CellistJoel Becktell received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees with honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was also awarded the Rubenstein Prize for Excellence in Cello Performance. His former teachers include Anne Cole, Alan Harris, and Stephen Geber. He has been a member of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Principal Cellist with the Austin Symphony, and cellist with the Moveable Feast and the Nichols Quartet. Joel is a founding member of the Albuquerque-based Movable Sol concert series, and the early music period instrument concert series BWV. In addition to performing with ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, he serves as Assistant Principal Cellist of the Santa Fe Symphony. He performs internationally on modern and baroque cello and violoncello piccolo. He has recorded for the Marquis Classics, Revel Records, Parma, and Blue Griffin labels. Among his CDs are Revel, a program of diverse works for cello and piano with Carla McElhaney, and Volume 1 of J.S. Bach’s Solo Suites, featuring Suites 1-3 performed twice, once on baroque cello, and once on modern cello.

Joel is also active as a studio artist, with works in ceramics, photography, and painting in private collections worldwide. His paintings are represented by the Malkerson Gallery 408. Artworks, CDs, and videos of past performances may be seen on his website: www.joelbecktell.com.

Pianist Amy Greer is an active performer, both as a soloist and in collaboration with singers and instrumentalists, and works regularly with the Santa Fe Symphony and the New Mexico Philharmonic. Recognized for her creative approach to traditional music lessons, she has maintained successful piano studios in New Mexico, Massachusetts, Texas, and Missouri and gives workshops for teachers that focus on the psychology of learning through a musician’s lens.

A writer and frequent contributor to music journals, her articles and essays have appeared in American Music Teacher, Clavier Companion, Spiritus, and other publications. With composer Dennis Alexander, she is the co-author of Repertoire by Rote published by Alfred Music, and she writes a blog about practicing at tenthousandstars.net.

She holds a Master of Music in piano performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a Master of Arts in educational psychology from the University of New Mexico.

Amy keeps house and tends a garden for one man, two sweet cats, and three feisty betta fish.

Violinist Ruxandra Simionescu-Marquardt attended the ‘George Enescu’ School of Music and Conservatory of Music in Bucharest, where she was profoundly influenced by professors Stefan Gheorghiu and Modest Iftinchi. As a young musician, she won several prizes and medals in international competitions such as “Concertino” Prague, Henri Wieniawski, Tibor Varga, All-Romania Prize (twice) and participated in the Yehudi Menuhin Competition. In 1986, she left Communist Romania to participate in the Indianapolis Violin Competition, defecting to the U.S. immediately afterward. She continued her studies at Indiana University with Joseph Gingold and at Syracuse University, where she taught for eight years. In 1988, she became the youngest Associate Concertmaster in the U.S., a position she held for 13 years. She was also Principal Second Violin and Concertmaster of the Jacksonville Symphony in Florida and appeared as guest Concertmaster of the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the New Mexico Philharmonic. She has played under many noted conductors, including Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Fabio Mechetti, James DePriest, Raymond Leppard, and Andrew Litton. Ms. Simionescu-Marquardt’s solo performances include appearances with the Bucharest Philharmonic, the Bucharest Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Syracuse Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Gainesville Chamber Orchestra, Boston Virtuosi, Coastal Symphony of Georgia and the San Marco Chamber Society.

As a chamber musician, she has participated in the Bayreuth Festival, Skaneateles Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, and the Grand Tetons Festival. Ms. Simionescu-Marquardt is a dedicated and highly prized violin teacher. She has maintained successful studios for the last 25 years and has prepared several young musicians for competitions and noted conservatories around the country. She is also highly sought after as a coach and clinician for musicians preparing for auditions in professional and youth orchestras. In 2012, she moved to the beautiful state of New Mexico and lives in Rio Rancho with her husband, Paul Marquardt, a composer and pianist. They appear frequently as musical partners in numerous duo recitals and chamber music concerts.