Rites of Spring Music Festival Offers
Remote & in person Music Lessons
Piano, Violin, Oboe, Flute and Opera
Remote & in person Music Lessons
Piano, Violin, Oboe, Flute and Opera
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We are happy to announce we will offer remote & in person individual music lessons to our audience that love our musicians and our concerts. We are ready to take on music lovers and students all ages that want to learn music and practice a music instrument.
As we cannot temporarily present our concert series our wonderful musicians are available to offer online music lessons to develop and strengthen the relationship with our audience. The musicians are offering several platforms to work on multiple devices such as Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, DuoGoogle. Offering online music lessons is a great opportunity to get to know our musicians closely. Further online educational activities will be developed during the year. Don’t hesitate to send an email to info@ritesmusic.org and then you will be contacted to receive the link and the phone number of your concert musician / music teacher to start your music video lessons! Below please find a list of our concert musicians / music teachers along with the instruments they teach. Enjoy the music! Paolo Bartolani Founder, Artistic & Executive Director Rites of Spring Music Festival |
Paolo Bartolani
Artistic Director, Piano Concert Musician / Classical Piano and Music Theory Teacher
As Artistic Director of Rites of Spring Music Festival and pianist, I am excited to develop and strengthen the relationship with our audiences offering online educational activities.
I will be providing Piano and Music Theory lessons to music lovers and students all ages over Zoom and Skype. I believe the most important goal in piano lessons is fostering an enjoyment for music that lasts a lifetime. In order to nurture and develop that appreciation for music — not just piano specifically— I am happy to help my students cultivate their musical personality.
I have been teaching piano for over 30 years and as a piano teacher, I learned a lot from my students to be versatile, adaptable, creative, confident.
I graduated in 1989 from the Santa Cecilia Music Conservatory in Rome (Italy). I studied with Eduardo Hubert, and after graduation, with Charles Rosen, György Sándor, Andor Foldes and Elizabeth Sombart. I also studied French piano repertoire with Germaine Mounier at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. In 1994 I received a Master in Musicology of the 20th century degree under the direction of Hugues Dufourt at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in collaboration with IRCAM / Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. (France).
I am actually a coach for chamber music groups at Stony Brook University within the Community Chamber Music Program. I have an intense professional activity as a member of chamber music ensembles and as a collaborative pianist for lyrical singers.
Please have the Zoom and Skype App open and send an email to info@ritesmusic.org to receive the link and the phone number of Paolo and start your piano music lessons. Zoom and Skype is a free app that can work on all platforms. Please take a moment to download the app ahead of your lesson time.
Artistic Director, Piano Concert Musician / Classical Piano and Music Theory Teacher
As Artistic Director of Rites of Spring Music Festival and pianist, I am excited to develop and strengthen the relationship with our audiences offering online educational activities.
I will be providing Piano and Music Theory lessons to music lovers and students all ages over Zoom and Skype. I believe the most important goal in piano lessons is fostering an enjoyment for music that lasts a lifetime. In order to nurture and develop that appreciation for music — not just piano specifically— I am happy to help my students cultivate their musical personality.
I have been teaching piano for over 30 years and as a piano teacher, I learned a lot from my students to be versatile, adaptable, creative, confident.
I graduated in 1989 from the Santa Cecilia Music Conservatory in Rome (Italy). I studied with Eduardo Hubert, and after graduation, with Charles Rosen, György Sándor, Andor Foldes and Elizabeth Sombart. I also studied French piano repertoire with Germaine Mounier at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. In 1994 I received a Master in Musicology of the 20th century degree under the direction of Hugues Dufourt at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in collaboration with IRCAM / Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. (France).
I am actually a coach for chamber music groups at Stony Brook University within the Community Chamber Music Program. I have an intense professional activity as a member of chamber music ensembles and as a collaborative pianist for lyrical singers.
Please have the Zoom and Skype App open and send an email to info@ritesmusic.org to receive the link and the phone number of Paolo and start your piano music lessons. Zoom and Skype is a free app that can work on all platforms. Please take a moment to download the app ahead of your lesson time.
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Ginevra Petrucci
Flute Concert Musician / Flute Teacher
Hailed by the press as “one of the most interesting talents of her generation”, Ginevra Petrucci has performed at Carnegie Hall (New York), Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Salle Cortot (Paris), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Villa Medici (Rome), Ohji Hall (Tokyo), as well as throughout China, South America and the Middle East.
As a soloist, she has appeared in concert with I Pomeriggi Musicali, I Virtuosi Italiani and the Chamber Orchestra of New York, and has released the first recordings of Edouard Dupuy and Ferdinand Buchner’s Concertos. Her chamber music experience has brought her to appear alongside pianists Bruno Canino and Boris Berman, and to a long-standing collaboration with the Kodály Quartet, with whom she has released the highly acclaimed recording of the complete Flute Quintets by Friedrich Kuhlau. Her recording of Robert Muczynski’s Sonata has been praised as “oozing with lifeblood and zest … enthralling and rousing”. In 2017 she has rediscovered and recorded Wilhelm Kempff’s Quartet for flute, strings and piano and toured Italy with its premiere performances.
She has been heard on RAI3 Italian National Radio, and her recital with Jory Vinikour at Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago has been broadcast on WFMT. Her feature interviews on the conditions of the migrating artist have been published on the Huffington Post and La Voce di New York.
In 2018, she has promoted the 200th anniversary of flute virtuoso Giulio Briccialdi through the release of the first recording of his four Concertos, where she was described as having “a beautiful phrasing, brilliant virtuosity and a legato worthy of a great singer”. In the same occasion, she has founded the Giulio Briccialdi Online Catalogue, the only existing online platform with full downloadable catalogue dedicated to a flutist composer. Her lectures on Briccialdi and the Romantic Virtuoso Flute Concerto have been hosted by Columbia University, Eastman School, Stony Brook University, the Royal Academy in Dublin, the Chopin Academy in Warsaw, the Paderewsky Academy in Poznan, the Liszt Academy in Budapest, and the Hangzhou University in China.
Ginevra devotes much of her artistic endeavors to contemporary music. At Yale University she has collaborated with George Crumb, Steve Reich, Betsy Jolas and Kaija Saariaho, performing the American premiere of Terrestre. She commissioned Jean-Michel Damase’s last composition, 15 Rubayat d’Omar Khayyam for voice, flute and harp, and she has appeared at the Venice Biennale Contemporary Music Festival with a commissioning project dedicated to Witold Lutosławski. In 2018 she has founded the Flauto d’Amore Project, a large-spanning commission endeavor aimed to the creation of a new music repertoire for the modern flauto d’amore. After the premiere concert in New York City in May 2019, over twenty composers have written, or are in the process of writing new works for the instrument. The next premiere concerts, as well as one-off performances exploring the instrument in different musical styles, are planned for the next three years, as well as residencies, lecture-recitals, recordings, editions and outreach programs.
She has curated the edition of over twenty musical editions, including Briccialdi Concertos for Ricordi/Hal Leonard and first editions of works by Mercadante, Jommelli, Morlacchi, Busoni, De Lorenzo and Brescianello for Keiser/ Southern Music Company and other editors. Her book on the history and repertoire of the flute is adopted in several Italian Conservatories as reference text for the Masters programs. Her scholarly articles appear in the Flutist Quarterly, as well as in the leading flute magazines in Italy and France.
She holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts at Stony Brook University, and a Master of Music at Yale University. Her education include a Master at Santa Cecilia Conservatory in her native Rome under the guidance of her father, and a Diplome Superieur at the École Normale in Paris.
She is Principal Flute at Chamber Orchestra of New York.
Ginevra offers flute lessons to students of all ages, from beginners to professionals, through Zoom, FaceTime and Skype.
As an international concert artist and pedagogue, Ginevra has taught at college level at Yale and Stony Brook Universities, she has been invited as guest professor at Universities and Conservatories throughout Europe, Asia and the United States, and she is has a successful track record as a private studio teacher.
Her hands on approach aims at creating a methodology with each student, tailoring pace, materials and repertoire to every specific need.
Please have the Zoom and FaceTime app open and send an email to
info@ritesmusic.org to receive the link and the phone number of Ginevra and start your flute lessons.
FaceTime is available for iOS users, Zoom is a free app that can work on all platforms. Please take a moment to download the app ahead of your lesson time
to ensure connection success.
Flute Concert Musician / Flute Teacher
Hailed by the press as “one of the most interesting talents of her generation”, Ginevra Petrucci has performed at Carnegie Hall (New York), Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Salle Cortot (Paris), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Villa Medici (Rome), Ohji Hall (Tokyo), as well as throughout China, South America and the Middle East.
As a soloist, she has appeared in concert with I Pomeriggi Musicali, I Virtuosi Italiani and the Chamber Orchestra of New York, and has released the first recordings of Edouard Dupuy and Ferdinand Buchner’s Concertos. Her chamber music experience has brought her to appear alongside pianists Bruno Canino and Boris Berman, and to a long-standing collaboration with the Kodály Quartet, with whom she has released the highly acclaimed recording of the complete Flute Quintets by Friedrich Kuhlau. Her recording of Robert Muczynski’s Sonata has been praised as “oozing with lifeblood and zest … enthralling and rousing”. In 2017 she has rediscovered and recorded Wilhelm Kempff’s Quartet for flute, strings and piano and toured Italy with its premiere performances.
She has been heard on RAI3 Italian National Radio, and her recital with Jory Vinikour at Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago has been broadcast on WFMT. Her feature interviews on the conditions of the migrating artist have been published on the Huffington Post and La Voce di New York.
In 2018, she has promoted the 200th anniversary of flute virtuoso Giulio Briccialdi through the release of the first recording of his four Concertos, where she was described as having “a beautiful phrasing, brilliant virtuosity and a legato worthy of a great singer”. In the same occasion, she has founded the Giulio Briccialdi Online Catalogue, the only existing online platform with full downloadable catalogue dedicated to a flutist composer. Her lectures on Briccialdi and the Romantic Virtuoso Flute Concerto have been hosted by Columbia University, Eastman School, Stony Brook University, the Royal Academy in Dublin, the Chopin Academy in Warsaw, the Paderewsky Academy in Poznan, the Liszt Academy in Budapest, and the Hangzhou University in China.
Ginevra devotes much of her artistic endeavors to contemporary music. At Yale University she has collaborated with George Crumb, Steve Reich, Betsy Jolas and Kaija Saariaho, performing the American premiere of Terrestre. She commissioned Jean-Michel Damase’s last composition, 15 Rubayat d’Omar Khayyam for voice, flute and harp, and she has appeared at the Venice Biennale Contemporary Music Festival with a commissioning project dedicated to Witold Lutosławski. In 2018 she has founded the Flauto d’Amore Project, a large-spanning commission endeavor aimed to the creation of a new music repertoire for the modern flauto d’amore. After the premiere concert in New York City in May 2019, over twenty composers have written, or are in the process of writing new works for the instrument. The next premiere concerts, as well as one-off performances exploring the instrument in different musical styles, are planned for the next three years, as well as residencies, lecture-recitals, recordings, editions and outreach programs.
She has curated the edition of over twenty musical editions, including Briccialdi Concertos for Ricordi/Hal Leonard and first editions of works by Mercadante, Jommelli, Morlacchi, Busoni, De Lorenzo and Brescianello for Keiser/ Southern Music Company and other editors. Her book on the history and repertoire of the flute is adopted in several Italian Conservatories as reference text for the Masters programs. Her scholarly articles appear in the Flutist Quarterly, as well as in the leading flute magazines in Italy and France.
She holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts at Stony Brook University, and a Master of Music at Yale University. Her education include a Master at Santa Cecilia Conservatory in her native Rome under the guidance of her father, and a Diplome Superieur at the École Normale in Paris.
She is Principal Flute at Chamber Orchestra of New York.
Ginevra offers flute lessons to students of all ages, from beginners to professionals, through Zoom, FaceTime and Skype.
As an international concert artist and pedagogue, Ginevra has taught at college level at Yale and Stony Brook Universities, she has been invited as guest professor at Universities and Conservatories throughout Europe, Asia and the United States, and she is has a successful track record as a private studio teacher.
Her hands on approach aims at creating a methodology with each student, tailoring pace, materials and repertoire to every specific need.
Please have the Zoom and FaceTime app open and send an email to
info@ritesmusic.org to receive the link and the phone number of Ginevra and start your flute lessons.
FaceTime is available for iOS users, Zoom is a free app that can work on all platforms. Please take a moment to download the app ahead of your lesson time
to ensure connection success.
