Chef Becky Brown, Experience Designer Mercedes Curran, and Salastina team up once more for the most opulent, decadent, nostalgic, immersive, and beautiful holiday event ever. The Da Camera Society again opens its doors to the stunning Doheny Mansion for the occasion.

Built in 1899, the Doheny Mansion’s Pompeian Room is replete with actual gilded details, colored marble floors, and a golden, ombre glass dome that is simply resplendent at midday. And naturally, it’ll be appropriately decked out for Christmas. Enjoy Becky’s 5-course gourmet holiday brunch while losing yourself in music composed when the venue was built.

The Yuletide Carolers musically greet you in Victorian garb. Come in costume yourself, if you wish!

NOTE: Ticket sales close FRIDAY AT NOON. Tickets are non-refundable. At checkout, you may choose either the standard or vegan menu. Substitutions politely declined.

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Resident Violinists
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist Linnea Powell, Guest Violist Cristina Montes Mateo, Guest Harpist

Menu: First course
Standard: Smoked trout rillettes on brioche, celery leaf salad
Miso Deviled eggs with cured ikaru
Vegan: Caramelized Marsala mushrooms, white bean puree, garlic confit

Second course Standard: Red oak salad, citrus vinaigrette, oro blanco, aged Gouda 
Vegan: Red oak salad, citrus vinaigrette, oro blanco

Third course Standard: Scottish salmon, McGrath farms beet puree, brown butter, satsuma emulsion  Vegan: roasted beet medley, satsuma emulsion, cashew cheese, walnuts 

Fourth course:  Standard: New Zealand lamb chops, celery root, medjool date chutney, toasted pepitas, mint  Vegan: seared king oyster mushrooms, celery root puree, medjool date chutney, pepitas, fried sage 

Fifth course:  Standard: Pumpkin cheesecake, ginger cranberry jam, ginger snap crumble, chantilly cream
Vegan:  Ginger cranberry sorbet with olive oil 

Salastina proudly presents this performance in partnership with The Da Camera Society.

Begin your holiday season joyfully with a unique, bespoke wine and music experience supporting Salastina’s Vital Sounds Program.

Our colleague and friend Natalie Leggett, a beautiful violinist and wine expert, connects a sense of Home in music to that of terroir in wine. Each of our four wine and music pairings has a mutually-amplifying, beautiful story to savor. The musical program includes selections from Eric Whitacre's You Feel Like Home: Suite from The Sacred Veil, which Salastina premiered and recorded earlier this year, as well as “Going Home” From Antonin Dvorak’s beloved New World Symphony. Small plates will also be provided.

The Cellar in Old Town Pasadena is the perfect cozy, intimate spot to enjoy these inspired wine and music pairings.

All donations received through this event support Salastina's Vital Sounds Program. Vital Sounds provides free, virtual, one-on-one bedside concerts to critically ill patients at Huntington Health and UCLA Medical Center five days a week.

All proceeds benefit Salastina's Vital Sounds Program. Ticket costs are tax-deductible, less $246 per attendee, as allowed by law. If you attend with someone else, you’ll both qualify for a year of Digital Member Benefits.

Salastina thanks Board Member Dr. Nirav Kamdar for generously underwriting this event.

A few months ago, Salastina’s Resident Cellist Yoshika Masuda and Resident Pianist HyeJin Kim released Hidden Flame on Avie Records. The album contains music by Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Rita Strohl, Nadia Boulanger, Maria Theresia Paradis, and a world-premiere by Reena Esmail. Yoshi described the album's purpose: “musicians and music lovers often feel confident that great works must already be a part of the standard repertoire. However, this album proves that there are hidden gems that deserve more recognition out there!" For this Happy Hour, audiences will be treated to Yoshi and HyeJin performing select works featured on the album live. Throughout, Co-Artistic Director Maia Jasper White hosts a conversation between Yoshi, HyeJin, and the audience about repertoire selection and the recording process as a whole.

Mimosa and pastry reception with the artists to follow.

