Mission Statement
Musically defined
by eclectic programming with interdisciplinary influences, Firebird
Ensemble aims to break down preconceptions about new music, to build
enthusiasm for new compositions, and to create a unique concert atmosphere.
Firebird Ensemble is a group of adventurous musicians celebrating
their enthusiasm for new music by striving for artistic excellence,
taking creative risks, and seeking to attract and engage diverse audiences
ranging from the educated new music listener to the novice concertgoer.
Firebird places priority on featuring the works of promising young
composers with varied musical backgrounds, and provides educational
programs to bring the music of our time to our nation's youngest
audiences.
History of the Firebird Ensemble
Firebird Ensemble, directed by violist Kate Vincent, has been described as "ambitious and eclectic" by the New York Times and is fast gaining a reputation as being one of the premier new music ensembles in the United States. Known for its highly varied contemporary repertoire, virtuosic performances and wide audience appeal, Firebird Ensemble's repertoire spans a time period from the mid 1900's to the present day and includes music originating from diverse sources and genres. Firebird Ensemble has embarked on projects featuring interdisciplinary collaborations, microtonal music, contemporary/rock crossover, improvisation and also performances presenting the cornerstones of contemporary music literature. Firebird Ensemble’s contribution to contemporary music has been recognized with support from notable organizations such as the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Aaron Copland Foundation, Argosy Foundation, Jebediah Fund and the St. Botolph Foundation.
Since its inception in 2001, Firebird Ensemble has commissioned and premiered a wide array of compositions including works by Luciano Berio, Lisa Bielawa, John Eaton, Curtis Hughes, Derek Hurst, Lee Hyla, John McDonald, Joseph Maneri, John Mallia, Donald Martino, Gerard Pape, Karl-Heinz Stockhausen and Rolf Wallin. In March 2008, as part of the MATA Festival in New York, Firebird Ensemble soloed with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project in a Fromm Foundation commission by Derek Hurst. Currently, Firebird Ensemble is undertaking two CD recording projects featuring the music of Lee Hyla and Curtis Hughes in addition to commissions from Donald Crockett, Jonathan Holland, Eric Moe and Nicholas Vines. In 2010, Firebird Ensemble will perform the World Premiere of Donald Crockett’s chamber opera, The Face, with libretto by David St. John.
In addition to its concert activities, Firebird Ensemble has undertaken educational residencies at several prominent institutions in the North East including the New England Conservatory and has upcoming residencies at Tufts University, Amherst College and Fitchburg State College. Firebird Ensemble is also active in providing concerts for under-served school aged audiences with annual performances of The Passion of Scrooge by Jon Deak featuring the acclaimed baritone, Aaron Engebreth.
"In the free-spirited Firebird Ensemble, Boston has its equivalent to such prominent, genre busting new-music ensembles as Eighth Blackbird or Alarm Will Sound'..."they have the chops, the energy, the style". - The Boston Globe
Firebird Core Members
Pianist Sarah Bob is an active soloist and chamber musician noted for her charismatic performances, colorful playing and diverse programming. An advocate for new music and considered a "trailblazer when it comes to championing the works of modern composers and combining art media in the process..." (Northeast Performer), she is also the founding director of the New Gallery Concert Series (NGCS), devoted to commissioning and uniting new music and contemporary visual art with their creators. She is an original member of many ensembles including the piano/percussion group, Primary Duo, Firebird and Radius Ensembles. Recognized as a risk taker and cited for an "ideal combination of all-stops-out abandon and sure-footed technical control" by 21st Century Music, she is a grant recipient of the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music and top prizewinner of the International Gaudeamus Competition 2001. Also the recipient of the St. Botolph Club Foundation's Grant-in-Aid and the first annual John Kleshinski Awards, Sarah is recognized for the quality of her work, artistic merit and her daring, exciting and high quality NGCS presentations. Sarah can be heard playing the music of Lee Hyla on the Tzadik label, Curtis K. Hughes on Cauchemar Records, collaborations with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project on New World and Oxingale Records and a new solo piano CD "The Old Photo Box" by Lior Navok. Current projects include multiple recordings with the Firebird Ensemble, solo and chamber music works by Elena Ruehr and Eric Moe (BMOP/sound label) and solo piano performances with the Swiss dance troup inFlux. For more information, please go to www.sarahbob.net.
