2025 Artists
Joseph Gotoff, cello
Praised for his “clarity and an approachable sensitivity” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer, 2019), cellist Joseph Gotoff is recognized as a thoughtful and passionate performer, scholar, and teacher. With a repertoire spanning the Baroque to the modern era, Dr. Gotoff works closely with a number of composers working today, with premieres by composers including Lowell Liebermann, Cody Forrest and Binna Kim. In 2020, his debut album “The Voice of the Cello” was released to critical acclaim on the Spice Classics label.
Dr. Gotoff has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in concert halls across Europe, Asia and the Americas, and performs regularly throughout the Washington and Baltimore region, with such diverse ensembles as Counterpoint Concerts, Washington Classical Arts, the New Orchestra of Washington, and the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra. In 2021, he joined the faculty of Towson University as Assistant Professor of Cello, and he also teaches cello and chamber music at the Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C.
As a conductor, Dr. Gotoff is passionate about bringing to life both classic works and lesser-known gems. He is the founder and conductor of the Towson University String Orchestra, and in 2023 took over as conductor of the Levine Philharmonic. Gotoff recently made his European conducting debut with the Philharmonica di Sarteano in Sarteano, Italy.
Joseph Gotoff plays on a Frank Ravatin cello made in 1995. His mentors include Orlando Cole, Barbara Stein-Mallow, and Yeesun Kim, with additional chamber music studies from the Brentano and Borromeo String Quartets.
Bridget Haile, soprano
Brooklyn-based singer and performer Bridget Haile is always seeking new avenues to explore poetry, text, movement, and music and bring them together in performance. A frequent collaborator with the New York City based arts production company Amanda + James, Bridget has been featured in a number of recitals through their Sessions program, as well as several productions of interdisciplinary work, including How much time do we have left? and as the featured soloist in NightBirds, developed in part through a residency at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center in 2023.
As a keen supporter of contemporary classical music, Bridget notably starred as Mother Courage, working alongside composer Matt Marks on the world premiere of his adaptation of Brecht’s Mother Courage and her Children, as well as having collaborated with composers John Harbison and Matt Aucoin, among others. Bridget was the recipient of a grant to study art song in Berlin through the Frank Huntington Beebe Fund for Musicians, and has been a featured artist at Festival Daniou, a contemporary chamber music festival in Brittany.
Operatic highlights include starring as Lisetta in a new critical edition of Rossini’s La gazzetta prepared by Phillip Gosset, including a newly discovered original quintet from the opera. As a Gilbert and Sullivan enthusiast, one of Bridget’s favorite and most returned-to roles has been Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. During the daytime, you can also find Bridget as a leader in financial technology. She currently serves as the Head of Taxpayer Support and Services at Column Tax, a firm focused on democratizing access to tax filing, and previously as the Chief Customer Officer at Summer, a certified B corporation on a mission to simplify student debt repayment and forgiveness, and as the Senior Manager of Client Experience at Ellevest, an investment platform designed to get more money into the hands of more women. After years spent at the intersection of finance, tech, and human advice, she is passionate about using technology and empathy to make complex financial systems more accessible and understandable for everyone. Bridget is a graduate of Harvard University and the New England Conservatory.
Ken Hamao, violin
Described by the New York Times as having “especially eloquent playing,” violinist/violist Ken Hamao is a dynamic musician renowned for his sensitive interpretation, and has concertized extensively throughout the world in notable venues such as Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Melbourne Recital Centre, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, and Lincoln Center.
As a member of the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet, Ken is Professor of the Practice at Harvard University’s Department of Music. He has also held guest faculty positions at the New England Conservatory and Dartmouth College. Prior to joining the Parker Quartet, he was a member of the Ensō String Quartet from 2014 to 2018, with whom highlights include worldwide tours of Australia, Brazil, Colombia, and New Zealand. As a soloist, he has performed concertos by Giya Kancheli, Kurt Rohde, and Tan Dun, the latter of which with the composer at the podium. He also appears frequently with Argento Chamber Ensemble, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, and Talea Ensemble.
In addition to music, Ken’s passions include attempting to make a bowl of ramen entirely from scratch, cheering on his beloved Tottenham Hotspur while attending various live football matches around the world, and amateur woodworking.
Photo credit: Beowulf Sheehan
Samuel Kelder, viola
Described as “dynamic and committed” by the Boston Globe, violist Dr. Samuel Kelder performs regularly with ensembles A Far Cry, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, East Coast Contemporary Ensemble, Callithumpian Consort, Sound Icon, is principal viola of the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, and is often a guest artist with many of the regional symphony orchestras in the New England area. An avidly sought after chamber musician and soloist, Sam and has performed with members of JACK, Muir, Attacca, Kronos, and The Rhythm Method string quartets. He is a core violist of the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival every summer in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
Sam has performed as the featured artist at Third Practice Electroacoustic Festival (VA) and as soloist at New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival. He has toured across Europe and Central America with the Lucerne Festival Alumni Ensemble, Penderecki Academy, Callithumpian Consort, and was guest chamber artist with the Arctic Philharmonic of Norway.
Kelder joined the Boston based string trio Sound Energy in 2018, an ensemble dedicated to searching for ways to push the traditional violin-viola-cello combination to represent the bold and daring voices of 20th- & 21st-century composers. Their work includes many commissions for string trio, and past residencies at Temple University. Additionally, Sam is co-founder of viola duo Shizuka with Hannah Rose Nicholas, whose mission is to expand the repertoire for the alto pairing while pursuing opportunities to work with young composers and performers.
They have given masterclasses and performances at Tufts University and Boston University, were awarded an artist residency at Mise En Place in New York City, presented at the American Viola Society, and have commissioned over a dozen new works for viola duo.
Alongside cellist Mina Kim, Sam co-founded Queer Ensemble Project (QEP) in 2024. QEP is an initiative to uplift and celebrate queer artistry in the greater Boston area; to bring to the forefront LGBTQ+ performers and composers, amplifying their individual voices; and to start conversations between performers and audience with the ambition of building a stronger community around music – particularly audiences of LGBT youth and elders who may experience the need for community the greatest. QEP currently has partnerships with Ethos Boston, OutstandingLife, The Pryde, and Palaver Strings Lifesong Project. More information can be found at www.QueerEnsembleProject.org.
Sam is a passionate educator, and is the most recent addition to Boston University’s viola faculty at the College for Fine Arts. He has taught at Boston University Tanglewood Institute as viola and chamber coach, at the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice, the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival, and Boston Youth Symphony Intensive Community Program. He enjoys guiding his large studio of viola and violin students of all ages in their artistic journeys, and loves to cook and garden in his free time. Sam plays on a viola by Hiroshi Iizuka from 2015.
He can be heard on chamber projects with Albany Records and PARMA Recordings.
Yoonhee Lee, violin
Yoonhee Lee is a Korean-American violinist. She enjoys a versatile career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. Her biggest influences are Masuko Ushioda, Vera Beths, and Anner Bijlsma.
Lee has premiered and recorded numerous works by renowned composers, such as Rebecca Saunders, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Richard Barrett, and Nina Young. Other luminaries with whom she has worked closely include Kaija Saariaho, Enno Poppe, Georg Friedrich Haas, Beat Furrer, Jörg Widmann, Lei Liang, Seán ó Dálaigh, and Shiuan Chang. She is the dedicatee of a solo violin piece by composer Simone Cardini, titled Ramificazioni d'indistinto (2018).
She has appeared on stages worldwide, including the Berliner Philharmonie, St. Eustache in Paris, WDR Funkhaus Wallrafplatz Köln, Huddersfield Town Hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Concertgebouw, Musiikkitalo, Concertgebouw Brugge, Royal Albert Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, Calderwood Hall at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Fraser Performance Studio at WGBH Boston, Shostakovich Hall, and Teatro Gran Rex in Buenos Aires. Lee has held two major concert tours in China.
Born in Seoul, Lee began the piano at the age of three and violin at five. She and her family immigrated to Boston just before her tenth birthday. She did not speak a word of English, and for years music became her means of communication as well as refuge. Early experiences of navigating between languages and cultures remain a strong part of her identity; as an artist she is interested in fluidity and fragility of genres and boundaries, and she seeks innovation and experimentation in all her endeavors.
Lee’s instrument is a 2024 Mary Jane Kwan violin Made in Association with Samuel Zygmuntowicz, and her primary bow is a Joseph Henry circa 1860, previously owned by her late mentor Masuko Ushioda. She currently resides in Boston with her husband Tom, dog Schatzi, and cat Opus.
New England Conservatory (B.M. 2011, M.M. 2013), Conservatorium van Amsterdam (M.M. 2015 cum laude); Frank Huntington Beebe Fund for Study Abroad (2013-14)
Cara Pogossian, viola
Armenian-American violist Cara Pogossian is an avid chamber musician having performed at numerous summer festivals, including the Marlboro Festival, Yellow Barn, Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Tippet Rise, and Taos School of Music. In 2022, Cara was the winner of the Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award, and, more recently, her quartet was selected as a 2022-2023 Honors Ensemble at the New England Conservatory. She has had the privilege of collaborating and performing with many of the leading figures in classical music, such as Mitsuko Uchida, Don Weilerstein, Ida Kavafian, Joseph Lin, Marcy Rosen, Peter Wiley, Kim Kashkashian, Max Levinson, and the Borromeo String Quartet. Cara is lucky enough to have an entire family of musicians, with whom she frequently performs. During the pandemic, the Pogossian/Manouelian Clarinet Quintet collaborated with composers Timo Andres, Ian Krouse, Artashes Kartalyan, and Aida Shirazi, premiering each of their works in a series of online concerts.
Cara is the Principal Violist of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared as a guest musician with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Boston Pops Orchestra. She has performed at several high-profile concerts as an AGBU (Armenian General Benevolent Union) Scholarship recipient, and is a 2024 recipient of the St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist Award. Last year, Cara was named the winner of the NEC Concerto Competition, culminating in a performance of Bartók’s Viola Concerto with the NEC Philharmonia. Engagements this season include performances at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts as an Evnin Rising Star, Music at Bunker Hill, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and a Musicians from Marlboro tour.
Cara recently completed her graduate studies with Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory of Music, as the recipient of the Abraham Skernick Memorial Presidential Scholarship. She had previously studied with Hsin-Yun Huang and Misha Amory at the Curtis Institute of Music.