NYC String Quartet for Weddings and Special Events

Taya Ricker is an avid chamber, orchestral, and jazz musician and has performed in the US, Canada, and Europe. 

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As an orchestral musician, Ms. Ricker has been a member of the Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra and also served as Associate Concertmaster in the Western Piedmont Symphony. She has also performed in the violin sections of the Asheville, Richmond (Virginia) Symphony, and the Wintergreen Summer Festival Orchestras. She appears on the Grammy-nominated recording of ‘Children of Adam’, a work commissioned by the Richmond Symphony Orchestra for their 60th anniversary, by Mason Bates. 

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Taya enjoys collaborating with musicians in all genres and has performed with many artists including Look Homeward, Falls, Jacob Whitesides, Molly Ringwald, PJ Morton.  She can also be found on albums by Between the Buried and Me, Anne-Claire and the Wild Mystics, and Buffalo Rose, and has been a regular guest performer with the UNCG Jazz Ensembles I and II.

She currently is a member of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, an associate musician in the Columbus Symphony (Ohio), a core member of the Pittsburgh-based contemporary music ensemble Alia Musica, and a violinist in the genre-bending Nu Deco Ensemble. 

Perhaps the only cellist to have ridden a bicycle across the continental United States, Kirin McElwain has a knack for finding cellos to practice on in the unlikeliest of geographic locations. That said, she is still on the lookout for a travel cello capable of being strapped to the back of her bicycle. 

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Passionate about performing the music of our time, Kirin’s current focus is power: capacity: agency, a multi-year commissioning and performance project on the theme of power. Kirin is also a frequent collaborator within the New York City dance community, working with dancer/improviser Sarah Chien and compositional improvisation company The Lovelies. Kirin has been a collaborator at Mark Morris Dance Center, the Joffrey Ballet School, and Ohio University and has presented work at the Never Before Never Again Festival and on the Royal Jelly series at Triskelion Arts.

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Kirin has shared the stage with pianist Judith Gordon, John Vanderslice, Boyz II Men, tune-yards, and Vulfpeck. She was the cellist for the world premiere of “Almost Morning” by Jeff Beal (House of Cards) at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater. Since June 2015, she has been the cellist for the indie rock band Miracles of Modern Science, with whom she has toured the United States, Canada, and Sweden. Kirin has been featured on Indiana Public Radio, the University of Rochester’s WRUR, Portland’s XRAYfm, and UC Berkley’s KALX.

Kirin holds a B.A. in Economics from Smith College and an M.M. from Temple University. Kirin lives in Brooklyn, NY in an apartment full of cellos and bicycles. 

Classically trained, she is conscious of bringing the highest level of artistry to all that she is a part of, whether it be classical, new-classical, pop, rock, jazz, or any kind of fusion.  She enjoys a versatile career performing with orchestras, theater shows, traditional and non-traditional chamber ensembles, new music groups, rock bands, singer-songwriters, and any unique projects in between.  Keep scrolling for more info on Tara's schooling, training, and some of her favorite famous people she has played with!

As an educator, Tara is passionate about teaching and working with students of all ages and levels.  She teaches on faculty at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music in Park Slope, Queens College Preparatory in Flushing, Suzuki on the Island in Manhasset, and the JCC Thurnauer School of Music in Tenafly, NJ.  Tara is a certified Suzuki teacher and received her training from Pamela Devenport through the School for Strings, as well as Tanya Carey and Barbara Wampner.  See Tara's Lessons Page for more info on her teaching!

Tara is a member of the cello duo The Whiskey Girls and the post-rock instrumental trio You Bred Raptors and is a sought-after session musician for composing, arranging, and recording string parts.  A board member of the Violoncello Society of NYC, Tara is excited to help rebuild a historic cello society into a current and vibrant community of cellists (and cello lovers) in the NYC area!

Natalia Remis is a violinist from Miami, Florida who now resides in New York City. She studied with Vivian Gonzalez and at the New World School of the Arts, from where she graduated in 2010, and at the Meadowmount School of Music, where she studied with Sally Thomas. Though classically trained, she loves to play tango and Irish traditional music, and dabbles in mandolin.

Brooklyn-based cellist Tim Leonard comes from a diverse musical background, having played in orchestras, jazz groups, rock bands, new music ensembles, and musical theater. He now works to bring all those experiences together, which has led him to perform with musicians like Peter Serkin, Jay-Z, Joseph Lin of the Juilliard Quartet, Pink Martini, as well as members of ICE and Brooklyn Rider. Tim recently completed his master’s degree at Queens College in the studio of Marcy Rosen, where he performed Bernstein’s Three Meditations from MASS with orchestra. A passionate proponent of new music, Tim has premiered new works at New Music Gathering, Spectrum NYC, and Brevard Music Center. You can find Tim out hiking or cooking at home.