Victoria Bond

Composer and Conductor

Victoria is a major force in 21st Century music. Her compositions have been performed by the New York City Opera, Shanghai, Dallas and Houston Symphonies, members of the Chicago Symphony and New York Philharmonic, American Ballet Theater and the Cassatt and Audubon Quartets. Victoria has served as principal guest conductor of Chamber Opera Chicago since 2005. Her prior positions include Assistant Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and New York City Opera and Music Director of the Roanoke Symphony and Opera and New York City Opera and Music Director of the Roanoke Symphony and Opera, Bel Canto Opera and Harrisburg Opera. She is the first woman awarded a doctorate in orchestral conducting from the Juilliard School. Victoria is the first recipient of the Aronson “A” Award and was the keynote speaker at the Sixth Aronson Cello Festival honoring “Women and Classical Music.”

victoriabond.com

Dr. Sarah Kim

C0-BOARD CHAIR

Miami University Assistant Professor of Cello

Miami University Assistant Professor of Cello, Dr. Sarah Kim, leads a vibrant and diverse career as performer, educator, and arts administrator. She is an acclaimed instructor who was named the 2016 Ohio String Teachers Association Studio Teacher of the Year and recipient a 2015 Cincinnati Arts Association Overture Educator Award. Previous teaching appointments have included serving on the string faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she was Instructor of Cello and String Pedagogy as well as the String Pedagogy Cognate Coordinator for doctoral students. Her students have been top prize winners in regional and national competitions as well as soloists with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, and Blue Ash Montgomery Orchestra. As a solo artist and chamber musician, Dr. Kim has performed internationally. She has been broadcast on WGN Chicago, Vermont Public Radio, and WGUC Cincinnati. She continues to be an active performer in the Cincinnati area where she has played with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and as guest principal cello of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra. A native of Minneapolis, MN, Dr. Kim attended Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University, and the the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati (UC-CCM). Her primary studies have been with Peter Howard, Steven Doane, and Hans Jørgen Jensen. Dr. Kim has regularly collaborated with members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music faculty, and faculty from renowned music schools on chamber music performances. She is the cellist of the resident Oxford String Quartet at Miami University. Dr. Kim is executive director of the Cincinnati Young Artists, which she co-founded in 2010. The organization holds annual chamber music and cello festivals drawing the nation’s young talent to Cincinnati to work with renowned artist faculty www.CincinnatiYoungArists.org. She is also on faculty at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, VT, the Aria International Summer Academy in Hadley, MA, and the Brancaleoni International Music Festival in Piobicco, Italy. A sought after clinician, Dr. Kim has given master classes and presentations at numerous cello festivals and workshops at universities such as the University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee, Oklahoma State University, and DePaul University. She has also adjudicated local and national competitions such as the Music Teacher’s National Association National Finals. Dr. Kim maintains a strong interest in cello pedagogy and is regularly invited to present at conferences such as the American String Teachers Association and Suzuki Association of the Americas. She has developed community music cello programs at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati and other university preparatory programs such as UC-CCM, Roosevelt University in Chicago, and Northern Kentucky University. She has been a pedagogical consultant for the UC-CCM Preparatory Department Suzuki programs and has mentored many young teachers in the area.

https://miamioh.edu/cca/academics/departments/music/about/faculty-staff/strings/sarah-kim/index.html

Ty Kim

EMERITUS BOARD Chairman

Emmy Award Winning Storyteller

Ty has more than two decades of experience as a journalist working in network, cable and local television, film, radio and print. For his work in television news, Ty earned six Los Angeles Emmys, the National Edward R. Murrow Award, nine Golden Mikes, and the Associated Press Award for California. He honed his storytelling craft working closely for years with Mike Wallace and Ed Bradley at CBS News/60 Minutes where Ty specialized in hard news, investigative reporting. Ty earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and his undergraduate degree from Stanford University.

Ty works closely with Michael G. Nathanson (who has served as either chairman or president of four major motion picture companies) developing scripted feature films, scripted television series, and feature documentaries. They currently have a motion picture and a scripted television series going to market.

Among Ty’s recent work includes a documentary about cellist Lynn Harrell and his 60-year journey through music. The film includes fresh interviews with Oscar-winning composers John Williams and André Previn (his last filmed interview), virtuoso violinists Itzhak Perlman and Anne-Sophie Mutter, the celebrated cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and others. The film was invited to be shown at the Aronson Cello Festival at Southern Methodist University (SMU), The Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, The Bing Concert Hall at Stanford University and other major venues.

