About the Musicians
Julia Cash, violin
Violinist Julia Cash has recently returned to Louisville after some 25 years pursuing an exciting musical career in New England and Europe. Brought back to Louisville by her family and her husband’s career, she was named Interim Principal 2nd violin of the Louisville Orchestra by Teddy Abrams. Also in the 21-22 season Ms Cash performed Mozart 5th Violin Concerto in Boston with Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra this last summer, that was hailed for “heroic presence, sparkling accuracy and delicacy of her silvery tone ” (Musical Intelligencer)
Ms. Cash left Louisville for Boston to work with legendary violinist James Buswell at age 15 to pursue an already promising musical future. Winner of the National Music Club Prize as a Tanglewood fellow, and a two-time Outstanding Performer award winner at the Academia Chigiana in Siena, Italy, Ms. Cash has performed all over the United States and Europe as a chamber musician and recitalist. In Boston, she performs with the Boston Ballet, Boston Pops, and has served as concertmaster for many prominent Boston musical groups such as Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of Boston. A huge new music advocate, Ms. Cash served as concertmaster of Alea III under Gunther Schuller to high accolades. Early in her career, she served as principal second of Opera Boston and won a Pulitzer and has been on many Grammy nominated albums through her extensive recording career. Ms. Cash holds degrees from New England Conservatory of Music, the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik in Germany and the Royal Conservatory of the Netherlands. In addition to James Buswell, other notable musical mentors include Pamela Frank, Vera Beths and Federico Agostini.
Ms. Cash is also an avid teacher and music educator. Along with her private studio, she has taught chamber music, orchestral coaching and lessons at Harvard, Boston College and Boston Latin School. She is currently on faculty at New England Conservatory and maintains a competitive studio of award winning students. Currently she spends summers teaching for Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras and serves as Music Director at Point Counter Point Chamber Music Camp in Vermont. She currently lives in Crescent Hill with her 3 daughters and violist/physician husband Tom, and is splitting her performing obligations between Louisville and Boston.
Emily Albrink, soprano
Hailed by The New York Times as "delightful and vocally strong and versatile," Emily Albrink is a soprano whose career sports esteemed collaborations with venerable conductors and composers such as Robert Spano, Marin Alsop, Jake Heggie, and John Musto. She just released her debut album Force of Nature on the Lexicon Classics Label with pianist, Kathleen Kelly, featuring world premiere commissions by Jake Heggie, Rene Orth, Nailah Nombeko and Steve Rouse. She has sung leading roles with the Washington National Opera, Kentucky Opera, Charlottesville Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Boston, Indianapolis Opera, and Chicago Opera Theater and has been a featured soloist with orchestras including the Boston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Baltimore Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony, and the Louisville Orchestra. Ms. Albrink has appeared at Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall and has performed internationally in China and France. She is on the voice faculty at the University of Louisville School of Music.
Joy Cline Phinney, piano
Pianist Joy Cline Phinney, a native of Boulder, Colorado, has appeared in solo and chamber music recitals across the United States and in Europe. Notable concerts include a guest appearance with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players; engagements on the New York Philharmonic Merkin Hall Concert Series; performances as a member of the faculty at the Sarasota Music Festival and the Cremona International Academy in Italy; “Colour of Music Festival” concerts in Houston, TX, Richmond, VA, Nashville, TN, and Columbia, SC; and collaborative concerts at Boston, Brandeis, Colorado, Colorado Mesa, Duke, Harvard, Illinois (Chicago), Illinois State, Seattle, Stanford, and Tufts Universities, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Joy has collaborated in chamber music concerts, recording projects, and radio and television programs with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. She is the pianist with the Boston Public Quartet, a resident artist with Castle of Our Skins, and the collaborative pianist/coach with the Boston Symphony’s Project STEP. Her recording credits include Our American Roots: Music for Cello and Piano (Delos), and Rider on the Plains (Albany Records), both with cellist Emmanuel Feldman.
Joy earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano from The Juilliard School, and a Doctorate in Ensemble Arts from the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
Chistopher Robinson, violin
From Louisville, Kentucky, Christopher Robinson is a violinist, educator and Founder/Co-Artistic Director of VIA Academy, a free music program for pre-college youth from remote and underrepresented communities in classical music. Recognized as a 2021 Knight Arts Champion by The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Christopher is a forward thinking innovator in classical music with 10 years of experience as an educator and entrepreneur. As a firm believer in creating inclusive music education models, he has been recognized nationally for community impact in the arts through unique experience designing and implementing programs that create immediate impact. With years of professional experience in globally recognized music programs, he is a known arts leader in the music education profession.
As a violinist, Christopher is a recent alumnus of the New World Symphony where he regularly served as principal and concertmaster. He currently performs in the second violin section of the Louisville Orchestra. Also, Christopher has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony and the Jacksonville Symphony as well as chamber music collaborations with members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Christopher is a passionate educator and mentor for young musicians all across the US. In 2020, he founded VIA Academy, which since its founding has already reached more than 250 students from 37 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia, Chile, and Serbia. Christopher has also been a frequent faculty member in programs at Carnegie Hall’s NYO/NYO2 Summer Programs, Miami Music Project, Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando Program, Atlanta Symphony’s Talent Development Program, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music's Pre-College Department, and the Iberacademy in Medellín, Colombia.
Christopher began studying the violin at age 10 and later continued violin studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with Kurt Sassmannshaus, earning his bachelor of music degree in 2015. He earned his master of music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music studying under Joan Kwuon.
As an outdoorsman and Eagle Scout, Mr. Robinson enjoys cycling, backpacking, hiking, kayaking and canoeing. During the summer of 2015, he joined his family on a 221-mile backpacking trip on the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Mr. Robinson most recently summited Mt. Fuji in Japan and hopes to continue exploring the vast landscapes our world has to offer.
Jonathan Ruckman, cello
Jonathan Ruckman, cellist, is an honors graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he attended the Young Artist Program before receiving his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. After graduation, Mr. Ruckman was appointed Interim Assistant Principal cellist of the Grammy-winning Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), serving as second chair cellist from 2004-2007. During his time with the LPO, Mr. Ruckman served as Principal and Assistant Principal cellist for numerous performances throughout the New Orleans area, received lifetime tenure, and was elected to the Board of Trustees. From 2007 to the present, Mr. Ruckman has been a freelance cellist for countless performances throughout the Louisville, Washington, D.C., and New Orleans areas, including appearances with the Louisville Orchestra, the Derby City Chamber Orchestra, the Musaica Chamber Ensemble, and the NouLou Chamber players.
Off stage, Mr. Ruckman received a Juris Doctorate from the George Washington University Law School and a Master of Science in Social Work from the Kent School of Social Work, where he was awarded the Graduate Dean’s Citation. Mr. Ruckman served as an immigration attorney for Catholic Charities of Louisville and as Clinical Director at Maryhurst. Mr. Ruckman lives in Indian Hills with his wife and three young children.
Chihiro Tanaka, viola
Chihiro Tanaka is a versatile violist, equally at home in solo, chamber, and orchestral settings. A prizewinner in several competitions including the Osaka International Music Competition, she’s also performed in ensembles such as the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, and the Aspen Music Festival among many others.
She first began studying the violin at age four before earning her Bachelor's Degree with honors and Master’s degree in Viola Performance from the Aichi University of Fine Arts under Yuki Hyakutake. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with her Artist Diploma while studying with Masao Kawasaki and Catharine Carroll Lees.
In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, reading and spending time outdoors.