Poulenc and Brahms

Francis Poulenc: Sextet,  FP 100
I. Allegro vivace
II. Divertissement: Andantino 
III. Finale: Prestissimo

Johannes Brahms: String Sextet No.1 in Bb Major Op.18
I. Allegro ma non troppo
II. Andante ma moderato
III. Scherzo. Allegro molto
IV. Rondo. Poco Allegretto e grazioso

About the Program

Francis Poulenc: Sextet,  FP 100
​Francis Poulenc was a French composer and pianist who lived from 1899 until 1963. His mother was a talented pianist and Poulenc started piano lessons at the age of five. However, his father was a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and it was assumed that his son would follow in his footsteps. Although Poulenc had a great love of music and developed into an accomplished pianist, his father did not allow him to attend a music conservatory. When the time came for Poulenc to attend a university, he was sent to an academic college, Lycée Condorcet.

In spite of the rigorous curriculum at Lycée Condorcet, Poulenc managed to further his piano studies and because of friendships with composers Eric Satie and Georges Auric he also continued to compose. In 1917, Poulenc had his debut as a composer with his piece Rapsodie nègre, written for baritone and chamber group. Stravinsky was in attendance at the premiere and was so impressed by the piece that he connected Poulenc with a publisher. This was a key moment in launching Poulenc’s career as a successful composer.

From 1918 until 1921 Poulenc served in the French army during World War 1. During these years Poulenc kept composing, but there was never a guarantee that instruments or musicians would be available to perform his pieces. He grew accustomed to composing for whatever and whoever was available. He didn’t compose his Sextet for Piano and Winds until 1932, but it was perhaps because of his earlier experience composing for unique instrumentation that gave him inspiration to compose for such an unusual group. The premiere of the sextet was met with mixed reviews. “Critic Florent Schmitt of Le Temps criticized it as wandering and vulgar. A more positive review came from André George of Les Nouvelles littéraires, who wrote that ‘with Poulenc, all of France comes out of the windows he opens.’ " [1]
[1]Keller, James M. (November 2013). "Notes on the Program: Sextet for Wind Quintet and Piano / Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano" (PDF). New York Philharmonic. Retrieved February 8, 2016 for https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sextet_(Poulenc)



​Johannes Brahms: String Sextet No.1 in Bb Major Op.18
Johannes Brahms who lived from 1833 until 1897 is one of the most famous composers to come out of the Romantic period. Encouraged by his father who was a musician himself, Brahms started lessons on piano, violin, and cello all before the age of ten. Surprisingly, his father wasn’t as supportive when it came to young Brahms’ efforts as a composer and encouraged his son to seek a career as a performer instead! Perhaps his father’s influence kept Brahms from taking credit for his early compositions. Although Brahms was composing and publishing works as a teenager, he wrote under the pseudonym G.W. Marks.

Brahms was introduced to Robert Schumann in 1853. Schumann recognized Brahms’ musical talent and was integral in the development of Brahms’ career as a composer. It was due to Schumann’s high praise that Brahms finally published his earliest works, including piano sonatas and vocal songs, using his real name. Brahms published his String Sextet No.1 in B-flat Major in 1860. The instrumentation of two violins, two violas, and two cellos was unique for the time. Other than Boccherini’s sextets which were written in the late 1700’s, not many existed. However, soon after Brahms composed his sextet, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Reger, Schoenberg, and Korngold published string sextets of their own. Brahms’ sextet has been used in movies and t.v. soundtracks! The second movement was used in Star Trek: The Next Generation during the episode "Sarek" and for the 2001 French-Austrian film The Piano Teacher.



