An Ensembles concert at Merkin Hall provides an intimate connection between musicians and audience. Experience the individual talents that make up the Orchestra, and see how a small setting can make for a huge musical event. At this concert, NY Phil Musicians perform works by Schuller, Tchaikovsky, Villa-Lobos, and Gubaidulina.

Program

Schuller: Quartet for Double Basses
Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 1
Villa-Lobos: Assobio a Jato (The Jet Whistle)
Gubaidulina: Piano Quintet

Artists

Quan Ge (Violin): Violinist Quan Ge joined the New York Philharmonic in June 2009. She is a top prize winner at the China National Violin Competition and Jeunesses International Music Competition in Romania, and has served as guest concertmaster with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Learn more about Quan Ge

Lisa GiHae Kim (Violin): Lisa GiHae Kim joined the New York Philharmonic’s violin section in February, 2003. As a soloist, Kim has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. John’s Smith Square (under the direction of Lord Yehudi Menuhin), Santa Cruz Symphony Orchestra, San Angelo Symphony, Flint Symphony Orchestra, and other ensembles. Learn more about Lisa GiHae Kim

Kyung Ji Min (Violin): Violinist Kyung Ji Min joined the New York Philharmonic in September 2019. Born in South Korea in 1995, she began playing the violin at age seven, studying with Hyuna Kim and graduating with highest honors from Yewon School, where she was concertmaster of the school orchestra. She received top prizes in national competitions and gave solo and chamber concerts as part of the Kumho Prodigy Concert series, supported by the Kumho Foundation. She came to the United States to study with Aaron Rosand and Shmuel Ashkenasi at the Curtis Institute of Music — where she served as assistant concertmaster of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra — and subsequently studied with Sylvia Rosenberg and Ronald Copes at The Juilliard School, where she served as concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra. She performed with the Verbier Chamber Orchestra in 2017 and has performed under the baton of conductors including Alan Gilbert, Rossen Milanov, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gerard Schwarz, and Osmo Vänska. Learn more about Kyung Ji Min

Anna Rabinova (Violin): Violinist Anna Rabinova performs nationally and internationally as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and recording artist. She joined the New York Philharmonic in 1994, two years after arriving in the United States from her native Russia; in the 2008–09 season she was a soloist with the Orchestra in Bach’s  Brandenburg  Concerto No. 5, led by Lorin Maazel. Learn more about Anna Rabinova

Leah Ferguson (Viola): Violist Leah Ferguson joined the New York Philharmonic in October 2018, having previously been a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 2016. Originally from Chicago, she began playing the violin at age five and switched to the viola at age twelve, studying with Roland Vamos. Learn more about Leah Ferguson

Peter Kenote (Viola): Peter Kenote was born in Seattle, Washington. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, and his master’s and doctorate degrees in music performance from The Juilliard School. Since 1983 he has been a member of the New York Philharmonic viola section. In February 2008 he performed Berio’s  Sequenza  VI for solo viola at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater as part of the New York Philharmonic’s Day of Berio. In the 2009–10 season he played the premieres of a new viola concerto with the South Dakota Symphony written for him by composer Neal Harnly, and  Moto Perpetuo,  a new work for viola and percussion ensemble by Braxton Blake. He especially enjoys performing in concert with his daughters, soprano Rebekah and mezzo-soprano Ruth. Learn more about Peter Kenote

Claire Deokyong Kim (Cello): Claire Deokyong Kim joined the New York Philharmonic in May 2024. Born and raised in South Korea, Kim started playing the cello at age six. Her principal teachers have included Laurence Lesser, Lluís Claret, and Myungwha Chung. She received her bachelor’s and master’s of music degrees, as well as her graduate diploma, from the New England Conservatory. Previously, she served as principal cellist of the NEC Philharmonia and NEC Chamber Orchestra. In 2018 she was the winner of the New England Conservatory’s Concerto Competition and was subsequently selected to perform Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 at Jordan Hall, led by Hugh Wolff. Learn more about Claire Deokyong Kim

Sumire Kudo (Cello): Sumire Kudo joined the Philharmonic as a cellist in June 2006. Previously she taught at Indiana University–South Bend and was the cellist of the Avalon String Quartet. Born in Tokyo, Japan, Kudo began cello studies at age four with her father, cellist Akiyoshi Kudo. She came to the United States in 2000, after establishing herself in her native country through solo performances and recordings. Her honors include the Hideo Saito Memorial Fund Award, which she received from the Sony Music Foundation after being chosen by Seiji Ozawa and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi as the most promising cellist in 2005, and prizes at the Sapporo Junior Cello Competition and 62nd Japan Music Competition. Kudo is a graduate of Tokyo’s Toho School and The Juilliard School. She has participated in the Nagano-Aspen Music, Aspen Music, Santa Fe, and Marlboro Music festivals.  Record Geijutsu,  Japan’s leading classical music magazine, named her second solo CD,  Love of Beauty,  Best Recording. Learn more about Sumire Kudo

