Fourteen Musicians of Ensemble Connect Kick Off Final Year of Fellowship in October

Ensemble Connect will kick off its 18th season this fall, welcoming back 14 stellar young professional musicians from around the globe to offer concerts at Carnegie Hall and Juilliard as well as residencies and performances at Skidmore College and the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, Spain. Over the next year, the fellows will also lead residencies and perform in schools and community venues across New York City. Exemplary performers, dedicated teachers, and passionate advocates of music throughout the community, the forward-looking musicians of Ensemble Connect are redefining what it means to be a musician in the 21st century.

Highlights of Ensemble Connect’s 2024–2025 season include three performances in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, including a program featuring works by composers Bongani Ndodana-Breen and Andile Khumalo as part of Carnegie Hall’s spotlight on the music of South Africa (Sunday, October 27). Ensemble Connect’s performance in Weill Recital Hall on Monday, February 10 includes two New York premieres by Katherine Balch, which receive their world premiere by the musicians during a residency at Skidmore College just a few days prior. This season, three performances will be presented at Juilliard's Paul Hall.

Ensemble Connect presents the sixth season of its popular Up Close series in the Weill Music Room in Carnegie Hall’s Resnick Education Wing. This series of “exquisite chamber performances” (I Care If You Listen) explores different approaches to presenting classical music by experimenting with concert formats, audience engagement, and multimedia to activate the performance space in exciting new ways. For each concert, the musicians of Ensemble Connect collaborate with leading artists to curate the repertoire and themes. The first Up Close on Monday, January 27 at 7:30 p.m. is planned in collaboration with 2024–2025 Debs Composer’s Chair Gabriela Ortiz, as part of Carnegie Hall’s season-long festival Nuestros sonidos: Celebrating Latin Culture in the US. The performance features a world premiere of a new work by Carolina Noguera (commissioned by Carnegie Hall) alongside music by Ms. Ortiz, Carlos Sánchez-Gutiérrez, Ileana Perez Velazquez, Ricardo Lorenz, and Alejandro Cardona. A second Up Close performance follows on Friday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. in collaboration with balafon player and vocalist Balla Kouyaté and cellist and vocalist Mike Block.

Over the course of the season, Ensemble Connect will perform many works by living composers, including Katherine Balch, Kenji Bunch, Valerie Coleman, Andile Khumalo, Fred Lerdahl, Bongani Ndodana-Breen, Carolina Noguera, Andrew Norman, Gabriela Ortiz, Kevin Puts, and Huang Ruo. 

Residencies in New York and Madrid

From October 22–26, Ensemble Connect continues its biannual residency at Skidmore College by connecting with the students and Saratoga Springs community. During the residency, fellows engage with Skidmore College students as well as students in local elementary, middle, and high schools, offering master classes, lessons, class demonstrations, and interactive performances. The residency culminates with a performance in Skidmore’s Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, on Friday, October 25 at 7:30 p.m. The concert will also feature students from Skidmore College performing traditional South African Kwela music, led by Ensemble Connect cellist and South African musician Thapelo Masita. Ensemble Connect returns to Skidmore College for a second residency this season from February 4–8, 2025.

From November 1–7, Ensemble Connect travels to Madrid, Spain for a residency at the Reina Sofía School of Music. The group performs a concert at the Reina Sofía Museum (November 4), which includes inti figgis-vizueta’s seven sisters paint the earth—featuring three students from the Reina Sofía School of Music—as well as Missy Mazzoli’s Still Life with Avalanche, Carlos Simon’s Giants, and Steve Reich’s Different Trains. During their residency, Ensemble Connect will offer interactive performances at community venues including schools and elder facilities. They will also lead a workshop centered around Terry Riley’s “In C” and discussion on audience engagement with students from the Reina Sofía School of Music and other local conservatories. 

School Partnerships and Community Engagement Across New York City

In addition to their performances this season, Ensemble Connect continues partnerships with 14 New York City public schools, with each musician working alongside a New York City instrumental music teacher. The musicians bring their expert musicianship—as well as their professional performer’s perspective and creative approaches—to band, keyboard, and string programs across four New York City boroughs.

Ensemble Connect presents approximately 60 interactive performances in schools this season. Fellows develop these programs to explore a musical piece or concept and incorporate listening activities and audience participation. Ensemble Connect will also partner with community venues in New York City in the spring, bringing interactive performances to incarcerated populations, senior community centers, homeless shelters, and for organizations supporting people with disabilities. 

Training and Professional Development 

Over the course of their fellowship, Ensemble Connect musicians participate in professional development sessions aimed at ensuring they have the skills they need to succeed in all areas of the program and to shape purposeful, personally rewarding career paths that redefine the role of the 21st century musician. The cohort meets weekly to learn from artists, composers, and industry professionals in the fields of performance, teaching artistry and music education, arts management, entrepreneurship, and others. These sessions help the musicians gain new skills and experiment with new approaches to music performance and education while building a strong community within the ensemble. Ensemble Connect alums also play an important role in leading professional development workshops. 

