Master class coaching by guest artists has been part of Hoff-Barthelson’s curriculum since the School’s founding in 1944. This distinguished tradition continues this season with a roster of world-class musicians and educators. Master classes are an enlightening experience for students and audiences alike. After months of careful preparation, students perform for and then receive feedback and guidance from a master teacher who challenges the student to think in new and critical ways about the piece they’ve prepared. The results are inspiring and serve as a catalyst for students to reach new heights in their own musical explorations. Yet the learning isn’t limited just to the students who perform. In point of fact, any student—regardless of their level of development or whether or not they even play the same instrument—can learn a great deal.

Master Classes are open to the public to observe free of charge, but reservations are required. RSVP here.

2024 Master Class Teaching Artists

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Daniel Phillips, violin
Saturday, February 10, 2024
2:00-4:15 pm
Hoff-Barthelson Music School

Violinist Daniel Phillips is co-founder of the Orion String Quartet which will be giving its last concert in April 2024, presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln after an illustrious 37-year career. A graduate of Juilliard, his major teachers were his father Eugene Phillips, Ivan Galamian, Sally Thomas, Nathan Milstein, Sandor Végh, and George Neikrug.

Since winning the 1976 Young Concert Artists Competition, he has performed as a soloist with many orchestras, including the Pittsburgh, Houston, New Jersey, Phoenix, and San Antonio symphonies. He appears regularly at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, St Lawrence String Quartet Seminar, Heifetz Institute, Chesapeake Music Festival, the International Musicians Seminar in England, Marlboro Music Festival, and Music from Angel Fire, where he is co-artistic director. He was a member of the renowned Bach Aria Group and has toured and recorded in a string quartet for Sony with Gidon Kremer, Kim Kashkashian, and Yo-Yo Ma.

A judge in the 2022 Leipzig Bach Competition, the 2018 Seoul International Violin Competition, the 2023 World Bartok Competition, and the 2024 Prague Spring Competition, Phillips is a professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and on the faculties of the Bard College Conservatory, and the Juilliard School. He lives with his wife, flutist Tara Helen O’Connor, and their two dachshunds on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.


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Young woman with brown hair in a jean jacket with a colorful scarf

Compose Yourself! Project
Reiko Füting, composer
Alyssa Weinberg, composer
Saturday, March 2, 2024
1:00 – 5:00 pm
Hoff-Barthelson Music School

Reiko Füting, born in East Germany in 1970, is a versatile composer, educator, and Dean at Manhattan School of Music. His studies took him to diverse institutions, including Dresden, Houston, New York, and Seoul, under influential mentors like Jörg Herchet and Nils Vigeland.

Reiko joined the Manhattan School of Music’s theory faculty in 2000 and later became Chair of the Theory Department, expanding to the Composition Department and now serving as Dean. His teaching experience spans the globe, from Germany to China, Colombia, Italy, and beyond.

As a composer, Reiko has received numerous accolades and commissions. His works have resonated across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, often with a focus on vocal ensembles and period instruments. His opera on mystic nun Mechthild von Magdeburg premiered in Magdeburg in 2022, and he’s currently Composer-in-Residence at Gesellschaftshaus Magdeburg for the 2023/2024 season.

Dr. Alyssa Weinberg, composer of emotionally charged music, subverts expectations to create surreal, multidisciplinary works.

Notable 2023/24 season premieres include “ISOLA” and “Drift,” exploring themes of time, mental health, motherhood, migration, and climate change. Her acclaimed compositions have been performed worldwide, from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to innovative ensembles. Weinberg’s inventive use of color and performance techniques, such as “Table Talk,” has garnered global recognition.

As an educator, she imparts her knowledge at esteemed institutions and is the founding director of the Composers Institute at the Lake George Music Festival. Dr. Weinberg holds a PhD in composition from Princeton University, with degrees from Vanderbilt, Manhattan School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music.


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Hai-Ye Ni, cello
Sunday, March 24, 2024
1:00 – 3:15 pm
Hoff-Barthelson Music School

Renowned cellist Hai-Ye Ni, Principal Cellist of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 2006, began her illustrious career as Associate Principal Cellist with the New York Philharmonic. Her ascent to prominence was catalyzed by winning the Naumburg International Cello Competition in 1991 followed by triumphs at the 1996 International Paulo Cello Competition in Finland and the 2001 Avery Fisher Career Grant.

In the summer of 2023, Ms. Ni delivered captivating performances at the Sarasota Music Festival in Florida, Chamber Music Dolomiti in Italy, and a recital at the New England Conservatory. Upcoming engagements include a performance with the Apollo Orchestra in Washington, DC. She made her solo debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2010, expanding her repertoire to include works by Tan Dun, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, and Beethoven.

As a soloist, Ms. Ni has graced prestigious ensembles and symphonies worldwide, including the Chicago, San Francisco, and Vancouver symphonies, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. Her recital venues encompass the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Wallace Collection in London. She has performed at renowned festivals like Ravinia, Marlboro, and Aspen.

Notable highlights include an All-Baroque concertos program with the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, collaborations with Lang Lang at Carnegie, and recognition in Strad and Strings magazines. Beyond performing, Ms. Ni has contributed to the music world by serving on competition juries and conducting master classes at esteemed institutions including the Curtis Institute of Music, the Mannes College of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, the Shanghai Conservatory, and the Central Conservatory in Beijing Born in Shanghai, she studied cello under Irene Sharp, Joel Krosnick, and William Pleeth.


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John McCarthy, piano
Saturday, April 6, 2024
1:00 – 3:15 pm
Hoff-Barthelson Music School

John McCarthy has served on the faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for over fifty years. He has also taught at UC Berkeley, Lone Mountain College, the Pacific Music Festival at Stanford University, and the International Institute for Young Musicians at the University of Kansas.

During his tenure as director of the Preparatory Division at the Conservatory, McCarthy brought his program to a place of international prominence and was a member of the Education Committee of the San Francisco Symphony. Upon retirement from administration in 2011, he was bestowed the title of “Director Emeritus” by the Conservatory.

In 2006, he was one of three teachers of classical music to receive a Distinguished Teacher Award from the Department of Education and the White House Committee on Presidential Scholars in the Arts. This honor was received again in 2013 for his “substantial contributions to the development of the nation’s young people.”

As a performer, McCarthy has premiered works by David Del Tredici, Gerard Grisey, and Frederic Rzewski. He has performed with the San Francisco Symphony in Davies Symphony Hall and at the Ojai Festival with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. He and his wife, Annamarie, have performed numerous recitals as a piano duo, notably at Stanford University and the Bracebridge Concerts at Yosemite National Park. His principal teachers include Martin Canin, Robert Helps, Bernhard Abramowitsch, and Katja Andy.


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Alexa Still, flute
Saturday, May 11, 2024
1:00-3:15 pm
Hoff-Barthelson Music School

Alexa Still is known internationally primarily through her 20+ recordings that have garnered unanimous praise: “impeccable in technique and taste, seductive in phrasing” (Stephensen Classical C D Guide). “Still plays… so convincingly I cannot separate her from the music” (American Record Guide), “whatever she plays sounds musical in every turn of the phrase” (Gramophone), “a stunning showcase for the astonishing Alexa Still” (Fanfare). “Still showcases her exquisite lyricism and virtuosity on every track” Cleveland Classical. 

Alexa got her doctorate in New York (SUNY Stony Brook), won competitions including the New York Flute Club Young Artist Competition, and, East and West Artists Competition, and then at age 23, went back home as principal flute of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Other awards include a Churchill Fellowship and a Fulbright. Alexa left the NZSO to devote more time to solo engagements and teaching, first at the University of Colorado at Boulder, then at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (where she was also director of Performance Research). She joined the Oberlin Conservatory in 2011, where she is Professor of Flute.

Alexa has performed as a soloist in 16 countries, including many world premieres. Alexa’s articles have been read around the globe, and she has also served her profession as President of the National Flute Association (USA). Regular summer engagements include the Round Top Festival (Texas) and Orford Musique (Quebec). When her flute is in its case, Alexa is an avid motorcyclist.

Master Classes are open to the public to observe free of charge, but reservations are required. RSVP here.