Daniel Egan, trumpet
Daniel is a native of Verona, New Jersey, and a recent graduate of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, studying with Professors Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer. Mr. Egan received his undergraduate degree at Indiana University as a student of John Rommel. Professionally, he has performed with numerous orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, Houston Symphony, Alabama Symphony, and the Jacksonville Symphony. He was a fellow with the National Repertory Orchestra in the summer of 2013. He is an active member of Loop38, a Houston-based new music collective. An enthusiastic teacher, Daniel was the trumpet faculty member at the Luzerne Music Center in Lake Luzerne, NY. He maintains an active studio in the greater Houston area and in his spare time enjoys playing jazz, reading, and exercising.
Daniel egan
trumpet
Mary Grace Johnson, violin
Violinist Mary Grace Johnson has performed internationally at venues from New York's Lincoln Center to London’s Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. A passionate chamber musician, Ms. Johnson studied chamber music with the American, Blair, Escher, Juilliard and Pacifica quartets and attended the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival. In 2018, she co-founded the Unison String Quartet, a group dedicated to the performance of contemporary chamber music and recent participants in Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, Aspen Center for Advanced Quartet Studies and the Perlman Music Program. As a DACAMERA of Houston Young Artist, she frequently performs at the Menil Collection, Galveston Artist Residency, Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the Moody Center, among others, and additionally performs with Houston collective ensembles Kinetic Ensemble, Loop38 and MUSIQA. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Nashville Symphony and the Vanderbilt Orchestra, and aims to promote the music of underrepresented composers, especially historically underappreciated female composers, through her recital programming.
Ms. Johnson received her undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University, where she was awarded the Founder’s Medal for the Blair School of Music, the highest honor in her graduating class, and received her master’s degree from the Juilliard School where she served as concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra. In addition to the violin, she has studied the viola and baroque violin. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree with Paul Kantor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. When not performing, Mary Grace loves camping, backpacking, and experimenting with new recipes with her fiancé Keeheon.
Mary Grace Johnson
violin
Caitlin Mehrtens, harp
An avid supporter of contemporary art, Caitlin has worked extensively with composers and new music organizations to support and perform new work. Caitlin was the Outreach Director for “The Syndicate for the New Arts”, which is a non-profit organization based in Cleveland, Ohio, founded to promote local, contemporary art. Caitlin is a co-founder of the duo “Partly Cloudy” with bassist Austin Lewellen, and is an active member of the Transitory Movement and Sound Collective.
She has performed numerous times as a concerto soloist, most recently with the Akademisches Orchester in Leipzig, Germany at the Gewandhaus, and also with the National Repertory Orchestra, the Texas Music Festival Orchestra, the Ocean City Pops Orchestra, the Stars in the Classics Concert Series, and the Orchestra Society of Philadelphia.
Before earning her Master’s Degree at the Shepherd School of Music under Paula Page, Caitlin received her bachelor’s degree from the Oberlin Conservatory under Yolanda Kondonassis, with a major in Harp Performance and a second Independent Major called “Communication through Multi-Cultural Music and Movement”. Caitlin grew up in Thornton, Pennsylvania, and when she's not playing the harp, she can probably be found dancing, enjoying the outdoors, or daydreaming about owning a dog.