David Russell,
cello, currently maintains a vigorous performance schedule both as
soloist and as collaborator in the U.S. and Europe. He performs with
numerous orchestras and ensembles in the Boston area including Cantata
Singers, Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Fromm Players at Harvard
University. Mr. Russell was Assistant Principal cello with the Tulsa
Philharmonic, (2000-2002). A strong advocate of new music, Mr. Russell
has performed with such ensembles as Phantom Arts Ensemble, Dinosaur
Annex, Collage New Music, AUROS, Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber
Players, Daedalus, Fromm Foundation Players at Harvard, and Music on the
Edge. He was a member of the Grammy-nominated Eaken Trio and a founding
member of Furious Band, an ensemble devoted to the works of young
composers. Mr. Russell has a DMA in cello from SUNY, Stony Brook and
also degrees from the Eastman School of Music, the University of Akron
and Brandeis University. His previous teachers have included Timothy
Eddy, Steven Doane, Michael Haber and Rhonda Rider.
Aaron Trant,
deemed by 21ST CENTURY MUSIC as a “fire-breathing” percussionist,
is both an active performer and composer. Cited for his “melodic, if
unpitched, voice” (Splendidezine), he has also received great
acclaim for his original score and solo percussion performance to the
Chris Marker film "La Jetée." His eclectic knowledge of classical,
jazz, rock, contemporary and improvised music has made him an asset to
many ensembles throughout the United States. Mr. Trant is the co-founder, performer and composer for the After Quartet, an ensemble
devoted to promoting new music in the tradition of the Silent Film Era.
He is also the assistant director of Boston based group Firebird
Ensemble and Primary Duo (piano and percussion). Mr. Trant is an
original member of Endy Emby (trumpet and percussion), the Adam James
Wilson Quintet (NYC), High Street Percussion (Miami, Florida), and the
frequently touring Richard Grimes Collective. He also performs
regularly with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the Fromm Players
(Harvard; Cambridge, MA), and was recently featured with the new music
group Alarm Will Sound. Mr. Trant has been seen in a variety of concert
venues including Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall and Mexico’s Palacio de
Bellas Artes. Now residing in Boston, Mr. Trant can be heard on the
Boiled Jar, Cauchemar, Nepenthe and Stone Quarry labels. Upcoming
projects include original compositions for Firebird Ensemble and Primary
Duo.
Kate Vincent, Founding Director and violist of Firebird Ensemble, is originally from Perth, Western Australia. Ms. Vincent is the Associate Principal violist of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Principal violist of Opera Boston. In addition, Ms. Vincent has appeared as both Guest Principal and Associate Principal violist with numerous groups including Emmanuel Music, Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Opera Aperta and Opera Unlimited. As a chamber musician, she has performed with Dinosaur Annex, Alea 3, BMOP's "Club Cafe" series, Chameleon Ensemble, Emmanuel Music's Chamber series, Callithumpian Consort, Winsor Music, the Fromm Foundation Players at Harvard University, and was also violist of the Arden Quartet from 1999-2003. She has performed throughout Australia, Canada, the US, Germany, Holland and Russia. Ms.Vincent has premiered chamber and solo works by Luciano Berio, John Harbison, Lee Hyla, John MacDonald, Joseph Maneri and has recorded for the Tzadik, New World, Oxingale and Steeplechase labels. In 2004, Ms. Vincent received an award from the St. Botolph Club Foundation on behalf of Firebird Ensemble and was recently appointed to the Faculty at the Longy School of Music, where she is the Co-Director of the new music ensemble - Longitude.
Firebird Frequent Flyers
Hailed as "dazzling" by the Boston Globe, Amy Advocat, clarinetist, is an avid performer of new music. She has performed with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Opera Boston, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, New York String Orchestra Seminar, Boston Philharmonic, The New Fromm Players and the Spoleto USA Festival Orchestra. Ms. Advocat received her Bachelor of Music Degree and Master of Music Degree from the New England Conservatory, where she was a recipient of the NEC Tourjée award; a scholarship awarded to one outstanding NEC graduate who returns for a second degree. She was also the first recipient of Boston Woodwind Society's Harold Wright award. Her principal teachers have been David Weber, Thomas Martin, William Wrzesien, Craig Nordstrom and Simon Aldrich.
