SONARSIX
Sonarsix was founded at the Colburn School in Los Angeles in 2022. The ensemble, comprised of flutist Martha Chan, oboist Eder Rivera Acosta, clarinetist Victor Diaz Guerra, bassoonist Chirstopher Chung, hornist Elizabeth Linares Montero, and pianist Bogang Hwang, cover in total six nationalities and nine spoken languages. A mere months after its founding, the sextet was a Bronze Medalist at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. The sextet has performed at venues such as the Herbert Zipper Hall and Thayer Hall at the Colburn School, and the California Club.
Members of Sonarsix have performed concerti with the Copenhagen Philharmonic, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Pasadena Symphony, and the Colburn Orchestra, among others. Individually, they’ve appeared at the Verbier, Pacific, Lucerne, and Marlboro Music Festivals, as well as Music from Angel Fire and the Seoul National University International Chamber Music Festival.
As chamber musicians, they have performed alongside with artists such as Jean- Yves Thibaudet, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Denis Bouriakov, Pedja Mužijević, Andy Akiho, She-e Wu, members of the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, members of the Munich Orchestra, and members of the Orion String Quartet. As orchestral players, they have appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar de Venezuela, Müncher Rundfunkorchester, and the Karlsruhe Operhaus.
Sonarsix is proudly mentored by Fabio Bidini and Andrew Bain and are represented by Colburn Artists.
Biography
Bogang Hwang, piano
Pianist Bogang Hwang, born in South Korea, began playing piano at the age of six. She graduated from the Sunhwa Arts High School, where she had won the excellence performance award for three consecutive years. Also, she was a recipient of the Sunhwa Piano Society Scholarship. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Seoul National University under the tutelage of Ick-choo Moon.
She is a prize winner in many competitions in Korea such as the Eumag Chunchu Competition, Eumyoun Piano Competition, The Korean Liszt Competition, and The Seoul Orchestra Competition. Recently, she was a prize winner of the 71st Wideman International Piano Competition in Louisiana, USA.
She has also participated in several festivals, including Aspen Music Festival, SNU International Piano Academy, SNU International Chamber Music Festival and Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival.
She has appeared as a soloist with the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Nicholas McGegan. In 2023, she will be performing as a soloist with the Colburn orchestra.
As a chamber musician, she is one of the founders of Sonarsix, which was appointed as Colburn Artist and prize winner from Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. In addition, she is a member of Kontrapunktus Baroque Ensemble playing harpsichord.
She has received master classes from pianists such as Christopher Harding, Yoshikazu Nagai, Ian Hobson, Youngho Kim, Ralf Gothoni, Eduardus Halim, Jeno Jando, Jeux Thibaudet, Orli Shaham, Pedja Muzijevic.
She is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree with Fabio Bidini at Colburn Conservatory of Music, where she earned an Artist Diploma degree as well.
Members
Martha Chan, Flute
Eder Rivera, Oboe
Eder Rivera, a Yamaha Young Performing Artist.
Co-founder of the Honduras Oboe Project Education, Inc. (HOPE) - 501(C)(3). Eder holds a Masters Degree from the prestigious Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles, California. He has studied with the principal oboist of the San Francisco Opera, Mr. Minjia Liu, and is currently studying an Artist Diploma with the principal oboist of the San Francisco Symphony, Eugene Izotov.
He has won numerous international awards and recognitions, including: a bronze medal at the prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition with his Sonarsix Sextet, named Most Outstanding Oboe Instrumentalist along with an Honorable Mention at the Sphinx Orchestra Partner Audition Woodwind Competition, first place in the Texas Double Reed Society oboe competition at Sam Houston University, Texas, State winner of Georgia and US Southern Regional Competition in the MTNA Woodwind Competition among many more. Eder received the Senior Performance Honor Award (2019-2020) in recognition of all of his musical accomplishments and academic honors during his undergraduate degree at the Schwob School of Music where he studied with Dr. Susan Tomkiewicz. He has been a special guest and featured artist in international magazines, newspapers, and television shows in the United States and Latin America. In addition, Eder is an active speaker who enjoys being able to motivate students and musicians from all areas through his experiences in his musical career. Through his vision. he dedicates his time to promote musical education and help young oboe students with their artistic preparation at HOPE and Central America.
Eder has received training and master classes with Elaine Douvas, Alex Klein, Erin Hannigan, Frank Rosenwein, among many other international oboists. In 2019, he was a soloist with the Virtuosi String Ensemble directed by maestro Sergiu Schwartz. He has worked in collaboration with conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sir Andrew Davis, James Conlon, Yahuda Gilad, Rosen Milanov, Paul Hostetter, and Dr. Jaime Nix, among many more. Eder began his musical studies at the Escuela de Musica Victoriano López in the city of San Pedro Sula, Honduras at the age of 13.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Martha Chan is an Artist Diploma candidate at The Colburn School, where she studies with Jim Walker. She graduated with her MM in flute performance from Rice University under the tutelage of Leone Buyse and holds a BM in flute performance from The Eastman School of Music where she studied with Bonita Boyd.
After winning “Young Musician of the Year” Winds Open Class Competition (Hong Kong, China and Macau) at age 14, Martha appeared as soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in 2010. She has also made solo appearances with The Colburn Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony and Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra. Martha was also awarded the highest distinction in Associate Diploma and Licentiate Diploma from Trinity College of London at the age of 11.
