Christopher McGuire, classical guitar

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Christopher McGuire commands the many expressive qualities of the guitar with what one critic called “unselfconscious intensity.” His engaging performance style invites people of all ages to feel as if they are taking part, not just taking a seat.

Andrés Segovia wrote that he is “…an artist, sensitive, with perfect technique…he will be appreciated and applauded everywhere.”

McGuire’s direct influences include private lessons with Maestro Segovia and jam sessions with Stevie Ray Vaughn. Christopher has also shared a stage with legendary pianist Van Cliburn.

He is the founder and Artistic Director of the *Allegro Guitar Society, serving North Central Texas since 1995.

McGuire has performed more than 1500 solo concerts in the United States, Mexico, Japan, Venezuela, Germany, Spain, and the Canary Islands. He has played for past presidents of the United States and Mexico, and for members of the Spanish Royal Family.

A great lover of chamber music, he has been a guest artist with many orchestras and ensembles and also performs his own compositions and arrangements with his eclectic chamber group D’Accord and the Allegro Jazz Ensemble.

Christopher has collaborated with many great musicians including Charlie Byrd, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Bucky Pizzarelli, Howard Alden, Roland Dyens, Carlos Bonell, Karin Schaup, José Feghli, and Swang Lin.

He has presented more than 2,500 community outreach performances at various schools (including many Title 1 schools), assisted living facilities and other venues in cities throughout North America, Spain, Venezuela and Japan.

In 1985, Chris won First Prize in the Dallas Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition and subsequently performed Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for Guitar with the DCO.

McGuire has served as a judge for multiple Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) International Competitions and served on the jury of the 14th International Guitar Competition at Fundación Alirio Diaz in Carora, Venezuela, and the Internationales Gitarrenfestival Heinsberg in Germany.

He has presented numerous masterclasses and lecture demonstrations for prestigious institutions including Arizona State University, the Juilliard School, Alaska Pacific University, and the GFA.

He has studied with or performed in master classes for several of the world’s foremost guitarists including Andrés Segovia, Oscar Ghiglia, Pepe Romero, Robert Guthrie and José Tomás. He received full scholarships to Southern Methodist University (SMU) and to the Aspen Music Festival.

In the summers of 1980-82 McGuire had both classes and private lessons with Maestro Segovia and the great Spanish composer Federico Moreno-Torroba.

Stevie Ray Vaughn, who at one time played in a band with Christopher’s brother Patrick, was a regular in the McGuire family music room in the early 1970’s and taught Christopher to play the blues in weekly jam sessions.

McGuire previously taught at the collegiate level for 25 years, serving on the faculties of the University of Dallas and North Lake College.

He now devotes most of his time to performing, teaching, overseeing the Allegro Guitar Society as Artistic Director, and spending time with his family.

*Allegro Guitar Society is a DBA of the Fort Worth Classic Guitar Society, a 501c3 nonprofit arts organization registered in the State of Texas.

Steve Harlos, piano

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Steven Harlos (b. 1953) finds himself equally at home on the concert stage, in the jazz club, or in the pit of a Broadway musical.  He performs regularly in a wide range of roles including concerto soloist, chamber musician, and in contemporary works involving electronics and improvisation.  He has performed with such diverse artists as Timofei Dokschutzer, Harvey Phillips, Dick Hyman, Marvin Gaye and Maureen McGovern.  In 2010, he presented the world premiere of Dysfunctional, a piano concerto written for him by American composer and jazz artist Stephen Anderson.  2021 marked the release of his recording of solo piano music by Dick Hyman. In 2022, he retired as staff keyboardist for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra after 26 seasons with the orchestra.

Currently, he serves as chair of the Division of Keyboard Studies at the University of North Texas. He is also a successful composer--his Sonata Rubata for flute and piano was published by Southern Music Company, and Benniana, his jazz sonata for clarinet and piano is gaining worldwide popularity. In 2021 he completed and premiered Billiana, Sonata #2 for clarinet and piano. Other works include Three Bach Inventions Re-Invented in the styles of Busoni, Godowsky, and Rachmaninoff for piano solo.

Carol Harlos, cello

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     In great demand as a freelance cellist, Carol Harlos maintains a busy schedule performing with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and numerous other chamber music ensembles ni the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She has performed with the Dallas Opera, Honolulu Symphony, Colorado Philharmonic (assistant principal cello), San Antonio Symphony, East Texas Symphony, and Texas Chamber Orchestra. Carol Higa Harlos was born ni Honolulu, Hawaii. She received a bachelor of music from Indiana University, a master of music from the University of Western Ontario and an artist diploma from the University of Toronto. Her principal teachers were Fritz Magg, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and
Vladmir Orloff. She also has studied privately with Raya Garbousova and Gabor Retjo and taken masterclasses with János Starker, Aldo Parisot, Jules Eskin and Samuel Mayes. She has participated ni the Banff and Sarasota summer chamber music festivals. Carol has played chamber music concerts with Duo Renard and with faculty members of the College of Music at the University of North Texas, including her husband, pianist Steven Harlos. She has taught numerous cellists of all ages during the past twenty years, and continues to enjoy teaching privately.