-Ann Fink

CONCERT ARTISTS
Angela Kim/Piano
Praised by international press as “a pianist who meets the highest standard of technique,” Angela Jeong Hyun Kim is one of the rising young pianists showing her versatility through colorful imagination, and intense musical expression. As a scholarship student at the Eastman School of Music, Ms. Kim received the prestigious Henry Cobos Endowed Piano Prize for demonstrating excellence in piano performance. In 2017 Ms. Kim received the Free For All Concert Fund from the Boston Foundation. The fund was used to bringing live classical concerts to underprivileged communities in Greater Boston area. The same year, Ms. Kim also received the Emerging Artist Award from the St. Botolph Club Foundation in Boston. 

Ms. Kim began piano studies at the age of four, making her first public debut in her native South Korea, as the winner of the SoongEui Competition when she was nine years old. Upon turning sixteen, Ms. Kim came to the United States to continue her music studies with world-renowned pedagogue Wha Kyung Byun. During that time she toured and performed in Panama, and Guatemala, as a pianist with the New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Zander. She is a frequent soloist with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, MI, with performances broadcasted nationally on Interlochen Public Radio. Additionally, former GLCO Maestro, Matthew Hazelwood, invited Ms. Kim to tour Colombia as a soloist with the Filarmonica Joven de Colombia. 

As an avid performer of new music, Ms. Kim has been collaborating with the Callithumpian Consort, an internationally recognized Boston based ensemble directed by pianist, Steve Drury. She worked closely with many influential composers including Christian Wolff, Steve Reich, Gunther Schuller, Jonathan Harvey, Frederic Rzewski, and Unsuk Chin. During her DMA studies, Ms. Kim collaborated with Eastman’s Musica Nova where she worked with Hans Abrahamsen and Chaya Czernowin. Along with the collaboration of percussionist Andre Sonner, Ms. Kim has also formed a noteworthy Boston based Piano/Percussion Duo performing new music for the genre as one of the very few groups that exist in the country.

As a collaborative pianist, Ms. Kim has performed with musicians such as Dylana Jenson, Margaret Batjer, Martin Chalifour, and Paul Sonner. Ms. Kim frequently visits Interlochen Arts Academy for the one week Institute to perform recitals with guest artists and faculty. Through her education at NEC and Eastman, Ms. Kim has worked with renowned pedagogues such as Donald Weilerstein, Paul Katz, Lawrence Lesser, Lucy Chapman, and Russell Miller to name a few. Ms. Kim has performed throughout the US, South America, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Korea. 

Her important artistic influences include world-renowned pianists and pedagogues Russell Sherman, and Lev Natochenny. Earning academic honors, Ms. Kim completed Bachelor and Master degrees, and Graduate Diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music, as a student of Wha Kyung Byun. She has finished her Doctorate of Piano Performance, and Literature, at the Eastman School of Music, studying with Natalya Antonova. In the past, Ms. Kim had served as a theory faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music. She has joined the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as an Assistant Professor in Piano and a director of the keyboard area in 2017.
Jennifer Nitchman/Flute
Jennifer Nitchman holds the position of Second Flute with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Nitchman is the winner of numerous competitions, including First Prize in both the 2001 National Flute Association Young Artist Competition and the 1999 Flute Society of Washington Young Artist Competition. Prior to her appointment with the SLSO, Nitchman was pursuing a Doctor of Music degree at Indiana University. She has formerly held summer positions as Principal Flute of the Britt Festival Orchestra and member of the artist faculty at the Brevard Music Center. She previously held the position of Assistant Principal Flute with the United States Army Field Band in Washington, D.C., the Army’s official touring organization. Her teachers include Thomas Robertello, Alice Weinreb, Stephanie Jutt, and Wendy Mehne.
Xiomara Mass/Oboe
Oboist Xiomara Mass was appointed to the position of Second Oboe of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2020 by Music Director Stéphane Denève. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, she began her musical training at the age of four and made her solo debut with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra when she was 13. Two years later she was accepted into the “Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico” where she studied with David Bourns, former Principal Oboe of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and Pedro Díaz, solo English Horn of the Metropolitan Opera. She has also worked with such renowned oboists as Elaine Douvas, Hansjörg Schellenberger, and Scott Hostetler. 

