Praised for his “vibrant intensity” (The Times, London) and playing “supremely convincing in its vitality” (Cleveland Plain Dealer), violinist Kevin Lawrence has consistently elicited superlative responses for his performances throughout the United States and Europe. His assertive style and strong musical personality have thrilled audiences at Merkin Hall, Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and in Houston, Chicago, London, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Rome, Prague, Bucharest, Sofia, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Amsterdam, where the Dutch press described him as “simply miraculous.” (Het Vaderland).

Lawrence has premiered sonatas by contemporary American compositional voices Laura Kaminsky and Judith Shatin, and chamber works by Evan Chambers, Michael Rothkopf and Lawrence Dillon. His release of the complete violin works of the American composer Arthur Foote on the New World label was “highly recommended” as “beautifully played” by the Washington Post, and heard on the Ken Burns series “Not for Ourselves Alone,” broadcast on PBS; his second CD of American violin sonatas, recently released by New World, was hailed as “vital playing” and “a labor of love” by ClassicsToday.com. He is also heard with renowned flutist Carol Wincenc on a recording of American flute quintets released by Bridge Records, and named as 2012 Critics Choice by American Record Guide. Other chamber music collaborations include performances with Raphael Hillyer, Sheila Browne, Caroline Coade, Matt Haimovitz, Steven Doane, Ransom Wilson, Eugenia Zukerman, Daniel McKelway, Joseph Robinson and David Jolley. Lawrence also performs regularly with pianist Dmitri Vorobiev and cellist Brooks Whitehouse in the Black Mountain Trio. Named to honor the vision of Black Mountain College, a vibrant artistic and educational institution that enriched the cultural history of North Carolina during the middle of the 20th century, this ensemble has performed in North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont and Ohio, as well as Beijing and Shenzhen, China.

Described by Fanfare Magazine as “a specialist in everything, from Bach to new-music premieres…” violinist Ida Bieler is renowned as a musician of extraordinary scope. A winner of prestigious competitions on three continents, she has enjoyed an exceptional solo, collaborative and recording career worldwide, and is one of the most sought-after teachers of her generation.

Bieler has performed the canon of major violin concertos with over forty orchestras on four continents, including the premiere of Penderecki’s second violin concerto under the direction of the composer. Her groundbreaking achievement as the first American woman appointed concertmaster of a major European orchestra, the “Gürzenich Orchestra” of Cologne, led to a major ensemble career in Germany’s legendary Melos String Quartet and the acclaimed Xyrion Piano Trio.

Over the course of a celebrated performing career spanning more than thirty years she has also produced an impressive catalogue of solo and chamber recordings with such labels as Naxos, MDG, Harmonia Mundi Musique, Coviello and Genuin. Awards and prizes have included the Cannes “Classical” award, the Echo “Klassik,” Fono Forum’s “Stern des Monats” and Strad’s “Chamber Music Selection.”Ida Bieler has performed and been a frequent guest artist in major international festivals, including the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Beethovenfest Bonn, the Music Academy of the West and the Ravinia and Marlboro festivals.

One of today’s preeminent pedagogues, Bieler has held full professorships in Germany, England, Austria, and the U.S., and leads annual masterclasses worldwide. Bieler’s outstanding students are international prize laureates, thriving chamber musicians, and winners of positions in major orchestras. Since 2013 she has been Artist-Teacher of Violin at UNCSA and is a new faculty member of NYU’s Steinhardt School of Music and Performing Arts.

Award-winning Jamaican-American violist Jordan Bak has achieved international acclaim as a trailblazing artist, praised for his radiant stage presence, dynamic interpretations, and fearless power. Critics have described him as “an exciting new voice in Classical performance” (I Care If You Listen), “a powerhouse musician, with a strong voice and compelling sound” (The Whole Note) and lauded his “haunting lyrical grace” (Gramophone). The recipient of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s ‘Alexandra Jupin’ Award and former Young Classical Artist Trust’s (YCAT) ‘Robey Artist,’ Bak was also a prizewinner in the Sphinx, Lionel Tertis, and Concert Artists Guild Competitions, and has received accolades from ClassicFM, MusicalAmerica, and WQXR.

Bak’s enthusiastically-received sophomore album, Cantabile: Anthems for Viola (Delphian Records), has garnered significant international attention, featuring works by Arnold Bax, Benjamin Britten, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, paired with contemporary compositions by Jonathan Harvey, Bright Sheng, and Augusta Read Thomas. A proud new music advocate, Bak has given numerous world premieres, including Kaija Saariaho’s Du gick, flög for viola and mezzo-soprano, Jessica Meyer’s On fire…no, after you for viola, mezzo-soprano and piano, Augusta Read Thomas’ Upon Wings of Words for string quartet and soprano, and Jeffrey Mumford’s stillness echoing for viola and harp. He has additionally championed other works by Jeffrey Mumford, as well as works by H. Leslie Adams, Esteban Zapata Blanco, Carlos Carillo, Caroline Shaw, and Alvin Singleton.

Bak has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, London Mozart Players, New York Classical Players, Juilliard Orchestra and Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra among others, and has performed under such esteemed conductors as Howard Griffiths, Stephen Mulligan, Keith Lockhart, Gerard Schwarz, and Ewa Strusińska. As a recitalist and chamber musician, he has been heard at some of the world’s greatest performance venues including Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, Jordan Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Perelman Theater at The Kimmel Center, Elgar Concert Hall, and Helsinki Musiikkitalo. Bak’s recent performances include recitals at Kravis Center, Wiltshire Music Centre, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Harriman-Jewell Series, Lichfield Festival, and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.

Rubina Bak holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the New England Conservatory, a Master of Music from Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrechts Conservatorium (Netherlands) , and a Master of Musical Arts from Yale School of Music in Viola Performance. She was awarded Yale School of Music, The Malcolm L. Mitchell and Donald M. Roberts Class of 1957 Prize, which is given to an outstanding graduating teaching artist in the Music in Schools Initiative. She is very passionate about helping students take the first step in starting their musical journey. She has been teaching violin and viola privately and in school classrooms for 15 years and piano privately for 12 years. She currently lives in Toledo, Ohio with her husband, who is also a violist, and her 2 cats Walton and Bartok. In her spare time she loves to cook Korean food, garden, and swim at the beach.

UNCSA faculty cellist Brooks Whitehouse has performed and taught throughout the US and abroad, holding Artists-in-Residence positions at SUNY Stony Brook, the Guild Hall in East Hampton, NY, the University of Virginia and The Tanglewood Music Center. As founding members of The Guild Trio Whitehouse and his wife, violinist Janet Orenstein won both the "USIA Artistic Ambassador" and "Chamber Music Yellow Springs" competitions, and with that ensemble they have performed and held master classes throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Norway, Turkey, the former Yugoslavia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Portugal, France and Australia. The trio has been a frequent feature on National Public Radio's "Performance Today", and has also appeared on the University of Missouri's public television series "Premiere Performances", and "Front Row Center" on KETC-TV9 in St. Louis.

As a soloist Whitehouse has appeared with the Boston Pops, the New England Chamber Orchestra, and the Nashua, New Brunswick, Billings, and Owensboro Symphonies. He has appeared in recital throughout the northeastern United States, and his performances have been broadcast on WQXR's "McGraw-Hill Young Artist Showcase", WNYC's "Around New York," and the Australian and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation networks. He has held fellowships at the Blossom and Bach Aria festivals, and was winner of the Cabot prize as a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. He currently teaches and performs during the summer at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. As guest artist he has appeared with the American Chamber Players, the New Millennium Ensemble, the JU Piano Trio, The Apple Hill Chamber Players, the Atelier Ensemble and the New Zealand String Quartet. Mr. Whitehouse is also cellist of the European-based Atma Trio, and is 44% (by weight with instruments) of the cello/bass duo Low and Lower with bassist Paul Sharpe. He as recorded for the Centaur, CRI, and Innova labels.

Before joining the faculty of UNCSA, Whitehouse held professorships at the University of Florida and the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG). While at UNCG he was Artistic Director of three international cello celebrations honoring the legacy of cellists Luigi Silva, Bernard Greenhouse, and Laszlo Varga, and hosted some of the world's finest cellists, including Janos Starker, Steven Doane, Joel Krosnick, Timothy Eddy, and Paul Katz. Whitehouse currently serves on the board of the Greenhouse Foundation, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for aspiring young cellists around the world.

Paul Sharpe is the Artist-Teacher of Double Bass at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and is active internationally as an orchestral and chamber musician and as a soloist. Recent performances and engagements have taken him all over the world, including performances and coaching at Villa Musica in Neuwid, Germany; recitals and masterclasses at Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno/Sterzing, Italy; in recital at the Paris Conservatory, the Institutes of Music in Curitiba and Porto Allegre in Brazil, the University of Iowa, Cleveland Institute of Music, World Bass Convention (Wroclaw, Poland), University of North Texas, University of Michigan, Interlochen Arts Academy, and two of Brazil’s International Double Bass Encounters in Pirenopolis, Brazil.

Solo engagements with orchestra have included appearances with the Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra, Boise Philharmonic, Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra de Camara Theatro Sao Pedro (Porto Allegre, Brazil), Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, and Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival Orchestra, and Aspen Young Artists Orchestra. He has been a guest artist at MusicFest (Arizona), Garth Newel Music Center (Virginia), Orfeo (Vipiteno, Italy), Green Mountain Music Festival (Vermont), Pine Mountain Music Festival (Michigan), Anchorage Chamber Music Festival (Alaska), Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival (AK), the Festival of Two Worlds (Spoleto, Italy), and 20^th Century Unlimited (Santa Fe, NM).

As a student of Jeff Bradetich he received the B.M. degree in Performance from Northwestern University, and he earned the M.A. degree in Music from the University of Iowa studying with Diana Gannett. While in school he received fellowships to the Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, and the Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan). He has been a prizewinner at several solo competitions, including the International Society of Bassists (ISB) Solo Competition in 1997, and winner of the Aspen Music Festival’s Double Bass Concerto Competition in 1996, and is a founding member of the bass quartet Bad Boys of Double Bass, all former prizewinners of the ISB International Solo Competition.

He is also a member of the innovative cello-bass duo, “Low and Lower,” with cellist Brooks Whitehouse. In addition to his duties as professor at UNCSA he is Principal Bass of the Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra and Piedmont Opera, and performs frequently in the Charleston (SC) Symphony Orchestra. He served as Principal Bass of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra from 1996-2007, and performed frequently with the Fort Worth Symphony and San Antonio Symphony while living in Texas. Before coming to UNCSA he held faculty positions at Texas Tech University, the University of North Texas, Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), and the Preucil School of Music (Iowa City, IA).