STRINGS
Pacalin Zef Pavaci
Violin
Paçalin Zef Pavaci joins the AYO violin artist-faculty with highest recommendations from Maestro Loren Maazel, who writes: “I am impressed by his talent as a violinist and as concertmaster. His dedication to the music is amazing . . . as are his musical talents . . . He animates the music and his colleagues . . . I relied on his leadership and his great experience….”
James Dahlgren
Violin
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​James Dahlgren, Concertmaster of the Royal Philharmonic of Galicia and Honorary Concertmaster of the National Orchestra of Porto, studied with Zaven Melikian at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. After five years as a member of the San Francisco Opera, James accepted the Concertmaster position of the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra and later the position of Associate Concertmaster of the Granada City Orchestra. After arriving in Europe, James has also worked as guest leader with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra among others.
Jan Snakowski
Viola
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Jan Snakowski is an internationally acclaimed Polish violist, currently serving as Principal Solo Viola of the Polish National Opera in Warsaw.
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He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Academy of Music in Cracow, where he previously earned his master’s degrees with honors in both violin and viola. He also pursued advanced studies at the Haute École de Musique in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Yeonjin Kim
Cello
Asian Youth Orchestra alumna Yeonjin Kim has received international acclaim as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician at venues such as the Kennedy Center, Konzerthaus Berlin, Berlin Philharmonie, Seoul Arts Center, Suntory Hall, and others.
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A top prize winner of the Sorantin International Competition (USA), Bossart Award (USA), Dichler-Sato International Competition (Austria), and Viva Hall Competition (Japan), Kim has appeared as soloist with orchestras in Cleveland, Ann Arbor, Colorado, Seoul, and Manila. Her performances were broadcasted on TV and radio in the U.S., Korea, and Japan. As an avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with world-renowned artists. Kim has also performed extensively in Korea and the US with her two sisters in a piano trio, Trio K.
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David Sheets
Double Bass
Kansas Native David Sheets started his career as Associate Principal Bassist of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra during his Sophomore year at the Eastman School of Music after playing for one season as a tutti player. Since then he has performed with the Saint Louis Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic, London's Philharmonia Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra. He is currently the Associate Principal Bassist of the Baltimore Symphony, where he has been a tenured member since 1996. In addition to playing solo bass with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, he has been featured in recital at the International Society of Bassists Convention and has taught master classes at a number of leading music conservatories. Mr. Sheets has been a member of the AYO faculty since 2006.
WOODWINDS
Sonia Formenti
Flute
Sonia Formenti is an acclaimed Italian flautist whose distinguished career encompasses international performance, prestigious orchestral positions, and dedicated teaching. A graduate of the Milan Conservatory, where she earned top honors in 2001, she furthered her studies at the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala and in masterclasses with renowned flautists including Maxence Larrieu and Jean Claude Gerard.
Her professional activity is prolific and varied. She performs as a soloist with orchestras such as the
Philharmonic Orchestra of Turin and the Italian Philharmonic Orchestra. As a dedicated chamber musician, she is a member of the mdi ensemble, with which she has performed at major international venues and festivals, including the Venice Biennale, MiTo, and Radio France's Présences Festival. The ensemble was honored with the Abbiati Prize in 2020.
Luca Vignali
Oboe
Luca Vignali graduated with top honours from the Bologna Conservatory. His distinguished career began early when he was appointed principal oboe of the Arena di Verona Orchestra in 1980. After further studies with masters Lothar Koch and Harold Gomberg, he was invited to the H. Von Karajan Academy in Berlin, performing with the Berlin Philharmonic under legendary conductors like Herbert von Karajan.
In 1984, he won the principal oboe position at the Rome Opera Theatre Orchestra, a role he still holds, achieving a perfect competition score. A prize-winning soloist, he was the first Italian to win First Prize at the International Music Contest in Martigny (1986) and received the “Franco Alfano” prize in 2000.
Paolo Beltramini
Clarinet & Bass Clarinet
Paolo Beltramini, Solo Clarinet of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana (Lugano, Switzerland), is the only Italian clarinetist to have won the First Prize at the prestigious Prague Spring International Clarinet Competition (1996). In duo, together with the pianist Roberto Arosio, he was the winner of the International Chamber Music Competitions in Paris (1996) and Trapani (1997). The forementioned awards brought Beltramini to the atention of audiences and critics and helped establish his reputation as one of the most interesting wind-instrument virtuosos on the international concert circuit.
