Chamber Music Perspectives - Performance & Composition Workshop

Thank you to everyone who came to our benefit concert on Saturday! It was a lovely reunion with several alumni students and we were happy to see both new and old friends in the audience!

Don't forget to apply for this summer's session by April 15th 🎻

Thanks to Christ Lutheran Church for having us and to Ping Sun for the photos 📸

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shannon-lee-arseniy-gusev-benefit-concert-for-chamber-music-perspectives-tickets-1983727136265
Join us in person for a special event in Dallas later this month! The program will include music from Shannon and Arseniy's two latest albums (and one of Arseniy's own pieces), as well as chamber music highlights and an original student composition from last summer's session of CMP ✨

See our website (link in bio) for more information.

Next up in our faculty spotlight, we’re excited to welcome violist and music producer Jonathan Wu to CMP Workshop for the first time, joining us this summer as part of our viola faculty! 🎻

Trained at the Cleveland Institute of Music and USC’s Thornton School of Music, Jonathan’s musical journey spans from classical concert halls to online platforms and digital studios. A versatile performer and creator, he’s collaborated with major content creators, streamers, and game developers, blending his background in classical performance with a self-taught passion for music production and sound design.

As a performer, Jonathan has studied under renowned mentors like Jaime Laredo and Martin Chalifour, and as a creator, he shares his work with audiences worldwide under the alias JGWu on Twitch and YouTube.

We’re thrilled to have Jonathan join the CMP community and can’t wait to see the creativity and collaborative spirit he’ll bring to the program!

Next up in our series of faculty features: we’re thrilled to spotlight composer and pianist Arseniy Gusev (.arseniy ), who joins CMP Workshop this year as part of our core faculty!

A graduate of the Yale School of Music and current student at Juilliard, Arseniy is building a dynamic career as both a performer and composer. His music—spanning chamber, orchestral, electronic, film, and even opera—has been performed at venues like Carnegie Hall, Mariinsky Theater, Konzerthaus Dortmund, and the Shanghai Philharmonic.

Named a 2025 Charles Ives Fellow by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Arseniy has also released multiple albums, including Enfleurage (Etymology Classics, 2023), Musical Offering (Steinway & Sons) and Witraż (Azica). As a pianist, he’s earned recognition at international competitions such as Singapore Piano Competition and Cleveland Virtu(al)oso.

We’re lucky to have such a multidimensional artist on our faculty, and can’t wait for the depth, inventiveness, and expressive power Arseniy brings to CMP!

We are excited to welcome back cellist Mafalda Santos ( )to this year’s CMP Workshop as part of our cello faculty! 🎻

Praised for her compelling artistry and warmth of expression, Mafalda leads a dynamic career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. A prizewinner in over 20 competitions, she has performed with orchestras across Europe and the U.S., including the Vigo Symphony Orchestra and Peabody Symphony, and appeared at venues like Royal Albert Hall and the Berliner Philharmoniker.

She’s collaborated with renowned artists like Ani Kavafian and Amit Peled, and has recorded for Decca and Chandos with ensembles such as the Sinfonia of London. Mafalda currently serves as Cello Community Lead at tonebase and is a doctoral candidate at Yale.

We’re so excited to have Mafalda back with us this summer and look forward to the depth, care, and energy she brings to the CMP Workshop!

We’re thrilled to welcome composer Jonathan Cziner to this year’s CMP Workshop as part of our composition faculty!

Known for his colorful harmonies, vivid textures, and nostalgic lyricism, Jonathan’s music has been described as “kaleidoscopic,” “daring,” and filled with “brilliant timbral effects.” His works have been performed by leading ensembles such as the Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, and Juilliard Orchestra, under conductors like Osmo Vänskä, David Robertson, and Ruth Reinhardt.

Jonathan is also the Artistic Director of Dallas’s Voices of Change and head of composition at the Charles Ives Music Festival, where he continues to mentor the next generation of composers. A Juilliard-trained composer and a former Composer-in-Residence with the Illinois Philharmonic, he’s currently writing a clarinet concerto for Dallas Symphony Orchestra principal clarinetist Gregory Raden.

We look forward to the inspiration, mentorship, and creativity Dr. Cziner will bring to the program!

Our application deadline has been extended an extra week to April 22nd! See our website for more information—link in bio!

Be a part of our unique chamber music program where students play music both old and new, opening a window into the process of composition.

Apply and earn scholarships made possible by the Curtis Institute of Music’s Daniel W. Dietrich II Young Alumni Fund.

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At CMP Workshop, students take a bold, hands-on approach to chamber music that nurtures holistic musical expression.

Guided by our exceptional faculty, they study the foundations of composition, shape original musical ideas that inform their playing, and develop their own artistic and expressive voices. This creative process empowers our students to interpret classical repertoire—music composed centuries ago—through a deeply personal and expressive lens, by understanding and developing a bridge between their musical imagination and performance expression!

Apply and join us this summer: link in bio

— Violin & Artistic Director
— Cello
arseniy — Composition/Piano
— Composition
— Guest Cello
Jonathan Cziner — Guest Composer — Administrative Staff