Artists

Daniel Lee

Award-winning violinist Daniel S. Lee enjoys a varied career as a soloist, leader, collaborator, and educator. Praised for his “ravishing vehemence” and “soulful performance” (The New York Times), he has appeared as a soloist and leader with Early Music New York, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Quodlibet Ensemble, and Yale Schola Cantorum, among others. He is the founding director of the critically-acclaimed period ensemble, the Sebastians. As a piccolo violin specialist, he has performed as a soloist in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and Cantata 140, and has given the modern-day premiere of his own transcription of Johann Pfeiffer’s concerto. He has studied at the Juilliard School (B.M.), Yale School of Music (M.M. and Art.Dip.), and University of Connecticut (D.M.A), and has given lectures and masterclasses at Connecticut College, Purchase College (SUNY), University of Kansas, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was recently appointed as a faculty member at Yale School of Music. www.danielslee.com

Short bio

Praised for his “ravishing vehemence” and “soulful performance” (The New York Times), violinist Daniel S. Lee has appeared as a soloist and leader with Early Music New York, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Quodlibet Ensemble, and Yale Schola Cantorum, among others. He is the founding director of the critically-acclaimed period ensemble, the Sebastians. He has given lectures and masterclasses at Connecticut College, Manhattan School of Music, Purchase College (SUNY), University of Kansas, and UNC Chapel Hill. He is currently on the faculty at Yale School of Music. www.danielslee.com

Nicholas DiEugenio

Praised for the “rapturous poetry” in his playing (American Record Guide) and as an “excellent” and “evocative” violinist (The New York Times), Nicholas DiEugenio leads a versatile performing life as a chamber musician, leader, and soloist in music ranging from early baroque to current commissions. In this capacity, he performs in venues such as Glinka Hall in St. Petersburg, Trinity Wall St., Freiburg’s Ensemblehaus, and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. Together with pianist and duo partner Mimi Solomon, Nicholas has created Unraveling Beethoven, a cycle of all ten violin sonatas combined with response works from composers Tonia Ko, Jesse Jones, Robert Honstein, D.K. Garner, and Allen Anderson. Released in 2018 on the New Focus label, Unraveling Beethoven was chosen as the Global Music Awards’ "best of show.” His recording of the complete Schumann violin sonatas with fortepiano with Chi-Chen Wu is available on the Musica Omnia label. His August 2017 release on the New Focus label with Mimi Solomon, critically lauded as “a touching, committed tribute” (I Care If You Listen), is an homage to the late Pullitzer Prize-winner Steven Stucky.

A two-time prize-winner at the prestigious Fischoff competition, Nicholas dedicates his priorities as a performer to chamber music. He is violinist of the Chanterelle Trio, a core member of The Sebastians, and has collaborated with Laurie Smukler, Joel Krosnick, Joseph Lin, Peter Salaff, and Ani Kavafian. As a baroque violinist, he has worked with Robert Mealy and Petra Mullejans, and has also performed alongside luminaries Jaap ter Linden and Kathie Stewart. He is an alum of the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, where he was deeply influenced by pianist Seymour Lipkin.

Regarded as an inspiring teacher, Nicholas is currently Assistant Professor of Violin at UNC Chapel Hill, and is co-artistic director of MYCO, a non-profit chamber music organization for pre-college students. During the summer, Nicholas teaches at the Kinhaven Music School in Vermont. Nicholas holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music (B.M, M.M), and the Yale School of Music (D.M.A., A.D.). Nicholas performs on a baroque violin made by Karl Dennis in 2011, and on a 1734 violin made by Dom Nicolo Amati.

