Mix some musical talent with a little moxie and a lot of Mozart and what do you get? A highly acclaimed high school chamber music group, CSO Nouveau Chamber Players, a program of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Composed of six African-American high school string students — Titilayo Ayangade, cello; Jermaine Crutchfield, violin; Lee Griffith, cello; Patrice Kirksey, violin/viola; Alan Lawson, violin and Timothy Ovia, violin — these students successfully auditioned for the group and perform locally.

The CSO provides CSO Nouveau Chamber Players with free chamber music lessons and coaching by local violinist Marion Peraza de Webb and mentoring and management from CSO staffers Kathy Finley and Anne Cushing-Reid.

Designed to be a springboard for careers in classical music, CSO Nouveau Chamber Players have performed as pre-concert entertainment at CSO concerts and at numerous community gatherings. The group is in high demand and regularly receives rave reviews. Now in their third season, CSO Nouveau Chamber Players is an important part of the CSO’s commitment to diversity and education.

“The idea for the Nouveau Chamber Players grew out of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra and the CSO’s Education programs—both of which have been on the forefront of diversity initiatives,” said Anne Cushing-Reid, CSO Sr. Director of Community Engagement & Learning.

CSO Nouveau Chamber Players is a program of Sound Discoveries: Music for Career and is made possible by The Corbett Educational Endowment.

To be a member of the Nouveau Chamber Players a student must audition for the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra.  In the 2009-2010 season, four of the CSO Nouveau Chamber Players members are also members of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, and two are CSYO alternates.

For information about scheduling a performance by the Nouveau Chamber Players, please contact Kathy Jorgensen-Finley at 513.621.1919.

For more information about becoming a member of the Nouveau Chamber players and for information about audition requirements for the CSYO, visit cincinnatisymphony.org/csyo or contact the CSYO at 513.744.3333.