The Cape Cod String Quartet - SOLD OUT!

Music & More Winter Concert Series presents

The Cape Cod String Quartet “Spring Is Here”

Sunday, March 5, 2023, 3:30pm – 4:30pm.
Member $18 / Non-Member $24

The Cape Cod String Quartet presents a selection of wonderful classics such as Vivaldi, Haydn, and Mozart. The Cape Cod String Quartet is a world-class chamber group providing exquisiteness to the musical life in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The Cape Cod String Quartet “Spring is Here” concert is sponsored by the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod.

Dan Flonta – Violin I – A native of Romania, Dan Flonta won an honorable mention at the George Georgescu International Violin Competition in Tulcea, Romania as well as a place at the prestigious Bach Academy Festival in Stuttgart, Germany under the artistic direction of Maestro Helmuth Rilling. In addition, Dan was appointed Concert Master and Principal second Violin at several orchestras in Romania, Italy, Spain, Germany, and the United States. Dan is the founder and first violinist of the Cape Cod String Quartet and he regularly performs with the Falmouth Chamber Players and the Plymouth Philharmonic. His teaching experience is vast and it includes positions with the Bowling Green State University in Ohio, the Academy of Saint Joseph in Manhattan, and the New York Conservatory of Music in Manhattan. Dan now lives on Cape Cod with his two sons and is a very active member of the performing arts community on Cape Cod. Dan is the founder and director of Cape Cod Strings – a successful private violin studio in West Barnstable, and the director of Sturgis String Ensembles at the Sturgis Charter Public School. Dan earned his Master of Music in Violin Performance from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from The Gheorghe Dima Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. He has performed extensively throughout Europe and North America. Some of the venues include The Berliner Philharmoniker Concert Hall and Chamber Music Hall, The Herodes Atticus Theater in

Athens, Greece, The Norwalk Concert Hall, Troy Music Hall, and the EMPAC Center in Troy, New York. Dan performs solo and chamber music concerts throughout the year on his instrument of choice made by luthier Ray Melanson, who won a Gold Medal for tone at the 2012 Art of Sound International Competition. The violin is based on a Giuseppe Guarneri del Jesu violin made in 1742. Please visit danflonta.com and capecodstringquartet.com for additional information.

Meghan O’Connor is a graduate of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, where she received a BA degree with honors in music and mathematics. She was a recipient of the Filene Music Scholarship as well as the Senior Music Award. She has performed for Ruggiero Ricci, Triple Helix, and the Portland String Quartet in master classes. While studying violin with Michael Emery, she performed in many concerts and toured Spain with Perform America. Currently, she is a private violin instructor and freelances throughout Southern New England. She has performed with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, Eastern Connecticut Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic Pops Orchestra, New England Symphony Orchestra, Chorus of Westerly, RI Civic Chorale, and the Rhode Island College Symphony Orchestra. Meghan is a member of the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra, Musica Dolce, and is concert master of the Newport County Community Orchestra at Salve Regina University where she is an adjunct faculty member. Meghan has performed at the Newport Music Festival and most recently at Carnegie Hall with Freda World Music.

Sofia Nikas is a violist and teacher in the Boston area. An active orchestral and chamber musician, Sofia is a member of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, and can also be found performing in Vermont, Lexington, and around Cape Cod. As a chamber musician, Sofia has worked with members of the Borromeo, Miró, Pacifica, and Juilliard string quartets. Notable performances include Webern’s Langsamer Satz on the Jordan Hall stage, and Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp for Performance Today hosted by Fred Child. Sofia was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for four

years, performing in Symphony Center and in public schools around Chicago. She has also performed with the Milwaukee Symphony, New World Symphony, and members of the San Antonio Symphony (now the San Antonio Philharmonic). For the past two summers, Sofia was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, serving as principal viola under the batons of Andris Nelsons and Stefan Asbury. She also spent summers at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colorado. Sofia received her Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory studying with Marcus Thompson, and her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with Atar Arad. She has additionally studied with Li-Kuo Chang of the Chicago Symphony and Peter Slowik of Oberlin Conservatory. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Sofia was introduced to the viola and began lessons through her public school in fifth grade. Now, as a teacher, Sofia prioritizes giving lessons in public schools, and as part of programs dedicated to providing free music instruction in schools with no orchestra program.

Cellist Nancy Torrente leads an active and varied musical life. She plays and has recorded music from Latin and jazz to classical. Nancy can be heard playing duets with jazz saxophonist David Liebman on his albums “A Walk in the Clouds” and “Dedications.” In addition to playing with the Cape Cod String Quartet, an avid chamber music player, she performs yearly at the ‘South Beach Up North Chamber Music Festival’ in Wausau, Wisconsin, and while in NY, was the cellist of the Amadeus Ensemble. She has been a member of the Orquesta Philharmónica de Caracas (Venezuela), Opera Barga (Italy), and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic (NY). Nancy is the principal cellist with the Taconic Opera Company (NY) and plays numerous freelance performances in NY and her full-time home in Dennis, Massachusetts.

Ms. Torrente holds performance degrees from Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts and Queens College. In addition to her performance career, she is an active conductor and string clinician. Nancy has been a featured string clinician presenting workshops at Villanova University, NJ String Teachers Association, and the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association. Before moving to Cape Cod, she was the Orchestra Director in the Yorktown Central Schools, NY, for 22 years leading the school’s orchestras to consistently earn the highest ratings at national and international music festivals. Her past teaching experiences include starting the orchestra program at St Francis Prep in Queens, NY, and piloting the first cello classes in the East Harlem, NY, string program made famous by the film “Music of the Heart.”

Photo credit Alex Paul Photography

The Music & More Winter 2023 concert series is sponsored by the Cape Cod 5 Foundation.

Concerts often sell out. We recommend purchasing tickets in advance.