back row: Ronald Carbone, Veronica Salas, Alexander Kougell, Eriko Sato, Theresa Salomon
front row: Laila Maria Salins, Lutz Rath

The Ecliptica Ensemble is dedicated to presenting programs which integrate both traditional and contemporary chamber music, with an emphasis on exploring repertoire for diverse instrumental ensembles together with the female voice.

ecliptic: the great circle on the celestial sphere that lies in the plane of the earth's orbit (the plane of the ecliptic).

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"Another transforming performance by the Ecliptica Ensemble... I was impressed not only with the polished musicality of the musicians' performance, but also with the imagination and diversity of their programming."
(Fred Volkmer, Southampton Press)

"One of the most beautiful concerts I have ever been to. A beautiful concert in its own right, but heard in this context ["Forbidden Music"], the music was overwhelming... They [the Ecliptica Ensemble] are exceptional performers who perform exceptionally." (Stephen Dickman, East Hampton Star)

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The Ecliptica Ensemble was recently featured on NBC news, "Live at Five", highlighting their performance of "Forbidden Music": chamber music works from the Theresienstadt concentration camp, including the United States premiere of songs by Viktor Ullmann, and rarely heard compositions by Erwin Schulhoff, Gideon Klein and Alexander Zemlinsky.

 

	Born in Germany, cellist Lutz Rath is heard regularly with the Orchestra of St. Luke's and performs in solo and chamber music recitals on his Carlo Antonio Tetsore cello. Over the years he has been a regular performer in the Washington Square Music Festival, of which he is currently music director, as well as the Hilo Festival, Hawaii, and was the director of Musique de Chambre, Lyon, France. For the last 17 years he has participated in the Chamber Music Conference at Bennington College. Mr. Rath has been a member of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, and for 10 years the cellist of the International String Quartet, which won Grand Prix in the International Chamber Music Competition, Evian, France, with which he toured Europe, Asia, South America, and the US regularly, and recorded on Nonesuch, Musical Heritage, VOX, Ungarton and Sandpiper. From 1996 to 2000 Rath was the cellist of the Elysium Quartet, recording with Lukas Foss and Stanley Drucker on the Elysium label. Co-founder of the Ecliptica Ensemble.
	Mezzo-soprano Laila Salins is heard on both the operatic and concert stages. She has performed with the Zurich Opera, the Latvian National Opera, the New York Opera Ensemble, Opera Factory Zurich, Connecticut Grand Opera, and the Music Theater Group of New York. She has been a soloist with the Zurich Symphony Orchestra, the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, the Riga Chamber Ensemble, and the Washington Sq. Music Festival. She has given recitals in America, Canada, Germany, Latvia, Australia and England, and has been active as an interpreter of contemporary chamber music and opera, including the premieres of "Diary of a Madman" by Michael White, "Love and Science" by Stanley Silverman and "Tango Lugano" by Dace Aperane. Ms. Salins has received grants from the NEA and Arts Link for her work in developing new music theater works. Co-founder of the Ecliptica Ensemble.
	Violinist Eriko Sato has been a member and frequent concertmistress of the Orpheus and St. Luke's Orchestras. She made her solo debut at age 13, and has performed as soloist with orchestras in Louisville, San Francisco, and Tokyo. Ms. Sato was the winner of the Tibor Varga International Competition, the Young Musicians Foundation Competition, and three Japanese national competitions. She is a founding member of the Aspen Soloists, the Festival Chamber Music Society, and the Salon Chamber Soloists. An active chamber musician, Ms. Sato has participated in the Mostly Mozart, Aspen, Angel Fire, Gretna, Washington Square and Khumo Music Festivals, and appears regularly with Bargemusic, Chamber Music Northwest, and at the Caramoor and Dobbs Ferry Music Festivals. She has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon and on Telarc, with the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble. She lives in New York City with her husband, pianist David Oei, and their pit bull mix, Jazz.
	Violinist Theresa Salomon, a native of Germany, played her debut recital at Carnegie's Weill Hall, presented by Artists International. Theresa plays frequently with early music ensembles such as N.Y.Collegium, Rebel, American Classical Orchestra, Concert Royal, Artek and the Grand Band. She also champions new music with the STX-Xenakis Ensemble, SEM Ensemble among others. She is the ensemble director at Music under Construction, a lower Manhattan loft theatre for dance and new music. Theresa has appeared in numerous festivals: Festival Presence, Paris, Gulbenkian Festival, Lisbon, Takemitsu Memorial, Tokyo, Prague Spring Festival, Connecticut Early Music Festival, and Ostfriesland Festival, Germany. In 2003 she performed as a soloist with the Janacek Phlharmonic at the Ostrava days for New Music.
	Violist Veronica Salas has given solo performances with the Aspen Music Festival orchestra, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of New York, as duo soloist with Heifitz protege Eric Friedman, the Colonial Symphony Orchestra and The Queens Chamber Band. Ms. Salas has given five New York recitals, including her highly successful debut at Weill Recital Hall. She has traveled to Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan. She toured Athens and the Greek Isles as violist of the Elysium String Quartet, Italy as principal violist at the Spoleto Festival, and Japan with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. Ms. Salas is a member of The Lyrica Chamber Players, The Elysium Ensemble, The Pierrot Consort, The Modern Works String Quartet, The Bronx Arts Ensemble and The Queens Chamber Band in which she also plays concertos on the viola d'amore. Ms. Salas is currently principal violist of the Colonial Symphony, Opera Orchestra of New York and Manhattan Philharmonic.
	Pianist David Oei was a soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic at the age of nine and has since performed with major orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore Symphonies. Guest appearances with the Audubon Quartet, Claring Chamber Players, Da Capo Chamber Players, Elysium, St. Luke's and Orpheus Chamber Ensembles and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Founding member of the Salon Chamber Soloists, the Aspen Soloists, the Festival Chamber Music Society and the Intimate P.D.Q. Bach. He has performed at music festivals in Caramoor, Sitka, Bard, Gretna, Seattle, Chestnut Hill, Dobbs Ferry, OK.Mozart, Washington Square and Kuhmo (Finland). Recorded chamber works for Delos, ADDA, Vanguard, Pro Arte, Arabesque, Grenadilla and New World Records. Faculty member of Summertrios, Chamber Music Conference and Composers' Forum of the East, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Hoff-Barthelson Music School and the Mannes College Of Music Preparatory Division.