2025 Artists announced in April
CMS Carolinas welcomes widely beloved and internationally acclaimed musicians from all over the world to its annual summer series. These musicians come to the mountains of North and South Carolina each year to collaborate with each other and share their passion with the audiences.
Performers have included Van Cliburn competition gold medalists, Tchaikovsky competition silver medalists, Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated ensembles, and concertmasters/principals of major US orchestras.
Summer 2024 Artists
Jasper String Quartet
Celebrating its eighteenth season in 2024, the Jasper String Quartet is hailed as “flawless in ensemble and intonation, expressively assured and beautifully balanced” (Gramophone).
A recipient of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, the Quartet’s playing is “sonically delightful and expressively compelling” (The Strad). The ensemble has released eight albums, including Unbound, named by the New York Times as one of the year’s 25 Best Classical Recordings.
The Jasper String Quartet is the Founder and Artistic Director of Jasper Chamber Concerts, the Director of the Saint Paul Chamber Music Institute, and the Professional Quartet-in-Residence at Temple University's Center for Gifted Young Musicians.
The Quartet is J Freivogel and Karen Kim (violins), Andrew Gonzalez (viola), Rachel Henderson Freivogel (cello).
Inessa Zaretsky, Piano
Inessa Zaretsky is the Director of the Chamber Music Society of the Carolinas. She is an award-winning pianist and composer. Her performances have taken her around the world and across the United States. She has collaborated with numerous notable musicians - Metropolitan Opera soloists, members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and many others.
Currently, Zaretsky teaches piano at Mannes College and The New School University. She is also the Artistic Director of Chamber Music on the Hudson and co-director of the Phoenix Chamber Music Series in New York City.
Derek Bermel, Clarinet and Composer
Composer and clarinetist Derek Bermel has been internationally recognized for his creativity, theatricality, and virtuosity. Bermel is acclaimed for music that is “intricate, witty, clear-spoken, tender, and extraordinarily beautiful [and] covers an amazing amount of ground, from the West African rhythms of Dust Dances to the Bulgarian folk strains of Thracian Echoes, to the shimmering harmonic splendor of Elixir. In the hands of a composer less assured, all that globe-trotting would seem like affectation; Bermel makes it an artistic imperative." (Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle).
Bermel and his works have received the Alpert Award in the Arts, Rome Prize, Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships, the Trailblazer Award from the American Music Center, and the Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has also received three Grammy nominations: Intonations (Naxos, 2023), Migrations (Naxos, 2020) and Voices (BMOP, 2010).
Tesla Quartet
The Tesla Quartet is known the world over for their “superb capacity to find the inner heart of everything they play, regardless of era, style, or technical demand” (The International Review of Music). From cutting edge contemporary works to established masterpieces, the Tesla Quartet’s emotive and thoughtful interpretations reveal the ensemble’s deep commitment to the craft and to their ever expanding repertoire. The quartet recognizes the power of their platform to amplify underrepresented voices and to encourage the proliferation of an equitable and just future for society as well as a hospitable climate for posterity.
The Tesla Quartet, in its 16th season, builds upon years of early success at numerous competitions including multiple top prizes at the prestigious Banff International String Quartet Competition, International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition, and Wigmore Hall London International String Quartet Competition. The group originally formed at The Juilliard School in 2008 and quickly established itself as one of the most promising young ensembles in New York.
The Tesla Quartet is Ross Snyder and Michelle Lie (violins), Edwin Kaplan (viola), and Austin Fisher (cello).
Ivan Filipchyk, Accordion
Ivan Filipchyk was born in Belarus, where he studied music and visual arts. After graduating from Gnesin Academy of Music in Moscow in 2015 he moved to New York.
As a versatile virtuoso on both accordion and piano, Filipchyk has received honors in many international competitions and has performed on major concert stages from Japan to Canada, across Europe, Russia and Ukraine. A multi-faceted artist, Filipchyk composes, performs, teaches and also paints. He is currently expanding and integrating his artistic endeavors by actively combining music with visual art.
Hanzhi Wang, Accordion
Acclaimed for her “staggering virtuosity,” Hanzhi Wang is the only accordionist to ever win a place on the roster of Young Concert Artists in its 60-year history. An ambassador for her instrument, Wang has been praised for her captivating stage presence and performances that display passion and finesse.
A groundbreaking artist, Wang’s other firsts include being named Musical America’s “New Artist of the Month,” an interview and performance on the 2,145th episode of New York WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase as the first solo accordionist on the program, and the Naxos label’s first-ever solo accordion CD, “On the Path to H.C. Andersen,” which was nominated for the prestigious DR (Danish Radio) P2 Prize in 2019.
Keve Wilson, Oboe
Oboist Keve Wilson is known for her “magnificently sweet tone”(New York Times). Winner of the Concert Artists Guild competition, Wilson has performed across the world. She played a part in the Grammy-nominated Absolute Ensemble and has twice been the recipient of the Clifford-Levy Creativity Grant.
Wilson has held chairs for several Broadway shows including revival of Company, Carousel with Renee Fleming, and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Wilson enjoys visiting and being an inspiration to high school band and orchestra students all over the country with her original show Believe NYC-—from the Band Room to Broadway.
Opal String Quartet
at The Gray Eagle co-presented with the Asheville Chamber Music Society
The Opal String Quartet, born in Asheville in 2006, is the only local ensemble of its kind, performing masterworks of the string quartet repertoire and collaborating with living composers to premiere new works. Known for its polished precision, fiery intensity, and richness of tone, Opal is dedicated to bringing the art of chamber music to the people by performing in all kinds of venues, from schools, bars, and art galleries, to street corners and concert halls.
The quartet has performed throughout Western North Carolina and with the Asheville, Greenville, and Charlotte Symphonies. Each member of the Opal String Quartet assists school string instructors by providing “hands on” instruction, as well as inspiring performances to teach students, keeping chamber music exciting for the next generation.
The Opal String Quartet is Mariya Potapova and Karen Pommerich (violins), Kara Poorbaugh (viola), Franklin Keel (cello).