musicians
Yaniv Dinur, artistic director & piano
Yaniv Dinur is the winner of the 2019 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Fellow Award and Music Director of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. He is lauded for his insightful interpretations and unique ability to connect with concertgoers of all ages and backgrounds, from season subscribers to symphony newcomers.
Dinur served as Resident Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony from 2015-2023. During this period, he conducted 372 concerts, including 144 performances for youth and children.
Dinur’s recent and upcoming guest conducting highlights include subscription debuts with the symphonies of San Diego, Edmonton, Tulsa, Sarasota, Fort Worth, Illinois, Present Music in Milwaukee, Orchestra Haydn in Italy, and Filarmonica de Madrid. He made his conducting debut at the age of 19 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, which led to multiple return engagements. Since then, he has conducted orchestras around the world, including the Israel Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Houston Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, New World Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Portugal Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Festival Orchestra/Bulgaria, State Orchestra of St. Petersburg, Torino Philharmonic, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.
Dinur established a chamber music series at the Villa Terrace Museum in Milwaukee, where he performs with musicians from the Milwaukee Symphony. Recent concerto performances include Brahms' First Piano Concerto with the New Bedford Symphony and Mozart’s D Minor Concerto with the Milwaukee Symphony, for which he received critical acclaim for his “fluid, beautifully executed piano passages” and “deeply musical playing” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
Jeanyi Kim, violin
Jeanyi Kim is the Associate Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Concertmaster of Milwaukee Musaik (also known as the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra). A Toronto native, Kim's command as a violinist and orchestral musician have brought her to illustrious venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, the Barbican Centre, Salle Pleyel, and the Concertgebouw. As a guest, she has appeared as Assistant Leader of the London Symphony Orchestra (UK) under Sir Colin Davis and Valery Gergiev, Concertmaster of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Principal Second of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and substitute musician of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Of her featured solo recital, the Journal Sentinel praised her performance, drawing likeness to that of "a glamorous international star." Kim is equally comfortable in soloist, chamber, and orchestral roles as well as a variety of styles, and her playing has been described as "engrossing…intelligent," and simultaneously having "easy grace" (Journal Sentinel) and "fistfuls of technical fireworks." (Urban Milwaukee)
Recent solo appearances include performances with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Musaik Chamber Orchestra, Sunflower Music Festival Orchestra, Kenosha Symphony Orchestra and Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra. A passionate and energetic chamber musician, Kim is a founding member of the Philomusica Quartet, and is a regular artist at the esteemed Sunflower Music Festival. She has performed in a number of prominent chamber music series, including Frankly Music, Dame Myra Hess, Fine Arts at First, Searl Pickett, as well as on radio broadcasts for Wisconsin Public Radio, WFMT Chicago and Kansas Public Radio. In addition, she serves as Vice President of the Board of Milwaukee Musaik.
A dedicated teacher, Kim has held faculty positions at various institutions, including University of Wisconsin-Parkside and University of New Haven, and during summers has taught at several festivals, including the Eleazar de Carvalho International Music Festival (Brazil) and the Elm City ChamberFest. Under her guidance, many of her students have gone on to win various prizes and honors. Kim is also a frequent adjudicator of competitions. Her major teachers include Erick Friedman, Kyung Yu, Rebecca Henry and Berl Senofsky, and important mentors include Aldo and Elizabeth Parisot, Sidney Harth, and Tokyo String Quartet. As a graduate student at Yale, she served as a teaching assistant to Erick Friedman. Kim holds a DMA from Yale University, where she also earned her BA, MM, and MMA degrees. As an undergrad, Kim was the recipient of the Bach Society Award.
Kim recorded for a Boosey & Hawkes publication/CD entitled, 10 Violin Solos from the Masters, released by Hal Leonard. She performs on a 1705 Petrus Guarnerius violin.
