Celebrating the Spectrum
Participant Biographies
Nathan Chen will be a senior at Park Hill High School, where he plays violin in their symphonic orchestra. He is a member of the All Districts Full Orchestra. He also plays piano and won silver and gold awards for piano solos the last three years. In the 2022 IPPA Conero International Piano Competition, he won an Honorable mention in the United States Chopin-Liszt Special Category as well as the US Division - Semifinal round Bronze Award. Nathan enjoys running for both cross country and track and field, he is on the cross country varsity team. and he earned placement as one of only four students in his school to attend Missouri Scholar Academy summer camp. he was voted by students as a Park Hill High School Sophomore Courtwarming candidate in 2023, This most recent school year, he was also voted by students as a Park Hill High School junior homecoming candidate.
David Ginther
David is 30 years old. He was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, but has lived in Midland, Michigan for 29 years. He started playing piano at age 10 and has studied weekly, including summers, with Barbara DuRussell of Midland. He participates annually in Mrs. DuRussell’s studio performance classes and also participates annually in the Midland Keyboardfest at the Midland Center for the Arts. He is an avid bicyclist and has ridden up to 100 miles in a day. He also continues to be an enthusiastic cross-country skier. David is very happy to be participating again in “Celebrating the Spectrum” and looks forward to this week all year.
Rex Lewis-Clack
Rex lives in Malibu, California and has been playing the piano since he was 2-years old. At 7 years of age, he was labeled a “prodigious musical savant,” a term which implies piano genius combined with blindness and intellectual disabilities. At that time, CBS’s 60 Minutes began a series of three profiles over the years, the first titled “Musically Speaking,” as piano was Rex’s first mode of talking, and the others titled simply “Rex.” The profiles document his musical and life development. Rex has played piano for various groups around the world in a motivational/inspirational format, playing a combination of classical, jazz, and spontaneous improvisations as well as vocals. In his performances, he shows and tells his life story of using his piano gift to help open up other areas of his life, which are impacted by disability. Among Rex’s many performances, in 2010 he was keynote performer for then “Vice President” Joe Biden in the Vice President’s Washington D.C. residence, as well as for Autism Speaks to Wallstreet, Best Buddies International, and the annual Media Access Awards in Los Angeles. In 2013, Rex started a Foundation and a band, both called “Rex and Friends,” to help others with autism and/or blindness to use their own musical gifts as a bridge to ability and social connection, as Rex has done.
Matthew Miller
Matthew attended local public schools in El Paso, Texas. Matthew’s musical journey began when his parents enrolled him in private piano lessons. Counselors at his elementary school advised his parents that they believed Matthew, given his Autism diagnosis, lacked dexterity or focus for such endeavors. He persisted in his piano studies and went on to perform in many public recitals. By 5th grade, he began playing cello and performed with the El Paso Youth Symphony and, later, his high school orchestra. Matthew is currently a senior at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in European History with a minor in Music. Matthew is a cellist with the University of Texas at San Antonio Orchestra. While growing up in El Paso, Matthew was active in the El Paso Autism Society. Matthew believes that music is the key to a happier and more fulfilling existence – especially when shared with others. Matthew enjoys almost daily workouts at the gym, he loves to hike and has an abiding interest in Astronomy. Currently Matthew is working on an album featuring his electronic music compositions, slated for release in 2024.
Masha Staples
Being a part of “Celebrating the Spectrum” is a blessing and a highlight of Masha’s summer. The Festival’s experience inspired Masha to become a Music Major in Piano Performance.
This past year had been eventful in Masha’s musical life, she had experiences of being a part of the chamber music ensembles, as well as being an accompanist. Her latest performance was with her father who is the violinist at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. They had performed together Beethoven’s “Spring” Sonata and Mozart’s E-minor violin sonata.
Masha was born with an absolute pitch and could identify and sing any note and chord requested. She enjoys reading biographies of famous musicians, pianists and composers, as well as watching classical operas, ballets, sci-fi and old classic movies. Masha also loves going for long walks in nature.
Owen Whitman
Owen Whitman is 19 years old. He graduated high school in May 2023. He then took a gap, during which he worked at a neighborhood pizza restaurant as a food runner and interned at a the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC. He will begin taking college classes at Northern Virginia Community College in Fall 2024 as he hopes to eventually obtain a Bachelor’s degree in video game design. Before graduating high school, Owen was a piano student at the Levine Music School in Washington, DC. He started in Levine's Suzuki piano program when he was 4 years old, graduated from that program when he was 13, and ended his time at Levine in its Level 10 advanced piano program. Over the years, Owen has taken several master classes and performed at dozens of recitals. His favorite composer is Chopin. When not practicing or performing, Owen enjoys learning about, creating, simulating, and riding his other great passion: subway trains. Owen lives in Washington, DC, with his mom, dad, and cat.
Gavi Polyntsev
Gavi is 27 years old and a recent graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a double major in Piano and Organ Performance. His journey in music has been complex and convoluted. It all began with music therapy at age 10, where he showed interest and talent. He alternated between piano and viola for many years, playing viola in the orchestra during secondary school. Eventually, piano became his primary focus. He also developed a fascination with the pipe organ, which he began playing when he entered EMU on January 7, 2019. Additionally, Gavi is a black belt in Judo and his other great passions are movies, actors, the history of music, and plagiarism in music and movies. You can learn more about Gavi on his YouTube channel.
