Artists

• Pascual Martínez Forteza

  Clarinet

  A native of Mallorca, Spain, clarinetist and E-flat clarinetist Pascual Martínez Forteza joined the New York Philharmonic in 2001; he currently serves as Acting Associate Principal Clarinet, The Honey M. Kurtz Family Chair. 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.

  
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• Yi-Fang Huang

  Piano

  Yi-Fang Huang, a native of Taiwan, began playing the piano at age seven, followed by viola at age nine. She received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from The Juilliard School and her doctorate from Rutgers University. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic Ensembles at Merkin Hall, Perlman Music Program, OK Mozart Festival, International Viola Congress, Interlochen Viola Institute, Great Mountains Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, and Music Academy of the West. She has premiered works composed by by Somei Satao, Stuart Smith, and Alessandro Solbiati.

  
  

• Eric Huebner

  Piano

  Pianist Eric Huebner has drawn worldwide acclaim for his performances of new and traditional music since making his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at age 17. In January 2012 he was appointed pianist of the New York Philharmonic and holds the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Piano Chair. From 2001 through 2012, Huebner was a member of Antares, a quartet comprised of clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. First-prize winner of the 2002 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, Antares appeared regularly in major chamber music venues throughout the United States and worked closely with many composers on the commissioning of new works for its combination.

  
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• Ieva Jokubaviciute

  Piano

• Mindy Kaufman

  Flute

  Mindy Kaufman, The Edward and Priscilla Pilcher Chair, joined the New York Philharmonic as flute and solo piccolo in 1979 at the age of 22, after performing for three seasons with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. She received a bachelor of music degree from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Walfrid Kujala, Bonita Boyd, and James Galway.

  
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• Sumire Kudo

  Cello

  Sumire Kudo joined the Philharmonic as a cellist in June 2006. Previously she taught at Indiana University–South Bend and was the cellist of the Avalon String Quartet. Born in Tokyo, Japan, Kudo began cello studies at age four with her father, cellist Akiyoshi Kudo. She came to the United States in 2000, after establishing herself in her native country through solo performances and recordings. Her honors include the Hideo Saito Memorial Fund Award, which she received from the Sony Music Foundation after being chosen by Seiji Ozawa and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi as the most promising cellist in 2005, and prizes at the Sapporo Junior Cello Competition and 62nd Japan Music Competition. Kudo is a graduate of Tokyo’s Toho School and The Juilliard School. She has participated in the Nagano-Aspen Music, Aspen Music, Santa Fe, and Marlboro Music festivals. Record Geijutsu, Japan’s leading classical music magazine, named her second solo CD, Love of Beauty, Best Recording.

  
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• Anthony McGill

  Clarinet

  Anthony McGill joined the New York Philharmonic as Principal Clarinet, The Edna and W. Van Alan Clark Chair, in September 2014, becoming the Philharmonic’s first African American Principal player. He is the recipient of the 2020 Avery Fisher Prize, one of classical music’s most significant awards, given to musicians who represent the highest level of musical excellence.
  
  Hailed for his “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound and rich character” (The New York Times) and “exquisite combination of technical refinement and expressive radiance” (The Baltimore Sun), he is recognized as one of the classical music world’s finest solo, chamber, and orchestral musicians. McGill also serves as an ardent advocate for helping music education reach underserved communities and for addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in classical music. He took part in the inauguration of President Barack Obama, premiering a piece written for the occasion by John Williams alongside violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Gabriela Montero.
  
  Anthony McGill appears regularly as a soloist with top orchestras around North America, including the New York Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony. As a chamber musician, McGill is a collaborator of the Brentano, Daedalus, Guarneri, JACK, Miró, Pacifica, Shanghai, Takács, and Tokyo Quartets, as well as Emanuel Ax, Inon Barnatan, Gloria Chien, Yefim Bronfman, Gil Shaham, Midori, Mitsuko Uchida, and Lang Lang. He has toured with Musicians from Marlboro and regularly performs for The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Festival appearances include Tanglewood, Marlboro, Mainly Mozart, and Music@Menlo, as well as the Santa Fe, Seattle, and Skaneateles Chamber Music Festivals.
  
  McGill has recorded Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto with the New York Philharmonic, led by then Music Director Alan Gilbert, released on Dacapo Records. He has also recorded three albums released by Cedille Records: one with his brother, Seattle Symphony principal flute Demarre McGill, and pianist Michael McHale; another featuring the Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quintets with the Pacifica Quartet; and Winged Creatures, recorded with Demarre McGill and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras led by Allen Tinkham. McGill collaborated with Gloria Chien on his first album, which featured music from France, Russia, and America.
  
  A dedicated champion of new music, Anthony McGill premiered Richard Danielpour’s From the Mountaintop in 2014, written for him and commissioned by the New Jersey Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, and Orchestra 2001. In 2021 he joined the Pacifica Quartet to perform the world premiere of James Lee III: Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet. He served as the 2015–16 Artist-in-Residence at WQXR and has appeared on Performance Today, MPR’s Saint Paul Sunday, and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. He has appeared on NBC Nightly News and MSNBC in stories about the McGill brothers. In 2020 his #TakeTwoKnees campaign protesting the death of George Floyd and historic racial injustice went viral.
  
  A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Anthony McGill previously served as principal clarinet of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and associate principal clarinet of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In demand as a teacher, he serves on the faculty of The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, and he is artistic director of the Music Advancement Program at Juilliard. He is on the Board of Directors of the Harmony Program and on the advisory council of the InterSchool Orchestras of New York.

  
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• R. Allen Spanjer

  Horn

  R. Allen Spanjer joined the New York Philharmonic as Second Horn, The Rosalind Miranda Chair, in February 1993. His appearances with the Orchestra as a featured soloist have included performances of Schumann’s Konzertstück for Four Horns in 1995 and 2001, as well as on the Philharmonic’s 1996 European Festivals Tour and 2001 Latin American Tour, conducted by then Music Director Kurt Masur. He was also featured in 1996 in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Horns with Principal Horn Philip Myers, also conducted by Masur.

  
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• Sherry Sylar

  Oboe

  Sherry Sylar joined the New York Philharmonic in 1984 as Associate Principal Oboe. She was the Orchestra’s Acting Principal Oboe during the 2005–06 season and has also served as guest principal oboe for other major orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, and the Minnesota Orchestra. Prior to joining the New York Philharmonic she was a member of the Louisville Orchestra. 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, which she counts as one of the highlights of her career.

  
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• Yulia Ziskel

  Violin

  A member of the New York Philharmonic’s first violin section since 2001, Yulia Ziskel, who holds The Friends and Patrons Chair, has established herself as a highly acclaimed solo, chamber, and orchestral musician. She has been praised by The Strad Magazine for “the sweetness of her sound.”

  
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