For October 29 & November 1, 2026
Yahli Anter (b. 2007) is a young American-Israeli violinist currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studies under the guidance of the distinguished professors Ilya Kaler and Olga Kaler on a full scholarship. Born in the United States, Yahli began studying the violin at the age of five. In 2022, he moved to Israel and later graduated from Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts. He is a former student of Professor Hagai Shaham at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music and Dr. Guy Figer at the Israeli Conservatory of Music in Tel Aviv. Yahli is an alumnus of the Jerusalem Music Centre’s programs for gifted string players, through which he has appeared as both a soloist and chamber musician in major concert halls throughout Israel. He was also a member of the Young Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, serving twice as concertmaster. In addition, he participated in the Perlman Israeli Residency Program. Over the years, Yahli has participated in numerous masterclasses with internationally renowned violinists and pedagogues. Since 2021, he has regularly attended the Keshet Eilon String Seminars and Summer Mastercourses. Most recently, he appeared as a soloist with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra. Yahli is a recipient of scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF), including its Outstanding Excellence distinction for 2023–2024 and an Excellence Scholarship for the 2025–2026 academic year. He is also a recipient of grants from the Ronen Foundation.
Born in Rochester, NY, Charles Shaun Bohrer (baritone) has always been fascinated with the performing arts. Charles studies voice at Baldwin Wallace University with Professor Nancy Maultsby. Recent credits include Figaro in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Car Man in Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight!, and Tiridate, King of Armenia in Händel’s Radamisto. He made his Young Artist debut with Finger Lakes Opera in 2025 portraying Ophémon in Bologne’s The Anonymous Lover and singing in the chorus of Verdi’s Rigoletto. You can find him in Chicago this summer singing Argante in Händel’s Rinaldo with Chicago Summer Opera
Catherina Carrington (soprano) is a Graduate Diploma student at the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Dina Kuznetsova. Catherina’s most recent performance credits include Adina in L’elisir d’amore (La Musica Lirica Italy, 2025) and performances at CIM include Aloès in L’étoile, Morgana in Alcina, La Fée in Cendrillon (Massenet), and Constance in Dialogues des Carmélites. She played Amy March in Mark Adamo’s Little Women (Harrower Summer Opera Workshop), which served as the topic for her undergraduate music theory thesis. Catherina has been exploring different ways to engage with opera including directing, stage managing, and teaching.
Violinist Qiye (Charlie) Li is a fourth-year student at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where Li studies with Olga Kaler. An active performer in orchestral, chamber, and solo recital settings, Li has performed throughout China and the United States, including with the Firelands Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of 2025, Li took part in the Ascent Music Festival in Hudson, Ohio.
Jake McQuaid is a versatile flutist known for his expressive sound, vibrant stage presence, and engaging performances. He earned both his Associate and Bachelor of Music degrees in Flute Performance cum laude from Kent State University, where he studied under Diane Rechner. During his time at Kent, Jake participated in numerous summer programs, seminars, conventions, and masterclasses. Most notably the Kent Blossom Music Festival, where he had the opportunity to perform with The Cleveland Orchestra. Jake is currently pursuing his Master of Music in Flute Performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Jessica Sindell and Hannah Hammel-Maser. Off the stage, Jake works as a Resident Flutist for Flute Specialists, one of the premier flute companies in the world. He also teaches at the Akron Music Institute and maintains a vibrant private flute studio.
Pianist and organist Jackson Naglick seeks to inspire audiences with sincere and meaningful musical experiences in a wide range of performance settings. Jack is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studies with Antonio Pompa-Baldi and received the Darius Milhaud Award for exceptional creativity and versatility. As a pianist, Jack is featured on recitals and concert series at CIM and throughout Northeast Ohio. He has performed in venues such as the Cleveland Museum of Art and Severance Hall, and in community spaces including the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland Botanical Gardens, and Praxis Fiber Workshop and Gallery. Jack regularly performs with a wide range of ensembles. At CIM, he has been a member of the New Music Ensemble, Global Music Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and Opera Orchestra. Jack has also performed in chamber ensembles such as the Sollertinsky Piano Trio and on duo recitals with violin, trumpet, and voice. Vocal collaboration is a particular area of focus for Jack. In addition to his work with the CIM vocal department, he has worked as a vocal coach and accompanist in the Cleveland area and at several summer opera festivals, including the Classic Lyric Arts festivals in Massachusetts and Italy. Jack began studying the organ in January 2024 and serves as Organ Scholar at Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights. He is also a frequent service pianist at Suburban Temple Kol Ami. Jack’s other musical interests include composing, jazz, free improvisation, and conducting. Apart from music, Jack enjoys reading and can frequently be found in natural spaces in search of peace and birds.
