar with the DCO.

McGuire has served as a judge for multiple Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) International Competitions and served on the jury of the 14th International Guitar Competition at Fundación Alirio Diaz in Carora, Venezuela, and the Internationales Gitarrenfestival Heinsberg in Germany.

He has presented numerous masterclasses and lecture demonstrations for prestigious institutions including Arizona State University, the Juilliard School, Alaska Pacific University, and the GFA.

He has studied with or performed in master classes for several of the world’s foremost guitarists including Andrés Segovia, Oscar Ghiglia, Pepe Romero, Robert Guthrie and José Tomás. He received full scholarships to Southern Methodist University (SMU) and to the Aspen Music Festival.

In the summers of 1980-82 McGuire had both classes and private lessons with Maestro Segovia and the great Spanish composer Federico Moreno-Torroba.

Stevie Ray Vaughn, who at one time played in a band with Christopher’s brother Patrick, was a regular in the McGuire family music room in the early 1970’s and taught Christopher to play the blues in weekly jam sessions.

McGuire previously taught at the collegiate level for 25 years, serving on the faculties of the University of Dallas and North Lake College.

He now devotes most of his time to performing, teaching, overseeing the Allegro Guitar Society as Artistic Director, and spending time with his family.

*Allegro Guitar Society is a DBA of the Fort Worth Classic Guitar Society, a 501c3 nonprofit arts organization registered in the State of Texas.

Steve Harlos, piano

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Steven Harlos (b. 1953) finds himself equally at home on the concert stage, in the jazz club, or in the pit of a Broadway musical.  He performs regularly in a wide range of roles including concerto soloist, chamber musician, and in contemporary works involving electronics and improvisation.  He has performed with such diverse artists as Timofei Dokschutzer, Harvey Phillips, Dick Hyman, Marvin Gaye and Maureen McGovern.  In 2010, he presented the world premiere of Dysfunctional, a piano concerto written for him by American composer and jazz artist Stephen Anderson.  2021 marked the release of his recording of solo piano music by Dick Hyman. In 2022, he retired as staff keyboardist for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra after 26 seasons with the orchestra.

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Currently, he serves as chair of the Division of Keyboard Studies at the University of North Texas. He is also a successful composer--his Sonata Rubata for flute and piano was published by Southern Music Company, and Benniana, his jazz sonata for clarinet and piano is gaining worldwide popularity. In 2021 he completed and premiered Billiana, Sonata #2 for clarinet and piano. Other works include Three Bach Inventions Re-Invented in the styles of Busoni, Godowsky, and Rachmaninoff for piano solo.

Carol Harlos, cello

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     In great demand as a freelance cellist, Carol Harlos maintains a busy schedule performing with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and numerous other chamber music ensembles ni the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She has performed with the Dallas Opera, Honolulu Symphony, Colorado Philharmonic (assistant principal cello), San Antonio Symphony, East Texas Symphony, and Texas Chamber Orchestra. Carol Higa Harlos was born ni Honolulu, Hawaii. She received a bachelor of music from Indiana University, a master of music from the University of Western Ontario and an artist diploma from the University of Toronto. Her principal teachers were Fritz Magg, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and Vladmir Orloff. She also has studied privately with Raya Garbousova and Gabor Retjo and taken masterclasses with János Starker, Aldo Parisot, Jules Eskin and Samuel Mayes. She has participated in the Banff and Sarasota summer chamber music festivals.

Carol has played chamber music concerts with Duo Renard and with faculty members of the College of Music at the University of North Texas, including her husband, pianist Steven Harlos. She has taught numerous cellists of all ages during the past twenty years, and continues to enjoy teaching privately.