Judges of the 2025 Plowman Chamber Music Competition
Edward Auer, pianoInternational Concert Pianist
Indiana University Edward Auer's musical career began in his childhood in Los Angeles, where he won competition prizes, presented solo and chamber concerts, and gave guest performances on television programs. As a student at the Juilliard School, Auer won the yearly concerto competition; he made his New York début with a recital at Carnegie Hall. In 1965, he was the first American to win a prize at the Seventh International Chopin Competition in Warsaw; this was followed by successes at the Beethoven Competition in Vienna, Concours Marguerite Long, and Tchaikovsky Competition, the last garnering him an invitation to the White House.
With a performance career spanning over 30 countries on five continents, Auer has given numerous solo recitals and concertos with top international orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Paris Orchestre Philharmonique, and Berlin Radio Orchestra. He has appeared at prominent international festivals including Salzburg, and served as a juror for the International Chopin Competition and Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, among many others. For nearly 40 years, Auer has taught at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington; he has held guest professorships at Toho Gakuen and Seoul National University. He initiated the Edward Auer Piano Workship in 1995, expanding it in 2007 into an annual international festival. Known for his recordings of Chopin’s works, he is currently preparing the Mazurka Project; previous releases include the Preludes, Waltzes, Ballades, Nocturnes, Scherzos, and Concertos. |
Ida Kavafian, violinInternational Concert Violinist
Curtis Institute Internationally acclaimed as a violist as well as a violinist, the versatile Ida Kavafian is an artist-member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and former violinist of the Beaux Arts Trio. For 34 years she has been artistic director of Music from Angel Fire in New Mexico, where some 200 Curtis students have participated in the Young Artist Program to date. She was a founder of the Bravo! Colorado festival, serving as its artistic director for ten years; and co-founded the chamber ensembles Opus One, Tashi, and Trio Valtorna. She also performs as a soloist and in recital with her sister, violinist Ani Kavafian.
Ms. Kavafian has premiered numerous works, including concertos by Toru Takemitsu and Michael Daugherty, whose Fire and Blood she recorded with the Detroit Symphony. She has toured and recorded with jazz artists Chick Corea and Wynton Marsalis, and with fiddler/composer Mark O’Connor. Born in Istanbul of Armenian parentage, Ms. Kavafian is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where she studied with Oscar Shumsky. She made her debut through Young Concert Artists with the pianist Peter Serkin, and also received the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant. She resides with her husband, violist Steven Tenenbom, in Philadelphia and Connecticut, where they breed and train prizewinning Hungarian vizsla show dogs. Since 1998 Ms. Kavafian has served on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music, where she received the 2013 Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching. |
Chien-Kwan Lin, saxophoneInternational Concert Saxophonist
Eastman School of Music Chien-Kwan Lin (b. 1972, Singapore) has appeared as soloist and guest artist with the United States Navy Band, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Tanglewood Festival Orchestra, New World Symphony, Beijing Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, Sichuan Philharmonic, Thailand Philharmonic, and Rochester Chamber orchestra.
Mr. Lin’s performances have garnered excellent reviews by critics in New York and Boston. His critically acclaimed Carnegie Hall recital prompted New York Concert Review to portray him as a performer “who has the passion and restraint and beautiful sense of line to take melody where it wants to go, fully and generously,” while the Boston Globe has lauded him for “displaying chops,” and described his playing as “polished,” “charismatic,” and “appealing.” Mr. Lin’s recording of Lei Liang’s Memories of Xiaoxiang for Alto Saxophone & Tape (Mode) was selected among “Amazon.com: Best 20th/21st Century Classical of 2009,” and his recording of Liang’s Xiaoxiang Concerto with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP/sound) was named a Pulitzer Prize Finalist in 2015. Recent appearances by Mr. Lin have included the World Saxophone Congress, North American Saxophone Alliance, Asian Saxophone Congress, Vienna Sax Fest, Atlanta Saxophone Day, and the U.S. Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium. He has presented master classes across the U.S. and internationally, including the Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP), Manuel Castillo Conservatory of Seville (Spain), National Taipei University for the Arts, Mahidol University (Thailand), as well as major conservatories and universities across China. Mr. Lin is currently Professor of Saxophone at the Eastman School of Music, where he is also founding director of the Eastman Saxophone Project (ESP), and recipient of the 2012-2013 Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching. His students have won more than sixty major national and international prizes. Mr. Lin’s former students hold collegiate teaching positions, and are members of premier military bands in Washington, D.C., including ‘The President’s Own’ U.S. Marine Band, the U.S. Navy Band, and the U.S. Army Band ‘Pershing’s Own’ Ceremonial and Concert Bands. Chien-Kwan Lin is an artist and clinician for Selmer and Vandoren companies. He holds degrees from the New England Conservatory (BM, MM) and the Eastman School of Music (Performer’s Certificate, DMA). His teachers have included Ken Radnofsky and Ramon Ricker. |
