Violinist and violist Timothy Christie enjoys a multifaceted career as performer, teacher, public speaker and recording artist. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival (WWCMF), a nonprofit organization in southeastern Washington presenting more than 40 public chamber music events annually.

Russian-born pianist Oxana Ejokina appears frequently as guest recitalist and chamber musician in concert series across the United States and abroad. She has soloed with the Seattle Symphony, St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, and Tacoma Symphony, and performed in Washington DC, Seattle, Olympia, San Francisco, and Turkey.

Sponsored by Edward & Karleen Heintzberger

Norbert Lewandowski was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and began cello studies at the age of 13. He holds a Master's degree in performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music and currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina, where he is the principal cellist of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.

Praised for his “sweet, luxurious” sound (Fanfare), and the “thoughtfulness and seriousness” (Nashville Scene) of his interpretations, violinist Stephen Miahky serves as the Joseph Joachim Professor of Violin and First Violin of the Blair String Quartet at Vanderbilt University.

Sponsored by Albert Marshall

Violinist/violist Philip Payton is a member of the American Symphony, American Modern Ensemble, Furiant Trio, and Vital String Quartet. He also performs in Alarm Will Sound, American Ballet Theater, Colour of Music, Harlem Chamber Players, New Jersey Symphony, Nu Deco Ensemble, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera, Sarasota Orchestra, and several others.

Jennifer Caine Provine, violinist, was a first prize winner of the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe Competition and recipient of several awards and grants including the Royal College of Music’s Isolde Menges Prize for solo Bach, Oxford University's Polonsky Foundation Grant and Joan Conway Scholarship in Performance, Harvard University's John Knowles Paine Traveling Fellowship, and the Frank Huntington Beebe Grant for Musicians.

Maria Sampen, Professor of Violin at University of Puget Sound, enjoys a vibrant career as concerto soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and teacher. Equally at home with repertoire ranging from classical to avant-garde to popular styles, Dr. Sampen has delighted audiences with her eclectic programs, her passionate performance style, and her highly expressive playing.

British-born cellist Sally Singer Tuttle, noted by The Strad Magazine for her “transforming sweep of gossamer beauty,” has performed as a soloist with the Pleven Philharmonic, Bulgaria, the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, New York, the Danbury Symphony, Connecticut, the Washington-Idaho Symphony Orchestra, Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra, Walla Walla Symphony Orchestra and the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, Russia, amongst others.

Hailed by Gramophone magazine for its "warmly considered playing" and "shadings of exquisite sheen and vibrancy," the Volta Piano Trio, formerly known as the Icicle Creek Piano Trio, has established itself as one of the Pacific Northwest's premier chamber ensembles. The members of the Volta Piano Trio originate from the United States, United Kingdom, and Russia. Together or as individuals, Jennifer Caine Provine, Sally Singer, and Oxana Ejokina have performed in venues such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alice Tully Hall, the Phillips Collection, and the Royal Albert Hall, and have toured in Austria, Germany, France, Italy, and the U.K.

Highly regarded as a pianist and conductor, Jonathan Yates made his professional orchestral conducting debut at 23, leading the National Symphony Orchestra in a Millennium Stages Concert.

The following year he made his Carnegie Hall debut as a participant in the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop. He has been heard as a pianist at many major New York City venues, including Weill Hall, the 92nd Street Y, Miller Theater, Bargemusic and Merkin Hall, as well as at the Caramoor Festival and on the Ravinia Festival Rising Stars Series.