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INVOKE
Described as “...not anything but everything: Classical, Folk, Bluegrass, Americana and a sound yet to be termed seamlessly merged into a perfect one” (David Srebnik, SiriusXM Classical Producer), Invoke (Nick Montopoli, violin/banjo/vocals; Zach Matteson, violin/vocals; Karl Mitze, viola/mandolin/vocals; Geoff Manyin, cello/vocals) successfully dodges even the most valiant attempts at genre classification. The multi-instrumental quartet encompasses traditions from across America, including bluegrass, Appalachian fiddle tunes, jazz, and minimalism. Fueled by their passion for storytelling, Invoke weaves all of these styles together to form a unique contemporary repertoire, featuring original works composed by and for the group. Strings Magazine observes, "the remarkable string quartet Invoke has repeatedly proven one thing over its first 11 years: it simply cannot be contained by any one label."
Invoke was the Young Professional String Quartet in Residence at the University of Texas at Austin from 2016-2018. Since being selected as Interlochen’s Emerging Artists Quartet in 2014, the group has been a featured artist and on faculty at the Interlochen Adult Chamber Music Camp. The group also participated in the Emerging String Quartet Program at Stanford, and was an Artist in Residence at Strathmore and the Fellowship String Quartet at Wintergreen Performing Arts. In 2018, Invoke was named a winner of the Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition in New York, NY, received First Prize at the M-Prize International Chamber Arts competition in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and received First Prize in the Coltman Competition in Austin, Texas.
Invoke has shared the stage with some of the most acclaimed chamber groups in the country, including the Westerlies, Miró and Ensō Quartets, and the U.S. Army Field Band. Other professional highlights include performing in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center, the Phillips Collection, and the Green Music Center, a concerto appearance with the Brevard Sinfonia, a residency at the Stanford Pre-Collegiate Institute, and performances on the NextNOW Festival at University of Maryland, and Festival Amadeus in Montana. Additionally, Invoke has appeared with musicians from various genres, including chamber rock powerhouse San Fermin, to indie sensation Never Shout Never, to DC beatboxer/rapper/spoons virtuoso Christylez Bacon. The group has also performed with composer-performer Clarice Assad and will offer a collaborative program with her for the 2025-26 season.
Invoke’s latest album, Evolve & Travel, was released in fall 2023 on Sono Luminus. Evolve & Travel celebrates Invoke’s tenth anniversary and features seven original works. Each song reflects Invoke’s growth as people, composers, and as friends with a rich history of shared creative experiences and personal memories. Invoke instilled their versatility, compositional creativity, and artistic spirit into the seven original works on Evolve & Travel, while also highlighting the strengths of Mitze and Montopoli as songwriters and composers. The music lets the group completely abandon any semblance of the traditional “string quartet” formality and focus on what makes Invoke “Invoke” – best friends who make the music they love to hear, weaving together threads of classical technique, folk improvisation, and musical camaraderie. All Music describes the album as, “An intriguing entry for those wishing to sample the growing interface between classical music and progressive bluegrass.” Invoke’s discography also includes Souls in the Mud (2015), Furious Creek (2018), and Fantastic Planet (2021). Its debut release, Souls in the Mud, begins with original works that conjure images of America, including the fast-paced opening track “Travesty” and “The Trace” (inspired by bourbon whiskey). The third and title track, “Souls in the Mud,” is an American transformation of a 16th century motet featuring banjo, mandolin, and a bluegrass-influenced boot-stompin’ finale. To round out the EP, Invoke accompanies a historic recording of a haunting traditional English ballad, and finishes with two compositions by prolific American composer Danny Clay. Invoke’s second EP Furious Creek was their first record to include vocals. The title track explores the relationship between humanity and nature with an evocative chant bookending energetic instrumental interludes. A fast-paced tune, “Dogs,” spotlights the banjo with a finger-picking, bluegrass-inspired undertow, and Karl’s elegiac setting of the Walt Whitman, “O Captain! My Captain!” features Nick’s recitation. The EP closes with Invoke’s arrangement of the Stephen Foster classic, “Hard Times,” which became a favorite closer among concert audiences. In 2019, the Austin Chamber Music Festival commissioned Invoke to compose its own original score to the 1973 French animated feature, Fantastic Planet, performed live with a small orchestra of Young Artists from the Festival’s Workshop. Invoke released Fantastic Planet, the companion album to the project, in 2021. The album features improvisation and adventurous instrumentation, including the electric cello and the igil, a horsehead fiddle from Tuva, Siberia, evoking moody electric soundscapes of the film’s futuristic setting.
