OUR ENSEMBLE & STAFF
KENJI BUNCH, Artistic Director
MONICA OHUCHI, Executive Director
“Fear No Music’s husband-and-wife leadership team—Artistic Director Kenji Bunch and Executive Director Monica Ohuchi —have spent the past five years making FNM the best kind of Portland hybrid: a classical ensemble with unimpeachable performance credentials, a love for local and contemporary composers, and a mature sense of social justice and responsibility.”
Ensemble Members
KEIKO ARAKI, violin
AMELIA LUKAS, flute
MICHAEL ROBERTS, percussion
ARWEN MYERS, voice
JAMES SHIELDS, clarinet
INÉS VOGLAR BELGIQUE, violin
NANCY IVES, cello
JEFFREY PAYNE, piano
Guest Performers: 2023-24 Season
KIRT PETERSON, clarinet
A native Oregonian, Kirt has performed in many different genres on multiple woodwinds. Early in his career he became very busy in the Portland musical theater scene, performing in dozens of productions including “Damn Yankees” with Jerry Lewis, “Hello Dolly” with Carol Channing, and “Kiss of the Spider Woman” with Chita Rivera. Additionally, Kirt has performed with many Motown artists, including “The Temptations,” “The Four Tops,” “The O’Jays” and Mary Wilson. He has also performed with jazz greats Terence Blanchard, Dianne Reeves, Joe Locke, Alex Acuna, Brian Blade, Joe Williams and Dizzy Gillespie; and entertainers Robert Goulet, Joan Rivers, Steve Allen, Bob Newhart and Don Rickles. Kirt performs regularly with the Oregon Symphony. In 2016, 2018 and 2022 he was a featured soloist with the orchestra, performing John William’s “Escapades” for alto sax, from the soundtrack for the movie “Catch Me If You Can.” Other ensembles Kirt has performed with include the Seattle Symphony, 45th Parallel PDX, Third Angle New Music, The Resonance Ensemble, Portland Chamber Orchestra, Pink Martini, Young Composer’s Project and in the world premiere of Darrell Grant’s “Territory” ensemble. When not busy performing or working in his career in maritime logistics, Kirt lives in Beaverton with his wife and cat, helping tend to their 245 bush rose garden.
SHANSHAN ZENG, violin
Shanshan Zeng, from Chengdu, China, began learning the violin at the age of four with her great aunt Wenyuan Chen at Sichuan Conservatory of Music. She was a member of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, the Altantic Symphony Orchestra, and the Phoenix (the Orchestra Reborn) while studying in Boston. She played in the American Youth Symphony, and was the assistant concertmaster of the Debut Chamber Orchestra in Los Angeles from 2017-18. She has also performed as a substitute violinist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. She has participated in the Tanglewood Music Center Festival in 2011 and 2012, and served as concertmaster under the baton of Maestro Kurt Masur. Other Festivals included the Valdres Festival in Norway, the Gonggeng Academy in China, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music studying with Wei He and Ian Swensen, and her master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Lucy Chapman. She graduated in May 2019 with a Graduate Certificate degree from the Thornton School of Music at USC, where she studied with Bing Wang. She joined the Oregon Symphony in the fall of 2019.
CHRIS KIM, bass
A native of Colorado, but raised in El Paso, Texas, Chris received his Bachelor’s in Music from University of North Texas (2010) and a Master’s in Music from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (2013). His prominent teachers include Jeff Bradetich and Bruce Bransby. He has spent three amazing summers in Aspen attending Aspen Music Festival and School (2013, 2014, and 2017) and in 2013 attended on a Mentor Fellowship. In 2015, he spent his summer in Breckenridge, CO attending the festival known as National Repertory Orchestra prior to joining Oregon Symphony as an acting musician. Chris is also a finalist for New World Symphony and has subbed with the orchestra down in Miami FL. Now, Chris works full time in Arts Administration with Portland Opera but still keeps a busy schedule of freelance work with the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and many other local arts organizations in the Portland area. On his spare time, Chris loves to spend his time outdoors hiking, camping, and capturing nature photography along with his new family and daughter. Chris plays on a 2011 Guy Cole double bass who is a modern luthier based in Arlington, Texas out of Avalon Studio.
GREG EWER, violin
Greg Ewer, hailed by The New York Timesfor his “refinement and spirit,” has been a member of the Oregon Symphony since 2001. Greg is also well known to Portland audiences for his regular appearances with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Third Angle New Music Ensemble, and Pink Martini. He is also the founder and artistic director of 45th Parallel, a highly acclaimed chamber music series founded in 2009, featuring musicians of the Pacific Northwest. Greg has appeared as a guest recitalist at Yale University, and at the National Library in Mexico City. He has performed at numerous summer festivals, including the Tanglewood Music Center, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, Moab Music Festival, and the Montana Baroque Festival. Greg’s 2014 recording of the Complete Sonatas for Two Violins of Jean-Marie Leclair with his longtime collaborator Adam LaMotte was described as a “landmark recording” and hailed for its “zest and athleticism” by The Strad magazine. In addition to his performing activities, Greg is on the music faculty of Reed College in Portland.
AMANDA GRIMM, viola
Amanda Grimm joined the Oregon Symphony as its Principal Viola in 2022. Prior to her appointment, she enjoyed a versatile freelance career in the Chicagoland area where she served as Principal Viola of the Elgin Symphony, the Canton Symphony, and Orchestra Iowa. She was also invited as guest principal with the Chicago Philharmonic, the Illinois Philharmonic, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Erie Philharmonic and performed regularly with the Milwaukee Symphony, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In 2023, she served as Principal Viola of the Oregon Bach Festival. Amanda toured extensively as the violist of the Petar Jankovic Ensemble and then the KAIA String Quartet, which specialized in the music of Latin America. She is an avid chamber musician and has collaborated with such artists as Emanuel Ax and Rachel Barton Pine. Her performances have been featured on the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series and APM’s Performance Today and she, along with her members of her quartet, was a selected artist for a three month residency with WFMT, Chicago’s classical music station. Amanda studied at the Oberlin Conservatory and Carnegie Mellon University where she was the winner of its concerto competition. Also passionate about music education, she has performed extensive outreach and given masterclasses to students of all ages. In her spare time, Amanda loves to hike the stunning landscapes of the Pacific Northwest with her adopted Goldendoodle, Gus.
