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Founder and Artistic Director of the Scorchio Quartet, Mooke and Scorchio are featured on David Bowie's Heathen, Trey Anastasio's Live From Princeton and Carla Patullo's Grammy winning album, So She Howls. They perform as resident quartet in the Tibet House Benefit Concerts at Carnegie Hall produced by Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson. Mooke has toured with Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, Peter Gabriel and Star Wars in Concert, and performed with David Bowie, Philip Glass, Elton John, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, and Tony Bennett among others. She is featured on Laurie Anderson's recent Nonesuch release, Amelia.

Mooke, a longtime Yamaha Artist and Eventide's first Artist-in-Residence, has been a featured speaker at PopTech, SXSW EDU, NAMM/CMS, National and Regional Music Conferences including ASTA and NJMEA and popular podcasts. She received the prestigious ASCAP Concert Music Award for creating and producing ASCAP's new music showcase THRU THE WALLS featuring boundary defying composer/performers.

Martha Mooke, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Strings (Music, Dance and Theatre Department,) Graduate Studies and Music Business, created and directs the cutting edge, Multi-Style Strings program at Ұ������.

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John Benitez is a highly acclaimed 5x Grammy award-winning bassist, composer, and arranger, particularly known for his contributions to Latin jazz and Afro-Latin music. He's widely regarded as one of the greatest bassists in the world, having performed and recorded with numerous renowned artists and groups.  Benitez has collaborated with and performed with a wide array of prominent musicians, including , , , , , , , and many others. 

Dr. Chuck Bontrager is the very definition of the the 21st-century musician: Classically trained, experienced in multiple performance styles, and fluent in several variations of his instrument—viola, violin, baritone viola (chin-cello), mandolin and mandola, and electric violins. In addition to his Masters degrees in acoustics and electrics, he received the first-ever Doctorate in electric violin performance in May of 2025.

Along with his outstanding credentials as a performer, arranger, and conductor, he is also a technologist and instructor dedicated to the advancement of his instrument and the education of new generations.  Chuck is the founder and proprietor of Orchestral Evolutions LLC., providing bowed strings, processing, and programming for film scores, theatrical companies, and touring productions of all styles and genres.

Chuck currently serves as Concertmaster of the national touring company of Moulin Rouge! The Musical and has logged over 6,000 performances across more than 45 theatrical productions in Chicago and on Broadway. 

For Grammy-nominated artist Regina Carter, the violin isn't simply an improvisational vehicle; it’s a passport to unexpected realms. Her quest for beauty combined with her passion for excellence did not escape the attention of the MacArthur Foundation, which awarded Regina a prestigious MacArthur fellowship “genius grant.” San Francisco Performances took note of Regina's exceptional work and appointed her a resident artist for five years. She also served as one of the resident artistic directors for SFJAZZ during its inaugural season in its spectacular new home. Most recently, the acclaimed violinist was appointed as the director of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s All-Female Jazz Residency, a unique summer immersion program for aspiring women jazz professionals, and was one of the recipients of the prestigious Doris Duke Artist Awards, presented by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. In 2017 she was selected as the Showcase Artist for the Monterey Jazz Festival.

A winner of multiple readers’ and critics’ poll awards from DownBeat, JazzTimes and other publications, Regina tours with her own group and appears frequently as a guest soloist. She also is on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music and is the artist in residence at the Oakland University School of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Her albums reflect her singular quest for beauty. In 1995 Regina released her self-titled solo debut on Atlantic Records. Her most recent release, Ella: Accentuate the Positive (2017), celebrates the music and spirit of her inspiration, musical legend Ella Fitzgerald.

Since arriving in the United States in 1994, Colombian-born harp virtuoso Edmar Castaneda has forged his own distinctive path in music. He brings not only an unfamiliar instrument but a wholly original voice to jazz, branching out into a world of different styles and genres. His latest CD, Live in Montreal, which follows four acclaimed albums as a leader, features electrifying Japanese pianist Hiromi.

He has collaborated with artists such as John Scofield, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Marcus Miller, John Patitucci, Hamilton de Holanda, Ivan Lins, and Castaneda’s own mentor, Cuban-born saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera, and he's shared the stage with the likes of Sting, Ricki Lee Jones, The Yellowjackets and Paco De Lucia. He has also written symphonic works and chamber pieces for orchestras around the world. 

Joe Deninzon has been hailed by critics as “The Jimi Hendrix of the Violin,” because of his innovative style on the “Viper” seven-string electric violin. Joe has worked with the Who, Bruce Springsteen, 50 Cent, Sheryl Crow, Smokey Robinson, Les Paul, Phoebe LeGere, Kurt Elling, and as a soloist with Jazz at Lincoln Center and the New York City Ballet.

