Described as "chamber music at its finest" by Kenneth Tse and "unique and virtuosic" by Barbara Siesel, BETA Quartet is an award-winning ensemble comprised of flutists Eftihia Arkoudis, Tatiana Cassetta, Alyssa Schwartz, and Meg Brennan.

BETA is dedicated to exploring and promoting the cutting edge of modern flute music by premiering and performing works by living composers from around the world. The ensemble is actively engaged through concerts, masterclasses, and educational outreach across the country and abroad.

As strong competitors, BETA has won First Prize at France Music Competition 2° (2020) and West Virginia Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition (2016), First Prize at the Flute Society of Kentucky Quartet Competition (2017), and advanced to the semi-finals of the prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (2017). The group has performed and presented workshops at the National Flute Association Convention, Florida Flute Association Convention, the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, the Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia, and the WVU International Flute Symposium.

BETA’s activities have been partially funded by grants from The Friends of Flutes Foundation and West Virginia University, and their recognition within the flute community resulted in sponsorship by Flute Specialists, Inc. (Clawson, MI). As of 2019, BETA Quartet is also a Trevor James Low Flutes Ensemble.

Following the release of their self-titled debut album (2017), BETA commissioned Detroit based composer Marcus Elliott to write a work celebrating the feminine divine (2019) and recorded the world premiere of Nuraghi Warriors Dance (Ples Bojevnikov Nuraghi) composed by Anže Rozman and dedicated to the group (2020). Both albums are released with Merandi Records and are available through Spotify, iTunes, YouTube and www.betaquartet.com. 

Meg Brennan

Meg Brennan is an NYC-based multi-woodwindist, composer, arranger, educator, and bandleader, widely regarded for her versatility across musical genres. As a flutist and saxophonist, she has performed with esteemed musicians such as Keyon Harrold, Rodney Whitaker, Ingrid Jensen, Andrew Bishop, and Ellen Rowe. As an international performer, she was selected to represent the University of Michigan at the International Association of Schools of Jazz in Munich, Germany in 2021.

As bandleader of the Meg Brennan Quartet, her accomplishment is marked by performances at notable venues such as the Lansing Jazz Festival, Blue Llama Jazz Club, Cliff Bells, and features on 90.9 WRCJ Detroit and 89.7 WLNZ Lansing. The band has a newly recorded demo that features four of Meg’s original compositions, in which the release date will be announced soon. Other notable venues that she has performed at include the Detroit Jazz Festival, Blue Llama Jazz Club, Cliff Bells, Aretha’s Jazz Cafe, and the Fox Theater.

Meg began playing the flute at the age of 10. In high school, she was accepted to attend the internationally renowned Interlochen Arts Academy. It was at Interlochen that Meg began composing and arranging music, often incorporating beatbox flute, a skill she gained from working with Greg Pattillo. Soon after graduating from high school, she was featured on Fox 2 News Detroit, where she played her own beatbox flute arrangement of the “Hey Arnold” theme song.

After graduating from Interlochen, she began pursuing a flute performance degree at Michigan State University (MSU). Finding herself completely enthralled by improvisational music, she loaned out a school saxophone and started transcribing Louis Armstrong, Sonny Stitt, and Clifford Brown. After a couple of years of being self-taught, Diego Rivera, associate professor of Jazz Studies at MSU, accepted her into his saxophone studio. This ultimately led her to achieve B.M. degrees in both flute performance and jazz studies. During her time at MSU, Meg had the opportunity to play with Christian McBride, Kenny Barron, Jimmy Cobb, Louis Hayes, Anat Cohen, Antonio Hart, and Peter Bernstein.

Meg completed a master’s degree in jazz and contemporary improvisation at the University of Michigan. Of special note are her mentorships in saxophone, improvisation, and composition with Andrew Bishop and improvisation and rhythm studies with Miles Okazaki. Additionally, as a selected Graduate Fellow for the Center for World Performance Studies, she conducted research regarding the ways that non-western rhythmic concepts and their modes of transmission influence improvisational techniques. With a passion for expanding women’s representation in jazz, Meg helped organize Music Deconstructed, an online symposium and newly founded LLC that examines race and gender biases in music. Currently, she performs with the prize-winning BETA Quartet, with whom she won First Prize at the France Music Competition 2° and advanced to quarter-finalists in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (2020).

www.megbrennan.com

Eftihia Victoria Arkoudis

Greek flutist and Trevor James Low Flutes Artist Dr. Eftihia Arkoudis is an interdisciplinary artist and a pedagogue. She is a lecturer and adjunct flute instructor at Frostburg State University, the creator of the inaugural Frostburg Flutes Virtual Guest Artist Series, and the new director of West Virginia University’s Community Music Program, where she also teaches flute and piano to students of all ages with and without learning or physical disabilities.

