Congratulations to Alexandre Negrão (violin), Dean Wibe (cello), and Ryan Kee (piano) who were selected to perform in a chamber music masterclass with Kansas City Symphony music director Michael Stern. The event is on Saturday, October 7 at 11am in Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. They will be performing Ravel’s Piano Trio in A Minor. This event is free and open to the public, however it is requested that reservations are made at this link.

Performer Biographies

Alexandre Negrão
Originally from Brazil, Alexandre was born and raised in Belem. He started his studies on violin at the age of 7 at the Fundação Amazônica de Música, an organization providing access to music education for underserved communities in his hometown. His first mentors, Antônio de Pádua Batista followed by Paulo Keuffer, and then Serguei Firsanov were the first supporters and believers that helped Alexandre to pursue his career as a professional musician. Alexandre's is a former member of the Theatro da Paz Symphony Orchestra. He also served as acting concertmaster from 2014 to 2016 when he was invited to study in a special international string program in Southern Louisiana under the direction of violinist James Alexander. After completing the two year program, he auditioned and was admitted to the University of Missouri School of Music. He is currently in his second year of his Master of Music degree in violin performance in the studio of Professor Eva Szekely and is also the violinist for the Mizzou New Music Ensemble.

Dean Wibe
Dean Wibe is a cellist from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He began playing in the public school classroom and first studied cello privately with Dianne Platte and Hannah Holman. He recently received his Bachelors of Music at the University of Iowa where he studied with Professor Anthony Arnone. Dean is an avid chamber musician and is passionate about the performance of contemporary classical music. He is currently studying with Dr. Eli Lara and working on his Masters at the University of Missouri, where he performs with the Mizzou New Music Ensemble.

Ryan Kee
Ryan Kee is a senior piano major at the University of Missouri, studying with Dr. Peter Miyamoto. He was previously a student of Eunsil Stevenson in St. Louis. He is winner of the 2022 of the McClure Piano Award and the 2021 Nelson Piano Scholarship, both sponsored by the Missouri Federation of Music Clubs (MFMC), and winner of the 2020 Missouri Music Teachers Associations (MMTA) Collegiate Honors Auditions. He also received Honorable Mention in the 2021 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artist Competition and won third prize and was a two-time finalist in the Steinway Competition. In 2021 Ryan was chosen by the World Piano Teachers Association (WPTA) to present a full-length recital, and he has performed multiple times on the Odyssey Chamber Music Series.