Meet the Faculty
2026 Guest Artist
Colin Carr
(cello)
Great Britain
Colin Carr appears throughout the world as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and teacher. He has played with major orchestras worldwide, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, The Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, the orchestras of Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, Philadelphia, Montréal and all the major orchestras of Australia and New Zealand. Conductors with whom he has worked include Rattle, Gergiev, Dutoit, Elder, Skrowasczewski and Marriner. He has been a regular guest at the BBC Proms and has twice toured Australia.
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With his duo partner Thomas Sauer he has played recitals throughout the United States and Europe including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Wigmore Hall in London. Colin has played complete cycles of the Bach Solo Suites at the Wigmore Hall in London, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Gardner Museum in Boston and in Montreal, Toronto, Ottowa and Vancouver. Over the last few seasons he performed 25 cycles of the suites in the USA, Europe, and Asia. A highlight of 2025 was to play them every Monday for three months in the Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church in New York.
As a member of the Golub-Kaplan-Carr Trio, he recorded and toured extensively for 20 years. Chamber music plays an important role in his musical life. He is a frequent visitor to international chamber music festivals worldwide and has appeared often as a guest with the Guarneri and Emerson string quartets and with New York’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Recent CD releases include the complete Bach suites on the Wigmore Live label and the complete Beethoven Sonatas and Variations on the MSR Classics label with Thomas Sauer. Colin is the winner of many prestigious international awards, including First Prize in the Naumburg Competition, the Gregor Piatigorsky Memorial Award, Second Prize in the Rostropovich International Cello Competition and also winner of the Young Concert Artists competition.
He first played the cello at the age of five. Three years later he went to the Yehudi Menuhin School, where he studied with Maurice Gendron and later William Pleeth. He was made a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in 1998, having been on the faculty of the New England Conservatory in Boston for 16 years. In 1998, St. John’s College, Oxford created the post of “Musician in Residence” for him, and in September 2002 he became a professor at Stony Brook University in New York.
Colin’s cello was made by Matteo Gofriller in Venice in 1730. He now divides his time between an old house in Harlem, New York and an older house outside Oxford in England.
2026 Summer Intensive Faculty
Charly Akert
Director/co-founder (cello)
Switzerland/USA
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Charly Akert is an accomplished cellist renowned for his versatility as a soloist, chamber musician, and performer across diverse musical genres. Hailing from Fairbanks, Alaska, he began playing the cello at the tender age of five, nurturing a profound connection with music that has defined his varied career.
Described by Toronto’s Ludwig Van as “a performer with great sensitivity to the music, and an understated virtuosity,” Akert has captivated audiences on prestigious international stages, including Carnegie Hall and NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts. His eclectic performance history features collaborations with notable acts such as Ensemble: Périphérie, The Family Crest, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Father John Misty, Cage the Elephant, and Josh Groban. He has also lent his talents to recordings for artists like Ziggy Marley, The Streetlight Manifesto, and Machine Head, and his performances have been featured on popular television shows, including ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and The Mister Peabody and Sherman Show.
Akert’s academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado, Master’s degrees from Kent State University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he was honored as an Osher Scholar. His dedication to music has been further enriched by residencies at the Aspen Music Festival and the Banff Centre. He was also a member of the award-winning Nexus String Quartet, which achieved top honors at the National Plowman Chamber Music Competition.
In addition to his performance career, Akert has contributed to the music community as a guest artist and faculty member at the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival, the Astoria Music Festival, Wildshore New Music, and the Kinhaven Music School.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, he returned to Alaska to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a bush pilot, balancing his time between performing, teaching and exploring the breathtaking landscapes of his home state. Currently, Mr. Akert has a vibrant cello studio of nearly 50 students and is the co-founder of International Chamber Music Alaska.
Dr. Brian Bak
(violin)
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Dr. Brian Bak enjoys a career as a sought after performer and educator. He earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where he was a recipient of the C.V. Starr Scholarship, the Juilliard Merit Scholarship, and the Samsung Scholarship. He later obtained the prestigious Artist Diploma from Yale University and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Stony Brook University. His mentors have included Hyo Kang, David Chan, and Philip Setzer.
