meet the Musicians
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larry Weng

Winner of the 2019 NYCA Worldwide Debut Audition and a laureate of the 2016 Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition, Larry Weng has been described in The New York Times as playing with “steely power and incisive rhythm.” Of his 2014 New York debut at Weill Hall, the New York Concert Review described him as “an extremely sensitive musician and mature interpreter,” and “mature beyond his years.”

Larry has been featured in concert in France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Japan, Brazil, and Venezuela, and has performed in many of the world’s renowned halls, including Boston’s Symphony Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, SubCulture, the Salle Cortot, the Sala São Paulo, Carnegie Stern Auditorium, and the Berlin Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal. An avid chamber musician and collaborator, Larry is a full-time member of the icarus Quartet.

Larry graduated from the highly selective joint degree program between Columbia University and The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Professors Jerome Lowenthal and Matti Raekallio. He continued his studies with Professor Boris Berman at the Yale School of Music, completing the doctoral program in 2019. During his time at Yale, Larry served as an instructor in undergraduate piano and secondary piano. As of the 2021-2022 academic year, Larry serves on the faculty of the Wake Forest University Department of Music.

max Hammond

A pianist who plays with the “ the finesse, the grace, and the ebullience of a Mozart” (Harry Rolnick, The Classical Music Network), Max Hammond’s passion lies in putting canonical works in conversation with new voices. An avid performer of contemporary music, Max has had the honor to premiere works by composers including Joan Tower, Carlos Simon, and Harold Meltzer. He has also performed around the globe as a chamber musician, with appearances across North America, Scotland, and France, alongside groups Mirror Visions Ensemble, eighth blackbird, and the Akropolis Reed Quintet. As the winner of Juilliard’s Concerto Competition, Max made his Lincoln Center debut in Alice Tully Hall performing Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto, Op. 42 with the Juilliard Orchestra under David Robertson. As a concerto soloist, Max has performed a diverse range of works across the country, from Prokofiev’s Third Concerto to Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety with the Yale Symphony Orchestra, the Bellflower Symphony, and Pasadena Community Orchestra. As a passionate interpreter of the work of Schoenberg, Max also had the privilege of performing Pierrot Lunaire at the Arnold Schoenberg Center in Vienna in honor of the composer's 150th birthday. This season, he will make his Carnegie Hall debut in a concert exploring the work of Meredith Monk. Max graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna cum Laude from Yale College with a BA in mathematics, where he studied at the Yale School of Music with Wei-Yi Yang, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Juilliard School under Julian Martin and Soyeon Kate Lee. 

matt Keown

In an art form that cherishes and longs for divergences from normalcy, Matt Keown’s artistry is defined by a unique duality. At the core of his creativity remains the technique of a rudimental percussionist and the sensibility of a classical musician. The idiosyncrasies of this relationship afford him a unique musical perspective characterized by precise execution and thoughtful interpretation. 

When prioritizing his various creative endeavors, Matt defines himself primarily as a chamber musician. He is a founding member of icarus Quartet, praised by composer Paul Lansky for “music making of the highest order.” He is also a founding member of The Percussion Collective, an ensemble that “transcends the medium of percussion through uncommon performance experiences that surprise and engage audiences at a profound emotional level.” 

Matt is honored to be the fourth percussionist to have ever been granted acceptance to Yale University’s prestigious Doctor of Musical Arts program. He completed the residency of this degree in 2018 and is currently based in Maryland. Matt is a Guest Lecturer of Percussion at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and Professor of Percussion at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania. Matt proudly endorses Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads and Pearl/Adams Percussion Instruments. Matt was born and raised in Oregon and currently resides in Maryland.

jeff Stern

Known for performing “with precision and an impressive attention to timbral detail” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), percussionist Jeff Stern has developed a voice to listen for in today’s contemporary music scene. He has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, and has collaborated with a number of the world’s most prominent composers. Recent premieres include Alejandro Viñao’s Stress and Flow with The Percussion Collective, James Wood’s Secret Dialogues for solo marimba, and John Luther Adams’ Sila at Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors Festival.

Jeff is the executive director, co-artistic director, and founding percussionist of icarus Quartet, a 2 piano/2 percussion group and winner of the 2019 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. As a core member of The Percussion Collective, his concert highlights include a live broadcast for WXQR’s Midday Masterpieces, a headlining performance at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and concerto appearances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Orchestra, and the Phoenix Symphony. Jeff has appeared at the Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab, the Yellow Barn, Bang on a Can, Lake George, Annapolis Chamber Music, and Norfolk Chamber Music festivals, and can be heard on the Albany, Furious Artisans, Elm City, Bright Shiny Things, figureight, and Cantaloupe record labels.

Jeff has served on the percussion faculty at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University since 2017 and at the Luzerne Music Center since 2022. He holds degrees from UMass Amherst, the Peabody Conservatory, and the Yale School of Music. Jeff is a proud artist endorser of Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Zildjian cymbals, Evans drumheads, and Pearl/Adams drums and percussion.