Current Faculty
Telegraph Quartet, quartet in residence
The Telegraph Quartet, consisting of violinists Eric Chin and Joseph Maile, violist Pei-Ling Lin, and cellist Jeremiah Shaw, was formed in 2013 with an equal passion for the standard chamber music repertoire as well as contemporary and non-standard repertoire, alike. Described by the San Francisco Chronicle in 2017 as “…an incredibly valuable addition to the cultural landscape” and “powerfully adept… with a combination of brilliance and subtlety,” the Telegraph Quartet was most recently awarded the prestigious 2016 Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award. Past prizes include the Grand Prize at the 2014 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. The Quartet has since gone on to perform in concert halls, music festivals, and academic institutions from Los Angeles and New York to Italy and Taiwan, including Carnegie Hall, San Francisco’s Herbst Recital Hall and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Chamber Masters Series and at festivals including the Chautauqua Institute, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, and the Emilia Romagna Festival. In 2016, the Quartet was invited as one of a handful of emerging professional string quartets from around the world to perform in Paris, France at the Biennale de quatuors à cordes, a showcase for major concert presenters of Europe and Asia taking place at the Philharmonie de Paris.
Calvin Wiersma, violin
Calvin Wiersma is Associate Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Ithaca College. He has been on the faculties of the Purchase Conservatory of Music, the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, Florida State University, Brandeis University, and the Longy School of Music, as well as teaching at summer programs including Greenwood and Manchester Music. In addition to his teaching activities, Mr. Wiersma was a founding member of the Meliora Quartet, winner of the Naumburg, Fischoff, Coleman, and Cleveland Quartet competitions, and Quartet-in-Residence of the Spoleto Festivals of the U.S., Italy, and Australia. Additionally, he was a member of the Manhattan String Quartet for 20 years, a founding member of the Figaro Trio, and is a frequent performer with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. A noted interpreter of contemporary music, Mr. Wiersma is a member of Cygnus and the Lochrian Chamber Ensemble, and has appeared with Speculum Musicae, Ensemble 21, Parnassus, Ensemble Sospeso, and the New York New Music Ensemble. He has commissioned countless works with these ensembles as well as for solo violin, has toured extensively with Steve Reich and been featured in solo performances for the International League of Composers of Music.
Ross Gasworth, cello
Cellist Ross Gasworth has performed in iconic venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, The Ho Chi Minh Opera House, The Hollywood Bowl, The Sydney Opera House, The Seoul Arts Center, and Paris’ Radio France Concert Hall. Ross was selected by Michael Tilson-Thomas from to perform as Principal Cellist of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra in Sydney, Australia, and at Google’s Zeitgeist festival in London, England. He has toured internationally as a member of Trio Céleste, and serves as Director of Artistic Planning for Chamber Music | OC.
Ross has performed or recorded with artists such as Elton John, Andrea Bocelli, Ariana Grande, Barbra Streisand, Justin Bieber, Adele, Paul McCartney, Ozzy Osbourne, Carrie Underwood, Michael Bublé, Herb Alpert, Jessie J, Ben Platt, Seal, and Neil Young. As a session musician, his screen credits include Encanto, Moana 2, Super Mario Bros. Movie, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Frozen 2, Indiana Jones: Dial of Destiny, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Mandalorian, Star Trek: Discovery, and many more. As an orchestral musician, Ross has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, and as Principal Cellist of the Waco Symphony Orchestra and Miami Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with the Rochester Symphony, Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony, Michigan Youth Arts Festival Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra, UCI Symphony Orchestra, and California Chamber Orchestra.
A committed educator, Ross has served on the faculty of the University of North Texas, the University of California, Irvine, and currently serves on the Pre-College faculty of Chamber Music | OC. His private cello students have been accepted at institutions such as the University of Michigan, New England Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, and McDuffie Center for Strings.
Ross began playing the cello at age three. He earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Richard Aaron and Stephen Geber. Other past teachers include Eugene Osadchy at the University of North Texas, and Michel Strauss at the Paris Conservatoire.
