Account
Call Us
Location
Concerts & Events
Carriage House Violins presents the 2026–2027 MasterClass and Recital Series at our Boston showroom. Violinist Nikki Chooi is our Artist-in-Residence for the season. All events are free; register on Eventbrite as seating is limited.
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
First-prize wins at the Primrose International and American String Teachers Association Viola Competitions launched Kirsten Docter on a career that includes a 23-year tenure with the Cavani Quartet, concerts on major series and festivals throughout North America, Europe, and Australia, and numerous appointments as a master class clinician and teacher.
During her time as violist of the award-winning Cavani String Quartet, Docter performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Kennedy Center, Festival de L’Epau in France, and the Honolulu Chamber Music Society.
Docter’s festival appearances include performances at the Aspen Music Festival, Banff Centre for the Arts, Madeline Island, Mimir (in Texas and Melbourne, Australia), Sitka Summer Music, Interlochen, Kneisel Hall, Yale Summer School of Music and Art at Norfolk, and the Perlman Music Program. She has collaborated with Itzhak Perlman, Jaime Laredo, Alisa Weilerstein, Stephanie Blythe, Nathan Gunn, Alessio Bax, and members of the Cleveland, Juilliard, Takács, Emerson, Borodin, and Amadeus string quartets.
Docter formerly served on the chamber music and viola faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music and has given numerous master classes at universities and music schools. She has been a jury member of the Primrose International Viola, Fischoff National Chamber Music, and Sphinx competitions. In addition to her position at Oberlin, Ms. Docter is on the viola faculty of the Perlman Music Program and the Madeline Island Music Camp.
Newton Upper Falls, MA 02464
Recital Series
Evan Drachman is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Piatigorsky Foundation, a nonprofit committed to sharing the joy of live classical music.
Cellist Evan Drachman, Founder and Artistic Director of the Piatigorsky Foundation, has combined musical talent with artistic vision to create a rich and varied career. He has become one of this country’s most respected authorities on the presentation of live classical music to diverse audiences. The organization is named for Mr. Drachman’s grandfather, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky.
In 1999, Drachman recorded his first CD, A Frog He Went a Courting, with pianist Richard Dowling. The Baltimore Sun’s Steven Wigler wrote of the recording, “Drachman possesses in abundance two qualities for which his grandfather was revered: the ability to make the cello imitate the human singing voice and, even more important, the ability to tell a story.” Following this success, Drachman and Dowling released two more recordings titled, Infinity in 2004 and Romance and Revelation in 2007. In 2012 Evan Drachman released Full Circle with pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion. Their latest recording, Fantasy, was released in 2018.
Mr. Drachman received his BMA from The Curtis Institute of Music in 1988. His teachers have included Luis Garcia-Renart, Orlando Cole, Laurence Lesser, William Pleeth and Stephen Kates.
Program:
- Haydn – Concerto in C Major
- Rubinstein – Melodie
- Rachmaninoff – Vocalise
Boston, MA 02115
Recital Series
Award-winning violist Kirsten Docter launched her distinguished career with first-prize wins at the Primrose International and American String Teachers Association Viola Competitions. She spent 23 years as violist of the acclaimed Cavani String Quartet, performing at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and major festivals throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. An accomplished chamber musician, she has collaborated with artists including Itzhak Perlman, Jaime Laredo, Alisa Weilerstein, Stephanie Blythe, Nathan Gunn, and members of many of the world’s leading string quartets. She is also a highly sought-after educator and masterclass clinician.
Pianist Vivian Weilerstein enjoys an international career as a chamber musician, educator, and recording artist. She has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe with the Weilerstein Trio and Weilerstein Duo, appearing at renowned festivals including Marlboro, Aspen, Verbier, and the Perlman Music Program. Her acclaimed recordings on Koch, Arabesque, Azica, and EMI have earned praise from critics and audiences alike. A dedicated teacher, she is Director of the Professional Piano Trio Program at the New England Conservatory and has previously served on the faculties of The Juilliard School, the Eastman School of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Aspen Music Festival.
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
Violinist Ani Kavafian enjoys a prolific career as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She has performed with virtually all of America’s leading orchestras in major venues across the country, has premiered and recorded a number of works written for her, and has been featured on many network and PBS television music specials. Kavafian tours internationally as an artist-member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and appears frequently in performance with her sister, violinist and violist Ida Kavafian.
At Yale, Kavafian teaches a studio of graduate-level violin students, coaches chamber ensembles, and frequently performs on Yale’s Faculty Artist Series and Yale in New York series. She regularly teaches and performs at several music festivals, including the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival/Yale Summer School of Music, the Heifetz International Institute, Sarasota Music Festival, and the Meadowmount School of Music.
