Distinguished by its virtuosity, probing musical insight, and impassioned, fiery performances, the Ariel Quartet has garnered critical praise worldwide for more than twenty years. Formed when the members were just teenagers studying at the Jerusalem Academy Middle School of Music and Dance in Israel, the Ariel was named a recipient of the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, granted by Chamber Music America in recognition of artistic achievement and career support. Celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2023, the Quartet serves as the Faculty Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where they direct the chamber music program and present a concert series in addition to maintaining a busy touring schedule in the United States and abroad. Recent highlights include the Ariel Quartet’s sold-out Carnegie Hall debut, a series of performances at Lincoln Center together with pianist Inon Barnatan and the Mark Morris Dance Group, as well as the release of a Brahms and Bartók album for Avie Records. In 2020, the Ariel gave the U.S. premiere of the Quintet for Piano and Strings by Daniil Trifonov, with the composer as pianist for the Linton Chamber Music Series in Cincinnati. The Quartet has dedicated much of its artistic energy and musical prowess to the groundbreaking Beethoven quartets and has performed the complete Beethoven cycle on six occasions throughout the United States and Europe. The Ariel Quartet regularly collaborates with today’s eminent and rising young musicians and ensembles, including pianist Orion Weiss, cellist Paul Katz, and the American, Pacifica, and Jerusalem String Quartets. The Quartet has toured with cellist Alisa Weilerstein and performed frequently with pianists Jeremy Denk and Menahem Pressler. In addition, the Ariel served as Quartet-in-Residence for the Steans Music Institute at the Ravinia Festival, the Yellow Barn Music Festival, and the Perlman Music Program, as well as the Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Festival. Formerly the resident ensemble of the Professional String Quartet Training Program at the New England Conservatory, from which the players obtained their undergraduate and graduate degrees, the Ariel was mentored extensively by acclaimed string quartet giants Walter Levin and Paul Katz. It has won numerous international prizes in addition to the Cleveland Quartet Award: First Prize at the prestigious Franz Schubert and Modern Music Competition in Graz/Austria, Grand Prize at the 2006 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the Székely Prize for the performance of Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4, and Third Prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition. About its performances at the Banff competition, the American Record Guide described the group as “a consummate ensemble gifted with utter musicality and remarkable interpretive power” and noted, in particular, their playing of Beethoven’s monumental Quartet in A minor, Op. 132, as “the pinnacle of the competition.” The Ariel Quartet has received significant support from the American-Israel Cultural Foundation, Dov and Rachel Gottesman, and the Legacy Heritage Fund. Most recently, they were awarded a grant from the A.N. and Pearl G. Barnett Family Foundation.

About the Artist Long recognized as one of the world’s leading instrumentalists, Ransom Wilson has turned increasingly to a career as a conductor of orchestral and operatic repertoire.  He is Artistic Director of New York’s LE TRAIN BLEU ensemble, Music Director of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company,  Music Director of Solisti New York Orchestra, former Artistic Director of Oklahoma’s famed OK MOZART International Festival, former Music Director of the Flint Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra, and the SUNY Purchase Orchestra. He is currently the Music Director of the Redlands Symphony in Southern California, which has experienced an unprecedented increase in ticket sales and attendance since his arrival.   He has appeared as guest conductor with many major orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Denver Symphony, the San Francisco Chamber Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the New Jersey Symphony, the Budapest Strings, the Berkeley Symphony, and he led a successful tour with James Galway and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.  