Aria & Ava Posner
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Aria Posner, cello
Ava Posner, piano
Aria Posner
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.
Ava Posner
Ava Posner, a freshman at Swarthmore College, started her piano education at age five with Mary Williams and has been pursuing her studies ever since.
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Her piano honors include both first place winner (Conference Recitalist) in the GMTA competition (2012) and Outstanding Performer (2013 and 2014), winner of the NDMTA’s Sonata Competition (2011 and 2013), and four times winner of the AMTA’s Romantic and Impressionistic competition (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016).
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In 2017 Ava was the winner of the Alpharetta Symphony Concerto Competition and performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat (1st movement) with the orchestra in the spring of 2018. In 2019 she played in masterclasses for renowned pianists Conrad Tao, Jonathan Biss, Nikolai Lugansky, and Ian Hobson. She was also invited to play for the President of MTNA, Dr. Scott McBride Smith, as well as the famous conductor and violinist Peter Oundjian.
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In the summer of 2016 she attended the piano program at Belmont University and in 2017 she attended the Reinhardt Advanced Piano Academy. Since 2016 Ava has been a regular performer on the Young Performer’s Concert Series of the Atlanta Music Club as well as other venues, including the concert series at Congregation Bet Haverim and the ​Concert to Cure​ series, an annual fundraiser for the Ovarian Cancer Institute.
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Ava’s teacher, Juilliard graduate Edith Schiff, has been teaching for over 65 years and is dedicated to fostering a lifelong relationship with the piano for her students. Ava has had the honor of studying with her for the past four and a half years.