The Newport String Project is delighted to announce the opening of their tenth anniversary season with the return of One to One: Micro Concerts for All!
“I LOVED having a one-to-one experience with the Newport String Project at Newport Art Museum. Truly magical.” - Denise M
Back by popular demand, these personalized concerts pair one musician with an individual or small group audience for an engaging performance experience. One to One features musicians from the Newport String Quartet, NSP’s resident ensemble, as well as guest artists from throughout New England. Audiences will enjoy 15 minute concerts in an array of unique settings provided by our community partners: The Newport Art Museum, The Newport Historical Society, The Newport Performing Arts Center, and Downtown Designs.
Performances will be held throughout the day on Saturday, September 24th.
ONLINE RESERVATIONS FOR THIS EVENT ARE CLOSED AND LIMITED SPACE IS AVAILABLE. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING, PLEASE CALL 401-835-3968.
Reservations for this event are by donation, with a suggested donation of $25. Concertgoers attending multiple micro concerts are invited to make a donation at a level of their choosing.
If making a donation is not within your budget at this time, we very much hope that you will still join us as our guest for Micro Concerts for All! NSP is committed to ensuring that ticket price is not a barrier to inspiring and excellent performances.
All donations are gratefully accepted and can be made by visiting: www.newportstringproject.org/donate
The Newport String Quartet are delighted to be joined by the wonderful lineup of guest musicians for One to One. To learn more about the Newport String Quartet, click here.
One to One Guest Artists
EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks, violin
EmmaLee co-founded the Newport String Project with Ealain in 2012. Her leadership and artistry over the course of seven years played a major role in shaping the organization that the Newport String Project is today.
EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks grew up on an organic farm where her first audience was her flock of sheep. As she grew into a full-size violin, EmmaLee, with that expressive instrument in hand, made her way onto the stage as soloist with symphonies and then on to Carnegie Hall. Armed with degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and SUNY Stony Brook, EmmaLee serves as principal second violinist of the New Bedford Symphony and as a busy chamber player she performs with Verdant Vibes New Music Collective, South Coast Chamber Players, and more. She is on faculty at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
Armand Aromin
Armand Aromin is a chronic multi-instrumentalist, percussive dancer, and violin maker based in Providence, Rhode Island. More importantly, his first name is pronounced like the brand Arm & Hammer. He often incorporates aspects of his experience as a queer Filipino American into the music he creates, and enjoys making it a collaborative experience. He is one-half of The Vox Hunters, a quarter of Eight Feet Tall, and at least a third of The Ivy Leaf. He proudly owns Aromin Violins, a tiny workshop within five paces of the bedroom.
This is Armand's first collaboration with the Newport String Project
Joe Bentley, upright bass
Rhode Island-born bassist Joseph Bentley has enjoyed a career as an active performer, educator, and lecturer throughout New England.
As a soloist Joseph has performed with the Narragansett Bay Symphony, Wheaton College Sinfonietta, and the Rhode Island College chamber orchestra, and regularly performs in faculty recitals and in various solo engagements throughout the region.
As a symphonic bassist, Joseph has performed with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, New Bedford Symphony, Symphony New Hampshire, the Cape Symphony, the Community MusicWorks players, Gloria Dei Artes, the London Firebird Orchestra, and the London Arts Orchestra.
Joseph directs the double bass studios at Wheaton College, and the University of Rhode Island– where he also lectures and coaches the URI String Quartet– and is the director of the chamber music program at the internationally-renowned Portsmouth Abbey School
Zan Berry, cello
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.
Zan was resident cellist at the Newport String Project in 2018-2019 and played a big role in shaping the events that led to our Open Mic Night series.
