The Performers
2025 ENSEMBLE-IN-RESIDENCE
counter)induction
counter)induction, a composer/performer collective, has become a prominent figure in contemporary music over our more than 25-year history. Praised for virtuosic performances and bold programming, we have received accolades from The New York Times and The Washington Post for our exceptional ensemble virtuosity and first-rate performances. Our critically acclaimed concerts have taken place at prestigious venues such as Miller Theatre,Merkin Hall, and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, as well as at festivals like Music at the Anthology and the International Consortium for Auditory Display conference.
The collective has been recognized for our adventurous programming, receiving the ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award, the Ditson Fund Recording Grant, and the Chamber Music America's Classical Commissioning Grant. We have premiered numerous works by established and emerging American composers, including Eric Moe, Suzanne Sorkin, Ursula Mamlok, and Lee Hyla. counter)induction also actively promotes the music of international composers rarely heard in America, such as Jukka Tiensuu, Bernhard Gander, Gilbert Amy, Dai Fujikura, and Vinko Globokar.
Benjamin Fingland is a versatile clarinetist known for his spirited and precise interpretations. He collaborates with leading contemporary ensembles such as NOVUS NY, ICE, the New York New Music Ensemble, and the Network for New Music. He is also a member of the renowned Dorian Wind Quintet.
Daniel Lippel is an acclaimed guitarist with a diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist. He has performed at prestigious venues and festivals worldwide, including Le Poisson Rouge (New York), Sinus Ton Festival (Germany), and the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Lippel is a member of both the International Contemporary Ensemble and counter)induction.
Jessica Meyer is a versatile composer and violist whose works have been commissioned and performed by established ensembles like A Far Cry, the American Brass Quintet, and Roomful of Teeth. She has upcoming premieres at the Spoleto Festival, Miller Theater, and as part of Carnegie Hall's Link UP program.
Cellist Caleb van der Swaagh is an alumnus of Ensemble ACJW and is a first prize winner in the SAVVY Chamber Competition. He is the recipient of the Manhattan School of Music Pablo Casals Award and the Tanglewood Karl Zeise Memorial Cello Prize and was also a grant recipient from the Virtu Foundation. An advocate of contemporary music, Caleb is a member of counter)induction and Ensemble Échappé as well as performing with other leading new music ensembles.
Jeffrey Silberschlag
Conductor, Alba Festival Co-Director
Jeffrey Silberschlag is music director and conductor of the Chesapeake Orchestra and River Concert Series, and serves as artistic director and head of music performance at St. Mary's College of Maryland where he is the Steven Muller Distinguished Professor in the Arts. He has appeared as guest conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Soloists, Orchestra Filharmonici di Torino, Symphony Orchestra of Rumania, Bulgarian Philharmonic, La Scala Virtuosi, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Salzburg Chamber Orchestra, and the Moscow Academy Chamber Orchestra. He also collaborated which such soloists Anne Akiko Myers, Mikhail Gantwarg, Hilary Hahn, Yi Jia Hou, and Lara St. John (violinists). In 2011 he received the Prize for Artistic and Cultural Activities from European Union of the Arts for his lifetime achievement in classical music as a conductor and trumpeter. Mr. Silberschlag is also a prominent trumpet performer on the international music circuit and has recorded as trumpet soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Czech Radio Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, and the Maryland Bach Aria Group. He held principal trumpet positions with the Italian National Symphony RAI-Torino, Jerusalem Symphony, and the New York City Opera-National Company.
Giuseppe Nova
Flute, Alba Festival Co-Director
A graduate from the Conservatory in Turin and Conservatoire Supérieur de Lyon, where he studied with the celebrated Maxence Larrieu, Giuseppe Nova has been described as one of the most outstanding Italian flutists of his generation. Mr. Nova made his debut in 1982 as a soloist with the RAI Symphony Orchestra, and has gone on to perform in the most prestigious concert halls in Europe, the United States, and Asia (Japan, Thailand, China, Korea, Singapore). Soloist with several Orchestras, such as Prague Virtuosi, Ensemble of Tokyo, Orchestre de Cannes Côte d'Azur, Camerata Bohemica, Arena di Verona Orchestra, Turin Philharmonic, Tübinger Kammerorchester, Thailand Philharmonic, West Bohemian Symphony orchestra, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Chesapeake Orchestra, Astana Symphony Orchestra, Pavlodar Philharmonic, North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Petrapavlosk Philharmonic Orchestra, Filarmonica Cervantes, Pardubice Philharmonic Orchestra in prestigious concert halls and Festivals, like Suntory Hall Tokyo, Rome Parco della Musica, Umbria Jazz, Washington Italian Embassy, Esterhàzy Castle, Teatro Filarmonico in Verona.