The Sebastians (www.sebastians.org) are a dynamic and vital musical ensemble specializing in music of the baroque and classical eras. Lauded as “everywhere sharp-edged and engaging” (The New York Times), the Sebastians have also been praised for their “well-thought-out articulation and phrasing” (Early Music Review) and “elegant string playing… immaculate in tuning and balance” (Early Music Today). I Care If You Listen praised the ensemble’s “beautifully-nuanced playing and thoughtful expressivity” in their début album, calling the recording a “technical and timbral tour-de-force.” MORE
Winners of the Audience Prize at the 2012 Early Music America Baroque Performance Competition, the Sebastians were also finalists in the 2011 York International Early Music Competition and the 2011 Early Music America/Naxos Recording Competition. They have participated in the Carnegie Hall Professional Training Workshop with L’Arpeggiata, and have performed at Music Matters (LaGrua Center in Stonington, CT), Friends of Music at Pequot Library (Southport, CT), St. John’s Episcopal Church (Tulsa, OK), Juilliard in Aiken (SC), in the Twelfth Night Festival and Concerts@One at Trinity Wall Street (New York, NY), Early Music in Columbus (Ohio), the Renaissance and Baroque Society of Pittsburgh (PA), and Houston Early Music (TX). The Sebastians frequently collaborate with TENET Vocal Artists, including a critically acclaimed performances of Bach’s St. John Passion. The ensemble is currently in residence at the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments.
The Sebastians début CD, Night Scenes from the Ospedale (Jan. 2015), pairs Vivaldi concerti from L’Estro Armonico with newly composed interludes by Robert Honstein. I Care If You Listen praised the “beautifully-nuanced playing and thoughtful expressivity” in the recording, calling the album a “technical and timbral tour-de-force.” The group’s second CD, the Sebastians a 2: Virtuoso Music of the Holy Roman Empire (Sep. 2015), explores the rich baroque repertoire of music for violin and harpsichord written by composers from modern-day Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. In the fall of 2018, the Sebastians released Folia, featuring trio sonatas and vocal works by Corelli, Colista, Handel, and Vivaldi, with soprano Awet Andemicael. Other recordings are currently in production for future seasons.
The Sebastians 2019–20 season explores pairings and resonances—from music and wine, to words and music, and finally to music and dance, in a spectacular season finale featuring the Christopher Caines Dance Company in newly commissioned dances to suites by the group’s namesake, J. S. Bach.
…of the demand for this group, there can be little doubt…. energetic… youthful, vigorous performance style… The New York Times
…a worthy addition to any concert series accustomed to hearing leading mainstream string quartets. Early Music America
The Sebastians took us on a delightful journey, one in which lucid, subtle playing left space for the emotion and wit… the audience had been thoroughly seduced by the ensemble’s deft balance of firebrand playing and classical elegance. Seen and Heard International
Dongmyung Ahn
violin
Awet Andemicael
soprano
Doug Balliett
contrabass
Michael Beattie
organ
Madeline Bouissou
cello
Julie Brye
oboe
Mili Chang
flute
Nathaniel Chase
contrabass
Hannah Collins
cello
Michael Compitello
timpani
Katharine Dain
soprano
Immanuel Davis
traverso
Karen Dekker
violin
Chloe Fedor
violin
Caroline Giassi
oboe
Stephen Goist
viola
Arthur Haas
harpsichord
Shirley Hunt
cello & gamba
Katie Hyun
violin
Ana Kim
cello
Peter Kupfer
violin, viola
Andrea LeBlanc
flute
Francis Liu
violin
Augusta McKay Lodge
violin
Steven Marquardt
trumpet
Martha McGaughey
viola da gamba
Kyle Miller
viola
Scot Moore
viola
Kristin Olson
oboe
Meg Owens
oboe & recorder
Lisa Rautenberg
viol
David Ross
traverso
Theresa Salomon
viola
Edson Scheid
violin
Chiara Stauffer
violin/viola
Joshua Stauffer
theorbo
Sarah Stone
cello & gamba
John Thiessen
trumpet
Jessica Troy
viola
Beth Wenstrom
