MJCP is a flute and cello duo focusing on contemporary chamber music. The mission of MJCP is to expand the available repertoire for flute and cello through new music commissions. Artistic directors, James Lin and Meerenai Shim are also members of the Ibert Trio.
James Lin, cellist, joined the associate faculty of West Valley College Music Department in the fall of 2008. Having performed solo and chamber recitals throughout the East Coast and California’s central valley, Dr. Lin has also been featured in performances in England, Spain, France, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
James has studied chamber music with the Tokyo String Quartet, the Pro Arte String Quartet, Peter Frankl, Paul Hersh, Gil Kalish and has performed with members of the Emerson String Quartet. He has studied cello at summer festivals with Janos Starker, Ron Leonard, Steve Doane, Phillip Mueller, and has studied music theory with Michael Friedmann.
James received his BM in cello performance at the University of Wisconsin – Madison where he studied with Uri Vardi on full scholarship. In 1999 he received a fellowship to participate in the international summer music festival in Banff, Canada with the renowned pedagogue Aldo Parisot, who subsequently invited Dr. Lin to attend Yale University where he received the James Bonbright Memorial and Elizabeth Cheney Awards. Following his studies with Mr. Parisot and international performances and recordings with The Yale Cellos, Dr. Lin received his Doctoral degree at Stony Brook University in New York.
Flutist Meerenai Shim is a founding member of three chamber groups: Ibert Trio, Blithe Duo (flute duo) and the recently established MJCP. In addition to these chamber groups, Meerenai’s recent performances include recitals with pianists Lori Lack and Takashi Kawabata as well as a solo performance of the Reinecke Flute Concerto with the Saratoga Symphony.
Meerenai teaches a select group of flute students in Campbell and Mountain View, California. Meerenai’s book, Scale Studies for Beginner and Intermediate Flutists, has received praise from flute pedagogues and publications worldwide. As an Andover Educator trainee, she also incorporates the body mapping course, What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body, into her teaching.
Meerenai’s flute teachers include Linda Lukas and Mary Stolper. She has performed in master classes of Liisa Ruoho, Trevor Wye, Alexa Still, Donald Peck and Michel Debost. She also studied orchestral conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and Eastern Music Festival. Her conducting teachers include Paul Vermel, Murry Sidlin, and Sheldon Morgenstern. Meerenai received a Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance from DePaul University in Chicago and a Master of Music degree in Flute Performance from San Francisco State University.
