2022 Musicians – Jackson Hole Chamber Music

GET TO KNOW Our 2022 Musicians

Violinist Madeline Adkins joined the Utah Symphony as Concertmaster in September 2016. Prior to this appointment, she was a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO), performing as Associate Concertmaster from 2005-2016. She was also Concertmaster of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra from 2008-2016.

Adkins performs on the "ex-Chardon" Guadagnini of 1782, graciously loaned by Gabrielle Israelievitch to perpetuate the legacy of her late husband, former Toronto Symphony concertmaster, Jacques Israelievitch (1948 - 2015).

Madeline is a Concertmaster of the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra and has served as Guest Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in Chicago. Adkins has also been a guest artist at numerous festivals including the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival in South Africa, the Sarasota Music Festival, Jackson Hole Chamber Music, Music in the Mountains, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, as well as a clinician at the National Orchestral Institute, the National Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, and the Haitian Orchestra Institute. In addition, she has served as the Music Director of the NOVA Chamber Music Series in Salt Lake City.

A sought-after soloist, Adkins has appeared with orchestras in Europe, Asia, Africa, and 24 US states, including over 25 works as soloist with the BSO, and 9 concertos as soloist with the Utah Symphony. Her recording of the complete works for violin and piano by Felix Mendelssohn with pianist Luis Magalhães on the TwoPianists label was released to critical acclaim in late 2016. American Record Guide notes that Adkins and Magalhães are "ardent and spontaneous" and "their fierce coordination is breathtaking." Additional discography includes 13 albums with the Baltimore Symphony, where she was featured soloist on Brandenburg Concertos No. 2 + 4, and 6 albums thus far with the Utah Symphony, including Danse Macabre.

In June 2021, Adkins premiered a new concerto for violin and orchestra that she commissioned from composer Nathan Lincoln de Cusatis entitled “The Maze” about the dramatic scenery and pictographs of the Maze section of Canyonlands National Park.

A champion of early music, Adkins has been active in baroque performance on period instruments since the age of 11. She has been a member of the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, and Pro Musica Rara of Baltimore. With the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Adkins appeared as conductor and soloist in several baroque programs of her own design, as well as hosting concerts on the Casual Series. Since her arrival in Utah, she continues to lead conductor-less concerts with the Utah Symphony.

The daughter of noted musicologists, Adkins is the youngest of eight children, six of whom are professional musicians. The siblings, who included titled players in the National, Dallas, and Houston symphonies, joined together to form the Adkins String Ensemble. She performed on viola and violin with this unique chamber ensemble for over 15 years, and the group has made numerous recordings, including Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht.

Adkins received her Bachelor’s summa cum laude from the University of North Texas and her Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory where she studied with James Buswell. While a student, she won first prize in a number of competitions, including the Stulberg International String Competition, the ASTA National Solo Competition, and the New England Conservatory Concerto Competition and was a second prize winner in the Irving Klein International String Competition.

Madeline serves as a Musician Director on the Board of the Grand Teton Music Festival. When not on stage, Madeline enjoys travel photography, reading, tap dancing, and exploring the West. She is also passionate about animal rescue, and has fostered over 100 kittens! Madeline volunteers regularly for Best Friends Animal Society, the Utah Food Bank, and the International Rescue Committee.

A sought-after soloist, Adkins has appeared with orchestras in Europe, Asia, Africa, and 20 US states, including over 25 works as soloist with the BSO. Her CD of the complete works for violin and piano by Felix Mendelssohn with pianist Luis Magalhães on the TwoPianists label was released to critical acclaim in late 2016. American Record Guide notes that Adkins and Magalhães are "ardent and spontaneous" and "their fierce coordination is breathtaking." Additional discography includes 13 recordings with the Baltimore Symphony, where she was a featured soloist on the Brandenburg Concertos No. 2 + 4, six discs with the Utah Symphony, including Mahler 8 and the complete symphonies of Saint-Saens, and recordings with Boston Baroque, Armonia Celeste, and the Adkins String Ensemble.