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, of Armenian heritage, Kavafian began piano lessons at age 3. At age 9, in the United States, she began studying violin with Ara Zerounian and eventually with Mischa Mischakoff. She went on to study violin at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian, eventually earning a master of music degree with highest honors.
“I see growth and that makes me more happy than what happens to me personally. I love the success of the students. You can play a great concert, but it’s almost more rewarding hearing your students play incredibly beautifully in a recital or seeing their success in the business.”
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
Praised for his “sumptuous tone and deeply expressive phrasing” (The New York Times), cellist Keehyun Kim brings a rare combination of technical finesse and heartfelt musicality to every performance. A founding member of the award-winning Parker Quartet, Kim has been recognized for his “unfailingly elegant” playing (The Boston Globe) and his ability to “speak through the cello with an eloquence that’s both intimate and commanding” (The Washington Post).
As a member of the Parker Quartet, Kim is a recipient of the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance and the Grand Prix and Mozart Prize winner of the 2006 Bordeaux International String Quartet competition. They have performed on many of the world’s foremost stages, including Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw, and London’s Wigmore Hall. The quartet’s critically acclaimed recordings and boundary-pushing interpretations have cemented their place as one of today’s leading chamber ensembles.
Kee teaches cello at MIT and at the New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School. He earned his degrees from the New England Conservatory and counts among his mentors Laurence Lesser, Paul Katz, and Bernard Greenhouse. Kee performs on a Giacomo Rivolta cello made in 1844.
Kim is currently on the faculty at Harvard University, where the Parker Quartet serves as Blodgett Artists-in-Residence. The quartet also holds visiting residencies at the University of South Carolina and the Walnut Hill School.
Boston, MA 02115
Recital Series
Keila Wakao made her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut for the BSO’s Season Opening Night Gala concert in September 2024 under Andris Nelsons. She was also invited to perform as the sole performer at the unveiling of Seiji Ozawa’s sculpture at Ozawa Hall in Tanglewood (July 2025), an event attended by members of Seiji Ozawa’s family, John Williams, and other distinguished guests.
Born in 2006, Keila Wakao is from Chestnut Hill, MA, and began playing the violin at age 3. Former BSO concertmaster Joseph Silverstein accepted her as a student when she was 6 years old. From age 9, she studied with Donald Weilerstein. She worked with Itzhak Perlman and participated in the Perlman Music Program in summers 2018–2022. Currently, Keila is a second year undergraduate student of Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory as a Starling Foundation Full Scholarship recipient.
Named a “VC Artist” by Violin Channel, Keila Wakao has performed as soloist and in recital throughout the United States, Japan, Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom in venues such as Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall (Boston), Cadogan Hall (London), Victoria Concert Hall (Singapore), and Carnegie Weill Recital Hall (New York City). She made her solo debut with an orchestra at age 9 and has since performed with ensembles including the Boston, Tokyo Phil, Baden-Baden, Richmond, Eugene, Chattanooga, Adelphi, Kalamazoo, Resound Collective, and Reading symphony orchestras and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. In 2017, Keila was invited to speak and perform at TEDxBoston.
Keila Wakao won 1st Prize in the 2021 Menuhin International Violin Competition Junior Division and was also awarded the Gold Medal and Bach Prize at the 2021 Stulberg International String Competition. In 2023, she was awarded the Aoyama Music Foundation Award in Japan for upcoming artists.
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
Stephen Wyrczynski is Professor of Viola at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and previously served on the faculty of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. An Artist Faculty member at the Aspen Music Festival and School since 2006, he was also a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra for 18 years.
An accomplished soloist and chamber musician, Wyrczynski has collaborated with renowned artists including Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Pamela Frank, Edgar Meyer, Vladimir Feltsman, and Dawn Upshaw, and has performed at leading festivals and concert venues across North America. A dedicated educator, he has also taught at the Curtis Institute of Music, Mannes College of Music, the New World Symphony, and the Karen Tuttle Coordination Workshop.
Committed to expanding the viola repertoire, he recently completed a critically acclaimed transcription of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring for viola and piano, which premiered in 2024 and was recorded for Azica Records in 2025.
“Music is a social profession, so don’t isolate yourself. Develop meaningful musical friendships with your peers.”
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
Internationally acclaimed cellist, conductor, and educator Amit Peled is celebrated for his virtuosic performances and engaging artistry. He has appeared at many of the world’s leading concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall, and the Konzerthaus Berlin, and has released more than a dozen recordings on the Naxos, Centaur, Delos, and CTM Classics labels.
A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Peled has premiered numerous works written for him and collaborated with distinguished composers including Krzysztof Penderecki and Jonathan Leshnoff. He is Professor of Cello at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where he is recognized as one of today’s leading cello pedagogues, and regularly presents performances and masterclasses around the world.
