Collab Showcase: Chamber Music with a Splash of Dance and Theater

Hsing-ay Hsu

A Steinway Artist, Hsing-ay Hsu is focused on the art of listening. Since her stage debut at age 4, she has built up her pianistic style through performing at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center NYC, and in Europe & Asia. International prizewinner, collaborator, producer, teacher/educator, owner of Nutmeg Studio, adjudicator, she hosts a YouTube channel and Café webinars to help music- lovers connect more deeply with music, people, and life. Born in Beijing, Ms. Hsu trained at Juilliard, Yale University, Aspen, Ravinia, and Tanglewood. She is currently on the summer faculty of Kaufman Center, Rocky Ridge in CO, and Chautauqua Institution adult programs, and was a faculty member at the University of Colorado before recently returning to New York. Bio at hsingayhsu.com.

Kari Docter

Kari Jane Docter, cello, has been a member of the MET Orchestra since 2002. A graduate of Rice University and The Juilliard School, her primary teachers include Eleonore Schoenfeld, Norman Fischer and Joel Krosnick. Before joining the MET, Kari performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the New World Symphony. As an orchestral and chamber musician, she has participated in numerous summer festivals, including Marlboro Music, Grand Teton Music Festival, Music in the Vineyards, and Tanglewood. Kari was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN, and now lives in New York City with her husband, violinist Bruno Eicher, and their two children.

Bruno Eicher

Violinist Bruno Eicher is Assistant Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, which he joined in 2001. He’s also on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music where he teaches orchestral repertoire. His wide-ranging orchestral experience includes performing with the Vienna Philharmonic and State Opera orchestras, The New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.As a member of the Met Orchestra ChamberEnsemble, Mr Eicher regularly performs at Carnegie Hall. A native of Burgundy, France, Mr. Eicher is a graduate of the Paris Conservatoire and the Juilliard School. He was the 2nd prize winner of the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition. He lives in Manhattan, with his wife, MET Orchestra cellist Kari Docter, and their two children. Mr Eicher plays an instrument made in 2011 by Christophe Landon, a copy of the “Circle” Stradivari.

Masumi Rostad

Praised for his “burnished sound” (The New York Times) and described as an “electrifying, poetic, and sensitive musician,” the Grammy Award-winning, Japanese-Norwegian violist Masumi Per Rostad hails from the gritty East Village of 1980s New York. Previously in the Pacifica Quartet, Rostad is one of the most sought after chamber musicians of our times. He was raised in an artist loft converted from a garage with a 1957 Chevy Belair as the remnant centerpiece in their living room. Masumi began his studies at the nearby Third Street Music School Settlement at age three and has gone on to become one of the most in demand soloists, chamber musicians, and teachers. In addition to maintaining an active performance schedule, he serves on the faculty of the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.

Daniel Kellogg

"Daniel Kellogg is one of the most exciting composers around – technically assured, fascinated by unusual sonic textures, unfailingly easy to listen to, yet far from simplistic.” wrote the Washington Post.  Kellogg has had premieres with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the Takács Quartet, and the Aspen Music Festival.  Solo works include commissions for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Chamber music projects include an acclaimed recording and commission for Eighth Blackbird. He has served as composer-in-residence for Young Concert Artists, the South Dakota Symphony, the Green Bay Symphony, and the Lexington Philharmonic. He was also a Professor of Composition at the University of Colorado, He is currently the President of Young Concert Artists in New York City.

Sarah Panayiotou Leñador

Sarah Leñador is a Cypriot-Puerto Rican dance-artist based in Upper Manhattan. She received a BFA in Dance and a minor in Arts for Social Change in 2016 from Marymount Manhattan College where she was voted “Most Likely to Change the World.” Sarah’s engagement with dance began at a young age when a speech impediment inhibited her ability to communicate verbally. She has since maintained a firm belief in dance’s ability to translate human truths across divisive issues and elevate the voices of marginalized peoples. She launched her dance company BABEL just one year after graduating. Committed to providing equitable engagement with dance in addition to their regular performances, BABEL partners with social justice organizations to translate their mission into emotionally resonant dance-films, hosts embodiment workshops for survivors of trauma, and offers free dance instruction to BIPOC teens in Upper Manhattan. BABEL receives financial support from the Howard Gilman Foundation, UMEZ, LMCC, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, ArtNOIR, NYFA and others.

Ariel Woodiwiss

Ariel Woodiwiss is a NYC based actor specializing in developing new works. Working extensively on the New York stage for the last decade, Ms. Woodiwiss has developed and premiered new works by Molly Smith Metzler (Netflix’s MAID), Rachel Bond (Jonah), A.R. (Pete) Gurney and with many New York theaters including: Roundabout Theatre, Page 73, Cherry Lane Theatre, NYTW, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Primary Stages and Clubbed Thumb. She holds an MFA from Southern Methodist University. As an educator, she has taught at NYC’s Michael Howard Studio, the 52nd Street Project and at Southern Methodist University where she taught for two years at the collegiate level while obtaining her MFA. She is a

proud member of SAG/AFTRA and Actors Equity.