2024-25 Season

Pablo Giménez is a flamenco and classical guitarist who performs as a soloist, in chamber music ensembles and as an accompanist for flamenco dance and song. He is also the artistic director and guitarist of the Pablo Giménez Spanish Ensemble and the Corazon de Granada flamenco company.

Brazilian pianist and composer Heloísa Fernandes encapsulates the sound of a woman free to study literature, poetry, nature and the classical, jazz and Brazilian musical worlds, and to let them shape her identity and flow into compositions. Her creations, described as both strong and original, effortlessly bridge ancient and modern influences, blossoming with rhythmic vitality and melodic delicacy. With her skill as an improviser, she searches for emotional depths and soars with joy. “Fernandes is beyond categorization,” wrote the Post and Courier of her American debut. “She is herself, and I’ll always be interested in any music she cares to explore.” In addition to herself, the quartet includes Toninho Carrasqueira (flute), Sidiel Vieira (bass) and Ari Colares (percussion).

Nate Smith is a drummer, composer and producer from Chesapeake, Va. His visceral, instinctive and deep-rooted style of drumming has led to three Grammy nominations. Smith fuses his original compositions with an eclectic mix of music, including everything from jazz to rhythm and blues and hip-hop to pop.

DakhaBrakha is a world music quartet from Kyiv, Ukraine. Reflecting fundamental elements of sound and soul, Ukrainian “ethno-chaos” band DakhaBrakha creates a world of unexpected new music.

DakhaBrakha was created in 2004 at the Dakh Contemporary Art Center by the avant-garde theatre director Vladyslav Troitskyi and given the name that means “give/take” in the old Ukrainian language. Theatre work has left its mark on the band’s performances; their shows are always staged with a strong visual element.

Since forming in 2010, the Grammy-nominated Neave Trio, including violinist Anna Williams, cellist Mikhail Veselov and pianist Eri Nakamura, has earned enormous praise for its engaging, cutting-edge performances. Gramophone praised the trio’s “taut and vivid interpretations,” while The Strad called out the musicians’ “eloquent phrasing and deft control of textures” and BBC Music Magazine described the performances as balancing “passion with sensitivity and grace.”

Renowned for her ability to weave together a tapestry of diverse musical influences ranging from gospel and blues to folk and soul, Ruthie Foster's musical odyssey has taken her from singing in churches in rural Texas to earning multiple Grammy nominations, gracing the stage of New York’s Beacon Theatre with the Allman Brothers, and collaborating with icons such as Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. With her milestone tenth studio album, Mileage, released by the legendary Sun Records, Foster continues to tell stories that reflect her personal triumphs, losses, and the universal human experience.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a radical experiment in musical democracy, proving for 50 years what happens when exceptional artists gather with total trust in each other and faith in the creative process. Orpheus began in 1972 when cellist Julian Fifer assembled a group of New York freelancers to play the orchestral repertoire as if it were chamber music. In that age, the idealistic Orpheans snubbed the “corporate” path of symphony orchestras and learned how to play, plan and promote concerts as a collective with leadership roles rotating.

Charly Lowry, a musical powerhouse from Pembroke, N.C., is proud to be an Indigenous woman belonging to the Lumbee/Tuscarora Tribes. She is passionate about raising awareness around issues that plague underdeveloped and under-served communities. Since her teenage years, Lowry has established a career as a professional singer-songwriter with a unique passion and voice. In addition to performing solo, for 10-plus years, she has been the front-woman for the award-winning band, Dark Water Rising. Most recently, Lowry and the members of her newest project, Charly & The Sunshine, were selected by the U.S. Department of State and American Music Abroad to participate in the 2021–22 American Music Abroad virtual season.

One of the most sought-after and revered saxophonists in the world, Lakecia Benjamin was voted 2020 DownBeat Critics Poll’s Rising Star, alto saxophone, and Up and Coming Artist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. Known for her charisma and dynamism as a player and as a composer, she has an inimitable skill of fusing traditional conceptions of jazz, hip-hop and soul. She’s performed alongside Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, The Roots, Macy Gray and many more. Her latest album, Phoenix, was nominated for three Grammy awards.

Winner of the 2019 Franco Buitoni Award, Quartetto di Cremona is among the world’s preeminent string quartets, noted for its lustrous sound, refined musicianship and stylistic versatility. According to The Strad, its Lincoln Center debut in 2022 “was distinguished by splendid balance, abundant color and a relaxed mastery of all the musical elements.”

Sister Sadie is a wildfire of raging hot bluegrass combined with breathtaking instrumental drive and awe-inspiring vocals. Comprised of original members Deanie Richardson (fiddle) and Gena Britt (banjo and vocals), and newcomers Jaelee Roberts (guitar and vocals), Dani Flowers (guitar and vocals) and Maddie Dalton (acoustic bass and vocals), Sister Sadie has combined the varied talents of each woman in the lineup to create something that is far more than the sum of its parts.