5BMF + Hunter Music Presents Aizuri Quartet & Kinan Azmeh- Music & Migration
Five Boroughs Music Festival with CUNY/Hunter Music presents Aizuri Quartet & Kinan Azmeh. Music and Migration is a collaborative program stemming from a deep friendship between the Aizuri Quartet and the Syrian-American clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh.
Aizuri Quartet
Emma Frucht, violin
A native New Yorker, violinist Emma Frucht completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard University, majoring in Art History. Shortly after earning her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School, Emma joined the Grammy-nominated Aizuri Quartet. Notable highlights of recent seasons include the quartet’s major concerto debut with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in performances of John Adams’s Absolute Jest, their debuts at the 92Y, Carnegie Hall, and Boston’s Celebrity Series, and Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award. In addition to quartet playing, she is a tenured member of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, frequently serving as concertmaster and principal second violin. She performs regularly in leadership positions with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and New York Classical Players, and is a frequent guest of the American Ballet Theater Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, and A Far Cry. Emma joined the faculty of Adelphi University in the fall of 2022 as an Adjunct Professor of Violin. Her primary teachers have included Louise Behrend, Lynn Chang, Naoko Tanaka, and Daniel Phillips.
Miho Saegusa, violin
Violinist Miho Saegusa, a versatile chamber musician and orchestral leader, cherishes collaboration and the joy of shared music-making. She is a founding member of the Grammy-nominated Aizuri Quartet. Memorable summers at the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, and Aspen Music Festival and School ignited and nurtured her passion for chamber ensembles. Miho performs on the album ela with the Concordia Chamber Players, released in 2023 featuring music by Amy Beach, Louise Farrenc, and Ellen Taafe Zwilich.
In addition to chamber music, Miho loves the energy and intimacy of chamber orchestras. She is a member and has served as an Artistic Director of the celebrated Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. For five seasons she was Concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and has also performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, A Far Cry, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, and NOVUS NY. Miho has been featured as soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Iris Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Aspen Concert Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, and the Yale Symphony Orchestra.
Miho is very grateful to her principal teachers Masao Kawasaki and Dorothy DeLay for encouraging curiosity. 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.
Brian Hong, viola
Korean-American violist Brian Hong is a member of the GRAMMY-nominated Aizuri Quartet. He has performed concertos with the Juilliard Orchestra, New York Classical Players, Fairfax Symphony, American Youth Philharmonic, Chesapeake Orchestra, US Army Orchestra, National Philharmonic, and the Springfield Symphony. Currently on the viola faculty of Kneisel Hall Chamber Music School and Festival, Mr. Hong has appeared as faculty at the Manchester Music Festival and as guest artist at the Sebago-Long Lake Music Festival. Other festival credits include Marlboro, Yellow Barn, the Music Academy of the West, Taos School of Music, and the Perlman Music Program.
Mr. Hong serves on the viola faculty at Bard College Conservatory of Music. He has taught private lessons, public masterclasses, and chamber coachings at George Mason University, Missouri State University, and the Juilliard School. He holds a Master’s Degree and Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School and a Bachelor’s Degree from the New England Conservatory. His former teachers include Laurie Smukler, Catherine Cho, Donald Weilerstein, and Li Lin. As a former Fellow of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, he performed and taught in a variety of venues in New York City and abroad, as well as maintaining a two-year teaching-artist partnership with Celia Cruz High School for Music in the Bronx.
Mr. Hong is the Programming Director of Project: Music Heals Us, a nonprofit dedicated to providing musical education, access, and healing to marginalized populations with limited ability to access it themselves. He is also a Co-Artistic Director of NEXUS Chamber Music Chicago, an artist-driven collective of musicians whose mission is to make classical music culturally relevant through live concerts and multimedia content. In his spare time, Mr. Hong can be found brewing espresso or single origin pour-overs at his home coffee bar.
Caleb van der Swaagh, cello
Praised for his “entrancing” performances (National Sawdust Log), Caleb van der Swaagh is the cellist of the GRAMMY-nominated Aizuri Quartet and a versatile chamber musician, soloist, and educator.
In demand as a chamber musician, Caleb is an alumnus of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect. He is member of Exponential Ensemble, a chamber music collective, and performs regularly with such ensembles as The Knights, A Far Cry, Orchestra of St. Lukes, Metropolis Ensemble, Ensemble LPR, and the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players. Recent festival appearances include appearances at the Chelsea Music Festival, Ottawa ChamberFest, The Lake George Music Festival, Music from Montauk, 23Arts Summer Music Festival, Edelio Festival, and Birdfoot Festival.
An advocate of contemporary music, Caleb is a member of counter)induction, Ensemble Échappé, and Ensemble Ipse. He also performs regularly with other leading contemporary music ensembles as well as performing his own compositions and arrangements. Caleb’s extensive discography includes, most recently, Against Method with counter)induction on New Focus Recordings.
A native New Yorker, Caleb graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University as part of the Columbia – Juilliard Exchange program with a degree in Classics and Medieval & Renaissance Studies. Caleb received his master’s degree with academic honors from New England Conservatory and later studied at the Manhattan School of Music. His primary teachers are Bonnie Hampton, Laurence Lesser, and David Geber. Caleb is the cello professor at the Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase College.