Adkins has performed as guest concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in Chicago, where she was featured in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. She has been a guest artist at numerous summer festivals including the Sarasota Music Festival, the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival in South Africa, Music in the Mountains, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, as well as a clinician and coach at the National Orchestral Institute and the National Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

She performs on the "ex-Chardon" Guadagnini of 1782, graciously loaned by Gabrielle Israelievitch to perpetuate the legacy of her late husband, former Toronto Symphony concertmaster, Jacques Israelievitch (1948-2015).
A champion of early music, Adkins has been active in baroque performance on period instruments since the age of 11. She has been a member of the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, the Dallas Bach Society, and Pro Musica Rara of Baltimore. Additionally, she was featured on the BSO's subscription series as the leader of five different progams of baroque music, and as a host on the Casual Series.
The daughter of noted musicologists, Adkins is the youngest of eight children, six of whom are professional musicians. She received her Bachelor’s summa cum laude from the University of North Texas and her Master’s degree from New England Conservatory, where she studied with James Buswell. While a student, she served as concertmaster of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa and won first prize in a number of competitions, including the Stulberg International String Competition, the ASTA National Solo Competition, and the New England Conservatory Concerto Competition. She was also a second prize winner in the Irving Klein International String Competition.

When not on stage, Madeline is passionate about animal rescue and has fostered over 100 kittens.

Justin Bruns

Violin

Kirsten Docter

viola

Desmond Hoebig

Cello

Nathan Lincoln de Cusatis

Composer

Nathan Lincoln de Cusatis

Composer

Nathan Lincoln-DeCusatis is a jazz and classical composer based in New York City. His music encompasses a wide variety of media and styles including his jazz piano trio MOB RULE, the 10-piece improvising ensemble Micro-Orchestra, and classical pieces for orchestra, sinfonietta and chamber ensembles with a special emphasis on music evoking natural landscapes and wilderness spaces. His music has been described in Gramophone as “a dazzling, often momentous slice of life…” All About Jazz calls him “a musician that has absorbed the stylistic vocabularies of the greats and distilled them into his own personal approach both muscular and lyrical.”

His music has been performed by The Utah Symphony, The National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic, The Chesapeake Orchestra, Inscape Chamber Orchestra, The Atlantic Reed Consort, Corvus, and by members of the St. Louis, and National Symphony Orchestras. In June, 2021 his violin concerto The Maze was premiered by violinist Madeline Adkins under the baton of Marin Alsop as part of the NOI festival at the Filene Center at Wolftrap, VA and then in January, 2022 under the baton of Theirry Fischer with the Utah Symphony. Since 2015 he has served as composer-in-residence for the Pikes Falls Chamber Music Festival in Vermont, and in 2018 he was the inaugural composer-in-residence for the Jackson Hole Chamber Music Festival in Wyoming. Awards and accolades include an American Music Center CAP award, the Walsum Prize, an Atlantic Center for the Arts residency under composer/musician Henry Threadgill, and the Ithaca College Smadbeck Prize.

His music was released on the Inscape Chamber Orchestra’s Grammy-nominated release Sprung Rhythm on the Sono Luminus label, and his chamber symphony was released on Inscape’s 2014 record American Aggregate. As a jazz pianist he has performed at several venues in New York City including ShapeShifter Lab and Club Bonafide, and he has released two jazz LPs: Micro-Orchestra a chamber jazz collaboration with saxophonist Kurtis Adams, in 2015; and MOB RULE, his piano trio album, in 2018. Nathan currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Fordham University where he teaches classes in music theory, jazz, and music production.

Katherine Murdock

Viola

Spencer Myer

piano

Spencer Myer

piano

Lauded for “superb playing” and “poised, alert musicianship” by the Boston Globe, and labeled “definitely a man to watch” by London’s The Independent, American pianist SPENCER MYER is one of the most respected and sought-after artists on today’s concert stage.

Spencer Myer’s orchestral, recital and chamber music performances have been heard throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia. He has been soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Boise, Dayton, Rhode Island, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestras, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the Baton Rouge, Indianapolis, Knoxville, New Haven, Omaha, Phoenix, Santa Fe and Tucson Symphony Orchestras, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Mexico’s Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco and Beijing’s China National Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with, among others, conductors Michael Christie, Leslie B. Dunner, Arthur Fagen, Robert Franz, Bernhard Gueller, Jacques Lacombe, Jahja Ling, Timothy Muffitt, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Kevin Rhodes, Lucas Richman, Steven Smith, Thomas Wilkins and Victor Yampolsky. His 2005 recital/orchestral tour of South Africa included a performance of the five piano concerti of Beethoven with the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa, followed by return orchestra and recital tours in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2018.

Spencer Myer’s recital appearances have been presented in New York City’s Weill Recital Hall, 92nd Street Y and Steinway Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center and London’s Wigmore Hall, while many of his performances have been broadcast on WQXR (New York City), WHYY (Philadelphia), WCLV (Cleveland) and WFMT (Chicago). An in-demand chamber musician, he has appeared for five summers at the Lev Aronson Legacy Festival in Dallas with cellists Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Amit Peled and Brian Thornton, and has enjoyed a recurring partnership with the Miami String Quartet at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival. Other artistic partners include clarinetist David Shifrin, sopranos Nicole Cabell and Martha Guth, the Jupiter and Pacifica string quartets and the Dorian Wind Quintet.

Spencer Myer’s career was launched with three important prizes: First Prize in the 2004 UNISA International Piano Competition in South Africa, the 2006 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship from the American Pianists Association and the Gold Medal from the 2008 New Orleans International Piano Competition. He is also a laureate of the 2007 William Kapell, 2005 Cleveland and 2005 Busoni International Piano Competitions. He enjoys an esteemed reputation as a vocal collaborator since winning the 2000 Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition. Mr. Myer was a member of Astral Artists’ performance roster from 2003-2010. An enthusiastic supporter of the education of young musicians, Spencer Myer has served as a guest faculty at the Oberlin and Baldwin-Wallace Conservatories of Music, and was a member of the Piano Faculty of Boston’s Longy School of Music of Bard College from 2016 to 2022. He is currently Associate Professor of Piano at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Spencer Myer’s debut CD for harmonia mundi usa - solo music of Busoni, Copland, Debussy and Kohs - was released in the fall of 2007 to critical acclaim by Fanfare and Gramophone magazines. Mr. Myer has released five recordings on the Steinway & Sons label since 2017: Piano Rags of William Bolcom, three discs with cellist Brian Thornton encompassing cello/piano repertoire of Brahms, Debussy and Schumann, and most recently Chopin’s Four Impromptus.

Spencer Myer is a Steinway Artist. www.spencermyer.com

Rebecca Racusin

Executive Director / violin

Jennifer Ross

violin

Jennifer Ross

violin

Jennifer Ross enjoys a well-earned reputation as a respected violinist and educator. Her orchestral career began at the age of 19 as Associate Concertmaster of the Honolulu Symphony. She then became a member of the Cincinnati Symphony before being named Principal Second Violin of the Pittsburgh Symphony—a post she held for 20 years.

Reflecting her deep commitment to teaching, Jennifer presents innovative workshops at festivals, universities and conservatories nationwide. She serves as Artist in Residence for Orchestra Studies at the National Orchestral Institute and is active in the Sphinx Organization, supporting diversity and inclusion in classical music. Ms. Ross appears regularly on the chamber music stage in series and festivals across the country, collaborating with celebrated artists including Yefim Bronfman, Pinchas Zukerman, Jaime Laredo, and Lynn Harrell. She has been heard on NPR’s Performance today from the Grand Teton Music Festival, where she performs each summer. Jennifer holds the Principal Second Violin chair of ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and is a proud founder and Co-Artistic Director of Jackson Hole Chamber Music. Ms. Ross is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music.

Brant Taylor

Cello

Brant Taylor

Cello

Brant Taylor’s varied career has included solo appearances and collaborations with leading artists in chamber music, orchestral, pedagogical, and popular music settings on five continents. Prior to his appointment to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by Daniel Barenboim, he was cellist of the Everest Quartet, prizewinners at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, as well as a member of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. He made his solo debut with the San Antonio Symphony at the age of fourteen.

