THE
WEST VILLAGE
QUARTET
David Caines Burnett, Violin/ Viola
David Burnett, is a Harlem born violinist of Antiguan and Kittitian parents. He began violin lessons with Galina Heifetz (Jasha Heifetz cousin) at The Third Street Music School Settlement, while a student at LaGuardia’s High School of Music and Art. David continued his studies at Oberlin Conservatory with Marilyn McDonald, then Boston Conservatory with Lynn Chang. Upon returning to New York, David continued his studies with Daniel Phillips. Mr. Burnett has enjoyed teaching at The Harlem School of the Arts (25 years), Langston Hughes Middle School (12 years), Garvey School (6 years), Assar Auset Charter School (5 years) and Juilliard’s MAP Program (2 years). In addition to teaching, Mr. Burnett performs with several groups, including but not limited to, The Harlem Symphony, Harlem Chamber Players, New York Housing Authority Orchestra, Soulful Symphony (which had a 5 year residency with the Baltimore Symphony), New York Youth Symphony and The West Village String Quartet (an African-American quartet, which he founded in 1987).
Jessica McJunkins, Violin
Known for her 'dynamic playing' and 'fearless artistry', Charlotte, NC native Jessica McJunkins performs and teaches in New York City. As a classical musician, she has had concert engagements with the Charlotte Symphony, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Harlem Chamber Players, Soulful Symphony, was a fellowship member of the 2011
Spoleto Festival USA Festival Orchestra and the 2013 Colour of Music Festival Orchestra in Charleston, SC. As a recording artist, she has collaborated with noted artists Sufjan Stevens, Frankie Rose, and more. Most recently, she was thrilled to perform with UK pop sensation Bastille on Saturday Night Live. While living in New York, Ms. McJunkins has made appearances at Carnegie Hall, Trinity Wall Street, Symphony Space, and the DR2 Theater, was featured as soloist for a new Broadway production Becoming Chaplin, directed by Warren Carlyle, and completed a run as solo violinist for the Off-Broadway production Stars of David in December of 2013. She is a faculty member of the St. Ignatius Loyola School and Sage Music School of Brooklyn.
In North Carolina, she has played for various Broadway productions in Charlotte, including South Pacific, White Christmas, Shrek, Next to Normal, and West Side Story. Ms. McJunkins performed with hip-hop superstar Kanye West in 2005, and was featured in an improvisational string quartet that collaborated with the Alonzo King LINES Ballet at the UNC School of the Arts in 2007. Jessica was a student of Kevin Lawrence at UNCSA, and is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree with Gregory Fulkerson at the Steinhardt School at New York University, where she is studying Violin Performance and Performing Arts Administration.
Edward Wellington Hardy, Violin/ Viola
An alumnus of the Juilliard Music Advancement Program, Bloomingdale School of Music, and Manhattan School of Music Precollege, Edward Wellington Hardy began his violin studies at age seven.
He has performed as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician throughout the New York area in venues that include Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Apollo Theater.
A graduate of the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music, Edward received his Bachelor Degree in Music Performance with Honors. Edward is a two-time winner of the Vincent Wagner Concerto Competition and a recipient of the Van Lier Scholarship.
Most recently Edward has acted as concertmaster for Litha Chamber Orchestra, HMF Symphony Orchestra, Calvary-St. George’s Orchestra and World Peace Orchestra. He is also the composer and solo violinist in the Off-Broadway show "The Woodsman".
Wayne Smith, Cello
Cellist, Wayne Smith, gave his recital debut at the Kennedy Center in 1996, and has appeared as soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Italy, Germany, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Poland, and China. He has played with the New Jersey Chamber Music Society, the National Chamber Orchestra, the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, the Philharmonic of New Jersey, the Princeton Chamber Symphony, and the Heidelberg Castle Festival Orchestra in Heidelberg, Germany, among other groups, and was a featured soloist on the PBS Series “Musical Encounters”. He has recorded and performed with such artists as Joe, Richard Smallwood, and the Spin Doctors’ Anthony Krizan, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the Moody Blues. He has also enjoyed an active teaching career and has taught lessons and master classes at Amherst College, Salisbury State University in Maryland, and the University of Massachusetts. He did his undergraduate studies at the Eastman School of Music with Steven Doane and his graduate studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with Astrid Schween.