2018 Ensemble-In-Residence

Ertan Torgul, violin • Stephanie Key, clarinet • David Mollenauer, violoncello • Carolyn True, piano

Winner of the 2013 CMA/ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award, and celebrating its 24th season this year, the SOLI Chamber Ensemble has upheld its reputation for giving new voice to 20th and 21st century classical contemporary music and for its strong commitment to commissioning new works. Known for breathing life into the music of living composers, SOLI has twice been voted “Best Chamber Ensemble” by The San Antonio Current and continues to mesmerize audiences with its cutting edge performances around the country. Founded in 1994, the San Antonio based ensemble annually presents seasons of innovative programs and breaks down stereotypes linked with classical music by performing in art galleries and other intimate spaces, which allows allowing audiences to get up close to the performers and the music and therefore enhancing their concert going experience. SOLI’s touring schedule has taken them to such cities as Houston, Denver, Austin, Colorado Springs, Louisville and Dallas among many others. SOLI was one of the first chamber ensembles invited to perform in the first-ever classical music event at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music & Media Festival in Austin, Texas. SOLI performed the music of Steve Reich, Elliott Carter, Michael Torke, and John Adams to a sellout crowd at this Boosey & Hawkes Music Company-sponsored program. SOLI’s strong commitment for commissioning new works has resulted in 45 amazing works over the past 20 years from both emerging and established composers. The ensemble has premiered works by Steven Mackey, Paul Moravec, Ned Rorem, Robert X. Rodriguez, Tim Kramer, David Heuser, Alexandra Gardner, Elliott McKinley, Erich Stem, Jack Stamps, and others. SOLI Chamber Ensemble is also deeply devoted to education. Each season, SOLI presents a series of short concerts for young people entitled “SOLI Saturday’s”. These concerts are designed to introduce the music of today and tomorrow to our next generation of listeners. As Trinity University’s Ensemble in Residence since 2008, SOLI performs frequently on the campus, conducts open rehearsals, advises, guides and coaches student chamber groups, and closely works with the student composers. Annually SOLI takes its residency program on tour to other universities and colleges throughout the U.S. Through the outreach programs, the Ensemble is able to reach audiences whom otherwise may not be able to attend live performances of any kind. SOLI uses the music of our time to reach people in hospitals, hospices, clinics and rehabilitation centers. The SOLI Chamber Ensemble has received numerous awards including 2013 CMA/ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award, and grants from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, New Music USA’s Creative Connections, Meet the Composer, and the National Endowment for the Arts, The Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts, the Argosy Foundation, The Amphion Foundation, The Tobin Endowment, the Cornyation Foundation, the City of San Antonio, and the Department of Culture and Creative Development, among others.

---

Jeffrey Silberschlag: Conductor, Alba Festival Co-Director

Jeffrey Silberschlag is music director and conductor of the Chesapeake Orchestra and River Concert Series, and serves as artistic director and head of music performance at St. Mary's College of Maryland where he is the Steven Muller Distinguished Professor in the Arts. He has appeared as guest conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Soloists, Orchestra Filharmonici di Torino, Symphony Orchestra of Rumania, Bulgarian Philharmonic, La Scala Virtuosi, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Salzburg Chamber Orchestra, and the Moscow Academy Chamber Orchestra.  He also collaborated which such soloists Anne Akiko Myers, Mikhail Gantwarg, Hilary Hahn, Yi Jia Hou, and Lara St. John (violinists). In 2011 he received the Prize for Artistic and Cultural Activities from European Union of the Arts for his lifetime achievement in classical music as a conductor and trumpeter.  Mr. Silberschlag is also a prominent trumpet performer on the international music circuit and has recorded as trumpet soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Czech Radio Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, and the Maryland Bach Aria Group.  He held principal trumpet positions with the Italian National Symphony RAI-Torino, Jerusalem Symphony, and the New York City Opera-National Company.

Giuseppe Nova: Flute, Alba Festival Co-Director

A graduate from the Conservatory in Turin and Conservatoire Supérieur de Lyon, where he studied with the celebrated Maxence Larrieu, Giuseppe Nova has been described as one of the most outstanding Italian flutists of his generation. Mr. Nova made his debut in 1982 as a soloist with the RAI Symphony Orchestra, and has gone on to perform in the most prestigious concert halls in Europe, the United States and Asia (Japan, Thailand, China, Korea, Singapore). Soloist with several Orchestras, such as Prague Virtuosi, Ensemble of Tokyo, Orchestre de Cannes Côte d'Azur, Camerata Bohemica, Arena di Verona Orchestra, Turin Philharmonic, Tübinger Kammerorchester, Thailand Philharmonic, West Bohemian Symphony orchestra, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Chesapeake Orchestra, Astana Symphony Orchestra, Pavlodar Philharmonic, North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Petrapavlosk Philharmonic Orchestra, Filarmonica Cervantes, Pardubice Philharmonic Orchestra in prestigious concert halls and Festivals, like Suntory Hall Tokyo, Rome Parco della Musica, Umbria Jazz, Washington Italian Embassy, Esterhàzy Castle, Teatro Filarmonico in Verona. 

Apply Now