Ashley Galvani Bell
Soprano / Lyrical Voice Coach
Ashley Bell is really looking forward to working with Paolo Bartolani & the Rites of Spring Festival in front of a live audience! Hailed by Opera News as “delightful”, soprano she has performed as a soloist in the United States, Italy, Spain, France and Russia. Recent performances include her Carnegie Hall debut as soprano soloist in Hadyn’s Nelson Mass and Schubert’s Mass in C, debuting as Madama Butterfly with Townsend Opera, debuting as Mimi in La Bohème with both the Mississippi Opera and the Natchez Festival, Elle in a critically acclaimed performance of The Human Voice at Rioja Forum in Spain and at the New York Opera Fest, Donna Anna in a sold-out performance at Bay Street Theatre, and debuting with New York City Opera singing Giovanetta and covering Fiora in L'Amore Tre Re. Ms. Bell is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale University and speaks five languages fluently. Upcoming performances are to include a tour of La Voix Humaine in Spain & Mimi in La Bohème in California.
She also loves sharing music with others through teaching and teaches students ranging from middle school students to adults.
Her goal is help each student discover his/her voice and be able to connect to the breath and the body to gain more freedom of expression and joy in singing.
She is classically trained and loves to share her passion for opera & classical music with her students but also enjoys enabling students explore whichever type of music speaks most to them and using classical technique to improve their expression across these genres.
Please have the Zoom and Skype App open and send an email to info@ritesmusic.org to receive the link and the phone number of Ashley and start your online voice lessons.
Zoom and Skype is a free app that can work on all platforms. Please take a moment to download the app ahead of your lesson time .
Soprano / Lyrical Voice Coach
Ashley Bell is really looking forward to working with Paolo Bartolani & the Rites of Spring Festival in front of a live audience! Hailed by Opera News as “delightful”, soprano she has performed as a soloist in the United States, Italy, Spain, France and Russia. Recent performances include her Carnegie Hall debut as soprano soloist in Hadyn’s Nelson Mass and Schubert’s Mass in C, debuting as Madama Butterfly with Townsend Opera, debuting as Mimi in La Bohème with both the Mississippi Opera and the Natchez Festival, Elle in a critically acclaimed performance of The Human Voice at Rioja Forum in Spain and at the New York Opera Fest, Donna Anna in a sold-out performance at Bay Street Theatre, and debuting with New York City Opera singing Giovanetta and covering Fiora in L'Amore Tre Re. Ms. Bell is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale University and speaks five languages fluently. Upcoming performances are to include a tour of La Voix Humaine in Spain & Mimi in La Bohème in California.
She also loves sharing music with others through teaching and teaches students ranging from middle school students to adults.
Her goal is help each student discover his/her voice and be able to connect to the breath and the body to gain more freedom of expression and joy in singing.
She is classically trained and loves to share her passion for opera & classical music with her students but also enjoys enabling students explore whichever type of music speaks most to them and using classical technique to improve their expression across these genres.
Please have the Zoom and Skype App open and send an email to info@ritesmusic.org to receive the link and the phone number of Ashley and start your online voice lessons.
Zoom and Skype is a free app that can work on all platforms. Please take a moment to download the app ahead of your lesson time .
Terry Keevil
Oboe Concert Musician / Oboe Teacher
I help students learn to play the oboe with a beautiful sound, a complete, effective technique and a feeling of ease while performing. I enter into a process with the student that helps them to develop their quality as an oboist and musician. I feel that anyone can enjoy learning an instrument at any age and that the experience of playing music can be inspiring, life affirming and a way to connect deeply with others.
I have performed with the Bach Aria Group, Lazar Gosman's Tchaikovsky Orchestra, and the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and Choir of Sacred Music. I am currently a member of North Shore Pro Musica, the Phoenix Trio and the South Fork Chamber Orchestra. I can be heard playing the duduk and the English horn with David Darling and The Adagio Ensemble on the CD “In Tune”, released by The Relaxation Company, and the oboe and duduk with the improvisation group Hidden City on their CD, “Another Country”. I’ve also released a CD of original duduk music titled “Duduk Creations”. I have been teaching the oboe privately for the past forty years.
I received a DMA from SUNY Stony Brook, where I studied with Steve Taylor, and an MM from Stony Brook where I studied with Ronald Roseman. For more information, see my website, terrykeevil.com
Please have the Zoom and Skype App open and send an email to info@ritesmusic.org to receive the link and the phone number of Terry and start your oboe music lessons.
Zoom and Skype is a free app that can work on all platforms. Please take a moment to download the app ahead of your lesson time .
Oboe Concert Musician / Oboe Teacher
I help students learn to play the oboe with a beautiful sound, a complete, effective technique and a feeling of ease while performing. I enter into a process with the student that helps them to develop their quality as an oboist and musician. I feel that anyone can enjoy learning an instrument at any age and that the experience of playing music can be inspiring, life affirming and a way to connect deeply with others.
I have performed with the Bach Aria Group, Lazar Gosman's Tchaikovsky Orchestra, and the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and Choir of Sacred Music. I am currently a member of North Shore Pro Musica, the Phoenix Trio and the South Fork Chamber Orchestra. I can be heard playing the duduk and the English horn with David Darling and The Adagio Ensemble on the CD “In Tune”, released by The Relaxation Company, and the oboe and duduk with the improvisation group Hidden City on their CD, “Another Country”. I’ve also released a CD of original duduk music titled “Duduk Creations”. I have been teaching the oboe privately for the past forty years.
I received a DMA from SUNY Stony Brook, where I studied with Steve Taylor, and an MM from Stony Brook where I studied with Ronald Roseman. For more information, see my website, terrykeevil.com
Please have the Zoom and Skype App open and send an email to info@ritesmusic.org to receive the link and the phone number of Terry and start your oboe music lessons.
Zoom and Skype is a free app that can work on all platforms. Please take a moment to download the app ahead of your lesson time .
Brian Bak
Violin Concert Player / Violin Teacher
In helping students learn to play the violin, I focus on two core concepts: having an idea of what you want to create musically, and figuring out how to create it. Learning to play the violin is learning to engage in musical creativity, which is something I believe to be inherent in every individual, but unfortunately not always accessed. It is learning to see or hear a piece of music, and bringing it to life with your own sounds and feelings using proper fundamentals and technique. For every piece of music I teach, I guide students to have a vision of what the music should sound like, and give structured step-by-step instruction to gain the technical ability needed to realize their vision.
I received my Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, an Artist Diploma from Yale University, and my Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University. My principal mentors have included Philip Setzer, Hyo Kang, and David Chan. I am a founding member and 1st violinist of the Deka String Quartet (https://www.dekaquartet.com), and we are Artists-in-Residence through the SUNY Rockefeller Institute of Government, and have been teaching at SUNY Schenectady as well as students in the Empire State Youth Orchestra in Albany, NY. I have performed with NYC based ensembles such as Sejong Soloists, and am currently a core member of the New York Classical Players. I was formerly a Teaching Artist at Yale University, and am currently a faculty member at the New York Music School and chamber music coach for Summer Intensive Program at the New York Music School.
Please have the Zoom and Skype App open and send an email to info@ritesmusic.org to receive the link and the phone number of Brian and start your violin music lessons.
Zoom and Skype is a free app that can work on all platforms. Please take a moment to download the app ahead of your lesson time .
Violin Concert Player / Violin Teacher
In helping students learn to play the violin, I focus on two core concepts: having an idea of what you want to create musically, and figuring out how to create it. Learning to play the violin is learning to engage in musical creativity, which is something I believe to be inherent in every individual, but unfortunately not always accessed. It is learning to see or hear a piece of music, and bringing it to life with your own sounds and feelings using proper fundamentals and technique. For every piece of music I teach, I guide students to have a vision of what the music should sound like, and give structured step-by-step instruction to gain the technical ability needed to realize their vision.
I received my Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, an Artist Diploma from Yale University, and my Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University. My principal mentors have included Philip Setzer, Hyo Kang, and David Chan. I am a founding member and 1st violinist of the Deka String Quartet (https://www.dekaquartet.com), and we are Artists-in-Residence through the SUNY Rockefeller Institute of Government, and have been teaching at SUNY Schenectady as well as students in the Empire State Youth Orchestra in Albany, NY. I have performed with NYC based ensembles such as Sejong Soloists, and am currently a core member of the New York Classical Players. I was formerly a Teaching Artist at Yale University, and am currently a faculty member at the New York Music School and chamber music coach for Summer Intensive Program at the New York Music School.
Please have the Zoom and Skype App open and send an email to info@ritesmusic.org to receive the link and the phone number of Brian and start your violin music lessons.
Zoom and Skype is a free app that can work on all platforms. Please take a moment to download the app ahead of your lesson time .
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BIOGRAPHIES Concert Performers
Rites of Spring Ensemble (R o S Ensemble )
R o S Ensemble is a collectively organized group of musicians dedicated to performing classical music and creating new artistic works at the highest level.
Based on the East End of Long Island, the ensemble is committed to the idea that new music belongs in every community, and implements this mission through touring and outreach to connect with audiences and artists, focusing specifically on bringing music to locations out of the reach of many music organizations. Created by founder Paolo Bartolani, pianist and artistic director of Rites of Spring Music Festival, R o S Ensemble is dedicated to connecting communities across the East End of Long Island and the United States through the development and performance of music across the country.
This ensemble explores, performs and studies new concepts of notation, extended performing techniques, group improvisation and group composition, including other aspects of performance centered around the latest developments in sonic art. Their experience is extensive: from creating and performing music in unconventional venues, to site-specific projects that combine music, natural environment, and history, to collaborating with like-minded artists, performers, and thinkers, and offering a platform for all whose work demands it.
R o S Ensemble is a collectively organized group of musicians dedicated to performing classical music and creating new artistic works at the highest level.
Based on the East End of Long Island, the ensemble is committed to the idea that new music belongs in every community, and implements this mission through touring and outreach to connect with audiences and artists, focusing specifically on bringing music to locations out of the reach of many music organizations. Created by founder Paolo Bartolani, pianist and artistic director of Rites of Spring Music Festival, R o S Ensemble is dedicated to connecting communities across the East End of Long Island and the United States through the development and performance of music across the country.
This ensemble explores, performs and studies new concepts of notation, extended performing techniques, group improvisation and group composition, including other aspects of performance centered around the latest developments in sonic art. Their experience is extensive: from creating and performing music in unconventional venues, to site-specific projects that combine music, natural environment, and history, to collaborating with like-minded artists, performers, and thinkers, and offering a platform for all whose work demands it.
Tomina Parvanova,
Harpist
Based in New York City, Bulgarian harpist Tomina Parvanova is one of the most sought-after musicians in the NY area. She has performed with a myriad of major orchestras and ensembles, including Boston Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Boston Ballet, Louisiana Philharmonic, and Albany Symphony Orchestra. Tomina has played On and Off Broadway for several shows. She was the harpist for Soft Power and We're Only Alive For A Short Amount Of Time. A three time winner of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular Orchestra Principal Harp Chair (2018, 2016, 2015), and has been a substitute musician for Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel (starring Renée Fleming), Hello, Dolly! (starring Bette Midler), Amelie, and The Fantasticks (the world’s longest running show Ms. Parvanova has also been chosen between candidates from all over the world to perform at the 9th World Harp Congress, Dublin "Focus on Youth" concerts (2005). As a great collaborator of contemporary music, Ms. Parvanova has performed with new music groups including Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Sound Icon, Ludovico Ensemble, Xanthos Ensemble, and has taken part of the New York Institute & Festival for Contemporary Performance, IFCP (2014, 2015). Ms. Parvanova is also featured on recordings with Albany Symphony Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Providence Singers and “Muziko Monda” Boston’s World Music Ensemble. While in Bulgaria, Ms. Parvanova served as principal harpist with Pazardjic Symphony Orchestra, Bulgarian National Academy Symphony Orchestra and Sofia Youth Symphony Orchestra. She also appeared as a soloist with Pazardjic Symphony Orchestra performing the Dottersdorf Concerto for Harp and Orchestra. Ms. Parvanova attended Master Classes with Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche, Marie-Pierre Langlamet, Emily Mitchell and Sioned Williams. Her primary teachers include Ann Hobson Pilot, Cynthia Price Glynn, Ursula Holliger, Malina Hristova and Kohar Andonian.
