Amit Even-Tov
Title: Visiting Scholar, The Ariel Quartet (cello)
Office: Corbett Cntr Perform Arts
Tel: 513-556-6638
Email: amit.even-tov@uc.edu
Israeli cellist Amit Even-Tov started studying cello at the age of six with Sabina Frankenberg. Among her many honors and awards, Even-Tov won first prize at the Paul Ben-Haim Competition in 2001, third prize at the “Kol Ha Musica” (Israel Broadcasting Authority) Young Artists Competition in 2002, and first prize in the special Jerusalem Academy Competition in 2003, resulting in a solo appearance with the Academy Orchestra and conductor Ilan Schul. In addition, she has performed as a soloist with the Israel Stage Orchestra, and in a live broadcast on Israel Radio with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.
Even-Tov is the yearly recipient of scholarships from both the Veron Foundation (since 1993) and the American-Israel Cultural Foundation (since 1997). Previous teachers have included Uzi Weisel, Hillel Zori, the late Michael Homizer, and Zvi Plesser. Having previously studied with Paul Katz at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Ms. Even-Tov recently graduated from NEC’s Professional String Quartet Studies program, during which she continued her cello studies with Laurence Lesser. Ms. Even-Tov plays on a 1743 Giovanni Battista Guadagnini Cello on loan from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.
Education
New England Conservatory, Boston, MA (NEC Professional String Studies Program).
Ilya Finkelshteyn
Title: Adjunct Assistant Professor of Cello
Office: Memorial Hall
Tel: 513-556-3442
Email: ilya.finkelshteyn@uc.edu
Ilya Finkelshteyn, principal cellist of the Cincinnati Symphony, has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and principal cellist of the Baltimore and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras. Highly acclaimed for his performances, Finkelshteyn was recently praised in the Washington Post as a "complete master of his instrument."
Finkelshteyn has been featured as soloist with numerous orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Saint Paul Civic Orchestra, the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, Bardy Symphony Orchestra (England) and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Finkelshteyn has claimed top prizes of the Concertino Praga, Russian Cello Competition, the WAMSO International Competition, the Aspen Music Festival Concerto Competition (where he was the recipient of a Fellowship) and the Chautauqua Concerto Competition. First prize winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition, Finkelshteyn performed as soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra on tours to France and Bermuda.
An active chamber musician, Finkelshteyn has collaborated in chamber music with such artists as András Schiff, Hilary Hahn, David Soyer, Richard Goode, Joseph Silverstein, Steven Ansell, Harold Robinson, Vadim Repin, Isidore Cohen and Lydia Artymiw, and has been featured at the Aspen, Marlboro, Mostly Mozart, Innsbrook, Bay Chamber and Peninsula Music Festivals, the Linton Music Series and with the Jupiter Players in New York. Finkelshteyn has been featured on Wisconsin Public Radio, Maine Public Radio, KFUO-FM in St. Louis, WYPR in Baltimore, WGUC in Cincinnati and has recorded on the Sony Label.
While Finkelshteyn maintains a busy private teaching studio, he presents frequent public master classes at major conservatories of music across North America including the Manhattan School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, Indiana University, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and at the University of California Chico. He has also been on the faculties of the Jonannesen International School of the Arts, Victoria, Canada, NOI and Orchestra Academy at Indiana University. In January 2012 Finkelshteyn was appointed to the faculty of CCM where he teaches applied cello lessons and will design and teach a new orchestral repertoire audition course for cello beginning Fall Semester 2012.
Finkelshteyn was born in Leningrad of the former USSR and began his musical training in St. Petersburg Conservatory Special Music School under the tutelage of Sergei Chernyadiev. Once he immigrated to the United States, he continued studies with Tanya Remenikova at the University of Minnesota the year before attending the Juilliard School for both undergraduate and graduate studies as a full scholarship student of Harvey Shapiro. Chamber music coaches include Felix Galimir, Samuel Sanders and members of the Juilliard String Quartet. Finkelshteyn won his first orchestra job with the St. Louis Symphony prior to his graduation where he performed for five seasons under the late Hans Vonk. From 2002-2009 he performed as principal cellist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Yuri Temirkanov, departing in 2009 to become principal cellist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra where he holds the Irene & John J. Emery Chair.
Finkelshteyn's performs on a cello by Giovanni Crancino, c.1700. In his spare time he enjoys golf, reading, museums, billiards and table tennis.
Education
BM and MM, The Julliard School, New York, NY.
William Grubb
Title: Adjunct Assistant Professor of Cello
Office: 386 Memorial Hall
Tel: 513-556-3442
Email: william.grubb@uc.edu
William Grubb, cellist, made his professional debut as soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra at the age of 17. He holds three degrees from the Juilliard School and was only the fourth cellist in the school’s history to earn the Doctor of Musical Arts degree. While at Juilliard, he was winner of the Concert Artists Guild competition and presented his New York debut recital at Carnegie Hall. His cello teachers have included his father, Cassel Grubb, Fritz Magg at Indiana University, Ronald Leonard at the Eastman School of Music, and Harvey Shapiro at Juilliard.
