About the Musicians

Violinist Elizabeth Rowin serves on the faculty of Oakland University, where she teaches violin and viola and is coordinator of the chamber music program.  She performs with the Michigan Opera Theater Orchestra, is concertmaster of the Warren Symphony Orchestra, and appears regularly on chamber music series such as Chamber Music at the Scarab Club, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Oakland Chamber Players, and Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival. She received the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Mannes College of Music and a Specialist degree in violin performance from the University of Michigan. Her teachers include Ani Kavafian and Paul Kantor.

Joan Hovda performs regularly as Assistant Principal Cellist with the Pontiac Oakland Symphony, and also performs with the Rochester Symphony.  She had previously performed with the Orchestra of Southern Utah and in productions of the Utah Shakespearean Festival. In addition, Ms. Hovda has performed with many of the leading ensembles throughout the Washington D.C. area. She has appeared with the Alexandria (VA) Symphony and Prince William (VA) Symphony, and has also performed with the Annapolis (MD) Symphony, Fairfax (VA) Symphony, and the Roanoke (VA) Symphony. She served in the United States Air Force Band from 1997 until 2001, and also performed with the United States Air Force Orchestra and Chamber Players. Ms. Hovda has performed with the New World Symphony, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and Ann Arbor Symphony. She has participated in the Chautauqua Institution Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, and the East-West International Music Festival in Altenburg, Germany. She received her Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan. Ms. Hovda’s principal teachers have included Jennifer Langham, Lorne Munroe, Nina de Veritch, and Jerome Jelinek.

George Stoffan is Associate Professor of Clarinet at Oakland University and Principal Clarinetist of the Oakland Symphony.  He had previously served as Principal Clarinetist and Concertmaster of the United States Air Force Band in Washington DC.  With this ensemble, he performed in 14 recordings, most of which were recently made available on the Naxos label.  His own recording, A Postcard from Europe, featuring contemporary East European clarinet music, in addition to the Brahms Sonata No. 2, Op. 120, in E-flat Major, was released in January of 2008, and characterized by the Detroit Free Press as benefiting from “Stoffan’s warm expression and confident attack.”  Mr. Stoffan has performed at several International Clarinet Association conferences, and appeared in recital at several universities throughout the country over the past few years.  He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of Michigan, a Master of Music in Clarinet Performance from Indiana University, and a DMA in Clarinet Performance from the University of Wisconsin.  

Yin Zheng has performed in prestigious venues in Europe, US, and her native city Shanghai, China.  A Ukranian Newspaper has described her playing as “an astonishing torrent of images, passages, and themes, amazing the audience with an unbelievable technical precision that was balanced by delicate melodic and dynamic nuances."  She has been featured on leading music stages such as Carnegie Hall and Steinway Hall in New York City and, in worldwide reputable music festivals in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain, Portugal, China and Canada.  She captured first prizes in both the 28th Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition held in New York and the Empire State Piano Competition of the New York State Music Teacher’s Association. Following her early training in Shanghai, she furthered her study at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Belgium and earned her Doctor of Musical Arts from the prestigious Eastman School of Music.  Dr. Zheng currently serves as Assistant Professor of Piano/Coordinator of the Keyboard Program at the Oakland University in Michigan.  She has since been a frequent judicator at both state and regional music competitions as well as performing guest artist recitals and teaching master classes at diverse institutions in Asia and the US.