George Maxman, violinist

Violinist George Maxman was born in Moscow, Russia. He studied in the Moscow Conservatory, Completing his study in Violin Performance under the tutelage of David Oistrakh. During his time at the conservatory, Mr. Maxman also studied Piano and Composition with Dmitri Kabelevsky. His international career has included Artist-in-Residence at the University of Sydney, Acting Assistant Concertmaster of the Houston Symphony, concertmaster and assistant conductor of the Symphony Nova Scotia, and a career and violinist and teacher in Shanghai. He is a master teacher whose students have won numerous major violin competitions. His spectacular performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto in A Major drew a standing ovation.

Victoria Bond, featured composer

Victoria Bond leads a multifaceted career as composer, conductor, lecturer, and artistic director of Cutting Edge Concerts. Her compositions have been praised by The New York Times as "powerful, stylistically varied and technically demanding.”

 Ms. Bond has composed eight operas, six ballets, two piano concertos and orchestral, chamber, choral and keyboard compositions. Bond’s opera, Clara, based on the life of composer and pianist Clara Schumann, premiered at the Berlin Philharmonic Easter Festival in Baden-Baden, Germany in 2019. Recent compositions include Anne Franks's Tree, commissioned by The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra; The Adventures of Gulliver, commissioned by American Opera Projects through a commissioning grant from Opera America;  The Miracle of Light, a Hanukkah opera, commissioned by The Young Peoples Chorus of NYC and premiered by Chamber Opera Chicago; and The Reluctant Moses, commissioned by The Choral Society of the Hamptons.

 Ms. Bond is the recipient of the Victor Herbert Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Walter Hinrichsen Award, the Perry F. Kendig Award and the Miriam Gideon Prize. She has been awarded honorary doctorates from Hollins and Roanoke Colleges, and Washington and Lee University, and was voted Woman of the Year, Virginia in 1990 and 1991.

Robert Vodnoy, music director

 Music Director Robert Vodnoy has enjoyed a long and illustrious career as a conductor, composer, violinist, and educator. He co-founded the Chamber Orchestra of Sarasota in 2017. Vodnoy made his professional debut as a conductor in 1975 with the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, which he led as music director for 30 years. He was Music Director of the Northwest Indiana Symphony (1976-1996), the Whiting Park Festival Orchestra (2000-present), the Huron Symphony (2010-2015) and has guest conducted orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, and the Pacific Rim. He was Director of Orchestras/Professor of Strings and Music History at Northern State University from 2005-2018.

 Vodnoy holds a BM summa cum laude and MM in composition from Hartt College of the University of Hartford and a DM in Conducting from Indiana University. He also studied conducting at the Monteux School for Conductors and the L'academia Chigiana.