SEWANEE SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL FACULTY

Violinist Jessica Fan of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra since 2002, is an active soloist, educator, and chamber and orchestral musician. A native of China, she was admitted at age 10 to the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Ms. Fan holds degrees from Central Conservatory of Beijing and University of Miami School of Music. While pursuing her Master Degree at University of Maryland, she studied with Arnold Steinhardt. She is on the faculty of NSO Summer Music Institute in Washington DC, and Sewanee Summer Music Festival while maintaining a robust private Studio. As the first ever Asian musician in the United States Air Force Strings in Washington DC from 1997-2001, Ms. Fan performed for President Clinton, Bush, and numerous foreign dignitaries and recorded the compact disc Album Wintertime as the featured soloist. She frequently performs with the Baltimore Symphony, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, and is a member of the Global Chinese Symphony Orchestra which performs annually at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. As a chamber musician, she can be heard regularly on Kennedy Center Millennium Stage and Washington DC Embassy concert series and gives solo recitals and master classes throughout China. She currently performs on her Neapolitan instrument made by Francesco Versella in 1880.

Violinist LIN HE made his Carnegie Hall solo debut in November 2014, after a performance there earlier that year with principal players from the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra in orchestral setting. He's 2022-2023 season of concerts include Magnard Sonata for Violin and Piano in multiple venues; chamber recitals as the violinist of Caladium Piano Trio; violin soloist of the Vivaldi/Piazzola Four Seasons with the Rapides Symphony; solo recitals and masterclasses at multiple universities across the U.S.; and series of concerts and masterclasses in mainland China and Taiwan. He has presented recitals at universities across the United States and China. As an orchestral player,

Andrii Isakov, violin

Ukrainian violinist, Andrii Isakov, has performed numerous solo and chamber music recitals in China, Italy, the United States, Poland, Croatia, and Ukraine. He has appeared as a featured soloist with the National Ukrainian Philharmonic Orchestra, CCM Philharmonia Orchestra as a winner of the concerto competition, and many other reputable ensembles. As an avid chamber musician, Isakov has collaborated with world-renowned artists such as the Ying Quartet, Vladimir Panteleyev (Leontovych String Quartet), and Roberto Cani. Mr. Isakov is a laureate of diverse national and international competitions, including the Lewisville Lake Symphony International Competition for Strings and Harp, Cremona International Competition for Strings, Croation National Violin Competition, and many others. Teaching and pedagogy have always held a critical role in Mr. Isakov’s career. Mr. Isakov has worked as a graduate teaching assistant of Professor Kurt Sassmannshaus at the University of Cincinnati CCM for two years. Currently, he is a Violin Faculty at Starling Preparatory String Project and Associate Faculty at Cremona International Music Academy and Festival. Mr. Isakov is a founder, artistic director, and a Violin Faculty of the Fiorito International Music Festival and Competition. Isakov’s students are recognized winners of international competitions.

Mr. He has performed with the Shanghai Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic and New World Symphony. He is a regular addition to the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. He is now serving as the Associate Professor of Violin at the Louisiana State University School of Music and the Associate Concertmaster of the Baton Rouge Symphony. Mr. He received his doctorate from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied under the tutelage of Zvi Zeitlin. Other major influences include Steven Staryk, Sylvia Rosenberg, Kyung Sun Lee and Paul Kantor. His CD release from Centaur Records of French Sonatas for Violin and Piano with pianist Gregory Sioles and Caladium Piano Trio received favorable reviews.

Brittany MacWilliams, violin

Brittany MacWilliams has a rich and diverse career both as performer and educator. She made her professional performing debut at age ten with the Louisville Orchestra and went on to win numerous competitions including the Music Teachers National Association competition. Since then, Ms. MacWilliams has performed extensively as a soloist and concertmaster in such diverse locales as Istanbul, Beijing, Salzburg, Munich, Lisbon, and New York. She has had solo engagements with such orchestras as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, and Munich Hochshule Orchestra. Ms. MacWilliams can be heard as soloist on two critically acclaimed compact discs of Giornovichi Violin Concerti for the Arte Nova Classics/BMG label. Ms. MacWilliams is a passionate educator and has a varied teaching background. She has been a professor of violin and viola at the University of Louisville School of Music for fourteen years. She has also been the Director of the UofL String Academy, a program for talented and dedicated pre-college students, and is founder and director of Leadership and Performance for Strings at the Oldham County Schools Arts Center. She has previously taught at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Xavier University. She served as director and a member of the violin faculty of the Starling Preparatory String Project at the University of Cincinnati for twelve years. MacWilliams has been a member of the SSMF faculty for ten years. In 2001, Ms. MacWilliams was the first winner of the prestigious Dorothy Richard Starling Teaching Fellowship.

