Artistic Director

Riley Mulherkar has been recognized as a “smart young trumpet player” by The New York Times, praised by The Wall Street Journal as a “youngster to keep an eye on,” and is a 2020 recipient of Lincoln Center’s Emerging Artist Award for his work as “an original bandleader, composer, arranger, educator, community activist and advocate for jazz and the arts.” 

Riley works with a number of leading artists of our time, including Wynton Marsalis, Anna Deavere Smith, and Alan Cumming, and is a founding member of The Westerlies, a new music brass quartet that creates the rarest of hybrids: music that is both “folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous” (NPR Music). Riley also serves as Artistic Director at Joye in Aiken, bringing leading young talent to the historic city of Aiken, South Carolina.

Born and raised in Seattle, Riley moved to New York in 2010 to study at The Juilliard School, where he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in 2014 and his Master’s in 2015. Riley is actively engaged in educational initiatives, founding the Joye in Aiken Jazz Camp in 2021, directing the Summer Advanced Institute at Seattle JazzEd from 2017-2019, and serving as an ambassador for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Jazz for Young People” program in New York and St. Louis from 2016 – 2018. Riley is also a faculty member of The College of Performing Arts at The New School in New York, NY. Riley is an Edwards Artist and performs on Edwards trumpets.

www.rileymulherkar.com

About the Joye in Aiken Artists

By age 31, Emmy-nominated trumpeter and singer Benny Benack III has proven to be that rarest of talents: not only a fiery trumpet player with a stirring command of the post-bop trumpet vernacular in the vein of Kenny Dorham and Freddie Hubbard, but also a singer with a sly, mature, naturally expressive delivery in the post-Sinatra mold, performing standards and his own astute songs with a thrilling sense of showmanship. This dual-threat ability was recognized by the 2022 Downbeat Critics Poll where he appeared as not only the #2 Rising Star Male Vocalist, but a top Rising Star Trumpeter as well. His superb intonation and bracing virtuosity enable him to handle astounding feats of originally composed vocalese (complex solos with written lyrics). On top of it all, he’s a highly capable pianist as well.

Benny has performed internationally as an Emcee/Host for the YouTube sensation Postmodern Jukebox, and achieved his own viral success amassing millions of views for his crooning alongside the Grammy-award winning “8-Bit Big Band.”  In early 2020 he released “A Lot of Livin’ to Do,” the follow-up to his well-received 2017 debut “One of a Kind.” This sophomore effort, richly varied in mood and brimming with bop inflection, features bassist extraordinaire and jazz ambassador Christian McBride (whose GRAMMY-award winning Big Band frequently calls upon Benny in the trumpet section) and drummer/producer Ulysses Owens, Jr., as well as the radiant Takeshi Ohbayashi on piano and Rhodes. His vocalese duet on “Social Call” from this album, alongside fellow young star vocalist Veronica Swift, became an instant smash hit single, being transcribed and learned by jazz vocalists around the world.

Alongside his global touring as a straight-ahead/contemporary bandleader, Benny has appeared as a trumpet soloist in more commercial circles alongside Josh Groban, Ben Folds, fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi, Ann Hampton Callaway and more. He’s been featured at Birdland, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Mezzrow, Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle and other leading New York venues, and has also been a special guest with the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Orchestra, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, and the Minsk Philharmonic Orchestra. He made his television debut in NBC’s short-lived, SNL-inspired variety show “Maya & Marty,” playing in the in-studio band led by acclaimed bassist & Broadway arranger Charlie Rosen. His global recognition has been bolstered by recent livestreaming concerts at Smalls Jazz Club, where he maintains a weekly residency, as well as frequent appearances on fellow young lion Emmet Cohen’s “Emmet’s Place” weekly show.

Third in a generational line of Pittsburgh jazz notables, Benny follows in the footsteps of his trumpeter/bandleader grandfather, Benny Benack, Sr. (1921-86), and his father Benny Benack, Jr., a saxophonist/clarinetist who gave the young Benny his first professional experience. Benny, Sr., hailed from a Pittsburgh lineage that also produced Roy Eldridge, Earl Hines, Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn and so many more. He recorded the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 1960 theme song “Beat ’Em Bucs” and toured with Tommy Dorsey and Raymond Scott, among others. Benny III returns to Pittsburgh often to perform, saluting his family forebears and the jazz heritage as a whole, nonetheless staking his bold and highly individual artistic claim. He is an endorsing artist with Torpedo Bags cases, CarolBrass flugelhorns, as well as various menswear fashion lines including X-Suit, Alain Dupetit, Proper Cloth & Vittone.

www.bennybenackjazz.com

About the Joye in Aiken Artists

Born in British Columbia, Canada and now residing in New York City, Bria has been a featured artist at hundreds of festivals and stages the world over, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage, Kobe, Monterey, Breda, Newport and Montreal Jazz Festivals. Described as “one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation” (The Wall Street Journal), she has performed with Jon Batiste, Wycliffe Gordon, Stephane Wrembel, Steven Bernstein, U2 & Sun Ra Arkestra, The American Pops and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, and The Blacksmiths “We Insist” Band, and she once sang the “Star Spangled Banner” at Madison Square Garden for a NY Rangers game.  The “shining hope of hot jazz” (The New York Times) has been at the forefront of a revival of classic American music as both a performer and educator, programming concerts and workshops for students of all ages.

A three-time Juno Award Nominee, Bria's debut LP on Sony Masterworks won for Best Jazz Vocal Album and made the Top Five on Billboard jazz charts.  Bria has recorded on over 25 albums and recently released her sixth studio solo album, “Nothing Never Happens,” consisting of mostly original compositions.  Her music has garnered over 13 million streams online and over 85,000 social media followers. As a six-time Downbeat Rising Star, her further accolades include the Jazz at Lincoln Center Swing Award, Best Vocal and Best Trumpet from Hot House Jazz Magazine and Outstanding Jazz Artist at the Bistro Awards.  She tours constantly, bringing her own signature sounds of fiery trumpet playing, smoky vocals and story-telling together with adventurous concoctions of classic and new.

The daughter of teachers, Bria is passionate about education and the learning experience. She was introduced to jazz by a spirited public school band program and local festival in her hometown of Chilliwack. She earned her degree in Jazz Trumpet Performance from Capilano University in Vancouver where she studied with Kevin Elaschuk, Alan Matheson, and independently with Australian cornetist Simon Stribling, all while balancing a full road schedule and managing two bands. Following graduation she performed for four years with Canada’s King of Swing Dal Richards and was taken under the wing of music producer Paul Airey, who cultivated her love of song writing.  She traveled extensively, performing in China, Japan and throughout Europe as a featured artist in traditional jazz circles.

Seeking new challenges, Bria moved to New York in 2010 and studied privately with renowned trumpeter Warren Vache for two years. She now appears often as a guest faculty member and clinician, giving masterclasses and private instruction as well as directing and performing with student ensembles at all levels. Bria is a Co-Founder/Director of the NY Hot Jazz Camp and has served as faculty at the Teagarden Jazz Camp (Sacramento Jazz Education Foundation), Centrum Jazz Camp, Geri Allen Jazz Camp and Junior Jazz Academy (JALC). She has performed hundreds of educational concerts and workshops for students of all ages, has led an ensemble for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Jazz for Young People” outreach program and is an Educational Advisor to the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens.  She has been an Artist in Residence collaborating with Syracuse University, Ball State University, UNC Greensborough, Jazz Arts Group in Columbus, Cape May Regional Schools, and more.

In 2018, Lincoln Center sought out her leadership for a tribute to the first integrated all-female big band, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, which launched her acclaimed group Sisterhood of Swing. In 2019 she was a featured member of Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour for 26 dates alongside Cecile McLorin Salvant, Christian Sands, Melissa Aldana and Jamison Ross.  She is an active member of the Women in Jazz Organization, Jazz Education Network, a Bach Conn-Selmer artist, a board member of the International Trumpet Guild, and a new mother.

www.briaskonberg.com

About the Joye in Aiken Artists

Danny Jonokuchi is a multi-talented jazz artist based in New York City and Los Angeles. With skills as a jazz trumpeter, vocalist, composer, arranger, producer, and educator, few artists are as diversely involved in their craft. He has been recognized for his performance on two GRAMMY Award-Winning projects, and you can hear his compositions and “world-class arrangements” (Broadway World) in renowned jazz clubs, listen to albums he has arranged and produced, and hear him perform on Broadway stages.

His highly anticipated big band album, Voices (Outside in Music), is available everywhere and features 11 jazz vocalists from New York City. He is also a recipient of several awards including the 2024 ISJAC Wayne Shorter Jazz Arranging Prize and the 2020 ASCAP Foundation Louis Armstrong Award, and he was unanimously named the winner of the 2020 Count Basie Great American Swing Contest. DownBeat Magazine remarked, “The music is expertly executed and offers an infectious, kinetic quality.”

Danny currently leads The Danny Jonokuchi Big Band, a 17-piece collection that performs Danny’s original works, and Danny Jonokuchi & The Revisionists, a swing band dedicated to performing for the international Lindy Hop community that has “a classic swing sound you wouldn’t think possible” (Syncopated Times).

Composing and arranging have always been Danny’s passion and his “well-crafted arrangements” (Jazz Weekly) have been performed by an incredible array of artists including Lady Gaga, Catherine Russell, two-time Grammy-nominated vocalist Nicole Zuraitis, Hannah Gill, The Duke Ellington Legacy, The U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note, The Budapest Scoring Orchestra, The Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia, Terell Stafford, Dick Oatts, Brian Newman, Benny Benack III, Charles Turner & Uptown Swing, The Christian Wiggs Big Band, The Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band, The Birdland Big Band, The South Philly Big Band, Svetlana, & Peter Bernstein.

Danny contributed to two GRAMMY award-winning projects with The Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra and the 8-Bit Big Band, and has performed on Broadway stages and dozens of studio albums.  He has subbed with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and can be heard trumpeting on the acclaimed game Red Dead Redemption 2. His playing has also been featured on PBS, NPR, HBO, and Good Morning America. Danny has performed on distinguished stages including Walt Disney Concert Hall, Broadway’s Lyceum Theater, Birdland Jazz Club, The Blue Note NYC, Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Bimhaus (Netherlands), and the North Sea Jazz Festival. A frequently traveling musician, Danny has performed in the U.K., South Korea, Israel, Germany, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Belgium.

Danny is originally from Los Angeles and holds a Master’s degree in composition from The Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College with the support of the Sir Roland Hanna Memorial Scholarship, and was the recipient of the Boyer Alumni Award as an undergraduate from Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance. His notable mentors include jazz luminaries Terell Stafford, Dick Oatts, Luis Bonilla, Bruce Barth, and John Swana. He has studied composition & arranging with Michael Philip Mossman, John Clayton, Darcy James Argue, Norman David, and David Berger.  His early champions were Matt Finders, David Washburn, Ira Nepus, & John Mosley.

www.dannyjonokuchi.com

About the Joye in Aiken Artists

Isaiah J. Thompson is the winner of the 2023 American Pianists Awards and the Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz of the American Pianists Association. Originally from West Orange, New Jersey, the pianist, bandleader and composer began studying at The Calderone School of Music from an early age. Soon after, Isaiah continued his studies with Jazz House Kids and NJPAC Jazz For Teens and was later admitted to The Juilliard School, graduating with both his Bachelor’s in 2019 and his Master of Music degree in 2020.

Isaiah has performed with major artists, including Ron Carter, John Pizzarelli, Christian McBride, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Steve Turre and Buster Williams. His recording debut was featured on Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Blue Engine Records’ Handful of Keys album with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, and he has since released multiple recordings as a leader.

He worked on the Golden Globe nominated soundtrack for Motherless Brooklyn, was named a Steinway Artist, and has been awarded other accolades, including the 2018 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award and second place in the 2018 Thelonious Monk Competition. As a performer, Isaiah tries to emit love, spirit and respect and convey his personal experiences through his artistry and his everlasting love of jazz.

www.isaiahjthompson.com

About the Joye in Aiken Artists

Parsons Dance is a New York City-based contemporary American dance company, internationally renowned for its energized, athletic ensemble work. Founded in 1985 by Artistic Director David Parsons and Tony Award-winning lighting designer Howell Binkley, the company has toured to more than 447 cities, 30 countries, and 5 continents and has appeared at such notable venues as The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Sydney Opera House, Maison de la Danse, Teatro La Fenice, and Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro.

Parsons Dance performs works selected from the vast and varied repertory of more than 75 works created by David Parsons. The company commissions new dances from established choreographers like Trey McIntyre and Monica Bill Barnes and restages works from the American canon, including works by Robert Battle and Paul Taylor. And, through its GenerationNOW Fellowship, the company offers commissions to young American choreographers whom Parsons mentors through the creative process.

Parsons Dance is committed to providing enriching experiences beyond its performances as it seeks to engage audiences of all ages through education and outreach programs; through post-show discussions, open rehearsals, studio showcases, video workshops, open company classes, summer workshops for pre-professional dancers; and in-school workshops for public school students. The company is especially proud of its Autism-Friendly Programs initiative, launched in 2016, that features sensory-friendly workshops and relaxed performances for audiences of all abilities.

All these activities are driven by the vision of Artistic Director David Parsons, who, for 35 years, has combined his choreographic gifts and talent for training highly skilled dancers with a real passion for the art form.

www.parsonsdance.org

DANCERS

ZOEY ANDERSON

(Dancer) was born and raised in Utah, where she trained in contemporary, ballet, jazz, and ballroom dance at Center Stage. She was the ballroom national smooth champion in 2010. Zoey graduated cum laude from Marymount Manhattan College in 2015 with a BFA in Ballet under the direction of Katie Langan. She has performed works by Dwight Rhoden, Lar Lubovitch, and Aszure Barton, among others. In 2013, Zoey performed with Nikolais Louis in the Yang Liping International Dance Festival in Kunming, China. Other credits include the Broadway premiere gala of On The Town, the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Dancing With The Stars webisodes, and Macy's Passport Tour with P. Diddy. Zoey was nominated for the 2018 Outstanding Performer Bessie Award for her sustained achievement in Parsons Dance and is the recipient of the 2019 Clive Barnes Dance Artist Award. Zoey joined the company in 2015.

MEGAN LEIGH GARCIA

(Dancer) began training at Progressions Performing Arts in Spring, TX. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arizona in 2019 with a BFA in dance and a business administration minor. She was privileged to perform works by Nacho Duato, Martha Graham, Bella Lewitzky, Larry Keigwin, and more. Megan attended intensives at Hubbard Street, Giordano Dance, River North Dance, the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, and the Rockettes. After graduation, Megan was offered the role of Rockette in the 2019 Christmas Spectacular. She performed in 102 shows, and was interviewed by TODAY, News 4 New York, and Telemundo. This is Megan's third season with Parsons Dance.

TÉA PÉREZ

(Dancer) is originally from Dallas, TX, where she trained and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (BTWHSPVA) under the direction of Lily Cabatu Weiss and Kate Walker. Perez moved to New York City in 2017 to attend the Ailey/Fordham BFA Dance Program under the direction of Melanie Person. Pérez graduated in May of 2021 from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program with a BFA in Dance along with a BA in Art History, with a concentration in Contemporary and Modern Art. During her studies, Pérez performed works by Alvin Ailey, Robert Battle, Kyle Abraham, Jessica Lang, Aszure Barton, Lar Lubovich, and Dwight Rhoden, among others. Téa served as an understudy for one season with Parsons Dance, and was promoted to Company Dancer in June 2022.

LUKE ROMANZI

(Dancer), a Brooklyn native, is an alumni dance major of LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. He was most recently the youngest dancer in Rock The Ballet, a contemporary ballet company. While with the company, he toured in Germany, France, and Dubai and was featured on Fox's So You Think You Can Dance and HBO's Random Acts of Flyness. In 2018, he was accepted into the Young Choreographers Festival, held at Symphony Space in New York City, and was designated a YoungArts finalist. This is Luke's second season with Parsons Dance.

JOSEPH CYRANSKI

(Dancer) began dancing at the age of eight in New Baltimore, Missouri, his hometown.  After graduating from high school, he went on to study dance at Marymount Manhattan College, where he received his BFA in 2020. Since graduating, Joseph has worked with numerous choreographers such as Earl Mosley, Angelica Stiskin, and Jenn Freeman. He recently performed with Giordano Dance, the Chicago-based dance company, in its fall and spring 60th season appearances with its second company at the Harris Theater. Joseph is elated to be joining Parsons Dance for its 2023-2024 season.

JUSTINE DELIUS

(Dancer) was born and raised in a Paris suburb, where she trained in ballet and jazz before attending the Conservatory National of Paris in 2017.  She appeared in Paris with MIXITY, the music hall cabaret sensation.  In 2021, Justine arrived in New York to study at The Ailey School.  As a student, she performed works by Alvin Ailey, Levi Marsman, Stephanie Lake, Ashley Green and Kameron N. Saunders. This is Justine’s first season with Parsons Dance.