Bak has been featured as a soloist with the Tampa Bay Symphony, Central Florida Philharmonic, Sewanee Festival Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, and others. He was a winner of the 2016 Stony Brook University Concerto Competition and a featured soloist with the Stony Brook Symphony. A versatile musician, he is also an accomplished cellist, having performed as a soloist on both violin and cello. As an avid chamber musician, he is a two-time winner of the Ackerman Chamber Music Competition and has collaborated with esteemed artists such as the Emerson String Quartet, flutist Carol Wincenc, and harpist Nancy Allen. He has held chamber music residencies at the Banff Centre, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and the New Music for Strings Festival in Denmark. As a founding member of the Deka String Quartet and Trio de Novo, he has been praised for “detailed intensity” and “exceptional poise” (Sequenza 21). He has also often served as concertmaster of the New York Classical Players, leading performances and recordings, including Samuel Adler: Music for Chamber Orchestra.
Bak has held principal positions with the Juilliard Orchestra, Yale Philharmonia, and Stony Brook Symphony and was personally appointed by Lorin Maazel as principal violinist of the Castleton Festival Orchestra. He has participated in renowned festivals such as Aspen, Music Academy of the West, and the Pacific Music Festival. Dedicated to music outreach, he was a member of Lincoln Center’s Community Outreach Program and a recipient of the Gluck Community Fellowship.
As an educator, Dr. Bak has been a faculty member at the New York Music School, Music & Art of Long Island, the St. Andrew’s Conservatory, and was a Teaching Artist at Yale University. His students have won top prizes in major competitions, including the International Grande Music Competition and the Crescendo International Music Competition, and have been accepted into elite pre-college programs, youth orchestras, NYO2, and All-State orchestras.
In addition to his musical achievements, Bak has faced profound personal challenges in dealing with a spinal cord injury. His journey through recovery has shaped his perspective on resilience, artistry, and the healing power of music, and he often gives lectures on his experiences and how they have shaped his understanding of neuromuscular function as it relates to playing instruments.
Dr. Bak performs on a 2015 Samuel Zygmuntowicz violin.
Stephen Fine
(violin/viola)
USA
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Maureen Heflinger
USA
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Violist Maureen Heflinger fell in love with chamber music at age 11 when she first participated in the UAF Chamber Music Symposium led by Linda Rosenthal. Through the symposium, two regular groups were formed – the BMW Trio (in which Maureen played the piano), and the Red Aurora String Quartet, which was where she began to find her voice on the viola. In addition to studying chamber music, Maureen performed with the Fairbanks Symphony throughout high school, and studied privately with Florence Bates, Jo Roberts, Dr. Eduard Zilberkant, and Dr. Kathleen Butler-Hopkins. Through the guidance of excellent teachers, unwavering support of her family, and warmth of the musical community in Fairbanks, Maureen went on to attend the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she studied with violist extraordinaire and chamber magician Marcus Thompson.
Despite studying more or less rigorously at NEC, Maureen also found time to get up to no good. Her viola/oboe/piano trio the Nix Ensemble won a grant to produce Project Heckelmith, an interactive performance of Hindemith’s Heckelphone Trio combined with his play Der Braschenfimmel (Viola Mania), in which the composer artfully intertwines viola jokes with toilet humor. Thanks to a surprising mention in the Boston Globe, the trio (along with generous help from the composer) defiled a full house that day.
Maureen performs with the New Bedford and Atlantic Symphony Orchestras. She has been a prizewinner of the Philharmonic Society of Arlington Concerto Competition, and a National Finalist in the MTNA Soloist Competition. Performance highlights have included a rendition of Paganini’s La Campanella with viola orchestra as a faculty soloist at Idaho Viola Camp, premiering chamber works in Denali National Park for FSAF’s Composing in the Wilderness Institute, and a recent performance by the Warlock Violla Quartet in Revine Lago, Italy. Maureen is committed to accessible, excellent music education. She currently teaches and performs at musiConnects, and is the strings teacher at Boston Latin Academy, a part of Boston Public Schools. Maureen began her string studies at Pearl Creek Elementary with Celeste Goering.
Dr. Sheng-Ching Hsu
(violin)
Taiwan
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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, Sheng-Ching was six years old when she made her first public appearance as both violinist and pianist at the National Cheng- Kung University, Taiwan. She has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center Stage on Holland America Line, Walt Disney Hall, Teatro Municipal de Santiago (Chile), Remonstrantse Kerk in Alkmaar (The Netherlands), Théâtre de l’Île- Saint- Louis (Paris), and National Recital Hall (Taiwan), among others.
