The Program

Currier: Night Time
Schafer: The Crown of Ariadne
Renie: Pièce Symphonique in three episodes
Benzecry: Horizontes inexplorados [World Premiere]
Ravel: Introduction et Allegro

The Artists

Born in Toledo, Ohio to musician parents, Elizabeth Hainen showed exceptional musical talent at the age of four, when she began studies on violin and piano before turning to the harp at the age of ten.  After graduating from Indiana University School of Music, where she was awarded the prestigious Performance Certificate, Ms. Hainen served as principal harp of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra in Washington, DC, before joining the Philadelphia Orchestra as principal harp in 1994.  Regularly playing with the Network for New Music and Orchestra 2001, she has also made recent chamber music appearances at the Grand Teton Music Festival, June in Buffalo, the Cape May Music Festival and the Waterloo Music Festival. 

Canadian-born flutist Jeffrey Khaner has been Principal Flute of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 1990. From 1982 to 1990 he was principal of the Cleveland Orchestra, and has also served as principal of the New York Mostly Mozart Festival, the Atlantic Symphony in Halifax, and as co-principal of the Pittsburgh Symphony.  As a recitalist, Mr. Khaner has appeared on four continents with pianists Charles Abramovic, Christoph Eschenbach, Lowell Liebermann, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Hugh Sung and many others.  Mr. Khaner is a founding member of the Syrinx Trio (with fellow Philadelphia Orchestra principals Roberto Diaz, viola and Elizabeth Hainen, harp), which made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2001.  A graduate of the Juilliard School, he was named to the faculty as Flute Professor in 2004.  Since 1985 he has also been a faculty member at the Curtis Institute.  For more information on Jeffrey Khaner visit www.iflute.com.

Ricardo Morales has been hailed by The New York Times as having "utterly natural musical grace and the lyricism and breath control of a fine opera singer.”  He studied at the Escuela Libra de Musica in his native Puerto Rico and was appointed principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at the age of 21.  He now holds that same position in the Philadelphia Orchestra.  He is a frequent performer with PCMS and also performs regularly at the Kennedy Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Violinist Jessica Lee, the First Prize Winner of the 2005 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, was featured in the “Launch Pad” column of The Strad as the magazine’s “pick of up-and-coming musicians” for June 2007. Describing her recent recital on the Ravinia Rising Stars series, the Chicago Tribune said “Lee's breathtaking dexterity should enchant anyone within hearing distance.”  An active chamber musician, Lee became a member of the Johannes String Quartet in 2006.  She has toured to critical acclaim on numerous tours with ‘Musicians from Marlboro,’ including appearances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Boston’s Gardner Museum, and is a member of the conductor-less string ensemble ECCO (East Coast Chamber Orchestra), with which she has performed at Town Hall and the Kennedy Center.

The Johannes Quartet consists of four outstanding musicians who take time away from their busy careers to pursue their love of the string quartet literature.  This quartet brings together Peter Stumpf, the principal cello of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Choong-Jin (C.J.) Chang, the principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra; Soovin Kim, the first American to win the Paganini Violin Competition in 24 years; and Jessica Lee, a Concert Artist Guild International Competition Winner.  The Johannes has been praised by listeners and critics alike for its special combination of passion, warmth, elegance and poetry.  Each member has spent numerous summers at the celebrated Marlboro Music Festival, birthplace of many of the world's renowned ensembles, and also performs frequently on the Schneider Series at the New School and the Peoples' Symphony Concerts at Town Hall.