Ealaín McMullin - Co-Founder, Artistic Director & Violinist

Inspired by the opportunity to blend chamber music with education and community building, Ealaín McMullin co-founded the Newport String Project in 2012. Ealaín was first introduced to chamber music though concerts given by the Apple Hill Chamber Players near her home in Donegal, Ireland. This led to many happy summers studying at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in New Hampshire and since 2014, Ealaín has served on the faculty at Apple Hill’s summer festival. She has performed with members of the Apple Hill, Brooklyn Rider, Lydian and Miro String Quartets and has performed at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival (Ireland) and Music From Salem (New York). A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin and the Boston Conservatory, Ealaín’s teachers have included Michael D’Arcy, Elise Kuder, Mike Kelley and Lenny Matczynski.

Kenneth Trotter - Resident Musician, Violinist

Kenneth Trotter is a violinist from Knoxville, Tennessee. Before joining the Newport String Quartet, he had a varied freelance career in the New York City area and was a founding member of the Puck Quartet, which had a particular focus on audience & community engagement, working with living composers, and interactive performances. He has participated in the Carnegie Hall Audience Engagement Intensive, the St. Lawrence Quartet Emerging String Quartet Program, and the Decoda | Chamber Music Institute. Kenneth was a founding member and fiddle player of folk-foursome Elijah and the Moon, and has recorded and performed live with such diverse artists as R&B/disco legend Patrick Adams, Japanese rapper Lotus Juice, and singer-songwriter Mitski. He holds a Bachelor's in Music from SUNY Purchase where he studied with Carmit Zori and Laurie Smukler.

Florrie Marshall - Resident Musician, Violist

Recognized as a performer, educator and arts leader, violist, Florrie Marshall has received awards from the international UCROSS Plank Music Residency and the National Presser Foundation, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. As Founder and Artistic Director of Sound Bridges International Company, Marshall commissions and performs new music that builds bridges of cultural understanding. Florrie is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at Yale School of Music, where she earned her MM under Ettore Causa and Steven Tenenbom. She completed her BM at East Carolina University with Hye-Jin Kim and Ara Gregorian. Her musical journey began with her grandfather, Ronald Marshall, and aunt, Dora Mullins.

Florrie has taught violin and viola for 17 years, most recently at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Towson University. In her spare time, she and her canine sidekick, Bear, enjoy perfecting margarita recipes.

Chelsea Bernstein - Resident Musician, Cellist

Dr. Chelsea Bernstein enjoys an active and varied career as a specialist in the performance of modern cello, historical cello, and viola da gamba. In addition to her residency with the Newport String Project, Chelsea performs regularly with the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Four Seasons, Smithsonian Chamber Music Society, Washington Performing Arts, Les Arts Florissants, American Bach Soloists, Gotham Early Music Scene, and Music Before 1800 concert series. Chelsea holds advanced performance degrees from The Juilliard School and the University of Maryland and serves on the music faculties of Salve Regina University and the St. George's School.

Jennifer Cloud - Development Consultant

Jenny Cloud grew up in Jamestown, Rhode Island and couldn’t help returning to her hometown after living in Washington, DC, Boston, and Nashville. For close to 15 years, she taught math to high school students in South Kingstown, until realizing that she needed a change. With a background and degrees in education and public policy (BA from Brown University, M.Ed. from Vanderbilt University, and MPA from University of Michigan), she turned to the nonprofit sector and development, with a special interest in grant writing. Aside from working part-time for NSP, she volunteers at the Potter League and tries not to adopt any more pets.

Shauna Maguire - Administrator

Shauna Maguire grew up in Orange, Connecticut. She has a degree in Physical Education. After college she pursued a career in retail management. She moved to Newport in the late 80’s to raise a family and work in the family marine electronics business.

Shauna joined Island Moving Company as a volunteer in 2001, leaving in 2023 as Marketing & Patron Relations Manager. She is thrilled to join the Newport String Project Family! She lives on The Point with her adorable Westie, Beckett James. She is the proud mother of two daughters Taylor and Hayden and grandmother to her three grandsons, Warren, Brooks & Cooke.

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EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks - Co-Founder, Violinist

EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks grew up on an organic farm where as a young girl she presented her first violin performances to a very attentive audience—her flock of merino sheep. As that violin grew from quarter- to a full-size, EmmaLee, with that expressive instrument in hand, made her way onto the stage as soloist with symphonies and then on to Carnegie Hall as a member of the Pangea String Quartet. Armed with a performance degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a doctoral degree from SUNY Stony Brook, EmmaLee serves as principal second violinist of the New Bedford Symphony and as a busy chamber player, on stage in venues on the East Coast, as well as the Midwest. She is on faculty at the University of Massachussetts, Dartmouth and the Birch Creek Summer Performance Center.

A firm believer that music can move people, quite literally, EmmaLee takes the lead in string bands across New England and in the Midwest where her lively fiddle music drives the spirited old-time dancing. She has played fiddle with the Rusty Pickup String Band since she was ten years old and she has taken many a championship prize at fiddle competitions.

*EmmaLee stepped down from her position as Newport String Project Director in June 2019

Past resident musicians of the Newport String Project have included Zan Berry, Josie Davis, Jaime Feldman, Ashley Frith, Gillian Gallagher, Jacob MacKay, Emma Powell and Santiago Vazquez-Loredo.

The Newport String Project Board of Directors

Dominique Alfandre, Board President

Marilyn Warren, Treasurer

Heath Marlow, Secretary

Emily Anthony

Cherayne Ashton

Alexandra Brooks

Laura Freedman Pedrick

Kate Longo

Laurie Love

Lenny Matczynski

Arlene J. Nicholas, Ph.D.

Dr. Elizabeth Niemiec, MD