Sheng-Ching plays with Delirium Musicum, Concerts for Hope, New Asia Chamber Music Society, as well as Concerts on the Slope, in which many of her performances were featured on WWFM Classical, NY. She is a member of California Symphony and New West Symphony, and serves as guest principal 2nd violin of St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra. Sheng-Ching has given solo recitals in Europe, North America, South America and Asia, and has performed with Ensemble 212 and Old York Road Symphony as a soloist. 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. Her interest in the impact of music on motion picture led Sheng-Ching to perform in the debut of “BBC Frozen Planet Live,” scored by award- winning composer George Fenton.
Sheng-Ching serves as a faculty at California State University – Long Beach, as well as 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. She arranges a wide variety of music, and has worked with ensembles such as the New Asia Chamber Music Society, the Amphion String Quartet, the Lincoln Center Stage Quintet and the Manhattan Symphonie Orchestra. In addition, her arrangements have been performed at New York Fashion Week, Times Square Flash Mob, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
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, and Philip Setzer. Sheng-Ching’s instruments were generously sponsored by CHIMEI foundation in Taiwan throughout her studies. (www.shengchinghsu.com)
Dr. Karl Knapp
(cello)
USA
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Dr. Karl Knapp is a dynamic cellist, university professor, and dedicated Suzuki educator, recognized for his artistry as both a performer and teacher. His playing has been featured on the Navona Records label with Transparent Boundaries, a collaboration with his wife, soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine. Committed to expanding the repertoire for soprano and cello, they are currently working on a second album, set for release this coming winter, commissioning new works for the duo.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Knapp holds both a master’s and doctoral degree in cello performance, having studied cello with Parry Karp and received chamber music mentorship from the Pro Arte String Quartet. His dedication to music education extends to Suzuki pedagogy, where he has completed teacher training through Book 10 under the guidance of Barbara Wampner, Alice-Ann O’Neil, Nancy Hair, Pam Devenport, and Blake Brasch.
An active and versatile performer, Knapp serves as principal cellist of the New England Repertory Orchestra (NERO) and is a member of both the Wistaria and Cushman String Quartets. He also brings a fresh approach to cello performance as a member of 1200 Horsehairs: A Band of Cellos, a group that explores the instrument’s full expressive range. Additionally, he toured nationally as a cellist for Bernstein’s Wonderful Town.
In addition to his performing career, Knapp is a dedicated educator, serving on the cello faculty at Amherst College and Smith College while also maintaining a thriving private studio of pre-college students. He previously served as professor of cello at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and has held cello positions with the Fairbanks Symphony, Juneau Symphony, and Madison Symphony Orchestra. His orchestral experience also includes performances with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Beyond music, Knapp enjoys biking on trails and experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen.
Dr. Yue Sun
Director/co-founder (violin/viola)
China
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Chinese violinist Yue Sun has been hailed by Jiangnan City Daily for playing “fabulously and splendidly,” and by the Nanchang Daily for her ability to “fuse her passionate performance with unparalleled musical charm.” Ms. Sun was applauded as “the most shining rising star” by Modern Women in China, and “New York Lounge” of SinoVision has interviewed her and praised her for her “stringent artistic attitude and creative technical innovation”.
Ms. Sun has performed recitals and concerts throughout America, Europe, and Asia at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Konzerthaus Berlin, the Sanders Theater at Harvard and Shanghai Concert Hall. She was selected as the concertmaster and associate concertmaster for the Latin GRAMMY® Award Orchestra of the Americas, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra, Boulder Symphony Orchestra and others. Christoph Eschenbach praised her as “a rare talent of roaring flame and infectious passion.”
In January 2017, her DVD album “Passion” solo violin works was released by Shanghai Audio and Video Publishing House. The album showcases world premieres of Chinese folk-inspired violin works, became a best seller at the Shanghai Audio and Video Publishing House in 2018. Shortly after, the album was published by Shanghai Music House with the sheet music, and the CD version of her album was distributed globally in the United States by Skillman Music in January 2018.
