Thomas Jöstlein, Associate Principal Horn with the St. Louis Symphony since 2010, enjoys an active and varied musical life. From 2007-09, Jöstlein was the New York Philharmonic's Assistant Principal Horn, playing all positions, including Associate Principal and Third Horn. Under Music Director Lorin Maazel, he was on three major tours, including the historic live broadcast from North Korea (2008). Previously, he held positions with the Honolulu, Omaha, Richmond, and Kansas City symphony orchestras, and performed in summer festivals in Oregon, Ohio, Colorado, and North Carolina. He has served as Assistant Professor of Horn at the University of Illinois, playing in the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra and Ian Hobson's Sinfonia da Camera while teaching horn and orchestral repertoire. He taught several weeks at Indiana University in 2014 in both natural and un-natural (i.e. valved) horn, and has held adjunct positions at the University of Hawaii and at Virginia Commonwealth University.
An active soloist, Jöstlein won First Prize in the professional division of the American Horn Competition in 2003, and the Grand Prize at the Hugo Kauder Music Competition at Yale University in 2005, earning a recital at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. In 2014, he appeared with his hornist colleagues in the St. Louis Symphony as a soloist on Schumann's Concertstück for Four Horns and Orchestra, op. 86.
As a composer, he has had several works published, including his original setting of Clement Moore’s ’Twas the Night before Christmas for Horn Trio and narrator (Cimarron Press). He appears on several recordings, notably Tony Bennett’s Duets II album, along with Phil Myers, Principal Horn, New York Philharmonic, and Jöstlein’s sister, Barbara Currie, Fourth Horn with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
He is indebted to his terrific teachers, notably tubists Arnold Jacobs and Roger Rocco, and hornists William VerMeulen, Philip Farkas, Tom Bacon, and Nancy Fako. He performs on horns by K. Berg, E. Schmid, R. Seraphinoff, J. Vanon, and L.J. Raoux. Thomas Jöstlein lives in University City, Missouri with wife and fellow horn player, Tricia, and sons Klaus and Max.
An active soloist, Jöstlein won First Prize in the professional division of the American Horn Competition in 2003, and the Grand Prize at the Hugo Kauder Music Competition at Yale University in 2005, earning a recital at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. In 2014, he appeared with his hornist colleagues in the St. Louis Symphony as a soloist on Schumann's Concertstück for Four Horns and Orchestra, op. 86.
As a composer, he has had several works published, including his original setting of Clement Moore’s ’Twas the Night before Christmas for Horn Trio and narrator (Cimarron Press). He appears on several recordings, notably Tony Bennett’s Duets II album, along with Phil Myers, Principal Horn, New York Philharmonic, and Jöstlein’s sister, Barbara Currie, Fourth Horn with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
He is indebted to his terrific teachers, notably tubists Arnold Jacobs and Roger Rocco, and hornists William VerMeulen, Philip Farkas, Tom Bacon, and Nancy Fako. He performs on horns by K. Berg, E. Schmid, R. Seraphinoff, J. Vanon, and L.J. Raoux. Thomas Jöstlein lives in University City, Missouri with wife and fellow horn player, Tricia, and sons Klaus and Max.
James Ferree joined the Richmond Symphony in January 2012 as Principal Horn. An Atlanta native, James began piano studies at age 6, and when singing as an 11-year-old choir boy behind the horn section of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra with Robert Shaw in 5th grade, he was inspired to pursue a career in the horn. Soon after he began studies with Richard Deane, and in 2003 he was the recipient of the Jon Hawkins Memorial Scholarship of the International Horn Society. After a timely family move to Germany, where he studied with horn legend Hermann Baumann, he was accepted to the Juilliard School with Presidential Distinction to study with Jerome Ashby (BM) and William Purvis (MM). Upon graduation, he joined the New World Symphony in Miami under music director Michael Tilson Thomas.
