Mari Yoshinaga, Noah Geller, Meeka Quan DiLorenzo, and Amy Yang
Friday, April 2, 2027, 7:30 pm
Mari Yoshinaga, marimba/percussion
Seattle, WA
Mari Yoshinaga, Seattle-based percussionist and recording artist, is known for exceptional versatility and musicianship across solo, chamber, and orchestral settings. In the world of chamber music, she is recognized for collaborative work with a wide range of ensembles and a passion that extends to commissioning and performing music by such composers as Paul Chihara, Nick DiBerardino, Ted Hearne, Paul Lansky, Steven Mackey, Juri Seo, Christopher Theofanidis, Alejandro Viñao, and James Wood. She has premiered numerous new works and was a founding member of arx duo and The Percussion Collective.
As a recording artist, Ms. Yoshinaga can be heard on “Partita: Suite for Guitar and Percussion” by Paul Lansky with guitarist David Starobin (Bridge Records); “Cloud Polyphonies” by James Wood (NMC Recordings); “The Harmonic Canon” by Dominic Murcott (Nonclassical); Memoir by Steven Mackey, recorded with the Dover Quartet (Bridge Records); and Ambient Resonances (Bridge Records), an arx duo’s keyboard percussion album featuring new commissions.
An in-demand pedagogue, Ms. Yoshinaga has presented masterclasses at Princeton University, Boston Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, Musashino Conservatory in Tokyo, and the Curtis Institute of Music, where she also served on the faculty of the Young Artist Summer Program. She holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and Yale School of Music.
Ms. Yoshinaga appears frequently with the Seattle Symphony and as a featured artist with Seattle Chamber Music Society, Emerald City Music, Vancouver Recital Society, On The Boards, Music on the Strait, and the Seattle Japanese Garden. She resides in Seattle with her husband, violinist Noah Geller; their son, Jonah; and their lovely dog Monkey.
Mari Yoshinaga serves as artist endorser for Adams, Evans, Pearl, Vic Firth, and Zildjian instruments.
Noah Geller, Concertmaster
Seattle Symphony
Noah Geller, Concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony, was named to that post at the conclusion of a multi-year search, placing him among a small cadre of elite violinists who serve as both leaders and featured performers for the nation’s acclaimed orchestras.
On April 9 and 11, 2026, Mr. Geller performed the West Coast premiere of Theofanidis’ Double Concerto with percussionist Svet Stoyanov, concluding a string of double concerti, including Brahms Double Concerto with SSO Principal Cello Efe Baltacigil, J.S. Bach Concerto for Two Violins with SSO Principal Second Violin Elisa Barston, and Saint-Saëns la muse et le poète, with Mr. Baltacigil.
It has been recently announced that on February 8 and 10, 2027, Mr. Geller will perform the Lalo Symphonie espagnole concerto under the baton of Music Director Xian Jiang at Benaroya Hall. Prior solo concerti with the Seattle Symphony have included Mozart No. 5, Bartók No. 2, Glazunov, Mendelssohn, and Vaughan Williams.
A significant and sought-after chamber musician, Mr. Geller’s appearances include prestigious festivals, such as Marlboro, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Tanglewood, Kingston (Rhode Island), Olympic, and Seattle Chamber Music Society, and chamber series, such as Lyon & Healy Hall (Chicago), Lyric Chamber Music Society (NY), Philadelphia Museum of Art, and The Seattle Series.
Mr. Geller is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he studied with Hyo Kang, Donald Weilerstein, and Cho-Liang Lin. He began his career as a first violin and, subsequently, Acting Assistant Concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra before appointment as Concertmaster of the Kansas City Symphony, leaving the latter post for the Seattle Symphony in 2018.
An avid supporter of modern makers, Mr. Geller performs on a commissioned 2023 violin by Philadelphia luthier Justin Hess using a bow by Parisian bowmaker Delphine Petijean.
