Callisto Quartet
Formed in 2016 at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Callisto Quartet brings together four dedicated and passionate musicians who share a love for chamber music. Members Paul Aguilar and Rachel Stenzel (violins), Eva Kennedy (viola), and Hannah Moses (cello) are all accomplished individual chamber musicians and have won prizes in various local and national chamber music competitions. The quartet is based at CIM and works primarily with Si-Yan Darren Li and Peter Salaff. They have also had the opportunity to play in coachings and master classes for Mathieu Herzog, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Elliott Antokoletz, and members of the Alban Berg, Belcea, Danish, Escher, Vermeer, and Ying Quartets.
The Callisto Quartet was selected as the CIM Apprentice Quartet for 2017, a position which includes extensive education and performance activities throughout the Cleveland community and a recital on the Cleveland Chamber Music Society’s concert series. They are also featured as ensemble in residence at the Carolina Music Museum in Greenville, NC. The quartet was selected to compete in the 2018 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition and the 2018 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and has also participated in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. In the summer of 2017, the quartet attended the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar and the McGill International String Quartet Academy; they also received a fellowship to study at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival with members of the Brentano, Miro, and Emerson quartets. In April they attended the Prussia Cove International Musicians Seminar where they were invited to study with Gerhard Schulz.
Performances this past year include an appearance with David Geringas at the Cleveland Cello Society’s 20th anniversary concert and a collaboration with the Cavani Quartet performing Mendelssohn’s Octet. The quartet was selected to participate in the 2018 Robert Mann String Quartet Institute, which included performances and masterclasses at the Manhattan School of Music, and in summer of 2018 will be attending the Shouse Institute at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, where they will be studying with the Emerson String Quartet.
Paul Aguilar
Violinist Paul Aguilar, from Greenville, South Carolina, is a junior scholarship student of Jaime Laredo and Jan Mark Sloman at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has won top prizes in various concerto and scholarship competitions including 1st Prize in the 2016 Milhaud Competition at CIM and winner of the CIM 2017 Spring Concerto Competition. At CIM, he has been in the Intensive Duo Sonata Program and in the Intensive Quartet Seminar as a member of the Callisto Quartet. His quartet was chosen as the CIM Apprentice Quartet for 2017. As a member of the Callisto Quartet, he will compete in the Wigmore Hall International Quartet Competition and the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. Paul has attended festivals such as the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, Robert Mann Quartet Seminar, McGill International String Quartet Academy (2016 and 2017), Meadowmount School of Music, Music Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and New York String Orchestra Seminar (2013 and 2016).
Rachel Stenzel
Rachel Stenzel, age 21, is currently an undergrad student at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) studying violin under Stephen Rose and Jan Mark Sloman. Originally from Holiday Hills, IL, she began her musical training on the piano at age five and began studying the violin at age nine. Former teachers have included Almita Vamos and Lisa Chodorowski.
At CIM Rachel is actively involved in chamber music, participating in both the Intensive Quartet Seminar and the Intensive Duo program. A two-time recipient of the Dr. Jerome Gross Prize in violin, she has served as concertmaster of the CIM orchestra and has also been featured as a soloist with the orchestra. Rachel is a member of the Canton Symphony Orchestra, concertmaster of the Suburban Symphony Orchestra, and has also participated in the New York String Orchestra Seminar.
As a member of the Callisto Quartet Rachel has attended various festivals including the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and the McGill International String Quartet Academy. Previous summer festivals have included the Chautauqua Music School Festival Orchestra, the Brian Lewis Young Artist Program, and the Heifetz International Music Institute. During high school she was actively involved in the orchestra and chamber music programs at Midwest Young Artists (MYA) in Highwood, IL. Rachel has worked closely with members of the Vermeer Quartet, and her string quartet was the Gold Medalist in the Junior Division of the 2014 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.
In addition to playing in orchestra and chamber settings, Rachel enjoys performing at church and other venues, such as retirement centers or community events. Rachel is the recipient of a Grant for Education from the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation, and also plays on a bow generously on loan from them.
Eva Kennedy
22-year-old violist Eva Kennedy is pursuing her Master of Music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studies with Lynne Ramsey. She received her Bachelors degree from CIM in 2017, studying with Jeffrey Irvine. In 2015, she spent a semester as an exchange student at the Paris Conservatory, where she studied with Sabine Toutain. Eva is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Dr. Bennett Levine Chamber Music Award, gold medals at the Discover National Chamber Music competition and the St Paul String Quartet Competition, and the Young Artists Initiative Award from the Ohio Arts Presenters Network.
As a member of the Callisto Quartet, Eva participates in the Intensive Quartet Seminar at CIM. The quartet is also CIM’s 2017 Apprentice Quartet. They have worked with members of the Juilliard, Belcea, Ying, Brentano, Miró, Emerson, Escher, and Alban Berg quartets, among others, and received fellowships to study at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the McGill International String Quartet Academy, and the Juilliard Quartet Seminar. They have competed in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and won top prizes at the WDAV Young Musicians Competition and the Ohio String Teachers Association Competition. The quartet has also been selected to compete in the 2017 Wigmore Hall and Melbourne international chamber music competitions.
In recent summers, Eva has attended the Heifetz International Music Institute, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival and School, as well as the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and the McGill International String Quartet Seminar with the Callisto Quartet. Her interests outside music include hiking and feminism.
Hannah Moses
23 year old cellist Hannah Moses is an Artist Diploma candidate at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she previously received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music studying cello with with Dr. Melissa Kraut. Hannah has been the recipient of many awards, including the Dr. Bennett Levine Chamber Music Award, the CIM Alumni Association Award, the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award through “From the Top”, and others. Hannah has performed in masterclasses for renowned cellists such as Zuill Bailey, Andres Diaz, Lynn Harrell, Hans Jorgen-Jensen, Ralph Kirshbaum, Joel Krosnick, David Requiro, and Alisa Weilerstein, and has appeared as soloist with many local orchestras. She has won the Elementary, Junior, Senior, and Collegiate divisions of the Cleveland Cello Society Scholarship Competition, and appeared as a guest artist alum at the Tennessee Cello Workshop in February 2018, where she won their Young Artist Competition in 2015, which included the prize of a Joshua Henry bow. In the fall of 2017, Hannah was a winner of the CIM Concerto Competition and appeared as soloist with the CIM Orchestra in January 2018.
An avid chamber musician, Hannah is the cellist of the Callisto Quartet, CIM’s 2017 Apprentice Quartet. In summer of 2017, the Callisto Quartet attended the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the McGill International String Quartet Academy. The quartet was selected to compete at the prestigious 2018 Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition in London, England, and the 2018 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition in Melbourne, Australia.