Guest Artists

Dior Quartet

Joined together from Israel, Korea-Canada, Saint Lucia, and the USA, the Dior String Quartet is the Quartet-in-Residence at the Glenn Gould School, Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. 

Dior Qaurtet are the winners of the 2023 Victor Elmaleh US Concert Artists Guild,  Silver prize winners of the 2021 Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition and Bronze Medalists of the 2019 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. They formed in Fall 2018 at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University under the tutelage of Pacifica Quartet. They studied with members of the Alban Berg, St. Lawrence, Danish, Artemis, Ébene, and Belcea Quartets. 

The repertoire and projects they pursue intersect with their multicultural backgrounds and moral values, as they seek to explore the immigrant experience through art. The quartet takes their name from the French word “D’or” which means gold. It's a rare, elegant, and malleable element, precious to those who own it and often gifted to loved ones. Most importantly, gold holds the memory of the earth and absorbs the stories of the people who give it shape and form.

The quartet travels world-wide and made their debut at Carnegie Hall in 2024 and were finalists in the Bartok World Competition in Budapest, Hungary.

Atlantic Brass Quintet

Widely acclaimed as one of the world's finest and most versatile brass chamber ensembles, the Atlantic Brass Quintet has performed in 48 of the United States and dozens of countries across four continents.  Winner of six international chamber music competitions, the Quintet's distinctive sound, impeccable ensemble, stunning virtuosity, and warm, inviting stage presence have won praise from scores of critics.

Founded in 1985, the Atlantic Brass Quintet was honored by Musical America by being named "Young Artists of 1988". In May 1992, by unanimous decision, the Quintet won the "Premiere Prix" at the International Brass Competition of Narbonne, France, recognized worldwide as the preeminent competition of its kind. Highlights in the Quintet's busy concert career include performances at Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Fleet Boston Celebrity Series, Tanglewood, and the White House. 

Atlantic has been the resident brass quintet of Boston University, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and the Boston Conservatory. A recurring guest ensemble, Atlantic Brass will be returning in 2024 for their fifth year at Mostly Modern Festival.

Past Artists

Neave Trio

Since forming in 2010, Neave Trio – violinist Anna Williams, cellist Mikhail Veselov, and pianist Eri Nakamura – have earned enormous praise for its engaging, cutting­ edge performances. WQXR explains, “‘Neave’ is actually a Gaelic name meaning ‘bright’ and ‘radiant,’ both of which certainly apply to this trio's music making.” The group’s 2019 album Her Voice, was named one of the best recordings of the year by both The New York Times and BBC Radio 3. 

Neave has performed at concert series and festivals worldwide, including Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 92nd Street Y, and the Rimsky Korsakow Museums' Chamber Music Series in St. Petersburg (Russia). The trio has held residency positions at Brown University, University of Virginia, San Diego State University, and the Banff Centre (Canada), among others. In the fall of 2017, the Trio joined the faculty of the Longy School of Music of Bard College as Alumni Artists, Faculty Ensemble-in-Residence.

Neave Trio champions new works by living composers and reaches wider audiences through innovative concert presentations, regularly collaborating with artists of all mediums. Gramophone described Neave Trio’s latest album Her Voice as, “a splendid introduction to these three pioneering female composers,” and as, “sumptuously recorded … a taut and vivid interpretation.” The Guardian describes the three compositions by Amy Beach, Rebecca Clarke, and Louise Farrenc as, “distinctive and distinguished chamber works,” while The Strad writes of Beach’s Trio, “The dreamy cello melody of the opening Allegro – luxuriously played by Mikhail Veselov – blooms into tender interplay between the strings.

In April 2020, Anna Williams and Mikhail Veselov of the Neave Trio were filmed giving an emotional and heartfelt performance of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah in support of their neighbor – a nurse and new mother – and all essential workers during the coronavirus crisis. The video was shared by PBS’ American Portrait series and has over 1 million views. Neave has also performed virtual concerts for The Violin Channel’s “Living Room Live” series; the “Notes of Hope: Music for the Frontline” series, which provided a daily performance of thanks by leading Boston classical musicians for COVID-19 frontline healthcare workers at Boston medical centers.

Exponential Ensemble (2022)

The Exponential Ensemble is a chamber music ensemble made of professional performers and experienced teaching artists: Anna Urrey (flute), Kemp Jernigan (oboe), Pascal Archer (clarinet). They will be joined at MMF by pianist Amir Farid. Throughout the season, a roster of guest musicians enables the core ensemble to grow exponentially within each performance, presenting audiences with classic masterworks alongside contemporary masterpieces. Additionally, they deliver unique and innovative educational concerts connecting music with school curriculums. For example, the Music & Math interactive educational program focuses on rates and geometric transformations, two important math concepts taught in middle school and also used in the music of J.S. Bach. This season Robert Paterson’s “Relative Theory” will teach students about important historical figures in math and science. Past residencies have included Fordham University, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Rutgers University and Princeton Symphony. Coming up this season, the Exponential Ensemble will collaborate with the NYC- based “Composers Collective” and with AME at the Mostly Modern Festival at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs.

Imani Winds (2018 Inaugural Season)

Since 1997 Imani Winds, the Grammy-nominated wind quintet, has taken a unique path carving out a distinct presence in the classical music world with its dynamic playing, culturally poignant programming, adventurous collaborations, and inspirational outreach programs. With two member composers and a deep commitment to commissioning new work, the group is enriching the traditional wind quintet repertoire while meaningfully bridging American, European, African and Latin American traditions. From Mendelssohn to Astor Piazzolla to Wayne Shorter and Stravinsky, Imani Winds seeks to engage new music and new voices into the modern classical idiom. 

Starting in the fall of 2016 through 2018, Imani Winds has been appointed as the University of Chicago's Don Michael Randel Ensemble-in-Residence. Imani Winds’ touring schedule has taken them across the globe. At home, the group has performed in the nation’s major concert venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Disney Hall, to name a few. In recent seasons, the group has traveled extensively internationally, with tours in China, Singapore, Brazil, Australia and throughout Europe. Fall 2017 will include a tour of New Zealand. 

Imani Winds has five releases on E1 Music, including their 2006 Grammy Award nominated recording entitled The Classical Underground. They have also recorded for Naxos and Blue Note and released "The Rite of Spring" on Warner Classics which was on iTunes Best of 2013 list. Their 8th commercial recording was released in the fall of 2016.

Akropolis Quintet (2019)

The Akropolis Reed Quintet was founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan and is the first ever ensemble of its makeup to win a Fischoff Gold Medal (2014), Grand Prize at the Plowman and MTNA national competitions, and 6 national chamber music prizes in total. Hailed by Fanfare for its “imagination, infallible musicality, and huge vitality”, Akropolis has performed from Juneau to Abu Dhabi and has showcased at five national conferences, including as a participant in APAP’s prestigious Young Performers Career Advancement Program (YPCA). Winner of the 2015 Fischoff Educator Award, Akropolis conducts extensive educational residencies and impacts thousands of children each year. A maverick of new wind music, Akropolis has commissioned over 30 reed quintet works and recorded three albums, including its 2017 release, The Space Between Us, which the San Francisco Chronicle calls, “pure gold”. Akropolis has received grants for its community programming in Detroit, MI from the National Endowment for the Arts (Art Works), Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, CultureSource, Quicken Loans, and Chamber Music America, as well as operating support from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music and the Amphion Foundation.