A dazzling array of musical talents will be showcased throughout the season during these hour-long programs, organized by John Beutel and sponsored by the Stoughton Area Senior Center. All Music Appreciation events are free and open to the public.

Chantel Charis

Violinist Chantel Charis received their Bachelor of Music and Performer’s Certificate in violin performance from Northern Illinois University, under the guidance of Mathias Tacke of the Vermeer Quartet. They were the winner of the NIU concerto competition, and went on to receive a Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where they studied with Cordula Merks (concertmaster of SF Ballet) and Kay Stern (concertmaster of SF Opera). Chantel is currently a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in violin performance and serves as a Teaching Assistant for String Fundamentals and UW’s All-University Strings ensemble.

 Chantel is a dedicated and enthusiastic chamber player as well as a highly experienced orchestral musician, most recently with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Peoria Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Indiana Symphony, and Rockford Symphony Orchestra, for which they also serve as the orchestral librarian. From 2016-2021, Chantel served as concertmaster for the Northern Illinois University Philharmonic, and in 2023 was concertmaster for the UW Madison Symphony Orchestra.

 A certified Suzuki violin instructor, Chantel teaches a thriving private studio and has taught with the NIU Community School of the Arts, Cambridge Studios, Music Academy in Rockford, IL, and the Community Music Lessons program at the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music. In addition to their regular teaching schedule, Chantel has also taught as a guest clinician, most recently at the Willamette Violin Academy in Eugene, OR, and as a member of the Rabin String Quartet (UW-Madison’s graduate string quartet in residence) at the Chapel Hill Chamber Music Workshop.

 Chantel is also a member of the UW Bridge Ensemble, which combines their passions for performing, teaching, and outreach. Chantel was a founding member of the Esoteric Ensemble, which was selected to serve as artist in residence at the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival in Leavenworth, WA.

Alex Fang

A versatile pianist whose playing has been described as “sincere, brilliant, and sensitive,” Alex Fang finds himself at home engaging in solo and collaborative projects featuring standard repertoire as well as lesser known works.

Recent performances include Rachmaninoff’s First Piano Concerto with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra and chamber performances with renowned faculty at the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival. Alex has also performed alongside leading pianists of today in SFJazz’s Beethoven Portrait: 32 Sonatas for Piano. In Seattle, he has premiered pieces in many facets, including as a soloist for Harmonia Orchestra and Chorus, as the collaborative pianist for the Seattle Jewish Chorale, and as the Teaching Assistant for the University of Washington Modern Music Ensemble.

Alex’s musical successes include firsts in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Piano Concerto Competition, firsts in the United States Open Music Competition, and alternate winners in the MTNA Young Artist Performance Piano Competition in Washington and Illinois. He has performed in several international festivals, including the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Orford Academy, the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, and the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival. He also has performed in masterclasses of esteemed artists, including Garrick Ohlsson, Kirill Gerstein, Jeremy Denk, Jerome Lowenthal, Ursula Oppens, Dover Quartet, and Notos Quartett.

Deeply passionate about teaching, Alex teaches students of all ages at Cascade Piano Studio, as well as non-major private lessons and keyboard proficiency classes at the University of Washington. He has also taught in tuition-free programs, including Bridge to Arts and Music in San Francisco, an afterschool program for underserved students, and Northwestern University’s chapter of Academy of Music and Arts for Special Education, a program for students with disabilities.

Alex graduated with a Bachelor’s of Music from Northwestern University and a Master’s of Music from San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Under the guidance of Craig Sheppard, Alex is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music and Arts at the University of Washington. Previously, Alex’s principal teachers have included Sharon Mann, Yoshikazu Nagai, Alan Chow, and James Giles. His studies have additionally included pedagogy training under Robin McCabe, Marcia Bosits, and Iris Hsu Shiotsuki.

Outside of music, Alex holds a combined Bachelor’s/Master’s in computer science from Northwestern University. In his free time, Alex enjoys playing badminton and Tetris, and exploring the hikes and food in the Seattle area.

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