Ensemble for These Times to Present Two World Premieres in EXILE | BANISHMENT | HOME

Award-winning SF contemporary chamber group Ensemble for These Times (E4TT) is excited to announce 'Exile | Banishment | Home,' the group's first full ensemble program of its 19th season, featuring the World Premieres of Skazka (a multimedia fairy tale) by Alexander Malinas, and a new duo for cello and piano by Mary Bianco, paired with selections from Shostakovich's From Jewish Folk Poetry sung in the poetry's original Yiddish, plus new music by Andrea Casarrubios, David Garner, and Stella G. Gitelman Willoughby.

Part of E4TT's 'Jewish Music & Poetry Project,' the program will be performed for an in-person audience on Sunday, November 15th, 2026, at 4:00 p.m., at Old First Concerts in SF and livestreamed on O1C's YouTube channel.

ABOUT 'EXILE | BANISHMENT | HOME'

What does it mean to be home and not yet home, to be 'othered' or physically alienated even while at home, or to search for a yearned-for distant or future land? E4TT will explore aspects of this duality musically with the soprano and mezzo-soprano movements of From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op. 79 (1948, arr. piano) by Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) sung in the poetry's original Yiddish language, and the World Premiere of Skazka (fairytale) for narrator, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and percussion, an original story performed in Russian based on folktales reinterpreted and subverted by emerging composer Alexander Malinas (b. 2002). A multimedia presentation, Skazka will be accompanied by images by Aria Nunez based on illustrations by Ivan Bilibin. These works will be paired with the World Premiere of a new cello/piano duo by Bay Area composer Mary Bianco (b. 1939), plus three pre-existing relevant works: Unter dayne vayse shtern arr. for soprano and piano from Vilna Poems (2012) by E4TT co-founder and 2015 American Prize in Composition winner David Garner (b. 1954), to a text written in the Vilna Ghetto in 1943 by famed Yiddish poet Avrom Sutkever (1913-2010); 'Armadura' (2022) for solo cello by GRAMMY nominated, Spanish-American composer and cellist Andrea Casarrubios (b. 1988), a work inspired by the life of Frida Kahlo; and 'Stories of my Mother' (2021) for mezzo-soprano by ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award winner Stella G. Gitelman Willoughby (b. 2000), which combines passages from the Old Testament into a narrative about a woman's journey, first out of captivity into a land of freedom and then, when her new home falls, in search of a new life.

E4TT (soprano Nanette McGuinness, cellist Megan Chartier, and pianist Margaret Halbig) will be joined by soprano Carina Kahane, mezzo-soprano Melinda Martinez Becker, narrator Alex Malinas, violinist Aria Shum, flute/piccolo player Taylor Robinson, clarinetist Katie Urrutia, percussionist Eddie Virtgaym, and conductor H. Grace Wahlen. Co-presented by KlezCalifornia, the concert will be performed at Old First Concerts in San Francisco and also livestreamed on O1C's YouTube channel, with a pre-concert composer talk.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

MELINDA BECKER is a vocalist whose New Mexican and Jewish heritage informs her artistic voice. Drawing on musical traditions in Spanish, Ladino, Yiddish, and a wide range of other languages, she brings an expressive, stylistically versatile approach to repertoire ranging from contemporary classical and baroque to mariachi, traditional and popular music. A passionate advocate for new music, Melinda has collaborated with composers and ensembles including Nicolás Lell Benavides, Friction Quartet, Brian Baumbusch, Emily Koh, and the Musical Art Quintet. In 2026, she will record Kanta Judezmo, a ten-movement oratorio in Ladino by Sascha Jacobsen, with the Musical Art Quintet. She also appears with Friction Quartet on Canto Caló, an album of music by Nicolás Lell Benavides released in 2025 on Aerocade Recordings. Melinda studied at Santa Clara University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Conservatoire de Strasbourg in France. She further specialized in Spanish art song and chamber music through Project Canción Española at the Escuela Superior de Canto in Madrid and Música en Compostela in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

E4TT cellist MEGAN CHARTIER is 'unafraid to display gutsy abandon,' as described by the South Florida Classical Review. She has performed internationally as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral cellist. Current positions include Opera San Luis Obispo principal cellist, and Vallejo Symphony section cello, following positions as Astralis Chamber Ensemble core cellist and Miami Symphony Orchestra principal cellist; she has recently performed with the San Antonio Symphony, One Found Sound, Nu Deco Ensemble, and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. Semi-finalist in the 2017 PRISMA Concerto Competition, she won 1st prize in the Ann Arbor Society of Musical Arts' 2015 Young Artist Competition and 2015 Miami Music Festival Concerto Competition. With an undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University, and a Master's from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Chartier is on faculty as Cello Lecturer at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

E4TT pianist MARGARET HALBIG is in high demand as a collaborative artist in both the instrumental and vocal fields. She is currently Associate Chair and Voice Coach Managing Supervisor of the Voice Department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she frequently collaborates with faculty and student instrumentalists. During the summer, Halbig is on faculty at Taos Opera Institute in New Mexico and also teaches at the Vocal Academy at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. An advocate of new and contemporary music, she has been the pianist for the new music collective Wild Rumpus since its inception and frequently plays with the contemporary chamber group Earplay. Halbig earned her DMA from UC Santa Barbara under the tutelage of Robert Koenig and holds performance degrees from the University of Missouri, Kansas City Conservatory and University of Evansville, Indiana.

