John Wilson, Piano; Robin Hansen, Violin; Ani Bukujian, Violin; Elizabeth Prior, Viola; Saul Richmond-Rakerd, Cello
Amy Beach: Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 150
Samuel Coleridge Taylor: Piano Quintet No. 1 in G Minor
John Wilson stands at the forefront of American piano music, celebrated for his extraordinary artistry and commanding presence. As the pianist for the San Francisco Symphony and Principal Keyboard for the Marin Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and Oakland Symphony, he has solidified his reputation as one of the most sought-after pianists of his generation. His performances are hailed for their technical brilliance and profound musicality. The 2024-2025 season features highly anticipated appearances at Carnegie Hall, the San Francisco Symphony Chamber Series, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Wilson will showcase his versatility by performing Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy” with the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra and Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Marin Symphony Orchestra. Wilson’s recording achievements include performing on the GRAMMY-winning recording of Michael Tilson Thomas’s Meditations on Rilke. With the release of GRACE: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas on PENTATONE, he continues to shape the landscape of American piano music through his innovative recordings.
Robin Hansen, concertmaster of the Midsummer Mozart Festival for twenty years, is a native of Berkeley. Raised in a musical family, she played professionally with the San Francisco Ballet in high school. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from U.C. Berkeley, receiving Hertz fellowships to study in Los Angeles and Munich, Germany. She joined Michael Tilson Thomas’ New World Symphony in Miami Beach but returned to the Bay Area to play full-time with the Ballet. Robin has performed extensively in the contemporary genre with the SF Contemporary Chamber Players, Ear Play, and Composer, Inc. She performs regularly with the San Francisco Opera and has been concertmaster at the Stern Grove Festival for the SF Ballet Orchestra where she holds the first violin position. In addition, she is a member of the Skywalker Symphony which records movie and video score projects at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County. She has toured Europe with the San Francisco Symphony and the United States with the Israel Philharmonic under the baton of Zubin Mehta.
Ani Bukujian was born into a musical family and started playing the violin at two and a half. When her grandmother gave her a toy violin, she would stand in front of the television while imitating famous violinists, such as Sarah Chang and Itzhak Perlman. Ani studied with her father exclusively until the age of 15.
A native of Los Angeles, she is a winner of numerous musical competitions, including three gold medals at the World Championship of Performing Arts, and first place at the Bach Competition, the ASTA Annual National Solo Competition, and the Pasadena String Festival. At 7, she was a solo performer in her debut concert with a chamber orchestra at the Alex Theatre in California. Ani was also part of the Viva-Vivaldi All-Girl Orchestra in Washington DC, as the youngest 1st violin in the orchestra. At 8, she was asked to perform a solo piece with the Bakersfield Symphony, where she played one of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Summer). As an AGBU scholarship recipient, she performed at Weill Recital Hall in her freshman year at The Julliard School in 2012.
Ani has recently performed as a member of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and has served as Concertmistress in the Miami Summer Music Festival, where she played the solo of Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra. She has also participated in festivals such as the Bowdoin Music Festival and the Fontainebleau Festival in France. She has performed in venues such as David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie’s Stern, Zankel, and Weill Hall as a chamber and orchestral musician and a solo performer. Ani has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Kim Kashkashian, Ian Swensen, and Dimitri Murrath and participated in masterclasses with teachers including Andres Cardenes, Aaron Rosand, Ruggiero Ricci, Abraham Shtern, Gerard Poulet, Dmitry Berlinsky, Ida Haendel and Pamela Frank among others.
She holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from The Juilliard School where she studied with Lewis Kaplan from 2011 to 2015 and Laurie Smukler from 2015 to 2017. She attended the San Francisco Conservatory where she studied with the concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony, Alexander Barantschik. Ani recently won the position of Principal Second violinist of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.
An active Bay Area violist, Elizabeth Prior is the principal violist with the Santa Rosa Symphony and a season substitute with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. Elizabeth is also the Assistant Principal violist with the Marin Symphony, and season substitute with the San Francisco Opera. She performs occasionally with the San Francisco Symphony and the Pittsburgh (PA) Symphony and is a member of the New Century Chamber Orchestra. Other orchestral credits include the Freiburg Philharmonic (Associate principal) and the Cape Town Symphony. She has toured and worked with Südwestfunk (Southwest Radio, Germany), Stuttgart Radio, Basel Symphony, and the Mannheim Opera Orchestras.
A native of South Africa, she was a prizewinner in the International String Competition in Pretoria and made her debut performance at Carnegie Hall with the Russian Chamber Orchestra.
She tours regularly as a soloist with the Chamber Ensemble of Cologne in France and was recently featured with the Santa Rosa Symphony.
Other solo and chamber music engagements include: the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival (Florida), Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Midsummer Mozart, and “Chamber Music San Francisco.” She has been a member of the Bay Area’s Farallon Quintet and performed internationally for thirteen years with Maestro Donald Runnicles accompanying her on the piano.
In 2017 Elizabeth launched her album, “Viola Romance,” with pianist Miles Graber. The album is available on Spotify and Apple Music
Saul Richmond-Rakerd is a San Francisco-based cellist, and member of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra since 2023. He began his cello studies at the age of 9 in his hometown of Okemos, Michigan, and continued to study it alongside piano until he concluded high school. He went on to Brown University, where he received degrees in both Physics and Anthropology. While there, he completed the Applied Music Program and served as principal of the Brown University Orchestra, performed as a soloist, and played regularly with several chamber music groups. After graduating, Saul decided to immerse himself in music full-time, and so, after attending the Castleton Music Festival in 2013, he moved to Florence, Italy to pursue a Biennio di Violoncello, and to play professionally as principal cellist of the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana. After completing his diploma, he moved to San Francisco in 2015 to begin a Master of Music degree at the San Francisco Conservatory under the tutelage of Jennifer Culp – a degree that he completed in December 2016.
Throughout his career, Saul has enjoyed playing in a wide range of settings. He has played as a concerto soloist with the Okemos Symphony Orchestra and the Brown University Orchestra, as well as in numerous recitals, both in the US and abroad. He has been awarded First Prize at the Barbara Fritz Chamber Music Award (2016), First Prize at the Luigi Boccherini Chamber Music Competition in Lucca, Italy (2016), Second Prize at the Dorothy Van Waynen Competition for Strings (2016), Primo Arco Premio (2014), Weston Prize for the Arts (2013), and the Buxtehude Premium Prize in Music (2012). Saul has been a member of many ensembles, both traditional and non. He is an active performer of chamber music throughout the Bay Area, and he is also currently a member of Luminance, a cello-harp-trumpet trio drawing on Latin, classical, and jazz roots. He was a founding member of both the Capitoline Trio and Quattro alla Volta, a cello quartet with whom he performed during his time in Italy. He greatly enjoys playing in symphonic settings as well and has played with many different orchestras throughout his music career. Alongside his work with the San Francisco Ballet, he is an extra cellist with the San Francisco Opera, and currently serves as assistant principal cellist in the Santa Cruz Symphony, as a section cellist with the Monterey Symphony, and as co-principal cellist of One Found Sound.