Martha made her New York solo debut in Carnegie Hall's Weil Recital Hall after winning first prize at the 2015 American Fine Arts International Concerto Competition. She also won first place in the Vienna Virtuoso International Competition and was invited to the Mettallener Saal Musikverein. A top prize winner in the London Virtuoso International Competition, she was invited to perform at Royal Albert Hall. She is a laureate of the 2022 Carl Nielsen International Flute Competition, first prize winner of the 2019 Donald Peck international flute competition, 2019 Colorado Flute Association Young Artist Competition, 2015 Rochester Flute Association Emerging Artist Category, Parson Music Scholarship. She was also a finalist in the Coeur d'Alene Symphony Young Artist Competition and the 56th Annual Eastern Connecticut Symphony Instrumental Competition. Martha was selected to receive a Performer's Certificate from Eastman School of Music for her achievements as a flutist.
Martha has served as Acting Principal Flute at Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. She is one of the founders of Sonarsix, which was recently appointed as a prize winner at 2022 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.
Martha has spent summers performing at Verbier Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Aspen Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, where she performed J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 alongside Thomas Robertello and Margaret Batjer as a soloist, The Kennedy Center’s National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute with full scholarship, Hamamatsu International Wind Instrument Academy and Festival and Orford Musique.
Víctor Díaz Guerra,clarinet
Newly appointed Principal Clarinet of the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Víctor is the Third-Prize Winner from the prestigious Carl Nielsen International Competition (Denmark, 2019). He has also received 1st Prize in national and international competitions such as the International Clarinet Association (Italy, 2013), the European Clarinet Association (Poland, 2014), or the Pasadena Showcase Instrumental Competition (USA, 2016), among others.
Víctor has appeared as a soloist with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Orquesta de Extremadura, and Colburn Orchestra. He has premiered pieces by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Guillermo Iriarte, and his performances have been broadcasted by medici.tv, Spanish National Radio, and Polish National Radio. A passionate chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists such as Noah Bendix-Balgley, Clive Greensmith, Fabio Bidini, Marina Piccinini, Jonathan Biss, Denis Bouriakov, Rodolfo Leone, Sang Yoon Kim, Viano String Quartet and Dahlia String Trio.
Moreover, he is a member of the Marlboro Music Festival and one of the founders of Sonarsix, which was appointed as Colburn Artist and prize winner from Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (USA, 2022). He has been a guest clarinetist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Orquesta de Extremadura, and was a member of the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra. He has performed under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Marin Alsop, Valery Gergiev, Christoph Eschenbach, Stéphane Denève, Ludovic Morlot, Rafael Payare, Sir George Benjamin and Mitsuko Uchida (soloist and conductor).
He has received master classes from clarinetists such as Boris Allakverdyan, Michel Arrignon, Philippe Berrod, Martin Fröst, Wenzel Fuchs, Burt Hara, Florent Héau, and Stephen Williamson. In December 2021, he released his album debut Diálogos sin palabras together with the pianist José María Villegas. What started as a project to keep them active and musically alive during the dark times of pandemic, it ended up as a very refined, enlightening and intimate work. The duo often performs recitals in Spain.
Born in Cáceres (Spain) in 1996, Víctor studied with Alejandro Parejo at the Hermanos Berzosa Music Conservatory in Cáceres, being awarded the Professional Music Studies National Prize; with António Saiote at ESMAE in Porto (Portugal), where he graduated at the age of 19; and with Yehuda Gilad at the Colburn School in Los Angeles (USA), where he obtained the Master’s in Music and Artist Diploma.
Víctor is a Vandoren Paris Artist.
Born in New York City in 1999, Christopher Chung began playing bassoon at the age of 15 and entered his formal studies at the Colburn Conservatory of Music two years later. He has been engaged as soloist with the Colburn Orchestra and the Kontrapunktus Baroque Orchestra. He was awarded 3rd Prize in the National Bassoon Excerpts Competition and was a finalist in the Astral Artists National Competition. As a chamber musician, he is a founding member of Sonarsix and was awarded 3rd Prize at the Fischoff Competition. He has appeared at Music from Angel Fire and at the Edinburgh International Festival, and in 2019, travelled to Cuba with the Minnesota Orchestra. Recently, he recorded for the Library of Congress under James Conlon as part of the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices. Christopher is an Artist Diploma candidate as a student of Richard Beene.
Elizabeth Linares is a venezuelan horn player, formed in the internationally known “El Sistema” from Venezuela, recently graduated with a Master Degree from the Colburn School in May 2022 and received her Bachelor degree in Music Performance and Music Pedagogy from the University of Music Karlsruhe (Germany) in 2018.
Elizabeth has performed under the baton of renowned conductors like Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Esa Pekka Salonen, Antonio Pappano, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, and others. She has also performed with Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Diego Symphony, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony, the Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and others.
As a chamber musician she has shared the stage with Noah Bendix-Balgley, She-e Wu, Clive Greensmith, Fabio Bidini, Mingjia Liu and Andrew Bain. She is a founder member of the SONARSIX Sextet.
Elizabeth was also a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra Academy between 2017-2019 and is currently a freelance musician in Los Angeles, a Teaching Artist at YOLA at Torres as well as private music instructor.
