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Public Critics

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Meet the Critics

Tim Sawyier

Tim Sawyier, 23, graduated from Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music in 2008. A Chicago native, he attended the University of Chicago Laboratory School and was the principal oboist of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra from 2002 to 2004. One of the Chicago Tribune’s 2006 “Top Five Rising Stars in Classical Music,” he is currently the oboist for the Anaphora Ensemble, and principal oboe of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. Tim has been a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and Aspen Music Festival, and was part of the group that received the bronze medal at the 2004 Fischoff Junior Competition. He lives with his two scorpion fish, Flotsam and Jetsam.

Elliot Mandel

Elliot Mandel started playing cello in second grade, much to his parents' surprise, and has since performed in such exotic locales as Ireland, Denmark, and the Old Town School of Folk Music. Currently, he plays in the 13-member Oakley Street Cello Ensemble. In addition to performing and attending concerts, Elliot reviews books and documentary films for Booklist Magazine, dabbles in photography, and works for the American Library Association.

Jesse McQuarters

Jesse McQuarters earned degrees from Indiana University-Bloomington in double bass performance and audio engineering. He resides in Chicago where, in addition to freelancing as a double bassist extensively, he is on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago. His articles have appeared in the journal of the International Society of Bassists, and he is proud to be a public critic for ChicagoClassicalMusic.com. Jesse is a producer of internationally syndicated programming for the WFMT Radio Network, and has worked with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project, Gustavo Dudamel, Lang Lang, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Gilmore Festival, the Mendelssohn Project, James Conlon, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, and many others. He also produces the WFMT Radio Network's flagship program “Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin,” heard by over 600,000 people around the world every weekday. Jesse is passionate about all things related to classical music and its capacity to connect people, open up new worlds, and nourish the soul.

Kathryn J Allwine Bacasmot

Kathryn J Allwine Bacasmot is a pianist/harpsichordist, musicologist, and freelancewriter. She received her B.M. in Music History and Literature from Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL) with a lecture on, and recital of, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Musikalisches Opfer and an M.M. in Musicology at New England Conservatory (Boston, MA) with her thesis on Björk Guðmundsdóttir and aspects of the female experience in her fifth studio album, Medúlla. During her several years in Boston and New York she was part of the team at From the Top, an Emmy Award winning PBS and highly rated NPR series.Currently she assists at Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and writes about music for clients nationwide. She listens to everything from Machaut to Matmos, wants to meet Joan Didion, and is obsessive about tea, garment construction, and Monty Python sketches.

Margaret Sutherlin

Margaret is a freelance writer and editor living in Chicago. A recent transplant to the area from Indianapolis, she is thrilled to be able to take part in all the cultural offerings and thriving arts scene in the greater Chicago community.

Chicago Classical Music