Ensemble Mercury is a versatile group of Cleveland-based string musicians available to play for your wedding, gala, party, private event, or recording session.
We are alumni from top conservatories around the globe.
We are comfortable playing all types of music including classical, jazz, pop, rock, and folk music.
We are excellent sight-readers, experienced improvisers, familiar with studio recording environments, and season collaborators.
We perform regular concerts and private events such as weddings and galas.
We offer private lessons through our own private studios.
McKenna Glorioso, lead violinist, founded Ensemble Mercury in 2018 and is one of the ensemble’s co-managers. McKenna also plays viola and piano and recently made their debuts as a composer and arranger. In 2023, McKenna joined the national tour for “Our Planet: Live in Concert,” performing over 50 shows and traveling to 30 states in three months. McKenna teaches violin and viola at The Music Settlement and taught at Rainey Institute from 2018-2022. They are a violinist in the Akron Symphony Orchestra and hold degrees in Violin Performance from McGill University and the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Originally from Cincinnati Ohio, Sydney Link (she/her) is co-manager of Ensemble Mercury. She is a member of The Orchestra Now in New York and is based in the Hudson Valley, where she runs Ensemble Mercury’s New York branch. Sydney has performed as principal viola of The Orchestra Now, assistant principal of the Youngstown Symphony, principal of the CIM Symphony Orchestra, and principal of the McGill Opera. Sydney is a registered violin and viola Suzuki teacher and has a teaching studio of violinists and violists. She holds degrees in Viola Performance at The Cleveland Institute of Music and McGill University.
Helen Rucinski (she/her) is a performer and teacher living in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She is a section violist in the Akron Symphony Orchestra, a regular substitute with the BlueWater Chamber Orchestra, and previously held positions in the Canton Symphony Orchestra and Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Helen currently teaches Suzuki violin and viola lessons at The Music Settlement and is the second violin coach for the Contemporary Youth Orchestra. She has also taught in non-musical settings, including working as a college access advisor and ACT program teacher for College Now Greater Cleveland from 2021-23. Helen received her Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music and her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Bachelor of Music degrees from Northwestern University.
Kelsey Ferguson (she/her) is a fantastic violinist. Her bio is coming soon!
Ellie Glorioso (they/them) is a cellist and composer based in Cleveland, Ohio. They have served on the faculty of The Cleveland Institute of Music, Notre Dame College, and The Music Settlement. In 2022 they launched The Cello Collective, a cello studio in Larchmere and through it teach over 40 students weekly. In 2017 Ellie cofounded Cleveland Music Exchange and led classical music education trips to Zimbabwe and Chihuahua, Mexico. As a New Music advocate Ellie has been honored to perform premier many new works including the Ohio premier performance of Anna Clyne’s concerto for cello and orchestra, DANCE.