Dennis Kim

Born in Korea, raised in Canada, educated in the United States, and now working in Europe, Dennis Kim is truly a citizen of the world. Dennis Kim was first appointed Concertmaster of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra at the age of 22. He has since served as Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa and currently holds this position in the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland and the Jonkoping Sinfonietta in Sweden. Recently appointed 1st Concertmaster of the Finnish National Opera, Mr. Kim starts in Helsinki in August of 2011. Mr Kim has been guest Concertmaster on four continents including the orchestras of Malaysia, Western Australia, BBC Scottish, Macao, Montpellier, and Lille and the London Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few. He has worked with many of this generations greatest conductors including Riccardo Chailly, Charles Dutoit, Riccardo Muti, Hannu Lintu, Andre Previn, and Sir Simon Rattle to name a few.   

A dedicated teacher, Mr Kim has been on the faculty of the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Korean National University of the Arts, Yonsei University, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Atlantic Music Festival and the Seoul Arts Academy.  His students have been accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music, Colburn School, Juilliard School, Peabody Conservatory, and the Queen Elizabeth College of Music and play in orchestras around the world.   

As a chamber musician, Mr Kim has performed with many leading musicians including Pinchas Zuckerman, Jaime Laredo, Carter Brey, John Sharp, Marya Martin, and members of the Orion, Tokyo, and Guarneri string quartets. In Hong Kong, Mr. Kim was a founding member of Opus 3, a Piano Trio with Warren Lee and Richard Bamping, and 1st violinist of the Dragon String Quartet. After making his solo debut at the age of 14 with the Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra, Mr Kim has gone on to perform as a soloist with every major orchestra in China and Korea. Highlights include performing on 10 hours notice to replace an ill William Preucil, performing the Vivaldi Four Seasons 20 times in 1 week, and touring with the Busan Philharmonic on their Japan Tour in 2008.   

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and Yale School of Music, Mr Kim's teachers include Victor Danchenko, Jaime Laredo, Aaron Rosand, Yumi Ninomiya Scott, Peter Oundjian, and Paul Kantor.  Dennis Kim plays the 1701 ex-Dushkin Stradivarius, on permanent loan from a generous donor.

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Frank Foerster

FRANK FOERSTER, Principal Violist of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra since 1988, studied at the music schools of Hannover and Berlin and with Yehudi Menuhin in Gstaad, Switzerland. He came to America to study with Lillian Fuchs and Karen Tuttle at The Juilliard School, where he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree. At Juilliard he was principal violist of the Juilliard Orchestra and recipient of the prestigious Alice Tully Scholarship. After winning numerous competitions in Europe, he became the first solo violist to win the Artists International Auditions in New York in 1992. He then made his New York recital debut in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall.

Foerster has performed under Herbert von Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic and Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic. Under the baton of Zdenek Macal, he was the soloist in five performances of Bartok’s Viola Concerto with the NJSO. As winner of the Aspen Concerto Competition, he performed Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher with the Aspen Festival Orchestra.

As a soloist and recitalist, Foerster has appeared in all major concert halls in the Metropolitan area. Highlights of the past season include an unaccompanied solo recital at Columbia University and a string trio concert at Merkin Hall with Tschaikovsky Competitions winners Nina Beilina and Nathaniel Rosen. He also appeared at the Berkley Center in Boston with Persian vocal master Sharam Nazeri, and with Emmy Award-winning composer/pianist Lee Johnson in a performance for President Jimmy Carter in Atlanta on the occasion of the International Human Rights Leaders Conference.

His talent as a composer became apparent in a recital at Manhattan’s Donnell Auditorium with pianist Colette Valentine when they performed three of Foerster’s own compositions for viola and piano: "Tourmaline," "Moonstone" and "Aquamarine."

In addition to the NJSO, Foerster also currently serves as principal violist of New York Scandia Symphony and is the violist of the Scandia String Quartet, a group specializing in Scandinavian repertoire that has performed several of Foerster’s arrangements. Last season, Scandia Symphony recorded Foerster’s Suite of Old Icelandic Folk Tunes and his Three Finnish Dances at Trinity Church in Manhattan and featured him as soloist in Sibelius’ Rondo, a work that he arranged for the orchestra. He also performed his own composition for viola and orchestra, "Scandinavian Suite," at Manhattan’s Trinity Church under conductor Dorrit Matson; Foerster had been commissioned by Scandia Symphony to write this work, which is based on old Scandinavian Folk Melodies. He is a member of PULSE and Numinous Jazz Ensemble, groups dedicated to premiering and recording new works by contemporary composers.

Together with NJSO Principal Bassist Paul Harris, Foerster is co-founder of Hyperion Chamber Players. They also bring classical music to youngsters by presenting educational lectures and demonstrations in high schools to stimulate students’ appreciation and understanding of great music.

Foerster is currently on the faculty of the City University of New York. He has also taught orchestral repertoire at Columbia University and at the Manhattan School of Music. Foerster recently gave masterclasses at Lincoln Center’s La Guardia High School of the Arts and at Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program for minority students. Recently, he has been coaching chamber music at Juilliard’s Pre-College program.

He has participated in numerous summer festivals as a teacher and performer both here and abroad, and has recorded for Centaur Records, Deutsche Grammophone, Rias Berlin, Südwestfunk Mainz and WQXR.

