The Team for 2019
Seth Baer - Director of Global K-12 Summer and Visiting Artist Programs
Bassoonist Seth Baer is a passionate performer and educator of music. He is a founding member of Decoda and an alumnus of Ensemble ACJW, an exciting fellowship programme at Carnegie Hall focused on chamber music, education, and community engagement. Seth is a member of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and has performed throughout the United States and around the world including Japan, Italy and Germany. Seth went on to study music at The Juilliard School after graduating at the top of his class at Princeton University.
Meet some of the Juilliard Artist Faculty
Our faculty are exceptional strings musicians and educators. Read below to learn more.
Clara Kim - Lead Faculty
Adventure and collaboration are at the heart of violinist Clara Kim’s multi-faceted career. By championing the works of living composers, Clara has quickly established herself at the forefront of her generation in the interpretation of contemporary music. She has had the honor of working with some of today’s most celebrated and imaginative composers such as Chris Theofanidis, Stephen Hartke, and the Sleeping Giant Collective. Concerto highlights include Edward Nesbit’s Violin Concerto with Montreal’s Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and Jonathan Harvey’s Scena with Thornton Edge, as well as world premieres of concertos by Patrick O’Malley and Jordan Nelson.
First prize winner of the 2012 International Solo Violin Competition in Cremona, Italy, Clara also won the MPrize Chamber Arts and Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh competitions as a member of the Argus Quartet. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam.
Radu Paponiu - Conductor
Radu Paponiu is in his second year as assistant conductor of the Naples Philharmonic and director of the Naples Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Radu served as cover conductor with the Dallas Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, and the Konzerthaus Orchestra in Berlin, assisting conductors such as Andrey Boreyko, Ivan Fischer, Cristian Macelaru, and Bernard Labadie.
Radu completed his Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he studied with Hugh Wolff. Radu began his musical studies on the violin at age 7. After coming to the US at the invitation of the Perlman Music Program, Radu was accepted to the the Colburn School Conservatory of Music, where he earned both a Bachelor of Music degree and an Artist Diploma degree in violin performance. As a chamber musician, Radu has appeared in festivals throughout Europe and North America, collaborating with artists such as Itzhak Perlman; Clive Greensmith; Martin Beaver; Merry Peckham; and Vivian Weilerstein.
William Hakim - Viola
William Hakim, violist, praised for his "warmth of tone and musicality" (Leipziger Volkszeitung), enjoys performing, composing, arranging music in a variety of genres. Will has performed throughout Japan as principal and soloist with the New York Symphonic Ensemble. He is a member of the Iris Orchestra in Memphis, Ensemble LPR, Pegasus Chamber Orchestra, Hyperion String Quartet, and also performs with the New York City Ballet, New Jersey Symphony, the Princeton Symphony, Lenape Chamber Ensemble, Perspectives Ensemble, and on Broadway musicals such as The Lion King. In a jazz setting he's played with Branford Marsalis, Gene Bertoncini, and with members of the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. He was Billy Joel’s violist for his Madison Square Garden residency, toured with Josh Groban, Branford Marsalis, Johnny Mathis, The Who, and Rostam Batmanglij among others, appeared on shows such as the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Good Morning America, the Today Show, and has recorded oundtracks of several films and for Naxos, Decca, and Albany records. Recent arrangements include traditional world music for United Nations award ceremonies. He studied with John Graham at Eastman, with Samuel Rhodes at the Juilliard School, where he received his M.M., and with Paul Neubauer at the CUNY Graduate Center, where he is a Doctoral candidate researching improvisation studies. Mr. Hakim has been on the faculty at Brevard Music Center, Seton Hall University, and Skidmore College.
Andrea Lee - Cello
Cellist Andrea Lee, who has been praised for her "elegant solo work" (New York Times) and "sublime" playing (Times Union), enjoys a busy freelance career in New York City. She is a founding member of the critically-acclaimed band Build and performs and tours regularly with ECCO, IRIS Orchestra, the Knights, and A Far Cry, with whom she recorded the Grammy-nominated album Dreams and Prayers. Andrea is also a Senior Curriculum Specialist for Global K-12 Programs at the Juilliard School, where she writes and designs music curriculum resources and oversees their implementation in schools in China. She holds a BA in history with distinction from Yale University and graduate degrees in cello performance from New England Conservatory and Mannes College.
Chelsea Starbuck Smith - Violin
Acclaimed as a violinist of “compelling presence, fearless attack, and technical aplomb and bravado” (The Day), Chelsea Starbuck Smith performs as solo, crossover, and chamber artist across the US and abroad. Chelsea made recent solo appearances with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra and the Southern Finger Lakes Orchestra. Recent chamber collaborators include The Knights Chamber Orchestra, Kelly Clarkson, and Debbie Harry & Blondie. She is also a section-member of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular orchestra pit. Chelsea can be seen in such television series as Glee and NYU Langone’s national television commercial set in NYC’s Grand Central. Chelsea holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard, and graduated with the Norman Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant for “talent, creativity, and potential to make a significant impact in the performing arts.” Her album, Les Deux, is available on iTunes and Spotify. Visit www.chelseastarbuckmusic.com.
Samuel Suggs - Double Bass
Double bassist Sam Suggs’ performances have moved audiences to “the edge of their seats” (Oregon Arts Watch). The first prize winner of the 2015 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition, he is the first double bassist in 36 years to join the CAG roster. A performer-composer, Sam’s compositions blend formalism and narrative, drawing from the soup of 21st century eclecticism. He has performed at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall, and has received commissions from Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center and Yale.
Sam is a Presser Scholar and doctoral candidate from the Yale School of Music, received honors in the field of music theory and cognition from Northwestern University. He serves on the faculties of the Heifetz Institute, Sewanee Summer Music Festival and as Assistant Professor of Bass at James Madison University.
