Da Capo Chamber Players

Since its founding in 1970, the Naumburg-Award winning Da Capo Chamber Players has established itself as one of the foremost chamber ensembles in the United States. Hailed for its “agile, hair-raising” performances (The New York Times, 2005), Da Capo has long been a leader in contemporary music, pointing with pride to more than 100 works written especially for the ensemble.

Da Capo has recently scored several major triumphs in Russia, performing at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory’s “Moscow Forum,” the Moscow Autumn Festival, St. Petersburg’s “Sound Ways” Festival, and the Belarussian “Musical Autumn” in Minsk.

The ensemble’s New York concert series, presented annually since the group’s founding, has included gala concerts honoring major composers and groundbreaking programs that stretch the definition of chamber music.

Recent and upcoming highlights include critically-acclaimed performances of the music of George Perle and Arnold Schoenberg, music of George Crumb and Joan Tower (a unique collaboration with mime artist Yass Hakoshima), and CD recordings of music by composers Chinary Ung, Brian Fennelly, and Judith Shatin.

Da Capo Chamber Players currently consists of Meighan Stoops, clarinet; Patricia Spencer, flute; James Wilson, cello; Curtis Macomber, violin; and Blair McMillen, piano.

Curtis Macomber, Violin

Praised by The New York Times for his “thrilling virtuosity”, violinist Curtis Macomber is recognized as one of the most versatile musicians before the public today, equally at home playing Bach or Babbitt. He has performed in hundreds of premieres of works by Elliott Carter, Mario Davidovsky, George Perle, Charles Wuorinen, and Steven Mackey, among others. From 1982-93, he toured the United States and abroad as a member of the New World String Quartet. Macomber is violinist for the Da Capo Chamber Players, a founding member of the Apollo Trio and violinist for Speculum Musicae. His most recent recordings include Casting Ecstatic (CRI), the complete Grieg Violin Sonatas on Arabesque, and music of Steve Mackey (Interior Design) and the complete Brahms Sonatas, both for Bridge. Macomber is a member of the chamber music faculty of the Juilliard School, where he earned B.M., M.M., and D.M.A. degrees as a student of Joseph Fuchs. He is also on the violin faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, and has taught at the Tanglewood, Taos and Yellow Barn Music Festivals.

Steven Beck, Piano

Pianist Steven Beck continues to gather acclaim for his performances and recordings. Recent career highlights include performances of Beethoven’s variations and bagatelles at Bargemusic, where he first performed the Beethoven sonata cycle. In addition, this season he performs with the Orlando Philharmonic and repeats his annual performance of Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” on Christmas Eve at the Barge; this has become a New York institution. 

Steven Beck is an experienced performer of new music, having worked with Elliott Carter, Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, Charles Wuorinen, George Crumb, George Perle, and Fred Lerdahl, and performed with ensembles such as Speculum Musicae and the New York New Music Ensemble. He is a member of the Da Capo Chamber Players, the Knights, and the Talea Ensemble. He is also a member of Quattro Mani, a piano duo specializing in contemporary music. 

Mr. Beck’s discography includes Peter Lieberson’s third piano concerto (for Bridge Records) and a recording of Elliott Carter’s Double Concerto on Albany Records. The debut CD of his chamber ensemble “Pleasure is the Law” was released on Boston Records in 2009.

Patricia Spencer, Flute

Historic career peaks for flutist Patricia Spencer include premieres of Elliott Carter’sEnchanted Preludes, Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Kathinkas Gesang (US premiere), Harvey Sollberger’s Riding the Wind, and Shulamit Ran’s concerto, Voices. In August 2009 she gave the world premiere of Shirish Korde’s Lalit, written for her and renownedtabla player Samir Chatterjee. Other career highlights include the Boulez Sonatine for the Bard Music Festival, Joan Tower’s Flute Concerto for the National Flute Association Convention in Nashville, and a guest appearance with the Avalon String Quartet in Mario Davidovsky’s Quartetto for the Washington Square Music Society.  Recent New York Times reviews have cited her work in Tania León’s Alma, and her “passionate, warm-blooded performance” of the Berio Sequenza. Spencer has commissioned dozens of pieces, including Thea Musgrave’s now-classic Narcissus and Judith Shatin’s Kairos(Neuma Records). Ms. Spencer has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music. She teaches flute and chamber music at Bard College and Hofstra University.

For more information, please visit Patricia Spencer’s Home Page.

Marianne Gythfeldt, Clarinet

Clarinetist Marianne Gythfeldt has distinguished herself in chamber music, orchestral and contemporary music performance on the international stage. She has played a central role in the music scene of New York City over the past 25 years as an ensemble player, an electroacoustic music soloist, and educator. Winning the Naumburg chamber music award with New Millennium Ensemble in 1995 launched a wide-ranging career as clarinetist with Ensemble Sospeso, SEM ensemble, Absolute Ensemble, Collide-o-scope Music, Zephyros Winds and Talea Ensemble. As a freelance performer, she has performed with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and many others. Academic positions include William Paterson University, the University of Delaware and Brooklyn College where she is currently head of woodwinds. Ms. Gythfeldt’s recent solo CD release of electroacoustic works written for her on the New Focus label was called “…stunning, Gythfeldt is setting a new standard for her instrument here.” Marianne can also be heard on recordings by CBS Masterworks, CRI, Albany, Innova, New World Records, Koch and Mode Records.

Chris Gross, Cello

Chris Gross is an active performer in the New York contemporary classical scene, having premiered works by Pierre Boulez, John Zorn as well as Milton Babbitt’s work for solo cello More Melismata. Following his performance of Brian Ferneyhough’s Time and Motion Study II for cello and electronics, The New York Times wrote that “…for 20 minutes this skinny young cellist…seemed like a musical master of the universe….” 

​He is a founding member of the Talea Ensemble, whose recording of works by Faust Romitelli received recognition as one of the Top 10 Classical Albums of 2012 by TimeOut NY, and he has appeared as a guest with various ensembles including I.C.E., Cygnus, Flux Quartet, and at venues including Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Disney Hall, and Bargemusic.

Also active as an educator, Chris Gross is on faculty at Lehigh University and is a Teaching Artist with the New York Philharmonic. He has participated in numerous residencies at universities across the country, and given lectures on contemporary string performance at Harvard University and Brooklyn College. He is currently a C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow at The Juilliard School, completing his dissertation on the cello works of Charles Wuorinen.