About Us
Our mission is to bring together Knoxville’s exceptional musicians with dedicated audience members to create inspirational chamber music experiences.
Meet the September 26th Artists
Evie Chen
Evie Chen is an accomplished violinist from Palo Alto, California. She made her solo debut with the Fremont Symphony Orchestra at age 8 after being the youngest to win the Nafisa Taghioff Award in their Young Artists Competition. Since then, she has received recognition performing concertos with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, California Youth Symphony, Eastman Philharmonia, the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, and the Houston Symphony Orchestra.
Evie is also deeply interested in exploring new ways of bringing diverse music to new audiences, advocating for inclusive and holistic musical programming. She has inspired interest in contemporary and folk-based compositions, performing works like Einojuani Rautavaara’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1977) and premiering Erberk Erylmaz’s Violin Concerto No. 2, a piece which was written for her.
Evie received her MM at Rice University with Paul Kantor and is working towards her DMA. She also earned a BA in psychology at the University of Rochester and a BM in violin performance at the Eastman School of Music, where she was awarded the Performer’s Certificate under the tutelage of Mikhail Kopelman.
Sarah Ringer
Sarah Ringer is a performer and educator whose enthusiasm for creating musical connection through chamber music has led to collaborations throughout her career in New England and the Southeast. Currently, she performs with the Inner Voices String Quartet and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, and is a frequent guest artist in local concert series such as Friends of Music and the Arts, the Cathedral Concert series, and Knoxville Chamber Music Society. In addition to private teaching, highlights of her coaching experience include collegiate-level work with student ensembles as faculty at Covenant College, and coaching positions with the Knoxville Symphony Youth Chamber Music Program and the Residential Summer String Camp in Tasmania, Australia.
Sarah holds a Master in Music in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from the Hartt School in Hartford, CT.
Hillary Herndon
Violist Hillary Herndon has earned a national reputation for her brilliant playing, insightful teaching and creative programming. She has been heard on NPR and PBS and has collaborated with some of the world’s foremost musicians, including Carol Wincenc, James VanDemark and Itzhak Perlman, who described Hillary as “having it all… a gifted teacher and an excellent musician.”
Ms. Herndon teaches at The University of Tennessee, Montecito Music Festival and the Viola Intensive Workshops. She has recently been elected to serve on the American Viola Society Executive Board and has published teaching articles in the American String Teacher Association Journal and the Journal of the American Viola Society. Ms. Herndon’s 2-CD set of recordings by women composers, La Viola, is on the MSR Classics label. Ms. Herndon holds degrees from Eastman and Juilliard.
Max Geissler
Praised for his “superb artistry and beautiful sound”, cellist Max Geissler joined the ETSU Department of Music in 2023. He serves as the cellist and Co-Artistic Director of the mixed instrumentation new music ensemble Latitude 49 and is a highly sought-after chamber collaborator and educator. Before his Doctoral studies at Rice as Desmond Hoebig’s teaching assistant, he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan working with Richard Aaron.
Max is a lively advocate of the chamber music literature and takes any opportunity he can to excitedly share it with audiences. He has performed alongside and collaborated with artists such as Jon Kimura Parker, Clive Greensmith, Lynn Harrell, Cho-Liang Lin, Martin Beaver, Margaret Batjer, Brian Connelly, Desmond Hoebig, and James Dunham. Max is currently the Artistic Director for Kalmia Garden Music and Arts, as well as a regular performer at the Geneva Music Festival. In addition to these festivals, Max has appeared as a Young Artist at La Jolla SummerFest, and performed as a part of the Taipei Music Academy and Festival in Taiwan.
Matías Pedrana
Matías Pedrana began his musical studies in his native Argentina at the age of 13, later entering the National University of Rosario to study classical flute. In the year 2000 he moved to Europe to continue his career as a musician, picking up the bandoneón as a new instrument and receiving his degree from the Rotterdam conservatorium-The Netherlands.
He is currently member of "José Lopretti ensemble" and the quintet "Grupo del Sur", performing in well known theaters and festivals through all The Netherlands. He has participated in CD productions by Gotan Project "Gotan project Live", "Toujours Bizarre" by Tango Extremo and "Ser" by Isa Bornau. Recently he has recorded a CD with the quintet "Grupo del Sur" called: "Inspiración", performing the music of Astor Piazzolla as well as arrangements made by members of the group. The CD was recorded live at the Concertgebow in Amsterdam.
Jorge Variego
Jorge Variego was born in Rosario, Argentina. He is a former Fulbright Scholar and is Assistant Professor of Music Composition and Technology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and is the composition program director at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.
Actively involved with technology in sound and music, Jorge has been a pioneer in the field of interactive computer music, having created and performed a great deal of works for clarinet and electronics in the US, Europe and South America. He participated in many international music festivals such as MATA, SEAMUS, EMS, Sonoimagenes, Holland Festival, Festival de Jazz de Vigo, Via Stellae, ICMC and Big Ears. His music can be heard in the Parma, Albany Records, CMMAS, Centaur and Naxos libraries.
Jorge was awarded the 2025 Fellowship in Composition by the TN Arts Commission and is a Chedeville artist.
Variego3
Variego3 is a trio inspired by Jimmy Giuffre, characterized by a chamber music vibe with a woody sound. At the ClarinetFest 2025, the Variego3 will present a selection of original compositions from their latest album Recompensa (Centaur 2023).
Jorge Variego - clarinet and compositions
Matías Pedrana - bandoneón
Taber Gable - piano
Rob Linton - double bass
Recent Press of Variego3:
“It's a true joy to hear this amazing ensemble of world-class musicians interact with one another, feeding off each other's chemistry and ability to create massively infectious, yet classy and understated melodies. Whether you are a fan of modern jazz, or you prefer the old guard, you'll certainly be impressed. This group has got so much to offer, and they bring an unprecedented level of charisma to this genre today.” Jazz Corner
"... what I love the most about this album is the incredible variety of textures and organic sounds within. The ensemble has a warm, roomy tone which reminds me of old jazz records. On the other hand, the band is not afraid to experiment with distortion effects, li-fi dynamics and many other elements adding a grittier character to the mix. The sheer variety of sounds and influences in this release is also quite fantastic, giving the tracks a unique and memorable feel that truly stands out."- Stacey Zering INK19
“Recompensa is a refreshing contribution to the clarinet recording canon with its uniqueness of genre and composer/performer conception.” – Kenneth Long - The Clarinet
“A great disc [Recompensa], and a treat for all jazz lovers. The range of styles is large; all three players are superb in their own right and even better together as one entity. A Want List candidate, for sure. […] five stars: A great disc, and a treat for all jazz lovers.” Colin Clarke - Fanfare