Frankford Preservation Foundation - April 6th Spring Concert

Sunday, April 6th Spring Concert – 3:30 - 4:30pm
Doors open at 3pm

PROGRAM
ESPECTRO DE TANGO - Presented by: Spectrum Chamber Music Society

Weather permitting there will be a reception behind the church after the concert.

MUSICIANS
Molly Baer, Violin
Molly Baer joined the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in 2012. Before moving to Texas, Molly was a violin fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach. She graduated from the New England Conservatory in Boston as a student of Miriam Fried, and received her Master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music, where she studied with Andrés Cárdenes.

Since moving to Fort Worth, Molly has participated in frequent chamber music performances with local ensembles and festivals. She has performed with Spectrum Chamber Music Society, Hall Ensemble, the Basically Beethoven Festival, Opus Nova, and Sedici Strings, a string quartet made up of colleagues in the Fort Worth Symphony. She also teaches a private studio of violin students and has enjoyed coaching young chamber musicians for the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra.

Samantha Bennett, Violin
Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as a violinist “full of subtlety and poise,” Samantha Bennett is an active and varied performer around the globe. Bennett is a first violinist in The Dallas Opera Orchestra, having previously served as the Principal Second Violin of the Sarasota Orchestra from 2016-2022. She was a member of the Fort Worth Symphony and The Florida Orchestra. She performs frequently with the Fort Worth Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and the Boston Symphony. Alongside her husband, percussionist George Nickson, Bennett is the founder and co-artistic director of ensemblenewSRQ (enSRQ), a new music collective based in Sarasota, FL, where she is known for her performances of some of the most challenging contemporary repertoire. Born in Ames, Iowa, Bennett completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the New England Conservatory in Boston studying with Donald Weilerstein and Malcolm Lowe.Colin

Colin Garner, Viola
A native of Littleton, CO, Garner has been a member of the Dallas Opera Orchestra viola section since 2008. He is also a regular extra violist with the Fort Worth Symphony. Previous positions include associate principal viola of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and principal of the West Texas Symphony and Abilene Philharmonic. While playing with the West Texas Symphony, he was also the violist in the Permian Basin String Quartet. Additionally, Garner participated in the Crested Butte Music Festival during the summers of 2015-16. He received undergraduate degrees in viola performance and music education from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a Master of Music from the University of Southern California.

Keira Fullerton, Cello
Fullerton is the associate principal cello of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. She was an adjunct professor of cello at the University of Texas at Arlington from 2015-2020. In the spring of 2023, she served as visiting cello professor for six weeks at Baylor University. Before joining the FWSO, she held the position of assistant principal with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in Winnipeg, Manitoba for three seasons. She has also performed as an extra musician with the Houston, Pittsburgh, and Seattle Symphonies. She spent three summers as a participant in the Crested Butte Music Festival and has also performed with the Colorado Music Festival during the 2017-2019 summer seasons. A native of Ohio, Fullerton moved to Toronto, Ontario at age eleven, where she studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music. She then earned her Bachelor of Music at Rice University and received her Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

William Clay, Double Bass
Originally from Colorado, William Clay has held the position of principal double bass of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra since 1995. Before arriving in north Texas, he was principal bass of la Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon (Spain) and was a charter member of the New World Symphony. An active chamber musician, he is a member of the Board of Directors of Spectrum Chamber Music Society. He has also performed with Mount Vernon Music and Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth. Together with his colleagues he founded the double bass quartet, The Funkytown Allstars as well as the ensemble featured at today’s concert, Espectro de Tango. He has performed as guest principal with the Oregon Symphony, and has been a guest with the Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas Symphonies. As a soloist he has performed concertos with the Fort Worth Symphony, New World Symphony, Colorado Symphony and Metropolitan State University Symphony. He holds degrees from Indiana University and Metropolitan State University.