Press Kit
Quartsemble Press Kit Biography
Founded in 2002 by Karine Stone and Diego Garcia, Quartsemble is an innovative chamber music ensemble based in Rochester, New York and dedicated to performing classical masterpieces side by side with Latin music and more contemporary repertoire. Quartsemble is known for its interactive educational concerts and informal lecture recitals, often performing in local churches, libraries, and restaurants and bars. These performances are dedicated to making high caliber performances of classical music more accessible to a wide range of audiences, both in terms of being able to offer listeners immediate insight into the music being performed, and the opportunity to attend a concert in a variety of venues. While Quartsemble has a string quintet as its nucleus, the group has much more flexibility than a traditional chamber music group. Quartsemble frequently expands to incorporate winds, piano, vocalists and speakers and collaborates with other chamber music groups.
Individuals
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Violinist, Karine Stone is an active recitalist and chamber musician who is frequently featured on Eastman in Geneva, Live at Hochstein, the Keuka College Spotlight Series and other chamber music series throughout Rochester, Syracuse, and the Finger Lakes. Currently, she teaches violin and viola at the Rochester Institute of Technology and is Concertmaster of the RIT Orchestra. She performs frequently in the second violins of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Ms. Stone is on the Eastman Community Music School Conducting Faculty, where she conducts the Kaleidoscope Orchestra, and intergenerational community orchestra dedicated to teaching the skills needed to experience the joy of orchestral playing to musicians of all ages and abilities. Ms. Stone founded Quartsemble in 2003 with her husband Diego Garcia. From 1998-2001 Ms. Stone was a member of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Stone has performed as Acting Concertmaster of the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra, in the first violins of the Santo Domingo Music Festival, and as Principal Second of the Rochester Oratorio Society. She holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Violin Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music. | |
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Violinist, An-Chi "Angel" OuYang, holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Soochow University in Taipei and a Master of Music degree in Violin Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music. Angel has been a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra since 1997. She is currently the second violinist in the RPO’s Educational String Quintet, which visits inner-city schools giving performances and interacting with students in their classrooms. Angel has also performed with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Rochester Oratorio Society, and the Skaneateles Festival Orchestra and many local groups. As a chamber musician, Angel has appeared on "Live From Hochstein" with the Hochstein String Quartet in 2003, and with Quartsemble in 2006. She performed a guitar-violin duet concert tour of Taiwan in 2005. Angel is on the faculty of the Hochstein School of Music and teaches privately at home. |
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Violist, Marc Anderson, is the first recipient of the Eastman School of Music's prestigious Robert L. Oppelt Viola Award. He has performed with members of the Emerson String Quartet and is himself a member of the Rochester-based string quintet Quartsemble. An accomplished orchestral musician, Mr. Anderson is among the youngest members of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed with Chamber Music Rochester, the Finger Lakes Chamber Ensemble, the Rochester Chamber Orchestra, the New World Symphony in Miami and at the renowned Aspen Music Festival, where he was the assistant principal violist of the Chamber Symphony. |
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Cellist, Diego Garcia has been on the cello and conducting faculty of the Eastman Community Music School since 2004. Mr. Garcia is the Music Director of the Eastman String Fellowship Orchestra and is a frequent guest conductor of both youth orchestras and professional orchestras throughout the Eastern United States. In 1996 Mr. Garcia received a prize in the Carolina Oramas Competition, in his native country of Colombia, and returned to New York City to give several solo and chamber music performances in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. He performed as Assistant Principal Cellist in the Santo Domingo Music Festival in 2001 and 2003. He founded Quartsemble in 2003 with his wife, Karine Stone. Mr. Garcia holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Cello Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. |
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Bassist, Gaelen McCormick has been a member of the Rochester Philharmonic’s bass section since 1995. Before joining the RPO, she held positions with regional orchestras such as the Erie (PA) Philharmonic, the Binghamton Philharmonic and the Albany Symphony. Ms. McCormick recently became a founding member of the Pittsburgh Live Music Chamber Orchestra and performed with them during their inaugural season. She is frequently invited to play chamber music with musicians from around the country in festivals such as the Roycroft Chamber Music Festival and the Syracuse New Music Ensemble. Ms. McCormick has been a member of Quartsemble for three years and a member of the RPO’s Education Quintet since 2000. In recent summers, she has been performing with the Music in the Mountains chamber orchestra, a festival based in Durango, Colorado. She is on the bass faculty of the Eastman Community Music School and Roberts Wesleyan College. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Bass Performance and Literature from the Eastman School and Master’s Degree in Bass Performance from Carnegie Mellon University. |
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