2025 Performers
Nicholas Leh Baker, conductor
Texas-born conductor, Nicholas Leh Baker, is quickly establishing himself as a dynamic conductor and teacher of conducting with expertise in leveraging in-depth knowledge and experience of the standard and contemporary orchestral repertoire. Praised for a great personable demeanor, strong work ethic, and high dedication to the success and comprehensive understanding of the importance of every students’ success in the orchestral environment.
Nicholas was recently selected as a finalist for the 2023-2024 American Prize in Conducting. He has been praised for his conducting style, energy, and connection with the music. The Houston Chronicle has applauded Nicholas for his innovative programming, calling him “The Idea Man.”
Nicholas is currently the Artistic Director of The Americas Cultural Youth Orchestra, head faculty at The Lima Conducting Workshop in Lima, Peru with Rafael Reyes, and Festival Director and Chief Conductor of the Young Artists Music Festival in Texas. He frequently assists and is cover conductor for ensembles at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music as well as assistant conductor of The Houston Brass Band.
Recently, Nicholas made his conducting debuts with the Austin Symphony, the Lviv Philharmonic in Ukraine, the String Orchestra of Brooklyn with guest violinist, Giora Schmidt, and with the Syzygy Contemporary Ensemble at the Meadows School of the Arts. He has previously worked with ensembles including Alia Musica Pittsburgh, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Sonus Chamber Orchestra, and was Principal Guest Conductor with the Houston Symphonic Band for three years. In addition, Nicholas has served as the resident conductor for The Foundation of Modern Music.
Nicholas has actively participated in several masterclasses and distinguished festivals, most notably with world-renowned conducting teachers, Marin Alsop and Gustav Meier at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and the International Conducting Workshop and Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Nicholas is also a dedicated violinist and chamber musician, known for founding Duo Scordatura, an ensemble dedicated to premiering numerous new chamber music works. Duo Scordatura made their New York debut in 2016 to a nearly sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.
Nicholas Leh Baker is a graduate of SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts. His notable conducting teachers include Larry Rachleff, Don Schleicher, Gustav Meier, and Paul Phillips.
Ginevra Petrucci, Flute
Hailed by the press as “one of the most interesting talents of her generation”, Ginevra Petrucci has performed at Carnegie Hall (New York), Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Salle Cortot (Paris), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Villa Medici (Rome), Ohji Hall (Tokyo), as well as throughout China, South America and the Middle East.
As a soloist, she has appeared in concert with I Pomeriggi Musicali, I Virtuosi Italiani, and the Chamber Orchestra of New York, and has released the first recordings of Edouard Dupuy and Ferdinand Buchner’s Concertos. Her chamber music experience has brought her to appear alongside pianists Bruno Canino and Boris Berman, and to a long-standing collaboration with the Kodály Quartet, with whom she has released the highly acclaimed recording of the complete Flute Quintets by Friedrich Kuhlau. Her recording of Robert Muczynski’s Sonata has been praised as “oozing with lifeblood and zest … enthralling and rousing”. In 2017 she rediscovered and recorded Wilhelm Kempff’s Quartet for flute, strings and piano and toured Italy with its premiere performances.
In 2018, she promoted the 200th anniversary of flute virtuoso Giulio Briccialdi through the release of the first recording of his four Concertos, where her playing was described as having “beautiful phrasing, brilliant virtuosity and a legato worthy of a great singer.” On the same occasion, she founded the Giulio Briccialdi Online Catalogue, the only existing online platform with a full downloadable catalogue dedicated to the flutist-composer. Her lectures on Briccialdi and the Romantic Virtuoso Flute Concerto have been hosted by Columbia University, Eastman School of Music, Stony Brook University, the Royal Academy in Dublin, the Chopin Academy in Warsaw, the Paderewsky Academy in Poznan, the Liszt Academy in Budapest, and the Hangzhou University in China.
Ginevra devotes much of her artistic endeavors to contemporary music. At Yale University she collaborated with composers George Crumb, Steve Reich, Betsy Jolas, and Kaija Saariaho, performing the American premiere of Terrestre. She commissioned Jean-Michel Damase’s last composition, 15 Rubayat d’Omar Khayyam for voice, flute, and harp, and she has appeared at the Venice Biennale Contemporary Music Festival with a commissioning project dedicated to Witold Lutosławski. In 2018 she founded the Flauto d’Amore Project, a large-spanning commission endeavor aimed at the creation of a new music repertoire for the modern flauto d’amore. After the premiere concert in New York City in May 2019, over twenty composers have written, or are in the process of writing new works for the instrument. The next premiere concerts, as well as one-off performances exploring the instrument in different musical styles, are planned for the next three years, as well as residencies, lecture-recitals, recordings, editions and outreach programs.
