Cellist Louise Dubin with cellist Julia Bruskin and pianist Dena Levine

Music at Asbury is delighted to celebrate the release of the album, Passages, featuring French cello music from the early 19th century to today. The album includes works by Debussy, Faure, Hersant, Koechlin, Poulenc, as well as world premiere recordings of pieces by Chopin and Auguste Franchomme.

An “artist of refined taste and musicianship” (Strad Magazine), Louise Dubin's festival appearances include Norfolk, BargeMusic, Tanglewood, Savannah, and Caramoor. With Stefon Harris’ African Tarantella nonet she’s played Carnegie Hall, Jazz Standard, and Chicago’s Symphony Hall. Solo performances in Paris at Salle Gaveau, Reid Hall, CRR, and the International Cello Festival (Beauvais). She's premiered 4 works by Roger Stubblefield, including his Divertissement for Cello and Orchestra in New York (2023). Formerly Principal Cellist of Charleston Symphony and Auckland Philharmonic, she now performs with Radio City, Broadway shows, Baltimore and NJ Symphonies, and many other ensembles. Her album The Franchomme Project was acclaimed in Canada, UK, France and the US, where Strings Magazine hailed it "rare musical treat that unfolds with radiant energy.” Her book Selected Works by Auguste Franchomme (Dover Publications) was a Palisca award nominee. Louise Dubin has been featured on NPR’s Classical Tracks, Classical Classroom, Radio France, and Performance Today.

Since her concerto debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at age 17, cellist Julia Bruskin has established herself as one of the premiere cellists of her generation. She performed Samuel Barber's Cello Concerto at Avery Fisher Hall and has also been soloist with the Nashville Symphony, Utah Symphony, Virginia Symphony and Pacific Symphony, among others. Her recent CD of music by Beethoven, Brahms, and Dohnanyi was praised by Fanfare Magazine for its "exquisite beauty of sound and expression." As a founding member of the critically acclaimed Claremont Trio, Ms. Bruskin won 1st prize in the 2001 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and was awarded the first ever Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award. Ms. Bruskin has performed at La Jolla Summerfest, Chamber Music Northwest, Mostly Mozart, Caramoor, Saratoga, Bard and Norfolk and toured with the Musicians from Ravinia. Julia Bruskin has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since 2014, where she also helps curate the orchestra's chamber music series at Carnegie's Weill Hall.

Pianist Dena Levine is Associate Professor of Music at Seton Hall University, where she is also Director of the Classical Concert Series. As co-founder and pianist of the award-winning Laurel Trio, she was a winner of the Concert Artists Guild Competition and ProPiano Debut Series. In addition to the trio’s residency on WQXR Radio, their performances included Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Gardner Museum, the the La Jolla Discovery Series, and the Sacramento Festival of New American Music. Dena has also been a guest on the People's Symphony Series at Town Hall in New York, the Premiere Performances Series in St. Louis, and was a participant at the Tanglewood and Marlboro Music Festivals. Her performances have brought her to Taiwan, Seoul, France, Holland, Germany, and Spain. She co-founded the Portland (ME) Chamber Music Festival, and was Co-Artistic Director from 1994 - 2010. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a Master’s and Doctorate from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and has recorded for the CRI label.

Born in Alsace, cellist Philippe Muller has pursued a multi-faceted career as both a soloist and as a member of numerous chamber music ensembles. For seven years, he worked with Pierre Boulez's Ensemble Intercontemporain, which enabled him to understand and manage the music of our time. Philippe Muller has been invited to give master classes at prestigious institutions around the world, particularly in Kyoto, Japan, where for twenty-two years he has been involved in an academy of french music. He performs primarily in Europe, but also in Canada, the United States, Latin America, Japan, and Korea. Since 1979, he has trained an impressive number of young cellists as a faculty member of the Conservatoire National de Paris, succeeding his teacher, Andre Navarra. His extensive discography covers a range of works from Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Brahms to Fauré, Ravel, Martinu, Malec, and Merlet, as well as the complete suites of J. S. Bach.

Cellist Julia Bruskin

Pianist Dena Levine

Cellist Philippe Muller