Camphill Kimberton welcomes Astral Artists, Sunday, May 5

Join us in Rose Hall on Sunday, May 5 at 7 p.m. for a performance by Ayane Kozasa, viola, and Michael Djupstrom, piano, of Astral Artists. 

Astral Artists is a non-profit organization whose mission is to discover the most promising classical musicians residing in the United States, assist their early professional career development and present their world-class artistry to the community through concerts and outreach programs. Camphill Kimberton is pleased to once again host these gifted musicians. 

There is no charge for the concert, which is underwritten by the generosity of the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation.

AYANE KOZASA, viola

Winner of the prestigious Primrose International Viola Competition in 2011, Ayane Kozasa also captured the Competition’s Mozart Award for the best chamber music performance, as well as its Askim Award for her performance of the Competition’s commissioned work. As the First Prize winner, she is scheduled for upcoming concerts in both Europe and the United States. A winner of Astral Artists’ 2012 National Auditions, Ms. Kozasa has also been a prizewinner at the Irving M. Klein International String Competition. She has been featured in The Strad and Strings magazines, and her performances have been broadcast on “Live from the Mayne Stage” for WFMT in Chicago, and on Philadelphia’s WHYY. Ms. Kozasa’s interest in chamber music has led her to a number of concert appearances across the U.S., including a national concert tour with pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn, as a part of “Curtis on Tour.” She has been invited to be a part of Ravinia’s “Steans on Tour” for the 2012 and 2013 spring seasons, and is currently a Young Soloist at Germany’s Kronberg Academy. Ms. Kozasa has participated in numerous festivals, including the Music from Angel Fire’s Young Artists Program, the Steans Music Institute at the Ravinia Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Mimir Chamber Music Festival, and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and in the summer of 2012 she attended the Marlboro Music festival. Ms. Kozasa is a founding member of the Philadelphia-based chamber group, ensemble39. She currently studies with violists Misha Amory and Roberto Díaz at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she is the George and Marie Hecksher Annual Fellow. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Kirsten Docter.

MICHAEL DJUPSTROM, piano

Pianist Michael Djupstrom has performed throughout the U.S. and abroad in France, China, and Japan. He presented regular concert tours throughout the Northeast in 2005-2008 as a member of the Phoenix Trio. Today, he performs regularly with the Philadelphia-based new music ensemble Relâche and as the accompanist for the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus. In 2011, Mr. Djupstrom presented a series of duo recitals in England with saxophonist Jonathan Wintringham, who recently recorded his work Walimai for release on the Equilibrium label. Mr. Djupstrom began studying piano at the age of eight. He continued his training at the University of Michigan and began formal Composition study with composers Bright Sheng, Susan Botti, William Bolcom, and Karen Tanaka. After receiving a B.M. and M.A. in Composition, he pursued further studies in Paris with Betsy Jolas. He also holds an Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he was a Composition student of Jennifer Higdon and Richard Danielpour. As a composer, Mr. Djupstrom has been recognized through awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Composers Forum, Meet the Composer, the ASCAP Foundation, the BMI Foundation, the Chinese Fine Arts Society, the Académie Musicale de Villecroze, and the Sigurd and Jarmila Rislov Foundation, among many others. The Music Teachers National Association named him the 2005 MTNA Shepherd Distinguished Composer of the Year.