Mr. Wilson has accompanied many internationally renowned artists from the podium, including Itzhak Perlman, André Watts, Frederica von Stade, Joshua Bell, Garrick Ohlsson, Paul Watkins, Anne-Marie McDermott, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, François Dumont, Nicholas Canellakis, Michael Stephen Brown, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Jeffrey Kahane and Hilary Hahn. An esteemed operatic conductor, Mr. Wilson recently spent ten years as a member of the conducting staff at the Metropolitan Opera.  He has twice appeared as conductor for productions of Handel operas at the New York City Opera, and has led a highly acclaimed production of the American stage premiere of  Mozart’s Il Re Pastore, with the Glimmerglass Opera.  Additionally, he conducted the first professional production of composer Amy Beach’s only opera Cabildo, on the “Great Performers at Lincoln Center” series.  The production was recorded and released on CD by Delos International.  Recent seasons have included concerts and recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra, the New Haven Symphony, England’s Hallé Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, the Tulsa Philharmonic, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, among others. He conducted Puccini’s La Bohème at the International Opera Center in Amsterdam, as well as Rossini’s La Cenerentola in San Sebastián, Spain.  Wilson has also conducted numerous times as an Artist Member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, both in New York and on tour. As flute soloist, he has appeared in concert with some of the greatest orchestras and artists of our time, including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Frederica von Stade, Jessye Norman, Thomas Hampson, Susan Graham, Dolora Zajick, Erin Morley, Sasha Cooke, Edgar Meyer, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Hilary Hahn, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Sir James Galway, Barry Douglas, Claude Frank, Peter Frankl, Robin Sutherland, and many others. Ransom Wilson is the recipient of several illustrious honors.  In 1988 the New York Times Foundation awarded him the first Alabama Prize, which is awarded to natives or residents of that state who have distinguished themselves in the performing or visual arts.  The following year he, with pianist Christopher O’Riley, received a National Public Radio award for best performance by a small ensemble on a national broadcast.  In 1993 he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. The Austrian government honored him with their prestigious Award of Merit in Gold, in recognition of his efforts on behalf of Mozart’s music in America. Mr. Wilson’s highly successful recording career, which has included three Grammy Award nominations, began in 1973 when he made a recording with Jean-Pierre Rampal and I Solisti Veneti.  More than 30 solo recordings have followed on the Angel/EMI, RCA, Orion, Musical Heritage Society, Warner Classics, and Nimbus labels, among several others. As conductor, he has made a best-selling recording of music by John Adams and Steve Reich with Solisti New York and a disc of Baroque music with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.  A recording on the CRI label features Mr. Wilson conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in the music of Aaron Jay Kernis and he recorded Stravinsky’s Histoire du Soldat in a citically acclaimed performance on the Chesky label. A strong advocate of contemporary music, Wilson has commissioned new works by Steve Reich, John Luther Adams, Joseph Schwantner, John Harbison, Peter Schickele, George Tsontakis, Sean Friar, Lilya Ugay, Jean-Michel Damase, Jean Françaix,  and Carlos Surinach.  Most recently, he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in a recording of music by American composer Michael Colina.  A gifted arranger, he has transcribed much of the music for his Angel/EMI/ Warner Classics recordings and—at Carnegie Hall with Frederica von Stade as soloist—he has conducted his own orchestrations of three of Maurice Ravel’s Five Greek Songs, which were left unorchestrated by the composer.
 He recently conducted the premiere of his new orchestration of Ravel’s Sonatine with the Redlands Symphony. Educated at the North Carolina School of the Arts and the Juilliard School, Wilson pursued post-graduate studies as an Atlantique Scholar in France with Jean-Pierre Rampal.  He has studied conducting with Roger Nierenberg, James Dixon, Otto-Werner Mueller and received extensive coaching from the late Leonard Bernstein.

Marine Band Established by an Act of Congress in 1798, the United States Marine Band is America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization. Its mission is unique—to provide music for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. President John Adams invited the Marine Band to make its White House debut on New Year’s Day, 1801, in the then-unfinished Executive Mansion. In March of that year, the band performed for Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration and it is believed that it has performed for every presidential inaugural since. In Jefferson, the band found its most visionary advocate. An accomplished musician himself, Jefferson recognized the unique relationship between the band and the Chief Executive and he is credited with giving the Marine Band its title, “The President’s Own.” Whether performing for State Dinners or South Lawn arrivals, events of national significance, or receptions, Marine Band musicians appear at the White House an average of 200 times each year. These performances range from small ensembles such as a solo pianist, jazz combo or brass quintet to a country band, dance band or full concert band. The diversity of music often presented at the Executive Mansion makes versatility an important requirement for Marine Band members. Musicians are selected at auditions much like those of major symphony orchestras, and they enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps for permanent duty with the Marine Band. Most of today’s members are graduates of the nation’s finest music schools, and more than 60 percent hold advanced degrees in music. In addition to its White House mission, “The President’s Own” performs an annual season showcase series of indoor concerts and a popular outdoor summer concert series on the National Mall. Musicians from the band are frequently highlighted in solo performances and participate in more intimate chamber ensemble recitals that feature a wide range of smaller instrumental groups. Marine Band musicians also perform in many different types of ceremonies and events throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area including the Presidential Inauguration, Full Honors funerals at Arlington National Cemetery, Honor Flight ceremonies for veterans at the National World War II Memorial, Friday Evening Parades at Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., and educational programs in schools throughout the National Capital Region. Each fall, the Marine Band travels throughout a portion of the continental United States during its concert tour, a tradition initiated in 1891 by “The March King” John Philip Sousa, who was the band’s legendary 17th Director. As Director from 1880–92, Sousa brought “The President’s Own” to an unprecedented level of excellence and shaped the band into a world-famous musical organization. Since Sousa’s time, the band’s musical reach has extended beyond America’s borders on several occasions with performances in England, Norway, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore, and the former Soviet Union. During Sousa’s tenure, the Marine Band was one of the first musical ensembles to make sound recordings. By 1892, more than 200 different titles were available for sale, placing Sousa’s marches among the first and most popular pieces ever recorded. While the Marine Band is firmly dedicated to preserving the unique musical traditions established over its long history, it is equally committed to serving as a leading ensemble in the development of new repertoire for winds. In 2000, “The President’s Own” commissioned David Rakowski’s Ten of a Kind, a piece honored as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in music in 2002. In 2007, the band commissioned “Scamp” by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Melinda Wagner, and the Marine Band premièred Scott Lindroth’s Passage at the 2010 Midwest Clinic in Chicago. In 2011, the band commissioned and premièred Flourishes and Meditations on a Renaissance Theme by Michael Gandolfi at the American Bandmasters Association’s annual convention in Norfolk, Va. Most recently, music written for the Marine Band has included Gerard Schwarz’ Above and Beyond, Jacob Bancks’ The Information Age and Laurence Bitensky to write Fearsome Critters, the latter of which was premièred at the Texas Bandmasters Association Convention in San Antonio in July 2012. On July 11, 1998, the Marine Band celebrated its 200th anniversary with a command performance at the White House and a gala concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington attended by President and Mrs. Clinton. Also during its bicentennial year, the Marine Band was the only ensemble inducted into the inaugural class of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in Cincinnati. Given its status among American musical organizations, “The President’s Own” continues to attract prominent guest conductors from major orchestras around the globe, including Osmo Vänskä, Leonard Slatkin, José Serebrier and Gerard Schwarz. On July 12, 2003, the Marine Band returned to the Kennedy Center to celebrate its 205th anniversary in a concert featuring guest conductor John Williams, renowned composer of American film and concert works and laureate conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. Williams returned to the podium in 2008 to conduct the final concert of the Living History concert series celebrating the Marine Band’s 210th anniversary. In honor of the Marine Band’s 215th birthday, John Williams composed and dedicated an original work to the Marine Band aptly titled “For ‘The President’s Own.’” The Marine Band’s integral role in the national culture and in the government’s official life has affirmed the importance of the arts as a bridge between people. Since 1798, the Marine Band’s mission has been to provide music for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. As the only musical organization with that mission, the Marine Band looks to the future, viewing its history and tradition as the foundation upon which to build its third century of bringing music to the White House and to the American people.