Artists

Tzuying Huang was appointed Bass Clarinet of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2015. Prior to this, she was Bass Clarinet of the Kansas City Symphony. Originally from Taipei, Taiwan, she began her music training on piano when she was five and began playing the clarinet at the age nine. Tzuying earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Taipei University of Education and moved to the United States in 2007 to study at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. There she studied with James Campbell and graduated with a Master’s degree and Diploma in Clarinet Performance. Tzuying received a full scholarship to continue her graduate studies at the University of Texas-Austin, pursuing a Doctoral in Music and Art and served as a teaching assistant for Nathan Williams while performing as a member of the Graduate Wood Wind Quintet.  She has been a member of the Banff Music Centre Orchestra, Young Artist Program of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Tanglewood Music Center, and the Aspen Music Festival and School where she studied with Burt Hara and Joaquin Valdepeñas for three summers as the Bass Clarinet Fellow.

American pianist Brian Woods has emerged as a compelling artist of widespread acclaim. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, he has recently enjoyed his solo debut in Koerner Hall in Toronto, Ontario, as well as his debut with Chamber Music Society of St. Louis on a program with Maestro Leonard Slatkin. Brian’s mentor, international pianist and recording artist John O’Conor, said this about Brian. “Woods is a compelling young musician with a formidable technique and inspiring interpretations. His performances consistently reach the highest levels of artistry.” Brian has enjoyed great success in several distinguished competitions such as the Verona International Piano Competition, the Neapolitan Masters International Piano Competition, and the Artist Presentation Society Auditions. Following his debut concerto performance at age eighteen, he boasts a diverse concerto repertoire, ranging from Tchaikovsky and Liszt’s First Concerti to Beethoven’s Fifth, Brahms’ Second, and Rachmaninoff’s Third. Brian has since performed concerti with the Masterworks Festival Orchestra, University City Symphony Orchestra, Shenandoah University Orchestra, and Vanderbilt Oratorio Orchestra and Symphonic Choirs. Past seasons have included solo recitals in Washington D.C., St. Louis, Kansas City, Winchester, VA, Thibodaux, LA, and Dublin, Ireland. As a passionate chamber musician, Brian has collaborated with tenor Vinson Cole and cellist Julian Schwarz, among many other partners in North America and Europe. He has served as répétiteur and coach for numerous opera and operetta productions in the United States and Canada, including as pianist for Lawrence Opera Theatre in Kansas and The Price Opera Program in Toronto. He remains in high demand as a collaborator for instrumentalists and vocalists alike. Brian holds degrees from Vanderbilt University, University of Missouri – Kansas City, and Shenandoah University. Previous teachers include Craig Nies and Robert Weirich, as well as an additional semester of study with Stanislav Loudenitch. He recently completed the Artist Diploma program at the Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School, where he studied on full scholarship with Irish pianist John O’Conor. When he’s not at the piano, Brian enjoys practicing yoga and catching the latest broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera. Learn more at www.brianwoodspianist.com.

Peter Henderson is Artist-in-Residence and Associate Professor of Music at Maryville University, as well as a regular keyboardist with the St. Louis Symphony. He frequently delivers pre-concert lectures from the stage at Powell Hall prior to St. Louis Symphony subscription concerts. In 2015, he was appointed Principal Keyboardist of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony and coaches chamber music at the Southern California Chamber Music Workshop. Peter holds the degree Doctor of Music in Piano from Indiana University-Bloomington. In addition to his performing activities, he composes music and works as a recording producer. Peter lives in St. Louis with his wife Kristin Ahlstrom who is a violinist with the St. Louis Symphony.

Andrea joined the violin section of the St. Louis Symphony in September 2015. Prior to her appointment with the Symphony, Andrea participated in the 2013 New York String Orchestra Seminar under the direction of Jaime Laredo. She also performed as a soloist with the Dearborn, Birmingham-Bloomfield, Toledo, and Ann Arbor symphony orchestras and was a member of the first YouTube Symphony Orchestra in 2009, with concerts in Carnegie Hall under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas. Andrea received her Bachelor of Music Degree from the Juilliard School in 2013, where she studied with David Chan, and earned her Master of Music Degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in 2015, serving as concertmaster of both the chamber and symphony orchestras, while studying with Kathleen Winkler. Andrea has participated in numerous festivals including the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, where she served as concertmaster under Fabio Luisi, Music Academy of the West, Spoleto Festival, Astona International Academy in Switzerland and theHeifetz International Music Institute. Andrea Jarrett loves spending her spare time cooking and baking. Her newest hobby is knitting, and she can often be spotted at “Knitorious,” St. Louis’s specialty yarn shop.  

