A spring salon benefiting Archipelago Books

Lisabeth During is hosting an afternoon of music to benefit the press. Join us on May 31st at her home in Cobble Hill. Trio Lumaire—violinist Hava Polinsky, violist Candy Yang, and cellist Wangshu Xiang—will perform from their repertoire while wine and hors d’oeuvres are served. It will be a lovely way to ring in the spring and gather with friends.

The Program

Luigi Boccherini—String Trio in D Major, G. 98
Astor Piazzolla—Oblivion
Joseph Haydn—String Trio in G Major, Op. 53 No. 1
Franz Schubert—String Trio in B-flat Major
George Enescu—“Aubade” for String Trio
Henry Purcell—Three Fantasias
Luigi Boccherini—String Trio in C Minor, G. 96 – IV. Prestissimo

Tickets are available on a sliding scale at  $60, $100, or $150 per person, and are tax deductible.

Available for purchase here, or by mailing a check to:

Archipelago Books

The Old American Can Factory

232 Third Street #A111

Brooklyn, NY 11215

If you cannot join us for the salon but want to support the press, you can make a donation to support the event. We will thank you in our program.  All ticket levels are the same, we have just suggested different levels of giving. Thank you for your contributions—we are grateful for your steadfast support!

Chieh-I Candy Yang (Viola)

Taiwan-born violist Chieh-I (Candy) Yang is an international orchestral and chamber musician who values the importance of being an ambassador to audiences in many roles as a storyteller and traveler’s guide in the concert hall. Candy began her musical studies on the violin but discovered her true passion for music at age 14, when she was introduced to the viola. After just one year of playing, she traveled to Vienna as an exchange student to study at the Musikgymnasium. During her time there, Candy performed with the Musikgymnasium Symphony Orchestra at the Wiener Musikverein. Immersed in a city filled with students from around the world, she gained a profound understanding of music’s transformative power on herself and others. Upon returning to Taiwan, she continued her viola studies under the guidance of Dr. Yi-Wen Chao. Candy has performed with numerous orchestras. From 2016 to 2022, she performed with the Juilliard Orchestra, and from 2022 to 2025, she appeared regularly with the Manhattan School of Music Orchestra, where she served as principal viola. In 2020, she won a viola position with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra and performed two concerts per week throughout the 2020–21 season. ​Candy has also participated and performed in many festivals including Taipei Music Academy and Festival (2020). In 2019, as a New Horizon fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, she served as assistant principal viola in the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra.  Candy is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including the Nelly Walter Scholarship and the C.V. Starr Scholarship from The Juilliard School. In 2018, she was honored with the prestigious International Pacing Art Culture Education Rising Star Award. In 2025, she graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with the Helen Cohn Award, presented in recognition of her excellence as a Doctor of Musical Arts student. Candy earned her Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School in 2020, studying under Heidi Castleman, Hsin-Yun Huang, and Matthew Lipman. She continued at Juilliard for her Master of Music degree, graduating in 2022 after studying with Heidi Castleman and Samuel Rhodes. In 2025, she completed her Doctor of Musical Arts at the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied viola under Samuel Rhodes and completed her doctoral thesis, Lionel Tertis and the English Musical Renaissance, under the advisement of Dr. Jeffrey Langford.

Wangshu Xiang (Cello)