Solo appearances include the Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings with the RSO and Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux Ètoiles at Juilliard. When he performed Glière’s Horn Concerto as a member of the New World Symphony, the South Florida Classical Review wrote, “The accuracy of James Ferree’s playing stood out…and [James] displayed a mastery of the instrument that allowed him to paint all the moods…golden sounds.” James has performed with the orchestras of Atlanta, Virginia, Florida, Jacksonville, Charleston, and Kansas City. In 2015 he joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic on their Asia Tour, and a recording of Mahler Symphony No. 6 for upcoming release (TBD), under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel. He can also be heard alongside the American Brass Quintet in their 50th Anniversary album. During the summers, James is a member of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland, with whom he joined in violinist David Garrett’s 2014 Germany tour. James has also participated in the festivals of Tanglewood, Spoleto USA, and Music Academy of the West.
James is active locally as a chamber artist, performing with the Atlantic Chamber Ensemble, Richmond Chamber Players, Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia, and the Staunton Music Festival. As a teacher, James enjoys masterclass engagements at universities throughout the region. While at Juilliard, James also devoted study to composition and theory with Dr. Philip Lasser and Eric Ewazen, and James’s Sonata on its Knees was premiered by renowned horn soloist David Jolley. More recent premieres include his piece for violin and piano, Love for a Sweater, with RSO concertmaster Daisuke Yamamoto, and his quintet For a Newborn with the RSO’s principal winds.
James resides in Richmond with his two cats, who do not like the horn but do like eating bugs. When not performing, he enjoys a good game of baseball or disc golf, reading a book over coffee, and participating at his church.
Solo appearances include the Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings with the RSO and Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux Ètoiles at Juilliard. When he performed Glière’s Horn Concerto as a member of the New World Symphony, the South Florida Classical Review wrote, “The accuracy of James Ferree’s playing stood out…and [James] displayed a mastery of the instrument that allowed him to paint all the moods…golden sounds.” James has performed with the orchestras of Atlanta, Virginia, Florida, Jacksonville, Charleston, and Kansas City. In 2015 he joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic on their Asia Tour, and a recording of Mahler Symphony No. 6 for upcoming release (TBD), under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel. He can also be heard alongside the American Brass Quintet in their 50th Anniversary album. During the summers, James is a member of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland, with whom he joined in violinist David Garrett’s 2014 Germany tour. James has also participated in the festivals of Tanglewood, Spoleto USA, and Music Academy of the West.
James is active locally as a chamber artist, performing with the Atlantic Chamber Ensemble, Richmond Chamber Players, Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia, and the Staunton Music Festival. As a teacher, James enjoys masterclass engagements at universities throughout the region. While at Juilliard, James also devoted study to composition and theory with Dr. Philip Lasser and Eric Ewazen, and James’s Sonata on its Knees was premiered by renowned horn soloist David Jolley. More recent premieres include his piece for violin and piano, Love for a Sweater, with RSO concertmaster Daisuke Yamamoto, and his quintet For a Newborn with the RSO’s principal winds.
James resides in Richmond with his two cats, who do not like the horn but do like eating bugs. When not performing, he enjoys a good game of baseball or disc golf, reading a book over coffee, and participating at his church.
George Harple was an active member of the Richmond Symphony for 29 years, retiring in 2002. Originally from upstate New York, George graduated from the Crane School of Music, State University of New York in Potsdam NY. After graduation, George decided he was interested in a life in the south. He applied for a position in the Richmond Symphony and was accepted. While continuing a career with the Richmond Symphony, George also began teaching music in private schools in Richmond, and he discovered a passion for teaching music to young students. As he continued to teach with private schools, George was then offered a full time teaching position in 1989 with Richmond Public Schools. George continues to not only teach and inspire young students his love of music, but also provides instruments for students in need.
George is the proud father of 2 married daughters and one granddaughter. Upon retirement from the Richmond Symphony, George joined the Richmond Philharmonic. He feels very privileged to be included in this horn quartet for this season’s performance of Robert Schumann’s Konzertstück.
George is the proud father of 2 married daughters and one granddaughter. Upon retirement from the Richmond Symphony, George joined the Richmond Philharmonic. He feels very privileged to be included in this horn quartet for this season’s performance of Robert Schumann’s Konzertstück.
Merry Beth Hall is co-principal horn in the Richmond Philharmonic, and a member of the Beltway Brass Quintet and Commonwealth Winds. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education from James Madison University and a Master of Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her horn teachers include Jeff Bianchi and the late John Cryder.
