MEET THE PERFORMERS:

Praised for “fine sensitivity in her solos” by Chicago Classical Review, Allyson ​ Goodman (viola) enjoys a varied and vibrant career as a soloist, chamber and ​ ​ ​ orchestral musician. Recently appointed Principal Violist of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra/Washington National Opera, Allyson also performs regularly in venues throughout the D.C. area such as the Phillips Collection, the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, and Dumbarton Church.

Winning Gold and Grand Prize at the 2013 Young Texas Artists Music Competition, Allyson has also been a prizewinner at the Irving M. Klein International Competition, the National Federation of Music Clubs competition, and the Musicians Club of Women Competition, amongst others. She has performed as a soloist with the New World Symphony, the Allen Philharmonic, and the Conroe Symphony, and has performed with the Miró Quartet and members of the Cavani and Cleveland Quartets.

An enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music, she premiered Marty Regan’s chamber opera, The Memory Stone, for string quartet and four voices with the Houston Grand Opera. She also performed György Kurtág’s Signs, Games, and Messages for solo viola at the Spoleto Music Festival in Charleston, SC, and Bernard Rand’s Now Again with acclaimed mezzo soprano Susanne Mentzer at Rice University’s Syzygy series.

Allyson has been a fellow at the Perlman Music Program’s Chamber Music Institute, the Tanglewood Music Center, the Colorado College Music Festival, and the Margess International Festival in Switzerland. Her primary teachers include renowned pedagogue Roland Vamos and James Dunham of the Grammy-winning Cleveland Quartet. After completing her studies, Allyson spent one year as a viola fellow with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, FL, under the direction of . Allyson spends her summers performing at the Artosphere Festival in Arkansas, The Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming, and the Caroga Lake Music Festival in New York. When she’s not playing the viola, Allyson enjoys catching as many shows at the Kennedy Center as possible and exploring Washington D.C. on her bicycle.

From Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, pianist Natalia Kazaryan has been hailed by The New ​ ​ York Sun for her “prodigious ability,” remarking that she “immediately established an atmosphere of strength and confidence.” She is “a marvel among marvels ... fascinating, elegant” (Nice-Matin) and her playing is dynamically “lovely, lyrical ... beautiful” (Classical Post). Passionate about programming works by female composers, she recently curated and performed a recital of all women composers at the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., a performance The Washington Post named “one of the best classical concerts of the summer 2019.” She reprises the program for “All Classical Portland” (OR), and continues to expand her series of lecture-recitals showcasing works of female composers, including a recent performance with the National Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the centennial of the 19th amendment (women’s suffrage). She also was recently appointed as a board member of the International Alliance for Women in Music. Her Philadelphia recital debut on Astral’s series in December 2019 includes a commission by Alexandra Gardner. Also upcoming is a solo recital for Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series as well as recitals in Michigan, Florida, and Washington DC. Ms. Kazaryan recently performed Rachmaninoff’s No. 2 with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra and appeared at the Kennedy Center and the National Gallery of Art. She has given recitals in Detroit, Key West, and in Washington, D.C. on the Smithsonian Steinway Series, and appeared in an all-Messiaen concert at The Church of the Epiphany. She has performed with the Ann Arbor Symphony, and appeared in New York’s Merkin Concert Hall and Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Ms. Kazaryan enjoys an active performing career across Europe. She has appeared in such venues as the Schloss Mirabell in Salzburg, Théâtre des Variétés in Monaco, Auditorio Sony in , and the Musée Carnavalet and Salle Cortot in Paris. She performs regularly at the Palazzo Tornabuoni in Florence, and has participated in the IMS Prussia Cove Master Classes in Cornwall, England. Ms. Kazaryan began studying piano at the age of six, and performed as soloist with the Tbilisi State Chamber Orchestra just one year later. A winner of Astral’s 2016 National Auditions, she has also captured top prizes in numerous international competitions, including the Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition, the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition, and the Second New York Piano Competition. In 2012, she was the First Prize winner of the Concours FLAME in Paris and the Second Prize winner of Concours international de piano d’Ile de France. The first Juilliard student to participate in the Carla Bruni-Sarkozy exchange with the Paris Conservatoire, Ms. Kazaryan studied piano in Paris with Michel Béroff and chamber music with Valérie Aimard. An active chamber musician, she took part in the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship, dedicated to collaboration between The Juilliard School, the Paris Conservatoire, and the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien. She later won both a Fulbright Grant and a Harriett Hale Woolley Scholarship to Paris to continue her studies, with a focus on ’s Vingt Regards sur l’enfant Jésus. Natalia Kazaryan studied in the preparatory division of the Tbilisi Music Conservatory with Alla Nakashidze. She holds both a Bachelor and a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School, where she studied under Jerome Lowenthal and Matti Raekallio. From 2013-2015, she studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, under Dimitri Bashkirov, and in June 2014 received a “Sobresaliente” Award from the hands of Queen Sofía of Spain for outstanding work and excellence. She completed doctoral studies at the University of Michigan under Logan Skelton and holds an adjunct piano faculty position at Howard University.

