Canadian pianist Audrey Andrist grew up on a farm in rural Saskatchewan. While still in high school, she commuted three hours one-way for piano lessons with William Moore, himself a former student of famed teachers Rosina Lhevinne and Cécile Genhart. Ms. Andrist went on to study at the University of Regina on a full scholarship with Moore, and later traveled to New York, where she completed Masters and Doctoral degrees at the Juilliard School with Herbert Stessin. Now a busy soloist and chamber player, Ms. Andrist has performed with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, and the Juilliard Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall. With the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, she and Maestro Mario Bernardi presented the world premiere of a piano concerto written especially for her by Canadian composer Andrew MacDonald. She is the first prize winner of the San Antonio International Competition, the Mozart International Competition, and the Juilliard Concerto Competition. She has toured Canada, performing over 20 solo recitals as the winner of the Eckhardt- Gramatté competition, and has recorded for Summit Records, Albany Records, Capstone, Centrediscs, CRI, Arizona University Recordings, CBC Radio, and NPR’s “Performance Today”. For NPR she presented a live broadcast recital with internationally acclaimed violinist Anne Akiko Meyers.

A truly versatile and adventurous musician, Ms. Andrist has performed and recorded music for synthesizer, harmonium and harpsichord, and has served as orchestral pianist in both Canada and New York. An ardent exponent of new music, Ms. Andrist has many world premieres to her credit, and has had several works composed for her and the ensembles with which she plays. She is a member of the Stern/Andrist Duo with her husband, violinist James Stern, and Strata, a trio with Stern and clarinetist Nathan Williams. She has performed on such prestigious series as the Phillips Collection in Washington, Rising Stars at Ravinia in Chicago, and the People’s Symphony Concerts in New York. Ms. Andrist is the recipient of grants from the Canada Council and the Saskatchewan Arts Board, and has spent several summers as a resident artist at the Banff Center. Her many recent engagements include a concert tour of China, concerto appearances in California, and an extensive tour of Quebec for Jeunesses Musicales. Highlights of Ms. Andrist’s 2004-2005 season include recitals in Washington, DC, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Virginia. She currently resides in the Washington, DC area, with her husband and their son, Kenneth. In Washington, Ms. Andrist has appeared with the 21st Century Consort, the Kennedy Center Chamber Players and the Left Bank Concert Society.

Cellist Evelyn Elsing has won prizes in the Munich International Cello Competition and the Washington International String Competition. She has concertized across the United States, Europe, and Japan. A chamber music enthusiast, Ms. Elsing has collaborated with members of the Cleveland, Muir, and Guarneri Quartets. She is cellist of the Ecco Trio and the Left Bank Quartet.

Washington area solo engagements have included performances at the Phillips Collection, the National Gallery of Art, the Library of Congress, the Corcoran Gallery, and the Kennedy Center. Recognitions include the University of Michigan’s highest award to a performer – the Stanley Medal, a Solo Recitalist Fellowship Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Citation for Exceptional Leadership and Merit from the American String Teachers Association. A member of the summer faculties of the Interlochen Center for the Arts and International Workshops, Ms. Elsing has participated in the Aspen, Ravinia, and Spoleto Festivals. She is Professor of Cello at the University of Maryland School of Music, College Park.

For fifteen years, Ms. Elsing was principal cellist of the Handel Festival Orchestra. Currently Artistic Co-Director of the Left Bank Concert Society, she was a regular performer with the historic Theater Chamber Players, birthplace of the Left Bank Quartet.

Mark Hill has distinguished himself as an accomplished oboe and English horn soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, recording artist and teacher. He has been invited to perform with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Academy of St Martins in the Fields, the National Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. He was for many years a member of the New York Chamber Symphony and the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic. Locally, he performs with such groups as the Washington Bach Consort, Concert Opera of Washington, and the National Philharmonic.

Mr. Hill’s extensive chamber music experience includes collaborations and appearances with the such artists as the Guarneri String Quartet, the Bach Aria Group, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Mendelssohn String Quartet, Claude Frank, Paula Robison, Michael Tree, and the New York Woodwind Quintet. He has appeared with Chamber Music Northwest and has long been associated with the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music. Currently he is a summer faculty artist at the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival in Vermont. He has been a member of the Sylvan Winds since 1982.

Mr. Hill is currently Associate Professor of Oboe and Chamber Music at the University of Maryland, and he has previously served on the faculties of Ithaca College, the Mannes College of Music, Columbia University, and the State University of New York at Purchase.

These four musicians, with their diverse and colorful backgrounds, came together through the auspices of the Theater Chamber Players, and rather unexpectedly discovered the joys of a vibrant and enthusiastic collaboration. They have been a quartet since 1999, taking their name from the fact that the Kennedy Center, their first regular venue, is situated on the left bank of the Potomac.

