Faculty and Students Perform “A Flower Blooms in Snow” at Carnegie Hall on Jan 25

InterHarmony Artists Present “A Flower Blooms in Snow” at Carnegie Hall on Jan 25

InterHarmony® International Music Festival proudly presents A Flower Blooms in Snow, showcasing emerging artists making their debut at Carnegie Hall alongside seasoned InterHarmony Artists—Lenora Marya-Anop (violin), Antonio Di Cristofano (piano), and Misha Quint (cello). These performances are a highlight of the InterHarmony Concert Series, taking place at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall on January 25 at 8 PM.
At the heart of this presentation, listeners will embark on a journey through centuries of artistic expression, guided by the hands of these virtuosic performers. From Scriabin and Rachmaninov's passionate explosions of technical brilliance to Schumann and Schubert's intricately woven sonorities that delicately unveil the human soul, this evening promises to be a kaleidoscope of sonic brilliance. Tickets can be bought online at www.carnegiehall.org, or by calling CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800. More information can be found at www.interharmony.com.
A glint of light crosses the snowy silence of the hall, and a poetic ode cascades forth from the piano. Pianist Daniel Jones breathes life into Scriabin’s Fifth Piano Sonata. A profound work marked by striking contrasts of tempo and timbre. Written simultaneously with his orchestral Poem of Ecstasy, Scriabin himself declared this composition magnificent poetry at the piano.
Budding artists, Anna Marine, Ellie Martinson, and Tadao Tomokiyo will collaborate on Schubert’s beautiful, somber Auf dem Strom. This trio for piano, voice and French horn was composed for the first anniversary of Beethoven’s death. Evoking a mournful tone, it directly quotes the funeral march from Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony. Intensifying this mood is the text, based on a poem about a sailor’s farewell by Ludwig Rellstab.
As the concert continues to bloom, pianist Gabriel Palacios takes the stage, interpreting two movements of Schumann's Kreisleriana. Inspired by the eccentric, fictional conductor, Johannes Kreisler, this is a challenging composition about “a half-mad musician tumbling into insanity.” Although critiqued for its complexity, it showcases Schumann’s remarkable artistry through dramatic oscillations between extremes of tonality and timbre.

Concluding the first half of the program, Samuel Nelson performs Scriabin’s Ninth Piano Sonata also known as Black Mass. This titanic piano work reflects Scriabin's sacred philosophies of mysticism and theosophy, creating dissonant harmonies and vibrant lyricism with intense virtuosity.
At the dawn of the second half, pianist Ben Loenser performs Rachmaninoff’s brooding Etude Tableaux Op. 39, No. 5. Written after an intense study of Scriabin’s work and emerging like a shadow against crystalline snow, this work encourages the audience to creatively imagine its implications.
Conceived amidst profound emotional struggles, Schubert's Piano Trio No. 1 in B-Flat Major D.898 features a joyous, vibrant spirit. The third movement defiantly dances, leaping, exalting life— a colorful foliage of petals symbolic of the of the profound beauty we sometimes see in the iciest cold. Recently described by Sharon Ellman of Broadway World as “a master of the intricacies of soulful and emotional music [Misha] completely mesmerized the audience.” Cellist Misha Quint will perform alongside violinist Lenora Marya-Anop and pianist Antonio DiCristofano.

As the concert concludes, a flower stands in full bloom amidst an icy landscape, an effigy to the struggle, hope, despair and joy contained in all our lives. A Flower Blooms in Snow delivers a powerful message of perseverance and determination, inviting the audience to join in this unforgettable evening of music—a celebration of the human spirit that persists even in the coldest of circumstances.
PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES

Cellist MISHA QUINT, 2016 Gold Medal Global Music Award winner for his CD Matryoshka Blues, performed with such celebrated as orchestras as Orquestra Sinfônica do Teatro Nacional do Brasilia, New York Chamber Orchestra, National Irish Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, London Soloists Chamber Orchestra at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, and Euro Sinfonietta Wien. Quint has performed under the batons of Maxim Shostakovich, Paul Lustig Dunkel, Colman Pearce, Sidney Harth, Ravil Martinov, Yaacov Bergman, Franz Anton Krager and Ira Levin, and premiered works of outstanding composers of today: Sophie Goubadalina, Robert Sirota, Nathan Davis, and Alfred Schnittke. Quint is Founder and Music Director of InterHarmony® International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Piedmont, Italy and Suzlbach-Rosenberg, Germany, and InterHarmony Concert Series at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Quint is on the faculty at Mannes College The New School for Music in Manhattan. Recent engagements include recitals and concerts with orchestras in Italy and Germany in collaboration with Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Guy Braunstein, Alexei Volodin, Christa Mayer, Christian Vasquez, and Dmitri Sitkovetsky www.mishaquintcello.com