Outside of music performance, Mrs. Hall is Assistant Vice President for Workforce Development at the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors -- National Association Educational Foundation. Her role at the PHCC Educational Foundation is to help attract and train new talent into the plumbing and HVAC trades. She was recognized by Plumbing Engineer magazine as one of its 2016 Industry Leading Ladies.
Outside of music performance, Mrs. Hall is Assistant Vice President for Workforce Development at the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors -- National Association Educational Foundation. Her role at the PHCC Educational Foundation is to help attract and train new talent into the plumbing and HVAC trades. She was recognized by Plumbing Engineer magazine as one of its 2016 Industry Leading Ladies.
Romanian violinist Irina Muresanu has won the hearts of audiences and critics alike with her exciting, elegant and heartfelt performances of the classic, romantic and modern repertoire. The Boston Globe has come to praise her as “not just a virtuoso, but an artist” and the Los Angeles Times has written that her “musical luster, melting lyricism and colorful conception made Irina Muresanu’s performance especially admirable” while Strad Magazine called her Carnegie/Weill Hall performance “a first-rate recital”. Irina Muresanu’s performances have been frequently cited as among the Best of Classical Music Performances by the Boston Globe, and her recital in the Emerging Artist Celebrity Series was named one of the Top 10 musical events by the TAB Magazine.
Early on Muresanu achieved international acclaim as an outstanding young soloist, recitalist and chamber musician winning top prizes in several prestigious international violin competitions including the Montreal International, Queen Elizabeth International, UNISA International String, Washington International, and the Schadt String Competition. She is the winner of the Pro Musicis International Award, the Presser Music Award, the Kate Kinley Fellowship Award from the University of Illinois and the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association.
Muresanu has performed in renowned concert halls throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Her recent solo engagements include concerts with the Boston Pops, the Miami Symphony Orchestra, the Williamsburg Symphonia, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Geneva), the Syracuse Symphony, the Metropolitan Orchestra (Montreal), the Transvaal Philharmonic (Pretoria, S. Africa), the Romanian National Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Radio Flamande (Brussels), the Boston Philharmonic, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the New England String Ensemble amongst others.
In 2013, Muresanu introduced her “Four Strings Around the World” project, a solo violin recital featuring works of composers inspired by various musical cultures around the world. An early reviewer of the project wrote that “[W]hen the D Major section moves into D minor [in Bach’s Chaccone], it seemed as if the violin had had its heart broken and was crying. Muresanu’s performance was simply spectacular.”
Her recent recording releases include the Thomas Oboe Lee Violin Concerto (dedicated to Muresanu) on the BMOP label, works of Elena Ruehr (also dedicated to Irina Muresanu) on Avie Records label and the complete William Bolcom’s Violin and Piano Sonatas on Centaur label with pianist Michael Lewin (a recording that was funded by a Copland Recording Grant). In Europe, her recording of the Guillaume Lekeu and Alberic Magnard late Romantic Violin and Piano Sonatas with pianist Dana Ciocarlie for the AR RE-SE French label has sparked enthusiasm. Fanfare noted the recording with “singing and soaring…[a] sizzling performance.” Ms. Muresanu has also recorded chamber music works of Gerhard Schedl with the Walden Chamber Players, the world premiere recording of Marion Bauer’s Sonata for Violin and Piano with pianist Virginia Eskin on Albany Records, and a CD featuring chamber works of Erich Korngold released by the VPRO Radio Amsterdam. Adding to her other competition laurels, Ms. Muresanu was granted a Special Commendation award for her recording of Schoenberg’s Fantasy for Violin and Piano at the 3rd International Vienna Modern Masters Performers Recording Competition.
An active chamber musician and recitalist, Ms. Muresanu has appeared in such festivals and venues as Bargemusic in New York, the Rockport Festival in Massachusetts, Bay Chambers concert series and Bowdoin Festival in Maine, the Strings in the Mountains and San Juan Music Festival in Colorado, Maui Chamber Music Festival in Hawaii, Reizend Music Festival in Netherlands, Festival van de Leie in Belgium, and the Renncontres des Musiciennes Festival in France. Ms. Muresanu has been a member of the Boston Trio since 2002 and she regularly performs with Mistral and the Walden Chamber Players.
Irina Muresanu currently serves on the faculty the University of Maryland and Boston Conservatory, and has taught in the Harvard and MIT Music Departments. She received the prestigious Artist Diploma degree and a Doctor in Musical Arts degree from the New England Conservatory. She plays an 1849 Giuseppe Rocca violin and an Etienne Pajeot bow.
Early on Muresanu achieved international acclaim as an outstanding young soloist, recitalist and chamber musician winning top prizes in several prestigious international violin competitions including the Montreal International, Queen Elizabeth International, UNISA International String, Washington International, and the Schadt String Competition. She is the winner of the Pro Musicis International Award, the Presser Music Award, the Kate Kinley Fellowship Award from the University of Illinois and the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association.
Muresanu has performed in renowned concert halls throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Her recent solo engagements include concerts with the Boston Pops, the Miami Symphony Orchestra, the Williamsburg Symphonia, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Geneva), the Syracuse Symphony, the Metropolitan Orchestra (Montreal), the Transvaal Philharmonic (Pretoria, S. Africa), the Romanian National Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Radio Flamande (Brussels), the Boston Philharmonic, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the New England String Ensemble amongst others.
In 2013, Muresanu introduced her “Four Strings Around the World” project, a solo violin recital featuring works of composers inspired by various musical cultures around the world. An early reviewer of the project wrote that “[W]hen the D Major section moves into D minor [in Bach’s Chaccone], it seemed as if the violin had had its heart broken and was crying. Muresanu’s performance was simply spectacular.”
Her recent recording releases include the Thomas Oboe Lee Violin Concerto (dedicated to Muresanu) on the BMOP label, works of Elena Ruehr (also dedicated to Irina Muresanu) on Avie Records label and the complete William Bolcom’s Violin and Piano Sonatas on Centaur label with pianist Michael Lewin (a recording that was funded by a Copland Recording Grant). In Europe, her recording of the Guillaume Lekeu and Alberic Magnard late Romantic Violin and Piano Sonatas with pianist Dana Ciocarlie for the AR RE-SE French label has sparked enthusiasm. Fanfare noted the recording with “singing and soaring…[a] sizzling performance.” Ms. Muresanu has also recorded chamber music works of Gerhard Schedl with the Walden Chamber Players, the world premiere recording of Marion Bauer’s Sonata for Violin and Piano with pianist Virginia Eskin on Albany Records, and a CD featuring chamber works of Erich Korngold released by the VPRO Radio Amsterdam. Adding to her other competition laurels, Ms. Muresanu was granted a Special Commendation award for her recording of Schoenberg’s Fantasy for Violin and Piano at the 3rd International Vienna Modern Masters Performers Recording Competition.
An active chamber musician and recitalist, Ms. Muresanu has appeared in such festivals and venues as Bargemusic in New York, the Rockport Festival in Massachusetts, Bay Chambers concert series and Bowdoin Festival in Maine, the Strings in the Mountains and San Juan Music Festival in Colorado, Maui Chamber Music Festival in Hawaii, Reizend Music Festival in Netherlands, Festival van de Leie in Belgium, and the Renncontres des Musiciennes Festival in France. Ms. Muresanu has been a member of the Boston Trio since 2002 and she regularly performs with Mistral and the Walden Chamber Players.
Irina Muresanu currently serves on the faculty the University of Maryland and Boston Conservatory, and has taught in the Harvard and MIT Music Departments. She received the prestigious Artist Diploma degree and a Doctor in Musical Arts degree from the New England Conservatory. She plays an 1849 Giuseppe Rocca violin and an Etienne Pajeot bow.
With work described as “sumptuously scored and full of soaring melodies” (The New York Times), and “unspeakably gorgeous” (Gramophone), American composer Elena Ruehr is known for her lyrical and rhythmically vibrant music. Her music has an organic, breathing flow, derived from its origin in the movement of the body and the vitality of the natural world; her melodies often incorporate details and figurations of improvised performance, sometimes with exotic touches. Ruehr says of her music “the idea is that the surface be simple, the structure complex.”
An award-winning faculty member at MIT since 1992, she is a Guggenheim fellow, has been a fellow at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute, and was the first composer-in-residence with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) from 2000-2005, where the orchestra premiered her pieces Shimmer, Sky Above Clouds, Ladder to the Moon, as well as her acclaimed opera Toussaint Before the Spirits in collaboration with Opera Boston (Arsis Records, 2005). BMOP also released a recording of her complete orchestral works in 2014.
Ruehr's oeuvre includes compositions for chamber ensemble, orchestra, chorus, wind ensemble, instrumental solo, opera, dance and silent film. Her six string quartets have been championed by the Cypress, Biava, Borromeo, Lark, ROCO and Shanghai string quartets. In addition, she has written works for Cantata Singers, Roomful of Teeth, the Metamorphosen Chamber Ensemble, the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Rockport Chamber Music Society, Dinosaur Annex, Lorelei and the Radcliffe Chorus, and many others. She has also written two scores for silent films: Manhattan Trade School for Girls and Deschutes Driftwood.
In addition to her work with BMOP, her recordings include Lift (Avie Records, 2015) Averno (Avie Records, Trinity Choir, 2012), How She Danced: String Quartets of Elena Ruehr (Cypress String Quartet, 2010), and Jane Wang considers the dragonfly (Albany, various artists, 2009). Ruehr’s pieces are often inspired or suggested by work from other artistic spheres, and she is known for her collaborations with the writers Louise Glück, Elizabeth Alexander, Margaret Atwood, Ann Patchett and Adrienne Rich, among others.
An award-winning faculty member at MIT since 1992, she is a Guggenheim fellow, has been a fellow at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute, and was the first composer-in-residence with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) from 2000-2005, where the orchestra premiered her pieces Shimmer, Sky Above Clouds, Ladder to the Moon, as well as her acclaimed opera Toussaint Before the Spirits in collaboration with Opera Boston (Arsis Records, 2005). BMOP also released a recording of her complete orchestral works in 2014.
Ruehr's oeuvre includes compositions for chamber ensemble, orchestra, chorus, wind ensemble, instrumental solo, opera, dance and silent film. Her six string quartets have been championed by the Cypress, Biava, Borromeo, Lark, ROCO and Shanghai string quartets. In addition, she has written works for Cantata Singers, Roomful of Teeth, the Metamorphosen Chamber Ensemble, the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Rockport Chamber Music Society, Dinosaur Annex, Lorelei and the Radcliffe Chorus, and many others. She has also written two scores for silent films: Manhattan Trade School for Girls and Deschutes Driftwood.
In addition to her work with BMOP, her recordings include Lift (Avie Records, 2015) Averno (Avie Records, Trinity Choir, 2012), How She Danced: String Quartets of Elena Ruehr (Cypress String Quartet, 2010), and Jane Wang considers the dragonfly (Albany, various artists, 2009). Ruehr’s pieces are often inspired or suggested by work from other artistic spheres, and she is known for her collaborations with the writers Louise Glück, Elizabeth Alexander, Margaret Atwood, Ann Patchett and Adrienne Rich, among others.
Jennifer Kloetzel, Guest Soloist
A graduate of The Juilliard School and a Fulbright Grant winner, cellist Jennifer Kloetzel has concertized throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. A founding member of the Cypress String Quartet, Ms. Kloetzel has toured the world and performed at outstanding venues such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Chautauqua Institute and the Ravinia Festival, as well as leading Colleges nationwide.
Ms. Kloetzel is noted for her elegant playing and has given numerous recitals, including concerts for San Francisco Performances and on WQXR in New York. This past season, she performed the world premiere of a Cello Suite by Daniel Asia and a Cello Concerto that was written for her by MIT composer Elena Ruehr. The San Jose Mercury News proclaimed, “Cellist Jennifer Kloetzel shines in premiere” and called her a “terrific soloist…with a robust and earthy sound.” Ms. Kloetzel has recorded the Ruehr Cello Concerto “Cloud Atlas” with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, which will be released on the BMOP label next season. She is winner of The Juilliard School’s top award, the “Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Leadership and Achievement in Music”, and a Presser Music Award, as well as a Fulbright Grant to England. In 2004 she was honored with the McGraw-Hill Companies’ “Robert Sherman Award for Music Education and Community Outreach” in recognition of years of outreach work in schools and community centers. She has appeared at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Sarasota and Aspen Music Festivals, the Britten-Pears School, the Prague Mozart Academy, and performed as cellist of the Cassatt Quartet during the 1995-96 season.
