Described as "chamber music at its finest" by Kenneth Tse and "unique and virtuosic" by Barbara Siesel, BETA Quartet is an award-winning ensemble committed to reimagining the flute quartet paradigm using music as a vehicle for transformative change and performing new repertoire that explores improvisation, beatboxing, and multiple art disciplines.

BETA Quartet collaborates with composers worldwide and empowers the next generation of musicians, having commissioned and premiered over 30 works. Notable among these are Marcus Elliott's 'Where We Come From,' celebrating the feminine divine, and Anže Rozman’s 'Nuraghi Warriors' and 'Waking of the Green Spring,' both published by ALRY Publications and dedicated to the quartet.

In 2020, BETA Quartet held an international call for scores to honor ICU workers globally during the pandemic. This initiative received over 20 new works, culminating in recordings of the two winning compositions and a world premiere marathon benefit concert in support of the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

Currently, BETA Quartet has commissioned composers José Valentino, Caroline Davis, and Erin Spencer for their upcoming 2024-2025 project, "Anthems of Dialogue.” 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 throughout the country.

Over the years, the endorsed Trevor James Low Flutes ensemble has received financial support by individual benefactors and small businesses, such as Flute Specialists,Inc. and Flute Center, or grants by The Friends of Flutes Foundation and West Virginia University. They have also successfully launched two fundraisers, showcasing a strong community of supporters.

The ensemble’s impact further extends through live performances, educational outreach, workshops and masterclasses, including higher ed institutions and national conventions hosted by National Flute Association, Florida Flute Association, the Mid-Atlantic Flute, and the Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia. The first flute quartet to reach the semifinals of the prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, BETA Quartet has secured first prizes at esteemed competitions such as the France Music Competition 2°, Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition, and Flute Society of Kentucky Quartet Competition.

BETA Quartet’s discography includes a self-titled debut album (2017), "Tesserae" (2022), and “Nuraghi Warriors” (2021), available on platforms such as Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and the ensemble’s website.

The members of BETA Quartet are Eftihia Arkoudis, Tatiana Cassetta, Cassandra Eisenreich, and Zoe Sorrell.

Zoe Sorrell

“A profoundly gifted and innovative flutist” (Pittsburgh in the Round), Zoe Sorrell is a creator of words, sounds, relationships, and spaces. Their primary mediums of expression are flute, movement, and poetry, which they are committed to combining in never-before-seen ways. It is not uncommon to see Zoe recite original poetry through their flute, fully choreograph a recital, or bring their flutes into their burlesque performances.

Zoe is committed to the idea that creativity re-establishes one’s connection to their own humanity, and therefore to others’ humanity. For this reason, she believes that artists have an essential role to play in this vital moment of fighting for our collective liberation. Creativity and imagination are fundamentally incompatible with fascism, and artists will need to use all the skills they have honed at their art practices to imagine and build the better world we all know is possible.

Zoe is currently the touring flutist for 5x Grammy-nominated composer David Arkenstone as well as an active member of the music faculty at Chatham University and Winchester Thurston K12 school in Pittsburgh. They are the host of a podcast that explores the different ways that creativity shows up in liberation, resistance, and re-humanization work and she is currently writing a book to guide classical musicians into reshaping their relationships with their instruments to look more like the world we are trying to collectively build.

Zoe owes much of their current artistic practice to both traditional and lived experience educators. In 2010, Zoe moved to Ohio to pursue dual degrees in flute performance and English literature at Oberlin College and Conservatory, during which time she discovered her passion for Baroque, contemporary, and especially interdisciplinary music, allowing her to experiment for the first time with combining her various artforms.

Zoe then came to Pittsburgh in 2015 to pursue a master’s degree in flute performance at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where they flourished as a flutist. She was the winner of the 2016 Pittsburgh Concert Society (PCS) Major Artist Competition with her flute and harp duo as well as a 2016 Keynotes Scholarship Competition winner.  During this time, Zoe developed her Syrinx Project, a series in which she commissions flute, spoken word, and dance pieces that tell mythological stories through contemporary feminist lenses. The Syrinx Project was featured at the 2016 Pittsburgh Festival of New Music and the 2019 Pittsburgh Fringe Festival where it was named Best Music Production. In the same year, the project received a grant from the Off the Wall Charitable Trust, resulting in a directed stage production of the work which On Stage Pittsburgh called “a stunning, cohesive piece that attests to [Zoe’s] incredible gifts and overwhelming intellect.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoe completed a master’s degree in arts administration, during which time they reflected further on the importance of community care and humanization in the arts. They also became a certified raja yoga teacher and took a year off playing the flute to heal from burnout. When she returned, she committed herself to the same compassionate and curious approach which she imparts to her students. In 2023, Zoe became the first unaccompanied flutist to ever win the Pittsburgh Concert Society Major Artist Competition, a testament to the success of this gentle approach.