Antonio Di Cristofano completed his piano studies in 1986 at the Conservatory “L.Cherubini” in Florence, under the supervision of M° Bacchelli. He has performed with M° Damerini. He performs either as a piano soloist or in different musical ensembles; he played as a soloist with the Orchestra of the University of Milan, Strings Orchestra “Cantelli” of Milan, Chamber Orchestra of Florence, Symphony Orchestra of Lecce, Magna Grecia Orchestra, Sicily Symphony Orchestra, Solisti Aquilani, Milano Classica Orchestra, Sinfonica Abbruzzese, Sanremo Orchestra, FVG Mittleurope Orchestra, Radio Orchestra of Bucarest, Orquesta Sinfonica de l’Estado de Mexico, University Orchestra of Houston, Radiotelevision Albania Orchestra, Istanbul Chamber Orchestra, Praga Radio Symphony Orchestra, North Czech Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Izmir Symphony Orchestra, Iasi State Philharmonic, Wiener Mozart Orchestra, Toronto Sinfonia, Philharmonique de Montreal, Jerusalem Symphony, Slovak Filharmonie, KaerntnerSinfonieorchester, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, New York Chamber Players, Orquestra do Norte, Sinfonica di Sao Paulo, Thuringen Orchestra, etc. with conductors like G. Taverna, F. A. Krager, O. Balan, M. Bosch, M. Ancillotti, M. Alsop, N. Arman, C. Schulz, M. Zanini, C. Olivieri-Munroe, L. Svarovsky, A. Chernushenko, M. Sieghart and many others. He played, in Italy, for the most important Festival: the “Verdi Theatre” in Florence, the "Festival dei Due Mondi" in Spoleto, “Asolo Musica”, the Theatre of Alessandria, the “Bibbiena Theatre” in Mantova, the “Puccini Hall” at the Conservatory “G. Verdi” in Milan, “Politeama Theatre” in Palermo, "Auditorium San Barnaba" in Brescia, Festival Duni in Matera, etc., in Romania (Aeteneum and Radio Bucarest, ecc.), Espana (Festival de Vigo, Toledo Festival, JeunessesMusicales de Sevilla), Mexico (Belles Artes Palacio, Revueltas Auditorium), USA (Moores Opera House of Houston, Gates Concert Hall in Denver, Washington International Piano Festival, etc.), Turkey (Istanbul, Izmir and Adana), Croatia (Dubrovnik – Rector Palace), Czech Republic (Praga – Smetana Hall and Dvorak Hall), Russia (CiaikovskyConservatoire), South Korea (Seoul – Leeum Auditorium), France (Nancyphonies Festival), Austria (Konzerthaus – Klagenfurt), Germany (Gasteig – Munich), Chopin Society Warsaw, Canada (Toronto - Glenn Gould Studio), Grieg Festival in Norway, Yamaha Concert Hall in Tokyo, Switzerland, Albania, Israel, England, Portugal, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belgium, Brasil, Serbia, Argentina, Sweden, South Africa, etc. He recorded a CD with Velut Luna and Millenium label. In 2006 and 2007 he made the debut in Carnegie Hall – New York and in Konzerthaus and Golden Hall MusikVerein in Wien. He is often invited as a judge in international Piano Competitions (Compositores de Espana – Madrid, Varallo, Cantù, Osijek, Gante – Pordenone, Parigi, Viardo – Belmont, Rachmaninov – Moscow, Iturbi – Valencia, Parnassos – Monterrey, Astana Merei International Competition -Astana, Baltic piano ompetition -Gdansk, Bajic Memorial -Novi Sad, Hong Kong International Young Pianist Competition, Nordic Piano Competition - Malmoe, Mozart Piano Competition - Aachen, Louisiana Piano Competition, etc.) and to teach in Ciaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, Valencia Conservatory, in the Summer Academy in Dubrovnik, in Shanghay, Xiamen and Ningbo Conservatory in China, in the SMC Academy in Seoul, in Valletta International Piano Festival, in Sofia Conservatory, in Thessaloniki Conservatory, in The Orpheus Academy in Wien and in many Universities in the USA. He received the Paul Harrys Fellows from Rotary Club. Recently he received the letter of appointment as Guest Professor at the Xiamen Conservatory in China.

