Matous Michal was appointed to the second violin section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by Music Director Riccardo Muti in February 2016. He previously was a member of the first violin section of the Grant Park Orchestra. A native of the Czech Republic, Matous began his violin studies at the age of four under his father Ladislav Michal then went on to the Prague Conservatory then The Juilliard School, where he completed his bachelor’s degree. He earned a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music in May 2016, four months after joining the CSO. Matous joined the CSO alongside his brother, fellow violinist Simon Michal.

Lawrence Neuman has been a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1991. As a chamber musician he frequently is heard throughout the Chicago area and has performed across the United States and Europe. He has appeared at festivals and chamber music series in Boston, Marlboro, La Jolla, Madison, Napa, Portland and Davenport. Chamber music collaborators have included such artists as Daniel Barenboim, Pinchas Zukerman, Yefim Bronfman, Lydia Artymiw, Gil Shaham and Aaron Rosand. A native of Saint Louis, Missouri, Neuman attended the Eastman School of Music, the University of Southern California and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Cellist David Cunliffe began studying at the age of nine in his native England. Three years later he was chosen to receive a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London. In 1984 Mr. Cunliffe went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music where he founded the Argyll String Quartet and was the recipient of the Terrance Weill and Leonard Hirsch Quartet prizes and the Lady Barbirolli Chamber Music Award. Mr. Cunliffe can be heard on various recording labels including Enja, DMD, Albany and Cedille. A founding member of the Virtuosi Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Mr. Cunliffe is currently on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago and is a member of the Lincoln Trio.

Hailed by The Washington Post for his “poised and imaginative playing,” Filipino-American pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion has appeared in concert halls in Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, Spain, Turkey and the USA, as a recitalist and concerto soloist.  He played his orchestral debut at the age of 18 with the Manila Chamber Orchestra, and his New York recital debut in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in 1999.