PROGRAM
JESSIE MONTGOMERY | Breakaway
TOMEKA REID | Prospective Dwellers
MILES DAVIS, ARR. SETH PAE | Flamenco Sketches
SHELLEY WASHINGTON | Middleground
DAMIEN GETER | Neo-Soul
JESSIE MONTGOMERY | Source Code
COLERIDGE TAYLOR PERKINSON | String Quartet No. 1, "Calvary"
“D-Composed redefines classical music.”
SNEAK PEEK
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Khelsey Zarraga, violin
Of African American and Venezuelan descent, Khelsey Zarraga is a violinist, curator, arranger, improviser, recording artist, and social justice advocate based in Chicago, IL.
A 3Arts Make A Wave award recipient, Zarraga performs a wide variety of genres and has performed concerts of gospel, hip-hop, jazz, and classical music. She is a proud member of D-Composed, an all-Black chamber music collective celebrating the works of Black artists.
She has collaborated with acclaimed artists and creatives such as Jamila Woods, Kris Bowers, Silkroad Ensemble, Jlin, Tricia Hersey, Cheryl Lynne Bruce, Pamela Z, Nathalie Joachim, Pauli the PSM, Angel Bat Dawid, and Plinio Fernandes. She has created original compositions and arrangements for D-Composed and enjoys curating new, community focused projects. She is also the founding violinist of Black Moon Trio, where she collaborated with artists such as poet/author Michael Tyler and author Robin Wall Kimmerer. Black Moon Trio also released two albums to critical acclaim, Principal and Flourish.
Zarraga has enjoyed performing across Europe, South America, and the Caribbean and in venues such as the Chicago Theater, Kaufman Music Center, Sala São Paulo, Wilbur Theater, and Harris Theater. As a teaching artist, she has led workshops and panels on community engagement, representation in classical music, and composition, and she has been in residence and led masterclasses at the Jacobs School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Connecticut SummerFest, University of Louisville, Centre College, and Denison University. Khelsey is also a mentor for the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative.
Anya Brumfield, violin
Anya Brumfield is a violin artist in Chicago originally from Homewood, IL. She received her bachelor's in violin performance in 2020 at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Some of her previous instructors include teaching artist Addison Teng and string pedagog Mimi Zweig. In the Spring of 2023, Brumfield became a member of D-Composed; an all black chamber collective that aims to celebrate blackness through the lens of classical musicians.
Brumfield currently serves various communities as a teaching artist, most notably with A Touch of Classical Plus out of the South Shore and Hyde Park Communities. As a member of the Music Teachers of Hyde Park, she has taught string ensembles, private students, string orchestra, and music theory classes.
Brumfield mainly focuses on her work as a freelance artist and has had many opportunities to perform and record with a variety of musicians, including: Sudan Archives, Adrian Younge, Chance the Rapper, Jamila Woods, Arthur Verocai, Sigur Rós, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Nas, and Josh Groban. Recently, Brumfield had the privilege to perform with Christina Aguilera for the Obamas at the opening of the Obama Presidential Center.
Wilfred Farquharson, viola
Wilfred Farquharson is a violist from the Atlanta, Georgia area that now calls Chicago, Illinois his home. With his versatile musicality, he thrives as a studio, orchestral, and chamber musician. As an active contributor to the dynamic musical ecosystem of Chicago, Farquharson is a violist for the Chicago-based chamber ensembles D-Composed Chicago and Crossing Borders Music. In these ensembles, Farquharson has performed to critical acclaim both nationally and internationally as well.
On top of these ensembles, Farquharson can be heard around the city performing and subbing with renowned orchestras such as the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, Chicago Sinfonietta, and occasionally as the Principal Violist of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. Outside of Chicago, Wilfred has also performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, served as guest Assistant Principal for the Augusta Symphony Orchestra, and many recording orchestras including the Re-Collective and Matt Jones Orchestras.
Furthermore, Farquharson has performed and recorded for some of Pop’s and Classical Music’s biggest artists. Some of these artists are Ms. Lauryn Hill, Silkroad Ensemble, Not for Radio, John Legend, Jessie Montgomery, Rachel Barton-Pine, Sudan Archives, Chance the Rapper, Jamila Woods, DRAMA, Andra Day, Robert Glasper, Burna Boy, Arthur Verocai, and Carlos Simon. Recently, Farquharson performed as part of Stevie Wonder’s Sing A Song To Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart Tour throughout the Midwest.
Beyond his performance endeavors Farquharson has an ardent dedication to nurturing and educating aspiring violists and budding artists. He proudly held a faculty position at the esteemed Merit School of Music Pfaelzer Conservatory of Music from 2022-2024 and currently serves as a mentor for the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative. He also proudly contributed as an advisory board member for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s African American Network from 2022-2023. Having been honored as a Premier Young Artist awardee, he obtained his bachelor's degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and graduated with honors from the University of Southern California for his graduate studies at the Thornton School of Music.
Tahirah Whittington, cello
Grammy-nominated cellist, Tahirah Whittington, is a founding member of D-Composed and the Ritz Chamber Players. Previously, Whittington was the cellist for Hamilton: An American Musical in Chicago. Studio recordings include The Lion King (2019), Beyoncé’s The Lion King: The Gift, and albums by John Legend and PJ Morton.
Television and film appearances include the movie, “Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and episodes of “Empire”. Whittington remotely recorded the cello solo for Rhiannon Giddens’ “Cry No More” arranged by composer Michael Abels. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from New England Conservatory and her Master’s Degree in Cello Performance from The Juilliard School. Whittington has studied with Laurence Lesser, Joel Krosnick, and Hans Jørgen Jensen.
Due to the possibility of unforeseen circumstances, program and artists are subject to change.