Gracie Potter joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as Principal Trombone after previously serving as Acting Principal Trombone of the Richmond Symphony.

She has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Phoenix Symphony and London Symphony Orchestra. She has also appeared as a soloist with the Whittier Regional Symphony and at the American Trombone Workshop with the U.S. Army Band. Potter was a guest artist at the Interlochen Low Brass Intensive and performed with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra during the summer of 2025.

Potter won both the Frank Smith and Robert Marsteller competitions through the International Trombone Festival, as well as the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle’s Frances Walton Competition. As part of the latter, she performed live on KING-FM and toured Washington state with her twin brother, Caden Potter, accompanying her.

While attending the Music Academy in Santa Barbara, Potter won the Keston MAX Competition, earning a 10-day residency in London with the London Symphony Orchestra. She also won the Aspen Concerto Competition, performed with the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra and spent two summers as a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center.

A native of Arizona, Potter earned her bachelor’s degree in trombone performance from the Colburn School, where she studied with David Rejano.

Caden Potter is a graduate student at Ohio University, where he studies with Dr. Christopher Fisher. Most recently, he received an honorable mention in the Graves Piano Competition.

Potter won the New Albany Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and performed Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the orchestra in March 2023. That same year, he accompanied soloists in the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle's Frances Walton Competition, performing live on KING-FM and touring Washington state.

He was runner-up in Ohio State's MTNA competition and a finalist in the 2022 Ohio University Concerto Competition. In 2021, he won Ohio University's Incoming Freshman Concerto Competition on marimba and performed with the Ohio University Orchestra.

Potter regularly collaborates with instrumentalists and vocalists at Ohio University, accompanies the Athens Youth Choir and serves as a collaborative pianist for summer music camps.

Described as “an artist with a polished sound and tremendous constructive power” and hailed by Hoja del Lunes de Madrid as “the Spanish pianist of his generation,” José Ramón Méndez has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

Recent appearances include solo recitals at Porto Pianofest, the Palmetto International Piano Festival and the José Luis Vega “Pelis” International Piano Festival. He has performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra and Manuel de Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain with the Nittany Valley Symphony. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with distinguished artists including Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Karl Leister and Michael Tree.

Méndez first gained international recognition performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 under the direction of Sergiu Comissiona at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He has since appeared at numerous international music festivals and earned top prizes in competitions including the Pilar Bayona, Hilton Head Island, Heida Hermanns and Hermanos Guerrero international piano competitions.

He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts under the tutelage of Byron Janis and Miyoko Lotto. An experienced educator and sought-after master class instructor, Méndez has taught at institutions across the United States and Spain.

Méndez currently serves as an associate professor of piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He is also artistic director of the Gijón International Piano Festival and the José Luis Vega “Pelis” International Piano Festival and is a Yamaha Artist.

Katie Travis is an award-winning singer, actor and voice specialist whose career spans Broadway and concert stages in the United States and internationally. She is best known for her acclaimed portrayal of Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera, performing the role more than 700 times throughout North America. She also appeared in the 30th anniversary Broadway cast of the Hal Prince production.

Travis has performed as Cosette in Les Misérables at The Muny and as a featured soloist with orchestras including the Saginaw Symphony Orchestra, Midland Symphony Orchestra, El Paso Symphony Orchestra and Mt. Rainier Symphony Orchestra. Internationally, she completed a 37-city tour of Japan as a soloist with Orchestra Japan in the Disney on Classic concert series. Her honors include the Lys Symonette Award in the Lotte Lenya Competition.

In addition to performing, Travis is an accomplished voice educator specializing in vocal health and pedagogy. She currently serves on the faculties of the Penn State School of Theatre and Long Island University Post and maintains a private voice studio in New York City.

A Central Michigan University graduate, Travis holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, a Master of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre Voice Pedagogy from Penn State University and a Certificate in Vocology from Lamar University. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology at Long Island University.

Travis also serves on the executive board of NATS NYC and the board of the SPARK Artistic Mentorship Program, which provides free training and mentorship to students throughout Mid-Michigan.

Described as “chamber music at its finest” by Kenneth Tse and “unique and virtuosic” by Barbara Siesel, BETA Quartet is an award-winning ensemble reimagining the traditional flute quartet through contemporary music, improvisation, beatboxing and interdisciplinary performance.

The quartet collaborates with composers from around the world and has commissioned and premiered more than 30 works. Notable projects include Marcus Elliott’s Where We Come From and Anže Rozman’s Nuraghi Warriors and Waking of the Green Spring. The ensemble is committed to championing music by living composers while engaging audiences through concerts, masterclasses, workshops and educational outreach.

BETA Quartet was the first flute quartet to reach the semifinals of the prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and has earned first prizes in competitions including the France Music Competition, Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition and Flute Society of Kentucky Quartet Competition. The ensemble has also appeared at national and regional conventions and higher education institutions across the country.

The quartet’s recordings include its self-titled debut album, BETA Quartet (2017), Nuraghi Warriors (2021) and Tesserae (2022).

BETA Quartet members are Eftihia Arkoudis, Tatiana Cassetta, Cassandra Eisenreich and Zoe Sorrell.