Lenora Marya-Anop is Professor of Violin and Viola, and Director of Strings at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). A passionate, dedicated, and accomplished pedagogue, her students have won orchestral positions in the United States and Asia, have competed in regional and national chamber music competitions, and have been appointed to teaching positions across the United States, Asia, and the Middle East. A testament to her success: her studio is filled with many grand-students, i.e. students of her former students, who have sent forward the next generation of instrumentalists. Students blossom under her caring, supportive, thorough, and dedicated tutelage.

Dr. Anop also enjoys a busy performing career as a soloist, chamber musician, and concertmaster. She is “ravishing . . . with [her] lean yet intense … violin particularly capturing the spirit of [the] music” (San Francisco Chronicle), “a highly skilled and invested violinist, who brought a lovely singing tone to her playing … top-notch performance(s) … meltingly sensitive” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). She “played with balance and sympathy . . . [and] achieved a fine, lyric intensity” (Cleveland Plain Dealer); had “beautiful soloistic passages . . . well-performed”; “first-rate” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Following a performance of a J.S. Bach violin concerto: “Concertmistress Lenora-Marya-Anop assayed the solo part with passion and clarity. This was a fiery performance, as fine as one would wish to hear in any of the world’s musical capitals.” (St. Louis Beacon).

She is the Concertmaster of the Bach Society of Saint Louis Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, the Salem Chamber Orchestra, and is the violinist of Trio Musici. An avid period artist, she also performs on Baroque and Classical period instruments.
“BACH Unlocked” is her current project. By meticulously combing through the four original manuscript sources of J. S. Bach’s Cellos Suites Nos. 1 & 2, she wrote and recorded a scholarly violin transcription of these two suites through which she introduces the student / performer to period performance style and baroque ornamentation. The CD is available for purchase on her website: BACHUnlocked.com and the companion score will be available in summer 2021. Other recent projects include solo performances of violin concerti by Mozart, J. S. Bach, Vaughan Williams, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, as well as soloing while leading the orchestra in Bach’s Brandenburg concerti.

Beginning her violin studies at age 3 in Denver, Colorado (USA), she was one of the very first Suzuki students in the United States. She received her Bachelor of Music with Honors in Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, Master of Music degree from Yale University, and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan.
She performs on a violin made by Hieronymus Amati II in Cremona, Italy (1692).

Daniel Jones is a classically trained pianist with a passion for music and technology. He studied with Robert Setzer in Hickory, NC, and went on to earn multiple degrees –a B.M. in Piano Performance, and a B.S and M.S. in Computer Science –from UNC Chapel Hill, where he was a Kenan Music Scholar. At UNC, he studied with Dr. Clara Yang, and participated in masterclasses with renowned pianists Vladimir Ashkenazy and Leon Fleisher. Danny has performed in international music festivals, including the Saarburg and InterHarmony International Music Festivals. Since graduating, Danny embarked on a career at Google, where he currently works as a Staff Software Engineer building cloud storage technologies. Alongside his professional endeavors, he continues to nurture his love for music. During his six years in Seattle, he co-founded the Google Seattle Chamber Music Ensemble with fellow musical colleagues. Now residing in Durham, NC, he actively participates in local community-organized piano groups and concerts, and occasionally teaches.

Ellie Martinson is a fourth-year student of music performance at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She is an Iñupiaq Alaska Native from Nome, Alaska; her Alaska Native name is Paukana. While growing up in Nome, Ellie learned valuable skills such as hunting, fishing, berry picking, and sewing. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her two American Akitas named Koda and Kenai.
In 2022, Ellie participated in the National Association for Teachers of Singing competition in the lower women’s college division and advanced to the national level. She also took part in the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, which was held in Fairbanks, Alaska. During the following year, she won the Upper Women's College division of the Alaska chapter of NATS and participated in the InterHarmony Music Festival in Piedmont, Italy.
Currently, Ellie is preparing for her senior recital, which is scheduled for the spring of 2024. She will also perform the role of 'Gretel' in ‘Hänsel and Gretel’, composed by Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921), alongside other singers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. After graduation, Ellie plans to continue her education and pursue her passion for performing.

