musicians and staff
Josie Davis / Violin
Co-Artistic Director & Evaluations Coordinator (she/her)
I grew up on one hundred acres in rural Maine and spent much of my childhood traipsing through the woods, sailing along the coastline, and playing music with my family. I went on to study violin and sociology at Oberlin College and Conservatory, where I was a student of David Bowlin, and recently received an Ed.M from Harvard University. I’ve performed in a wide range of venues, from Carnegie Hall to the Monte Music Festival in India, and actively explore ways to share classical music in new contexts; recent highlights include performing chamber music with Emanuel Ax in a taco shop and playing solo Bach for Chris Thile. As an educator, I am interested in how music can be used as a form of cultural empowerment to build bridges and strengthen communities. My teaching has brought me to Panama, India, and Community MusicWorks in Rhode Island. I am committed to creating more chamber music opportunities for young people and am the founder and director of summer programs in Maine and Connecticut. I am thrilled to have recently moved back to Maine, where I split my time between playing in Palaver and the Halcyon String Quartet and working at Bay Chamber Concerts and Music School.
josie@palaverstrings.org
Teagan Faran / Violin
Co-Artistic Director & Librarian (she/they)
I grew up as an ice hockey player outside of Buffalo, NY. I was lucky enough to take violin lessons as well at the local Suzuki academy and I quickly fell in love with performing and making music with friends. Western New York was a fertile artistic ground for curious young me and I got involved with jazz and tango groups in addition to my classical training. I went to the University of Michigan to continue studying music and then moved to Argentina through a Fulbright grant to research different performance practices. When I moved back to the US, I landed in New York City where I studied Contemporary Performance at the Manhattan School of Music.
Music for me is a great excuse to gather the people you care about together in one celebratory place. I have been able to travel and meet some of my closest friends through performance, and I love getting to know my local community better through the arts. I have been able to play with groups like Alarm Will Sound, International Contemporary Ensemble, and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra. I love being in the recording studio, too, and have recorded recently with Carlos Simon, Tanner Porter, and La Martino Orquesta Típica.
Outside of music, I am also a personal trainer, an avid tree climber, and a fan of ice cream all year round. In addition to playing with Palaver Strings, I also play in the electroacoustic duo Persephone & the Phoenix, bop around the US playing tango when I can, and teach at DePauw University.
teagan@palaverstrings.org
Maya French / Violin
Co-Artistic Director & Managing Director (she/her)
I grew up in midcoast Maine and was lucky to have a childhood full of explorations and lots of music. I’ve studied and performed at Kronberg Academy, Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Orford Music Academy, Manchester Music Festival, Kneisel Hall, Interlochen String Quartet Seminar, Virginia String Quartet Seminar, and Kinhaven Music School. I received my BM in Violin Performance from Boston University in 2015 under the direction of Bayla Keyes. As an educator, I’ve taught at Massachusetts Cultural Council, Bay Chamber Concerts and Music School, 317 Main Rise & Shine Violin Program, and Bridge Boston Charter School’s El Sistema-inspired strings program. I am currently a faculty member at the Palaver Music Center and certified to teach Suzuki Violin and Music Learning Theory, an early childhood music method. When I co-founded Palaver Strings, I had many goals in mind, such as promoting social service, participating in a self-conducted ensemble, and playing new music, but most of all I wanted to connect with audiences in an honest and open environment. I am excited to continue exploring how people in all stages of life can learn to communicate better and support one another. In addition to music, I love traveling, cooking large family-style meals, fiddling, and the ocean.
