Acclaimed for his “warm lyrical expressiveness” and incredible technique, cellist Joseph Staten enjoys a varied career in demand as both soloist and chamber musician, with continuous engagements in New York and an invitation to participate in the Marlboro Music Festival for a third year. He has been featured on NPR’s Performance Today, Marlboro Historical Performances, The Violin Channel, WQXR, and many other platforms.
Joseph has collaborated with such artists as Misha Amory, Jonathan Biss, Guy Braunstein, Hsin-Yun Huang, Kim Kashkashian, Joseph Lin, Tatjana Mazurenko, Anna Polonsky, Mark Steinberg, and Carmit Zori, among others. He earned his Master’s at the Juilliard School with Timothy Eddy, and his Bachelor’s and Performance Diploma at the Peabody Institute with Amit Peled, to whom Joseph served as assistant in teaching technique class. Joseph is a DMA candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center, studying with Marcy Rosen. He has been a participant in the prestigious Keshet Eilon Mastercourse.

Jessica Wu, from New York City, is pursuing her Bachelor’s in Medical Humanities at Columbia University while studying violin with Lewis Kaplan at Juilliard through the Columbia-Juilliard Exchange. An accomplished chamber musician, she has participated in multiple programs including the NYYS Chamber Music Program and won the 2022 Lincoln Center Young Ensembles Program, performing at Alice Tully Hall. Jessica has worked with musicians from the New York Philharmonic and collaborated with conductors including Susanna Mälkki and Christian Eschenbach. She has served as concertmaster for both Pre-College Orchestra and LaGuardia Senior Orchestra, and has performed as a soloist with various orchestras including the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra. Her international experience includes performances at Universität Mozarteum Sommerakademie, Bach Virtuosi Festival, National Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Music Institute, Lucerne Festival Academy, and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. A 2022 graduate of LaGuardia High School and Juilliard Pre-College, Jessica has received numerous awards and scholarships. Jessica will be attending the Keshet Eilon 2025 Mastercourse.

Eithan Mikhanovsky was born in August 2013 into a musical family in Jerusalem. Both his father and grandfather are cellists, with his father performing in the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Eithan began his musical journey at age 5 with piano, before taking up the cello at age 7. He currently studies at the music conservatory in Ra’anana, Israel, under the guidance of Luba Rabin.
Eithan’s remarkable talent has earned him numerous accolades, including first place in the All Israel Competition for Young Musicians in March 2023, and first place in the “Flame” International Competition in Paris in July 2023. In January 2024, he achieved a significant milestone when he performed as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
His success has continued, with a first-prize win at the “Vivace” Israel Competition in October 2024. Most recently, in January 2025, Eithan was featured as a soloist in a music festival in Tallinn and Narva, performing under the direction of Maestro Andres Mustonen.
Eithan has participated in the 2023-2024 Keshet Eilon seminars for young musicians.