Harpist
Based in New York City, Bulgarian harpist Tomina Parvanova is one of the most sought-after musicians in the NY area. She has performed with a myriad of major orchestras and ensembles, including Boston Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Boston Ballet, Louisiana Philharmonic, and Albany Symphony Orchestra. Tomina has played On and Off Broadway for several shows. She was the harpist for Soft Power and We're Only Alive For A Short Amount Of Time. A three time winner of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular Orchestra Principal Harp Chair (2018, 2016, 2015), and has been a substitute musician for Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel (starring Renée Fleming), Hello, Dolly! (starring Bette Midler), Amelie, and The Fantasticks (the world’s longest running show Ms. Parvanova has also been chosen between candidates from all over the world to perform at the 9th World Harp Congress, Dublin "Focus on Youth" concerts (2005). As a great collaborator of contemporary music, Ms. Parvanova has performed with new music groups including Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Sound Icon, Ludovico Ensemble, Xanthos Ensemble, and has taken part of the New York Institute & Festival for Contemporary Performance, IFCP (2014, 2015). Ms. Parvanova is also featured on recordings with Albany Symphony Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Providence Singers and “Muziko Monda” Boston’s World Music Ensemble. While in Bulgaria, Ms. Parvanova served as principal harpist with Pazardjic Symphony Orchestra, Bulgarian National Academy Symphony Orchestra and Sofia Youth Symphony Orchestra. She also appeared as a soloist with Pazardjic Symphony Orchestra performing the Dottersdorf Concerto for Harp and Orchestra. Ms. Parvanova attended Master Classes with Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche, Marie-Pierre Langlamet, Emily Mitchell and Sioned Williams. Her primary teachers include Ann Hobson Pilot, Cynthia Price Glynn, Ursula Holliger, Malina Hristova and Kohar Andonian.
Mariel Roberts
Cello & Electronics
Biography American cellist Mariel Roberts is widely recognized not just for her virtuosic performances, but as a “fearless explorer” in her field (Chicago Reader). Her ravenous appetite for collaboration and experimentation as an interpreter, improvisor, and composer have helped create a body of work which bridges avant-garde, contemporary, classical, improvised, and traditional music. Roberts is widely recognized for her “technical and interpretive mastery” (I care if you listen) and for performances which seethe with “excruciating intensity” (The Whole Note). Roberts has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician across four continents, most notably as a member and co-director of the Wet Ink Ensemble (named “The Best Classical Music Ensemble of 2018” by The New York Times), as well as with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Mivos Quartet, Bang on a Can All Stars, and Ensemble Signal. She performs regularly on major stages for new music such as the Lincoln Center Festival (NYC), Wien Modern (Austria), Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), Cervantino Festival (Mexico), Klang Festival (Denmark), Shanghai New Music Week (China), Darmstadt Internationalen Ferienkurse für Neue Musik (Germany), and Aldeburgh Music Festival (UK). Roberts has been featured wide variety of outstanding recordings, including titles on Innova Records, Albany Records, New World Records, New Amsterdam, Carrier Records, New Focus, and Urtext Records. Roberts' compositions have been performed at venues such as Merkin Hall and Miller Theater in New York City. Roberts has released two solo albums of new works commissioned for her. The first, “Nonextraneous Sounds” (2012), was noted for it's “technical flair and exquisite sensitivity” (Composers Forum). 2017's “Cartography” (2017), solidified Roberts' position as “one of the most adventurous figures on New York’s new music scene—one with a thorough grounding in classical tradition but a ravenous appetite for and tireless discipline in new work.” (Bandcamp). Her close collaborators have spanned a wide range of genres and include some of the most important figures on the contemporary and experimental scene, such as George Lewis, Alex Mincek, Tim Hecker, Nate Wooley, M. Lamar, Patrick Higgins (Zs), Ingrid Laubrock, Jeffrey Mumford, Sam Pluta, Eric Wubbels, and Ambrose Akinmusire.
Cello & Electronics
Biography American cellist Mariel Roberts is widely recognized not just for her virtuosic performances, but as a “fearless explorer” in her field (Chicago Reader). Her ravenous appetite for collaboration and experimentation as an interpreter, improvisor, and composer have helped create a body of work which bridges avant-garde, contemporary, classical, improvised, and traditional music. Roberts is widely recognized for her “technical and interpretive mastery” (I care if you listen) and for performances which seethe with “excruciating intensity” (The Whole Note). Roberts has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician across four continents, most notably as a member and co-director of the Wet Ink Ensemble (named “The Best Classical Music Ensemble of 2018” by The New York Times), as well as with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Mivos Quartet, Bang on a Can All Stars, and Ensemble Signal. She performs regularly on major stages for new music such as the Lincoln Center Festival (NYC), Wien Modern (Austria), Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), Cervantino Festival (Mexico), Klang Festival (Denmark), Shanghai New Music Week (China), Darmstadt Internationalen Ferienkurse für Neue Musik (Germany), and Aldeburgh Music Festival (UK). Roberts has been featured wide variety of outstanding recordings, including titles on Innova Records, Albany Records, New World Records, New Amsterdam, Carrier Records, New Focus, and Urtext Records. Roberts' compositions have been performed at venues such as Merkin Hall and Miller Theater in New York City. Roberts has released two solo albums of new works commissioned for her. The first, “Nonextraneous Sounds” (2012), was noted for it's “technical flair and exquisite sensitivity” (Composers Forum). 2017's “Cartography” (2017), solidified Roberts' position as “one of the most adventurous figures on New York’s new music scene—one with a thorough grounding in classical tradition but a ravenous appetite for and tireless discipline in new work.” (Bandcamp). Her close collaborators have spanned a wide range of genres and include some of the most important figures on the contemporary and experimental scene, such as George Lewis, Alex Mincek, Tim Hecker, Nate Wooley, M. Lamar, Patrick Higgins (Zs), Ingrid Laubrock, Jeffrey Mumford, Sam Pluta, Eric Wubbels, and Ambrose Akinmusire.
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Thomas Manuel
Cornet & Vocals
Jazz historian, music educator and cornet player Dr. Thomas Manuel holds the endowed Artist in Residence chair within the Jazz department at Stony Brook University. In addition to this he serves as a trustee to the Frank Melville Memorial Foundation, is a member of the Huntington Arts Council Decentralization Advisory Committee, and is the founder and President of The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook, NY, an innovative and creative space which joins jazz performance, jazz preservation and jazz education in celebration of the past, present, and future. Manuel has been cited for his accomplishments by The New York Times, Downbeat Magazine, Newsday, Jazz Inside Magazine, Jazz Ed Magazine and has been actively involved with global educational outreach to Havana, Cuba, Monrovia, Liberia and Port Au Prince, Haiti. Manuel dedicates his professional efforts to both the preservation of Long Island’s jazz history as well as presenting it to future generations and has received several honors for his dedication to the American born art form of Jazz including: Stony Brook Universities 40 Under 40 Award, several Suffolk Country Proclamations, the East End Arts & Humanities Council 2020 Music Masters residency, the 2019 Applied Improvisation Network International Conference artist presenter, and the 2016 Person of the Year in Brookhaven award from the Times Beacon Record.
Cornet & Vocals
Jazz historian, music educator and cornet player Dr. Thomas Manuel holds the endowed Artist in Residence chair within the Jazz department at Stony Brook University. In addition to this he serves as a trustee to the Frank Melville Memorial Foundation, is a member of the Huntington Arts Council Decentralization Advisory Committee, and is the founder and President of The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook, NY, an innovative and creative space which joins jazz performance, jazz preservation and jazz education in celebration of the past, present, and future. Manuel has been cited for his accomplishments by The New York Times, Downbeat Magazine, Newsday, Jazz Inside Magazine, Jazz Ed Magazine and has been actively involved with global educational outreach to Havana, Cuba, Monrovia, Liberia and Port Au Prince, Haiti. Manuel dedicates his professional efforts to both the preservation of Long Island’s jazz history as well as presenting it to future generations and has received several honors for his dedication to the American born art form of Jazz including: Stony Brook Universities 40 Under 40 Award, several Suffolk Country Proclamations, the East End Arts & Humanities Council 2020 Music Masters residency, the 2019 Applied Improvisation Network International Conference artist presenter, and the 2016 Person of the Year in Brookhaven award from the Times Beacon Record.
Yezu Elizabeth Woo
Violin
Praised for “her technical quality, beauty of sound, and above all, the projection of an uncommon musical sensibility" (El Norte, Monterrey), violinist Yezu Elizabeth Woo made her debut at Carnegie Hall at age 16, where she became the youngest performer to play all 24 of Niccolo Paganini’s Caprices for solo violin. She has made solo appearances with the KBS Symphony Orchestra, Pyongyang Symphony, North Czech Philharmonic, Bulgarian National Symphony, Slovakian Radio Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Philharmonic, Venezuela Philharmonic, among others. Yezu has been invited to perform at the Lincoln Center, United Nations (NY), the Smetana Hall (Prague), Musikverein (Vienna), Alte Oper (Frankfurt), and Kölner Philharmonie, and has recorded for EMI Classics and MOOK Sound. She was the artistic director and co-founder of Shattered Glass, a NYC string ensemble, which debuted to great acclaim in 2012.
A winner of the Korean national award, "Outstanding International Musician of the Year" by the Arts Critics Association, as well as "Artist of the Year'' by the Gangwon Foundation, Yezu was appointed as Honorary Ambassador of the City of Chuncheon, where she is currently serving as the the Artistic Director of New York in Chuncheon Music Festival. Her commitment to Korean traditional and new music has led her to performances at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) ‘ART FESTA’ as part of the ongoing peace process between the two Koreas, as well as seeing collaborations with the KBS Korean Traditional Orchestra.
Born in Freiburg, Germany, Yezu moved to the U.S. from South Korea at age 10 to study with Albert Markov. She received her B.M. Degree from the Manhattan School of Music, M.M. Degree at The Juilliard School, and Performance Certificate from Bard Conservatory. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate Degree at the Stony Brook University. Her principal teachers include Albert Markov, Catherine Cho, Laurie Smukler, Arnaud Sussmann and the members of the Emerson Quartet. Yezu is a recipient of Fulbright Scholarship (‘19-20) in Germany, where she was a member of the Ensemble Modern Academy, Frankfurt, and a researcher at the Isang-Yun-Haus in Berlin. She is currently based in Berlin, Germany.
Violin
Praised for “her technical quality, beauty of sound, and above all, the projection of an uncommon musical sensibility" (El Norte, Monterrey), violinist Yezu Elizabeth Woo made her debut at Carnegie Hall at age 16, where she became the youngest performer to play all 24 of Niccolo Paganini’s Caprices for solo violin. She has made solo appearances with the KBS Symphony Orchestra, Pyongyang Symphony, North Czech Philharmonic, Bulgarian National Symphony, Slovakian Radio Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Philharmonic, Venezuela Philharmonic, among others. Yezu has been invited to perform at the Lincoln Center, United Nations (NY), the Smetana Hall (Prague), Musikverein (Vienna), Alte Oper (Frankfurt), and Kölner Philharmonie, and has recorded for EMI Classics and MOOK Sound. She was the artistic director and co-founder of Shattered Glass, a NYC string ensemble, which debuted to great acclaim in 2012.
A winner of the Korean national award, "Outstanding International Musician of the Year" by the Arts Critics Association, as well as "Artist of the Year'' by the Gangwon Foundation, Yezu was appointed as Honorary Ambassador of the City of Chuncheon, where she is currently serving as the the Artistic Director of New York in Chuncheon Music Festival. Her commitment to Korean traditional and new music has led her to performances at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) ‘ART FESTA’ as part of the ongoing peace process between the two Koreas, as well as seeing collaborations with the KBS Korean Traditional Orchestra.
Born in Freiburg, Germany, Yezu moved to the U.S. from South Korea at age 10 to study with Albert Markov. She received her B.M. Degree from the Manhattan School of Music, M.M. Degree at The Juilliard School, and Performance Certificate from Bard Conservatory. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate Degree at the Stony Brook University. Her principal teachers include Albert Markov, Catherine Cho, Laurie Smukler, Arnaud Sussmann and the members of the Emerson Quartet. Yezu is a recipient of Fulbright Scholarship (‘19-20) in Germany, where she was a member of the Ensemble Modern Academy, Frankfurt, and a researcher at the Isang-Yun-Haus in Berlin. She is currently based in Berlin, Germany.
Tomoki Park
Piano
Korean pianist Tomoki Park was born in Yokohama, Japan, and moved to the United Kingdom at age 11 to study at the Purcell School. He is a graduate of Berlin University of Arts and Bard College Conservatory of Music (New York). Top prize winner of the 14th Young Artists’ Piano Competition in Tokyo and laureate of the 10th International Competition in Ettlingen, Tomoki has performed worldwide as a soloist and chamber player, including in Wigmore Hall and South Bank Center (London), Suntory Hall and Opera City (Tokyo), and Lincoln Center and Merkin Hall (New York).