violin
Caleb Wiebe
trumpet
Wen Yang
contrabass
Alana Youssefian
violin
Matt Zucker
cello
Award-winning violinist Daniel S. Lee enjoys a varied career as a soloist, leader, collaborator, and educator. Praised for his “ravishing vehemence” and “soulful performance” (The New York Times), he has appeared as a soloist and leader with Early Music New York, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Quodlibet Ensemble, and Yale Schola Cantorum, among others. He is the founding director of the critically-acclaimed period ensemble, the Sebastians. As a piccolo violin specialist, he has performed as a soloist in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and Cantata 140, and has given the modern-day premiere of his own transcription of Johann Pfeiffer’s concerto. He has studied at the Juilliard School (B.M.), Yale School of Music (M.M. and Art.Dip.), and University of Connecticut (D.M.A), and has given lectures and masterclasses at Connecticut College, Purchase College (SUNY), University of Kansas, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was recently appointed as a faculty member at Yale School of Music. www.danielslee.com
Praised for his “ravishing vehemence” and “soulful performance” (The New York Times), violinist Daniel S. Lee has appeared as a soloist and leader with Early Music New York, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Quodlibet Ensemble, and Yale Schola Cantorum, among others. He is the founding director of the critically-acclaimed period ensemble, the Sebastians. He has given lectures and masterclasses at Connecticut College, Manhattan School of Music, Purchase College (SUNY), University of Kansas, and UNC Chapel Hill. He is currently on the faculty at Yale School of Music. www.danielslee.com
Praised for the “rapturous poetry” in his playing (American Record Guide) and as an “excellent” and “evocative” violinist (The New York Times), Nicholas DiEugenio leads a versatile performing life as a chamber musician, leader, and soloist in music ranging from early baroque to current commissions. In this capacity, he performs in venues such as Glinka Hall in St. Petersburg, Trinity Wall St., Freiburg’s Ensemblehaus, and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. Together with pianist and duo partner Mimi Solomon, Nicholas has created Unraveling Beethoven, a cycle of all ten violin sonatas combined with response works from composers Tonia Ko, Jesse Jones, Robert Honstein, D.K. Garner, and Allen Anderson. Released in 2018 on the New Focus label, Unraveling Beethoven was chosen as the Global Music Awards’ "best of show.” His recording of the complete Schumann violin sonatas with fortepiano with Chi-Chen Wu is available on the Musica Omnia label. His August 2017 release on the New Focus label with Mimi Solomon, critically lauded as “a touching, committed tribute” (I Care If You Listen), is an homage to the late Pullitzer Prize-winner Steven Stucky.
A two-time prize-winner at the prestigious Fischoff competition, Nicholas dedicates his priorities as a performer to chamber music. He is violinist of the Chanterelle Trio, a core member of The Sebastians, and has collaborated with Laurie Smukler, Joel Krosnick, Joseph Lin, Peter Salaff, and Ani Kavafian. As a baroque violinist, he has worked with Robert Mealy and Petra Mullejans, and has also performed alongside luminaries Jaap ter Linden and Kathie Stewart. He is an alum of the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, where he was deeply influenced by pianist Seymour Lipkin.
Regarded as an inspiring teacher, Nicholas is currently Assistant Professor of Violin at UNC Chapel Hill, and is co-artistic director of MYCO, a non-profit chamber music organization for pre-college students. During the summer, Nicholas teaches at the Kinhaven Music School in Vermont. Nicholas holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music (B.M, M.M), and the Yale School of Music (D.M.A., A.D.). Nicholas performs on a baroque violin made by Karl Dennis in 2011, and on a 1734 violin made by Dom Nicolo Amati.
