The New York Times has hailed cellist Andrew Janss for his "glowing tone", "insightful musicianship", and "sumptuous elegance". He has been featured at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Louvre Museum.

Andrew tours regularly with the Mark Morris Dance Group, one of the most recognize modern dance companies in the world. He will join the group at the end of this season for a three-week tour of China, as well as giving concerts in Miami, Chicago, and New Orleans.

From 2007-10, Mr. Janss was a resident artist at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as part of CMS 2. He has performed at the Ravinia, Music@Menlo, La Jolla Summerfest, Gold Coast, and Marlboro Music Festivals.

During 2007-08, Mr. Janss was Visiting-Artist-in-Residence at SUNY StonyBrook. He is the youngest faculty member in the history of the School of Music. In demand as a teacher, he has given master classes at Tulane University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the University of Idaho. He recently wrapped up work on the set of the upcoming movie A Late Quartet, consulting for Christopher Walken on how to play the cello.

Mr. Janss sits on the Board of Directors of the Omega Ensemble.

Ms. Lee has appeared in the world's finest halls, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, the Metropolitan Museum, the Louvre Museum in Paris, and Korea's Kumho Art Gallery. Upcoming projects include a newly commissioned violin concerto written for Ms. Lee by composer Vivian Fung, which will be recorded on the Naxos label. She has shared the stage with many of the world's foremost artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Franz Helmerson, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Roberto Diaz, and the Orion String Quartet.

Ms. Lee's performances have been broadcast on WQXR in New York, PBS's Live from Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center Honors, and a guest artist performance on WFMT Chicago's Rising Stars series.

Born in Seoul, Ms. Lee began studying the violin at the age of five and within just one year won first prize at the prestigious Korea Times Violin Competition. In January 2000 she was chosen to study with Itzhak Perlman, and later served as his assistant teacher. She joined the Queens College faculty in the fall of 2010.

Violinist Ayano Ninomiya, winner of Astral's 2003 National Auditions and second-prize winner of the 2003 Walter W. Naumburg Competition, gave her highly acclaimed New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall under Naumburg's auspices. Astral presented her on its "Rising Stars" series at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

Ms. Ninomiya is the grateful recipient of a generous loan of a Stradivarius violin from a private donor. She is currently on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music and first violinist of the Zing Quartet.

In 2009, Ms. Smith won first place in the Juilliard concerto competition and made her New York concerto debut in Alice Tully Hall, playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra, under the direction of Emmanuel Villaume.

Ms. Smith is the founding first violinist of the Tessera Quartet, an emerging New York based ensemble. Recent highlights included a New York debut on the New School Schneider Concerts series, and performances with pianists Claude Frank and Orion Weiss, as well as pianist/composer Lowell Liebermann.

She frequently performs with the Grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble, and is a member of the New York Classical Players. She has appeared on PBS's national broadcast, Live from Lincoln Center, as well as twice on NPR's From the Top.

In 2009 Ms. Smith received her Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where she is now pursuing graduate studies. Her teachers have included Ronald Copes, Nick Eanet, Joel Smirnoff, Laurie Smukler, Masuko Ushida, and Donald Weilerstein.

Cited by the press as a "virtuoso of emotions", violinist Itamar Zorman is the winner of the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia, where he subsequently performed in the winners' concerts with Maestro Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra.

Mr. Zorman has performed as a soloist with the American Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, and with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Philharmonie Baden-Baden, Israeli Chamber Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta, Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra, Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, and the Salina Symphony.

As a chamber musician, Mr. Zorman has appeared at Lincoln Center, in Zankel Hall and at Carnegie Hall, and at the Kennedy Center. A founding member of the Israeli Chamber Project, Mr. Zorman has toured with the internationally acclaimed group across Israel and North America for the past four seasons. Mr. Zorman is also a member of the Lysander Piano Trio, which was recently awarded the Grand Prize at the 2011 Coleman Competition. This summer, he is participating in the Marlboro Music Festival.

Born in Tel-Aviv, Israel, to a family of musicians, Mr. Zorman holds degrees from the Jerusalem Academy of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Juilliard School. His teachers have included Nava Milo, Hagai Shaham, Robert Mann, and Sylvia Rosenberg. He is supported by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and the Ilona Feher Foundation. Itamar Zorman plays on a 1737 Pietro Guarneri violin from the private collection of Yehuda Zisapel.

Violist Molly Carr, praised for her "ravishing sound" (the STRAD) and "passionate talent and beautiful poise… all in one package" (AVS), was a top Prize Winner in the 2008 Primrose International Viola Competition.

As winner of the 2010 Juilliard Viola Concerto Competition, Miss Carr made her New York solo debut with the Juilliard Orchestra under Xian Zhang, performing the Bartok Viola Concerto in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in April 2010.

As a recitalist, Miss Carr performs at the venues such as the Jerusalem Music Centre, Carnegie Hall, and the Neue Galerie, and her performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio's From The Top as well as on Hungarian National Television. She has also been a soloist with the Reno Philharmonic, the Reno Chamber Orchestra, and the Carson City Symphony.

Miss Carr is an avid chamber musician and has collaborated with renowned artists Itzhak Perlman, Carter Brey, Peter Wiley, Ida Kavafian, Pamela Frank, Ron Leonard, Paul Katz, Lucas Foss, and the American String Quartet. Recent performances have included concerts with Perlman and the Perlman Music Program at Chicago's Symphony Center, the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Jerusalem Music Centre. She also appeared on PBS's Live From Lincoln Center and CBS's Kennedy Center Honors Program, with Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman.

A native of Reno, Nevada, Miss Carr is a graduate of the Juilliard School, and studied with Heidi Castleman and Steven Tenenbom. She now serves as Teaching Assistant to Ms. Castleman. Her former teachers include Pinchas Zukerman, Patinka Kopec, and Virginia Blakeman Lenz.

Violist Eric Nowlin has performed extensively throughout the United States as well as abroad. Past accomplishments include receiving second prize in the 2006 Walter W. Naumburg Competition, first prize in the 2003 Irving Klein International String Competition; first prize in the 2002 Hellam Young Artists Competition; grand prize in the 2001 Naftzger Young Artists Competition; and winner of the 2001 Juilliard

Viola Concerto Competition, which led to a performance of Hindemith's Konzertmusik with Roberto Minzcuk conducting the Juilliard Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall.

Performances have included solo engagements with the Springfield Symphony in Missouri, Santa Cruz Symphony, Peninsula Symphony, and the Kumamoto Symphony in Japan, as well as recitals in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Mexico.

Mr. Nowlin is currently serving as Associate Principal Viola in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and is violist of the New Orford String Quartet. Other chamber music activities have included participating in festivals such as the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont and the Steans Institute for Young Artists at Ravinia. He is a regular member of the Jupiter Chamber Players in New York City and has also toured with Musicians from Marlboro and Musicians from Ravinia's Steans Institute. Previous to his position in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, he performed regularly as a substitute in the viola section of the New York Philharmonic from 2005 to 2008.

Mr. Nowlin was chosen as the recipient of a Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation Grant in 2004, an award intended for the advancement of young artists' performance careers. He is currently on faculty at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto for their Young Artist's Performance Academy, and serves as Instructor of Viola at the University of Toronto. Mr. Nowlin received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from The Juilliard School as a scholarship student of Samuel Rhodes.

Violist Vicki Powell has been hailed by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "a fully formed artist" with "a voluptuous tone" and a "sound that is refined, but that has no trouble projecting." She is the recipient of a Gold Award in Music from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, first prize winner of the Philadelphia Orchestra Greenfield Competition, the Johansen International Competition, and the Aspen Low Strings Competition.

Ms. Powell is a student at the Juilliard School, where she studies with Misha Amory.

Born in Chicago in 1992, violoncellist Gabriel Cabezas' debut performance with The Cleveland Orchestra described as a "…remarkably poised and elegant account, with superb attention to phrasing, nuance and tonal coloration" (The Plain Dealer).

Cabezas has performed as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, the New World Symphony, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, among others. In 2007, Cabezas released "Moyugba Orisha," his album with pianist Alexandra Mascolo-David featuring Latin American works for violoncello and piano.

A zealous chamber musician, Cabezas has collaborated with Béla Fleck in the televised program From The Top – Live from Carnegie Hall, and with the renowned Yo-Yo Ma on PBS' The Tavis Smiley Show and ABC's Good Morning America. In Summer 2011, Cabezas attended the Marlboro Music Festival as it's youngest participant. Cabezas has won first prize at the 2008 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Youth Auditions, and was the winner of the first prize of the Aspen Music Festival Concerto Competition. He also received The María Isabel Prieto Award at the Carlos Prieto Violoncello International Competition for "extraordinary talent and magnificent performances."

A recipient of an Education Grant by The Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation, Cabezas also supports and participates in community outreach programs for youth. Recently, Cabezas joined Midori's Partners in Performance - Young Artists Series, a new community outreach program in the United States.

Cabezas studies with New York Philharmonic principal cellist Carter Brey at the Curtis Institute of Music. Previously, Cabezas studied with Professor Hans J. Jensen.

A regular performer with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the San Diego Symphony, Brook Speltz has built an enthusiastic fan base across the United States.

Mr. Speltz has received top prizes in numerous major competitions. He is the recent grand prizewinner of the prestigious Ima Hogg Competition, which led to his highly anticipated debut with the Houston Symphony. He has also claimed top prizes at the ASTA National Competition and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Bronislaw Kaper Awards.

As a soloist, Mr. Speltz has performed concertos with the Curtis Institute of Music Chamber Orchestra, the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, The Brentwood-Westwood Symphony and the Mozart Orchestra of Laguna Beach, among others. He has appeared as recitalist throughout the country, including guest appearances at the Montecito Music Festival, Pacific Serenades, Pasadena Restoration Series, the New Music New Haven series and the Idyllwild Arts Festival. He has performed at many of the most prestigious music festivals, including the Marlboro Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and the Oregon Bach festivals. As a member of the Vuilliaume String and Ares String quartets, Brook has been a resident artist the BRAVO Vail Valley Music Festival and Music from Angel Fire.

Born in Los Angeles, Brook graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2009, following studies with Peter Wiley and Carter Brey. He is currently pursuing a diploma at the Juilliard School, studying with Joel Krosnick.

To view Omega’s artists for the 2009-2010 season, please click here.

To view Omega’s artists for the 2008-2009 season, please click here.

The following performers are winners of the Concert Festival Competition (www.concertfestival.org) and have performed in major concert halls.

The performers this season are: September 17, 2011 Jonathan Bodian, guitar, age 14 October 30, 2011 Carrie Chen*, piano, age 9 November 6, 2011 Christian Wong*, piano, age 9 Ayano Goto*, piano, age 13 Rose Studio November 29, 2011 David Kimyagarev*, piano, age 9 Allen Nektalor*, piano, age 8 April 29, 2012 Michelle Stern*, violin, age 8 Michelle Wong*, piano, age 13 May 6, 2012 Miya Imai*, violin, age 11 May 17, 2012 Beatrice Liang-Gilman*, piano, age 12 *Winner of Concert Festival Competition

Christian Wong Jonathan Bodian Michelle Wong Sean Chen