Violinist Erin Keefe is the Concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra and on the violin faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music. Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as numerous international competitions, she has appeared as soloist in recent seasons with the Minnesota Orchestra, New York City Ballet Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony, Lahti Symphony, Sendai Philharmonic, and the Gottingen Symphony and has given recitals throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.  Ms. Keefe has been performing with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2005, and she has recorded for Naxos, the CMS Studio Recordings label, BIS, Onyx, and Deutsche Grammophon. Her festival appearances have included Music@Menlo, La Jolla SummerFest, Mainly Mozart, Ravinia and the Seattle, Bravo! Vail Valley, Colorado College, Skaneateles, Music in the Vineyards, and Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festivals, and she has appeared as guest concertmaster with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, and the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra.

Newly appointed violist of the Takács Quartet, Richard O’Neill has distinguished himself as one of the great instrumentalists of his generation. GRAMMY Award winner for Best Classical Instrumental Solo Performance in 2021, O’Neill is only the second person to receive an award for a viola performance in the history of this category. Also an EMMY Award winner and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, O’Neill has appeared as soloist with the world’s top orchestras and conductors including Andrew Davis, Vladimir Jurowski and Yannick Nezet-Seguin. An Artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Principal Violist of Camerata Pacifica, he also served as Artistic Director of DITTO, his South Korean chamber music project, for thirteen seasons, leading the ensemble on international tours to China and Japan and introducing tens of thousands to music. A Universal Music/Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, he has made 10 solo albums and many other chamber music recordings, earning multiple platinum discs. Composers Lera Auerbach, Elliott Carter, Paul Chihara, John Harbison, and Huang Ruo have written works for him. He serves as Goodwill Ambassador for the Korean Red Cross, The Special Olympics, UNICEF and OXFAM and serves on the faculty of the Music Academy of the West and is an Music Academy alumnus (‘98, ‘99).

American cellist Julie Albers is recognized for her superlative artistry, her charismatic and radiant performing style, and her intense musicianship. Heralded by the New York Times as being a fantastically eloquent player, with an elegant sound that is full of emotion but without exaggeration or overstatement. Born into a musical family in Longmont, Colorado, she began violin studies at the age of two with her mother, switching to cello at four. She moved to Cleveland during her junior year of high school to pursue studies through the Young Artist Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Richard Aaron. Ms.Albers soon was awarded the Grand Prize at the XIII International Competition for Young Musicians in Douai, France, and as a result toured France as soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Douai.

She made her major orchestral debut with The Cleveland Orchestra at the age of 17 and thereafter has performed in recital and with orchestras throughout North America, Europe, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand. Past seasons have included performances with the symphony orchestras of Colorado, Grant Park Music Festival, Indianapolis, Munchener Kammerorchester, Rochester, San Diego, Seattle, Vancouver, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra among others. In 2001, she won Second Prize in Munich's Internationalen Musikwettbewerbes der ARD, and was also awarded the Wilhelm-Weichsler-Musikpreis der Stadt Osnabruch. While in Germany, she recorded solo and chamber music of Kodaly for the Bavarian Radio, performances that have been heard throughout Europe. In 2003, Miss Albers was named the first Gold Medal Laureate of South Korea's Gyeongnam International Music Competition.

Ms. Albers was named principal cellist of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in 2015, a position she currently holds and in the fall of 2024 she will be joining the esteemed cello faculty at the New England Conservatory. In addition, she regularly participates in chamber music festivals including ChamberFest Cleveland, La Jolla SummerFest, Rome Chamber Music Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Society, and Toronto Summer Music. 2009 marked the end of a three year residency with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two. Teaching has also held a very important place in Ms. Albers' musical life from the age of 12 when she started teaching her first students. She held the position of Assistant Professor at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia from 2009-2022.

Alan Stepansky is recognized as one of the most gifted and versatile cellists of his generation. After a distinguished orchestral career playing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, serving as Principal Cellist of the Boston Pops, and culminating in a ten-year tenure as Associate Principal Cellist of the New York Philharmonic, he is in demand as a soloist, chamber musician, principal cellist, and recording artist. He is currently Chair of Strings and Professor of Cello at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, and cello faculty of the Manhattan School of Music.

Mr. Stepansky has performed as a guest artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and Jazz at Lincoln Center, and has appeared in concert with a diverse array of artists including the Takács and American String Quartets. He has recorded a series of chamber music and solo discs for EMI, which were honored by Gramophone Magazine, BBC Magazine, the New York Times, and the British Music Industry Association, and has been engaged as the solo cellist for numerous major motion picture soundtracks. He has also appeared on the albums of many noted recording artists across many genres, including Bruce Springsteen, Natalie Merchant, David Byrne, Audra McDonald, Joss Stone, and Sting, with whom he has also appeared in concert.

Recently, Mr. Stepansky served as the Principal Cellist for six major fund-raising events held in Carnegie Hall, Beethoven’s Ninth for South Asia, Requiem for Darfur, Mahler for the Children of AIDS, Beethoven for the Indus Valley, Shostakovich for the Children of Syria, and the Scheherazade Initiative, which featured an international orchestra drawn from leading symphonic, chamber music, and solo artists from around the world. He has appeared as soloist with many orchestras and frequently as Guest Principal Cellist of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. After studies at the Curtis Institute of Music and the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Stepansky graduated from Harvard University with the Horblit Prize, conferred for his outstanding musical accomplishments.

Mr. Stepansky has been a member of the Music Academy faculty since 2003.

ENSLEY KIM 21, born in Seoul, Korea, is earning her bachelor's degree at The Juilliard School, studying with Naoko Tanaka and Daniel Phillips. She won the National YoungArts Competition in 2021 and the New Jersey Sinfonietta Concerto Competition in 2022. She has performed with both the New York String Orchestra and the Juilliard Orchestra.

MARENA MIKI 19, born in Los Angeles, California, is earning his bachelor's degree in violin performance at University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, studying with Bing Wang. He is the Second Violin Principal of the USC Thornton Symphony and won the American String Teachers Association LA Finals Grand Prize in 2020.

SAM SUN 24, born in Mountain View, California, has completed his master's degree in viola performance at Northwestern University, studying with Hellen Callus and Weijing Wang. He won the Northwestern Viola Prize in 2024. He is a substitute musician with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Co-Principal Viola with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

XAVIER IP 19, born in Boston, Massachusetts, is currently earning his bachelor's degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studies with Melissa Kraut. He received the Grand Prize at the 2023 New Asia Chamber Music Society Competition and recently toured Europe with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.

AARON SIEVE ('24) 22, born in Dallas, Texas, has recently completed his bachelor's degree in horn at the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, studying with Christopher Gongos. The returning Music Academy alum has performed with the New York String Orchestra and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra.

AUGUST BAIK 19, born in Seattle, Washington, is earning his bachelor's degree at New England Conservatory (NEC), studying with Stephen Drury. He won the NEC Piano Honors Competition in 2024 and The Sherer International Violin and Piano Competition in 2022. He recently participated in the Honens International Piano Competition Quarterfinals.

MIN JOO YI 31, born in Daegu, Korea, is earning her Doctor of Musical Arts at Peabody Conservatory of Music, studying with Yong-Hi Moon. She won the Jury Discretionary Prize at the 2024 Gurwitz International Piano Competition. She has performed with the University of Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre Mélo'dix de l'Université Paris Nanterre.