Growing up near Baltimore, Ms. Kloetzel began her cello studies at age six. Her teachers included Aldo Parisot, William Pleeth, Harvey Shapiro, Stephen Kates and Paula Virizlay, as well as members of the Juilliard String Quartet, the Amadeus Quartet and the Cleveland Quartet. After performing with pianist Andre Previn at the La Jolla Chamber Music Festival in 1992, Ms. Kloetzel was invited to appear as one of his select “Rising Stars” at the 1993 and 1994 Caramoor Festivals in New York.
From 2003-2009, Ms. Kloetzel taught cello and chamber music at San José State University, where the Cypress String Quartet was Ensemble-in-Residence. She has given master classes at The Juilliard School, San Francisco Conservatory and at universities throughout the U.S.
Together with her colleagues in the Cypress String Quartet, she has been featured numerous times on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today” and performances have been broadcast on radio stations from coast to coast. The Cypress String Quartet has received the Copland Award for championing living American Composers and has also commissioned and premiered more than thirty works. Ms. Kloetzel has recorded over 14 CDs with the CSQ, most recently an all-Dvorak disc on the Avie label. She has performed as principal cellist of the Concert Artists of Baltimore, the Baltimore Opera and the Juilliard Orchestra (under Maestro Kurt Masur). In addition, she is a frequent guest soloist with numerous orchestras, performing concertos by Brahms, Dvorak, Elgar and Haydn.
Ms. Kloetzel plays a cello by Hieronymus Amati II, made in Cremona in 1701.
Ms. Kloetzel is noted for her elegant playing and has given numerous recitals, including concerts for San Francisco Performances and on WQXR in New York. This past season, she performed the world premiere of a Cello Suite by Daniel Asia and a Cello Concerto that was written for her by MIT composer Elena Ruehr. The San Jose Mercury News proclaimed, “Cellist Jennifer Kloetzel shines in premiere” and called her a “terrific soloist…with a robust and earthy sound.” Ms. Kloetzel has recorded the Ruehr Cello Concerto “Cloud Atlas” with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, which will be released on the BMOP label next season. She is winner of The Juilliard School’s top award, the “Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Leadership and Achievement in Music”, and a Presser Music Award, as well as a Fulbright Grant to England. In 2004 she was honored with the McGraw-Hill Companies’ “Robert Sherman Award for Music Education and Community Outreach” in recognition of years of outreach work in schools and community centers. She has appeared at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Sarasota and Aspen Music Festivals, the Britten-Pears School, the Prague Mozart Academy, and performed as cellist of the Cassatt Quartet during the 1995-96 season.
Growing up near Baltimore, Ms. Kloetzel began her cello studies at age six. Her teachers included Aldo Parisot, William Pleeth, Harvey Shapiro, Stephen Kates and Paula Virizlay, as well as members of the Juilliard String Quartet, the Amadeus Quartet and the Cleveland Quartet. After performing with pianist Andre Previn at the La Jolla Chamber Music Festival in 1992, Ms. Kloetzel was invited to appear as one of his select “Rising Stars” at the 1993 and 1994 Caramoor Festivals in New York.
From 2003-2009, Ms. Kloetzel taught cello and chamber music at San José State University, where the Cypress String Quartet was Ensemble-in-Residence. She has given master classes at The Juilliard School, San Francisco Conservatory and at universities throughout the U.S.
Together with her colleagues in the Cypress String Quartet, she has been featured numerous times on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today” and performances have been broadcast on radio stations from coast to coast. The Cypress String Quartet has received the Copland Award for championing living American Composers and has also commissioned and premiered more than thirty works. Ms. Kloetzel has recorded over 14 CDs with the CSQ, most recently an all-Dvorak disc on the Avie label. She has performed as principal cellist of the Concert Artists of Baltimore, the Baltimore Opera and the Juilliard Orchestra (under Maestro Kurt Masur). In addition, she is a frequent guest soloist with numerous orchestras, performing concertos by Brahms, Dvorak, Elgar and Haydn.
Ms. Kloetzel plays a cello by Hieronymus Amati II, made in Cremona in 1701.