ABOUT THE ARTISTS Maria Dell’Orefice, piano Maria, a classical pianist and avid violinist, has shared the stage with performers such as Alexander Markov, Francesca DePasquale and Chris Botti. While Maria frequently presents solo and collaborative performances in the Philadelphia area, she has also performed solo piano in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall as a result of winning several competitions. Maria is the pianist for the Haverford College choirs, Staff Pianist Artist in Residence at Temple University, and Staff Pianist for the Philadelphia Young Pianists’ Academy (PYPA) Piano Festival. Maria has studied under Charles Abramovic, Lambert Orkis, Jane Abbott-Kirk, and Sheila Paige and is an advocate of the Taubman technique. She earned her B.M. in Piano Performance from Baylor University and earned a double M.M. in Piano Performance and Collaborative Piano from Temple University.
Glenn Fischbach, cello Glenn Fischbach is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Orlando Cole and William Stokking. Following his graduation, Mr. Fischbach spent six seasons as principal cellist of the Savannah Symphony Orchestra. Now living in Philadelphia, Mr. Fischbach is active both as a teacher and performer. He maintains a private teaching studio at his home in Drexel Hill and has served as acting principal cellist with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia while performing regularly as a substitute musician with The Philadelphia Orchestra.
John Koen, cello John Koen has been a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1990. He was promoted to Acting Assistant and then Acting Associate Principal Cello from 2011 to 2016. He graduated from The Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with David Soyer and Peter Wiley of the Guarneri Quartet. He has collaborated in chamber music with Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Christoph Eschenbach, Stephen Hough, Lang Lang, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and many others. Mr. Koen became the Music Director of The Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble in 2022. He performs as a recitalist, and as a soloist with orchestras across America as well as in Europe. He has given master classes in universities from Seoul to Sofia and has been artist faculty at Temple University since 2006. His recording of "Seven Mad Gods" by Robert Maggio was nominated for GLAAMA’s "Best Instrumental Performance.” He received the C. Hartman Kuhn award from The Philadelphia Orchestra for “a musician who has shown both musical ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the musical standards and reputation of The Philadelphia Orchestra.” His interests include reading, languages, traveling, food and health, technology, and playing with his two cats.
Ovidiu Marinescu, cello Ovidiu Marinescu is internationally recognized as a cellist, composer, conductor, and educator. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Weill Hall, Merkin Hall (New York), the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Holywell Room in Oxford, Oriental Art Center in Shanghai, and has appeared as soloist with the London Symphony, New York Chamber Symphony, the National Radio Orchestra of Romania, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Helena, Great Falls, Portsmouth, and Newark Symphonies, Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Philharmonic, Limeira Symphony in Brazil, Orquesta de Extremadura in Spain, Sinfonietta Vidin (Bulgaria) and most of the professional orchestras in his native Romania. Marinescu’s compositions have been performed in Romania, China, Brazil, Bulgaria, Russia, Guatemala, Montenegro, and across the United