Musician

Piano

Pianist Marija Stroke, whose playing has been described by Strad Magazine as “music making of stature and substance”, has performed in chamber music, concerti and solo recitals in the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia, and Asia. She has played frequently at such music festivals as Chamber Music Northwest, Caramoor, the City of London Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, and the Mostly Mozart Festival. Ms. Stroke is co-artistic Director of the Garden City Chamber Music Society in Long Island, New York.

Ms. Stroke has performed with Joshua Bell, Mark Steinberg, Eugene Drucker, Raphael Hillyer, David Krakauer, David Shifrin, and conductors Ransom Wilson and Reinbert de Leeuw among many others. She has played with the Brentano, Miami, Daedalus, and Borromeo string quartets. She has appeared in concerts with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and at Wigmore, Carnegie, David Geffen, and Alice Tully Halls.

In 2015, Sony Classical released a recording of Bruce Adolphe’s Einstein’s Light, music for the film by Nickolas Barris, performed by violinist Joshua Bell and Marija Stroke. Ms. Stroke recorded Adolphe’s Turning, Returning with the Brentano String Quartet and Mark Steinberg for CRI. Stereophile praised the performances of Ms. Stroke and the Brentano String Quartet as “spectacularly heartfelt and colorful” She recorded the Grieg violin and piano sonatas with Curtis Macomber on Arabesque, and Do You Dream in Color? with Laurie Rubin on Bridge. Do You Dream in Color?, which includes music by Adolphe, Rodrigo and Fauré, was awarded “Critics’ Choice” by American Record Guide. Ms. Stroke collaborated with six other pianists, Josef Kalichstein, Orli Shaham, Orion Weiss, Bruce Adolphe, Fred Child, and Fabio Luisi, on a CD of Piano Puzzlers.

Marija Stroke is a founding member of the Apollo Trio, which has performed to critical acclaim in the United States and in Europe. In addition to frequent appearances at major American music festivals and on chamber music series throughout the United States, the trio has performed at prominent New York venues, including Caramoor, Bargemusic, Avery Fisher Hall, Weill Hall at Carnegie, and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The Apollo Trio was featured in The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s “Great Day in New York” Festival at Alice Tully Hall, and among their performances there also gave the New York premiere of David Schiff’s New York Nocturnes, and the world premiere of Bruce Adolphe’s Wind Across the Sky for piano trio and soprano. In 2011, David Schiff’s Borscht Belt Follies— written for the Apollo Trio, David Krakauer, David Taylor and Michael Sarin—was given its world premiere at Chamber Music Northwest’s Encore Series. The Apollo Trio has recorded music by Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Adolphe and Schiff and, most recently, the complete Dvorak Piano Trios (available on Amazon, Spotify, and iTunes).

Viola

Scott Lee has established himself as one of the most exciting and unique violists. His exceptional musicality and virtuositic playing distinguish him as one of this generation’s quintessential artists. New York Times described his playing as “flawless technical resources combines them with an assured sense of musicianship, a remarkable and auspicious talent.” Also, hailed as “the superstar of his generation” by the String Magazine.

Winner of the 1996 Concert Artists Guild Competition, he became the youngest winner in the Competition’s 50 year history. Mr. Lee has been a top prize winner in the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, the William Primrose Viola Competition, and the Corpus Christi (TX) Young Artists Competition. He has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras, including, the Kansas City Symphony, San Diego Symphony and L.A Chamber Orchestra. Other orchestral performances include the Longmont Philharmonic, and the International Sejong Soloists. In recital, he has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and Merkin Hall in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Scott Lee has been a featured soloist at the International Hindemith Viola Festival and at the 22nd and 24th International Viola Congresses.

Scott Lee is also an extremely active chamber musician. In summer 2011, Mr. Lee joined the Miami String Quartet. Recent highlights of Mr. Lee’s chamber music concert schedule include performances at the El Paso Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, OK Mozart Festival, Newport Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, Ravinia Festival, Savannah Music Festival, New York City’s Bargemusic, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Musicians from Marlboro, Merkin Concert Hall, and Taiwan’s National Concert Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Gardner Museum in Boston and the Metropolitan Museum, the Marlboro Festival and in numerous chamber music venues across the United States. He has also collaborated with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Orion, and Miami String Quartets, and performed with members of the Beaux Arts and Mannes Piano Trios. His chamber music partners have included such renowned artists as Cho-Liang Lin, Nai-Yuan Hu, Gil Shaham, Hilary Hahn, Ralph Kirshbaum, David Soyer, Peter Wiley, and Gary Hoffman.

Mr. Lee joined Miami String Quartet and became the newest member of the quartet in 2011. The quartet has recorded for BMG records in their release of two string quartets by Alberto Ginastera and String Quartet No.1 and No.2 by Peteris Vasks which was dedicated and premiered by the Miami String Quartet.

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Mr. Lee began his music studies on the violin at age eight studying with Chia-Rong Lin. He took up the viola at age thirteen, and came to the United States the next year to study at the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California, where his viola teacher was Donald McInnes and his violin teacher was Alice Schoenfield. He has studied with Michael Tree at the Curtis Institute of Music and at The Juilliard School where he studied with Paul Neubauer.

He is now Professor of Viola at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and a faculty member at the McGill International String Quartet Academy in Montreal.

Cello

Keith Robinson, cellist, is a founding member of the Miami String Quartet and has been active as a chamber musician, recitalist, and soloist since his graduation from the Curtis Institute of Music. Robinson has had numerous solo appearances with orchestras throughout the U.S. including the New World Symphony, The American Sinfonietta, and the Miami Chamber Symphony, and in 1989 won the P.A.C.E. “Classical Artist of the Year” Award.

His most recent recording released on Blue Griffin Records features the Complete works for Cello and Piano with his colleague Donna Lee. Fanfare Magazine wrote: ” I have sampled several CD’s (of the works for cello and piano by Mendelssohn) and found them very fine, but my gut feeling is still to go with Robinson and Lee. This one is, quite simply, amazing”. Lynn René Bayley – Fanfare Magazine. He has performed the complete works for Cello and Piano by Beethoven on many occasions with her as well. As a member of the Miami Quartet he has recorded for BMG, CRI, Musical Heritage Society and Pyramid recording labels.

In 1992, the Miami String Quartet became the first string quartet in a decade to win First Prize of the Concert Artists Guild New York Competition. The Miami String Quartet has also won recognition in competitions throughout the world; as laureate of the 1993 Evian Competition, 1991 London String Quartet Competition, and as the 1989 Grand Prize Winner of the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. In 2000 the Quartet received the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award and was named to the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Two Program as well.

Keith regularly attends festivals across the United States, including those in Santa Fe, [email protected], Kent/Blossom Music Festival, Mostly Mozart, Vail Music Festival, Savannah Music Festival, and the Virginia Arts Festival. Highlights of recent seasons include performances in New York at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, engagements in Boston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Paul, and Philadelphia . International highlights include appearances in Bern, Cologne, Istanbul, Lausanne, Montreal, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Taipei and Paris.

Keith hails from a musical family and his siblings include Sharon Robinson of the Kalichstein Laredo Robinson Trio, and Hal Robinson, Principal Bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Keith plays a Carlo Tononi cello made in Venice and dated 1725.