A prizewinner of several competitions, pianist Jon Lee captured first prize at the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition, first prize at the San Diego International Piano Competition, and competitions in Washington, Boston and Seattle. He has appeared in festivals in cities across the U. S. and Europe, and has worked with esteemed pedagogues Jerome Lowenthal, Leon Fleisher, Boris Slutsky, and Russell Sherman, and currently studies with Professor Yoshikazu Nagai. Mr. Lee pursued a Master’s degree in computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, after which he enjoyed a career in software engineering and management. Recently he completed the Professional Studies Certificate program in Keyboard Performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Combining his interests in music and technology, Jon wrote MusicPodium, an app for iPad, to make piano score reading more portable.

Violinist for Circadian String Quartet, our professional performers at March’s meeting. The ensemble was founded in 2013 and performs a wide range of classical and contemporary repertoire with folkloric or cultural significance, as well as original pieces composed or arranged by members of the group, including a transcription of Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring for string quartet and percussion. Members of Circadian String Quartet perform throughout the Bay Area and also serve as resident teaching artists for the Zephyr Point Chamber Music Workshop. Members of the quartet are active music teachers and work with musicians of all ages in developing their musical abilities in chamber music.

Cellist for Circadian String Quartet, our professional performers at March’s meeting.

Violinist for Circadian String Quartet, our professional performers at March’s meeting.

Violist for Circadian String Quartet, our professional performers at March’s meeting.

Audience members at our March 2024 meeting.

Matthew Linaman and Samsun van Loon performing at February’s meeting. Matthew performed The Classical Cello - A Solo and a Duet with Samsun.

Feb ‘24 - Cellist Samsun van Loon is a founding member of the Chamber Music Society of San Francisco and a member of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. Critically praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as an artist who performs with "the rhetorical polish of a skilled storyteller," he has in recent years given the US premieres of Philip Glass's 9th String Quartet and performed in festivals and series across the US and Europe. Equally passionate about teaching and performing, he is currently a faculty member of the Young Chamber Musicians program at Kohl Mansion. He studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Jean-Michel Fonteneau and performs on an English cello built in 1750 by Joseph Hill.

Matthew has performed in over 15 countries both as a soloist, teacher and as a founding member of the Cello Street Quartet. His notable appearances include a premier of Richard Marriott's Ghostship Requiem for cello and Orchestra with the Oakland Symphony under the baton of the late Maestro Michael Morgan. Matthew has spoken on the TED stage and served as a Music Ambassador for the U.S. State Department in Europe and Asia. After receiving the coveted Dean’s Award for outstanding contributions to chamber music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), and winning the annual Concerto Competition, Matthew completed his studies with award-winning french cellist Jean-Michel Fonteneau. He now serves on the faculty of the SFCM Pre-College program.

Jan ‘24 - Keiya Wada (cello), Dayton Nguyen (piano), BMC president Edna Steele, Jennifer Kang (viola), Irene Hwang (piano), Andrew Hwang (viola)

Jan ‘24 - Elbert Tsai (violin), Chia-Lin Yang (piano), Brady Anderson (cello)

Cellist Brady Anderson is a highly acclaimed cellist and pedagogue. Brady is the artistic director of the Benicia Chamber Players and Pleasanton Chamber Players. Having performed chamber music extensively, he is the cellist and a founding member of the Verve Trio and was the interim cellist of the Thalea String Quartet. Brady studied chamber music under the guidance of Menahem Pressler, Jorja Fleezanis, Anne Epperson, Atar Arad, Paul Hersh, Ian Swensen, the Pacifica String Quartet, the Juilliard String Quartet, the JACK Quartet, the Miró Quartet, and many others. Brady has recorded with dozens of groups, including Nataly Dawn, Cypress Hill, Jennifer Hudson and can be heard on the Grammy-nominated La Orquesta Sinfonietta album Canto America.Brady has played with the Stockton Symphony, Monterey Symphony, and Fresno Philharmonic, and Indiana orchestras Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, and Columbus Philharmonic. He was principal cellist of the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Berkeley Chamber Orchestra, IU Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, and Summer Philharmonic. Brady has played under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gustavo Dudamel, Marin Alsop, and Jakub Hruša.A dedicated cello teacher, Brady has coached cello sectionals for the Solano County Youth Orchestra, the Berkeley Chamber Orchestra, the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, and the California Youth Symphony, and has been a guest artist in several teaching residencies around the country. Brady teaches cello in his current studio in Dublin. For more information visit:  www.bradyandersoncellist.com.

Dr. Chia-Lin Yang has toured throughout the United States, Canada, and her native Taiwan as a concert pianist and chamber musician. 