Clara Kim, violin
Adventure and collaboration are at the heart of violinist Clara Kim’s multi-faceted career as new music performer, chamber music artist, and educator.
By commissioning, premiering, and championing the works of living composers, Clara has quickly established herself at the forefront of her generation in the interpretation of contemporary music. She has collaborated with some of today’s most celebrated and imaginative musical voices such as Christopher Cerrone, Stephen Hartke, Andrew Norman, Kaija Saariaho, Juri Seo, Chris Theofanidis, and Augusta Read Thomas, and continues to actively premiere works through her solo and chamber music projects. Towards her commissioning efforts with her quartet, Clara has received support from organizations such as Chamber Music America, The Koussevitzky Foundation, Concert Artists Guild, and Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts.
As a performer, Clara concertizes regularly and loves connecting with audiences, people, and communities across the world. Her significant engagements include performances at Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. Clara is a recipient of the St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist Award and a first prize winner of the Cremona Solo Violin Competition, in addition to a first prize winner at the MPrize Chamber Arts and Concert Artists Guild Competitions as a member of the Argus Quartet.
Also dedicated to community engagement and education, Clara has directed Midori’s Orchestra Residencies Program, where she coached and performed alongside violinist Midori. During the summers, she spends her time teaching at places like Interlochen, Greenwood, and Hawaii’s Pacific Music Institute.
Clara holds diplomas from Tufts University (English Literature), New England Conservatory, the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, The Juilliard School, and a doctoral degree from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music.
David Balakrishnan, violin
David Balakrishnan, composer/violinist and founder of the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet born in Los Angeles, California in 1954. After graduating from UCLA in 1976, he quickly established his reputation as a young and talented improvising violinist, appearing on many recordings and making guest appearances with the David Grisman Quartet and jazz violin legend Stephane Grappelli. Under his direction, Turtle Island has won two Grammy awards and David himself has been nominated six times, the most recent being a 2015 nomination in the instrumental composition category for his piece, “Confetti Man”. Several distinguished musicians have played with the TIQ, including clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, guitar legends Leo Kottke and the Assad brothers, pianists Billy Taylor, Kenny Barron, Cyrus Chestnut and Ramsey Lewis, singers Tierney Sutton and Nellie McKay and the Ying Quartet. A distinguished musician/composer,David won Chamber Music America’s prestigious Classical Commissioning Program grant in 2015, supporting a full-length work commemorating the quartet’s 30th anniversary season.
Daniela Mineva, piano
Hailed by critics as a “vibrant and expressive performer who could steal the show in every concert” (New York Times) and “energetic and lively pianist who displaces power and delicacy in nuanced sensitivity along with virtuoso technique” (The Baltimore Sun), DANIELA MINEVA’s unique approach to standard repertory, combined with the performance and dedication of works by living composers has taken her career throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America.
Daniela has been the winner and finalist in numerous international and national competitions including 2007 Jean Francaix piano competition in Paris, France, 1998 Steinway International Piano Competition, the International Competition " Music and the Earth " Sofia, Bulgaria among many others. During the Piano Meeting Festival 2007 in San Danielle, Italy, she was awarded with the prize “Highest Artistic Level of Performance” for her solo recital at the festival. In collaboration with the composer Vera Ivanova, the 8th International Competition for new music, Orléans, France awarded them with the “Prix André CHEVILLION- Yvonne BONNAUD sous l’égide de la FOUNDATION DE FRANCE” for the solo piano piece “Aftertouch”, written for Daniela Mineva.
Ms. Mineva maintains an active performing career. She has appeared as orchestral soloist, chamber music collaborator and solo artist at some of the most prestigious venues in Bulgaria, USA, China, Italy, France, Greece, Russia, Germany, Thailand and Costa Rica. A strong proponent of new music, Ms. Mineva has collaborated with many young and establishes composers as well as collaborating with new music ensembles like Speculum Musica, New York, NY; Earplay, San Francisco, CA; OSSIA, Eastman School of Music, and Twenty One, Rochester, NY. Dr. Mineva has also served as the president of the International Society for Pianists and Composers in USA from 2011-2016.