In 2018, Ty directed and produced a series of short films about the life and students of Lev Aronson which premiered at the Sixth Aronson Cello Festival. These short films profiled Christopher Adkins (principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra), Mitchell Maxwell (principal cellist of the Dallas Opera Orchestra), Brian Thornton (of the Cleveland Orchestra), the leading expert on Lev Aronson author Frances Brent, the two step-daughters of Lev Aronson (Joy Jamerson and Cheryl Surana), Victoria Bond, Dr. Melissa Kraut, and many other lifetime artists.

For his work on behalf of The Aronson Cello Festival (ACF), Ty was a recipient of the Aronson “A” Award. Ty serving as the organization’s inaugural board chairman. Some of his accomplishments as Board Chair included rebranding the organization as The Aronson Cello Festival (ACF), recruiting the inaugural board and launching a series of fundraisers around the United States to build awareness of ACF, relaunching and helping redesign the ACF website and creating a new slate of programming for the upcoming festival. Ty’s pro bono work on behalf of the organization includes directing and producing original short films about major classical music artists.

Ty serves on the board of directors of The Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra (HRO). He has been a member of the national advisory council for the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI). Ty also runs the “The Andrew B. Kim and Wan Kyun Rha Kim Family Foundation, Inc.” which has supported over fifty organizations in the arts and education on a national level.

FORMER BOARD MEMBER:

Dr.Melissa Kraut

Co-Chair of Cello Department, Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM)

Co-head of the cello department at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), Melissa is recognized as one of the leading pedagogues of her generation. With degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, the University of Iowa and Northwestern University, Melissa has had the opportunity to study with the great pedagogues Alan Harris and Hans-Jorgen Jensen as well as summer study/master classes with cellists such as Aldo Parisot, Frank Miller, Yo-Yo Ma, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and David Soyer. As a student, she participated in the Aspen Music Festival, Banff Center for the Arts and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Europe. An active performer, Melissa has led a diverse career on stage with solo and chamber performances throughout the United States and Europe.

She has held leadership positions in several orchestras, and has played under the baton of conductors such as Sir Georg Solti, Valery Gergiev and Semyon Bychkov. Melissa currently enjoys performing chamber music with her friends and colleagues throughout the world. Melissa enjoys reaching students from all over the world through master classes and workshops. Her status as a Suzuki Teacher Trainer, enables her to pass on her love of pedagogy to the next generation of teachers. In addition, she is passionate about public speaking and the ability to reach audiences of a larger scope, about topics broader than cello.

cim.edu/faculty/melissa-kraut

Vinay Parameswaran

Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra

Internationally recognized for his energetic presence, imaginative programming, and compelling musicianship, Vinay Parameswaran is one of the most exciting and versatile young conductors on the podium today. American born and of Indian descent, Parameswaran is the Associate Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra. In this role, he leads The Cleveland Orchestra in several dozen concerts each season at Severance Hall, Blossom Music Festival, and on tour. He also serves as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. Highlights of the 20-21 season included Parameswaran’s classical subscription debut with The Cleveland Orchestra, his debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and return appearances with the Toledo Symphony. In May of 2021, Parameswaran was a recipient of a Career Assistance Award by the Solti Foundation U.S. Recent highlights have included debuts with the Detroit Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Grant Park Orchestra, Tucson Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Vermont Symphony, and the Eugene Symphony. In the summer of 2019, Parameswaran made his classical subscription debut with The Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Festival in a program of Ives, Bernstein, and Rachmaninoff. He also led The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra on an acclaimed four-city European tour that included a performance at the Musikverein in Vienna. Parameswaran came to Cleveland in August of 2017 following three seasons as associate conductor of the Nashville Symphony, where he led over 150 performances. During the 2016-17 season, Parameswaran made his subscription debut with the Nashville Symphony conducting works by Gabriella Smith, Grieg, and Prokofiev. In the summer of 2017, Parameswaran was a Conducting Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. He has participated in conducting masterclasses with David Zinman at the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, as well as with Marin Alsop and Gustav Meier at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Equally at home in both symphonic and operatic repertoire, Parameswaran has led performances of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love with Curtis Opera Theater. In Cleveland, he has assisted Franz Welser-Möst on productions of Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. Parameswaran is the conductor on the album Two x Four featuring the Curtis 20/21 ensemble alongside violinists Jaime Laredo and Jennifer Koh, featuring works by Bach, David Ludwig, Philip Glass, and Anna Clyne. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Parameswaran holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and political science from Brown University, where he graduated with honors. At Brown, he began his conducting studies with Paul Phillips. He received an Artist Diploma in conducting from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with renowned pedagogue Otto-Werner Mueller as the Albert M. Greenfield Fellow.

