[Edgar Meyer] “The most remarkable virtuoso in the relatively un-chronicled history of his instrument.” – The New Yorker

Edgar Meyer

Hailed by The New Yorker as “ … the most remarkable virtuoso in the relatively unchronicled history of his instrument,” Edgar Meyer’s uniqueness in the field was recognized when he became the only bassist to be awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in addition to a MacArthur Award.

He was honored with two Grammy Awards this year for As We Speak in the categories of Best Contemporary Instrumental Album and Best Global Music Performance. Throughout his career, he has received a total of seven Grammy Awards.

As We Speak, with Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, and Rakesh Chaurasia, was released in May 2023. The first leg of the As We Speak tour preceded the album release, and Meyer went out again in November 2023 for the second leg.

Meyer completed a duo recording with Christian McBride, as well as a recording of his three concertos with The Knights, conducted by Eric Jacobsen and produced by Chris Thile. In June 2023, to complete the concerto project, he recorded his “Concertino for Bass and 14 Strings” in the U.K. with the Scottish Ensemble led by Jonathan Morton, who commissioned and toured the piece with Meyer in spring 2022.

Additionally, Meyer was part of a five-composer group, each composing a movement for a U.S. premiere with Joshua Bell and the New York Philharmonic in September 2023.

This fall, his newly formed trio with violinist Tessa Lark and cellist Joshua Roman began touring the U.S., performing string trios he composed in the 1980s as well as a newly commissioned work.

Meyer is the subject of an ongoing documentary filmed and produced by Lark, Andrew Adair, and Michael Thurber.

[Tessa Lark] “Astonishing technical skill … commanded a standing ovation and an encore.” – Lexington Herald Leader

Tessa Lark, Violinist, composer, arranger, commissioner, Stradgrasser

Tessa Lark is one of the most captivating artistic voices of our time, consistently praised by critics and audiences for her astounding range of sounds, technical agility, and musical elegance. In 2020, she was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category. She is also a highly acclaimed fiddler in the tradition of her native Kentucky.

Highlights of Lark’s 2023-24 Season included the world premiere of Carlos Izcaray’s Violin Concerto and performances of Michael Torke’s violin concerto, “Sky” — both pieces written for her — as well as her European orchestral debut with the Stuttgart Philharmonic. Lark’s latest album, The Stradgrass Sessions, was also released in 2023.

She also performs with the Virginia Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, England’s City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and others; and gives duo concerts with double bassist Michael Thurber and jazz guitarist Frank Vignola.

Her debut commercial recording was the Grammy-nominated “Sky,” and her discography also includes Fantasy; Invention, recorded with Thurber; and a live recording of Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.

In addition to her performance schedule, Lark champions young aspiring artists and supports the next generation of musicians through her work as a co-host and creative of NPR’s “From the Top.”

Lark plays a c. 1600 G.P. Maggini violin on loan from an anonymous donor through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

[Joshua Roman] “Extraordinary technical and musical gifts… a blend of precision and almost improvisatory freedom that goes straight to the heart.” – San Francisco Chronicle

Joshua Roman, cello soloist and composer

Joshua Roman is a cello soloist and composer, hailed for his “effortlessly expressive tone … and playful zest for exploration” (The New York Times), as well as his “extraordinary technical and musical gifts” and “blend of precision and almost improvisatory freedom … that goes straight to the heart” (San Francisco Chronicle). His genre-bending programs and wide-ranging collaborations have grown out of an “enthusiasm for musical evolution that is as contagious as his love for the classics” (The Seattle Times).

Committed to bringing Classical music to new audiences, Roman opened the acclaimed 2017 TED conference, and his performance of the complete Bach Solo Cello Suites after the 2016 U.S. presidential election was the most-viewed event in the history of TED’s social channels, with nearly a million live viewers.

Roman has collaborated with world-class artists across genres and disciplines, including Edgar Meyer, DJ Spooky, Tony Award-winner and MacArthur “Genius” Bill T. Jones, Grammy Award-nominated East African vocalist Somi, and Tony Award-nominated actor Anna Deavere Smith. Roman’s solo performance with the YouTube Symphony at Carnegie Hall was viewed by 33 million people across nearly 200 countries, with Yo-Yo Ma introducing him as “one of the great exemplars of the ideal 21st century musician.”

As a soloist, Roman’s “exceptionally high quality of performances” (Los Angeles Times) combines “the expressive control of Casals with the creative individuality and virtuoso flair of Hendrix himself” (Gramophone).

He has performed with leading orchestras around the United States and the world, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, New World Symphony, Toronto Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, and Mariinsky Orchestra. He was principal cellist at Seattle Symphony from ages 22 to 24.

As a composer, he has been commissioned by Music Academy of the West, Illinois Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Grace Cathedral, and more; he has written for the JACK Quartet, violinist Vadim Gluzman, and conductor David Danzmayr. Equally accomplished as an interpreter of the music of other contemporary composers, Roman has premiered works by Mason Bates, Reena Esmail, Timo Andres, Gabriela Lena Frank, Aaron Jay Kernis, Lisa Bielawa, and others.

A native of Oklahoma City, Roman studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Richard Aaron and Desmond Hoebig.

Roman is grateful for the loan of an 1899 cello by Giulio Degani of Venice.