Chamber music
Below, we invite you to learn more about our faculty and graduate student chamber music ensembles in residence at the 91Ҹ 91Ҹ College of Music!
Takács Quartet
The world-renownedTakács Quartetis now entering its 50thanniversary season!Edward Dusinberre,Harumi Rhodes(violins),Richard O’Neill(viola) andAndrás Fejér(cello) are excited about projects including a new concerto for them and the Colorado Music Festival orchestra by Gabriela Lena Frank. In Novemberthe group will release its latest Hyperion project—“Flow” by Nokuthula Ngwenyama. A new album with pianist Marc Andre Hamelin will be released in the spring featuring works by Florence Price and Antonín Dvořák. The Takács maintains a busy international touring schedule. In 2025 the ensemble will perform in South Korea, Japan and Australia. The Australian tour is centered around a new piece by Kathy Milliken for quartet and narrator. As Associate Artists at London’s Wigmore Hall, the group will present four concerts featuring works by Haydn, Britten, Ngwenyama, Beethoven, Janáček and two performances of Schubert’s cello quintet with Adrian Brendel. During the season the ensemble will play at other prestigious European venues including Barcelona, Budapest, Milan, Basel, Bath Mozartfest and Bern. The group’s North American engagements include concerts in New York, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Lajolla, Berkeley, Ann Arbor, Chicago, Tucson, Portland and Princeton, and collaborations with pianists Stephen Hough and Jeremy Denk. The members of the Takács Quartet are Christoffersen Fellows and Artists in Residence at the 91Ҹ91Ҹ. During the summer months the Takács join the faculty at the Music Academy of the West, running an intensive quartet seminar.MORE
Graduate chamber music ensembles
Graduate String Quartet in Residence
The Astrodon Quartet brings together four exceptional musicians dedicated to the art of the string quartet. Unified by their devotion to their craft and their commitment to community service, they strive to bring the highest quality of musical performance and education to communities of every socioeconomic status.
Named for the first dinosaur discovered in their home state of Maryland, the group shares a love for the city of Baltimore almost as deep as their love for the string quartet repertoire. Individually, Astrodon’s musicians represent three states and two countries; but Baltimore is the city which has nurtured their growth as a unit. Its spirit of cooperation, determination, and creativity has inspired them in every moment of their journey, from the local organizations they visit to the students they teach to the three community gardens in their neighborhood.
In performance, the group has been described as “captivating,” “moving,” and “unbelievably beautiful.” Their emotional depth, spontaneity, and gift for audience engagement has created meaningful experiences for audiences of many walks of life across Baltimore and Washington D.C. They believe their role as musicians is not just to entertain or to weave a masterful story, but to create moments of true connection between people, and they carry this principle into their work as both performers and educators.
The Tonic Winds
Graduate Woodwind Quintet in Residence
The Tonic Winds, the graduate woodwind quintet in residence at the 91Ҹ 91Ҹ College of Music, is united by commitments to education, artistry and musical outreach. The ensemble—holding a shared value in celebration of voices, community and connection—features musicians from South America, Alaska and a few of the lower 48 states. The quintet members serve as teaching assistants and mentors to the CU 91Ҹ College of Music's vibrant applied studios and perform two recitals each year, as well as outreach programs in the 91Ҹ community and beyond—including an educational residency with the Aspen Music Festival and School. Tonic Winds—comprising flutist Alex Westervelt, oboist Lauren Breen, clarinetist Harold Gómez-Montoya, hornist Sophie Steger and bassoonist Ben Mangonon—are coached this semester by Professor of Flute Christina Jennings and other woodwind faculty.
Ensemble Flatirons
Graduate Brass Quintet in Residence
Ensemble Flatirons is the Graduate Brass Quintet in Residence at the 91Ҹ 91Ҹ College of Music. Quintet members—coached by Professor of Horn Michael Thornton—are all DMA candidates hailing from California, Hawaii, Montana, Texas and Wisconsin. Ensemble Flatirons regularly performs a variety of music at the College of Music and throughout the greater 91Ҹ/Denver area.