Described as "the kind of vocal velvet you don't often hear in contemporary music" displaying "rock solid technique" (Boston Phoenix), Jennifer Ashe, soprano, has been hailed by the Boston Globe as giving a performance that was "pure bravura...riveting the audience with a radiant and opulent voice" for her performance in Peter Maxwell Davies' monodrama, Miss Donnithorne's Maggot. A strong advocate for new music, Jennifer has participated in countless premieres and recordings for composers active in the Boston area and beyond. She has performed on series such as Harvard Group for New Music, New Music Brandeis, and the Fromm Festival at Harvard. She is a senior member of the Callithumpian Consort led by Steven Drury. Jennifer is also the soprano for the Boston Microtonal Society's chamber ensemble Notariotous.
At New England Conservatory Jennifer studied with Mark St Laurent and Lucy Shelton receiving the Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance in May 2006. She also holds the Master of Music in Vocal Pedagogy from NEC. She received the Bachelor of Music from the Hartt School of Music in Voice Performance and Music Education. A current lecturer at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, Jennifer has also taught at NEC. She is faculty at the Community Music Center in Boston. A frequent performer of chamber music, she is a member of the flute and soprano duo Prana with Alicia DiDonato. Prana was honored to be chosen as semi-finalists at the 2007 Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition.
Flutist Sarah Brady is recognized in Boston for her dedication to promoting the music of today and is sought after across the country as a soloist, chamber musician and master teacher. Describe as “enchanting” by the Boston Globe and “clairvoyantly sensitive” by the New Music Connisseur, Sarah has collaborated with new music ensembles such as Brave New Works, the Fromm Players at Harvard, the Radius Ensemble, Boston Musica Viva and the Xanthos Ensemble. Sarah performs and records as principal flute of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and can often be heard performing with the Boston Ballet, Opera Boston, the Albany Symphony, the Portland Symphony Orchestra and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra. Her chamber and orchestral recordings can be heard on the Albany, Naxos, Oxingale and Cantaloupe music labels. Recently, she enjoyed a sold out, debut at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall with pianist Oxana Yablonskya and won second prize at the National Flute Associations Young Artist Competition. In 2005 Sarah was appointed to the flute faculty at the Boston Conservatory.
Violinist Heather Braun performs regularly with ensembles throughout Boston, including Cantata Singers and Back Bay Chorale, and is a member of the Orchestra of Emmanuel Music. She also collaborates often in chamber music series throughout New England, including the Winsor Music series and the Manchester (VT) Music Festival. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Boston University, she is currently studying for her doctorate at BU under Peter Zazofsky. She is an alumna of the Tanglewood Music Center and received the Jules C. Reiner Violin Prize. While at Eastman, she performed regularly with new music ensembles Musica Nova and Ossia, and also gave a performance of George Crumb's Black Angels in Kilbourn Hall. Heather is on faculty at Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.
Acclaimed for his “exemplary diction and rich baritone voice,” Aaron Engebreth maintains an active solo career in opera, oratorio and new music. Also an avid recitalist, he has performed recitals at Les Concerts de l’hotel Cail of Paris, Harvard University’s Fogg Museum, the Liederkranz Recital series of Manhattan, and WCRB’s Concerts at Copley Square with Keith Lockhart, conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, at the piano. He has also appeared as guest soloist with groups and venues such as the Tanglewood Music Festival, Ravinia Music Festival, San Diego and Charlotte Symphony Orchestras, Opera Boston, Terezin Chamber Music Foundation, and the Portland Chamber Music Festival. Mr. Engebreth is a co-founder and Artistic Director of the Florestan Recital Project, an organization devoted to the song recital.
