Meet the extraordinary musicians who will perform in the Fall 2025 concert in the Four Seasons in Music series:
Kathryn Lockwood, Viola and Artistic Director originally from Down Under, leads an active career as Musician, Educator and Artistic Director. She initially traveled to the US to study for one year in Los Angeles at USC…that was 30 years ago and she is still here! Kathryn first moved to Chicago and then to New York which is now her home. Her childhood dreams to be a chamber musician came true first as the violist of Pacifica Quartet, then the Lark Quartet. And now the very unique viola and percussion duo with her husband, Yousif Sheronick. For the last five years Kathryn has been keeping busy as artistic director of the Four Seasons in Music concert series at the Sands Point Preserve, Long Island, NY, where duoJalal is in residence. Kathryn is currently tenured faculty at and at the John Cali School of Music at Montclair State University, previously serving on the faculty at University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Rutgers University in NJ, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Music Institute of Chicago, and National Music Camp in Australia. Recently appointed Curator of the Immersive Residency Program at Montclair State University, she oversees weeklong residency visits of internationally renowned artists and groups.
A dynamic and versatile percussionist, Yousif Sheronick grew up in Iowa in a Lebanese family. Having studied classical percussion through a Masters degree at Yale, Yousif went on to study music from Brazil, India, Africa and the Middle East which he seamlessly incorporates into his playing. Yousif’s unique skills in both World and Classical music have led him to perform with a diverse range of ensembles and musicians including Philip Glass, Yo-Yo Ma, Laurie Anderson, Ethos Percussion Group, Lark Quartet, Silk Road Ensemble, Branford Marsalis, Sonny Fortune, Glen Velez and Paul Winter. In demand as an educator, Yousif has conducted residencies and master classes at top universities including Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, University of Michigan, the Queensland Conservatorium and National University in Australia. With increasing demand from drummers around the world, Yousif established his online frame drum school www.framedrumschool.org which has enrolled over 1100 students from 69 countries. A feature article in Drum! Magazine highlighted Yousif’s versatility in an article titled “At The Corner of the World”.
duoJalal (Ensemble in Residence) “are fearless seekers and synthesizers of disparate instruments and cultures” raves the Toronto Star. Like the marriage between Kathryn Lockwood and Yousif Sheronick, their music represents an organic amalgam of cultural traditions and musical styles. Audiences are enthralled as an Australian violist ignites her instrument with passion – one minute embodying a medieval rebec, the next a contemporary violist playing Philip Glass. Yousif, of Lebanese descent, dazzles as he manipulates multiple sounds on an array of hand drums followed by intoxicating melodies on vibraphone. duoJalal moves from Classical to Klezmer, Middle Eastern to Jazz, with a skillful confluence that is natural, exploratory, and passionate. duoJalal has performed throughout the United States, Australia and Brazil regularly performing world premieres of works composed or arranged for the group by Philip Glass, Andrew Waggoner, Derek Bermel, Kenji Bunch, Evan Ziporyn, Eve Beglarian and John Patitucci. Kathryn and Yousif are co-artistic directors and ensemble in residence of the Telluride MusicFest. A festival housed in a gorgeous mountain home situated at 10,000 feet!
FALL GUEST ARTISTS:
Violinist Miho Saegusa, a versatile chamber musician and orchestral leader, cherishes collaboration and the joy of shared music-making. She was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated Aizuri Quartet, recipient of Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award, Grand Prize at the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition, and top prizes at competitions in Osaka and Wigmore Hall. Miho is a member and has served as an Artistic Director of the celebrated Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. She has performed as soloist with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, New York Classical Players, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and New Jersey Symphony. Miho is grateful to her principal teachers Masao Kawasaki and Dorothy DeLay. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University, and completed graduate work at The Juilliard School, earning her Master of Music and Artist Diploma. While touring, Miho creates memories through food in addition to music. She likes to explore local restaurants and farmers markets, and experiments with recipes when back at home.
Ben Russell is a versatile violinist, violist, vocalist and composer who loves to collaborate. As a violinist/violist with ACME he has worked extensively with Jóhann Jóhannsson and Max Richter in recording studios and concert halls across the world. As a singer-songwriter with Founders and Hinterlands, he co-wrote 4 albums of original compositions and arrangements. In the recent past, Ben held the Principal 2nd Violin chair of the Portland Symphony Orchestra and co-founded Bryant Park Quartet, a classical string quartet dedicated to teaching chamber music to high school and college students. He has performed regularly with new music ensembles Present Music and The Knights and with dance companies like Mark Morris Dance Group. He recorded GRAMMY nominated/winning albums with Sufjan Stevens and Arcade Fire and appeared on stage with Björk and Paul McCartney. Ben’s studies include violin performance at BIOLA and Amsterdam Conservatory and he received his Masters of Music from New England Conservatory.
For eight seasons as a founding member of the Horszowski Trio, and for eleven seasons as a founding member of the Daedalus Quartet, cellist Raman Ramakrishnan has performed across North America, Europe, and Asia, and recorded for Bridge Records and Avie Records. He is currently a member of the Boston Chamber Music Society and is on the faculty of the Bard Conservatory of Music. In the summers, he has performed at the Marlboro, Vail, and Kingston Chamber Music festivals, and served on the faculties of the Kneisel Hall and Norfolk Chamber Music Festivals. Mr. Ramakrishnan was born in Athens, Ohio and grew up in East Patchogue, New York. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in physics from Harvard University and a Master’s degree in music from The Juilliard School. His principal teachers have been Fred Sherry, Andrés Díaz, and André Emelianoff. He plays a Neapolitan cello made by Vincenzo Jorio in 1837.
Zac Zinger is an award-winning composer, arranger, orchestrator, music supervisor and multi-instrumentalist whose genre-defying work bridges jazz, classical, and contemporary media. He plays saxophones, shakuhachi, flute, clarinet, EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument), and a host of world flutes, and has been credited for musical contributions to over 100 commercial music releases, two of which received Grammy Awards. He has lectured on the shakuhachi and multicultural art at the World Shakuhachi Festival, Berklee, CalArts, NYU, and Texas A&M.
He has collaborated with a diverse roster of acclaimed artists, including Sir Paul McCartney, Branford Marsalis, Michael Bublé, Dionne Warwick, Audra McDonald, Bear McCreary, Tituss Burgess, Sungazer, and The 8-Bit Big Band. Zac’s music has earned numerous accolades, including 1st place in the 2021 Tribeca New Music Competition, 1st place in the 2020 USA Songwriting Competition, four ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards, the Johnny Mandel Prize, an Asian Cultural Council Fellowship, and a Salon De Virtuosi Career Grant.