2019 Performance

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Mark Nuccio, Clarinet

Critics have praised clarinetist Mark Nuccio for both his solo and chamber appearances,  describing him as “the evening’s highlight”, full of “mystery and insight” and “shaping his phrases beautifully with a rich, expressive tone.” (NY Times)

Mr. Nuccio is currently the Principal Clarinetist of the Houston Symphony since 2016.  Prior to that, he was a member of the New York Philharmonic having joined in 1999 as Associate Principal and Solo  E-flat Clarinetist. During Nuccio’s 17 years in the NYP, he served as Acting Principal Clarinet for four years from 2009-2013. Prior to his service with the Philharmonic, he has held positions with orchestras in Pittsburgh, Denver, Savannah, and Florida working with distinguished conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Mariss Jansons, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Erich Leinsdorf, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, André Previn, Christoph von Dohnányi, Valero Gergiev, Charles Dutoit, Gustavo Dudamel, Esa Pekka Salonen, Michael Tilson Thomas, Alan Gilbert, Andres Orozco Estrada, and Juraj Valcuha. Additionally, Mr. Nuccio has toured extensively with the Houston Symphony, the New York Philharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and in numerous countries, recorded with all three orchestras, and performed regularly with the Philharmonic on the award-winning series, Live from Lincoln Center, broadcast on PBS. Recent highlights include the Philharmonic’s historic and newsworthy visits to North Korea and Vietnam.

An active solo and chamber musician, Mr. Nuccio has been featured with various orchestras in the United States and made multiple appearances as a featured performer at the International Clarinet Association conventions. He made his subscription solo debut with the Houston Symphony in 2018 with several other appearances since then including his most recent March, 2022 concerto.  Nuccio’s subscription solo debut with the New York Philharmonic was Feb. 10, 2010 and then returned to perform the Copland Concerto with the NY Philharmonic under the baton of Alan Gilbert in June of 2013. Other highlights include a New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2001 and his Japanese recital debut in 2002. He continues to regularly perform recitals in  Asia and Europe as well as across the United States and in New York, at Merkin Concert Hall, 92nd Street Y, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr. Nuccio is on the faculty at Brevard Music Center and also participates in the chamber music series at the Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, performs at Festival Napa Valley, and recently helped to create and became the Artistic Director at the newly formed music festival called the Lake Lure Music Festival in Lake Lure, NC.  In 2023, will perform and teach for the first time in the Sarasota Music Festival.

As a studio musician, Mr. Nuccio is featured on numerous movie soundtracks, including Failure To Launch, The Last Holiday, The Rookie, The Score, Intolerable Cruelty, Alamo, Pooh’s Heffalump, Hitch, The Manchurian Candidate, as well as various television commercials, Super Bowl music and the Master’s Golf Tournament. He has also performed on the Late Show with David Letterman and on the 2003 Grammy Awards. His own debut album featuring the clarinet quintets of Mozart and Brahms, Opening Night, was released in November 2006.

A Colorado native, Mr. Nuccio was awarded the “Distinguished Alumni Award” from his alma mater, the University of Northern Colorado. He also holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University where he studied with renowned pedagogue Robert Marcellus. 

Beyond his active performing schedule, Mr. Nuccio is committed to training the next generation of musicians and currently serves as music faculty for University of Miami’s Frost School of Music in Coral Gables, FL.  He also teaches masterclasses in the U.S. and abroad.  His focus as a teacher and pedagogue was further illustrated in his published book called “The Audition Method, volume 1”, an in-depth study of some of the most visible excerpts in the repertoire used in winning an orchestral clarinet position.  This is now become a series that, in the near future, “The Audition Method” will include additional books... Clarinet volume 2, Violin, Flute and French Horn…all a part of Nuccio’s creation with partner and former student, Benjamin Baron.  The other instruments will be authored by leading performing and teaching orchestral artists on the applicable instrument around the United States, each within the same style of in-depth presentation. This will help the young student better understand each excerpt and with exercises included for each! 

Mark Nuccio is a performing artist/clinician for Buffet Music Group and a D’Addario Advising Artist & Clinician.

Chee-Yun , Violinist

Violinist Chee-Yun's flawless technique, dazzling tone, and compelling artistry have enraptured audiences on five continents. Charming, charismatic, and deeply passionate about her art, Chee-Yun continues to carve a unique place for herself in the ever-evolving world of classical music. 

A winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and a recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Chee-Yun has performed with many of the world's foremost orchestras and conductors. She has appeared with the San Francisco, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Atlanta, and National symphony orchestras, as well as with the Saint Paul and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestras. As a recitalist, Chee-Yun has performed in many major U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta. In 2016, Chee-Yun performed as a guest artist for the Secretary General at the United Nations in celebration of Korea's National Foundation Day and the 25th anniversary of South Korea joining the UN. In 1993, Chee-Yun performed at the White House for President Bill Clinton and guests at an event honoring recipients of the National Medal of the Arts. Recent highlights include her appearance with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, as well as her collaboration with acclaimed guitarist Mak Grgić.

Her most recent recording, Serenata Notturno, released by Decca/Korea, is an album of light classics that went platinum within six months of its release. In addition to her active performance and recording schedule, Chee-Yun is a dedicated and enthusiastic educator. Her past faculty positions have included serving as the resident Starling Soloist and Adjunct Professor of Violin at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and as Visiting Professor of Music (Violin) at the Indiana University School of Music. From 2007 to 2017, she served as Artist-in-Residence and Professor of Violin at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Chee-Yun plays a violin made by Francesco Ruggieri in 1669. It is rumored to have been buried with a previous owner for 200 years and has been profiled by the Washington Post. 

For additional information and to sign up for her e-newsletter, please visit www.chee-yun.net.

Scott Cuellar, Pianist

In reviewing Cuellar’s debut recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, David LaMarche of the New York Concert Review described Cuellar’s performance as “virtuosic in scope and expression, like a great man of the theater,” and praised his “ability to illuminate both the external structure and the emotional core of the work he plays.” He has been described by Cleveland Classical as possessing “nerves of steel, a formidable technique, and an architect’s understanding of structure.” The San Antonio Express-News praised his “luxuriant exploration” of Liszt’s First Piano Concerto, adding that his “technique was clean, his melodies and cadenzas were expressive, but most noticeable was his keyboard fluidity.”

Cuellar has given solo recitals at major venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, the Newport Music Festival, the Polytheatre Chongqing and the Shenyang Conservatory of Music in the People’s Republic of China, and has been a guest recitalist at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, the Gijón International Piano Festival in Asturias, Spain, the  Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Lima, Peru, Boston Conservatory, and at the University of Washington. He has presented masterclasses at Renmin University in Beijing, Lee University, Grand Valley State University, and has lectured at the Juilliard School. He has appeared as a soloist with the San Antonio Symphony, the Louisiana Philharmonic, the Rochester Symphony Orchestra, the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, the Oberlin Orchestra, the Lima Symphony Orchestra, and several others.

Cuellar is featured on composer Gity Razaz’s debut album “The Strange Highway” (2022) with violinist Francesca DePasquale, released on BIS Records. He has performed with many of the world’s great artists, including Cho-Liang Lin, Jennifer Koh, Chee-Yun, Mark Nuccio, Desmond Hoebig, the Miró Quartet, and Timothy Jones.  He is a founding member of the Rodin Trio, along with assistant concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Philip Marten and current Karajan Fellow Joshua Halpern. He has performed at the La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest, the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival and the Cactus Pear Chamber Music Festival. He has been heard on WQXR in New York, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Seattle’s King FM, Houston Public Media, and others.

Cuellar won the gold medal at the 2016 San Antonio International Piano Competition, where he also received prizes for the best performance of both a Romantic work (Schumann’s “Humoreske”), as well as of a Russian work (Prokofiev’s 4th Sonata). He was the gold medalist in the solo division of the 2013 Virginia Waring International Piano Competition, where he was also awarded the silver medal in the concerto division, and was the winner of the Krenek Prize for the best performance of a sonata by Ernst Krenek. Additionally, he was the bronze medalist at the 2016 New Orleans International Piano Competition.

Cuellar holds a doctor of musical arts from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he studied with Jon Kimura Parker; he earned a master of music from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Julian Martin; and he received a bachelor of music from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Alvin Chow. During his time at Oberlin, he won three of the largest prizes offered to pianists: the Oberlin Concerto Competition, the Arthur Dann Competition, and the John Elvin Prize for Juniors. He was previously an assistant professor at the Oberlin Conservatory of music, where he taught chamber music, secondary piano, and class piano.