Mr. Engebreth has received significant recognition for his interpretation of early music and is a frequent soloist with many of the country’s finest early-music organizations including the American Bach Soloists, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Early Music Festival, Miami Bach Society, Boston Baroque, San Francisco Bach Choir, Columbus Bach Ensemble, Boston Camerata, Santa Fe Pro Musica, and Boston Cecilia. Mr. Engebreth also appears regularly with Emmanuel Music, where a thirty-five year performance tradition of Bach’s sacred cantatas was initiated under the direction of Craig Smith. He was a national finalist and place-winner in the 2002 American Bach Society/Bethlehem Bach Competition.
Increasingly sought-after as a recording artist, Mr. Engebreth has recently completed several commercial recordings: two world-premiere recordings of Jean Baptiste Lully’s operas Psyche and Thesee with Radio Bremen and the Boston Early Music Festival, Lukas Foss’ oratorio The Prarie with Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Providence Singers, and the role of Jack Matthews in the premiere recording of Eric Sawyer’s opera Our American Cousin, again with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. In addition, Mr. Engebreth can be heard in Lukas Foss’ opera Griffelkin on Chandos records, and as a soloist in Conrad Susa’s Carols and Lullabyes on the Arsis Label. He will begin a multi-disc project this year recording the Complete Songs of Daniel Pinkham with the Florestan Recital Project on Florestan Records.
Mr. Engebreth is currently on the faculty of the University of Southern Maine and lives with his wife Katherine, and their two daughters in Portland, Maine.
Georgia native Gabriela Diaz began her musical training at the age of five, studying piano with her mother, and the next year, violin with her father. Gabriela came to Boston to study at New England Conservatory, where she completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. As a cancer survivor, Gabriela is committed to cancer research and treatment. In 2004 Gabriela was a recipient of a grant from the Albert Schweitzer Foundation. This grant enabled Gabriela to begin organizing a series of chamber music concerts in cancer units at various hospitals in Boston called the Boston Hope Ensemble. Devoted to contemporary music, Gabriela has been fortunate to work closely with many significant living composers on their own compositions, namely Pierre Boulez, Magnus Lindberg, Frederic Rzewski, Alvin Lucier, John Zorn, Steve Reich, Brian Ferneyhough, Osvaldo Golijov, Lee Hyla, Hans Tutschku, and Helmut Lachenmann. In the summer of 2007 Gabriela acted as Concertmistress under Pierre Boulez at the Lucerne Festival Academy in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Alicia DiDonato is the flutist for Boston Musica Viva, Radius Ensemble, NotaRiotous, and Prana. She performs with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Opera Boston, and Firebird Ensemble, and has appeared repeatedly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops. Twice a Tanglewood fellow, Ms. DiDonato was the first place winner of the 2005 Mid-South Young Artist, the 2003 Pappoutsakis, and the 1999 Frank Bowen competitions. In 2006, she won third prize in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition. Ms. DiDonato studied with Fenwick Smith at the New England Conservatory and John Wion at the Hartt School.
Rohan
Gregory, violinist, has cultivated a wide-ranging expertise in
chamber music, new music, and world musics. He is presently a member of
QX, a string quartet that is largely dedicated to the performance of new
music. Having concertized internationaly with the Arden Quartet, Rohan
has also played with the Apple Hill Chamber Players, the Ancora
Ensemble, the Calumet Quintet, and the international award-winning
Boccherini Ensemble. Rohan is a member of the Boston Lyric Opera, the
New England String Ensemble, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.
His involvement with world music includes touring extensively in Europe
with the Klezmatics, in Thailand with the muti-ethnic flute player Abbie
Rabinowitz and the group Kaleidoscope, in India with the Indo-jazz group
Natraj, nationally with the Sophia Bilides Greek Folk Ensemble, and
throughout New England with the Flamenco guitarist Juanito Pascal. Rohan
coaches chamber music for the Walnut Hill School for the Performing
Arts, the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, for Music at Port
Milford in Ontario, Canada, and at the Apple Hill Chamber Music
Festival. His principal teachers were Marilyn McDonald at the Oberlin
Conservatory and Charles Treger at UMass.
