Praised for her “clarion tone and technical aplomb” (Chicago Classical Review), violinist Eleanor Bartsch enjoys a dynamic career as a chamber musician, orchestral musician, concertmaster, soloist, educator and entrepreneur. Bartsch was appointed to the first violin section of the Chicago Lyric Opera orchestra in 2024. She is additionally first violinist of the Kontras Quartet, with whom she has toured the US and Europe, appeared as a regular guest on 98.7 Chicago Classical WFMT radio, released two studio albums and held residencies at many US higher learning institutions. Bartsch is Professor of Violin and Head of Strings at Elmhurst University.

The Kontras Quartet is a beloved Chicago-based ensemble known for its vibrant and nuanced performances, accessible audience relations and diverse repertoire spanning centuries, genres and continents. In addition to a robust national and international touring schedule, Kontras enjoys exploring genre-bending collaborations including a unique and ongoing partnership with the folk/bluegrass ensemble, the Kruger Brothers. The Kontras-Kruger pairing regularly tours together and has championed and recorded a wide array of classical/bluegrass crossover chamber works.

John Macfarlane is a violinist, tenor, conductor, and producer whose work spans orchestral performance, chamber music, and theater. He is Assistant Principal Second Violin of the Lyric Opera Orchestra.

He has led from the concertmaster’s chair with orchestras and festivals across the country, including the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, Breckenridge Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, and Spoleto Festival. He has also appeared as guest concertmaster with the Oregon Symphony and Phoenix Symphony, and has performed with The Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.

In December 2025, Macfarlane conducted and produced Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors at Nichols Concert Hall. He also writes, arranges, and transcribes music.

Emily Nebel enjoys a varied performing career as orchestral leader and chamber musician. She is Assistant Concertmaster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago as well as Associate Concertmaster of the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center. Since the age of 24 she has appeared as guest concertmaster with numerous symphony and opera orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Staatstheater Darmstadt, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and La Monnaie in Brussels, to name a few. As soloist, she has performed in the UK, Germany and the US with such orchestras as the Cleveland Orchestra and Phoenix Symphony in concertos by Walton, Britten, Saint-Saëns and others. 

 An avid chamber musician, Emily has performed extensively as a recitalist and with various chamber ensembles. She has regularly been invited to chamber music festivals at home and abroad, such as Krzyzowa Music Festival in Poland, Domaine Forget in Canada and IMS Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music, North York Moors, Corbridge and Peasmarsh Chamber Music Festivals in the UK. Her debut album of French sonatas, recorded with pianist Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula, was released in 2020 on the Linn Records label. 

Gina DiBello was appointed to the first violin section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by Music Director Riccardo Muti in 2013. Previously, she was principal second violin of the Minnesota Orchestra and a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In 2016, DiBello was named concertmaster of Music of the Baroque. In addition to her orchestral work, she enjoys an active career as soloist and regularly makes appearances with Music of the Baroque, on the CSO Chamber Music series, and on numerous other series around Chicago. DiBello’s many career highlights include performing Mozart’s violin concertos nos. 3 and 5 with the Minnesota Orchestra under the batons of Stanisław Skrowaczewski and Andrew Litton, respectively. She is proud to be a founding member of New Music Detroit, a collective dedicated to performing and promoting contemporary music, and is included on the group’s first recording, Smoke: Music of Marc Mellits.

Gina DiBello attended the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Juilliard School. Her principal teachers include Desirée Ruhstrat, David and Linda Cerone, and Joel Smirnoff. She and her husband, percussionist Ian Ding, reside on Chicago’s North Side with their cats.

Since making her concerto debut at the age of sixteen Carol Cook has appeared as both a soloist and chamber musician in concert halls worldwide. Born in Inverness, Scotland, into a musical family, Carol has performed as soloist with the Chicago Philharmonic, Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra in Boston, Edinburgh Symphony, Guildhall Symphony, Cambridge Sinfonia, and Edinburgh Players and she also performed the Brahms Double Concerto alongside her brother Calum with the Edinburgh Symphony and the Grampian Orchestra.

