INTERSECTIONS: Songs of the Earth

Carrie Bean Stute

Cellist Carrie Bean Stute is co-founder and co-artistic director of the Washington, DC-based Chiarina Chamber Players, a chamber music series and flexible ensemble that has won critical acclaim for its artistry and innovative programming. Carrie’s chamber music performances have been broadcast on Classical WETA’s Front Row Washington. In DC, she performs with the National Symphony Orchestra, has served as an adjunct professor of music at George Washington University, and is currently assistant principal cellist of “The President’s Own” Marine Chamber Orchestra, where she performs in such diverse settings as the White House, area public schools, and for events hosted by the United Nations and State Department.

A performer who seeks out the voices of today, she collaborates with a growing set of composers, including Reinaldo Moya, Mary Kouyoumdjian, Juhi Bansal, and Kennedy Center composer-in-residence Carlos Simon. Carrie authored a doctoral dissertation on the cello works of Pēteris Vasks and in 2021 performed as soloist in the North American premiere of his Cello Concerto No. 2. She took part in the Carnegie Hall workshop “New Voices, New Music” and has performed chamber music at such venues as the Phillips Collection, Zankel Hall, Le Poisson Rouge, Roulette, and an in-house educational residency at the 92nd Street Y.

Carrie holds degrees from The Graduate Center at the City University of New York (Doctor of Musical Arts), Indiana University, and the Eastman School of Music. She was a fellow at the New World Symphony and Tanglewood Music Center. Forthcoming in 2024-25 are recordings of chamber music by Carlos Simon (with Domenic Salerni, Efi Hackmey, and Carl DuPont) and clarinet trios by Brahms and Beethoven (with Robert DiLutis and Rita Sloan).

Patrick Morgan

Patrick Morgan’s playing has been praised by the Washington Post as “riveting” and “...a mystical experience.” He has been performing in the DC area since 2008. He attended Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he was a student of Howard Klug. Patrick accepted a position with the United States Marine Band and Chamber Orchestra at the age of 22, and was appointed principal clarinet in 2015. As a teacher, he has given masterclasses at prestigious universities across the country, including Northwestern, Eastman, Baylor, and the University of Michigan. He lives in Springfield, VA with his wife and two children.

Sarah Frisof

Equally at home in the solo, chamber, and orchestral stages, Sarah Frisof is a passionate flutist and educator. As a soloist, Ms. Frisof was the second-prize winner of both the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition and the Heida Hermanns International Woodwind Competition, and she was a semi-finalist in the 2009 Kobe International Flute Competition. Ms. Frisof and her collaborative partner, Daniel Pesca, piano, have released two solo albums. Her most recent album, Beauty Crying Forth, a survey of music by female composers across time, was released in August of 2020.

In addition to Ms. Frisof’s work as a solo artist, she is an active orchestral and chamber musician, having worked with major symphony orchestras across the country, including the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, and many others. Ms. Frisof is an active member of Sound Impact, a chamber collective of musicians dedicated to serving communities and igniting positive change in the US and abroad through live performance, educational programs, and creative collaborations with other artists and art forms.

She has taken her passion for education and community engagement to global audiences, including working with communities and students in both Zimbabwe and Brazil. A graduate of the Eastman School, The Juilliard School, and the University of Michigan, Ms. Frisof is currently the Associate Professor of Flute at the University of Maryland.

Steven Beck

Pianist Steven Beck continues to gather acclaim for his performances and recordings. Recent career highlights include performances of Beethoven’s variations and bagatelles at Bargemusic, where he first performed the Beethoven sonata cycle.

An experienced performer of new music, Beck has worked with Elliott Carter, Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, Charles Wuorinen, George Crumb, George Perle, and Fred Lerdahl, and has performed with ensembles such as Speculum Musicae and the New York New Music Ensemble. He is a member of the Da Capo Chamber Players, the Knights, and the Talea Ensemble. He is also a member of Quattro Mani, a piano duo specializing in contemporary music. As an orchestral musician he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, Orpheus, the Mariinsky Orchestra and many others.

Mr. Beck’s discography includes Peter Lieberson's third piano concerto (for Bridge Records) and a recording of Elliott Carter’s “Double Concerto” on Albany Records. He is a Steinway Artist.

Thalea String Quartet

The Thalea String Quartet brings their signature vibrancy and emotional commitment to dynamic performances that reflect the past, present, and the future of the string quartet repertoire while  celebrating diverse musical traditions from around the world. Fueled by the belief that chamber  music is a powerful force for building community and human connection, the Thalea String  Quartet has performed across North America, Europe, and China, and has appeared at the  Kennedy Center, Massey Hall, and Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall. They have shared the stage with  luminaries of the chamber music world, including members of the Emerson, Borromeo and St  Lawrence String Quartets, and they have performed alongside celebrated artists including  Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw, violist Lawrence Power, acclaimed Canadian  band BADBADNOTGOOD, and visionary hip hop artist Jay Electronica. 

Committed to shaping and contributing to the future of the string quartet repertoire, the Thalea  String Quartet has premiered dozens of new works and have collaborated on new commissions  with composers including Paola Prestini, Anthony R. Green, Akshaya Avril Tucker, and Tanner  Porter. 

Winners of the 2021 Ann Divine Educator Award from the Fischoff National Chamber Music  Competition, the members of the Thalea String Quartet have been celebrated for their innovative  approach to education and community engagement. Pioneers of virtual educational program ming, TSQ has developed a variety of digital content, including two digital video series for stu dents of all ages and the CHAMPS Virtual Chamber Music Seminar, which brought together stu dents from across North America for an eight-week intensive study of the music of Florence B.  Price, Joseph Haydn, and Antonín Dvořák. The members of the TSQ have presented master classes and workshops at institutions across North America, including the Berklee College of  Music, the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, and San Francisco State University. They have presented lectures and led discussions at institutions including the University of  Maryland, Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, and Wayne State Medical School in Detroit,  where they presented a workshop on non-verbal communication to first year medical students  alongside the Emerson String Quartet. 

The Thalea String Quartet is the Doctoral Fellowship String Quartet at the University of Maryland. The quartet has also held fellowship positions at the University of Texas at Austin and the  San Francisco Conservatory. They served as Associated Artists at the Queen Elisabeth Music  Chapel in Waterloo, Belgium for the 2019-20 season and were the 2019-20 Ernst Stiefel Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. They were top prize winners at the 2018 Fischoff Competition and 2018 Chamber Music Yellow  Springs Competition. 

Christopher Whitley (violin) is originally from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Kumiko Sakamoto (violin) is from Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada; Lauren Spaulding (viola) is from San Antonio,  Texas; and Alex Cox (cello) is from West Palm Beach, Florida.