Hailed by the Boston Phoenix as "phenomenal," clarinetist Rane Moore performs regularly at home and abroad. An enthusiastic interpreter of contemporary repertoire, she has given numerous premieres of new works and appeared with groups such as the Callithumpian Consort, the Firebird Ensemble, The Harvard Group for New Music, Raduis Ensemble, East Coast Composers Ensemble (ECCE), Ludovico Ensemble, and the Talea Ensemble of New York. Her recent performance with Boston Musica Viva was hailed a "tour-de-force" by the Boston Globe. Ms. Moore has been featured as a guest artist at the Royal College of Music and Drama in Wales and has worked closely with Pierre Boulez at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland. As an orchestral musician she has performed with the Owensboro Symphony in Kentucky, the Columbus, Indiana Philharmonic, and the New England Philharmonic. She has recorded for Mode records. Ms. Moore holds degrees from Indiana University, the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, and the University of California at Berkeley. In addition Ms. Moore is an active teacher of clarinet and saxophone and serves as a chamber music coach for students at Harvard University.
Flutist Jessi Rosinski performs actively throughout Boston and has appeared with groups such as Collage New Music, Boston Musica Viva, Firebird Ensemble, Boston Microtonal Society, Xanthos Ensemble, Guerilla Opera, and Harvard Group for New Music. Ms. Rosinski is the flutist of Boston’s Callithumpian Consort, an artist in residence at Harvard, an associate with the Atlantic Symphony for the 2007-08 season, and a regular sub with the United States Coast Guard Band. She has collaborated with the Emerson String Quartet, Hartt Percussion Ensemble, and The BSC electro-acoustic octet and has worked with prominent composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Jennifer Higdon, and Frederick Rzewski. Ms. Rosinski has won top prizes at several competitions including the Pappoutsakis Memorial Competition, New York Flute Club Young Artist Competition, the National Flute Association Masterclass Competition, and the Albert Cooper International Flute Competition. Jessi is committed to bringing music to new audiences through performance outreach and is an avid teacher, holding positions at University of Massachusetts at Boston, Winchester Community Music School, and Milton Academy. Jessi has recorded for Mode and Capstone Records, and her writing has been published several times by the NFA Flutist Quarterly. She has earned degrees with honors from the Hartt School as a fellow of the Performance 20/20 Program and New England Conservatory where she was awarded the John Cage Award for Outstanding Contribution to Contemporary Music Performance. Ms. Rosinski has held fellowships at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, National Symphony Orchestra/Kennedy Center Summer Institute, and Stratford International Flute Festival and has performed at the Monadnock Music Festival, Bowdoin Chamber Music Festival, and Now & Present Flute Seminar. A 2007 recipient of the Saint Botolph Club Emerging Artist award, Jessi is working on a commission with composer Paul Elwood. Her recent projects include a solo performance with the Boston Pops and a solo recital and masterclass at the International Festival of Contemporary Arts in Leon, Mexico. Please visit her website for more information: www.jessirosinski.com.
Violinist Katherine Winterstein enjoys a wide range of musical endeavors, as a chamber musician, orchestral musician, soloist, and teacher. She has often performed in such series as Washington DC’s Embassy Series, Boston’s Ashmont Hill Chamber Music Series, and the McIntire Chamber Music Series at the University of Virginia. She regularly appears with Boston-based Chameleon Arts Ensemble, Providence-based Aurea Ensemble, and the Chamber Music Foundation of New England. The summer of 2008 will also be her seventh with the Craftsbury Chamber Players of Vermont. She has appeared as soloist with several orchestras including the Charlottesville and University Symphony, the Blue Ridge Chamber Orchestra, the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival Orchestra, the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, the Boston Virtuosi, the Champlain Philharmonic, and the Vermont Symphony. Ms. Winterstein is the concertmaster of the Vermont Symphony, the assistant concertmaster of the Portland Symphony, and she performs regularly with the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Currently she is on the performance faculty of Middlebury College in Vermont.