Megan Koch, cello
Megan Koch has a Masters Degree in chamber music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied under Jean-Michel Fonteneau, and holds a Bachelors of Music degree from the Peabody Institute, where she studied with Alan Stepansky. She recently moved back to Rhode Island, after two years in the Bay Area. During those two years, Megan formed the Bay Area Cello Collective, performing with other cellists around the Bay Area. She also was a forming member of Covelo Piano Trio, with whom she performed at Tateuchi Hall in June 2022. In addition, she performed with Symphony San Jose and San Francisco Ballet. Megan has been heard through the New England Area, having played with Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Cape Symphony as well as several other orchestras, including Eastern Connecticut Symphony, New Bedford Symphony, and Plymouth Philharmonic, as well as Chorus of Westerly, and Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra. As an avid chamber musician, she has played with the Nth Degree Chamber Ensemble, the new music ensemble Verdant Vibes, and the Meeting House Chamber Music Festival. Megan has taught privately and through many music programs, including Community School of Music and Arts and the Music4Schools program.
Emma Powell, violin
Originally from Ann Arbor MI, violinist/violist Emma Kondo Powell is an active performer and educator based in the New England area. She regularly performs with ensembles throughout the area including the Rasa String Quartet, the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, Palaver Strings, and the New Bedford Symphony. From 2019-2022 she served as resident violinist and private instructor at the Newport String Project, a chamber music performance and youth mentorship initiative based at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Community Center in Newport, RI. Her summer festival appearances include the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA, and Roundtop Festival Institute.
Emma holds a BA in Music with a focus on Music Theory from Princeton University and a Masters in Violin Performance from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she studied with Paul Kantor.
Emma was resident violinist with Newport String Project from 2020-2022 and played a special role in shaping many of NSP's pandemic initiatives.
David Rubin, violin
David Rubin is a Boston-based violinist and teaching artist. In 2016, David joined the staff of musiConnects - a non-profit chamber music residency in Boston’s Roslindale and Mattapan neighborhoods - where he currently serves as a Resident Musician and Artistic Director. A busy orchestral violinist, David is a member of the New Bedford Symphony; appears frequently with ensembles throughout Greater Boston, such as Rhode Island Philharmonic, BMOP, and Boston Pops Esplanade; and has performed at the Lucerne, Spoleto, Banff, Peninsula, and New Hampshire summer music festivals. On period instruments, David has performed with Providence Baroque, Madison Bach Musicians, and Chicago’s Baroque Band.
This is David's first collaboration with the Newport String Project.
Roseminna Watson, violin
Roseminna Watson began her relationship with the violin at the age of three. Her mother, Clyde Watson, taught her for the following six years until she went on to study at the New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School. Ms. Watson holds a B.A. in Graphic Design from Yale University, a Masters in Violin Performance from Stony Brook University, and an Artist’s Diploma in Chamber Music from San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is the former first violinist of the Aiana String Quartet — winners of the 2011 String Prize at the Coleman International Chamber Music Competition — and the recipient of numerous awards and much acclaim through collaborations with renowned artists including Menahem Pressler, Donald Weilerstein, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Axel Strauss, Paul Hersh, David Tanenbaum, Jennifer Culp, and Jodi Levitz.
Although Ms. Watson is best known as a classical violinist, she continues a life-long exploration of multiple expressive mediums, and in recent years has begun to emerge as a singer, composer and multimedia artist as well. All of her expressive creations are imbued with a haunting immediacy and poignant nostalgia and she is fascinated by the human body as a vehicle that can carry us closer to the divine. Ms. Watson is a member of Providence - based new music collective Verdant Vibes, and a founding member of Humming Owl — a duo with her singer/songwriter/sitarist husband, Pablo Escalante.
In 2020, Ms. Watson founded the Pandemic Polyphony project — an ever-expanding platform for collaborative connection between creators of all kinds across the boundaries of physical distance and isolation. All work created through the project can be found in the gallery at pandemicpolyphony.org. Ms. Watson is currently looking forward to world premieres of two recently-commissioned works — Crucible / Beloved for violin and voice, and Triptych, A Priori : Logic of the Interior for violin, clarinet, piano and tape. You can find her solo album, Limbic Hymnal (2017), as well as Ravel Duo Sonata for Violin and Cello (2022) at roseminnawatson.com.
This is Roseminna's first collaboration with the Newport String Project