Zoe is a committed advocate for new music, especially that written by Pittsburgh-based composers. She has given over fifty world premiere performances and commissioned over a dozen works for solo flute. In 2016, Zoe founded ensemble NAT 28’s annual Pittsburgh Composers’ Project which features and funds local composers to this day. In 2022, she worked with the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh and composer Marina Lopez to commission and premiere Aridoamerica, a flute concerto about the damage inflicted by the US-Mexico border. In 2023, she co-commissioned The Troll and the Fae, a seven-movement modular work by Leanna Keith that introduces young flutists to extended techniques. 

Zoe is a knitter, runner, reader, hiker, makeup enthusiastic, and big fan of delicious gluten-free food. Zoe is the spouse of an incredible drummer and a caretaker to two sweet cats named Merry and Pippin. www.zoesorrell.com

DR. Eftihia Victoria Arkoudis

Greek flutist and Trevor James Low Flutes Artist Dr. Eftihia Arkoudis leads a multi-faceted career as a performer, pedagogue, and arts entrepreneur serving as the founder of EVA Arts Collective. A Music Business & Entrepreneurship faculty at the University of Florida, Global Outreach Coordinator of the 2024-2026 Tampere Flute Festival, and the former director of the West Virginia University Community Music Program (2021-2024), Eftihia is a visionary leader passionate for arts advocacy, community-building, and empowering the next generation of musicians. In 2024 she was recognized by West Virginia University and the Community Engagement Center with the “Outstanding Staff for Excellence” award for her work in building bridges between higher education and the community through civic engagement and partnerships.

Eftihia has performed and recorded solo or with several ensembles and orchestras in Greece, Turkey, Austria, Germany, Finland, Luxembourg, and the United States, and is a founding active member of the award-winning and recording artist ensembles BETA Quartet (USA) and 3Pirouetten (Germany). An interdisciplinary artist at heart and “a natural performer who conveys her ideas and narrative very well” (Pittsburgh Concert Society Competition), Eftihia has a knack for adding a theatrical element to her interpretations of new works, and her collaborations with living composers, have led to benefit concerts, seven studio albums, and the delivery of over fifty world premieres. Further, her curiosity for contemporary notation resulted in her doctoral research “Contemporary Music Notation for the Flute: A Unified Guide to Notational Symbols for Composers and Performers” which has surpassed 15,000 downloads. 

Among other distinctions, she is a winner of the International Grand Prize Virtuoso and WVU’s Young Artist Competition (2016), an alternate winner of Pittsburgh Concert Society Competition, a finalist for The American Prize Competition (2018-2019), and an alternate finalist of Byron Hester Competition (2015). With BETA Quartet she has won first place in the France Music Competition 2° (2020) and Flute Society of Kentucky Flute Quartet Competition (2017) and became the first flute quartet to be semifinalists in the renowned Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (2017). Her academic and overseas musical endeavors have been funded by grants from the US Embassy (Finland), Ministry of Culture and Science (Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany), Friends of Flutes Foundation, West Virginia University, and the Susan B. Hardesty (2015), Eleana T. Donley (2015), and Valerie Canady Charitable Trust Foundation (2015, 2017) scholarships.

A believer that our youth shapes our future, Dr. Arkoudis leads educational workshops and teaches K-12, high-school and college level students, and adults, including students with learning and physical disabilities, through her own private studio and in partnership with local arts organizations in West Virginia. While a flute instructor at Frostburg State University, and during the pandemic, Dr. Arkoudis launched the inaugural Frostburg Flutes Guest Artist Series (2020-2023), which hosted over 16 international guest artists and 50 auditors worldwide.

Dr. Arkoudis graduated with her DMA and MM from West Virginia University (Nina Assimakopoulos), while on an assistantship, and holds artistic diplomas with distinctions from Prayner Konservatorium Wien (Vienna, Reza Najfar) and Athens Conservatory (Athens, Urs Rüttimann) where she was awarded the first honorary Urs Rüttimann Award for Excellence in Performance (2012). She also studied with the late William Bennett and internationally acclaimed Jasmine Choi. Eftihia holds a Bachelor of Science in Food Technology & Nutrition.

www.eftihiavarkoudisflute.com

Tatiana Cassetta

Tatiana Cassetta is a teacher and arts administrator in Pittsburgh, PA. 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 Pennsylvania and the Greater Detroit areas.

Tatiana is an Adjunct Professor of Music at Fairmont State University. She also has a vibrant online teaching studio, working with flutists ages 4 through 94 with diverse backgrounds and a large variety of experience. Tatiana previously regularly served as a woodwind clinician and flute choir director in the Oakland County public schools.

Tatiana graduated from West Virginia University, receiving 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-renowned 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.