2026-2027 Artists

Jasper String Quartet, Artistic Directors (Programs 1,2,3,4)

J Freivogel and Karen Kim, violins
Andrew Gonzalez, viola
Rachel Henderson Freivogel, cello
www.jasperquartet.com

Celebrated as one of the preeminent American string quartets of the twenty-first century, the prizewinning Jasper String Quartet is hailed as being “flawless in ensemble and intonation, expressively assured and beautifully balanced” (Gramophone). The Quartet is highly regarded for its “programming savvy” (ClevelandClassical.com), which strives to evocatively connect the music of underrepresented and living composers to the canonical repertoire through thoughtful programs that appeal to a wide variety of audiences.

A recipient of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award (2012), the Quartet’s playing has been described as “sonically delightful and expressively compelling” (The Strad). The ensemble has released eight albums, including its most recent release, Insects and Machines: Quartets of Vivian Fung, named CMA’s 2025 Album of the Year. Strings Magazine praised the Quartet on the album as “intensely dramatic throughout demonstrating both their advocacy of new music and their transcendent mastery.” The Quartet’s 2017 release, Unbound, was named by The New York Times as one of the year’s 25 Best Classical Recordings.

The Quartet regularly collaborates with some of today’s leading artists, including tenor Nicholas Phan, clarinetist Derek Bermel, pianists Amy Yang, Natalie Zhu and Myra Huang, and the Jupiter String Quartet. Collaborations and commissions with living composers include Lera Auerbach, Derek Bermel, Patrick Castillo, Vivian Fung, Brittany J. Green, Aaron Jay Kernis, Akira Nishimura, Reinaldo Moya, Michelle Ross, Caroline Shaw and Joan Tower.

Anthony Manzo, double bass (Program 1)

Anthony Manzo’s vibrantly interactive music-making has made him a ubiquitous figure in the chamber music world. He appears regularly with CMS and at festivals including Spoleto USA, La Jolla SummerFest, Santa Fe Chamber Music, and the Bowdoin Festival. Currently a core member of ECCO (the East Coast Chamber Orchestra), he was previously the solo bassist of the Munich Chamber Orchestra and the New Century Chamber Orchestra. He has also been guest principal with Camerata Salzburg, where collaborations included a summer residency at the Salzburg Festival and two tours as soloist alongside bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, performing Mozart’s “Per questa bella mano.” Mr. Manzo also appears regularly with the Handel & Haydn Society and the Philharmonia Baroque, and is on the double bass and chamber music faculty at the University of Maryland. His instrument was made in Paris around 1890—and has been fitted with a removable neck for all his traveling!

Jia Kim, cello (Program 4)

Cellist Jia Kim, recipient of the prestigious 2017 career grant from the Leonore Annenberg Foundation for Performing and Visual Arts, leads a dynamic musical life as a performer, educator, and a passionate advocate for the Arts. Ms. Kim has appeared on stages across the United States, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East with performances broadcasted on WQXR, PBS, KMZT Classical, and acclaimed by the New York Times. 

As an active performer, Ms. Kim has worked with renowned artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Robert Mann, Kim Kashkashian, Frans Helmerson, Robert Spano, Emmanuel Villaume, John Williams, members of the Juilliard String Quartet, Cleveland Quartet, Takacs Quartet, Orion String Quartet, and Brentano String Quartet. She has taken the stage at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Chicago Symphony Center's Orchestra Hall, Miami's Arsht Center, Valle De Bravo in Mexico, Toronto's Royal Conservatory, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Al-Hussein Cultural Center at the National Music Conservatory of Jordan, and many more. 

A devoted educator, Ms. Kim has worked with students from the Cleveland Institute of Music, American Academy of Jordan, Tel Aviv Conservatory of Music, Grand Valley State University, University of Hawaii, University of Virginia, and has served as Tone Judge for the Violin Society of America Competition. 

Currently Ms. Kim serves on the Faculty of The Juilliard School pre college division, The Mannes School of Music, The Perlman Music Program, and New York Youth Symphony’s Chamber Music program. 

Ms. Kim is the cellist of the award-winning Aeolus Quartet and a core member of East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO).

As Artistic Director of Chamber Music Stowe in Vermont and Central Chamber Series in NYC, Ms. Kim is committed to connecting with a wider audience through the powerful language of chamber music.

She is forever grateful to her mentors and teachers Ronald Leonard, Toby and Itzhak Perlman, and Joel Krosnick, with whom she studied at The Juilliard School for a Bachelor and Master Degree in Music. Ms.Kim performs on a Testore cello made in 1748 and a cello by Samuel Zygmuntowicz.

Jessica Thompson, viola (Program 4)

Violist Jessica Thompson is a passionate chamber musician who performs regularly throughout the United States and abroad as a member of the Daedalus Quartet.  The quartet, Grand Prize winner of the 2001 Banff International String Quartet Competition, is in residence at the University of Pennsylvania.  The Daedalus Quartet has premiered works by composers such as Fred Lerdahl, Joan Tower, Richard Wernick, and Lawrence Dillon.  In addition to performing with the Daedalus Quartet, Ms. Thompson has toured with Musicians from Marlboro, appears regularly at the Portland (Maine) Chamber Music Festival, and performs often with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra.  Ms. Thompson currently teaches at Princeton and Columbia Universities.