As Founder and Artistic Director of the Mount Vernon Virtuosi, Peled champions innovative performance, mentorship, and community engagement through music. He is also a sought-after guest conductor, continuing to inspire audiences and musicians worldwide.
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
Cellist Astrid Schween enjoys an internationally acclaimed career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. Since joining the renowned Juilliard String Quartet and the cello faculty of The Juilliard School in 2016, she has performed in many of the world’s leading concert halls, recorded for Sony Classical, and collaborated with artists including Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Jörg Widmann.
A former member of the award-winning Lark Quartet, Schween earned the Naumburg Chamber Music Award and Gold Medal at the Shostakovich International Competition. She made her concerto debut with Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic at age 16 and has since appeared at major festivals including Tanglewood, Marlboro, and the Seattle Chamber Music Festival.
A highly respected teacher and mentor, Schween has served on the faculties of the Perlman Music Program and Interlochen Center for the Arts and is a passionate advocate for music education and the next generation of young musicians.
Boston, MA 02115
Recital Series
Nikki and Timmy Chooi are acclaimed Canadian-born classical violinists and brothers who frequently perform together as the Chooi Brothers. Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, to Indonesian parents of Chinese descent, they both trained at prestigious music institutes and maintain active international solo, orchestral, and academic careers.
Nikki Chooi is the 2026–2027 Artist-in-Residence at Carriage House Violins. He is currently the concertmaster of both the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and the Grammy Award-winning Buffalo Philharmonic. He has also served as guest concertmaster with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Houston Symphony, Boston Symphony, Sydney Symphony, and many others. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, he studied under the legendary Joseph Silverstein.
Timmy Chooi, a soloist and professor at the University of Ottawa, has performed with the Belgian National Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, among others. Inspired by his older brother, Timmy picked up the violin after watching Nikki play—and the rest is history. Although they grew up playing together, their individual careers now take them around the world, making their time together especially rare and meaningful.
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
Violinist Philip Setzer, a founding member of the Emerson String Quartet, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and began studying violin at age five with his parents, both former Cleveland Orchestra violinists. He later studied with Josef Gingold and Rafael Druian, and at Juilliard with Oscar Shumsky. Setzer won second prize at the 1967 Marjorie Merriweather Post Competition and a Bronze Medal at the 1976 Queen Elisabeth International Competition in Brussels. He has performed with major orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Aspen Chamber Symphony, and Memphis Symphony, and has participated in the Marlboro Music Festival.
Setzer’s artistic work extends beyond traditional performance. His original idea inspired The Noise of Time, a groundbreaking theatrical collaboration between the Emerson Quartet and Simon McBurney exploring the life of Shostakovich. In 1989, he premiered Paul Epstein’s Matinee Concerto, written and dedicated to him, which he has since performed in Hartford, New York, Cleveland, Boston, and Aspen. More recently, Setzer has toured and recorded the piano trios of Schubert and Mendelssohn with David Finckel and Wu Han.
Setzer has given master classes internationally at institutions including the Curtis Institute, Royal Academy of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, UCLA, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Mannes School. His writing about the Isaac Stern workshops was published in The New York Times as part of Stern’s 80th birthday celebration.
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
American violist Matthew Lipman has been praised by the New York Times for his “rich tone and elegant phrasing,” and by the Chicago Tribune for a “splendid technique and musical sensitivity.” Lipman has become one of the most sought after instrumentalists of his generation, frequently appearing as both a soloist and chamber musician.
Lipman recently debuted with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe at the Rheingau Music Festival, and the American Symphony Orchestra at Jazz at Lincoln Center, with additional appearances including the Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, the Brevard Sinfonia, and Ensemble Resonanz. He has collaborated with leading conductors including the late Sir Neville Marriner, Edward Gardner, Osmo Vänskä, Nicholas McGegan, Leon Botstein, Josep Caballé-Domenech, and Yue Bao. Additionally, he has performed solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Zürich Tonhalle, among others, and has been a featured soloist at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Wigmore Hall in London, Seoul’s Kumho Art Hall, and at Michael Tilson Thomas’s Viola Visions Festival at the New World Symphony in Miami.
In 2019, Lipman released the world premiere recording of the newly discovered Shostakovich Impromptu for viola and piano, which was a feature of his debut solo album, Ascent, with pianist Henry Kramer. The album was celebrated as “most impressive” by The Strad Magazine and was released by Cedille Records. In 2022, he recorded The Dvořák Album, an album released by Sony Classical.
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
Nikki Chooi is the Carriage House Violins Artist-in-Residence for the 2026–2027 season.