Chris Neiner (b. 1994) is a composer, pianist, and entrepreneur in Cleveland, Ohio. His music has been praised for “zazzy colors, pleasant shocks, and melting cadences” (Cleveland Classical) and received recognition from the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, American Modern Ensemble, and Flute New Music Consortium. Recent commissions include “Time Machine Hyperboles” for NO EXIT New Music Ensemble, “Tales of Euclid Beach Park” for Stars in the Classics, “Spiral Suite” for Otterbein University, and “4 X 4” for the Ohio Music Teachers Association. Neiner is a founding musician and Associate Director of the Sunday Studio Series, chamber concerts in Cleveland’s historic Little Italy neighborhood. He is also the artist-in-residence for Solich Piano, the National Yamaha and Bösendorfer Piano Dealer of the Year. The music of Chris Neiner has appeared on programs by the Grammy award-winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Sinfonia, Boston New Music Initiative, Loadbang, Copper Street Brass Quintet, New Century Ensemble, North Coast Winds, Red Hedgehog Trio, Minnesota Symphonic Winds, Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, Rocky Ridge Music Center, Sewanee Summer Music Festival, and more. Neiner has also gained a reputation as a highly sought-out arranger and music editor, working with organizations such as Reimagining Opera for Kids, Vietnamese American Society for Creative Arts and Music (VASCAM), Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Jim Brickman and The Brickhouse Network, and It’s CeCe! TV. Neiner completed a master’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Keith Fitch. He is an alumnus of the American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot Readings, Suncoast Composer Fellowship Program, OAcademy Gabriela Ortiz Composing Studio, Mostly Modern Festival, Impulse New Music Festival, New Music on the Point Festival, and RED NOTE New Music Festival.
Lucas Peters is a third-year dual degree student at Oberlin College and Conservatory pursuing a BA in mathematics and a BM in piano performance studying under Professor Angela Cheng. In his time at Oberlin so far, he has studied clavichord and fortepiano performance with Dr. David Breitman, as well as chamber music with professors Yulia Fedoseeva, Peter Takács, Francesca dePasquale, and William van der Sloot. Lucas was a bronze medal winner in the 2024 Hellam Young Artists’ Competition. Prior to Oberlin, Lucas studied with Dr. Vanessa Fadial at the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts where he also participated in the Ed and Mari Edelman Chamber Music Institute honors program. He was a gold medalist in the 2021 SoCal Junior Bach Festival Complete Works Competition. Lucas has participated in master classes with Fabio Bidini, Vadym Kholodenko, Jerome Lowenthal, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Inna Faliks, Dr. Daniel Shapiro, Boris Slutsky, John Perry, and more. He was selected as a Young Artist Performer for the 2024 PianoTexas International Festival and Academy, and performed frequently at the Brevard Music Center Summer Institute in summer 2022 and at Montecito International Music Festival, where he was a piano fellow for the 2024 festival.
Brendon Phelps, cello,strives to produce a unique sound that transcends the music that he is performing. His playing has been described by The Strad as having a “rich but clear sound, and beautiful shaping and leading.” Concert goers have expressed feeling “charmed, engaged and electrified by his presentation and communication.” His credits include Carnegie Hall, Princeton University, Casa de la Musica in Quito, Ecuador, and the International Mendelssohn Festival in Hamburg, Germany. Among other notable collaborations, he has performed the Mendelssohn Octet with the Shanghai Quartet at the Tilles Center in Brookville, New York. Brendon’s concert experience can be described as profoundness of interpretation, yet inventive and is exemplified by composers that he loves to perform — Janacek, Debussy, Caroline Shaw and Giovanni Sollima — who all are united in how they showcase the cello as a moldable versatile instrument. He is motivated by the need to, in his words, “change the way the cello sounds.” In 2023 he founded Trio Noir with violinist Maude Cloutier and pianist Alexandre Marr. The trio’s performances to date comprise, but are not limited to performing in Cleveland’s legendary Severance Hall, and for Akron’s Tuesday Musical Members series. Recent projects include transcribing and performing a program of Turkish music dating back to the Ottoman Empire as part of a collaboration with the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. He participated in a performance with the Ukrainian Music Project, a virtual orchestra of musicians from 21 countries around the world preserving Ukrainian classical and folk music. Phelps also has performed as part of an initiative to introduce music in prisons across the United States. He holds a BM from the University of Akron, and a MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music, with a double major in Suzuki pedagogy, and an Early Music Certificate from Case Western Reserve University. He went on to earn an AD from Montclair State as part of a string quartet fellowship with the Shanghai Quartet.
Justin Wisner is a lecturer of clarinet in the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Performing Arts. He is an educator and freelance clarinetist in Northeast Ohio. He is a current member of the Cleveland Wind Trio, actively performing around the Greater Cleveland area. He has performed with many orchestras and organizations, including The Cleveland Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony, Firelands Symphony, CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra and ChamberFest Cleveland. Wisner has worked with conductors Franz Welser-Möst, JoAnn Falletta, Ludovic Morlot, Robert Spano, Richard Kaufman, David Effron and Tania Miller. His notable teachers include Afendi Yusuf, Franklin Cohen, Joaquin Valdepeñas, Mingzhe Wang and Tasha Warren-Yehuda. He was an instrumental music teacher at Hayes Middle School in Grand Ledge, Michigan, and later taught at several music institutions in Toronto and Cleveland. He was the third-prize winner of the 2017 Henri Selmer International Solo Competition.
Yao Xiao started her piano studies at five years old. Her formal music training began at the attached middle school of the Xinghai Conservatory of Music under the guidance of Dr. Li Songwen, with additional mentoring from Mr. Pan Chun of the Central Conservatory of Music. By the age of nine, Yao Xiao had her first piano recital, which garnered attention and was featured in the Panyu Daily and other media outlets. Yao Xiao has excelled in various music competitions, achieving third place in the Guangdong region of the Kawai Piano Competition and winning the Award of Excellence at the Shenzhen Open Competition. Her interest in contemporary piano music led her to premiere “Listening to the Rain” by Yibei Zhang, a piece for two pianos, performed with Hao Li. She has also participated in the 12th, 13th, and 14th editions of the Beijing International Music Masterclass Festivals, where she improved her solo performance skills. Chamber music has been a significant part of her musical life, influenced by early performances with her parents and frequent collaborations with vocal students. During her high school years, she was a regular accompanist for student concerts, further proving her collaborative skills. In 2018, Yao Xiao began her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Dr. Daniel Shapiro. Her performance philosophy leans towards a philosophical and logical approach of music, emphasizing the importance of conveying deep, authentic emotions through her playing.
Hanyue Zhang is a soprano who relocated from Denver to Cleveland in fall 2025. She is currently pursuing a Graduate Diploma at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studies with Ms. Dina Kuznetsova. She holds a Master’s degree from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. Her recent operatic performances include the title role in Suor Angelica at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts in Denver and the First Lady in The Magic Flute in Vienna, Austria. Hanyue has worked with esteemed conductors and vocal artists including Sarah Nouri, Carla Dirlikov, Stefano de Peppo, and Jeremy Aye, and has performed at multiple major Chinese New Year events in Colorado. She was the Fifth Prize winner of the Denver Lyric Opera Guild’s 2025 Annual Competition and has appeared as the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel last March at Kulas Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Shira Ziv has been celebrated as a “standout” for her “vocal prowess and acting acumen” (Daniel Hathaway, Cleveland Classical), with her singing praised for its “confidence, ease, and agility” (Pamela Hickman, Concert Critique Blog). Highlights of her 2026 season include portraying the roles of Ismene in Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto with the Cleveland Opera; Ligeia and Iris cover in the staged world premiere of Joseph Summer’s The Tempest with Teatro Grattacielo; and the voice of Florence alongside co-star Toni Marie Palmertree in Showstopper, an operatic short film created with Ringling College of Art and Design. Her additional roles include Gretel, Adele, Zerlina, Cleopatra, Morgana, and Pamina, among others. Shira’s performances span organizations including the Jerusalem Lyric Opera, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, Music On Site, Inc., Harrower Summer Opera, and CIM Opera Theatre. An award-winning performer, Shira was named Audience Favorite at the 2025 Nightingale Opera Theatre Biennial Vocal Competition, following five national and international first-place awards in 2024. She holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in vocal performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music.