Evren Ozel

​

American pianist Evren Ozel has been described as “an absolute wow” (Third Coast Review) and “an artist capable of lifting everyone to another level” (LaScena Musicale), praised for his blend of technical mastery and compelling artistry. He is the Bronze Medalist of the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (2025), where he also received the special prize for the Best Performance of a Mozart Concerto. Ozel has performed extensively throughout the United States and internationally, and is the recipient of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant and a 2022 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant. He is currently represented by Concert Artists Guild as an Ambassador Prize Winner of the 2021 Victor Elmaleh Competition.

​

Since making his orchestral debut with the Minnesota Orchestra at age 11, Ozel has appeared as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and Jacksonville Symphony, performing under conductors such as Marin Alsop, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Hugh Wolff, and Ruth Reinhardt. His debut album—Mozart concertos recorded with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Howard Griffiths—was released in 2025 on Alpha Classics.

​

Highlights of Ozel’s 2025–26 season include solo recitals for Portland Piano International, the Chopin Society of Minnesota, and Chamber Music Detroit. He has previously performed for the Harvard Musical Association, La Jolla Music Society, Cal Performances, and The Gilmore. A laureate of both the Cleveland International Piano Competition and the Dublin International Piano Competition, Ozel gave recitals at Salle Cortot (Paris) and Brandenburgische Sommerkonzerte (Germany) during the 2024–25 season as part of a series of international performances resulting from the Cleveland Competition, and will continue with an appearance at the Vilnius Piano Festival (Lithuania).

​

A committed chamber musician, Ozel collaborates with artists including David Finckel and Wu Han, Stella Chen, Zlatomir Fung, Paul Huang, Kim Kashkashian, Daniel Phillips, and Marcy Rosen. He spent four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival, and is currently a 2024–27 Bowers Program Artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with upcoming appearances at Alice Tully Hall. He will also perform in 2025–26 for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.

​

Ozel resides in Boston and holds Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Artist Diploma degrees from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Wha Kyung Byun. His other important mentors include Jonathan Biss, Imogen Cooper, Richard Goode, András Schiff, and Mitsuko Uchida.

​

Marcin Arendt

 

Dr. Marcin Arendt is a violinist, chamber musician, soloist, and educator, serving as Professor of Violin at the University of Memphis’s Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music. He maintains a vibrant studio of undergraduate and graduate students while performing with his string-faculty colleagues in the Ceruti String Quartet. An active performer, Dr. Arendt is a core member of the Iris Collective, collaborating closely with colleagues in both concert performances and innovative community engagement projects. He also performs regularly with the Arizona Music Festival in Scottsdale, AZ, and the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in Columbus, OH. Through his work with Iris Collective, Dr. Arendt engages in initiatives that bring music into spaces where it can foster connection, healing, and inspiration. These projects often incorporate storytelling, using music to share and honor people’s experiences and to create moments of genuine human connection. They frequently reach audiences outside traditional concert settings, ensuring that music remains accessible and meaningful to people from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences.  

 

As a soloist, Dr. Arendt has appeared with ensembles including the Iris Collective under Michael Stern and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra under Robert Moody. He is the artistic director of the Memphis in Poland Festival, an initiative that shares Memphis’s musical, artistic, and cultural contributions on an international stage. Beyond the classical realm, he co-founded Memphis Mix, a blues-inspired crossover ensemble featured internationally, and has served as a member and regular concertmaster of The Sphere Ensemble as well as the featured violinist with the nationally touring crossover-fusion group FEAST. His recordings range across genres, including a Naxos Records release of chamber works by Jacques Castérède, collaborations on several commercial and popular music albums, and the piano trio “Reaching” on Mark Nowakowski’s album Metanoia on the DUX label.   A prizewinner in several national and international competitions, Dr. Arendt has performed alongside renowned artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham, Yo-Yo Ma, Martin Short, Joshua Bell, Nate Smith, Don Bryant, Harry Connick, Jr., and Jon Batiste.   

​

Polish-born, Dr. Arendt draws on a wide range of pedagogical traditions in his teaching, reflecting his own studies with Aaron Krosnick, Isaac Malkin, Henryk Kowalski, Krystyna Jurecka, Routa Kroumovitch, Alvaro Gomez, and Oswald Lehnert. His teaching philosophy emphasizes helping students cultivate a personal connection with their music and technique, guided by three central questions: What is my purpose in playing? What are my goals? What steps am I taking to reach them? By tailoring his approach to each student’s individuality and involving them in the learning process, he fosters an environment for thoughtful artistry and technical excellence.   

​

Dr. Arendt holds a Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Performance and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Philosophy from Stetson University, a Master of Music (M.M.) and Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a post-graduate performance certificate from the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk, Poland.

​

Kimberly Patterson

​

Hailed by the Chicago Sun Times as a “superb cellist,” Dr. Kimberly Patterson has earned recognition for her artistry as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician. Dr. Patterson was the founding cellist for the Tesla Quartet, winners of the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition as well as prizewinners of the London International Quartet Competition and the Bordeaux International Quartet Competition. She has given chamber recitals in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall and Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center and has held chamber music residencies with Aspen Music Festival, Bravo! Vail Valley, Strings Music Festival and a quartet residency at the University of Colorado at Boulder with the Takács Quartet.

​

Dr. Patterson is the Associate Professor of Cello at the University of Memphis and the Ceruti Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence cellist at the University of Memphis. She is also the cellist of the Patterson / Sutton cello and guitar duo. Their debut album, “Cold Dark Matter: Music for Cello & Guitar,” was released by MSR records in 2013 and their second album, “Still Life: Collected Music for Cello and Guitar by Stephen Goss,” was released on Parma Records in 2020. The Patterson / Sutton duo have presented lectures at the International Guitar Research Center in Surrey, UK and the Guitar Foundation of America National Convention. Their performances have been broadcasted on American Public Media’s, Performance Today, Radio New Zealand and South Africa’s Fine Music Radio among others. The Patterson/Sutton duo concertizes throughout the US and abroad with recent engagements as Juilliard Global Artists, performing throughout Vietnam, Ireland, Hungary and Slovakia, the Cleveland International Guitar Festival, Denver Friends of Chamber Music, Portland International Guitar Series, Minnesota Guitar Society, among others.

​

As a soloist, Dr. Patterson has appeared with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and the Manila Symphony of the Philippines, toured nationally with the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Company performing a solo piece by David Lang, and presented solo recitals in the Netherlands, Afghanistan and throughout the United States. Festival appearances include the Verbier Festival, Strings Music Festival, Holland Music Sessions, Aspen Music Festival & School, Sarasota Music Festival & the Miyazaki Festival.

​

In addition to her extensive chamber music career, Dr. Patterson was a member of the Colorado Symphony. She has performed as principal cellist with Verbier Orchestra in Switzerland and the Juilliard Orchestra. She has also performed with the Utah Symphony, Iris Orchestra, Central City Opera, the New Haven Symphony. Charles Dutoit personally invited her to perform with the Miyazaki Orchestra in Japan.

​

Dr. Patterson is a strong believer in the transformative power of music education. Kimberly has given masterclasses around the country at institutions such as Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, Louisiana State University, University of Utah, Bowling Green State University, Virginia Tech University, the University of Denver, Ball State University, Colorado State University and University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg among others. With support from the United States’ State Department, Dr. Patterson taught and performed as a guest artist at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul in early 2014. She has also instructed cellists of the Manila Symphony Orchestra in the Philippines. Dr. Patterson serves on the Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestras board and the Memphis Youth Symphony Orchestra advisory board. She also serves as a governor for the Memphis Chapter of the Grammy’s Organization. 

​

Dr. Patterson’s students have won positions with Orchestra Iowa and the Guangzhou Symphony. Students have attended Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra, the Tanglewood Institute, All-National Youth Orchestra, and Colorado and Tennessee All-State Orchestras.

A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music with academic honors, Dr. Patterson earned her Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her teachers include Richard Aaron, Andras Fejer, Judith Glyde and Stephen Geber.​

​

​

​