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photo by Alex Frankel

Billy Childs has emerged as one of the foremost American composers of his era, marrying the musical products of his heritage with the Western neoclassical traditions of the twentieth century. 

Childs has garnered seventeen Grammy nominations and six Grammy awards including two for Best Instrumental Jazz and two for Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist. He has been awarded a Chamber Music America composer's grant, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award.

As a pianist Childs has performed with Freddie Hubbard, J.J. Johnson, Yo-Yo Ma, Sting, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony, Chick Corea, the Kronos Quartet, Wynton Marsalis, Jack DeJohnette, Ying Quartet, and Dave Holland. 

Childs' solo jazz recording career includes four critically acclaimed albums on the Windham Hill Jazz label and two volumes of Chamber Jazz music (Lyric, Vol. 1 and Autumn: In Moving Pictures, Vol. 2). In 2014 he released a collection of re-imagined Laura Nyro compositions for Sony Masterworks (Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro, produced by Larry Klein and featuring Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Wayne Shorter, Alison Krauss, Dianne Reeves, Rickie Lee Jones and Chris Botti). Childs has released four Mack Avenue recordings, the Grammy Award-winners Rebirth and The Winds of Change, Acceptance and Triumvirate, his first trio album in 20 years.

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photo by Jiyang Chen

Isidore Quartet 
Adrian Steele & Phoenix Avalon, violins
Devin Moore, viola
Joshua McClendon, cello

Formed at the Juilliard School, the New York City-based Isidore String Quartet began with a vision to revisit, rediscover, and reinvigorate the repertoire. The winner of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition, the group is heavily influenced by the Juilliard String Quartet and the philosophy of "approaching the established as if it were brand new, and the new as if it were firmly established."
 
Over the past several concert seasons, the Isidore Quartet has performed at major series in both North America and Europe. In early 2026, they made their debuts at the Paris Philharmonie and London's Wigmore Hall. The ensemble's first recording, "Adorations," was released on the Delos label in March 2026, reaching #3 on the Apple Classical music chart. 

The quartet has developed a strong connection to the works of composer and pianist Billy Childs, performing his Quartets No. 2 and 3 throughout North America and Europe. In early 2026 they premiered a fourth quartet by Childs, "American Mosaic," written expressly for them. Upcoming collaborations include performances with pianist Jeremy Denk, cellist Sterling Elliott, and clarinetist Anthony McGill.