Caleb plays on a cello made by David Wiebe in 2012.
Aizuri Quartet
Emma Frucht, violin
A native New Yorker, violinist Emma Frucht completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard University, majoring in Art History. Shortly after earning her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School, Emma joined the Grammy-nominated Aizuri Quartet. Notable highlights of recent seasons include the quartet’s major concerto debut with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in performances of John Adams’s Absolute Jest, their debuts at the 92Y, Carnegie Hall, and Boston’s Celebrity Series, and Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award. In addition to quartet playing, she is a tenured member of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, frequently serving as concertmaster and principal second violin. She performs regularly in leadership positions with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and New York Classical Players, and is a frequent guest of the American Ballet Theater Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, and A Far Cry. Emma joined the faculty of Adelphi University in the fall of 2022 as an Adjunct Professor of Violin. Her primary teachers have included Louise Behrend, Lynn Chang, Naoko Tanaka, and Daniel Phillips.
Miho Saegusa, violin
Violinist Miho Saegusa, a versatile chamber musician and orchestral leader, cherishes collaboration and the joy of shared music-making. She is a founding member of the Grammy-nominated Aizuri Quartet. Memorable summers at the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, and Aspen Music Festival and School ignited and nurtured her passion for chamber ensembles. Miho performs on the album ela with the Concordia Chamber Players, released in 2023 featuring music by Amy Beach, Louise Farrenc, and Ellen Taafe Zwilich.
In addition to chamber music, Miho loves the energy and intimacy of chamber orchestras. She is a member and has served as an Artistic Director of the celebrated Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. For five seasons she was Concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and has also performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, A Far Cry, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, and NOVUS NY. Miho has been featured as soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Iris Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Aspen Concert Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, and the Yale Symphony Orchestra.
Miho is very grateful to her principal teachers Masao Kawasaki and Dorothy DeLay for encouraging curiosity. 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.
Brian Hong, viola
Korean-American violist Brian Hong is a member of the GRAMMY-nominated Aizuri Quartet. He has performed concertos with the Juilliard Orchestra, New York Classical Players, Fairfax Symphony, American Youth Philharmonic, Chesapeake Orchestra, US Army Orchestra, National Philharmonic, and the Springfield Symphony. Currently on the viola faculty of Kneisel Hall Chamber Music School and Festival, Mr. Hong has appeared as faculty at the Manchester Music Festival and as guest artist at the Sebago-Long Lake Music Festival. Other festival credits include Marlboro, Yellow Barn, the Music Academy of the West, Taos School of Music, and the Perlman Music Program.
Mr. Hong serves on the viola faculty at Bard College Conservatory of Music. He has taught private lessons, public masterclasses, and chamber coachings at George Mason University, Missouri State University, and the Juilliard School. He holds a Master’s Degree and Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School and a Bachelor’s Degree from the New England Conservatory. His former teachers include Laurie Smukler, Catherine Cho, Donald Weilerstein, and Li Lin. As a former Fellow of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, he performed and taught in a variety of venues in New York City and abroad, as well as maintaining a two-year teaching-artist partnership with Celia Cruz High School for Music in the Bronx.
Mr. Hong is the Programming Director of Project: Music Heals Us, a nonprofit dedicated to providing musical education, access, and healing to marginalized populations with limited ability to access it themselves. He is also a Co-Artistic Director of NEXUS Chamber Music Chicago, an artist-driven collective of musicians whose mission is to make classical music culturally relevant through live concerts and multimedia content. In his spare time, Mr. Hong can be found brewing espresso or single origin pour-overs at his home coffee bar.
Caleb van der Swaagh, cello
Praised for his “entrancing” performances (National Sawdust Log), Caleb van der Swaagh is the cellist of the GRAMMY-nominated Aizuri Quartet and a versatile chamber musician, soloist, and educator.
In demand as a chamber musician, Caleb is an alumnus of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect. He is member of Exponential Ensemble, a chamber music collective, and performs regularly with such ensembles as The Knights, A Far Cry, Orchestra of St. Lukes, Metropolis Ensemble, Ensemble LPR, and the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players. Recent festival appearances include appearances at the Chelsea Music Festival, Ottawa ChamberFest, The Lake George Music Festival, Music from Montauk, 23Arts Summer Music Festival, Edelio Festival, and Birdfoot Festival.
An advocate of contemporary music, Caleb is a member of counter)induction, Ensemble Échappé, and Ensemble Ipse. He also performs regularly with other leading contemporary music ensembles as well as performing his own compositions and arrangements. Caleb’s extensive discography includes, most recently, Against Method with counter)induction on New Focus Recordings.
A native New Yorker, Caleb graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University as part of the Columbia – Juilliard Exchange program with a degree in Classics and Medieval & Renaissance Studies. Caleb received his master’s degree with academic honors from New England Conservatory and later studied at the Manhattan School of Music. His primary teachers are Bonnie Hampton, Laurence Lesser, and David Geber. Caleb is the cello professor at the Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase College.
Caleb plays on a cello made by David Wiebe in 2012.