Grubb holds teaching positions at Butler University, Jordan College of Fine Arts and the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. Summer positions have included the Aspen Music Festival and School where he served on the board of trustees for nine years and the Great Wall International Music Academy in Beijing.
For twelve years he toured with the piano trio, Aspen Soloists, presenting concerts in 49 of the 50 states as well as Europe, and South America. In chamber music performances he has shared the stage with artists including the American String Quartet, the Angeles String Quartet, Isaac Stern, Michael Tree, and Dawn Upshaw.
Grubb’s first love is teaching cello and chamber music students, many of whom have gone on to pursue successful careers as orchestral musicians, chamber players, professors, and public school music instructors. His website, University Cellist, is devoted to serious young cellists who are about to pursue a career in classical music:
University Cellist Website
He is married to Laurie Carney, violinist in the American String Quartet and lives in New York and Indianapolis. He plays cellos made by Antonio Gagliano, 1832, Giulio Cesare Gigli, 1770, and Than Kim, 1995.
Education
BM, The Juilliard School.
DMA, The Juilliard School.
MM, The Juilliard School.
Yehuda Hanani
Title: Professor of Violoncello
Office: 346 Memorial Hall
Tel: 513-556-9548
Email: yehuda.hanani@uc.edu
Yehuda Hanani has performed with many orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Buenos Aires Philharmonic and the Hong Kong Symphony, collaborating with conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, David Robertson and Vladimir Fedoseyev. He performed at Marlboro (where he studied with Pablo Casals) and at festivals including Aspen, Chautauqua, Blue Hill, Round Top, Great Wall, Musicorda, Prades, Finland, Ottawa, Oslo, Australia Chamber Music, and Yale at Norfolk.
He presents master classes worldwide including the Juilliard School, Univeristy of Indiana at Bloomington, New England Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, Berlin Hochschule, Taipei, Tokyo National University, Utrecht Conservatory, University of Ottawa, Colombia, Israel, Brazil, China, and others. Since his New York debut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he has appeared at Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y and Lincoln Center. He has collaborated in performances with Leon Fleisher, Itzhak Perlman, Yefim Bronfman, David Parsons, Sigourney Weaver and Richard Chamberlain as well as the Tokyo, Vermeer, Muir, Lark, Amernet, and Avalon quartets.
A champion of contemporary and rarely played cello repertoire, he has had composers write music specifically for him, including a recent premiere of a work by Osvaldo Golijov with soprano Dawn Upshaw, and commissions by Lera Auerbach, John Musto, Bernard Rands, Kenji Bunch, and Paul Schoenfield. He made the first recording of the monumental Alkan Cello Sonata, which received a Grand Prix du Disque nomination, as well as the Nicholai Maiskovsky sonatas and American works by Lukas Foss and Leo Ornstein. He acts as artistic director of the thematic chamber music series in Scottsdale, the Berkshires’ "Close Encounters with Music," and at the Frick Collection in New York City. He also leads the 'Bach' Annalia symposium at CCM.
Alan B. Rafferty
Title: Adjunct Instructor of Violoncello
Office: Corbett Cntr Perform Arts
Tel: 847-571-8097
Email: alan.rafferty@uc.edu
CCM cello faculty member Alan Rafferty is rapidly gaining recognition as a preeminent musician and master teacher. In demand as a clinician around the world, Mr. Rafferty has recently presented Master Classes at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Northwestern University, Ball State University and for the Kentucky Cello Club. He has been invited as a visiting faculty member to the Cleveland Institute of Music and the New World Symphony in the fall of 2014.
Recent students have been Grand Prize winners of the Music Teachers National Association Senior Competition Grand Prize, National Federation of Music Clubs Collegiate and High School Awards, First Prize of the Ohio American String Teachers Association Competition as well as numerous local and regional awards. As a chamber music coach, his groups have won the Gold Medal of the Junior Division of the Fischoff Competition and performed around the world.
A member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra since 2007, Mr. Rafferty made his solo debut playing the Dvorak Concerto with the Las Cruces Symphony at the age of 16 and has been a featured soloist on numerous occasions since. In November 2013, he gave the North American premiere of Victor Herbert's first published work, the Suite for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 3. A frequent guest on recital and chamber series both locally and abroad, he served as the cellist of the Rhine String Quartet from 2009-2012. He has been heard on multiple recordings on the Telarc label as a member of the CSO in addition to the CRJ label.
Mr. Rafferty completed his Master’s Degree with Hans Jorgen Jensen as a Civic Orchestra Fellowship recipient at Northwestern University. He received his Bachelor’s in Cello Performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with Alan Harris, Merry Peckham and Richard Weiss.
In the summer of 2015, Mr. Rafferty returns to the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, VT, the Great Wall International Music Academy in Beijing, China and the Montecito (CA) International Music Festival in the summer of 2015. Previous summer festival engagements have included the Meadowmount School of Music and Madeline Island Music Camp.
In addition to teaching top pre-college students chamber music and cello for the Starling Program, he and his wife Sarah Kim are directors of the nationally recognized Cincinnati Young Artists which present Chamber Music and Cello Workshops throughout the year: cincinnatiyoungartists.org.
Education
B.Mus, Cleveland Institute of Music, Clevaland, OH.
MM, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
