Brinton Averil Smith, Cello & Evelyn Chen, Piano

Critics have hailed cellist Brinton Averil Smith as a “virtuoso cellist with few equals,” describing him as “a proponent of old-school string playing such as that of Piatigorsky and Heifetz.” Reviewing his recent live recording of the revival of Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Cello Concerto, BBC Music magazine wrote, “his is a cast iron technique of verve and refinement put entirely at the service of the music. The artistry on display here is breathtaking...” His debut recording of Miklós Rózsa’s Concerto with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra won similar international acclaim, with Gramophone praising Smith as a “hugely eloquent, impassioned soloist,” while the American Record Guide praised his recording of chamber music of Fauré with Gil Shaham as “stunningly beautiful.”

Mr. Smith's engagements have included performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and recital and concerto appearances both internationally and throughout the United States. His broadcast performances include CBS's Sunday Morning and regular appearances on NPR’s Performance Today and SymphonyCast, while his live performances have been viewed over one million times on YouTube. As a chamber musician, Smith has collaborated with cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Lynn Harrell, pianists Yefim Bronfman, Emanuel Ax, Jeffrey Kahane and Kirill Gerstein, violinists Gil Shaham, James Ehnes, Cho-Liang Lin, and Sarah Chang, and members of the Guarneri, Emerson, Juilliard, Cleveland, and Berg quartets. Previously a member of the New York Philharmonic, and the principal cellist of the San Diego and Fort Worth symphonies, Mr. Smith has been the principal cellist of the Houston Symphony since 2005.

The New York Times hailed Evelyn Chen as "a pianist to watch," praising her "brilliant technique, warm, clear tone, and exacting musical intelligence." Ms. Chen’s recent engagements have included performances on five continents at venues including David Geffen Hall and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Symphony Hall in Boston, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, Wolf Trap near Washington DC, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, the Cultural Center of Hong Kong, the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, among others.

A Steinway Artist, Ms. Chen has performed with numerous orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the New Zealand Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, and the State Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, and has collaborated with renowned conductors including Riccardo Muti, Leonard Slatkin, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Zdenek Macal, Joseph Silverstein, and JoAnn Falletta.