Invoke is strongly committed to championing diverse American voices through commissioning and highlighting new music. The group’s ongoing commissioning project, entitled American Postcards, asks composers to pick a time and place in American history and tell its story through the group’s unique artistry. They have commissioned eight new works since 2017, including the latest addition to the initiative, The Lessons of History, by Jonathan Bingham, which premiered in summer 2021.
In addition to American Postcards, Invoke has performed and recorded numerous world premieres, including works by Joseph C. Phillips Jr., Armando Bayolo, and Geoff Sheil. The group’s recording credits appear on bassist/composer Ethan Foote’s solo album Fields Burning, singer/songwriter Marian McLaughlin’s Spirit House, jazz/soul singer Rochelle Rice’s EP Wonder, and many more. Invoke has also worked extensively with composer Graham Reynolds and his non-profit organization, Golden Hornet, a composer laboratory for the 21st century which aims to reimagine classical music through collaborative creations and adventurous programming with commitments to justice and innovation. Through Invoke’s collaboration with Graham Reynolds and Golden Hornet, they’ve recorded volumes IV-VI of String Quartet Smackdown, Marfa: A Country & Western Big Band Suite, the 2019 film, Where'd You Go, Bernadette, and the 2023 film, Hit Man.
Recent and upcoming highlights for Invoke include performances presented by Carnegie Hall Citywide, Lincoln Center Presents, a residency at the Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech, and performances at Strathmore Mansion, Newport Classical, Carthage College, Garth Newel Music Center, and many more. In March 2024, Invoke performed two concerts for Lincoln Center Moments, a program specially designed for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Invoke was part of the feature on Lincoln Center Moments on CNN, which was broadcast on major news networks across the country. The group also hosts a monthly collaborative workshop series in Austin called "Invoke & Friends: Under the Hood," performing with numerous artists across various genres including singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Daniel Fears, and R&B/Soul artist Micah Motenko.
Invoke is sponsored by and endorses Dolfinos products and utilizes both their Miniput music stands and chinrest systems. Invoke endorses the Buffalo Trace line of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Soda Shaq cream sodas, and Kirkland brand everything.
For more information, visit www.invokesound.com.
Program
Nick Montopoli, violin / banjo
Zachariah Matteson, violin
Karl Mitze, viola / mandolin
Geoff Manyin, cello
January 10, 2026, 2 p.m.
Performance Insights with Lani Spahr at 1 p.m. (Included with price of ticket)
Bethel United Methodist Church Hall,
Lewes, DE
PROGRAM - AMERICAN VOICES
Invoke pays homage to some of America’s most illustrious composers of the past and present. American Voices weaves together our country’s dynamic compositional voices over 100+ years into one exciting journey, peppered with Invoke’s own original and commissioned works.
No Intermission at Request of Performers
Additional works to be announced from the stage
Program Subject to Change
Program Notes
William Grant Still was in the forefront of African American composers of the 20th century and his legacy lives on today. Still was the first American composer to have an opera produced by the New York City Opera, the first African American composer to conduct a major American orchestra, and the first to have an opera performed on national television; there are many more accolades and ground-breaking events to his name. He left behind a wealth of music, including five symphonies, nine operas, over thirty choral works, a number of chamber music pieces, art songs, and four ballets.
