Emma Gerstein, Alexander Love, and Winston Choi

This program features music by Mel Bonis and Carl Reinecke performed by Emma Gerstein, flute; Alexander Love, horn; and Winston Choi, piano. Emma Gerstein is second flute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She was appointed to the post in 2017 by Music Director Riccardo Muti. Before her appointment to the CSO, she appeared with the Orchestra as a guest several times, including performances during the Asia 2016 tour with Riccardo Muti. Prior to joining the CSO, Gerstein most recently served as Principal Flute of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand. Gerstein was a Flute Fellow at the New World Symphony and Principal Flute of the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra in Kentucky. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as the Milwaukee and Seattle Symphony Orchestras. Outside of her chair in the orchestra, Emma enjoys playing in smaller settings such as CSO MusicNow, a series featuring contemporary works curated by the CSO Composer in Residence, the CSO Chamber Series, and Once Upon A Symphony, a concert series for young children and families. Gerstein also serves as a flute coach for the students in the Civic Orchestra. Known for her “especially beautiful work” (Chicago Reader), Emma remains an active chamber musician and soloist, recently appearing in Paquito D’Rivera’s Flute Concerto, Gran Danzon with the Lexington Philharmonic. Gerstein has performed with eighth blackbird, Chicago Chamber Musicians, Dempster Street Pro Musica, Civitas, and Spektral Quartet. Spring 2020 brings Gerstein back to Australia for more concerts with harpist Emily Granger. A native of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, Gerstein began her flute studies at age 8 with Susan Levitin and was a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra.  She went on to study at Manhattan School of Music with Robert Langevin and at Indiana University with Thomas Robertello, and has participated in the Aspen, Spoleto USA, Sarasota, Orford and Cabrillo festivals. Gerstein teaches at Roosevelt University and has given masterclasses at the University of Kentucky, Auckland University, Northwestern University, Indiana University, The Australian National Academy of Music, and as a guest of the Chicago Flute Club and the Utah Flute Association. Courtesy of the artist’s website. Alexander Love is an Australian Horn player currently living and working in the USA, serving in the capacity of Acting Associate Principal Horn with the Utah Symphony since early 2016. Born and raised in Sydney, Alex first took up the Horn at the age of 9 to join the newly formed concert band at his primary school and fill out the under represented Horn section. Falling in love with the horn, Alex went on to attend the Sydney Conservatorium of Music High School. He completed a Bachelor of Music in performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studying with Ben Jacks, and then a year in the Sydney Symphony Fellowship program before moving to the US in 2010 to pursue a Master’s in Orchestral Performance at the Manhattan School of Music in New York with Erik Ralske as his teacher. Alex relished his time in New York, performing in a wide array of settings from educational schools performances, to Off Broadway shows and jazz ensembles, whilst attending as many concerts as he could at Carnegie Hall, the Met Opera, Jazz clubs and other venues throughout the city.  In 2011, while still in New York, Alex won a position in the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in New Jersey. In 2012 Alex moved to Miami Beach to join The New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. The New World Symphony provided a unique environment to perform week to week with other inspiring young colleagues, whilst having periodic instruction from guest teachers, notably Julie Landsman and William Vermeulen among many others.