The Switchgrass String Quartet plays a variety of styles of music with an emphasis on intricate folk and popular rhythms and improvisation. Featuring styles from around the world, they create an individual and unique sound. They are adept at engaging with their audience, interlacing interesting stories about composers and genres as they perform. The Switchgrass String Quartet is a fresh look at the classical genre of the string quartet that audiences of all types and ages will enjoy. They are all seasoned music educators and consummate musicians who delight in working with others.
They can be heard on Spotify: Switchgrass String Quartet - featuring Mayo’s original compositions.
Switchgrass are featured artists on the MidAmerica Arts Alliance Touring Roster
Were featured on the Pakistan on the Plains project. 2024 funded by KAC
Are featured on the audio portion of Flint Hills Counterpoint Audio Tour Book. 2023 funded by KCAIC, NEA, NYFA, and MAAA.
Premiered and recorded music for the documentary Reclamation Meridian part of an NEA placemaking project, 2023
Premiered Memories in Motion, new work for the KCAIC project. 2021
Featured performing Tallgrass Studies at the opening of the Charlotte Street Gallery in Kansas City. 2021
Premiered Tallgrass Studies a KCAIC Tallgass Artist Residency Project. 2019
Premiered Sunflower Scenes at the Sunflower Theatre in Peabody, KS. 2019
Have performed at numerous KNOB Festivals, a festival of contemporary music in Wichita
Premiered works for Society of Composers Inc.
Were an integral part of the Friends Ballet 21 Century Century Project, a collaboration for string quartet, rock band, orchestral percussion, and dancers featuring the musicians onstage. 2018
Featured artists for VIBRANTICT, a project which sponsored 40 "pop-up" concerts in downtown Wichita. 2018
Prepared a special program based on Pakistani music for the event Night at the Museum Trucking the Land Wichita Art Museum.2017
Collaborated with Jherek Bishoff and Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn. 2018
Participated in outreach concerts for Chamber Music at the Barn. 2017
Dr. Ramiro Miranda is a native of Asunción, Paraguay, Ramiro Miranda came to the United States to pursue a Bachelor's degree in violin performance at Pittsburg State University. Miranda holds a Master's degree from Illinois State University in violin performance and orchestral conducting, and a Doctoral in Musical Arts in orchestral conducting from the University of Missouri - Kansas City. He is the recipient of many awards and honors, including first place in the Rosa Mistica violin competition in Brazil in the year 2000, the revelation award in the Cardozo Ocampo music competition in the year 2002, two Concerto Aria competitions, chamber music prizes, and a grant from Illinois State University's Friends of the Arts for a full production of Igor Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale.
Prior to coming to the United States, Miranda was an active teacher and performer, playing first violin for the Orquesta de la Universidad del Norte, and as an instructor of strings in Escuela Musical Miranda and Proyecto Sonidos de la Tierra. He continues to give recitals and lectures for string teachers and students in Paraguay and oversees the exchange of international faculty with Escuela Musical Miranda, one of the top music schools in Paraguay.
He has appeared with orchestras, chamber groups, and as a violin soloist in the United States, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Ramiro has conducted several orchestras at the collegiate level, including the recent performances of Mark Adamo's acclaimed opera "Little Women" and Mozart's "Cosí fan Tutte" with the University of Missouri-Kansas City Opera program, and youth orchestras in Kansas, Paraguay and Argentina. He has participated in international festivals and conducting workshops in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Spain, with instructors of high acclaim such as Paul Vermel and Enrique Garcia Asensio. He recently attended the European American Musical Alliance-Nadia Boulanger Institute in Paris.
Rob Loren toured as a fiddler/violinist with country legend Ray Price and has worked with artists as diverse as Charlie Daniels, Johnny Mathis, Jerry Hahn, Phil Keaggy, Pavarotti, and other nationally known artists. After getting his Bachelor's in Music Education degree (with Distinction) from the U of New Mexico, he taught for years with the Wichita public schools and has also taught fiddle and improvisation at Wichita State University. He works regularly throughout the Midwest playing chamber and symphonic music, as well as folk, country, jazz, and popular styles.
Tim Snider: Whether he's playing alongside Trevor Hall and the Great In Between, performing his solo show, fronting his band, or jamming with the many artists he’s had the pleasure of sharing the stage with, Tim Snider’s passion for music always shines through. He brings his unique style and energy to the stage and has captivated the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide.
Music runs deep for Tim, spanning back generations. His great-grandfather was a doctoral graduate violinist and composer from Harvard. His great-grandmother was an opera singer and his grandmother—a passionate violinist as well—prophesied that he would be the family’s next violinist while holding him on her deathbed when he was two months old. An Itzhak Perlman performance on Sesame Street became his earliest musical inspiration—at just three-and-a-half—and classical music first provided the impetus to learn his instrument. Over the years other influences have come into play: from exposure to the raw energy of rock music he picked up guitar, watching a Ben Harper concert turned him onto songwriting, and sojourns in Spain and Cuba introduced flamenco, salsa, and Afro-Cuban rhythms into his repertoire. Embracing these diverse influences, Tim's musical odyssey took him to uncharted territories. Returning to college, he spent a year studying jazz and eventually rediscovered his love of classical music.
With a career now spanning international borders, music has led Tim to tour throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Brazil, Central America, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. He has written and recorded countless string arrangements for artists across the globe including hip-hop Icon Talib Kweli, Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush, Kairo, Baby Fisher, Justine Sky, Hire, Satsang, and many more. He has shared the stage as a featured guest with legends such as Dispatch, the Colorado Symphony, OAR, John Butler, Michael Franti, G-love, Donovan Frankenreiter, Mike Love, and many others. During his five-year tenure with Nahko and Medicine for the People he played on iconic stages to sold-out crowds in amphitheaters like Red Rocks and The Greek to stadiums like Suntrust Park and Rogers Centre. As well as some of the world’s biggest music festivals: Bonnaroo, Byron Bay Blues, Caliroots, and Glastonbury.
From a young age, Tim knew he wanted to pursue a life of music. Driven by a thirst for musical exploration, his journey is a testament to the power of passion and dedication. Now with three albums and two EPs of his own under his belt, Tim Snider continues to push musical boundaries and himself as he aims to inspire others with each new endeavor.
Dr. Susan Mayo has been part of the musical landscape of Kansas for over 30 years. She has taught at Emporia State University and is currently a guest lecturer at Wichita State University. She pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of the Pacific (BM: Cello Performance) as well as doing graduate work at Peabody Conservatory of Music, Wichita State University (BME in Special Music Education), and the University of Kansas (DMA in Cello Performance). She has performed globally with both classical and alternative ensembles and is currently board chair of Flint Hills Counterpoint, an ecology arts project based in Marion County Kansas; music director for Symphony in the Flint Hills fall event Woodfest; board chair of the Historic Sunflower Theatre; guest lecturer at Wichita State University; and a member of the Wichita Symphony.