Program and Artist Biography

In demand as a soloist and a chamber musician, violinist Miranda Cuckson is highly acclaimed for her performances of a wide range of repertoire, from the works of early eras to the most current creations. Praised as "fiercely gifted" (Time Out New York) and as an "extraordinary" violinist of "undeniable musicality" (New York Times), she has performed at major venues, including the Berliner Philharmonie, the Library of Congress, the 92nd Street Y, Carnegie Hall, and Bargemusic, as well as the Marlboro, Bard, Bodensee, and Lincoln Center festivals. As a winner of the Presser Award, she made her recital debut at Carnegie's Weill Hall.

Cuckson has six highly praised compact discs on the Centaur and Vanguard labels that include concertos by Korngold and Ponce and violin music by Ralph Shapey (a two-CD set), Donald Martino, Ross Lee Finney, and Michael Hersch. She has appeared internationally as a soloist with many orchestras, including her Carnegie Hall concerto debut with the American Symphony Orchestra. She also directs the Transit Circle chamber music series.

A passionate and sought-after advocate for new music, Cuckson has worked with such composers as Henri Dutilleux, Elliott Carter, John Adams, Salvatore Sciarrino, Georg Friedrich Haas, and Mario Davidovsky, and is active with many ensembles and composers in New York and elsewhere. She studied at the Juilliard School, where she received her doctorate. Her teachers included Robert Mann, Dorothy DeLay, Felix Galimir, and Shirley Givens. She teaches at Mannes College The New School for Music.

Praised for his bold interpretive skills and communicative sensitivity, pianist Aaron Wunsch appears regularly on concert stages throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Performances include the Salle Cortot in Paris, Royal Albert Hall in London, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, and a ten-city recital tour of China. Lauded for his “masterful” chamber music performances (Hartford Courant), he has performed with Lynn Harrell, Charles Neidich, Rolf Schulte, and has worked closely with the composers Charles Wuorinen, Kaija Saariaho, Chen Yi and Steven Stucky. A native of Wisconsin, he studied at Yale, as a Fulbright Scholar at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and is currently a faculty m