Chamber Music Perspectives

Performance & Composition Workshop

Highlights from our 2025 Session

Chamber Music Perspectives (CMP) believes that nurturing the expression of individual creativity in collaborative environments is more important than ever in developing the empathetic leaders and strong pioneers of tomorrow.

At CMP workshop, young classical string musicians in the Dallas-Fort-Worth area are invited to participate in a unique blend of activities – from learning and performing chamber music together to improvising, exploring and sharing the process of composition with their peers and the greater community.

Through playing chamber music and delving into a colorful array of repertoire, students build relationships and collaborate with one another through listening, initiating, imagining, and exchanging ideas.

Chamber music involves engaging with a composer’s musical language through a written score, created before the musicians arrive at the first rehearsal. CMP aims to provide insight into the composition process, encouraging students to think about how pieces are conceived, and in turn, how they might improvise or invent music themselves.

Regardless of prior composing experience, CMP helps students build confidence in translating their ideas and interpretive choices into their own pieces of music, which they then workshop and present in front of a live audience. In the final concert, participants perform solo and chamber music works of both the past and present.

CMP offers a 3:1 student-to-teacher ratio and stellar faculty from all over the world, who have designed the program specifically for young string players who have been able to reach a significantly advanced level of playing on their instrument, thanks to their regular teachers and supportive communities in the DFW area.

Unlike most other chamber music programs across the country, CMP was founded on the belief that performance and composition go hand in hand—that to build on one is to build on the other, and that an understanding of both is crucial for young musicians’ abilities to communicate ideas, both in and beyond the music world. In a time of increasing alienation and automation in our society, we hope that CMP workshop can be an inspiring nucleus for developing musicians everywhere.

Activities

Over the course of 9 days, students will engage in a wide range of performance, composition, and collaboration opportunities. All students will participate in:

daily chamber music rehearsals/coachings
performance class for solo repertoire
sessions on practicing, scales/etudes and improvisation games
sessions on music composition, where they will build a foundation in music theory, as well as explore repertoire by composers from different centuries, countries, and cultural backgrounds
workshops on their own original pieces
a final concert presentation at the end of the workshop featuring all groups and student compositions

2025 Faculty & Staff

Shannon Lee

Canadian-born violinist Shannon Lee grew up in Plano, Texas, and studied for many years with Jan Mark Sloman, former Principal Associate Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony. She made her solo debut with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at the age of 12, and has since performed with orchestras such as the Tokyo Symphony, Antwerp Symphony, Belgian National Orchestra, and New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Shannon has been internationally recognized with top prizes at the Sendai Competition in Japan, Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium, Shanghai Isaac Stern Competition, Indianapolis Competition, and Naumburg Competition in New York City. As a chamber musician, she has played at Creative Dialogue France, Krzyżowa-Music in Poland, Music@Menlo in California, Yale University’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and Heifetz International Music Institute, where she was Artist-in-Residence and teaching assistant. Among Shannon's major teachers and influences are David Nadien, Ida Kavafian, Arnold Steinhardt, Jaime Laredo, and Vera Beths. Currently based in the Netherlands, Shannon also took lessons at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in baroque violin and music composition. Her experiences in teaching and, more recently, in composition, converged in the creation of this workshop in 2023. (website)

Arseniy Gusev

Recipient of Charles Ives Fellowship 2025 and winner of Singapore International Piano Competition 2021, Arseniy Gusev has been pursuing a double career, as a composer and concert pianist. Since his orchestral debut at the age of 15, Gusev’s compositions have been performed in such venues as Mariinsky Theater, Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Woolsey Hall, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Shanghai Philharmonic, and present a colorful variety of styles and genres, some of which are solo, collaborative, orchestral and chamber music, film and theater scores, electronic compositions, lofi, techno, ballet, and opera. Among his most distinguished mentors and influences are David Lang (with whom he studied at the Yale School of Music), Sergei Babayan (at the Juilliard School and previously at the Cleveland Institute of Music), and Sergei Slonimsky (St. Petersburg Conservatory mentor). Several of Gusev’s works notably explore alternative and imaginative history, as well as its cultural oddities. (website)

Julián Fueyo

Fueyo is a composer from Tampico, Mexico whose music explores ancient aesthetics and their place in our rapidly changing, contemporary culture. His pieces often reference ancient art and literature investigating idealization, historicism, memory, and transcendence. Recently, his piece Eleventh Heaven—premiered at Severance Hall by Carlos Kalmar & the CIMO for CIM’s 100th Anniversary—received the 68th BMI Student Composer Awards (2020) and the 2020 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. His violin concerto Serpiente de Turquesas—premiered by Shannon Lee and Sunny Xia—also received the 2021 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Most recently Fueyo was a SFSC Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival (2022) where his pieces 'Hurakán', 'O Condicionado,' and 'Lume in forma di rivera,' were featured. Fueyo is an Interlochen Arts Academy, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Yale School of Music alum where he studied with Keith Fitch, David Lang, Aaron J. Kernis, and Chris Theofanidis. (website)

Mafalda Santos

Portuguese cellist Mafalda Santos brings to the stage her engaging personality and desire to share music and stories with audiences all over the world. As the winner of over 20 awards from prestigious competitions, she has performed in acclaimed venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and Berliner Philharmoniker. Since her debut with the FIME Ensemble at the age of fourteen, Mafalda has performed as a soloist with symphony orchestras in Europe and the United States. As an avid chamber musician, Mafalda has participated in renowned chamber music series and festivals. Passionate about exploring the impact of classical music in society, Mafalda collaborates with numerous organizations across the US to create innovative and inclusive concerts. Mafalda holds degrees in Cello Performance and Musicology from the Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Amit Peled on a full scholarship. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Yale University, studying with Paul Watkins as a George W. Miles fellowship recipient. (website)

Reshena Liao

Reshena Liao is a violinist and violist based in San Francisco, where she has worked as a producer and project manager for the Kronos Quartet / Kronos Performing Arts Association (KPAA) since 2015. She has produced several commercial albums and more than 75 tracks for the group, and helped lead the Kronos Fifty for the Future project, an education initiative that commissioned and released 50 new works (scores, recordings, and more) online, free of charge. Before her time at KPAA, Reshena spent several seasons at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, where she worked on the programming and production teams for the Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, Mostly Mozart, and White Light Festivals.

Jonathan Cziner

Jonathan Cziner’s music has been praised for its “daring harmonic explorations” (Dallas Morning News) and “individual voice and the knowledge and technique to convey ideas in a striking and kaleidoscopic manner” (Chicago Classical Review). Jonathan's works have been performed throughout the United States by ensembles including the Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, as well as the the New York Youth Symphony, Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, and New Juilliard Ensemble, and by acclaimed artists including conductors Osmo Vänskä, David Robertson, cellist Julian Schwarz; harpist Emily Levin; and violinist Stella Chen, among others. Cziner was named Composer-in-Residence of the Illinois Philharmonic for their 2022-2023 season and composed three new works for the orchestra including his first symphony, Celestial Symphony. He is also the new artistic director of Dallas’s Voices of Change, championing the works of living composers. Cziner received a Bachelor of Music degree at New York University studying with Justin Dello Joio and completed both his Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Robert Beaser. (website)

Joseph Kuipers

American cellist Joseph Kuipers is renowned for his creativity and versatility in his captivating performances on both modern and gut strings. Appearing at festivals and music centers around the globe, including Ravinia Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Les Festival International du Domaine Forget, Kronberg Academy, SXSW, and the World Cello Congress III. Equally at home with modern and baroque performance styles, and often juxtaposing them in concert programs, Joseph is dedicated to the music of our time. He has worked extensively with living composers, among them Robert Cogan, Heinz Holliger, Helmut Lachenmann and Arvo Part. Teaching plays a large role in Joseph’s career, holding teaching positions at Washington and Lee University, Eastern University, Dallas Baptist University and he maintains a private teaching studio in North Dallas. Joseph is Creative Director of TexasCellos, which presents, Fredericksburg Music Festival, TexasCellos SESSIONS, TexasCelloSchool HOUSTON & MCKINNEY and Metamorphosis Dallas, a conductor-less chamber orchestra. He plays cellos from Francesco Gobetti, Venice ca 1710, and Mason Weedman, 2024. (website)

Johnathan Wu

Johnathan Wu is a classically trained violinist/violist and self-taught music producer/audio engineer, excelling as a multi-facetted musician and artist. Taking on the music world from the stage and online, he seeks to inspire and move those who come across his works and performances. He’s studied at prestigious institutions such as the Cleveland Institute of Music and University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, under the direction of world renowned musicians such as Jan Mark Sloman, Jaime Laredo, and Martin Chalifour. Beyond the classical stage, throughout his time studying, he developed an interest in music production and sound design. Starting an artist project, he’s released numerous singles and EPs with unique twists to challenge his creativity and expression. Utilizing his classical upbringing and his new-found interest, it has led to him many opportunities to work alongside notable streamers, content creators, and game developers in their music creations. Aside from his music endeavours, he livestreams and makes content under the alias “JGWu”, utilizing his musical capabilities and passion for gaming to collaborate with others in making content and entertaining videos on Twitch and YouTube. He continues to strive to entertain and amaze through all that he does, and prioritizes artistry and creativity above all else.

Quotes

“I learned to channel my ideas and thoughts from my head into my music.”

“It was fun and everyone was so supportive.”

“I learned how detailed a piece could be and how to incorporate my ideas into music.”

“I learned the most in how to interact with other players in the ensemble.”

Schedule

Typical day schedule:

Larger chamber group – 60 min

Smaller chamber groups – 60 min

Snack break – 15 min

Special activity (scales/etudes, performance class, improvisation games) – 30-60 min

Composition (notation/clefs, intervals, chords, melodies, writing, workshopping) – 60 min

Dates: June 20-28, 2025

from 1:00/1:30 pm to 5:00/5:30 pm

Special events:

Sun Jun 22
Student + Faculty Fundraising Concert at 2:00pm at Presbyterian Village North (Auditorium)

[Tue Jun 24 – Day off]

Sat Jun 28
Final Concert at 2:30pm at the Kawai Piano Gallery of Dallas (Shigeru Kawai Hall) featuring all chamber music groups and new compositions – reception to follow!

Location

Kawai Piano Gallery of Dallas and Music School

601 W Plano Pkwy, Plano, Texas (map)

Video from July 2023

Support Us

Donate to CMP

Chamber Music Perspectives is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. All proceeds will go towards CMP operations as we continue to grow. Thank you so much for your support!

Contact

Email cmpworkshop.info@gmail.com with any questions.