The Players
Sarah Cranor
Violinist Sarah Cranor is passionate about the vibrant sonic possibilities found in sharing both historical and contemporary music with live audiences.
Sarah’s ongoing collaborations include Chaski Quartet, whose summer tours focus on bringing diverse string quartet music to incarcerated individuals in multiple Colorado Department of Corrections facilities, as well as public concerts across Colorado and New Mexico. Sarah can be heard in performances with the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Sphere Ensemble, Omaha Symphony, and with Duo Anthracite. Sarah served as acting Concertmaster / Principal Second Violin with the West Texas Symphony for four seasons, was a member of the Permian Basin String Quartet, and guest concertmaster of the Bloomington and Lafayette Symphony Orchestras and the Bach Series at Duke University. Sarah is the director of the Bloomington Early Music Immersion (BEMI), a unique, immersive middle-school-aged historical performance experience offered to modern string players without tuition cost, through the Bloomington Early Music Festival.
She directs Tonos del Sur: a historically-informed ensemble which explores the intersection of European music with the colonization of the Americas, whose aim is to bring music of lesser-known, anonymous, and indigenous composers, and music in indigenous languages to today’s audiences. Tonos recently presented a program centered around modern premieres of Chilean villancicos from the Catedral Metropolitana archive in Santiago, Chile, heard for the first time since the 1780s, at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Latin American Music Festival, and in the greater Midwest area. Other recent collaborations include the modern premieres of twelve villancicos from the Sanchez Garza repertory in Mexico City, out of some 400 liturgical manuscripts played by Santisima Trinidad Convent nuns in Puebla, Mexico, and programs centered around local depictions of the Virgin Mary, in the Bloomington and Berkeley Early Music Festivals and across the Midwest.
Sarah holds a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music; her doctoral research focuses on the music of Santiago Billoni, chapelmaster at the Durango Cathedral, Mexico, from 1749-1756. Sarah has presented guest lectures at EAFIT in Medellín, Colombia, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and at Indiana University, and she teaches violin students both locally and across the world, including in Colombia and at Kabarak University in Kenya. She performs regularly with her husband, violinist Alejandro Gómez Guillén both in string quartets and as Duo Anthracite.
Sarah is an ultra-marathon runner and always looks forward to seeing where her running shoes take her!
Han Dewan
Violist Han Dewan has performed chamber and orchestral music throughout the United States, in addition to concerts in France, Canada, and Czechia. She is the former principal violist of the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale and performed with the Permian Basin String Quartet from 2019-21. She currently performs and tours with Chaski Quartet, hosts duo recitals with Carolyn Rosinsky, and freelances in the DMV area.
Recent series appearances include the Chaski Quartet Midwest and Colorado tours, Groupmuse, Union Square Chamber Music Society, Garth Newel Music Center, Blair School Chamber Showcase, National Orchestral Institute, and the Festival d’Aix (FR). She is the first female student to complete the Blair-to-Owen dual B.Mus. and MBA at Vanderbilt University.
Committed to expanding the audience for art music through multimedia collaborations, recent recitals have included poetry, film, and illuminated scores. She can be heard on albums released by Naxos, Klavier, and Navona, including the world premiere recording of Jack Stamp’s “String Quartet No.1.”
She is immensely grateful to her mentors: CJ Chang at the Peabody Institute, Kathryn Plummer and John Kochanowski at the Blair School, and Sherri Fleshner. In 2022, she began medical studies at University of Maryland School of Medicine and studies the molecular basis of hearing loss in the lab of Dr. Ronna Hertzano. https://www.handewan.com/
Alejandro Gómez Guillén
Conductor and violinist Alejandro Gómez Guillén is passionate about sharing music in a way that is compelling, uplifting, and educational. Currently serving as Omaha Symphony’s assistant conductor and music director of Sphere Ensemble, he recently completed a seven season tenure as artistic director and conductor of Bloomington Symphony Orchestra. Former associate conductor of Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, he also served as a Freeman Fellow in Conducting with Chicago Sinfonietta, associate conductor of Boulder Symphony, music director of Cantabile, acting concertmaster/principal second violin of West Texas Symphony, and violinist of the Permian Basin.
In addition to his full schedule with Omaha Symphony, including as an artistic leader of its robust education programs, recent activities include serving as cover conductor for the symphonies of Indianapolis, Fort Worth, Dallas, and appearances with Tulsa’s Signature Symphony, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, West Texas Symphony, SingFest Hong Kong, Bogotá’s Javeriana University, Bloomington Bach Cantata Project, Midland Festival Ballet, the Oregon Bach Festival, Bloomington Early Music Festival, Tonos del Sur, Weimarer Bachkantaten Akademie, Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble, ¡Canta, Bogotá Canta!, Santander Choral Festival, Cabrillo Festival, Tonos del Sur at Berkeley Festival, and Permian Basin Opera.
Committed to working with young artists, Alejandro has served as assistant professor of music at Colorado Mesa University, music director of the Colorado Youth Philharmonia, and has led performances with Off Broadway School of Fine Arts in Boulder, Javeriana University Symphony Orchestra, Spokane Youth Symphony, University of Colorado Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and Falcon Music Camps at the University of Texas Permian Basin.
Alejandro had a rich musical upbringing as a chorister and violinist in his native Colombia. He pursued a BM in violin performance from Texas Christian University and MM degrees in conducting and violin performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He holds a DMA in orchestral conducting from the same institution, and his doctoral research includes a critical edition of Colombian composer Jorge Pinzón’s violin concerto, and a guide using selected dances from Bach’s orchestral suites in their original form for developing orchestras through a historically informed approach to playing on modern instruments. His mentors include Gary Lewis, Helmuth Rilling, Matthew Halls, and Mei-Ann Chen.
When not playing, leading ensembles, or reveling in the music of Bach, Alejandro enjoys singing, trail running, and making music with his wife, violinist Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Cranor.
Amy Huzjak
Cellist Amy Huzjak lives in Albuquerque, NM and serves as Principal Cellist of the New Mexico Philharmonic. She also freelances throughout New Mexico and West Texas, and collaborates with other area organizations including Chatter ABQ, Opera Southwest, and the Santa Fe Symphony and Chorus. She is a founding member of Chaski Quartet, touring Colorado in August 2021 and the Midwest in Summer 2022.
Recent solo appearances include Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Abilene Christian University Orchestra, the Adagio from the Dvorak Cello Concerto and Haydn C Major Concerto with the University of Texas-Permian Basin (UTPB) Philharmonic as well as duo recitals in Midland, Abilene, San Angelo, Dallas, and Levelland, Texas.
Previously, Amy played with the Abilene Philharmonic and served as the Principal Cellist of the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale (MOSC) for over a decade. An avid chamber musician, Amy was the cellist for the MOSC resident ensemble Permian Basin String Quartet (PBSQ) during her tenure as Principal Cellist, performing concerts and educational outreach throughout West Texas.
Before moving to Texas, Amy was the Principal Cellist of the Huntington (WV) Symphony Orchestra and played with several D.C area orchestras including the Fairfax (VA) Symphony Orchestra, Apollo Chamber Orchestra (MD), and the Prince William (VA) Symphony. She was a faculty member at the International School of Music in Bethesda, MD and had a private studio in College Park, MD.
A committed educator, Amy is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas and has a studio of over 20 students. She is sought after as a clinician and coach for middle and high school orchestras and chamber programs in New Mexico and West Texas. Previous posts include Adjunct Professor at University of Texas-Permian Basin, Angelo State University, University of New Mexico, Abilene Christian University, Hardin-Simmons University, Midland College, and Odessa College.
Amy’s mentors include David Teie, Thomas Landschoot, and Jenny Yopp. She holds MM in cello performance from University of Maryland and a BM Summa Cum Laude from Arizona State University.
When not playing, Amy loves hiking and skiing in her native Colorado and travels around the world to hike with her dad. She is looking forward to exploring the Sandias and skiing in New Mexico. www.amyhuzjak.com