Chamber Music America And Kaatsbaan Cultural Park to Present Ivalas Quartet

Chamber Music America and Kaatsbaan Cultural Park will present Ivalas Quartet and their program First Light, performing on Saturday, March 22, 2025 at 7:00pm. Tickets are $38 for general admission and $18.50 for students (includes fees). 

First Light features works by Osvaldo Golijov, Eleanor Alberga, and Ludvig van Beethoven. First Light brings the listener on a journey through the cosmos with works by composers who muse on the origins of our universe and the experience of existing beyond our world. The program closes with Beethoven's Opus 130, a piece deemed so timeless that a recording was included in the 1977 Voyager craft as a gift to any otherworldly beings it might encounter. First Light premiered at Carnegie Hall.

The program includes:

Osvaldo Golijov: Tenebrae

Eleanor Alberga: String Quartet No. 1

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130

Reuben Kebede, violin; Tiani Butts, violin; Marcus Stevenson, viola, Pedro SánchezK, cello

About Ivalas Quartet

The Ivalas Quartet has been changing the face of classical music since its inception in 2017. With its mission to enrich the classical music world by spotlighting past and present BIPOC composers alongside the standard repertory, the Ivalas Quartet comprises violinists Rueben Kebede and Tiani Butts, violist Marcus Stevenson, and cellist Pedro Sánchez. The Quartet is the 2024-2025 Curator/Performing Ensemble of the Schneider Concerts at The New School and were in residence at the University of Colorado-Boulder under the mentorship of the Takács Quartet. They performed in Lincoln Center's Summer for the City series and, in collaboration with New Latin Wave, the FUTUROS - New Ideas in Composition series.

Violinist Reuben Kebede has performed recitals across the U.S. and Europe. As first violinist of the Ivalas Quartet, he recently completed an Artist Diploma at The Juilliard School in the Graduate Resident String Quartet program. He also received an Artist Diploma in string quartet performance from CU Boulder under the tutelage of Edward Dusinberre, Harumi Rhodes, and the members of the Takács Quartet. Previously, he studied with Danielle Belen at the University of Michigan, where he served as concertmaster of both university orchestras, and with Sarah Plum at Drake University. In his free time, Reuben loves reading as well as watching and discussing soccer and films.

Violinist Tiani Butts is a passionate solo and chamber musician that strives to use the arts to encourage and inspire young students from all backgrounds. She has performed in numerous concert venues throughout the US as well as internationally in Germany, Austria, Iceland, and Italy as a violinist in the Rome Chamber Music Festival. Tiani has been a solo fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, the Wintergreen Summer Music Academy, and the Philadelphia International Music Festival, among other accolades. She holds a bachelor's degree from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings, a dual master's degree in violin performance and chamber music from the University of Michigan, and an artist diploma from The Juilliard School. Outside of her musical endeavors, you will find Tiani enjoying a good book, weightlifting, or relaxing in the park.

Violist Marcus Stevenson is an avid chamber musician and educator based in New York City. Originally from New Jersey, Marcus is an alumnus of The Juilliard School's Music Advancement Program and the Manhattan School of Music Precollege. In 2018, Marcus won the Rondo Young Artist Competition with the Neptune Piano Quartet, and the National League of Performing Arts Chamber Competition with the Milan String Quartet. Marcus has performed with renowned artists, including Margaret Batjer, Jaime Laredo, Philip Setzer, and Sharon Robinson. As an educator, Marcus has given masterclasses and coachings for numerous programs, including the Music Institute of Chicago, Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Civic Youth Ensemble Program, and Interlochen Arts Academy, and serves as faculty for the Opportunity Project. Marcus holds a bachelor's degree in viola performance and eurythmics pedagogy from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Jeffrey Irvine. He also holds a master's degree in viola performance from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Heidi Castleman.

New York City-based cellist Pedro Sánchez is from Caracas, Venezuela. His energetic style of playing was significantly shaped by his training with El Sistema and the Emil Friedman Conservatory in Caracas. In the US, Pedro completed high school at Interlochen Arts Academy, followed by a bachelor's degree from the Eastman School of Music, a master's degree from the University of Michigan, and earned artist diplomas from CU Boulder and The Juilliard School. Pedro has performed solo recitals in Africa, South America, and the US. His playing has been deeply influenced by the teachings of cellists Alan Harris and Richard Aaron. At the University of Michigan, he served as faculty for the Artist Citizen program, which provides free music education to a diverse community of children in Ann Arbor. Pedro has coached chamber music at Juilliard, Vanderbilt, and CU Boulder, and is a teaching artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and serves as cello faculty at the Opportunity Music Project. Pedro plays a 2010 Marten Cornelissen Cello, generously loaned to him by the Maestro Foundation in California.

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