James Lee () was born in the San Francisco bay area, where he made his debut with the San ​ Francisco Symphony Orchestra at the age of 15. He received his bachelor's degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and his master's degree from The Juilliard School. That same year, he became a member of the National Symphony Orchestra. At Juilliard, Mr. Lee served as principal of both the Juilliard Orchestra and the Juilliard Chamber Orchestra. As winner of the prestigious Juilliard Cello Competition, he was a featured soloist at Alice Tully Hall. Mr. Lee's teachers have included Margaret Rowell, Bonnie Hampton, Leonard Rose, and Joel Krosnick.

Mr. Lee appeared as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra in the 1988 world premiere of Andreas Makris' Concertante under the baton of Mstislav Rostropovich. In 2011, Mr. Lee performed the Crouching Tiger Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap with composer ​ ​ Tan Dun. He will also be featured with two other colleagues from the cello section in Penderecki's Concerto Grosso for Three and Orchestra in April 2015 with .

A devoted chamber musician, Mr. Lee is the artistic director and founder of the National Chamber Players at Episcopal. Mr. Lee is also a member of the cello quartet "4inCorrespondence".

Teri Hopkins Lee (violin) received her bachelor's degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of ​ Music and her master’s degree from the Mannes School of Music. While pursuing her master’s degree, she attended the Tanglewood Festival where she won a scholarship to study at the Britten-Pears School in England. A native Californian, Ms. Lee moved to the D.C. area in 1985 with her husband, NSO cellist James Lee. At that time she served as Concertmaster for the Handel Festival Orchestra, the Washington Bach Consort and performed her debut recital at the Corcoran Gallery. In 1989, Ms. Lee became a member of the NSO and one year later won an audition to join the first violin section. A devoted chamber musician, Ms. Lee is a member of the National Chamber Players, now celebrating their 11th year in residence at Episcopal High School. In 1999, Ms. Lee appeared as a featured soloist with the NSO in the Vivaldi Festival.

Derek Powell was appointed to the National Symphony Orchestra in 2020 by music director ​ . Prior to joining the NSO, Derek served in the military as a violinist in the U.S Army Band “Pershing’s Own” where he performed at the White House for State visits and other high profile events. As a military musician he also regularly performed in service of congressional and military leadership in addition to giving performances to the general public. Derek is a frequent guest artist with the grammy-nominated contemporary music ensemble Inscape and is a regular performer-educator with Sound Impact, a music collective using music education and engagement to further positive social change. Derek also coaches with the NSO’s Youth Fellowship program and at the DC Youth Orchestra Program. Derek earned a Bachelor of Science double major with honors in neurobiology and music from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and graduated with his Master of Music degree from Rice University, where he was awarded the Distinguished Fellowship in Violin. Derek continued his studies as a fellow in the New World Symphony, “America’s Orchestral Academy”, in Miami Beach, Fl under the baton of music director Michael Tilson Thomas. His primary teachers include David Perry, Kathleen Winkler, Felicia Moye, and Eugene Purdue. In the summer Derek performs with the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra and has previously performed with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland and the Strings Festival Orchestra in Steamboat Springs, CO. Derek lives in DC with his wife Allyson Goodman, Principal Violist of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra.