Atlantic Guitar Quartet

Founded in 2010, the Atlantic Guitar Quartet is a contemporary music ensemble dedicated to promoting the music of living composers. Through virtuosic performances, innovative programming and collaborations with other visual and performing artists, AGQ has broadened the repertoire for – and the definition of – the classical guitar quartet.

Each of the four members, Mark Edwards, James Keretses, Matthew Slotkin and Zoë Johnstone Stewart have enjoyed extensive solo and chamber performing careers prior to joining the ensemble. As a group, AGQ has performed as part of the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society concert series, Ulster Chamber Series, Evolution Contemporary Music series, and at Salisbury University, York College of Pennsylvania, Loyola University, Marshall University and the Peabody Institute. They have been artists-in-residence at the Engineers Club of the Garret-Jacobs Mansion in Baltimore since 2010 and members of the Maryland State Arts Council Touring Roster since 2017. In addition to their performances, the quartet has also been invited to teach master classes and workshops at the Peabody Summer Guitar Intensive, Salisbury University and the Mid Atlantic Guitar Ensemble Festival.

AGQ has been proactive in expanding the repertoire of the classical guitar quartet by commissioning new works. With major institutional support from the Presser Foundation and the Peabody Conservatory, AGQ has premiered pieces by American composers Vid Smooke, Christopher Gainey and Ronald Pearl. These works, along with music by composer Olivier Bensa and Arvo Pärt, are featured on the quartet’s debut CD (released in November of 2013).

The quartet’s other world premieres include performances of works by Joshua Bornfield (written for AGQ and commissioned by the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society), Judah Adashi, Olga Amelkina-Vera, Lewis Krauthamer (in performance with Gene Young and the Peabody Camerata), Julien Xuereb, Alan Thomas, Aaron Silverstein and Jerry Tabor (in a premiere recording).

Dez Cordas

Dez Cordas is an unusual duo featuring double bassist Craig Butterfield and guitarist Matthew Slotkin, who perform an eclectic mix of musical styles from tango to jazz to baroque. Both musicians are classically trained, yet show their diverse musical roots in arrangements by a wide variety of music by composers including Astor Piazzolla, Chick Corea and Bela Bartok, as well as new compositions written for the duo by leading contemporary composers. Recent performances include tours of the northeastern and southeastern U.S., and performances at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. Centaur Records released the duo’s first CD, “Dances, Songs, Inventions,” in early 2010, and Summit Records released “Gone Away” in July 2011 and “Pilgrimage: New Works for Guitar and Double Bass” in May 2015.

Duo Montagnard

Duo Montagnard was formed in 2002 and has performed over 400 concerts in 50 states, eight Canadian provinces, and twenty countries on six continents. Festival performances include the Chautauqua Institution, Scandinavian Saxophone Festival, Hartwick College Summer Music Festival, North-West University New Music Week (South Africa), UNC-Wilmington New Music for Guitar and Saxophone Festival, Radford University International Guitar Festival, and the Alexandria Guitar Festival. The duo has commissioned, premiered and recorded more than forty works for guitar and saxophone.

Manhattan Contemporary Chamber Ensemble

The Manhattan Contemporary Chamber Ensemble performs and records music influenced by a range of cultural and popular traditions, including folk, gospel, jazz, rock, musical theater and literature. Founded in 1987 as the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra by artistic director/composer/violist Richard Auldon Clark, the ensemble has premiered and recorded more than 30 CDs released on the Newport Classic, KOCH International, AVANT, VOX, Helicon, KLEOS Classics and Mulatta record labels. The group has performed and recorded works by numerous composers including William Grant Still, Alec Wilder, Victor Herbert, Henry Cowell, Alan Hovhaness, Otto Luening, Dominick Argento, Randall Thompson, Eric Ewazen, David Amram, Dave Soldier and Richard Auldon Clark.