2026 Artists
Anna Griffis, viola
Equally at home on steel and gut strings and with new and old music, violist/violinist Anna Griffis (she/her) has performed in Mexico, Turkey, Austria, Slovenia, Czechia, Taiwan, and across North America. She is a principal viola with the New Bedford Symphony and the Boston Festival Orchestra, a member of the Albany Symphony, and performs frequently with Emmanuel Music, Blue Heron, Les Bostonades, A Far Cry, the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Boston Baroque, Boston Lyric Opera, and Boston Ballet. She co-founded Chicago-based Trio Speranza, prize winners at the Early Music American Baroque Competition, and performs with and is executive director of the new music group Ludovico Ensemble.
Anna studied at Lawrence University, The Hartt School of Music, Tanglewood Music Center, and Boston University and now teaches and coaches chamber music at the New School of Music (Cambridge) and Tufts University, and is an affiliate artist in the Emerson/Harris program at MIT. In addition to playing and teaching, she works in marketing and communications for the Tufts Music Department and Emmanuel Music and is a freelance graphic designer.
Originally from Annapolis, MD, Anna is the proud product of her public school music program. She now lives in the great neighborhood of Lower Allston with her bassoonist husband and their cat, Church, and gets excited about fonts, road trips, and diners.
Joseph Gotoff, cello
Praised for his “clarity and an approachable sensitivity” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer), cellist Joseph Gotoff is recognized as a thoughtful and emotive performer, scholar, and teacher. With a repertoire spanning the Baroque to the modern era, Joseph is a champion of living composers, and has premiered works by Lowell Liebermann, Cody Forrest and Binna Kim among others. In 2020, his debut album “The Voice of the Cello” was released to critical acclaim on the Spice Classics label.
Joseph is most passionate about chamber music, and has appeared as a recitalist and chamber musician in concert halls across Europe, Asia and the Americas. In the United States, he can often be seen performing with such diverse ensembles as Counterpoint Concerts, Washington Classical Arts, the New Orchestra of Washington, and the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra. His recital programming, with duo partner and pianist Dr. Wan-chi Su, focuses largely on works by female composers of the 20th and 21st century.
Joseph joined the faculty of Italy's Orfeo International Music Festival in Vipiteno in 2025, and continues his ongoing association with the Summer Music in Tuscany festival in Sarteano, Italy in 2026, where since 2022 he has captivated audiences as both soloist and chamber musician on faculty recitals.
A dedicated teacher and mentor, Joseph was appointed to the faculty of Towson University as Assistant Professor of Cello in 2021, where he also serves as conductor of the Towson University Symphony Orchestra. As a conductor, Joseph is passionate about bringing to life both classic works and lesser-known gems. Joseph also teaches at Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C., where he instructs adult cello ensembles as well as conducting the Levine Philharmonic.
Joseph Gotoff plays on a Frank Ravatin cello made in 1995. His teachers include Orlando Cole, Barbara Stein-Mallow, and Yeesun Kim, with additional chamber music studies from the Brentano and Borromeo String Quartets.
Ken Hamao, violin
Described by the New York Times as having “especially eloquent playing,” violinist/violist Ken Hamao is a dynamic musician renowned for his sensitive interpretation, and has concertized extensively throughout the world in notable venues such as Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Melbourne Recital Centre, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, and Lincoln Center.
As a member of the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet, Ken is Professor of the Practice at Harvard University’s Department of Music. He has also held guest faculty positions at the New England Conservatory and Dartmouth College. Prior to joining the Parker Quartet, he was a member of the Ensō String Quartet from 2014 to 2018, with whom highlights include worldwide tours of Australia, Brazil, Colombia, and New Zealand. As a soloist, he has performed concertos by Giya Kancheli, Kurt Rohde, and Tan Dun, the latter of which with the composer at the podium. He also appears frequently with Argento Chamber Ensemble, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, and Talea Ensemble.
In addition to music, Ken’s passions include attempting to make a bowl of ramen entirely from scratch, cheering on his beloved Tottenham Hotspur while attending various live football matches around the world, and amateur woodworking.
Grant Houston, violin
Violinist Grant Houston connects with listeners through performances of unbridled energy and emotional magnetism. He is a founding member of Trio Gaia, a co-artistic director of the GRAMMY-nominated ensembles Palaver Strings and A Far Cry, and a frequently featured performer at chamber music series and festivals across the country.
Houston has performed at venues including Spoleto Festival USA, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and appears regularly with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, he has performed concertos with the Plymouth Philharmonic and duo recitals alongside pianists Max Levinson, Efi Hackmey, and Melvin Chen.
As the violinist of Trio Gaia, Houston tours with one of today's most exciting piano trios. The group has performed on series such as the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, the Harvard Musical Association, and the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota, and has earned prizes at competitions including the 2022 Premio Trio di Trieste and the 2020 International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition. In 2024, the trio completed a three-year residency at New England Conservatory's Professional Piano Trio Program.
Committed to music education, Houston serves on the faculty of New England Conservatory Preparatory School and has given masterclasses at Duke University and the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music.
Sangwon Lee, clarinet
Sangwon Lee joined the Hartford Symphony as Principal Clarinet in 2023. He has performed with orchestras all over New England, which include the Boston Philharmonic, Berkshire Opera Festival, Vermont Symphony, Dartmouth Symphony, New Bedford Symphony, Symphony New Hampshire, etc. As a chamber musician, Sangwon has shared the stage with the late Peter Serkin – performing the Beethoven and the Mozart Quintets for Piano with Winds in multiple performances in 2018.
In addition to performing, Sangwon is passionate about music education. He has coached the clarinet sections of all levels at the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has taught clarinet, saxophone, and chamber music at the Bard Music Camp in the summers since 2016 and was an instructor of clarinet and saxophone at the Simon’s Rock College in Great Barrington, MA.
He holds a BM in Clarinet Performance and a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan, an MM in Critical, Curatorial, and Performance Studies from Bard College, and a Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory. His teachers include Daniel Gilbert and Thomas Martin.
Yoonhee Lee, violin
Yoonhee Lee is a Korean-American violinist. She enjoys a versatile career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. Her biggest influences are Masuko Ushioda, Vera Beths, and Anner Bijlsma.
Lee has premiered and recorded numerous works by renowned composers, such as Rebecca Saunders, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Richard Barrett, and Nina Young. Other luminaries with whom she has worked closely include Kaija Saariaho, Enno Poppe, Georg Friedrich Haas, Beat Furrer, Jörg Widmann, Lei Liang, Seán ó Dálaigh, and Shiuan Chang. She is the dedicatee of a solo violin piece by composer Simone Cardini, titled Ramificazioni d'indistinto (2018).
She has appeared on stages worldwide, including the Berliner Philharmonie, St. Eustache in Paris, WDR Funkhaus Wallrafplatz Köln, Huddersfield Town Hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Concertgebouw, Musiikkitalo, Concertgebouw Brugge, Royal Albert Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, Calderwood Hall at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Fraser Performance Studio at WGBH Boston, Shostakovich Hall, and Teatro Gran Rex in Buenos Aires. Lee has held two major concert tours in China.
Born in Seoul, Lee began the piano at the age of three and violin at five. She and her family immigrated to Boston just before her tenth birthday. She did not speak a word of English, and for years music became her means of communication as well as refuge. Early experiences of navigating between languages and cultures remain a strong part of her identity; as an artist she is interested in fluidity and fragility of genres and boundaries, and she seeks innovation and experimentation in all her endeavors.
Lee’s instrument is a 2024 Mary Jane Kwan violin Made in Association with Samuel Zygmuntowicz, and her primary bow is a Joseph Henry circa 1860, previously owned by her late mentor Masuko Ushioda. She currently resides in Boston with her husband Tom, dog Schatzi, and cat Opus.
New England Conservatory (B.M. 2011, M.M. 2013), Conservatorium van Amsterdam (M.M. 2015 cum laude); Frank Huntington Beebe Fund for Study Abroad (2013-14)