Recent engagements include performances at the Portrait Pierre Boulez (Geneva), a Mozart recital at the Mozarteum (Salzburg), Nancarrow with Ensemble Modern at Kronberg Festival, and Bach and Takemitsu Double Piano Concertos with Peter Serkin and the Sacramento Philharmonic. Festival appearances include Marlboro Music, Klangspuren in the Austrian Tyrol and Tanglewood Music Center. His rendition of Oliver Knussen’s piano music was noted as “performed sensitively... and among the highlights” by the New York Times. Last season, he co-directed New York’s Andrew Park Foundation Composition Award, which commissioned new pieces inspired by the Korean resistance poet Yi Yuksa.
Tomoki studied piano with Peter Serkin, Tessa Nicholson, Pascal Devoyon, Rikako Murata, and composition with Dai Fujikura, Haris Kittos and Jonathan Cole. He is the Co-founder of the Charles Rosen Ensemble, a group based in Berlin’s Theater in Delphi, founded for the purpose of commissioning new works as well as for performing classical ensemble music. Tomoki was a member of the International Ensemble Modern Academy in Frankfurt, Germany, and is currently living in Berlin.
Piano
Korean pianist Tomoki Park was born in Yokohama, Japan, and moved to the United Kingdom at age 11 to study at the Purcell School. He is a graduate of Berlin University of Arts and Bard College Conservatory of Music (New York). Top prize winner of the 14th Young Artists’ Piano Competition in Tokyo and laureate of the 10th International Competition in Ettlingen, Tomoki has performed worldwide as a soloist and chamber player, including in Wigmore Hall and South Bank Center (London), Suntory Hall and Opera City (Tokyo), and Lincoln Center and Merkin Hall (New York).
Recent engagements include performances at the Portrait Pierre Boulez (Geneva), a Mozart recital at the Mozarteum (Salzburg), Nancarrow with Ensemble Modern at Kronberg Festival, and Bach and Takemitsu Double Piano Concertos with Peter Serkin and the Sacramento Philharmonic. Festival appearances include Marlboro Music, Klangspuren in the Austrian Tyrol and Tanglewood Music Center. His rendition of Oliver Knussen’s piano music was noted as “performed sensitively... and among the highlights” by the New York Times. Last season, he co-directed New York’s Andrew Park Foundation Composition Award, which commissioned new pieces inspired by the Korean resistance poet Yi Yuksa.
Tomoki studied piano with Peter Serkin, Tessa Nicholson, Pascal Devoyon, Rikako Murata, and composition with Dai Fujikura, Haris Kittos and Jonathan Cole. He is the Co-founder of the Charles Rosen Ensemble, a group based in Berlin’s Theater in Delphi, founded for the purpose of commissioning new works as well as for performing classical ensemble music. Tomoki was a member of the International Ensemble Modern Academy in Frankfurt, Germany, and is currently living in Berlin.
Gleb Kanasevich
Clarinet, Composer
Gleb Kanasevich is a clarinetist, composer, and electronic musician. He currently works primarily with modified acoustic instruments and fundamental electroacoustic phenomena, while exploring expressive possibilities in very simple electronic processing. He works in a variety of formats as a soloist and collaborates with many artists, ranging between composers, improvisers, chamber orchestras, noise musicians, and rock bands. His immersive 45-minute Subtraction (Flag Day Recordings) came out to critical acclaim in 2019. In 2021, he was commissioned by Ensemble Intercontemporain (Paris), Callithumpian Consort (Boston), and No Exit New Music Ensemble (Cleveland).
He has performed as a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Belarus National Philharmonic, Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra, Peabody Symphony Orchestra, soundSCAPE Ensemble, and many more. He was invited as a visiting artist to an extensive list of institutions, such as Oxford University, University of California Berkeley, University of California San Diego, Brandeis University, Rice University, Peabody Conservatory, and many more.
Since 2013, he has been a core member of Ensemble Cantata Profana – a group based in New York City and dedicated to programming an impressively wide range of repertoire, from renaissance to brand new compositions. In August 2018, he took on the duties of the ensemble's Associate Artistic Director after moving to New York City. From 2016 until Spring, 2019, Kanasevich also worked as a curator/video maker for the online new music database and audio/video/score resource ScoreFollower/Incipitsify. In March 2021, he established Unknown Tapes, a recording artist community dedicated to showcasing work by artists with unique approaches to spontaneous music making and improvisation techniques, regardless of genre.
Clarinet, Composer
Gleb Kanasevich is a clarinetist, composer, and electronic musician. He currently works primarily with modified acoustic instruments and fundamental electroacoustic phenomena, while exploring expressive possibilities in very simple electronic processing. He works in a variety of formats as a soloist and collaborates with many artists, ranging between composers, improvisers, chamber orchestras, noise musicians, and rock bands. His immersive 45-minute Subtraction (Flag Day Recordings) came out to critical acclaim in 2019. In 2021, he was commissioned by Ensemble Intercontemporain (Paris), Callithumpian Consort (Boston), and No Exit New Music Ensemble (Cleveland).
He has performed as a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Belarus National Philharmonic, Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra, Peabody Symphony Orchestra, soundSCAPE Ensemble, and many more. He was invited as a visiting artist to an extensive list of institutions, such as Oxford University, University of California Berkeley, University of California San Diego, Brandeis University, Rice University, Peabody Conservatory, and many more.
Since 2013, he has been a core member of Ensemble Cantata Profana – a group based in New York City and dedicated to programming an impressively wide range of repertoire, from renaissance to brand new compositions. In August 2018, he took on the duties of the ensemble's Associate Artistic Director after moving to New York City. From 2016 until Spring, 2019, Kanasevich also worked as a curator/video maker for the online new music database and audio/video/score resource ScoreFollower/Incipitsify. In March 2021, he established Unknown Tapes, a recording artist community dedicated to showcasing work by artists with unique approaches to spontaneous music making and improvisation techniques, regardless of genre.
Iva Casian-Lakoš
Cello
Mexican-Croatian cellist, singer, and improviser Iva Casian-Lakoš is based in New York and performs across the US and Europe with interdisciplinary, genre-bending ensembles Synesthetic Project, hear|say, eco|tonal, and Ensemble Illyrica. Iva’s versatile repertoire ranges from classical cello to boundary-stretching new works, involving choreography, singing, acting, and improvisation. Recent performance highlights include giving the world premiere of a new piece written for Iva by Joan La Barbara at Bang on a Can Marathon, Ensemble Illyrica’s debut recital at Scena Amadeo (Zagreb) where Iva premiered her own composition for singing-cellist, and choreographed performances with Synesthetic Project as singer and cellist at Hidalgo Festival (Munich). Iva enjoys working on commissioned projects with composers such as Wang Lu, David Crowell, Erika Dohi, Mak Murtic (Scena Amadeo), Chelsea Loew, and James Budinich. She also collaborates with visual artists, videographers, and dancers in interdisciplinary projects, often via the Vienna-based artist collective Synesthetic Project. Iva gave concerto performances with Columbus Symphony Orchestra, New Albany Symphony, and SEO Symphony Orchestra, collaborated with members of JACK, Emerson, Argus, Calidore, and Ying quartets in chamber performances, and appeared in concert halls around the US, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center (Bruno Walter), Jordan Hall, and Kennedy Center (Millennium). She was also invited as soloist and chamber musician to Hvar Summer Festival (Croatia), IMS Prussia Cove (Cornwall, England), Arsana Festival (Ptuj, Slovenia), Nights in the Diocletian (Split, Croatia), Barnes Ensemble (Philadelphia), Vivo Music Festival (Columbus, OH), Lake George Music Festival (Lake George, NY), Guild Hall Museum (East Hamptons, NY), and Ensemble Evolution with International Contemporary Ensemble.
Cello
Mexican-Croatian cellist, singer, and improviser Iva Casian-Lakoš is based in New York and performs across the US and Europe with interdisciplinary, genre-bending ensembles Synesthetic Project, hear|say, eco|tonal, and Ensemble Illyrica. Iva’s versatile repertoire ranges from classical cello to boundary-stretching new works, involving choreography, singing, acting, and improvisation. Recent performance highlights include giving the world premiere of a new piece written for Iva by Joan La Barbara at Bang on a Can Marathon, Ensemble Illyrica’s debut recital at Scena Amadeo (Zagreb) where Iva premiered her own composition for singing-cellist, and choreographed performances with Synesthetic Project as singer and cellist at Hidalgo Festival (Munich). Iva enjoys working on commissioned projects with composers such as Wang Lu, David Crowell, Erika Dohi, Mak Murtic (Scena Amadeo), Chelsea Loew, and James Budinich. She also collaborates with visual artists, videographers, and dancers in interdisciplinary projects, often via the Vienna-based artist collective Synesthetic Project. Iva gave concerto performances with Columbus Symphony Orchestra, New Albany Symphony, and SEO Symphony Orchestra, collaborated with members of JACK, Emerson, Argus, Calidore, and Ying quartets in chamber performances, and appeared in concert halls around the US, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center (Bruno Walter), Jordan Hall, and Kennedy Center (Millennium). She was also invited as soloist and chamber musician to Hvar Summer Festival (Croatia), IMS Prussia Cove (Cornwall, England), Arsana Festival (Ptuj, Slovenia), Nights in the Diocletian (Split, Croatia), Barnes Ensemble (Philadelphia), Vivo Music Festival (Columbus, OH), Lake George Music Festival (Lake George, NY), Guild Hall Museum (East Hamptons, NY), and Ensemble Evolution with International Contemporary Ensemble.
David Crowell
Composer, Electric Guitar
Brooklyn-based composer, instrumentalist and producer David Crowell brings a “singular vision that transcends genre” (Exclaim) to diverse forms of composed and improvisational music, and has been praised for compositional work that is "notable for its crystalline sonic beauty" (Boston Globe) and which “pulses with small, ecstatic fibrillations” (New York Times). David’s music has been performed internationally at festivals and concert venues including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Carnegie Hall (Weill), Lucerne Festival Spotlights Series, MATA Festival, Bang on a Can Summer Marathon, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Festival (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Library of Congress, London Jazz Festival, Cortona Sessions for New Music, Caramoor Festival, Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival, American Music Festival (EMPAC), Tribeca New Music Festival, National Sawdust, Merkin Hall, and Joe’s Pub.
Commissioning ensembles and universities have included the JACK Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, New Morse Code, NOW Ensemble, Sandbox Percussion, Third Coast Percussion, icarus Quartet, Boston Conservatory, University of Massachusetts, University of North Texas, University of Kentucky, and the University of Wisconsin. His work has also been performed by noted international performers Mak Grgic, Brian Archinal, Dan Lippel, Colin Davin, Ayano Kataoka and Ian Rosenbaum. A new work for the Argus Quartet in 2021 will be supported by a fellowship at Dumbarton Oaks, a research institute of Harvard University.
David has worked on multimedia projects with artists and dancers. In 2018, Emmy Award winner John Malashock (Twyla Tharp, Mikhail Baryshnikov) choreographed new work to Waiting in the Rain for Snow as part of the program Minor Fall, Major Lift, and choreographer Maria Basile worked with The Open Road for performances with sjDANCEco. An extended work for multiple saxophones and electronics (Eucalyptus) was performed by the composer at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art in conjunction with Carlito Carvalhosa’s exhibition, Sum of Days. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, David has also studied composition with Nathan Davis, Daria Semegen, Paul Caputo and Jonathan Dawe; woodwinds with Andrew Sterman; and improvisation with Ralph Alessi, Don Byron, Peter Epstein, Steve Coleman and Ravi Coltrane through New York’s School for Improvisational Music. He has worked with Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon and David Lang as a composition fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, and with Donnacha Dennehy and Steven Stuckey as a composition fellow at the Mizzou International Composers Festival.
Composer, Electric Guitar
Brooklyn-based composer, instrumentalist and producer David Crowell brings a “singular vision that transcends genre” (Exclaim) to diverse forms of composed and improvisational music, and has been praised for compositional work that is "notable for its crystalline sonic beauty" (Boston Globe) and which “pulses with small, ecstatic fibrillations” (New York Times). David’s music has been performed internationally at festivals and concert venues including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Carnegie Hall (Weill), Lucerne Festival Spotlights Series, MATA Festival, Bang on a Can Summer Marathon, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Festival (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Library of Congress, London Jazz Festival, Cortona Sessions for New Music, Caramoor Festival, Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival, American Music Festival (EMPAC), Tribeca New Music Festival, National Sawdust, Merkin Hall, and Joe’s Pub.
Commissioning ensembles and universities have included the JACK Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, New Morse Code, NOW Ensemble, Sandbox Percussion, Third Coast Percussion, icarus Quartet, Boston Conservatory, University of Massachusetts, University of North Texas, University of Kentucky, and the University of Wisconsin. His work has also been performed by noted international performers Mak Grgic, Brian Archinal, Dan Lippel, Colin Davin, Ayano Kataoka and Ian Rosenbaum. A new work for the Argus Quartet in 2021 will be supported by a fellowship at Dumbarton Oaks, a research institute of Harvard University.
David has worked on multimedia projects with artists and dancers. In 2018, Emmy Award winner John Malashock (Twyla Tharp, Mikhail Baryshnikov) choreographed new work to Waiting in the Rain for Snow as part of the program Minor Fall, Major Lift, and choreographer Maria Basile worked with The Open Road for performances with sjDANCEco. An extended work for multiple saxophones and electronics (Eucalyptus) was performed by the composer at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art in conjunction with Carlito Carvalhosa’s exhibition, Sum of Days. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, David has also studied composition with Nathan Davis, Daria Semegen, Paul Caputo and Jonathan Dawe; woodwinds with Andrew Sterman; and improvisation with Ralph Alessi, Don Byron, Peter Epstein, Steve Coleman and Ravi Coltrane through New York’s School for Improvisational Music. He has worked with Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon and David Lang as a composition fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, and with Donnacha Dennehy and Steven Stuckey as a composition fellow at the Mizzou International Composers Festival.
Dan Lippel
electric guitar
Guitarist Daniel Lippel, called an “exciting soloist” (New York Times) and “precise and sensitive” (Boston Globe) has carved out a unique and diverse career that ranges through solo and chamber music performances, innovative commissioning and recording projects, and performances in diverse contexts. He has premiered more than fifty new solo and chamber works, many written for him, recording several on the independent label he co-founded and directs, New Focus Recordings. Recent performance highlights include recitals at Le Poisson Rouge in New York, Sinus Ton Festival (Germany), National University of Colombia in Bogota, Lawrence University (Wisconsin), and the New York, Philadelphia, and Cleveland Classical Guitar Societies, featured solo performances at the ZKM in Karlsruhe Germany with the SWR Experimental Studio Freiburg, MATA Festival, and WNYC's Greene Space, and chamber performances on the Macau Music Festival (China), Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, Ojai Festival, Ottawa Chamber Festival, Aspekte Festival (Salzburg), Kunst Universitaet Graz (Austria), Newburyport Chamber Music Festival, and at Teatro Amazonas (Manaus, Brasil), Sibelius Academy (Finland), and Zankel and Weill Halls at Carnegie Hall. Lippel has been a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) since 2006, counter)induction since 2019, FretX duo with Mak Grgic since 2015, and new music quartet Flexible Music from 2003, as well as a guest with many other ensembles including the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, New York New Music Ensemble, New York City Opera, Wet Ink Ensemble, Either/Or Ensemble, Cantata Profana, Wavefield Ensemble, Dinosaur Annex, Classical Cafe, Cygnus Ensemble, in addition to performing with many chamber collaborators in smaller ensemble formations. Lippel has worked closely with many eminent composers including Mario Davidovsky, Ursula Mamlok, Nils Vigeland, and John Zorn, and collaborated on new works with several of the community's most active mid-career composers, including Dai Fujikura, Tyshawn Sorey, Reiko Fueting, Douglas Boyce, Marcos Balter, Du Yun, Kyle Bartlett, Peter Gilbert, Mikel Kuehn, Ken Ueno, John Link, Ryan Streber, Nathan Davis, and Wang Lu. He has had the opportunity to perform chamber and ensemble music by Elliott Carter, Steve Reich, Olga Neuwirth, Charles Wuorinen, Kaija Saariaho, George Lewis, Louis Andriessen, and George Crumb with the composers in attendance. Lippel's recordings have garnered him critical acclaim from several publications including the New York Times, Boston Globe, Gramophone, American Record Guide, Chicago Reader, New Music Box, and Sequenza21. His work encompasses repertoire for both classical and electric guitars. In addition to New Focus, he appears on recordings on several other labels including Kairos, Bridge, Innova, Sono Luminus, Albany, Tzadik, Wergo, New Amsterdam, and New World, and as a producer and co-producer on several New Focus releases. Other collaborations on the improvised to through composed continuum have included Collage Project with bassist Aidan Plank and guitarist Dan Bruce, performances and recordings of pianist/composer Cory Smythe's music, and a duo of original and improvised music with guitarist/composer Alejandro Florez. In commercial recording, Lippel was featured on the Elliot Goldenthal score for Netflix's "Our Souls at Night" and the film "The Longest Week."
electric guitar
Guitarist Daniel Lippel, called an “exciting soloist” (New York Times) and “precise and sensitive” (Boston Globe) has carved out a unique and diverse career that ranges through solo and chamber music performances, innovative commissioning and recording projects, and performances in diverse contexts. He has premiered more than fifty new solo and chamber works, many written for him, recording several on the independent label he co-founded and directs, New Focus Recordings. Recent performance highlights include recitals at Le Poisson Rouge in New York, Sinus Ton Festival (Germany), National University of Colombia in Bogota, Lawrence University (Wisconsin), and the New York, Philadelphia, and Cleveland Classical Guitar Societies, featured solo performances at the ZKM in Karlsruhe Germany with the SWR Experimental Studio Freiburg, MATA Festival, and WNYC's Greene Space, and chamber performances on the Macau Music Festival (China), Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, Ojai Festival, Ottawa Chamber Festival, Aspekte Festival (Salzburg), Kunst Universitaet Graz (Austria), Newburyport Chamber Music Festival, and at Teatro Amazonas (Manaus, Brasil), Sibelius Academy (Finland), and Zankel and Weill Halls at Carnegie Hall. Lippel has been a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) since 2006, counter)induction since 2019, FretX duo with Mak Grgic since 2015, and new music quartet Flexible Music from 2003, as well as a guest with many other ensembles including the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, New York New Music Ensemble, New York City Opera, Wet Ink Ensemble, Either/Or Ensemble, Cantata Profana, Wavefield Ensemble, Dinosaur Annex, Classical Cafe, Cygnus Ensemble, in addition to performing with many chamber collaborators in smaller ensemble formations. Lippel has worked closely with many eminent composers including Mario Davidovsky, Ursula Mamlok, Nils Vigeland, and John Zorn, and collaborated on new works with several of the community's most active mid-career composers, including Dai Fujikura, Tyshawn Sorey, Reiko Fueting, Douglas Boyce, Marcos Balter, Du Yun, Kyle Bartlett, Peter Gilbert, Mikel Kuehn, Ken Ueno, John Link, Ryan Streber, Nathan Davis, and Wang Lu. He has had the opportunity to perform chamber and ensemble music by Elliott Carter, Steve Reich, Olga Neuwirth, Charles Wuorinen, Kaija Saariaho, George Lewis, Louis Andriessen, and George Crumb with the composers in attendance. Lippel's recordings have garnered him critical acclaim from several publications including the New York Times, Boston Globe, Gramophone, American Record Guide, Chicago Reader, New Music Box, and Sequenza21. His work encompasses repertoire for both classical and electric guitars. In addition to New Focus, he appears on recordings on several other labels including Kairos, Bridge, Innova, Sono Luminus, Albany, Tzadik, Wergo, New Amsterdam, and New World, and as a producer and co-producer on several New Focus releases. Other collaborations on the improvised to through composed continuum have included Collage Project with bassist Aidan Plank and guitarist Dan Bruce, performances and recordings of pianist/composer Cory Smythe's music, and a duo of original and improvised music with guitarist/composer Alejandro Florez. In commercial recording, Lippel was featured on the Elliot Goldenthal score for Netflix's "Our Souls at Night" and the film "The Longest Week."
Daniel Pate
Percussion
Percussionist Daniel Pate is an international performer, collaborator, curator, researcher and educator dedicated to the dynamic and inspiring performance of today's most daring new music. He is constantly working to expand the concept of the contemporary percussionist through adventurous programming, diverse commissions and engaging performances that feature exciting electronic and visual elements. Dr. Pate works to create an inviting concert environment grounded in personal emotions and topics where audiences can experience these works both visually and aurally in a way that is familiar to them .
As a performer his work can be seen frequently in New York City and the surrounding areas. He has presented performances at the 48th International Summer Course at Darmstadt, Germany, the Green Umbrella Concert Series held at Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, The Ojai Music Festival, the Mondavi Center, Symphony Space in NYC and The Abrons Center in NYC. He has also presented concerts and masterclasses at Southeastern Louisiana University, New York University, Gettysburg University, Denver Metropolitan University and Mesa College.
As a passionate advocate of contemporary music, Dr. Pate has commissioned works by Martin Bresnick, Nathan Hudson, and Howie Kenty and presented premiers by Paula Matthusen, Kristen Broberg and Adam Beard. He currently serves as the vibraphonist known as Tempus Rhythmicus in the Electronic Chamber Ensemble "Swarmius" as well as a performer in the Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players and a guest performer with the contemporary ensemble “Red Fish, Blue Fish”. Currently, he serves as percussionist and a member of the steering committee for the New York Electro-Acoustic Music Festival as well as a member of the percussion faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp where he performs frequently as a soloist, chamber musician, and with the Blue Lake Festival Orchestra and Band.
Dr. Pate has earned a a Doctorate in Percussion Performance from Stony Brook University under the tutelage of Eduardo Leandro and Is a Member of the Contemporary Chamber Players, He also holds an Master's Degree from The University of Massachusetts in Amherst As well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Percussion Performance from San Diego State University. During his studies, Mr. Pate has worked with such performers as marimbists Robert Van Sice, Gordon Stout, Christopher Norton, Nancy Zeltsman, and Michael Burritt, as well as percussionists Steven Schick, Christian Dierstein, Jack Van Geem, and Raynor Carroll.
Percussion
Percussionist Daniel Pate is an international performer, collaborator, curator, researcher and educator dedicated to the dynamic and inspiring performance of today's most daring new music. He is constantly working to expand the concept of the contemporary percussionist through adventurous programming, diverse commissions and engaging performances that feature exciting electronic and visual elements. Dr. Pate works to create an inviting concert environment grounded in personal emotions and topics where audiences can experience these works both visually and aurally in a way that is familiar to them .
As a performer his work can be seen frequently in New York City and the surrounding areas. He has presented performances at the 48th International Summer Course at Darmstadt, Germany, the Green Umbrella Concert Series held at Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, The Ojai Music Festival, the Mondavi Center, Symphony Space in NYC and The Abrons Center in NYC. He has also presented concerts and masterclasses at Southeastern Louisiana University, New York University, Gettysburg University, Denver Metropolitan University and Mesa College.
As a passionate advocate of contemporary music, Dr. Pate has commissioned works by Martin Bresnick, Nathan Hudson, and Howie Kenty and presented premiers by Paula Matthusen, Kristen Broberg and Adam Beard. He currently serves as the vibraphonist known as Tempus Rhythmicus in the Electronic Chamber Ensemble "Swarmius" as well as a performer in the Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players and a guest performer with the contemporary ensemble “Red Fish, Blue Fish”. Currently, he serves as percussionist and a member of the steering committee for the New York Electro-Acoustic Music Festival as well as a member of the percussion faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp where he performs frequently as a soloist, chamber musician, and with the Blue Lake Festival Orchestra and Band.
Dr. Pate has earned a a Doctorate in Percussion Performance from Stony Brook University under the tutelage of Eduardo Leandro and Is a Member of the Contemporary Chamber Players, He also holds an Master's Degree from The University of Massachusetts in Amherst As well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Percussion Performance from San Diego State University. During his studies, Mr. Pate has worked with such performers as marimbists Robert Van Sice, Gordon Stout, Christopher Norton, Nancy Zeltsman, and Michael Burritt, as well as percussionists Steven Schick, Christian Dierstein, Jack Van Geem, and Raynor Carroll.
Steve Salerno
Guitar
STEVE SALERNO (guitar) is an active performer of Jazz and Classical music. He has performed in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, China, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Cuba, Haiti, Russia and the United States. He is a member of the Ray Anderson Organic Quartet (with Gary Versace and Tommy Campbell), Paul Smoker 4-Tet (with Drew Gress and Phil Haynes), Mala Waldron Quartet (with Miriam Sullivan and Michael T.A. Thompson), Blue Pipa Trio (with Min Xiao-Fen & Dean Johnson) and leads a variety of
groups, including his Jazz quartet, Exiles.
He has performed with many of today’s top musicians including Jaco Pastorius, John Abercrombie, Regina Carter, Mark Dresser, Warren Vache and Peter Erskine.
Among his latest recordings are Ray Anderson’s Being The Point, Mala Waldron’s Always There, Paul Smoker’s Cool Lives, and Min Xiao-Fen’s Blue Pipa. He was music director for the PBS special Shoreline Sonata, which first aired in May, 2009.
He is the author of Planet Wave’s Chord Master (an 8,000 chord voicing dictionary), which was recently voted the number one music application for Apple’s iPhone, and is on the musician’s advisory board for D’Addario Strings.
Guitar
STEVE SALERNO (guitar) is an active performer of Jazz and Classical music. He has performed in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, China, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Cuba, Haiti, Russia and the United States. He is a member of the Ray Anderson Organic Quartet (with Gary Versace and Tommy Campbell), Paul Smoker 4-Tet (with Drew Gress and Phil Haynes), Mala Waldron Quartet (with Miriam Sullivan and Michael T.A. Thompson), Blue Pipa Trio (with Min Xiao-Fen & Dean Johnson) and leads a variety of
groups, including his Jazz quartet, Exiles.
He has performed with many of today’s top musicians including Jaco Pastorius, John Abercrombie, Regina Carter, Mark Dresser, Warren Vache and Peter Erskine.
Among his latest recordings are Ray Anderson’s Being The Point, Mala Waldron’s Always There, Paul Smoker’s Cool Lives, and Min Xiao-Fen’s Blue Pipa. He was music director for the PBS special Shoreline Sonata, which first aired in May, 2009.
He is the author of Planet Wave’s Chord Master (an 8,000 chord voicing dictionary), which was recently voted the number one music application for Apple’s iPhone, and is on the musician’s advisory board for D’Addario Strings.
Pete Coco
Bass
A mainstay on the New York Jazz Scene, bassist Pete Coco recently released his debut album as a leader, “Lined with a Groove,” which features drummer Matt Wilson and pianist Sullivan Fortner. The LP is an homage to his mentors and influences, with fresh arrangements of tunes by bassists including Ron Carter, Milt Hinton, Ray Brown, Charlie Haden, Paul Chambers and more.
Pete has performed with many jazz greats including Matt Wilson, Jane Monheit, Bucky Pizzarelli, Zach Brock, Melissa Aldana, Ken Peplowski, Harry Allen, Bruce Forman, Joel Weiskopf, Frank Vignola, Chuck Redd, and Warren Vache, among others. He has studied jazz bass with Maestro Ron Carter, Todd Coolman, Rufus Reid, Doug Weiss, Dennis Irwin and Bob Bowen, and classical bass with Kurt Muroki.
Pete holds a DMA in Classical Performance from Stony Brook University and is an adjunct professor at Hofstra University, where he teaches bass lessons, music history, conducts the lab jazz band, and directs the chamber music program. He is also director of the Music Academy of Garden City, a music school he founded in 2006, and an avid photographer who catalogs his fellow musicians both in the studio and live in concert.
Bass
A mainstay on the New York Jazz Scene, bassist Pete Coco recently released his debut album as a leader, “Lined with a Groove,” which features drummer Matt Wilson and pianist Sullivan Fortner. The LP is an homage to his mentors and influences, with fresh arrangements of tunes by bassists including Ron Carter, Milt Hinton, Ray Brown, Charlie Haden, Paul Chambers and more.
Pete has performed with many jazz greats including Matt Wilson, Jane Monheit, Bucky Pizzarelli, Zach Brock, Melissa Aldana, Ken Peplowski, Harry Allen, Bruce Forman, Joel Weiskopf, Frank Vignola, Chuck Redd, and Warren Vache, among others. He has studied jazz bass with Maestro Ron Carter, Todd Coolman, Rufus Reid, Doug Weiss, Dennis Irwin and Bob Bowen, and classical bass with Kurt Muroki.
Pete holds a DMA in Classical Performance from Stony Brook University and is an adjunct professor at Hofstra University, where he teaches bass lessons, music history, conducts the lab jazz band, and directs the chamber music program. He is also director of the Music Academy of Garden City, a music school he founded in 2006, and an avid photographer who catalogs his fellow musicians both in the studio and live in concert.
Chris Smith
Drums
My life is all music. My days are busy teaching lessons, working as a clinician, and playing gigs here in NYC and throughout the world.
Every Friday I perform with the Birdland Big Band at the world famous Birdland Jazz Club. It's my steady gig here in the city and an amazing opportunity to play in a great big band in one of the world's best venues. At Birdland alone I perform for about 10,000 jazz fans each year, it’s a dream gig for a big band jazz drummer! Outside of Birdland I perform with world-class small groups, recent performances include Dick Oatts Quintet, Joe Magnarelli Trio, Andrew Gould Quartet, and Garry Dial Trio. My drumming has also supported artists including Randy Brecker, Rufus Reid, Gary Smulyan, Benny Green, and Rich Perry in venues such as The Blue Note, Smalls, Chicago Jazz Festival, Telluride Jazz Festival, Dizzy’s Club, and Jazz Showcase. No matter the venue or situation I strive to make the music swing.
In addition to being a performer and author, I am a dedicated educator. My higher education teaching experience includes undergraduate and graduate level drum set, jazz history, music business, jazz pedagogy, rhythm section workshop, jazz ensembles, percussion ensemble, and orchestral percussion. Past appointments as a clinician and guest lecturer include the American Library in Paris, Eastern Washington University, University of Wyoming, Luther College, and University of Montana. I have a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Northern Illinois University, a Master of Music in Jazz Arts from Manhattan School of Music, and a D.A. in Jazz Studies, with a secondary emphasis in Percussion Pedagogy, from the University of Northern Colorado.
Jazz Drum Hang is my educational project. Whatever your musical goals, I want to help you achieve them.
Please check out www.jazzdrumhang.com
Drums
My life is all music. My days are busy teaching lessons, working as a clinician, and playing gigs here in NYC and throughout the world.
Every Friday I perform with the Birdland Big Band at the world famous Birdland Jazz Club. It's my steady gig here in the city and an amazing opportunity to play in a great big band in one of the world's best venues. At Birdland alone I perform for about 10,000 jazz fans each year, it’s a dream gig for a big band jazz drummer! Outside of Birdland I perform with world-class small groups, recent performances include Dick Oatts Quintet, Joe Magnarelli Trio, Andrew Gould Quartet, and Garry Dial Trio. My drumming has also supported artists including Randy Brecker, Rufus Reid, Gary Smulyan, Benny Green, and Rich Perry in venues such as The Blue Note, Smalls, Chicago Jazz Festival, Telluride Jazz Festival, Dizzy’s Club, and Jazz Showcase. No matter the venue or situation I strive to make the music swing.
In addition to being a performer and author, I am a dedicated educator. My higher education teaching experience includes undergraduate and graduate level drum set, jazz history, music business, jazz pedagogy, rhythm section workshop, jazz ensembles, percussion ensemble, and orchestral percussion. Past appointments as a clinician and guest lecturer include the American Library in Paris, Eastern Washington University, University of Wyoming, Luther College, and University of Montana. I have a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Northern Illinois University, a Master of Music in Jazz Arts from Manhattan School of Music, and a D.A. in Jazz Studies, with a secondary emphasis in Percussion Pedagogy, from the University of Northern Colorado.
Jazz Drum Hang is my educational project. Whatever your musical goals, I want to help you achieve them.
Please check out www.jazzdrumhang.com
Domenic Salerni
Violin
Violinist Domenic Salerni is a member of the New York-based Grammy Award-winning Attacca Quartet. He is also a member of the Chiarina Chamber Players, based in Washington, DC, and is active as a chamber musician, clinician, composer, and arranger nationally and internationally.
Domenic has recorded four new albums in his time with Attacca Quartet, two of which will be released this season on Sony Classical, the first of which, “Real Life,” a collaboration with and exploration of electronica artists, drops July 9th. Attacca Quartet looks forward to upcoming appearances at La Jolla SummerFest and the Ojai Music Festival, and to resuming tour dates in Europe and South America this fall.
As a member of the Chiarina Chamber Players, Domenic was a recipient of a 2020 Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant and will perform a new work by composer Carlos Simon with Chiarina and Peabody Conservatory bass faculty Carl DuPont this season.
In 2020, as part of his response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Domenic helped set up the Philadelphia Musicians Relief Fund as part of AFM Local 77’s efforts to provide for its community of musicians in times of need. The Fund has raised over $100,000 and is poised to act as a non-profit entity in perpetuity serving Philadelphia musicians beyond the scope of the pandemic.
In February 2020, Domenic premiered his first piano trio with pianist Efi Hackmey and cellist Andres Sanchez. In 2019, Domenic performed his original film accompaniment to Giuseppe de Liguoro’s “Dante’s Inferno” as part of a consortium between the Film Studies, French and Italian Department, and the Center for Creativity and the Arts at Emory University with bassist Adam Bernstein. He continues to compose and arrange, and two of his works will be premiered this summer: a one-movement string quartet, “Trilobites,” after a short story by Breece D. J. Pancake, at the first inaugural Appalachian Chamber Music Festival in Harpers Ferry, and a harp sextet, which will be performed by the Archipelago Collective in Friday Harbor, WA.
Domenic was the first violinist of the Dalí Quartet, quartet-in-residence at West Chester University of Pennsylvania from 2016-2020, and was the recipient of the Atlanta Symphony Talent Development Program’s Aspire Award in 2019. He holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Yale University School of Music. Past awards include ArtsATL’s “30 Under 30” Award, the Yale Chamber Music Society Award, the Phyllis Curtin Career Entry Award, Finalist of the Sion-Valais International Violin Competition, and Finalist of the M Prize as a member of the band Foundry.
Violin
Violinist Domenic Salerni is a member of the New York-based Grammy Award-winning Attacca Quartet. He is also a member of the Chiarina Chamber Players, based in Washington, DC, and is active as a chamber musician, clinician, composer, and arranger nationally and internationally.
Domenic has recorded four new albums in his time with Attacca Quartet, two of which will be released this season on Sony Classical, the first of which, “Real Life,” a collaboration with and exploration of electronica artists, drops July 9th. Attacca Quartet looks forward to upcoming appearances at La Jolla SummerFest and the Ojai Music Festival, and to resuming tour dates in Europe and South America this fall.
As a member of the Chiarina Chamber Players, Domenic was a recipient of a 2020 Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant and will perform a new work by composer Carlos Simon with Chiarina and Peabody Conservatory bass faculty Carl DuPont this season.
In 2020, as part of his response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Domenic helped set up the Philadelphia Musicians Relief Fund as part of AFM Local 77’s efforts to provide for its community of musicians in times of need. The Fund has raised over $100,000 and is poised to act as a non-profit entity in perpetuity serving Philadelphia musicians beyond the scope of the pandemic.
In February 2020, Domenic premiered his first piano trio with pianist Efi Hackmey and cellist Andres Sanchez. In 2019, Domenic performed his original film accompaniment to Giuseppe de Liguoro’s “Dante’s Inferno” as part of a consortium between the Film Studies, French and Italian Department, and the Center for Creativity and the Arts at Emory University with bassist Adam Bernstein. He continues to compose and arrange, and two of his works will be premiered this summer: a one-movement string quartet, “Trilobites,” after a short story by Breece D. J. Pancake, at the first inaugural Appalachian Chamber Music Festival in Harpers Ferry, and a harp sextet, which will be performed by the Archipelago Collective in Friday Harbor, WA.
Domenic was the first violinist of the Dalí Quartet, quartet-in-residence at West Chester University of Pennsylvania from 2016-2020, and was the recipient of the Atlanta Symphony Talent Development Program’s Aspire Award in 2019. He holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Yale University School of Music. Past awards include ArtsATL’s “30 Under 30” Award, the Yale Chamber Music Society Award, the Phyllis Curtin Career Entry Award, Finalist of the Sion-Valais International Violin Competition, and Finalist of the M Prize as a member of the band Foundry.
Argus Quartet
Clara Kim, violin
Giancarlo Latta, violin
Maren Rothfritz, viola
Audrey Chen, cello
The Argus Quartet is dedicated to encouraging the joys of human connection, community, and discovery by bringing a wide-ranging repertoire to life through bold and meaningful programming and a vibrant commitment to collaboration and education. Praised for playing with “supreme melodic control and total authority” and “decided dramatic impact” (Calgary Herald), the Quartet has quickly emerged as one of today’s most dynamic and versatile ensembles, winning First Prize at both the 2017 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition and the 2017 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition.
Since then, increasingly busy concert seasons have taken Argus to some of the country’s most prestigious venues and festivals, including Carnegie’s Weill and Zankel Halls, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Chamber Music Society of Detroit, the Ravinia Festival, the Albany Symphony’s American Music Festival, and Music Academy of the West. Highlights of the 2019-20 season include debut performances for Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, along with a return engagement in New York for the Schneider Concerts at the New School.
Argus has worked with many of today’s leading musical voices, including Martin Bresnick, Chris Cerrone, Ted Hearne, Garth Knox, Andrew Norman, Christopher Theofanidis, and Augusta Read Thomas. Recent commissions include new quartets by Katherine Balch, Donald Crockett, GRAMMY nominee Eric Guinivan, Hermitage Prize winner Thomas Kotcheff, and Guggenheim Fellowship recipient Juri Seo. Argus’s recording of Seo’s works for string quartet was released in May 2019 on Innova Recordings. The Quartet has received grants from the Koussevitsky Foundation, Chamber Music America, and the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in support of their commissioning efforts.
From 2015-17, the Quartet served as the Fellowship Quartet in Residence at the Yale School of Music under the guidance of the Brentano Quartet, and from 2017-19 held the position of Graduate Resident String Quartet at the Juilliard School, where they worked closely with the Juilliard String Quartet. They have also held residencies at New Music on the Point, working with the JACK Quartet, and at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts as the Ernst Stiefel Quartet in Residence.
Education and outreach are an important part of the Argus Quartet’s mission. The Quartet has worked with students through residencies and masterclasses at Yale and Princeton, James Madison University, Rockport Music, the Milken School, the Young Musicians Foundation, California State University Long Beach, and Los Angeles City College.
Based in New York City, the Quartet was founded in Los Angeles in 2013, where its members shared many meals at their favorite taco truck on Argus Drive.
Clara Kim, violin
Giancarlo Latta, violin
Maren Rothfritz, viola
Audrey Chen, cello
The Argus Quartet is dedicated to encouraging the joys of human connection, community, and discovery by bringing a wide-ranging repertoire to life through bold and meaningful programming and a vibrant commitment to collaboration and education. Praised for playing with “supreme melodic control and total authority” and “decided dramatic impact” (Calgary Herald), the Quartet has quickly emerged as one of today’s most dynamic and versatile ensembles, winning First Prize at both the 2017 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition and the 2017 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition.
Since then, increasingly busy concert seasons have taken Argus to some of the country’s most prestigious venues and festivals, including Carnegie’s Weill and Zankel Halls, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Chamber Music Society of Detroit, the Ravinia Festival, the Albany Symphony’s American Music Festival, and Music Academy of the West. Highlights of the 2019-20 season include debut performances for Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, along with a return engagement in New York for the Schneider Concerts at the New School.
Argus has worked with many of today’s leading musical voices, including Martin Bresnick, Chris Cerrone, Ted Hearne, Garth Knox, Andrew Norman, Christopher Theofanidis, and Augusta Read Thomas. Recent commissions include new quartets by Katherine Balch, Donald Crockett, GRAMMY nominee Eric Guinivan, Hermitage Prize winner Thomas Kotcheff, and Guggenheim Fellowship recipient Juri Seo. Argus’s recording of Seo’s works for string quartet was released in May 2019 on Innova Recordings. The Quartet has received grants from the Koussevitsky Foundation, Chamber Music America, and the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in support of their commissioning efforts.
From 2015-17, the Quartet served as the Fellowship Quartet in Residence at the Yale School of Music under the guidance of the Brentano Quartet, and from 2017-19 held the position of Graduate Resident String Quartet at the Juilliard School, where they worked closely with the Juilliard String Quartet. They have also held residencies at New Music on the Point, working with the JACK Quartet, and at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts as the Ernst Stiefel Quartet in Residence.
Education and outreach are an important part of the Argus Quartet’s mission. The Quartet has worked with students through residencies and masterclasses at Yale and Princeton, James Madison University, Rockport Music, the Milken School, the Young Musicians Foundation, California State University Long Beach, and Los Angeles City College.
Based in New York City, the Quartet was founded in Los Angeles in 2013, where its members shared many meals at their favorite taco truck on Argus Drive.
Rivka Borek
Actor
Rivka is super excited to be working with the Rites of Spring Festival! Off-Broadway: Love’s Labour’s Lost (Shake and Bake). Regional: Hamlet (American Conservatory Theater); Sense and Sensibility, Oh Gastronomy! (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, The Great Gatsby (Alabama Shakespeare Festival); Othello (Hudson Valley Shakespeare tour); Othello (Bay Street Theater); As You Like It (Carolinian Shakespeare Festival); and Who’s Afraid of Monsters? (Edinburgh Fringe Festival). Readings and workshops with The O’Neill, Clubbed Thumb, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Portland Stage, New Georges and Ars Nova ANT Fest. MFA: A.C.T.
Actor
Rivka is super excited to be working with the Rites of Spring Festival! Off-Broadway: Love’s Labour’s Lost (Shake and Bake). Regional: Hamlet (American Conservatory Theater); Sense and Sensibility, Oh Gastronomy! (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, The Great Gatsby (Alabama Shakespeare Festival); Othello (Hudson Valley Shakespeare tour); Othello (Bay Street Theater); As You Like It (Carolinian Shakespeare Festival); and Who’s Afraid of Monsters? (Edinburgh Fringe Festival). Readings and workshops with The O’Neill, Clubbed Thumb, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Portland Stage, New Georges and Ars Nova ANT Fest. MFA: A.C.T.
Ruth Bennett, Harp
“A very solid musician with a beautiful tone and impressively refined playing A noble stage presence… She takes time to realize her ideas and connects technically with her playing.” Bart van Oort, Chairman - Dutch International Harp Contest
Harpist Ruth Bennett is highly regarded as a versatile and engaging artist having performed throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe and Japan. Born into a musical and artistic family in England, where she began her musical training, she currently resides on Long Island, New York. Recently appointed (fall 2022) as Assistant Harp Professor at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, she is also Principal Harpist with the Yucatan Symphony Orchestra in Mérida, Mexico since 2007. Maintaining an active schedule between the U.S. and Latin America, she has appeared frequently as soloist, orchestra member and educator throughout Mexico and Peru. She has performed with American Ballet Theater and The Metropolitan Opera and been invited as guest principal harpist with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the U.K. as well as playing in several on and off-Broadway shows. In 2019, Ruth had the great joy to play with Björk as a member of her Cornucopia ensemble during a tour of Mexico City, Europe and the U.K. She has also been featured in solo and chamber music recitals at Carnegie Hall, Vreedenburg (Holland), Suntory Hall (Japan), Palacio Bellas Artes (Mexico) and the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago. Ruth won third prize at the 2nd Dutch International Harp Contest where she performed Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez in the final stage with the Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht conducted by Johannes Leertouwer. A consistent prize winner in other international and national contests, she received 1st prize in the 2009 National Harp Competition in Mexico City and awards at the American Harp Society National Contest. Ruth began her studies at the piano but was eventually persuaded to learn the harp by her grandmother, her first teacher and former student of Carlos Salzedo. She received her Orchestral Studies Certificate from Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Deborah Hoffman (Metropolitan Opera), a Masters in performance from Eastman School of Music, and a Bachelors from Crane School of Music at S.U.N.Y Potsdam where she was subsequently awarded the Rising Star Award for outstanding alumni achievement. She was a fellow at Aspen and Brevard summer festivals. A champion of classical and new music from the Americas, Ruth has worked closely with Mexican composers and artists participating in numerous workshops and premieres. Her album Concert d'Aujourd'hui - music for flute and harp, alongside flutist Alejandro Vasquez, is released under the label of Urtext Digital Classics. Ruth maintains an active teaching studio in Long Island for all ages.
“A very solid musician with a beautiful tone and impressively refined playing A noble stage presence… She takes time to realize her ideas and connects technically with her playing.” Bart van Oort, Chairman - Dutch International Harp Contest
Harpist Ruth Bennett is highly regarded as a versatile and engaging artist having performed throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe and Japan. Born into a musical and artistic family in England, where she began her musical training, she currently resides on Long Island, New York. Recently appointed (fall 2022) as Assistant Harp Professor at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, she is also Principal Harpist with the Yucatan Symphony Orchestra in Mérida, Mexico since 2007. Maintaining an active schedule between the U.S. and Latin America, she has appeared frequently as soloist, orchestra member and educator throughout Mexico and Peru. She has performed with American Ballet Theater and The Metropolitan Opera and been invited as guest principal harpist with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the U.K. as well as playing in several on and off-Broadway shows. In 2019, Ruth had the great joy to play with Björk as a member of her Cornucopia ensemble during a tour of Mexico City, Europe and the U.K. She has also been featured in solo and chamber music recitals at Carnegie Hall, Vreedenburg (Holland), Suntory Hall (Japan), Palacio Bellas Artes (Mexico) and the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago. Ruth won third prize at the 2nd Dutch International Harp Contest where she performed Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez in the final stage with the Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht conducted by Johannes Leertouwer. A consistent prize winner in other international and national contests, she received 1st prize in the 2009 National Harp Competition in Mexico City and awards at the American Harp Society National Contest. Ruth began her studies at the piano but was eventually persuaded to learn the harp by her grandmother, her first teacher and former student of Carlos Salzedo. She received her Orchestral Studies Certificate from Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Deborah Hoffman (Metropolitan Opera), a Masters in performance from Eastman School of Music, and a Bachelors from Crane School of Music at S.U.N.Y Potsdam where she was subsequently awarded the Rising Star Award for outstanding alumni achievement. She was a fellow at Aspen and Brevard summer festivals. A champion of classical and new music from the Americas, Ruth has worked closely with Mexican composers and artists participating in numerous workshops and premieres. Her album Concert d'Aujourd'hui - music for flute and harp, alongside flutist Alejandro Vasquez, is released under the label of Urtext Digital Classics. Ruth maintains an active teaching studio in Long Island for all ages.
Matthew Cohen, viola
American violist Matthew Cohen is a dynamic and versatile artist whose captivating performances have made him one of the most sought-after violists of his generation. A recipient of numerous accolades and prizes, he has been awarded the 2018 Center for Musical Excellence International Performing Arts Grant, top prizes at the 2018 Art of Duo: Boulder International Chamber Music Competition, the 2016 “Citta di Cremona” International Viola Competition in Cremona, Italy, the 2016 Juilliard Concerto Competition and 2015 Vivo International Music Competition and the “Best Performance of Commissioned Work” prize at the 2014 Primrose International Viola Competition.
Recent solo engagements include his European debut performing Hummel’s Potpourri with the Gstaad Festival Orchestra, his Lincoln Center debut performing Bartok’s Viola Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra and presenting the world premiere of Garry Schyman’s viola concerto “Zingaro” with the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony. He has been a member of the chamber music faculty at the HeifetzPEG Institute in Virginia and is the co-founder and artistic director of Fishin’ in C, a concert series based in Fishtown, Philadelphia that launched in fall 2018. His recording of York Bowen’s Phantasy for viola and piano with acclaimed pianist Vivian Fan is available on the Soundset label.
American violist Matthew Cohen is a dynamic and versatile artist whose captivating performances have made him one of the most sought-after violists of his generation. A recipient of numerous accolades and prizes, he has been awarded the 2018 Center for Musical Excellence International Performing Arts Grant, top prizes at the 2018 Art of Duo: Boulder International Chamber Music Competition, the 2016 “Citta di Cremona” International Viola Competition in Cremona, Italy, the 2016 Juilliard Concerto Competition and 2015 Vivo International Music Competition and the “Best Performance of Commissioned Work” prize at the 2014 Primrose International Viola Competition.
Recent solo engagements include his European debut performing Hummel’s Potpourri with the Gstaad Festival Orchestra, his Lincoln Center debut performing Bartok’s Viola Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra and presenting the world premiere of Garry Schyman’s viola concerto “Zingaro” with the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony. He has been a member of the chamber music faculty at the HeifetzPEG Institute in Virginia and is the co-founder and artistic director of Fishin’ in C, a concert series based in Fishtown, Philadelphia that launched in fall 2018. His recording of York Bowen’s Phantasy for viola and piano with acclaimed pianist Vivian Fan is available on the Soundset label.
