BIO

Emily Daggett Smith violin
Cordelia Paw | violin
Edward Klorman | viola
Karen Ouzounian | cello

One of the most exciting chamber ensembles currently emerging on the concert scene, the Tessera Quartet has already created an energetic presence, captivating audiences with its glowing sound and bold interpretations. A compelling mosaic of four accomplished young soloists, the Tessera Quartet was formed under the guidance of the renowned Juilliard String Quartet in 2007 and made its official New York debut on the stories Schneider Concerts series at the New School.

Recent highlights include collaborations with Orli Shaham at (le) Poisson Rouge and recital appearances with the legendary pianists Claude Frank and Hamish Milne, as well as multiple performances of Lowell Liebermann's Piano Quintet with the composer at the piano. The Tessera Quartet performed an intimate recital to benefit Classical Action, at the behest of IMG chairman Charles Hamlen, and has also performed on many series, including Ars Vitalis at Kean University, Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, Chamber Music Life at Queens College, Music Mondays, NYC House Concerts and Rhinebeck Chamber Music Society, and Teaneck Arts. Members of the Tessera have performed on the world's finest stages, including at Aspen Music Festival, The Banff Centre, Marlboro Music, Music@Menlo, Seattle Chamber Music Society, and the Steans Music Institute at Ravinia.

Committed advocates for new music, the Tessera Quartet has worked closely with composers Aaron Jay Kernis and Lowell Liebermann, whose complete quartets it is currently recording for Albany Records. Also for Albany Records and in collaboration with the Renaissance Choral Association, the Tessera quartet is recording a world-premiere album of recently rediscovered music by Harold Brown, to commemorate the composer's centennial.

Violinist Emily Daggett Smith is rapidly emerging as one of the most compelling artists of her generation. In 2009, Ms. Smith won first place in the Juilliard concerto competition and made her New York concerto debut in Alice Tully Hall, playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra, under the direction of Emmanuel Villaume. As an active chamber musician, Ms. Smith has performed with such artists as Andrés Diaz, Claude Frank, Joseph Kalichstein, Ida Levin, Daniel Phillips, and Eugenia Zukerman, in venues including Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall's Weill and Zankel Halls, Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, Jordan Hall in Boston, and Symphony Space in New York. Ms. Smith has performed at various festivals including the Seattle Chamber Music Society, Banff International Masterclasses, Kneisel Hall, The Orpheus Institute at the Juilliard School, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar, and this summer will appear at Ravinia.

Ms. Smith has performed as Concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra under the direction of James DePreist, Nicholas McGegan, Jeffrey Milarsky, Leonard Slatkin, and Michael Tilson Thomas. In 2009 Ms. Smith received her Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where she is now pursuing graduate studies. Her teachers have included Ronald Copes, Nick Eanet, Joel Smirnoff, Laurie Smukler, Masuko Ushioda, and Donald Weilerstein. Ms. Smith lives in New York City. For more information, visit www.emilydaggettsmith.com.

Chinese-Canadian violinist Cordelia Paw was a first-prize winner of the International Chamber Ensemble Competition in 2008 with the Sospiro Quartet and has been heard by audiences in Canada, New Zealand, England, Holland and the United States. She has performed with many acclaimed artists including Anton Kuerti, Roger Tapping, Carol Wincenc, Lynn Chang, Rhonda Rider and Kevin Fitz-Gerald. In 2009, Cordelia was invited to perform on the Distinguished Concerts International, New York series. As a soloist, she has performed with the Boston Chamber Orchestra and the Boston Conservatory Orchestra among others. She has served as concertmaster of the Banff Festival Orchestra and Opera Orchestra, Boston Chamber Orchestra, Boston Conservatory Orchestra and the Calgary Youth Orchestra. Last year, she joined 11 other musicians to work with Neojiba in Salvador da Bahia, a program based on the highly-successful Venezuelan program "El Sistema," providing lessons, master classes and orchestral training. They also worked to facilitate instrument donation and to support charity organizations including IBCM and the Pracatum School in the Salvador community through benefit performances and educational outreach.

Ms. Paw completed her undergraduate studies at the Boston Conservatory with Lynn Chang where she was the recipient of the Michael A. Alaura Scholarship, generously supported by the Manganaro family and was a member of the Honors Quartet and Trio in Residence. As a winner of the String Division Honors competition, she performed numerous recitals with faculty on the String Master's Series. Currently, she is in the Master of Music degree program at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Hyo Kang and Naoko Tanaka. Since 2005, she has studied with Mela Tenenbaum, who has provided crucial musical guidance and mentorship. She has attended numerous festivals including the Banff Summer Music Festival, the International Holland Music Sessions, Casalmaggiore, Meadowmount School of Music and Chamberfest at the Juilliard School. Cordelia will be an Artist Diploma candidate at the Yale School of Music with Hyo Kang this fall.

Edward Klorman is a multi-faceted and innovative leader in the music community. As viola soloist, he has performed as in Eastman Theatre, with the Rochester Chamber Orchestra, and with New York’s Camerata Notturna and as co-soloist with Stefan Jackiw for Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. An avid chamber musician, he has collaborated with such renowned artists as Claude Frank, Joseph Kalischstein, Lowell Liebermann, Charles Neidich, and Bright Sheng, and he has appeared as guest artist with the Borromeo, Orion, and Ying Quartets.

Deeply committed to sharing classical music with broader audiences, Mr. Klorman is a founder of the Canandaigua LakeMusic Festival in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. In that role, he helped establish Classical Blue Jeans, an innovative series of interactive performance experiences for audiences new to classical music. These community-engagement programs have been hailed by New Yorker critic Alex Ross and have garnered grant support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

A committed educator, Mr. Klorman was recently appointed as director of the newly established Center for Music Entrepreneurship at the Manhattan School of Music, where he coaches chamber music as well. He is also a faculty member at The Juilliard School, where he teaches courses in music analysis and is chair of the Pre-College music theory program. He has presented illuminating lectures and masterclasses at such venues as Salzburg Mozarteum, Université de Montréal, and the International Viola Congress. Describing a recent presentation, The Strad wrote “Edward Klorman gave a thoroughly researched and imaginatively illustrated lecture, turning a subject which is often dry and theoretical into a practical and fascinating one.” Mr. Klorman graduated with distinction from The Juilliard School as a student of Heidi Castleman, Hsin-Yun Huang, and Steven Tenenbom. For more information, visit www.EdwardKlorman.com.

Cellist Karen Ouzounian has performed as recitalist, soloist, and chamber musician throughout North America and Europe. She has toured the United States and Canada with Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson, and appeared as a soloist with Sinfonia Toronto, the Canadian Sinfonietta and the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Ouzounian has performed with such ensembles as Trio Cavatina, The Knights, the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO), A Far Cry and the String Orchestra of New York City (SONYC). She has collaborated with renowned artists including Kim Kashkashian, Gilbert Kalish, Roger Tapping, Charles Neidich, Vera Beths, and members of the Guarneri, Juilliard and St. Lawrence String Quartets. Festivals include Marlboro, Ravinia, the Open Chamber Music Seminar at Prussia Cove (UK), Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany), Caramoor, Canandaigua Lake Chamber Music Festival, Perlman Chamber Music Workshop, and Taos. An advocate of contemporary music, Ms. Ouzounian has collaborated with the Argento Chamber Ensemble, Continuum, and AXIOM. Born in Toronto in 1985, Ms. Ouzounian holds Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where she was a student of Timothy Eddy.