Jacob Clewell  Viola & Violin

First playing together during the 2017 Scotia Festival of Music, the Velox Quartett is comprised of Nicholas Hatt (violin), Jacob Clewell (viola), Jordan Galvarino (cello), and Sasha Bult-Ito (piano). The quartet takes their name from the Latin word for “swift”, indicative of their immediate bond upon forming as a group. Performing Peteris Vasks’ moody piano quartet, the ensemble was touted as one of the festival’s premier chamber groups, performing on the mid-day concert series, the Young Artist Highlight series, and as part of the festival’s educational outreach efforts. Velox returned to the Scotia Festival in 2018 to perform the rarely-heard piano quartet by Erno Dohnanyi.

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In 2020 the quartet held the inaugural season of the Emerald Coast Chamber Music Festival and Institute. Meant to be nearly two weeks of faculty performances and intensive student learning, the event was pushed online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Forced to cancel the in-person features, the quartet created the ECCMF "Virtual Institute" to preserve the educational component of the originally planned festival. Featuring digital lessons with faculty, masterclasses with guest artists, and seminar topics ranging from physical wellness to music business, thirty students from across North America, chosen by audition, attended the Institute.

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Velox now hosts the popular ECCMF Chamber Music Institute in-person in Florida annually in late spring. The CMI features masterclasses given by teaching artists from the world's top universities and conservatories, as well as performances by faculty, guest artists, and students.