Sam Alvarez puts chill on everything. He also plays tenor saxophone with masso.

masso is a Chicago-based saxophone quartet first formed at Northwestern University in the fall of 2021. While embracing the study and presentation of the classical repertoire, masso is equally committed to the commissioning, performance, and democratization of contemporary classical music.

Isaac Boone wishes he was playing with legos. He also plays soprano saxophone with masso.

masso is a Chicago-based saxophone quartet first formed at Northwestern University in the fall of 2021. While embracing the study and presentation of the classical repertoire, masso is equally committed to the commissioning, performance, and democratization of contemporary classical music.

Violinist and violist Timothy Christie enjoys a multifaceted career as performer, teacher, public speaker and recording artist. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival (WWCMF), a nonprofit organization in southeastern Washington presenting more than 40 public chamber music events annually.

Kurt Cox is a saxophonist in the Chicago area currently finalizing his master’s degree at Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in performance from Shenandoah Conservatory. 

Baroque violinist Tekla Cunningham delights in bringing music of the baroque, classical and romantic eras to life with vivid and expressive historically informed performances. Her new recording Stylus Phantasticus with Pacific MusicWorks is earning critical praise for its “tender expressivity”, “dramatic flair and dark wit”, “songlike expressivity” and “Terpsichorean flair”. In an album lauded for “vocal plushness and “vibrant lyricism”, Tekla is described as “a marvel on her Italian instrument, an endlessly songful bird”. 

Jennifer DeVore began studying the cello at the age of five and went on to study art history at Harvard before earning her Masters degree from the New England Conservatory, where her teachers were Colin Carr and Laurence Lesser. Hailed as “superb” by the New York Times, she has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and London’s Barbican Center and at the Musicorda, Yellow Barn and Spoleto festivals.

Russian-born pianist Oxana Ejokina appears frequently as guest recitalist and chamber musician in concert series across the United States and abroad. She has soloed with the Seattle Symphony, St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, and Tacoma Symphony, and performed in Washington DC, Seattle, Olympia, San Francisco, and Turkey.

Ila Gupta is vegan and likes ice cream. She also plays alto saxophone with masso.

masso is a Chicago-based saxophone quartet first formed at Northwestern University in the fall of 2021. While embracing the study and presentation of the classical repertoire, masso is equally committed to the commissioning, performance, and democratization of contemporary classical music.

Rowena Hammill is Associate Principal Cello of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra. She divides her time between Los Angeles and Vashon Island, Washington.

Hailed as an artist of ‘magnificent pianism’ with an ‘engaging personality’, Guernsey-born pianist Tom Hicks has been praised for his ‘brilliantly evocative’ (International Piano) and ‘gorgeously creative playing’ (Fanfare).

Hicks has an expansive repertoire and has appeared as recitalist in venues such as The Wigmore Hall in London, The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, and in many other venues throughout Europe and the United States.

A native of Austin, Texas, Billy Ray Hunter is currently Principal Trumpet with the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Assistant Principal Trumpet with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in Chicago.

An in-demand musician in North America who is based in New York City, Fung Chern Hwei is an acclaimed violinist, violist, composer and arranger. He is the current member of Sirius Quartet, a string quartet that focuses on performing self composed music and improvisation, and Seven)Suns, which performs extreme music rooted in the language of avant-metal and hardcore rock music.

Described as “lyrical and precise” in the New York Times and lauded in the Miami Herald for her “incisive energy and lovely tone,” Adda Kridler has performed across the globe as a chamber and orchestral musician.

In demand as a strong leader and sensitive collaborator, Ms. Kridler is a member of the Momenta Quartet, a New York-based string quartet renowned for its compelling presentation of contemporary and classical repertoire.

Hailed by The Miami Herald for his “superb continuo… brilliantly improvised and ornamented,” GRAMMY-nominated historical keyboardist, composer, and conductor Henry Lebedinsky has performed with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony, Seraphic Fire, Sonoma Bach, and the Cantata Collective, among others. Recent conducting engagements include the Seattle Baroque Orchestra and Sonoma Bach’s Live Oak Baroque Orchestra.

Sponsored by Edward & Karleen Heintzberger

Norbert Lewandowski was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and began cello studies at the age of 13. He holds a Master's degree in performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music and currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina, where he is the principal cellist of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.

Multi-instrumentalist Adaiha MacAdam-Somer is highly sought after as a teacher, chamber, and orchestral musician across the United States and Europe. She splits her time and passion equally between cello, baroque cello, and all branches of the viola da gamba family. From her home base in Portland, Adaiha performs with a variety of ensembles including Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Voices of Music, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and Voice of the Viol, which she is Artistic Director of

I’m a violinist/violist/composer/arranger whose personal work stands at the somewhat unlikely crossroads of Western Classical music, Heavy Metal, and Hardcore Punk- but I’m also well versed in many different genres and styles and can generally play in whatever style is asked of me. I was born and raised in Queens, NYC and have a Bachelor of Music Degree from Queens College and a Master of Music Degree from the Mannes College of Music in New York City, where I studied with Daniel Phillips of the Orion String Quartet.

masso is a Chicago-based saxophone quartet first formed at Northwestern University in the fall of 2021. While embracing the study and presentation of the classical repertoire, masso is equally committed to the commissioning, performance, and democratization of contemporary classical music.

Violinist Christina McGann has been a featured performer as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician at the Kennedy Center, the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center, New York City’s Merkin Hall, Symphony Space, and Bargemusic, and at various venues throughout the US, Korea, El Salvador, and Europe.

Praised for his “sweet, luxurious” sound (Fanfare), and the “thoughtfulness and seriousness” (Nashville Scene) of his interpretations, violinist Stephen Miahky serves as the Joseph Joachim Professor of Violin and First Violin of the Blair String Quartet at Vanderbilt University.