She and her husband, violinist and conductor Alexander Mandl, enjoy the adventures of raising their two young children, Miranda and Nikolas, frequenting their favorite coffee shops, biking, sailing, and traveling.
More information on Philomusica Quartet and Milwaukee Musaik can be found here:
Kyung Ah Oh, violin
Kyung Ah Oh, a distinguished South Korean violinist, captivated audiences with her mesmerizing performances at the esteemed 2019 Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition in Brussels. Praised for her “water-like, smooth, deliciously crafted phrases” and “rich, dark lower range” by Classical Voice of North Carolina, Oh is swiftly emerging as a rising star in the classical music scene.
Oh has collaborated with acclaimed artists such as cellist Camden Shaw of the Dover Quartet, violist Jennifer Stum, cellist Mathhew Zalkind, and Anton Nel. She showcased her talent at the Inaugural Dean’s Master Class with Peter Oundjian and delivered a stunning rendition of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as a soloist alongside violinists Jinjoo Cho, Min Jeong Koh, and Barry Shiffman at the Inaugural RCM Violin Symposium.
Oh has achieved a string of prestigious accolades, including invitations to renowned competitions such as participation in the George Enescu Violin Competition and the Seoul, and Menuhin violin competitions. She has also garnered top honors at competitions such as the New York International Artist Competition and the Lewisville International String Competition.
Her musical journey began in 2013 when she made her concerto debut at Severance Hall after winning the Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition. Since then, Oh has had a number of solo engagements, including performances with the CIM Chamber Orchestra and a highly acclaimed debut with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Daniel Meyer. She has also performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in a debut solo recital that resonated with her audience and recently, she debuted with Royal Conservatory of Music Orchestra in Koerner Hall under the conductor Earl Lee in Toronto.
In 2024, Kyung Ah Oh joined the esteemed first violin section of the Milwaukee Symphony, further solidifying her position as one of the most promising talents in the classical music world.
Ilana Setapen, violin
Since her solo orchestral debut at age 15, Ilana Setapen has been flourishing as a violinist with a powerful and original voice. She is hailed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as a violinist with “a sparkling sound” and “the kind of control that puts an audience completely at ease.” She is currently the First Associate Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
In recent seasons, Setapen has had solo performances with the Milwaukee Symphony, Festival City Symphony, and the Amarillo Symphony, among others. She also held the Assistant Concertmaster position of the Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra in Chicago for 6 years and is a favorite guest concertmaster with the Chicago Philharmonic. In recent summers, she has performed at the Olympic Music Festival on Bainbridge Island and the Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd, Minnesota. She has also served on the faculty at Luzerne Music Center summer festival in Lake Luzerne, New York and is currently on the faculty at Center Stage Strings at the University of Michigan.
At the age of 21, Setapen won the concertmaster position of the Riverside Philharmonic in Los Angeles. She has also held concertmaster positions with the Juilliard Orchestra, the Colburn Orchestra, the American Youth Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the USC Thornton Symphony. As a committed chamber musician, Setapen is in demand as a collaborator throughout the Midwest. She performs frequently with Present Music. Her talent has led her to collaborations with such distinguished artists as Ron Leonard, Lynn Harrell, Toby Appel, Cynthia Phelps, Joseph Kalichstein, Robert DeMaine, Paul Coletti, the Fine Arts Quartet, Stefan Hersh, David Geber, and Joan Tower. Solo and chamber music performances have brought her abroad to China, France, Brazil, Holland, England, Monaco, and Italy.
Setapen grew up in Amarillo, Texas. Her father is a conductor and her first violin teacher was her mother. She was a student of Robert Lipsett both at the University of Southern California and at the Colburn Conservatory. She received her Master of Music Degree from the Juilliard School as a student of Donald Weilerstein and Ronald Copes. She is also a dedicated educator and loves teaching. In her spare time, Setapen enjoys spending time with her husband and their two sons and swing dancing.
