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Nexus Chamber Music

STEPHANIE ZYZAK - ALEXANDER HERSH - EVREN OZEL

DATE

Fri. January 23 -  7:30 PM

South Delta Baptist Church, Delta

COMING SOON

Sun. January 25 -  2:00 PM

Pacific Spirit United Church, Vancouver

COMING SOON

COMING SOON

Mon. January 26 -  1:00 PM

Anvil Centre, New Westminster

COMING SOON

Tue. January 27 -  1:00 PM

North Delta Centre for the Arts, Delta

Wed. January 28 -  1:00 PM

COMING SOON

Highlands United Church, North Vancouver

PROGRAM

MATINEE PROGRAM

EVENING PROGRAM

*Our matinee series consists of one-hour performances with a program separate from the evening concerts.

Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66

Felix Mendelssohn

I. Allegro energico e con fuoco

II. Andante espressivo

III. Scherzo: Molto allegro quasi presto

IV. Finale: Allegro appassionato

Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major, D. 929 (Op. 100)

Franz Schubert

I. Allegro

II. Andante con moto

III. Scherzando: Allegro moderato

IV. Allegro moderato

Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major, D. 929 (Op. 100)

Franz Schubert

I. Allegro

II. Andante con moto

III. Scherzando: Allegro moderato

IV. Allegro moderato

VIDEO

STEPHANIE ZYZAK

Stephanie Zyzak.jpeg

Praised for her sensitive musicianship and heartfelt playing, violinist Stephanie Zyzak is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the most soulful and profound musicians of her generation.

At the age of seven, Stephanie made her first solo appearance with the Starling Chamber Orchestra at the Aspen Music School and became the youngest recipient ever to be awarded the Aspen Music School New Horizon Fellowship. The following year, she performed in Germany as an invited guest of the Internationale Kunst – Akademie Liechtenstein (IKAL). Since making her debut in 2004 with the Louisville Orchestra, Stephanie has performed as soloist throughout Germany, Russia, Austria, Sweden, Spain, Italy, France, and with orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic, Southeast Missouri Symphony, and the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra. Recent and upcoming season highlights include performances at Caramoor, Carnegie Hall, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert series, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Vancouver Chamber Music Society, and on tour with Mitsuko Uchida and Musicians from Marlboro as part of Carnegie Hall’s Perspective Series.

A deeply passionate chamber musician, Stephanie frequently collaborates and appears in concerts with musicians including Mitsuko Uchida, Jonathan Biss, Kim Kashkashian, Hsin-Yun Huang, Alice Neary, Danny Phillips, Marcy Rosen, and Peter Wiley. She has also performed at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Caramoor, the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, and the Marlboro Music Festival, where she has toured extensively with Musicians From Marlboro.

Born in South Carolina, Stephanie is a graduate of New England Conservatory and has studied with Miriam Fried and Mark Steinberg. She is also a founding member of ensemble132, a roster-based chamber music collective and was a 2020-22 Ensemble Connect fellow at Carnegie Hall.

Stephanie performs on a 1778 Joseph and Antonio Gagliano violin, generously on loan from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, and a bow by François-Nicolas Voirin.

ALEXANDER HERSH

Having given his Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2022, cellist Alexander Hersh has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting and creative talents of his generation. He frequently appears as soloist with major orchestras, including the Houston Symphony, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and Boston POPS, and has received top prizes at competitions worldwide including the: 2024 Naumburg International Cello Competition, 2022 Pro Musicis International Award, 2020 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, 2019 Astral Artists National Auditions, National Federation of Music Clubs Biennial Young Artists Competition, New York International Artists Association Competition, Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra, Ima Hogg, Schadt, Artist Concerts Series National Solo Competition, Luminarts Classical Music Fellowship, Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award, Hellam Young Artist Competition, Boston Pops/New England Conservatory Competition, Jefferson Symphony International Young Artists Competition, Society of American Musicians, Saint Paul String Quartet, and the Fischoff National Chamber Music competition.

The Musiq3 critics of the RTBF Belgian Radio company gave Hersh’s performance at the inaugural Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition in Belgium in 2017 a rave review: “With his scenic presence and charm, Hersh has everything to become the darling of the public.”

An active recording artist, Hersh released his debut album ABSINTHE in 2023. The project marries his love of classical music with short films, comedy, and themed merchandise. The narrative based videos are available on Hersh’s YouTube channel and the album is out now on all streaming platforms.

A passionate chamber musician, Hersh has performed the complete string quartets of Béla Bartok and Alban Berg and much of the rest of the chamber music canon at music festivals worldwide including: Marlboro, Caramoor, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Music@Menlo, I-M-S Prussia Cove, Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop, Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, Amsterdam Cello Biennial, Kneisel Hall, Lucerne, New York String Orchestra Seminar, Domaine Forget, and the Meadowmount School of Music.

Hersh is co-artistic director of NEXUS Chamber Music, a collective of international artists committed to stimulating interest in serious chamber music. NEXUS presents a two week chamber music festival across the city of Chicago each August, featuring new and obscure works alongside standard works of the chamber music canon. NEXUS plays to unusual and intimate venues with the mission of breaking down the barriers that often separate performers from audience members.

  A 4th generation string player, Alexander’s parents, Stefan and Roberta, are both active professional violinists. His grandfather, Paul Hersh, is professor of viola and piano at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and his great grandfather, Ralph Hersh, was a member of the WQXR and Stuyvesant String Quartets, and principal violist of the Dallas and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras.

Raised in Chicago, Alexander Hersh began playing the cello at the age of 5. He studied with Steve Balderston and Hans Jørgen Jensen, and attended the Academy at the Music Institute of Chicago. Hersh received his B.M. from New England Conservatory (with academic honors) where he was a student of Laurence Lesser and recipient of the Clara M. Friedlaender Scholarship. In May of 2017, he received his M.M. from New England Conservatory where he studied under the tutelage of Paul Katz and Kim Kashkashian. In 2017, Hersh was a recipient of the Frank Huntington Beebe fund for studies in Berlin where he studied with Nicolas Altstaedt at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule for Musik Berlin. He plays a G.B. Rogeri cello on generous loan from a sponsor through the Guarneri Hall Affiliate Artists program and Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins in Chicago, IL.

ALEXANDER_HERSH_CELLO-9797.jpeg

EVREN OZEL 

Evren Ozel.jpeg

American pianist Evren Ozel has established himself as a musician of “refined restraint” (Third Coast Review), combining fluent virtuosity with probing, thoughtful interpretations. Having performed extensively in the United States and abroad, Evren is the recipient of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, 2022 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and is currently represented by Concert Artists Guild as an Ambassador Prize Winner of their 2021 Victor Elmaleh Competition.

Since his debut with the Minnesota Orchestra at age 11, Ozel has been a featured soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, and The Orchestra Now at Bard College, with conductors Jahja Ling, Courtney Lewis, and Leon Botstein. In March of 2025, his first album of Mozart Concertos with the ORF Radio Symphony of Vienna and conductor Howard Griffiths will be released on Alpha Classics.

Ozel’s 2024-25 season highlights include solo recitals for La Jolla Music Society, Capital Region Classical, and Cal Performances. Previously, he has performed recitals for Harvard Musical Association, Schubert Club, Chopin Society of Minnesota, and The Gilmore. Carrying a vast and varied recital repertoire, his 2023-24 season included a program ranging from Bach and Rameau to Ligeti, as well as a program of Beethoven’s last three Piano Sonatas.

An esteemed chamber musician, Ozel performs alongside artists like David Finckel and Wu Han, Stella Chen, Zlatomir Fung, Paul Huang, and Peter Wiley. He spent four summers at the Marlboro Festival, and is currently a 2024-27 Bowers Program Artist for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. His 2024-25 season includes a tour with Musicians from Marlboro, as well as CMS concerts at Alice Tully Hall.

Ozel resides in Boston, where he is currently a candidate in New England Conservatory’s prestigious and highly-exclusive Artist Diploma program, under the tutelage of Wha Kyung Byun. Other important mentors include Jonathan Biss, Imogen Cooper, Richard Goode, Andras Schiff, and Mitsuko Uchida.

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