Micah Behr received his Doctorate in Viola Performance at UW Madison where he studied viola with Sally Chisholm and collaborative piano with Martha Fischer. His compositions and transcriptions have been premiered by the Madison Bach Musicians, Stoughton Chamber Music Festival, Trio With(out) and the Griffon String Quartet. He also composes music for Geneva Campus Church where he serves as Music Director. In 2023, his one-act operetta based on the life of Sarah Bernhardt received second place in The American Prize for composition.
Philip Bergman is a cellist, musician, and educator based in Northwest Illinois. Highlights of his wide-ranging career thus far include collaborating in performance with Yo-Yo Ma, sharing the stage with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, performing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with a chorus of ten thousand on national television in Japan, creating and implementing a residency of interactive performances in a memory care facility, soloing on Tan Dun’s Crouching Tiger Concerto with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, performing alongside rapper Vic Mensa, and playing under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner.
Philip is the principal cellist of Orchestra Iowa, where he performs orchestra and chamber concerts, as well as participating in educational concerts in concert halls, schools, and public libraries across the state. Philip is also principal cellist of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra and a section cellist in the Illinois Symphony Orchestra.
Prior to moving to Northwest Illinois, Philip was a Civic Fellow and cellist in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, performing orchestral and chamber concerts in Symphony Center and across the city of Chicago, planning and implementing interactive concerts in schools. Before his time in Chicago Philip was a cellist and Vorspieler in the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra in Japan.
Philip received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he studied with Brandon Vamos, cellist of the Pacifica Quartet. He then went on to complete a Master of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying with Uri Vardi.
GRAMMY Award-winning soprano Sarah Brailey enjoys a versatile career that defies categorization. Praised by The New York Times for her “radiant, liquid tone,” she is a prolific vocalist, cellist, recording artist, and educator. Among Dr. Brailey’s career highlights are Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato with the Mark Morris Dance Group, Zorn’s Madrigals at the Louvre in Paris, and The Soul on the world premiere album of Dame Ethel Smyth’s The Prison, for which she received the 2020 GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. Dr. Brailey serves on the voice faculty at UW-Madison, is the Director of Vocal Studies at the University of Chicago, and the Artistic Director of the Handel Aria Competition.
Alex Norris is happily immersed in a diverse and exciting life as a chamber musician. Currently he resides in Green Bay. Wisconsin as a member of the Griffon String Quartet. In addition to this, Alex is a member of the Des Moines Metro Opera and the Stoughton Music Festival, as well as the Quad City Symphony. Earlier chamber music experiences include being a guest artist with Red Cedar Chamber Music in Cedar Rapids, IA, and being a member of the Permian Basin String Quartet in Midland, TX. Alex has a strong background in orchestral playing as well, having formerly been a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra, and Principal Second Violin in the Illinois Symphony.
