meet the musicians
The Core Four
Elise Hughey
Elise is the founder of quartet442, established in 2012. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music (BM ‘09, MM ‘11) and performs with various ensembles in the Rochester and Ithaca areas. Elise is passionate about teaching beginner cellists and she loves finding fresh and captivating arrangements of popular songs for quartet442 to play at weddings and events! In addition to her musical life, Elise is also a social media manager for local businesses, a certified yoga instructor, a mom to a toddler, and a cat mom to Penny and Archie.
Molly werts mcdonald
Molly is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, and has been playing in the RPO since 2013. There is almost nothing that she loves more than playing string quartet music! But when she’s not in Kodak hall or performing with her chamber music groups, you can find Molly reading and goofing around with her two kids, creating art for greeting cards, and growing long-stemmed flowers in her garden.
Shannon reilly
Violinist Shannon Reilly thrives in the passionate pursuit of musical excellence. She regularly appears with the Buffalo’s Friends of Vienna series, Liminal Space Ensemble, the Buffalo Chamber Players, and the Buffalo and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestras. A dedicated collaborator and performer of experimental music, Reilly has been Concertmaster for the University at Buffalo’s June in Buffalo Festival since 2019, where she also spent four years as violin professor before teaching at Buffalo Suzuki Strings. Reilly holds a Masters degree in violin performance from the Eastman School of Music and lives in Niagara Falls with her three dogs. shannonreillyviolin.com
Benjamin Magruder
Having recently completed a second degree at the Eastman School of Music, violist Ben Magruder is an active performer, teacher, arranger, and producer. Ben plays with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra as well as various local orchestras and chamber groups. Ben also has a passion for teaching, and holds an education degree in addition to his performance degree. He also loves to cook and helped keep himself afloat through college as a chef at a fine restaurant and private chef.