A devoted teacher herself, Dr. Mineva has given master classes and workshops throughout USA, Europe, Asia and South America. She has taught at Atlantic Music Festival, Russalka Piano Festival and Music and Earth Festival and Competition (Bulgaria). Currently, she is Professor of Music and Director of Keyboard Studies at Cal Poly Humboldt, California where in 2012 she won the “McCrone promising faculty award.” Previously, Dr. Mineva has taught at Eastman School of Music where in 2007 she was awarded “TA excellence of teaching” and Concordia University- Chicago. From 2013-2018, she was appointed as the Artistic and Executive Director of the Sequoia Chamber Music Workshop, Arcata, CA. She is also Co- Director of the North Coast Piano Festival and Competition where she serves on the faculty as well..
As an accomplished and versatile chamber musician, Ms. Mineva has participated in many music festivals and summer programs, including Tanglewood Music Festival, Institute for Contemporary Music, New York and San Danielle Piano Meeting, Italy. Ms. Mineva’s passion for chamber music led to organizing the concert series “Humboldt Chamber Music Concert Series at Morris Graves Museum”, Eureka, CA. Highlights of the season 2018-19 include concert tours in Asia and Europe with program by C. Debussy and O. Messiaen.
Jeffrey LaDeur , piano
Jeffrey LaDeur is known for his “delicate keyboard touch and rich expressivity” (San Francisco Chronicle) and playing described as “deeply moving, probing, felt entirely in the moment” (Eduard Laurel) Much sought after for his rare blend of insight, spontaneity, and approachable, communicative stage presence, Jeffrey has captured the hearts and minds of audiences from the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall to the Shanghai Conservatory and the Orlando Festival in the Netherlands.
Having inherited a rich tradition of pianism and interpretation from Annie Sherter, student of Vlado Perlemuter and Alfred Cortot, LaDeur has established himself as a compelling exponent of the French masters from Couperin to Ravel in addition to a diverse repertoire of canonical and alternative masterpieces. In March of 2018, LaDeur made his solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall on the centennial of Claude Debussy’s death, performing the composer’s complete Etudes with works by Couperin and Chopin. His acclaimed solo album, The Unbroken Line[MSR Classics) is devoted to music of Rameau and Debussy and has been hailed as “a masterpiece of understatement, simplicity, and ‘old school’ chord-playing where every note sings out with meaning” (Gramophone). In 2017, LaDeur founded the San Francisco International Piano Festival for which he serves as artistic director.
As a pianist, LaDeur integrates solo performance and collaboration, blending the intimacy of chamber music with the brio of concertante works. As founding member and pianist of the Delphi Trio, Jeffrey toured internationally with the ensemble for a decade and premiered William Bolcom’s first Piano Trio, written for the ensemble. With mezzo soprano Kindra Scharich he recently recorded To My Distant Beloved, an album exploring the relationship between Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -Leben and his epic Fantasy in C for solo piano, to be released on MSR Classics spring of 2020. Jeffrey has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Robert Mann, Bonnie Hampton, Ian Swensen, Axel Strauss, Geoff Nuttall, Anne Akiko Meyers, David Requiro, and Scott Pingel.
Dedicated to the principle that solo pianists thrive together, rather than as competitors, Jeffrey founded New Piano Collective, an artistic alliance of pianists, dedicated to uniquely personal artistry, collaboration, and ground-breaking programming. In 2017, LaDeur expanded the Collective and founded the San Francisco International Piano Festival, now in its fourth season, for which he serves as artistic director. The festival has quickly become of the most exciting and engaging music festivals in the country.
An active educator, Jeffrey enjoys giving regular masterclasses as a visiting artist to universities across the United States. LaDeur coaches gifted pre-college piano and string ensembles at Young Chamber Musicians in Burlingame, California.
