Anthea Kreston, Violin, In-Person
Anthea Kreston loves to do a lot of different things. She is a mom of two girls, writes, and craves adventure, travel, and learning new things. Her weekly blog on Slipped Disc was one of the top 5 most read music blogs internationally, and she is the founder and curator of the Fortnightly Music Book Club, an online book club which connects readers with leading musicians and in-depth topics.
She recently returned to the United States after 4 years in Berlin, where she was a member of the Artemis Quartett, and Professor at the Universität der Künste Berlin. Her quartet recorded exclusively for Warner, ands enjoyed a hectic and fulfilling international touring schedule. She was also a Master Teacher at the Queen Elizabeth Chapelle in Brussels, and returns to the Curtis Institute of Music where she teaches and mentors some really amazing young players.
She went to school at some famous places, like Curtis, and also at some non-famous places, like Cleveland State University. That is where she got a Women’s Studies Degree. She loves her family - her husband and two kids - this is her favorite thing of all.
Bryce Caster, Violin and Music Lounge, In-Person
Bryce is a violinist and performance artist based in Portland, Oregon. He enjoys work as a recitalist, chamber musician and orchestral member freelancing across the Pacific Northwest. Bryce graduated with a Bachelors in violin performance from the University of Oregon during which time he was recipient of the Jenks Scholarship Award and Concertmaster of the University of Oregon Symphony. He has since traveled throughout Germany with the Weimar Bach Cantata Academy, participated in residencies with the Oregon Bach Festival, and received a fellowship with the Broken Consort. He has also been a founding member of the new music ensemble Sound of Late and has spent countless hours teaching privately and in group settings. Bryce is known for his passion for early and new music, his willingness to improvise and to push the limits of a performance experience. When he isn’t sparkling through the music scene, he is going on runs with his dog, wine tasting, and probably applying more glitter!
Almita Vamos, Masterclass, Virtual
Almita Vamos, violin, is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she studied with Mischa Mischakoff and Louis Persinger. She has won the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching six times, the ASTA Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award, and has been featured on “Sunday Morning” CBS. Currently, she is a professor of violin at the Chicago College of Performing Arts and the Music Institute of Chicago. Mrs. Vamos’s students have won top prizes in many national and international competitions. Her students play in most of the major orchestras across the United States and the world. Additionally, M Mrs. Vamos continues to perform as a soloist and chamber musician in America and abroad, and regularly teaches master classes in Norway and Iceland.
Jennifer Frautschi, Violin, Virtual
Two-time GRAMMY nominee and Avery Fisher career grant recipient Jennifer Frautschi has garnered worldwide acclaim as a musically adventurous violinist with a wide-ranging repertoire. As the Chicago Tribune noted, “violinist Jennifer Frautschi is molding a career with smart interpretations of both warhorses and rarities.” Equally at home in the classic and contemporary repertoire, her recent seasons have featured innumerable performances and recordings of works ranging from Brahms and Schumann to Berg and Schoenberg. She has also had the privilege of premiering several new works composed for her by prominent composers of today. She currently teaches violin in the graduate program at Stony Brook University. She performs on a 1722 Antonio Stradivarius violin known as the “ex-Cadiz,” on generous loan to her from a private American foundation with support from Rare Violins In Consortium.
Sibbi Bernhardsson, Violin, Virtual
Icelandic violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson joined the faculty of Oberlin Conservatory in 2017. Previous to that as a member of the Pacifica Quartet from 2000 to 2017 he performed over 90 concerts a year worldwide in many of the leading concert halls including Wigmore Hall, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Suntory Hall, New York’s Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall. With the Pacifica Quartet he has received several honors including the Grammy Award, the Musical America Ensemble of the Year, and the Avery Fisher Career Grant. Collaborations include those with Menahem Pressler, Yo-Yo Ma, Jörg Widmann, Lynn Harrell ,Leon Fleisher,The Emerson quartet, Johannes Moser and members of the Guarneri and Cleveland Quartets. He was previously on the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Desirée Ruhstradt, Violin, Virtual
Violinist Desirée Ruhstrat is renowned as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher across Europe and the Americas. A member of the Lincoln Trio, Ms. Ruhstrat has performed throughout South America, Europe, and Asia; at such domestic venues as Weill Recital Hall and Lincoln Center; and as part of the Ravinia Festival and the Indianapolis Symphony’s Beethoven series. The trio received a 2016 Grammy nomination.
