MIDWEST YOUNG ARTISTS CONSERVATORY
DIR E C TO R S & F A C ULT Y (con t .) ASHLEY SUMMERS, Jazz Faculty Bassist, composer and educator Ashley Summers is a Canadian-born, Chicago-based artist who has brought her “glorious tone that pours forth passion and groove” (Jazzreview.com, 2010) to stages all over the world. She was recently named one of the top “35 Under 35 Canadian Jazz Artists” by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and is also an in-demand educator. She frequently serves as an adjudicator, guest artist and clinician for festivals, universities, jazz intensives and non-profit organizations throughout Canada and the US and has held faculty appointments at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Ashland University, Kent State University and Morehead State University. In Chicago, Summers recently debuted a new quintet, ‘Ashley Summers’s Raîson d’Être’ featuring longtime collaborators Dustin Laurenzi, Daniel Bruce, Daniel Murphy and Chris Baker. The quintet has since performed at the 2017 Toronto and Chicago Jazz Festivals. Her long-awaited debut album as a leader, featuring saxophonist Seamus Blake, was released in March 2017 on the ears&eyes Records label, and soon after, the title track, “True North”, was recognized by the International Society for Jazz Arrangers and Composers as the 2017 “Outstanding New Music Composition” in the small ensemble category.
MATHIAS TACKE, String Chamber Music Coach Mathias Tacke is Professor of Violin at Northern Illinois University and Guest Lecturer for String Chamber Music at Northwestern University. From 1992 until 2007, Mathias was the second violinist of the acclaimed Vermeer Quartet, and prior to that a member of the Ensemble Modern Frankfurt, one of the most important professional groups specializing in contemporary music. In this capacity he gave countless first performances, including works by most of today’s leading composers. He has performed in most of the prestigious festivals, including Tanglewood, Taos, Ravinia, South Bank, and Berlin. He appears internationally as a soloist and chamber player, performing a wide range of repertoire from the Baroque to music of our time. In the Chicago area, Mathias enjoys a rich variety of musical affiliations and performs frequently with Camerata Chicago, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Chicago Philharmonic, Chicago Ensemble, Bach Week Festival Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Musicians, and others. He has made numerous recordings for such labels as Sony, ECM, Harmonia Mundi, Naxos and Cedille. Three of the Vermeer Quartet recordings were nominated for the Grammy Award.
DANIELLE TAYLOR, Young Music Scholars Danielle Taylor is a violinist and violist in the Chicago area. She holds degrees from Oberlin College and Oberlin Conservatory, where she studied with Gregory Fulkerson, and is completing her Masters at Northwestern University under the tutelage of Blair Milton (CSO). A passionate advocate for arts education and inclusion, Danielle has been a member of Chicago Sinfonietta and the Grant Park Music Festival’s Project Inclusion programs. She currently maintains a busy teaching schedule, including working with young musicians in the YMS program and as a sectional coach at Niles West High School. You can also find her performing around the city, and with groups including the Zafa Collective and the brand new D-composed collective.
JOY YU HOFFMAN, Harp Chamber Coach
Joy Yu Hoffman is a professional harpist in the Chicago area. She received her BM at Roosevelt University and an MM at Northwestern University. Joy is a solo, chamber music, opera and symphony orchestra player. Her specialty is ethnic music on the Kong Hou-Chinese double strung harp, the Celtic double strung harp and the Folk harp. Joy has taught at Roosevelt University, and Trinity International University. Joy has a large private studio for teaching harp and piano. Joy released three solo CDs, published several sheets of music, and a harp etude book. She toured throughout the USA, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Ireland, South Africa, and Kenya. Joy performed at the 9th World Harp Congress (WHC) in Dublin, Ireland 2005, and the 13th WHC in Hong Kong 2017.
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