Press reviews:

"Noble, smooth toned and cultivated" - NY Times

"Last night, at Carnegie Hall, Frank Foerster brought the music fully to life" - NY Daily News

"Performed with tremendous fire and grace" - Pulse News Magazine

"Sparkling interpretation...supremely meaningful performance, vivid tone, warm animated vitality" - Zweibrücker Merkur

"Blossoming tone, astounding technique, enviable exactness of pitch in astonishingly difficult music" - Saarbrücker Allgemeine Zeitung

"Warm, expressive sound...honest commitment to the music... flawless" - Strings Magazine

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Marco Andre Fernandes Pereira

MARCO ANDRE FERNANDES PEREIRA (17/04/1981 – Lanhelas) He started his musical studies at the Profissional de Musica de Viana do Castelo and after in  Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra with Paulo Gaio Lima. Between 2003 and 2006 he studied in the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, in Madrid, Spain, with Natalia Shakovskaya as titular teacher and Michal Dmochovsky as assistent.The following year, 2006/2007 he was matriculated in the Instituto de Musica de Camara de Madrid,in the Rainer Schmidt class.He was a Grant holder of the Fundación Carolina,Fundación Albéniz and Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian.

He has had master class with Xavier Gagnepain, Lluis Claret, Paulo Gaio Lima, , Miklos Pereny, Daniel Müller Schoot, Phillipe Muller, Y. Tsutsumi, Natalia Shakovskaya, Michalich, Josephina Knight, Ivan Monegheti, Natalia Gutman, Marcio Carneiro, Antonio Meneses and Gary Hoffman. He has played with Orquestra APROARTE, Orquestra das Escolas Particulares, Orquestra Academica Metropolitana, Orquestra Sinfonica Portuguesa, Orquestra Metropolitana, Proyecto Guerrero, Plural Ensemble, Remix Orquestra, Utopicorchestra, Orquestra Gulbenkian, Orquestra Nacional de Espanha or Orquestra Freixenet, to name a few where he had the chance to work with conductors such as Ros Marba, Juanjo Mena, D. Inball, António Saiote, Sir Colin Davies, Yakob Kreizeberg, Manuel Hernandez, Ernest Schell, Brian Schembri, J. Marc Burfin, Cesário Costa, Osvaldo Ferreira, Alvaro Cassuto, Peter Csaba,Jesus Lopez Cobos, Julia Jones or Michael Zilm. In 2002 he was selected for the Jeuness Musicales World Orchestra.

As soloist, he has played with the Orquestra Academica Metropolitana, Orquestra Sinfonica do Alto Minho, Orquestra da Povoa de Varzim, Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, Orquestra Gulbenkian, Banda Sinfonia do Porto and the Orquestra de Sopros da Universidade de Aveiro. He won 1st prize in the Violoncello highest level category in the Jovens Musicos Portugueses contest,and 1st and 3rd prize in the Chamber Music category as well. In the Awards Concert he played the Concert n.1 of D.Schostakovich conducted by Osvaldo Ferreira with the Gulbenkian Orchestra broadcast live on television on the RDP channel. In this ceremony he won the Maestro Silva Pereira prize for the best interpretation between the laureated. In april 2006 he won the first prize in the Liezen International Wettbewerb für Violoncelo,in Austria in the “III Konzert” category.He was also laureated in the Sardinero Chamber Music competition (Spain) with the first prize, and second prize in the Alcobaça Chamber Music Competition (Portugal). He played as soloist in Portugal, Spain, Brasil, France and Austria. He recorded the Beethoven’s cello sonata op.102 n2 to the Sony Music Spain. In 2005/2006 he was galardonated with the prize “best cello student” by Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia. He was also galardonated with the prize ”best chamber music group”, in the same school. Nowaday he is member of “ Quarteto de Cordas de Matosinhos”, first cello of “Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa”, cellist of “Orchestrutopica”. He teachs at Minho University, in Braga, as Gary Hoffman assistant.

Marco Pereira is a "D'Addario Bowed Artist"

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Tim Gibbs

Recently appointed as Co-Principal Double bass of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Tim Gibbs is fast becoming one of the leading double bassists of his generation.

The first double bassist to be invited to study at the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School, Mr. Gibbs has since gone on to appear regularly as a soloist and recitalist in the U.K. and Europe over the last 20 years.  He has given concerto performances in London, Boston and Prague and gave his Wigmore Hall debut recital at the age of 20 to critical acclaim.  As a result he has been invited to perform in many of the U.K.’s leading festivals.

A finalist in the 1997 International Society of Bassists competition, Mr. Gibbs won first prize in the U-18 competition of the same year resulting in an invitation to perform the opening recital at the 1999 I.S.B. Convention in the United States.

Highlights of recent seasons include invitations to perform as guest-principal double bass with the BBC Philharmonic, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Northern Sinfonia.  Mr. Gibbs has also spent considerable time in Japan as guest-principal double bass with the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa.  

In increasing demand as a chamber musician, Mr. Gibbs has recently collaborated on recording projects with the Doric and Sacconi quartets and regularly appears as part of the Jigsaw Players Chamber Music Series in London.   He has also broadcast live on Classical FM radio, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Digital Interactive.

Mr. Gibbs holds a Batchelor of Music degree with academic honours and a Post-graduate diploma with honours from the Royal College of Music, London and was awarded an A.R.C.M. in 2001.  Prior to joining the L.P.O. as Co-Principal Double bass, Mr. Gibbs was a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London.

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