She is a winner of International Grand Prize Virtuoso and WVU’s Young Artist Competition (2016), an alternate winner of Pittsburgh Concert Society Competition and NFA Convention ‘Into the Music’ Masterclass, a finalist for The American Prize Competition (2018-2019), and an alternate finalist of Byron Hester Competition (2015).

As an orchestral and chamber musician, she has performed and recorded in prestigious venues of Greece, Austria, Germany, and Turkey, while serving as the principal flutist of Junges Tonkünstler Orchester (Germany), Greek-Turkish Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Orpheus Kammerochester Wien (Austria), among several other ensembles. Currently, she performs as a founding member of the flute trio 3Pirouetten based in Germany, and the award-winning and recording artist BETA Quartet, with whom she won first place in France Music Competition 2° (2020) and Flute Society of Kentucky Flute Quartet Competition (2017) and were semifinalists in Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (2017).

As a soloist, Eftihia has a passion for adding a theatrical element in her interpretations, and considering her discography credits, she has commissioned and delivered the world premiere of over twenty works. Further, her academic and overseas musical endeavors have been supported by grants from the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of Nordrhein-Westfalen (2021), Friends of Flutes Foundation (2016) and West Virginia University (2016), and the Susan B. Hardesty (2015), Eleana T. Donley (2015), and Valerie Canady Charitable Trust Foundation (2015, 2017) scholarships.

Dr. Arkoudis graduated with her DMA and MM from WVU while on an assistantship and holds artistic diplomas with distinctions from Prayner Konservatorium Wien and the Athens Conservatoire. The latter one named her Best Woodwind Instrumentalist (2010-2011) and first Urs Rüttimann Award for Excellence in Performance (2012) recipient upon graduation. She has played for acclaimed flutists such as Claire Chase, Alberto Almarza, Krzysztof Kaczka, Lorna McGhee, Francesca Arnone, Erwin Klambauer, and Caroline Debonne, and was selected as a performer for the Jasmine Choi International Masterclass in Austria (2013) and William Bennett Flute Academy in the US (2017). Her primary teachers include Nina Assimakopoulos, Reza Najfar, Urs Rüttimann, and Danae Kioupouroglou.

www.eftihiavarkoudisflute.com

Tatiana Cassetta

Tatiana Cassetta is a musician and teacher in Central Pennsylvania, and the Artist-in-Residence at Flute Specialists, Inc. Tatiana had her solo debut at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall in 2017. As a soloist and chamber musician, she has won various awards including Finalist in the SEMFA Ervin Monroe Young Artist Competition, First Prize in the Golden Classical Music Awards, First Prize in the Flute Society of Kentucky Chamber Music Competition, Winner of the West Virginia University Young Artist Competition, Semifinalist in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, First Alternate Prize in the Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition, First Prize in the Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition, and First Prize in the Great Composers Competition series. Additionally, Tatiana has been a recipient of the Valerie Canady Scholarship.

With a passion for performance, Tatiana is a founding member of the BETA Quartet, presenting concerts and workshops around the country. She has played in chamber orchestras throughout Central Pennsylvania and the Greater Detroit areas.

Tatiana is the flute instructor at State Street Academy of Music, Penn Square Music Conservatory, and the Columbia School of Music. She is an Adjunct Professor of Music at Fairmont State University. She is currently has a vibrant online teaching studio, working with flutists ages 4 through 94 with diverse backgrounds and a large variety of experience. She previously held the position of Associate Teacher of Flute and Piccolo at the West Virginia Community Music Program. She has taught privately in Morgantown, WV, and Lansing, MI. Tatiana has regularly served as a woodwind clinician and flute choir director in the Oakland County public schools.

Tatiana graduated from West Virginia University where she received her Master’s Degree in Music Performance. Originally from Royal Oak Michigan, Tatiana received her Bachelor's of Music from Michigan State University. She has performed in masterclasses for world-renown flutists including William Bennett, Ervin Monroe, Conor Nelson, Lorna McGhee, James Hall, and Deanna Little. Her primary teachers are Jeff Zook, Richard Sherman, and Nina Assimakopoulos. 

Tatiana can be heard on the BETA Quartet’s self-titled album (flute and piccolo), Tesserae (flute, piccolo, and bass flute), and the Mountaineer Fifes and Drums album (fife and flute).

www.tatianacassetta.com