Our Story
Beyond the Times was created during a time when everything we knew was uprooted. As musicians, we have learned to perform as soloists, in chamber ensembles, in orchestras, and in bands. But as performers, we thrive upon communication with our audience, giving every detail attention to make our performance as enjoyable as possible.
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The idea for Beyond the Times was drawn from this need to maintain that bond between audience and performer. The COVID-19 pandemic has rendered musicians away from the stage we call home. But we know that even though we are physically apart, we are united in spirit through music performance.
Our mission is to use our musical talents to support those affected by COVID-19 by conveying the timeless power of music through this multi-genre online concert series. We hope to bring inspiration and comfort to all audiences during these times.
About Us
Grace Peng,
Co-Founder
Grace Peng, from Johns Creek, Georgia, began studying piano at the age of five. Her primary teachers have included Elena Cholakova and Raffi Besalyan, and currently, she studies with David Fung. She has won numerous accolades, including being the winner of the Steinway Prodigy Awards and the Montecito Music Festival Int'l Competition,, the 3-time winner of Georgia Music Teacher Association auditions, and a featured soloist with the Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra as the youngest winner of the Ruth Kern Concerto Competition. She has also participated in several festivals, and has had masterclasses with Peter Takacs, Anne Schein, and Natalya Antonova. She was also a featured performer on the Atlanta Music Scene on WABE 90.1. She is the pianist of the Sycamore Piano Trio, which most recently won second place at the Franklin Pond Chamber Music Competition.
Passionate about the power of music, Grace co-founded the concert series Beyond the Times as a conduit for both performers and audiences to share musical experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a leader of her school's chamber music society, she organizes performances at local senior and foster homes, and teaches music for free to underserved kids via virtual classes.
Grace is a rising junior at Northview High School, as well as the managing online editor of the journalism staff. In her spare time, she enjoys graphic design, dance, writing, listening to different kinds of music, and cracking bad jokes with Lexine.
Lexine Feng,
Co-Founder
Lexine Feng is an eighteen year old cellist from Atlanta, Georgia. She is a freshman at the New England Conservatory of Music pursuing a BM in Cello Performance with Laurence Lesser. She has won and placed in many competitions such as the Samuel Fordis Young Artists Concerto Competition, the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Ruth Kern Young Artists Concerto Competition, the MTNA Competition, and the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition. She has also performed as a soloist with the Georgia Philharmonic, the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra as a winner of their respective concerto competitions. Lexine has been a member of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra since 2015 and has been a principal cellist since 2018. She is an active chamber musician in the ASYO Chamber Players Program, and her chamber groups have won and competed in the Franklin Pond Chamber Music Competition and the Coltman National Chamber Music Competition. She has been exposed to extraordinary faculty through participation in the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Credo Music Festival, and Summit Music Festival.
With a passion for serving the community through music, Lexine co-founded Beyond the Times with Grace Peng in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to provide student musicians performance opportunities and financially support those affected by the pandemic. She is actively involved in her church's string ensemble and enjoys reading, stargazing, and baking in her spare time.
Aria Posner,
Publicity Manager
Aria Posner is a sophomore at the Cleveland Institute of Music pursuing a degree in Cello Performance with Dr. Melissa Kraut. Currently, she is a part of the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra as well as multiple chamber ensembles at CIM. Aria was a member of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra for five years (2014-2019), having served as principal cellist for three seasons. She was also a part of the Franklin Pond’s Fall into Spring Chamber Program, where she was a member of the Lykos Cello Quartet and the S4zando String Quartet. Most recently, S4zando won the college division of the Franklin Pond Virtual Chamber Competition. Aria has traveled to several international music festivals including the Sitka International Cello Seminar, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and Sewanee Summer Music Festival.
Aria first soloed with orchestra at age 10 with the MYSO chamber orchestra. Most recently, in March of 2019, Aria was a winner of the Alpharetta Symphony Orchestra concerto competition and performed the first movement of Dvorak Cello Concerto in B Minor. She was also a soloist with the Atlanta Community Orchestra as the 1st place winner of the Ruth Kern Concerto Competition in 2013, and a soloist with the Augusta Symphony Orchestra as the winner of the SOA Concerto Competition in 2013. In 2014 Aria was a featured soloist with the EJCO at Lincoln Center. Other honors include master classes with Paul Watkins, Peter Oundijan and Steven Isserlis.
Aria is an active participant of the CBH Strings fundraising concert series and in 2016, she founded the Concert to Cure performance series, a series of concerts that raise money to support the Ovarian Cancer Institute. In addition to music, Aria enjoys spending time with friends and family as well as hiking, reading, and baking.