New@Night: Living Echoes

Artists

Beth Guterman Chu Viola

Beth Guterman Chu is one of the most sought after violists of her generation. Before joining the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2013 as principal, she was an Artist member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and enjoyed a varied career as a chamber musician and recitalist—including collaborations with Kim Kashkashian, Leon Fleisher, Mitsuko Uchida, Gil Shaham, Itzhak Perlman, Menahem Pressler, James Ehnes, and members of the Guarneri, Emerson, and Orion quartets. As a recording artist, she has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Tzadik, Naxos, and the CMS Studio Recordings.

Chu has performed as soloist with many distinguished conductors including Hannu Lintu, Nicholas McGegan, Bramwell Tovey, Leonard Slatkin, David Robertson, and James DePreist. Of a recent concerto performance with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Dispatch wrote, “Beth Guterman Chu was up to the challenge as soloist in this amphetamine-paced rendering of the best-known work for viola. She brought out the dazzlingly mellow richness of her instrument… Chu showed off her pyrotechnic chops, plowing through frenzied runs with tremendous feeling and passion.”

During the summer Chu performs and works with young musicians at the Marlboro Music Festival, National Youth Orchestra-USA, and the Taipei Music Academy and Festival. In recent years, she has also performed chamber music at festivals in Seattle, Washington; Lake Champlain, Vermont; Portland, Maine; Toronto, Canada; and Bridgehampton, New York.

Beth Guterman Chu received her Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory studying with Kim Kashkashian and her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School studying with Masao Kawasaki and Misha Amory. She grew up in the Boston area and attended NEC Prep for 10 years. She currently lives in St. Louis with her husband Jonathan, another violist, and their three children. She plays on a Samuel Zygmuntowicz viola made in 2022.

Zlatomir Fung Cello

Cellist Zlatomir Fung burst onto the scene as the first American in four decades (and youngest musician ever) to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division. Subsequent accolades, critical acclaim, and standing ovations at performances around the world have established him as one of the preeminent cellists of our time. Astounding audiences with his boundless virtuosity and exquisite sensitivity, the 25-year-old has already proven himself a star among the next generation of world-class musicians.

In the 2024–2025 season, Fung gives recitals in New York City, Boston, and St. Louis, and performs the complete Bach Cello Suites at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts and in Arcata, California, following summer appearances at the Aspen and Ravinia Festivals. He joins orchestras in Rochester, San Antonio, and Billings, among others. Internationally, he performs in Europe and Asia with the London Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony, and others, and offers a recital tour of Italy. In January 2025, Signum Records released Fung’s debut album, a collection of opera fantasies and transcriptions for cello and piano.

Fung served as Artist-in-Residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2023–2024 season; recent debut appearances include the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, and BBC Philharmonic, as well as Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Seattle, and Kansas City Symphonies.

Fung made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2021 and was described by Bachtrack as “one of those rare musicians with a Midas touch: he quickly envelopes every score he plays in an almost palpable golden aura.” Fung was a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Winner in 2022.

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Yoko Greeney Piano

Collaborative pianist and chamber music visionary Yoko Greeney has been hailed as “one of the most significant members in Portland’s classical music scene” (Oregon ArtsWatch). Her multifaceted career—spanning directing, performing, teaching, and community engagement—reflects a deep commitment to artistic excellence and accessibility.

Celebrated for her sensitivity and stylistic range, Greeney is a sought-after collaborator who has performed at such noted venues as the Aspen Music Festival, Bard Music Festival, and California State University Summer Arts, to name a few. Since settling in Portland, Oregon in 2010, she has shared the stage with a variety of groups, including the Oregon Symphony, Chamber Music Northwest, 45th Parallel Universe, Oregon Ballet Theater, BodyVox, and Third Angle New Music, in addition to several live performances and recording projects with All Classical Radio.

A dedicated music educator and arts innovator, Greeney is the Co-Founder and Director of SoundsTruck NW: a custom-built, solar-powered mobile venue that brings live music directly to communities across the region. Recognized as “the gold standard” among mobile stages (Portland Tribune), SoundsTruck NW was a finalist for the 2024 SXSW Innovation Awards in the Urban Design category and a two-time prize winner at the 2024 International Sound Awards in Hamburg, Germany.

Originally from Osaka, Japan, Greeney has followed a global path—living and working in cities across Japan, Mexico, and the United States—before making Portland her home. She holds a master’s degree from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University and currently teaches at Lewis & Clark College. Together with her husband, Jon, she is a dedicated advocate for the arts, culture, and education.

Leila Josefowicz Violin

Leila Josefowicz’s passionate advocacy of contemporary music for the violin is reflected in her diverse programs and enthusiasm for performing new works. A favorite of living composers, Josefowicz has premiered many concertos, including those by Colin Matthews, Luca Francesconi, John Adams, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, all written especially for her.

Josefowicz’s 2024/25 season includes performances of Luca Francesconi’s Duende – The Dark Notes with New York Philharmonic and Susanna Malkki, and the British premiere of Helen Grime’s Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo at the Aldeburgh Festival. Further engagements include Minnesota Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, and Houston, San Diego, KBS, Singapore, City of Birmingham, Prague, and BBC symphony orchestras.