LaDeur holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and San Francisco Conservatory of Music in piano performance and chamber music, respectively. Jeffrey counts among his teachers Mark Edwards, Douglas Humpherys, Yoshikazu Nagai, and Robert McDonald.
Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano
Mezzo Soprano Kindra Scharich has been praised by The San Francisco Chronicle for her “exuberant vitality”, “fearless technical precision”, “deep-rooted pathos” and “irrepressible musical splendor.” As a dedicated recitalist, she has performed over 200 art songs in 12 languages and given solo recitals at the The American Composer’s Forum, La Jolla Athenaeum, The Wagner Society, Lieder Alive and the acclaimed Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio de Janeiro. In 2018 Ms. Scharich sang the U.S. Premiere of new songs of Anno Schreier as a co-collaboration between Deutsche Oper Berlin and Lieder Alive. She also continued her partnership with Brazilian pianist Ricardo Ballestero in performing and recording the non-Portuguese repertoire of the great Brazilian composer Alberto Nepomuceno.
A great proponent of Lieder and Chamber Music, she and Jeffrey LaDeur recently recorded “To my distant beloved”, music of Beethoven and Schumann, also to be released in 2020. She has collaborated extensively with the Alexander String Quartet, and in 2018 “In meinem Himmel: The Complete Mahler Song Cycles”, a recording of new transcriptions by Zakarias Grafilo, was released on the Foghorn label. In the world of opera, Ms. Scharich has sung over 30 roles ranging from Monteverdi to Philip Glass. She has taught and given master classes at the Yehudi Menuhin Seminar and Festival for Chamber Music at San Francisco State, Point Loma University and the University of São Paolo, among others. See Kindra Scharich for more information and upcoming concerts.
Randy Fisher, viola/violin
Committed to chamber music since 1973 (before CMA!), Randy Fisher’s ensembles bore chamber music traditions from coachings with members of the Juilliard, Cleveland and Budapest quartets as well as Lillian Fuchs and Joseph Gingold. Since moving to California, Fisher has coached regularly at Humboldt, CalCap, SoCal, CMNC, Santa Barbara, Golden Gate and Grand Pacific workshops. Previously, he played in symphonies and string quartets based in seven states and five countries, taught chamber music at colleges in Colorado, Virginia and Hong Kong, and served as Director of Education and Community Outreach for five symphonies.
Kathryn Bates, cello
Kathryn Bates’ Bates’ energy for sharing musical experiences has shaped a career that continues to explore the intersections of tradition and innovation. Praised for her “beautifully rounded sound” by the New York Times, Kathryn’s performances are hailed as “electrifying” (Boston Globe), characterized by a dancer’s sense of rhythm and captivating theatricality. As the New Fromm cellist of the Tanglewood Music Center from 2008-2010, she was called the “revelation” (Sequenza 21) of the Elliott Carter 100th Birthday anniversary celebration. In 2010, Kathryn joined the renowned San Francisco-based Del Sol String Quartet.
With its deep commitment to education, Del Sol has reached thousands of K-12 students through inventive school performances, workshops, coaching and residencies, including recent lectures at Georgetown University, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Dartmouth University, and the Peabody Institute at John Hopkins University.
A native of historic Concord, Massachusetts, Kathryn graduated from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Charlton Lee, viola
Charlton Lee founded the award-winning Del Sol String Quartet in 1992. Critically acclaimed and two-time winner of the top Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, Del Sol explores new ways to interact with audiences, composers and artists across cultures and art forms. Del Sol commissions and performs new music from the brightest living voices around the world. Many of the group's captivating performances include innovative collaborations with electronica and traditional instruments from other cultures: Asian, Latin American and indigenous Australian. Del Sol also astounds audiences with one-of-a-kind multimedia dance, video and opera productions.
Besides performing throughout North America and Europe both as a chamber musician and soloist, Charlton is also sought after as an educator, chamber music coach, writer, and jurist. He has an MM from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and 20 years of taiji, which is incorporated into posture and technique.