Mass has been invited to participate in many prestigious music festivals, including the John Mack Oboe Camp, “Tercer Festival de Dobles Cañas” in Panama, The Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Domaine Forget, St. Barth's Music Festival, The Sunflower Music Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland and The New Hampshire Music Festival. She was selected to participate in the 2011 YouTube Symphony Orchestra during its residency at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, which included a live Internet simulcast to over 30 million viewers worldwide.

In 2014, Mass won The Jerome and Elaine Nerenberg Foundation Scholarship award at the Musicians Club of Women Competition in Chicago. She is also the first prizewinner of the Tuesday Musical State Scholarship Competition in Akron, Ohio, and the first Chamber Music Competition at the “Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico” as a member of her woodwind quintet. 
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Mass is a former member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and was a featured soloist with the Civic Orchestra in J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Oboe and Violin. During her years in Chicago she was an active freelancer in the area and often performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Winds as a substitute oboist as well as with many orchestras in the area, among them Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra and Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She also played as a substitute with the San Francisco Symphony and has performed with them as assistant principal. 

In addition to working as a performer, Mass taught as an adjunct professor at the DePaul University School of Music. Currently, she teaches at Washington University in St. Louis along with maintaining a small private studio.

She holds a BM in Oboe Performance and an Artist Diploma from Oberlin Conservatory, where she graduated with highest honors under the tutelage of Alex Klein and Robert Walters. After relocating to Chicago, she studied privately with Eugene Izotov, principal oboe of the San Francisco Symphony.

In addition to music making and teaching, she enjoys the outdoors, mountain biking and Mario Kart. 
Tzuying Huang/Clarinet
Tzuying Huang was appointed the Bass Clarinetist of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in February, 2015 under music director David Robertson, and since 2019, has also held the position of Clarinet/Bass Clarinet with the Britt Music Festivalin Jacksonville, Oregon. Ms. Huang is also the Artist Director of the Ariel Concert Series. Prior to joining the St. Louis Symphony, she played  Clarinet/Bass Clarinet with the Kansas City Symphony. Additionally, Ms. Huang has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Colorado Music Festival. As a chamber musician, Ms. Huang performs throughout the year with the Chamber Music Society of St. Louis, Chamber Projects St. Louis, and Missouri Chamber Music Festival. Outside of North America, she has performed in Taiwan, Shanghai, Beijing, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and Singapore. 