Joe is the lead singer and violinist for the progressive rock band, Stratospheerius, which has released 6 albums to critical acclaim. He is also a member of the Sweet Plantain String Quartet, which combines Latin Jazz with hip-hop and Classical music.

As an educator, Joe has taught at Mark O’Connor’s String Camp and Mark Wood’s Rock Orchestra Camp. Joe’s book on improv and extended techniques for strings, titled “Plugging In” is published by Mel Bay. 

A musical prodigy as a child, Dave began playing the cello and piano at age three, performed on Broadway and with the Metropolitan Opera at age seven, and debuted at Carnegie Hall at age 15. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the Julliard School's Doctoral Program.

Dave Eggar has performed worldwide as a solo cellist and pianist. A virtuoso of many styles, Dave has performed and recorded with artists in numerous genres including Evanescence, The Who, Michael Brecker, Josh Groban, Coldplay, Beyonce, Pearl Jam, Fall Out Boy, Dave Sanborn, Kathleen Battle, Ray Lamontagne, Roberta Flack, The Spin Doctors, Dianne Reeves, Brandy, Carly Simon, Phil Ramone, Hannah Montana, Duncan Sheik, Sinead O'Connor, Bon Jovi, Manhattan Transfer, Corinne Bailey Ray and many more.

His list of awards and accomplishments includes accolades from Time Magazine, ASCAP, the National Endowment for the Arts, Sony Records Elevated Standards Award in classical music, the Geraldine Dodge & Leonard Bernstein Foundations, and at 15 was the youngest winner in the history of the Artists International Competition.

Dave's mission to "not just cross over, but to cross through" multiple genres of music are apparent with all of his releases. Whether it's classical, reggae, bluegrass, jazz, pop, or world music, he finds a common voice within his musical vocabulary and introduces it with his own unique imaginative vision.

Jeremy Kittel is an American violinist, fiddler, and composer. He received a Grammy nomination for "Best Instrumental Composition” in 2019 alongside prevalent composers such as John Williams and Alan Silvestri. Fluent in multiple musical genres, he composes original music that draws from a wide variety of influences including folk, jazz, Celtic, Classical, electronic, and more.

Jeremy performs with his group Kittel & Co., as a soloist with orchestras, and in collaborative and supporting roles with many of today’s leading artists. In demand as a composer and arranger, he has worked with Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck, My Morning Jacket, Aoife O’Donovan, Theo Katzman, Jars of Clay, Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Laura Veirs, Sara Watkins, and the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet. He has also recorded with artists such as Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, Fleet Foxes, and Esperanza Spalding.

Kittel & Co. ("Kid-dle and Koh”) inhabits the space between classical and acoustic roots, Celtic and bluegrass aesthetics, folk and jazz sensibilities, and has performed at venues such as Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Celtic Connections, and A Prairie Home Companion. 

Kittel has a master’s degree in jazz performance from the Manhattan School of Music and received the 2010 Emerging Artist Award from U of M (his alma mater). He is the recipient of awards including the US National Scottish Fiddle Championship and six Detroit Music Awards, and has contributed to many Grammy-nominated recordings. 

“Equally skilled in the worlds of jazz, classical, and Celtic fiddling… an exhilarating stage presence" - Strings Magazine

Lou Kosma received his degree in music education with applied double bass from Temple University. He studied with Roger M. Scott and Edward Arian; Principal bass and Assistant Principal Bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Henry Portnoi, Principal Bass of the Boston symphony. During the summers of 1967 and 1968, he was a fellowship student at Tanglewood.

Mr. Kosma performed with Metropolitan Opera Orchestra bass section from 1978 – 2014, serving as Acting Assistant Principal in the 2009 – 2010 and 2011 – 2012 seasons. Lou teaches privately and was adjunct double bass instructor at Ұ������ for 29 years. He is currently at Ұ������ as the Orchestra Director and Montclair State University as a bass instructor. Other adjunct positions included: Kean College, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and SUNY at Purchase. While freelancing from 1976 to 1986, Lou assumed other affiliations for which he performed as Principal Bass for the American Ballet Theatre, Principal Bass of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Acting Principal for the New Jersey Symphony and recently playing with the New York Philharmonic and Vermont Symphony. He was also a member of the Chautauqua Symphony for 17 years. Currently, Lou is a member of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra.

In March of 2002, the Virtu Foundation honored Lou by naming its first double bass scholarship in his name and in February of 2014, Lou received the New Jersey Music Educators Distinguished Service Award at the NJMEA Conference in New Brunswick, NJ.