Artists

• Quan Ge

  Violin

  Violinist Quan Ge joined the New York Philharmonic in June 2009. She is a top prize winner at the China National Violin Competition and Jeunesses International Music Competition in Romania, and has served as guest concertmaster with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

  
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• Alexei Yupanqui Gonzales

  Cello

  Alexei Yupanqui Gonzales was appointed to the cello section of the New York Philharmonic in November 2012. He has served as the principal cellist of the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the Boston Lyric Opera. He has also been a member of the Boston Ballet Orchestra and has performed with the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra, Emmanuel Music under the late Craig Smith, and the Bach Ensemble with harpsichordist John Gibbons.

  
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• Kuan Cheng Lu

  Violin

  Violinist Kuan Cheng Lu joined the New York Philharmonic at the start of the 2004–05 season — the first Taiwanese classical musician to earn a seat in the Philharmonic in its 170-year history. Lu has received numerous awards and scholarships that include the top prize in the Taiwan National Violin Competition, first prize in the ASTA string competition, the Raphael Bronstein Award, and the Taiwan Chi-Mei Corporation’s Outstanding Young Artist award. He received his bachelor’s in music degree from Oberlin College, his master’s in music from the Manhattan School of Music, and his doctor of musical arts from the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY). He is an alumnus of the Music Academy of the West, now a partner in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy, and has studied with former New York Philharmonic Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow, Lisa Kim, Associate Principal, Second Violin Group, and Yoko Takebe. Other teachers have included Roland and Almita Vamos, Daniel Phillips, Julia Bushkova, as well as his father, Chung Chih Lu.

  
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• Kerry McDermott

  Violin

  New York Philharmonic violinist Kerry McDermott has appeared as a soloist with orchestras throughout the United States and abroad including the Montreal, North Carolina, and Taipei City symphony orchestras, the Moscow Radio and Budapest Chamber Orchestras, and the New York Philharmonic. In addition, she has been a prize winner in the Montreal International Competition and the International Tchaikovsky Competition, where she received a special award for Best Artistic Interpretation. McDermott’s recital engagements have included performances at Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, 92nd Street Y’s Kaufman Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall (where she collaborated with Vladimir Spivakov on the Great Performers series).

  
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• Satoshi Okamoto

  Bass

  Satoshi Okamoto was an assistant principal double bassist in the San Antonio Symphony for eight years and a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra for a year before joining the New York Philharmonic in September 2003. He received his master’s degree from The Juilliard School, and a bachelor’s degree from Tokyo University of Fine Arts. An eight-time Aspen Music Festival participant, he won the festival’s bass competition twice, in 1993 and 1997. He also became a finalist of the International Society of Bassist Solo Competition in 1997, and the Izuminomori International Double Bass Competition in 2001. As a chamber musician, he is a member of Bateira trio and La Stella Quattro di Bassi. His teachers include former Philharmonic Principal Bass Eugene Levinson, Paul Ellison, Yoshio Nagashima, and Osamu Yamamoto.

  
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• Robert Rinehart

  Viola

  Robert Rinehart, who joined the New York Philharmonic’s viola section in 1992, is a familiar figure on the New York chamber-music scene. He has appeared at the Spoleto, Vancouver Chamber Music, and Santa Fe Chamber Music festivals, and with Chamber Music Northwest and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. A founding member of the Ridge String Quartet, Rinehart has performed in every major music center in the United States, as well as in Canada, Australia, Japan, and in Europe. He has collaborated with Benny Goodman, Rudolf Firkusny, and the Guarneri String Quartet, among others, and his chamber music recordings have received a Grammy Award, two Grammy nominations, and the Diapason d’Or.

  
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• Fiona Simon

  Violin

  Violinist Fiona Simon, a member of the Orchestra since 1985, made her Philharmonic solo debut in November 1989, performing Vivaldi’s Concerto for Three Violins. Simon began her career in her native England, where she studied with Szymon Goldberg and won major prizes in the Carl Flesch and Jacques Thibaud competitions. For three consecutive years, she was London’s Young Artist of the Year. She has performed with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the Royal Opera at Covent Garden, and the English Chamber Orchestra, among others. She has also been featured in many recitals and concerts broadcast over the BBC, and has made numerous appearances throughout Europe. Simon is a member of the Vanderspar String Trio and the Simon String Quartet. She was married to the late New York Philharmonic violinist Richard Simon, and has a son, Michael Paul, a poet.

  
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• Cong Wu

  Viola

  Cong Wu joined the New York Philharmonic as Assistant Principal Viola, The Norma and Lloyd Chazen Chair, in September 2018. He is the winner of the Third Prize and the Chamber Music Prize in the Fourteenth Primrose International Viola Competition, and the Special Prize in the Twelfth Tertis International Viola Competition. His performances throughout North America and Asia include solo appearances with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Macau Youth Orchestra, and New York Classical Players.

  
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• Sharon Yamada

  Violin

  Sharon Yamada, a member of the New York Philharmonic since 1988, has performed extensively on both the East and West Coasts. She performs regularly with the New York Philharmonic Ensembles at Merkin Hall, and has appeared with the New Jersey Chamber Music Society. Yamada has performed frequently in the summer at the Grand Teton Music Festival. Other summer activities have included the Aspen, Norfolk, and Chigiana (Siena, Italy) music festivals. Formerly assistant concertmaster of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Yamada has also appeared in concert with Orchestra New England and the Wallingford Symphony. She is a former member of the Hofstra String Quartet, which was in residence at Hofstra University.

  
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