Benjamin Thacher
Violinist
A native of Cape Cod, MA, violinist Benjamin Thacher is a member of the Louisiana Philharmonic and the Lott Quartet. He received his Bachelors degree from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Donald Weilerstein and James Buswell. He continued his graduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory, where he studied under Ian Swensen.
Mr. Thacher has attended festivals including include the Perlman Music Program, Yellow Barn, Schleswig-Holstein Music Orchestra, and the American-Bach Soloists. Mr. Thacher served as Concertmaster of the Louisiana Philharmonic from 2013-2015. Prior to this appointment, he was Associate Concertmaster of the Boise Philharmonic. He has appeared as guest Concertmaster with the Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand and the West Australian Symphony in Perth, Australia. Mr. Thacher joined the violin faculty at the University of New Orleans in 2019.
Luke Fleming
Violist
Praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for his “glowing refinement,” violist Luke Fleming‘s performances have been described by The Strad as “confident and expressive…playing with uncanny precision,” lauded by Gramophone for their “superlative technical and artistic execution,” and by The Boston Music Intelligencer as “Luminous…Luke Fleming achieved a simultaneously meticulous and warmly mellow syntax.”
Festival appearances include the Marlboro Music School and Festival, the Steans Institute at Ravinia, Perlman Music Program, the Norfolk and Great Lakes Chamber Music Festivals, Bravo!Vail, and Festival Mozaic. Formerly the violist of the GRAMMY-winning Attacca Quartet, he has served as Artist-in-Residence for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and received the National Federation of Music Clubs Centennial Chamber Music Award. He was awarded First Prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and top prizes at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition.
In 2015, Mr. Fleming became the Founding Artistic Director of both the Manhattan Chamber Players and the Crescent City Chamber Music Festival, and in 2024 he was named Artistic Program Director of Chamber Music Monterey Bay. He currently serves on the Viola and Chamber Music faculties of the University of New Orleans, Atlantic Music Festival, Festival del Lago, and The Woodlands Chamberfest.
He has performed as guest violist with the Escher, Modigliani, and Pacifica Quartets, the Eroica, Lysander, and Gryphon Piano Trios, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Decoda, Ensemble Connect, Sejong Soloists, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the New York Classical Players, and has given masterclasses at UCLA, Louisiana State University, Baylor University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ithaca College, Columbus State University, Syracuse University, and Melbourne University, among others. Mr. Fleming has served on the faculties of the Atlantic Music Festival, Innsbrook Institute, Renova Music Festival, Festival del Lago, and Houston ChamberFest, and Fei Tian College and as Lecturer-in-Residence for Project: Music Heals Us.
Mr. Fleming holds the degrees of Doctor of Musical Arts, Artist Diploma, and Master of Music from the Juilliard School, a Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music in London, and a Bachelor of Music summa cum laude from Louisiana State University. He is represented with the Manhattan Chamber Players by Arts Management Group.
Mr. Fleming performs on a tenor viola by Zanetto Micheli, ca. 1530, on generous loan from Steven Tenenbom.
Kate Walter
Violinist
Kate Walter began playing violin in Austin, Texas at the age of five. She continued her studies with Andrzej Grabiec at the University of Houston and Mauricio Fuks at Indiana University. After playing with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for a year, Ms. Walter joined the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007. She is currently the Lead String Teacher at the Homer Plessy Community School, a public charter school where students receive instruction on a string instrument in the classroom as early as first grade.
Abigail Monroe
Cellist
Cellist Abigail Monroe has established herself as a sought-after solo performer, chamber music collaborator, and large ensemble musician throughout the United States. Her musicianship has been praised for “add[ing] a rich, resonant layer to the ensemble, enhancing the overall texture and emotional depth of the performance.” (For All Events)
Having formerly served as Principal Cellist with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Ms. Monroe holds additional orchestra positions throughout the country, including the West Michigan Symphony, Missouri Symphony, and Orchestra Iowa, and frequently performs with The Orchestra San Antonio, Louisiana Philharmonic, Des Moines Symphony, Dubuque Symphony, Illinois Philharmonic, Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Mik Nawooj, and Northwest Indiana Symphony, among others. She is also cellist of the award-winning San Francisco Bay Area-based new music group Ensemble for These Times, and regularly collaborates with the Manhattan Chamber Players.
Recent solo engagements have included numerous World-Premiere performances of music by living composers with Ensemble for These Times, and concerto performances with the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra and the New Mexico Philharmonic.
Ms. Monroe holds both a Bachelor’s Degree and a Professional Studies Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
