ALL CONCERTS AT:

SAINT PAUL’S CHURCH, 20 FAIR STREET, NANTUCKET, MA
TUESDAYS AT 7 P.M. DOORS OPEN AT 6:30 P.M.
VERY LIMITED ON-SITE PARKING FOR HANDICAPPED.

July 8th

Balourdet String Quartet
with pianist Byeol Kim

The Balourdet Quartet, based in Boston, is currently in residence at the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program. Formed in 2018 at Rice University, the group has won major awards including the Grand Prize at the 2021 Concert Artists Guild Competition, top honors at Italy’s Premio Paolo Borciani, and Gold Medals at the Fischoff and Chamber Music Yellow Springs competitions. They work closely with Paul Katz at NEC and have been mentored by members of the Cleveland and Borromeo Quartets.

Recent and upcoming highlights include performances at Wigmore Hall, Chamber Music Detroit, and NEC’s Jordan Hall, along with appearances at festivals like Bravo! Vail, Music Mountain, and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, where they also teach. This season, they are premiering a new work by Karim Al-Zand, supported by a Chamber Music America grant. The group takes its name from Antoine Balourdet, a cherished figure at the Taos School of Music.

July 15th

Curtis on Tour:
Katie Trigg, mezzo-soprano
Elissa Lee Koljonen, violin
Roberto Díaz, viola
Hanchien Lee, piano

Hailing from Ngāhinapōuri, Aotearoa New Zealand, mezzo-soprano Katie Trigg is committed to using music as a bridge between communities and audiences. A graduate of the University of Waikato and a Sir Edmund Hillary Scholar, she is currently studying at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia under Julia Faulkner. Katie’s growing list of achievements includes winning the 2024 Lexus Song Quest, performing with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra under M° Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and appearing with Opera Philadelphia, Binghamton Philharmonic, and Wolf Trap Opera. Recent highlights include her role debut as Anna I in Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins and a recital collaboration with Warren Jones.

Beyond the stage, Katie is passionate about music education. For her master’s project at Curtis, she launched a mentorship program for high school musicians, helping students prepare for college-level studies. In New Zealand, she has performed with organizations such as Auckland Opera Studio, Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, and Bach Musica NZ. Katie’s awards include the Dame Sister Mary Leo Scholarship, the Dame Malvina Major Foundation Arts Excellence Award, and the Kiwi Music Scholarship, supported by the Fairfield Rotary Club, local Lions Clubs, Circle100, and the Adastra Foundation.

July 22nd

Yevgeny Kutik, violin
with pianist TBA

With a “dark-hued tone and razor-sharp technique” (The New York Times), violinist Yevgeny Kutik has captivated audiences worldwide with an old-world sound that communicates a modern intellect. Praised for his technical precision and virtuosity, he is also lauded for his poetic and imaginative interpretations of standard works as well as rarely heard and newly composed repertoire.

A native of Minsk, Belarus, Yevgeny Kutik immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of five. He began violin studies with his mother, Alla Zernitskaya, and went on to study with Zinaida Gilels, Shirley Givens, Roman Totenberg, and Donald Weilerstein.

July 29th

William and Catherine Hudgins, clarinet duo
with pianist Jung-A Bang

Clarinetist Catherine Hudgins has performed throughout North America, Europe, South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. She began her career with the Orquesta Filarmónica and Sinfónica Municipal in Caracas, later holding positions with the Charleston Symphony and Boise Philharmonic. Based in Boston, she appears regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, Carnegie Hall, and on Grammy-winning recordings. She also serves as principal clarinetist of the Plymouth Philharmonic and Eb clarinetist with the Portland Symphony, and has performed under renowned conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink, and Seiji Ozawa at festivals including Saito Kinen, Spoleto, and Arizona Musicfest.

Catherine frequently performs with her husband, Boston Symphony principal clarinetist William Hudgins. Together, they have appeared as duo-soloists with the Knoxville Symphony, premiering Daniel Crozier’s Spirit, and in performances with the Boston Classical Orchestra and Assisi Performing Arts. Catherine is the Artistic Director and clarinetist of the West Stockbridge Chamber Players and an active chamber musician, with performances broadcast on NPR, German Radio, RAI, and CBC. She studied with Robert Marcellus and lives in Boston with William, where they continue their close musical and personal partnership.

August 5th

Anna Shelest
Piano Solo

Praised by The New York Times for her “fiery sensibility and warm touch,” Ukrainian-born pianist Anna Shelest has captivated audiences worldwide. A champion of rare and esoteric repertoire, she has collaborated with conductor Neeme Järvi to record Anton Rubinstein’s complete piano concerti, earning acclaim from Gramophone and American Record Guide. Her ongoing Donna Voce project highlights music by women composers across centuries through recordings, performances, and lectures. Anna has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic, with recital highlights at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and Vienna’s Konzerthaus.

Anna also performs with her husband, Dmitri Shelest, as the Shelest Piano Duo, praised for their stirring interpretations and inventive programs. Their work, including the Ukrainian Rhapsody album and their YouTube series Shelest at the Piano, has been described as "realized diplomacy through music" by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Anna began her musical journey in Kharkiv and made her orchestral debut at twelve. She now resides in New York City with Dmitri and their two sons.

August 12th

The Black Oak Ensemble
string trio

Praised for its “insightful, committed and masterful performances” (Classics Today) and “fierce eloquence” (The London Times), the Black Oak Ensemble has emerged as one of the most dynamic chamber groups on the international stage. Their album Avant l’orage, featuring French string trios, reached #1 on the Billboard Classical Charts and was nominated for a 2023 ICMA Award. Their debut recording Silenced Voices (Cedille Records), dedicated to Jewish composers lost during the Holocaust, received acclaim in Gramophone, Strings magazine, and BBC Radio 3.

Committed to adventurous programming and collaboration, the ensemble has commissioned works from composers like Errollyn Wallen, Shirley Thompson, and Conrad Tao, and performed internationally across Europe and the U.S., including appearances at the Newport and Ravinia Festivals. Black Oak’s members — violinist Desirée Ruhstrat, cellist David Cunliffe (both of the Lincoln Trio), and violist Aurélien Fort Pederzoli (founding member of the Spektral Quartet) — are equally devoted to education, holding residencies and partnerships with institutions such as the RAVINIA Festival’s El Sistema program and the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative.

August 19th

Ying Li
piano solo

Twenty-five-year-old Chinese pianist Ying Li is the First Prize winner of the 2021 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions and a recipient of the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Prize. She has earned top honors at competitions including the Antonio Mormone International Prize and the Sarasota Artist Series Piano Competition, and has performed with leading orchestras such as The Philadelphia Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Stuttgart Philharmonic, and L’Accademia Orchestra del La Scala under conductors like Xian Zhang and Lina Gonzalez-Granados. This season, she debuts with the Buffalo Philharmonic and tours Italy.

Li made her New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall and has appeared at the Kennedy Center, Sala Verdi in Milan, and the Konzerthaus in Berlin. A passionate chamber musician, she has performed at the Verbier Festival, Ravinia’s Steans Institute, and La Jolla Music Society. Originally from China, Li studied at the Central Conservatory in Beijing before moving to the U.S. to attend the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, where she continues in the Artist Diploma Program under Robert McDonald.