Angie Smart has been a First Violinist with the St. Louis Symphony since 1998. Originally from England, she began violin lessons at the age of six and won a scholarship to study music at the age of 13. She continued her studies in the U.S. in 1990 where she attended the University of Miami, Lamar University in Texas, and completed her master’s degree at Rice University in Houston. Angie has performed extensively in Europe and the U.S. with representation by Encore Concerts, and has appeared as soloist with the St. Louis Symphony, Alhambra Chamber Orchestra, Gorton Philharmonic, and Lamar Chamber Orchestra. Her television appearances have included master classes with Yehudi Menuhin and as the subject of a documentary profiling young musicians. Angie competed in the 10th International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Yehudi Menuhin Competition, and has been a prizewinner in other competitions, including the British Violin Recital Prize, Elizabeth Harper Vaughn Concerto Competition, and the William C. Byrd Young Artists Competition.      

Violinist Kyle Andre Lombard is a native of Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated with honors from Indiana University, earning the prestigious Performer’s Certificate, and received his Masters Degree from Yale University. As a chamber musician, Kyle has performed throughout Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. most recently performing on chamber music programs at Carnegie Hall and at the Ravinia Festival’s “Rising Stars” series. As participant with Jacksonville Florida’s Ritz Chamber Players, an organization dedicated to performances and educational activities that features preeminent African-American musicians and composers, Kyle was featured in the University of Washington’s esteemed “World Series of Chamber Music”. He performs regularly in a residency at Morehouse College, which includes both concerts and master classes. As a member of the Goffriller Piano Trio, Kyle’s performances were broadcast on Israeli Public Radio during Isaac Stern’s 3rd International Chamber Music Encounters in Jerusalem. He also performed, as a member of the Gateways Chamber Music Ensemble, in a weeklong residency with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Kyle made his debut with the Kansas City Symphony at age sixteen, the first Kansas City area musician ever invited to perform with that orchestra. He has also concertized with the Savannah Symphony, the Sphinx Symphony, as well as recitals at the MOJA Festival in Charleston, S.C. and on the recital series at Southern Illinois University. Kyle completed a two-year fellowship with the Saint Louis Symphony in 2001 and has performed regularly with the orchestra since then as well as participating in the orchestra’s Community Partnership Program. He plays on a Gennaro Vinaccia violin dating from 1775.

Cellist James Czyzewski has been a member of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra since 2004.  Prior to his appointment with the Symphony, he served as Principal Cello of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and as Assistant Principal of the Fairbanks Symphony.  James made his solo debut with the SLSO in the fall of 2014 performing Tchaikovsky’s Pezzo Capriccioso.  Other solo performances include those with the Fairbanks Symphony and at the 2003 National Cello Congress. James is from from Fairbanks, Alaska, where his primary cello teachers were Peggy Swartz and Bruno DiCecco.  He received his Bachelor’s Degree graduating with honors from Northwestern University in the spring of 2003, studying with Hans Jorgan-Jensen. While at Northwestern, James was the recipient of the Samuel and Elinor Thaviu Scholarship.  He also received full scholarships to attend the prestigious Meadowmount School of Music. An avid chamber musician, James performs regularly throughout the Saint Louis region. In addition to Chamber Music Society of St. Louis concerts, James has appeared with the Missouri Chamber Music Festival, and the Symphony’s Community Partnership program. James lives with his wife, violinist Joo Kim, and their daughter Olivia.  He plays on an Italian cello made by Marino Capicchioni in 1971.

Ann Fink joined the first violin section of the St. Louis Symphony in September of 2013. Previously she performed as a violin fellow with New World Symphony in Miami Beach. Ann has performed with the Opera in the Ozarks, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Spoleto Orchestra, and the Schleswig Holstein Festival Orchestra. She recently performed Wieniawski’s Concerto No. 2 with the New World Symphony under the baton of Tito Munoz, after she was selected as one of the 2012-13 New World Symphony concerto competition winners. A certified Suzuki Violin teacher, Ann Fink has worked as violin faculty at the Preparatory Center at Brooklyn College, Lucy Moses School, and the Music Institute of Long Island. Ann holds bachelors and master’s degrees in music from the Juilliard School and also studied at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and was a recipient of the Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship from the University of Illinois. She has studied with Alexander Kerr, Elmar Oliveira, Carol Cole, Hyo Kang, and Sergiu Schwartz.

