Guest Artists


Martin Kuuskmann
Guest Soloist with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra
Thursday, October 25, at 7:30
Tilson Auditorium

Martin Kuuskmann
Estonian-born bassoon virtuoso, Martin Kuuskmann's charismatic and entertaining performances throughout the world have earned him repute as one of the leading solo instrumentalists around. The New York Times praised Kuuskmann’s playing as “dynamic…amazing…Kuuskmann played stunningly…” and in 2008 he received a Grammy Nomination for his recording of David Chesky’s bassoon concerto.
Kuuskmann's 2012/13 season spans from concertos by Mozart to Theofanidis and Kertsman; invitations from Neeme Järvi and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, EnB1 Ensemble, solo recitals in festivals and series' in North-America and Europe.  Kuuskmann has appeared in the New York Philharmonic series with Berio Sequenza XII, with the Macao Orchestra, Nordic Symphony Orchestra, Riga Sinfonietta, Grazioso Chamber Orchestra of Hungarian National Philharmonic, Symphony Orchestra of the Norrlandsoperan, among others, and in chamber music festivals including Bremen, Hamburg, Järvi Summer Festival, Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Kuhmo, Gaia, Umeå, Kristiansand.  Kuuskmann has premiered eight bassoon concertos written especially for him by Christopher Theofanidis, D. Chesky, E-S.Tüür, E. Tamberg, Tõnu Kõrvits, Gregor Huebner, Gene Pritsker and Charles Coleman, and is working on upcoming concertos by Miguel Kertsman; his collaboration with composers including Daniel Schnyder, Helena Tulve and jazz icon John Patitucci have lead to numerous new solo works from bassoon and string quartet to bassoon and electronics.  Kuuskmann has performed Michael Daugherty's "Dead Elvis" across the world nearly 50 times and recorded it on Enja and CCn'C labels. His solo albums, including his acclaimed, genre bending album, Nonstop,  have been released on ERP, Erdenklang, Chesky Records and CCn'C labels.   

Martin Kuuskmann is a graduate of the Yale and the Manhattan Schools of Music. His mentors include Stephen Maxym, Frank Morelli, Ilmar Aasmets and Rufus Olivier.  As an avid educator, Kuuskmann teaches at the Manhattan School of Music Contemporary Performance Program and Cornish College of Arts, and serves as the woodwind coach of the Baltic Youth Philharmonic based in Berlin.  He has given masterclasses in universities and conservatoires across the world, and in on regular faculty at the Arosa Masterclasses in Switzerland.  Kuuskmann is a founding member and solo bassoonist of the New York City based Absolute Ensemble.  In 2011 Kuuskmann along with the Berlin Philharmonic virtuosos, oboist Christoph Hartmann and pianist, Hendrik Heilmann, founded the Mann Trio.  An artist of Moosmann bassoons and Miller Marketing Company, Martin Kuuskmann plays on the Moosmann 222E model and on reeds by KJI, Gumin and Légere.  He makes his home with his wife and their three children in the Seattle area.  
For more info please visit www.martinkuuskmann.com


Minju Choi
Indianapolis Chamber Players
Wednesday, October 24 at 7:30
Landini Center for Performing and Fine Arts Recital Hall
Minju Choi
Recently hailed as “positively mesmerizing at the piano” by The Times-Tribune, pianist Minju Choi has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia as a recitalist, soloist, and chamber musician. She has appeared as a soloist with the Indianapolis and Shreveport Symphonies, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, and the Music Academy of the West and Juilliard Orchestras. Ms. Choi has been presented in recitals in cities in the U.S. and abroad, including Paris, New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago. She has been featured in prestigious venues such as Avery Fisher Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, Steinway Hall, and the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival. She has been heard as a soloist and chamber musician in live and recorded performances on radio stations around the country including WQXR New York Radio, WFMT Chicago Radio, WQSC Santa Barbara, KDAQ Shreveport, and WICR Indianapolis. Ms. Choi was a featured artist at the Vancouver Recital Society’s Chamber Music Festival, in which her performances were broadcast on the CBC Canada Radio.

A strong enthusiast of contemporary music, Ms. Choi has premiered and performed music by distinguished composers throughout the world. Her performances of contemporary works have included David Diamond’s Piano Concerto with Gerard Schwarz, Salvatore Sciarrino’s “Two Nocturnes,” and Philip Lasser´s piano sonata "Les Hiboux blancs" at Schola Cantorum in Paris, which resulted in the premier of the sonata as the centerpiece of a modern dance work presented at Lincoln Center and at the French Institute in New York City.

Ms. Choi has been awarded prizes in several competitions, including first prizes at the Nena Wideman International Piano Competition, the Music Academy of the West Concerto Competition, and the Juilliard Concerto Competition. She was also a top prize winner in the ARTS competition sponsored by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

Until the age of 10, Ms. Choi lived in her native Kwangju, South Korea, where she began playing the piano at age 4. Ms. Choi received her bachelor´s and master´s degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Jerome Lowenthal. From 2004 to 2006, she pursued additional studies with Jean-Claude Pennetier at Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris and with Bernd Goetzke at Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Hannover. She completed her doctoral studies at Stony Brook University with Gilbert Kalish and Christina Dahl in 2009. Ms. Choi currently resides in Indianapolis.

Davis Brooks
Indianapolis Chamber Players
Wednesday, October 24 at 7:30
Landini Center for Performing and Fine Arts Recital Hall
Davis Brooks
Davis Brooks comes from a diverse musical background as soloist, pedagogue, orchestral musician, studio musician, concertmaster on Broadway, conductor, and chamber musician. At Yale University, he received a master's degree in violin performance and studied with Broadus Erle and Syoko Aki. His doctorate, also in violin performance, is from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Other important teachers with whom he has worked include Joyce Robbins, George Neikrug, Russell Hatz and Raymond Page; he has studied chamber music with Julius Levine, Josef Gingold, Aldo Parisot, and members of the Tokyo and Guarneri Quartets.

Dr. Brooks is interim Concertmaster of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra.  He also was a member of the Mostly Mozart Orchestra at Lincoln Center for ten years, and the New York Chamber Symphony. Dr. Brooks has been concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of New England, the Harrisburg Symphony, and the Waco Symphony.

Chamber music is his first love. He is currently a member of the Linden String Quartet and the Meridian Piano Trio, and has been a member of the Commonwealth and Landolfi Quartets, as well as the Essex Piano Trio. Recent recordings include Music for Violin; a cd of music by composer C. P. First and Music for Violin and Electronics which includes music by James Aikman, Frank Felice, James Mobberley, Hugh Levick, Zack Browning, Patrick Long and C. P First. His teaching experience has included faculty appointments at Baylor University, Wayne State University, the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, and Bucknell University.  He is currently Professor of Violin at Butler University in Indianapolis and invites you to visit his website at www.davisbrooksviolin.com.