Sam Suggs is the first solo bassist in 36 years to join the Concert Artists Guild roster, and was recently recognized with an award for “Extraordinary Creativity” at the 2017 Bradetich Foundation International Double Bass Competition. Applauded by The Strad for his “brilliant and compelling programming,” Suggs performed many original works to win 1st place at the 2015 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. He was named “New Artist of the Month” in October 2015. As a collaborator, Suggs has performed at the Mostly Mozart Festival, Yellow Barn, Chamber Music Northwest, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and with the Argus Quartet, PUBLIQuartet, and Frisson Ensemble (composer-in-residence). A native of Buffalo, New York, and doctoral candidate at the Yale School of Music, Suggs is on faculty at JMU, the Heifetz Institute, Peabody Bass Works, Sewanee Summer Music Festival, and the Summer Performing Arts with Juilliard Strings Program in Shanghai.

Diane Phoenix-Neal performs nationally and internationally as a collaborative chamber musician and as a soloist. She also enjoys her roles as a clinician and educator nationwide. Originally from North Carolina, she is a longstanding performing faculty member of the Eastern Music Festival and holds the position of principal violist of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. In France, she served as both the principal solo violist of l’Orchestre de Picardie and as violist of Quatuor Joachim for nearly a decade. Her recent recitals and projects featuring contemporary music for viola have been presented at the Northwestern University New Music Conference, The 36th Annual JMU Contemporary Music Festival, and at the Academy of Music in Kraków, Poland. Phoenix-Neal received her training from The Juilliard School as a student of William Lincer, Paul Doktor and of the Juilliard Quartet, and earned her doctorate from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.