2020 marks the year of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th anniversary. With Beethoven for One, 1014 opened its doors for an intimate experience of one of the composers most celebrated musical genres, the full cycle of his 16 string quartets in seven days.
Photos: Sarah Blesener
New Yorkers were invited to enjoy a powerful and moving encounter, a beautiful connection between audience (one person, couple or household), musicians, and space - which allowed for the appropriate social-distancing and safety-protocols.
Michelle Barzel Ross, violin
Michelle Barzel Ross is a violinist, composer, improviser, and writer, known for her omnivorous creativity and deeply emotional performances. Praised for her debut album and pop-up project "Discovering Bach, The Complete Sonatas and Partitas,” Michelle is fueled by a desire to curate profound musical experiences across mediums, unique spaces, and into the hearts of audiences. Passionate about repertoire spanning from the Baroque to Contemporary, Michelle has performed as soloist, chamber musician, and guest concertmaster around the world. An artist at Marlboro Music Festival for many summers, she also launched the series Chamber Music at Eleventh Street Arts, and recently was an Artist-In-Residence at The College of the Holy Cross.
Kristin Lee, violin
A recipient of the 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant, as well as a top prizewinner of the 2012 Walter W. Naumburg Competition and the Astral Artists’ 2010 National Auditions, Kristin Lee has appeared as soloist with leading orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. An accomplished chamber musician, Kristin Lee is a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, as well as a member of Camerata Pacifica in Santa Barbara, sitting as The Bernard Gondos Chair. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School as a student of Itzhak Perlman, and the co-founder and artistic director of Emerald City Music in Seattle. For more information, visit www.violinistkristinlee.com
Emily Smith, violin
Praised as playing “gorgeously” (The Boston Globe) and with “irrepressible élan” (The Seattle Times), violinist Emily Daggett Smith has performed across the United States, Europe, South America and Asia. Emily made her New York concerto debut playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall, and has since performed with orchestras including Iris Orchestra, the Festival Mozaic Orchestra and the New York Classical Players. She has given solo recitals across the country at venues including the Kennedy Center and Music in the Loft in Chicago. Emily has performed with renowned musicians including members of the Cleveland, Emerson and Juilliard String Quartets. Her performances have taken place at some of the world’s greatest halls including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Vienna Konzerthaus. Emily has also premiered dozens of new works, both as soloist, chamber musician and as a member of The Knights Chamber Orchestra. She recently premiered and recorded new work by Andrea Casarrubios at National Sawdust, and as the founding first violinist of the Tessera Quartet, recorded Harold Brown’s complete works for String Quartet for Albany Records. Emily has served on faculty at the Bard Conservatory Pre-College and the Juilliard School, where she is assistant for Laurie Smukler. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University. Her teachers have included Soovin Kim, Philip Setzer, Joel Smirnoff, Laurie Smukler and Donald Weilerstein. She plays on a Johannes Cuypers violin, generously donated by Dr. Marylou Witz.
Amelia Dietrich, violin
A native of North Carolina, violinist Amelia Dietrich received her Bachelors of Music from The Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles and her Masters degree from The Juilliard School where she studied with Robert Lipsett and Ida Kavafian. An avid chamber musician, Amelia has performed in chamber series all over the United States including Alice Tully Hall’s Wednesdays at One, National Sawdust, The Guggenheim, Colburn Chamber Music Society, and Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival among others. She has been invited to spend summers performing at the Internationale Sommerakademie in Austria, Yellow Barn Young Artist Program, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Manchester Music Festival, The Perlman Chamber Music Workshop, Yale’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, ClasClas Chamber Festival in Vilagarcía, Spain and The Moritzburg Academy in Germany. Beyond her musical studies and performances, Amelia, has a passion for teaching and mentoring young musicians. She coaches chamber music at the New York Youth Symphony, has a private NYC teaching studio, and teaches violin at Suzuki on the Island in Manhasset, NY.
Alex Fortes, violin
Originally from San Diego, violinist Alex Fortes is increasingly being recognized for his versatility and warmth. Recent orchestral and chamber music performances have included performances in Denmark, Austria, and Indonesia as well as throughout the United States with groups such as the Franklin and Momenta string quartets, the Talea ensemble, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Future In REverse (FIRE), and the String Orchestra of New York City.
A strong advocate for the importance of social and civic engagement, Alex spent a year working as an administrator and playing for the Longwood Symphony, an orchestra associated with Boston’s medical community that uses its performances to raise funds and awareness for medical nonprofits. In May 2010, he was chosen by former U.S. Senator and New School President Bob Kerrey to be the student speaker at the New School’s commencement ceremony, where he spoke about the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation and civic engagement for fostering innovation and strong communities. He holds degrees from Harvard College and Mannes College, and his teachers include Mark Steinberg, Peter Zazofsky, Hernan Constantino, Mary Gerard, and Michael Gaisler.
Melissa Reardon, viola
Grammy-nominated violist Melissa Reardon is an internationally renowned performer whose solo and chamber playing spans all musical genres. Melissa is the Artistic Director of the Portland Chamber Music Festival in Portland, ME, Artist in Residence at Bard College and Conservatory and a founding member and the Executive Director of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO). As a member of the Ensō String Quartet from 2006 until its final season in 2018, Melissa toured both nationally and internationally, with highlight performances in Sydney, Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, New York’s Carnegie Hall, and Washington, DC’s Kennedy Center to name a few. Lauded by Classical Voice for her “elegant” and “virtuosic” performances, the Massachusetts-born musician won first prize at the Washington International Competition, and is the only violist to win top prizes in consecutive HAMS International viola competitions. A sought-after collaborative musician and teacher, Melissa has appeared in numerous festivals across the United States and around the world, and has toured with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and with Musicians from Marlboro. She held the post of Associate Professor of Viola at East Carolina University from 2007-2013, and earned degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory. Melissa is married to the cellist Raman Ramakrishnan and they live in NYC with their seven-year-old son Linus.
Colin Brookes, viola
Praised as “master of the strong lines”, concert violist Colin Brookes is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he made his solo debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony at the age of 17. A founding member of the award-winning Ulysses Quartet, Colin has taught in the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School, and the undergraduate programs of Yale University and SUNY Stony Brook. An interest evolved recently into a passion, film photography has profoundly changed Colin’s appreciation for perspective and awareness.
Jia Kim, cello
Cellist Jia Kim, recipient of the prestigious 2017 career award from the Leonore Annenberg Foundation for Performing and Visual Arts, leads a dynamic musical life as a performer, educator, and a passionate advocate for the Arts. She has appeared on stages across the United States, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East with performances broadcasted on WQXR, PBS, KMZT Classical, and acclaimed by the New York Times.
Ms. Kim has been invited as Visiting Artist at the University of Hawaii, American Academy of Jordan, College of William and Mary, Grand Valley State University, and served as a Tone Judge for the Violin Society of America's 2016 International Competition.
Currently she is on Faculty at The Juilliard School Precollege Division and New York Youth Symphony’s Chamber Music Program. As Artistic Director of Central Chamber Series in NYC and Spruce Peak Chamber Music Society in Stowe, VT, she is committed to connecting with a wider audience through the powerful language of Chamber Music, both through education and performance.
Ms.Kim is evermore grateful to her mentors and teachers Ronald Leonard, Itzhak&Toby Perlman, and to Joel Krosnick, with whom she studied at the Juilliard School for a Bachelor and Master Degree in Music. Ms.Kim performs on a Testore cello made in 1748.