Program:
Frédéric Chopin: Waltz in A minor (West Coast Premiere) Amy Beach: Romance Op. 23
Reena Esmail: one word makes a world
Rita Strohl: Great Dramatic Sonata, "Titus et Bérénice"

Artists:
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist

10 AM: Early Access for Members at the Supporter + Level

Please note that this concert is now taking place at Barrett Hall at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music.

Want to fill your heart, mind, and soul to bursting? If you can handle the intensity of an all-day marathon of the complete piano trios of Johannes Brahms, consider this your formal invitation.

Concert 1 @ 3:30 PM

Concert 1 includes the beloved B Major Piano Trio and the epic E Flat Major Trio for Piano, Violin, and Horn. Take a dinner break at any Pasadena restaurant nearby (many great ones are within walking distance) before indulging in another gluttonous feast of Brahms’ German Romanticism.

Complimentary wine reception with the artists to follow each performance.

Program: Concert 1
Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8
Johannes Brahms: Horn Trio in E-flat major, Op. 40

Artists: Concert 1
Kevin Kumar, Co-Artistic Director and Resident Violinist
Zach Mowitz, Guest Cellist
David Cooper, Guest Horn Player
Rodolfo Leone, Guest Pianist
Brian Lauritzen, Resident Host

3 PM: Early Access for Members at the Supporter + Level

Concert 2 @ 7:30 PM

Save room for dessert: Concert 2 includes the C Major and C Minor Piano Trios and the Trio for Piano, Clarinet, and Cello.

Complimentary wine reception with the artists to follow each performance.

Due to our guest artist’s contractual obligations, we regret that we cannot livestream Concert 2.

Program: Concert 2
Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101
Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114
Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major, Op. 87

Artists: Concert 2
Randall Goosby, Guest Violinist
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist
Sergio Coelho, Guest Clarinetist
Brian Lauritzen, Resident Host

6:30 PM: Early Access for Members at the Supporter + Level

Few musicians possess the cojones and humility to perform music blind. And by “blind,” we do NOT mean sightreading; the musicians have practiced and rehearsed!

Rather, we mean the musicians don’t know what they’re playing. Not the composer, the piece title, when and where it was written… nada.

Sounds Mysterious is a musical scavenger hunt in which the musicians and audience solve those mysteries together.

This time, all of Salastina’s Resident Artists have chosen a short piece to stump everyone else in the ensemble.

The music our Resident Artists have chosen is readily accessible, consummately listenable, and delightfully unexpected. We can't be more specific about the repertoire. But we can promise:

• laughter, collegiality, and plenty of razzing amongst the musicians

• ample opportunities to hear audience members’ intuitions and insights -- and share your own

• the joy of musical discovery

Mimosa and pastry reception with the artists to follow.

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Resident Violinists
Meredith Crawford, Resident Violist
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist
Benjamin Smolen, Resident Flutist
Brian Lauritzen, Resident Host

Program:
Mystery Work for Flute, Violin, and Piano, chosen by Benjamin Smolen (Nino Rota Trio - I. Allegro non troppo)
Mystery Work for Flute, Violin, and Piano, chosen by HyeJin Kim (Mel Bonis Suite en trio, Op. 59 II. Pastorale)
Mystery Work for Violin and Viola, chosen by Brian Lauritzen (Courtney Bryan And What I Mean is This)
Mystery Work for Violin and Piano, chosen by Yoshika Masuda (Rita Strohl, Solitude)
Mystery Work for Cello and Piano, chosen by Maia Jasper White (Leone Sinigaglia 2 Stücke, Op. 16: II. Humoreske)
Mystery Work for Piano Trio, chosen by Meredith Crawford (Ludwig Philipp Schawenka Piano Trio No. 1 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 100: II. Allegro)
Mystery Work for Piano Quintet, chosen by Kevin Kumar (Jean Cras Piano Quintet: II. Calme et paisible)

Play with the pros in Co-Artistic Director Maia Jasper White’s living room.

Salastina’s roster of Resident Artists will play through any piece of your choosing with you, allowing for instrumentation. (Our forces: string quartet, piano, and flute.) Simply let us know what you’d like to play no later than three days before the event to give us time to locate the sheet music.

