Artists

Learn more about our music directors and artists.

Equally at home with period- and modern-instrument ensembles, he has earned an outstanding reputation as a solo organist, an orchestral and opera conductor and composer. Haselböck's main focus lies in works of the Baroque and Classical periods.

As a solo organist, he has performed under the direction of conductors Abbado, Maazel, Muti, and Stein, has won numerous competitions and has made more than fifty solo recordings. Additionally, he has conducted over 60 recordings, with repertoire ranging from Baroque to 20th Century vocal and instrumental works. This prodigious output has earned him the Deutsches Schallplatten Critics' Prize as well as the Hungarian Liszt Prize.

While in his official role as Court Organist for Vienna, where he was responsible for an extensive repertoire of classical church music, Haselböck began an intense commitment to conducting, which led to his founding the now-famous Vienna Akademie Ensemble in 1985. With this period instrument orchestra, Haselböck established a year-round cycle of concerts for the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in the Great Hall of the Vienna Musikverein.

Haselböck frequently guest conducts major orchestras including the Vienna Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Dresden Philharmonic, Hamburg Symphony, Flemish National Philharmonic, Radio Orchestra Hilversum, the Toronto Symphony and the National Philharmonics of Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia. In the United States, he has conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, the Detroit Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has also been a guest with his Vienna Akademie as Artist-In-Residence with numerous festivals including those of the Cologne Philharmonic, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and MozartFest in Würzburg.

As an opera conductor, he made his debut with the Handel Festival in Göttingen. He regularly appears at the Zürich Opera and he conducted new productions of Mozart operas at the Theatre im Pfalzbau Ludwigshafen, using historic instruments for the first time in Germany’s modern history. In 2000-01 he created new productions of Händel's "Acis and Galatea," Gassmann's "La Contessina," and Haydn's "Die Feuersbrunst" with his Vienna Akademie, following in 2002 with productions at the Festival in Schwetzingen (Benda's "Il buon marito") and Salzburg (Händel's "Radamisto"). In 2004, he led productions of Händel's "Il trionfo del tempo" (Salzburg Festival), Mozart's "Il re pastore" (Klangbogen Wien), and Händel's "Radamisto" (touring to Spain, Istanbul, Venice, Israel, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam). He also conducted the U.S. premiere of Porpora's "Il Gedeone" in a concert version with Musica Angelica in Los Angeles.

When not conducting, Haselböck is busy unearthing long lost vocal/instrumental works in the dusty archives of Kiev and Vienna, finding unpublished gems by Biber, Porpora, Fux, Muffat, and the Bach family, which he transcribes and resurrects in historical re-creations for his Vienna Akademie Ensemble and festivals around the world.

Featured in A Baroque Christmas in Germany, St. Matthew Passion and Auf Wiedersehen Maestro Haselböck.

Gonzalo X. Ruiz, Associate Music Director & Baroque Oboe

Gonzalo X. Ruiz is a founding member of Musica Angelica and has been its Associate Music Director since 2012. He made his conducting debut at age twelve, and has for decades been one of the world’s foremost historical oboists, performing as principal and soloist with many top ensembles, such as Philharmonia, The English Concert, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Wiener Akademie, and many others. In New York he performs regularly with Trinity Wall Street, and his chamber group, House of Time, has produced ten seasons of concerts in Manhattan.

Equally accomplished on the modern oboe, he is principal of the Carmel Bach Festival, a position he held with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic and the New Century Chamber Orchestra. He’s a professor at The Juilliard School and his students fill the ranks of top groups across the country. Mr. Ruiz is featured on dozens of recordings, has earned a Grammy nomination and a Gramophone Award, and received the KQXR Record of the Year Award (NYC) as well as the ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming in contemporary music. He has performed more works by Bach than any oboist in history. In recent years he has concentrated on the guitar with a focus on jazz. Examples of his reeds are on permanent display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Featured in October's Community Concert Series at the Dana Neighborhood Library and Quattrocento "Four Centuries of Italian Music".

Ilia Korol, Concertmaster

The Ukrainian violinist, violist and conductor, Ilia Korol, studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Abram Stern, Gelya Dubrova and Marina Iashvili. In addition to his education with focus on the Romantic and Modern repertoire, he specialized in ancient music and historical performance practice very early in his career. Mr. Korol is an internationally acclaimed artist and has performed at many important festivals in Europe, Asia, and United States. He performed with Musica Antiqua Köln (directed by Reinhard Goebel) which toured the US in Carnegie Hall in New York, Disney Hall in Los Angeles, as well as in Berkeley,

Santa Barbara, and Santa Monica. He has performed as concertmaster and soloist with different orchestras: Orchester Wiener Akademie, Musica Angelica, The Bach Ensemble (directed by Joshua Rifkin) and the Spanish Baroque Orchestra RCOC. He was also a member of the ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria and the Clemencic Consort.