maya@palaverstrings.org
Kiyoshi Hayashi / Violin
Co-Artistic Director (he/him)
I grew up in Oak Park, IL and started playing violin when I was seven. Even as a very shy child, I found that playing music gave me a voice and allowed me to feel more comfortable expressing my personality. As I discovered how powerful music was and how happy it made me feel, I immediately began pursuing it as a career. Throughout my studies, I’ve had the privilege of working with some incredible teachers, including Almita Vamos and Nicholas Kitchen. I received my BM from the New England Conservatory of Music in 2016 and have stayed in Boston ever since. Aside from playing with Palaver Strings, I regularly perform with the Rasa String Quartet, Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, Phoenix Orchestra, and other local ensembles. I’m incredibly grateful to be a member of Palaver Strings because it is such a supportive family of like-minded musicians and has been instrumental in rejuvenating my passion for music. Palaver has provided me with a medium to perform music at a high level and use it to make a substantial impact on the lives of others. It has reconnected me to the joys I experienced playing violin as a child and has helped me develop my personal goals as a musician: to foster community, to heal and positively uplift people’s lives, and to inspire social change. Outside of music, I am a certified personal trainer and integrative nutrition health coach and am the founder of my own personal health and life coaching business, Train From Within. When I’m not playing music or coaching my clients, you’ll most likely find me going on a morning run, playing basketball, tennis, or soccer, doing some sun salutations, hanging out with my dog, Rusty, chilling with my friends, or exploring the outdoors.
kiyoshi@palaverstrings.org
Grant Houston / Violin
Co-Artistic Director (he/him
Music, for me, is about the joy of discovery and connection. I was lucky to discover the violin at age 7 in public school, and to say it was love at first sight is cliché- but true. Some fantastic music educators in my preteen years helped me see that though I could immerse myself in the world of music alone, the real thrill was the chance to share that experience with others both on and offstage. It's why I make chamber music the heart of my musical life: I'm all in on the team effort to connect music's kaleidoscope of emotions with any person who pulls up a chair.
I spent eight years as a student at the New England Conservatory in Boston, which made New England my home after growing up in a somewhat nomadic family. But I still follow where the music takes me, and I've found myself teaching in Panama, performing in a car factory in Germany and a shopping mall in Japan, stepping onto the biggest stage at Carnegie and into the homiest living room in New Hampshire. I started Trio Gaia, a piano trio heading into its seventh season, to make music and travel with my closest friends. Just as I discovered when I was young, it's coming together to make music with others that I love, whether on series like the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia, Castle of Our Skins, and the Wellesley Chamber Players, at festivals like Spoleto Festival USA, Ravinia's Steans Music Institute, and Yellow Barn's Young Artist Program, or within conductor-less ensembles like The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, A Far Cry, and Palaver Strings- of which I'm thrilled to be a part.
grant@palaverstrings.org
Jesse MacDonald / Violin
Co-Artistic Director (he/him)
I was adopted from South Korea at a very early age, and I lived in Bozeman, Montana until I graduated high school. I then moved on to the east coast for college, in a typical “country boy in the big city” scenario. I was immersed in amazing culture, music, wisdom, and food as I traversed through a Bachelor’s degree from New England Conservatory, studying with Masuko Ushioda and Joanna Kurkowicz, and a Masters with Honors (violin and chamber music) from Manhattan School of Music, studying with Mark Steinberg of the Brentano Quartet. I made my way back to the New England area in the fall of 2016 and have since lived in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and back in New Hampshire again as the newly-appointed second violinist and co-artistic director of the Apple Hill String Quartet and Center for Chamber Music. I have also found time to further my interests in other genres of music including swing, jazz, bluegrass, and folk. I am currently starting an arranging business focusing on transcribing, composing, and arranging for chamber groups and small orchestras in genres including swing/jazz, classical, Western Swing, folk-fusion, movie scores, classic rock, and most recently K-pop. In my free time, I can be found sipping on any kind of whiskey, reading the great classic literature of our day, listening to and watching K-pop and K-dramas, following up on the Minnesota Twins and Colorado Avalanche as well as my fantasy teams, or out in the wilderness exploring, hiking, hunting, and fishing.