JOANNE HWANG

(Dancer) was born and raised in Sydney, Australia, and graduated from Point Park University with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Musical Theatre. While at Point Park, she had the honor of working with and performing works by Twyla Tharp, Robyn Mineko Williams, Martha Graham, Norbert De La Cruz III, and others. She has continued to train with such companies as BODYTRAFFIC, Move NYC, and The Pillow Project. This is Joanne’s first season with Parsons Dance.

EMERSON EARNSHAW

(Dancer) was raised in Cedar Hills, Utah, where he trained at the Utah Conservatory of Performing Arts.  He continued to train as a member of Brigham Young University’s Contemporary Dance Theatre and at the GibneyPRO Professional Certificate Program.  As a student, he performed works by such choreographers as Peter Chu, Ana Maria Lucaciu, Laja Field of LAJAMARTIN, Omar Roman de Jesus, Jesse Obremski, Jie-Hung Connie Shiau, and Cameron McKinney.  Emerson is thrilled to join Parsons Dance this season.

LUKE BIDDINGER

(Understudy) was raised in Colorado and began his dance training at Inspirations Dance Company when he was 11 years old. After moving to Pennsylvania at age 14 he trained at Touch of Class Dance Studio. Since locating to NYC, he has continued to study at Steps on Broadway, Kanyok Arts Initiative, and the New York City Dance Alliance, which honored him as its National Teen Outstanding Dancer in 2021.

About the Joye in Aiken Artists

Heralded as “one of the finest organists and teachers of our day,” by Zachary Woolfe of The New York Times, and “one of the major musicians of our time” by Alex Ross of The New Yorker, the internationally celebrated organist Paul Jacobs combines a probing intellect and extraordinary technical mastery with an unusually large repertoire, both old and new.

He has performed to great critical acclaim on five continents and in each of the fifty United States. The only organist ever to have won a Grammy Award—in 2011 for Messiaen’s towering “Livre du Saint-Sacrément,”—Mr. Jacobs is an eloquent champion of his instrument both in the United States and abroad.

A fierce advocate of new music, Mr. Jacobs has premiered works by Samuel Adler, Mason Bates, Michael Daugherty, Bernd Richard Deutsch, John Harbison, Wayne Oquin, Stephen Paulus, Christopher Theofanidis, and Christopher Rouse, among others.

No other organist is repeatedly invited as soloist to perform with prestigious orchestras, thus making him a pioneer in the movement for the revival of symphonic music featuring the organ. Mr. Jacobs regularly appears with the Chicago Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Nashville Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony, among others.

Mr. Jacobs studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and at Yale University. He joined the faculty of The Juilliard School in 2003 and was named chairman of the organ department in 2004, one of the youngest faculty appointees in the school’s history.

www.pauljacobsorgan.com

About the Joye in Aiken Artists

Sam Reider is a Latin GRAMMY-nominated pianist, accordionist, composer, and educator from San Francisco, California. His work brings together various streams of American music, from jazz and folk tunes to popular song and contemporary composition. He has appeared as a bandleader and soloist at major festivals and venues around the world and his performances and original compositions have been featured on NPR, PBS and the BBC. Reider has performed, recorded and collaborated with a range of artists including Jon Batiste, Jorge Glem, Sierra Hull, Laurie Lewis, and Paquito d’Rivera. From his genre-bending acoustic ensemble The Human Hands to his duo collaboration with Grammy-nominated Venezuelan artist Jorge Glem, Reider’s unique compositional voice and melodicism runs throughout his eclectic projects. His 2022 solo piano record of original music Petrichor received four stars and made the Best of 2022 in Downbeat Magazine. Reider and Glem’s album Brooklyn-Cumaná was featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk and was nominated for Best Instrumental Album in the 2023 Latin GRAMMY Awards. In addition to his work as a performer, Reider is a prolific composer and has worked with a variety of chamber ensembles and artists ranging from the Bay Area’s Del Sol Quartet to Grammy-nominated soloist Tessa Lark.

Reider grew up in San Francisco, California, raised in a family of Jewish-American artists. He learned piano from his father, a musical theater composer, and in high school he was featured on Marian McPartland’s “Piano Jazz” on NPR. At Columbia University in New York City, he majored in American Studies and fell in love with folk music. While writing his thesis comparing the songwriting of Woody Guthrie and Ira Gershwin, Reider picked up an old accordion and began learning bluegrass and old-time tunes. This set him off on a journey that has taken him from back porches and dive bars to concert halls and major festivals all around the world.

