Brian Sacawa

Praised as "an inventive musician" (The New York Times), "inspired" (The Washington Post), and a "sharp new music saxophonist (Time Out New York), Brian Sacawa has firmly established himself as an important contemporary voice for his instrument. Active internationally as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, his versatile career has led to appearances ranging from the concert stage to club settings as well as the premieres of over 50 new works by both established and emerging composers. Mr. Sacawa's critically acclaimed, Grammy-winning recordings can be heard on the Naxos, Innova, Equilibrium, and BiBimBop record labels. With composer/turntablist Erik Spangler he performs in the genre-bending duo Hybrid Groove Project and curates Mobtown Modern, a new music series at the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, MD. He is also the author of the blog Sounds Like Now. Mr. Sacawa lives in Baltimore with his wife, music journalist Molly Sheridan.

Celeste Golden

Celeste Golden, Bronze Medalist in the 2006 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, began her musical studies at the age of three in Dallas with Arkady Fomin. At 15 she was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music where she was a student of Jamie Laredo and Ida Kavafian. Presently she studies with Paul Kantor and David Cerone at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Celeste made her orchestral debut at age 11, and has since performed with orchestras around the world including the Latvian Chamber Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, The Amadeus Chamber Players in Hannover, Germany, The Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia in Brussels, Belgium, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, and others.

In addition to her most recent prize in Indianapolis, Celeste has won first place in the solo competition, concerto competition, and Grant Prize of the Kingsville International Young Performers Competition, and third prize at the Irving Klein Competition. She has also won third prize in the Ima Hogg International Music Competition in Houston, Texas, and was a semi-finalist of the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

Lidia Kaminska

Accordionist Lidia Kaminska, the winner of Astral Artistic Services’ 2007 National Auditions, has performed extensively in both the U.S. and Europe. Her chamber music, concerto, and solo performances explore the complex and expressive range of the accordion as a classical instrument, and her repertoire includes a broad range of classical, contemporary, and avant-garde music. Ms. Kaminska conceived her first album, Breaking Boundaries, as part of her mission to change the perception of the accordion from parlor entertainment to a serious classical instrument; Philadelphia Magazine claims “she transforms the accordion into a massive force — more pipe organ than squeezebox — and burns through [classical repertoire] with virtuosic speed and technique.”

Ms. Kaminska began playing the accordion at the age of eight. By eleven she was competing in international competitions in Bulgaria and Germany, and just a year later gave solo performances in Holland, Austria, and Germany, as well as in her native Poland. Upon receiving a Masters degree from the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, she came to the U.S. to study at the University of Missouri/Kansas City; at 25 she became the first (and only) person in the U.S. to receive a Doctorate in Accordion Performance.

The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Ms. Kaminska received First Prize in the 2002 Accordion Teachers Guild International Competition in Orlando, Florida, the Special Prize in New York City’s International Tango Music Competition, with the Argentine tango ensemble Tango Lorca, and recently received Second Prize at the 2007 Coupe Mondiale International Competition for Ensemble Music. She has researched and performed the works of Astor Piazzolla extensively. Also possessing a special interest in new music, Ms. Kaminska has premièred works by Julia Alford Fowler and Paul Rudy, and has appeared with the contemporary music ensembles New Ear and Musica Nova. She has also performed with both the Owen/Cox Dance Group and at the world première of BalletX; she went on to collaborate with Mathew Neenan of BalletX, and with dancer/choreographer Jorge Laico, for Pennsylvania Dance Theatre.

Ms. Kaminska has been a featured soloist with the Kielce Philharmonic Orchestra of Poland, the Strings of Lodz, the Concord Chamber Orchestra, the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. Recently, she was presented at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Philadelphia Magazine also featured her in its 2006 Best of Philly issue, and her interview with Marty Moss-Coane was recently broadcast on WHYY and NPR.

This spring marked Ms. Kaminska’s debut on the bandoneón, at New York’s Lincoln Center. The Haddonfield Symphony also features her as soloist in Piazzolla’s Aconcagua concerto for bandoneón in May 2008.

Michael Djupstrom

The work of composer and pianist Michael Djupstrom has been recognized through honors and awards from such institutions as the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Composers Forum, and the Académie musicale de Villecroze, among many others. His compositions have been presented across the United States, Europe and Asia; as a pianist, Djupstrom has performed often as a member of the Phoenix Trio, an ensemble that seeks to promote classical music beyond its conventional performance spaces and typical audiences.

Djupstrom was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and studied music formally at the University of Michigan. Other training included fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Center, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Brevard Music Center, as well as studies in Paris with Betsy Jolas. He currently lives in Philadelphia, where he teaches piano at Settlement Music School and courses in music theory and orchestration for Boston University’s online programs in music.