A dynamic early music quartet composed of members from the élite inaugural class of Juilliard's ground-breaking program in historical performance, PHOENIXtail presents innovative concert experiences celebrating primarily music of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. All four virtuosi have distinguished solo résumés and perform regularly across the United States as well as overseas. PHOENIXtail recently received the distinction of being the sole ensemble chosen to perform in Juilliard Commencement 2011.
about
Beth Wenstrom's performances have been described by The New Yorker as “elegant and sensual, stylishly wild.” As an early music specialist, Ms. Wenstrom can be heard performing in Apollo’s Fire, Trinity Wall Street Baroque Orchestra, Concert Royal, Early Music New York (Fred Renz, director), and Clarion Music Society. As soloist and concertmaster she has performed under the direction of William Christie and Christopher Hogwood in Juilliard415. Beth is a founding member of the ensemble Wayward Sisters, specializing in music of the early baroque. In 2011, Wayward Sisters won Early Music America’s Naxos Recording Competition. In addition to performing, Beth is a committed and dynamic pedagogue. She has taught undergraduates at Stony Brook University and has been invited to coach baroque ensembles at Rutgers University and SUNY Stony Brook. Born, raised and musically trained in Fairbanks, Alaska, Ms. Wenstrom continued her education with a BM from Oberlin Conservatory, an MM from NEC and a DMA from SUNY Stony Brook. Most recently, she received a Graduate Diploma from The Juilliard School in the inaugural class of the historical performance division, where she studied baroque violin with Cynthia Roberts and Monica Huggett.
Priscilla Smith has been heard throughout the United States, Europe, and in South America performing music from the 11th century to today. As an early oboist and recorder player, she has appeared with Portland Baroque Orchestra, Musica Angelica, Trinity (Wall St.) Baroque Orchestra, The Handel & Haydn Society, Concert Royal, Baroque Band, the Clarion Society, Juilliard Baroque, the Sebastian Chamber Players, and Orchester Wiener Akademie. As a renaissance wind specialist, she is a member of Piffaro, the Renaissance Band, and has also appeared with The Waverly Consort, Early Music New York, Ex Umbris and Istanpitta. As a member of Piffaro, she has collaborated with Capilla Flamenca, Psallentes, The Crossing, The Newberry Consort, The Concord Ensemble, Parthenia, The Folger Consort, and ARTEK. As soprano and multi-instrumentalist, Smith has premiered works of Mario Davidovsky, Kile Smith, Matthew Greenbaum, Mena Hanna, and Frank Brickle. Her performances have been called “spirited” by The New York Times and “particularly fine” by the Washington Post. Smith is a graduate of Temple University, where she was a modern oboe student of Louis Rosenblatt, and The Juilliard School, where she was a baroque oboe student of Gonzalo Ruiz. She is on the faculty of Temple University, where she directs the Early Music Ensemble.
Lauded for his “beauty of tone and keenness of musicianship” (Opera Britannia), cellist Ezra Seltzer graduated from the inaugural class of Juilliard's historical performance program. This season he has performed with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, at the 4x4 Baroque Music Festival, and in Helicon Foundation concerts. As principal cellist of Musica Angelica, he toured the west coast with Emma Kirkby and Daniel Taylor. He also recently completed a tour of Mexico as principal cellist of the Orchester Wiener Akademie. Ezra is co-founder and principal cellist of the Sebastian Chamber Players, who were finalists of the 2011 York International Early Music Competition and the 2011 Early Music America/Naxos Recording Competition. He attended Yale University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in history and Master of Music in cello, studying with Aldo Parisot and Ole Akahoshi. He was also a post-graduate fellow in the Yale Baroque Ensemble under the direction of Robert Mealy.
Jeffrey Grossman’s extensive musical activities include frequent performances as a harpsichordist, pianist, and conductor. Acclaimed for his musicality in every style, he has been praised as a “sensitive and fluent accompanist” of “flair and conviction” in Fanfare magazine. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Harvard College, a Masters of Music in conducting from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Masters of Music in historical performance from The Juilliard School. Jeffrey performs regularly with numerous groups in the New York metropolitan area, including the Sebastian Chamber Players, Bach Players of Holy Trinity, Concitato, Fire and Folly, PHOENIXtail, Juilliard415, and Callisto Ascending. For the past six years, he has also enjoyed touring parts of the rural United States with artists of the Piatigorsky Foundation. He can be heard in recordings as a soloist and chamber musician on the Naxos, Albany, Métier, and MSR Classics record labels. He currently resides in New York City. For more information, please visit his website: www.jeffreygrossman.com
calendar
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| Our New York premiere as an ensemble was at Christ and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Thursday, January 19 at 8pm, with music of Couperin, Handel, Telemann, Fontana, and Merula. Click here for the concert's program. |
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Our second concert was on Sunday, May 13 at 3pm—music by Purcell, Matteis, Handel, Corelli, Geminiani, Babell, Avison, and Boyce—at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. Special thanks to Holy Trinity’s cantor, Rick Erickson, for hosting us. Click here to read the concert program. |
media
François Couperin (1668–1733): La Piémontoise (from Les Nations, 1726): Sonade (Gravement - Vivement - Gravement - Vivement, et marqué - Lentement - Air: Gracieusement - Air II - Gravement et marqué - Légèrement) (download mp3) [performance]
George Frideric Handel (1685–1759): Trio Sonata in G minor, op. 2, no. 5, HWV 390a (London, 1730): Larghetto / Allegro (download mp3)
George Frideric Handel (1685–1759): Trio Sonata in G minor, op. 2, no. 6, HWV 391 (London, 1730): Arioso / Allegro (download mp3) [performance]
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767): Quartet in E minor, from Musique de Table, TWV 43:e2 (Hamburg, 1733): Allegro (download mp3) [performance]
F. Couperin: L’Impériale (from Les Nations, 1726): Sonade (Gravement - Vivement et marque - Gravement et marqué - Tres lentement - Légèrement - Rondement - Vivement)
contact
Please email info@phoenixtail.com or fill out this form to get in touch with us.
press kit
Click here to download a PDF (1.0 MB) which includes the PHOENIXtail logo, blurb, and performer bios.
High-quality headshot JPGs:
Click here to download a print-quality version of our logo (0.5 MB).
