Our 6th Annual Chamber Music Festival features ten of the world’s finest musicians who will inspire you with extraordinary performances set in the relaxed atmosphere of The Ranch. In addition to daily concerts, you can enjoy talks by the musicians, participate in music workshops and perhaps even encounter “random acts of music” in unexpected places throughout your day.
Featured artists: Gryphon Trio (Annalee Patipatanakoon, Roman Borys, Jamie Parker); WindSync (Garrett Hudson, Emily Tsai, Elias Rodriguez, Kara LaMoure, Anni Hochhalter); Patricia O’Callaghan, voice; and Monique Mead, violin. Plus music critic and curator, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim.
Gryphon Trio is firmly established as one of the world’s preeminent piano trios. For more than 25 years, it has earned acclaim for and impressed international audiences with its highly refined, dynamic, and memorable performances. The Trio’s repertoire ranges from traditional to contemporary, and from European classicism to modern-day multimedia. It is committed to redefining chamber music for the 21st century.
Violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon, cellist Roman Borys, and pianist Jamie Parker are creative innovators with an appetite for discovery and new ideas. They have commissioned over 85 new works, and they frequently collaborate with other artists on projects that push the boundaries of Classical music. The Trio tours regularly throughout North America and Europe. It enjoys longstanding relationships with prominent arts incubators and presenters like Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Orford Music Academy, Music Toronto, Ottawa Chamberfest, and Festival del Lago International Academy of Music in Ajijic, Mexico. Gryphon Trio often performs triple concerti with the world’s major symphony orchestras and smaller chamber orchestras.
WindSync has established itself as a vibrant chamber ensemble performing wind quintet masterworks, adapting beloved music to their instrumentation, and championing new works by today’s composers. The quintet eliminates the “fourth wall” between musicians and audience by often performing from memory, creating an intimate connection. This personal performance style, combined with the ensemble’s three-pronged mission of artistry, education, and community-building, lends WindSync its reputation as ”a group of virtuosos who are also wonderful people, too” (Alison Young, Classical MPR).
WindSync launched an international touring career after winning the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. In 2018, they were medalists at the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition. WindSync has appeared in recital at the Met Museum, Ravinia, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. In 2015, the quintet was invited by the Library of Congress to perform the world premiere of Paul Lansky’s “The Long and the Short of it,” commissioned by the Carolyn Royall Just Fund and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
WindSync’s thematic programming responds to the people and places where they work. In Houston, they curate a 4-concert season and present the Onstage Offstage Chamber Music Festival each April, spotlighting everyday public spaces as gathering places for culture.
Patricia O’Callaghan is something of a wandering minstrel, with six solo albums and many interesting collaborations along the way. A speaker of French, Spanish, and German, her early recordings focused on European cabaret, but one of Patricia’s most unique talents is the ability to blend a variety of languages and musical genres seamlessly together in her concerts, and completely embody whatever style she is singing at any given moment. “This Toronto soprano can sing a 100-year-old German tune so lustily that you almost don’t need a translation to know that someone’s about to get his throat cut or get laid or both.” (The National Post) “O’Callaghan sings her diverse material as if it was always meant to go side-by-side and by the end of the evening, it’s easy to believe her.” (Chart Attack)
She has sung with some of the world’s great ensembles and artists (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Don Byron Quartet, Bryn Terfel), and has performed in venues that range from London’s Royal Opera House to New York’s Noho cabaret Le Poisson Rouge.
Patricia also writes and co-writes songs and has had the honor of premiering many new compositions, from both the classical and pop worlds. It has been her great privilege to work with such creators as R. Murray Schafer, David Braid, Dennis Lee, Christos Hatzis, George Aperghis, Steve Reich, and Steven Page, to name a few.
