MUSIC

ēthos is a groundbreaking guitar/cello ensemble formed by cellist Susan Millar and guitarist Theresa Calpotura. The duo formed in the year 2000 as the musical experimentation of two friends within the unique environment of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. The ensemble soon took on a life of its own despite the ostensible challenge of putting their instruments in combination. ēthos soon became a multi-faceted creative endeavor--striving to promote music as a global unifying force, utilizing and promoting a cross-cultural, cross-genre artistic fusion--promoting meaningful progress in art music. ēthos has worked with contemporary composers such as Bayani Mendoza de Leon, and has created their own arrangements of works in an effort to expand the repertoire for the untapped musical resource of the guitar/cello duo.

Recognized cellist Susan Millar was the 2008 first place winner of the National Academy Orchestra of Canada’s Concerto Competition. Ms. Millar has performed numerous solo and ensemble recitals throughout Canada and the US. Currently principal cellist of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, she has also been the principal cellist of the Indiana University Orchestra and Indiana University Philharmonic Orchestra. She was also a member of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and has performed in other ensembles such as The Memphis Symphony Orchestra and The Tupelo Symphony Orchestra.

Rising guitarist Theresa Calpotura has performed in numerous venues throughout the US and the Philippines. She has won a number of awards from associations such as the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts and the American String Teachers Association, and received scholarships from the Oberlin Conservatory and the Yale School of Music. Ms. Calpotura studied with the renown guitar pedagogue Scott Cmiel of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory where she studied with versatile guitarist/composer Stephen Aron. She then continued at the Yale School of Music with guitarist/composer Benjamin Verdery. Ms. Calpotura has given masterclasses in the US and in the Philippines and is currently on faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division. Theresa recently released Kanta Filipina (VGo Recordings 2010), a premiere recording of original, arranged and transcribed Filipino songs for solo guitar in collaboration with Filipino composer Bayani Mendoza de Leon.