Gil Goldstein, accordionist, jazz pianist, composer
As a very small child Goldstein began playing accordion before playing cello and piano. It was on the latter instrument that he concentrated, eventually studying at the Berklee College Of Music. He quickly proved himself as an able professional, working with musicians such as Lee Konitz and Pat Metheny in the early 70s and by the start of the next decade he had worked with the Gil Evans Orchestra, as concertmaster, and Wayne Shorter. From time to time he has returned to the accordion, playing with Karrin Allyson, Bob Berg, Eliane Elias, Richard Galliano, Didier Lockwood and Michel Petrucciani, in concert and/or on record. He has worked as pianist/keyboard player, live and on record, and as arranger and occasionally producer, with artists as diverse as Chet Baker, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Billy Cobham, Miles Davis, Elements, Fleurine, Juliette Greco, Jim Hall, Eddie Harris, Dave Liebman, Pat Martino, Bob Mintzer, Helen Merrill, James Moody, Claudio Roditi, Wallace Roney, David Sanborn, Leni Stern, Mike Stern, and he also arranged for the SFJAZZ Collective. He also worked in cooperative quartet with Pietro Tonolo, Steve Swallow and Paul Motian, recording tributes to Duke Ellington, and Elton John. Goldstein’s schedule has included performing, arranging and coaching for films such as Little Buddha (1993) and De-Lovely (2004). In addition to performing, Goldstein also teaches, including work as a faculty member at New York University and he has written books, such as Jazz Composer’s Companion.
As a very small child Goldstein began playing accordion before playing cello and piano. It was on the latter instrument that he concentrated, eventually studying at the Berklee College Of Music. He quickly proved himself as an able professional, working with musicians such as Lee Konitz and Pat Metheny in the early 70s and by the start of the next decade he had worked with the Gil Evans Orchestra, as concertmaster, and Wayne Shorter. From time to time he has returned to the accordion, playing with Karrin Allyson, Bob Berg, Eliane Elias, Richard Galliano, Didier Lockwood and Michel Petrucciani, in concert and/or on record. He has worked as pianist/keyboard player, live and on record, and as arranger and occasionally producer, with artists as diverse as Chet Baker, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Billy Cobham, Miles Davis, Elements, Fleurine, Juliette Greco, Jim Hall, Eddie Harris, Dave Liebman, Pat Martino, Bob Mintzer, Helen Merrill, James Moody, Claudio Roditi, Wallace Roney, David Sanborn, Leni Stern, Mike Stern, and he also arranged for the SFJAZZ Collective. He also worked in cooperative quartet with Pietro Tonolo, Steve Swallow and Paul Motian, recording tributes to Duke Ellington, and Elton John. Goldstein’s schedule has included performing, arranging and coaching for films such as Little Buddha (1993) and De-Lovely (2004). In addition to performing, Goldstein also teaches, including work as a faculty member at New York University and he has written books, such as Jazz Composer’s Companion.
Rupert Boyd, guitarist
New York-based Australian classical guitarist Rupert Boyd has been described by The Washington Post as “truly evocative,” by Gramophone as “a very fine musician,” and by Classical Guitar Magazine as “a player who deserves to be heard.” His performances have taken him across four continents, from New York’s Carnegie Hall to the Barcelona Guitar Festival in Spain, Strings-139 Festival in China, Festival de Musique Classique in France, Gharana Music Festival in Nepal, and every state and territory in Australia.
Rupert Boyd gave his Carnegie Hall debut as part of the D’Addario Music Foundation’s “International Competition Winners in Concert” Series, and has performed at the Newport Music Festival, National Gallery of Art (D.C.), Music in the Strathmore Mansion, Marlow Guitar Series, Grand Canyon Guitar Society, Boston Guitar Society, University of Denver, University of Hawaii, and has given concerts in the U.K., France, Spain, New Zealand, India, Nepal and the Philippines. In New York, Rupert Boyd has performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Classical Guitar Society, Merkin Concert Hall, Trinity Wall Street, Bargemusic, (Le) Poisson Rouge, SubCulture, and with a diversity of groups such as New York Festival of Song and Moving Theater Dance Company.
Rupert Boyd has released three solo recordings: The Guitar (Sono Luminus) was described by This Is Classical Guitar as “a must-have album of 2019”, and received the following praise in The Weekend Australian: “Instantly one’s ears are pricked up by Boyd’s interpretive directness and a sparkling technique”; Fantasías (Little Mystery Records) was selected by American Record Guide as “Critic’s Choice” of 2016, and was described by Classical Guitar Magazine as “a triumph of brilliant assured playing”; Boyd’s debut recording Valses Poéticos received the following review in Soundboard, the Guitar Foundation of America’s quarterly publication: “Boyd’s playing is beautifully refined, with gorgeous tone… musically and technically flawless… the album is first-rate.” Soundboard also described the eponymous work by Granados as “one of the best recorded performances of this work on guitar.”
Active as both a soloist and chamber musician, Rupert Boyd regularly performs throughout the world as part of the Australian Guitar Duo with guitarist Jacob Cordover, and in Boyd Meets Girl, with cellist Laura Metcalf. The Australian Guitar Duo was a prizewinner of the Chamber Music section of the Australian Guitar Competition, and its debut CD Songs from the Forest was described as “wonderfully entertaining” by Classical Guitar Magazine, and “very impressive” by Soundboard Magazine. Boyd Meets Girl’s debut album, released in 2017 on the Sono Luminus label, reached #3 on the Billboard Traditional Classical charts, and received the following review in Gramophone Magazine: “they play like one, with a harmony of purpose as sure as their intonation.”
Rupert Boyd holds a Bachelor of Music (First Class Honours) from the Australian National University School of Music, a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music and an Artist Diploma from the Yale University School of Music. His major teachers have been Timothy Kain, David Leisner and Benjamin Verdery. In addition to winning the Andrés Segovia award from the Manhattan School of Music, Rupert Boyd was also a winner of the Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition and winner of the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition.
Rupert Boyd is also co-artistic director of GatherNYC, a revolutionary weekly concert series in New York City. For further details, please visit: www.GatherNYC.org
Rupert Boyd lives in New York City and exclusively plays D’Addario Strings.
New York-based Australian classical guitarist Rupert Boyd has been described by The Washington Post as “truly evocative,” by Gramophone as “a very fine musician,” and by Classical Guitar Magazine as “a player who deserves to be heard.” His performances have taken him across four continents, from New York’s Carnegie Hall to the Barcelona Guitar Festival in Spain, Strings-139 Festival in China, Festival de Musique Classique in France, Gharana Music Festival in Nepal, and every state and territory in Australia.
Rupert Boyd gave his Carnegie Hall debut as part of the D’Addario Music Foundation’s “International Competition Winners in Concert” Series, and has performed at the Newport Music Festival, National Gallery of Art (D.C.), Music in the Strathmore Mansion, Marlow Guitar Series, Grand Canyon Guitar Society, Boston Guitar Society, University of Denver, University of Hawaii, and has given concerts in the U.K., France, Spain, New Zealand, India, Nepal and the Philippines. In New York, Rupert Boyd has performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Classical Guitar Society, Merkin Concert Hall, Trinity Wall Street, Bargemusic, (Le) Poisson Rouge, SubCulture, and with a diversity of groups such as New York Festival of Song and Moving Theater Dance Company.
Rupert Boyd has released three solo recordings: The Guitar (Sono Luminus) was described by This Is Classical Guitar as “a must-have album of 2019”, and received the following praise in The Weekend Australian: “Instantly one’s ears are pricked up by Boyd’s interpretive directness and a sparkling technique”; Fantasías (Little Mystery Records) was selected by American Record Guide as “Critic’s Choice” of 2016, and was described by Classical Guitar Magazine as “a triumph of brilliant assured playing”; Boyd’s debut recording Valses Poéticos received the following review in Soundboard, the Guitar Foundation of America’s quarterly publication: “Boyd’s playing is beautifully refined, with gorgeous tone… musically and technically flawless… the album is first-rate.” Soundboard also described the eponymous work by Granados as “one of the best recorded performances of this work on guitar.”
Active as both a soloist and chamber musician, Rupert Boyd regularly performs throughout the world as part of the Australian Guitar Duo with guitarist Jacob Cordover, and in Boyd Meets Girl, with cellist Laura Metcalf. The Australian Guitar Duo was a prizewinner of the Chamber Music section of the Australian Guitar Competition, and its debut CD Songs from the Forest was described as “wonderfully entertaining” by Classical Guitar Magazine, and “very impressive” by Soundboard Magazine. Boyd Meets Girl’s debut album, released in 2017 on the Sono Luminus label, reached #3 on the Billboard Traditional Classical charts, and received the following review in Gramophone Magazine: “they play like one, with a harmony of purpose as sure as their intonation.”
Rupert Boyd holds a Bachelor of Music (First Class Honours) from the Australian National University School of Music, a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music and an Artist Diploma from the Yale University School of Music. His major teachers have been Timothy Kain, David Leisner and Benjamin Verdery. In addition to winning the Andrés Segovia award from the Manhattan School of Music, Rupert Boyd was also a winner of the Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition and winner of the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition.
Rupert Boyd is also co-artistic director of GatherNYC, a revolutionary weekly concert series in New York City. For further details, please visit: www.GatherNYC.org
Rupert Boyd lives in New York City and exclusively plays D’Addario Strings.
Laura Metcalf, cellist
Cellist Laura Metcalf, renowned worldwide as a passionate solo and chamber musician, has been acclaimed for her “brilliant” playing (Gramophone Magazine) and described as “a cellist whose passion for music is as evident as her artistry and talent” (I care if you listen). She has performed throughout the US and on six continents, including South Africa, Nepal, Argentina, Qatar, Mongolia, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, and Australia. Laura’s debut solo album on the Grammy-winning label Sono Luminus, reached #7 on the Billboard Charts, and was called “a way forward for classical music” by AllMusic. As a sought-after chamber musician and collaborator, Laura is drawn to projects that push boundaries and expand the definition of classical chamber music. As the cellist of groundbreaking string quintet Sybarite5, the first-ever string quintet to win the Concert Artists Guild competition and reach #1 on the Billboard Classical Charts, she toured extensively for over a decade, performing in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Library of Congress, and countless other major venues. Boyd Meets Girl, her duo with her husband, classical guitarist Rupert Boyd, also tours extensively worldwide and has had their music streamed over 2 million times on Spotify alone. Laura also performs regularly with the popular cello-percussion quartet Break of Reality, selected for an ongoing world tour as musical ambassadors of the US State Department. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Laura became the founding cellist of The Overlook, a fast-rising string quartet dedicated to amplifying music by Black composers. She has appeared onstage with artists including Adele, John Legend, Cher, Shawn Mendes and Nas. Passionate about creating unique and meaningful concert experiences showcasing the diverse range of talent in New York City and beyond, Laura is also a concert curator and artistic director, having co-founded the revolutionary weekly Sunday morning concert series GatherNYC, as well as working as a guest music curator at the Museum of Arts and Design, Wave Hill and Fotografiska. Also a devoted educator, Laura has given guest masterclasses, workshops and lectures at Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, among many others, and holds a cello faculty position at Riverdale Country School. Laura lives in New York City with her husband and young son Milo.
Cellist Laura Metcalf, renowned worldwide as a passionate solo and chamber musician, has been acclaimed for her “brilliant” playing (Gramophone Magazine) and described as “a cellist whose passion for music is as evident as her artistry and talent” (I care if you listen). She has performed throughout the US and on six continents, including South Africa, Nepal, Argentina, Qatar, Mongolia, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, and Australia. Laura’s debut solo album on the Grammy-winning label Sono Luminus, reached #7 on the Billboard Charts, and was called “a way forward for classical music” by AllMusic. As a sought-after chamber musician and collaborator, Laura is drawn to projects that push boundaries and expand the definition of classical chamber music. As the cellist of groundbreaking string quintet Sybarite5, the first-ever string quintet to win the Concert Artists Guild competition and reach #1 on the Billboard Classical Charts, she toured extensively for over a decade, performing in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Library of Congress, and countless other major venues. Boyd Meets Girl, her duo with her husband, classical guitarist Rupert Boyd, also tours extensively worldwide and has had their music streamed over 2 million times on Spotify alone. Laura also performs regularly with the popular cello-percussion quartet Break of Reality, selected for an ongoing world tour as musical ambassadors of the US State Department. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Laura became the founding cellist of The Overlook, a fast-rising string quartet dedicated to amplifying music by Black composers. She has appeared onstage with artists including Adele, John Legend, Cher, Shawn Mendes and Nas. Passionate about creating unique and meaningful concert experiences showcasing the diverse range of talent in New York City and beyond, Laura is also a concert curator and artistic director, having co-founded the revolutionary weekly Sunday morning concert series GatherNYC, as well as working as a guest music curator at the Museum of Arts and Design, Wave Hill and Fotografiska. Also a devoted educator, Laura has given guest masterclasses, workshops and lectures at Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, among many others, and holds a cello faculty position at Riverdale Country School. Laura lives in New York City with her husband and young son Milo.
