Jonathan Bailey Holland, composer
Composer Jonathan Bailey Holland has written music that has been performed across the country and around the world. He has been commissioned and performed by the orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, BBC, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kalamazoo, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New World, Philadelphia, San Antonio, South Bend, and others, as well as the Abeo Quartet, Da Capo Chamber Players, der/gelbe/klang, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Network for New Music, Present Music, Radius Ensemble, Plymouth Music Series, and more.
He is currently the dean of the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music, as well as the Kay Davis Professor of Music, at Northwestern University. He has served on the faculty of Berklee College of Music, Boston Conservatory, Curtis Institute of Music, and Vermont College of Fine Arts, and he has been a guest at numerous schools and festivals, including the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Lake George Music Festival, and Eighth Blackbird’s Blackbird Creative Lab, to name a few. He also previously served as the Jack G. Buncher Head of the School of Music at Carnegie Mellon University. A recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, Holland has been awarded the Fromm Commission from the Fromm Foundation at Harvard University, a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship, a Brother Thomas Award and a Live Arts Boston grant from the Boston Foundation, amongst other honors and awards.
Holland has served as composer-in-residence with the Cincinnati Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and South Bend Symphony Orchestras, Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota, Ritz Chamber Players, and the Radius Ensemble. His work can be heard on recordings by the Cincinnati Symphony, University of Texas Trombone Choir, Radius Ensemble, Transient Canvas, as well as soloist Sarah Bob (piano), and Christopher Chaffee (flute).
He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied composition with Ned Rorem, and a PhD from Harvard University, where he studied with Bernard Rands, Mario Davidovsky, Andrew Imbrie, and Yehudi Wyner.
Díjí Kay, flute
Known for his soulful tone and mesmerizing phrasing, Trevor James Alto Flute Artist Díjí Kay (née DeShaun Gordon-King) has given performances as a soloist and principal flute in Europe, Asia, and throughout the United States. Díjí Kay grew up surrounded by griot traditions and jazz and gospel music. Inspired by the worlds and traditions of his upbringing, Díjí Kay grew passionate about programming that blends them all together to create unique and memorable concert experiences.
As he continued to expand his musical versatility, Díjí Kay also went inward to cultivate his spiritual practice. It was through these meditations that he understood exactly how he and his art were meant to serve the greater collective. Díjí Kay moved to Cambridge to pursue a Performance Diploma from the Longy School of Music where he worked with Sergio Pallottelli.
During his time in Boston, Díjí Kay has performed at Symphony Hall, Pickman Auditorium, Linde Center at Tanglewood, and has worked with Castle of Our Skins, the Celebrity Series of Boston, Shelter Music Boston, Boston Children’s Chorus, and with the American Repertory Theatre’s production of Evita. A graduate of the Longy School of Music and Harvard Ed Portal Pipeline Artist Fellow, Díjí Kay’s work and studies center around synergizing the principles of therapeutic music, sound healing, and vibrational therapy to curate healing and transformative concert experiences.
Celine Ferro, clarinet
Celine Ferro is the clarinetist of the Kalliope Reed Quintet, a force in the Boston based bass clarinet ensemble, Improbable Beasts, and the core clarinetist of Juventas New Music Ensemble. Seeking diverse collaborations that take her work outside of the typical music hall, Ferro is also the clarinetist and bass clarinetist of the groove ensemble Shibui, where she has performed at venues like the Sinclair in Cambridge, and on their newly released album, Quint, which is on the Ronin Rhythm Records label.
As an orchestral musician, she has graced the concert halls of New England with the Boston Civic Symphony, Symphony NH, Sound Icon, Lowell House Opera, Apollo Ensemble of Boston, and was a recent soloist with the New England Film Orchestra. She was the bass clarinetist in the premiere of Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding’s jazz opera …(Iphigenia), played in the Fiddler on the Roof national tour in Boston, and freelances in many other interesting projects around New England and beyond.
Celine Ferro is not just a performing artist, but a mentor; she is an accomplished clarinet teacher at the Winchester Community Music School, Powers Music School, and also has a small private studio. She has previously taught at Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester Community Music School, and Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. When she isn’t performing or teaching, Celine Ferro is an avid hiker, reader, and coffee drinker.
Matthew Vera, violin
Violinist and Violist Matthew Vera is known for his versatility as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral leader.
Matthew has been a member of the Boston Philharmonic’s first violin section since 2010. He recently stepped in as guest concertmaster to perform Ein Heldenleben to critical acclaim: “Playing with pure tone, terrific character, and not a bit of hesitation, Vera delivered an account of the solo part that was wholly captivating”. (Boston Arts Fuse); “Matthew Vera projected non-stop, drop-dead gorgeous tone, alternately flippant and ravishing, as directed. A virtual golden spotlight enwreathed him in laurels.” (Boston Musical Intelligencer). Orchestrally, Matthew performs in many ensembles including: The Boston Philharmonic, The Albany Symphony, The Portland Symphony, The Rhode Island Philharmonic, The Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Teatro Nuovo, Eureka Ensemble, and the New Bedford Symphony.
