French-American violinist Célina Bethoux embarked on her journey at age five with Cleveland Orchestra violinist Isabel Trautwein. Now a student of Soovin Kim at the New England Conservatory of Music, she pursues a bachelor’s degree in violin performance with the prestigious Presidential Scholarship.

Previously, she earned a Young Artist’s Diploma at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Philip Setzer (Emerson Quartet) and Jessica Lee (TCO). An acclaimed chamber musician, Bethoux has graced stages across the U.S. and Europe with various groups, now including in duo with pianist Pualina Lim and in Trio Dolce. She made her debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony at age fourteen and continues to appear as soloist in a variety of recitals and concerti performances. As an experienced orchestral musician, Bethoux has led the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and the New England Conservatory Symphonic Orchestra, guiding masterpieces like Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade” and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. She has also served as faculty and has kept a private studio, maintaining a passion for teaching.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program One
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Two
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Three
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
MMF Young Artists - Program Three

Originally from South Korea, Violinist Hyeonah Hong is beginning to earn recognition on the international stage. Hyeonah has earned many international accolades including placing 1st prize at the New York International Music Competition, 3rd prize at the Hong Kong International Music Competition and International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 2016 in Russia. She won 2nd prize at the OSAKA 13th International Music competition in Japan in 2014 and received other additional prizes in various competitions in Seoul, South Korea, EWHA & Kyunghyang Competition and Eumyoun competition.

She has performed violin solo recitals at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Ujung Art Center in 2016 and in the Kumho Art Hall in Seoul, Korea in 2013. She was honored to perform at the Carnegie Hall by winning the New York International competition in 2024. Hyeonah performed with the Seoul Orchestra at the Concerto Festival in 2017 in Gwangju, Korea and participated in the Emirates 8th International Peace Music Festival in 2012 in Dubai.

Hyeonah Hong participated in the Kneisal Chamber Music Festival, Summit Music Festival, Spaincellence ISAM Avila Festival, and the Emirates 8th International Peace Music Festival in 2012. Hyeonah is expected to participate in the summer music festival, receiving a fellowship at the 2022 Aspen music festival.

Currently, she is studying a lot of repertoires for International competitions and solo recitals at the Juilliard School with Ronald Copes also focuses on studying chamber music and orchestra performance with violinist Joseph Lin. She actively performed piano trio, quintet and string quartet at the Juilliard School and New England Conservatory and she also played the orchestra with Ken-David Masur, David Robertson and Hugh Wolff, a famous conductor and famous hall in New York and Boston.

Hyeonah Hong has studied Bachelor of Music degree with Ayano Ninomiya in the New England Conservatory. Also, she studied with Jaesung Jeon and Ju-Yung Baek in South Korea. Currently, Hyeonah studies with Ronald Copes at the Juilliard School where she is pursuing her Master of Music in Violin Performance.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program One
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Three
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
MMF Young Artists - Program Three

A native of Buffalo, New York, Jonathan Kim began his cello studies at age four and has enjoyed a career of solo and chamber music playing in venues across the USA and Canada. He is a prizewinner of many music competitions including the Crane Concerto Competition, Lauren V. Ackerman Chamber Competition, Stephan Chamber Music Competition, and the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition.

Over his musical career, Jonathan has had the opportunity to perform with world-renowned artists such as Steven Isserlis, Peter Wiley, Lawrence Power, Hsin-Yun Huang, and his current mentor, Colin Carr. He has also appeared in music festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Festival Orford Musique, and the Domaine Forget International Music Festival. Through masterclasses and coachings, Jonathan received guidance from some of the great cello masters including Richard Aaron, Paul Watkins, David Finckel, Michel Strauss, Johannes Moser, and Philippe Muller.

Jonathan is an avid music educator and strongly believes in passing on the knowledge shared with him by the many music pedagogues he has had the honor of encountering during his career. He is currently a faculty member at Concordia Conservatory and the Stony Brook School and maintains a private cello studio of students across Long Island.

Jonathan is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at Stony Brook University, where he studies with Colin Carr. He has also received his Master of Music degree in 2022 from Stony Brook University and received his Bachelor of Music degree in 2020 from the Crane School of Music.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program One
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Two
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Three
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
MMF Young Artists - Program Three

Originally from Seoul, South Korea, June Lee is a rising violinist based in Montreal, Canada. She strives to inspire audiences with compelling interpretations and imaginative sound, drawing on a diverse musical styles and cultures.

June’s achievements include Second Prize at the Schulich Golden Violin Competition and performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Paju Philharmonic Orchestra. She won the Grand Prize at Coltman Chamber music competition and Bronze medal at Fischoff Chamber Competition and also earned recognition in the Mary Lane Memorial Violin Competition and the Ronald Sachs International Music Competition.

She has performed internationally, serving as Assistant Concertmaster on a European tour with Martha Argerich and attending masterclasses with Gerhard Schulz, and Mihaela Martin. June has participated in IMS Prussia Cove, Schiermonnikoog Festival, Encore Chamber Music Institute, MISQA, and the Trondheim String Quartet Academy, among others.

