About Us
Our mission is to bring together Knoxville’s exceptional musicians with dedicated audience members to create inspirational chamber music experiences.
Meet the December 6th Artists
Sean Claire
Violinist Sean Claire has been a violinist with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra since 1990, has appeared several times as soloist with the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra, and holds the distinction of being the first of a select group of performers in the KSO’s Music and Wellness program. In 2010 Mr. Claire was appointed to the position of Concertmaster of Symphony of the Mountains (SOTM) with which he has appeared as soloist on several occasions, and he is a very active chamber musician and recitalist in the East Tennessee area. His orchestral credits include the Syracuse Symphony, Nashville Chamber Orchestra, and Asheville Symphony, among others. He is a 15-year veteran of the Crested Butte Music Festival from 2002-2016 which has recently reformed (2024) as Classics at Crested Butte for which he serves as Concertmaster. He recently (2022) joined the faculty of the Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Raised in California, Mr. Claire began his training at age 11, made his first solo appearance with the North Coast Symphony at 15, and at 16, he was admitted to San Diego State University with a full scholarship under the tutelage of Professor Michael Tseitlin; he later continued studies at the Eastman School of Music with renowned Professor, Zvi Zeitlin.
When he’s not in the recording studio or on the stage, he’s putting as many miles on the road bike or mountain bike as possible.
Joshua Ulrich
Violinist and violist Joshua Ulrich has performed internationally as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. His growing artistic reputation is supported by having collaborated with such esteemed artists as James Tocco, Awadagin Pratt, and Anton Nel. He was educated at the Juilliard School and the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.
Joshua’s teachers included renowned pedagogues: Dorothy Delay, Won-Bin Yim, Edward Dusinberre, Geraldine Walther, Hyo Kang, Joel Smirnoff, and Cho-Liang Lin and has performed in masterclasses taught by Midori, Pinchas Zuckerman, Cheeyun Kim, and Igor Ozim. He has been awarded fellowships at the Aspen Music Festival and Bowdoin International Music Festival and was a Shouse Artist at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival. As an orchestral musician, Joshua was a performer with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, an associate musician with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and the Associate Concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Indiana.
Joshua has just completed a post-graduate degree at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where he and the Altius Quartet were the Fellowship String Quartet-in-Residence working with the Takács Quartet.
Adam Ayers
Adam Ayers is a Wisconsin native. He began his study of the cello at a very young age and went on to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree studying with Uri Vardi. He also completed a Master’s Degree at Indiana University studying with Peter Stumpf. He has attended numerous music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival and the Philadelphia International Music Festival, and was also a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 2016-2019 as a section and principal cellist. Adam has performed with the Madison and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras and teaches a studio of young cellists virtually.
While in these orchestras, Adam played under the baton of Riccardo Muti, Christoph Eschenbach, Edo de Waart, Ken-David Masur, Marin Alsop, Jesús López Cobos, Michael Stern, Fabien Gabel, Cristian Măcelaru, Edward Gardner, and Joshua Weilerstein, among others.
He has additional interests in early music, Taiwanese food, and travel.
Ryan Fogg
The playing of pianist Ryan Fogg has been described as “brilliant, with a high level of polish, impressive technical command, musical understanding and sensitivity.” Over the past several years, he has performed over 100 solo recitals in 24 different states, and he made his Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall during his Spring 2024 sabbatical.
In addition to being an active solo recitalist, he is an avid chamber musician, collaborative pianist, and concerto soloist. Since 2006 he has served on the music faculty at Carson-Newman University, where he currently holds the position of Professor of Music and Director of Keyboard Studies. He teaches a wide range of courses, including applied piano, piano literature, piano ensemble, advanced theory, and ear training. He has been recognized with the Teaching
Excellence and Leadership Award and twice with the Faculty Creativity Award. Originally from Houston, Texas, Dr. Fogg holds degrees in piano performance from The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Houston, and East Texas Baptist University.
