JVNY Musicians

Allyson Tomsky, has been playing the violin since the age of four, and has been a student of Mr. Braude since the age of 9.  In the fall 2010, Allyson appeared as a soloist with the Mainz Kammerorchester in a series of concerts in Germany, for which she received some stunning reviews.  She has served as concertmaster of the Mannes Philharmonic and New York Youth Symphony, among others.  In 2007, she appeared on national television as part of the PBS series "From the Top at Carnegie Hall," collaborating with pianist Christopher O'Riley. Allyson has also soloed with the Mannes Philharmonic and Ambler Symphony Orchestra as the winner of their concerto competitions. Every Summer since 2007, Allyson has been a part of the "Jeunes Virtuoses de New York," and has performed in numerous concerts throughout the French Alps. In 2009, Allyson performed in France as a soloist with the Fetes musicales de Savoie festival orchestra, playing Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Saint-Saens.  She has participated in music festivals such as Music@Menlo, the Killington Music Festival, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, InterHarmony International Music Festival, and Bowdoin International Music Festival. Her chamber music coaches have included David Finckel, Wu Han, Lawrence Dutton, David Ying, and Lewis Kaplan, among others. She has been a first violinist of the Juilliard Orchestra, and has performed in Avery Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall under the direction of James DePreist, Nicholas McGegan, Alan Gilbert, and Michael Tilson Thomas. She has attended the Juilliard School where she was a student of Lewis Kaplan.  Allyson has been a member of JVNY since 2007.

Justyna Jara, Co-Concertmaster

Justyna Jara began her violin studies at age 7 in her hometown in Poland. Prizes include twice laureate of the Aleksandra Januszajtis National Violinists Contest in Gdansk (1999 – 3rd prize, 2001 – 2nd prize), the 4th award in G.P. Telemann Violinists Contest in Poznan (2004), 2nd (2002) and 1st (2005) prizes in H. Wieniawski – S. Serwaczynski Young Violinists Contest in Lublin, and 4th (2003) and 2nd (2006) prizes in the Karol Lipinski and Henryk Wieniawski International Competition for Young Violinists in Lublin. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in many European countries, including Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Ukraine and Switzerland, as well as in Poland in such venues as the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Zielona Gora Philharmonic, Lower Silesia Philharmonic, Lublin Philharmonic, Royal Castle in Warsaw, The Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music, the Castle Balroom and little Romantic Castle in Lancut, Atma (Karol Szymanowski Museum in Zakopane), the Witkacy Theater and the Wladyslaw Hasior Gallery in Zakopane. She has attended festivals such as the Zenon Brzewski International Music Courses in Lancut, (Poland), Summer Academy in Salzburg (Austria), Bowdoin Music Festival in Maine (USA) and Fontainebleau Summer Music Program (France).  Currently Justyna Jara studies at the Juilliard School as a student of Lewis Kaplan.  She joined JVNY as a co-concertmaster in summer 2011.

Nicolas Apter-Vidler is presently a sophomore at Princeton University, where he is studying music and liberal arts.  He studied at the Mannes College of Music Preparatory Division as a student of Arik Braude since 2003 to 2010, and was admitted into the Prep’s Honors program in 2007.  In the spring 2011, Nicolas' piano trio won the AMTL Young Artist Competition, and as a result performed in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie hall.  During Nicolas' senior year at Mannes Prep, he served as the concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he performed in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. He has twice been a finalist in the Mannes Prep Concerto competition, and has performed the Mendelsohn Piano Trio No 2 in Steinway Hall with his ensemble “The Deceptive Cadence”. Nicolas has performed in student recitals at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival (VT) which he has attended from 2006 to 2009, and at the Sulzbach-Rosenberg International Music Festival in 2006 (Germany). Nicolas is a graduate of the United Nations International School.  He has been a member of JVNY since 2007.

Hana Miyamoto Mundiya, age 14, began playing the violin at age 3 and became a student of Sophie Arbuckle one year later.  Since 2008 she has been concurrently studying with JVNY artistic director, Arik Braude. In December 2010, Hana had her solo debut with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall as a part of the New York Philharmonic's Young People's Concerts. In March 2011, Hana performed as a soloist at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, as a guest of the New York Piano Society.  This fall Hana appeared as a soloist in a series of concerts with the Mainz Kammerorchester in Germany and in August 2011 she performed in a JVNY showcase concert in Blyes, France.  Past solo performances include Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole with the Minsk Festival Orchestra (2009), and the Mozart Sonata in E Minor as a guest of the New York Piano Society (audible at the Society’s website at www.newyorkpianosociety.com). Hana has performed in masterclasses for Lawrence Dutton and Rachel Barton-Pine.  She has participated in many benefit concerts and recitals for the School for Strings where she studied for 9 years as a student of Sophie Arbuckle. Hana attends the United Nations International School in New York City, where she has been  privileged to have given performances for numerous visiting foreign heads of state.  She attended the "Jeunes Virtuoses de New York" junior workshop in 2007, and has since appeared in numerous JVNY concerts both as a soloist and as JVNY’s youngest member. 

