ADORNO Bios

Cynthia Mei, violin
Graeme Jennings , violin
Yoko Okayasu - Viola
Michael Graham - Cello
Jeff Anderle - Clarinet
Keisuke Nakagoshi - Piano
Loren Mach - Percussion
Bill Everett - Double Bass

Cynthia Mei, violin

Violinist Cynthia Mei is the founder of ADORNO Ensemble. She was formerly a member of the violin and piano duo, Chiaroscuro, which toured nationally and recorded a CD by Deva Productions featuring sonatas by Corigliano and Beethoven. She has performed in orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony and the New Century Chamber Orchestra, and has soloed with local groups such as the Tahoe Festival Orchestra. Cynthia earned both her Bachelors and Masters of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied as a scholarship student with Arianna Bronne and was coached by members of the American and Tokyo String Quartets, Alexander Schnieder, and Sylvia Rosenberg. In Switzerland, she studied in master class courses with Tibor Varga, Victor Pikayzen, and Boris Kushnir. Reflecting her interest in visual art, Ms. Mei has developed programs such as Kandinsky Listening: Music Appreciation through Visual Art. Ms. Mei currently teaches at Santa Clara University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Graeme Jennings, violin

Australian violinist, born 1968. Formerly a member of the legendary Arditti String Quartet (1994-2005), he has toured widely throughout the world, made more than 70 CDs, given over  300 premieres and received numerous accolades including the prestigious Siemens Prize (1999) and two Gramophone awards.  As a recitalist,  Mr Jennings has a wide repertoire ranging from Bach to Boulez and beyond. His main focus these days is on chamber music, as well as being an enthusiastic proponent of new music. He has worked with and been complimented on his interpretations by many of the leading composers of our time.  After hearing him give the Australian premiere of his “Partita” in 1987,  Witold Lutoslawski described Graeme as an “inspired performer”. After 11 years at the epicenter of the new music scene, Graeme chose to leave the Arditti Quartet in Fall 2005 and now lives in San Francisco where he is enjoying pursuing a broad range of musical activity.

Yoko Okayasu - Viola

Ms. Okayasu is an active chamber musician in the San Francisco area. She performed as part of the AVEDIS Chamber Music series at the Florence Gould Theater of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor with Paul Hearsh in 2002, and in the Rosewood Chamber Concert Series with Ian Swensen, Jodi Levitz and Jean-Michele Fonteneau in 2001. She has also performed with violinist Jorja Fleezanis and the Beaux Arts Trio's Menahem Pressler. Born in Japan, Ms. Okayasau began her professional training under Professor Yuri Vladimir Ovcharek at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and later with Camilla Wicks at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. As a violist, she earned a Masters in Chamber Music under the direction of Mark Sokol and Ian Swenson. She studied viola under Jodi Levitz, and has been coached by Kim Kashkashian, Donald Weilerstein, Robert Mann and Bernard Greenhouse. Ms. Okayasu is a former member of the Satori Quartet and was formerly the principal violist with the Danish Radio Sinfonietta in Copenhagen.

Michael Graham - Cello

Mr. Graham studied at the Eastman School of Music, Yale University, and the University of Akron, Ohio. His training has included work with members of the Cleveland, Juilliard, Amadeus, Emerson, and Tokyo String Quartets. Mr. Graham is a former member of the Chagall String Quartet, winner of a rural residency grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. During a two-year residency in the Allegheny Mountains of western Pennsylvania, the group created a highly successful outreach and education program. Mr. Graham has toured extensively, giving concerts throughout the United States, Canada, and the U.K. He has performed with ensembles including the San Francisco Opera Center, New Century Chamber Orchestra, Opera San Jose, and in numerous Best of Broadway shows and recordings. Mr. Graham is an active chamber musician, appearing frequently as a member of the Russian River Chamber Players, La Sala Chamber Players and the Chamberlain String Quartet, and as a guest with the Arelquin String Quartet and Quartet San Francisco.

Jeff Anderle - Clarinet

Clarinetist/bass clarinetist Jeff Anderle is currently enjoying an extremely varied musical life. An exponent of contemporary classical music, Jeff is currently the clarinetist of the ADORNO Enemble, as well as New York-based ensembles Redshift and the East Coast Composer’s Ensemble, and was formerly the clarinetist and Associate Artistic Director of The Definiens Project in Los Angeles. He was also the clarinetist in the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble in 2006, and attended the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival in 2007. Jeff will also be joining the Del Sol String Quartet this season for several performances of Osvoldo Golijov's The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind. Past highlights include the U.S. Premiere of Olga Neuwirth's Spleen, for solo bass clarinet, which a reviewer described as "more than impressive: it was awe-inspiring... Better control and command of the instrument is hard to imagine."

Keisuke Nakagoshi - Piano

Keisuke Nakagoshi earned a master's degree in chamber music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2006, studying piano with Paul Hersh. A native of Japan, he began his piano studies at age ten with Kaori Fujiwara. At age 18, he came to the United States to study piano with Linda Carroll and composition with Jerry Mueller. Mr. Nakagoshi also studied composition with David Conte at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and in 2003 earned his Bachelor of Music in composition. He serves as a staff accompanist at the Conservatory where he has performed more than a hundred concerts, including master classes with Gilbert Kalish, Menahem Pressler, Robert Mann, Norman Fisher and The Peabody Trio. He is an active performer, as both a soloist and accompanist, in Japan, Germany, and the United States, including the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and the Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.

Loren Mach - Percussion

Loren Mach is passionate about the arts as they relate to our 21st century world and all who inhabit it. A graduate of the Oberlin and Cincinnati Conservatories of Music, he has premiered countless solo marimba and percussion pieces as well as chamber and orchestral works. Since arriving in the Bay area in fall 2005, Mach has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony, most of the areas many “freeway philharmonic” regional orchestras, Adorno Ensemble, Empyrean Ensemble, SFSound, and Worn Chamber Ensemble. The past two summers he performed at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and was guest artist with Dawn Upshaw and eighth blackbird at the 2006 Ojai Music Festival. Mach has enjoyed recent collaborations with Lucy Shelton and the Berkeley Contemporary Chamber Players, the Mercury Soul Project/DJ Masonic and vocal ensemble Kitka. He looks forward to parading in the SF Carnival with the Brazilian bateria Grupo Samba Rio.

Bill Everett - Double Bass

Bassist Bill Everett is currently Principal of Symphony Silicon Valley. He was a full time acting member of the San Francisco Symphony, performing on recordings that won two Grammies and an Emmy. As an active musician in the Bay Area, Mr. Everett has appeared with ensembles including the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and the New Century Chamber Orchestra, in addition to having recorded numerous motion picture sound tracks at Skywalker Ranch. As a soloist, he has made concerto appearances with Symphony Silicon Valley and the Music in the Mountains Orchestra, as well as making solo appearances at Music at the Mission, Desert Foothills Music Fest and the Worn Chamber Ensemble. Mr. Everett pursues an extensive interest in 20th century music, as well as performing his own transcriptions from the Romantic cello repertoire. He resides in Castro Valley, California with his wife, concert pianist Aileen Chanco. In his spare time, he delves in the art of photography, specializing in black and white landscapes. An avid adventure traveler, he has trudged through the jungle on elephant back and hiked the Andes in the course of his travels to over 30 different countries.