John F. Lee (Cello): Cellist John F. Lee joined the New York Philharmonic in June 2024. A native of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, Lee completed a bachelor’s degree in history of science and statistics at Harvard University and a master of music degree from New England Conservatory with Laurence Lesser, part of the five-year dual-degree program. He earned a post-baccalaureate diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of Peter Wiley, Gary Hoffman, and NY Phil Principal Cello Carter Brey. Prior to joining the NY Phil, he was a member of the San Diego Symphony from 2022. Learn more about John F. Lee

Timothy Cobb (Bass): Bassist  Timothy Cobb  joined the New York Philharmonic as Principal Bass in May 2014, after serving as principal bass of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and  principal bass of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra since 1989. He has appeared at numerous chamber music festivals worldwide, including the Marlboro Music festival, through which he has toured with the Musicians from Marlboro series. A faculty member of the Sarasota Music Festival, he is helping to launch a new bass program for the Killington Music Festival in Killington, Vermont. Cobb also serves as principal bass for Valery Gergiev’s World Orchestra for Peace, an invited group of musicians from around the world who donate their time biannually and perform to promote international harmony. Cobb has been designated a UNESCO Artist for Peace from his affiliation with the World Orchestra. Learn more about Timothy Cobb

Blake Hinson (Bass): Assistant Principal Bass Blake Hinson joined the New York Philharmonic in September 2012. Previously he served as principal bass of the Grand Rapids Symphony for two seasons, played with the New World Symphony as a fellow, and performed with The Philadelphia Orchestra. A native of West Des Moines, Iowa, Hinson was accepted at age 16 to The Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Philadelphia Orchestra principal bass Harold Robinson and Edgar Meyer. He spent three summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School on fellowship, where he played in the Aspen Chamber Symphony and Aspen Festival Orchestra and won the 2006 low strings competition. Hinson won third prize in the 2009 International Society of Bassists Double Bass Competition and made his solo debut at Boston’s Symphony Hall. Learn more about Blake Hinson

Satoshi Okamoto (Bass): Satoshi Okamoto was an assistant principal double bassist in the San Antonio Symphony for eight years and a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra for a year before joining the New York Philharmonic in September 2003. He received his master’s degree from The Juilliard School, and a bachelor’s degree from Tokyo University of Fine Arts. An eight-time Aspen Music Festival participant, he won the festival’s bass competition twice, in 1993 and 1997. He also became a finalist of the International Society of Bassist Solo Competition in 1997, and the Izuminomori International Double Bass Competition in 2001. As a chamber musician, he is a member of Bateira trio and La Stella Quattro di Bassi. His teachers include former Philharmonic Principal Bass Eugene Levinson, Paul Ellison, Yoshio Nagashima, and Osamu Yamamoto. Learn more about Satoshi Okamoto

Max Zeugner (Bass): Associate Principal Bass Max Zeugner, The Herbert M. Citrin Chair, joined the New York Philharmonic in September 2012. Originally from Worcester, Massachusetts, he started studying classical guitar before transitioning to electric bass and finally to double bass and received lessons from the Joy of Music Program and Burncoat High School’s Music Magnet Program. After attending a summer chamber music workshop at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in Nelson, New Hampshire, he shifted his focus from jazz to classical. He began taking lessons at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School with bassist Deborah Dunham and studied with Richard Hartshorne. He joined youth orchestras in Boston and in 2001 he was runner up at the Boston Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. He went on to become a scholarship student of New York Philharmonic bassist Orin O’Brien at The Juilliard School and Edwin Barker at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts, where he won the 2005 Concerto Competition. Learn more about Max Zeugner

Yoobin Son (Flute): Flutist Yoobin Son became a member of the New York Philharmonic in November 2012, the first Korean to join the Orchestra’s woodwind section. She has also served as principal flute of Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and principal flute of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Learn more about Yoobin Son

Eric Huebner (Piano): P ianist Eric Huebner   has drawn worldwide acclaim for his performances of new and traditional music since making his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at age 17. In January 2012 he was appointed pianist of the New York Philharmonic and holds the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Piano Chair. From 2001 through 2012, Huebner was a member of Antares, a quartet comprised of clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. First-prize winner of the 2002 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, Antares appeared regularly in major chamber music venues throughout the United States and worked closely with many composers on the commissioning of new works for its combination. Learn more about Eric Huebner