Lisa Bergman (Piano)
A passionate promoter of classical music, Lisa Bergman is a national Gracie Award-winning radio announcer on Classical KING 98.1, streaming worldwide. A concert pianist specializing in collaborative piano and chamber music she is a graduate of the Juilliard School, Stony Brook University and the University of Washington, cum laude. She served on the University of Washington Music Faculty and her discography includes six CDs. As an American Artistic Ambassador she toured the Pacific Rim. Bergman is founder of the Mostly Nordic Chamber Music Series; Co-founder of Northwest Opera in Schools and served for seven years as the Executive Director of the Icicle Creek Center for the Arts in Leavenworth, Washington. As a recording artist her discography includes six chamber music albums and one solo CD. She is the president of the board of directors of the Orcas Island chamber Music Festival. Bergman is a member of the Hall of Fame for the Washington State Music Teachers Association for “extraordinary service, outstanding musicianship, dedication and leadership which have significantly contributed to the development and growth of music education in the State of Washington.”
Dr. Er-Hsuan Li (Piano)
Praised by the New York Concert Review for playing “with astonishing maturity and flair,” Dr. Er-Hsuan Li is a highly accomplished pianist. Through his work as a musician and teacher, Li strives to advocate for reexploring the past and envisioning the future in classical music. A native of Taiwan, he has performed and toured across the United States, as well as in Mexico, Austria, Spain, Russia, and Taiwan, with notable performances at Carnegie Hall, the Harris Theater in Chicago, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and the Taiwan National Concert Hall. Li earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance at the University of Colorado Boulder, a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. He currently serves as Assistant Teaching Professor of Piano at Montana State University. Prior to joining Montana State University, Li was on the faculty at Pacific Lutheran University and has held appointments at the University of Colorado Boulder. In recent years, he has also taught masterclasses at numerous institutions and the Festival de Perfeccionamiento Pianístico in Xalapa, Mexico, where he taught for three consecutive years. Specializing in contemporary music, Li has premiered over twenty new works as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and ensemble keyboardist. This season, Li will premiere a newly commissioned solo piano work by Colombian American composer Fabian Beltran and release a professional recording of John Clay Allen’s piano concerto, The Stone Harp, with the Boulder Symphony and conductor Devin Hughes.
Cameron Bennett (Piano)
Cameron Bennett has had an active and varied career in a diversified range of academic,artistic, and professional institutions. He currently serves as Dean of the College of Professional Studies & Professor of Music at Pacific Lutheran University. He previously served at Ohio Wesleyan University, where he was Chair and Professor of Music. Dr. Bennett has also held numerous professional administrative positions throughout his career, including: Executive Director of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, Ohio; Executive Director of the Marble Cliff Chamber Players; and Executive Director of the MidAmerica Chamber Music Institute.
Cameron has performed as piano soloist and collaborative chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada, Russia, and the Far East. He has appeared with the Snake River ChamberPlayers in Colorado and was a founding member of the Marble Cliff Chamber Players. He served for many seasons as artist performer and coach at the Victoria International Festival in Canada, and as staff accompanist at The Juilliard School. Dr. Bennett has taught previously at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and has given master classes at the Beijing Central Conservatory, Shanghai Conservatory, and the Chinese Cultural University in Taipei, Taiwan. His performances have been featured on WOSU-FM in Columbus, Ohio and in Taipei, on the Taiwan Television Network.
Receiving both his Masters and Doctorate degrees from Manhattan School of Music, Cameron also holds degrees from Western University and Royal Conservatory of Music. His teachers include: Constance Keene, Ronald Turini, Peter Katin, Robin McCabe, Pierre Souvairan, and Irina Kugucheva, and chamber music with Harvey Shapiro, Lorand Fenyves and Raphael Bronstein.
Timothy Christie (Violin-viola)
Violinist and violist Timothy Christie enjoys a multifaceted career as performer, teacher, public speaker and recording artist. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival (WWCMF), a nonprofit organization in southeastern Washington presenting more than 40 public chamber music events annually. He serves on the faculty of the School of Music at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., and is a member of IRIS Orchestra in Memphis, Tenn.
In demand as a recitalist and chamber musician, Christie regularly collaborates with some of the most exciting artists and ensembles in the industry, including Third Coast Percussion, Spektral Quartet, PRISM Quartet, PROJECT Trio, Sybarite5, Turtle Island Quartet, Harlem Quartet, and The Westerlies. The solo violist of new music ensemble, Brave New Works, since the group’s inception in 1997, Christie can be heard on recordings of William Bolcom’s Piano Quintet and William Albright’s Clarinet Quintet on AMP Records.
Christie earned dual undergraduate degrees in music and English literature at the University of Michigan, and a Master of Music degree, also from U of M. Christie occasionally dips a toe in the for-profit wing of the music business, having recorded countless film, television, and video game scores over the years. He has also performed with such disparate luminaries as Queensrÿche, The Who, The Eagles, Andrea Bocelli, and Belle and Sebastian.
