When not playing together, the members of the Kalliope Reed Quintet keep busy as freelance musicians, teachers, and performers both in the Boston Area and internationally. More information on their work together as a quintet can be found on the about page
Anna Bradford, Oboe
Anna Bradford is a freelance oboist and educator based in both the Chicago and Boston areas. Noted for her “confident and sensitive” playing (the Boston Musical Intelligencer), Anna currently holds the position of 2nd oboe/English horn with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra in Maine and serves as an Instructor of Oboe at South Suburban College in Illinois. A member of the Kalliope Reed Quintet, she has also performed with the Cape Ann Symphony, Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra, Symphony New Hampshire, Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Vista Philharmonic, and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Anna won the Boston Woodwind Society Ralph Gomberg Competition in 2014.
Celine Ferro, Clarinet
Celine Ferro is a versatile clarinetist originally from Rhode Island. A dynamic chamber musician, she is a core member of the Kalliope Reed Quintet, with whom she has performed across New England and in Mexico; the Boston-based bass clarinet ensemble, Improbable Beasts, with whom she has performed across the U.S. and in Ireland; and the contemporary ensemble, Juventas New Music, where she can be heard on their recently released album Voices of the Land, featuring new music by Christina Rusnak, on the Navona Records label. Seeking diverse collaborations that take her work outside of the typical concert hall, she is also a member of the groove ensemble, Shibui. As an orchestral musician, she has performed with Symphony New Hampshire, Boston Civic Symphony, and Brookline Symphony Orchestra. Celine currently serves on faculty at the Winchester Community Music School in Massachusetts and at Southern New Hampshire University.
Amy Advocat, Bass Clarinet
Sought out for her “dazzling” (Boston Globe) performances with “extreme control and beauty” (The Clarinet Journal), Amy Advocat, clarinetist, is an avid performer of new music having performed with Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Alarm Will Sound, Sound Icon, Guerilla Opera, Firebird Ensemble, Callithumpian Consort, Collage New Music, and Dinosaur Annex. Amy is also a founding member of the bass clarinet and marimba duo, Transient Canvas, with whom she has commissioned and premiered hundreds of new works and released three albums to critical acclaim.
Bennett Parsons, Saxophone
Bennett Parsons is a frequent soloist and recitalist, having appeared in concert halls across the Boston area and abroad in Buenos Aires, Lugano and Milan. He has appeared on all saxophones and clarinets with local groups including the Jamaica Plain Saxophone Quartet, Improbable Beasts, Callithumpian Consort, Phoenix Orchestra and Glens Falls Symphony, and toured internationally in Mazatlán, Buenos Aires, Rosario, Lugano and Milan. Seeking to expand the repertoire and reach of the saxophone, Bennett has created original transcriptions of multiple works for recordings and performance projects, including the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto; Brahms, Debussy, and Barber cello sonatas; and more. Bennett serves on the Board of the Boston Woodwind Society.
Natalie Zemba, Bassoon
Natalie Zemba is Kalliope’s founder and Artistic Director. She was the principal bassoonist of Camerata Mazatlán, Templum New Music Ensemble, and the Orquesta Sinfónica Sinaloa de Las Artes in Culiacán, Mexico, from 2017-2021. She also was professor of bassoon and ear training at the Centro Municipal de Artes de Mazatlán, and the Escuela Superior de Música del ISIC in Culiacán. Natalie currently splits her time between freelancing in Europe and performing with Kalliope.