In 2003, Mr. Korol and Julia Moretti founded the chamber orchestra moderntimes1800, which he conducted at the Ruhr-Triennale Festival (2005), the Salzburger Festspiele (2006), Theater an der Wien, Vienna Konzerthaus, Rheingau Music Festival, Innsbruck Festwochen Festival, Wiener Festwochen (2004), Festival De La Chaise Dieu and Händel Festspiele Halle. Over the years, famous conductors and soloists worked with moderntimes1800, including Juliane Banse, Florian Boesch, Max Emanuel Cencic, Karina Gauvin, Vivica Genaux, Reinhard Goebel, René Jacobs, Simone Kermes, Patricia Petibon, Christoph Prégardien and Julian Prégardien, Anna Prohaska, Daniel Reuss, Michael Schade, Daniel Taylor, Lawrence Zazzo and others.

Numerous CD recordings attest his lively chamber music activities as well. His last CD publication includes the first recording of Johannes Brahms’ Violin Sonatas on historical instruments with Natalia Grigorieva. The world premiere recording of Violin Sonatas by George Onslow with Norbert Zeilberger was awarded a Diapason d'Or and was enthusiastically received by the press. The recording "Sinfonias from the Enlightenment" with moderntimes1800 was also awarded a Diapason d'Or.

As a passionate teacher, Mr. Korol holds numerous masterclasses at the Academy of Performing Arts in Vienna, Moscow Conservatory, Belgrade Music Academy, Gmunden Austria Baroque Academy, Innsbruck Festival, UCLA and Los Angeles, amongst others. From 2008 to 2010 Ilia Korol was a lecturer in an early music education course at the University Mozarteum Salzburg, Innsbruck.

Featured in Valentine to the Viola da Gamba and St. Matthew Passion.

Cynthia Roberts, Concertmaster

Cynthia Roberts is one of America’s leading period instrument violinists, appearing as soloist, concertmaster, and recitalist throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. She is a faculty member of the Juilliard School. She specializes in classical chamber music performance with historic keyboards and has performed throughout the world with fortepianist Christoph Hammer. She appears regularly with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Smithsonian Chamber Players, Tafelmusik, and the Boston Early Music Festival.

She has performed as concertmaster of Les Arts Florissants with William Christie and appeared with Orchester Wiener Akademie, the London Classical Players, and the Bach Collegium Japan. She was featured as soloist and concertmaster on the soundtrack of the Touchstone Pictures film Casanova, and accompanied soprano Renee Fleming on Late Night with David Letterman.

Ms. Roberts also teaches at the University of North Texas and the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute and has given master classes at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Indiana University, Eastman, the Cleveland Institute, Cornell, Rutgers, Minsk Conservatory, Leopold-Mozart-Zentrum Augsburg, Shanghai Conservatory, Vietnam National Academy of Music, and for the Jeune Orchestre Atlantique in France. Ms. Roberts made her solo debut at age 12 playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Grant Park Symphony of Chicago. Her recording credits include Sony, CPO, and Deutsche Harmonia Mundi.

Featured in October's Community Concert Series at the Dana Neighborhood Library, Quattrocento "Four Centuries of Italian Music" and A Baroque Christmas in Germany.

Janet Strauss, Violin

Janet Strauss enjoys an active career as a Baroque violinist. As a leading violinist in Los Angeles, she has appeared with the Los Angeles Opera, and Los Angeles Master Chorale; and is a principal member of Los Angeles-based Musica Angelica. She often appears with Seattle Baroque Orchestra and Portland Baroque Orchestra where she has worked with Monica Huggett, Eric Milnes, Reinhard Goebel, Paul Goodwin, and Richard Egarr. Ms. Strauss has performed with American Bach Soloists, Musica Pacifica, San Francisco Bach Choir, Magnificat, Camerata Pacifica, and Galanterie.

She has performed at the Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Tage Alte Musik Regensberg, Brighton Early Music Festival, Renaissance and Baroque Society Pittsburgh, and Corona del Mar Bach Festival. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in performance from the University of Southern California, is co-founder of the Los Angeles-based chamber ensemble Angeles Consort, and teaches privately in the Los Angeles area.

Playing in A Baroque Christmas in Germany and St. Matthew Passion. Featured in February's Community Concert Series at the Harte Neighborhood Library.

Carrie Kennedy, Violin

Award-winning violinist, Carrie Kennedy, has been the featured soloist with orchestras throughout the country. In addition to Musica Angelica, she is a member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Pasadena and Long Beach Symphonies. She is the first violinist of the Fiato String Quartet, performs on soundtracks for film and television, and is on faculty at The Colburn School.

Carrie holds a Master of Music degree from SUNY Stony Brook and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California.

Joel Pargman, Violin

Violinist Joel Pargman has been a frequent performer on Southern California concert stages for the past twenty years as a member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, New West Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, and the Fiato Quartet, and as Co-Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Master Chorale Orchestra. His performing career has also taken him on concert tours of the U.S., Europe, Japan, and South America.

Mr. Pargman has performed as featured soloist with Musica Angelica, the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra,

Musicians Emeritus Symphony Orchestra, Tacoma Youth Symphony, and Bremerton Symphony.

For three summers, Joel was a fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, most recently as a member of its resident new-music quartet, the New Fromm Players. He has also spent summers at the Aspen Music Festival, the Encore School for Strings, the Indiana University String Academy and the Académie Musicale de Villecroze.

Born in San Bernardino and having spent his youth in the Pacific Northwest, he now resides in Altadena, California.

Amy Wang, Violin

An exclusively baroque and otherwise mostly unemployed violinist, Amy Wang has played with the usual Southern Californian suspects such as the original L.A. Baroque Orchestra, Musica Angelica, and Bach Collegium of San Diego, as well as a smattering of San Francisco Bay Area groups including Voices of Music and California Bach Society. Ages ago, while a film major at UC Berkeley, she began the permanent switch from modern to baroque performance under the guidance of David Tayler and Elizabeth Blumenstock, and subsequently performed at the Berkeley Early Music Festival twice—including as a semifinalist in

the American Bach Soloists International Young Artists Competition. At USC, she played in the Early Music Ensemble led by James Tyler while obtaining an MFA in screenwriting from the School of Cinematic Arts.

Playing in Quattrocento "Four Centuries of Italian Music" and St. Matthew Passion.

Andrew Waid, Co-Principal Viola

Andrew Waid, violist, is an exciting and versatile performer on both modern and baroque instruments. Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, he completed a DMA in viola performance at Boston University in 2015, and appeared frequently with numerous ensembles in Massachusetts, including the Boston Chamber Orchestra (for a recent tour of Japan), Lexington Symphony Orchestra, and Marsh Chapel Collegium.

As an increasingly active baroque violist, Andrew has performed with Grand Harmonie, Les Bostonnades,

Musicians of the Old Post Road, Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra, Musica Angelica, and San Diego Baroque Soloists, and is an alumnus the Tafelmusik Winter Institute (Toronto), the American Bach Soloists Academy (San Francisco) and the International Baroque Institute at Longy (Cambridge, MA). Having relocated to San Diego at the end of 2015, he is currently a teaching artist in the San Diego Youth Symphony’s Community Opus Project, and at SDSU’s Community Music School.

Playing in St. Matthew Passion. Featured in June's Community Concert Series at the Wende Museum.

Rob Diggins, Co-Principal Viola

Multi-instrumentalist Rob Diggins has spent over four decades exploring music as both a craft and a form of devotion. A native of Topanga Canyon and a child of the 1960s “Age of Aquarius,” he grew up surrounded by creativity and possibility. His early studies with violinist Alice Schoenfeld and his training on trumpet, guitar, and viola led to a lifetime of performing, composing, arranging, and teaching.

Rooted in the Himalayan Yoga Tradition, Rob’s work reflects a living synthesis of music, meditation, and service — every performance an offering toward beauty

and wholeness. He performs regularly with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Musica Angelica, the Baroque Music Festival Newport Beach, and Sonoma Bach Choir, and collaborates with his wife Jolianne Einem in The Flying Oms and LodeStar. Rob continues to record, teach, and write on music, meditation, and creative practice from his home in Humboldt County, California.

Playing in A Baroque Christmas in Germany and St. Matthew Passion.

Alexa Haynes-Pilon, Principal Cellist

Canadian-born Alexa Haynes-Pilon (DMA, USC) is the principal cellist of Musica Angelica and Opera NEO, as well as co-director and cellist/gambist of Musica Pacifica. She has performed with the American Bach Soloists, Bach Collegium San Diego, The Washington Bach Consort, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Chamber Players, Cantata Collective, Opera Lafayette, and more. She loves working with musicians in the community and has been on faculty at the Baroque and Recorder workshops held by the San Francisco Early Music Society (SFEMS), and the

Port Townsend Early Music and Road Scholar Hidden Valley Workshops. She can be heard on the Musica Omnia and Music & Arts labels, and recently recorded with the American Bach Soloists. She directed a Musica Angelica program in January and conducted the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra in May. This summer, she joined the Orchester Wiener Akademie as principal cellist for a European tour of The Infernal Comedy with John Malkovich. She also joined them as principal cellist for a collaboration with the Vienna Boys Choir in August. She recently returned to Vienna to perform the gamba solos with the Wiener Akademie in a performance of the St. Matthew Passion at Musikverein.

https://www.alexahaynespilon.com/

Playing in Quattrocento "Four Centuries of Italian Music", Christmas in Germany and St. Matthew Passion. Featured in October's Community Concert Series at the Dana Neighborhood Library and Valentine to the Viola da Gamba.

