Curtis on Tour in Viña del Mar, Chile

The multi-award-winning Spanish clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester (FrAHnk Bai-yess-TAIR) is considered one of the finest classical soloists and chamber music artists of his generation. He has been hailed for his “technical wizardry and tireless enthusiasm” (The New York Times), his “rich, resonant tone” (Birmingham News), and his “subtle and consummate artistry” (Santa Barbara Independent). The recipient of a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2008, and winner of both the Young Concert Artists and Astral Artists auditions, he is a solo artist and chamber musician in great demand.

As a concerto soloist Mr. Franch-Ballester made his New York debut in 2006 with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Lincoln Center. He has also performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and various orchestras in his native Spain.

Mr. Franch-Ballester made his New York recital debut at the 92nd Street Y, and has appeared in recital at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Iowa State University, the Buffalo Chamber Music Society, and the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. He performs regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center both in New York City and on tour, and also acts as principal clarinet of the Santa Barbara-based chamber music collective Camerata Pacifica.

U.S. festival appearances include the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Mainly Mozart, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire, Chamber Music Northwest, and Skaneateles Festival. Abroad, Mr. Franch-Ballester has appeared at the Usedomer Musikfestival in Germany, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, the Cartagena Festival Internacional de Música in Colombia, the Kon-Tiki Festival in Norway, and the Young Concert Artists Festival in Tokyo.

Mr. Franch-Ballester is artistic director of miXt, an ensemble of award-winning soloists from the Young Concert Artists roster that he founded in the 2012-13 season. Performing in a variety of configurations, miXt made its New York and Washington debuts in YCA’s series at Merkin Hall and the Kennedy Center. His instrumental collaborators have also included the American, St. Lawrence, Jupiter, and Modigliani string quartets.

An avid proponent of new music, he performed the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Winter Roses in 2004 with mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade at Camerata Pacifica. During the 2011-2012 season, he premiered two new works by Spanish composers: the II Concerto by Oscar Navarro, with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo, Spain; and Concerto Valencia by Andrés Valero-Castells, with the Orquesta de Valencia. Mr. Franch-Ballester’s commitment to new music has led him to commission and work with such contemporary composers as Kenji Bunch, Paul Schoenfield, Edgar Meyer, William Bolcom, George Tsontakis, Andrés Valero-Castells, Oscar Navarro, and Huang Ruo. He has also been a dedicated music educator, developing new audiences through countless educational concerts and workshops for young people and community audiences.

Performing regularly in Spain, Mr. Franch-Ballester has appeared with the Orquesta de Radio y Television Española, Orquesta de Valencia, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, and Orquesta Sinfónica del Valles. He is the founder of Jose Franch-Ballester & i amics (and friends), a series of concerts in which young musicians from all over the world are presented in Mr. Franch-Ballester’s hometown of Moncofa and throughout the Valencia area.

Mr. Franch-Ballester’s recordings include a Deutsche Grammophon CD of Bartók’s Contrasts with members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In 2010 he was awarded the Midem Prize for “Outstanding Young Artist,” which aims to introduce currently unsigned recording stars of the future to the classical recording industry. “Jose Franch-Ballester & Friends,” a CD of chamber music released by iTinerant Classics in 2011, includes the premiere recording of Oscar Navarro’s Creation and works by Brahms, Stravinsky, and Paul Schoenfield. Mr. Franch-Ballester can also be heard on “Piazzolla Masterworks,” a CD recorded with cellist Young Song and pianist Pablo Zinger that contains works by Astor Piazzolla.

Born in Moncofa into a family of clarinetists and Zarzuela singers, Jose Franch-Ballester began clarinet lessons at the age of nine with Venancio Rius, and graduated from the Joaquin Rodrigo Music Conservatory in Valencia. In 2005 he earned a bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied with Donald Montanaro. Mr. Franch-Ballester’s mentors also include Ricardo Morales, principal clarinet in the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Violist Teng Li is an internationally celebrated soloist, chamber musician and recording artist, hailed for her “burnished sound and elegant command of phrasing” (New York Times) and “a musical personality that mesmerizes the ear” (BBC Music). In September 2023, Li was appointed to the Paul Hindemith Principal Viola Chair of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by Music Director Emeritus for Life Riccardo Muti, a post she assumes at the beginning of the 2024/25 season. Previously, she was principal viola of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 2018 to 2024 and served for 14 seasons as principal viola of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Recognized as a “dazzlingly virtuosic” soloist (Los Angeles Times), she has appeared with premier ensembles throughout the world, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, National Chamber Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Shanghai Opera Symphony Orchestra and Esprit Orchestra. Most recently, she was featured in acclaimed performances of Paganini’s Sonata per la Grand Viola with Lina González-Granados and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as in Kancheli’s Styx with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic led by Alexander Mickelthwate.