Nathan Hackett, viola
Violist Nathan Hackett is a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and principal violist of both the Milwaukee Ballet and Milwaukee Chamber orchestras.
Very active in chamber music, Mr. Hackett is a founding member of the Philomusica String Quartet, in residence at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Now in its third year, the critically acclaimed quartet has been featured on Chicago's WFMT with live broadcasts of the Dvorak and Brahms F Minor piano quintets with Daniel Del Pino. The 2010.11 season brought a performance of the Schumann Piano Quintet at Roosevelt University's Ganz Hall with Winston Choi and a recording of James Grant's Sextet for Strings and Bass Clarinet.
Since 2003, Mr. Hackett has been the violist of the Washington Island Music Festival where he performs chamber music with colleagues from the MSO and other orchestras for two weeks each August. Prior to this he was principal violist at the Woodstock Mozart Festival for 10 years, where his frequent chamber music partner was Mark Peskanov.
Mr. Hackett studied viola with Jerry Homer and chamber music with the Fine Arts Quartet at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Other influential teachers have been Lewis Rosove, Peter Slowik, and Burton Kaplan.
Teaching is an important part of Mr. Hackett's musical life; he coaches privately and for the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Nicole Swanson, viola
Violist Nicole Swanson has enjoyed a multifaceted career in the performing arts and higher education. Highlights include Assistant Principal Violist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Symphony San Jose, Teaching Artist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Manager of Community Engagement Programs at the Colburn School Conservatory of Music, and viola faculty at the University of Minnesota. Nicole has performed in venues from coast to coast including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Disney Concert Hall, and the Miss America stage. Out-of-the-box freelance gigs include performing at the Academy Awards Governors Ball and with the Black Eyed Peas on American Idol. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nicole hosted and produced “The Intentional, Effective Music Teacher,” an interview series with leaders in music education, neuroscience, and mindfulness. In 2021, Nicole received a Master’s degree from Stanford University Graduate School of Business with a Certificate in Public Management and Social Innovation. A strong believer in the transformative power of the arts and philanthropy for individuals and communities alike, Nicole will soon launch Zircon Arts - an organization dedicated to progress at the intersection of the arts, education, public policy, and social justice.
Madeleine Kabat, cello
Madeleine Kabat gave her solo debut with the Cleveland Orchestra at age 18, and now enjoys a varied career as an orchestral, chamber, and solo cellist. Currently a member of the Milwaukee Symphony’s cello section, Madeleine performed as principal for her first 7 months with the orchestra while serving as Acting Assistant Principal Cello. She has also performed as a substitute with the Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. She has appeared as guest principal cellist with the Orquesta Philarmonia Mexico, Madison Symphony, Mansfield Symphony, and CityMusic Cleveland.
Madeleine was the founding cellist of the Lysander Piano Trio (with whom she won a prize at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition), and has acted as substitute cellist for the Jasper String Quartet. She has performed with members of Cleveland, Escher, Dover, and Attacca string quartets. The Fine Arts Quartet has invited her to join them in concerts annually since 2020. Madeleine recently performed in recital with pianists Simon Trpceski in Houston and Orion Weiss in Los Angeles, and at the Lev Aronson Legacy Festival in Dallas and the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield WI. In a 2021 memorial concert honoring the late legendary cellist Lynn Harrell, she performed chamber music with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. Lynn had become a friend and mentor to her following a Frankly Music concert where they performed Schoenberg’s Verklarte Nacht and Mendelssohn’s Octet together. In 2011, Madeleine was named Visiting Artist at La Sierra University in Riverside, CA. She has appeared on faculty at Clazz, Italy, twice as a featured artist for the Lima International Chamber Music Festival in Peru, and has also performed chamber music in China, Korea, and in Colombia numerous times as faculty artist of Medellin Festicamara. She has also given masterclasses at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, Northwestern State University, Eastern Michigan University, Minot State University (ND), Sahmyook University (Seoul, Korea) and at La Jolla’s SummerFest.