Wangshu Xiang is a dynamic and versatile cellist based in New York City, whose active performance career spans chamber, orchestral, and solo repertoire. In April 2025, she made her solo debut with the Westside Chamber Players performing Schumann’s Cello Concerto. She has collaborated with celebrated musicians such as Frank Huang, Misha Amory, and Hsin-Yun Huang in various chamber concert series and festivals. Wangshu has appeared at prestigious festivals including Music@Menlo, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra Chamber Series, the Taipei Music Festival, Strings Music Festival, and the Colorado Music Festival. In June 2019, she embarked on a solo recital tour across seven major cities in China as part of the “Sound of Laurel” series, presenting works by Franck, Chopin, and Saint-Saëns. As an orchestral cellist, she has served as principal cellist of both the Manhattan School of Music Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Her deep commitment to chamber music has led to performances in esteemed venues in New York City. In 2023, Wangshu won the Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition, which gave her the opportunity to perform Brahms’ Piano Quartet in A Major and Beethoven’s String Trio in G Major at the Greenfield Hall.  And as the founding member of the Marian String Quartet, she and her ensemble won the Gold Prize at the 17th annual Saint Paul String Quartet Competition. The quartet made their debut at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in 2022, performing a program that included Fanny Hansel’s String Quartet, Haydn’s “Sunrise” Quartet, and Caroline Shaw’s Blueprint. In addition to their performances, the Marian String Quartet was devoted to community engagement and audience collaboration, launching the Young People’s Concert Series, “Music & Storytelling,” which toured New York City Public Schools in April 2023. Born in Shenzhen, China, Wangshu began studying cello at the age of eight, inspired by the recordings of Jian Wang and Jacqueline du Pré. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the Juilliard School and both a Master of Music and Professional Studies Diploma from the Manhattan School of Music. Her principal teachers have included Julia Lichten, Timothy Eddy, Thomas Mesa, and Qiang Tu. In fall 2025, she began her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Manhattan School of Music.

Hava Polinsky (Violin)

Hava Polinsky is a professional violinist in New York. Hava is a freelancer, performer, teacher, and collaborator. She graduated with her Master’s of Music from The Juilliard School in 2023 where she studied with Laurie Smukler and David Chan. Since graduating, Hava has been a regular substitute violinist with the New York Philharmonic, including joining them on their 2024 Asia Tour, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Princeton Symphony, and other local ensembles. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hava has been playing the violin since she was five years old. Hava studied at the Indiana University Summer String Academy for three summers in Bloomington. From 2015-2019, Hava has studied at the Aspen Music Festival and School. She was a member of the Aspen Chamber Symphony and collaborated with musicians such as Joshua Bell, Orli Shaham, and Emmanuel Pahud, and conductors such as David Robertson, and Nicholas McGegan and was then invited to Aspen as an Aspen Conducting Academy String Fellow during the summer of 2018 where she was assistant concertmaster of the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra. In 2019, Hava returned to Aspen as a Center for Orchestra Leadership Fellow where she was a mentor in the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra and she studied privately with Paul Kantor, and as the winner of the concerto competition, Hava performed as a soloist with the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra. Hava was the concertmaster of the 2014 and 2015 Missouri All-State Orchestras, and Hava was the co-concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra for three consecutive seasons. She also participated in the Community Music School Preparatory Program under the direction of Vera Parkin. Hava has played for influential musicians including Donald Weilerstein, Vadim Repin and Gilbert Varga. Hava was the winner of the St. Louis Got Talent in 2011. She was also a winner of the University City Young Artist Competition in 2012, she won Belleville Philharmonic “Stars of Tomorrow” Young Artist Competition in 2013, and Hava won the Alton Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition in 2014. In March of 2015, Hava played the Mendelssohn Concerto with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra as the winner of the Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. She was the state-level winner of the MTNA Competition in 2015 and 2016, and received honorable mention at the regional level. In March of 2016, Hava played with the UMSL Orchestra as the winner of their concerto competition. The following May, Hava played with the St. Louis Symphony during their annual Link Up concert. On December 31, 2016, Hava was honored to be the surprise guest soloist with the St. Louis Symphony at their annual New Year’s Eve concert, under the direction of David Robertson. In May of 2017, as the winner of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra’s concerto competition, she performed the Tchaikovsky Concerto with Gemma New. During her time at Juilliard, she has worked with musicians such as Alan Gilbert, John Adams and members of the Juilliard String Quartet. Hava has sat Concertmaster of The Juilliard Orchestra under Marin Alsop, John Adams, and David Robertson. In October of 2022, Hava was again Concertmaster of the school’s orchestra under Maestro Robertson, this time at Carnegie Hall. She spent the summer of 2021 in Blue Hill, Maine at Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival and School. With her masters degree, Hava was awarded the Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship.