ViolaPlus Featured Artists
Colburn Presents
ViolaPlus: A String-Centric Celebration
November 16, 2025, 3 pm
Featured Artists
Tatjana Masurenko, Viola
Tatjana Masurenko is one of the leading viola players of our time. Her distinctive style was described as “[a] sensitive and cultivated form of musical playing,” by The Strad magazine, and her charisma and natural stage presence is shaped by her expressiveness and intensive musical studies. A highly regarded soloist, recitalist, and in-demand chamber musician, Ms. Masurenko is dedicated to bringing the viola to the forefront of musical development and growth internationally. She is also a deeply committed pedagogue and has been a welcome guest at major international festivals for many years.
Ms. Masurenko regularly performs on the leading international stages and has made solo appearances with orchestras including the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Radio Symphonie Orchester Berlin, NDR Radiophilharmonie, and has worked with conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Michail Jurowski, Yuri Temirkanov, Marek Janowski, and Eiji Oue. Alongside the great viola concertos of Walton, Bartók, and Hindemith, Ms. Masurenko’s wide-ranging concert repertoire also includes modern masterpieces such as Schnittke, Gubaidulina, and Kancheli, and rarely performed concertos by Hartmann and Bartel. A dedicated chamber musician, she has played alongside musicians such as Gideon Kramer, Andras Schiff, Steven Osborn, Midori, Daniel Hope, Christian Tetzlaff, Emmanuel Pahud, and Isabelle Faust.
One of Ms. Masurenko’s major initiatives has been the further development of the viola as a solo instrument. She has given numerous world premieres, many of which she commissioned, and has worked with composers such as Wolfgang Rihm, Gladys Krenek, Moritz von Gagern, Dimitri Terzakis, Hans-Christian Bartel, Luca Lombardi, and Nejat Başeğmezler. She regularly programs the music of Ernst Krenek and has recorded all his works for solo viola. In 2003, she began the regular series ViolaPlus, which highlights the rich history of the instrument and its future, and is a founding member of the Leipzig Viola Ensemble. Dedicated to historical performance practice, she interprets Baroque and classical repertoire with passion and develops modern music on the Baroque instrument in an experimental and innovative way to create highly original sonic soundscapes.
Ms. Masurenko’s discography reflects the musician’s high artistic standards and compiles the programs of her recordings meticulously and with great deliberation. Several of her recordings, have received awards including the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik and her British Viola Concertos featuring concertos by Walton, Beamish, and Britten received the German Critics’ Prize, the Supersonic Award (Luxemburg), and the Diapason découverte (France). Her three-CD box set with pianist Roglit Ishay, White Nights–Music from St. Petersburg, is one of the preeminent recordings of this repertoire.
Dedicated to education and guiding young musicians, Ms. Masurenko is the founder of the Viola Camp Iznik and has been a regular participant at the Marlboro Festival, Prussia Cove, West Cork Festival, Beethoven Haus Bonn, Bach Fest Leipzig, Schleswig-Holstein, and Mozartwoche Salburg, among many others. For 20 years, she was Professor of Viola at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy,“ in Leipzig, and in 2019, began as Professor of Viola at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne in Sion, Switzerland. In 2022, Ms. Masurenko joined the faculty at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, where she holds the Richard D. Colburn Viola Chair.
Ms. Masurenko plays a viola by P. Testore, Milan 1756 and a specially built instrument by Jürgen Manthey, Leipzig 2017 and plays a viola d’amore by Charles Jacquot, Paris 1849.
Alexandra Hotz, Voice
Praised for her musicianship and shimmering tone, award-winning soprano Alexandra Rose Hotz is equally at home on the opera, concert, and recital stages. With a magnetic stage presence and captivating artistry described as “soul-stirring” (Voice Magazine Santa Barbara), she has been seen as Frasquita in Carmen, Le Feu in L’enfant et les sortilèges, the title role in Handel’s Alcina, and Phaino in Kate Soper’s Here be Sirens. Ms. Hotz spent the summer of 2024 as a Vocal Fellow at the Music Academy of the West. Last season, she made her Carnegie Hall debut in a solo recital as the winner of Joy in Singing’s International Art Song Competition. She also joined the Spoleto Festival as Crobyle in Massenet’s Thaïs.
