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Conductor and cellist Sasha Scolnik-Brower performs regularly in Europe and the United States. This spring, he leads a production of Rossini’s La scala di seta at the Bredeweg Festival in Amsterdam and makes his debut with the Noord Nederlands Orkestin a program 25of Schubert and Sibelius. Other recent projects include serving as an assistant conductor at Theater an der Wien for a new production of Der Freischutz as well as at the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.

As a cellist, Sasha hasperformed as a soloist with orchestras including the Boston Symphony and Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, and has attended festivals such as Marlboro Music and Yellow Barn. He graduated cum laude from the Harvard College -New England Conservatory Dual Degree program where he studied cello with Paul Katz and earned a B.A. in English.

EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks grew up on an organic farm where she presented her girlhood violin performances to a very attentive audience—her flock of merino sheep. As that violin grew from quarter-to a full-size, EmmaLee, with that expressive instrument in hand, made her way onto the stage as soloist with symphonies and then on to Carnegie Hall as a member of the Pangea String Quartet. Her career as a violinist has taken her on adventures across Europe, Japan, South America, Canada, and the United States. With a contagious energy and enthusiasm for sharing her music, EmmaLee enjoys performing classical, baroque, and contemporary music, as well as traditional and fusion fiddle music.

Armed with a performance degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a doctoral degree from SUNY Stony Brook, EmmaLee serves as principal second violinist of the New Bedford Symphony and as a busy chamber player on stage in venues on the East Coast, as well as the Midwest. She is on faculty at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and the Birch Creek Summer Performance Center

A firm believer that music can move people, quite literally, EmmaLee takes the lead in string bands across New England and in the Midwest where her lively fiddle music drives the spirited old-time dancing. As a small tyke she took up her fiddle with the Rusty Pickup String Band, and this champion fiddler adds fiddling in both the classroom and on stage as a spice to enrich classical program

This innovative violinist appreciates the creative aspects of teaching violin and she’s equally at home with individuals and groups of all ages. EmmaLee strives to get to know each student and she tailors her teaching to each individual’s learning style and goals. Her students have gone on to open their own violin studios and to play in orchestras and string quartets.

Violist and Boston area native Nicholas Gallitano found his voice at The Juilliard School and Oberlin Conservatory through the guidance of mentors that include Roger Tapping, Peter Slowik, Molly Carr, and Gillian Rogell. He lives in New York City, where he can frequently be found playing with the New York Philharmonic or exploring the rich food culture across the city.