Wistaria String Quartet at The Drake (Amherst, MA)

Name: Wistaria String Quartet at The Drake (Amherst, MA)
Start: 2024-11-03T17:00:00-04:00
Location: 44 N. Pleasant St, Amherst, MA, United States, Massachusetts 01002

Schedule

Sun Nov 03 2024 at 05:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

44 N. Pleasant St, Amherst, MA, United States, Massachusetts 01002 | Amherst, MA

Hannah Berube is a musician and educator based in Western Massachusetts whose work on the stage and in the classroom has centered around creating joyful and inclusive arts spaces. She performs with and serves on the leadership council of the New England Repertory Orchestra, and appears with other ensembles throughout the Northeast. A dedicated music educator of all ages and abilities, Hannah teaches K-2 music in East Longmeadow, and serves on the faculties of Smith College, Clark University, and Greenwood Music Camp. She holds degrees in music performance and education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Boston University.
Violinist Sarah Briggs performs with warmth, clarity, and perspectives gained from a varied career as performer and teacher. In April 2023, Sarah played with Avery Sharpe’s jazz combo at the Hampden County Jail, and soloed on Bach’s concerto for oboe and violin at the Drake in Amherst. She performs regularly with the Springfield and Berkshire symphonies and New England Repertory Orchestra. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music (Bachelor’s degree in performance) and UT atAustin (MM) and a fellow at the Tanglewood Institute (1982, 83) Sarah worked for several years as a section violinist with the Charlotte, Colorado, and Utah symphonies, toured Japan with the Chicago Sinfonietta, and played several concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. After stints in Alaska and Europe, and lots of summer opera festivals Sarah settled happily in Northampton in 2006, and has been a violin instructor at Amherst College for the past sixteen years.
Violinist Kaila Graef has performed with a diverse range of groups, including Vermont’s Juno Orchestra, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the Avery Sharpe Trio. Kaila was a founding member of the Wistaria String Quartet, with whom she frequently performed new music. Kaila holds a Bachelor’s degree from Peabody Conservatory, where she was a student of Shirley Givens. She completed her Master’s at UMass Amherst, where she was a member of the Graduate String Quartet and studied with Marylou Speaker Churchill. A dedicated teacher, Kaila teaches at her private studio in Amherst, MA.
Cellist Karl Knapp has performed in the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Madison Opera Orchestra, and Minnesota Opera Orchestra. He has served as Principal Cellist with Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and Juneau Symphony and performs with NERO: New England Repertory Orchestra. He appears on the Navona record label accompanying his wife, soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine. Knapp also performs extensively with his quartet, The Cushman Quartet, and his band 1200 Horsehairs: A Band of Cellos.
Gregory Diehl studied violin at the Eastman and Manhattan Schools of Music. He completed Suzuki Teacher Training at the Hartt School and currently teaches at community music schools in Springfield, Northampton, and at Northfield Mount Hermon. He also holds an M.A. in Japanese Language and Literature from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He performs frequently with ensembles in Southern Vermont and Western Massachusetts.
In addition to maintaining a 20+ year career spanning solo and chamber music performances across a wide variety of repertoire, Dr. Knapp, an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is also a devoted Suzuki educator. He is a founding member of the Alaska Cello Intensive, a summer program for young cellists, and serves as cello instructor at Amherst College.