Avaloch Fall Gala Events
Saturday October 31, 2026- 4-10pm
4:00pm — Cocktail Reception
5:00pm — Concert: Behemoths of the String Quartet
Featuring: Ayano Ninomiya (former violinist, Ying Quartet); James Dunham (former violist, Cleveland Quartet); Philip Ying (violist, Ying Quartet); Paul Watkins (former cellist, Emerson Quartet); with Avaloch Artistic Directors Ashley Bathgate and Jessica Tong
6:00pm — Wine, Hors d’Oeuvres, Silent Auction
7:00pm — Dinner and Dessert
9:00pm — Silent Auction Winners Announced
VIP Overnight Event:
Brunch and Bach
Sunday November 1, 2026
9:00am — Brunch
10:30am — Concert
Avaloch Farm Music Institute
Annual Fall Gala
AFMI Fall Gala Sponsorship Opportunities
Presto Level Sponsor- $5000
Includes:
1 table for up to 8 guests for dinner and concert at the AFMI Fall Gala
Overnight stay for up to 4 people (one two-bedroom suite) at the AFMI Fall Gala
VIP Brunch and Concert for up to 8 guests
Recognition as a 2026 Avaloch Farm Music Institute Presto Sponsor on gala event materials
Recognition on event signage, website, social media, newsletters and programs as a Benefactor Level Sponsor at Avaloch Farm Music Institute
Named as Benefactor Level Sponsor for the 2027 AFMI Residency Season.
Vivace Level Sponsor- $2500
Includes:
1 table for up to 8 guests for dinner and concert at the AFMI Fall Gala
Overnight stay for up to 4 people (one two-bedroom suite) at the AFMI Fall Gala
VIP Brunch and Concert for up to 8 guests
Recognition as a 2026 Avaloch Farm Music Institute Vivace Sponsor on gala event materials
Recognition on event signage, website, social media, newsletters and programs as a Sustainer Level Sponsor for the 2027 AFMI Residency Season
Allegro Level Sponsor- $1200
Includes:
1 table for up to 8 guests for dinner and concert at the AFMI Fall Gala
Overnight stay for 2 guests (1 room) at AFMI Fall Gala
VIP Brunch and Concert for 2 guests
Recognition as a 2026 Avaloch Farm Music Institute Allegro Sponsor on gala event materials
Recognition on event signage, website, social media, newsletters and programs as an Aficionado Level Sponsor for the 2027 AFMI Residency Season
Andante Level Sponsor- $600
Includes:
Dinner and concert for 4 guests at the AFMI Fall Gala
Recognition as a 2026 Avaloch Farm Music Institute Andante Sponsor on event materials
Recognition on event signage, website, social media, newsletters and programs as a Aficionado Level Sponsor for the 2027 AFMI Residency Season
Adagio Level Sponsor- $300
Includes:
Dinner and concert for 2 guests at the AFMI Fall Gala
Recognition as a 2026 Avaloch Farm Music Institute Adagio Sponsor on event materials
Recognition on event signage, website, social media, newsletters and programs as a Patron Level Sponsor for the 2027 Summer AFMI Residency Season
2026 Gala Artists
Equally at home as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, Ayano has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Puerto Rico, Europe, China, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand. In addition to recent performances at Weill Hall, Zankel Hall, and Merkin Hall, she made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2016 with the Stravinsky Violin Concerto.
As a recording artist, Ayano has released a variety of albums including a solo album of works for violin by Larry Bell and more recently, three albums as the first violinist of the Ying Quartet: an album of the complete quartets by Robert Schumann, an album of the complete quartets by Anton Arensky, and a third album, “American Anthem” (Sono Luminus), featuring works by Randall Thompson, Samuel Barber, and Howard Hanson.
An avid chamber musician, Ayano has performed at the Marlboro, Ravinia, Kingston, Skaneateles, Caramoor, Bowdoin, and Moab music festivals, as well as at Prussia Cove’s International Musicians Seminar, the Canberra International Festival (Australia), and the Adams Festival (New Zealand).
Ayano, whose principal teachers and mentors include Miriam Fried, Robert Mann, Eszter Perenyi, Michele Auclair, and Robert Levin, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University. She graduated with her Master’s degree from The Juilliard School and then went on to study at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary. From 2010-2015, Ayano was first violinist of the renowned Ying Quartet and Associate Professor at the Eastman School of Music. Since 2015, she has been on faculty of New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
Ayano Ninomiya
James Dunham’s rich background includes winning a Grammy Award as violist of the Cleveland Quartet and the Naumburg International Chamber Music Award as founding violist of the Sequoia String Quartet. An Historically Informed musician, he is violist of the Axelrod String Quartet at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. and appears regularly with the Bach Society Houston and Ars Lyrica Houston. In addition, his collaborations on contemporary and standard repertoire with the American, Jupiter, Pacifica, Takács and New Zealand String Quartets have taken him around the world. Mr. Dunham is an impassioned advocate of new music and is a frequent presence in national and international master classes and chamber music competition juries.