Carol was appointed principal violist with the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra in 2013, having been a member of the orchestra since 2003. She has also appeared as guest principal violist with numerous international orchestras, including the highly acclaimed Australian Chamber Orchestra with whom she has toured extensively throughout Australia, New Zealand, and the US. She performs regularly with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and has also appeared with the New York Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra.

Calum Cook, born in Inverness, Scotland, is the Principal Cello with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the cellist of the Rembrandt Chamber Musicians, and is the newest member of the Grant Park Festival Orchestra cello section.

Calum enjoyed a variety of successes in competition from an early age. At 15 he was a finalist in the Concerto class at the Edinburgh Music Festival, he won a Gold Medal at the British Federation of Festivals the following year, and in ‘98 reached the televised String Final of the BBC Young Musicians competition. He also took part in the ’99 Aberdeen International Youth Festival winning the Skene Award Audience Prize, and whilst attending the Royal College of Music, won both the Helen Just prize and the Wills Gordon prize for cello.

Notable performances include a solo recital at the Kronberg Festival in Germany, and chamber music appearances at the Fairfield Halls and Wigmore Hall, London, and during the Edinburgh Festival.

Cellist Paul Dwyer brings to life everything from early music on baroque cello to brand new works by young composers.  He has appeared as soloist and chamber musician in the US, Europe and Asia, and has performed with Menahem Pressler, Jordi Savall and artist-faculty of the Juilliard School and Aspen Music Festival.  A prize-winner of numerous competitions, Paul is also the recipient of the Javits Fellowship, Presser Award and a Fulbright Fellowship for studies with Anner Bylsma and Frances-Marie Uitti in Amsterdam.  Paul holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, The Juilliard School and the University of Michigan, where he was teaching assistant to Richard Aaron.  Paul is a founding member of Diderot String Quartet, ACRONYM, and The Colonials and joined Lyric Opera of Chicago as Assistant Principal cellist this fall.

Growing up in Vienna and Munich, Paul originally wanted to play the double bass, but was told he was too short.  His varied musical explorations began soon thereafter: as a teenager, he co-founded a heavy metal cello quartet and sang the role of Polyphemus in Handel’s Acis and Galatea.  In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, biking and brewing beer.

Dutch violinist and violist Michael Gurevich enjoys a varied performing career. He has appeared as leader with a wide variety of ensembles including the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Arcangelo, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Dunedin Consort and English Chamber Orchestra and as section principal on both violin and viola, with the Philharmonia, Amsterdam Sinfonietta and many others. Devoted to chamber music, Michael is a member of the London Haydn Quartet and frequently plays with the Nash Ensemble.

With these groups and others, Michael has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Wigmore Hall, Royal Concertgebouw, the Louvre, Melbourne Recital Centre, at the Verbier, Edinburgh, Aix-en-Provence and Aldeburgh Festivals and in numerous other venues and festivals across the world. He has also recorded extensively for the Hyperion label, including the London Haydn Quartet’s complete cycle of Haydn quartets. Further recordings include two albums with the Nash Ensemble, Schumann piano trios with the Rhodes Piano Trio, clarinet quintets by Weber and Krommer with the London Haydn Quartet, as well as four albums for Alpha as leader of Arcangelo. Radio broadcasts include many appearances on BBC Radio 3, SWR2 in Germany, ABC Classic FM in Australia, CBC Radio in Canada, NHK in Japan and many others.

Andrew Sommer joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2023 after being appointed by Music Director Riccardo Muti. Originally from Atlanta, Sommer previously served as principal bass of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra for four years.

Sommer also has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, including on its 2014 tour to Carnegie Hall, and with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. He spent three summers as a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Verbier, Switzerland, and was a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, where he performed with the Aspen Chamber Symphony. Sommer also performs with the chamber orchestra Taiwan Connection.