Patricia’s film, theatre and television credits include her own Bravo! special, The CBC produced Ken Finkleman series Foolish Heart, and the semi autobiographical Rhombus / Westwind film Youkali Hotel, which has won several prizes, including a Golden Sheaf Award to Patricia for best female performance. Ms. O’Callaghan has also received other awards, such as a Chalmer’s Grant from the Ontario Arts Council and a Fleck Fellowship from The Banff Centre for the Arts.
As a contributing critic for the New York Times Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim won honors for her fresh writing and for her ability to demystify classical music with empathy and humor. In print and in person, she is passionate about breaking down preconceptions and unlocking the wisdom and beauty of music.
Since creating Beginner’s Ear in 2019, Corinna has led live music meditations for a diverse range of listeners in places including a yoga studio, a high school, a federal detention center, a sunken garden and a dance studio. Each time, participants report experiencing deep feelings of stillness and ease.
Corinna uses meditation and sound to help people become better at listening – not just to music, but to themselves and each other.
Born to German parents in Brussels, Corinna obtained a B.A. in music and psychology from Royal Holloway College (University of London), an M.A. in Renaissance Theory and Culture and a doctorate from Cambridge University. She wrote her Ph.D thesis on the 17th-century Jewish Venetian poet Sara Copio Sullam. In February 2020 she completed the Mindfulness Teacher Training Program through MNDFL in New York City.
Corinna lives in Westchester with her husband, three children, and a goldendoodle named Lucky.
A passionate ambassador of classical music, violinist Monique Mead enjoys a rich career as a performer, educator, and innovator. Inspired and mentored by Leonard Bernstein, Monique has devoted her performing career to nurturing new audiences and curating extraordinary musical experiences. Her programs with major orchestras and festivals in the United States and Europe have drawn international acclaim for their popular appeal and innovative approach.
Interweaving live music with education and audience engagement at the highest level, her programs have reached millions through television appearances, a six-year radio series with the Munich Radio Orchestra, and over 20 years of concerts with the Cologne Philharmonic, Munich Symphony, Düsseldorf Symphony, Berlin Radio Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and the Mainly Mozart Festival, among others.
Since 2012 Monique has served as Director of Music Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University, where she trains musicians in community engagement, peak performance, and professionalism as she helps them forge new paths as professional musicians.
Monique performs on violin made in 1860 by J.B. Vuillaume which was gifted to her at age 19. She enjoys hiking, yoga, homegrown cuisine, and performing with her talented teens, Isabel and Tino.
Tara Grodjesk, winner of American Spa magazine’s Women in Wellness Visionary Award, president of Tara Spa Therapy, Inc., and emeritus founder of Green Spa Network, has devoted over 35 years of experience in Holistic Health and Wellness to bring therapeutic efficacy to spa treatments and products. Tara has been a consultant to world-class spas and is a master developer of high quality, holistic personal-care products. She is the expert behind the Rancho La Puerta Core Essentials line. Ms. Grodjesk has a degree in Psychology with Honors from the Univ. of Michigan. She is a Certified Massage Therapist, Holistic Health Educator, Ayurvedic Practitioner and Aroma Therapist. Her vision is to harness nature’s inspiration to create environments and experiences that support healing and which nourish the Divine within.
Pei-Chun Tsai, from Tainan, Taiwan, is the two-time first-prize winner of the Taiwan National Violin Competition. She has performed in Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan. Pei-Chun has participated in many music festivals in the United States and Europe. After receiving Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in violin performance from The Juilliard School, she completed her Doctorate in Musical Arts from the City University of New York. Pei-Chun is the founder and director of the Campanile Music Festival at San Diego State University where she curates innovative residencies of visiting artists from across the country. Recent guests include the Formosa Quartet and Brooklyn Rider. Pei-Chun has been a member of the San Diego Symphony since 2006. As a violin lecturer at San Diego State University, Pei-Chun performs with the San Diego State University Chamber orchestra regularly. She has recently released her solo violin album “Chaconnes” which you can find on Apple Music or Spotify.