Giorgio Versiglia
Bassoon & contrabassoon
Principal Bassoonist of the Bergamo Music Festival Orchestra, the Orchestra del Festival Pianistico di Brescia e Bergamo, the Italian Philharmonic Orchestra, and I Musici di Parma, Giorgio Versiglia was born in Pavia, Italy in 1962. He has worked with RAI's Orchestra, RTSI Lugano, Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana, Orchestra da camera CARME, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova, Orchestra da Camera in Bologna, Orchestra Quartettone in Milan, Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese, Cameristi Lombardi, Orchestra Milano Classica, Symphony Orchestra Toscanini in Parma, Orchestra Teatro Regio in Parma, I Musici di Parma, Orchestra Stabile of Bergamo, Orchestra della Scala, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, and Teatro dell'Opera in Roma.
BRASS
Andrea Corsini
French horn
Andrea Corsini, Principal Horn of the Orchestra Filarmonica della Fenice in Venice since 1998, graduated in horn in 1985 at the Conservatory Giuseppe Verdi in Milan with Maestro Elvio Modonesi, and he specialized with Radovan Vlatkovic taking part at the courses of the School of Music in Stuttgart. Under his guidance Maestro Corsini also obtained a diploma of merit at Chigiana Academy of Siena in 1994.
An active orchestral performer, Maestro Corsini has performed with the Orchestra Camerata Salzburg, the Orchestra OSI Lugano, the Human Rights Orchestra based in Lucerne, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and Orchestra I solisti Veneti. As a soloist, he has collaborated with the Theatre des Variétés of Monte Carlo, the Chamber Orchestra of Belluno, the Orchestra of the Teatro Stabile di Bergamo, and the prestigious instrumental group Achille Berruti in Milan. In 1995 he won the international competition for the first horn soloist at the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, holding the position until 1998.
Fabiano Cudiz
Trumpet
Mr. Fabiano Cudiz graduated with a major in trumpet from the "J. Tomadini" Conservatory in Udine, Italy, in 1987, under the guidance of Professors G. Buonomo and V. Pancaldi. He further honed his skills in Ljubljana with Maestro S. Arnold and subsequently from 1989 to 1991 with Maestro R. Delmotte in Versailles, France.
Eugenio Abbiatici
Trombone & tuba
Eugenio Abbiatici was the first trombone from 1985 to 1989 in the orchestra of the “Teatro Regio” di Parma and from 1989 to 1993, at the” Teatro alla Scala” of Milan, and is currently Principal Trombone in the Orchestra Della Radio Svizzera Italiana.
For 20 years he has also played with “I Solisti Veneti” directed by Claudio Scimone.
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Mr. Abbiatici completed his studies at the Music Conservatory of Brescia with Guido Delmonte, and he has also participated in masterclasses with Branimir Slokar.
In his career he has collaborated with the most important conductors, including Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Yuri Temirkanov and Seiji Ozawa.
PERCUSSION & HARP
Danilo Grassi
Percussion
Danilo Grassi holds the Chair of Percussion Instruments at the A. Boito Conservatory in Parma and he is the principal instructor of the Master classes for percussionists under the patronage of the European Union.
As a soloist, he has participated in the preparation and performance of premieres by Luciano Berio, Chick Corea, Adriano Guarnieri, Giacomo Manzoni, Steve Reich, Max Roach, Giacinto Scelsi, Iannis Xenakis, in venues as Paris Opera Bastille, New York’s Merkin Concert Hall, Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Centre, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera.
Shannon Chieh
Harp
Shannon Chieh has been the principal harpist with the National Symphony of Taiwan and faculty member of the National Taiwan Normal University and Asian Youth Orchestra since 2000. She was former principal harpist with the Knoxville and San Antonio symphony orchestras in US and has presented her New York debut solo recital in Carnegie Hall.
Shannon received her master’s degree and artist diploma from Indiana University, and Diplome Superieur de Concertiste from the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris.
SOLOISTS
