At age 20, flutist Maron Khoury became the youngest musician to join the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Much in demand as a soloist, he has made music with many notable conductors including James Levine, Riccardo Muti, Simon Rattle, Christoph Eschenbach and Daniel Barenboim. He is joined by pianist Junko Ichikawa. Junko has performed all over the world, including solo recitals at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon and many other recital halls around the world.
This concert is made possible, in part, with the generous support of Jim McGuire.
At age 20, virtuoso flutist Maron Khoury became the youngest musician to join the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Born in the village of Tarshiha, Galilee, to a musical family, Khoury started playing the flute at the age of 11. Three years later, he was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia to study with renowned flutist Jeffrey Khaner. Before his enrollment at Curtis, Khoury studied with Eyal Ein-Habar and Uri Shoham (Israel Philharmonic), Sara Andon (Idyllwild Arts Academy), and David Shostak (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra).
Khoury is a recipient of several grants from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Charles M. Kanev Memorial Fellowship. In addition, he is a winner of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship and the Schoen Fellowship Grant in honor of Charlotte White. He performed under many notable conductors, including James Levine, Riccardo Muti, Simon Rattle, Christoph Eschenbach, and Daniel Barenboim.
Khoury has performed numerous concerts and recitals throughout the U.S. and Europe and has a long list of invitations to lead workshops. He has performed with The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under the direction of the renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim. He has also participated in the New York Mostly Mozart Festival and the Lake Tahoe Summer Festival, and has performed as a soloist with the iPalpiti Festival, among others.
Seymour Bernstein once said of Junko Ichikawa's playing, "A dream... You are not allowed to play better than I do," in his documentary film, "Seymour: An Introduction" directed by Ethan Hawke.
Junko Ichikawa was born in Obihiro, Hokkaido. Currently based in New York City, Junko has performed all over the world, including solo recitals at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon, and many other recital halls around the world.
Most recently, she has been performing special invitational solo recitals aboard CUNARD’s Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria super luxury ocean liners. She also collaborates with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Junko is a graduate of Tokyo National University of Arts, New York University, Mannes College of Music, and has earned her DMA at Rutgers University.