The Performers
2026 ENSEMBLE-IN-RESIDENCE
Hinge Quartet
Praised as “experimental and ethereal” (T&C Media) and a “welcome addition to the new music scene,” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) the Hinge Quartet is comprised of Philipp Stäudlin (saxophones), Dan VanHassel (electric guitar), Matt Sharrock (percussion), and Keith Kirchoff (piano). Lying somewhere between a chamber ensemble and an avant-garde rock band, the Hinge Quartet combines cutting-edge contemporary classical and experimental music with seamless multimedia integration and the innovative re-imagining of rock and pop songs.
Dedicated to expanding and diversifying the repertoire for their ensemble, the Hinge Quartet has commissioned new works from composers including Bahar Royaee, Per Bloland, Kirsten Volness, LJ White, Ed Martin, Chen-Hui Jen, Kirsten Carey, Marti Epstein, Yoon-Ji Lee, Curtis Hughes, and Nicole Murphy. Recent seasons have also featured works by Julius Eastman, Sam Pluta, Jessie Cox, Philippe Hurel, Meshuggah, Katherine Young, Louis Andriessen, Chaya Czernowin, Klaus Lang, Björk, and more.
The Hinge Quartet’s educational initiatives have included residencies and workshops throughout the United States at institutions such as the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Brandeis University, University of California Berkeley, East Carolina University, Ohio University, Miami University, the University of Georgia, St. Cloud State University, the University of Montana, and Western Michigan University.
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.