Ms. Huang is also an educator with seventeen years of teaching experience, having given master classes in Taiwan and North America. She also works with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the St. Louis Symphony Education and Community Program, where she teaches in public schools in and around the St. Louis area. 
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Ms. Huang has spent several summer as a Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, one summer at the Tanglewood Music Festival, the Banff Music Festival, and the Young Artist Program of the National Arts Center in Ottawa, Canada. Holding a Masters of Music Degree as well as a Performance Diploma from The Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University-Bloomington, her former teachers include James Campbell, Joaquin Valdepeñas, Burt Hara, Nathan Williams, Wei-Ling Chen and Pei-Lin Lee.
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Tzuying is also a Buffet Crampon performing artist, and D’Addario Woodwinds Artist. She plays exclusively on D'Addario Reserve Bass Clarinet reeds and Buffet Crampon clarinets and bass clarinets.
Andrew Cuneo/ Bassoon
Andrew Cuneo is the Principal Bassoon with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Prior to his appointment in St. Louis, he was Principal Bassoon of the Louisville Orchestra and the Sarasota Opera. In addition, he has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Milwaukee, Boston, and Houston symphonies, as well as the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Houston Grand Opera. He has played with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony since 2011, and has been a fellow at several summer festivals, including Tanglewood, the Music Academy of the West, and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. Andrew Cuneo is a former student of Bernard Garfield and Daniel Matsukawa at the Curtis Institute of Music and Benjamin Kamins at Rice University.
Thomas Jostlein/ Horn
Thomas Jöstlein has been the Associate Principal Horn of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra since 2010. Previously, he was the New York Philharmonic's Assistant Principal Horn under Lorin Maazel.  He was on three major tours, including the historic live broadcast from North Korea (2008). He has held positions with the Honolulu, Omaha, Richmond, and Kansas City Symphony Orchestras, and performed in the Brevard, Napa Valley, Classical Tahoe, Britt, and Eastern Music Festivals, among others.
Jöstlein loves spreading the lessons of his mentors: Arnold Jacobs, Roger Rocco, and William VerMeulen. He was Assistant Professor of Horn at the University of Illinois, taught several weeks at Indiana University in 2014 in both natural and un-natural (valved) horn, and has held adjunct positions at Saint Louis University, the University of Hawaii and at Virginia Commonwealth University.
As a soloist, Jöstlein won first prize in the professional division of the American Horn Competition (2003), and the grand prize at the Hugo Kauder Music Competition at Yale University (2005), earning a recital at Merkin Concert Hall in NYC. He has appeared with the SLSO as a soloist on several occasions, playing Schumann's Concertstück for Four Horns and Orchestra and the Vivaldi Double Concerto with Chris Dwyer under Nicholas McGegan.
He appears on several recordings, notably Tony Bennett’s Duets II album, along with his sister, Barbara Jöstlein Currie, Fourth Horn of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. On the natural (classical) horn, he has performed the Haydn D-Major concerto and the Brahms Trio with Stephanie Chase and Brian Connelly, and with the Boulder Bach Festival.
Jöstlein performs on a triple horn by J. Patterson, on natural horns by R. Seraphinoff and L.J. Raoux (ca. 1820), and on a Vanon alphorn.
He lives in University City with wife and fellow horn player, Tricia, and sons, Klaus and Max.​
Ann Fink/Violin
​Ann Fink most recently performed as a violin fellow with New World Symphony in Miami Beach. She holds bachelors and master’s degrees in music from the Juilliard School and also studied at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Fink is a past winner of the Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship from the University of Illinois. She has performed with the Opera in the Ozarks, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Spoleto Orchestra, and the Schleswig Holstein Festival Orchestra and has studied with Alexander Kerr, Elmar Oliveira, Carol Cole, Hyo Kang, and Sergiu Schwartz. Fink recently performed Wieniawski’s Concerto No. 2 with the New World Symphony under the baton of Tito Munoz, after she was selected as one of the 2012-13 New World Symphony concerto competition winners. A certified Suzuki Violin teacher, Ann Fink has worked as violin faculty at the Preparatory Center at Brooklyn College, Lucy Moses School, and the Music Institute of Long Island. Ann currently plays with St Louis Symphony in the 1st violin section. 
Hannah Ji/Violin
Violinist Hannah Ji joined the first violin section of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2020 after spending two seasons as a one-year replacement member. Ji’s playing has been hailed by critics as "engaging, mature, well thought-out, and honed down to the finest details" (głos na Wieniawskiego,Polish Radio Journal). She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Curtis Institute of Music, studying with the late Aaron Rosand, a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, studying with Ida Kavafian, and an Artist Diploma degree from The Colburn School, studying with Robert Lipsett. She began her musical studies at the age of seven in South Korea and previously attended Manhattan School of Music's Precollege Division, studying with Grigory Kalinovsky.
As a soloist, Ji's performances have been widely publicized on NPR’s “From the Top,” Philadelphia’s WHYY, Taos’ KTAOS Solar Radio, and “Live from Lincoln Center” by PBS, which broadcast throughout North America. She performed in Canada Day concerts with Maestro Pinchas Zukerman in Centre National des Artes, with pianist Jeremy Denk for the non-profit organization, "The Art of Giving Back,” and a gala concert with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble at Lincoln Center. Additional venues at which Ji has performed include: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, David Geffen Hall, Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall and A. Mickiewicz University Hall in Poland. She has also recently performed at the United States Embassy of Canada.

