Michael Brofman, Chamber Music Program Coordinator

Pianist Michael Brofman has earned a reputation as one of the finest vocal accompanists of his generation. He has performed hundreds of songs, from Schubert’s earliest lieder to premieres of new songs by today’s most-recognized composers. He was hailed by the New York Times as an “excellent pianist” and
Feast of Music recently praised his “elegant and refined playing… exhibiting excellent touch and clean technique.”

Mike has championed new works and has fostered relationships with many living composers, including Katherine Balch, Lembit Beecher, Tom Cipullo, Michael Djupstrom, Daniel Felsenfeld, Herschel Garfein, Daron Hagen, Jake Heggie, James Kallembach, Libby Larsen, Lowell Liebermann, David Ludwig, James Matheson, Reinaldo Moya, Harold Meltzer, Russell Platt, Kurt Rohde, Glen Roven, Andrew Staniland and Scott Wheeler. In all, he has premiered over 100 songs, many of them dedicated to him.

Mike is the founder and artistic director of the Brooklyn Art Song Society, an organization dedicated to the vast repertoire of poetry set to music now in its eighth season. His first CD “New Voices” on Roven Records includes four world-premiere recordings and was number one on Amazon’s new releases for Opera/Vocal and debuted in the top 10 of the Traditional Classical Billboard Chart. In this capacity, Mike has curated and performed in surveys of art song repertoire that have included the complete songs of Henri Duparc and Charles Ives, lieder from the last year of Schubert’s life, a survey of all the members of Les Six and much more.

An eloquent and passionate advocate for art song, Mike has been interviewed by Russell Platt for Opera News, for Caught In the Act on Brooklyn Public Television, on the WQXR radio show Soundcheck, on Seattle KING FM 98.1, and for the Linked Music blog. He also hosts his own internet show “Song and Wine.” His writings on music have been published by GPR Records, Sparks and Wiry Cries, and the Linked Music Blog. He is also earning a reputation as a gifted educator and has presented masterclasses at the University of Chicago, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Southern Maine.

Mike holds a bachelor of Music from Northwestern University where he studied with James Giles. There he was awarded the Frida A. Pick Award for Piano and featured on Chicago’s classical radio station. He spent several summers at the Aspen Music Festival as a student of Rita Sloan and continues his studies with Robert Durso of the Golandsky Institute. He resides in Park Slope, Brooklyn with his wife, violinist Stanichka Dimitrova, and daughters Julia and Lillian.

Johnna Wu

Johnna Wu is an active performer, improviser, and educator in North America, Europe, and Asia. Based in Brooklyn, Johnna is the founder of the electro-acoustic chamber ensemble PinkNoise, which uses improvisations to meld her interests in contemporary music, Chinese folk music, jazz, tango, and musical theatre. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University, with degrees in Biology and Musicology, and obtained a Masters of Music degree in violin performance at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Joseph Lin. In 2015, she was the only artist awarded the Fulbright Scholarship to study in Germany, and was sponsored by the State Department of the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany for studies at the Universität der Künste Berlin.

Tom Chiu

Violinist Tom Chiu – noted for his broad contributions to contemporary music and sound art – has premiered over 200 works by influential musicians such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Virko Baley, David Chesky, David First, Fast Forward, Leroy Jenkins, Oliver Lake, Wadada Leo Smith, Alvin Lucier, Michael Schumacher, and Henry Threadgill. He has also shared the stage with such musical luminaries as Ornette Coleman, Jessye Norman, and Paul McCartney, among others. As a composer/improviser, Chiu has collaborated with artists working in a variety of disciplines, including choreographers Pam Tanowitz and Eun-Me Ahn, film/video artists Phill Niblock and Ken Jacobs, vocalists Jaap Blonk and Thomas Buckner, balloonist Judy Dunaway, visual artist Matthew Barney, and theater troupe Mabou Mines. Chiu is thrilled to collaborate once again with the OpenEnded Group on Blackletter, after prior projects with OEG commissioned by EMPAC, the Museum of the Moving Image, and the Gardner Museum.

As founder of the FLUX Quartet, Chiu has led an influential new-music ensemble which has become “legendary for its furiously committed, untiring performances.” (Alex Ross) A recipient of the Chamber Music America Commissioning Grant, Chiu has dedicated compositions toFLUX, Joan La Barbara, Bobby Few, Sylvere Lotringer, J/C/C Trio, the Downtown Ensemble, Mount Tremper Arts, and OEG, with performances at BBC, Park Avenue Armory, Roulette, Walker Art Center, Bang-On-A-Can Marathon, MOMA PS1, EMPAC, and Anthology Film Archives. His extensive discography includes recordings for the Asphodel, Innova, Koch, Mode, Mutable Music, New Focus, New World, Sombient, Tzadik labels, and his latest solo album, THE LIVE ONE, was recently released on XI Records. He has also produced and designed sonic environments for special events, including gala openings at the Park Avenue Armory, the Noguchi Museum, and Renzo Piano’s New York Times Building. Chiu holds degrees in chemistry and music from Yale and Juilliard, and has appeared as a cultural commentator, consultant, and panelist in a variety of artistic contexts. He is also the founder of Duo Metrix.

Sophiko Simsive

Hailed as an “exceptional musician of rare talent who promises to become one of the leading pianists of her generation” by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Sophiko Simsive began her studies at the age of three and, since then, has been invited as a recitalist to prestigious venues such as Berliner Philharmonie and Concertgebouw. Simsive has performed with the Residentie Orkest, Yale Philharmonia, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Jeugdorkest Nederland and MSM Philharmonia, and she has worked with conductors such as Lev Markiz, Peter Oundjian, Jan Willem de Vriend and Jurjen Hempel.

Simsive is the newest pianist of the prestigious Claremont Trio. She has performed with chamber groups including the Calidore String Quartet and has collaborated with prominent musicians such as Kian Soltani and Gilbert Kalish. As soloist and chamber musician, she has been featured at renowned festivals including the Yellow Barn Festival, the Music Academy of the West and the Verbier Festival. Simsive serves as a Senior Teaching Assistant at Yale University, where she co-teaches alongside violinist Wendy Sharp. She also serves as a Chamber Music and Private Piano Instructor at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.

Simsive holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Solomon Mikowsky. Her past teachers include Boris Berman, Jacques Rouvier, Mila Baslawskaja and Maka Aladashvili. Simsive is represented by Interartists Amsterdam Management.