This event is free for Members. Non-members must become Members for the year to participate. Membership begins at $20/month and is fully tax-deductible.

The Music of the Spheres has never tasted so good.

Travel through the cosmos with space-themed musical selections in the otherworldly, intimate Revery LA. Enjoy Master Chef-alum Becky Brown's gourmet 4-course meal between pieces.

Stellar is the only way to describe the company we’ll keep at this event. Meet three astronomers and music lovers who’ll share “secrets of the universe” as well as the millenia-old kinship between music and astronomy.

NASA astronomer Steve Bryson, a man tasked with discovering how many Earth-like planets there are in the universe, performs the theremin alongside Salastina’s string quartet. He’ll also share a little about his scientific work. Two lovely French employees of LIGO let us in on their groundbreaking scientific work listening to the actual sounds of the universe to draw meaningful insights about its origins. (NBD: it won the Nobel Prize in 2017.)

Throughout the evening, try creating otherwordly sounds and alien voices at our “Theremin Petting Zoo.”

Theme Edit’s Mercedes Curran provides experience design for this immersive, fascinating, delicious event unlike any other in the universe.

Please note that you may choose either the complete vegan or regular menu. We cannot accommodate dish-by-dish substitutions or changes to your menu selection on-site. No further changes can be made after selecting your preferred menu at the time of ticket purchase. No other dietary restrictions or substitutions can be accommodated.

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Violinists
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
Linnea Powell, Guest Violist
Steve Bryson, Guest Theremin Player and Speaker
Arnaud Pele and Marie Kasprczak, Guest Speakers
Becky Brown, Chef
Mercedes Curran, Experience Designer

Program:
Terry Riley: Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector
Carolina Eyck: Strange Birds and Ascent Descent
Chris Westlake: Selections from Star Trek: Lower Decks 
Hans Zimmer: Selections from Interstellar
John Williams: Selections from Star Wars

MENU
Welcome drink: Bantha Punch
Spirulina, coconut milk, pineapple, rum

First course: Beachside on an Alien World
Tai snapper crudo cured in kombu with shiso crema, wasabi flying fish roe, tapioca crisp
Vegan option: Shiso salad, pickled carrots, and daikon, thai basil, tapioca crisp

Second course: Extraterrestrial beet terrine
Amaranth, purple haze goat cheese, walnuts, pomegranate molasses
Vegan option: Amaranth, walnuts, pomegranate molasses

Third course: The infinity of space
Braised beef short rib, black forbidden rice, black sesame, black garlic
Vegan option: Braised King oyster mushroom, black forbidden rice, black sesame, black garlic

Fourth course: Nebula
Luminescent chocolate cake, white chocolate glaze, chocolate caramel mousse
Vegan option: “Celestial forms” chocolate sorbet

Ticket sales close Thursday, April 25th

Sounds Mysterious is a game in which Brian assigns us a piece of music that none of us recognize. He even redacts the composer’s name. We rehearse it, perform it, and attempt to guess the composer along with you. The delight of surprise and interactive “whodunnit” guessing game make for an engaging spin on the live concert experience.

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Violinists
Meredith Crawford, Resident Violist
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist
Brian Lauritzen, Resident Host

Salastina Members may watch the livestream for free in our Members-Only Lounge.

Slow your heartbeat and set it aflutter with a selection of soul-soothing and soul-stirring Romantic, pop, classical, and movie score favorites. The intimate, vibe-y, chandelier-lit venue in the heart of Hollywood puts you up close to the performers: a string quartet, pianist, and flutist who've recorded your favorite film soundtracks. Enjoy complimentary wine and chocolate-covered strawberries upon arrival, and mingle with the artists after the show.

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Violinists
Meredith Crawford, Resident Violist
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist
Ben Smolen, Resident Flutist


Please note tickets need to be purchased in advance; there are no door sales or livestream for this concert.

$20 Reserve parking is available for purchase below.

Composed during an incredibly difficult period of converging crises in Mahler’s life, this piece — based on classical Chinese poetry — is about the beauty and transience of life. It’s sublimation at its finest.

