Artists

Micah Behr (composer, viola, and piano) 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, 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 and schools across the state. Philip is also principal cellist of the Dubuque 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.

A passionate and dedicated teacher, Philip serves as Assistant Adjunct Professor of Cello at the University of Northern Iowa. Philip also has a private studio and does regular clinical teaching around the midwest.

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 went on to complete a Master of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison 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,” and by Opera UK for “a sound of remarkable purity,” she is a prolific vocalist, cellist, recording artist, and educator.

Sarah’s numerous career highlights include performing Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato with the Mark Morris Dance Group, serenading the Mona Lisa with John Zorn’s Madrigals at the Louvre in Paris, and recording the role of 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. Other notable projects include Prince Ozias in Scarlatti’s La Giuditta with Chicago’s Haymarket Opera, the Strauss Four Last Songs with The Experiential Orchestra, and David Lang’s Song of Songs at London’s Barbican Centre.

Sarah is a member of Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists that donates a percentage of their concert fees to non-profit organizations. Through Beyond Artists, she supports the Natural Resources Defense Council, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, and the Animal Welfare Institute. Sarah is the Artistic Director of the Handel Aria Competition and serves on the voice faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. www.sarahbrailey.com

Madlen H. Breckbill (Viola, Violin) has worked in Europe as an orchestral trainee with Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the violist of the TAÏGA String Quartet in Denmark and as a chamber music trainee with Villa-Musica in Rheinland Pfalz. As an orchestral player, Madlen toured China and Japan, and performed under the batons of Sir Roger Norrington, Leon Fleisher, Christian Eschenbach, and Ivan Fischer. As a chamber musician, Madlen has performed across Europe and North America collaborating with Martin Beaver, Ernst Kovacic, Steven Dann, and cellist Richard Lester (just to name a few).

In 2019, Madlen founded the Stoughton Chamber Music Festival– now called Samtalä | Musicians in Dialogue for which she is the artistic director, facilitating chamber music collaborations dedicated to diverse and experiential programing.

Madlen has performed with trio with(out), Bach Dancing Dynamite Society, Midsummer Music, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, The Happenstancers and West End Micro Music Festival. She is a regular player with the Madison Bach Musicians and newly appointed principal viola of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra.

Madlen holds a BM and MM from UW Madison, and an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School in Toronto. Her primary teachers include violinists Eugene Purdue, David Perry, Paul Kantor, Erica Raum, Barry Shiffman, and violists Steven Dann and Sally Chisholm.

Alex Norris is happily immersed in a diverse and exciting life as a chamber musician. Currently, he resides in Green Bay, WI, as a member of the Griffon String Quartet. In addition, 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 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. He has been on faculty at St. Ambrose University and Abilene Christian University, and he taught with the Quad City Symphony private lesson program. He received a BA from the UW–Madison and an MM from Texas Tech University, studying with Felicia Moye and Annie Chalex-Boyle, respectively.

Prize winner of international competitions, Polish cellist Magdalena Sas performs across Europe, Asia and the Americas, and appeared in renowned concert halls such as Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, BOZAR in Brussels, Witold Lutoslawski Studio in Warsaw, NCPA in Mumbai. She is a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship and Paul Collins Wisconsin Distinguished Fellowship, and a graduate of music conservatories in Poland, Belgium, and Austria. In 2011-12 she was a member of the acclaimed European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA) in Vienna, she is also a recent graduate of the prestigious Global Leaders Program, an Ivy League curated Executive Education program for impact-focused Art Entrepreneurs.

Magdalena presented masterclasses and workshops across the globe in collaboration with MusAid Organization, El Sistema, Global Leaders Program, International Cello Institute, Mehli Mehta Music Foundation and Antigua & Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestras, to mention a few. Currently, she is an Adjunct Professor of Music at the Bemidji State University in Minnesota. Magdalena is the founder and director of the Third Coast Chamber Collective, a chamber music group devoted to promoting the transformative power of chamber music through inspiring performances, residencies and workshops.

