Luzerne Music Center Faculty String Quartet In-Person

Luzerne Music Center’s Faculty String Quartet is an ensemble of four renowned musicians who serve as faculty at Luzerne Music Center's summer camp in Lake Luzerne, NY. In addition to a performance featuring a variety of repertoire, audience members are invited to ask the musicians questions about the music, instruments, their lives as professional musicians, and more. This program is an opportunity for audiences of all ages to enjoy live chamber music and connect with professional musicians in an intimate setting. No registration needed. Join us, and unearth your love of music!

Musician biographies:

• Michael Casimir: Michael Casimir is a violist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and served as Principal Violist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2022. He won second place in the 2015 Sphinx Competition and the grand prize at the 2013 Hudson Valley String Competition. He earned his undergraduate degree at The Juilliard School (studying with Heidi Castleman and Misha Amory) and continued studies at the Curtis Institute of Music (studying with Roberto Díaz, Hsin-Yun Huang, and Ed Gazouleas). He has performed with the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Casimir has mentored high school students in Philadelphia, conducted the String Ensemble at Normandy High School in St. Louis, and in 2021 became Orchestra Director at Lindenwood University. In 2023 he served on the faculty at the Heifetz Institute, performed as a guest artist at Greenwood Music Camp, and was principal viola in the Mainly Mozart Orchestra. His recording credits include Disney's 2019 "The Lion King" soundtrack and "Space Jam: A New Legacy." He is active in solo and chamber projects, including playing, recording, filming, and editing. Michael Casimir joined the LMC faculty in 2025.

• Tudor Dornescu: A native of Romania, violinist Tudor Dornescu earned a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the National University of Music in Bucharest and was an Erasmus exchange student at Cork School of Music in Ireland. He holds a Master’s degree in Violin Performance from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Violin Performance (2013) from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts. Tudor has performed as a soloist, recitalist, and orchestral musician across the United States, Asia, and Europe in venues such as Shanghai City Theater, the Kennedy Center, Jordan Hall, Symphony Hall (Boston), Zilkha Hall (Houston), Concertgebouw Amsterdam, National Concert Hall (Ireland), Romanian Athenaeum, and National Radio Hall (Romania). Since 2007 he has taught and performed in the Boston area and performs regularly with ensembles including Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston University Marsh Chapel Collegium, Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra, and Harvard Radcliffe Choral Society. As a chamber musician he performs regularly with his wife, violinist Aleksandra Labinska, as a member of Mirage Violin Duo. Tudor performs on a Johann Basta violin from the beginning of the past century. Tudor Dornescu joined the LMC faculty in 2018.

• Kayla Herrmann: Kayla Herrmann serves as Program Director at Silver Music in New York City. She has performed at international chamber music festivals including Ravinia (Highland Park, Illinois), Ameropa (Czech Republic), Lake Lugano (Switzerland), and Dark Music Days (Iceland). She has studied and collaborated with members of the Vermeer Quartet, Martinů Quartet, and Czech Philharmonic String Quartet. Ms. Herrmann earned a Bachelor’s degree in music from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and a Master’s degree in music from The Hartt School, where she received a full scholarship as a member of the 20/20 Chamber Ensemble. She was awarded the Kenan Fellowship at Lincoln Center and completed a two-year Suzuki method training with Nancy Hair. She lives in New York City with her husband, pianist Marko Stuparevic, with whom she performs regularly. Kayla Herrmann joined the LMC faculty in 2020.

• Aleksandra Labinska: Aleksandra Labinska holds a Doctorate in Violin Performance from Boston University (studying with Professor Yuri Mazurkevich). She has performed extensively in Canada, France, the Netherlands, China, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Austria, Japan, and the United States. Aleksandra is on the violin faculty at the College of the Holy Cross and teaches chamber music on the violin faculty of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. Her previous appointments include teaching at Boston University Tanglewood Institute’s Violin Workshop and South Shore Conservatory. She is a member of Virtuoso Soloists of New York (with a residency at The Cabot) and performs regularly with Voyage Piano Trio; she toured China with Mirage Violin Duo. Her awards include the Ronald P. Matheson Violin Award (Banff Centre for the Arts), the Felix Galimir Chamber Music Award (University of Toronto), and the Russian Music Festival Award for outstanding contribution to music education. Aleksandra has participated in festivals such as the Banff Centre Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music Academy and Festival, the International Bach Festival with Helmuth Rilling at University of Toronto, Zenon Brzewski International Music Courses in Łańcut (Poland), the St. Lawrence String Quartet Chamber Music Seminar at Stanford University, Castleton Festival under Lorin Maazel, and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. She performs and records with the Albany Symphony Orchestra (Grammy-winning), Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Symphony New Hampshire, and other Boston-based ensembles, and has appeared as a soloist with Mooredale Concerto Players (Toronto) and Ostinato International Chamber Orchestra (Poland). Aleksandra Labinska joined the LMC faculty in 2018.