Stephen Bryant, Paige Stockley, Adrianna Hulscher, Michael Lieberman
Taking its inspiration from the exquisite rugged natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, the Saint Helens String Quartet embraces a sense of musical adventure, exploring an often uncharted sonic territory in which contemporary classical music intersects with genres including jazz, pop, rock, folk and world music. Called the “Saint Helens adventurous four” by the Seattle Weekly, the group makes a practice of commissioning and performing works by 20th century composers.
The quartet has won several 4 Culture commissioning grants and has recorded and presented works of local composers at Seattle’s Benaroya Recital Hall. They have appeared at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Lopez Island Community Center, Cornish College of the Arts, Holly Schoolhouse in Seabeck, Benaroya Recital Hall, Snohomish Second Sundays series, and Bach on the Dock on Lake Union. As recipients of a Jack Straw Residency grant the quartet recorded American Dreams.
STEPHEN BRYANT, violin
Stephen Bryant is known for his passion and enthusiasm for music. Before joining the Seattle Symphony in 2002, he served as Principal Second Violin of the Sydney Symphony, the Malaysian Philharmonic and the Edmonton Symphony, and was also a member of the Calgary Philharmonic and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Each summer, he plays string quartets on 15-day river trips through the Grand Canyon. His Beau Quartet from Calgary has recorded works by Sibelius, Nielsen, Gardel, Andrix and Bachmann on the Arktos label.
ADRIANNA HULSCHER, violin
Adrianna Hulscher performs in the Seattle area, where she is a freelance violinist and member of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra. She studied at the New England Conservatory and Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She enjoys performing new music, and has done so as a recitalist and member of the Saint Helens String
Quartet. She lives in Seattle with her husband and 3-year old daughter.
MICHAEL LIEBERMAN, viola
Michael Lieberman pursues a busy and varied career as a chamber musician, orchestral player and teacher. He performed as the on-stage Violist for the world premier and national tour of Philip Glass's opera, In the Penal Colony. He was the Music Director and Violist for, Tempo of Recollection, a theatrical staging of Erwin Schulhoff's works set in a 1920's Prague beer-hall. Recently, he was the Assistant Music Director and Violist for Cirque Du Soleil's IRIS, with over 500 performances and an appearance on the Tonight Show. Michael has played principal Viola with the Santa Barbara Symphony, Chamber Orchestra and Opera, and is a member of Central4. He studied at the Peabody Conservatory and lives in Santa Barbara with his wife, violist Helen Callus.
PAIGE STOCKLEY, cello
Cellist Paige Stockley, a Seattle native, is known for championing the music of living composers from the Pacific Northwest. She is the founder of the St. Helens String Quartet, which received two 4Culture grants for commission-ing new works and a recording residency at Jack Straw. The quartet performs at Benaroya Recital Hall, Lopez Community Center, and Cornish College of the Arts, where Paige is a member of the faculty.
Paige holds a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Her early training was at the University of Washington, where she studied with cellist Toby Saks while earning a double major in Political Science and English. She has also played in orchestras around the world: from Connecticut to Spain, Mexico City, Prague and Krakow, spending a year at the European Mozart Academy playing under the baton of Sandor Vegh and studying with Steven Isserlis. Her main teachers have included Ardyth Alton, Michael Haber and Valentin Hirsu. She served as the cellist on a West Coast tour with singer Rickie Lee Jones and was principle cellist on the European Mozart Academy tour of Mozart’s “Zaide” arranged by Luciano Berio.
Paige’s solo CD, “August Ruins,” a five-movement suite for cello with original music by Peter Vukmirovic Stevens, was released by PARMA/Navona in 2014 and is already a top seller on Amazon.com.