Voices & Violas
Voices & Violas Quartet
Maria Newman founded the Voices and Violas Quartet in 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic. The group is made up of Newman, viola, Scott Hosfeld, viola, Martha Thatcher, soprano, and Isabella Thatcher, soprano. Since its creation, the group has performed monthly as a part of the Montgomery Arts House for Music & Architecture Streaming Series.
Artist Biographies
Maria Newman, Composer/Viola/Collaborative Piano
Heralded by Variety Magazine as "The rebel of the musically rich Newman clan," and, "One of the most charming and distinctive composers of her generation" by KUSC's Jim Sjveda, Maria Newman has been a significant name in the music industry for decades. An accomplished violinist, violist, and pianist and lauded composer of modern classics, Ms. Newman's career has taken her across the United States and the world, performing her own original works and time-honored classics. The youngest child of nine-time Academy Award-Winning composer Alfred Newman, Ms. Newman grew up surrounded by some of the most revered musicians in the world. She has been commended by the United States Congress, California State Senate, and California State Assembly, among others. Ms. Newman has been named a Mary Pickford Foundation Composition Fellow, a California Arts Council Classical Composition Fellow, 1997's "Composer Legend of the Year" by Variety Magazine, and the Malibu Music Award's 2008 "Classical Artist of the Year." Ms. Newman is an Annenberg Foundation Composition and Performance Fellow. Ms. Newman is a founding member of the Montgomery Arts House for Music & Architecture, where she remains Composer in Residence. For more information on Maria Newman's life and career, visit the About Page.
Scott Hosfeld, Viola
Scott Hosfeld, violist/conductor, founded Icicle Creek Center for the Arts (Washington State) in 1995, training elite-level classical musicians, and partnering with some of the world’s most respected artists. Hosfeld has continued to serve as executive director of the award-winning Malibu Friends of Music at Montgomery Arts House for Music & Architecture (MAHMA) and has been recognized and commended by the U.S. Congress for his work at MAHMA in the field of classical music. American Record Guide writes, “Hosfeld offers a warm, sonorous viola…spectacular.” Hosfeld earned his BM and MM with the highest honors from Manhattan School of Music under Lillian Fuchs, and as Grand Prize Winner of Young Artists International, he made his Carnegie Recital Hall Debut in 1980 with the Riverside String Quartet. An Aspen Music Festival Fellow, Hosfeld has toured Russia (then the Soviet Union), Western Europe, North and Central America, and South America. ~Hosfeld has served as Faculty/Artist-in-Residence for the University of Arizona, CSULB, and founded several successful and long-standing youth orchestras on both sides of the USA, He continues to direct clinics and seminars worldwide. Prior to 2020, Hosfeld served as Conductor/Music Director of the Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra, and is principal conductor of Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra & Opera, Malibu Coast Silent Film Orchestra, and Malibu’s Concert on the Bluffs Symphony & Ballet.
Hosfeld has lent his musical craft to literally hundreds of motion pictures, television films, and recording projects, and is a longtime voting member of GRAMMY.
Martha Thatcher, Soprano
Martha Thatcher is an American actor, singer, and creator, currently located in Los Angeles, California. Named 2012’s Malibu Music Awards’ “Best Young Artist of the Year,” Ms. Thatcher began her professional vocal career as both a featured soloist and Master of Ceremonies at the Montgomery Arts House for Music and Architecture in Malibu, California. One of the youngest performers on MAHMA’s professional stage, Ms. Thatcher quickly became a fan favourite among the patrons. In 2010 Ms. Thatcher was featured on composer Maria Newman’s album, “A Holiday Festival of Music and Light,” singing the role of “Cantor” in Newman’s “A Little Book of Southern Carols.” Throughout her career, Ms. Thatcher has had the opportunity to perform alongside legendary artists—singing backup for Pat Benatar and opening for Dick van Dyke, to name a few. Ms. Thatcher has been a featured soloist at venues across the country with such esteemed ensembles as the Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra, The Omaha Festival Cinema Orchestra, the Mystique Orchestra Band, and the Sierra Symphony Pops Orchestra. A Summa Cum Laude graduate of the Oregon Center for the Arts, Ms. Thatcher’s acting career has spanned theatre, film, and television. She has been featured with such lauded companies as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland New Plays Festival, and the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, as well as on many film and television projects, including ABC’s “The Middle.” For more information on Martha Thatcher’s upcoming projects and appearances, visit www.marthathatcher.com .