Highlights of recent seasons include appearances with Berliner Philharmoniker, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Royal Concertgebouworkest, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, London, Oslo, Helsinki and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Chicago, San Francisco, The Cleveland, and The Philadelphia orchestras, where she worked with conductors at the highest level, including Paavo Järvi, Matthias Pintscher, John Storgårds, Cristian Măcelaru, Thomas Søndergård, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Dalia Stasevska, Hannu Lintu, and John Adams.

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David McCarroll Violin

David McCarroll was appointed concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2022, holding the Rachel Mellon Walton Concertmaster Chair. He has appeared as soloist with many orchestras including the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich (Simone Young, Grafenegg), Hong Kong Sinfonietta (Christoph Poppen), and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (Manfred Honeck). He regularly performs in major concert halls such as Konzerthaus Berlin, Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw, Wigmore Hall, Library of Congress, Kennedy Center, 92nd Street Y, and Carnegie Hall.

Also an active chamber musician, he served from 2015 to 2022 as the violinist of the renowned Vienna Piano Trio with whom he toured and recorded extensively. The Trio’s recording of the complete Brahms piano trios was awarded the 2017 Echo Klassik prize and in 2020 the Trio’s Beethoven recording won the Opus Klassik award.

Recent performances have included Stravinsky’s violin concerto at the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Pittsburgh premiere of Schumann’s violin concerto, touring with Musicians from Marlboro, and performances of György Kurtág’s Kafka Fragments for violin and soprano.

In demand as a teacher, David is on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music. He has previously taught at Salzburg’s Mozarteum University, and has given masterclasses in violin and chamber music at Ravinia’s Steans Institute, at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, and at the San Francisco Conservatory.

David plays a 1761 violin made by A&J Gagliano.

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Yutong Sun Piano

Yutong Sun has gained international recognition for his profound artistry and refined musical voice. He is a laureate of numerous major international piano competitions, including second prize at the 19th Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition, first prize at the 54th Jaén International Piano Competition, and third prize at the 62nd Maria Canals International Music Competition in Barcelona. He has also received top prizes at the Bösendorfer, Horowitz, New Orleans, and Ferrol International Piano Competitions.

Sun has performed as a recitalist at prestigious venues around the world, including Salle Cortot in Paris, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Jordan Hall in Boston, the Bolshoi Hall in Saint Petersburg, the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and the Shanghai Oriental Art Center. His performances have been broadcast by Bavarian Broadcasting, Polish Radio, and the Spanish Radio and Television Corporation.

He has appeared as a soloist with the China NCPA Orchestra, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, the RTVE Symphony Orchestra of Spain, the Symphony Orchestra of Galicia, the City of Granada Orchestra, the Ukrainian National Symphony Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony, the Santander Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors including Hugh Wolff, Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez, Paul Mann, Earl Lee, Nicholas McGegan, Matthew Kasper, Lio Kuokman, Yifan Sun, Maciej Tworek, José Trigueros, and José Molina.

In 2024, Sun joined celebrated pianist Sa Chen and other distinguished pianists for a nationally acclaimed tour of Bach’s Concertos for One to Four Keyboards (in piano version) with the China NCPA Orchestra, performing at major venues in Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing.

He has been invited to perform at major international festivals including the Verbier Festival, Kissinger Sommer, the Beethoven Easter Festival, and the Holland International Music Festival.

Sun’s debut solo album, recorded for the Naxos Laureate Series, was released internationally in 2013 to critical acclaim.

Born in 1995 in China, Yutong Sun began piano studies at age seven in Tianjin. He later attended the middle school affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where he studied with Professor Chang Hua. Since 2015, he has studied at the New England Conservatory with Professors Alexander Korsantia and Dang Thai Son, earning his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Artist Diploma degrees. He currently serves as Artist-in-Residence at the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music.

Paul Watkins Cello

Acclaimed for his inspirational performances and eloquent musicianship, Paul Watkins enjoys a distinguished career as concerto soloist, chamber musician and conductor.

He is the Artistic Director of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Detroit (since 2014), the cellist of the Emerson String Quartet (2013-2023) and Visiting Professor of Cello at Yale School of Music (since 2018). He took first prize in the 2002 Leeds Conducting Competition, and has held the positions of Music Director of the English Chamber Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra.

As a cellist, Watkins has given regular concerto performances with prestigious orchestras across the globe. Also, a dedicated chamber musician, Watkins was a member of the Nash Ensemble (1997-2013) and the Emerson String Quartet (2013-2023). After 44 successful seasons, the quartet decided to retire, and undertook an extensive series farewell tours, culminating in their final performances in New York Lincoln Center in October 2023. This concert was filmed for a documentary by filmmaker Tristan Cook, and the release of their final recording of Berg, Chausson, Schoenberg, and Hindemith with prestigious guests soprano Barbara Hannigan and pianist Bertrand Chamayou.

As a conductor, Watkins has conducted all the major British orchestras and a wide range of international orchestras. In 2006 he made his opera debut conducting a critically praised new production of Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine for Opera North.

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