Cyrus Beroukhim
Violin

Praised as the "crème de la crème" on National Public Radio's Performance Today, violinist Cyrus Beroukhim began his early musical training with Mimi Zweig in Milwaukee and made his solo debut with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra at the age of 15. He's performed as soloist and chamber musician in Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Peter Norton Symphony Space, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art; at Bargemusic, the Ravinia Festival, Verbier Festival and Academy in Switzerland, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, and the Keshet Eilon Festival in Israel; and on the Museum of Modern Art's Summergarden series. A top prizewinner of the 2005 National Federation of Music Clubs Biennial Young Artists Auditions, he received his Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Roland and Almita Vamos; his Master of Music from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Cho-Liang Lin; and is a Doctoral Fellow at Juilliard, continuing his studies with Cho-Liang Lin.

Cyrus' 2005-06 season included Concerto performances with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in Bern, Switzerland. As a laureate of the Music Academy of the West, he presented a nationally broadcasted recital in Santa Barbara. As a recipient of the Mitzi Foundation Scholarship, he has performed numerous recitals in Taiwan, where he'll return this year as soloist with the New York Symphonic Ensemble. An avid chamber musician on both the violin and the viola, Cyrus is a member of America's Dream Chamber Artists, Fountain Ensemble, Lenape Chamber Ensemble, Nova Chamber Artists (with Barbara), and recently formed a duo with Joey- the Persepolis Duo. Cyrus, Joey, and Barbara also perform together frequently as a piano trio. An active performer of new music, Cyrus performs regularly with the Columbia Sinfonietta and has recorded chamber music of Steven Gerber with violinists Cho-Liang Lin and Kurt Nikkanen for the KOCH International label. When Cyrus isn't busy performing and working on his Doctoral thesis (on Paul Hindemith's String Quartets!), he enjoys searching the Internet for great deals on everything- and he finds them!



Eric Jacobsen
Cello

In the fall of 2003, cellist, Eric Jacobsen appeared with Renee Fleming at the opening of Zankel Hall, at Carnegie Hall and on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Mr. Jacobsen is a regular presenter and performer at Bargemusic, often working with Mark Peskanov and Steven Beck. He has recently been appointed curator and musical director of the 92nd street Y’s Makor Center for Classical Café. Mr. Jacobsen has appeared as soloist with the Chamber Soloists of Austin in Texas , the Riverside Orchestra, the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, the Greenwich Village Orchestra and the Lake George Chamber Orchestra. He has been heard on NPR programs such as ‘Sound Check’ and ‘Performance Today’, where he performed in four live chamber music concerts this November. Before his graduation, Mr. Jacobsen performed a tour of the northeast with Dutch violinist Vera Beths.

In a wonderful collision of cultures, Mr. Jacobsen has worked with Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project. Last year he traveled to Japan where the ensemble had residencies in Japan’s National Museums in Nara and Fukuoka and in early 2007 he traveled to Baku, Azerbaijan. Mr. Jacobsen has also collaborated at The Tenri Cultural Institute and The Angel Orensanz Foundation in performances with musicians from Armenia and Iran; Gevorg Dabaghyan on the Duduk, and kemancheh player, Kayhan Kalhor.

Mr. Jacobsen organizes the chamber ensemble, The Knights, which performs as a chamber orchestra and smaller ensembles. The Knights recently presented a series of concerts at New York 's Bargemusic, in collaboration with flutist Paula Robison. Working with Ms. Robison, Mr. Jacobsen kicked off a Sol Lewitt exhibit at the Gardner Museum in Boston, performing the Mozart D major flute quartet in a room designed around that piece. As a conductor, Mr. Jacobsen most recently led an all Mozart program at the Tilles Center. This coming June he will lead an ensemble in Beethoven’s fourth symphony and third Piano Concerto at a Beethoven festival in New York and at a fundraiser for the Leukemia Society.

Mr. Jacobsen has studied at The School for Strings, and The Juilliard School, where he received his Bachelor of Music, under the guidance of David Soyer, and Shapiro.

He has spent summers, in Salzburg , Austria with Julius Berger, Villars , Switzerland with Ardyth Alton and with Harvey Shapiro in Engelberg , Switzerland and Florence , Italy.

Mr. Jacobsen plays a Bernardus Calcanius cello crafted in 1744.



Maria Yefimova
Piano

Russian-born pianist Maria Yefimova has performed solo and chamber music recitals in Italy, Spain, Slovakia, Croatia, England, Russia, and the United States. Her orchestral debut with the Slovak Philharmonic in Bratislava was broadcast live on National Television. She has performed in the Merano International Music Festival in Italy and the Rachmaninoff Music Festival in Russia.

Ms. Yefimova has been the recipient of numerous awards in national and international piano competitions, including the Five Towns Music & Art International Piano Competition in New York, the Hilton Head International Piano Competition in South Carolina, the Hummel International Piano Competition in Slovakia, and the Kuznetsk National Piano Competition in Russia.

Ms. Yefimova graduated with honors from the Moscow State Conservatory in 1996. She came to the United States as a full-scholarship student of Dr. Arkady Aronov at Manhattan School of Music in New York, where she received her Master’s Degree in 1999, her Professional Studies diploma in 2000, and currently is a candidate in the Doctor of Musical Arts Program.