Shana Stone is a thoughtful, engaging musical artist and classically trained flutist devoted to interpreting and sharing music with listeners. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Georgia, where she serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the UGA Flute Studio and performs with the Southern Wind Quintet, and she intends to focus on growing her teaching studio and pursuing an orchestral career. She earned her Master’s degree in Flute Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (where she studied with Dr. Erika Boysen and Dr. Tim Hagen) and her Bachelor’s degree in Flute Performance from the University of Georgia (where she studied with Professor Angela Jones-Reus). Other teachers include Daniel Self, Kristen Holritz, Elizabeth Klein Teplitsky, and Emily Zirlin.
Actively involved in her field, Shana has premiered new compositions, made flute quartet arrangements of some of her favorite hymns and folk tunes, and performed with the Athens Master Chorale, the Georgia Children’s Chorus, and various chamber ensembles and large ensembles during her music studies. By audition selection, she has performed in masterclasses for Bonita Boyd, Leone Buyse, Nicole Esposito, Sir James Galway, Marianne Gedigian, Michael Hasel, Trudy Kane, Chelsea Knox, Emmanuel Pahud, and Carol Wincenc. As a member of the UGA Flute Quartet, she performed at the 2018 National Flute Association convention and the 2019 Florida Flute Association (FFA) Convention, and she competed as a finalist in the 2019 FFA Collegiate Young Artist Competition. She also won 2nd prize in the 2019 Flutissimo! Solo Artist Competition and 3rd prize in the 2021 Raleigh Area Flute Association Artist Competition.
Pianist Sonny Yoo is rapidly gaining recognition for the uncommon versatility of his musical projects as well as the depth and excellence he brings to each area of his work. Winner of the University of Georgia Concerto Competition, he recently performed Brahms’s monumental Second Concerto with the UGA Symphony Orchestra. Other recent solo highlights include a showcase at Steinway Hall in New York City performing 20th-century piano etudes from Debussy to Lowell Liebermann.
As a chamber musician, Sonny is a member of the Aurora Piano Quartet. The dedicated ensemble has performed multiple recitals and participated in the 2019 Chamber Music Athens Festival where the group worked with members of the Jupiter String Quartet, acclaimed pianist Peter Frankl (Yale), and virtuoso violinist Soovin Kim (New England Conservatory).
You can find the duet’s 2023 20th Century Music Competition performance here.