Grace Kang Wollett, violin

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Korean American violinist Grace Kang Wollett is the acting associate concertmaster of The Dallas Opera Orchestra and the violinist of MAKE, with clarinetist Danny Goldman and pianist Mikhail Berestnev. Grace began her violin studies at the age of
eight in Nottingham, England and moved to New York City at the age of fourteen to
pursue her dream of becoming a professional violinist. Since then, Grace has performed extensively all over the globe, including venues such as The Royal Albert Hall, Al Hussein Cultural Center, Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, Steinway Hall NYC, Dallas City Performance Hall, The Winspear Opera House, and even The Grand 'Ol Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
Grace believes very strongly in the power of music and has endeavored in numerous
community engagement activities including the Gluck Community Service Fellowship at The Juilliard School, where she performed in various hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. She has performed for the Garland Police Department and organized "For my Other Half," a concert series that raised funds for food and clothing for North Koreans. She also embarked on a 5-city tour in Turkey sponsored by the Korean Embassy.
Grace has also been sought after for her innate teaching ability. Grace was the
Teaching Assistant to Stephen Clapp at The Juilliard School, violin faculty at The Fine Arts Music Academy, and has taught masterclasses at the Royal Music Academy in Jordan. Grace also played an integral part in launching a music program in a school in Zarqa, Jordan. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music from The Juilliard School. Grace currently resides in Plano, TX with her husband Scott and children Jonny and Maddie, and Lotte "Lottie".

Mikhail Berestnev, piano

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Equally adept as a recitalist, soloist, and chamber musician, Mikhail Berestnev
brings to every performance the experiences of a career spanning the globe,
including performances in cities such as Sydney, Dublin, Moscow, Brussels, Rio de Janeiro, and Barcelona in addition to concert halls across the United States.
He has performed as a featured soloist with the Sydney Symphony, Brazilian
Symphony, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Fort Worth Symphony, Corpus
Christi Symphony, Irving Symphony, Plano Symphony, San Angelo Symphony,
Russian Philharmonic Orchestras of Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh, and Yaroslavl.
Recent collaborations include solo appearances under the direction of Maestro Hector Guzman, composer Dr Robert Xavier Rodriguez. In chamber music with violinists Emanuel Borok, Aaron Boyd, Hubert Pralitz, Eunice Keem, with the MAKE Trio (Danny Goldman, clarinet & Grace Kang Wollet, violin), Julius
String Quartet. Performed as a soloist and collaborative at music festivals such as
Piano Texas International Festival and Academy (Fort Worth, TX), Basically
Beethoven Festival (Dallas, TX), International Keyboard Odyssiad & Festival (Fort Collins, CO).
Mikhail Berestnev is Artist-in-Residence with the St Matthews Cathedral Arts
Program in Dallas, guest artist and collaborative pianist with the "Musica Nova" Ensemble at the University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Ballet Theater, and featured artist at the "Cliburn in the Classroom" Program by The Cliburn Foundation. He won prizes at Gnessins International Competition, Stanislav Neuhaus International Competition, Sydney International Competition of Australia, BNDES
International Piano Competition in Rio de Janeiro and American International Piano Festival & Competition in Washington DC. Graduated from the Russian Academy of Music named after Gnessins, Texas
Christian University College of Fine Arts and Meadows School of Arts at the
Southern Methodist University. He studied piano with Irina Grebyonkina, Andrei Khitruk, Alexei Skavronski, Vladimir Tropp, Tamás Ungár and Joaquin
Achucarro.

Andrew Pearce, cello

Stas Chernyshev, clarinet

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An "eloquent" clarinetist with "incredible artistry” Russian-born Stas Chernyshev has established a versatile career as an orchestral musician, soloist, chamber musician, and educator (Dallas Morning News, Theater Jones). Principal clarinetist of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Chernyshev has performed at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall in New York, Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as in Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Russia, South Korea and Japan. A devoted chamber musician, Mr. Chernyshev has collaborated with Grammy-winning ensembles Eighth Blackbird and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra,  commissioned new works for his instrument. He has
been featured on WQXR -New York’s classical music station and WHYY’s television program - On Stage at Curtis. Mr. Chernyshev holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and a Master’s degree from St. Petersburg Conservatory.

Sari Pearce, violin

Eunice Keem, violin

Matthew Sinno, viola

Minji Kim, cello