As a classical and contemporary chamber musician, Ji has collaborated with renowned groups and artists such as Jamie Laredo, Jennifer Koh, Roberto Díaz, The Borromeo String Quartet, The Calidore String Quartet and Time for Three. She has worked with members of the Borromeo, Brentano, Shanghai, Emerson, Guarneri and Orion String Quartets, respectively. Ji has been an active participant in The Juilliard School's ChamberFest and Focus! Festival, which features U.S. and world premieres of works by composers around the world. She was also a contemporary ensemble artist at Atlantic Music Festival. As an orchestra musician, she served as Concertmaster and Principal Second with Symphony in C, Spoleto Festival USA, YMF Debut Orchestra, The Colburn School, The Juilliard School Orchestra and Curtis Symphony Orchestra. She has been a participant at the Sarasota Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Artosphere Festival Orchestra, Taos School of Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Summit Music Festival and the National Arts Centre's Young Artist Programme.
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Additionally, Ji has held Artist Faculty positions at The Danbury Music Centre's Chamber Music Intensive, The Bronx Conservatory of Music, Manhattan in the Mountains, and The Curtis Institute's SummerFest Young Artists Program & Adult Chamber Music Program. She was a substitute faculty member at The Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division, and had a large studio in New York City, the students of which have been accepted to conservatories and summer festivals across the country. She currently enjoys working as a mentor through the SLSO’s Mentoring the Music: Peer to Peer program.
Shannon Williams/Viola
Shannon Williams lived in several places throughout her childhood but calls Wisconsin, where she spent the most time, her home state.  She began playing the violin at the age of five after seeing Itzhak Perlman on Sesame Street and by age seven, had dreams of becoming a member of the Green Bay Symphony.  Sadly, that dream was never realized, though she was quite happy to join the viola section of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2005, David Robertson’s inaugural season as Music Director.

While in high school, she studied violin with the great pedagogue, Mimi Zweig, and was concertmaster of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra.  Gently persuaded by Zweig, Williams gave the viola a try in a chamber music setting.  She and some fellow Milwaukee musicians formed what became known as the Dubinsky Quartet, named after Rostislav Dubinsky, an early mentor of theirs and the founder of the Borodin Quartet.  The group went on to win several competitions and accolades, including the junior division of the Fischoff Competition and Indiana University’s Kuttner Quartet competition.  In 1999, they were one of ten chamber groups worldwide invited to participate in Australia’s prestigious Melbourne Chamber Music Competition and were also prizewinners in California’s Coleman Competition. Williams began her undergraduate studies as a violin student of Miriam Fried at Indiana University but ultimately decided the viola was her true voice, at which point she began studying with Atar Arad and received her Bachelor’s degree in viola performance.  She then went to the New England Conservatory where she received her Master’s Degree under the tutelage of Martha Katz.

Williams remains an avid chamber musician as a member of the SLSO, performing regularly as a trio with violinist Kristin Ahlstrom and cellist Bjorn Ranheim, and is always eager to tackle the challenging modern repertoire performed at the SLSO’s Live at the Pulitzer series.  She has also been a featured soloist with the SLSO, as a competition winner at Indiana University, and at the Colorado Music Festival, where she spent several summers as their principal viola.
Andrew Francois/Viola
Born and raised in Kankakee, Illinois, violist Andrew Francois began his musical studies at the age of 10 on violin in his school's string program. He joined the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra viola section in September 2019. As a chamber musician and soloist, Francois has given recitals throughout the United States and Europe. He also served as artist faculty with the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival. As an avid orchestral player, Francois has played and served as principal with the Verbier Festival Orchestra, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, New World Symphony Orchestra, and was in the inaugural class of fellows with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Resident Fellows program.
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Francois has received Artistic Excellence Fellowships from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University as well as Illinois State University. He enjoys teaching and community outreach, and has traveled to Medellin, Colombia, to teach master classes and lessons at Eafit Universidad. While an undergraduate student, he was a Teaching Assistant and private instructor at Illinois State University in its String Project program. As a graduate of the Jacobs School of music, studying under string department chair Stephen Wyrczynski, Francois held the title of Graduate Assistant for the string department, as well as at on the Jacobs School of Music Council as a Graduate representative.
Yin Xiong/Cello
Cellist Yin Xiong was appointed by Music Director David Robertson to the cello section of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra at the start of the 2016/2017 season. Yin was awarded notable prestigious prizes from an early age, including the 4th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians as well as top prizes at the 4th and 5thNational Cello Competition of China. She won the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts concerto competition for an unprecedented consecutive five years. As a soloist, Yin made her debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra at age 17 under conductor Edo de Waart. She has also collaborated with conductors János Fürst, François-Xavier Roth, and Alexander Shelley.

An avid chamber and orchestral musician, Yin was strongly influenced by her parents, themselves both professional cellists. As a member of the Academy String Quartet, she served as a representative of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and gave concerts regularly in Asia and Europe.  As part of the Hong Kong based cello ensemble, Cellistra, Yin presented concerts and community engagement activities throughout Asia.  She was the founding cellist of the Hsin Trio, with whom she gave the American debut of the Toshio Hosokawa’s Piano Trio, was featured in the Juilliard Open Studio, and gave concerts across the United States and China.

As an orchestral musician, Yin received her first job at the age of 20, joining the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, at the same time performing regularly with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Yin has also served as the principal cellist of the Hong Kong Academy Orchestra, the Oberlin Orchestra, and was co-principal of the Juilliard Orchestra. She was the principal cellist of the Pacific Music Festival from 2006-2009 where she had the privilege to work with conductors Valery Gergiev, Riccardo Muti, Christoph Eschenbach and Michael Tilson Thomas.

Yin was a fellowship student at the Aspen Music Festival and School where she was part of the Finckel–Wu Han Chamber Music Studio Program. Other festivals include the Kronberg Academy in Germany, Kneisel Hall, Banff Chamber Music Residency, and the Taos School of Music.

As a dedicated music educator and advocator, Yin served as a faculty member of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Macau Youth Orchestra. She was also a teaching assistant for Professor Darrett Adkins at the Oberlin Conservatory.
Born in Shanghai, China, Yin attended the Shanghai Conservatory, and attended the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts on a full scholarship to study with Professor Ray Wang. She holds a Professional Diploma With Distinction from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and an Artist Diploma from the Oberlin Conservatory. She recently graduated from the accelerated Bachelor and Master of Music degree program at the Juilliard School where she studied with Darrett Adkins and Joel Krosnick. Besides playing the cello, Yin also enjoys playing the baroque cello and viola da gamba. She took secondary lessons with Catharina Meints at the Oberlin Conservatory and Phoebe Carrai at the Juilliard School. 
Alvin McCall/Cello
A member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra since 1994, cellist Alvin McCall was previously Principal Cello with such ensembles as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Prism Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuosi, Jupiter Symphony, and the Naumberg Orchestra. McCall also served as Assistant Principal Cello with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra (of which he is still a member), the New York Chamber Symphony, St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra, and Caramoor Festival Orchestra. Besides these appointments, he was also a member of the New Jersey Symphony and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra.
An accomplished recitalist and chamber musician as well, McCall is the founding member of the McCall-Deats Duo. The Duo has recorded both the Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich sonatas. He has also performed chamber music with fellow SLSO members at the Sheldon, Piper Palm House, Summerfest, Innsbrook, and other local venues. As a soloist, he has appeared with the University City Symphony, Virginia Philharmonic, Moscow Academic Symphony Orchestra, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the SLSO.