Praised as an “excellent” and “evocative” violinist (The New York Times), Nicholas DiEugenio leads a versatile performing life as a chamber musician, leader, and soloist in music ranging from early baroque to current commissions. Together with pianist Mimi Solomon, Nicholas has recorded the albums Into the Silence (2017) and Unraveling Beethoven (2018) on the New Focus label. His award-winning recording of the complete Schumann violin sonatas with fortepiano is available on the Musica Omnia label. Regarded as an inspiring teacher, Nicholas is currently Assistant Professor of Violin at UNC Chapel Hill. Nicholas holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music (B.M, M.M) and the Yale School of Music (D.M.A., A.D.). As a core member of the Sebastians, Nicholas performs on a violin made by Karl Dennis in 2011, and also on a 1734 violin made by Dom Nicolo Amati. www.nicholasdieugenio.com
Hailed for his “scampering virtuosity” (American Record Guide) and “superb” playing (The New York Times), cellist Ezra Seltzer is the principal cellist of the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, New York Baroque Incorporated, and Early Music New York and a founding member of the Sebastians. He has frequently appeared as guest principal cellist of Musica Angelica and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, where he earned praise for his “delicate elegance and rambunctious spirit” (Twin Cities Pioneer Press) in performances of all six Brandenburg Concertos. Other performances with the SPCO include Handel’s Messiah with Jonathan Cohen and J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Paul McCreesh. With Musica Angelica, he appeared in performances of J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion in Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and also performed in an international tour with soprano Emma Kirkby and countertenor Daniel Taylor. This summer he will be the associate principal cellist at the Carmel Bach Festival and will also appear as a soloist with Apollo’s Fire in concerts in Cleveland and New York. He attended Yale University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in history and Master of Music in cello, and graduated from the inaugural class of Juilliard’s historical performance program.
Keyboardist and conductor Jeffrey Grossman specializes in vital, engaging performances of music of the past, through processes that are intensely collaborative and historically informed. As the artistic director of the acclaimed baroque ensemble the Sebastians, this season Jeffrey directs concerts including Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Handel’s Messiah from the organ and harpsichord, both in collaboration with TENET Vocal Artists, and performs Bach’s six sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord with Daniel S. Lee. In recent seasons, Jeffrey has performed with TENET, the Green Mountain Project, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Quodlibet, the Boston Early Music Festival, and numerous other ensembles across the country. For the past thirteen seasons, he has also toured parts of the rural United States with artists of the Piatigorsky Foundation, performing outreach concerts to underserved communities, most recently in Wyoming and southeast Alaska. Jeffrey can be heard on the Avie, Gothic, Naxos, Albany, Soundspells, Métier, and MSR Classics record labels. He was recently appointed a faculty member at Yale University, where he teaches performance practice and works with graduate voice students.
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Jeffrey holds degrees from Harvard College (AB in Music cum laude), the Juilliard School (MM in Historical Performance), and Carnegie Mellon University (MM in Conducting). His principal teachers include Robert Page and Jameson Marvin in conducting; Louis Nagel in piano; Kenneth Weiss, Don O. Franklin, and Barbara Weiss in harpsichord. In addition to his performing activities, Grossman is also active as a music engraver (primarily using the SCORE music publishing system) and has prepared editions for many major publishers and ensembles. In 2014, his engraved score of Elliott Carter’s final composition won first prize in the chamber ensembles division of the Music Publishers Association Paul Revere Awards for Graphic Excellence. Jeffrey currently resides in New York City. www.jeffreygrossman.com
Keyboardist and conductor Jeffrey Grossman specializes in vital, engaging performances of music of the past, through processes that are intensely collaborative and historically informed. As the artistic director of the acclaimed baroque ensemble the Sebastians, this season Jeffrey directs concerts including Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Handel’s Messiah from the organ and harpsichord, both in collaboration with TENET Vocal Artists, and performs Bach’s six sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord with Daniel S. Lee. In recent seasons, Jeffrey has performed with TENET, the Green Mountain Project, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Quodlibet, the Boston Early Music Festival, and numerous other ensembles across the country. For the past thirteen seasons, he has also toured portions of the rural United States with artists of the Piatigorsky Foundation, performing outreach concerts to underserved communities, most recently in Wyoming and southeast Alaska. Jeffrey can be heard on the Avie, Gothic, Naxos, Albany, Soundspells, Métier, and MSR Classics record labels. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he holds degrees from Harvard College, the Juilliard School, and Carnegie Mellon University; he was recently appointed a faculty member at Yale University. www.jeffreygrossman.com
Founding Director: Daniel S. Lee
Artistic Director: Jeffrey Grossman
Managing Director: Karl Hinze
Founding Members: Daniel S. Lee & Ezra Seltzer