Leif Woodward, Cello

Cellist, Leif Woodward holds a Doctorate degree from the University of Southern California and was granted the Colburn Foundation Scholarship for studies in Early Music Performance and graduated Pi Kappa Lambda. In addition, he holds a Master of Music degree and Bachelor of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Leif works with groups such as: Musica Angelica, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Pacific Chorale, Santa Barbara Symphony, Bach Collegium San Diego, Angeles Consort, and Tesserae.

He appears at the Carmel Bach Festival, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, Corona Del Mar Baroque Music Festival, and on the chamber music series at the John Paul Getty Museum, Norton Simon Museum, “Sundays Live” at LACMA, Les Salons de Musiques, Redlands Chamber Music Society, Musica Angelica Chamber Music Series, and at Centrum’s Chamber Music Series in Port Townsend, Washington.

In addition, Leif is an active soloist and section player in the Los Angeles studio-recording industry. He has worked on film, television, and video game soundtracks for composers: John Williams, James Newton Howard, Bear McCreary, Christian Linke, Sebastien Najand, Alex Temple, Austin Wintory, and Tom Holkenborg. He enjoys working with young musicians and is the Instructor of Violoncello Performance and Chamber Music at Mount Saint Mary’s University. He has been a guest lecturer at the University of Southern California, University of California Riverside, and the Colburn School of Music. Leif is also on faculty for orchestral and chamber music studies at Orange County School of the Arts and Poly Technic High School in Long Beach. He coaches the All-Southern California High School Honor Orchestra, Orange County Youth Symphony, and adjudicates for competitions such as the Los Angeles Spotlight Awards, MTAC State Finals and Regionals, CMEA, and the Long Beach Mozart Festival.

Playing in St. Matthew Passion.

Denise Briesé, Violone

After graduating from Yucaipa High School, Denise Briesé studied double bass at USC with Dennis Trembly and John Clayton, and she learned to play violone in the Early Music Department with James Tyler. She also performs and records with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Downey Symphony, Desert Symphony, Con Gioia, Coachella Valley Symphony, and many other California ensembles.

Playing in Quattrocento "Four Centuries of Italian Music" and St. Matthew Passion.

Stephen Schultz, Flute

Stephen Schultz, called “among the most flawless artists on the Baroque flute" by the San Jose Mercury News and “flute extraordinaire” by the New Jersey Star-Ledger, plays solo and Principal flute with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Musica Angelica and performs with other leading Early music groups such as Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Apollo's Fire, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Wiener Akademie, Con Gioia, and Chatham Baroque. Concert tours have taken him throughout Europe and North and South America with featured appearances at the Musikverein in Vienna, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Royal Albert Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Carnegie Hall, and the Library of Congress.

A graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Holland, Schultz also holds several degrees from the California Institute of the Arts and the California State University of San Francisco. Currently he is Teaching Professor in Music History and Flute at Carnegie Mellon University and director of the Carnegie Mellon Baroque Orchestra. Mr. Schultz has also been a featured faculty member of the Jeanne Baxtresser International Flute Master Class at Carnegie Mellon University and has taught at the Juilliard School and the International Baroque Institute at Longy School of Music.

In 1986, Mr. Schultz founded the original instrument ensemble American Baroque. This unique group brings together some of America's most accomplished and exciting baroque instrumentalists, with the purpose of defining a new, modern genre for historical instruments. The group's adventurous programs combine 18th-century music with new works, composed for the group through collaborations and commissions from American composers.

As solo, chamber, and orchestral player, Schultz appears on over fifty recordings for such labels as Dorian, Naxos, Harmonia Mundi USA, Centaur, NCA, and New Albion. Schultz has produced and edited forty CDs for his colleagues and has also performed and recorded with world music groups such as D'CuCKOO and Haunted By Waters, using his electronically processed Baroque flute to develop alternative sounds that are unique to his instrument. He has been very active in commissioning new music written for his instrument and in 1998, Carolyn Yarnell wrote 10/18 for solo, processed Baroque Flute and dedicated it to Mr. Schultz. The Pittsburgh composer Nancy Galbraith wrote Traverso Mistico, which is scored for electric Baroque flute, solo cello, and chamber orchestra. It was given its world premiere at Carnegie Mellon University in April 2006 and this highly successful collaboration was followed in 2008 with Galbraith's Night Train, Other Sun in 2009, and Effervescent Air in 2012.

Playing in Valentine to the Viola da Gamba and St. Matthew Passion.