Ms. Ruhstrat serves as the String Chamber Music Coordinator at Northwestern University and was previously on the faculty at Indiana University. In 2014 she was awarded the Illinois-American String Teachers Association Outstanding Studio Teacher Award.
Mathias Tacke, Violin, Virtual
Mathias Tacke was the second violinist of the acclaimed Vermeer Quartet, Chicago from 1992 until 2007. He is Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Northern Illinois University and Guest Lecturer for String Chamber Music at Northwestern University.
With the Vermeer Quartet Mathias Tacke gave performances in practically all of the most prestigious festivals, including Tanglewood, Taos, Ravinia, South Bank, Lucerne, Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein and Edinburgh, to name a few. Three of the Vermeer Quartet recordings were nominated for the Grammy Award.
A native of Germany, Mr.Tacke was a member of the Ensemble Modern Frankfurt, one of the most important professional groups specializing in the performance of contemporary music.
Gabe Bolkosky, Violin, Virtual
Gabriel Bolkosky has been praised for the way he "takes audiences into his confidence and includes them" and described as having "the serenity of a master without a hint of coldness."
He is executive director of The Phoenix Ensemble, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based nonprofit arts organization dedicated to helping artists and the educational community.
Bolkosky is a sought-after guest artist, performer, and teacher at schools and workshops throughout North America, including at Harvard, Dartmouth, Brandeis, and Princeton and many Suzuki institutes. In Ann Arbor, Bolkosky directs one of The Phoenix Ensemble's signature events, PhoenixPhest!, an annual amateur chamber-music festival held each May, and maintains a private violin studio.
Samantha George, Violin, Virtual
Currently Associate Professor of Violin at Lawrence University, Samantha George served as Associate Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 1999-2008 and as Acting Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for the 2002-2003 season. While a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, she performed as soloist alongside world-famous violinist Hilary Hahn.
Dr. George received a high-school diploma from the Interlochen Arts Academy and Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Performer’s Certificate degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where she was a graduate teaching assistant for Charles Castleman. She holds a doctorate in violin performance and music theory from the University of Connecticut.
Active as an advocate for greater understanding and appreciation of classical music, Dr. George is a host of Lawrence University “Live from the Conservatory” webcast intermission interviews, teaches music appreciation courses at the Washington Island Music Festival and presents pre-concert talks wherever she performs.
Calida Jones, Violin and Community Development, Virtual
Calida’s work has taken her around the globe. Her personal mission is to ensure that children who have limited resources also have access to musical opportunities and activities, catapulting them to success, regardless of the path.
As a consultant and guest speaker, Calida has worked with notable programs and institutions including the Yale University School of Music, Duke University, the Ravinia School, The Hartt School, and TEDx in San Jose, CA. Most recently, Calida has consulted with the Sphinx Organization, The Cleveland Orchestra, and The Utah Cultural Alliance. Click here to watch a YouTube video of Calida’s TEDx talk.
Calida is on Faculty at the Hartt School of Music, is the Program Director for Music Matters and the Conductor of the Hartford All-City Youth Orchestra, serves as the Program Coordinator for MentorU with Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters. In addition to this work, Calida serves on The Julius Hartt Musical Foundation Board of Trustees, El Sistema USA, chairs the Racial Diversity and Cultural Understanding Committee, and serves on the board of the Connecticut Arts Alliance. In 2018, Calidawas a proud recipient of a Connecticut Arts Hero Award.