Program at COMPASS Concerts, a live, online music performance series.

Iris Azquinezer was born in Madrid in 1984. She began her studies of cello at age 3 and piano at age 5 with her mother, the late contemporary composer María Escribano.

In recent years she has recorded two solo albums (Azul y Jade, 2014 and Blanco y Oro, 2019) from a trilogy that includes the Bach Cello Suites and her own works (composed in the same tonalities as Bach Cello Suites). This original work has made her a space in the Spanish classical music scene, where she also gives music appreciation workshops for music lovers and professionals about Johann Sebastian Bach´s works.

With Zaruk, a longstanding duo with the German guitarrist Rainer Seiferth, they have recorded two albums: Hagadá (2016) inspired in Sephardic songs and Agua (2022) and have performed more than 100 concerts in Spain and Germany.

She is the artistic director of “A solas”, a series of concerts, based on the union of word and music, where each artist creates their own connection with the public by explaining their own vision of their instrument, music and programme. Over the years interpreters like Sara Águeda, Pablo Sáinz, Juanjo Guillem, Pablo M. Caminero, and Claudio Constantini have participated in it.

She studied in Germany with Xenia Jankovic in the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, where she graduated with honors in her Konzertexamen degree, a chamber music postgraduate with Auryn Quartett and a Master in Orchestra in Dortmund, Germany. As well as further studies at the Chamber Institute of the Reina Sofía Music School in Madrid, in the department of string quartets, with Günter Pichler where she got a scholarship for studies and residence. With the Con Fuoco String quartet she debuted in festivals in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey and attended masterclasses with András Schiff, Heime Müller, Hansheinz Schneeberger, Arnold Steinhardt, and Takács quartet.

She has collaborated with artists such as Marco Rizzi, Xenia Jankovic, Gerhard Weinberger, U. A. Mathé, Candida Thompson, Claudius Hermann, Paolo Giacometti, and Gerhild Romberger at chamber music festivals in Switzerland and Germany.

Her strong appeal for Baroque music and historical interpretation led her to perform as a cello soloist at the Barock Akademie in Detmold (led by Gerhard Weinberger and Ulrike A. Mathé) with whom she recorded Handel’s Messiah and interpreted the most important works of J.S. Bach and to be a founding member of Ensemble Sarabande, where she played various concerts as soloist.

However, Iris’ interests are not only in classical music, as she was brought up and trained in the field of contemporary music and new creation. At age 16 she recorded the CD Concerto-Tale, Suite Of the Chinese Zodiac with music and text by María Escribano. Also, she performed in the Festival of Contemporary Music of Alicante, Encontre de Compositors de Mallorca and several diverse tours in Cuba and Spain. She has also performed a great number of Spanish contemporary compositions for solo cello.

In the world music field, she was a member of the Ensemble Vinorosso for six years in Germany, during this time they recorded 4 CDs and performed in Germany, Belgium and China and they got the OWL Kulturförderpreis. She also collaborates with pop artists such as Michael Bublé, Antonio Orozco, Paco Cifuentes, Vanesa Martín, Rozalén, Pablo López, Laura Pausini, and Ana Torroja.

Nick Gebhardt

Nick Gebhardt is an academic, writer and soprano saxophonist. He is currently Professor of Jazz and Popular Music Studies at Birmingham City University in the United Kingdom and Director of the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research. He has published widely on jazz and popular music history in the United States, including Going for Jazz: Musical Practices and American Ideology and Vaudeville Melodies: Popular Musicians and Mass Entertainment in American Culture, 1870-1929 (both published by the University of Chicago Press). He also has an interest in music and philosophy, especially how the concept of improvisation might be used as a model for thinking about and understanding our relationship to the world.

Eric Hunter

Eric Hunter is a pianist, composer, arranger, and educator based in New York City. Working in a wide variety of genres including classical, jazz, film, and electronica, his music has been acclaimed by audiences across the world. In 2019 his score for the animated short "Pin and Pon" went viral; it currently boasts over 3.5 million views. He also scored the multi-award winning short film "Run Little Boy," by Dominick Bedasse. He was a prizewinner in the 2012 operamission Cabaret Night songwriting competition, and contributed music to the multimedia piece Connection commissioned by Arts on Site. His music has been featured on the podcasts "Moveable Do" and "The Heart of the Ark." Recently he completed a set of arrangements for Tag Team Productions and the Las Vegas String Quartet.

Mr. Hunter's solo career has taken him to the stages of such venues as Carnegie Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall, and he has soloed with the Greenwich, University of Rochester, and University of Southern California Symphony Orchestras. Laureate of numerous competitions, he has since become a dedicated proponent of musical outreach and therapy, working with organizations such as the Austen Riggs Center for Mental Health, VISIONS at Selis Manor, DOROT, and Sacred Music New York. In 2008 he played an all-Liszt recital at the home of the renowned Golden-era pianist Earl Wild at his invitation. Since then Mr. Hunter has drawn on Earl Wild's influence for his own arrangements of popular songs from Broadway musicals.

A lifelong educator, Mr. Hunter's private piano studio reflects his creative and innovative approach. He has been Head of Professional Development at The Piano Teachers Congress of New York, where he spearheaded the Open Forum program for teacher enrichment. As guest lecturer at the School for Visual Arts, New York University, and Columbia University, he taught creative process and gave lecture recitals on composers as varied as Liszt, Hindemith, Medtner, Shostakovich, and Cage. Formerly a co-host of "The Piano Pod," a piano-centered podcast, he interviewed industry groundbreakers across the globe. A prolific writer, his thoughts on composition, piano pedagogy, and other topics can be found at erichuntermusicstudio.com/blog.

