Pushing the boundaries of vocal music.

Join the four-woman acapella group, Quince, for a night of gorgeously apocalyptic melodies in remembrance of the Dust Bowl. These four critically acclaimed sopranos will perform a series of folk ballads inspired by Woody Guthrie as part of their “This a Changin’ World” tour. Quince has been described in Opera News as “the Anonymous 4 of new music” and the versatility of their voices is truly something to behold! 

About Quince Ensemble: Singing with the precision and flexibility of modern chamber musicians, Quince Ensemble is changing the paradigm of contemporary vocal music.  Described as “the Anonymous 4 of new music” by Opera News, Quince continually pushes the boundaries of vocal ensemble literature. As dedicated advocates of new music, Quince regularly commissions new works, providing wider exposure for the music of living composers. They recently launched the Quince New Music Commissioning Fund, a fund to grow the repertoire for women and treble voices.  Quince has released three studio albums, Realign the Time, Hushers, and Motherland, all available on iTunes, CD Baby, Spotify, and Amazon.

In 2016, Quince was featured on the KODY Festival Lublin, Poland in collaboration with David Lang and Beth Morrison Projects. They have also appeared on the Outpost Concert Series, the Philip Glass: Music with Friends concert at the Issue Project Room in Brooklyn, Alia Musica, and the SONiC Festival in New York.  During the 2018-19 season, they will collaborate with International Contemporary Ensemble, Lincoln Center, Linfield University, Vespers Concert Series, Kamratōn Ensemble, Connecticut Summerfest, and UC Berkeley, to name a few.

Comprised of vocalists Liz Pearse (soprano), Kayleigh Butcher (mezzo soprano), Amanda DeBoer Bartlett (soprano), and Carrie Henneman Shaw (soprano), Quince thrives on unique musical challenges and genre-bending contemporary repertoire.

Artist Bios

Kayleigh Butcher: Described as “Rad as f*&^” (Scapi Magazine) and having “a sound that is well-suited for the strange world of new music” (Chicago Classical Review), Kayleigh Butcher (mezzo soprano) has gained critical and audience acclaim as a soloist and contemporary chamber musician.
As a fervent supporter and advocate for contemporary music, Kayleigh has worked with many composers including David Lang, Tristan Perich, Eve Beglarian, Daniel Felsenfeld, Holly Herndon, John Luther Adams, Chris Fisher-Lochhead, David Reminick, Jennifer Walshe, Robert Honstein, Danny Clay, Alex Temple, Molly Herron, Fjóla Evans, Levy Lorenzo, Morgan Krauss, Eliza Brown, Jonathan Sokol, Max Grafe, Amanda Feery, LJ White, Bethany Younge, Ravi Kittappa, and Jennifer Jolley.
She has also collaborated with many new music ensembles including International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Eighth Blackbird, Third Coast Percussion, Ensemble Dal Niente, Opera on Tap NYC, Tigue, Man Forever, Grant Wallace Band, Anti-Social Music, thingNY, Fonema Consort, a.per.i.o.dic, and Rhymes With Opera, to name a few.
She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2008 and completed her Master’s in Music at Bowling Green State University in 2011.  Kayleigh also experiments with composition, writing fugues and other arrangements for Quince.
www.kayleighbutcher.com

Amanda DeBoer Bartlett: Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, DMA is an Omaha-based classical soprano who specializes in the work of living composers. Along with her solo career, she is a member of Ensemble Dal Niente and Hasco Duo. Ms. DeBoer Bartlett is featured on albums with Holly Herndon, Deerhoof, Ensemble Dal Niente, Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, Christopher Wild, and Hasco Duo.
Ms. DeBoer Bartlett is also the founder and director of an experimental performance festival called Omaha Under the Radar, which has presented nearly 200 individual artists from around North America during its first three seasons.
Born and raised in Omaha, NE, Ms. DeBoer Bartlett moved to Chicago to study at DePaul University where she received a Bachelor of Music. She received a Masters degree from the University at Buffalo, where she studied with acclaimed contemporary interpreter Tony Arnold, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Bowling Green State University.
www.amandadeboer.com 

Liz Pearse: Finding joy in variety, Liz Pearse is a musician of many pursuits. After a childhood spent playing every instrument she could lay hands upon, Liz began exploring the endless possibilities of the voice. Hers is an instrument of unusual range, color, and versatility.  She has performed a range of repertoire, from medieval to modern, on stages around the world including Italy (soundSCAPE Festival), Switzerland (Lucerne Festival) and Poland (KODY Festiwal).
Liz has a special affinity for music post 1900. As a soloist, her recent projects include multiple performances of Pierrot Lunaire, touring Olivier Messiaen’s Harawi, electroacoustic programming including Philomel, and on-going commissions dedicated to the creation of works for self-accompanying soprano. She researches contemporary vocal pedagogy as part of a DMA in Contemporary Music, in progress at Bowling Green State University (Ohio).
www.lizpearse.com

Carrie Henneman Shaw: Soprano Carrie Henneman Shaw is known across the US as a singer who weaves style and emotion into vivid performances of Baroque and contemporary classical music. Praised in the New York Times “as graceful vocally as she was in her movements”, “consistently stylish” (Boston Globe), and as a “cool, precise soprano” (Chicago Tribune), Shaw is a member of Quince Ensemble, Chicago’s Ensemble Dal Niente, Pesedjet, and also appears with the Bach Society of Minnesota, Haymarket Opera Company, Newberry Consort, and Boston Early Music Festival. Carrie was a 2010 and 2017 McKnight Fellow for Performing Musicians and has earned arts entrepreneurship awards in her role as co-director of St. Paul’s Glorious Revolution Baroque.
Shaw seeks opportunities to bring rare performances of new works by American and international composers to an eclectic variety of venues – bars, churches, galleries, and concert halls – with collaborators around the country. In the Minnesota composer community, she has been privileged to commission and premiere works by such composers as Jocelyn Hagen, Noah Keesecker, and Abbie Betinis, whose annual Christmas carols are annually recorded for broadcast by Minnesota Public Radio. Shaw has also performed in a gala holiday concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
Shaw earned degrees in English and Voice Performance from Lawrence University and completed a doctorate at the University of Minnesota. She currently teaches at Bethel University and Lawrence University.
www.shawsoprano.com

About Eko Nova: The Omaha Chamber Music Society and KANEKO’s Eko Nova concert series introduces Omaha audiences to some of the most innovative and inspiring musical works written today – music that looks outward with an openness to a myriad of genres, styles, and forms. With virtuosic performances from the region’s finest musicians, plus guest appearances by extraordinary artists from around the country, these programs appeal to a diverse crowd, from lovers of contemporary art to classical music fans and beyond.