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 Robert Schumann, Mozart, György Kurtág, and Fauré.

Program

R. Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 88
Mozart: Trio for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Kegelstatt
György Kurtág: Hommage à R. Sch.
Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 2

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

Michelle Kim (Violin): Violinist Michelle Kim has been Assistant Concertmaster, The William Petschek Family Chair, of the New York Philharmonic since 2001. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, New Jersey Philharmonic, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, and Pacific Symphony. An active chamber musician, Kim has collaborated with violinists Cho Liang Lin, Christian Tetzlaff, and Pinchas Zukerman; cellists Mstislav Rostropovich, Lynn Harrell, and Gary Hoffman; and pianists Lang Lang and Yefim Bronfman. She has performed at various festivals including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Chamber Music Festival, Strings in the Mountain, and Bravo! Vail. Kim has also served as the first violinist of the Rossetti String Quartet, and was a Sterne Virtuoso Artist at Skidmore College in 2007–08. Learn more about Michelle Kim

Sofia Basile (Viola): Sofia Basile joined the New York Philharmonic’s viola section in September 2023, having previously been a member of the Colorado Symphony, which she joined in 2019. An avid chamber musician and orchestral player, Basile has performed with ensembles including the Minnesota Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and in venues including Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Royal Albert Hall in London, and the Musikverein in Vienna. Originally from Boston, Basile went to high school at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts, where she was a full scholarship student. She received her bachelor’s degree at the New England Conservatory, under the tutelage of Dimitri Murrath, and her master’s at The Juilliard School, studying with Carol Rodland. Basile plays a viola made by Douglas Cox through a generous scholarship. Learn more about Sofia Basile

Robert Rinehart (Viola): Robert Rinehart, who joined the New York Philharmonic’s viola section in 1992, is a familiar figure on the New York chamber-music scene. He has appeared at the Spoleto, Vancouver Chamber Music, and Santa Fe Chamber Music festivals, and with Chamber Music Northwest and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. A founding member of the Ridge String Quartet, Rinehart has performed in every major music center in the United States, as well as in Canada, Australia, Japan, and in Europe. He has collaborated with Benny Goodman, Rudolf Firkusny, and the Guarneri String Quartet, among others, and his chamber music recordings have received a Grammy Award, two Grammy nominations, and the Diapason d’Or. Learn more about Robert Rinehart

Cong Wu (Viola): Cong Wu joined the New York Philharmonic as Assistant Principal Viola in September 2018. He is the winner of the Third Prize and the Chamber Music Prize in the Fourteenth Primrose International Viola Competition, and the Special Prize in the Twelfth Tertis International Viola Competition. His performances throughout North America and Asia include solo appearances with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, New York Classical Players, and the Long Island Concert Orchestra. Learn more about Cong Wu

Matthew Christakos (Cello): Matthew Christakos joined the New York Philharmonic as Associate Principal Cello in January 2024. Originally from Toronto, he studied with Peter Wiley and Gary Hoffman at the Curtis Institute of Music, and has served as principal cello of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. Learn more about Matthew Christakos

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

Barret Ham (Clarinet): Barret Ham, a native of Macon, Georgia, joined the New York Philharmonic as clarinet / bass clarinet in the 2023–24 season. He previously served as acting second clarinet / bass clarinet for the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra for three seasons, and has performed as a guest musician with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and The Cleveland Orchestra, as well as the Boston, Dallas, and Utah symphony orchestras. Recent summer festival appearances include Yellow Barn, the Lucerne Festival Academy, and Spoleto Festival USA. An avid chamber musician, Ham has performed for Tertulia San Francisco and as a guest with the Borromeo String Quartet. He has worked directly with composers such as Shulamit Ran, Jörg Widmann, Brett Dean, and Enno Poppe, and is a proponent of the works of living composers. He is a lecturer in clarinet at Boston University, and also teaches bass clarinet at The Juilliard School. Barret Ham received his bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory and his master’s degree from the University of Southern California. His primary teachers include Michael Wayne and Yehuda Gilad. Learn more about Barret Ham

Helen Huang (Piano)

Steve Long (Piano)

Amalia Rinehart (Piano)