Firebird Recent Guest Artists
Jessica Black is a 24 year old French Horn player from the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Before moving to Boston to pursue her graduate degree in orchestral performance, Jessica was a competitive soloist having competed at the national level at the age of 16. As an orchestral player she has worked with the National Academy Orchestra of Canada as well as Montreal’s Orchestre de L’Isle. As a chamber musician she has completed a fellowship with the Brott Music Festival as a member of the Summergrass Wind Quintet. She has also worked with various jazz big bands, including a performance in the Montreal Jazz Festival with Gregory Charles (Place des Arts, 2005). Jessica completed her Bachelor of Music in 2005 at McGill University with Jean Gaudreault. She is currently studying with Daniel Katzen at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
Sarah Brindell, voice, is a singer, keyboard player, songwriter, and arranger, as well as an assistant professor at Berklee College of Music. "Have you ever wondered what honey sounds like? Brindell is a soulful, sexy siren from the same beehive as Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Erykah Badu. Behind the piano, she performs a melodious blend of funk, jazz, and soul that is a remedy for the ear - and the sweet tooth, too." -Boston Weekly Dig
Christopher Johnson moved to Boston just prior to Rudolf Giuliani’s main campaign talking point, 911. He received both a Masters degree and performance diploma in double bass performance from the Boston Conservatory under the instruction of Lawrence Wolfe and Benjamin Levy. Mr. Johnson has performed in Boston with the Firebird Ensemble, the Ludovico Ensemble, the BMOP orchestra, los Gatos Azules (a tango quintet), and Steel Rhythm (a steel drum ensemble), among others. He is currently working on the website of Barack Obama, after which he will travel to Argentina to study and play Tango music in Buenos Aires.
Chris Younghoon Kim, conductor
This season is Chris Younghoon Kim’s fourth year as the Director of Orchestras at Cornell University. He directs the Cornell Chamber Orchestra, the Cornell Symphony Orchestra, teaches conducting and guest conducts Ensemble X. As the Artistic Director of the new music ensemble, Brave New Works, he will lead the BNW’s residency at Cornell University, Syracuse University and the Eastman School of Music in April 2008, which is funded by the Mellon Corridor Initiative. Mr. Kim’s guest conducting activities include the Boston-based groups such as Kalistos Chamber Orchestra and the Firebird Ensemble to the International Bartok Festival in Szombarthely, Hungary.
Talia Mailman is a recent graduate from Williams College where she received her B.A. with Honors in Music and English. After taking a year off to teach, she is now pursuing her Masters in Harp Performance. Talia is the winner of the Hubbard Hutchinson Memorial Fellowship from Williams College, a Fellowship designed to support young, talented artists. She was also a winner of the Berkshire Symphony Concerto Competition and was awarded Highest Honors for her Thesis in Harp Performance. She was a member of the Berkshire Symphony Orchestra and other assorted ensembles in Western Massachusetts. Currently, she studies with Ann Hobson Pilot at Boston University.
Jeffrey Means has been hailed as a musician demonstrating “outstanding gifts and accomplishments” by the Boston Globe, and as an “intrepid conductor, his sure hand seemingly unfazed” by Bruce Hodges for Seen and Heard International. Means has conducted numerous ensembles in Boston including the Firebird ensemble, the Xanthos Ensemble, the Boston Civic Symphony, the Callithumpian Consort, and the Ludovico Ensemble. Having a passion for the theater, Means has also served as choirmaster / assistant conductor for New Hampshire’s Raylynmor Opera, and has assisted for the Fiddlehead Theater of Norwood, MA. Means hold a BM in percussion with distinction in performance and a MM in conducting with honors from New England Conservatory. At NEC, he received the 2005 John Cage Award, the 2006 Tourjee Alumni Award, and the 2008 Gunther Schuller Medal. He has recordings on Mode and Albany records.
