Zan Berry

Providence based cellist and songwriter, Zan Berry, is a passionate and creative musician who weaves together diverse musical interests in his work as a performer and educator. With a ceaseless curiosity for exploring new musical contexts for his instrument and collaborating with local artists across disciplines, Zan strives for a more creative, connected, and accessible arts community in Providence.
 More at zanberrycello.com
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Laura Citilia

As a daughter of mixed heritage, Mexican-American musician, Laura Cetilia is at home with in-betweenness, straddling multiple worlds as a cellist / composer / educator / artist while working within acoustic / electronic / traditional / experimental sound practices. Her compositions have been described as “unorthodox loveliness” (Boston Globe), “alternately penetrating and atmospheric” (Sequenza 21) and “weightless and deeply profound” (Bandcamp’s Best Contemporary Classical). Laura is a winner of the Artzenter Emerging composer grant and the General Operating Support Award by the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts. Her recent album “gorgeous nothings” was listed both by Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and Alex Ross (New Yorker) as one of the best releases of 2025. Her works have been performed by San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, TAK Ensemble, Loadbang, Mivos and Isaura string quartets, Splinter Reeds, a.pe.ri.od.ic, Taceti Ensemble among others. After receiving her D.M.A. in Music Composition in 2024 from Cornell, Laura became certified as a Deep Listening® Practitioner from the Center for Deep Listening and returned to teaching cello and experimental music practices at Community MusicWorks, an organization that provides free instruments and lessons in underserved areas of Providence, RI. She plays with Mem1 (established in 2003 with M. Cetilia, modular synth), Ordinary Affects, LCollective, and the all-female groups Moons, n/ether, and noeplace.

Ashley Frith

Ashley Lauren Frith is a violist, singer, composer, anti-oppression facilitator and music educator. Focusing on care partnerships, her belonging work particularly addresses how racism affects our individual and collective interiority as it amplifies all other forms of oppression. Her work is held and supported by a contemplative end of life practice, yogic training and play process, and is driven by deep healing and total liberation for all beings. Currently, Ashley is the Facilitator of Community Culture and Being(ness) at Community MusicWorks in Providence, RI, a faculty member of the LA Philharmonic’s YOLA National Institute, and writes music for theatre. She is working on an album surrounding the embodied process of grief.


Piero Guimaraes

Piero Guimaraes is a percussionist specializing in orchestral and contemporary music. A versatile performer, he has performed internationally at festivals including the World Orchestra, International Ensemble Modern Academy, Pommersfelden Summer Academy, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and has appeared with Ensemble Court-Circuit (France).

He has collaborated with composers such as John Luther Adams, Heinz Holliger, and Kaija Saariaho, and has performed with ensembles including the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, the United States Coast Guard Band, the New Bedford Symphony, and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. He is a core member of the Iktus Percussion Quartet and the Providence-based new music ensemble Verdant Vibes.

As an educator, he serves on the faculties of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Johnson & Wales University, Rhode Island College, and Roger Williams University. He holds a Bachelor's degree from São Paulo State University and a Master's degree and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University.

Jesse Holstein

Jesse Holstein, violinist and violist, has been a Resident Musician at CMW since 2001. He was a founding member of the Providence String Quartet. Prior to studying with Marilyn McDonald at Oberlin and James Buswell at New England Conservatory, he worked with Philipp Naegele in Northampton, MA. Jesse is currently concertmaster of the New Bedford Symphony. He has performed at the Bravo! Festival in Vail, Colorado, the Montana Chamber Music Festival, the Bay Chamber Concerts, the Worcester Chamber Music Society, The South Coast Chamber Music Series, the Rhode Island Chamber Music Concerts, and the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, among others. In 2009 Jesse was a Violin Professeur at L’Ecole de Musique, Dessaix Baptiste in Haiti and is currently on the faculty at Brown University. One of his interests is how Buddhist mindfulness practice and meditation intersects with teaching and performing music..

Cat Slowik

Cat Slowik is a versatile multi-instrumentalist (viola da gamba, violone, baroque cello) specializing in historical performance. She is a core member of the Smithsonian Consort of Viols, Elm City Consort, and Y415. Slowik has been a staff continuo player for the Yale Baroque Opera Project since 2016 and in 2020 produced and music directed a COVID-safe outdoor production of Dido and Aeneas. Recent collaborations include appearances with Parthenia Viol Consort, the Yale Voxtet and Schola Cantorum, The Thirteen, Cathedra, and the New Muses Project. A dedicated educator and public musicologist, Slowik is currently on the faculties of the Five College Early Music Program, Amherst Early Music Festival, and Oberlin’s Baroque Performance Institute. She directs the viol consort program at Yale and is a Music Specialist at the Library of Congress.