https://www.vinayparameswaran.com/about

Mitchell Maxwell

former CO-BOARD CHAIR

Principal Cellist, The Dallas Opera Orchestra

A native of Abilene, Texas, Mitch is Principal Cellist with the Dallas Opera Orchestra. A long-time student of the late Lev Aronson, Mitch is an active chamber music performer in the Dallas area and is one of the founding members of the Trinity Chamber Players. Mitch was a faculty member and the Assistant Principal Cellist in the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra at North Carolina's Eastern Music Festival. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Texas and a Master of Music degree from Southern Methodist University. Mitch has been a beloved and consistent supporter of the Aronson Cello Festival since its inception. His keynote address as a featured and honored speaker at the Aronson Cello Festival (ACF) along with an emotionally powerful personal story featured in a short film by Ty Kim has been recognized as a source of inspiration for musicians and classical music lovers of all backgrounds and ages.

Dallasoperamusicians.com/mitchelmaxwell

Doris Ong

FORMER CO-BOARD CHAIR

Board Member, The Phoenix Symphony. Photographer.

Doris is a board member of the Phoenix Symphony and a trustee of the Phoenix Art Museum. Doris serves on the Arizona State University (ASU) Dean’s Creativity Council and a supporter of ASU’s Herberger Institute of Design & Art and Fashion School (HIDA). Doris served on the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture Board as its diversity chair.

Doris is also an Honorary Commander Alumnus (2008-2010) of the Fighter Country Partnership of Luke Air Force Base assigned to the Singapore 425th Black Widows F-16 Fighter Squadron. As a lifetime member of the “Alpha Class” of the Blue Blazer Squadron (BBS) Fighter Country Partnership at Luke Air Force Base, Doris participates in base activities.

Doris served as an official photographer with the Luke Air Force delegation 100 Year WWI Commemoration of Frank Luke in Murvaux, France and the joint French/American Ceremony at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery. Doris received the Luke Air Force Base Arizona 56th Fighter Wing, Volunteer of the Year Awards in 2019.

During the most recent Aronson Cello Festival (ACF) held in Dallas at Southern Methodist University (SMU), Doris was a panelist in “Women and Classical Music.” She served as a crew photographer for Emmy Award winning storyteller Ty Kim which inspired her commitment to ACF.

Doris grew up in Malaysia, Singapore. She worked in publishing in London and Canada and then emigrated to the US. Doris earned a Bachelor’s degree with honors in geography from the University of Singapore. Recently retired from a career in real estate, Doris is now pursuing her passion for publishing, photography, painting, and traveling.

Alan Rafferty co-BOARD CHAIR

Cellist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Ruth A. Rosevear cello chair, Associate Professor, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music

Alan Rafferty, University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music cello faculty member, is rapidly gaining recognition as a preeminent musician and master teacher. In demand as a clinician around the world, Mr. Rafferty has presented Master Classes at numerous schools including the Cleveland Institute of Music, Northwestern University, the University of Michigan and Depaul University and has been a visiting faculty member for the Cleveland Institute of Music, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and makes yearly visits to work with the Fellows at the New World Symphony. A member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra since 2007, Mr. Rafferty holds the Ruth A. Rosevear cello chair. In addition to playing over 1000 concerts as a member of the orchestra both in Cincinnati and around the world on tour, he has been a regular performer on the CSO Chamber Players Series and narrated Education Concerts. In the spring of 2020, he will perform the Mendelssohn Octet with former Berlin Philharmonic Concertmaster Guy Braunstein, who is Artist-in-Residence for the CSO 2020-21 season. Mr. Rafferty made his solo debut with orchestra at the age of 16 and has been a featured soloist on numerous occasions since. Recent solo appearances have included the North American premiere of Victor Herbert’s first published work, the Suite for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 3 and Don Quixote with the CCM Orchestra in January of 2017. He can be heard on recordings for Telarc, Sono Luminus, CR and for WGUC Radio Station. His students have played as soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony, Louisville Orchestra and Dayton Philharmonic and have been 1st prize winners in the MTNA National Solo Competition, Louisville Orchestra Competition, Cleveland Cello Society and Tennessee Cello Workshop. Former students have held positions in orchestras all over the world. As Cello/Chamber Music Faculty for the Starling Program at CCM his groups have won the Junior Division Gold Medal and Silver Medal of the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition among others. Mr. Rafferty holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Northwestern University. His primary studies were with Hans Jorgen Jensen, Alan Harris, Merry Peckham, and Richard Weiss. He and his wife, cellist Dr. Sarah Kim, were recently named the 2016 Ohio String Teachers Association Studio Teachers of the Year. They are the founders and directors of the nationally recognized Cincinnati Young Artists which present Chamber Music and Cello Festivals throughout the year.