Arnold Schoenberg, of all people, arranged what Leonard Bernstein called Mahler’s “greatest symphony” for chamber ensemble. Specifically: 2 singers, string quintet, piano, winds, percussion… and no conductor (because #chambermusic, duh).

Do not miss this one-night-only performance at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. To get in the mood before dinner, you are welcome to wander the Huntington’s grounds from 3:00 - 5:00 PM free with your concert ticket purchase.

From 5:00 - 7:30 PM, you may either bring your own picnic dinner to enjoy at the tables at the inside entrance of the Huntington OR enjoy dinner out in nearby San Marino, South Pasadena, or Pasadena proper.

Pre-concert drinks and post-concert wine and hors-d’oeuvres reception.

What to Know Before You Go

Program:
Gustav Mahler, arranged by Arnold Schoenberg and Rainer Reihn: Das Lied von der Erde

Artists:
Clara Osowski, Mezzo Soprano
Thomas Cooley, Tenor
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Violinists
Meredith Crawford, Resident Violist
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
Ted Botsford, Double Bassist
Ben Smolen, Resident Flutist/Piccolo player
Lara Wickes, Guest Oboist/English Horn player
Don Foster, Guest Clarinetist
Alex Rosales Garcia, Guest Bassoonist
Dylan Skye Hart, Guest French Horn player
Micah Yui, Guest Pianist
John Sawoski, Guest Keyboardist
Eddie Meneses and Jonathan Wisner, Guest Percussionists
Camilla Tassi, Projection Designer
Brian Lauritzen, Resident Host

Salastina Members may watch the livestream for free in our Members-Only Lounge.

Get a sneak peek of the NHSQ’s 2023 Summer Festival. This year’s focus: early 20th Century French music. How do they say… le sigh?

The members of this quartet are all dear friends and colleagues from LA’s recording studios. And they are beasts of musicians. After a little conversation and a performance of some of their festival repertoire, we’ll sightread some electrifying octet music together. And as with all of our Happy Hours this season: enjoy music, mingling, mimosas, and munchies.

Salastina Members may watch live for free in our Members-Only Lounge. Non-Members may purchase tickets below.

Who is the Stradivarius of our time? Mario Miralles is one answer. His instruments are coveted by string players worldwide; you’ve heard them on all the world’s major stages. And his waiting list is miles long.

A wildly generous anonymous donor commissioned Mario to build a violin, viola, and cello for Salastina’s Resident Artists’ use. This is a gift beyond any of our wildest dreams, and the process has been riveting.

Yoshi’s cello is already finished; if you’ve been to any of our concerts this season, you’ve heard it! By the time of this event, Maia’s violin will be finished, and Meredith’s viola will be gestating. (If you’re wondering about Kevin: he already owns one, having purchased it several years ago.)

This event is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to hear about the different stages of a luthier’s process. The musicians for whom he’s building the instruments will speak to what the process is like from their perspective, and what they’re looking for in an instrument. Mario, a notoriously private figure, can then address how he translates those abstract artistic wishes into physical reality. And of course… you’ll hear them!

Calling all Amateur Instrumentalists Intermediate-level and above!

Want to experience the thrill of playing alongside Salastina's Resident Artists and Co-Artistic Directors in an intimate, private, casual setting? Join us for a chamber music reading party at a private home near the Segerstrom Center in Santa Ana.

Bring any music you'd like to play with us. We'd recommend piano and string trios by Beethoven, quartets by Haydn and Mozart, and anything else you feel comfortable and confident playing through with us -- and in front of those gathered for the occasion.

Because space is limited, priority will be given to Salastina Members. The exact address will be given to attendees 24 hours before the event.

There is no cost to attend. RSVP by September 8th. Be sure to include your instrument, approximate skill level, the info on any pieces you’d like to play, and the number of guests in your party.

Join us every Tuesday for Salastina’s Happy Hour: bringing you free, live musical performance, spirited conversation, and interaction with musicians and fellow music lovers.

