Emma Gerstein was appointed second flute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2017 by Music Director Riccardo Muti. Before joining the Orchestra, she appeared as a guest several times, including performances during the CSO’s 2016 tour to Asia with Muti. Most recently, Gerstein served as the section principal flute of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand.

Kevin Pearl is the assistant principal oboe of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, a position he assumed in the fall of 2015. Prior to his appointment in Milwaukee, During the summer, he is the oboe faculty member at Festival Napa Valley, and he performs regularly with the Grant Park Orchestra, the Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra, and the Lakes Area Music Festival, with whom he performed Richard Strauss’s oboe concerto in 2016. He is also the First Prize winner of the inaugural Double Reed Society’s Young Artist Competition.

Jay Shankar is an emerging clarinetist in the classical music world, recently appointed as the Assistant Principal/Second/and Eb Clarinet with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He was named the winner of the prestigious International Vandoren Competition and a semi-finalist at the International Crusell Competition in Finland, the only American clarinetist to be invited. Shankar is a frequent guest of world-class orchestras such as The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. 

William Buchman joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1992 after two seasons with the Dallas Symphony. He was appointed assistant principal bassoon in 1996 and has served as acting principal on multiple occasions, including all overseas tours between 2007 and 2014. In 2008 he performed and toured as guest principal bassoon with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Buchman has played chamber music with pianists Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Yefim Bronfman and Emanuel Ax; performed and toured with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Chicago Pro Musica and the Chicago Symphony Winds, and plays regularly with Music of the Baroque. 

Alexander Love is an Australian Horn player currently living and working in Chicago. In recent years he has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and as guest principal Horn with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He is currently an Adjunct Professor teaching Brass Orchestral Repertoire at DePaul School of Music in Chicago and is a member of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra. Prior to moving to Chicago he served in the capacity of Acting Associate Principal Horn with the Utah Symphony from 2016 to the beginning of 2019.

Multi-Grammy nominated artist, Marta Aznavoorian, has performed to critical acclaim throughout the world as orchestral soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and educator. As a soloist, Marta has performed in Chicago’s most prestigious venues and concertized throughout the United States and abroad. She has soloed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, New World Symphony, Aspen Concert Orchestra, San Angelo Symphony, and San Diego Symphony. She has worked with renowned conductors including Sir Georg Solti, Lukas Foss, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Her solo recitals have included performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Sydney Opera House, Steinway Hall, Weill Hall, Caramoor Festival, Tanglewood Festival, Music in the Loft, Dame Myra Hess Series, and Green Lake Music Festival.