She has curated the edition of over twenty musical editions, including Briccialdi Concertos for Ricordi/Hal Leonard and first editions of works by Mercadante, Jommelli, Morlacchi, Busoni, De Lorenzo and Brescianello for Keiser/ Southern Music Company and other editors. Her book on the history and repertoire of the flute is adopted in several Italian Conservatories as reference text for the Masters programs. Her scholarly articles appear in the Flutist Quarterly, as well as in the leading flute magazines in Italy and France.
Ginevra holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Stony Brook University, and a Master of Music from Yale University. Her education includes a Master’s degree from Santa Cecilia Conservatory in her native Rome under the guidance of her father, and a Diplome Superieur at the École Normale in Paris. She currently serves as Principal Flute and as Operations Manager at Chamber Orchestra of New York.
Shannon Lee Hayden, Cello
Innovative performer/composer Shannon Hayden has carved a distinctive niche in the music world, touring globally for over a decade with her unique setup: a 19th-century cello enhanced by modern amplification and electronic modifications.
Her sound, deeply rooted in classical music, has been equally shaped by a lifelong passion for experimental soundscapes. Despite a foundation in classical cello training, it’s her unconventional upbringing that has profoundly influenced her musical journey.
Raised on an off-grid organic farm, Shannon was nurtured in an environment that valued creative thinking and the inspiration drawn from one’s surroundings. This ethos encouraged her to transcend traditional approaches to music, allowing her to interpret and create beyond the confines of written notes.
Having the opportunity at an early age to work with legendary cellist Janos Starker and later Aldo Parisot at Yale University where she received an advanced degree didn’t limit her exploration into diverse musical realms. Hayden’s music is a fusion of ethereal vocals and intricately layered strings, creating a soundscape that is both enchanting and groundbreaking. Her approach to music combines the warmth of analog with the edge of digital manipulation by blending lush string arrangements with dynamic electronic elements. Her music is an exploration of sound and emotion, offering audiences a unique and transformative experience.
Rosanna Moore, Harp
Often described as a quirky and engaging performer who is fully at home on stage as a harpist, storyteller, and actor, Dr. Rosanna Moore has made it her aim to combine theatre and music wherever possible.
She has had success in multiple international competitions such as being first harpist to be a finalist at the Gold Medal Competition at the Royal Northern College of Music (the highest accolade offered for solo performance), won the Stan Baker award for jazz improvisation, was a semifinalist in the Dutch Harp Competition and placed third at both the Welsh International Jazz and Pop Harp Competition, Tierra47’s International Pedal Harp Competition and the Marcel Tournier Competition.
In addition to performing as a tenured member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Rosanna can often be seen with ensembles such as Ensemble Signal, Slee Sinfonietta, Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, Anchorage Symphony, Symphor!a, Vancouver Symphony, Bakersfield Symphony and Buffalo Philharmonic. She was invited to give the opening solo recital at the Sentmentat International Harp Festival, Spain in 2018. She also serves as principal harpist and core artist with the Lake George Music Festival, NY.
As a self described “professional composer collector,” Rosanna pesters composers until they write for her! This has lead to two world premieres of concerti, the US premiere of David Horne’s Splintered Instruments and Amy Victoria Nam’s Somewhere to Elsewhere, a show entitled God Complex with percussion and harp duo Sticks&Strings, an recording project with flute, viola, harp trio, Trio Alexander, and new interdisciplinary commissions with Hats+Heels bassoon and harp duo.. Since 2017, she has served as a harpist consultant for the Future Blend Project, an innovative and collaborative composition competition. She also served in a number of roles on the executive board of OSSIA New Music collective, including as President in the lead up to the organisation’s 20th anniversary season.
Recent seasons have seen the release of her debut duo album with Hats+Heels Duo (‘Women are…’), performances of the Ginastera and Debussy concerti, the US premiere of Kelly Marie-Murphy’s En el Escuro, es Todo Uno for ‘cello, harp and orchestra with cellist Nicholas Finch, and the world premiere and tour of DJ Sparr’s Extraordinary Motion concerto for electric harp and orchestra in 2024. In 2025, Rosanna will be teaming up with percussionist Hannah Weaver for the premiere and tour of a new percussion and harp concerto by British composer Angela Slater titled Mountains Become Oceans.