Top prizes at the Seattle International Piano Competition and Kingsville Isabel Scionti Solo Piano Competition helped launch a performance career which has included concerts at Benaroya Hall and the Banff Centre’s Rolston Recital Hall as well as a national broadcast on WQXR in Minnesota. Additional competition awards include the National Arts and Letters Competition, WAMSO Young Artist Competition, Camerata Concerto Competition, and Wideman Piano Concerto Competition. She is a recipient of the Hellen von Ammon Fund for Emerging Artists. Dr. Chia-Lin Yang holds both her Doctor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of André Watts and Evelyne Brancart. Chia-Lin was on faculty at Indiana University and West Valley College in Saratoga where she established the acclaimed WVC Young Artist Concert Series. Being enthusiastic about chamber music, Chia-Lin is the founder of the Aristo Trio, the Aristo Duo, the Yang-Shin-Bate Trio, and a member of the Sarasota Chamber Music Festival in Florida. She recently co-founded the Verve Trio with violinist Elbert Tsai and cellist Brady Anderson and they have taken home the Gold Prize from the 2022 Amadeus International Music Awards of Salzburg.

She currently also serves as Lecturer in Piano at UC-Santa Cruz. Visit www.chialinyang.com for more information. 

Violinist Elbert Tsai leads a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, and sought-after pedagogue. He currently serves on the violin faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory Pre-College as well as Center Stage Strings at the University of Michigan School of Music. Guest faculty appointments include the Oberlin Conservatory and SFCM Collegiate Division. His students have competed at the Menuhin Competition, won awards from the YoungArts Foundation, and are regularly accepted to “From the Top,” Music@Menlo, NYO-USA, NYO2, Bowdoin Festival, Morningside Music Bridge, and Heifetz Institute. Elbert maintains an active performing schedule, his recitals having been featured recently at the Colburn School for the Performing Arts, Three Rivers Performing Arts Institute, and Bridges Hall at Pomona College. Early in his professional career, Elbert won positions with the San Francisco Ballet and San Francisco Symphony orchestras, touring with the symphony throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.  He holds degrees from the University of Southern California, Rice University, and Oberlin College. For more information, please visit www.elberttsai.com.

Dec ‘23 - Cellist Samsun van Loon is a founding member of the Chamber Music Society of San Francisco and a member of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. Critically praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as an artist who performs with "the rhetorical polish of a skilled storyteller," he has in recent years given the US premieres of Philip Glass's 9th String Quartet and performed in festivals and series across the US and Europe. Equally passionate about teaching and performing, he is currently a faculty member of the Young Chamber Musicians program at Kohl Mansion. He studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Jean-Michel Fonteneau and performs on an English cello built in 1750 by Joseph Hill.

Dec ‘23 - Pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi has performed to acclaim on prestigious concert stages across the United States, including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. He has received training from some of the most celebrated musicians of our time – Emanuel Ax, Gilbert Kalish, Menahem Pressler, Robert Mann, Paul Hersh, David Zinman – and enjoys collaborating with other accomplished musicians such as Lucy Shelton, Ian Swensen, Jodi Levitz, Robin Sutherland, Lev Polyakin, Axel Strauss, Mark Kosower, Gary Schocker and also conductors such as Alasdair Neale, George Daugherty, Nicole Paiement, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Herbert Blomstedt. Mr. Nakagoshi is a Pianist-in-Residence at The San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the award-winning Opera Parallele. He resides in San Francisco.

Nov ‘23 - SAGE performed at our second meeting of the season. Jessica Chang, viola; Rebecca Jackson-Picht, violin; Katie Youn, cello. SAGE was founded in 2022 by a group of friends seeking creative collaboration in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ensemble strives to unite our diverse perspectives and lived experiences to create music that transcends boundaries and inspires hope.

Nov ‘23 - BMC President, Edna Steele, with this month’s student performers: Melissa Lam (age 15, cello), Nadia Karpenko (age 16, violin), Leo Denizen (age 13, piano), Ariel Pawlik-Zwiebel (age 16, violin), Casey Kim (age 15, cello).

Nov ‘23 - BMC meeting attendees

Nov ‘23 - “Our mission is to use the power of music to connect with our audience, to express our shared experiences and emotions, and to offer a source of solace and joy. We use our art as a force for positivity and progress, to promote inclusivity and mutual respect, and to foster a sense of belonging and community through the universal language of music.” https://www.musicatsage.com/

Oct ‘23 - Our featured Professional Artist was Angela Kraft Cross at the organ. She performed a program of “Spooky Fall Favorites”, with music by Bach, Widor, Vierne and Dupré. She is immensely talented and has performed on many of the historical organs around the world.