During her summers, Madeleine enjoys performing as principal cellist at the Lakes Area Music Festival (MN). She has won top prizes in the competitions of Fischoff, Hellam, and Klein International. Ms. Kabat holds diplomas from the Cleveland Institute of Music, Rice University, the Juilliard School, and most recently Oberlin Conservatory, where she served as teaching assistant to her professor, Darrett Adkins.
Shinae Ra, cello
Cellist Shinae Ra joined the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra cello section in 2023. Originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina, she began her cello studies at the age of 8 and has sustained a love for music ever since. Ra made her solo debut with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra, and has since given solo performances in Bloomington, Indiana and New York City.
Ra received her Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and masters degree from the Juilliard School, and during her time as a student, Ra served as the principal cellist of the Juilliard Orchestra and several of Indiana University’s Orchestras, as well as the National Repertory Orchestra. She has also participated in prestigious festivals around the world including the Spoleto Festival and Pacific Music Festival, as well as the New York String Orchestra Seminar. She has performed professionally with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, and Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious halls, including Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Lotte Concert Hall in South Korea, and Suntory Hall in Japan. Ra had the privilege of working with some of the world’s most eminent conductors such as David Robertson, Michael Stern, Roderick Cox, Jonathon Heyward, Thomas Wilkins, Angel Gil-Ordoñez, John Williams, Steven Schick, Teddy Abrams, and Osmo Vanska, and additionally has worked with renowned groups such as Dover Quartet, Pacifica Quartet, American Quartet, and Arianna Quartet.
Ra‘s primary teachers include Emanuel Gruber, Peter Stumpf, and Natasha Brofsky. She is passionate about music and sharing the concert experience with a variety of audiences. Outside of playing cello, Ra enjoys cooking and baking.
Peter Thomas, cello
Peter J. Thomas has been a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since 2008 and has performed around the world as a multi-genre soloist, clinician, educator, and chamber musician. Peter frequently performs with the 414 Quartet, Present Music, Carthage Trio, and in collaboration with multiple bands. He is also the co-founder of MusiConnect, a community-building music series that safely brought people together during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was nominated as one of Milwaukee’s best music festivals in 2021. Additionally, Peter was the manager and cellist of the award-winning classical crossover indie-rock band, I’m Not A Pilot, that toured extensively across the Midwest at colleges, performing art centers, music festivals and in educational collaboration concerts with high school orchestras from 2009-2016.
Mr. Thomas has presented clinics and workshops across the country through his innovative use of the electric cello and has recorded, arranged, and edited music for numerous artists including 2Cellos and The Piano Guys through Hal Leonard Music. Peter was most recently recognized as the Best Acoustic Musician in the Best of Milwaukee 2021 annual competition by the Shepherd Express. He was also the winner of the Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI)’s String Player of the Year award in 2012 and 2015 and has been nominated for the award five times. As a songwriter, Peter’s original song “Only in Dreams” featuring vocalist Amanda Huff took home the 2019 WAMI award for Song of the Year as well as being recognized in the same category by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
As an educator, Mr. Thomas holds the position of Adjunct Cello Professor at Carthage College and he also maintains a private cello studio of gifted musicians. During the summer, Peter teaches on faculty at CLAZZ, a multi-genre music festival in Arcidosso, Italy. He has also served on the faculty of the American Suzuki Institute each summer since 2013. Peter is the recipient of Civic Music Milwaukee’s 2018 Educator Award for Certificate of Excellence in Studio Music. His students have won competitions and full-tuition scholarships in music programs across the country. Peter has taught master classes at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Whitewater, Lawrence University, Gustavus Adolphus College, Eastern Michigan University, Maranatha Baptist University, Washington College, and at dozens of high schools across the state of Wisconsin.