Stephen Hammer, Oboe & Recorder

Stephen Hammer leads an eclectic musical life playing oboes and recorders of all periods. He was principal oboist of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society for thirty years, performed, toured, and recorded extensively with the Bach Ensemble, Concert Royal, and the Academy of Ancient Music, and served as principal recorder for the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. His more than 200 solo, chamber, and orchestral recordings appear on the Decca l’Oiseau-lyre, EMI, Sony, Pro Arte, Dorian, Smithsonian, and other labels.

He also serves as artistic director for the Blue Hill Bach festival in Maine, and collaborates with instrument-maker Joel Robinson in building replicas of historical oboes and shawms. In 2016 he relocated from the New York area to the sunny San Fernando Valley, where he lives with his wife Ruth and Jack the wonder dog.

Playing in St. Matthew Passion.

Anna Marsh, Bassoon & Recorder

ANNA MARSH is a Baroque wind specialist, who is also fluent in Renaissance, Classical and Modern instruments. Her interests lie principally in the double‐reed family, though she also performs on the Renaissance and Baroque recorder. Originally from Tacoma, WA, Anna has appeared with with Opera Lafayette (DC), Tempesta di Mare (Philadelphia), Ensemble Caprice (Montreal), Clarion Society (NYC), and Arion Orchestre Baroque (Montreal), Tafelmusik (Toronto), Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Washington Bach Consort (DC), and Musica Angelica (LA), Atlanta Baroque, Boulder Bach Festival and New York State Baroque, among others.

She has been the featured soloist with the Foundling Orchestra with Marion Verbruggen, Arion Orchestre Baroque, The Buxtehude Consort, The Dryden Ensemble, The Indiana University Baroque Orchestra, Boulder Bach and NYS Baroque and others. She co‐directs Ensemble Lipzodes and has taught both privately and at festivals and master classes at the Eastman School of Music, Los Angeles Music and Art School, the Amherst Early Music, and Hawaii Performing Arts Festivals and the Albuquerque, San Francisco Early Music Society and Western Double Reed Workshop. She has also been heard on Performance Today, Harmonia and CBC radio and recorded for Chandos, Analekta, Centaur, Naxos, the Super Bowl, Avie, and Musica Omnia. Marsh has studied music and German studies at Mt. Holyoke College, the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California and holds a doctoral in historical performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.

Playing in St. Matthew Passion. Featured in February's Community Concert Series at the Harte Neighborhood Library.

Guest Artists

ROBIN JOHANNSEN, SOPRANO

“Johannsen's technique is astounding—her high C rivals that of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Her voice is energetic, forthright, beautiful.”

- Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile

American soprano Robin Johannsen is known for her virtuosity, energy, agility, endurance, and above all for her scintillating coloratura. On the operatic stage she has appeared at Deutsche Oper Berlin where she started her career as a young artist, Theater an der Wien, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Athens’ Megaron, Staatsoper Berlin, Hamburgische Staatsoper,

Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Regio Torino, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Frankfurt, Vlaamse Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Komische Oper Berlin, Oper Leipzig and Bayreuth Festival in roles including Susanna Le nozze di Figaro, Norina Don Pasquale, Oscar Un ballo in maschera, Marzelline Beethoven’s Leonore, Konstanze Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Fiordiligi Così fan tutte, and the title role of Telemann’s Emma und Eginhard.

Robin has a special affinity for the Baroque and Classical repertoires and is a frequent guest with the Freiburger Barockorchester, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, La Cetra Basel, the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, Concerto Köln, and Belgium’s B’Rock. She has also collaborated with conductors such as René Jacobs, David Afkham, Marin Alsop, Jonathan Cohen, Ottavio Dantone, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Thomas Hengelbrock, Philippe Herreweghe, Manfred Honeck, Ton Koopman, Antonello Manacorda, Alessandro De Marchi, Andrea Marcon, and Hans-Christoph Rademann.

In the United States, Robin has appeared with the Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Dallas, Cincinnati and National Symphony Orchestra as well as with the Handel & Haydn Society, Musica Angelica, and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. She has also performed at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Philadelphia Kimmel Center, Carnegie Hall, Cincinnati Music Hall, and the Oregon Bach Festival.

This 25/26 season Robin looks forward to Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with La Cetra Basel and Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, as well as singing Eva in Scarlatti’s Il primo omicidio with Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra and performing with orchestras such as Musica Angelica Los Angeles under Martin Haselböck, Scottish Chamber Orchestra for Beethoven’s Ah Perfido, Orfeo Orchestra, Freiburger Barockorchester and Handel & Haydn Society of Boston under Jonathan Cohen.

Robin has built up an impressive discography, including Die Entführung aus dem Serail under Réné Jacobs for Harmonia Mundi for which she was awarded an Edison Classical Music Award for her performance as Konstanze. Her latest release includes Mozart in Milan: Exsultate jubilate (Arcana) with Giulio Prandi.