Karlos Rodriguez

Cellist, The Catalyst Quartet

An advocate for multifaceted musical diversity in the 21st century and a founding member of the Catalyst Quartet, Cuban-American cellist Karlos Rodriguez is an avid soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, clinician, recording artist, writer, and administrator. Rodriguez made his orchestral debut with the New World Symphony at the age of 13 to critical acclaim. The winner of several competitions and prizes, including Florida’s State Cello Prize and the Irene Muir Performance Prize, Rodriguez has appeared at many of the United States’ major musical venues, including Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The New World Center, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, And Radio City Music Hall, to name a few. Rodriguez has also had the honor of working with distinguished artists and members the Beaux Arts Trio, American, Cavani, Cleveland, Emerson, Guarneri, Juilliard, Miami, Orion, Tokyo, And Vermeer String Quartets; Janos Starker, Lynn Harrell, Zuill Bailey, Pieter Wispelway, Rachel Barton-pine, Awadagin Pratt, Joshua Bell, Anthony McGill, Paul Neubauer, and Steven Isserlis. His teachers have included Richard Aaron, Peter Wiley, and David Soyer. A love of dance has led to collaborations with the Thomas/Ortiz Dance Company, Freefall, Mark Morris Dance Group, Vail International Dance Festival, and Chita Rivera. Rodriguez has attended and been a guest artist at the Encore School for Strings; the Sarasota, Strings, Aspen, Grand Canyon, Great Lakes and Kneisel Hall chamber music festivals; the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, Philadelphia Orchestra Chamber Music Society, and Napa’s Festival Del Sole. As an educator, he is the Director of Artistic Affairs for the Sphinx Performance Academy at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School, and has given master classes domestically and abroad. Rodriguez has worked on various commercials, films, collaborated with pop artists such as Shakira, John Legend, Pink Martini, contributed to numerous Broadway musicals, and is a member of the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra. He is a board member of the Aronson Cello Festival and former principal cellist of the Florida Grand Opera Orchestra in Miami. Rodriguez is also the author of Living and Sustaining a Creative Life-Music, published by Intellect Books UK. Karlos Rodriguez plays on a cello by award-winning luthier Michael Doran made possible through a Sphinx MPower Artist Grant.

https://catalystquartet.com/karlos-rodriguez

Brian Thornton is the founding artistic director of the Aronson Cello Festival (ACF). The festival was originally called “The Lev Aronson Legacy Festival”, and it started as a one-time way to honor Brian’s teacher, Maestro Lev Aronson. Brian was one of Maestro Aronson’s last students. Over the past five years, the festival has dramatically transformed and grown. The festival was hosted for six seasons by Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, where the renowned cellist and teacher, Mr. Aronson, taught music for many years before his passing in November of 1988.

Today, Brian and a group of leading cellists, musicians and artists carry on the tradition, teachings and philosophy of this iconic teacher—who taught them life lessons along with a mastery of the instrument that carries the range of the human voice.

Brian teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) and performs with the Cleveland Orchestra where he has been part of the cello section for twenty-five seasons. His solo album: Kol Nidrei and Beyond, Lev's Story, is centered on the vocal qualities of the cello, and is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Aronson. Education is also a focus of Brian’s life, and he spends part of his time teaching at CIM, conducting young musicians, as well as traveling to teach in different parts of the world. Brian began playing the cello in the public school system of Chicago, giving him a passion for teaching young musicians and public school outreach programs.

He has traveled from Kolkata, India to Osaka, Japan, influencing young musicians not only to play better cello, but to use music to positively affect the world around them. Modern music is of particular interest to Brian, and he has premiered more than a hundred new solo cellos works around the world.

brianthorntoncello.com/bio