Advisory Council

Our Advisory Council was formed in 2003 to provide greater regional and national awareness of our progress, not only as an arts organization, but also as a successful model for professional musicians working for social change in their communities. The members of the Council serve to promote the artistic and organizational goals of Community MusicWorks, mentoring the Providence String Quartet as well as presenting performances and workshops for the benefit of Community MusicWorks students and families.

The American pianist Jonathan Biss has established a flourishing international reputation with his performances throughout North America and Europe. He has appeared with the National Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra and the symphonies of Baltimore, Cincinnati and San Francisco. As a chamber musician he has collaborated with many acclaimed artists, including Isaac Stern, Andras Schiff, Pinchas Zukerman and Midori. His exceptional promise has been recognized with the Gilmore Young Artist Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award, and the Andrew Wolf Memorial Chamber Music Award. www.jonathanbiss.com

Click here to view photos from Jonathan's residency. November 2004 Jonathan returned in April 2007 to perform a benefit concert with his mother, the violinist Miriam Fried. Click here to view event photos.

Audiences around the world respond with exhilaration to what the critics call the "razor sharp intensity" and "heart stopping" performances of the award-winning Borromeo String Quartet. Quickly establishing itself as one of the most important string quartets performing today, the Borromeo Quartet has been hailed by The New York Times as "outstanding" and the Boston Globe as "simply the best there is." Every season, the Borromeo Quartet performs in major venues across three continents. Highlights of recent seasons included engagements in some of the foremost music centers in New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, as well as extensive international tours of the Far East and Europe. www.borromeoquartet.org

Click here to view photos from the Borromeo String Quartet's residency. May 2003

Maxine Greene (in memoriam, 1917-2014) was Professor Emerita at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she was also Founder of the Center for the Arts, Social Imagination, and Education. Dr. Greene taught at the Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education, and was past president of the American Educational Research Association, the American Educational Studies Association, and the Philosophy of Education Society. www.maxinegreene.org

Click here to view photos from the Providence Quartet's Salon at Maxine Greene's apartment. January 2007 Click here to view documentation from Imagining Art + Social Change, featuring Maxine Greene's keynote address. March 2008

Cellist Matt Haimovitz has inspired both classical music lovers and new listeners by bringing his artistry to concert halls and clubs, outdoor festivals and coffee houses, and any place where passionate music can be heard. Through his visionary approach – bringing a fresh ear to familiar repertoire, championing new music and initiating groundbreaking collaborations, innovative recording projects, a busy touring schedule as well as mentoring a studio of young cellists at McGill University – Haimovitz is re-defining what it means to be an artist for the 21st century. www.matthaimovitz.com

Bob Jaffe is the Founding President of Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts, the state's arts advocacy organization. An accomplished actor, director, and producer, he currently heads Erimax Theatrical Productions. www.erimaxtheatrical.com

Violist Kim Kashkashian has established herself as one of the most accomplished artists of her generation. In recent seasons, she has appeared as soloist with the major orchestras of New York, Berlin, Vienna, London, Milan, Munich and Tokyo. She has performed recitals at the Metropolitan Museum and the 92nd Street "Y" in New York City, in Boston, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Cleveland and Los Angeles. Ms. Kashkashian has performed with the Tokyo, Guarneri, and Galimir Quartets and toured with a quartet which included violinists Gidon Kremer and Daniel Phillips and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Her extensive teaching activities have included professorships at the University of Indiana and in Freiburg and Berlin, Germany. In 2000, she joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory in Boston. Click here to listen to a story about Kim Kashkashian on NPR. See videos from her recent performances with CMW here.

Since winning First Prize at the 1998 Banff International String Quartet Competition and the prestigious Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 2000, the Miró String Quartet has captivated audiences around the world, dazzling listeners with its youthful intensity and mature interpretations. Formed in 1995, the Miró Quartet met with immediate success, winning the First Prize at the 50th annual Coleman Chamber Music Competition in April 1996, and the following month taking both the First and Grand prizes at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. In residence at the University of Texas at Austin, the Miró String Quartet is the first ensemble to win the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. www.miroquartet.com

Click here to view photos from the Miró String Quartet's residency in November 2006.

