Jean-Marie Leclair: Sonata for 2 violins Op. 3, No. 6 in D major
Bohdana Frolyak: Partita–meditation for two violins — 2007
Sergei Prokofiev: Sonata for 2 violins in C major, Op. 56
Tom Stone was born in Chicago where he studied music with Hillel Kagan. At age 16 he attended Tanglewood where he coached with Eugene Lehner of the Kolisch Quartet and played in an orchestra under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. After this experience, his focus on music became increasingly intense. Mr. Stone went on to pursue musical studies at the Eastman School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music. His major teachers have included Donald Weilerstein, Zvi Zeitlin, Gyorgy Sebok, and Bonnie Hampton. Mr. Stone has also performed in masterclasses for Issac Stern and members of the Amadeus, Emerson, Juilliard Quartets, and LaSalle Quartets. He has performed with many distinguished artists including Awadagin Pratt, Leon Fleisher, Zuill Bailey, Jon Nakamatsu, Ian Hobson, and Donald Weilerstein.
During his 20 years as a founding member of the Cypress String Quartet, Mr. Stone performed in major musical venues all over the world including the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, and the Ravinia Festival. He also commissioned and premiered works by George Tsontakis, Jennifer Higdon, Benjamin Lees, Philippe Hersant, and Elena Ruehr.
Mr. Stone has served as artistic director of the Centrum Chamber Music Festival and has worked closely with educational and arts organizations throughout the country to conceptualize and implement some of the nation’s most innovative educational programs. He has also served as treasurer of the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music, board member of Chamber Music America, and panelist for the San Francisco Arts Commission. Mr. Stone plays on a violin made in Cremona, Italy by Carlos Bergonzi in 1734.
A native of Berlin, Germany, violinist Iris Stone has been a member of the New Century Chamber Orchestra since the 1995/96 season under Stuart Canin and has been performing with the orchestra since 2001.
As part of the Stone-Zimmermann violin-piano duo and chamber musician in various ensembles, Iris has performed all over Europe and the United States. She recently performed and recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle. The concert was telecast live on German national television and recorded on the EMI label.
As a member of the Munich Chamber Orchestra, a world-class touring ensemble, Iris performed in the great concert halls of Europe, Asia, and America on prestigious series such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York and San Francisco Performances. She has also been a member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, has been Assistant Concertmaster of San Francisco’s Women’s Philharmonic and Principal 2nd Violin of the Monterey Symphony Orchestra.
Iris first came to the United States in 1993 as a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright scholarship. Subsequently, she worked with violinist Donald Weilerstein, a founding member of the Cleveland Quartet, and was granted a long-term residency at the Banff Center for the Arts in Canada.