Former students serve as principal violists of the Metropolitan Opera, National Opera (Kennedy Center), Houston and San Diego Symphonies and the Orchestre National de Lille; Professorships at schools including Louisiana, Illinois, Sam Houston and Utah State Universities, the University of Arizona, and violists of celebrated ensembles including the Dover, Jasper, Rolston and Callisto String Quartets.
Summer activities include more than 25 years as an Artist-Faculty member of the Aspen Music Festival and School, with many past summers as a participant at festivals including the Sarasota Music Festival, Amelia Island (FL) Chamber Music Festival as well as frequent appearances at the Texas Music Festival, le Domaine Forget (Quebec), Garth Newel Center, Heifetz International Music Institute and La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest.
Formerly on the faculties of the Eastman School of Music and the New England Conservatory (where he chaired the string department and received the Louis & Adrienne Krasner Teaching Excellence Award), Mr. Dunham is the Joseph and Ida Kirkland Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music where he co-directs its Master of Music in String Quartet program and serves as Chair of the String Department.
James Dunham
Phillip Ying, as violist of the Ying Quartet, has performed across the United States, Europe and Asia. He is a recipient of the Naumburg Award for Chamber Music, has won a Grammy for a collaborative recording with the Turtle Island String Quartet, and has been nominated three additional times, most recently for a collaborative album with pianist, Billy Childs.
He maintains a vital interest in new music with recent and planned premieres of works by Chen Yi, Augusta Read Thomas, Kevin Puts, Ned Rorem, Jennifer Higdon, Sebastian Currier, Paquito D’Rivera, Lowell Liebermann, Paul Moravec, and Kenji Bunch and is currently engaged in a multi-‐year commissioning project with the Institute for American Music.
Mr. Ying also pursues creative projects across musical styles with other artists such as Garth Fagan and Tod Machover. During the summers, he has performed at the Colorado College, Bowdoin, Aspen, Marlboro, Tanglewood, Caramoor, Norfolk, Music in the Vineyards and Skaneateles Music Festivals. He has recorded on the Sono Luminus, Telarc, Albany, Elektra, and EMI labels. Mr. Ying is an Associate Professor Chamber Music and Viola at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. From 2001-‐2008, he was named with the Ying Quartet Blodgett Ensemble in Residence at Harvard University. Additionally, he served a six year term as President of Chamber Music America, a national service organization for chamber music ensembles, presenters and artist managers, and has been published by Chamber Music magazine.
He is a frequent speaker, panelist, and outside evaluator on subjects such as arts-‐in-‐education, advocacy through performance, and chamber music residencies. Mr. Ying received his education at Harvard University, the New England Conservatory, and the Eastman School of Music, and has studied principally with Martha Katz, Walter Trampler, and Roland Vamos.
Philip Ying
Acclaimed for his inspirational performances and eloquent musicianship, cellist Paul Watkins enjoys a distinguished career as a concerto soloist, chamber musician, and conductor. Appointed Principal Cellist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra at age 20, he performs regularly as a concerto soloist with major orchestras throughout the world, including eight concerto appearances at the BBC Proms. A dedicated chamber musician, Watkins was a member of the Nash Ensemble from 1997 to 2013 and joined the Emerson String Quartet in May 2013. In 2014, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Detroit. Watkins also maintains a busy career as a conductor and, since winning the 2002 Leeds Conducting Competition, has conducted all the major British orchestras and many others in the USA, Europe, Australia, and Japan. Watkins has made over 70 recordings, including 18 solo albums for Chandos, as well as chamber music discs for Decca Gold, Deustche Grammophon and Hyperion.
At the Yale School of Music, Watkins teaches a studio of graduate-level cellists, coaches chamber ensembles, and directs the Yale Cellos with Assistant Professor Adjunct of Cello Ole Akahoshi. He has been featured in performance many times at Yale as a member of the Emerson String Quartet.
Born in 1970, Watkins studied cello with William Pleeth, Melissa Phelps, and Johannes Goritzki. He plays on an instrument made by Domenico Montagnana and Matteo Goffriller in Venice, circa 1730.
Paul Watkins
If you cannot attend our Fall Gala but would like to make a tax deductible contribution please click here:
Alternatively, you can mail a check, made out to Avaloch Farm Music Institute to the following address:
Avaloch Farm Music Institute
16 Hardy Lane
Boscawen, NH 03303