Currently a graduate student at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, she studies with Jinjoo Cho.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program One
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Two
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
MMF Young Artists - Program Three

Singaporean pianist Pualina Lim Mei En, a passionate collaborative musician, has served as a Collaborative Piano Fellow at Chamber Music Northwest’s Young Artist Institute and at Bowdoin International Music Festival. In recent years, Lim has appeared on Oregon’s All Classical Radio and performed with violinist Claire Wells at the Oregon Bach Festival. She now actively collaborates in a duo with violinist Célina Bethoux. An active chamber musician and soloist, Lim has won several top awards and performs internationally. She has appeared as concerto soloist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (President’s Young Performer) and the YST Conservatory Orchestra. In 2020, her trio (‘WAN Trio’) represented Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YST) at the chamber music festival Musical Chairs in Canada. A student of Pei-Shan Lee and Cameron Stowe, Lim is currently pursuing her Graduate Diploma at NEC, where she also earned her Master’s. She is a repeated recipient of the Francis W. Hatch, Sr. Presidential Scholarship and was also kindly supported by Singapore’s Trailblazer Foundation.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
MMF Young Artists - Program Three

Chinese American cellist Jason Ma has performed throughout the United States and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. He has appeared at venues such as the Weill Recital Hall in New York City, and St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London. Upcoming highlights include a performance of Pierre Boulez’s Messagesquisse at the Royal Academy of Music, where he will be the soloist under the direction of Susanna Mälkki.

An avid chamber musician, Jason was selected to join the Frost Trust Advanced Specialist Strings Ensemble Training (A.S.S.E.T.) Scheme at the Royal Academy of Music, receiving coaching from Levon Chilingirian. He has also had the honor of performing chamber music alongside violinist Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, and violist Máté Szücs.

Jason has served as principal cello for the Academy Symphony Orchestra, the Academy Chamber Orchestra, and the Sainsbury Academy Soloists, working with conductors John Wilson, Sir Mark Elder, and Ryan Wigglesworth. Jason holds a Bachelor of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was a student of Dr. Melissa Kraut, and a Master of Arts from the Royal Academy of Music, where he received the Regency Award and a DipRAM for an outstanding final recital. Jason is currently pursuing an Advanced Diploma at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Hannah Roberts.

Jason plays a cello by Francesco Rugeri 1689 on loan from the Royal Academy of Music, London.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program One
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Two
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Three
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
MMF Young Artists - Program Three

Since his international debut at the age of 11 with the Kostroma Symphony Orchestra in Russia, violinist Kenneth Naito has gone on to dazzling audiences with orchestra performances with the National Philharmonic, the Kennett Symphony, the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra, and in their upcoming season, the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra.

Most recently, he received 2nd prize at the prestigious Viktor Tretyakov International Violin Competition, where his performances were broadcast live on The Violin Channel. He has twice been featured as a Student Artist for the Starling-DeLay Symposium on Violin Studies held at The Juilliard School, and has performed at many festivals, including Music Academy of the West, the Heifetz International Music Institute, Sarasota Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music Festival, and IMS Prussia Cove.

Kenneth holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Juilliard School, a Master’s degree from the Yale School of Music, and currently is pursuing his Performer’s Diploma at Indiana University with James Ehnes.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program One
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Three
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
MMF Young Artists - Program Three

Taiwanese violist Jie-Ling (Jennie) Tang is currently pursuing her Master’s degree at the

Juilliard School with Hsin-Yun Huang and Misha Amory. She has performed in venues such

as Jordan Hall, Menlo-Atherton, Taipei National Concert Hall, and Paul Hall. She was the

principal violist of NEC Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and was presented by NPR’s From the

Top as a Walnut Hill String Chamber Orchestra in 2019. She has attended several summer music festivals, including Music@Menlo, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Toronto Summer Music, and has participated in masterclasses led by Helen Callus and Beth Guterman Chu.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program One
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Three
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
MMF Young Artists - Program Three

Born in Costa Rica, Daniel Chen Wang began his piano studies at the age of five with Dr. Alexandr Sklioutovski. In June 2021, Daniel graduated from the Central Musical School in Moscow with honors, where he worked with Professor Daria Riabova. Now he studies at the New England Conservatory of Music under the guidance of Professor Pavel Nerssesian.

Daniel is a prizewinner of many national and international competitions including first prize in “A Step Towards Mastery” in Saint Petersburg, first prize in “La Rioja” Piano Competition in Spain, third prize in the EPTA Belgium W-B competition, and a finalist in the third International Competition for Young Pianists “Grand Piano” Competition.

He has performed as a soloist in major venues around the world, including the National Theatre of Costa Rica, the Tchaikovsky Hall, the Rachmaninoff Hall, the Malii Hall, and the Grand Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory Tchaikovsky. He has also collaborated with the Symphonic Orchestra of Kostroma, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, and the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia “Evgeny Svetlanov”.

Daniel is also an avid chamber musician. He is a member of the piano quartet "242 Strings", a 2024-2025 NEC Honors Ensemble set to make their Jordan Hall debut in April. The quartet will also record as part of the ESYO - L’Atelier Musical Fellowship for Young Musicians.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Four
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
MMF Young Artists - Program Three

Yihan earned her Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School, and she is currently earning her master’s degree in the accelerated program at Juilliard under the guidance of Carol Rodland and Masao Kawasaki. She has worked with renowned artists in masterclasses, including Milan Milisavljevic, James Dunham, and Jeffrey Irvine. As a chamber musician, her recent performance includes Juilliard Chamberfest and she has studied chamber music with Charles Neidich, Joseph Lin, and Fred Sherry. Her orchestral leadership includes Principal Violist at the Music Academy of the West in 2024, and Assistant Principal for the Aspen Festival Orchestra in 2022. As a passionate advocate for contemporary music, she premiered Backchannels for solo viola and live electronics by composer Krishan Rai in 2024. Yihan has also performed in major concert venues including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the New World Center.

Originally from China, she embraces the diversity of culture in New York City where she is living. She has performed at multiple events organized by the Chinese Embassy in New York. She was also a part-time student at Columbia University with a background in linguistics and foreign literature.

Appearances:
MMF Thursday Nights - Program One
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Three
MMF Thursday Nights - Program Five
MMF Young Artists - Program One
MMF Young Artists - Program Two
MMF Young Artists - Program Three