Mari-Liis Päkk, violin (orchestra sectionals & chamber music)

Estonian violinist Mari-Liis Päkk has appeared around the world as soloist and chamber musician. A laureate of international competitions including Heifetz (Vilnius), Wieniawski (Poland), and Dombrowski (Riga), she has been heard in concert throughout Europe and across the U.S. Ms. Päkk has performed as soloist with orchestras in Estonia as well as with the Meadows Symphony in Dallas and, as winner of the European String Teachers Association competition, gave a solo recital at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris. She is a guest of the Pärnu Music Festival in Estonia in collaboration with Paavo Järvi in which capacity

Anna Reider, violin

Anna Reider is the Dianne and J. David Rosenberg Chair in the 1st violin section of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and enjoys a demanding schedule as an orchestral player, chamber musician, soloist and educator. Following her studies at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, Anna was appointed by Maestro Paavo Järvi to the 1 st violin section of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra after her first-ever audition. In 2008, she joined her alma mater as an adjunct-professor of violin. She also served as concertmaster of the she has appeared as soloist with Ivy Gitlis and premiered a work of Helena Tulve with bassoonist Martin Kuuskmann. She was a soloist with FIU's NODUS Ensemble at the Cervantino Festival (Mexico) and has given recitals at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and the University of WisconsinMilwaukee. Ms. Päkk is also a committed teacher of violin and viola, having given masterclasses worldwide while maintaining an active private studio at the Leopold Mozart Academy outside Philadelphia and at Temple University's Music Preparatory division. Currently Ms. Päkk is the director of orchestras at Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami.

Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra for nine years. Anna has performed as a soloist and chamber musician all over the world. For the 2022-23 season, some highlights include a return engagement with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for their November U.S. tour, the Arizona Music Festival in March, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. In 2019, Anna was asked by Zubin Mehta to join the Israel Phil for his last tour with the orchestra to Peru, Columbia,Panama, and Argentina. For the latest news on Anna, visit www.annareider.com.

Jane Bowyer Stewart, violin

Jane Bowyer Stewart is a first violinist with the National Symphony Orchestra. A devoted chamber musician, she is a regular guest artist with elite Washington area ensembles, including the Kennedy Center Chamber Players and the 21 st Century Consort. The Washington Post has praised her “spectacular and virtuosic performance. . . . Stewart’s technique was breathtaking but never overpowering. She has a seemingly effortless ability to create elegant phrases.” Stewart earned both her Bachelor of Arts (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and Master of Music degrees from Yale University. Both she and her parents (who met at the festival) attended the Sewanee Summer Music Center. In the Washington area, Stewart has performed chamber music at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, the Phillips Collection, the Corocan Gallery, and the Library of Congress. Currently a member of the Columbia String Quartet and co-concertmaster of the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, she has also performed and recorded with the Chamber Soloists of Washington, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Chamber Ensemble, and the Manchester String Quartet. Her several chamber music CDs include one Grammy nominee. A sought-after private teacher and chamber music coach, Stewart also mentors young musicians through the National Symphony’s Summer Music Institute, giving seminars on audition preparation and orchestral repertoire. She regularly composes program notes for area performing arts organizations. She plays a violin made in 1691 by the Venetian master Matteo Goffriller.

Violist Philippe Chao is a member of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and the Grand Teton Music Festival, Assistant Professor of Viola at the Texas Tech University School of Music, and on faculty for the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. He performs with the Pittsburgh, National, and Baltimore Symphonies. Mr. Chao has performed on NOPR's

Hillary Herndon, viola

Violist Hillary Herndon has earned a national reputation for her brilliant playing, “sweetly soaring tone” (Time Out New York), creative programming and insightful teaching. She has been heard on NPR and PBS and has collaborated with some of the world’s foremost artists, including Carol Wincenc, James VanDermark and Itzhak Perlman, who described Hillary as “having it all… a gifted teacher and an excellent musician.” Ms. Herndon’s recordings La Viola, American Voices and 1919: Hidden Treasures from an Epoch Year are available on MSR Classics. Passionate about teaching, Ms. Herndon has published papers in the journals of the

Performance Today with Fred Childs and on Broadway in Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s Bright Star. His chamber music collaborations have included international artists James Buswell, Simone Porter, and Julian Rachlin. He has commissioned and premiered works by Sergey Akhunov and Adolphus Hailstork.

American String Teacher and American Viola Society. Her recent appearances include performances and master classes at Carnegie Hall, the Sibelius Academy in Finland, Juilliard, Eastman, the University of Michigan, and the International Viola Congress. Ms. Herndon teaches at the University of Tennessee, where she is the founder of the annual Viola Celebration and in 2022-2023 at the Eastman School of Music as a sabbatical replacement for George Taylor. Herndon holds degrees from the Eastman and Juilliard Schools of Music and serves as President for the American Viola Society.