Angela Massey’s debut album has been described as “beautiful and enchanting, the performances on this CD are magical!” by Jeanne Baxtresser, former principal flute of the New York Philharmonic. As a soloist, she has been a featured guest artist with the Tryon Concert Association, Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City, National Flute Association Convention, and invited to perform a Vivaldi Piccolo Concerto with the Southwest Florida Symphony. Outside of the United States, she has performed in England, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, and Switzerland. In regard to chamber music, she serves as Artistic Director and founder of the Astralis Chamber Ensemble arranging and performing numerous recitals each year. She holds a flute/piccolo position with the Southwest Florida Symphony and performs regularly with the Sarasota Orchestra. She was awarded prizes in the Alexander and Buono Competition, Frank Bowen Competition, Myrna Brown Competition, and certificate in the Gheorghe Dima International Competition in Romania. Her instructors have been Alberto Almarza, Jeanne Baxtresser, Martha Kitterman, Jack Wellbaum, and Brooks de Wetter-Smith. She received degrees in flute performance from Carnegie Mellon University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For more information, visit her website at www.angelamasseyflute.com.
Kris Marshall is principal trumpet with the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra and has built an active career performing with multiple orchestras across the state of Florida, including the Jacksonville Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Venice Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, and regular performances with The Florida Orchestra. Marshall has been a featured soloist with the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra on many occasions and with the Fifth Avenue Chamber Orchestra in Naples, Florida. As a founding member of the Astralis Chamber Ensemble, he presents several chamber recital tours each year and participates in commission projects to increase the chamber repertoire for trumpet. He won first prize in the Florida Orchestra Young Artist Competition and was later selected to attend the Chautauqua Institution Summer Music Festival where he studied with Chuck Berginc, principal trumpet with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. Other significant instructors include Robert Smith, principal trumpet with The Florida Orchestra, and Ed Cord, former principal trumpet with the Israel Philharmonic and Utah Symphony. Marshall pursued degrees in trumpet performance at Florida State University, Indiana University, and the University of South Florida.
Cellist Megan Chartier, hailing from Detroit, has performed as a chamber and orchestral cellist throughout North America and Europe. In recent years, she has served as Principal Cellist of the Miami Symphony Orchestra, Principal Cellist of the Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy in Canada, Assistant Principal of South Florida Symphony, and Guest Principal Cellist of both Opera San Luis Obispo and State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara, California. In recent seasons, she has also performed with orchestras including San Antonio Symphony, Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra, Nu Deco Ensemble, and Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra. Megan is an active chamber musician and founding member of Miami-based string trio, the Wynwood Trio. As a soloist, she was named a semi-finalist in the 2017 PRISMA Concerto competition, 1st prize winner of the Ann Arbor Society of Musical Arts’ 2015 Young Artist Competition and a winner of the 2015 Miami Music Festival Concerto Competition, conducted by Grzegorz Nowak of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Ms. Chartier holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Eastern Michigan University and a Master of Music in Performance from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI.
Cellist, Claire Solomon is an avid solo, chamber, and orchestral musician. She recently toured the US with the Weimar Staatskapelle from Germany, performing major orchestral works in cities along the east coast with Maestro Kirill Karabits. Solomon performs regularly as part of the Gossamer Trio with flutist, Carol Wincenc and harpist, Nancy Allen. As an orchestral musician, she performs with the Sarasota Orchestra in Florida and is a regular participant in the Aspen Music Festival where she has worked for the Perlman Music Program on Long Island, NY and in Sarasota, FL. She also has a passion for academic subjects and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University while studying the cello with Ole Akahoshi. After completing her undergraduate degree, Ms. Solomon attended the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, studying privately with Eric Kim and receiving chamber music instruction from members of the Pacifica Quartet. Ms. Solomon won the Jacobs School’s Concerto Competition, culminating in a performance of the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 with the IU Philharmonic. Ms. Solomon plays a 2011 Whedbee cello and a late 18th century German Knopf bow.
Chee-Hang See is a prize-winning pianist who has been called "a cool and confident performer" by the Charleston City Paper. He has performed in concert series and festivals such as the Festival Internacional de Colonia, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra Musicale, South Carolina Chamber Music Festival, Chicago Duo Piano Festival, Hawaii International Cultural Arts Festival, and Piccolo Spoleto Festival. He has soloed with the Toa Payoh West Chinese Orchestra in Singapore; Bela Bartok Orchestra in Perugia, Italy; Montevideo Philharmonic in Uruguay; Charleston Symphony Orchestra; and the Cleveland Institute of Music Chamber Orchestra. He plays regularly with Charleston Symphony, Chamber Music Charleston, and his duo, Tan and See Piano Duo. Chee-Hang is currently on faculty at the Charleston Academy of Music and music director of the Midtown Theater in North Charleston, where he founded “Midweek at Midtown,” a chamber music series. His debut album “Violin Transcriptions,” featuring works by Rachmaninoff and Muczynski, was released in 2014. He received degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, College of Charleston, and diplomas from the Royal Schools of Music and Trinity College London under the tutelage of Sandra Shapiro, Enrique Graf, and Wong Joon Hwang. For more information, visit his website at www.cheehang.weebly.com.
The 2019 Gold Medal winner of the Houston Symphony’s Ima Hogg Competition, Rachel O’Brien has appeared in Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Houston’s E. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, Cleveland’s Severance Hall, and Blossom Music Center. A winner of Astral Artists’ 2017 National Auditions, O’Brien received top prizes from such competitions as the Lyon & Healy Awards, the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) Concerto Competition, and the Saratoga Harp Colony “Play with the Pros” Competition. She is also the recipient of the Alice Chalifoux Award and was the 2015 CIM Presser Scholar. O’Brien has appeared as soloist with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the CIM Symphony Orchestra. Passionate about inspiring musicians around the world, O’Brien maintains a significant social media following, with around 50,000 followers on Instagram. She is the author of “Purpose in Practice: 26 Rules for the Practicing Musician,” a book designed to motivate musicians to achieve higher practicing goals. O’Brien teaches privately and also serves on faculty at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. Rachel O’Brien holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied harp performance under Yolanda Kondonassis.
Inspired by the artwork of her traditional Chinese painter and calligrapher father, harpist Shelly Du seeks new ways to explore colors and shapes through sound. Her drive to understand the harp’s timbre among a bigger texture led to many opportunities as an orchestral performer, frequently with ensembles such as the Buffalo Philharmonic, Sarasota Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and the Erie Philharmonic. Noted on ClevelandClassical.com for her “impressive technique and musicality", Shelly was a winner of the American Harp Society Anne Adams Awards, and was a featured concerto soloist with the National Repertory Orchestra, Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra, and the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra on tour. She performed live on NPR’s From the Top, and was a recipient of the program’s distinguished Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. Committed to helping others in their own musical journey, Shelly is a faculty member at the annual summer intensive Harp Oklahoma + Harp Colorado workshop, and maintains an active private studio. Currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Contemporary Music Performance at Bowling Green State University, Shelly Du holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory and the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Harp Fellow of the New World Symphony Orchestra, Phoebe Powell, has been praised for her breadth of expression ranging from “mature and virtuosic to gorgeously musical and sweet.” Second prize winner of the 2018 OSM Manulife Competition in Montreal, Ms. Powell was also awarded the Aspen Summer Music Festival scholarship. Ms. Powell has performed extensively with orchestras such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and The Royal Conservatory Orchestra. Phoebe has been privileged to participate in summer festivals such as the Aspen Summer Music Festival, NYO Canada, and Ticino Musica. She has been fortunate to study privately and in masterclasses in the US, Canada, Switzerland, and Germany, with internationally acclaimed harpists Nancy Allen, Fabrice Pierre, Susann McDonald, Marie-Pierre Langlamet, Anneleen Lenearts, Emmanuel Ceysson, and Sivan Magen. Ms. Powell has been the recipient of the Ihnatowycz Emerging Artist Scholarship, Aspen Summer Music Festival Fellowship, NYO Canada Award of Excellence, and an Alberta Foundation for the Arts Career Development Grant. Phoebe holds a Bachelor of Music degree and an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Judy Loman.
Harpist, Haley Rhodeside is an award-winning and versatile young musician who makes her home in Orlando but regularly performs throughout the United States. She is currently the Principal Harp of both the Orlando Philharmonic and the Annapolis Symphony, and other ensembles she has performed with in the past season include the Baltimore Symphony, Florida Orchestra, and Colorado Springs Philharmonic. As a soloist, she was a first-prize winner of the Young Artists Harp Competition, a winner of the Miami Music Festival’s concerto competition, and a multiple-time finalist in the American Harp Society’s national competition, among other awards. Ms. Rhodeside is also a dedicated teacher and ambassador of the harp community. In 2020 she was appointed professor of harp at University of Central Florida and president of the Central Florida Chapter of the American Harp Society. Ms. Rhodeside holds an MM in Harp from Yale, and a BM in Harp and BS in Mathematics from Indiana University. Her major teachers were Dr. June Han, Susann McDonald, and Jan Jennings. She loves the music of Bach and discovering interesting new works for harp.
"The Captiva Civic Association is in love with Astralis!"
“The performance was dazzling! What a great pleasure to hear such sensitive musicianship. It was a rare treat!”
Brooks de Wetter-Smith (UNC Chapel Hill former professor of flute)
“‘That was a terrific day in our music department –
your masterclass and recital both were SO well done and enthusiastically received by the students! Bravo!”
“The performance was dazzling! What a great pleasure to hear such sensitive musicianship. It was a rare treat!”
Brooks de Wetter-Smith (UNC Chapel Hill former professor of flute)
“‘That was a terrific day in our music department –
your masterclass and recital both were SO well done and enthusiastically received by the students! Bravo!”