Representing the U.S. Department of State as a musical ambassador, Sam has traveled to China, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Estonia, Turkey and Azerbaijan, carrying his accordion on his back and collaborating with international artists. Folk songs and stories from these travels serve as inspiration for many of the compositions on Reider’s first record, Too Hot to Sleep (2018), which features the Human Hands, a virtuosic ensemble of acoustic musicians originally based in Brooklyn, NY described by the New York Times as “modern folk music with saxophone and accordion.” Irresistible melodies, fiery improvisation and otherworldly sounds collide in what Songlines Magazine dubbed a "mash-up of the Klezmatics, Quintette du Hot Club de France and the Punch Brothers.” 

In July 2022 Reider released Petrichor, his first record of solo piano music. The title refers to the smell of the earth after a first rain and the eight original compositions on Petrichor form a musical reflection on Reider’s recent homecoming to San Francisco after ten years in New York City. “Hiking the foggy coastline, climbing through redwood forests up to alpine lakes, I felt rejuvenated to be back home, in touch with a part of myself that had laid dormant,” says Reider. "I sought to capture the grandeur, intimacy and nostalgia of the landscape I grew up with.” The project represents a return to Reider’s piano roots, in which he pays homage to his earliest inspirations on the instrument – Duke Ellington, James Booker, Keith Jarrett, Claude Debussy, and Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou. Petrichor has received critical praised, named best of 2022 by Downbeat Magazine, and described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “destined to spark your creativity, imagination and wanderlust for the natural world.”

Cross-cultural collaboration plays a vital role in Reider’s creative practice. His most recent project, a collaboration with Venezuelan artist Jorge Glem, puts the accordion in musical conversation with the cuatro. After meeting Glem at a house party in 2016, Reider began taking the train from Brooklyn to visit Glem at his apartment in the Bronx. Over the course of several years of performing, teaching, and traveling together, they developed a strong friendship and a unique repertoire of music. Their debut record Brooklyn-Cumanà was released on Guataca Records in fall 2022 and features special guests Paquito d’Rivera and Gaby Moreno. The duo performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk in February of 2023.

Reider is a passionate and dedicated educator and a lifelong student. He has studied piano with Grammy-award winning pianist Fred Hersch, been mentored by legendary composer/conductor David Amram, and studied counterpoint and harmony with composer and Juilliard Professor Kendall Briggs. Reider holds a B.A. in American Studies from Columbia University and an M.A. in Music Composition from San Francisco State University. He is on faculty at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, CA where he teaches jazz, improvisation, and composition. Whether he’s performing, teaching or composing music, Reider brings the same high level of dedication to his craft and an exuberance for sharing his love of music with the world.

www.samreidermusic.com

About the Joye in Aiken Artists

Equal parts passion, grit, and musical ecstasy, Sybarite5 is an intoxicating cocktail of post-genre musical goodness expressed through the virtuosity of violinists Sami Merdinian and Suliman Tekalli; violist Caeli Smith; cellist Laura Andrade; and double bassist Louis Levitt. It’s the first ensemble of its kind to win the prestigious Concert Artists Guild competition and the group is constantly evolving, defying categorization, and keeping audiences on their toes. 

The group has performed in 44 states and counting, in venues from the Library of Congress (in Washington, DC) to the Anchorage Concert Association (in Alaska).  The ensemble has also presented concerts in Sybarite5’s home of New York City at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, National Sawdust, Le Poisson Rouge, and the Cell Theatre, and in late 2023 participated in Death of Classical’s “The Crypt Sessions” series. Sybarite5 has also appeared at festivals including Ravinia, Grand Teton, Aspen, Caramoor, Wolf Trap, Interlochen, Chautauqua and many others. International appearances include Canada’s Tuckamore Music Festival and ChamberFest Ottawa, the New Docta International Music Festival in Cordoba, Argentina, and the Osaka Festa in Osaka, Japan. 