In addition to performing, Rosanna was recently appointed as the new Full Time Assistant Lecturer in Harp at the Dublin Conservatoire at TU Dublin, Ireland, and also is the Harp Instructor at Opus Ithaca. She has been invited to present masterclasses and clinics for the Royal Northern College of Music, Chetham’s School of Music, Cincinnati College of Music, The Royal Welsh School of Music and Drama, the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble in Atlanta, GA and appeared as the adjudicator for the American Harp Society’s Auditions and Evaluations. Formerly she held the position of Instructor of Harp/ Artist in Residence at the University of Oregon, was the Professor of Harp at Nazareth College and the Harp Instructor at the Eastman Community Music School. In addition to teaching, she is the co-founder and host of the Soundweavers Podcast, a chamber music podcast that explores the trials and tribulations of being a chamber musician and composer in the gig economy.
Rosanna completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree with the Performer’s Certificate, an Arts Leadership Certificate, and a minor in Theatre at the Eastman School of Music. She previously studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music. Her wonderful mentors throughout the years have included Kathleen Bride and Eira Lynn Jones.
ViMaDeAn Duo
Founded in 2010 at the Yale School of Music, ViMaDeAn Duo has had premiere performances throughout the globe, conducted workshops on three continents, and worked with a variety of composers and artists to bring new compositions to diverse audiences around the world. Their recent appearances include performances at music festivals in Brazil, Russia and France.
Striving to expand the repertoire for violin and percussion, ViMaDeAn Duo dedicates their artistic brilliance to the creation of new chamber music works, education of all-age audiences and uplifting people through their music-making. They work closely with living composers to expand the original repertoire for such a unique instrumental combination.
Following the receipt of the Community Engagement Award from the Yale School of Music, ViMaDeAn Duo started their extensive outreach programs cycles in hospices and schools. Feeling a current need of being more than just concert performers ViMaDeAn Duo is an avid participant in charity concerts with various foundations throughout the world including American Best Buddies Foundation and Miloserdie among others.
ViMaDeAn Duo has been featured soloists with the “The Seasons” chamber orchestra, ARCO chamber orchestra, North Georgia Chamber Symphony and Ensemble Eclectica among others.
Currently ViMaDeAn Duo is collaborating with several composers and multimedia artists on creating a program to raise awareness about natural disasters humanity is facing presently and to make a positive impact on the future of our planet.
Anastasia Petrunina,
Violin
Born in Ukraine, violinist Anastasia Petrunina has been heard around the globe performing in such prestigious halls as Carnegie Hall and the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory as well as touring and giving masterclasses in Russia, France, United States, Brazil, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and China.
Ms. Petrunina was a featured soloist with the Saint Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Augusta Symphony, Novaya Rossiya Symphony Orchestra, Yale Chamber Orchestra, Aiken Civic, North Georgia Chamber Symphony and ARCO Chamber Orchestra. She also took part in the recording of the music for the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi Olympic Games in 2014.
Ms. Petrunina is currently the concertmaster of the Augusta Symphony and Assistant Concertmaster of the Venice Symphony. Ms. Petrunina was a guest concertmaster for the Grand Opening of the Xian Opera House in China and has led the Saratov, Guiyang, Asheville, Savannah and Hilton Head Symphony Orchestras. She collaborated with conductors such as Valeriy Gergiev, John Williams, Robert Spano, Reinbert de Leeuw, Yoel Levi, Yuri Bashmet and Peter Oundjian. Ms. Petrunina is a recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including the First Prize at the Homecoming Festival Award (Moscow, Russia), and a Laureate of the “Madrid Nights” International Competition (Madrid, Spain). She is also a recipient of a prestigious Shevron Inc Award in the field of Arts.
A passionate proponent of new music and living composers, Ms. Petrunina has commissioned several works which take a special place in her concert repertoire. Anastasia enjoys being a part of ViMaDeAn Duo, established in 2010 with her husband Denis Petrunin. Anastasia and Denis have collaborated with composers and artists to record and release a CD where every piece is dedicated to the important matter of environmental issues.
Ms. Petrunina began her violin studies at the age of six after her family moved to Kamchatka, Russia. Anastasia received her Bachelor degree at the Moscow Conservatory College and Master’s degree from the Yale School of Music. She also holds Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Georgia where she studied under the guidance of a renowned violinist Levon Ambartsumian. In addition to her passion for teaching, making desserts and cross-stitching, Anastasia’s heart melts around cats, charming gardens and classic literature.
Denis Petrunin,
Percussion
Denis Petrunin has distinguished himself as a leading percussionist in the solo, chamber, and orchestral spheres. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and other prestigious concert venues in the United States, Russia, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, England, France, Holland, Spain, and Greece.
Denis made his Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory debut performance at the age of 10. He is frequently invited to teach masterclasses around the world and has been serving on various jury panels including the Italy Percussive Arts Society International Competition in Italy and the Drumwave International Festival Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Dr. Petrunin has recently joined the faculty roster of the Curtis Institute of Music’s Mentor Network online learning program. His performances have been broadcast on WHYY radio (Philadelphia, PA). His awards include the Avedis Zildjian Percussion Scholarship, PASIC 2009 Chamber Competition Winner, and the Spivakov Foundation Scholarship. His name has been featured in the Percussive Arts Society Rhythm Scene, The Strad, and other prestigious magazines.
Denis and his wife, violinist Anastasia Petrunina, have founded a concert duo named ViMaDeAn. Their performances have been welcomed by various audiences in the United States, Europe and Asia. Striving to expand the repertoire for violin and percussion, ViMaDeAn Duo dedicates its artistic brilliance to the creation of new chamber music works, education of audiences of all ages, and uplifting people through music-making. They work closely with living composers to expand the original repertoire for their unique instrumental combination.
Dr. Petrunin held the position of Co-Principal Timpanist of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra in Moscow, Russia during the 2007–2008 concert season. He also was the Principal Timpanist/Percussionist of The Moscow Chamber Opera Theatre and the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre.
Denis holds degrees from the Gnessins School of Music (PD), the Curtis Institute of Music (BM), Yale University (MM, AD) and University of Georgia (DMA).
Currently Dr. Petrunin is the principal timpanist with the Augusta Symphony Orchestra. He also frequently performs with the Atlanta Symphony, Savannah Philharmonic, Charleston and Venice Symphony. Denis proudly endorses Pearl/Adams instruments, Vic Firth sticks and Zildjian cymbals.
Domenic Salerni,
Violin
Domenic Salerni is a violinist, composer, arranger, and teacher. A member of the multiple GRAMMY© Award-winning Attacca Quartet, Domenic is based in Brooklyn, NY. As a musician with wide-ranging interests, Domenic is always excited to collaborate with creatives from all walks of life.
Recently, Attacca Quartet was featured on Sylvan Esso’s “Live from Electric Lady,” playing arrangements by Gabriel Kahane including “Will the Night,” a tune by the late Mimi Parker of the band Low. In addition to a busy touring schedule including appearances at Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, Kings Place, London, the Amsterdam Strijkkwartet Biënnale, the Sociedad Filarmónica de Bilbao, and the Petit Palau de la Musica, Barcelona this season, Attacca looks forward to performing this summer at the Ojai Festival, Kronos Quartet Festival in San Francisco, and an appearance at Wave Hill Public Garden and Cultural Center made possible by Carnegie Hall.
Last summer, Domenic and the rest of his quartet mates were asked to compose original music for the podcast “The Sound: Mystery of Havana Syndrome” produced by Project Brazen and Goat Rodeo Productions.
Domenic looks forward to the premiere of his Piano Trio No. 2 “Elegiac” based on Ukrainian themes at Richmond, Virginia’s newest chamber music series, The Belvedere Series, in April. In August, he will join the Palaver Strings at the Screen Door Festival in Maine, where he will perform his own original arrangements of 60s Civil Rights Era protest songs (The Freedom Singers, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Pete Seeger, and more) with tenor Nicholas Phan. This set of songs will be recorded by Palaver with engineer Alan Bise on Azica Records in September.
In the summer of 2021, Domenic’s first string quartet, “Trilobites,” after a short story by Breece D J Pancake, was premiered at the inaugural Appalachian Chamber Music Festival in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
Domenic was the first violinist of the Dalí Quartet from 2016-2020, where he collaborated extensively with musicians like Ricardo Morales and Olga Kern. The Dalí Quartet recorded the Brahms and Shostakovich piano quintets with Kern for Delos Records in 2019. With the Dalí Quartet, Domenic was a recipient of the Atlanta Symphony Talent Development Program’s 2019 Aspire Award.
