Stamps String Quartet Class of 2018

Major: Instrumental Performance

Instrument: Violin

Stamps Ensemble Name: Stamps String Quartet Class of 2018

Jacques Gadway, violin, is majoring in Instrumental Performance at the University of Miami Frost School of Music where he is a Stamps Music Scholar and a member of the Stamps String Quintet, Class of 2018, coached by Professor Ross Harbaugh. He studies privately with Frost faculty violin artist Scott Flavin.

Jacques Gadway started violin at age four while living in Southern Illinois. He later moved to Homestead, Florida with his family and began playing in school and youth orchestras throughout the region. Gadway graduated from Coral Reef Senior High in Miami, Florida where he was the concertmaster of both the Chamber and Symphony Orchestras under the batons of Alan Hudson and Dr. Lee Stone. He was also concertmaster of the String Orchestra of the Greater Miami Youth Symphony, a member of the Young Musicians’ Orchestra of Coral Gables Congregational Church, and concertmaster of Miami Strings Project.  Under the guidance of his former violin teacher Miriam Stern, he earned the opportunity to play with other young musicians from around the state in All-State Orchestras, which he attended annually beginning in the seventh grade.

In 11th grade, he was selected as concertmaster of the Florida All-State 11th and 12th Grade Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Dr. William LaRue Jones.  In addition, he was awarded full scholarships to summer programs such as the Young Musicians Camp at the University of Miami; the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina; and the four-week National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute (NSO-SMI) at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.  His string quartet at the NSO-SMI performed for a congressional reception in the Kennedy Caucus Room on Capitol Hill.

In his free time, Jacques likes to improvise on both violin and piano, play basketball and tennis with his friends and brothers, and compose music.

The Stamps Family Charitable Foundation and the Frost School of Music selected Jacques Gadway for the prestigious Stamps String Quartet program based on his academic and musical excellence. The quartet receives full undergraduate scholarships, free tuition, plus room and board for all four years of enrollment at Frost. They rehearse and perform classic and contemporary string quartet repertoire throughout the year, and explore a variety of cross genre pieces and new works created especially for the ensemble.  They also participate in private coaching sessions with string masters, engage in leadership training, and perform together at festivals and workshops during the summer months.

Major: Instrumental Performance

Instrument: Viola

Stamps Ensemble Name: Stamps String Quartet Class of 2018

Muireann Lemus is majoring in viola performance at the University of Miami Frost School of Music as a member of the Stamps String Quartet. She is currently studying under the direction of Pamela McConnell. Previously, she had studied with Daniela Gongora; David Rubinstein at the New England Conservatory; and Alexey Shabalin of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, instructor at Rhode Island College, Providence College and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School. She has also participated in masterclasses with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. 

Starting in middle school and continuing throughout high school, she played with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the Ocean State Youth Orchestra in addition to her annual participation in the Rhode Island junior and senior All-State orchestras. She had also participated in the chamber ensemble program at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School. She was selected to attend the Sphinx Performance Academy summer music festival for several years before participating at the Castleman Quartet Program.

Major: Instrumental Performance

Instrument: Violin

Stamps Ensemble Name: Stamps String Quartet Class of 2018

Sara Arévalo, violin, is majoring in Instrumental Performance at the University of Miami Frost School of Music where she is a Stamps Music Scholar and a member of the Stamps String Quartet, Class of 2018, coached by Professor Ross Harbaugh. She studies privately with Frost faculty violin artist Scott Flavin, concertmaster of the Florida Grand Opera.

Miami native Sara Arévalo began studying piano at the age of seven and wielded her first violin two years later – all it took was one squeak and she was hooked. Throughout her years, she has participated in various audition-based regional orchestras including All-State and Honors Orchestra. She has performed with the Miami Music Project as associate concertmaster at the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall in Downtown Miami; and with the New World Symphony as a Side-by-Side participant at the New World Center in Miami Beach. As part of her summer studies, Sara was awarded a full scholarship to the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina. Ms. Arévalo has also been actively involved with chamber music in her community through the Miami Youth for Chamber Music and Miami Chamber Orchestra (MCO). As a member of MCO, she became part of their distinguished quartet-in-residence, giving recitals with the orchestra in locations throughout South Florida.

As a student at Coral Reef Senior High, Miami’s mega magnet, Ms. Arévalo was concertmaster of Concert, Symphony, and Chamber Orchestra, under the tutelage of Alan Hudson and Dr. Lee Stone. In the 12th grade, Ms. Arévalo conducted the Chamber Orchestra for FMEA’s District and State Evaluation, receiving a superior rating in both performances. She has collaborated with conductors that include Grant Cooper, Thomas Sleeper, Gerard Schwarz, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Her past mentors and instructors are Hipolito Javier, Guangshu Song, Shawn Weil, Randall Weiss, and Isabel Trautwein. Aside from performing, Sara enjoys spending time with her Pomeranian and chicken, kayaking, and making coffee.

Major: Instrumental Performance

Instrument: Cello

Stamps Ensemble Name: Stamps String Quartet Class of 2018

Sarah Huesman, cello, is majoring in Instrumental Performance at the University of Miami Frost School of Music where she is a Stamps Music Scholar and a member of the Stamps String Quintet, Class of 2018, coached by faculty mentor and Frost Professor of Music Ross Harbaugh. She also studies privately with Professor Harbaugh.

Sarah Huesman is originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she began studying cello at the age of 6 with University of North Carolina (UNC) School of the Arts alumnus Worth Williams. She continued her studies with cellist Anne Sellitti until 2010 when she entered the UNC School of the Arts as a high school freshman. While at UNC School of the Arts, Sarah was a member of the Jia String Quartet, semi-finalist at the 2013 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in South Bend, Indiana, and studied with faculty artist Brooks Whitehouse.

Sarah Huesman earned accolades in a number of music competitions while in high school including 1st Place in the 2012 Psi Phi Regional Talent Search; 1st Place in the 2013 Music Academy of North Carolina String Competition; 1st Place in the Junior Division of the 2014 NC Chapter of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA); and 3rd Place in the 2014 Peter Perret Youth Talent Search.

Huesman’s summer studies and festival experiences have included participation in the Brevard Music Festival, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and the Meadowmount School of Music. More recently she attended the International Music Festival of the Adriatic (IMFA) in Duino, Italy in June 2014.

Huesman was selected for the prestigious Stamps String Quartet program at the Frost School of Music based on her academic and musical excellence. Through the generosity of the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation, the quartet receives full scholarships, free tuition, plus room and board for all four years of their undergraduate studies. They rehearse and perform classic and contemporary string quartet repertoire throughout the year, and explore new works created especially for the ensemble.  They also participate in private coaching sessions with musical guest artists, engage in leadership training, and perform and tour together in intensive workshops and performance settings.