Nancy Kim, Cello
Steve Lin, Guitar
Kris Palmer, Flute

Black Cedar releases its debut album early next year with a grant from the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music. An affiliate ensemble with SFFCM, it is the only ensemble entirely devoted to creating, discovering, and re-imagining chamber music for flute, cello, and guitar. Their album will feature three new commissions by Garrett Shatzer, Durwynne Hsieh, and David Smith; plus Klaus Hinrich Stahmer’s never-recorded "Debussyana" (1985), and Nathan Kolosko’s "Hungarian Trio" (2012).

“Black Cedar has done a wonderful job of making the case that chamber music can involve approaches to instrumentation not usually expected.” San Francisco, March 2015

“Hats off to them…their connectivity with each other was most apparent…as was their ability to convey their joy to the audience.” Santa Cruz Sentinel, January 2015

"Three top musicians who came together…a sound that was balanced, expressive and provocative." Piedmont Post, April 2015

"Something special is stirring in our backyard...They perform beautifully together: perfect synchronization of subtle rhythms and phrases." South Bay Guitar Society, April 2012

Black Cedar has performed on-air concerts and interviews on 91.5 KKUP in San Jose, 91.7 KALW in San Francisco, 90.5 KWMR in Marin County, and 88.9 KUSP in Santa Cruz. Past appearances include Trinity Chamber Concerts, Subterranean Arthouse, Noontime Concerts of San Francisco, Tangents Contemporary Guitar Series, the Emerald Tablet, the Forte House, Classical Revolution, Pro Arts Gallery, the Deep Valley Chamber Music Series in Ukiah, and the Santa Cruz Chamber Players.


Flutist, Kris Palmer is a second prize winner in the National Flute Association's Young Artist Competition, a Carnegie Hall Recital Debut winner with Artists International, and a first prize winner in the Carmel Chamber Music Society Competition. Her solo album, Versailles, features her own arrangements of music from the French Baroque, and she is the author of Ornamentation According to CPE Bach & JJ Quantz. Kris holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Rice University, and she is a former member of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra.

Cellist Nancy Kim is a tenured member of the Monterey Symphony Orchestra and the Santa Cruz County Symphony Orchestra. She holds a Bachelor of Music plus a Bachelor of Arts in English from Oberlin College in Ohio and a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music. As a dedicated chamber musician, Nancy has performed in venues throughout the world, including the Royal Opera House in Oman, Suntory Hall in Japan, Herbst Theater in San Francisco, Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York City, and Symphony Center in Chicago.

Guitarist, Steve Lin is a winner of the Boston GuitarFest Competition, winner of the East Carolina Guitar Competition, and finalist in the Taiwan International Guitar Competition. His albums, Eliot Fisk Series Volumn 1 and Imagen, are available from VGo Recordings. Steve earned a Master of Music from the Yale School of Music, and he is completing his Doctorate of Musical Arts from the New England Conservatory of Music under Eliot Fisk. Steve is also a founding member of the Boston Guitar Project.