Soprano CARINA KAHANE was born and raised in Queens, New York. She moved to San Francisco in 2019 to pursue a Master of Music in Voice and Opera at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and to study with Jane Randolph. Since graduating, she has sung with several Bay Area organizations, including performing in the workshop premiere of the new opera The Emissary with Opera Parallèle and appearing as the soprano soloist in Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols. She is delighted to join Ensemble for These Times for this special performance.

ALEXANDER MALINAS is a composer, pianist, concert producer, and educator located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Malinas takes artistic inspiration from his Russian Jewish heritage, incorporating Russian and Jewish Folk tropes into his music, as well as programming concerts of Jewish music. Malinas began playing piano at the age of 13 and by 19 decided to pursue composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with David Garner. Malinas is the youngest recipient of the Highsmith Award for his orchestral composition 'Hear Her Sing', which was performed by the SFCM orchestra in 2024. Malinas also received second prize in SFCM's 2026 Biennial Choral Composition Competition for his setting of 'Simeni chaChotam' from Shir haShirim. Malinas was commissioned by the Bridge Players and Congregation Sha'ar Zahav for a piano trio, which premiered in April 2026.

Soprano and E4TT co-founder and Artistic Executive Director NANETTE MCGUINNESS has been hailed in the press for her "creamy golden tone" and "glorious soprano" across a repertory that ranges from 1600 to the present. A passionate advocate of music by living composers and women artists, she has performed operas, concerts, and recitals in 13 languages on two continents in over 25 operatic roles with the Silesian State (Czech Republic), Opera San Jose (Opera in the Schools), West Bay, Pacific Repertory, and Livermore Valley Opera, San Jose Symphony, Contra Costa Chorale, Monterey Peninsula Chorus, Solano Symphony, and Palo Alto Philharmonic, among many. She has been featured on nine albums with Centaur, Aerocade, and Yuggoth Records and her debut recording of music by 19th and 20th century women composers, Fabulous Femmes, was called 'perfect for the song recital lover' by Chamber Music Magazine. McGuinness earned her doctorate in Music from UC Berkeley, Masters in Music from Holy Names College, and her undergraduate degree from Cornell University.

Taylor Robinson is a flutist and a current student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Dedicated to both artistic expression and technical excellence, he enjoys exploring a diverse range of repertoire through solo, chamber, and orchestral performance. With a passion for connecting audiences and collaborating with fellow musicians, he continues to develop his craft while pursuing a lifelong passion and commitment to music.

ARIA SHUM is a violinist and interdisciplinary artist based in San Francisco, California. As an avid musician and collaborator, she regularly performs in concerts and recitals, including premieres and recordings of new music. In addition to her regular performances, some memorable performances include concerts at the Washington National Cathedral, where she worked with conductors David Danzmayr and Marin Alsop. She has performed in masterclasses with renowned teachers and performers such as David Bowlin, Sibbi Bernhardsson, Kirsten Yon, Jennifer Ross, Marc Rovetti, and Stephen Rose. Aria previously studied with Sang Mee Lee at the Music Institute of Chicago, and is currently pursuing her Bachelor's degree in violin performance under the instruction of Simon James at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

KATIE URRUTIA is a second year Master's student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music studying Clarinet Performance under Professor Jerry Simas. Originally from Baltimore, MD, Katie is passionate about making classical music more accessible, and advocating for more diversity initiatives within the arts. This is Katie's second year as a teaching artist through the Quinteto Latino Fellowship Program, where she leads educational programs and workshops for Latino youth and underrepresented communities across the Bay Area. Prior to San Francisco, Katie earned her Bachelor's degree from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, studying both clarinet and bass clarinet performance under Professor Howard Klug. She is especially interested in using music as a tool for mentorship, connection, and empowerment. Katie is committed to expanding the boundaries of classical music, and creating meaningful experiences within the communities she serves.

Since graduating from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, EDDIE VIRTGAYM has enjoyed returning to a life of rock music, performing around San Francisco with his band Dream Arenas, as well as many other acts, in such venues as Bottom of the Hill and Rickshaw Stop. Not fully removing his foot from the orchestral door, he still enjoys performing the occasional concert with the San Francisco Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, One Found Sound, and others too. A great deal of time is also spent sharing the love of music with younger ones, helping kids at the Hamlin School and elsewhere gain confidence and passion through drumming. He also often records for many artists at his own Jekyll Studio.

H. GRACE WAHLEN completed their MM in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Northern Colorado under Colombian conductor Andrés Felipe Jaime's mentorship, where they were assistant conductor of the UNC Symphony Orchestra. Wahlen was also an apprentice conductor of the Boulder Symphony and Symphony of the Rockies under Devin Patrick Hughes during this past season. Grace Wahlen participated in the 2025 Prague Summer Nights Festival as the assistant conductor for Michelle Di Russo on Puccini's Suor Angelica and as an assistant pianist and vocal coach in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Grace has started their professional studies in conducting under Edwin Outwater at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she led the SFCM Orchestra in performance of Jennifer Higdon's Blue Cathedral and Jimmy López's Loud, as well as Viet Cuong's Deciduous with the SFCM Wind Ensemble at conductor Brad Hogarth's invitation.

ABOUT ENSEMBLE FOR THESE TIMES

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