Artistic Directors Laura Bossert and Terry King
“Everywhere I go I see an opportunity to make a difference”
Grammy®-nominated cellist Terry King, acclaimed as “A wonderful cellist"…"a master player" …"a master technician"… Following his debut, The New York Times proclaimed that his playing "could not be faulted…playing with relish and technical aplomb."
As a protégé of the legendary Gregor Piatigorsky, he served as his assistant in the famed master classes at the University of Southern California. King wrote a highly praised biography Gregor Piatigorsky: The Life and Career of the Virtuoso Cellist (McFarland, 2010)
Dr. King is a devoted teacher - with students placed worldwide in orchestras and in the teaching profession - as well as a unique cellist, chamber musician and conductor. Among his recent student’s accolades is the Gold Medalist in the XIII Tchaikovsky Competition, Sergey Antonov.
His repertoire features the classic works for cello including unknown masterworks he has found throughout the world.
Many prominent American composers have written works for King including Roy Harris, Paul Creston, Lou Harrison, and Otto Luening; he has also premiered solo works by Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson, Henry Cowell, Miklós Rózsa and Lukas Foss. Mr. King is a member of the Mirecourt Trio, specialists in new repertoire, and has served on the faculties of the San Francisco Conservatory, UC Berkeley, California State University at Fullerton, Grinnell College, and the University of Iowa. He currently teaches at the Setnor School of Music at Syracuse University, the Longy School of Music of Bard College and the Hartt School. In the summer months he teaches at the Castleman Quartet Program and is Artistic Director of LyricaBoston of which its LyricaFest chamber music program brings together highly talented young professionals for an intense concert preparation.
His recording of the complete Mendelssohn works was praised in Fanfare Magazine, "of all versions this is the most consistently thought out and expressively realized…intensely poetic" and was also the preferred recording mentioned on the nationally syndicated radio program, "First Hearing." His groundbreaking series CELLO AMERICA has been met with similar praise worldwide. Terry King records for MCA, CRI, Innova, Genesis, Orion, A&M, Music and Arts, Bay Cities, Albany, Troy, Varese Sarabande, Sony and Cinnabar Records.
"…a master technician both in digital facility and in his richly varied tone."
—High Fidelity Magazine
"…a master player…perfectly polished performances…magnificent playing… can coax oceans of smooth, rich sounds from the cello."
—The New Records
"...to the instrument born…playing with passion, sweep and drive."
—Los Angeles Times
"…played with relish and technical aplomb…performances could not be faulted."
—New York Times
Laura Anne Bossert, violinist/violist, a Silver Medalist in the Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition, has earned recognition for her artistry as a soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. She is also one of the most respected and sought after teachers of her generation.
Ms. Bossert is the Associate Professor of violin and viola at the Setnor School of Music at Syracuse University. In the summer months, she is on the faculty of the Castleman Quartet Program, LyricaFest, ArtsAhimsa and the Wellesley Composer’s Conference. Her students hold positions in many wide ranging institutions such as the San Francisco, Portland, Milwaukee, Toronto and Knoxville Symphonies, Handel and Haydn Society, BBC Radio Orchestra, Helsinki, Santiago and Royal Philharmonics, the Hausmann & Cecilia String Quartets, (Banff’s 2010 International Quartet First prize winners), A Far Cry, New England Conservatory, Santa Fe Opera, Community Music Works, The Castleman Quartet Program, San Diego State University and Longy School of Music. They have been awarded top prizes in international and national competitions such as Young Concert Artists, Fischoff, Spohr, the Banff & Miami String Quartet Competitions and the Music Teacher’s National Association (MTNA).
Ms. Bossert has appeared in collaboration with Elmar Oliveira, Joseph Silverstein, Paul Neubauer, Kim Kashkashian, David Jolley, Joseph Robinson and with ensembles such as the Muir and Lark String Quartets, Amelia, Raphael and Mirecourt Piano Trios. She has toured as an improv violinist with David Amram and Chuck Mangione, and was a frequent guest artist, with the Boston based ensemble, Cello Chix. Ms. Bossert started her early career as an orchestral player, having played with the Utah Ballet Orchestra (Ballet West), and as guest concertmaster of the Tucson and Oklahoma Symphony Orchestras. Currently, she leads the Lyrica Chamber Orchestra.
Recent performing highlights include chamber music appearances with David Finckel, the Ellipsis Piano Trio, Con Affetto & the Hausmann String Quartets, Vocollage and a debut recording sponsored by the Rebecca Clarke Society of the violin duo repertoire. In the spring of 2017, Laura will visit the Eastman School of Music for her 6th teaching residency.
Bossert resides in Syracuse, New York and Lincoln, Massachusetts with her husband, cellist Terry King and their very loved Brittany spaniel dog, Buddy. With Terry they co-direct LyricaFest, a chamber music festival for college and conservatory students now in its 20th season.