The Quapaw Quartet was founded in 1980 as the ASO resident string quartet. They provide musical and educational entertainment to thousands of music lovers each year. The Quapaw Quartet is also available for special functions such as weddings and receptions. From school programs to full-length recitals, the Quapaw Quartet is truly an

Arkansas treasure.

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Meredith Maddox Hicks (violin) joined the Arkansas Symphony in 2002 after receiving her Master’s degree in Music Performance and completing Doctoral work at the Florida State University. A native of Nashville, Tennessee, she graduated from Belmont University with a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance before becoming an exchange student in Moscow, Russia at the Russian Academy of Music.Meredith’s orchestral experience includes the concertmaster position at both of the universities she attended, as well as holding positions with the Memphis, Jacksonville, Naples and New World Symphony Orchestras. As a chamber musician, she is a member of the Arkansas Symphony’s flagship string quartet, the Quapaw Quartet. While considering chamber music her first love, Meredith also enjoys teaching students of all ages. She is the instructor of violin and viola at the University of Arkansas Little Rock, teaches privately and is a member of the Suzuki Association. Outside of classical pursuits Meredith is a member of Meshugga, Arkansas’ only Klezmer band. 

 

Charlotte Crosmer (violin), an Arkansas native, began her violin studies at the age of four with the Suzuki method. She discovered a love for chamber music early on, growing up playing in a string quartet with her siblings. In addition to her classical violin studies, she started experimenting with improvising and old-time fiddle music. This interest led her to winning numerous fiddling contests around the state (including the Arkansas State Old-time Fiddling Championship in 2003, as well as an appearance as a featured performer on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion. Charlotte completed a B.M. in Violin Performance at the University of Central Arkansas where she studied with Dr. Linda Hsu. While at UCA, she served as concertmaster of the university orchestra, and performed as soloist with the Conway Symphony Orchestra. Charlotte studied voice with Dr. Martha Antolik and was involved in the opera department for three years as well. In 2009 she won a section violin position with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and performed with them for two seasons. She went on to study with Aaron Berofsky at the University of Michigan and graduated with Masters Degrees in Chamber Music and Violin Performance.

 

Timothy MacDuff (viola) picked up the viola guided by the teachers in his public-school music program in upstate New York. After being exposed to the string quartets of Johannes Brahms and Antonin Dvorak at the New England Music Camp in Maine, he decided to become a professional musician. Early chamber music experiences include attending the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, Vermont, and performing with Loon Lake Live; an intimate chamber music series in upstate New York. At the University of Maryland, he and other graduate students formed the Anacostia String Quartet which served as the ensemble in residence of the District New Music Coalition in 2018. In octet form, he has collaborated with the award-winning Omer Quartet and performed on the Washington Performing Arts Series with the Left Bank Quartet. Through the National Orchestral Institute, he worked with the Adelphi Quartet on community engagement projects in schools and retirement communities in Prince George’s County, Maryland. In 2019, Tim joined the Quapaw Quartet of the Arkansas Symphony. Orchestral experiences include playing in summer festival orchestras such as the National

Repertory orchestra in Colorado, the National Orchestra Institute Philharmonic, and the Texas Festival Orchestra at Round Top. In 2018, Tim was a finalist and substitute musician with the New World Symphony in Miami, Florida. He was also an active substitute musician in the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra in Maryland and the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra in Virginia. The winner of two concerto competitions, Tim is also comfortable as a soloist and has performed concertos by

Cecil Forsyth and Ernest Bloch. As a teacher, he enjoys working with students of all ages and abilities. At the college level, he has served as a teaching assistant responsible for instructing undergraduate lessons and an orchestra excerpts course. While living in Maryland he maintained a studio of 30 violin and viola students of which many received music

scholarships, entered youth orchestras, and earned grades of distinction at Solo and Ensemble Festivals.

 

Travis Scharer (cello) grew up in Salem, Oregon where his primary teachers were Noah Seitz and Oregon Symphony cellist Marilyn De Oliveira. He then studied at Indiana University for five years under the tutelage of former Cincinnati Symphony principal cellist Eric Kim. During his time in Indiana, he served as principal cellist of the Philharmonic Orchestra, the school’s top ensemble, collaborated with faculty members Katherine Jolly, Stephen Wyrczynski, and Jorja Fleezanis, and was a member of the Kuttner Quartet, the university’s resident honors ensemble. Travis continued his schooling at the New England Conservatory where he studied with Boston Symphony Principal cellist Blaise Dejardin. In the summers, Travis has taken part in many music festivals including the Marrowstone Music Festival, and the Meadowmount School of Music, and has received fully paid fellowships to attend the Texas Music Festival, Port Townsend Chamber Music Workshop, and the Aspen Music Festival. Travis joined the Arkansas Symphony and Quapaw String Quartet during the 2023-24 season.