Ensemble Connect 2024–2025 Fellows & Partnerships

David Bernat, Violin (Charlottesville, Virginia)
Education: New England Conservatory / The Juilliard School
Partnered with NYC Public School: PS/IS 226 Alfred De B. Mason, Brooklyn

Isabella Bignasca, Viola (Sydney, Australia)
Education: The Juilliard School
Partnered with NYC Public School: City College Academy of the Arts, Manhattan

Catherine Boyack, Flute (Lindon, Utah)
Education: Brigham Young University / The Juilliard School
Partnered with NYC Public School: Grover Cleveland High School, Queens

Frankie Carr, Cello (Pyrton, Oxfordshire, England)
Education: Curtis Institute of Music
Partnered with NYC Public School: John Bowne High School, Queens

Ramón Carrero-Martínez, Viola (Caracas, Venezuela)
Education: Manhattan School of Music
Partnered with NYC Public School: Celia Cruz High School of Music, The Bronx

Marguerite Cox, Bass (Hudson, Ohio)
Education: Rice University / Curtis Institute of Music
Partnered with NYC Public School: Brooklyn High School of the Arts, Brooklyn

Ryan Dresen, Horn (Ronan, Montana)
Education: Whitworth University / Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music
Partnered with NYC Public School: PS 200 Benson School, Brooklyn

Isabelle Ai Durrenberger, Violin (Columbus, Ohio)
Education: Cleveland Institute of Music / New England Conservatory
Partnered with NYC Public School: Frank Sinatra School of the Arts HS, Queens

Joseph Jordan, Oboe (New York, New York)
Education: Columbia University / The Juilliard School
Partnered with NYC Public School: Edward R. Murrow High School, Brooklyn

Thapelo Masita, Cello (Mangaung, South Africa)
Education: Eastman School of Music / The Juilliard School / CUNY Graduate Center
Partnered with NYC Public School: M.S. 180 Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, The Bronx

Anjali Shinde, Flute (Orlando, Florida)
Education: University of Miami
Partnered with NYC Public School: Midwood High School, Brooklyn

Marty Tung, Bassoon (Wilmette, Illinois)
Education: Yale University / Yale School of Music
Partnered with NYC Public School: PS 130 The Parkside School, Brooklyn

Chelsea Wang, Piano (West Des Moines, Iowa)
Education: Curtis Institute of Music / Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University / Northwestern University
Partnered with NYC Public School: PS63 Old South, Queens

Oliver Xu, Percussion (Livonia, Michigan)
Education: Eastman School of Music / The Juilliard School
Partnered with NYC Public School: PS21 Edward Hart, Queens 

Ensemble Connect 2024–2025 Concert Season

Performances: During the 2024–2025 season, Ensemble Connect presents 11 concerts at several venues, including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and Weill Music Room; Juilliard’s Paul Hall; Skidmore College’s Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall; and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Auditorio 400.

2024–2025 concert highlights include:

• Friday, October 25 at Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall in Skidmore College’s Arthur Zankel Music Center – Ensemble Connect kicks off its season at Skidmore College with its biannual residency, presenting a concert that features Bongani Ndodana-Breen’s Safika: Three Tales on African Migration, Andile Khumalo’s Cry Out, and Dvořák’s Piano Quintet No. 2.
• Sunday, October 27 at Weill Recital Hall – Ensemble Connect reprises their program from the week before at Skidmore College’s Arthur Zankel Music Center. Their concert in Weill Recital Hall is presented as part of Carnegie Hall’s spotlight on the music of South Africa. As part of the Salon Encores series, a free post-concert drink is offered following in Weill Recital Hall’s Jacobs Room.
• Monday, November 4 at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Auditorio 400 – During Ensemble Connect’s residency in Madrid, they perform a concert of all American composers that features multiple Spain premieres, including inti figgis-vizueta’s seven sisters paint the earth, Missy Mazzoli’s Still Life with Avalanche, and Carlos Simon’s Giants. Steve Reich’s Different Trains completes the program.
• Thursday, December 5 at Juilliard’s Paul Hall – In their return to Paul Hall, Ensemble Connect performs Henri Frédien Tomasi’s 5 danses sacrées et profanes, Fred Lerdahls Waltzes, Valerie Coleman’s Afro-Cuban Concerto, and Kenji Bunch’s Danceband.
• Monday, January 27 at Weill Music Room – Curated by 2024–2025 Debs Composer’s Chair Gabriela Ortiz, Up Close features the world premiere of a new work by Carolina Noguera (commissioned by Carnegie Hall) alongside the New York premiere of Pigmentum by Ms. Ortiz. Works by Carlos Sánchez-Gutiérrez, Ileana Perez Velazquez, Ricardo Lorenz, and Alejandro Cardona will also be featured. The performance is presented as part of Carnegie Hall’s season-long festival: Nuestros sonidos: Celebrating Latin Culture in the US.
• Friday, February 7 at Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall in Skidmore College’s Arthur Zankel Music Center – Ensemble Connect performs two world premieres of by Katherine Balch, including a new arrangement of musica spolia for chamber ensemble (commissioned by Carnegie Hall). The concert also features Schubert’s "Quartettsatz" in C Minor, D. 703; Berio’s Ricorrenze per quintetto a fiato - a Pierre Boulez per il suo sessantesimo compleanno, in honor of the Pierre Boulez in his centenary year; and Beethoven’s Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20.
• Monday, February 10 at Weill Recital Hall – For its second concert in Weill Recital Hall, Ensemble Connect brings its program from Skidmore College to New York City, offering the New York premieres of two works by Katherine Balch. As part of the Salon Encores series, a free post-concert drink is offered following in Weill Recital Hall’s Jacobs Room.
• Thursday, February 20 at Juilliard's Paul Hall – Ensemble Connect performs Andrew Norman’s Light Screens, Coleridge-Taylor’s Nonet in F Minor, Op. 2, and Beach’s Piano Quintet in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 67.
• Thursday, April 10 at Weill Recital Hall – In its last performance in Weill Recital Hall for the season, Ensemble Connect performs Gabriela Ortiz’s Denibée-Yucuñana, Martinů’s Nonet, H. 374, and Mozart’s String Quintet in C Major, K. 515. As part of the Salon Encores series, a free post-concert drink is offered following in Weill Recital Hall’s Jacobs Room.
• Thursday, May 1 at Juilliard’s Paul Hall – Ensemble Connect returns for its third performance at Juilliard to perform Huang Ruo’s Drama Theatre II: Shifting shades, Kevin Puts’s Seven Seascapes, and Janáček’s String Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters.”
• Friday, May 9 at Weill Music Room – Ensemble Connect Up Close returns for a performance curated with balafon player and vocalist Balla Kouyaté and cellist and vocalist Mike Block. 

Special Projects 

The Connected Musician: The Connected Musician is a self-paced interactive video series for collegiate and early professional performers, powered by Ensemble Connect. Featuring content from alums of the program and leaders in the field, The Connected Musician introduces a new approach to a career in classical music and provides resources to engage audiences in new ways.

Three series are currently available to explore online. “Create a Musical Snapshot” offers bite-sized videos about how musicians can develop a creative introduction to a piece of music by developing their Teaching Artist Toolkit. The second series highlights different paths to feeling inspired and finding purposeful careers in music, as Ensemble Connect alums share insights and advice from their own personal journeys, exploring themes of collaboration, meaningful musical moments, building community, finding balance, and staying inspired. The latest, six-part series features members of Decoda, who are all Ensemble Connect alums, as they take viewers through a step-by-step process in how to put together a successful Interactive Performance.

A new module on the art of concert programming will be released this fall. Click here to explore and learn more.

Alum Activities: Throughout the more than 17 years since Ensemble Connect was established, Carnegie Hall has maintained close relationships with the program’s alums. As the reputation of this group has grown, demand for work by the 144 alums has developed as well. In 2011, Decoda—an ensemble exclusively made up of Ensemble Connect alums—was formed and later named an affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall.

Additionally, alums perform with current fellows in Ensemble Connect, lead professional development sessions, serve as advisors for current fellows, and participate in the Weill Music Institute’s education and social impact programs to bring live music to people throughout New York City. Ensemble Connect’s alums currently perform in more than 100 ensembles in the US and around the world. They have created non-profit organizations including Notes with a Purpose in Las Vegas, Musicambia in New York and beyond, New Docta International Music Festival in Argentina, Scrag Mountain Music in Vermont, and VotesART. Many alums also hold faculty and guest artist teaching positions at US universities and colleges. Alums have gone on to perform, teach, and engage with communities in 53 countries around the world. To find out more about the impact of Ensemble Connect worldwide and to learn about alum projects, follow this link. 

Ensemble Connect 

Ensemble Connect is made up of extraordinary professional classical musicians residing in the US who take part in a two-year fellowship program created in 2007 by Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. The program prepares fellows for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership by offering top-quality performance opportunities, intensive professional development, and partnerships throughout the fellowship with New York City public schools.

On the concert stage and in schools and communities, Ensemble Connect has earned accolades from critics and audiences alike for the quality of the concerts, the fresh and open-minded approach to programming, and the ability to actively engage any audience.

Exemplary performers, dedicated teachers, and passionate advocates of music throughout the community, the forward-looking musicians of Ensemble Connect are redefining what it means to be a musician in the 21st century.