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AT SAINT PETER'S CHURCH

619 LEXINGTON AVE, NY

ABOUT

Argento is one of New York City’s premiere virtuoso chamber ensembles dedicated to innovative musical performance and the discovery of daring artistic paths. Championing contemporary cutting-edge composers and framing classical repertoire in new contexts, Argento inspires musical inquiry through artistic collaboration and education.

Argento has built an international reputation since its founding in 2000. With a firm commitment to intellectually rigorous interpretations, the nine-member ensemble regularly expands to thirty musicians to deliver technically demanding performances. The ensemble collaborates with leading and emerging composers, produces internationally acclaimed recordings, and brings pressing concerns of contemporary music to the forefront.

“It renders [the works] not merely approachable but positively delectable through its mix of technical command and urgent advocacy."

     – Steve Smith, The New York Times

“The [Argento Chamber Ensemble's] performance succeeded in every way that really matters.

– Martin Adams, The Irish Times

"Argento Chamber Ensemble...[is] providing a real service to new-music lovers in New York City, by exposing works that might otherwise go unperformed…"

- Alex Ross, The New Yorker

“An essential source of adventurous new music in New York.”

– Steve Smith, Night After Night

Argento has forged long-term artistic relationships with ground-breaking composers such as Pierre Boulez, Beat Furrer, Georg Friedrich Haas, Bernhard Lang, and Fabien Lévy. The fruit of these collaborations include recording music of Philippe Hurel, Fred Lerdahl, Katerina Rosenberg, and Alexandre Lunsqui. Argento’s debut album Winter Fragments with music of Tristan Murail was awarded Japan’s Record Geijutsu Academy Award in 2010.

In conjunction with its prolific concert seasons and recording engagements, Argento nurtures the next generation of music professionals through university residencies, composer workshops, artist development programs, research library and archives, and student internships. Collaborating institutions include Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, Yale, and New York University, Bennington College, the Metropolitan New York Library Council, and the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program.

Argento's reputation builds on its cohesion as a chamber ensemble, demanding technical preparation, and a probing interpretive commitment to the music. Independent of commercial endeavors, the Ensemble relies on the hard work of its musicians, volunteers, board members, and your generous support.

 

OUR MUSICIANS

CONDUCTOR

Michel Galante

VOICE

Sharon Harms

Erin Gee

Charmaine Lee

FLUTE

Francesca Ferrara

Isabel Gleicher

Margaret Lancaster

Anna Urrey

OBOE

Arthur Sato

Scott Bartucca

CLARINET

Carol McGonnell

Vasko Dukovski

BASSOON

Nanci Belmont

HORN

Rachel Drehmann

Karl Kramer

Laura Weiner

TRUMPET

Sam Jones

Brad Siroky

TROMBONE

Mark Broschinsky

VIOLIN

Ken Hamao

Doori Na

Elissa Cassini

William Frampton

Mari Lee

Yuko Naito

VIOLA

Stephanie Griffin

Jocelin Pan

Nick Revel

CELLO

Michael Haas

Michael Katz

Serafim Smigelsky

Alexander Waterman

BASS

Tristan Kasten-Krause

Andrew Roitstein

Roger Wagner

GUITAR

Oren Fader

PERCUSSION

Matt Ward

Russell Greenberg

Dennis Sullivan

Sean Statser

Clara Warnaar

PIANO

Steve Beck

Stephen Gosling

Margaret Kampmeier

Jenny Lin

Ava Nazar

Marilyn Nonken

Christopher Oldfather

LEADERSHIP

Board of Directors

Gayle Haller, chair

James Berry

C.F. Pan
Nari Matsuura

Michael Klingbeil

Michel Galante, ex-officio

Advisory Committee

Georg Friedrich Haas

Erin Lesser

Jeanne Linnes

Carol McGonnell

Creative Advisory Group

Elesse Eddy
Manager, A.T. Kearney

Benjamin Goldmintz
Random House Publishing Group

Kathryn Graham
Manhattan School of Music

Iuri Câmara Gusmão Gama
Compser, Experimental Electronic Music

Kathy Halvorson
Oboist

Alexandra Krawetz
Doctoral Candidate, Musicology, Yale University

Claudia Lopez
Photographer

Matt Mendez
Composer; Blogger

Miro Magloire
Artistic Director, New Chamber Ballet

Kimberly Nucci
Multimedia Artist

Anne Lovering Rounds
Associate Professor, Hostos Community College, CUNY

Andrey Stolyarov
Composer; Singer; Music Notator; Student, Hartt School

Margaret Szeto
User Experience Designer, Visa

Justin Urcis
Executive & Artistic Director, Monday Evening Concerts

Yvonne Wang
Music Educator

Kathleen T. Watson
Neuropsychopharmacology, Stanford University 

Natasha Maki Yamane
Founder, Project Sunshine

Jonathan Yates
Music Director, Camerata Notturna and Norwalk Youth Symphony

Ananda Alves Brandão
Student, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil

Vanessa Cravotta
Composer; Pianist, Belle Arti Center for the Arts

Abby Fisher

Managing Director, Nief-Norf Contemporary Music

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