OCEANUS QUARTET
Jennifer Hsieh, Violin
Violinist Jennifer Hsieh, a native of Taiwan, has performed in various venues including New York, Boston, and Taiwan. She recently gave a charity concert at the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. She has participated in the Verbier Festival, Music Academy of the West, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, New York String Orchestra Seminar, and the Aspen Festival. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Masuko Ushioda. She continued her studies and attained her Master of Music degree at Juilliard under Naoko Tanaka, and is currently pursuing her Graduate Diploma with Malcolm Lowe at the New England Conservatory of Music. She has received additional instruction in Taiwan from Paul Ching-Po Chiang, Chiu-Shen Chen, and has participated in masterclasses with Gil Shaham, Christian Tetzlaff, Paul Katz, and Michael Tree. As a chamber musician, Jennifer has worked with Ronald Copes, Joseph Kalichstein, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Nicholas Kitchen, Seymour Lipkin, Curtis Macomber, and many more.
MuChen Jessica Hsieh, Violin
Violinist MuChen Jessica Hsieh is from Puli, Taiwan. MuChen completed her Bachelor's degree at New England Conservatory of Music under Mr. Malcolm Lowe in 2015. She also studied with Ms. Masuko Ushioda from 2011 - 2013. During MuChen's years at NEC, she has served as concertmaster and assistant concertmaster of NEC's Symphony, Philharmonia and the conductor-less Chamber Orchestra. MuChen participated in New York String Orchestra Seminar in 2012, Sarasota Music Festival in 2013, and Music Academy of the West in 2014. Outside of the United States, MuChen performs regularly in Taiwan, including solo appearances and recitals in the National Concert Hall in Taipei. As a chamber musician, she has worked with the Takacs Quartet, Borromeo String Quartet, Lucy Chapman, Peter Salaff and James Buswell.
Ting-Ru Lai, Viola
Violist Ting-Ru Lai, a native of Taiwan, has won top prizes at the Queens Symphony Orchestra Competition, the New England Conservatory Honors Competition, the Guandu Young Artist Concerto Competition, and the Taiwan Viola Competition. She was recently selected as one of the eight semifinalists of Windsor Festival International String Competition and finalist for Hugo Kauder Competition for Viola. Ting-Ru has also participated in the Nobuko Imai Viola Masterclass, the Kronberg Academy Festival, the Moritzburg Music Festival, the Taos School of Music, and the Perlman Music Program. As a chamber musician, she has performed with Nobuko Imai, Donald Weilerstein, Jian Wang, the member of Shanghai String Quartet and the Borromeo String Quartet. Recently, she graduated from New England Conservatory in Boston for a Post-Graduate degree where she studied with Dimitri Murrath. In the Fall she will be pursuing an Artist Diploma with David Takeno at Guildhall School of Music in London.
Seth Russell, Cello
Seth Russell is a native of Greenville, South Carolina, and currently lives in Boston, MA where he teaches and performs. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance and a Performer’s Certificate at the Eastman School of Music where he studied under David Ying, and received a Master’s degree in Cello Performance at New England Conservatory with Paul Katz. Seth has also studied with renowned cellists Lluis Claret, Gary Hoffman, Ralph Kirshbaum, and Pieter Wispelwey. Seth recently helped start Phoenix, a new orchestra in Boston seeking to create new ways to present classical music.