Dubbed “the millennial Kronos” (Theater Jones), Sybarite5 is chamber music’s most dynamic ensemble. taking listeners on a musical journey of staggering breadth and depth, with new works by living composers as well as the group’s favorite selections from Radiohead, Coltrane, Komitas, Piazzolla, and Pete Seeger... but as Strings Magazine says, “that doesn’t even begin to describe the range of their eclecticism or the depth of their repertoire.“ 

In October 2023, Sybarite5 released their latest studio recording, Collective Wisdom, which received global acclaim and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Classical Charts.  The ensemble's discography includes four other critically-acclaimed recordings: Live from New York It's Sybarite5 (2020); Outliers (2018); Everything in its Right Place (2012); and Disturb the Silence (2010). 

www.sybarite5.org

About the Joye in Aiken Artists

Nadia Lesinska

Bulgarian-born violinist Nadia Lesinska has garnered an exceptional career spanning continents and musical genres. Specializing in baroque violin technique, Nadia has performed with Ars Lyrica, Austin Baroque, Bach Society Houston, Boulder Bach Festival, and Mercury Baroque. She received second prize in Boulder Bach Festival’s 2020 World Bach Competition and can be heard in numerous commercial recordings. She is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Historical Performance at The Juilliard School in New York.

Andrew Koutroubas

Andrew Koutroubas is a cellist and founding director of Silentwoods Collective, an organization committed to building community with music and art. Koutroubas has recorded with grammy-winning Boston Early Music Festival, and performed with Ars Lyrica Houston, Boston Camerata and many others. Koutroubas holds a master’s degree in historical performance from Longy School of Music.

Yunyi Ji

Chinese-American keyboardist Yunyi Ji commands a broad repertory that overlooks five centuries of musical tradition. Through his contrasting passions in early and modern music, Yunyi ponders beauty’s ability to transcend time, style, and society, and embodies each finding in performances of his own. Yunyi obtained his BM and MM Piano Performance at the Eastman School of Music and the SF Conservatory of Music, studying under pianists Rebecca Penneys and Jon Nakamatsu and harpsichordist Corey Jamason. He is a current student of the Historical Performance program at The Juilliard School, pursuing his Master’s under Peter Sykes and Béatrice Martin.

About the Joye in Aiken Artists

Francesco works extensively in opera and has assisted Juilliard with the productions of Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress (which he co-arranged and performed for two pianos), and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Suor Angelica. He also assisted Aspen Music Festival with Mozart’s Don Giovanni and has been on the coaching faculty at Saluzzo Opera Academy.

Francesco has participated twice in Renée Fleming’s SongStudio at Carnegie Hall (2021 & 2022) as well as in SongFest as a fellow, and has performed in Masterclasses with renowned pianists such as Martin Katz, Roger Vignoles, Malcolm Martineau, and Leif Ove Andsnes.

Francesco is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at The Juilliard School, where he also completed a master’s degree as a Kovner Fellow. He holds degrees from The Royal Danish Academy of Music and Rutgers University, where he won the concerto competition. The area of focus in his doctoral studies is Danish songs, and he specializes in coaching singers in the Danish language.

Francesco is a passionate promoter of cultural exchange between Denmark and the United States. In addition to collaborating with the Museum of Danish America in Iowa, his studies in the U.S. have been supported by several prizes and scholarships from organizations like Denmark-America Foundation, Bikuben Foundation, and perhaps most notably the Victor Borge Scholarship.

Francesco holds Italian citizenship, and is fluent in Danish, Italian, and English.

Song Hee Lee

Soprano Song Hee Lee, born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, is in the second year of her master’s degree at The Juilliard School, where she studies with Darrell Babidge.

Lee returned to Alice Tully Hall as a soprano soloist in Purcell’s King Arthur with Maestro Leonel Meunier and Juilliard415 in the 2023 spring season. She was also part of the 2023 Juilliard Spring Opera, Puccini’s Suor Angelica, singing the role of Suor Genovieffa in the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre. Most recently, Lee spent her summer at the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory singing the role of La Princesse in Ravel’s L'Enfant et les sortilèges. In the fall of this season, Lee once again joins Juilliard415 in a concert of Rameau arias.

Tivoli Treloar

Mezzo-soprano Tivoli Treloar is pursuing her Master of Music in Vocal Arts with Darrell Babidge at The Juilliard School where she is a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship. Treloar made her professional debut with the Long Beach Opera singing the role of The Lover in the acclaimed world premiere of Kate Soper’s The Romance of the Rose, directed by James Darrah and conducted by Christopher Roundtree. Treloar is from Los Angeles, California where she graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelor of Music from UCLA. There, she performed the roles of Galatea in Acis and Galatea, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, and Athena in the world premiere of Kay Rhie’s Quake. For the past two summers, Treloar has been a Lehrer Vocal Institute Fellow at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California.

About the Joye in Aiken Artists