Photo by Natalie Gaynor Photography
Caitlin Mehrtens
harp and co-leader
Known for her dynamic artistry and thought-provoking recital programming, Indian pianist Chelsea de Souza is a Steinway Young Artist equally at home in the worlds of traditional and new music. The four-time All-India Piano Competition winner has been interviewed on NBC TV, performed live on public radio, and appeared in concerts across the US, Belgium, Germany, France, and India. 2023-24 season highlights include recitals and appearances for Minnesota Orchestra’s summer season, DACAMERA’s Beethoven for All series at the Menil Collection, Houston Methodist’s Center for Performing Arts Medicine, Cypress Creek FACE and Musiqa’s New Voices; she will also be featured as Artist-in-Residence on American Public Media’s Performance Today Rhone-Paris cruise.. A consummate chamber musician, Chelsea has performed at La Jolla Summerfest 2022, as a Young Artist with the DACAMERA Chamber Music and Jazz Series in Houston, and with award-winning groups “Alarm Will Sound” and the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. A committed performer of music by living composers, she has commissioned and premiered numerous works for solo piano and small ensemble at museums, colleges and festivals across the US. Inspired by a diverse range of musical influences, she strives to explore issues of identity and culture through her versatile, genre-defying artistry, most recently in her lecture-recital titled “The Silk Road”, which explored musical and cultural exchange between Western and Indian classical composers. She is currently pursuing a doctorate at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she has taught classes in music theory and hybrid music of the Indian diaspora.
Chelsea de souza
piano
Katie Hart, oboe
Originally from Albany, NY, Katie began playing the oboe at age 9 under the tutelage of Randall Ellis. She earned her Bachelor’s of Music in 2014 at the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Richard Killmer, and her Master’s of Music in 2016 at Rice University, studying with Robert Atherholt. Katie has attended such acclaimed music festivals as the National Orchestral Institute, the Banff Centre’s Masterclass and Orchestral programs, the Sarasota Music Festival, and the National Repertory Orchestra. She has also played with professional ensembles including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Florida Orchestra, the Louisiana Philharmonic, the Houston Ballet Orchestra, and the San Antonio Symphony. She is a core member of the Houston based new music ensemble Loop 38. Currently residing in Houston, TX, Katie maintains both a freelancing career and a sizable oboe studio.
Katie Hart
oboe
Cameron Kerl, trombone
Cameron Kerl is a trombonist based in Houston, TX. Working regularly as a performer and educator, he joined Loop38 as a core member in 2020. In addition, Cameron has performed with the Houston Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Spokane Symphony, New World Symphony, and Houston Jazz Orchestra since moving to the area in 2016. Cameron received his master’s degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in 2018, preceded by his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music in 2016. While a student at NU, he minored in jazz studies, performed in the pit orchestra for 15 musical theatre productions, and co-founded The Syndicate, a jazz/hip-hop/funk band that rose to prominence in northern Chicago’s music scene in 2013. During his time in the band, they opened for a wide array of musical acts including Chance The Rapper, Walk The Moon, Anderson .Paak, and Smash Mouth. Hailing from Puyallup, WA, Cameron enjoys playing racquet sports, voraciously listening to music, and making the most of a sunny day.
Cameron Kerl
trombone
Maxwell Paulus, horn
A native of Fresno, California, Maxwell earned his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, studying with Amy Sanchez. While at UCLA, he had the opportunity to collaborate with pianist Gloria Cheng in uclaFLUX, a weekly contemporary music seminar, performing works by Ligeti, Murail, Stockhausen, Schoenberg, Stucky, Augusta Read Thomas, John Adams, and Jean-Luc Darbellay. He was a member of the American Youth Symphony and the Young Musicians Foundation Chamber Orchestra, along with being an avid freelancer and substitute musician with the New World Symphony. Maxwell is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, studying with William VerMeulen. In his free time, he enjoys exercising, practicing and teaching yoga, and reading.
Maxwell Paulus
horn
Sergein Yap, viola
A native of Miami, Florida, violist Sergein studied with Ivo van der Werff at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, with Martha Katz at the New England Conservatory, and with Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2016, Mr. Yap was selected as a Zarin Mehta Fellow with the New York Philharmonic’s Global Academy Fellowship Program. Summer festival appearances include the Banff Centre, ENCORE School for Strings, Heifetz International Music Institute, Kneisel Hall, Music Academy of the West, the Perlman Music Program, Sarasota Music Festival, and Tanglewood Music Center.