In addition to his orchestral work, Sommer enjoys playing bass in other genres and performed at the 2013 Grammy Awards with the Grammy Jazz Combo alongside Latin superstar Juanes.

Sommer received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Albert Laszlo. He also studied with Leigh Mesh and Hal Robinson. His jazz mentors include Kevin Bales and John Patitucci. Sommer’s father, the late Douglas Sommer, was his first mentor and teacher and was a renowned bassist and educator, who was a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for 25 years. He plays on his father’s bass, an Enrico Bajoni made in Italy circa 1875.

Cynthia Yeh joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as principal percussionist in June 2007. She previously served as principal percussionist for the San Diego Symphony Orchestra from 2004 to 2007. She is currently on faculty at DePaul University and the Aspen Music Festival and School. She has served on the faculty of the Pacific Music Festival, National Youth Orchestra-USA as well as the Chosen Vale Percussion Seminar.  Yeh has also served on the jury of the ARD international competition and the OSM competition. 

As an active soloist, Yeh performed recitals and concerts all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Taiwan, and Japan.  She gave the world premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s Procession with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in May 2024 and the U.S. premiere of Eternal Rhythm by Avner Dorman, also with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in October 2019.  

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Cynthia Yeh received a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Music Performance degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, where she studied with Alan Abel.

Allegra Lilly was appointed Principal Harp of the Houston Symphony in February of 2023. She previously held the Principal Harp position with the St. Louis Symphony for ten seasons. She has appeared as Guest Principal Harp with the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, and Charlotte Symphony, and has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, and All-Star Orchestra.

Since making her solo debut at the age of twelve with the Detroit Symphony, Lilly has performed as soloist with the Lexington Philharmonic, Juilliard Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, International Symphony, Camerata Notturna, and numerous ensembles in New York and her home state of Michigan. During her tenure with the St. Louis Symphony, she appeared as soloist three times, performing Debussy’s Danses sacrée et profane, Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp with flutist Mark Sparks, and Ginastera’s Harp Concerto. Her festival appearances have included Brevard Music Center, Grand Teton Music Festival, Arizona Musicfest, Tanglewood Music Center, Artosphere Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi, National Repertory Orchestra, and Castleton Festival. Lilly is an active chamber musician and has performed as a featured guest artist with the Chamber Music Festival of Lexington, Missouri Chamber Music Festival, Innsbrook Institute Music Festival, Missouri River Festival of the Arts, Argento New Music Project, and Carnegie Hall’s EnsembleConnect.

Jennifer M. Gunn was appointed flute and piccolo of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by Daniel Barenboim in 2005. In December 2020, the position was endowed as the Dora and John Aalbregtse Piccolo Chair.

Since joining, she has been active in the life of the Orchestra in many ways, including performances on its contemporary music series MusicNOW, the CSO Chamber Music series and the Once Upon a Symphony series designed for families with young children. Gunn also has served as a piccolo and flute coach for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, participated in the Dream Out Loud Music Education Advocacy Campaign and joined Zell Music Director Riccardo Muti for several of the programs for at-risk and incarcerated youth at Chicago-area juvenile justice centers.

Equally at home on flute or piccolo, Gunn has been featured as a soloist with the Orchestra on many occasions. She made her flute solo debut under the direction of Ludovic Morlot on the MusicNOW series playing Shirish Korde’s Nesting Cranes in 2007. A year later, she made her piccolo debut as soloist under the direction of Harry Bicket performing Vivaldi’s Concerto in C Major (RV 443) on the CSO’s subscription series. Gunn also has featured as a flutist in Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos with her CSO colleagues under the direction of both Nicholas Kraemer and Pinchas Zukerman. In June of 2019, Gunn was featured as piccolo soloist under the direction of Music Director Riccardo Muti in Vivaldi’s C Major Concerto (RV444), and also gave the CSO premiere of Ken Benshoof’s Concerto in Three Movements for Piccolo and Orchestra.

Scott Hostetler joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra oboe section in 2002. In 2008, he was appointed to the english horn position by principal conductor Bernard Haitink. Prior to joining the CSO, he was principal oboe and an artist-in-residence of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. He has frequently performed on the CSO’s chamber music series, and in 2021 he made his solo debut with the CSO, playing Bach’s Concerto for Oboe d’amore and Strings.

A native of Kokomo, Indiana, Hostetler received his bachelor of music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was a student of John Mack. He subsequently studied with Elaine Douvas at the Juilliard School in New York and at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado.

An active teacher as well as performer, Scott Hostetler coached the oboe section of the Chicago Civic Orchestra and served on the faculty at Northwestern University for over 15 years. Since 2017, he has been on the faculty at the Juilliard School in New York, commuting several times a year to teach english horn lessons and classes for the school’s oboe students. He has also taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Aspen Music Festival and School. He is currently on the Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts faculty.

Clarinetist Jonathan Gunn is a versatile artist with a varied career as educator, soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer. Appointed by Maestro Paavo Järvi to the position of Associate Principal and Eb Clarinet of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 2004, Mr. Gunn then served as Principal Clarinet from 2011 to 2016. Prior to joining the Cincinnati Symphony, he was the Principal Clarinetist of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Mr. Gunn has also performed as Guest Principal Clarinet with the Chicago, Houston, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras and Houston Grand Opera among others. 

Mr. Gunn has participated in numerous music festivals including Tanglewood, Aspen, Bard, and St. Bart's and is the Principal Clarinetist of the Sunflower and Buzzard’s Bay Music Festivals. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the Wheeling Symphony and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic as well as Sunflower and Buzzard’s Bay. Mr. Gunn was featured at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest performing the Copland Clarinet Concerto and has performed internationally as soloist and recitalist including recent performances in China, Thailand, Taiwan and Canada.

Committed to the education of the next generation of clarinetists, Mr. Gunn gives masterclasses and recitals around the world, and has served on the faculties of the Buffet-Crampon Summer Academy, the Aria International Summer Academy, the National Youth Orchestra of the USA and Round Top Music Festival. Currently, Mr. Gunn serves as the Associate Professor of Clarinet at the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining the faculty at The University of Texas, he served on the faculty at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Indian-American pianist Pallavi Mahidhara made her orchestral debut at the age of 10, performing at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago. She is the Second Prize winner and Young Audience Award winner of the 69th Geneva International Piano Competition, and of the VI International Prokofiev Competition in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

She has appeared in solo and orchestral concerts across five continents, and has performed at important festivals such as the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Marlboro Music and Verbier Festival. The Klavier-Festival Ruhr in Essen released a live performance recording of her recital from October 2021, available on Spotify.

Pallavi is the Executive Producer, Writer, and Host of “The Conscious Artist®“, a podcast designed to promote Mental Health Awareness for performing artists. Aside from her private studio, she is regularly invited to give masterclasses and workshops at Universities and Summer Programs.

Pallavi holds degrees from The Curtis Institute of Music and Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, and studied with Dimitri Bashkirov at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía. As the first female Indian pianist to attend these institutions and host a podcast on mental health in Western classical music, she fervently embraces her role as cultural ambassador, artist, and mentor. Pallavi is a Steinway Artist.

Korean American pianist Jessica Choe began her musical studies at the age of three in Seoul, Korea, where she was a winner of several national youth piano competitions including Samick Piano Competition and Korea Daily Times Music Competition.  Since immigrating to the US in 1988, she has performed in many American concert halls including The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood and The Wolf Trap.

In 2003, Jessica made her European debut at Fondation Bemberg in Toulouse, France and her New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall, both under the auspices of La Gesse Foundation.  She was also awarded The Presser Award during that year. 

As a soloist, she has most recently appeared with Seattle Symphony, Bellingham Symphony, Juneau Symphony, Cascade Symphony, Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, Reno Chamber Orchestra and Northwest Sinfonietta.  

