Troika

Assaf Sommer was born in Jerusalem, Israel and started taking piano lessons at the age of 5. Graduated from the Rubin Conservatory of Music in Jerusalem with excellence at the age of 17. Recommended by a board of the Ministry of Education to be given the status of an “outstanding musician” for his mandatory service in the Israeli Army, between the years 1996-1999. Bachelor’s degree at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem under the tutelage of Tatiana Alexandrova and Mark Dukelsky. Prize winner from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation for the years 2000-2003. Assaf continued his studies for a Master of Music degree at the Manhattan School of Music and was the only student of the legendary pianist Eugene Istomin in 2002. He later studied with James Tocco and graduated in 2004. As a winner of Artists International he was presented in solo recital debut in Carnegie Hall in 2006.

Assaf participated in Masterclasses with such artists as Emanuel Ax and Oxana Yablonskaya from Juilliard, Vladimir Viardo, Alexander Korsantia, composer Frederic Rzewski, Jeffery Swan, Ian Hobson, and the forte-pianist Malcolm Bilson.

Recent performances include a solo recital as part of the CCM Steinway Series at the Steinway Hall in New York, solo performances with the Cincinnati Ballet at the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati in May 2010, solo performance at the University of Michigan, and performing Beethoven concerto No. 4 with the Cincinnati Sinfonietta. Assaf recently joined the faculty of Ohio Northern University as an adjunct professor of piano and harpsichord. He pursues both Doctoral degree and Artist Diploma at the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, and studies piano with Michael Chertock and harpsichord with Dr. Vivian Montgomery.

Joshua Ulrich

Born is St. Petersburg, Florida, Joshua Ulrich grew up in a musical family and was inspired to play the violin from a very early age through the television program “Sesame Street”. After years of destroying plastic violins, Joshua finally began studying the violin at the age of 6 with Liesel Soley.  After only two years of study, he joined his first ensemble, the Lied Trio, which fostered a love for chamber music that endures today.  In high school, Joshua had many opportunities both individually and with the Lied Trio including performing at the renowned Edinburgh Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland and playing on the BBC alongside Garrison Keeler.

After high school, Joshua began his tenure at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.  He has completed a Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, Artist Diploma and is now completing the Doctorate of Musical Arts all under the tutelage of Dr. Won-Bin Yim.  During his Bachelors Degree, Joshua was fortunate to study under celebrated violin pedagogues Dorothy Delay and Henry Meyer.  He has also studied with Hyo Kang, Joel Smirnoff, and Chin Kim.  In addition, Joshua has participated in master classes given by Cho-Liang Lin, Chee-Yun, Louis Kaplan, Viviane Hagner and Miriam Fried.

Joshua Ulrich has performed chamber music alongside many well-known artists including James Tocco, Sarah Sant’Ambrosio, and Awadagin Pratt.  He has also worked extensively with living composers such as Joan Tower, Leon Kirchner, John Harbison, and John Corigliano.

Joshua has attended several summer music festivals including being a fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and the Great Mountain Music Festival in South Korea.  He was also a Shouse artist at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Detroit, Michigan.  Joshua has performed the Bartok, Mendelssohn, Lalo, and Paganini violin concertos with orchestra.  As concertmaster, Joshua has performed the solos in Ein Heldenleben and Scheherazade.

Outside of performing, Joshua is a brother in the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity and is a card-carrying member of the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Carmine Miranda

Born in Valencia, Venezuela, Carmine Miranda began his musical studies at the Carabobo State Music Conservatory, graduated from the Private Institute of Musical Education (IPEM), and studied at the Latin American Academy of Violoncello and the Simon Bolivar Conservatory of Music (the institution that spawned the famous "El Sistema"). At the same time he was a member of the National Youth Orchestra and the Orchestra of Beethoven under the direction of maestro Giuseppe Sinoppoli. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, where he obtained a Bachelors of Arts in Music and is a candidate for a Masters degree in violoncello. He has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, the Aula Magna (one of the most important halls in Latin America), and in performances with several orchestras and ensembles including the Caracas Municipal Symphony under the direction of Rodolfo Saglimbeni. He has received recognitions as a soloist in both State and National competitions in Florida, received the Coral Gables Music Club award, first prize winner of the 2005 Alhambra Music Competition and was winner of the 2008-2009 University of Cincinnati Cello Competition.