Houston’s Apollo Chamber Players Announces New Violist

American violist Aria Cheregosha has joined the ensemble as a core member, succeeding violist Whitney Bullock

As the Apollo Chamber Players’ new violist, Aria Cheregosha joins her fellow core members: violinists Matthew J. Detrick and Anabel Ramirez Detrick, and cellist Matthew Dudzick.

Praised as a “remarkable musical aplomb,” Cheregosha began her music studies at age 7. By the age of 13, she had performed in both Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center.

A graduate of the New England Conservatory and The Juilliard School, Cheregosha studied with Kim Kashkashian and Roger Tapping. Currently, she is the 2023/24 Artist in Residence at the Dumbarton Oaks Harvard Research Institute with her viola duo, Talla Rouge. 

She studied chamber music with Paul Katz and the Cleveland Quartet as a member of the former Ivani Quartet, which was a prizewinner at the Plowman and the Fischoff Chamber Music Competitions, and a fellowship ensemble at the 2017 Bowdoin Music Festival.

Additionally, Cheregosha has studied chamber music with the Shanghai Quartet, Ying Quartet, Juilliard String Quartet, Brentano String Quartet, Borromeo String Quartet, Jupiter String Quartet, and worked with artists including Michael Tree, Donald Weilerstein, and Misha Amory.

Her concert engagements have involved the North Carolina Symphony, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, A Far Cry, Kinetic Ensemble, Apollo Chamber Players, and Thalea String Quartet.

A second generation Persian American, Cheregosha’s projects aim to reflect her heritage on stage through the performance and commissioned works that celebrate her cultural roots.

Founded in 2008 by violinist and music entrepreneur Matthew J. Detrick, the Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players is entering its 16th season. Titled “Silenced Voices,” the new season will explore historical and ongoing efforts to ban, censor, and marginalize. 

The ensemble is featured regularly on American Public Media’s Performance Today and has performed for sold-out audiences at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. It is also the winner of Chamber Music America’s Residency Partnership award and is the first American chamber ensemble to record and perform in Cuba. Apollo’s fifth studio album, “With Malice Toward None,” on Azica Records, reached No. 1 on Amazon’s Hot New Release chart. 

The group’s collaborating artists have included Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, Pamela Z, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, Hector del Curto, Vân Ánh Võ, and Tracy Silverman.