Nina Paul, 15, is from Friedrichshafen, Germany, and has been playing the violin since the age of 6.  She was a student at the Wells Cathedral School/GB for two terms as a music major, where she studied with Matthew Souter. During that time she performed as a soloist with the Wells Virtuosi.  She has won several competitions, including the Vivaldi Competition at Wells and prizes at "Jugend musiziert", a national competition in Germany. She has been playing in the "Jugend Sinfonieorchester Friedrichshafen" since she was 10, and became a member of the "Landesjugendorchester" (Baden-Württemberg, Germany). Nina also plays in the Chamber Orchestra „Il Giardino“. 

Ms. Paul has participated in several music festivals, during which she studied with Sophie Arbuckle and Arik Braude, including the Killlington Music Festival (2005 & 2006), the Sulzbach Rosenberg Music Festival and the Hinterzarten Music Festival (2007 & 2008).  She has also attended the Idyllwild Chamber Music Festival.   Nina Paul is currently a student of Prof. Rampf in Tettnang, Germany.  She will be joining JVNY for their France summer 2011 tour.

Violinist David Roberts is a student of Arik Braude, with whom he has been studying since 2005.  He is presently in the Honors Program of the Mannes College of Music Preparatory Division and is concertmaster of the Mannes prep Philharmonic Orchestra. David is the winner of several competitions, including the 2008 Mannes Prep Concerto Compeition.  In addition, he won the Grand Prize in the 2011 Wagner College Young Musicians' Competition, second place in the 2010 New York State Music Teachers Association Competition, and was a finalist in both the 2010 Greenwich Village Orchestra Concerto Competition and the 2011 NYCP Young Artists' Competition.  He has been a featured soloist with the New York Piano Society, the Mannes Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ambler Symphony Orchestra, where he was a recipient of the 2010 Elmer & Louise Menges Scholarship Award, and the Bard Music Festival of the Hamptons (NY).  David has recorded unaccompanied violin music for an international podcast of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. His piano trio at Mannes Prep was selected to participate in a chamber music master class taught by the ETHEL string quartet. David is the fiddler with The Stately Gentlemen, a bluegrass band in New York City. He has attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts (Michigan) and has been a student at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival (VT) since 2006. David attends the Collegiate School in New York City and his YouTube channel is noxrubbish. David has been a member of JVNY since 2007

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Sabina Torosjan
22 year old violinist, Sabina Torosjan, has been an active performer in the Tristate area for the past few years. Originally from Tartu, Estonia, she started playing violin at age 7. She was a winner in regional and national Estonian competitions. After moving to the United States, Ms. Torosjan attended Laguardia High school for the Performing Arts, and the Mannes Preparatory Division, where she served as concertmaster in her senior year. Ms. Torosjan is a recipient of the Gluck Community Fellowship and the The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Award. She is a founding member of Duo Accord with guitarist Vilian Ivantchev. In her previous summers Ms. Torosjan attended the Meadowmount School of Music and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. Sabina Torosjan has recently graduated from the Juilliard School where she studied with Sally Thomas and Lewis Kaplan. She became a member of JVNY in the summer 2010.

Xingyuan Xu was born in 1993 in China, and began to play the violin at age 6 as a student of Shenghua Liu.  In 2006, he was admitted to the middle school of the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) of China, where he studied viola as a student of Professor Shaowu Wang.  During this time, Xingyuan played principal viola in the China Youth Chamber Orchestra.  He was a participant in the Beijing Great Wall International Music Academy in 2006 and 2009, during which he played principal in the orchestra in 2009.  Solo appearances include a concert in Beijing with the China National Broadcast Symphony Orchestra in 2009.  Xingyuan holds a third prize from the 10th International Viola and Cello Competition in China (2008).  He has participated in masterclasses with Pinchas Zukerman, Maxim Vengerov and Ivry Gitlis.  Festivals include "Musica Mundi" (Belgium).  Xingyuan was recently admitted to Juilliard pre-college, where he will study with Toby Appel in the fall 2011.  Xingyuan  joined JVNY for their summer 2011 France concert tour.

Drew Youmans attends the Aaron Copland School of Music where he studies with Dr. Chin Kim. He has attended several festivals including the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival and the Summit Music Festival where he studied with Dr. Kim.  Drew has attended the Mannes Pre-College Program, also as a student of Dr. Kim. Awards include runner-up in the Stringendo Concerto Competition, finalist in the Mannes Prep Competition, finalist in the 2011 ACSM Concerto Competition, and winner of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Young Artists Competition, resulting in a subsequent concert series with the Philharmonic. As a chamber musician, Drew has performed in such venues as Steinway Hall and Weill Recital Hall in New York.  Drew will be joining JVNY for their 2011 summer concerts in France.

