Chamber Feast

Violinist Claire Bourg has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in many of the world’s leading venues, including Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Kimmel Center, and Jordan Hall. Most recently, she was a soloist with the Camerata Bern in Hannover, Germany as part of the Joachim International Violin Competition. Bourg was granted the 2021 Luminarts Fellowship, awarded second prize at the 2020 Barbash J.S. Bach Competition, and won the New England Conservatory Competition. She performs regularly with Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Music for Food, Chameleon Arts Ensemble, Curtis on Tour, and currently serves as concertmaster of Symphony in C. A passionate chamber musician, Bourg has attended festivals such as Marlboro, Yellow Barn, Ravinia, Taos, among others. A native of Chicago, Bourg studied with such artists as Miriam Fried, Pamela Frank, Arnold Steinhardt, and Joseph Lin at the New England Conservatory, Curtis Institute of Music, and The Juilliard School, where she held a Kovner Fellowship. She is now pursuing her Doctorate at the CUNY Graduate Center with Mark Steinberg. Bourg currently performs on a violin by Zosimo Bergonzi of Cremona, c. 1770 on generous loan through Guarneri Hall NFP and Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins, Chicago. Bourg is a 2021 and 2022 alum of Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars mentoring program.  To learn more about her, please visit her website. 

Praised for her sensitive musicianship and heartfelt playing, violinist Stephanie Zyzak is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the most soulful and profound musicians of her generation. Since making her debut in 2004 with the Louisville Orchestra, Zyzak has performed as a soloist throughout Germany, Russia, Austria, Sweden, Spain, Italy, and France. A deeply passionate chamber musician, she has had the privilege of collaborating with renowned musicians including Jonathan Biss, Kim Kashkashian, Ida Kavafian, Alice Neary, Danny Phillips, Marcy Rosen, and Mitsuko Uchida. She has also performed at the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, and the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, as well as on tour with Musicians From Marlboro. Zyzak studied with Miriam Fried and Mark Steinberg and performs on a 1778 Joseph and Antonio Gagliano violin, generously on loan from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, and a bow by François-Nicolas Voirin. She is a 2021 and 2022 alum of Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars mentoring program. To learn more about her, please visit her website. 

Violist Tanner Menees is forging an enviable career as a chamber musician. He has collaborated in chamber music performances with artists including Miriam Fried, Susan Graham, Lynn Harrell, Gary Hoffman, Kim Kashkashian, Susanna Phillips, Mitsuko Uchida, Donald Weilerstein, Carol Wincenc, and the Calidore Quartet. Menees has performed internationally at festivals such as the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Edinburgh Music Festival, and NEXUS Chamber Music Chicago. Committed to new music, he frequently performs with Copland House, and he has performed as a soloist with the Colburn Orchestra and Symphony New Hampshire. Menees plays on a viola of the Tarasconi school made in Milan, Italy c. 1880 courtesy of Guarneri Hall NFP and Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins. He is a 2021 and 2022 alum of Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars mentoring program. 

Zhanbo Zheng, a concert violist based in New York City, is the first Chinese musician to have won the Primrose International Viola Competition. He is also the laureate of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the Washington International Competition for Strings. As a soloist, Zheng has performed with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and China Broadcasting Performing Arts Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, Zheng has made appearances in music festivals including Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Music@Menlo, and Verbier Festival Academy. He has performed as a guest artist at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and has toured the U.S. several times with Musicians from Marlboro and Ravinia Steans Music Institute, giving performances in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kaufman Music Center, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Zheng earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the New England Conservatory where he studied with Kim Kashkashian, Miriam Fried, and Dominique Eade. He is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma at The Juilliard School under the mentorship of Paul Neubauer. Zheng is a 2017 and 2019 alum of Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars mentoring program. To learn more about him, please visit his website. 

Oliver Herbert is a concert cellist with a rapidly growing international presence. The recipient of a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Herbert’s natural musicianship and connective performances are carving a unique path in the world of music. As a soloist, he has appeared with world-renowned orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, working with conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Juanjo Mena, and Alexander Shelley. He appears regularly at leading chamber music festivals and venues such as the Rheingau Festival, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Marlboro, La Jolla SummerFest, Verbier Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland, the 92nd Street Y, and the Ravinia Festival. He has performed with luminaries such as Mitsuko Uchida and Tabea Zimmermann. 

Herbert is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Colburn School, where he studied with Carter Brey, Pamela Frank, Clive Greensmith, and Peter Wiley. He is now a student of Frans Helmerson in the professional studies program at the Kronberg Academy, generously funded by the Nanno Lenz patronage. He plays on a Guadagnini cello that belonged to the great Italian cellist Antonio Janigro, on generous loan from the Janigro family. Herbert is a 2016 and 2019 alum of Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars mentoring program. To learn more about him, please visit his website. 

A Gilmore Young Artist and winner of Salon de Virtuosi, Janice Carissa has garnered great acclaim for her performances at renowned concert halls, including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, United Nations, and the Kennedy Center, among others. Following her Philadelphia Orchestra debut at age 16, she substituted for André Watts as soloist with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and later performed with many other orchestras including the Kansas City, Amarillo, Des Moines, St. Peters by the Sea, Symphony in C, and Midwest Young Artist symphonies. In 2023, she was a featured soloist with Sacramento Philharmonic, Promusica Chamber Orchestra, Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and the Tacoma and Battlecreek symphonies. 

Carissa’s passion for chamber music has led her to performances with Brooklyn Chamber Music Society and Jupiter Chamber Concert Series, along with collaborations with many distinguished artists such as Vadim Gluzman, Miriam Fried, Paul Neuebauer, and Marcy Rosen. She has appeared at the Marlboro, North Shore, Ravinia, and Kneisel Hall festivals. 

A pupil of Gary Graffman and Robert McDonald, Carissa attended the Curtis Institute of Music, and pursued her graduate degree at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Robert McDonald. She is a 2019, 2021, and 2023 alum of Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars mentoring program.  To learn more about her, please visit her website.