During his life William Grant Still received two Guggenheim Fellowships, and was awarded honorary doctorates from Oberlin College, Wilberforce University, Howard University, Bates College, the University of Arkansas, Pepperdine University, the New England Conservatory of Music, the Peabody Conservatory, and the University of Southern California.
He was posthumously honored by the 1982 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters for his opera A Bayou Legend. He is often respectfully referred to as "the Dean" of African American composers.
Lyric Quartet (1960) was dedicated to Still’s friend, Joachim Chassman. Taking the listener on a personal journey, it is subtitled Musical Portraits of Three Friends. These “friends” are: The Sentimental One; The Quiet One; and The Jovial One. The titles speak for themselves through the music.
Florence Price was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, where her father was the only African American dentist in the city, and her mother was a music teacher who guided her early musical training. She moved to Chicago to escape the increasingly racist South. Educated at the New England Conservatory of Music, Price pursued her chosen career in Chicago from 1927 until her death in 1953. She was the first African American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer, and the first to have a work played by a major orchestra. Price composed over 300 scores, including four symphonies and four concertos, as well as choral works, art songs and chamber music. In 2009, a substantial collection of her works and papers was found in an abandoned house on the outskirts of St. Anne, Illinois, which Price had used as a summer home.
Symphony No. 1 in E Minor (1931-32) is a landmark work that blends European classical forms with elements of African American musical traditions. The symphony features four movements showcasing Price’s unique musical voice and mastery of symphonic form, along with her ability to synthesize classical structures with unique musical material. The fast Finale brings together elements from the first three movements, creating a grand and rousing conclusion.
Duke Ellington, born in Washington, D.C., was recognized during his life as one of the most influential figures in music. Ellington's reputation has continued to increase since his death, and has included a special award citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board. Ellington called his style and sound "American Music" rather than jazz.
Many of the musicians who served with his orchestra remained with Ellington for decades. While several were standouts in their own right, it was Ellington that melded them into one of the most well-known orchestral units in history. Ellington recorded for many American record companies, and appeared in several films. He and his orchestra toured the United States and Europe regularly before and after World War II. Ellington led his band for over 50 years, until his death in 1974.
Sophisticated Lady (1932) was supposedly inspired by three of Ellington's grade-school teachers. In his own words: “They taught all winter and toured Europe in the summer. To me that spelled sophistication.” It has also been suggested that the title refers to his longtime companion, Mildred Dixon.
Jocelyn C. Chambers is a “composer-creative,” passionate about using her gifts to diversify musical arts. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Chambers found herself profoundly engrossed with music and film as early as seven years old. She began studying piano at that age, but discovered the magic of composition at age 13. She honed her writing skills by reworking existing film scores and arranging popular songs by ear using a free online notation software. After learning to notate music properly, she began studying composition with Dr. Rachel McInturff at the Armstrong Community Music School. Within one year of her composition studies, Chambers entered the Texas Young Composers Competition with her first orchestral piece, My Heart. She won the competition and received the honor of having her work performed by the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Chambers was the first woman and Black composer to win the competition. She went on to win the competition once more with her piece Paradise. Chambers has adopted the title “composer-creative” to encompass her many extra-musical endeavors. In her book, The Era of Mixed Feelings, she has used her skills as a writer to encourage young people and vocalize her passion for social justice. Through her online magazine, Majesty Mag, she has used her photography to highlight the beauty of women of color and bring multitudes of communities together. In everything she pursues, Chambers intends to show her love for people and her dedication to their representation so she, and other “creatives” of color, do not feel alone.
Enigma for the Night (2015), in Chambers’ words, “is a string quartet I wrote … when I was at a conservatory in Houston ... I was feeling really weird and homesick when I wrote it, so it's really vulnerable and breathy, and it reminds me of car rides home with granddaddy after music school let out for the day. Yeah. One of my more personal pieces.”