Featured Musicians Roster
After Arts features a number of musicians as artists-in-residence. Comprising internationally renowned virtuosos, you can catch them performing at After Arts events as well as concerts around the world. Featured musicians are not After Arts members.
Christina Bouey | Violin
Timothy Chooi | Violin
Timothy Chooi is a popular soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, he is sought after for his wide-ranging and creative repertoire. Recent honours include 2nd Prize at the most prestigious violin competition in the world, Queen Elisabeth Competition, 1st prize at the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Germany, and Switzerland’s coveted Verbier Festival Paternot Prize. His recent engagements on the world stage include his debut at the Berlin Philharmonie, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, European tours with the Wiener Concert-Verein, Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and a collaboration with Anne-Sophie Mutter at Vienna’s Musikverein, and Paris’ Theatre Champs-Elysses to name a few. With his wide-ranging international experience, Chooi is passionate about developing violin pedagogy he is the Professor of Violin at the University of Ottawa.
Gabrielle Chou | Violin & Piano
Gabrielle Chou is a New York-based pianist and violinist seeking to defy genres and break barriers in music education and performance tradition. On both instruments she performs solo, chamber music, and in large ensembles; teaches, coaches, and lectures; premieres and champions new works; and is active in community engagement and activism. Her education includes the Colburn Music Academy, The Juilliard School, and the CUNY Graduate Center, where she is getting her doctorate. Gabrielle is faculty at Juilliard and Baruch College, and plays in the Metropolis Ensemble and Nu Deco Ensemble. She loves art museums, aquariums, video games, and science fiction.
Emma Kato | Cello
Born in New York City, Emma Kato is a Japanese-American cellist and instructor known for her range of performance styles and devotion to education. Passionate about contemporary music, she forms one half of KOE with flutist Eva Ding, who have commissioned and premiered works by Asian-American composers. KOE has performed in venues including The Greene Space, Joe’s Pub, The University Club, and the Center at West Park Church as Artists-in-Residence. Emma holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Manhattan School of Music studying with Alan Harris and Julia Lichten. A keen teacher trained by the Suzuki Association, Emma teaches at the Brooklyn Waldorf Private School and the Diller-Quaile School of Music in New York City.
Edward Luengo | Cello
The first musician from a family of pilots, Venezuelan-American cellist Edward Luengo is a devoted interpreter of the classical masterworks lauded for his performances full of musical fantasy. His artistry has led him to receive awards including the First Prize at the Concurso Jóvenes Intérpretes of the Fundación María Paula Alonso, the Third Prize of the IX Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition, and the Festival Ravel Chamber Music Prize. He has worked with artists such as Christoph Eschenbach, Steven Isserlis, Gidon Kremer, and Antoine Tamestit. He graduated from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Philippe Muller and now attends the Kronberg Academy under the guidance of Frans Helmerson.
William Woodard | Piano
William Woodard is a pianist in his second year with the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. He joins the Metropolitan Opera Music Staff for La Traviata this season. Previously, William was a Cafritz Young Artist at Washington National Opera. In the winter of 2020, he made his Kennedy Center debut as an Assistant Conductor for WNO’s production of Don Giovanni. William is an alumnus of many prestigious festivals including Wolf Trap Opera, the Merola Opera Program, the Aspen Music Festival. William made his Carnegie Hall debut while participating in Renée Fleming’s SongStudio in 2019.
James Thompson | Violin
Violinist James Thompson is forging a promising career as a versatile chamber musician, soloist, and music educator. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he is currently a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Bowers Program and is on faculty at Music@Menlo. In 2014, James made his solo debut with the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall. He was recently invited to perform in Budapest as part of the 1st Bartok World Competition and in Sendai for the 7th Sendai International Violin Competition. James holds Artist Diploma, Masters, and Bachelor of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he has studied with Jaime Laredo, William Preucil, and Paul Kantor.
Christine Wu | Violin & Viola
Violinist-violist hybrid Christine Wu has been hailed for her “strikingly bold sound” and “technical facility” (Theater Jones), and performs internationally with recent appearances in Sendai, New York City, Magdeburg, and Berlin. Recently, she was named a recipient of an Audience Prize at the 8th Sendai International Music Competition, and she presented a program of works by women and black composers for solo violin and solo viola as one of six finalists for the inaugural Berlin Prize for Young Artists competition. Christine studied at the Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School and Cleveland Institute of Music with Sylvia Rosenberg, Nicholas Mann, Masao Kawasaki, and Jaime Laredo. She also holds a minor in Business Management from Case Western Reserve University.