Noah resides with his wife, distinguished percussionist Mari Yoshinaga, their son Jonah, and their canine companion Monkey in Seattle’s Whittier Heights
Meeka Quan DiLorenzo, Associate Principal Cello
Seattle Symphony
Meeka Quan DiLorenzo, a multi-award-winning cellist who thrills audiences with playing described as “incredibly nuanced” and “exquisitely beautiful,” began her professional career as first-prize winner of the Khuner Concerto Competition at age 15 and debuted soon after, performing the Antonín Dvořák Cello Concerto with the Pacific Symphony under the direction of Carl St. Clair.
A graduate of the Young Artist Program of the Cleveland Institute of Music and subsequent recipient of the Bachelor of Music degree in cello performance, Ms. Quan DiLorenzo was awarded the highly competitive position of Associate Principal of the Utah Symphony in her inaugural professional audition and remained with that ensemble for five years before joining the Seattle Symphony, where she is the current Associate Principal Cello.
Recent concerto highlights include the duo cello suite When We Were Trees (composer Giovanni Sollima) with the Seattle Symphony, which was praised in the international periodical of strings, The Strad: “DiLorenzo’s beautifully calibrated vibrato traded off with Abel (Selaocoe’s) relentless intensity and vivid musical gestures in Sollima’s exploration of a kaleidoscopic panoply of styles.”
Ms. Quan DiLorenzo resides in Seattle with her husband, Emmy Award-winning composer, trumpet soloist, and Grammy-nominated recording artist Tony DiLorenzo, their son Luca, and their sweet canine companion.
Our Seattle artists’ guest for the evening is the prolific, award-winning pianist Amy Yang.
Amy Yang, piano
The Curtis Institute of Music and Merz Trio
Amy Yang (yông), winner of the Kosciuszko National Chopin Piano Competition and the 2018 Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia prize, is an alumna of the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and Yale School of Music, where she received the Parisot Award for Outstanding Pianist and the Alumni Association Prize. She is currently the director of Chamber Music and Piano Studies at Curtis Institute of Music and a member of Merz Trio, with which she tours extensively. Ms. Yang is a prolific performer; in addition to Merz Trio, she appears as soloist and chamber musician across the United States in leading festivals and series, too numerous to recount.
Collaborating with trailblazing musicians, Ms. Yang has toured with Patricia Kopatchinskaya, Tito Muñoz, and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and premiered large-scale chamber works by Michael Hersch at Cal Performances, Ojai Music Festival, and Aldeburgh Festival. Additional collaborations include, amongst many, performances with Richard Goode, Anne-Marie McDermott, Ida and Ani Kavafian, Miriam Fried, Hsin-Yun Huang, Paul Huang, Alexi Kenney, Bomsori Kim, Tessa Lark, Roberto Díaz, Kim Kashkashian, Paul Neubauer, Tara Helen O’Conor, David Shifrin, Joseph Silverstein, Philippe Tondre, Danbi Um, members of Guarneri String Quartet, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and numerous leading quartets, including Dover, Aizuri, Jasper, and A Far Cry.
As if that were not enough, Ms. Yang’s energetic exploration of contemporary voices has led to world-premiere performances of works by today’s leading composers, including Caroline Shaw, Richard Danielpour, Avner Dorman, Michael Hersch, Ezra Laderman, Paul Wianko, and commissioned works from Edward Babcock, Alistair Coleman, and Hua Yang.
Ms. Yang’s discography includes the solo album Resonance (MSR Classics), a world premiere recording of piano music by Ezra Laderman (Albany Records), a world premiere recording of Michael Hersch’s “I hope we get a chance to visit soon” (Live from Aldeburgh Festival, New Focus Records), Curtis Studio’s A Century of New Sounds with David Shifrin and Patrick Williams; Live from Spoleto 2024’s three-disc release with Inon Barnatan, Pedja, Todd Palmer, and Ian Rosenbaum; and albums with violinists Itamar Zorman (BIS Records), Tessa Lark (First Hand Records), and Danbi Um (Avie Records), tubist Carol Jantsch, and clarinetist José Franch-Ballester (iTinerant Records).
Amy Yang is a Steinway artist.
https://www.amyjyang.com/about