Acclaimed for performances that evoke “a kind of aching, textless soliloquy” (The New York Times), Christopher enjoys music-making that spans the centuries, from sharing the stage with early music luminaries such as Jordi Savall, William Christie, and Ton Koopman, to concert appearances with eminent modern composers like John Williams, Krzysztof Penderecki, and John Corigliano. He completed his studies in flute at The Juilliard School, Yale University, the University of Southern California, and Stony Brook University, where he earned a DMA. Christopher concertizes regularly with West Coast early music groups including Tesserae, Musica Angelica, and Bach Collegium San Diego. He moonlights teaching Baroque flute at CalArts, while his day job involves paralegal work supporting musicians’ careers as both their advocate and fellow artist.

Featured in A Baroque Christmas in Germany.

JOSH COHEN, TRUMPET

A native of the Washington, DC area, baroque trumpeter Josh Cohen is greatly sought after by many leading early music ensembles throughout North America. For the past ten seasons, Josh has been principal baroque trumpet with the Washington Bach Consort. He has also performed as principal and solo baroque trumpet for ensembles such as Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montreal, Arion (Montreal), Bach Sinfonia (Washington DC), Aston Magna (Boston), Musica Maris (Rhode Island), Houston Bach Society, Ensemble Telemann (Montreal), and participated in festivals such as the Indiana Festival of

Early Music, International Festival of Baroque Music at Lameque (N.B. Canada) and the Bach Festival of Montreal. Mr. Cohen has recorded some of the most famous and demanding works for baroque trumpet. Most recently, Mr. Cohen recorded J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 2 with Montreal-based Ensemble Caprice. He can be heard in the Washington Bach Consort’s recording of J.S. Bach’s Cantata no. 51 with soprano Elizabeth Futral. Two recordings Mr. Cohen participated in with prominent Canadian ensembles were both nominated for the 2009 Juno Awards: “Let the Bright Seraphim” with soprano Karina Gauvin and Tempo Rubato, and his recording of Vivaldi’s Gloria with Ensemble Caprice, the latter of which won the Juno award for Best Album of the Year in the vocal category. 2023 saw the release of Cohen's first solo CD entitled Altissima on the Chandos record label. Mr. Cohen received a M.M. from McGill University and a B.M. from the New England Conservatory of Music. He currently plays on a Baroque trumpet made by Matt Martin of Norwich Natural Trumpets after an original by Kodisch 1710.

Featured in A Baroque Christmas in Germany.

RYAN BAIRD, PRINCIPAL VIOLONE

Dr. Ryan Baird is a double bassist and historical bass player who performs regularly in historical, orchestral, chamber, and recording settings. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Double Bass Performance from the University of Southern California, where he studied with David Allen Moore. In addition to all aspects of bass performance, Ryan’s doctorate degree was focused on Musicology, Arts Leadership, and Viola da Gamba performance.

Dr. Baird is a member of the Santa Barbara Symphony, Delirium Musicum Chamber Orchestra, and serves as

Principal Bass of the Downey Symphony. A passionate advocate for contemporary music, he is Principal Bass of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz each August.

He appears frequently with ensembles throughout Southern California, including Musica Angelica, Artifex Consort, San Diego Baroque, Tesserae Baroque, the Pasadena Symphony, and Santa Barbara Opera. A dedicated teacher, Dr. Baird works with bassists of all levels, helping each student achieve their musical goals.

Playing in A Baroque Christmas in Germany.

YuEun Gemma Kim, Violin

Award-winning South Korean violinist YuEun Gemma Kim concertizes internationally as soloist and chamber musician in a wide variety of repertoire on modern and baroque period instruments. She moved to the United States in 2013 to attend University of Southern California, where she studied with Midori Goto. She has been performing in the US, Asia, and Europe with ensembles like Delirium Musicum, American Bach Soloists, Boulder Bach Festival, Voices of Music, Noree Chamber Soloists, Kumho Chamber Music Society and many more.

She was a top prize winner at Boulder International Chamber Music Competition Art of Duo, a semi-finalist at the Qingdao International Violin Competition in China and at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand, and recently received the Jeffrey Thomas Award from American Bach Soloists.

YuEun is a core member of Delirium Musicum, self-conducted chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles. During the pandemic, Delirium Musicum created MusiKaravan that took YuEun and Artistic Director Etienne Gara to the road in a vintage Volkswagen bus to perform socially-distanced concerts for farm workers, winemakers, random passerby, and even the occasional ostrich. MusiKaravan won the Audience Choice Award of the San Francisco Classical Voice for "Best Streaming Series". The video episodes of this musical journey can be found on the "MusiKaravan" YouTube Channel. As a member of Delirium Musicum, she recently took part in the debut album under the label Warner Classics.

YuEun is also a founding member of Yu & I, a duo with guitarist Ines Thomé. Together, they won the Beverly Hills National Auditions, and recently recorded their debut album, “A Journey with Yu & I”, featuring folk-inspired music from around the world. Yu & I recently had US tour, playing 17 concerts over 12 states.

In 2022, YuEun was named Artist-in-Residence at Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra and this season, she will have appearances as a soloist with The Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew’s, Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra and will be touring in Europe and Asia.

Her Chopin’s Nocturne video on her YouTube has over 23 million views.

Find out more:
www.MusiKaravan.com
linktr.ee/GemmaViolin

Featured in November's Community Concert Series in the Miller Room at the Billie Jean King Library.

Sheng-Ching Hsu, Violin

A firm believer in the power of music, Sheng-Ching Hsu created “S-C Sidewalk Performance” where she brought weekly live music to the street corners of West LA during the pandemic. “S-C Sidewalk Performance” brought comfort and hope to many people during the time of isolation, and was featured on KTTV Fox 11 Los Angeles and EliteGen Magazine in Toronto, Canada. Her story was also made into a documentary by “Aria’s Lens” in China.

A native of Taiwan and currently based in Los Angeles, Sheng-Ching plays with Delirium Musicum and New Asia Chamber Music Society. She is a member of California Symphony and New West Symphony, and serves as guest principal 2nd violin of St. Matthew's Chamber Orchestra. Her 2025 summer highlights include serving as a Jeiven fellow in Maine Chamber Music Seminar (Sidney, Maine), Performing Artist in Été musical de Barachois (New Brunswick, Canada), faculty member in Varna International (Italy) and International Chamber Music Alaska (Fairbanks, Alaska). Sheng-Ching enjoys discovering new techniques and sound that she has worked with many living composers, including recent recording of two works by Robert Sirota for commercial release.

Sheng-Ching serves as a faculty at California State University - Long Beach and Colburn Community School of Performing Arts. Sheng-Ching is also a sought-after music arranger. Her latest commissions include the National Anthem for the New York Knicks’ Lunar New Year Game in Madison Square Garden.

Sheng-Ching earned her Doctor of Musical Arts from SUNY Stony Brook University, Master of Music from The Juilliard School, and Bachelor of Music from the Mannes School of Music. Her major teachers include Catherine Cho, Christina Khimm, Itzhak Perlman, Aaron Rosand, Philip Setzer and Arnaud Sussmann.

Featured in November's Community Concert Series in the Miller Room at the Billie Jean King Library.

Christopher Matthews, Flute

Acclaimed for performances that evoke “a kind of aching, textless soliloquy” (The New York Times), Christopher enjoys music-making that spans the centuries, from sharing the stage with early music luminaries such as Jordi Savall, William Christie, and Ton Koopman, to concert appearances with eminent modern composers like John Williams, Krzysztof Penderecki, and John Corigliano. He completed his studies in flute at The Juilliard School, Yale University, the University of Southern California, and Stony Brook University, where he earned a DMA.

Christopher concertizes regularly with West Coast early music groups including Tesserae, Musica Angelica, and Bach Collegium San Diego. He moonlights teaching Baroque flute at CalArts, while his day job involves paralegal work supporting musicians’ careers as both their advocate and fellow artist.

Featured in Quattrocento "Four Centuries of Italian Music".

Courtney Kuroda, Violin

Courtney Kuroda is an active performer of early music in Southern California with period ensembles Musica Angelica, Bach Collegium San Diego and Opera Neo. She has also performed throughout the U.S. and Canada with ensembles including Portland Baroque Orchestra, Seattle Baroque, Pacific Baroque in Vancouver, B.C., Ensemble Mirable, Indianapolis Baroque and has recorded with Opera Lafayette in Washington D.C under the Naxos label. She has participated in both the Bloomington and Boston Early Music festivals as well as the Pacific Baroque Festival in British Columbia and the Oregon Bach Festival.

She received her Master’s degree in Historical Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where she studied Baroque violin with Stanley Ritchie.

Playing in Quattrocento "Four Centuries of Italian Music".

Mishkar Fredell-Nuñéz, Violin

Mishkar Núñez-Fredell is a violinist, conductor and contractor in Los Angeles, but mostly he’s very happy father. Presently, he is the first violinist of the Kadima String Quartet and conductor of the Valley Symphony Orchestra (VSO), Pierce College/Monroe High School Orchestra and the Kadima Junior Symphony. He appears regularly as a soloist with various orchestras including LA Sinfonica and the Santa Cecilia Symphony.