Short bio

Praised as an “excellent” and “evocative” violinist (The New York Times), Nicholas DiEugenio leads a versatile performing life as a chamber musician, leader, and soloist in music ranging from early baroque to current commissions. Together with pianist Mimi Solomon, Nicholas has recorded the albums Into the Silence (2017) and Unraveling Beethoven (2018) on the New Focus label. His award-winning recording of the complete Schumann violin sonatas with fortepiano is available on the Musica Omnia label. Regarded as an inspiring teacher, Nicholas is currently Assistant Professor of Violin at UNC Chapel Hill. Nicholas holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music (B.M, M.M) and the Yale School of Music (D.M.A., A.D.). As a core member of the Sebastians, Nicholas performs on a violin made by Karl Dennis in 2011, and also on a 1734 violin made by Dom Nicolo Amati. www.nicholasdieugenio.com

Ezra Seltzer

Hailed for his “scampering virtuosity” (American Record Guide) and “superb” playing (The New York Times), cellist Ezra Seltzer is the principal cellist of the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, New York Baroque Incorporated, and Early Music New York and a founding member of the Sebastians. He has frequently appeared as guest principal cellist of Musica Angelica and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, where he earned praise for his “delicate elegance and rambunctious spirit” (Twin Cities Pioneer Press) in performances of all six Brandenburg Concertos. Other performances with the SPCO include Handel’s Messiah with Jonathan Cohen and J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Paul McCreesh. With Musica Angelica, he appeared in performances of J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion in Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and also performed in an international tour with soprano Emma Kirkby and countertenor Daniel Taylor. This summer he will be the associate principal cellist at the Carmel Bach Festival and will also appear as a soloist with Apollo’s Fire in concerts in Cleveland and New York. He attended Yale University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in history and Master of Music in cello, and graduated from the inaugural class of Juilliard’s historical performance program.

Jeffrey Grossman

Keyboardist and conductor Jeffrey Grossman specializes in vital, engaging performances of music of the past, through processes that are intensely collaborative and historically informed. As the artistic director of the acclaimed baroque ensemble the Sebastians, this season Jeffrey directs concerts including Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Handel’s Messiah from the organ and harpsichord, both in collaboration with TENET Vocal Artists, and performs Bach’s six sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord with Daniel S. Lee. In recent seasons, Jeffrey has performed with TENET, the Green Mountain Project, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Quodlibet, the Boston Early Music Festival, and numerous other ensembles across the country. For the past thirteen seasons, he has also toured parts of the rural United States with artists of the Piatigorsky Foundation, performing outreach concerts to underserved communities, most recently in Wyoming and southeast Alaska. Jeffrey can be heard on the Avie, Gothic, Naxos, Albany, Soundspells, Métier, and MSR Classics record labels. He was recently appointed a faculty member at Yale University, where he teaches performance practice and works with graduate voice students.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Jeffrey holds degrees from Harvard College (AB in Music cum laude), the Juilliard School (MM in Historical Performance), and Carnegie Mellon University (MM in Conducting). His principal teachers include Robert Page and Jameson Marvin in conducting; Louis Nagel in piano; Kenneth Weiss, Don O. Franklin, and Barbara Weiss in harpsichord. In addition to his performing activities, Grossman is also active as a music engraver (primarily using the SCORE music publishing system) and has prepared editions for many major publishers and ensembles. In 2014, his engraved score of Elliott Carter’s final composition won first prize in the chamber ensembles division of the Music Publishers Association Paul Revere Awards for Graphic Excellence. Jeffrey currently resides in New York City. www.jeffreygrossman.com

Short bio

Keyboardist and conductor Jeffrey Grossman specializes in vital, engaging performances of music of the past, through processes that are intensely collaborative and historically informed. As the artistic director of the acclaimed baroque ensemble the Sebastians, in recent seasons Jeffrey directed concerts including Bach’s St. John and St. Matthew Passions and Handel’s Messiah from the organ and harpsichord, in collaboration with TENET Vocal Artists. Jeffrey is a frequent performer with TENET, the Green Mountain Project, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and numerous other ensembles across the country. He was musical director for the 2019 Boston Early Music Festival Young Artists Training Program, where he conducted Handel’s Orlando from the harpsichord. For thirteen seasons, he toured portions of the rural United States with artists of the Piatigorsky Foundation, performing outreach concerts to underserved communities. Jeffrey can be heard on the Avie, Gothic, Naxos, Albany, Soundspells, Métier, and MSR Classics record labels. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he holds degrees from Harvard College, the Juilliard School, and Carnegie Mellon University. Jeffrey teaches performance practice at Yale University. www.jeffreygrossman.com