Tadao Tomokiyo is a student at Winchester Thurston School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He studies horn with Molly Zebell, classical piano with Walter Morales, jazz piano with Tom Roberts, and organ with Alan Lewis. Tadao has attended multiple summers at the Interlochen Arts Camp—where he received the Fine Arts Award—as well as the Internationale Musik-Ferienwoche in Marktoberdorf, Germany, the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. He currently plays horn in the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, where he was selected as the winner of the 2022–2023 Conducting Competition and came in second place for the 2023–2024 Concerto Competition. He has played with a wind quintet and a horn quartet as part of Youth Chamber Connection, and has also played with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Student Side-by-Side program. Tadao also loves to play ragtime and New Orleans jazz, having attended the New Orleans Traditional Jazz Camp in 2022. He has been featured at the West Coast Ragtime Society’s Spotlighting Ragtime Youth concert as well as the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest’s Junior Showcase. He has also performed at the West Coast Ragtime Festival and the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, where he was selected as the Ragtime Kid of 2022.

Anna Marine is a pianist who has been creating music since she learned to speak. She has been taking piano lessons for 14 years, studying with Richard Sessler, Dr. Réne Lecuona, Dr. Marian Lee, and Youngjung Cha. She has performed with various musical groups including choirs, bands, solo musicians, chamber ensembles, musical productions, and more. In the summer of 2023, she attended the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy, where she performed Schubert’s Auf dem Strom with her chamber group. She is currently a sophomore at the University of Iowa, where she majors in piano performance under Dr. Réne Lecuona. In her spare time, she likes to accompany local high school bands and choirs, churches, and community theater shows. Her most recent project is working as a rehearsal and performance pianist for local productions of Once Upon a Mattress.

Gabriel Palacios began his piano studies at age five with Phoebe Hemingway at the Suzuki Music Institute of Dallas. When he was eleven years old, his family moved to Khon Kaen, Thailand where after a few years he took lessons under Dr. Eri Nakagawa of Mahidol University and then continued his formal studies under Dr. Bret Serrin of the Suzuki Music Institute of Dallas. Gabriel now resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan where he studies with Dr. Chi Yong Yun, his instructor since age sixteen. When he was fifteen, Gabriel played with the Andrews Academy orchestra as a soloist on their Thailand tour and then performed with them again when he was seventeen, for their concerto night. Gabriel is the 2018 winner of the Stickley Piano Competition as well as the recipient of the “Dare to Dream” scholarship of Andrews University. Gabriel is also the winner of the 2019 Southern Adventist University Concerto Competition. Gabriel has taken part in masterclasses with Ian Hopson, Saleem Ashkar, Michelle Cann, Alexei Volodin, Regulo Martinez-Anton, and others. Currently, Gabriel is in his final year of studies at Andrews University and plans on continuing his musical training to pursue a master’s degree in piano performance.

Samuel Nelson, born in Portland, Oregon, began his musical journey playing folk songs with his brothers. At an early age he developed a love for piano, and from age 10, Samuel started performing with his family at events around the Portland area. Samuel’s formal piano training began at Portland State University. He studied with Dr. Julia Hwakyu Lee in Portland for three trimesters before coming to Arizona State University in 2021, where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Music in piano performance in the studio of Dr. Baruch Meir. Samuel’s musical background and performance experience is extensive and eclectic. He has played with several ensembles and bands throughout the Portland and Phoenix metropolitan areas, in styles ranging from classical to blues to bluegrass. In addition to participating in the 2023 InterHarmony Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy, Samuel was also named the alternate winner of the 2022 MTNA Young Artists Competition, and received the first prize in the 2023 MTNA Young Artists Competition.

Benjamin Loenser is a second-year student at Andrews University where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Music and Science. Most recently he was a featured soloist with the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra where he performed George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. During the summers of 2022 and 2023, Benjamin attended the Interharmony International Music Festival where he was a featured soloist in several showcase recitals and outstanding piano masterclasses. After college, Benjamin hopes to pursue a career in medicine while continuing to mature as a pianist. Benjamin Loenser is currently under the tutelage of Dr. Chi Yong Yun at Andrews University.