He is co-founder of Opera Ritrovata, a company dedicated to unearthing unjustly buried works, such as

the now hugely successful opera L’Amant Anonyme by French-Carib composer Joseph Bologne. Mishkar is also co-founder of the award-winning ensemble Delirium Musicum. He was honored by the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic, his motherland, with the Cultural Personality of the Year Award. Mishkar holds a doctorate in historical performance and a masters in violin performance from USC. In his spare time, he enjoys playing with his daughter.

Playing in Quattrocento "Four Centuries of Italian Music".

Jimena Burga Lopera

Peruvian violinist Jimena Burga Lopera enjoys a career performing across the United States, Europe, and South America. She holds a master’s degree in Historical Performance from The Juilliard School and a bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance from Indiana University.

She has appeared with ensembles such as Juilliard415, the Bloomington Bach Cantata Project, ARTEK, Washington Bach Consort, Carmel Bach Festival, American Bach Soloists, Les Arts Florissants, Insula Orchestra, and the Arequipa Baroque Ensemble.

Jimena has performed as a soloist with several Peruvian symphony orchestras and most recently performed Vivaldi “Il Piacere” with Juilliard415 for Music Before 1800s in New York City.

Passionate about music education and community engagement, Jimena was a teaching fellow with Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program, a teaching artist with the Sphinx Summer Academy and is currently teaching with Harmony program. As a member of the Omni Consort, she has created interactive concerts for the New York City community, including a performance for Lincoln Center Moments.

Jimena dreams of developing early music education in her home country. Outside of music, she enjoys painting with watercolor.


Playing in Quattrocento "Four Centuries of Italian Music".

Ashley Salinas, Viola and Violin

Texas native, Ashley Salinas completed degrees in viola performance at the University of North Texas with emphasis in Early Music. While in Texas, she appeared regularly with the Dallas Bach Society, Denton Bach Society, La Novella Baroque, La Follia Austin Baroque, and Orchestra of New Spain. Through her Baroque experience, she has appeared at the Berkeley Early Music Festival (fringe program), Victoria Bach Festival, Boston Early Music Festival, Cervantino Festival of Mexico, and Siglo d’Oro Festival in El Paso, Texas.

Since moving to California in 2016, she performs with and works for Opera Neo in San Diego and Musica Angelica in Long Beach. Ashley maintains a strong commitment to current and historical research, as well as effective string instrument pedagogy in under-resourced communities. She currently serves as Music Director for the Long Beach Youth Orchestra and teaches middle- and high school viola in Long Beach.


Playing in Quattrocento "Four Centuries of Italian Music" and St. Matthew Passion.

Andrew Justice, Viola

Andrew Justice earned degrees in music at Oregon State University, viola performance at the University of Oregon, and library science at Syracuse University. He has worked in academic music libraries for two decades: paraprofessional staff at Cornell University’s Sidney Cox Library of Music and Dance, Music Librarian for Audio and Digital Services (later Assistant Head Music Librarian) at the University of North Texas, and Head of the Music Library at the University of Southern California since 2016.

At USC, he serves the Thornton School of Music by curating collections of books, scores, and recordings which (in addition to reference and bibliographic instruction) support the scholarly and performing activities of students and faculty. He also oversees the Music Library’s archival collections of primary source materials, including names such as Igor Stravinsky, Harry James, Miklós Rózsa, Ingolf Dahl, Robert Linn, and more.

Aside from membership and service to the Music Library Association, International Association of Music Libraries, and Association of Recorded Sound Collections, Mr. Justice also regularly teaches graduate music research courses and a seminar on the history of sound recordings. Outside of academia, he maintains a professional career as a baroque violist and has performed with Musica Angelica, the Victoria Bach Festival, Dallas Bach Society, Denton Bach Society (co-founder and artistic director of the Denton Bach Players), Orchestra of New Spain, Tempesta di Mare Baroque Orchestra, and New York State Baroque.

Playing in Quattrocento "Four Centuries of Italian Music" and St. Matthew Passion.

Elliot Figg, Harpsichord

Elliot Figg is a keyboardist, conductor and composer who lives in New York. He is a graduate of the Historical Performance Program at The Juilliard School where he studied harpsichord with Kenneth Weiss. He also studied with Arthur Haas at the Yale School of Music. Elliot is an active member of ACRONYM, Ruckus, and House of Time. Previous engagements include: Five Boroughs Music Festival, Through the Warping Lens, a concert featuring his own music; Conductor and harpsichordist for Haydn's Jupiter's Journey to Earth, Monteverdi's Combattimento, Hasse's Piramo e Tisbe, and St.-Georges' L'Amant Anonyme,

all with Little Opera Theatre of New York; Conductor and harpsichordist for Death of Classical's productions of Dido and Aeneas and Hot Dogs, Hooch, & Handel in and around the catacombs of Green-Wood Cemetery; Deputy Music Director and harpsichordist for Farinelli and the King on Broadway.


Playing in Quattrocento "Four Centuries of Italian Music".