Martin Near, tenor
Hailed by the major Boston and New York press as “imaginative and eloquent”; praised for his “dazzling dispatch of every bravura challenge” and his “melodic phrasing of melting tenderness,” cellist Rafael Popper-Keizer maintains an active and diverse career as chamber musician, soloist, and orchestral section leader. Imprimis, Mr. Popper-Keizer has appeared nationwide in various capacities, including performances in the Rockport Chamber Music Festival in Massachussetts, John Harbison’s Token Creek Festival in Wisconsin, and the Monadnock Chamber Music Festival in New Hampshire. Locally, Mr. Popper-Keizer has enjoyed guest affiliations with the Fromm Players at Harvard, Winsor Chamber Players, Boston Musica Viva, and the Walden Chamber Players, as well as long-term relationships with Boston's Emmanuel Music and the Chameleon Arts Ensemble. Mr. Popper-Keizer has concertized with many of New England’s most esteemed chamber musicians, including members of the Borromeo and Muir String Quartets, the Museum of Fine Arts Trio, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra; as well as recent appearances with the Boston Trio, violinist Curtis Macomber, and flautist Eugenia Zuckerman. Mr. Popper-Keizer has toured extensively with the CORE Ensemble, a nationally acclaimed percussion trio with over twenty commissions to its name, through which he was invited to appear as both soloist and chamber musician in the contemporary music festival “Contrasts” in Lviv, Ukraine. In 1998 and 1999, Mr. Popper-Keizer was invited to the Tanglewood Music Festival, where he acted as Yo-Yo Ma’s understudy for Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. Mr. Popper-Keizer has been featured as a soloist throughout the United States, including recitals in New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall; the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.; and as a guest artist on the faculty concert series at Grinnell College. Recent engagements include the Saint-Saëns Concerto in a minor, with the Boston Philharmonic; the Beethoven Triple Concerto, with the Indian Hill Symphony; and the Dvorak Concerto, with the University of Santa Cruz Orchestra. Mr. Popper-Keizer is the principal cellist of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and co-principal of the New Hampshire Symphony, and has made principal appearances with the Boston Modern Orchestral Project and the Monadnock Festival Orchestra, among others. Labels for which he has recorded include Albany, Arsis, Helicon, Musical Heritage Society, Intrada, and Zimbel.
Fred Sladkey, guitar/composer
A Boston native, Gabrielle Stebbins has performed across the globe as a chamber musician, orchestral violinist and soloist. She enjoys crossing genres and her experience runs the gamut: from soloing Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” in South Africa, to playing in a rock band in Texas, to improvising alongside modern dancers at the Mobius Performance Art Center here in Boston. A graduate of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas, her primary teacher was Kenneth Goldsmith, a pupil of Nathan Milstein. As with most classically-trained musicians, her list of inspiring teachers is extensive and includes members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland and Juilliard String Quartets. She is a founding member of the Iris Ensemble, a local quartet that shared summers at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. She performs regularly with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Emmanuel Music and is concertmaster of the Plymouth Philadelphia Orchestra. She also holds a Masters degree in Sustainable Development.
Rebecca Thornblade, a grand prize winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition, has had an active and versatile career as a chamber music and orchestral cellist. Ms. Thornblade has played with many ensembles throughout the country which include the award-winning Fry Street and Avalon quartets and as principal cellist of the New World Symphony in Miami and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She received her Bachelor’s in Music from the Oberlin Conservatory as a student of Norman Fischer and Peter Rejto and her Master’s in Music from the Juilliard School with Joel Krosnick.
Rebecca is currently a member of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed with Opera Boston, the Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Cantata Singers. She has appeared as a chamber musician with Lyrica Boston, Lyrica Chamber Music in New Jersey, the Suzuki School of Newton’s Artist Concert Series, the New Gallery Concert Series, The Radius Ensemble and The Firebird Ensemble. In addition to her private teaching studio, she is on the chamber music faculty of the New England Conservatory Preparatory Division, and an adjunct professor of cello at Rhode Island College. Rebecca is a founding member of the newly formed Parnassus String Quartet and the electric cello band, The Cello Chix.
Ina Zdorovetchi, harp
One of the leading harpists of her generation, Ina Zdorovetchi is a top prize winner at competitions in Paris, Boston and Bucharest, having performed on venues such as Carnegie, Jordan and Symphony Halls, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum among others. A sought-after recording artist, she appears on Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops CDs, as well as live performances on WGBH Boston and NPR (USA). Ina is an alumni of NEC, Boston University and Boston Conservatory, where she worked with Ann Hobson Pilot and Ms. Price Glynn. She currently resides in Boston, where she serves as President of American Harp Society Boston Chapter and is on the Faculty at the New England Conservatory Preparatory Division. Official website: www.inazdorovetchi.com.
