Sarita Kwok, violin

Australian violinist Sarita Kwok has distinguished herself as a charismatic and powerful performer whose passion for performing is matched only by her commitment to education, cultural leadership and academic innovation.

Frequently sought after as a chamber musician and soloist, Kwok is a founding member of the Arabella String Quartet, an ensemble that rapidly developed a reputation for its remarkable artistry. Their first recording, "In the Moment" (Naxos, 2017), was praised by The Strad magazine as "an artfully balanced mix of rarities... this is a fine disc, the Arabella digging deep to produce performances of great intensity and poise.". The quartet's most recent recording of Six Concertante Quartets by Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Naxos, 2022) has also garnered extensive praise. BBC Music Magazine reported "there's certainly no lack of prowess in these delightful performances... This is wonderful advocacy of enchanting music".

Kwok has appeared on concert series and festivals throughout the United States including the Embassy Series (Washington, DC), Flagler Museum Series (Florida), Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, Rockport Chamber Music Festival and in performances at Weill and Zankel recital halls at Carnegie Hall. Abroad she has performed at the Aldeburgh festival, Aix-en-Provence festival, at Sapporo's Kitara Hall (Japan), Villa Medici (Italy), the Théâtre du Jeu de Paume, and Salle Olivier Messaien (France), Melbourne Concert Hall and Sydney Opera House (Australia). She is an artist member of the Boston-based Mistral Music and also performs as a substitute player with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops during their regular season at Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood. A persuasive advocate of contemporary music, Kwok recorded Ezra Laderman’s last three string quartets with the Alianza Quartet for Albany Records to critical acclaim. More recently, her recording on Starkland records of Martin Bresnick's Josephine the Singer for solo violin was described by Gramophone as "gorgeously executed".

For eight years, Kwok served as Director of the undergraduate lessons program at Yale School of Music while concurrently serving on the faculty of the Yale Department of Music. She is the inaugural recipient of the Adams Endowed Chair in Music at Gordon College, Wenham, MA, and since 2014 has been Chair of the Department of Music and Professor of Music. A respected pedagogue, Kwok has given masterclasses at institutions such as the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, Longy School of Music at Bard College, MIT, Credo Festival Oberlin, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Additionally, she has presented at the American String Teacher Association National Conference (2022 and 2023) on topics of diversity, inclusion and equity in violin studio teaching.

Kwok received the Doctor of Musical Arts and Artist diploma degrees from the Yale School of Music, where she was a student of Syoko Aki and the Tokyo String Quartet. She performs on a violin from 1736 by Italian maker Johannes Florenus Guidantus and a bow by Joseph Arthur Vigneron.

Alexandre Lecarme, cello

French cellist Alexandre Lecarme is entering his sixteenth season as a member of the acclaimed Boston Symphony Orchestra. In the fall of 2021, he was appointed third chair cello and is now honored to occupy the Mischa Nieland Chair.

An accomplished chamber musician, Mr. Lecarme has been a member of several ensembles such as the Boston Cello Quartet, the Arabella String Quartet and Tancrede Piano trio. He has performed on the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Hammond Performing Arts Series, Copley Society Series, Flagler Museum Music Series, Cosmos Club Music Series, the chamber music series of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and as a guest of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players.

With fellow BSO cellists, Lecarme was a founding member of the acclaimed Boston Cello Quartet, lauded by Gramophone as playing "with a blend of suavity, succulent vibrato and shimmering passion that serves the music beautifully". He is also a current member of the Arabella String Quartet, whose 2017 Naxos recording "In the Moment" was named Album of the Week by Classic FM and praised by Strad Magazine. The quartet's most recent recording of Six Concertante Quartets by Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Naxos, 2022) was praised by BBC Music Magazine: "there's certainly no lack of prowess in these delightful performances... This is wonderful advocacy of enchanting music".

Lecarme has participated at the Pablo Casals, Domaine Forget, Kneisel Hall, and Norfolk Chamber Music festivals, and collaborated with Roman Totenberg, Seymour Lipkin, and members of the Tokyo String Quartet. His major teachers have included Jean-Marie Gamard in Paris, David Soyer, and Andrés Díaz in Boston. Mr. Lecarme performs on a cello made by Pierre Sylvestre in 1835. Mr. Lecarme graduated with the Premier Prix de Violoncelle from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and received the Artist Diploma and Master of music degrees from Boston University.