The Serenade ENSEMBLES BIOS

THE SERENADE ENSEMBLE was founded in 2010 by musicians who share a love and curiosity for an eclectic range of music.  With a focus on the social chamber music of the 18th and 19th centuries they have been delighting audiences in concert halls, Museums, arts centers, private homes and outdoors, with the virtuosity, style and robust sound that sets them apart from other quartets.  Historically, the serenade (or divertimento) quartet consists of two violins, viola and double bass-this configuration makes for a broader palate of sounds and fills spaces, whether indoors or outdoors (as serenades were commonly played) with a warmth and fullness that is visceral, celebratory and thoroughly engaging.

 JESSICA TROY wears a variety of freelance hats. Ensembles with which she regularly performs include: Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, New York Baroque Inc., Orchestra of St. Luke's, New York City Opera, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, & Mark Morris Dance Group Music Ensemble. She can be heard on the Marlboro Festival's 50th anniversary CD in György Kurtág's Microludes for string quartet, which she prepared with the composer.  She has subbed and had her own chair on numerous Broadway shows and played on many film scores (most recently Joker and Little Women). She has recorded quartet tracks for Lou Reed and Ani DiFranco, performed on TV with Renée Fleming and Whitney Houston, and on film with David Byrne.

KRISTA BENNION FEENEY, described as “a violinist with a gift for elegant phrasing” by the New York Times, April ‘22, is very active as a chamber musician, soloist and orchestral leader in both historical and modern settings. From 1979-1992 Krista was the founding member and first violinist of the Ridge String Quartet, recipients of the Diapason d'Or award and nominated for a Grammy for their recording of the Dvorak Piano Quintets with Rudolf Firkusny. She's served as concertmaster of the Orchestra of St. Luke's since 1983 and from 1999-2006 she was the music director of the New Century Chamber Orchestra.  In 2010 Krista performed “Yesterday” with Paul McCartney at the Library of Congress with her Loma Mar Quartet, for whom Sir Paul wrote “Haymakers” and “Midwife” which can be heard on his album “Working Classical”.

“Her deep notes were rich and melancholy ... there was a tender exuberance in both tumbles  of notes and sustained phrases ... a dramatic interplay of ferocity and light slyness.” The New York Times, May '14.

THERESA SALOMON has had her interpretations praised by The New York Times as “sizzling,” the Washington Post as “virtuosic,”and the Frankfurter Allgemeine as “on the highest level”.  Playing baroque and modern violin, as well as viola, Theresa has a versatile musical career spanning many styles and configurations. She performs with many of the finest early music ensembles and festivals in North America.  As an enthusiast of contemporary music she has premiered numerous works and appeared at festivals in Paris, Lisbon, Prague and Ostrava.

Theresa is a member of the Orchestra of St Luke’s and has recorded music from Rosenmueller to Xenakis, as well as sound tracks to movies. She serves on the adjunct faculty of Montclair State University’s John J. Cali School of Music.

JOHN FEENEY,  is principal double bass of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the American Classical Orchestra and Opera Lafayette. A chamber musician and soloist of renown, first prize-winner of the Concert Artists Guild and Zimmerman-Mingus International Competitions, medalist-prizewinner of the Geneva and Isle of Man Competitions. His 2010 world premiere performance of Dragonetti’s Concerto in D was hailed by the New York Times: "a skilled and passionate performance...... bravura solo passages that feature rapid passage work and double stops, .... played with flair."  In 2009 he founded the DNA Quintet, recording and publishing the premieres of chamber music by Domenico Dragonetti. The Strad  declared “There is much  virtuosity on display..... accurate, muscular and impressively controlled playing...an important disc”. ” N.Y Times: “the charismatic double bass of John Feeney..”  An avid player of the Viennese Violone, John co-founded the Serenade Quartet. John holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Juilliard, where he was a scholarship student of David Walter. 

ADAM COCKERHAM

Early music artist Adam Cockerham specializes in theorbo, lute and baroque guitar. Beginning his performance career as a classical guitarist, he then gravitated toward historical plucked strings, preferring the collaborative opportunities of chamber music from the 16th through 18th centuries. As an accompanist and continuo player, Cockerham has performed with numerous ensembles in North America. Beyond chamber music, Cockerham concentrates on 17th-century Italian opera and has been involved in numerous modern world premiere performances with companies such as Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik and Ars Minerva. Cockerham received his doctorate from the Juilliard School where he was awarded the Richard F. French Prize for best dissertation.

EDSON SCHEID 

Edson has been praised for his “polished playing” (The Strad), and for being a "virtuoso violinist" (The Boston Globe). His performance of Strauss’s song Morgen at Carnegie Hall alongside Joyce DiDonato and Il Pomo d'Oro was described as follows: “The concertmaster, Edson Scheid, proved a worthy foil as violin soloist” (The New York Times). 

A native of Brazil, Edson Scheid is based in New York City, where he plays with some of the city’s leading ensembles, including the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, American Classical Orchestra, Musica Sacra New York, The Clarion Orchestra and New York Classical Players. He frequently performs throughout the United States, on both modern and period instruments, and in Europe, Asia, North and South America with such ensembles as Il Pomo d’Oro and Les Arts Florissants.

LORETTA O'SULLIVAN

"Miss O'Sullivan is an agile, eloquent player" (New York Times), performing extensively on baroque, classical, and modern cello. 

She has appeared on the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center, and at the Kennedy Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Merkin Concert Hall, and the New York Historical Society, as well as at the Mostly Mozart Festival, the Festival of Arts and Ideas at Yale University, and Tema Culturais in Brazil.

Loretta has played continuo cello for many ensembles including Opera Lafayette, the New York Collegium, Aston Magna, the American Bach Soloists, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, the Grand Tour, Artek, and The Washington Bach Consort. She frequently plays with the Orchestra of St. Luke's. 

Her performances for solo cello in recent years include the Bach Suites, her transcription of Heinrich Biber's Passacaglia, Gabrielli's Ricercar, Benjamin Britten's Third Suite, and "Junction of Tranquility and Fervor" with the Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company. 

Ms. O'Sullivan is on the faculty of Manhattan College and has coached Performance Practice at Rutgers University, and assisted in preparing Baroque cellists for a 2009 Masterclass with William Christie at The Julliard School of Music.