Diane Monroe is frequently heard at such renowned venues as the Marlboro, Caramoor, Sitka, Verbier, North Sea Jazz, and Mellon Jazz Festivals. She has appeared in concert with Yo-Yo Ma, performing the string quartets of Henry Cowell at BAM, joined the Ethos Percussion Ensemble in concert at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and performed as guest soloist in both Wall to Wall presentations of Kurt Weil and Irving Berlin at Symphony Space in New York City. Her recitals throughout the U.S. include Town Hall and Merkin Hall in New York City, Schoenberg Hall in Los Angeles, Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C., and Pickman Hall in Boston.

The Muir String Quartet has long been acknowledged as one of the world's most powerful and insightful ensembles, distinguishing itself among audiences and critics with its "exhilarating involvement" (Boston Globe),"impeccable voicing and intonation" (San Francisco Examiner) and "unbridled musicality" (American Record Guide). The quartet appears annually on the major chamber music series throughout North America and Europe. In keeping with the quartet's namesake, the great naturalist, explorer and Sierra Club Founder, John Muir, the quartet donates proceeds from its much-touted EcoClassics, Inc. recordings to a variety of conservation organizations and programs supporting young musicians. The Muir Quartet is the Quartet-in-Residence at Boston University.

Hailed for its exquisite artistry, technical mastery, and astute approach to concert programming, the Orion String Quartet is one of the most admired chamber ensembles on the international music scene. The members of the Quartet have worked with such legendary figures as Pablo Casals, Rudolf Serkin, Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, Yo-Yo Ma, Peter Serkin, András Schiff, Wynton Marsalis, members of TASHI and the Beaux Arts Trio, as well as the Budapest, Végh, Galimir and Guarneri String Quartets. The Orion Quartet performs in the world's leading concert halls and serves as Quartet-in-Residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, and New York's Mannes College of Music. www.orionquartet.com

Read about the Providence Quartet's coaching with Tim Eddy here.

Click here to read about the Orion String Quartet's October 2008 residency at Community MusicWorks

Larry Rachleff is the Music Director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Music Director of the San Antonio Symphony, Professor of Conducting and Music Director of Rice University's Shepherd School Orchestras in Houston, and Music Director of Chicago's Symphony II, an orchestra consisting of members of the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra. Mr. Rachleff has appeared as guest conductor with such prestigious orchestras as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. In 1993 he was selected as one of four American conductors to lead the Cleveland Orchestra at Carnegie Hall under the mentorship of Maestro Pierre Boulez. www.ri-philharmonic.org

Violinist Eric Rosenblith (in memorium, 1920-2010) performed as a soloist and a chamber musician throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He is the former concertmaster of the Indianapolis and San Antonio Symphony Orchestras. Rosenblith has premiered and recorded many new works by American composers including David Stock, George Crumb, Alan Lighty, and Lucia Dlugachevsky and has released recordings on the Columbia, CRI, Crest, and Parjo labels. He is the editor and translator of the newly revised The Art of Violin Playing by Carl Flesch, and is the founder and artistic director of the International Musical Arts Institute of Fryeburg, Maine. Rosenblith regularly gives master classes in the United States, the United Kingdom, Korea, Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China. He has served as chairman of New England Conservatory's string department for over twenty-five years. Click here to view The Art of Violin Playing, edited by Eric Rosenblith.

Canadian violinist and violist Barry Shiffman has a rich and varied career as a performer, recording artist, teacher, and creator of special projects. In 1989, he co-founded the St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ). During his 17 years with the quartet he appeared in over 2,000 concerts in venues around the globe, and recorded several critically acclaimed discs under an exclusive contract with EMI Classics. In addition to performing and recording, Shiffman is a sought-after violin and viola teacher and chamber music coach. As part of his role in the St. Lawrence, Shiffman served as artist-in-residence at Stanford University from 1998 to 2006 and as visiting artist at the University of Toronto from 1995 to 2006. Since 2006, he has been Director of Music Programs at The Banff Centre, and Executive Director of the Banff International String Quartet Competition.

Read about a Phase II trip in 2006 to hear the St. Lawrence String Quartet by clicking here.

Theodore Sizer, in memoriam (1932-2009). Ted Sizer was Professor Emeritus at Brown University and Visiting Professor of Education at Harvard University. He was the Founder and Chairman of the Coalition of Essential Schools, and wrote many books on the subject of redesigning public schools. www.essentialschools.org

View text and photos from Education, Art, and Freedom: An Exploration of Philosophy and Pedagogy. May 2004