GQ (Gentlemen’s Quartet) is a modern, elegant take on some of the most famous music ever written, fusing together multiple genres in a perfect symphony of sophistication, virtuosity, and humor.
GQ features Peter Sachon on cello & mandocello, Matt Scharfglass on guitars & bass, Ben Saporito on drums & percussion and David Shenton on piano & violin. These four musicians have collectively performed over 10,000 shows and counting. These performances include working on Broadway, The West End, and with acclaimed artists such as Vanessa Williams, Dee Snyder, Audra McDonald, James Taylor, Pink Martini, Pinchas Zukerman, André Previn, Renee Fleming, The NY Rangers house band, Marilyn Maye, The Manhattan Transfer, Paul McCartney, and many, many others. The gentlemen have also performed with major symphony orchestras and at festivals around the globe.
DAVID SHENTON, Piano & Violin
David Shenton is an English-born pianist, violinist, composer, and arranger based in New York City. As pianist/music director David has worked with renowned members of the music profession in all genres, including Vanessa Williams, Tony Bennett, Norm Lewis, Zach Levi, Sierra Boggess, Denyce Graves, Alfie Bøe, Renée Fleming, Sherrill Milnes, Marilyn Maye, Liz Callaway, Sir André Previn, Michael Feinstein, Amanda McBroom, Katie Couric, Alan Menken, and Stephen Schwartz.
David's proficiency in multiples genres has allowed him to work at prestigious venues, in various guises, all over the world. He gave his Carnegie Hall début in 2014 when he conducted (from the piano) his own orchestra/big band in front of a sold out house. David's Jazz @ Lincoln Center début was at The Rose Theater as jazz pianist , and later he gave his classical piano début at Lincoln Center's Rubenstein Atrium performing Schumann and Chopin as part of the 200th year anniversary celebrations of these two composers. In 2012 David arranged, orchestrated, conducted, and played solo violin and piano for a Lincoln Center-commissioned work to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of Titanic.
As a violinist, David has performed frequently as a soloist with leading orchestras and as a recitalist. As a jazz pianist he continues to perform frequently at jazz clubs and larger venues in the USA.
PETER SACHON, Cello & Mandocello
American cellist Peter Sachon performs and records with an array of musicians and musical groups in New York City. In addition to Broadway, he also regularly performs with classical, jazz, and rock groups. He is active in promoting new music and art of all kinds.
Some of the classical ensembles Mr. Sachon has played with include The Absolute Ensemble, Sonos Chamber Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra (Italy and U.S.), Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Mr. Sachon was also the principal cellist at both the Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Germany and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan.
Peter Sachon was the cellist for the Broadway productions of Fiddler on the Roof, The Light in the Piazza, High Fidelity, Legally Blonde, South Pacific, Pippin, and The King and I. He was most recently the principal cellist at Lincoln Center Theater’s My Fair Lady.
Mr. Sachon regularly performs and records with a wide array artists including Adam Guettel, Kelli O'Hara, Audra McDonald, Victoria Clark, Judy Kuhn, Chris Potter, Dee Snider, Peter Buffet, Stephen Schwartz, Anthony Rapp, and James Taylor.
Peter Sachon has been the electric cellist for two Cirque du Soleil shows (Banana Schpeel and Quidam) and he has also toured Europe and the United States as a member of Pink Martini.
MATT SCHARFGLASS, Guitar & Bass
Matt Scharfglass is an award-winning instrumentalist spanning multiple genres for Broadway, off-Broadway and regional theaters, corporate events, sporting events, concerts, recording sessions, and casual club engagements. Matt is a frequent performer at the iconic New York City venue, 54 Below, with the hit show, “Turn the Beat Around”, starring an array of Broadway and off-Broadway performers. He is a former Music Editor for Guitar World magazine, has authored over a dozen bass and guitar instructional books and videos, and is an accomplished arranger with over 1000 songs appearing in publications worldwide.
Matt is the guitarist/bassist for New York Rangers home games at Madison Square Garden and related events around NYC. He is a graduate of NYU's School of Music.
BENJAMIN SAPORITO, Drums & Percussion
Since graduating with honors from the Berklee College of Music, and completing his graduate studies in music education at Montclair State University, Benjamin Saporito has enjoyed a musically diverse career as a performing percussionist in the New York City metropolitan area.
Mr. Saporito has performed and/or recorded with, The New York Pops, The American Composers Orchestra, The Newburgh Symphony, The New York Jazzharmonic Trio, Vanessa Racci, Martin Pizzarelli, Vin Mott’s Rhythm and Blues Band and Vintage Ego to name a few. Additionally, he has played regional productions of Spelling Bee, The Addams Family, Songs for a New World, Heathers, Footloose, Annie, Hairspray, Mama Mia, 13, A Chorus Line, Ragtime, Pippin, and Rent. Most recently, Mr. Saporito has been serving as a substitute drummer at Disney’s hit Broadway show Aladdin.
ERIN SHIELDS, Guest vocalist
A graduate of the Indiana University School of Music, Erin also studied voice in Vienna, Austria. She started her professional career at age 17 when she sang the National Anthem for Michael Jordan & The Chicago Bulls. Since then, her vocal versatility has allowed her to perform several different genres all over the country.
She has performed leading roles for many reputable music festivals, opera companies and orchestras. Most notable roles: Eliza in My Fair Lady, Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods, Chava
in Fiddler on the Roof (Natchez Festival of Music), Marian in The Music Man (SummerStage Playhouse), Okugata in A Story of Three Women (Harmonia Opera, James Demster, cond.), Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème, Gianetta in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore (Opera Intimo, CT), Ramiro in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera (The Little Opera Theater of NY), covered the role of The Mother in Menotti’s Amahl & the Night Visitors at Lincoln Center (The Little Orchestra Society, Dino Anagnost, cond.) and performed the role of Marina Vlady in the world premiere of Let Us Fly, the life and music of Vladimir Vysotsky, working with TONY Award Winner Larry Hochman (Book of Mormon on Broadway) and director Moni Yakim (Jacques Brel is Alive & Well - Off-Broadway) at the 92nd St Y in New York City.
Erin placed as one of the top five grand finalists in the American Traditions Competition in Savannah, Georgia. She has performed for many charitable organizations, including the Global AIDS Alliance at Joe's Pub, NYC along with the Brick Church School’s African Dream Academy benefit hosted by news icon Katie Couric. She performs regularly in concert with Broadway funny man, John Treacy Egan. She currently tours throughout the USA, Canada and the UK with Empire Trio (formerly O Sole Trio) and Uptown Girls, both groups co-founded by Erin and her husband. Highlights for Empire Trio include performing at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Redlands Bowl with orchestra to a crowd of over 7,000 people, and the world famous Ronnie Scott’s London.
She has sung numerous times with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem and Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night's Dream starring Marcia Gay Harden and Campbell Scott and worked with such renowned conductors as Neeme Järvi, Sir John Elliott Gardner, Sir Neville Marriner and Leon Botstein. Erin's CD, I'd Rather Be Lonely, features songs from the Great American Songbook and some of the best jazz musicians NYC has to offer.
Buy Tickets at the door the day of the concert
for $30 per person
