Guest Artists
Meraki is a chamber ensemble co-founded by former classmates Anastasia Christofakis, clarinet, and Elizabeth G. Hill, piano. They are recipients of Chamber Music America’s 2018 Classical Commissioning Grant for their current collaboration with award-winning composer, Jerod Tate. The ensemble is dedicated to awakening cultural compassion through music. Meraki’s recurring focus is the music of “Essence” that evokes the culture and history of people through their folk sound and musical language. Their debut album Within was recently released by Equilibrium Records and features works by Anthony R. Green, Jamie Wind Whitmarsh, and Jerod Tate, that were commissioned by the duo.
Anastasia Christofakis has performed around the world, but only buys bagels in her hometown of Syosset, New York. Having purchased a down coat while getting her Masters in Chicago, Illinois and several pairs of flip flops for her Doctorate in humid Tallahassee, Florida, Anastasia finally settled into the temperate climate of Greenville, South Carolina where she serves as Assistant Professor of Clarinet at Furman University. Anastasia is a sought-after educator, most recently taking on the role of Coordinator of the Chamber Music Intensive at the New England Music Camp, in Sidney, Maine. Outside of her teaching schedule, Anastasia enjoys collaborating with others to expand the scope and diversity of new music, as well as its accessibility. In addition to her role with Meraki, Anastasia also performs and serves as the Vice President of Education and Community Outreach of What is Noise – an award-winning Pierrot ensemble made up of musicians from around the world. A non-profit organization, What is Noise focuses its mission on building community through music. She is a Royal Global Performance Artist and performs on Firebird clarinets and Brian Corbin clarinet products.
A recognized leader in chamber music and contemporary music advocacy, pianist Elizabeth G. Hill has performed across the US and Europe in service of her life’s work: joining cultures together through music. In addition to her role as co-founder of Meraki, She is also pianist for Balance Campaign, a chamber ensemble whose focus lies exclusively on commissioning and performing works by marginalized composers. She currently also serves as the pianist for the National Philharmonic. An active pedagogue, Elizabeth is a private piano teacher in the DC-metro area, and is a member of the Collaborative Piano Faculty at the Heifetz International Music Institute. Originally raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Elizabeth holds degrees from Mary Baldwin College (B.A.), James Madison University (M.M.), and The Catholic University of America (D.M.A. with a specialization in Chamber Music).
Meraki (n.): the soul, creativity, or love put into something;
the essence of yourself that is put into your creative work
UNCG Faculty
Clarinetist ANTHONY TAYLOR has been on the faculty of the University of North Carolina College of Visual and Performing Arts and Principal Clarinet of the Winston-Salem Symphony since 2007. He has been an Artist/Teacher for the Eastern Music Festival since 2013 and served on the faculty of the Hot Springs Music Festival (Arkansas) from 2008–2012. He has formerly held positions with the Spokane Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic, Washington State University, Eastern Washington University, and Whitman College.
Taylor’s clarinet playing can be heard on recordings on the Navona, Centaur, Naxos American Classics and Gothic recording labels, and the most recent releases are two Centaur records projects with New Music Raleigh. The most recent is on Exhaling Space, a Navona release of UNCG composer Alejandro Rutty’s. Other recent recordings include the world premiere recording of Brett William Dietz’s opera introspective Headcase, and the debut recording of composer DJ Sparr, 21207. He is currently finishing up a new recording project of electroacoustic works featuring works of several living composers, including Thea Musgrave, Alejandro Rutty, D. Edward Davis, and Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn.
He can also be found on youtube; his video promoting his March 2011 basset clarinet performances of the Mozart concerto with the Winston-Salem symphony now has more than 120,000 views. In 2014, Taylor was among the first performers of Donald Crockett’s Dance Concerto. He has appeared at the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest®, with a notable performance of John Adams’s clarinet concerto Gnarly Buttons in 2010 and in 2011, the world premiere of UNCG composer Alejandro Rutty’s work Guitars, for two clarinets and Ableton Live-based electronics.
In his approach to pedagogy, Taylor incorporates his understanding of human movement, performance, and the Alexander Technique, in which he has been ATI-certified since 2016. He hopes to soon share recent research, at conferences and publications, linking Alexander Technique to the Focus of Attention research pioneered by University of Nevada Las Vegas kinesiology professor Gabriele Wulf. Taylor holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, the Florida State University and Washington State University. His former teachers include Steve Cohen, Ron Aufmann, Richard Hawkins, Frank Kowalsky, Jim Schoepflin, and Joseph Brooks.
Clarinetist, composer, educator, and new music collaborator LUKE ELLARD strives for art that continually reaches out, valuing a relational spirit, informed engagement, and unapologetic authenticity.
For Luke, collaboration is what gives music life. As a clarinetist, they have performed with members of Bang On a Can All Stars, Eighth Blackbird, International Contemporary Ensemble, Fifth House Ensemble, Arkansas Symphony, and Lone Star Wind Orchestra. Their current performance projects center around their self-produced solo cross-genre/electronic band LE, and commissioning new exciting works for the clarinet.
Dr. Ellard joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the Fall of 2023 as Visiting Assistant Professor of Clarinet, having previously served on faculty at the University of Oklahoma and Midwestern State University while teaching privately and performing in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Luke earned their Doctor of Musical Arts in Clarinet Performance with related studies in Contemporary Music and Music Entrepreneurship at the University of North Texas, studying under Kimberly Cole Luevano. Additionally, Luke has earned degrees from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (James Campbell & Eric Hoeprich), the University of Texas at Austin (Yevgeniy Sharlat, Dan Welcher, & Donald Grantham), and Louisiana Tech University (Lawrence Gibbs, Joe L. Alexander).