jesse@palaverstrings.org
Brianna Fischler / Viola
Co-Artistic Director, Education Coordinator & Social Media Coordinator (she/her)
For as long as I can remember, music has been a central part of my life. As I came from a long line of musicians and artists, you could even say I had prenatal musical experiences. My grandmother, a violinist herself, first introduced my twin sister and I to the instrument. A few years later, my two younger twin brothers picked up the cello. If you were to walk into my house after school, in theory all four of us would have been practicing at once. Growing up with live-in “chamber music mates” was a luxury that positively enhanced my development as a human being. My sister, my best friend Jennie Brent, and I began playing in a trio at the age of eight at Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, CT. We called ourselves The Annellies, and we were guided by the love and support of our coach, Jody Rowitsch. Though our rehearsals were most likely 80% laughter and 20% work, we learned about the strong bond that can be formed through music. After a whirlwind musical education including local music school lessons, Kinhaven Music School, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, the Aspen Music Festival, Manhattan School of Music Pre-College, and a Bachelor's degree in violin performance from Boston University, my friends and I found ourselves in an environment desperately in need of inspiring chamber music-making. Thanks to an incredible amount of planning and dedication, Palaver Strings came to be. It has been an absolute joy to see our ensemble grow and the process of learning through music will be one that I continue to enjoy and love immensely.
brianna@palaverstrings.org
Lysander Jaffe / Viola
Co-Artistic Director, Communications & Evaluations Coordinator (he/him)
I grew up in rural western Massachusetts, where my parents, both jazz musicians, raised my siblings and I in a rich musical environment. I started Suzuki violin at the age of five and in high school I fell in love with the deep, introspective character of the viola, (not to mention the viola jokes). Over the years I studied with Michelle Liechti, Delores Thayer, and Ahling Neu, and am deeply indebted to their wisdom and patience. Thanks to Penny Schultz and Village Harmony, I also discovered a love of East European folk music and singing in general. After living abroad in Russia and England, I transferred to Williams College, where I continued my viola studies and graduated with a BA in Russian in 2014. Since then, I’ve traveled to the Balkans, Corsica, and the Republic of Georgia to study traditional music styles with amazing singers and players. These experiences cemented for me a commitment to folk traditions as nuanced, transcendent, and deeply alive in ways that we in the “classical” world can learn from. In 2020 I completed my Masters in Contemporary Improvisation at New England Conservatory, where I had the opportunity to study all kinds of improvised music with Joe Morris, Warren Senders, and too many others to name. I joined Palaver Strings in 2015 and I am grateful every day for this family of supportive friends and collaborators. Lots of musicians talk about transforming the role of classical music, but my Palaver colleagues really do the work to build a new culture of deep listening, good humor, and trust. In addition to Palaver, I perform and teach with the vocal quintet Culomba and the Yiddish/klezmer band Levyosn, and serve as Artistic Director for SingPositive and Boston Harmony.
lysander@palaverstrings.org
Elizabeth Moore / Viola
Co-Artistic Director & Programming Director (she/her)
Growing up in midcoast Maine, I was surrounded by music at an early age. I began studying violin at six, but have earlier memories from when I could still fit in a guitar case along the back of the stage as my father played and called for contra dances. Whether playing folk music, participating in ensembles through Bay Chamber Concerts, or singing every chance there was, I developed my musical interests in a small yet supportive community. After discovering the beautiful resonance of the viola, I went on to study at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with Sheila Browne, and at Boston University College of Fine Arts with Karen Ritscher. As Palaver evolves, I am constantly inspired by my colleagues; we push each other to perform at a higher level, and to continually reexamine the ways in which we approach music itself and our role as musicians in the world. As Programming Director for the ensemble, I am thrilled by the range of ideas we collectively bring. It’s so fulfilling to develop these into concrete programs, partnerships, and collaborations. In addition to my work with Palaver, I teach privately in Portland, ME as well as at the Portland Conservatory of Music, and through the Palaver Music Center. When not making music or teaching, you might find me behind a wheel at Portland Pottery, in my garden, or spending quality time with my cats, Benjamin K(br)itten, and Billie.
elizabeth@palaverstrings.org
Matthew Smith / Cello
Co-Artistic Director, Managing Director of Education, & Anti-Racism Task Force (he/him)
Originally from the sun-saturated desert of Arizona, I’ve loved classical music as long as I can remember and got my start playing the cello through my school orchestra. This experience showed me the importance of creating accessible musical opportunities for young people, and has shaped my role as a cellist and as Palaver’s Managing Director of Education. I have had the pleasure of working with Colin Carr, Gautier Capuçon, and Bernard Greenhouse and have studied chamber music with members of the St. Lawrence String Quartet and Brentano String Quartet. I received a Master of Music degree from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, studying with Andrew Mark, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Arizona State University, where I studied with Thomas Landschoot. Outside of Palaver, I perform in a duo with my long-term musical partner, pianist Pei Pei Song, where we are regular guest artists at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, China.