As a guest artist of the Chiarina Chamber Players, Domenic was a recipient of a 2020 Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant for the song cycle “The Best Cuisine” by Carlos Simon, which was premiered with guest bass-baritone Carl DuPont in 2021.
In 2020, as part of his response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Domenic helped set up the Philadelphia Musicians Relief Fund which has since raised over $100,000 in aid and continues to provide support for Philadelphia area musicians.
In 2010, while a graduate student at the Yale School of Music, Domenic composed and performed an original film accompaniment to the first full-length Italian feature film, Giuseppe De Liguoro’s “Dante’s Inferno” (1911). Domenic holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Yale School of Music, where he was a winner of the 2010 Yale Chamber Music Society Award.
Domenic can be found on albums released by Nonesuch Records, Sony Classical, Better Company Records, Loma Vista Recordings, Delos Music, and Artek, and his more experimental projects can be found on Bandcamp.
Konstantin Soukhovetski,
Piano
Konstantin Soukhovetski is rapidly earning a reputation as a “young pianist who captivates” with his “distinctive lyricism,” “immaculate technique,” and “vigor...refinement... and drama.”
Following the premiere of his transcription of R. Strauss’ Four Last Songs at L’Esprit du Piano Festival in Bordeaux, France, Konstantin has taken the piece around the world on his South African Tour as well as many US venues including NYC’s Lyric Chamber Music Society, Nevada City’s Music In The Mountains, New Orleans’ MASNO, Sacramento’s Crocker Museum and Pianofest in the Hamptons where Konstantin has been Artist In Residence since 2011.
Highlights of Konstantin’s performing career include appearances with the Johannesburg Philharmonic and Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra as part of his South African tour as well as with the Symphony Orchestras of Miami, Richmond, Austin, Auburn, Westmoreland, Virginia and Asheville Symphony Orchestras. His solo performances have taken him to London’s Wigmore Hall, Weill Recital and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, and Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern, Switzerland to name a few. Following his 2006 William Petschek Debut Recital Award performance at Alice Tully Hall, in New York’s Lincoln Center, The New York Times headlined its review: “Romanticism so intense it warms up Philip Glass.”
Konstantin has worked with an array of distinguished conductors, among them: Daniel Meyer, Gérard Korsten, Eduardo Marturet, Rebecca Miller, James DePreist, Emmanuel Siffert, Jahja Ling, François-Xavier Roth, Doron Salomon, Timothy Muffitt, Conrad von Alphen, Michael Goodwin, Stephen Ramsey, Mary Woodmansee Green, Enrique Bátiz Campbell, Allan Stephenson, David Scarr, Omri Hadari, Andrew Grams, and Emil Tabakov.
In 2019, Konstantin won the Innovation Award from Music Academy Of The West for the IZ YD SHUT multimedia performance project to be produced in 2020-2021. This season, Konstantin’s new Vegas-style piano cabaret “In His Shoes” can be seen at Southampton Inn’s Claude’s in Southampton, NY. An autobiographical narrative features a set of popular hits of Madonna, Celine Dion, Broadway medley all arranged by Konstantin as well as beloved classical repertory.
Konstantin has enjoyed a long collaboration with Russian-American award-winning composer Polina Nazaykinskaya. With Polina as composer, he is currently working on his first opera libretto for “Victoria,”commissioned for the 75th Anniversary Season of Mississippi Opera. Konstantin’s collaboration on Polina’s first opera, “Magic Mirror,” for Boston’s Juventas New Music Ensemble found him in the position of the assistant music director and language and acting coach. In 2018, Konstantin gave world premiere of Polina’s new ballet “Nostalgia” commissioned and choreographed by Pascal Rioult of Rioult Dance at the Joyce Theater in New York City. He is currently premiering a piano work “Sparks” composed for him by Ms. Nazaykinskaya that will also be a at the center of a short film they are currently producing.
Konstantin is a board member of Southampton Cultural Center, NY where is an Managing Director of The Rising Stars Piano Series, Advisory board member of International Music Sessions, NY and Pegasus Orchestra, NJ and has served on the juries of numerous competitions.
Konstantin is an alumnus of The Juilliard School where he earned his BM, MM, and AD degrees under the tutelage of Jerome Lowenthal. Born in Moscow to a family of artists, he studied with Anatoly Ryabov at the Moscow Central Special Music School under the auspices of the Moscow State Conservatory.
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