Please join us in our upcoming program, featuring Sandro Tsomaia on Piano, Tabitha Oh on Violin, and, Justin Berchtold, on Clarinet. A Free Will offering will be taken and there is a reception following with beverages and snacks.

A Chicago native, Tabitha first started violin at the age of six. She most recently received a Performance Diploma in Orchestral Studies from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where she studied with Alex Kerr, Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. She graduated magna cum laude in 2018 from Princeton University, with a bachelor’s degree in French and a certificate in Violin Performance. In 2017, she was awarded a fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and in 2013 she served as Assistant Concertmaster of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America under the direction of Valery Gergiev, performing most notably at the BBC Proms in Royal Albert Hall. She has performed in halls throughout Spain, Ireland, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and the United States as Concertmaster of the Princeton University and Chicago Youth Symphony orchestras and has soloed at Symphony Center in Chicago and Ravinia.Tabitha hopes to one-day play in a professional symphony orchestra and is currently preparing to take auditions. She is very happy to be back in Chicago.

Hailed as “Particularly Impressive” by the Wall Street Journal, Alexandre Tsomaia, made his debut at the Newport Festival in Rhode Island, where he premiered 24 preludes of the Georgian composer Sulkhan Tsintsadze in North America. At a young age he appeared as soloist with several orchestras in Georgia, as well as in solo recitals. At the age of 14, he was accepted at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. During his time in the United States, he has appeared as a featured soloist at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, He has appeared on NPR’s “From The Top” Alexandre has performed at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre with the members of the Toradze piano studio, receiving high acclaim from the New York Times. Alexandre entered Indiana University in the fall of 2003 as a student of Evelyne Brancart, continuing his studies with Edward Auer. In March 2006 he won the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale competition. In 2010 Alexandre was “Artist in Residence in Polish Music” while he was a performance diploma student and associate piano instructor at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. In 2011-2012 Alexandre attended the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Italy with Elisso Virsaladze. Currently, Alexandre is an Assistant Music Director at the St. Barnabas Church in Chicago as well as a piano Instructor at DePaul University’s Community Division and at Ravinia Lawndale School. Recent highlights in Alexandre’s career include performance at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of the “Myra Hess” concert series, recital at the Beverly ArtsCenter and at the Chopin Theatre of Chicago and  performances at the Mount Royal Academy in New Hampshire.

Louisiana native Justin Berchtold is an accomplished clarinetist, educator, and entrepreneur based out of Chicago, Illinois. His career began in 2012 when he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps to begin basic training in Parris Island. After earning the title of Marine and graduating the Naval School of Music with honors, he arrived at the Marine Corps Forces Pacific Band in Hawaii, where he was appointed Concertmaster. During this time, the MARFORPAC Band was the first band to be named the United States Marine Corps Band of the Year for three consecutive years, and in 2014, Justin was a featured soloist on MARFORPAC’s award winning recording of Blue Shades. After completing his service in 2016, Justin began his music studies at University of Hawaii while also enjoying an active freelance career in Hawaii, most notably performing on saxophone with Eddie Ortiz and Son Caribe. Justin would move to Chicago, Illinois in 2017 to finish his studies in Music Performance at DePaul University with Julie DeRoche and Wagner Campos. Currently, Justin is a woodwind teaching artist for Ravinia Festival’s El Sistema program in the Lawndale neighborhood. Justin has also partnered with the nonprofit organization Fit Life Project and the Chicago Park District to develop a music program that fosters positive change for the youth of Chicago. He is also the Music Director of Community Congregational Church in Villa Park, Illinois. In his free time, Justin is experimenting with different forms of intellectual property, namely software and education modules tasked with increasing access to music education, and with it, the life-changing benefits, for all.