Before sharing the work of our current crop of Sounds Promising Young Composers May 31 and June 14, we check in with a distinguished alum of the program: Sakari Dixon Vanderveer. A member of the New Music USA Program Council and a Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Composer Teaching Artist Fellow, Sakari's desire to empower youth also remains a catalyst behind much of her work.

She recently founded the You(th) Can Compose! Summer Workshop, a personalized, online intensive program for students ages 10-18 who are new to composing. Sakari’s aim is that children from all walks of life will gain access to contemporary music and composition, allowing them to develop a better appreciation and understanding of concert music – new and old – so that they, too, can cherish it and engage with it throughout their entire lives.

Join us for our 100th Happy Hour, in which we’ll share exciting plans for Salastina’s future — and seek your input!

Join us every Tuesday for Salastina’s Happy Hour: bringing you free, live musical performance, spirited conversation, and interaction with musicians and fellow music lovers.

Claire Brazeau is the principal oboist of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. An omnivorous musician, Claire can be heard performing period instruments with the Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra followed by a concert of world premieres with new music collective Wild Up, of which she is a member. In addition to her concert season, Claire is an active freelance studio musician who has recorded for several film and TV soundtrack recordings. Find her @oboejones for hot tips and tricks for the oboe, as well as upcoming performances.

The phrase “Here Be Dragons” means “dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of a medieval practice of putting illustrations of dragons, sea monsters and other mythological creatures on uncharted areas of maps where potential dangers were thought to exist.”

Join us for music reflecting a poetic idea that’s been very front-of-mind for us all.

Program:
Mikhail Gnessin: Songs of a Knight Errant
Yun Isang: Oboe Quartet - Part II
Joaquin Turina: I. Las cuevas del Dragón
Carolina Eyck: Fantasias for String Quartet and Theremin - III. Sleepy Dragon and IV. Jumping River

Intermission

Salvador Brotons: Allegro Spiritoso
Derrick Skye: Old Soul, Different Body (world premiere)
Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 for Piano Trio - IV. Allegro Molto

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, violinists
Meredith Crawford, violist
Yoshika Masuda, cellist
HyeJin Kim, pianist
Benjamin Smolen, flutist
Cristina Montes Mateo, harpist
Ben Brogadir, oboe
Steve Bryson, theremin player
Derrick Skye, electronics player
Brian Lauritzen, host

The phrase “Here Be Dragons” means “dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of a medieval practice of putting illustrations of dragons, sea monsters and other mythological creatures on uncharted areas of maps where potential dangers were thought to exist.”

Join us for music reflecting a poetic idea that’s been very front-of-mind for us all.

Program:
Mikhail Gnessin: Songs of a Knight Errant
Yun Isang: Oboe Quartet - Part II
Joaquin Turina: I. Las cuevas del Dragón
Carolina Eyck: Fantasias for String Quartet and Theremin - III. Sleepy Dragon and IV. Jumping River

Intermission

Salvador Brotons: Allegro Spiritoso
Derrick Skye: Old Soul, Different Body (world premiere)
Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 for Piano Trio - IV. Allegro Molto

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, violinists
Meredith Crawford, violist
Yoshika Masuda, cellist
HyeJin Kim, pianist
Benjamin Smolen, flutist
Cristina Montes Mateo, harpist
Ben Brogadir, oboe
Steve Bryson, theremin player
Derrick Skye, electronics player
Brian Lauritzen, host

The phrase “Here Be Dragons” means “dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of a medieval practice of putting illustrations of dragons, sea monsters and other mythological creatures on uncharted areas of maps where potential dangers were thought to exist.”

Join us for music reflecting a poetic idea that’s been very front-of-mind for us all.

Program:
Mikhail Gnessin: Songs of a Knight Errant
Yun Isang: Oboe Quartet - Part II
Joaquin Turina: I. Las cuevas del Dragón
Carolina Eyck: Fantasias for String Quartet and Theremin - III. Sleepy Dragon and IV. Jumping River

Intermission

Salvador Brotons: Allegro Spiritoso
Derrick Skye: Old Soul, Different Body (world premiere)
Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 for Piano Trio - IV. Allegro Molto

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, violinists
Meredith Crawford, violist
Yoshika Masuda, cellist
HyeJin Kim, pianist
Benjamin Smolen, flutist
Cristina Montes Mateo, harpist
Ben Brogadir, oboe
Steve Bryson, theremin player
Derrick Skye, electronics player
Brian Lauritzen, host

Join us every Tuesday for Salastina’s Happy Hour: bringing you free, live musical performance, spirited conversation, and interaction with musicians and fellow music lovers.