Prior to joining the MSO, Mr. Thomas performed with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and the New World Symphony. Peter appeared as a soloist with the New World Symphony on two separate occasions, where he performed Richard Strauss’s ‘Don Quixote’ and Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, as the 2008 Concerto Competition winner. Originally from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where he was born into a family of musicians, Peter began playing cello at age five at the American Suzuki Talent Education Center and received degrees at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and the Cleveland Institute of Music. His primary teachers were Lawrence Leviton, Tanya Remenikova, Joseph Johnson, and Stephen Geber.
Peter enjoys the life of being a music ambassador and strives to spread awareness of the arts in the community through his many outlets. Peter performs on a fine English cello circa 1813 by maker Thomas Kennedy.
Jennifer Bouton, flute
Jennifer Bouton has performed around the world as a guest artist, clinician, and orchestral musician. A member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since 2011, she performed two seasons with Lyric Opera of Chicago, and has played guest roles with the Chicago Symphony and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, among others. In 2019 she won an extended appointment with the Australian Ballet and Australian Opera in Melbourne, and was invited to become a permanent member of Orchestra Victoria.
Jennifer’s album of the Vivaldi Piccolo concertos is the first complete recording of the concerti by an American piccoloist. She has performed the most famous of these, the C Major concerto (RV 443), numerous times, including a performance with the Milwaukee Symphony and Nicholas McGegan in 2023. Her own edition of the Vivaldi piccolo concertos will be published in 2025.
Ms. Bouton has been a featured guest artist in numerous American and international festivals, including the Grant Park Music Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, Peninsula Music Festival, Arizona Music Festival, Sunflower Music Festival, Artosphere Festival Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival (Piccolo Fellowship), and AIMS Summer Festival Orchestra in Graz, Austria. In 2012 she was a prize-winner in the National Flute Association's Piccolo Artist Competition.
Jennifer is currently Artist Faculty at Roosevelt University and Carthage College; she has held prior faculty positions at Wisconsin Lutheran College and Carroll University. In 2009 Jennifer was an assistant editor and research assistant for the publication of the revised edition of Jeanne Baxtresser's essential book, Orchestral Excerpts for Flute (Presser). Other publication credits include contributing editor, interview subject, and columnist for Flute Talk Magazine and The Instrumentalist. As a Wm. S. Haynes Performing Artist, she plays a custom 10K gold flute with a 19.5K headjoint. She plays a custom Keefe piccolo with a cocus headjoint and 14K gold sleeve.
Ms. Bouton received a Master of Music degree and Certificate in Advanced Flute Studies from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory. Her teachers include Jeanne Baxtresser, Alberto Almarza, and Marina Piccinini. Originally from Denver, Colorado, in her spare time Jennifer enjoys being active outdoors with her husband and two young daughters.
Jay Shankar, clarinet
Jay Shankar is an emerging clarinetist in the classical music world, recently appointed as the Assistant Principal/Second/and Eb Clarinet with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He was named the winner of the prestigious International Vandoren Competition and a semi-finalist at the International Crusell Competition in Finland, the only American clarinetist to be invited. Shankar is also an avid chamber musician, recently being invited to La Jolla Music Society and the Colburn Chamber Music Society where he collaborated with musicians such as Anthony McGill, Paul Huang, Geoff Nuttall, Inon Barnatan, and Pedja Mužijević. In addition, he is a frequent guest of world-class orchestras such as The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He has performed as the Principal Clarinetist in orchestras including the National Youth Orchestra of Carnegie Hall in 2016, The Colburn Orchestra, and Marin Alsop’s Conductors Orchestra in Baltimore. He has participated in orchestra festivals such as the Music Academy of the West, the Immanuel and Olshan Texas Music Festival where he won a prize in the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition, and as the Principal Clarinet of the 2023 Britt Festival Orchestra. Shankar received his Masters at the Colburn Conservatory of Music with renowned pedagogue Yehuda Gilad and Bachelors from The Peabody Conservatory at The Johns Hopkins University with Eugene Mondie.