matthew@palaverstrings.org
Nate Taylor / Cello
Co-Artistic Director (he/him)
I was born in Manila, PI. My father is Black/Native American, and my mother is Filipino/Indigenous. We moved to the states when I was three. When I was five years old, I remember watching an episode of Sesame Street. Yo-Yo Ma was the special guest for that episode, and I’ll never forget the moment when he played the opening of Dvorak Cello Concerto for Elmo. That was the moment I decided to play the cello. At age ten, I finally got my wish. I started playing cello in the public school system. Fast forward to 2011, and I found myself in Boston. I was at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee for nine years: four years of undergrad, three years of grad school, and two years in the Artist Diploma program. Within that time, I learned so much about myself, personally and musically. I had amazing teachers like cellists Rhonda Rider and Patrice Jackson, who really inspired and motivated me. Later in my studies, I started exploring styles and genres outside of classical music and it really opened my eyes to the possibilities of music-making. Now as a member of Palaver Strings, I’m able to explore these musical possibilities. The culture within classical music has made many Black musicians like myself feel left out and rejected, like we’re not good enough or welcomed. Palaver has created space for more voices like mine. I can be my most authentic self and express myself fully on a musical and personal level. In my free time, I enjoy being in nature, geeking out on Marvel, DC, fitness, martial arts, and dedicating time to my spirituality. Deep reflection and self-awareness is something I passionately advocate for, and I truly believe that if we can do the work to heal ourselves, we will have the ability to heal others.
natetaylor@palaverstrings.org
Kamyron Williams / Cello
Co-Artistic Director & Anti-Racism Task Force (he/him)
While growing up in Florida, I became a musician almost entirely by accident. If not for a middle school friend not wanting to take orchestra class by himself, I may have never picked up the cello at all. Though it was this spontaneous entrance into music that got me started, the mentorship and educational opportunities I received afterward have led to various career opportunities as an artist, collaborator, and educator.
After completing my studies at Indiana University (B.M) and the University of Michigan (M.M), I discovered much of my personal mission while working with local arts organizations, both as a performer and community outreach leader. While I learned many of the joys of performing, I saw firsthand the challenges of equity, attendance, and enthusiasm that classical music still struggles to overcome. As a result, I began focusing on social change with the future generations of underrepresented musicians in mind, both off and on the stage.
As an educator, I brought El Sistema-style classical music instruction to the classroom during my role as a Michigan Artist Citizen, and also mentored students in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles and Crescendo Detroit. After recently relocating to the East Coast, I’m currently a fellow at Community MusicWorks in Providence, Rhode Island. Aside from my active teaching and performance schedule, I enjoy keeping up with sports, exploring new cities, and the company of friends and family.
kamyron@palaverstrings.org
Nate Martin / Bass
Co-Artistic Director (he/him)
I have remained mostly silent regarding the instrument hierarchy debate, but I’ll take this opportunity to say that the bass is both bigger and older than anything else in the string family. I am a freelancer, teacher, producer, and host of Resonance, a classical music podcast. I started taking private bass lessons at 13, but my musical education really began at birth as I listened to my mom, a fiddler and teacher, playing music from the Irish tradition. I grew up with music around the kitchen table and a part of me is always trying to recreate that experience. I was blessed to grow up in a suburb of Boston with a thriving musical culture. I joined the Boston Youth Symphony in my junior year of high school and was inspired by my peers and the amazing music we made there to attend Boston University, where I studied bass with Edwin Barker. I pursued a Masters at New England Conservatory with Todd Seeber, followed by an Orchestral Fellowship with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. I now live in Swanville, Maine, where I delight in delicious locally grown food, abundant access to the natural world, and the humbleness I have acquired discovering the ins, outs, and challenges of life in a rural community.
nate@palaverstrings.org
Fiona Hilton
Graphic Designer (she/her)
The arts have been a central part of my life for many years. Growing up in Los Angeles, I started on a very creative track with schools that encouraged and supported the arts, fostering a love of painting, drawing, music, and acting. I went on to gain my BFA in Fine Arts from Boston University (grad. 2014), where I first met some of the lovely members of Palaver Strings. Post grad, I went on to work in film and tv in Hollywood where I further developed my prop making and graphic design skills. During that time I started volunteering with Palaver, which has been a wonderful journey since. Now five years later, it’s been a true joy to continue Palaver’s incredible creative vision. Currently I live in San Francisco and work remote as the Graphic Designer for The Trevor Project. It’s a great inspiration to be connected to so many kindhearted individuals in so many aspects of my life and be able to support them through my own medium of art and design.
design@fionahilton.com
Christelle Mutoniwase
Student & Program Manager (she/her)
Christelle was born in Rwanda and moved to Portland, Maine in 2014. She completed high school at Deering High School and attended Southern Maine Community College before transferring to the University of Southern Maine where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Health Science, focusing on healthcare administration.
Christelle is passionate about helping others and making meaningful changes within her community. Outside of work, she is a member of a Rwandan traditional dancer group. Together, they perform at various events sharing the beauty and vibrance of the Rwandan culture with audiences far and wide. Whether it's through her work or personal endeavors, Christelle is committed to spreading love, culture, and positive change.
Roland Robitaille
Operations Director & Performance Manager (he/him)
Music and performing arts have been a part of Roland's life since he was a young boy in Midcoast Maine, where his mother is a dance instructor and his father is an active guitar player in rock bands. He began singing in a youth choir when he was about seven years old, and began playing the electric guitar a few years later, largely teaching himself the instrument. Later, he obtained a Bachelor's Degree in business management from the University of Maine at Augusta, where he also minored in music and studied audio recording with the intent of using it to further his own musical endeavors. After years of growing ever closer with the amazing members of Palaver, he assisted them on their first Southern California tour, and has now joined the team as their concert manager. When he's not working with Palaver, you might find him playing guitar, picking heavy things up and putting them down, attempting to cook things above his skill level, or hunting for old and new music of nearly any genre to be inspired by.
roland@palaverstrings.org
Lauren Sterling
Philanthropic Advisor (she/her)
Lauren has worked in child and youth program coordination, policy, advocacy, evaluation planning, and philanthropy for almost 30 years. Appointed by former Governors Angus King and John Baldacci to manage the Maine Governor’s Children’s Cabinet, Lauren provided support to various cross-agency initiatives leveraging millions of private dollars to support effective state and community-based services for children and youth. A highlight was bringing the Educare early childhood education program model to Maine. As a consultant, Lauren was honored to work with the University of Southern Maine’s Promise Scholarship Campaign and the Youth and Family Outreach Building a Brighter Future Campaign in addition to supporting many other nonprofits in Maine. Lauren has consulted for the DC-based, nonpartisan Forum for Youth Investment.
Lauren trained and performed at the Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts (PCPA) and at Circle in the Square Studios (now Tisch) at NYU, and has worked in theater, television, and film as both a performer and producer in Los Angeles, New York, and Maine. Lauren has served on boards to include the Maine Women’s Lobby, Maine Children’s Trust, Kennebec Federal Savings Bank, and others and currently serves on the Maine State Music Board and University of Maine’s McGillicuddy Humanities Center Advisory.
Lauren graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Maine with a University Studies Bachelors in Nonprofit Administration and Child and Youth Policy. Lauren and her husband enjoy living both in Maine and France where an abundance of great music and cultural arts bring them tremendous joy — including Palaver Strings.
Sampson Spadafore
Lifesongs Project Coordinator (they/he)
Sampson Spadafore (they/he) is a white, neurodivergent, Queer, Nonbinary Trans man currently living on settled Wabanaki land known as Westbrook, Maine. Sampson is an actor, writer, and social media manager. He writes poetry and articles focusing on mental health, Queer and Trans identity, sex and sexuality. He was the recipient of the 2022 Bodwell Fellowship through the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and Hewnoaks Artist Residency. They’re also an organizer and theater artist with a BFA from Nazareth University. Check out what Sampson’s been up to at samspadaforeofficial.com.