Our next live concert, Here Be Dragons, takes its dragons theme both literally and metaphorically.

Some pieces musically depict dragons; others are more broadly about the dragons as a metaphor for "uncharted waters" (read: the unknown).

Tune in to learn how and why we chose each piece -- and about the theremin! Theremin Player Steve Bryson will give us a peek into the inner workings of the theremin, as well as its many uses in Carolina Eyck’s Fantasias.

After the year we’ve had, we could all use a little R&R. Some deep breaths. A cathartic ugly-cry.

Join us for a slow-movement orgy we’ve taken to calling “Salastina.calm.”

Program:
Reena Esmail: Saans
Claude Debussy: Syrinx
Johann Sebastian Bach: Suite for Solo Cello in D minor - I. Prelude
Hildegard von Bingen: Antiphon
Osvaldo Golijov: Tenebrae - Part II
Dmitri Shostakovich: Elegy for String Quartet
George Walker: Lyric for String Quartet
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Vocalise
Louise Farrenc: Trio for Piano, Flute, and Cello - II. Andante
Thomas Adès: Arcadiana - VI. O Albion
Johannes Brahms: String Quartet No. 1 in C minor - II. Romanze. Poco adagio
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Piano Quintet in E major, Op. 15 - II. Adagio. With great calm, always extremely expressive

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, violinists
Meredith Crawford, violist
Yoshika Masuda, cellist
HyeJin Kim, pianist
Benjamin Smolen, flutist
Brian Lauritzen, host

After the year we’ve had, we could all use a little R&R. Some deep breaths. A cathartic ugly-cry.

Join us for a slow-movement orgy we’ve taken to calling “Salastina.calm.”

Program:
Reena Esmail: Saans
Claude Debussy: Syrinx
Johann Sebastian Bach: Suite for Solo Cello in D minor - I. Prelude
Hildegard von Bingen: Antiphon
Osvaldo Golijov: Tenebrae - Part II
Dmitri Shostakovich: Elegy for String Quartet
George Walker: Lyric for String Quartet
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Vocalise
Louise Farrenc: Trio for Piano, Flute, and Cello - II. Andante
Thomas Adès: Arcadiana - VI. O Albion
Johannes Brahms: String Quartet No. 1 in C minor - II. Romanze. Poco adagio
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Piano Quintet in E major, Op. 15 - II. Adagio. With great calm, always extremely expressive

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, violinists
Meredith Crawford, violist
Yoshika Masuda, cellist
HyeJin Kim, pianist
Benjamin Smolen, flutist
Brian Lauritzen, host

Join us every Tuesday for Salastina’s Happy Hour: bringing you free, live musical performance, spirited conversation, and interaction with musicians and fellow music lovers.

Musicians, composers… how does music really get made in our world? It's all thanks to the tireless efforts of arts leaders like Simon Woods and Karin Brookes.

Orchestras have been part of Simon Woods' life for more than 40 years. From playing clarinet, to conducting, composing, producing over 200 CDs, and running four orchestras, he has never strayed far from this art form he loves. And although a Brit running an American association might seem odd, he’s a naturalized U.S. citizen, and is proud to be able to support the amazing orchestras of this country. When off duty, he’s most likely to be found cooking or playing Bach Preludes and Fugues on the piano.

Simon also has the distinction of being Mr. Karin Brookes, the newly-appointed administrative director of the Historical Performance program at Juilliard. Karin served as Executive Director of the national advocacy group Early Music America for 4 years. Before coming to the United States, she was assistant to Christopher Hogwood and manager of the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge. Karin has degrees in French and music from the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge, and a master of journalism degree from Temple University.