An avid chamber musician, Matthew is the first violinist of the emerging Izarra String Quartet. Izarra explores fresh interpretations of the classic repertoire with a keen focus on amplifying compositional voices of the lgbtqia + bipoc communities. Matthew is a violinist with Castle of our Skins, a concert and educational series dedicated to celebrating Black artistry through music. He has also been heard with Radius Ensemble, Juventas New Music Ensemble, and Ogunquit Chamber Music Festival.
A native of Tucson, Arizona, Matthew is a graduate of The New England Conservatory where he studied with James Buswell, Lucy Chapman, and Donald Weilerstein. His mentors have included: The Borromeo String Quartet, Roger Tapping, Martha Katz, and John Heiss.
Ashleigh Gordon, viola
Described as a “charismatic and captivating performer,” Ashleigh Gordon has recorded with Switzerland’s Ensemble Proton and Germany’s Ensemble Modern; performed with Grammy-award winning BMOP and Grammy-nominated A Far Cry string ensemble; and appeared at the prestigious BBC Proms Festival with the Chineke! Orchestra. Comfortable on an international stage, Ashleigh has performed in the Royal Albert and Royal Festival Halls (London), Konzerthaus Berlin and Oper Frankfurt (Germany), Gare du Nord and Dampfzentrale Bern (Switzerland), Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Lee Hysan Concert Hall (Hong Kong), and throughout Sofia, Bulgaria as part of the multi-disciplinary 180 Degrees Festival.
Ashleigh is co-founder, Artistic/Executive Director and violist of Castle of our Skins, a Boston-based concert and educational series devoted to celebrating Black Artistry through music. In recognition of her work, she has presented at IDEAS UMass Boston Conference and 180 Degrees Festival in Bulgaria; has been featured in the International Musician and Improper Bostonian magazines as well as the Boston Globe; and was awarded the 2016 Charles Walton Diversity Advocate Award from the American Federation of Musicians. She is a 2015 St. Botolph Emerging Artist Award recipient, a 2019 Brother Thomas Fellow, a nominee for the 2020 “Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities,” and named one of WBUR’s “ARTery 25”, twenty-five millennials of color impacting Boston’s arts and culture scene.
Francesca McNeeley, cello
Haitian-American cellist Francesca McNeeley has received critical acclaim as a collaborator and soloist, her playing described as “virtuosic”, “impressive” and “a remarkable display” by the Boston Musical Intelligencer. She enjoys an eclectic career in the Boston area as a chamber musician, orchestral player, and modern music advocate. She has premiered dozens of works, solo and chamber music—including pieces by John Harbison, Bongani Ndodana-Breen, Mark Neikrug, Augusta Read Thomas, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Joseph Phibbs, and Tyson Davis. Since the fall of 2022 she has become a core member of the Grammy-nominated A Far Cry chamber orchestra, and performs with Castle of Our Skins and the Celebrity Series of Boston. She has also performed and toured with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras as a substitute cellist and can be heard on BMOP/sound with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Catch her recent album release, Homage: Chamber Music from the African Continent & Diaspora, performing with Castle of Our Skins and Dr. Samantha Ege.
Ms. McNeeley graduated Princeton University Phi Beta Kappa, and went on to receive scholarships to attend the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and the New England Conservatory for her graduate degrees in cello performance. She has earned fellowships and prizes from the Tanglewood Music Center, where she also served as a New Fromm Player. With her Fromm colleagues she has founded the Chroma Trio, championing modern string trio repertoire. She has received fellowships to attend the Music Academy of the West, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, & Toronto Summer Music. She has been awarded multiple grants from the Sphinx Organization, and now serves on The Artist Council for the National Alliance for Audition Support. Her teachers and mentors have included Tom Kraines, Darrett Adkins, Norman Fischer, Yeesun Kim, and Astrid Schween.
Francesca is dedicated to community engagement through teaching and mentoring. In addition to her private teaching studio, she serves on the faculties for the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Intensive Community Program, Project STEP, as well as the Charles Ives Music Festival at the Western Connecticut Youth Orchestras.
Sarah Bob, piano
Pianist Sarah Bob, hailed as “sumptuous and eloquent” (Boston Globe) and that “dynamic player…superstar” (National Sawdust), is a soloist and chamber musician noted for her charismatic performances, colorful playing and diverse programming. The goal, her strong suit, is to introduce music in a loving, inclusive, and intoxicating way. Sarah is founding director of New Gallery Concert Series, a combination of new music and new visual art along with their creators, and Nasty Cooperative, dialogue driven artistic events created to build community and raise funds for organizations in need. Her accolades include top prizewinner of Holland’s International Gaudeamus Competition, New England Conservatory’s Outstanding Alumni Award, and instant world-wide acclaim for her most recent solo album …nobody move…. She is an original and active member of Radius Ensemble and Primary Duo, maintains a private studio, and is on faculty at Longy School of Music of Bard College. More information: www.sarahbob.net.
