Musical Arts International, Inc.

A talented young String Quartet perform an intriguing mix of masterpieces from past and present.

Mari Uehara Washington had her Bachelor of Music degree of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music; and a Master of Music degree from the University of Maryland. Her former teachers include Stephen Clapp, Greg Fulkerson, Arnold Steinhart and John Dalley. She has performed as assistant concertmaster in the Fairfax and Millbrook symphonies. She was also first violinist with the Adelphi String Quartet and a member of the Sakura Piano Trio. She is currently concertmaster of the USAF Strings and Symphony Orchestras, and has appeared as soloist with them.

Originally from Kansas, Luke Wedge is an active chamber musician and frequently requested concertmaster in the Washington DC area. He is a founding member of the West Garden Trio, the resident piano trio at the National Gallery of Art. He was a participant in the prestigious Julliard Quartet seminar, and has given master classes at the Eastern Music Festival and Gettysburg College. An experienced orchestral musician, he has performed with the National Symphony, Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Chicago Philharmic Orchestra, and has shared the stage with such greats as Ray Charles, Jay-Z, Josh Groban, Mary J. Blige, and the Aaron Neville. He holds degrees from the University of Kansas and Northwestern University.

Bryce Bunner studied at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, earning Bachelor of Music degrees in viola performance and music education and Master degree at the University of Maryland College Park.  Bunner is the principal violist of the USAF String and Symphony Orchestras. He is a founding member of the Inscape Chamber Orchestra, and has performed with the Baltimore Symphony, National Gallery Orchestra, National Philharmonic, Maryland Symphony and the Fairfax Symphony. His principal teachers include Carol Dallinger, Roland Vamos, Lynne Ramsey, Mark Jackobs and Katherine Murdock.

A native of Southern California, Christine Lightner is the principal cellist of the United States Air Force Symphony Orchestra, as well as an active freelance and chamber musician in the DC area. She holds degrees from the University of Southern California, and the Manhattan School of Music. Her principal instructors include Alan Stepansky, Margo Tatgenhorst-Drakos and Eleonore Schoenfeld. Prior to moving to Washington DC, she perfomed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and One World Symphony in New York.

Li-Ly Chang, piano is a pianist, composer and the director of the International Young Artist Piano Competition. “Her artistic ability and dedication to giving a crowd-pleasing performance made a very memorable day for us.”  Washington Summer Music Festival.


Music by Brahms "Quartet In A minor, op 51, no2", Phillip Glass "Quartet no2", Mozart "Piano Quintet in Eb Major, K.449 ".

Latvian Lutheran Church, 400 Hurley Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850

Benton String Quartet Flier

Now in its sixth season, the Patagonia Winds is a professional wind quintet known to Maryland and Virginia audiences for its dynamic programming that the whole family can enjoy. Program includes much-loved work of Poulenc "Sextet for Winds and Piano", Mozart the "Finale from the Grand Serenade", Ravel's "Mother Goose" Suite, and some holiday favorites. The program also features a new gem, “Three Nature Walks for Woodwind Quintet,” written especially for the Patagonia Winds by local composer Alexandra Molnar-Suhajda.

Two brilliant pianists, Jose Ramos Santana and Jose Caceres  Danielsen, inhabitants of a number of interesting and intersecting sound world music, come together with "...their colorful insistence and momentum.." (Washington Post).

A native of Puerto Rico, José Ramos Santana is one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation. He is a top  prize winner of the Gina Bachauer Competition.He performs a wide and diverse repertoire while being an acknowledged master of Spanish music. Mr. Ramos Santana has appeared as a guest soloist with  New York Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, Detroit , Saint Louis , Baltimore , San Antonio , Rochester Philharmonic, 92^nd Street Y The New York Virtuosi, Casals Festival , Puerto Rico , New Mexico, Sioux City, Utah and Syracuse, among many others. Additional solo performances include the Moscow Philharmonic Latin American tour, Orchestra of L'Hermitage of Saint Petersburg, Russia as well as collaborating with distinguished musicians and conductors such as Krzysztof Penderecki, John Adams, Dennis Russell Davies, Jerzy Semkow, Dimitri Kitaenko, Joseph Silverstein, cellist Arto Noras, violinist Gregory Zhislin, and pianist Vladimir Viardo.

A major prizewinner in numerous national and international competitions, Jose Cáceres Danielsen accolades include the Young Soloists' Competition of the National Symphony Orchestra, the Teresa Carreño Intl Piano Competition of Venezuela and the John F. Kennedy Center's Fellowships of the Americas National Program Award.  

With a repertoire that encompasses a wide array of styles – from Bach to the varied idioms of today's leading contemporary composers – Mr. Cáceres has brought to the forefront some of the most ambitious and challenging music of lesser-known contemporary Latin American composers. This interest was recognized with a grant from the Johns Hopkins University Latin American Studies Program, through the Ford Foundation, to further expand his knowledge of the repertoire. In conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution's exhibition – Piano 300 years–he was one of four pianists featured in a series of cocnerts exploring the Spanish and Latin American repertoire. Original works for piano duet by Reynaldo Hahn, Carlos Guastavino, Johannes Brahms, Wim Statius Muller and Juan Morel Campos.

Latvian Lutheran Church, 400 Hurley Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850

Jose and Jose Flier 

Trio Sirènes, comprised of flutist Marcia Kämper, violist Karin Brown and harpist Jacqueline Pollauf, enjoys pushing boundaries and highlighting the diverse sonic possibilities of their wind, string and percussion instruments. In addition to performing the standard repertoire, Trio Sirènes seeks to create innovative programs by presenting both works by contemporary composers and transcriptions from earlier time periods. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, the trio performs throughout the East Coast and regularly appears on the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Music by Candlelight Series.

Marcia Kämper holds the position of second flute with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. With five concertos performed since joining the orchestra in 2006, Ms. Kämper performance of Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2, 4 and 5 was lauded as having “a consistent warmth to the playing all evening. Solo highlights include the sweet blending of Adkins and flutists Marcia Kämper and Genevieve Briggs in No. 4” (The Baltimore Sun). Prior to her appointment at the BSO, Ms. Kämper was a flutist and soloist with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra. An active recitalist with a broad repertoire, Ms. Kämper is a champion of new music and has several world premieres to her. Ms. Kämper is the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of ANALOG, a non-profit collective of artists and musicians from around the world. Ms. Kämper holds two degrees from Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University.

Karin Brown, viola, received critical acclaim for her “strikingly rich and warm tone” (The Strad) after making her solo recital debut at Carnegie Weill Hall. Ms. Brown is Assistant Principal Violist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and has been featured as concerto soloist with the BSO in Britten’s Double Concerto, Bach Brandenburg No. 6, and Britten’s Lachrymae. Ms. Brown is a prizewinner in the William Primrose International Viola Competition, and was a juror, Laureate recitalist, and masterclass clinician in the 2011 Primrose Competition. Her Chicago recital debut took place with live radio broadcast at the Dame Myra Hess series.  She has performed with members of eighth blackbird and the Borromeo Quartet, and at Caramoor’s Rising Stars series.  A committed teacher, Ms. Brown serves as faculty of the National Orchestral Institute (NOI), the Baltimore School for the Arts, and maintains a private studio of violin and viola students. Ms. Brown holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a Master’s degree from the Juilliard School.

Jacqueline Pollauf, harp, has been praised for playing with “transcendent ability” (The Sybaritic Singer), and a “steady and most satisfying elegance” (The Toledo Blade), and made her solo debut at age sixteen with the Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra and has since given solo performances throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Recording credits include Music from Three Continents with the Scottish Voices ensemble of Glasgow, Scotland; Howard Hanson: Organ Concerto with the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra; and a solo recording, Bouquet. In 2014, Jacqueline was honored with an Individual Artist’s Award from the Maryland State Arts Council. In addition to being the founder and director of the Baltimore Harp Camp, Jacqueline is on faculty of American University, the Baltimore School for the Arts, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Goucher College, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory.