RAY SHOWS - VIOLIN
Ray Shows, a Colombian American violinist, is a versatile musician with over four decades of experience. He is best known as the 1st violinist of the renowned Artaria String Quartet and for his work as a solo recitalist. His distinctive sound has been described as “a wail of individuality.” Throughout his career, Ray has performed in major concert halls across the U.S. and Europe. He is the recipient of the prestigious McKnight Performing Artist Fellowship and is recognized as a prominent chamber musician. Ray has collaborated with artists from the Guarneri, Emerson, Cleveland, and Juilliard Quartets and has appeared on national radio and television broadcasts in both the U.S. and Canada. A passionate advocate for contemporary composers, Ray has recorded works by leading U.S. composers such as Gunther Schuller, Augusta Read Thomas, Marjorie Merryman, Thomas Oboe Lee, and Chin Yi. He served as a Teaching Artist in Residence at the Tanglewood Institute and has been on the faculty of St. Olaf College since 2000. Ray has also held teaching positions at Boston College, Viterbo University, Florida State University, and Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory. In recognition of his excellence as an educator, Ray was named MNSOTA Studio Teacher of the Year. His students have gone on to become concerto soloists, scholarship recipients at prestigious music schools, and prizewinners at national competitions, with some appearing on National Public Radio’s From the Top. In 2006, Ray founded the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition, which brings together the best young string quartets in the country. The competition is a collaboration between the Artaria String Quartet, Schubert Club, MacPhail Center for Music, and Minnesota Public Radio, celebrating excellence in chamber music performance. Many participants have won top prizes at international competitions such as Banff and Fischoff. Along with his Artaria colleagues, Ray co-founded two highly respected teaching programs for advanced string players in the early 21st century: the Artaria Chamber Music School, which focuses on the fundamentals of chamber music and is regarded as the premier program in Minnesota, and the Stringwood Chamber Music Festival, a summer immersion program that attracts talented young string players from across the nation. Ray’s early training included earning the Director's Award and graduating with distinction from Boston University and Florida State University in Violin Performance. He studied under Carl Flesch protégé Roman Totenberg and Galamian assistant Gerardo Ribeiro. His chamber music training was mentored by Eugene Lehner of the legendary Kolisch Quartet and members of the Budapest, Juilliard, Emerson, Cleveland, LaSalle, Muir, and Colorado Quartets. He is honored to perform on a rare Andrea Castagneri violin and a Pierre Simon violin bow.
NANCY OLIVEROS - VIOLIN
As a founding member of the critically acclaimed Artaria String Quartet, violinist NANCY OLIVEROS' performances include New York's New School Series at the invitation of Alexander Schneider of the Budapest Quartet, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Harvard University in Boston, Spivey Hall in Atlanta, the Dame Myra Hess Series and Roosevelt University in Chicago, and numerous other celebrated series in the United States and Europe. She is a recipient of a coveted McKnight Artist Fellowship and multi-year awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, and the Minnesota State Arts Board for performance and educational outreach projects. In Minnesota, Nancy is a founder of the Stringwood Summer Chamber Music Festival in Lanesboro and the Artaria Chamber Music School in St. Paul. Early on with Artaria she was Artist Quartet-in-Residence at Boston University's Tanglewood Institute 1988-99, competed in the 1992 final rounds of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and was a protege of Walter Levine of the La Salle Quartet at ProQuartet and L'Epau Festival in France. Prior to founding Artaria, Nancy was a fellowship student at the Aspen Music Festival, Kneisel Hall for three summers, and the Florida Festival, and was a graduate teaching assistant and concertmaster at Boston University studying violin and chamber music with Roman Totenberg, Eugene Lehner, Raphael Hillyer, and the Muir Quartet. Further studies in Chamber Music were mentored by members of the Budapest, Juilliard, La Salle, and Cleveland Quartets. She is delighted to own and perform on a rare 1781 Neapolitan violin by Tomaso Eberle. nancy.artaria@gmail.com
ANNALEE WOLF - VIOLA
