Piano

Violin | Viola | Cello | Piano | Director

Brian Ganz* is widely regarded as one of the leading pianists of his generation. Washington Post critic Joan Reinthaler has written: “One comes away from a recital by pianist Brian Ganz not only exhilarated by the power of the performance but also moved by his search for artistic truth.” Brian Ganz was winner of one of two First Grand Prizes awarded in the 1989 Marguerite Long Jacques Thibaud International Piano Competition in Paris, where he was also awarded special prizes for the best recital round of the competition and the best performance of the required work. That same year he won a Beethoven Fellowship awarded by the American Pianists Association, and in 1991 he was a silver medalist with third prize in the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Piano Competition. After his performance in the finals of the Brussels competition, the critic for La Libre Belgique wrote: “We don’t have the words to speak of this fabulous musician who lives music with a generous urgency and brings his public into a state of intense joy.” Some of Mr. Ganz’ recent concert highlights include performances of Mozart Piano Concerti K. 466, with the Memphis Symphony, and K. 467, with the National Philharmonic Orchestra at the new Strathmore Hall in Rockville, Maryland. In the summer of 2006 he returned to the Kennedy Center concert hall in a critically acclaimed performance with the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Yoel Levi. He has also performed with such conductors as Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, Mstislav Rostropovich, Philippe Entremont, Pinchas Zukerman, Leon Fleisher, Jerzy Semkow, and Gustav Meier.

Elizabeth Borowsky has achieved international recognition as an outstanding artist of her generation. Her impressive interpretations and her great talent have been praised around the world. She has performed concerts and recitals—some of which were nationally or internationally broadcast on TV or radio—in major concert halls in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East; taken part in prestigious music festivals; received numerous awards and prizes, and recorded several CDs of solo and chamber music works for ICRecords. In October 2004 (as a recipient of the Erick Friedman Prize for Outstanding Young Musicians) she performed at Carnegie Hall. She has been mentored by renowned pianists and teachers, including Yonty Solomon, Arnaldo Cohen, Ann Schein, Andrzej Jasinski, and Reynaldo Reyes. Ms. Borowsky was the recipient of a scholarship from the Maryland International Education Association and studied at Trinity College of Music in London. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Towson University (Bachelor of Music) and received her Master's Degree from Indiana University - Bloomington, where she was an Assistant Instructor of the piano department for two years. (Click here to go to Elizabeth Borowsky's Official Website)

Frederick Minger has been well known to Maryland audiences as a pianist for more than thirty years. He is most widely known as a collaborative pianist, in particular as a vocal accompanist and chamber musician. In the years 1976-86 he performed and recorded with the Baltimore Symphony both as a member of the orchestra and as a soloist. He earned the B.M. from Oberlin College Conservatory and the M.M and D.M.A . from the Peabody Conservatory. He studied piano with Leon Fleisher, Miklos Schwalb, and Arthur Dann; chamber music with Berl Senofsky and Robert Koff; and vocal accompanying with Alice Gerstl Duschak and Ellen Mack. Dr. Minger taught piano, music theory, and music history at Towson University from 1971 to 1983. Active in the Baltimore Music Club since 1998, he was head of the Baltimore Music Club Competition from 1999 to 2003.

Yoshie Kubota has appeared on Radio FM Osaka and performed in major cities in Japan, including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Chiba, Kochi and Kyoto. In the United States she has performed in CA, OH, DC, CT, WV, PA, NJ, MD, NY including at the Lincoln Center. Ms. Kubota received a Master of Music degree in piano performance from the Mannes College of Music in 1990. She also attended the Kusatsu International Summer Music Academy and Festival (Japan), Salzburg Music Festival (Austria) and Nice Summer Music Academy (France). Her teachers include Grant Johannesen, Toshiyuki Fukumoto, Tsugiko Oshibuchi, and Katsuko Fukumoto. She has performed in masterclasses with Edith Picht-Axenfeld (Japan) and Jaques Rouvier (France). Yoshie is a member of the chamber group "Baltimore Canon" since 2006. She has been an official accompanist and assistant faculty member at IMIF USA since 2006.

Piano

*Denotes Visiting Artists