Recent chamber music collaborations include performances with Brian Connelly, David Halen, Richie Hawley, Paul Katz, Roger Tapping, and David Coucheron. Mr. Yap has also been featured in recitals through the Carl Flesch Academy in Baden-Baden, Germany, and the Summer Academy Bad Leonfelden, Austria.
Mr. Yap performs regularly as a substitute with the Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet, and is a core member of Loop38 and the KINETIC Ensemble. Mr. Yap is on faculty at the University of St. Thomas and serves on the executive board of the Houston Viola Society. Highlights for the 2017-2018 Season include performances with the KINETIC Ensemble, Loop38, the Melos Sinfonia of London, England, MUSIQA, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, and Da Camera of Houston’s Young Artist Program.
Sergein Yap
viola
Craig Hauschildt, percussion
Percussionist and conductor Craig arrived in Houston shortly after Tropical Storm Allison to attend graduate school at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. In the ensuing period, he has weathered two hurricanes and wasn’t scared away; had the honor of working with students at the University of Houston and Texas A&M; programmed and performed chamber music in exceptional art spaces including the Menil Collection, the Rothko Chapel, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Galveston Artist Residency; led the Da Camera Young Artist Program; started a wonderful family with the love of his life; and is now leading an effort to infuse the arts more fully into the daily lives of students throughout the Houston Independent School District. His awe for this city grows with each passing day as his work brings him in contact with incredible people all over town.
A sucker for hemiolas and tritones, Mr. Hauschildt finds unceasing joy in discovering new music, sharing it with others, and using it to bring people together.
Photography by Richie Hawley.
Craig Hauschildt
percussion, conductor, and co-leader
Jamey Kollar, percussion
A strong advocate for the promotion and proliferation of new music, Mr. Kollar keeps an active performance schedule, most notably as the percussionist for the Houston based contemporary chamber music group Loop38. Mr. Kollar was selected to be a fellow at the 2017 Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival in North Adams, MA, where he performed and studied alongside young professional musicians and composers from around the world. Additionally, he attended the 2012 and 2013 Sō Percussion Summer Institute (SōSI), an intensive percussion chamber music festival held annually on the campus of Princeton University.
Mr. Kollar is a graduate of the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston,
earning his Masters of Music in Percussion Performance degree in the spring of 2012. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Moores School in 2010, with a Bachelor of Music degree in Percussion Performance.
Jamey Kollar
percussion
Jacob Schafer, violin
Violinist Jacob Schafer is a multifaceted performer dedicated to compelling, thoughtful presentations of works old and new. In addition to his work with Loop38, he is a core member of Houston’s Kinetic Ensemble and frequently performs with other ensembles in Houston such as MUSIQA and Rice University’s Hear&Now. As a Da Camera Young Artist from 2017 to 2019, he taught students in underserved public schools and performed at venues across the city including the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Houston Public Library, and the Galveston Artists Residency.
Recent performance highlights include chamber music with pianists Leon Fleisher and Lisa Moore, the American premieres of works by Julian Anderson and Oliver Knussen, and collaborations with composers Thomas Adès, John Harbison, Fred Lerdahl, and George Lewis. Summer festival appearances have included Tanglewood Music Center, Norfolk’s New Music Workshop, Composer’s Conference Contemporary Performance Institute, Sarasota Music Festival, Heifetz Institute, Castleman Quartet Program, and Brevard Music Center.
Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Mr. Schafer graduated from Yale University with a B.A. summa cum laude in Music and in Ethics, Politics, and Economics. Currently a student of Paul Kantor at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, he previously studied with Kyung Yu and Christian Teal and has coached chamber music with Norman Fischer, Ivo van der Werff, Andrew Jennings, Wendy Sharp, and Michael Friedmann. He received the M.M. in violin performance from Rice in 2018 and is now continuing his studies in Rice’s D.M.A. program.
Photography by Natalie Gaynor.
Jacob Schafer
violin and co-leader