Australian-born Katrin Talbot’s collection The Square Footage of Awe was recently released from Kelsay Books. The Devil Orders A Latte (Fernwood Press) and Falling Asleep at the Circus (Turning Point Books) and The Waiting Room for the Imperfect Alibis (Kelsay Books) are her other full-length collections. She has seven chapbooks include Wrong Number (Finishing Line Press), The Blind Lifeguard and Freeze-Dried Love, from Finishing Line Press, Attached: Poetry of Suffix, The Little Red Poem & noun’d, verb, from dancing girl press, and St. Cecilia’s Daze, from Parallel Press, two Pushcart Prize nominations and quite a few pairs of swim goggles. She is also a violist and photographer.
www.katrintalbot.com Instagram: @ktalbot21

Aaron Fried is an in-demand cellist, arranger, and educator based in Madison. He has appeared on music series in his community and beyond, including Madison Jazz Festival, Summerfest, Midsummer’s Music, Cello Springs, Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, Colorado Mahlerfest, and Chamber Music Silicon Valley. As an orchestral player, he has performed with Ensemble Aubergine, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Opera, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, Rockford Symphony Orchestra, Traverse City Philharmonic, and Cleveland Opera.

Recently, Aaron’s Klezmer Octet was premiered on “Violins of Hope” instruments that escaped the holocaust. Other recent arrangements include an expanded Bach Double Violin Concerto for WYSO Music Makers, a pair of jazz string duos for a festival in Alabama, a reimagined Goldberg Variations for Samtalä, and various works for his students at Madison Cello Ensemble, spanning fiddle tunes to Tchaikovsky to the Rolling Stones to K-Pop Demon Hunters.

Dedicated to pushing boundaries as a multi-style musician and improvisor, he has performed with projects such as Hanah Jon Taylor Artet, Mr. Chair, Una Historia de Afro Cuban Jazz, Five One Experimental Orchestra, and UW Bridge Ensemble. As part of his doctoral dissertation, he wrote a jazz supplement to the Suzuki Cello School and continues to expand this pedagogical approach.

Aaron serves on the faculties of WYSO, Eagle School, and Madison Cello Ensemble. He previously studied at The Boston Conservatory, UW-Madison, and Kent State University, where he subsequently served as adjunct faculty for three years.
more info at: aaronfried.com

A spirited interpreter of chamber music, Egyptian-American violist Laila Zakzook (she/her) is a member of the Grammy Award-nominated Isaura String Quartet and is seen frequently at festivals across North America. Recent appearances include performances at the Rockport Chamber Music, Prototype, Music By The Sea, and West End Micro Music Festivals, where she has worked with artists such as the Grammy Award-winning Attacca Quartet, violist Steven Dann, violinist Barry Shiffman, and cellist Andres Diaz. Zakzook is also a core musician at Samtalä| Musicians in Dialogue in Stoughton, Wisconsin.
As a performer of contemporary music, Laila has presented numerous world and North American premieres, including works by Thomas Adès, Derrick Skye, Nahre Sol, Caroline Shaw, and David T. Little, among others. Zakzook’s performance of Thomas Adès’ Alchymia was featured on a recent broadcast of About Time with Tom Allen on CBC Radio. The 2026/2027 season will include the world premiere of works by Leilehua Lanzilotti & Niall Tarō Ferguson.
A versatile artist, Laila has toured internationally with Lincoln Center Stage, and performed alongside Father John Misty, Thumpasaurus, and members of Chicago and Toto.
Born in Los Angeles, Laila returned to the city after studying at Oberlin Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, and the Glenn Gould School. Locally, Laila has performed with the Laós Chamber Music Series, and with Bridge to Everywhere for LA Philharmonic’s Noon to Midnight concert series at Walt Disney Hall.

Esperé Eckard-Lee is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and performer based in southern Wisconsin, playing piano, bass, accordion, guitar, and ukulele. As a musician, Esperé has performed countless children’s shows with Madison native Ken Lonnquist, and was a core member of the O’Darby Irish Folk Band. Esperé has also released an album of his own, composed music for Meta, and contributed musical ideas and parts to studio projects with artists Kobi Jonz and Angélica Garcia, among others.

Esperé has also performed with many local theater groups around southern Wisconsin, and in 2024, attended Joffrey Ballet’s Musical Theater Intensive in New York, where he worked with Matthew Prescott and Max Baud, and placed second in the Joffrey Musical Theater’s Got Talent competition.

Esperé continues to expand his musical interests, and currently studies piano with Vincent Fuh and double bass with Ben Ferris.

Board of Directors