As a concert soloist, Ms. Hotz has interpreted a diverse repertoire, including Bernstein’s West Side Story Concert Suite, Stephen Stucky’s Sappho Fragments, Mahler’s Second Symphony, oratorios by Handel and Haydn, and cantatas by Bach and Tom Cipullo.
Ms. Hotz has won several awards, including second place in Opera Birmingham’s Vocal Competition, third place in the Artist Division at the NOA’s Carolyn Bailey Argento Vocal Competition, and recognition as a winner at the Los Angeles District, along with an Encouragement Award at the Western Regional Auditions of the Laffont Metropolitan Opera Competition. Most recently, she was named the winner of Joy in Singing’s International Voice Competition and gave her debut recital at Carnegie Hall in February 2025.
Ms. Hotz’s passion for contemporary American music shines through her collaborations with leading composers. From her performance of Kate Soper’s Here be Sirens (Suite), where she played prepared piano and utilized extended vocal techniques, to her collaborations with Stephen Hartke, Ben Moore, Anthony Davis, and Tom Cipullo, she continues to champion innovative works. In the summer of 2023, she attended the Mostly Modern Festival as a Voice Fellow, where she performed works by Rob Patterson and debuted works written for the festival. A passionate recitalist, Ms. Hotz joined as a fellow for the Cincinnati Song Initiative’s inaugural Fellowship of the Song in 2024, performing in song concerts coached by Margo Garrett.
Currently based in Southern California and originally from Toledo, Ohio, she recently received the Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Eastman School of Music, where she also received her master’s under the tutelage of Anthony Dean Griffey.
Chi-Jo Lee, Piano
Pianist Chi-Jo Lee is an emerging voice in the classical music landscape. Her playing has been described as “virtuosic… with impressive grace” (San Diego Union-Tribune) and that her performance was “delivered with brio and apt abandon” (The Santa Barbara Independent). A versatile pianist, Ms. Lee navigates diverse genres from solo performances to chamber and contemporary music. Her musical journey has taken her to venues in the United States, Italy, Japan, China, and Taiwan. In the 2025–26 season, Ms. Lee was the recipient of the Louise Garland Scholarship at the Colburn School.
Over the next two seasons, Ms. Lee will perform the Ravel Piano Concerto with conductor Stéphane Denève and the Colburn Orchestra at The Soraya; Grieg Piano Concerto with conductor Chan Wang at the National Concert Hall in Taiwan; solo piano recitals at both the Ventura Music Festival and ECHO Chamber Series; chamber music performances at the La Jolla Music Society and Le Salon de Musiques; and a recording of the music of Carl Czerny to be released on Naxos’s Romantic Piano series. Additionally, she has engaged in collaborative projects with the Los Angeles Opera and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
Previous performances include the Schumann Piano Concerto with conductor Tao Fan at the Beijing Concert Hall; with mezzo-soprano Susan Graham as part of the Discovering Debussy series at the Colburn School; chamber music with violinists Jennifer Koh, Arnaud Sussmann, and Tessa Lark as part of the Colburn Chamber Music Society; and a recording of Franz Schreker’s Chamber Symphony and Korngold’s Much Ado About Nothing with conductor James Conlon and the Recovered Voices Ensemble.
Ms. Lee has a serious commitment to performing contemporary music that was sparked during her time as a singer in NOTUS, the Contemporary Vocal Ensemble directed by conductor-composer Dominic DiOrio. She has been a part of Colburn School’s Contemporary Ensemble, which has led to performances featuring compositions by Steve Reich, Guillaume Connesson, Unsuk Chin, Christopher Cerrone, Andy Akiho, Juri Seo, Nico Muhly, Mike Mower, and more. During her time as a Solo Piano Fellow at the Music Academy of the West, Ms. Lee gave the world premiere of an Etude for Piano by composer Nico Muhly, and participated in a performance of his chamber works, No Uncertain Terms, alongside violist Richard O’Neill from the Tackas Quartet, pianist Connor Hannick, and Jorja Fleezanis, former concertmaster for the Minnesota Orchestra.
Ms. Lee is a prizewinner at the Wideman Piano competition, Odyssiad Festival and Competition, and the concerto competitions at Indiana University and Colburn School. She was recently a participant in the ARD Competition in Munich, and a semifinalist at the Gurwitz Competition in the United States. Her piano trio was the winner of the 2022 Eslite Chamber Music Audition resulting in two presented performances in Taiwan featuring the music of Tchaikovsky and Smetana. Prior to this achievement, she received multiple prizes from Taipei Education Department competition on both solo piano and piano trio from 2011 to 2015.
Ms. Lee is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma in piano performance at the Colburn Conservatory of Music with Fabio Bidini, where she is also a keyboard instructor for the Colburn Music Academy. Prior to her time at Colburn, Ms. Lee studied under the guidance of legendary pianist André Watts at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Student Biographies
SeongHyeok Baek, Viola
SeongHyeok Baek is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, studying with Tatjana Masurenko. He holds dual bachelor’s degrees in viola performance and entrepreneurship from Hanyang University, where he served as principal viola of the Hanyang Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hanyang University String Ensemble. In Korea, he studied with Professors Han Na Lee, Jui Kang, Chan-Joo We, Soo-Min Lee, and Min-Kyung Sung, and has performed with ensembles including the Philharmonia Orchestra, Mahlerian Orchestra, and the IU Concert: The Winning Orchestra. A prizewinner of the KCO National Music Competition, he has participated in the Swiss Music Camp and master classes with Rudolf Koelman and Jang Jung-jin.
Lan Cao, Viola
Lan Cao earned her bachelor’s degree at National University of Singapore, studying with Manchin Zhang. She is an avid chamber player and has attended numerous festivals, playing chamber music with many world-famous musicians including Nobuko Imai, Yo-Yo Ma, and Patrick Jee. Ms. Cao won the position of Principal Viola with the National Youth Orchestra of China in 2019. She is also the Creative Director of Jhal-Yin Academy and an international journalist for Chnmusic. Ms. Cao has been invited to several music seminars in China and Singapore, and has interviewed many prominent musicians including Ettore Causa, Vijay Gupta, and Rachael Podger. Ms. Cao received a Master of Music degree from the Colburn Conservatory of Music in 2024 and she is currently an Artist Diploma candidate at the Conservatory, studying with Tatjana Masurenko.
Dominick Douglas, Viola
Dominick Douglas is a violist who has performed across the United States, Europe, and South America. His performing experience has led him to venues including Carnegie Hall, Symphony Hall in Boston, Het Concertgebouw, and the Musikverein in Vienna. As a chamber musician, he has performed alongside many esteemed artists including members of the Cleveland, Ying, Emerson, and Borromeo String Quartets. Also, he has participated in the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Heifetz Institute, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and Brevard Music Center Institute. His primary mentors include Robert Vernon and Kim Kashkashian. Mr. Douglas is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Colburn Conservatory of Music as a student of Professor Tatjana Masurenko.
Zhaolin Fei, Piano
Zhaolin Fei is a pianist known for his expressive sound and deep connection to Romantic and early 20th-century repertoire. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles where he studies with Fabio Bidini. Originally from China, he graduated from the Music Middle School Affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music where he studied with Professor Yunlin Yang. Mr. Fei has given multiple solo recitals at Steinway Hall Shanghai and the Shanghai Grand Theatre, and was featured performing Rhapsody in Blue with the Royal Northern College of Music Big Band. His playing is driven by a desire to explore emotional storytelling through music and to share that experience with diverse audiences. Beyond performance, he hopes to embrace the greatness of human beings with classical music.
David Kwon, Oboe
David Kwon is an oboist based in Los Angeles, California. He is currently studying with Eugene Izotov at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, pursuing his Bachelor of Music degree. In 2025, Mr. Kwon attended the Music Academy of the West, and in 2024, he appeared at the Sarasota Music Festival. As an ensemble musician, he has performed with the Colburn Orchestra and as soloist with the Colburn Baroque Ensemble. Mr. Kwon’s past principal teachers include Jie Young Moon and Aki Nishiguchi.
