Cellist Rainer Crosett is quickly building an international career as an artist of uncommon sensitivity and creativity. From his Wigmore Hall recital debut in 2019 as the first American cellist ever to win the Pierre Fournier Award, to his Spring 2023 concerto debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, he regularly appears as a soloist and chamber musician on many of the most renowned stages throughout Europe and North America. Other major recent concerto appearances include the Houston Symphony. Rainer’s passion for the many ways music relates to other fields also continues to yield boundary-breaking interdisciplinary projects and programs, including a recent exploration of the relationship between poetic language & forms and music, which culminated in a Yellow Barn Artist Residency. As a chamber musician, Rainer has performed at festivals including Ravinia, Music@Menlo, the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, and Prussia Cove. He has worked closely with leading composers including Jörg Widmann, and has performed with renowned ensembles such as the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart and the Parker Quartet.

He began his studies in the Harvard-New England Conservatory Joint Program, through which he received his M.M. from New England Conservatory and his A.B. magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in Philosophy from Harvard. Rainer went on to receive an Artist Diploma at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and he is currently completing further graduate studies at the Universität der Künste Berlin with Jens Peter Maintz.

Commended for his “perceptive pianism” (Audiophile) and “playing that is sensitive and wonderfully  warm” (American Record Guide), Chicagoan Kuang-Hao Huang is a highly sought-after collaborative  pianist whose performances have taken him throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He has  performed in New York City’s Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Merkin Hall; in Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and NPR’s Tiny Desk; and at every major venue in the Chicago area, including the Harris Theatre and Symphony Center. He is often heard live on WFMT and has also performed on WQXR and on Medici.tv. Mr. Huang has recorded for Aucourant, Cedille, Innova and Naxos, including a CD of flute fantasies with flutist Mathieu Dufour, a premiere recording of early  songs by Alban Berg with mezzo-soprano Julia Bentley, and a survey of songs by Chicago composers with baritone Thomas Hampson. Beginning in 2022, Mr. Huang will be heard with violinist Augustin Hadelich on the official recordings for Suzuki Violin Books 4-6.

A strong advocate of new music, Mr. Huang is a core member of Fulcrum Point New Music Project and  Picosa. He has premiered numerous works, including pieces by Laurie Altman, Mason Bates, Jacob Bancks, Randy Bauer, Kyong Mee Choi, Stacy Garrop, John Harbison, Daniel Kellogg and Shulamit Ran.  Mr. Huang gave the world premiere performances of works by Louis Andriessen and Chen Yi at Weill Hall as part of Carnegie Hall’s Millennium Piano Book Project. He has appeared on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW series.

A dedicated teacher, Mr. Huang serves on the faculties of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and Concordia University-Chicago. He has also taught at the Bienen School of  Music at Northwestern University.

From 2014-2021, Mr. Huang was the driving force behind Make Music Chicago (makemusicchicago.org),  a citywide celebration of music every June 21st. He also founded the organization’s Pianos in the Parks  program, which partners with the Chicago Park District to give all Chicagoans access to outdoor pianos as  well as free lessons. Currently, Mr. Huang serves on the Advisory Council for the Make Music Alliance and  also serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra.