About the Members
Composer - Saxophonist
Jim Gailloreto's performing, composing and arranging can be heard on his release Jazz String Quintet. As a soloist, he has performed with Fulcrum Point with Director Stephen Burns, Bill Russo and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and Blue Note Recording Artists Patricia Barber and Kurt Elling. He has worked with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Leonard Bernstein's Prelude Fugues and Riffs. He teaches Jazz Saxophone and Jazz Improvisation at The Chicago College of the Performing Arts.
The H.A.W.K. String Quartet
Katherine Hughes is a versatile musician who has played the violin for almost forty years. Twenty-five of those years have been spent as both a professional performer in and a contractor for a broad range of groups. She has appeared with such internationally known artists as Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett, George Benson, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bolton, Garth Brooks, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Dennis DeYoung, Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Lyle Lovett, Bobby McFerrin, Yo-Yo Ma, Johnny Mathis, Bernadette Peters, and Barry White. She was a member of and toured with Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues, and may be heard on CD with that group.
Other CD credits include Rain, featuring original music written by Ms Hughes and Collins Trier, and the four seasons, a project produced and co-written by Ms Hughes. Katherine also appears on the CD’s Jazz String Quintet with James Gailloreto, and Together with George Flynn.
She has produced a rock video, TV Sages, which was shown on MTV. In the more traditional arena, Katherine is a regular member of the chamber groups Parallax Trio and the Hawk String Quartet. She is also known for premiering works of contemporary composers both at universities and with some of Chicago’s finest new music groups. Ms Hughes performs on many commercials for radio and television.
Carol Kalvonjian enjoys a versatile career, performing with ensembles including the Metropolis Symphony, Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, Joffrey Ballet, Chicago Philharmonic and Ravinia Festival Orchestra. In addition to live radio broadcasts on WFMT (Chicago) and CBC (Canada), she has collaborated in recital performances with guitarist Fareed Haque. Festival appearances include Spoleto Festival USA, Scotia Festival of Music, Colorado Music Festival, and Woodstock Mozart Festival. Carol is founder and leader of the special events music company Artistrings.
Benton Wedge received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from Northwestern University where he studied with Peter Slowik. Based in Chicago, he performs, as a violist, with groups including Lyric Opera, Grant Park Symphony, Chicago Symphony.His music has been performed by the Revolution Ensemble and by members of Lyric Opera.
Jill Kaeding is a Chicago based musician. She records, tours and performs in various mediums, such as jazz, blues, rock and classical music. She is currently working with Corky Siegels Chamber Blues who has just released their new CD Complimentary Colors on Gadfly Records. She has appeared at such prestigious venues such as the Montreal jazz Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival and Chicago’s Symphony Center.