Byron Schenkman & Friends: A Contemporary Portrait – Brian Raphael Nabors

• Caitlin Edwards, violin
• Sterling Elliott, cello
• Jessica Evotia Andrews-Hall, piano
• Joseph Williams, piano & Guest Artistic Director

Guest Artistic Director Joseph Williams presents a portrait of contemporary composer Dr. Brian Raphael Nabors. Violinist Caitlin Edwards, & cellist Sterling Elliot, perform an emotionally rich program including Nabor's Piano Trio, Theme & Variations for Solo Violin, and Sonata for Cello & Piano.

This event is free for all – help keep this possible by donating! https://byronandfriends.org/donate/

About Sound Salon (formerly Byron Schenkman & Friends)

Known as Byron Schenkman & Friends until recently, Sound Salon is a concert series that brings a diverse set of 21st-century perspectives to artistically excellent ensemble music, inspired by European traditions of the 17th through 19th Centuries. Byron Schenkman is Sound Salon's Artistic Director.

Sound Salon is a 501c3 non-profit supported by donors and ticket sales.

About Caitlin Edwards, violin

https://www.caitlinedwards.com/

About Sterling Elliott, cello

Cellist Sterling Elliott​ is a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the winner of the Senior Division of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition.

Sterling has enjoyed a simple and humble musical journey. As the youngest of 3 siblings, he did not want to play the cello but the violin like his older brother and sister. After a bit of encouragement, he completed The Elliott Family String Quartet by learning to play the cello at the age of three under the direction of Suzuki Cello teacher Susan Hines. He went on to make his concerto debut at the age of 7 by winning the Junior Division of the PYO Concerto Competition, and later the 2014 Richmond Symphony Concerto Competition, the Bay Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. Sterling has a long history with the Sphinx Organization, where he first received 2nd place in the 2013 National Sphinx Competition Junior Division, then won the 2014 Junior Division. In 2016 he received the Isaac Stern Award by the Sphinx Organization and toured with the Sphinx Virtuosi in 2018 before winning in 2019.

He is a two-time alum of NPR's From the Top where he was a recipient of a scholarship from The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and performed several concerts in Switzerland at the 2019 World Economic Forum. He is a Young Strings of America ambassador for SHAR Strings. In 2019, he was the first recipient of The National Arts Club's Herman and Mary Neuman Music Scholarship Award.

Sterling Elliott is currently a Kovner Fellow at The Juilliard School where he is pursuing his Masters of Music degree studying with Joel Krosnick and Clara Kim. He completed his undergraduate degree in cello performance at Juilliard in May 2021. He currently performs on a 1741 Gennaro Gagliano cello on loan through the Robert F. Smith Fine String Patron Program, in partnership with the Sphinx Organization.

About Jessica Evotia Andrews-Hall, piano

https://www.jessicaandrewsmusicstudio.com/

About Joseph Williams, piano & Guest Artistic Director

Joseph Williams is a pianist, educator, film producer and curator from Tacoma, WA.

Memorable performance venues include The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Northwest African American Museum and Dubai's Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children. Upcoming engagements include performances at Fort Worth Opera and Steinway Hall (NYC).

He is founder and director of Tukwila Kids Make Music, a free music instruction program offering piano and violin classes to underserved children (K-5).

He is an advisory board member for New Music Initiative for Black Voices, a nationwide invitational that aims to celebrate and empower Black composers and their music. He also serves on MTNA's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee.

Curations include Black Splendor, a free ten-episode virtual series highlighting Black musicians and composers residing in the Pacific Northwest.

He is Curator of Art and Music at Lakewold Gardens.