A dedicated teacher of both cello and chamber music, Mr. Taylor frequently combines performance and pedagogy, conducting master classes and writing articles on a wide variety of musical topics. He is a member of the faculty of DePaul University’s School of Music and serves on the board of cellobello.org, the leading online resource for all things pertaining to the cello. With the Everest Quartet, he performed and taught extensively in North America and the Caribbean and gave the world premiere of a work by Israeli-American composer Paul Schoenfield. He regularly participates in audition training seminars and mentoring at Miami’s New World Symphony, of which he was a member and to which he has returned to perform as concerto soloist under the batons of Michael Tilson-Thomas and Nicholas McGegan.

Mr. Taylor has performed and taught at music festivals around the world, including the Festival der Zukunft in Ernen, Switzerland; the Portland Chamber Music Festival; the Shanghai International Music Festival; the Aspen Music Festival; the Mimir Chamber Music Festival in Melbourne, Australia and Fort Worth, Texas; the Mammoth Lakes Chamber Music Festival; the Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado; the International Cello Institute; the Lakes Area Music Festival in Minnesota; Music Festival Santo Domingo; Michigan's Village Bach Festival; Music at Gretna, where he has made repeated appearances as a concerto soloist; and Arizona Musicfest, where he serves as principal cello of the festival orchestra.

A fan of many styles of music, Mr. Taylor had a seven-year association with the band Pink Martini. With this unique ensemble, he appeared on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "The Late Show with David Letterman," at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and in nightclubs and theaters across North America. He can be heard on Pink Martini's studio release, "Hey Eugene.”

Mr. Taylor holds a Bachelor of Music degree and a Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where he won the school's concerto competition and performed as soloist with the Eastman Philharmonia. His Master of Music degree is from Indiana University. His primary teachers have been János Starker and Paul Katz.

Robert Uchida

Violin

Robert Uchida

Violin

Canadian violinist Robert Uchida, Concertmaster of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, enjoys a
varied career as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician, and educator. His debut recording of
Andrew Violette’s Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin won international acclaim, with Strings Magazine
praising his “ravishing sound, eloquence and hypnotic intensity.”

Robert has been a concerto soloist with orchestras including the Alberta Baroque Ensemble, Edmonton Symphony, Kingston Symphony, Ottawa Symphony, Red Deer Symphony, Symphony New Brunswick, Symphony Nova Scotia, Orchestre de la Francophonie, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada.
Robert is Artistic Director of the Longshadow Music Festival in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. He
has taught and performed at festivals throughout North America including the Arizona MusicFest,
Banff International String Quartet Festival, Jackson Hole Chamber Music, Music by the Sea, National
Academy Orchestra, National Arts Centre Young Artists Program, New Brunswick Summer Music
Festival, Rosebud Chamber Music Festival, Scotia Festival, Sewanee Music Festival, Summer Solstice
Music Festival, and was Artistic Director of the Acadia Summer Strings Festival from 2010-2013.
Before joining the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Robert was Concertmaster of Symphony Nova
Scotia in Halifax. He performed on a Juno-nominated recording with Sarah Slean, and recorded
Requiem 21.5: Violin Concerto by Tim Brady, which won Classical Recording of the Year at the East
Coast Music Awards. As a guest concertmaster, he has worked with the Kitchener-Waterloo
Symphony, Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, Ottawa Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic,
Royal Flemish Philharmonic, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

A passionate teacher, Robert is a violin instructor at the University of Alberta, and has held teaching
positions at Acadia University and the Manhattan School of Music Precollege. His students have
continued their studies at the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and Guildhall School in
London, have won major international competitions, and perform in ensembles in North America
and Europe.

Robert holds a Master’s Degree in Violin Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New
York and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Ottawa. His teachers and mentors include
Andrew Dawes, Morry Kernerman, Patinka Kopec, Heratch Manoukian, David Stewart, and Pinchas
Zukerman.

Robert loves volunteering and is honoured to have been inducted into the Ronald McDonald
House’s Character Club in Edmonton. He performs on a 1770 Guadagnini violin with Vision Solo
Titanium strings by Thomastik-Infeld Vienna.