Their combined experiences include participation in the major festivals of the musical world — Aspen, Banff, Chautauqua, Marlboro, Mostly Mozart, Prussia Cove, Ravinia, Santa Fe, and Spoleto to name just a few. Their teaching experiences, collaborations, national and international tours, recital and concerto performances, and success in international competitions give this quartet a rich and varied tapestry as they weave their musical message.

The repertoire of the Left Bank Quartet encompasses an eclectic range, with quartets of Bartók, Crumb, Durkó, Ginastera, Kurtág, Ligeti, Nancarrow, Stravinsky and Webern augmenting the standard fare. In 2003 they premiered Metamorphosis, written for them by Mark Wilson. This season they add quartets by Korngold, Chavez and Revueltes to the collection. Several recording projects are under way.

Violinist Sally McLain was raised in Washington, DC and is a graduate of the DC Youth Orchestra Program. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees with High Distinction from Indiana University, where she studied with and was assistant to James Buswell. She has participated in the Tanglewood Music Center, Bach Aria Festival and Institute, and the New York String Orchestra. Ms. McLain performs throughout the Washington, DC area as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. Solo engagements have included performances at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, the National Gallery of Art, the Corcoran Gallery and Lisner Auditorium. She has performed chamber music on the Embassy Series, with National Musical Arts, and with the 20th Century Consort. She frequently performs as an orchestral musician with the National Symphony Orchestra and the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra and served as concertmaster for the Washington Chamber Symphony for ten seasons. Ms. McLain is a member of the Left Bank Quartet and the Potomac String Quartet.

Katherine Murdock, violist, has performed throughout the world with such groups as Music from Marlboro, the Boston Chamber Music Society, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Brandenburg Ensemble, and the New York Philomusica. She has been a participant in numerous festivals, including the Edinburgh, Salzburg, and Gulbenkian Festivals, the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove, and in the U.S. at Mostly Mozart, Ravinia, Saratoga, La Musica, and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. She has recorded as soloist for West German Radio and the BBC, and has appeared on the ‘Great Performers at Lincoln Center’ series as a guest of the Beaux Arts Trio. During the past seasons she has performed with the Muir and Vermeer String Quartets, has toured New Zealand with the New Zealand Quartet, South America with the New York Philharmonic, and Europe with a chamber ensemble from the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. From 1988 to 1994 Ms. Murdock was a member of the Mendelssohn String Quartet. With this group she toured internationally as well as held the positions of Artist in Residence at Harvard University and the University of Delaware. She is currently on the faculty of SUNY Stony Brook and the University of Maryland; in the summer she is on the artist faculty of the Yellow Barn and Kneisel Hall festivals. Currently violist with the Left Bank Quartet, and longtime performer with the historic Theater Chamber Players, Ms. Murdock also performs and records as a member of the Los Angeles Piano Quartet.

Soloist, concertmaster and chamber musician for over twenty-five years, violinist David Salness has attained international recognition as a performing artist and teacher. He has appeared in such renowned venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy and Lincoln Centers, Salle Pleyel, Concertgebouw, and Wigmore Hall. His performances are broadcast by National Public Radio, Radio France, and the British and Canadian Broadcast Corporations. Mr. Salness’ recordings are found on the RCA, Telarc, and Centaur labels among others.

Mr. Salness has collaborated with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, and Cleveland Quartets. He has enjoyed a long association with New York’s Chautauqua Festival and has participated in the Aspen, Ravinia, Newport, Banff, and Mostly Mozart Festivals. He has appeared with such noted ensembles as the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, Orpheus, and the Brandenburg Ensemble of New York. Mr. Salness was for twelve years a member of the Audubon Quartet and won the Deuxieme Grand Prix as a member of Nisaika in the 1984 Evian International String Quartet Competition.

He began his teaching career as assistant to David Cerone at the Curtis Institute and also the Meadowmount School of Music in New York, where Mr. Salness returned to serve for five years as a member of the Artist Faculty from 1998 to 2002. Having also been a guest faculty member at John Hopkins’ Peabody Conservatory, Mr. Salness is currently Associate Professor of Violin at the University of Maryland and Distinguished Teacher of Violin at the Brevard Music Center and is Head of Chamber Music Activities at both institutions. Mr. Salness’s students have garnered top prizes from such major international compositions as Indianapolis, Evian/Bordeaux, Portsmouth, Naumburg, Menuhin, Schneider, and Banff. Violinist with the Left Bank Quartet, Mr. Salness is Artistic Co-Director of the Left Bank Concert Society.