Li is an ardent chamber musician with notable past engagements at the Marlboro, Santa Fe Chamber, Rome Chamber and Moritzburg music festivals; Chamber Music Northwest, La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, ChamberFest Cleveland and the prestigious Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Two program. She has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and the 92nd Street “Y” Chamber Music Society in New York, and collaborated closely with the Guarneri Quartet, joining the ensemble in concerts during the quartet’s final season in 2008/09. She is a founding member of the Rosamunde Quartet, together with violinists Noah Bendix-Balgley and Shanshan Yao and cellist Nathan Vickery, with whom she has given performances and masterclasses throughout the United States and Canada.

Li’s probing interpretations of chamber works can be heard on several critically acclaimed recordings, among them 1939, her solo album for Azica Records with violinist Benjamin Bowman and pianist Meng-Chieh Liu. Her discography also includes recording credits with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Toronto Symphony, most notably on the latter’s Juno Award-winning Vaughan Williams album for Chandos, which features Li in a “ravishing” (CBC Music) performance of Flos Campi.

Li has won top prizes at the Johansen International Competition, the Holland-America Music Society Competition, the Primrose International Viola Competition, the Klein International String Competition, and the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, Germany. She was also a winner of the Astral Artistic Services’ 2003 National Auditions.

A committed educator, Li has taught at the Colburn School, University of Toronto, Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and Montreal’s Conservatoire de Musique, and joins the faculty of Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performance Arts in the 2024/25 academic year. In addition, she teaches at the Sarasota Music Festival and Morningside Music Bridge. Li is a graduate of the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China, and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied with Michael Tree, Joseph de Pasquale, and Karen Tuttle.

Described as “bright” and “stylish” by Opera News, American soprano Sarah Fleiss joins the exclusive international Baroque touring ensemble, Le Jardin des Voix of Les Arts Florissants for the 2025–26 and 2026–27 season productions, where she performs in Les arts florissants and La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers by Charpentier under William Christie and in Il giardino di rose by Scarlatti under Paul Agnew. In Summer 2025, she attends the Georg Solti Bel Canto Accademia in Tuscany. She also tours Latin America with Curtis on Tour during the 2025–26 season. During the 2024–25 season, Sarah performed the roles of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro under the baton of Nicholas McGegan with Curtis Opera Theatre, the soprano soloist role in Handel’s Messiah with Hudson Baroque and the soprano soloist role in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Dalton Chorale in New York City. Previous role highlights include the title role in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante, and was a featured soloist in a staged production of Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. In concert, she performed as the soprano soloist in the Fauré Requiem with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Poulenc’s Gloria and Dvořák’s Te Deum with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. In 2024, Sarah was a Renée Fleming Arist at the Aspen Music Festival, covering Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro under conductor Nicholas McGegan. Sarah is the 2025 winner of the Arthur W. Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association.

Sarah completed her Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees at Curtis Institute of Music. Prior to Curtis, Sarah attended Columbia University and its Juilliard exchange program.

Sarah Fleiss is on the roster of Curtis Artist Management. Find media and press on her artist profile.

Adrian Zaragoza, a distinguished pianist of South-American heritage from Davis, California, began his musical journey at the tender age of four. He currently holds the prestigious William A. Horn Fellowship at the Curtis Institute of Music, studying under the esteemed Professor Michelle Cann. His musical prowess has been shaped by the guidance of renowned mentors such as Professors Richard Cionco, John McCarthy, Lara Downes, and Marjorie McBee.

Mr. Zaragoza’s talent and dedication have earned him significant accolades, including being named a 2022 National YoungArts Finalist and securing top prizes in prominent international competitions such as the Singapore International Piano Competition, Nordic International Piano Competition, and Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition. His captivating performances have illuminated stages with the Central Texas Philharmonic, Golden State Youth Symphony Orchestra, UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, and the Solano Symphony Orchestra. He has also enchanted audiences through broadcasts on Philadelphia’s WRTI Classical Radio and Vienna Live with Simeon Morrow. In November 2023, Mr. Zaragoza made his much-anticipated debut at Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center, where he passionately showcased contemporary solo works.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Mr. Zaragoza is dedicated to giving back to his community. He frequently performs at retirement homes and volunteers his time, all while cherishing the beauty of the outdoors. Adrian Zaragoza continues to inspire and captivate with his exceptional artistry and unwavering commitment to music.