A native of Mallorca, Spain, Acting Associate Principal and E-flat Clarinet Pascual Martínez Forteza joined the New York Philharmonic in 2001, the first and only Spanish musician in the Orchestra’s history. Prior to his appointment with the Philharmonic, he held tenure with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and at age 18 he was assistant principal and later acting principal of the Baleares Symphony Orchestra in Spain. He has recently performed as guest principal clarinet with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle.

Mr. Martínez Forteza appears regularly as a soloist, recitalist, and master-class teacher at international festivals and conservatories, including the International Clarinet Festival of Chanchung (China), ClarinetFest 2009 (Porto, Portugal), Buffet Crampon Summer Clarinet Festival (Jacksonville, Florida), University of Southern California, Mannes School of Music, The Juilliard School, New Jersey Clarinet Symposium, XI Encuentro Internacional de Clarinetes de Lisboa (Portugal), Mexico Clarinet Convention, and I Latinoamerican Clarinet Congress (Lima, Peru). Past and future engagements include solo performances of Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, Weber’s Clarinet Concertos Nos.1 and 2, Krommer’s Concerto for Two Clarinets, Rossini’s Introduction, Theme and Variations for Clarinet and Orchestra, and Luigi Bassi’s Fantasy on Themes from Verdi’s Rigoletto. He frequently collaborates with Philharmonic colleagues in New York City venues such as Avery Fisher Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and Carnegie Hall.

Since 2003 Mr. Martínez Forteza and Spanish pianist Gema Nieto have played throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States as Duo Forteza-Nieto. Together they founded the Benifaio Music Festival in Spain, where Philharmonic colleagues have joined them for a week of master classes and concerts. A decade ago Mr. Martínez Forteza founded Vent Cameristic, a wind ensemble of professional musicians from Spain. As a soloist with that ensemble, he has played every year at the Concerts d’Estiú in Valencia, Spain. In 2003 Spanish National Radio (RNE) produced a CD featuring selections from these performances. Mr. Martínez Forteza has also made recordings for radio and television in Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Pascual Martínez Forteza started playing clarinet at age ten with his father, Pascual V. Martínez, principal clarinet of the Baleares Symphony Orchestra for 30 years and teacher at the Baleares Conservatory of Music in Spain. Mr. Martínez Forteza earned his master’s degree from the Baleares and Liceo de Barcelona Music Conservatories in Spain and pursued advanced studies with Yehuda Gilad at the University of Southern California, where he won first prize in the university’s 1998 Concerto Competition.

Mr. Martínez Forteza is currently a faculty member at New York University and teaches orchestral repertoire at Manhattan School of Music. A Buffet Crampon Artist and Vandoren Artist, he plays Green Line Tosca Buffet clarinets and uses Vandoren reeds and M30D mouthpieces.

Violist Dawn Hannay has been a member of the Philharmonic since 1979. Before joining the Orchestra, she was principal violist with the Omaha Symphony and the Nebraska Sinfonia, and was a member of the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. She also served as artist-in-residence at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, Australia, and was a member of Ensemble I, a sextet specializing in works for unusual instrumentation. Ms. Hannay enjoys performing chamber music, appearing often with the New York Philharmonic Ensembles. She has spent the last few summers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, playing with the Grand Tetons Music Festival. She is an avid reader, athlete and nature enthusiast; her interests include hiking, camping, skiing, bird watching, tennis, and her cat and dog.

Photo of Dawn Hannay by Michael DiVito

Kim Laskowski joined the New York Philharmonic in September 2003 as Associate Principal Bassoon. Born in Brooklyn, she attended the High School of Music and Art and The Juilliard School, where she studied with Harold Goltzer, former Associate Principal Bassoon of the New York Philharmonic. While at Juilliard she won the Walter and Elsie Naumburg Award for Orchestral Excellence. She completed a master’s degree at Juilliard while playing in the National Orchestral Association, and has also participated in the Tanglewood and Spoleto festivals. Recipient of a Fulbright grant for foreign study, she attended the Conservatoire National Superieure de Paris, where she was a student of Maurice Allard. While at the Conservatoire, she toured Europe as a member of the Orchestre des Prix.

As an active player on the New York musical scene, Ms. Laskowski has appeared with ensembles such as the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Symphony Orchestra, and Eos Orchestra. She can be heard on numerous television, radio, and film scores, and holds two platinum records for CDs recorded with the rock group 10,000 Maniacs. As a chamber player, she has performed and recorded several CDs with Music Amici in classical, jazz, and 20th-century works for mixed ensembles.

Before joining the Philharmonic, Ms. Laskowski played second bassoon in the New York City Ballet Orchestra. She was principal bassoon of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra from 1999 through 2003.

Kim Laskowski resides in Manhattan with her husband, Zaharis Kalaitzis, and her two children, Lana and Theo.

Eileen Moon joined the cello section of the New York Philharmonic in 1998 and was named Associate Principal Cello, The Mr. and Mrs. Paul B. Guenther Chair, in 2007. A native of California, she began her studies with Irene Sharp at the San Francisco Conservatory and subsequently received a bachelor’s of music degree from The Juilliard School and a performance diploma from the Hochshule für Musik in Vienna, Austria. 

Ms. Moon won fourth prize at the Tchaikovsky International Cello Competition in Moscow in 1994, and second prize at the Geneva International Cello Competition in 1991, resulting in performances in France and a radio recording in Switzerland. She has performed chamber music at numerous venues in and around New York City and appears frequently with the New York Philharmonic Ensembles at Merkin Concert Hall.

Ms. Moon currently serves in an organizational role for a number of charitable causes as both a performer and presenter. Her passion for animals resulted in the formation of Friends of Warwick Valley Humane Society, an auxiliary group devoted to fundraising through educational seminars and performances. In addition, she is involved with The Artemis Project, a non-profit animal rescue, rehabilitation, and adoption organization in New York City, which she co-founded in 2000 with Philharmonic colleague Dorian Rence. Ms. Moon is a strong advocate for Celebrate Life Half Marathon, whose mission is to assist cancer patients with treatment and associated care.

Eileen Moon is artistic advisor at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Sullivan County, New York, and curator and presenter of its chamber music series, Sundays with Friends. She is founder and artistic director of Warwick Music Series in Warwick, New York, where she resides with Principal Horn Philip Myers and their animals.

Philip Myers joined the Philharmonic as Principal French Horn (The Ruth F. and Alan J. Broder Chair) in January 1980, and made his solo debut with the Orchestra that month in the premiere of William Schuman’s Three Colloquies for French Horn and Orchestra. He has since appeared as a Philharmonic soloist often, most recently performing Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 2, conducted by Lorin Maazel, in New York in January 2008 and again in February 2008 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Shanghai, China. Mr. Myers began his orchestral career in 1971 with a three-year term as principal horn of the Atlantic Symphony in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was third horn with the Pittsburgh Symphony from 1974 until 1977. As principal horn of the Minnesota Orchestra for a season and a half, he made a solo debut with that ensemble in 1979, performing Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1, Sir Neville Marriner conducting. A native of Elkhart, Indiana, Mr. Myers holds two degrees from Carnegie–Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He plays Engelbert Schmid French horns.

Violist Judith Nelson joined the Philharmonic in 1983. A native of Portland, Oregon, she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Washington (Seattle) and also holds a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School. As a student, she received the University of Washington’s highest music award, the Brechemin Scholarship, and performed concertos by Mozart, Hindemith, Walton, and Bartók with the University Symphony and the Seattle Symphony.

Time in the outdoors is important to Ms. Nelson. Vacations are spent hiking and cycling, often in her native West; at home in New York, she blades, runs, and practices yoga. Other interests include books, especially twentieth-century fiction and poetry, languages, and jazz. A favorite recreation is reading string quartets with friends. Ms. Nelson’s recording of David Kechley’s Sonata for Viola and Piano can be found on Liscio Recordings.

Violinist Joo Young Oh joined the New York Philharmonic in November 2010. He earned an international recognition at the age of 14 when he won first prize at the 1996 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York. A native of Jinju, South Korea, he has made numerous solo appearances with orchestras worldwide, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Colorado and San Jose Symphonies, St. Petersburg and Czech Philharmonics, Hungarian Chamber Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony, Ukraine and Poland National Symphonies, Salzburger Kammer-Philharmonie, Tacoma Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, Los Angeles Theater Orchestra, and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. He has appeared at New York's Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, Los Angeles's Walt Disney Hall and the Performing Arts Center, London's Wigmore Hall, Prague's Dvor(ák Hall, St. Petersburg's Grand Hall, Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, and many others.

Mr. Oh has also performed extensively in recital throughout the United States, with appearances in Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and New York, in addition to cities around the world. In 2003 he made his New York debut recital at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall.

Joo Young Oh began playing the violin at age five. He has studied with the late Dorothy DeLay, Zahkar Bron, Hyo Kang, Stephen Clapp, New York Philharmonic Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow, and Lisa Kim, New York Philharmonic Associate Principal, Second Violin Group. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from The Juilliard School, and a degree in professional studies in orchestra performance from the Manhattan School of Music.

Violinist Anna Rabinova performs nationally and internationally as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and recording artist. She joined the New York Philharmonic in 1994, two years after arriving in the United States from her native Russia; in the 2008–09 season she was a soloist with the Orchestra in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, led by Lorin Maazel.

Ms. Rabinova has toured Germany, Italy, the former Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Bulgaria, performing concertos with the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra and numerous other European orchestras. They include the Halle Philharmonic, Schwerin Philharmonic, Moscow Radio Orchestra (Vladimir Fedoseev conducting), Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Eisenach Symphony, Russian State Symphony, and Berlin Symphony (Lior Shambadal conducting). In the United States, she has made solo appearances with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, American Symphony Orchestra (Leon Botstein conducting), and Memphis Symphony, among others, and has premiered works by John Corigliano and Alfred Schnittke.

As a recitalist, Ms. Rabinova has appeared in numerous halls, including the Shauspielhaus in Berlin, Tchaikovsky Philharmonie Hall in Moscow, and Moscow Conservatory Great Hall, as well as in venues in Rome, Leipzig, and Belgrade. In the U.S. she has performed at the Phillips Gallery (Washington, D.C.), Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Bargemusic, and on the Rockefeller University concert series. In April 2004 she served as concertmaster of the Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Symphony Orchestra. Her festival performances have included appearances at the Schleswig Holstein, Berlin Chamber Music, and Long Island Mozart festivals, the Music Festival of the Hamptons, and at Tanglewood and Caramoor.

Ms. Rabinova’s recordings include works by Schuman (for Germany’s Auris-Subtilis) and David Winkler’s Violin Concerto (Naxos); in 1998 she recorded sonatas by Brahms and Schubert for an NHK-TV (Japan) chamber series, which was broadcast worldwide and produced by Paul Smaczny. She has been interviewed and has performed on WLIW-TV in New York, as well as on German and Russian radio.

Anna Rabinova was born in Moscow and performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst’s Violin Concerto, and Paganini’s Violin Concerto with the Moscow State Symphony at the age of 13, later studying at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Leonid Kogan and Igor Bezrodnyi. She was a first-prize winner at the 16th International Violin Competition in Belgrade, in addition to winning the Bach International Competition in Leipzig, Germany, and the 1993 Concerto Competition at The Juilliard School. She has taught at the Gnessin Institute in Moscow, and is currently on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, in addition to giving master classes in the U.S. and abroad.

R. Allen Spanjer joined the Philharmonic as Second Horn in February 1993. He appeared with the Orchestra as a featured soloist in performances of Schumann’s Konzertstück for Four Horns in 1995, 2001, and 2007, as well as on the Philharmonic’s 1996 European Festivals Tour and 2001 Latin American Tour. He was also featured in 1996 in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Horns with Principal Horn Philip Myers. Prior to joining the Philharmonic Mr. Spanjer served as a frequent substitute with the Orchestra, as well as with the Pittsburgh Symphony; he also spent one season as second horn of the Orquesta Filarmonica de la UNAM in Mexico. Mr. Spanjer studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy; The Juilliard School; the Tanglewood, Aspen, and Waterloo music festivals; and at SUNY–Purchase. He is on the artist faculty of the Brevard Music Center, of which he is an alumnus, and frequently performs as a chamber musician. He has written for The Horn Call, the journal of the International Horn Society, and was featured at the 1999 Symposium of the International Horn Society and the 2000 and 2001 Northeast Horn Workshops.

Associate Principal Oboe Sherry Sylar joined the New York Philharmonic in 1984. Previously she performed with the Louisville Orchestra and taught at the University of Evansville in Indiana. She was among the select group of Philharmonic musicians who joined the orchestra that Leonard Bernstein conducted in the historic Freedom Concert at the falling of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In 2001 the Boston Symphony Orchestra invited her to perform solo principal oboe in tour performances led by Bernard Haitink, which concluded with a concert at Carnegie Hall, and in 2003 she substituted for an ailing principal oboist for the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France’s Carnegie Hall debut conducted by Myung-Whun Chung. She was also invited to China as a judge in the Beijing National Orchestra’s first-ever auditions. Also the oboe d’amore player for the New York Philharmonic, her featured solos on that instrument during the Orchestra’s Bach festival in March 2013 were praised in The New York Times.

Ms. Sylar earned her bachelor’s degree in music at Indiana University and her master’s degree from Northwestern University. She gives master classes internationally, has participated in the Aspen and Grand Teton Music Festivals, and performs chamber music regularly, including at Merkin Concert Hall and the 92nd Street Y. She is on the faculty of the Mannes College of Music.

Rebecca Young joined the New York Philharmonic in 1986 as its youngest member. In 1991 she won the position of Associate Principal Viola. Two months later she was named principal viola of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. After spending the 1992–93 season in Boston and two summers at Tanglewood, she ultimately decided to return to her family in New York, resuming her Associate Principal position with the Philharmonic in September 1994. As a chamber musician, Ms. Young has performed with many renowned groups, including the Boston Chamber Music Society, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, New York Philharmonic Ensembles, and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She can be heard in a recording of Schubert’s Trout Quintet with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Pamela Frank, and bass player Edgar Meyer on the Sony Classical label. In the spring of 1999 Ms. Young joined Philharmonic Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps in the World Premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s Two Paths: Music for Two Solo Violas and Symphony Orchestra with the Philharmonic. The work was commissioned for them by Tomoko Masur, wife of Philharmonic Music Director Emeritus Kurt Masur and herself a former violist. The two performed it at Avery Fisher Hall, in Washington, D.C., and again during the Orchestra’s subsequent tour of the Canary Islands, Spain, and Portugal, as well as the Europe 2000 Tour, and again in April 2011, at Avery Fisher Hall. Ms. Young is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

A member of the New York Philharmonic cello section beginning September 2007, Wei Yu has appeared regularly as a substitute cellist with the New York Philharmonic and The Cleveland Orchestra. Most recently, he was invited to join the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s USA 70th Anniversary tour led by Zubin Mehta and Lorin Maazel. He has participated in open master classes conducted by pianist Leon Fleisher, violist Kim Kashkashian, and cellists Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Joel Krosnick, and Janos Starker, and was invited to play for Mstislav Rostropovich at the Seventh American Cello Congress in 2003.

Born in Shanghai, China, Mr. Yu has been the top prize winner of many competitions, including the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition, Holland American Music Society Cello, Music Teacher National Association (MTNA National Collegiate Strings), Canada’s National Music Festival, Calgary’s Kiwanis Festival, and China’s National Cello competitions. He was also invited to participate in the XII International Tchaikovsky Competition 2002 in Moscow.

An active chamber musician, Mr. Yu has been invited to the Marlboro and Ravinia music festivals, and has recently collaborated with musicians such as cellist David Soyer, pianist Richard Goode, violinists Midori and Pinchas Zukerman, and members of the Guarneri and Juilliard Quartets. Mr. Yu gave a recital on the Catherine & Mary Roth concert series in Washington D.C., with pianist Francis Conlon.

Wei Yu toured Japan as principal cellist of the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra under Bernard Haitink, Edo de Waart, Wei-Pin Chien, and Yutaka Sado. His performances have been live and in recording on Chicago’s 98.7 WFMT, Finnish Radio Broadcasting Company, and the CBC’s “Our Music” in Canada.

Mr. Yu began studying the cello at age four and made his concerto debut with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra at age 11 playing the Elgar Cello Concerto. He came to the United States in 2000 to work with Hans Jensen of Northwestern University. He received his master’s degree from The Juilliard School, studying with David Soyer on a full scholarship, with the support of the Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship.

Yulia Ziskel joined the New York Philharmonic in September 2001, and is active as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician in the United States and around the world. She made her solo recital debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in March 2002, and has been praised by The Strad magazine for “…the sweetness of her sound.”

Ms. Ziskel's most recent appearances include critically-acclaimed chamber music performances at the Bellingham (Washington) Music Festival, where she also enjoyed a residency as principal second violin of the Festival Orchestra. She has appeared as a soloist with the New York Chamber Symphony Orchestra, the Julius Grossman Orchestra, in faculty recitals at The Juilliard School, at Cremona Viva, an International Exhibit of Cremonese Instruments, and is a member of the New York Philharmonic Ensembles, making regular appearances at Merkin Concert Hall. Her performance at the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's “Meanings of Tchaikovsky” Festival was praised by The New York Times, New Jersey Star Ledger, and by the New Jersey Classical Society Journal. She has also appeared on the radio program The Listening Room, hosted by Robert Sherman on WQXR.

Before her appointment to the New York Philharmonic, Ms. Ziskel was a member of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, as well as a participant in numerous music festivals, including the Sarasota Music Festival. She was also concertmaster of the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra in Japan.

Ms. Ziskel was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and began her musical training on the violin and piano at age four. She made her solo debut at the age of seven at the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, and at age eleven was a soloist with the St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra. During her teenage years she toured extensively, appearing in solo recitals throughout Germany, Finland, Poland, and United States. In 1994 Ms. Ziskel's family emigrated to the United States, where she completed her bachelor of music degree at Indiana University, and upon graduation, received an Honorary Certificate for Outstanding Performance in Violin. In May 2000, Ms. Ziskel received her master's degree from The Juilliard School. Her awards include First Prize in the Assembly of Arts International Violin Competition and the Anna Bernstein Memorial Award.