Kathryn Noe Grice, 16, initiated her violin studies at the age of 6 and began studying with Sophie Arbuckle one year later, when she moved to New York. She has attended the Mannes College of Music Preparatory Division, and has served as Principal 2nd violin at the Interschool Orchestra. She has been attending the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, Vermont since the summer of 2008. Kathryn recently became interested in the viola, and was accepted in September 2009 to the Juilliard Pre-College as a student of Sophie Arbuckle. She concurrently studies with JVNY artistic director, Arik Braude. Kathryn recently served as principal viola of the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony. She is currently a tenth grade student at The Brooklyn Latin School.   Kathryn became of member of JVNY in the spring of 2010.

Melanie Tomsky, 17, has been a viola student of Sophie Arbuckle and Arik Braude since 2007, both at the Mannes College of Music Preparatory Division, and, in 2009-2010, at the Juilliard School Pre-College, where she has been a member of the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra, and performed with her chamber group in the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre.  She is currently the principal violist of the Mannes prep Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of the honors program at Mannes Prep.  Prior to Melanie’s viola studies, she had been a piano student of Genya Paley at Mannes Prep since age 8. She began to develop a passion for the viola and its rich chamber music possibilities, and picked up the instrument at age 13. Melanie has been attending the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival for the past three summers. She has been a member of JVNY since 2008.

Nicole Wright is a master's viola student at the Mannes College of Music.  She holds an undergraduate degree from the School of Music at Ithaca College with a dual major in performance and music education. She recently conducted Mozart’s 25th Symphony at Stuyvesant High school. Ms. Wright studied with Arik Braude and Sophie Arbuckle from age 11 to 18 at the Mannes College of Music Preparatory Division, and since then in the summers, at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival (VT), the Killington Music Festival (VT), and Festival des Arcs (France). Upcoming performances include a solo performance at fashion week, on the BCAT television station, and at a benefit concert to bring awareness to Dementia and Alzheimer’s. Ms Wright has been a member of the New York Youth Symphony.  She has been a member of JVNY since 2007.

Marcel Krasner has been studying cello since the age of 7. He has played with numerous orchestras including the InterSchool Orchestras of New York, the New York Youth Symphony, the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony Orchestra, and the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra. Marcel was accepted to the Pre-College Division of The Juilliard School in 2004, where he studied with Jerome Carrington for 3 years, and then later with Andre Emelianof. He has participated in a number of music festivals such as the Bulgarian Music Festival in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in 2004, the Maine Chamber Music Festival in 2006, the Rondo Music Festival in Bennington, Vermont in 2003 and 2006, and the Festival Val Morel Savoie in France in 2009. Marcel is also a prominent cellist and activist with the nonprofit “Tunes for Tots and Teens,” in which volunteer musicians play concerts for disadvantaged children. Marcel’s goal for his future is to inspire people and open people’s eyes about the importance of classical music. He is currently entering his sophomore year at Brooklyn College, where he is a double major in music performance and business.  Marcel has been a member of JVNY since 2009.

Kacper Nowak, age 23, was born in Poland and started playing the cello at age 8. A year later, he obtained the third prize in the International cello competition in Liezen (Austria). Four years later, he entered the National School of Music “Fryderyk Chopin” in Posen as a student of D. Taczanowska. After having been a laureate at various national and international competitions, including Kosice, Slovakia; Bach Competition, Poland; Posen and Bydgoszcz, Lodz, he was accepted at the National Foundation for Gifted Children in 2000 and in the same year, played as a soloist with the Wilanow Quartet. At age 15, Kacper moved to Brussels and began his studies with Jean Van den Doorn (Brussels Royal Conservatory). He also took part in masterclasses with Justus Grimm. In 2005, he won first prize in the international cello competition “Prix Edmond Baert” in Brussels. Kacper entered the Royal Conservatory of Brussels at age 18, where he began his studies with Didier Poskin. He has participated in masterclasses with Edmond Baert, Claudine Steeenakers and Walter Grimmer. He was invited in 2009 to play as the first cello of the “Mainzer Kammerorchester”. In the fall 2010, he entered the class of Maria Kliegel at the Musikhochschule fur Musik in Koln. Kacper has been a member of Jeunes Virtuoses de New York since 2008.

Xinchi Wang, born in Harbin, China in 1993, began playing piano at age 6 and switched to cello at age 12.  In 2006, she was admitted to The Central Conservatory of Music and studied with Professor Yu Mingqing.  In 2008, Xinchi was placed fifth in the 6th National Youth Cello Competition of China.  That same year, she also won first prize in The Great Wall International Music Festival Concerto Competition.  In 2010, she also won fourth prize in The National Cello Competition.  From 2008 to 2010, Xinchi has performed with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra in the Beijing Concert Hall as well as with the Xiamen Symphony Orchestra.  She was the principal of China Youth Chamber Orchestra in 2007 and the co-principal of China Youth Symphony Orchestra in 2009.  In July 2010, she participated in the Morningside National Music Bridge in Canada with full scholarship.  In August 2010, she also performed several concerts in Taiwan and Beijing as the principal cellist of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She was accepted in the Juilliard School Pre-College in September 2010, where she is a student of Andre Emelianoff.  She has been a member of JVNY since the spring 2011.