Kellen Degnan lives in Cleveland, and performs and teaches throughout the Midwest. He is a member of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, and also regularly joins the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra’s cello section. He is the Adjunct Instructor of Cello at Mercyhurst University, where he is also the cello instructor for their Suzuki music program. His advocacy of contemporary music and the music of underrepresented communities permeates his performance activities, including various solo performances, as a member of the Vaso String Quartet, and as a frequent collaborator with Classical Revolution Cleveland. He is also closely involved in the contemporary music scene in Detroit as a member of the artistic committee of the Detroit Composers’ Project, and he has recorded for several tracks by Detroit-based pop band SIAS.
Wesley Hornpetrie
Wesley Hornpetrie enjoys performing in a multitude of environments: she is mostly active performing with Trio Continuum, her piano trio focused on performing traditional repertoire and educational outreach, and Girlnoise, an all female contemporary ensemble that focuses on commissioning works by female composers. Additionally, she directs The Third Place Concert Series, a new chamber arts series hosted in Ann Arbor that works to program contemporary works and works by historically underrepresented identities. She is also a member of Red Shoe Company, a collective based in Ann Arbor, MI, with a mission to craft a new concert environment and encourage new ways of thinking about and acting on socio-cultural issues of our time.
Ben Rogers
A native of Knoxville, TN, Benjamin Rogers is a member of the Canton Symphony Orchestra and is the principal cellist of the Cleveland Opera Theater. He was also the first prize winner of the 2014 Tennessee Cello Workshop Competition. As an advocate of contemporary music, Benjamin has performed extensively with the Chicago-based Ensemble 20+, and has worked with members of Eighth Blackbird and Ensemble Dal Niente.
Hanna Rumora’s love for the cello began at the age of 5, and has only grown as she's followed music to all corners of the US and around the world to Canada, China, and South Korea. Since her arrival at the University of Michigan, where she is completing her graduate studies, Hanna has immersed herself in many different genres of music, including classical, contemporary, folk, and jazz. She is a member of the Converge String Quartet, an ensemble devoted to the performance of University of Michigan student compositions, as well as contemporary performance ensemble Room 1078.
