Yonca Atar was born in Istanbul in 1991 and began her harp studies in 2002 at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory under İpek Mine Sonakın. She later studied with Prof. Anne Ricquebourg at the Conservatoire National Régional de Boulogne- Billancourt in Paris, where she worked with renowned harpists, including Marie-Claire Jamet, Emmanuel Ceysson, Marie-Pierre Langlamet, and Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche. She participated in the BBC Symphony Orchestra workshops in Turkey. She won first prize at the 2009 International Young Virtuosi Competition in Sofia, Bulgaria. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras, including concertos by G.F. Handel, A.F. Boieldieu, and A. Ginastera. In 2019, she performed M. Ravel’s Introduction et Allegro with the Semplice Quartet at the Ayvalık International Music Academy, and in 2020, released a recording of C. Debussy’s Danses with the Büyükada Ensemble under James Ross, published by Ulysses Arts in 2021. In 2023, she performed solo and chamber music recitals with Dr. Sila Darville and Dr. Luke Darville at Eastern Kentucky University, the Lexington Public Library, and with Amadeus Lex in the U.S. She also held workshops at various universities and music schools. Atar has performed with prestigious orchestras as an orchestra harpist including the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra in major concert halls. Today, Atar continues her career as an internationally recognized artist, both on stage and as an educator.

Charlotte Crosmer grew up in Conway, Arkansas where she discovered a love for chamber music playing in a string quartet with her siblings. An interest in oldtime fiddle music led her to win the Arkansas State Oldtime Fiddling Championship at the age of 12, and perform on A Prairie Home Companion. She earned her B.M. from the University of Central Arkansas and masters degrees in violin and chamber music from the University of Michigan. Charlotte feels lucky to have performed around the world- as a performing artist at the 2014 Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival, as a member of the dynamic string ensemble Barrage 8 in Europe, Canada, and 23 states (2015-16) and as a member of New York Symphonic Ensemble Japan 2017 tour.  Currently, she lives in Little Rock where she is a full-time member of the Arkansas Symphony and the Quapaw String Quartet. She also performs with the Gravel Yard bluegrass band, the Little Rock String Quartet, and as principal second violin of the Conway Symphony. 

Passionate about her love of music, Charlotte teaches private lessons and has served as adjunct faculty at Henderson University and Hendrix College. In her free time, she enjoys learning how to play other instruments like banjo, mandolin or guitar, and arranging fiddle tunes for her string quartet.

Dr. Luke Darville began his cello studies with the Heritage Area String Program in Danville, KY. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Louisville, a Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Minnesota, where he attended as a Berneking Fellow. He has had the privilege of studying with Dr. Clyde Beavers, Prof. Paul York, and Prof. Tanya Remenikova. During his studies, he has received awards from the University of Louisville, Macauley Competition, and the Schubert Music Club Competition. He has taught cello and string bass at the University of Minnesota Morris and Centre College; cello and piano at Mt. Calvary Music Academy; he was Director of Orchestras at Western Middle School for the Arts in Louisville, KY; and has held a private studio for 15 years. Dr. Darville has performed with orchestras throughout Indiana, Minnesota, South Dakota, Texas, and Kentucky. He has worked as a Teaching Artist for the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Darville is currently the Director of Orchestras at Model Laboratory Schools in Richmond, KY. He has been a featured recorded artist on Centaur’s Label. He plays on a cello crafted by the American luthier Timothy J. Jansma.

Turkish violinist and violist Dr. Sila Darville is the Associate Prof. of Violin and Viola at Eastern Kentucky University. She holds degrees from Istanbul Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory, the University of Minnesota, and Texas Tech University. She received many international awards and honors including the Rotary Club International Competition for Young Musicians; the Turkish Educational Foundation Outstanding Achievement Award; the Berneking Fellowship; the Thursday Musical Young Artist Scholarship Competition and the Schubert Club Scholarship Competition. Throughout her career Dr. Darville has performed with many Symphonic Orchestras including the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Lubbock, Lubbock Moonlight Musicals and Kentucky Bach Choir as the principal second; the Amarillo Symphony, Midland Symphony, the La Crosse Symphony, Paducah Symphony Orchestra, and Louisville Orchestra as a section violinist and Amadeus Chamber Orchestra as principal viola. Her recent performances include Prokofiev Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No.1, Mozart Sinfonia Concertante and Sibelius Violin Concerto with Eastern Kentucky University Symphony Orchestra Sila Darville performs regularly with Lexington-based chamber music ensemble Amadeus Lex. She performs on a 2021 Ben Mason violin and a 2023 Ben Mason viola. Dr. Darville is the recipient of the 2023 ASTA Kentucky Chapter Outstanding Educator Award.

Cellist Nathan Jasinski has given solo and chamber music performances in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Australia, and throughout the United States. Recent orchestral soloist appearances include performances of Dvorak, Haydn, and Saint Saens concertos and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. He performs regularly with the Appalachia Piano Trio, the Amadeus Chamber Ensemble of Knoxville, as continuo/solo cellist with the Kentucky Bach Choir, and as a solo recitalist.

An enthusiastic educator, Dr. Jasinski frequently gives cello and chamber music master classes at educational venues throughout the country. He joined the music faculty at Eastern Kentucky University in 2006. He previously served on the faculty at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and Snow College in Utah. His love of teaching has led to his working with young musicians at the Interlochen and Steven Foster music camps. Dr. Jasinski was awarded the Kentucky Music Educators’ Association Collegiate Teacher of the Year in 2018.

Dr. Jasinski holds degrees in cello performance from Brigham Young University and Arizona State University, and his doctorate from the University of Michigan.

Clark Potter is Professor of Viola at the Glenn Korff School of Music at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, where he is also on the conducting faculty. He is the director of NEBratsche (the UNL viola ensemble), and he is an active performer as a solo recitalist and chamber musician. He is a founding and board member of the Columbia River Chamber Music Festival in his hometown of Longview, Washington each summer. Mr. Potter has conducted the Lincoln Youth Symphony since 2007 and has conducted that ensemble in six European nations. As a clinician, he has conducted All-State Middle School Orchestras in Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska and Alabama, and he has appeared more than 20 times as a guest conductor of high school honors orchestras in Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Nevada and Nebraska. Prior to his appointment at Nebraska, Mr. Potter taught nine years at Eastern Oregon University, where he taught strings and conducted the Grande Ronde Symphony. He received degrees from Western Washington University, Indiana University and California Institute of the Arts. He studied with Peter Marsh, James Dunham, Charmian Gadd, Richard Goldner, and Mimi Zweig. His research interests include: training breathing in upper string players; his completed edition of the Bach cello suites for viola; and the concert music of Oscar-winning film composer, Ernest Gold.

Dr. Gözde Çakır Ramsey is the Assistant Professor of Flute at Tennessee Tech University, principal flutist of the Bryan Symphony Orchestra, and a member of the Cumberland Quintet. Originally from Turkey, she previously served as second flutist with the Topeka Symphony Orchestra and taught at Missouri Western State University and Benedictine College. She has performed in Turkey, the U.S., France, Switzerland, and Kosovo, with notable appearances at Carnegie Hall, the National Flute Association Convention, the Florida Flute Association Convention, and festivals such as Opus Erasmus in Paris and Zgijime Art in Kosovo. She has also performed with the New Manhattan Sinfonietta, Chattanooga Symphony, Kansas City Lyric Opera, Knoxville Symphony Orchestras, and the Appalachian Ballet. Dr. Çakır Ramsey has earned awards in several competitions, including the Coltman Chamber Music Competition, Izmir International Flute Competition, Nixon Woodwind Competition, and Yamaha Scholarship Award. She has performed in masterclasses with Emmanuel Pahud, James Galway, Davide Formisano, and many other prominent flutists around the world. An active scholar and performer, Dr. Çakır Ramsey is passionate about introducing Turkish works to a broader audience. Her current project focuses on flute music written by Turkish composers. She also regularly collaborates with contemporary composers in the U.S. and continues to develop new projects that expand and diversify the flute repertoire.

Originally from Eldorado, IL, Madeline Rogers earned a Master of Music from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music as a student of André Watts, and a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Nebraska with Dr. Paul Barnes. Rogers is an accomplished solo and collaborative performer in the US and abroad. Rogers is a recurring scholar at Brahmshaus Baden-Baden, Germany, where she researched the late music of Brahms and performed recitals in 2022 and 2024. Other significant international performances include solo and collaborative recitals in England, Spain, Italy, Vietnam, and Argentina. A proponent of living composers, Rogers has worked closely with Victoria Bond to revive a piano concerto that was last performed in 1997 and was the first to premiere the two-piano version of the concerto in 2021. Her latest research is on H. Leslie Adams, whom she interviewed extensively to revive and edit his Empire Sonata for Horn and Piano from 1960. The new edition was released in 2024 through the American Composers Alliance. Rogers previously taught applied and collaborative piano as an Artist-Faculty member at the Omaha Conservatory of Music and is currently Assistant Professor of Keyboard Studies at Berea College.

Bailey Yates is a graduate of Butler University, where he studied violin performance under the tutelage of Prof. Larry Shapiro, Dr. Lisa Brooks, and Dr. Davis Brooks. Growing up in Kentucky, Bailey honed his skills in violin, fiddle, and mandolin with Daniel and Amy Carwile. As a private lessons instructor he takes pride in being a steward of his teaching lineage. Most recently Bailey has served as Luthier and Shop Specialist at Old Town Violins in Lexington; Bailey enjoys repairs, bow rehairs and helping customers find the products they need to best complement their playing style.