Pasha Sabouri (Violin-viola)
Pasha Sabouri is a violinist, pedagogue, and arts leader recognized for his dynamic approach to string education and mentorship. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Texas Strings Festival and serves as Head of Strings at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College, where he works with advanced young musicians from around the world. Dr. Sabouri maintains a highly successful private studio in the San Francisco Bay Area, noted for its emphasis on technical foundation, musical integrity, and long-term artistic development. His students regularly earn top prizes in national and international competitions, appear on major media platforms, and are accepted into leading conservatories and universities across the United States. As an advocate for comprehensive musical training, Dr. Sabouri is the author of Upbeat, a guide for students and families navigating pre-professional music education and performance careers. He is frequently invited to coach chamber music, present masterclasses, and adjudicate competitions, and his work continues to influence the next generation of string players through a balance of rigor, inspiration, and artistic vision.
Dr. Meredith Arksey (Violin-viola)
Dr. Meredith Arksey, violinist and violist, is Professor Emeritus, Washington State University, where she was the coordinator of the string area and taught studio violin and viola to undergraduate and graduate string majors. She continues to be an active Suzuki teacher with a large studio. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in violin performance from the University of Michigan and her DMA in violin Performance from Michigan State University. She performs with the Spokane Symphony, Washington-Idaho Symphony, and frequently as a soloist and chamber musician. She has been a featured soloist with the Coeur d’Alene Symphony Orchestra, the Alma Symphony Orchestra, and the Washington-Idaho Symphony, as well as guest violinist and violist with the Spokane String Quartet. Since 1989 she has been the first violinist of the Silver Bay String Quartet, an ensemble that has a summer residency in New York State. She was also the violinist in Washington State University’s Palouse Trio. She is Past-President of the Washington American String Teachers Association, and often serves as a presenter, clinician and adjudicator at conferences, competitions, master classes, and festivals throughout the United States. Before joining the faculty at WSU, she was the Artist-in-Residence at Alma College, Alma, Michigan, and spent her summers studying and performing at U.S. and European music festivals. She is currently on the board for Washington State ASTA, is an adjudicator for national ASTACAP, and is a contributor to the STRAD Online Magazine.
Richard Aaron (Cello)
Described as a “sought-after professor of cello whose methods of teaching have garnered global acclaim,” Richard Aaron is a professor of cello. In fall 2024, he will joined the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has served at the University of Michigan and at the Juilliard School since 2006 and 2007, respectively. Previously he taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory. He has conducted masterclasses in many countries across four continents, including at many of the leading music schools in North America, including Eastman School of Music, Hartt School, Mannes, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Rice University, The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and the University of Cincinnati. Since 2003, Aaron has been on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival. He has also taught at many other summer music institutes including the Indiana University String Academy, Calgary Music Bridge, Peter the Great Music Festival (Groningen, Holland), Aria International Summer Academy (Massachusetts), Innsbruck Summer Music Academy (Missouri), Chautauqua Institution (New York), the Idyllwild Summer Program (California), Heifetz International Music Institute (Virginia), Marrowstone Music Festival (Washington), and The Encore school for strings (Ohio). A frequent competition judge, Aaron has recently served at the Amsterdam Cello Biennale Competition, Beijing International Competition, Cassado (Japan), ISANG YUN Competition (Korea), Klein Competition, Paulo Cello Competition (Finland), Schadt String Competition and the Stulberg Competition. Former Aaron students have occupied positions in major orchestras such as Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, Dallas, Portland, St. Paul, Pittsburg, San Francisco, Utah, and the Metropolitan Opera–to name a few. His students also participate in many award-winning ensembles, such as the Biava, Fry Street, American, Penderecki, Linden, Escher, Telegraph and Aeolus string quartets. For enjoyment and enrichment, Aaron studies and plays the viola da gamba and baroque cello.
Mary Jensen (Woodwinds)
Mary Jensen is Principal Flutist of Symphony Tacoma, Olympia Symphony Orchestra, Tacoma City Ballet Orchestra, and is Principal Flutist and Artist-in-Residence of the Lake Chelan Bach Festival. She has also appeared as Principal Flutist with such orchestras as the Northwest Sinfonietta, Tacoma Opera Orchestra, Federal Way Symphony, Yakima Symphony, Heritage Symphony, Bellevue Ballet, and Lyric Opera Northwest Orchestra. As a chamber performer, Mary has performed with the Lake Chelan Bach Festival, Second City Chamber Series, Icicle Creek Music Center, Seattle Happy Hour Concerts, and as a guest performer for the Asociación Nacional de Conciertos de Panamá. Mary has appeared as a concerto soloist with numerous orchestras throughout the Northwest region, including Symphony Tacoma, Olympia Symphony, Everett Philharmonic Orchestra, Federal Way Symphony, Icicle Creek Chamber Orchestra, Lake Chelan Bach Festival Orchestra, and Tacoma Young Artists’ Orchestra. Mary maintains a private studio in Tacoma, where she also is a flute and chamber music coach for the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association and is on the faculty of the Evergreen Music Festival. She has also served as Lecturer in Flute at Central Washington University and Pacific Lutheran University. Mary also frequently conducts flute clinics, adjudicates competitions and coaches sectionals for school programs in the Puget Sound region. Ms. Jensen holds a Performance Diploma from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she studied flute with Michel Debost and baroque flute with Kathie Stewart.
If you would like to view the adjudicators from previous years: