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 an email & social media manager for local businesses, a certified yoga instructor, a mom to a toddler, and a cat mom to Penny and Archie.
If you or your child is interested in cello lessons, please contact quartet442@gmail.com.
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
Benjamin Magruder is a violist, composer/arranger, and educator, based in Rochester, New York. He serves as an orchestral librarian at the Eastman School of Music and regularly performs with the Rochester Philharmonic. Benjamin loves the collaborative nature of making music and enjoys moving between performing, creating, teaching, and working behind the scenes to help bring musical projects to fruition. Outside of music, he’s an enthusiastic cook and photographer, two creative outlets that give him plenty of opportunities to explore and appreciate the details of everyday life.