Ms. Sun graduated from Stony Brook University with a Doctorate of Music Arts, and earned her Master of Music from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Ida Kavafian on full scholarship. Ms. Sun is a member of DEKA String Quartet. With the quartet, she has been closely mentored by the Emerson String Quartet and David Finckel for the past half decade. Since the fall of 2019, her quartet has served as Artists-in-Residence through the SUNY Rockefeller Institute of Government. Throughout her career, she has explored a wide range of musical genres, including classical, contemporary, improvisational, and folk music. She has performed the China premiere of Grammy Award-winning composer John Luther Adams’s solo violin work Three High Places during her international recital tour in 2023. Her role as an improvisational soloist in Yo-Yo Ma’s International Youth Music Culture festival has further enriched her artistic journey
Ms. Sun played with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra from 2019 to 2022, immediately after, she was appointed as assistant professor in violin and viola of University of Alaska Fairbanks, concertmaster of Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and director of the Northern Light String Orchestra. She is also the violinist of the Alaska trio and Cynosure piano trio. As a committed educator, Ms. Sun is launching the International Chamber Music Alaska festival in Fairbanks in the summer of 2025. This festival aims to feature internationally renowned faculty members, such as Philip Setzer, and offer world-class musical training and performances to the Alaska community. Ms. Sun plays on a Marcello Villa violin. In her spare time, she loves to cook and compose. For more information, please visit https://www.yuesunviolin.com/
Dr. Yi Qun Xu
(cello)
China
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Praised for displaying “great poise and masterful technique” and possessing “an amazing rich tone” by The Day, cellist Yi Qun Xu has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician across the United States. A native of China, she came to the U.S. after winning multiple top prizes in Chinese national cello competitions.
Yi Qun is the recipient of the 2022 Presser Music Award and the first-prize winner of the 2021 New York International Artists Cello Competition. As the winner of the 2018 Sanders-Juilliard-Tel Aviv Museum prize, she was presented in recital at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. She is also the first prize winner at the International Antonio Janigro Competition.
As a passionate chamber musician, she has been heard at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Cellists of Lincoln Center Concert and the prestigious Marlboro Music Festival. She has collaborated with artists including Itzhak Perlman and members of the Cleveland, Juilliard, Tokyo, Ébène Quartets. Her performances are featured on Alec Baldwin’s podcast “Here is the Thing” and WQXR’s “Midday Masterpieces.” She can be heard on tours with Musicians from Marlboro during both 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons.
Yi Qun is a member of The Juilliard School Pre-College and Music Advancement Program faculty as well as the Assistant Professor at University of Texas San Antonio. She also serves as Teaching Assistant to Joel Krosnick, Chair of the Cello Department at The Juilliard School. Yi Qun teaches at the Perlman Music Program’s Winter Residency and Heifetz International Music Institute’s Junior Program. She has performed for community engagement events for communities throughout the United States and China. Yi Qun is the founding co-Artistic Director of Noree Chamber Soloists. For more information, visit https://yiqunxu.com
Dr. Patrick Yim
USA
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Praised for his “deeply expressive, finely nuanced playing” (The Strad Magazine), “dazzling technique and passionate interpretations” (The Whole Note), and “vivid imagination” (Fanfare), Honolulu-born violinist Patrick Yim made his solo debut with the Honolulu Symphony, and has performed chamber music with Juilliard, Emerson, St. Lawrence, Pacifica, and Ying Quartet members, and musicians from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Cleveland Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic. He performed with the Cleveland Orchestra on tour in the USA and Europe, and at Carnegie Hall with the Emerson Quartet violinists. His recordings, including numerous world premieres, have been published by Albany, Naxos, Navona, Ravello, and Acis.
A strong advocate of contemporary compositions, Yim has commissioned more than 50 works to date, including a substantial body of work for violin with non-Western instruments. In 2024, Yim performed the world premiere of Bamboo Grove, a new unaccompanied violin work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Zhou Long commissioned for him by the University of Notre Dame, at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. His discography includes One: New Music for Unaccompanied Violin (New Focus Recordings, 2024), New Waves (Albany Records, 2023), Digital Mist: Works for Violin and Piano (Naxos, 2022), and Memory (Navona, 2020).
He earned his BM and MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music and his DMA from Stony Brook University. His principal teachers were Philip Setzer, William Preucil, David Updegraff, Jennifer Frautschi, and Hagai Shaham. He previously taught at CIM, Hong Kong Baptist University, Interlochen, and Stony Brook. Yim is Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola in the Department of Music, Faculty Fellow at the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, and Faculty Fellow at the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, University of Notre Dame. (www.patrickyimviolin.com)
