Meet the Artists
Individual Bios

The "Meet the Artists" section below includes the musicians who have performed in multiple formal concerts, tours, or educational programming. They are the heart and soul of QuinTango's extended family. The list is alphabetical.

Joan Singer, violin, is the founder and current director of QuinTango. She first fell in love with Latin music while living in Mexico. She is a member of the Baltimore Opera Orchestra and Capitol Chamber Ensemble. She holds degrees from Earlham College and DePauw University. In 2003, she and colleague Jeffery Watson represented QuinTango at the International Tango Festival in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Since founding QuinTango, she has devoted herself to the group and its mission of bringing tango repertoire to new audiences.

Jennifer Rickard, violin has been a member of QuinTango since 2006. She is also a member of the National Philharmonic, the National Gallery Orchestra, and a substitute with the Richmond Symphony and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. In addition, she coaches for the Northern Virginia Youth Symphony and maintains a private teaching studio in her home. Jennifer enjoys her summers in Greensboro, NC on faculty at the Eastern Music Festival. Before moving to Washington, Jennifer was a member of the New Orleans and Phoenix Symphonies, spending the 1991-1992 season in New Orleans as associate and acting concertmaster. She received her BA from Barnard College in New York and her MM from the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati.

Kerry Van Laanen, cello, performs regularly with the Baltimore Opera, Washington National Opera, National Gallery Orchestra, Post-Classical Ensemble, Wolftrap Orchestra, Concert Artists of Baltimore, and the National Philharmonic Orchestra. A highly respected chamber musician, she has also performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, as well as in concert in Italy and at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. She maintains an active cello studio in her home state of Maryland.

Libby Blatt, double bass, is a founding and current member of QuinTango, with whom she has toured Costa Rica and France. She can be heard on all of QuinTango's albums. She has performed in Washington, Miami, Chicago and New York with Hungarian orchestras, chamber groups, string quartets and dance bands. She has concertized in France, Italy, Germany and Holland with the Capital Chamber Ensemble.

Phil Hosford, piano, is a pianist of international reputation, touring throughout the
U.S., Europe, South America, Africa and Southeast Asia.. The Washington Post acclaims his playing as “ the perfecting meeting of artistry and pyrotechnics...gripping and powerful.” Performance highlights include those at the Kennedy Center, Strathmore Center for the Arts, New York’ s Lincoln Center, London’ s Wigmore Hall, Teatro del Opera in Buenos Aires and Kolarec Narodni Hall in Belgrade. He is the winner of top prizes in 15 national and international competitions, the Terrence Judd International Auditions in London, the United States Artistic Ambassador Auditions and the Beethoven Foundation’s Triennial Awards. Mr. Hosford is a recipient of the Solo Performers Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1995, Mr. Hosford and his wife, Hayuru Taima, founded the Academy of Music in Gaithersburg, MD.

QuinTango alumnae:

Eva Cappelletti-Chao, violin, made her Piccolo Spoleto debut with QuinTango in 2001. As a youngster she studied Suzuki violin and loved bluegrass. She went on to concertize throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia with chamber groups and The New World Symphony. She served as concertmaster of Washington Chamber Orchestra and is a frequent performer with the Washington Opera

Luisa Casasnovas, violin, has performed with QuinTango in the Washington, D.C., metro area and on tour during the 2002-3 and 2003-4 seasons. She began her studies at the National Conservatory of Music in the Dominican Republic and completed her graduate studies at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. She is a winner of the prestigious Marbury Competition for Violin and has performed as soloist with the National Symphony of Santo Domingo. She has served as a principal player for both the Annapolis Symphony and Concert Artists of Baltimore and has served as concertmaster for the Salisbury and Goucher Symphonies, the Mechanic and the National Theatre Orchestras, the Columbia Pro Cantare and the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra. She is also an internationally recognized videographer.

Ronald M. Chiles, piano, made his QuinTango debut in 2003. He has been featured soloist on three separate occasions with the Boston Pops Orchestra, and has recently performed as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin. He is an active accompanist and theater musician who has been heard in twenty-seven national touring shows in the past six years at the Kennedy Center, National Theater, Warner Theater, Arena Stage, Lisner Auditorium and Mechanic Theater. He is a former piano soloist/Chief-in-Charge of the U.S. Navy Concert Band and former leader and musical director of the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters. He holds degrees from the University of Arkansas and Catholic University of America.

Irma Field Cripe, cello, is a founding member of QuinTango. Her cello and speaking performances can be heard on QuinTango's first two albums. An enthusiastic music teacher, she has organized courses and festivals in both her native Costa Rica and the United States. She currently maintains a thriving cello studio in Bowie, Maryland. She has performed with the National Symphony of Costa Rica, the Wichita Symphony, and currently is a member of the Alexandria Symphony. She has appeared in concert at the Embassy of Costa Rica, Corcoran Gallery of Art, the National Museum of Women and the Arts, and the Inter-American Development Bank. A Fullbright Scholar, she received her M.M. from Wichita State University.

Karen Davis, piano, made her debut with QuinTango in the Winter of 2003 and toured with the group to Indiana, Georgia, and North Carolina. She made her debut with the National Symphony Orchestra playing a Mozart Concerto at age twelve. A graduate of the NC School of the Arts, she won first prize in the National Society of Arts and Letters Competition, as well as the Bartok, Baldwin and Inter-American Festival Competitions. She studied at Juilliard and at Peabody with Leon Fleisher. She has appeared as soloist throughout the USA, Europe, Asia and South America. The London Times described her performance as "unique and assured . . . played with sparkling brilliance and technical accuracy."

Erin Eyles Espinoza, cello, made her concert debut with QuinTango on the 2004 tour to the Florida Keys. She has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra as a regular cello substitute since 1998. She freelances in Metropolitan Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, performing solo, chamber music and orchestral repertoire. As a soloist, she has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower theater and with the United States air Force Strings as featured soloist on tour. Erin has concertized in the United States, South America, Europe, and Asia. She holds a master’s degree from Peabody Conservatory and an undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University in cello performance.

Jorge Espinoza, cello, has been QuinTango's principal cellist since the summer of 2002. He made both his European and Piccolo Spoleto debuts with QuinTango. He can be heard on the group's new release, "To Buenos Aires with Love." He is a 2001 prize winner in the Doctor Luis Sigall International Cello Competition in ViZa del Mar, Chile. He received the Gregor Piatigorsky Scholarship at Peabody Institute in Baltimore, where he served as teaching assistant to Stephen Kates. He holds an undergraduate degree from the Catholic University of Santiago, a master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University, and Graduate Performance Diplomas in Cello and in Chamber Music from Peabody Institute.

Aron Rider, cello, made her concert debut with QuinTango in 2002 and has been a regular member of QuinTango's Concerts-in-Schools group during the 2002-3 season. A featured soloist with the Anderson Symphony Orchestra, Pam-American Symphony, and the Chesapeake Chamber Orchestra, she has given solo cello recitals throughout the Midwest, South and in the Washington metro area. She currently is on the faculty of St. Mary's College and has an extensive private teaching studio in Northern Virginia. She performs with numerous groups in the Washington metro area, including the National Chamber Orchestra.

Rachel Schenker, violin, is a founding member of QuinTango. She can be heard on the first two QuinTango albums. She holds degrees in music performance from Indiana University, where she studied with the legendary Josef Gingold, and Yale University, where she studied with Oscar Shumsky.An active freelancer in Washington, D.C., she has performed with the Washington Bach Consort, the Kennedy Center Opera, and Virginia Beach Pops. She is a member of the National Gallery Orchestra and the Harrisburg Symphony. A devoted teacher, she teaches students of all ages throughout the Washington metropolitan area.

Bruce Steeg (d. 2003), piano, was a founding member of QuinTango and a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music. His brilliant piano work can be heard on all of QuinTango's albums. He served as soloist with the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point as well as appearing as soloist with the National Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and the Cleveland Orchestra. He toured with Paul Whiteman, Guy Lombardo, and Yul Brynner before coming to Washington, D.C., as conductor of the National Ballet. He performed in concert with Marilyn Horne, Robert Merrill, Beverley Sills, and Michel Legrand. In addition to his work with QuinTango, he was the pianist with the National Symphony Pops under the direction of Marvin Hamlisch. Bruce passed away in October, 2003.

Jeffery Watson, piano, made his Piccolo Spoleto debut with QuinTango in 2003. He has appeared as soloist with the Honduran National Symphony, Pan-American Symphony, and Chautauqua Festival Orchestra. In 2002, he performed as associate conductor for the Kennedy Center's award-winning production of Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George." He holds degrees from DePauw University, Eastman School of Music, and the University of Maryland. He is a frequent guest artist in recital with singer Susan Fleming of the University of Alabama/Tuscaloosa. He is the regular musical director and pianist for the University of Maryland musicals at the Clarice Smith Center. Before giving his heart to tango, Dr. Watson performed regularly with the Contemporary Forum in Washington, D.C., and served as the Executive Director of the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW).

For information about bookings and additional press photos, please contact Joan Singer at 703-548-6811 (voice mail and fax) or by by email. QuinTango's web site may be visited at www.quintango.com.

Updated: February 2008