In his sixth decade on the podium, Nic McGegan — long hailed as “one of the finest baroque conductors of his generation” (The Independent) and “an expert in 18th-century style” (The New Yorker) — is recognized for his probing and revelatory explorations of music of all periods. Following a 34-year tenure as Music Director of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale, he is now Music Director Laureate. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of Hungary’s Capella Savaria. At home in opera houses, McGegan shone new light on close to 20 Handel operas as the Artistic Director and conductor at Germany’s International Handel Festival Göttingen for 20 years (1991–2001), and the Mozart canon as Principal Guest Conductor at Scottish Opera in the 1990s. He was also Principal Conductor of Sweden’s Drottningholm Court Theatre from 1993 to 1996. Best known as a Baroque and Classical specialist, McGegan’s approach — intelligent, infused with joy, and never dogmatic, along with an ability to engage players and audiences alike — has made him a pioneer in broadening the reach of historically informed practice beyond the world of period ensembles to conventional symphonic forces. His guest-conducting appearances with major orchestras — including the New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong Philharmonics; the Chicago, Dallas, Milwaukee, Toronto, Sydney, and New Zealand Symphonies; the Philadelphia Orchestra; the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Scottish Chamber Orchestras; and the orchestras of London’s Royal Opera House and Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw — often feature Baroque repertoire alongside Classical, Romantic, 20th-century, and even brand-new works. He has conducted Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Britten, Bach, and Handel with the Utah Symphony; Poulenc and Mozart with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; and the premiere of Stephen Hough’s Missa Mirabilis with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, paired with Haydn, Brahms, and Mendelssohn. He collaborates frequently with the Mark Morris Dance Group, including the premiere productions of Rameau’s Platée and Handel’s Acis and Galatea, and has led performances at the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival. Highlights of his 23/24 orchestral bookings include performances at the Aspen Music Festival and School; leading the Cleveland Orchestra in a program of Mozart and Mendelssohn at the 2023 Blossom Music Festival; a return to the Hollywood Bowl in a “Mozart Under the Stars” concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; two programs with the Bay Area’s Cantata Collective; engagements with the Detroit Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, and Rhode Island Philharmonic; and performances of Handel’s Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra; Calgary Philharmonic; and the Grand Rapids, Edmonton, and New Jersey Symphonies. On the operatic front this season, McGegan will conduct performances of two Handel operas: L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato at the Curtis Institute of Music; and Giulio Cesare at the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival in Lismore, Ireland as well as concert performances of Handel’s Deborah with the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Herrenhausen and Göttingen, Germany. McGegan’s prolific discography includes more than 100 releases spanning five decades. Having recorded over 50 albums of Handel — two of which received the U.K.’s prestigious Gramophone Award — McGegan has explored the depths of the composer’s output with a dozen oratorios and close to 20 of his operas. Since the 1980s, more than 20 of his recordings have been with Hungary’s Capella Savaria on the Hungaroton label, including groundbreaking recordings of repertoire by Handel, Monteverdi, Scarlatti, Telemann, and Vivaldi. McGegan also released two albums with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra under the BIS label: Josef Mysliveček’s complete music for keyboard with soloist Clare Hammond; and an album of early horn concertos with soloist Alec Frank-Gemmill. His extensive discography with Philharmonia Baroque includes two GRAMMY nominations, for Handel’s Susana and Haydn’s Symphonies 104, 88, and 101. Recent releases include an album of Mozart violin concertos with violinist Gil Shaham and the SWR Symphonie Orchester, and a recording of Mozart’s double concertos with violinist Zsolt Kalló and Capella Savaria. With Cantata Collective, McGegan has released the first volume in an ongoing initiative to record all of Bach’s Cantatas, which received critical praise from Early Music America and American Record Guide. McGegan and Cantata Collective have also announced a new partnership with AVIE Records to record Bach’s six choral masterpieces — the St John and St Matthew Passions, Mass in B Minor, Christmas and Ascension Oratorios, and the Magnificat — over the next five years. The first album in this ambitious project, the St John Passion, was released in May 2023. Mr. McGegan is committed to the next generation of musicians, frequently conducting and coaching students in residencies and engagements at Yale University, the Juilliard School, Harvard University, the Colburn School, Aspen Music Festival and School, Sarasota Music Festival, and the Music Academy of the West. He has been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Music by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music; an honorary professorship at Georg-August University, Göttingen; and in 2016 was the Christoph Wolff Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Harvard. McGegan’s fun and informative lectures have delighted audiences at Juilliard, Yale Center for British Arts, American Handel Society, and San Francisco Conservatory. English-born, McGegan was educated at Cambridge and Oxford. He was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to music overseas.” Other awards include the Halle Handel Prize; the Order of Merit of the State of Lower Saxony (Germany); the Medal of Honour of the City of Göttingen; and a declaration of Nicholas McGegan Day by the Mayor of San Francisco, in recognition of his work with Philharmonia Baroque. Visit Nic McGegan on the web    

Karin Bliznik was named Principal Trumpet of the St. Louis Symphony in September of 2013. She held the position of Assistant Principal Trumpet with the Atlanta Symphony prior to coming to S. Louis. Karin has also held principal positions with the Charlotte Symphony and the Charleston Symphony. She performs as Principal Trumpet with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and has performed as Guest Principal Trumpet with both the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. After graduating with a Bachelor of Music from Boston University, Karin went on to receive her Master of Music from Northwestern University. She also spent a time studying abroad at London’s Royal College of Music and has performed in numerous music festivals, including Spoleto, Aspen, Eastern Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival, and the Lucerne Music Festival under the direction of Pierre Boulez. Additionally Karin has spent several summers as a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. While a member of the Atlanta Symphony, she was on the faculty of Kennesaw State University, and regularly taught for the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra and Talent Development Program.