Rhode Island native John Masko is a rapidly rising orchestral conductor with a knack for bringing contemporary music and time-honored classics together in new ways. He is currently music director of the Brockton Symphony Orchestra and the Providence Medical Orchestra, director of orchestral activities at Marywood University, and a frequent assistant and cover conductor with orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra. An enthusiastic advocate for new music, John is principal conductor of the Boston New Music Initiative. He has conducted at the Cabrillo Festival for Contemporary Music and the Atlantic Music Festival, and led numerous premieres, including recent works by Robert Ruohola and Oana Vardianu.

John holds a master’s degree in conducting from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Eric Dudley. He has also studied conducting with Charles Peltz at New England Conservatory. John has conducted in masterclasses led by Cristian Măcelaru, Rüdiger Bohn, Sian Edwards, Paavo Järvi, and Jorma Panula, and has assisted conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, Krzysztof Urbanski, Cristian Măcelaru, and Osmo Vänskä.

Outside of music, he fancies himself maker of the best gumbo north of the Mason Dixon Line and is a devotee of the novels of Thomas Hardy.

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A versatile soprano in solo and chamber music, Regina Stroncek transports audiences with expressive performances and thoughtful connections to texts. A firm believer that cross-cultural collaboration improves global understanding, Regina seeks to bridge cultural divides and create spaces of reflection for diverse audiences around the world.

Regina is a collaborative soul and enjoys performing as a soloist and ensemble member in a variety of musical settings. She enjoys singing everything from chant to extended technique, and she has a special love of singing works by contemporary American composers. She has performed recitals in duos with piano, saxophone, and percussion and has given world and regional premieres of works in the United States and Brazil.

Teaching and performing inform one another, and Regina is dedicated to educating audiences, students, and teachers alike. As a private voice and piano teacher, she has had the honor of working with students between the ages of 4-64 to build and maintain a lifelong appreciation for music. As a Classical Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) Class Notes Artist with Border CrosSing, she sang chamber works in Spanish, Quechua, and Nahuatl for elementary school students around the Twin Cities. She has lead workshops and mini-courses on social justice and singing at universities in Uberlândia and Brasília, Brazil, and has guest lectured on Portuguese and Brazilian song at institutions in Minnesota and Massachusetts.

Anthea Kechley is an accomplished flutist and educator with a diverse background in performance and teaching.  Upon completing her Bachelor of Music Degree, she was immediately appointed as flute faculty and Director of Flute Choir at Williams College.  Her teaching career has since expanded to include positions at Miami Arts Charter School, Miami Music Project, and the Harmony Program in New York City, the latter two based on Venezuela’s El Sistema model.  Ms. Kechley’s pedagogical approach is deeply influenced by the Suzuki method, which she studied both as a student and teacher under her mother, Jerilee Kechley.

As a performer, Ms. Kechley has showcased her talents throughout the United States, Mexico, and Japan.  Her orchestral experience is extensive, having appeared with Sarasota Orchestra, Florida Grand Opera, Palm Beach Symphony, Atlantic Classical Orchestra, Berkshire Symphony, and The Philadelphia Singers, among others.  She has also performed as a concerto soloist with The Chelsea Symphony and Orchestra Seattle.

Ms. Kechley has had the privilege of collaborating with renowned classical musicians such as Lang Lang, Andrea Bocelli, and Itzhak Perlman.  Her musical education was further enriched through participation in prestigious programs including Aspen Music Festival and School, Brevard Music Center, and Texas Music Festival.

Her approach to flute performance and pedagogy has been significantly shaped by Keith Underwood, Nadine Asin, Kim Lorimier, and Jerilee Kechley.  Through her multifaceted career, Ms. Kechley continues to inspire both students and audiences with her passion for music and dedication to excellence.

Shannon is a contemporary clarinetist living in Jamaica Plain.  She received her bachelor's degree in Music Education at Shenandoah University, and her master's degree in Contemporary Classical Music Performance at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee.  Shannon currently works at Berklee as the Senior Administrative Associate in the Professional Writing and Technology Division.  Shannon also walks dogs, teaches lessons, and loves a good (or bad) horror movie.

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Featured in Boston Globe and Hingham Journal, Boston-based concert violinist Ming-hang Tam has performed regularly as a soloist at Duxbury Music Festival, concertmaster with Cambridge Chamber Ensemble, The Company Theatre, and Shift Orchestra Project, as well as section violinist at Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra. He has appeared in Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center, Boston Symphony Hall, and Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theatre, where he premiered Aaron Jay Kernis’ Symphony No. 4 “Chromelodeon,” and Kevin Puts’ “Letters from Georgia” with Renée Fleming. Mr. Tam serves as a violin faculty artist at South Shore Conservatory, Boston String Academy (also as a teaching artist for Crescendo Music Education of Boston Philharmonic Orchestra), and Suzuki School of Newton. He holds a Master of Music degree in Violin Performance with Academic Honors from the New England Conservatory (NEC) in the studio of Nicholas Kitchen, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Applied Music (Violin) from the Eastman School of Music with Renée Jolles. Named on the Dean’s List for his academic excellence at both schools, Mr. Tam was the recipient of Dean’s Scholarship at NEC, Howard Hanson Scholarship at Eastman, and other merit scholarships at Heifetz International Music Institute, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Catskill High Peaks Festival.

Marnen E. Laibow-Koser is an eclectic multi-instrumentalist and composer, regularly performing anything from Javanese gamelan music to opera. Marnen’s compositions have been performed and recorded in the U.S. and Europe by ensembles such as Gamelan Son of Lion, unassisted fold, and the Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra, and have also been featured in fiction podcasts and video games. He is currently writing an opera based on the Greek myth of Arachne, in collaboration with librettist Mildred G. Cady.

As a performer, Marnen has toured Europe and the U.S. as violinist with the Renaissance-folk-rock band Blackmore’s Night (led by Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore), and is a founding member of The Flying Romanos, the first English country dance band to perform in Japan since the 1970s. He served as musical director and pianist for Opera Brittenica’s groundbreaking immersive production of The Turn of the Screw, and frequently teaches workshops in classical theremin performance.

Marnen received his Master of Music degree from New England Conservatory’s unique Contemporary Improvisation program, where his teachers included Ran Blake, Joe Morris, and Malcolm Peyton. When not playing or composing music, he is often conducting research in the field of computer-generated algorithmic music or climbing aerial silks.

Violist Ken Allen brings a unique blend of artistic and intellectual depth to his concerts with chamber ensembles and orchestras across New England. His performance schedule includes frequent engagements with Cape Symphony, Lexington Symphony, Lowell Chamber Orchestra, Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra, and Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra. He also appears regularly at the Portland Bach Experience and Wagner in Vermont summer festivals.

Ken’s work extends beyond performance into advocacy and community-building. As a Teaching Artist with Castle of Our Skins, he helps celebrate Black artistry through education and performance. He is also a member of the American String Teachers Association, American Viola Society, Boston Musicians’ Association, and Early Music America.

Ken’s path to music weaves together diverse passions. His early interests in math, dance, and literature led him to earn a degree in English with highest honors from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill and a Graduate Prize Fellowship at Harvard. Inspired by extraordinary teachers, he turned fully toward music, earning a Master of Music from the Boston Conservatory and a Graduate Diploma in Historical Performance from the Longy School of Music.

He resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Marlboro, Vermont, with his husband and cat. Still an avid reader and dancer, he performs on violas crafted by Douglas Cox.

A native of Norwalk, Connecticut, Stephen has received a Bachelors degree with honors from the University of Connecticut, and Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Boston University.  Stephen’s formative teachers include Michael Reynolds, Kangho Lee, Marc Johnson, and Rhonda Rider.  A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Stephen plays regularly with groups such as Sound Icon, Callithumpian Consort, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and also performs on various new music concert series in the Boston area and beyond.  Stephen has attended music festivals at the Banff Centre, Cortona Sessions for New Music and SoundSCAPE festival in Italy, and the and the Summer Course for New Music in Darmstadt, Germany.  Stephen has a wide range of musical interest that include contemporary chamber music, improvisatory music, and electroacoustic music.  As a soloist, Stephen has commissioned several new works for the instrument, and is concerned with expanding and augmenting the tonal pallet of his instrument both with and without technology.  Stephen can be heard as a featured artist on Mode Records. In his spare time, Stephen is an avid hiker and outdoorsman.  

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Boston-based pianist, Paul Jacobs has performed across the United States as a soloist and chamber musician in concert halls, universities, and chamber music festivals including Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, UNC-Chapell Hill, and SUNY Plattsburgh. His repertoire covers four centuries of keyboard music with an affinity for 20th century and new works. Solo performances have featured Ives’s Concord Sonata, selections of Ligeti Etudes, and Philip Glass’s Metamorphosis and Etudes.

​ As a champion of new music, Mr. Jacobs has collaborated with American composers Allen Anderson, Martin Boykin, and Steve Rouse. He was the soloist for a recording of Mary Bichner’s piano concerto, Early Spring, commissioned by Mount Auburn Cemetery. He has also recorded with Juventas New Music Ensemble.

Mr. Jacobs is a member of the Thoreau Piano Trio whose past performances include the Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival in Vermont, the White Lake Chamber Music Festival in Michigan, the Walker Lecture Series in New Hampshire, and Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Other noteworthy performances include a collaboration with Boston’s Commonwealth Ballet of Leonard Bernstein’s Piano Trio (1937) and a complete performance of the Beethoven piano trios.

Mr. Jacobs holds an Artist Diploma from Longy School of Music, an M.M. from Michigan State University, and a B.M. from Hope College. His former teachers include Randall Hodgkinson and Deborah Moriarty.

He teaches at his home studio in Medford, MA and performs four-hands piano music with his wife, Yilin You.