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2025 JUDGES

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MICHAEL KLOTZ has established an international reputation as a performer and pedagogue of the viola. Klotz made his solo debut with the Rochester Philharmonic at the age of 17 and has since then appeared as soloist with orchestra, as a recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestra principal worldwide. Michael Klotz joined the Amernet String Quartet in 2002 and has toured and recorded commercially with the ensemble throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Romania, Colombia, Belgium, and Spain. Passionately dedicated to chamber music, he has appeared as a guest with the Borromeo, Shanghai and Ying Quartets, and collaborated with artists such as James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Cho-Liang Lin, Paul Neubauer, Cynthia Phelps, Clive Greensmith and Gary Hoffman. His festival appearances have included Seattle, Newport, Caramoor, ChamberFest Cleveland, Festival Mozaic, Great Lakes, Cervantino, Festival Baltimore, Piccolo Spoleto, Sunflower, Martha’s Vineyard, Skaneateles, Virginia Tech Vocal Arts and Music Festival, San Miguel de Allende, Beverly Hills, Music Mountain, Bowdoin, Madeline Island, and Miami Mainly Mozart. Michael Klotz is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where he was awarded the Performer’s Certificate. In 2002 he became one of the few individuals to be awarded a double Master’s Degree in violin and viola from the Juilliard School. At Juilliard, he was the recipient of the Tokyo Foundation and Gluck Fellowships. Michael Klotz serves as Teaching Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at Florida International University. He is currently a member of the artist faculty of the Heifetz Institute, a viola coach at New World Symphony and a founding member of the The Josef Gingold Chamber Music Festival of Miami. 

NICHOLAS TAVANI was born in Arlington, VA, and debuted in Washington, D.C.’s Gaston Hall at the age of eight. The New York Times lauded the "dusky lyricism" of his playing with the Aeolus Quartet, the Cleveland Plain Dealer recently praised him as “an alert and sensitive artist, with beautiful tone and exquisite phrasing,” and the Washington Post has hailed his “brilliant musicianship.” As a chamber musician, recitalist, and concerto soloist, Mr. Tavani has performed extensively to critical acclaim in the United States and around the world. As first violinist of the Aeolus Quartet, he was a winner of the 2011 Plowman International Chamber Music Competition, the 2011 Yellow Springs Chamber Music competition, and the 2009 Coleman International Chamber Music Competition. He is also a laureate of the Postacchini and Kingsville International Violin Competitions.


Mr. Tavani serves as first violinist in the Aeolus Quartet, who are currently Artists in Residence at Musica Viva New York. In addition, he serves as frequent guest musician and chamber artist with the St Paul Chamber Orchestra and is a member of the Mark Morris Dance Group Music Ensemble and the Smithsonian Chamber Players.

A passionate advocate of new music, Mr. Tavani has premiered and recorded several works by living composers, including Samuel Adler, Alexandra Bryant, Christopher Theofanidis, Missy Mazzoli, and Dan Visconti. His discography includes four albums with the Aeolus Quartet in wide release on the Azica, Naxos, and Innova labels. Solo performances with orchestra include the St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Arlington Symphony, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Prince William Symphony, New Orchestra of Washington, and many others. Collaborations include Renee Fleming, Peter Salaff, Jon Kimura Parker, Daxun Zhang, and Michael Tree.

Mr. Tavani’s current season includes chamber, recital and concerto performances across the US and extensive touring across the US with the Aeolus Quartet.

As a committed educator, Mr. Tavani has served on the faculties of the George Washington University School of Music, Point CounterPoint Music Festival, the MasterWorks Festival, and the University of Maryland High School Music Academy. He served as teaching assistant to the Juilliard Quartet at the Juilliard School, where he studied with Joseph Lin and Ronald Copes, and the Aeolus Quartet was 2013-2015 Graduate Quartet in Residence. Mr. Tavani completed a doctorate under the mentorship of David Salness at the University of Maryland. His thesis was titled Quantifying Dynamic Pitch Adjustment Decision Structures in String Quartet Performance. An alumnus of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Nicholas studied violin with William Preucil and chamber music with Peter Salaff and the Cavani Quartet. In addition to a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from CIM, Nicholas also studied mathematical physics at Case Western Reserve University.

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ROBERT KOENIG is widely considered one of today’s foremost pianists in the industry and brings a wealth of knowledge and esteemed cache to the Palm Springs International Piano Competition in his role as Artistic Director. With a noted career that spans more than four decades, Robert’s collaborations with high-profile artists and chamber ensembles in prestigious venues across the globe has solidified his standing as an invaluable partner and resource to musicians near and far.

 

From coast to coast and throughout Asia and Europe, in concert and on tour, Robert regularly performs at such venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Washington’s Kennedy Center, Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Amsterdam’s Het Concertgebouw. He has collaborated with many of this generation’s most renowned musicians, including Augustin Hadelich, Hilary Hahn, Ida Kavafian, Zuill Bailey, Sara Sant’Ambrogio, Miro String Quartet, and members of the Tokyo and Juilliard String Quartets. Of significance is Robert’s frequent partnership with legendary late violinist Aaron Rosand, as well as his 30-year collaboration with renowned violinist Elmar Oliveira.

 

Robert’s discography is vast and musically diverse, with lauded recordings on the Artek, Decca, Cedille, and Naxos labels. One of his many highlights includes a GRAMMY nominated CD for Naxos of William Primrose Transcriptions for Viola and Piano with violist Roberto Diaz.

 

A favorite at summer festivals in the United States and abroad, Robert has performed at such festivals as Ravinia, Aspen, Caramoor, Mostly Mozart, and Campos do Jordao Festival in Brazil. A strong advocate for the music of our time, Robert commissioned American Composer Lowell Liebermann to write Trio No.2 for Flute, Cello, and Piano Op.87 and performed the world premiere at the National Flute Association Convention in Nashville, TN.


A native of Saskatchewan, Canada, Robert is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied with renowned collaborative pianist Dr. Vladimir Sokoloff. In addition to his decade long association with the Juilliard School where he served as staff pianist, he also served as Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS. Robert currently serves as Professor and Head of Collaborative Piano at the University of California Santa Barbara, where he was Chair of the Music Department from 2019-2022. His summers are spent at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp where he is Coordinator of Collaborative Piano.

 

Robert Koenig is an official Yamaha Artist.

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