About
A CULTURAL JEWEL OF SOUTH FLORIDA
The Delray String Quartet has clearly established itself as one of the cultural jewels of the South Florida region. The Quartet has been described by the press as “well-balanced and elegant”, “adding luster to the South Florida music scene”, “with the players ripping into the music with savage abandon”. A string quartet concert becomes “a stirring experience in the hands of the Delray musicians”. Throughout their seasons, The Delray String Quartet has offered a wide variety of chamber works, in addition to commissioning new works from American composers Kenneth Fuchs and Richard Danielpour. Their recordings can be found under the labels of Centaur Records and American Classics. The Delray String Quartet is currently Quartet-in-Residence at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Delray Beach.
Mei Mei Luo, VIOLIN
Mei Mei Luo is recognized as one of South Florida's finest violinists. She served as the Assistant Concertmaster of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra and on its final concert served as Concertmaster.
Miss Luo is the founding First Violinist of the acclaimed Delray String Quartet, which since 2003 has performed wide-ranging repertoire every season throughout three south Florida counties.
As a soloist she has performed the Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn and Bruch Violin Concertos. She is the Concertmaster of Orchestra Miami, The Boca Raton Symphonia, and the Opus One Orchestra (Miami City Ballet). During the 30th Anniversary Season of The Miami City Ballet she performed Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto, and in its 32nd season she and pianist Francisco Renno performed the Stravinsky Duo Concertant onstage with dancers.
Miss Luo has been a regular member of the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival since 2000.
Miss Luo earned her bachelor’s degree from the Shanghai and Shenyang Conservatory of Music. She was the second prize winner of the National Youth Violin Competition of China and is a graduate of the master's program at the University of Miami.
She has recorded the American Quartet by Dvorak with the Delray String Quartet on the Poinciana label, Kenneth Fuchs String Quartet No 5 on the American Classics label, and Richard Danielpour’s String Quartet Nos. 5, 6, and 7 on the Naxos label. Four of her CDs from the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival appear on the Klavier and Harmonia Mundi labels.
Claudio Jaffé, CELLO
The New York Times describes Jaffé as “an elegant and accomplished artist” of “taste, technique, musicianship, and a contagious youthful enthusiasm.” His solo performing began at age 11 with an orchestral debut in his native Brazil and has subsequently performed recitals and guest solos with multiple orchestras in prestigious artistic centers around the world including those in New York City, London, Tokyo, Ottawa, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires. He is principal cellist of the Florida Grand Opera and Palm Beach Symphony. A prizewinner in numerous national and international competitions, Jaffé received four degrees from Yale University including the Doctor of Musical Arts. He served as Dean of the Lynn University Conservatory of Music and created their Preparatory Division, began the Strings Program at Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, was Resident Conductor of the Florida Youth Orchestra for 18 years, and is currently teaching at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Jaffé conducts, performs and teaches at the Santa Catarina Music Festival (FEMUSC) and performs regularly at the Sunflower and Buzzards Bay Music Festivals. His workshops on practicing and bowing techniques were conducted at universities in Brazil and Trinidad.
Valentin Mansurov, VIOLIN
First prize winner of the 14th National String Competition in the former U.S.S.R, has been engaged in worldwide solo and orchestral concerts in countries such as Spain, Germany, France, Greece, Canada, U.S. and Turkey. Valentin began his violin studies as a seven year old at Uspenskiy’s School for Musically Gifted Children in Uzbekistan and studied at Bilkent University in Turkey, the National Conservatory for Music in Toulouse, France, Victoria Conservatory of Music in Canada and Mount Royal College. In April 2002, Valentin received a degree representing performance excellence at the Annual Greater Victoria Festival. Mr. Mansurov performs with and as a member of the Florida Grand Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Atlantic Classical Orchestra, and Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra.
Felicia Besan, VIOLA
Felicia Besan was born in Moldova into a family of musicians. Her passion for music and the arts was nurtured from a young age. Pursuing a professional music career, she attended the George Enescu Music High School in Bucharest, Romania where she participated in and won numerous national and international competitions. A graduate of Lynn University class of 2011, Felicia received her Professional Performance Certificate in 2013 and Master’s Degree in 2015 also from Lynn University under the guidance of Professor Ralph Fielding. She was one of the 15 Young Artists studying and performing chamber music at the Manchester Music Festival in 2014 and 2015. An avid chamber music player, Felicia’s string quartet was one of the winners of the Lynn Conservatory Chamber Music Competition and presented a full chamber music concert as part of the Mainly Mozart Festival in May 2015.