Praised for his powerful, poetic performances, internationally acclaimed violinist Nikki Chooi is recognized as one of the most compelling artists of his generation. A laureate of the Queen Elisabeth and Tchaikovsky Competitions and First Prize winner of several prestigious international competitions, Nikki has built a distinguished career as both a soloist and orchestral leader.
He currently serves as Concertmaster of the Grammy Award–winning Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and previously held the position of Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. As a soloist, he has appeared at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Lincoln Center, and with leading orchestras across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He is also a sought-after chamber musician, performing at renowned festivals around the world.
Equally dedicated to education, Nikki has taught at world-renowned institutions including the Curtis Institute of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Morningside Music Bridge Program, while leading teaching residencies throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. A graduate of both the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, Nikki brings extraordinary artistry, insight, and a passion for inspiring the next generation of musicians.
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
Internationally acclaimed violinist Kyung Sun Lee is the Dorothy Richard Starling Chair in Violin Studies and Professor of Violin at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. An award-winning performer, she is a prizewinner of the Queen Elisabeth, Tchaikovsky, Montreal, Washington, and D’Angelo International Competitions and has earned widespread critical acclaim for her artistry, technical brilliance, and expressive musicianship.
An active soloist, chamber musician, and educator, Lee has held faculty positions at Oberlin Conservatory, the University of Houston, Seoul National University, and has taught at the Aspen Music Festival, Bowdoin Music Festival, and Heifetz International Music Institute. She is also a sought-after competition juror, serving at prestigious international violin competitions around the world.
Lee studied at Seoul National University, the Peabody Conservatory, and The Juilliard School. She performs on a 1723 Joseph Guarnerius violin and serves as Music Director of the Changwon International Chamber Music Festival and the Seoul Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra.
“Exceptional tonal suavity and expressive intensity in equal measure.”
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
The world-renowned cellist and conductor David Cohen embodies a unique combination of qualities making him one of the most versatile and exciting musicians of this day. He has been internationally acclaimed for his remarkable instrumental mastery, generous musicianship, vast experience in varied repertoires combined with a flamboyant charisma.
Highlights of the 2024–2025 season include David’s appearance as a conductor with the PHION Orchestra in The Netherlands and his performance as a cellist of the Edward Elgar Cello Concerto at the Barbican Centre together with the London Symphony Orchestra and Antonio Pappano.
Born in the town of Tournai in Belgium, David made his solo debut with the Belgium National Orchestra at the age of nine. His international career as a soloist soon flourished leading him to perform with top-class orchestras.
Furthermore, David has worked as a soloist with some of the most distinguished conductors in the industry such as Lord Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Walter Weller, Sir Charles Mackerras, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Christoph von Dohnányi, Pedro Halffter, and Martyn Brabbins.
“Cohen plays as though his life depended on every note, and the whole evening from start to finish was an absolute masterpiece of eloquence.”
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
Stefan Jackiw is one of America’s leading violinists, celebrated for performances that combine poetic expression, technical brilliance, and thoughtful musicianship. He has appeared as soloist with many of the world’s foremost orchestras, including the Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco symphonies, and continues to perform internationally as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician.
An avid champion of contemporary music, Jackiw has premiered numerous works written for him and is a founding member of the acclaimed Junction Trio alongside pianist Conrad Tao and cellist Jay Campbell. His recordings include the complete Ives Violin Sonatas with Jeremy Denk on Nonesuch Records, praised by critics as a landmark interpretation.
A frequent performer at major festivals and concert halls worldwide, Jackiw also serves as Artistic Director of the Hawai’i Chamber Music Festival. A recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, he studied with Zinaida Gilels, Michèle Auclair, and Donald Weilerstein, and is a distinguished artist faculty member at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings. He performs on a c. 1730 Domenico Montagnana violin generously loaned by a private foundation.
“One of the most insightful violinists of his generation.”
Boston, MA 02115
MasterClass Series
Nikki Chooi is the Carriage House Violins Artist-in-Residence for the 2026–2027 season.
Praised for his powerful, poetic performances, internationally acclaimed violinist Nikki Chooi is recognized as one of the most compelling artists of his generation. A laureate of the Queen Elisabeth and Tchaikovsky Competitions and First Prize winner of several prestigious international competitions, Nikki has built a distinguished career as both a soloist and orchestral leader.
He currently serves as Concertmaster of the Grammy Award–winning Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and previously held the position of Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. As a soloist, he has appeared at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Lincoln Center, and with leading orchestras across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He is also a sought-after chamber musician, performing at renowned festivals around the world.
Equally dedicated to education, Nikki has taught at world-renowned institutions including the Curtis Institute of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Morningside Music Bridge Program, while leading teaching residencies throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. A graduate of both the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, Nikki brings extraordinary artistry, insight, and a passion for inspiring the next generation of musicians.
