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 Mozart, Brahms, and Beethoven.

Program

Mozart: Duo for Violin and Viola in G major
Brahms: Piano Trio No. 3
Beethoven: Septet

Artists

Alina Ming Kobialka (Violin): Violinist Alina Ming Kobialka joined the New York Philharmonic in 2022. She has been praised for her beautiful tone, effortless precision, and musical maturity beyond her years. Since her first appearance as soloist at age ten, she has toured and performed with many ensembles throughout the world. San Francisco Classical Voice  described her as a “jaw-droppingly assured” soloist, who “made present and future converge,” and the  Las Vegas Review-Journal  wrote, “Watch for her name. She appears to be bound for greatness.” Learn more about Alina Ming Kobialka

Sheryl Staples (Violin): Violinist Sheryl Staples joined the New York Philharmonic as Principal Associate Concertmaster, The Elizabeth G. Beinecke Chair, in September 1998. She made her solo debut with the Philharmonic in 1999 performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, led by Kurt Masur. She has since been featured in numerous performances, playing concertos by Mendelssohn, Mozart, Haydn, Bach, and Vivaldi with conductors including Philharmonic Music Directors Jaap van Zweden, Alan Gilbert, and Lorin Maazel, as well as with Sir Colin Davis, Jeffrey Kahane, and Kent Nagano. In addition, she has performed as soloist with more than 45 orchestras nationwide, including The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego and Richmond Symphony Orchestras, and Louisiana Philharmonic. Learn more about Sheryl Staples

Yulia Ziskel (Violin): A member of the New York Philharmonic’s first violin section since 2001, Yulia Ziskel, who holds The Friends and Patrons Chair, has established herself as a highly acclaimed solo, chamber, and orchestral musician. She has been praised by  The Strad  Magazine for “the sweetness of her sound.” Learn more about Yulia Ziskel

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

Cynthia Phelps (Viola): Cynthia Phelps is the New York Philharmonic’s Principal Viola, The Mr. and Mrs. Frederick P. Rose Chair. Highlights of her solo appearances with the Orchestra have included the New York Premiere–Philharmonic Co-Commission of Julia Adolphe’s  Unearth, Release,  in 2016; performances on the 2006 Tour of Italy, sponsored by Generali; Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in 2010 and 2014; and Sofia Gubaidulina’s  Two Paths,  which the Orchestra commissioned for her and Philharmonic Associate Principal Viola Rebecca Young and which they premiered in 1999 and reprised both on tour and in New York, most recently in 2011. Other solo engagements have included the Minnesota Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, and Hong Kong Philharmonic. Learn more about Cynthia Phelps

Nathan Vickery (Cello): Lauded as a “formidable cello soloist”  (The New York Times),  cellist Nathan Vickery appears regularly in solo and chamber music recitals and at music festivals around the country. In a 2016 performance of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, he was celebrated for his “talent and artistry” and his “fresh and appealing account” of the work  (The New York Times). Learn more about Nathan Vickery

Ru-Pei Yeh (Cello): Ru-Pei Yeh, cello, who joined the New York Philharmonic in September 2006, has performed regularly as a recitalist in her native Taiwan and in the U.S. A founding member of the Formosa Quartet, formed in 2003, she has served as acting principal cello of the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Opera, in addition to performing with a string quartet of principal players from the San Diego Symphony. She has made solo appearances with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, National Taiwan Symphony, Taiwan’s Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina School of the Arts’s International Music Program Orchestra, and Kuan-Jen School Orchestra, and is the winner of numerous competitions. Learn more about Ru-Pei Yeh

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

Benjamin Adler (Clarinet): Benjamin Adler, a native of Brooklyn, New York, joined the New York Philharmonic as Associate Principal Clarinet and E-flat clarinet at the start of the 2023–24 season. Adler previously held positions with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared as guest principal clarinet in St. Louis and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and has performed as a guest musician with The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.  Learn more about Benjamin Adler

Julian Gonzalez (Bassoon): Julian Gonzalez joined the New York Philharmonic as Associate Principal Bassoon in 2023, at age 22. He completed his bachelor of music in bassoon performance at The Juilliard School, studying with Philharmonic Principal Bassoon Judith LeClair, and was a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship. Learn more about Julian Gonzalez

Tanner West (Horn): Tanner West joined the New York Philharmonic horn section, in which he holds The Ruth F. and Alan J. Broder Chair, in May 2023, after serving as acting fourth horn of the North Carolina Symphony for two seasons. He has performed with ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Diego, Houston, and Charlotte symphony orchestras; in 2015 he was named second horn in the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. West has appeared as soloist with the Durham Symphony Orchestra in a collaboration with the American Dance Festival. He has participated in the Colorado College and Music From Angel Fire music festivals, and spent three summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School, where he was the third horn fellow of the Festival Orchestra. Tanner West received his performance studies certificate from the Colburn Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Andrew Bain, and received his bachelor’s of music from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he studied with Abigail Pack. Learn more about Tanner West