Brazilian violinist Nathan Amaral was the first-prize winner of the 27th Sphinx Competition and was a 2024 Classic FM “Rising Star.” He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Lucerne Festival, Mozarteum Grosser Saal, and Berlin Philharmonie, and with ensembles such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chineke!, Philharmonia Orchestra, Jenaer Philharmonic, Brazilian Symphony, and Royal College of Music Symphony at the Aldeburgh Festival. He has also been invited to perform with the Krzyzowa Music Festival, Yellow Barn, Open Chamber Music (IMS Prussia Cove), and Kaleidoscope Collective.

Highlights this season include his debut at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, a return to Wigmore Hall, and a recital at the Schubert Club, as well as his debut at Bendigo Music Festival in Australia. He makes his debut at the San Francisco Symphony with this Shenson Spotlight Recital.

In 2021, Amaral founded his own festival, the Week of Musical Integration (Festival SIM), to support and teach young musicians from difficult backgrounds in Brazil. With the belief that music should be accessible to everyone regardless of background, alongside his performing career, his personal mission is to establish an institution for underprivileged music students and people of color in his hometown. He is a Thomastik-Infeld Artist and Coregami Ambassador.

Sophiko Simsive has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, and Amsterdam Concertgebouw with ensembles including the Residentie Orkest, Yale Philharmonia, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Jeugdorkest Nederland, and Manhattan School of Music Philharmonia. A passionate chamber musician, she is the pianist of the Claremont Trio, and has collaborated with artists including Gilbert Kalish and the Calidore String Quartet. Her festival appearances include Yellow Barn, Music Academy of the West, and the Verbier Festival.

A native of the country of Georgia, Simsive earned a doctor of musical arts from the Manhattan School of Music and now serves as a senior coaching assistant at Yale University. She makes her debut at the San Francisco Symphony with this Shenson Spotlight Recital.