Room 1078
chamber music & a smashin' good time
Room 1078
We love new music; we love old music; we love folk music; we love improvised music—but most of all, we love MAKING music.
Room 1078’s mission is to support the 21st-century evolution of performance as "classical" musicians, using innovative takes on contemporary repertoire, improvisation, and folk music to break down barriers between musicians and audience members. For us, the process is about connecting with you as much as with each other, and we are constantly exploring ways to engage listeners with the passion, energy, and precision we seek to cultivate in live performance.
​
Founded at the University of Michigan in 2015, we began our journey with the desire to promote the music of student composers. Our debut album, By the Skin of Our Teeth, was released in 2017 and comprises music composed entirely by UM alumnus Nathan Thatcher; we've since incorporated our combined love of improvisation and folk music, crafting intimate, electrifying sets designed for mixed audiences. In addition to joining Atlanta’s inaugural YInMn Project in June of 2018, the quartet has appeared on Ann Arbor’s Third Place Concert Series and toured in a range of venues from construction zones and meaderies to living rooms and concert halls. Stay tuned for upcoming projects!
Bram Margoles
violin
Violinist Bram Margoles has been a member of the Alabama Symphony’s first violin section since 2021. Bram is also currently a member of the Des Moines Metro Opera Orchestra, and has appeared as a substitute player in the Nashville Symphony and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Bram’s passion for orchestral performance started when they joined the Ann Arbor Symphony in 2015 while studying as an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan. At Michigan, Bram earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in Violin Performance, studying solo and orchestral repertoire with teachers Aaron Berofsky and David Halen. They also performed as a member of the Lansing, Flint, and Jackson Symphonies. Internationally, they had the chance to perform at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany. In 2019, after deciding to further pursue orchestral playing, Bram became a fellow and a co-concertmaster in The Orchestra Now in New York, and performed at venues including Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center. In addition to being passionate about orchestra, Bram is an enthusiastic chamber musician, and an advocate for contemporary classical and improvised music. In 2016 they co-founded the genre-defying string quartet Room 1078, which specializes in these areas. Branching out from their mainly classical training to other genres, Bram has enjoyed performing and recording alongside various songwriters and folk musicians. Bram fell in love with playing the violin at age six while growing up in Boulder, Colorado. When not playing music, they enjoy hiking, biking, and trying out new cooking projects at home.
Cassidy Chey Goldblatt
violin
An artist and visionary, Cassidy is a musician passionate about the world around, about the people inhabiting it, and about the interests and curiosities we all share. Born in the United States but raised abroad, she loves people from all walks of life and uses music as an avenue through which individuals from widely varied backgrounds, cultures, and experiences can develop relationships and lasting connections.
​
As a violinist, Cassidy can’t seem to escape the exhilaration of bringing new music to life and jumps at every opportunity to do so. She also loves laughing, fake-opera-singing, and dancing in the clouds.
Hanna Rumora
cello
Cellist Hanna Rumora has established her reputation as a versatile artist who approaches old and new works with commitment and curiosity. Hanna has performed with Eighth Blackbird and members of the Silk Road Ensemble, as well as recording alongside the JACK Quartet. As a cross-genre artist, Hanna has performed with varied artists from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra to Michael Bublé and a Beatles Tribute band. She is a founding member of Room 1078, a string quartet whose daring programming ranges from contemporary classical premieres to arrangements of renaissance folk music to through-composed, narrated story-songs by the ensemble. You can hear her play on the Grammy-nominated album Sila: The Breath of the World, as well as Room 1078’s debut album, By the Skin of Our Teeth, or on Fever’s Candlelight Concert Series throughout the Midwest. Hanna will join the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music for their 2024 season, after taking part in the Des Moines Metro Opera’s 2024 production of Salome. Hanna is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Iowa. Her favorite activities outside of playing the cello include petting her three cats, stargazing, and playing the banjo.
Ryan McDonald
viola
When Ryan journeyed up to the University of Michigan from his home state of Georgia, he was on a mission: to become a better violist. And a better violist he became! (he thinks) But more than just learning to play the “big fiddle”, he ended up doing some other pretty cool things.
​
A classical violist, Ryan loves creating music alongside other people. He has played with the Athens Symphony Orchestra, the ARCO Chamber Orchestra, the Midland Symphony Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Camerata, the Toccoa Symphony Orchestra, and the Brevard Music Center Orchestra. While new music is at the forefront of his chamber music work, Ryan has had plenty of experience with the golden oldies of chamber music through school, summer festivals, and (his favorite) late-night sight-reading parties with friends.
Outside of music, Ryan follows the competitive scene for Super Smash Bros. Melee, where he eagerly awaits the return of the legend PPMD. Ryan loves to read books, whether they be high fantasy, historical fiction, or philosophical discussion. Ryan also enjoys cooking, and it is his dream to own a badass kitchen with all the bells and whistles. His favorite food is, without question, southern barbeque.