A native of Minnesota, Violist ANNALEE WOLF received her undergraduate degree from St. Olaf College. After completing her Master of Music degree at the North Carolina School of the Arts, she earned a Premier Prix in viola performance from the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, and subsequently studied chamber music and the humanities at the European Mozart Academy. She has performed with the North Carolina, Greensboro, Charleston, and Savannah Symphonies, as well as the European Philharmonic Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Annalee has participated in numerous national and international festivals, including the Quartet Program, the Winter Institute for String Quartets, the Kneisel Hall, Hampden-Sydney, Brandeis, Domaine Forget (Quebec) festivals, and the Cours International de Musique in Morges, Switzerland. She has frequently performed as guest artist with the West End Chamber Ensemble and the Ciompi String Quartet, and in 1995 appeared as soloist at the Eduard Tubin Music Festival in Tallinn, Estonia. Other European appearances have included concerts in Rome, Warsaw, Brussels, Budapest, Prague, Bulgaria, Croatia, and a performance for the president of Romania at his palace in Bucharest. Annalee has taught viola and chamber music at the North Carolina School of the Arts, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Minnesota, St. Olaf College, and the MacPhail Center for Music. She has been a student of Andrea Een, Roland Vamos, Toby Appel, and Ervin Schiffer, and has studied chamber music with members of the Juilliard, Takacs, Mendelssohn, Lydian, and Haydn String Quartets. annaleewolf@comcast.net
REBECCA MERBLUM - CELLO
Rebecca Merblum, originally from Connecticut, has been dedicated to chamber music throughout her life as a cellist. The Hartt School gave life to this connection as Rebecca worked with the Emerson String Quartet and Mitchell Stern (American String Quartet). It continued through her studies at the Cleveland Institute and the New England Conservatory where she went on to earn her Bachelor and Masters Degrees respectively. Based in Minneapolis, Rebecca is a frequent substitute with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Liquid Music series. In addition, she was a guest artist with the acclaimed Cavani Quartet in 2018 and 2019. This collaboration furthered her connection to string quartets, as a former member of the Artaria Quartet (2016-2017) and a founding member of the Azmari Quartet, the Corbett Ensemble in Residence at Northern Kentucky University (2004-2009). Ms. Merblum also enjoys performing engagements with the Cincinnati Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and has performed in the past as a guest artist with the Salastina Chamber Music Series, Sundays at LACMA, the Green Umbrella Series (Los Angeles Philharmonic) and Classical Encounters. Additional chamber music performances involved collaborations with Michele Zukovsky (LAPhil), Martin Chalifour (LAPhil), Ronald Leonard (LAPhil), Andrew Schulman (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra) and Panic Group, an ensemble dedicated to the presentation of new music. Rebecca was also a substitute with both the LAPhil and LAOpera from 2010-2016 and can be heard on several film soundtracks. Rebecca crafted collaborations during the pandemic with the James Sewell Ballet and composer Chad Hughes- exploring the evolution of dance forms from the 18th century to the present. This theme can be seen throughout her work - driven by the interwoven nature of the artistic process Rebecca also held a Target Center Residency through the pandemic at the Weisman Museum- Cello Conversations. The final panel ‘What Do You Hear’ can be heard here. Earlier in 2020 she was also awarded a grant for her initiative ‘Your Dance’ by Springboard for the Arts as they addressed Artists Combating Isolation. Rebecca is currently working in partnership with Fueled Collective on a new Chamber Music Series - Sound Dialogue. Her work with visual and textile artists has continued to unfold out of work featuring ongoing collaborations with Eyenga Bokamba and Jorie Ann Kosel. Rebecca was also a guest lecturer at the Longy School speaking to students engaged with Music in Alternative Spaces. A dedicated teacher, Rebecca served as the Chair of the String Department at the Pasadena Conservatory from 2014-2016 where she was a member of the cello and chamber music faculties. Her students have gained recognition in numerous competitions and festivals including the Piatigorsky International Festival. Rebecca currently teaches at the MacPhail Center for Music and held the title of Artist in Residence in association with their Global Music Initiative in 2022. Her project entitled ‘Threads’ nurtured collaborations with writer Shannon Gibney, composer Chad Hughes, students in Minneapolis, and visual artist Moira Villiard. Rebecca also recently joined the faculty of Central Lakes College. Rebecca is also very much involved in mentoring and working with students in Kenya, serving as Co-Artistic Director of the KICF - Kenya International Chamber Music Festival. Heading into its 4th Season, KICF will take place in January 2025. It represents the annual gathering of global musicians who continue to work tirelessly to manifest the dreams of students and communities throughout Kenya. Rebecca will be serving on a panel at the University of Minnesota in the fall of 2024 to share her experiences connected to creative activism. Rebecca was recently recognized for the breadth of her work with a 2022-2023 McKnight Fellowship Grant. Rebecca has expanded her international teaching through Project Music Heals Us and now works with students in Africa and the Middle East.