Benjamin Kreith is co-concertmaster of the Great Falls Symphony, violinist of the Cascade Quartet and an active performer of chamber music in both the United States and Europe.  He has played recitals at the Juan March Foundation in Madrid, the Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon, and the American Academy in Rome, as well as premiering solo violin works at the contemporary music festivals in Marseille and Strasbourg.  His live recording of Christian Lauba’s “Kwintus” for violin solo was released on the Accord/Universal CD “Morphing”.

Kreith co-founded the Ensemble Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, a group that was recognized for its innovative chamber series in Santiago de Compostela.  He has also played with the Harvard Group for New Music, Barcelona 216, and as guest artist with the Ying Quartet, the Muir Quartet and friends, and the Österriechisches Ensemble für Neue Musik in Salzburg.  With Alea III and conductor Gunther Schuller, he appeared as soloist in the US premiere of Schulhoff’s Concerto for string quartet.

Kreith was 2006 Artist-in-Residence at the University of California, Davis where he performed the Alban Berg Violin Concerto.  He has also been featured as concerto soloist with the Butte, Sacramento, and New England Conservatory symphony orchestras.

Kreith studied principally with Jorja Fleezanis, Malcolm Lowe, and Lorand Fenyves as well as chamber music with Louis Krasner.  He has taught at the Escola de Música de Barcelona and the Escuela Maese Pedro in Madrid.

Tawnya Popoff
Canadian violist Tawnya Popoff enjoys a versatile career around North America. In addition to being principal violist with the Vancouver Opera, she is a founding member of the Athabasca String Trio, and performs regularly with VisionIntoArt, the New York Miniaturist Ensemble, and the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in Houston, Texas. She was a prizewinner in the 2000 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and has served on the faculties of the Perlman Music Program, University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse University, SUNY Buffalo, American Composers Orchestra and the Bowdoin International Music Festival. As a member of the Cassatt Quartet, she was vitally involved in commissioning, premiering and recording works from leading American composers. Tawnya Popoff’s viola was played by Boris Kroyt of the Budapest Quartet, generously loaned to her by courtesy of his grandson.

Jessie Knowles
Jessie is a native of Great Falls, Montana. She received her BA in Music with a concentration in collaborative piano and accompanying from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Her principal teachers include Orla McDonagh and Cindy Addison. She has participated in a variety of collaborative piano projects and enjoys both vocal and instrumental accompanying. Jessie is the
Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Great Falls Symphony and also maintains a private teaching studio in Great Falls.

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