fostering shared experiences of joy, creativity and transcendence through world-class chamber music
Inessa Zaretsky, Artistic Director of Chamber Music on the Hudson, has had extensive experience in programming and running music festivals throughout the US, as Artistic Director of Chamber Music Society of the Carolinas. and Co-Director of the Phoenix Ensemble with pianist Vassa Shevel in New York. For the past 15 years she’s been performing with Craftsbury Chamber Music Festival in Vermont.
Ms. Zaretsky is an award-winning pianist and composer whose performances have taken her around the world while her music has been performed in England, Norway, Canada, Australia, Italy , Russia and throughout the United States.
She studied piano with Richard Goode and composition with Robert Cuckson at the Mannes College of Music in New York and has collaborated with many notable musicians, such as the Miro, Enso, Jasper, Tesla and Cassat String Quartets, Kent/Blossom Festival Orchestra, Chamber Music Series of St. Lukes Orchestra, principal players of the Boston, Chicago and Orpheus Orchestras, as well as soloists of the Metropolitan Opera.
She is on the piano faculty of Mannes College, New School University. For more about Ms. Zaretsky, please visit www.inessazaretsky.com.
Nicholas Tamagna, Vocal Director of Chamber Music on the Hudson, is a leading countertenor in his generation singing on many of the world’s stages, and a frequent collaborator with Inessa Zaretsky in recital.
Recent and upcoming performances include: Narciso in Händel’s Agrippina (Metropolitan Opera), Oberon (cover) in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Wiener Staatsoper),Ermanno in Vinci’s Gismondo, Re di Polonia (Theater an der Wien), Silvio in Händel’s Il Pastor Fido and Ruggiero in Händel’s Alcina (Halle Händelfestspiele), Ottone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (Florentine Opera), Siroe in Hasse’s Siroe, Re di Persia (Oldenburgisches Staatstheater and the Nederlandse Reisopera), Pompeo in Vivaldi’s Il Farnace (Spoleto Festival USA), The Refugee in Dove’s Flight (Opera Omaha / Oldenburg), Oronte in Riccardo Primo (Händelfestspiele Badisches Staatstheater), Polinesso in Ariodante (Theater Münster), Hassan in Cities of Salt (Royal Opera House Covent Garden), and the Spirit in Dido and Aeneas and To be or not to be (with le Poème Harmonique: at lOpéra de Rouen, Vichy, Royal de Versailles, and la Philharmonie de Paris).
For more about Nicholas Tamagna, please visit nicholastamagna.com.
NICHOLAS
TAMAGNA
Cellist Alexis Pia Gerlach’s playing is lauded in the press for its “gripping emotion” and “powerful artistry”.
As the founding cellist of both Trio Solisti (described as “the most exciting piano trio in America” by The New Yorker) and the renowned chamber ensemble Concertante, Ms. Gerlach performed for more than two decades at major venues, recorded extensively, and premiered many new works written for her. She has appeared at music festivals including Marlboro, La Musica, Bridgehampton, Caramoor, and Moab; with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; and internationally, with Musicians From Marlboro and as solo cellist with the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
Recent and upcoming activities include recitals with pianist Simone Dinnerstein, the world premieres of Richard Danielpour’s “Standing Witness” with mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and Music From Copland House at the Kennedy Center and Tanglewood, and the world premiere of “Forgotten Voices”, a song cycle by 15 award-winning composers using text written by homeless shelter clients, with Music Kitchen at Carnegie Hall.
Ms. Gerlach began cello lessons at age seven, studying with Aldo Parisot at The Yale School of Music and The Juilliard School.
https://www.instagram.com/alexisgerlach/
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Alexis Pia Gerlach
Hailed by the New York Times for her “magnificently sweet tone,” oboist Keve Wilson skipped math as a kid to practice Irish jigs and reels instead. Having recently wrapped up production of the world premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s final musical, Here We Are in NYC, Keve has been in the orchestras of numerous Broadway shows, including Company, Carousel with Renee Fleming, and the 2014 Tony Winner A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. A past winner of Concert Artists Guild and solo oboist with the Grammy nominated Absolute Ensemble, she has performed all over the world. She has recorded for Bruce Springsteen, Miguel Zenon, and 2 modern versions of Bird with Strings. Keve performed the Bach Double Concerto for oboe and violin with celebrated violinist Eugene Drucker to ring in the New Year in 2023.
Keve has performed as principal oboist with many ensembles., She spent 6 years in Los Angeles as 2nd oboist of Opera Pacific, recorded for TV commercials and films, and premiered After Hearing Bach by Peter Schickele for oboe and string quartet.
Keve has two albums on the NAXOS label: Pure Imagination and The Catskill Sessions, both of which can be found on all streaming services.
She is on he faculty at Manhattan School of Music and lives in New York City with her husband Kerry and Portuguese water dog Bugsy. https://www.kevewilson.com/
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Keve Wilson
Hanzhi Wang
Acclaimed for her “staggering virtuosity,” Hanzhi Wang is the only accordionist to ever win a place on the roster of Young Concert Artists in its 60-year history. A groundbreaking artist, Hanzhi’s other firsts include being named Musical America’s “New Artist of the Month,” an interview and performance on the 2,145th episode of New York WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase as the first solo accordionist on the program, and the Naxos label’s first-ever solo accordion CD, "On the Path to H.C. Andersen,” which was nominated for the prestigious DR (Danish Radio) P2 Prize in 2019. A First Prize Winner of the 2017 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, Hanzhi debuted in New York in The Peter Marino Concert at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall. Her Washington, DC debut opened the 40th Anniversary Young Concert Artists Series at the Kennedy Center, co-presented with Washington Performing Arts. She holds the Ruth Laredo Prize and Mortimer Levitt Career Development Award for Women Artists of YCA. Hanzhi has appeared as soloist with the Oregon Music Festival, Victoria Symphony, Cantori, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Sinfonia Gulf Coast, Iris Orchestra, and next season performs with the Hawaii Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, and Reno Chamber Orchestra. Hanzhi won First Prize in the 40th Castelfidardo International Accordion Competition in Italy. Ms. Wang earned her Bachelor’s degree at the China Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She completed her Master’s degree and Soloist Diploma at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. https://www.hanzhiwangaccordion.com/
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Ivan Filipchyk
A frequent guest at the Chamber Music on the Hudson series, IVAN FILIPCHYK was born in Belarus, where he studied music and visual arts. After graduating from Gnesin Academy of Music in Moscow in 2015 he moved to New York. As a versatile virtuoso on both accordion and piano, Ivan has received honors in many international competitions and has performed on major concert stages from Japan to Canada, across Europe, Russia and Ukraine. A multi-faceted artist, Ivan composes, performs, teaches and also paints. He is currently expanding and integrating his artistic endeavors by actively combining music with visual art. https://www.ivanfilipchyk.com/
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Rachel Handman
Violinist, Rachel Handman, is Originally from Hyde Park, NY. Her virtuosity and improvisational ability appears in many musical forms, including classical, bluegrass, Irish, pop and gypsy jazz. Recent Broadway show credits include, "Music Man," 2022, "Funny Girl," 2023, "Here We Are," 2024 (Steven Sondheim's final musical,) and currently, "Maybe Happy Ending," which was the NY Times top pick and is currently running at the Belasco Theatre. Rachel is a member of the New York Pops-Orchestra, performing a wonderfully eclectic mix of musical styles at their home stage of Carnegie Hall. Ms. Handman just played with Harry Connick Jr at the Metropolitan Opera House with his tribute to Cole Porter show. Rachel lives in Washington heights with her husband, Rusty, and their two cats, Starsky and Hutch. In her spare time, Rachel enjoys co-creating and performing cabaret shows with her musical partner in crime, Keve Wilson. They have brought down the house at 54 Below and Chelsea Table and Stage and have a recording out on Spotify called, "Catskill Session."