As an avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with Avi Avital, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Philippe Quint, Alexei Lubimov, Joseph Swenson on such series as Mostly Nordic Series, Chamber Music Series and Untitled of Seattle Symphony, and Lee University Presidential Series.  Jessica also performs regularly for Music of Remembrance with whom she has premiered and recorded works by Jake Heggie and Tom Cipullo.  Most recently, she recorded works for winds and piano with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  Her upcoming season include performances on Seattle Symphony Chamber Series, Rembrandt Chamber Players Series, Music of Remembrance, as well as a performance of Poulenc Concerto for two pianos and orchestra with Rockford Symphony.  Jessica studied at The Juilliard School and Peabody Conservatory of Music with Herbert Stessin, Benjamin Pasternack and Eleanor Sokoloff.  She lives in Chicago with her husband and two children.

Pianist Christopher Guzman performs internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral pianist, in repertoire ranging from the Baroque to the avant-garde. Since winning top prizes in international competitions–including the Naumburg Competition (USA), the Seoul International Music Competition (S. Korea), the Isang Yun Competition (S. Korea), and the Concours International de Piano d’Orléans (France)--Mr. Guzman has performed throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia. His concert appearances include such major venues as Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Seoul Arts Center, and Carnegie Hall. A sought-after chamber musician, he regularly collaborates with soloists and members of the world’s finest orchestras, from Berlin to San Francisco to Seoul. He is a tenured member of Chicago’s Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, and has also served as an orchestral pianist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. 

A central focus of Guzman’s work is music written after 1900; his performances include world premieres by Donald Martino, Nico Muhly, and Paul Schoenfield, and debut recordings of works by Peter Ablinger and Jörg Widmann. The New York Times hailed his performance of Christopher Theofanidis’s Statues as “coiled” and “explosive.” He frequently returns to France under the auspices of the Concours International de Piano d’Orléans, an organization promoting contemporary piano repertoire.

A native Texan, Mr. Guzman studied at The Juilliard School, the New England Conservatory, and the University of Texas at Austin. He is Professor of Piano at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. 

A conductor, harpsichordist, and organist, Stephen Alltop is Senior Lecturer in conducting, harpsichord, and oratorio in the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, where he conducts the Baroque Music Ensemble and Millar Choir. A specialist in oratorio performance, he has conducted over 100 oratorio and operatic masterworks. He also serves as music director for the Apollo Chorus of Chicago, the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra and the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. Under his direction, the Apollo Chorus has expanded its collaborations to include appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lollapalooza, the London Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia Festival, Josh Groban on Tour, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Recent performances with Chicago Opera Theater have included Rachmninoff's Aleko, Joby Talbot's Everest and Karol Szymanowski’s King Roger. In 2022, he was named Conductor of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras for his work with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra has received multiple awards for excellence in programming. He has also been named to Northwestern’s Faculty Honor Roll.

Dutch soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg is best known for her dazzling vocal agility and her passionate and insightful interpretations. Stoppelenburg has performed all over the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America as a Baroque Music and Oratorio specialist, and as a concert singer.
Her appearance on Chicago’s classical radio program, “Live from WFMT”, was selected as one of the 10 best performances in 2016. She won the Dutch National Princess Christina Competition,  and the Chicago Oratorio Award. Stoppelenburg performed several times for the Royal Dutch Family.

Her CD 'Modern Muses, Contemporary Treasures for Soprano and Cello, published by Navona Records, won a Bronze Medal at the Global Music Awards.

Josefien has performed most major oratorio works by Handel, Haydn, Bach and Mozart, and many works by Schubert, Mendelssohn and Monteverdi.
She appeared to great acclaim in "Annelies", an oratorio about Anne Frank by composer James Whitbourn. This English composer praised Stoppelenburg's outstanding performance, stating:
" I have heard many performances, but few so accomplished and so full of understanding as hers."