Mr. Hunter is currently at work on an album of piano and orchestral works to be released in 2023. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and two sons. For more information, please visit www.erichuntermusic.com.

Mari Hwang

American pianist Mari Hwang believes in creating a safe world where people are inspired to live wholeheartedly. As a co-producer of The COMPASS Concerts (Community Online Meditation Performance and Salon Series), she and her partners, Shinichiro Inaji and Louis Yungling, have established a welcoming, safe environment for music performance where people from all over the world feel a sense of community, support, and healing.

Ms. Hwang’s earlier experiences and challenges with stage fright for solo performances has guided her to share mindfulness awareness practice, easing psychological tension, and connecting heart to music. She performs in variety of venues, in concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Merkin Hall, Walt Disney Hall, and in cathedrals, hospitals, libraries, music schools, and private residences.

Her programming frequently shines light on works by unknown, undervalued, minor works of well known composers, and women composers. Her embodiment of often deeply personal storytelling resonates profoundly with audiences and leads to open and courageous dialogue.

In addition to her private teaching studio and being on the faculty for MSM Summer Program, she serves as a collaborative pianist at Manhattan School of Music in NYC.

Ms. Hwang has moved from a sunny suburb of Los Angeles, CA, to attend Manhattan School of Music, where she has received a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance. Subsequently, she has received a Master’s in Music from Mannes School of Music and a minor in impact entrepreneurship from The New School.

Kristin Barone-Samadi

Kristin Barone-Samadi (Born 1984), a mother of two, pianist and teacher, currently serves on the music faculty at Adelphi University and is the senior choir director and organist at St. Joseph's Episcopal Church in New York. Kristin received her BA in Performance in 2006 from Adelphi. Graduating cum laude, she was the recipient of the James Gould Award for Excellence in Music. While at Adelphi, Kristin was among the featured performers at the college’s chamber music ensemble—playing at graduation recitals, choral performances, and opera workshops. Kristin received her Master's Degree in 2008 at the Aaron Copland School of Music. She continued her studies in the “Artist Diploma Program” (2009), a program for the advanced study of chamber music. Kristin has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. Participating in a series of master-classes overseen by cellist Kalin Ivanov and pianist Tamara Puddabnaya, Kristin then joined them in travels through Eastern Europe resulting in a final signature concert in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in 2008.

Kristin performed with the Adelphi Symphony Orchestra from 2005 to 2008 where she was a featured soloist. She also serves as a substitute organist and music director at various churches in the metropolitan area. She has also studied the pipe organ with David Enlow of Juilliard, Peggo Hsiao of First Presbyterian Church and David Smith (RIP) of Christ First Presbyterian Church.

In collaboration with flutist, Linda Wetherill, Kristin has unveiled new works by contemporary composers, recording and performing them at the “Counterpoint Italy Composition Competition”—an international music festival founded by Ms. Wetherill in 2007. Kristin was the staff accompanist of the Young People's Chorus of NYC in 2011. Having a deep enthusiasm for the music of the Renaissance, Kristin became a keen collaborator with guitarist/lutenist, Daniel Keene—the two of them perform regularly as the Samadi-Keene Duo (formerly, The Barone-Keene Duo).

Kristin and her husband Saman Samadi have created their own international composition competition known simply as “Samadis'.” This festival concluded with a successful winners' concert in March of 2016 and published as a record album. The two also operate a record label known as “Samadis'.”

Kristin enjoys a successful teaching career—she has been a faculty member of the Brooklyn Music House, The Piano School of NYC, Long Beach Music, Oceanside Music, and Adelphi University—she also manages her own private studio. Currently teaching as an adjunct professor at Adelphi University, Kristin teaches courses, there, in Basic Keyboard Skills as well as Form and Analysis. Kristin is a strong advocate of the training programs of Madeline Bruser (author of “The Art of Practicing”), applying this method in her teaching philosophy—having discovered its utility and value as a faculty member during the Sound of Manhattan Music Festival 2018—while teaching several masterclasses and judging the competition there—Kristin saw tangible results in this method and uses it today.

The apple of her eye these days is an ensemble with two other musicians, "Trio de Reínas": they are Kristin (keyboard instruments), Blanca Cecilia-Gonzalez (violin), and Asuka Elias (clarinet). They are a proud Mommies' collective, towing instruments, strollers, and children to their rehearsals.

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Louis Yungling

Hello, my name is Louis Yungling and I'm the founder of COMPASS. I'm also a pianist and teacher.

Meditation, mindfulness and awareness exercises are an integral part of my teaching and practice. Musicians benefit greatly from these practices by being able to fine tune their focus and get more out of their practice as well as increase their responsiveness to sound and be more present and confident in performance.

I created COMPASS concerts to extend these practices to audiences and give everyone a moment to pause and go inward. We do this by sharing a brief contemplation exercise before every concert. In this way we practice being aware of one another and give ourselves a chance to feel and appreciate our unique contribution.

Preparing our minds and bodies to receive and make music allows us to be more receptive to the beauty and generosity that goes into a musical performance. And practicing this type of mindful preparation regularly can help us open our hearts more to the experiences of our day to day lives.

I am thrilled to share this journey with you and the very talented, generous artists who perform here. Thank you to all my musician friends for sharing your gifts and creating beautiful programs of music for our COMPASS community. And thank you to all who come and partake in these heart-warming community concerts.

I currently live and teach piano in Valencia, Spain. My teaching website: Yungling Piano Studio.