Ethan Mayer, Violin
Ethan Mayer is pursuing his Bachelor of Music degree at the Colburn Conservatory of Music as a student of Robert Lipsett. Mr. Mayer has been featured as a soloist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the St. Louis Philharmonic. Alongside various chamber groups, he has competed and won top prizes in competitions across the country. Mr. Mayer has spent many summers as a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School and as a student at Kneisel Hall.
Yuri Santos, Viola
A native of Salvador, Brazil, Yuri Santos currently serves as Concertmaster of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra and Assistant Principal Violist of the Fort Collins Symphony.
Mr. Santos’s accolades include first prizes at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn String Quartet Competition, Macauley Chamber Music Competition, and the South Florida Young Artist Solo Competition. As soloist, he has appeared with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Bachiana Filarmônica Sesi-São Paulo, and Orquestra Antunes Câmara. His summer festival engagements include the Music Academy of the West, Britten-Pears Chamber Music, and Meadowmount School of Music.
An active chamber musician, Mr. Santos has collaborated with renowned artists such as Jeremy Denk, Andrés Díaz, and Peter Bruns. He was a member of the Lírios Quartet, named Emerging Artist Quartet-in-Residence at the MacPhail Center for Music and Graduate String Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Colorado Boulder for two years, studying under the Takács Quartet.
Mr. Santos began his musical studies at the age of eight under the tutelage of his father, Ênio Antunes. He holds a Bachelor of Music and a Performer Diploma from Indiana University and is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Colburn School Conservatory of Music. His mentors include Tatjana Masurenko, Richard O’Neill, Erika Eckert, Mark Holloway, Kevork Mardirossian, and Mauricio Fuks.
Rang Tae, Viola
Korean violist Rang Tae was invited as a soloist to the 2024 Verbier Festival Academy in Switzerland. She made her debut at the age of 14, performing with Richard Yongjae O’Neill at the Seoul Arts Center, and has since appeared in recital at venues across Korea and the United States, including The House Concert and Kukje Art Hall in Seoul, and the Union City Museum in New Jersey. She earned her degree from Seoul National University under Professor Ensik Choi, and is currently pursuing her master’s degree at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles with Tatjana Masurenko. Ms. Tae is the first prize winner of the 2022 Dong-A Music Competition, a leading national competition in Korea organized by the Dong-A Ilbo and has also received awards from the World Ilbo, Music Journal, and Hudson International Competitions.
Danli Yang, Viola
Danli Yang, violist, is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, studying with Tatjana Masurenko. She completed her undergraduate studies at the School of Arts, Renmin University of China in 2025 under Professor Qi Yue.
During her undergraduate studies, Ms. Yang received multiple awards, including prizes from the London Young Musician Competition, the Medici International Music Competition, the Hong Kong International Music Festival, and the KJC Asian Strings Competition. She served as Principal Violist of the Renmin University Symphony Orchestra and collaborated with ensembles such as the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, the Beijing Philharmonic Orchestra, the Beijing Film Orchestra, and the West District Philharmonic Orchestra. She also participated actively in international artistic exchanges, performing in Thailand at the 48th International Viola Congress as well as in Portugal and at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, Italy.
She founded the Balance String Quartet during her undergraduate years. The quartet received several awards including first prize at the Beijing Hummingbird Competition, first prize at the Renmin University Chamber Music Competition, and recognition from the Guangxi Provincial Department of Education and the Department of Culture and Tourism for outstanding artistic achievement.
Zihan (Hank) Yin, Bassoon
Chinese bassoonist Zihan (Hank) Yin is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, studying with Richard Beene. Mr. Yin is active in performance ensembles at the Conservatory including the Colburn Orchestra, Colburn Chamber Players, and the Colburn Baroque Ensemble. Before entering the Conservatory, he studied at the Colburn Music Academy and Central Conservatory Preparatory School in China. Mr. Yin is passionate about ensemble playing and enjoys exploring a wide range of repertoire with fellow musicians.