Thursday, February 4th, 2010, at 7:30 PM
JP Concerts presents the first of three performances of the Boston New Music Initiative, an organization committed to the composition and performance of new music on the local, national, and international fronts. Composers featured include Delvyn Case, Daniel Houglum, Aaron Alon, Vanessa Anne Wheeler, Ingrid Stolzel, Kristen Volness, Laura Macias, Oliver Caplan and Timothy Davis. Performers include Sarah Kornfeld, Rachel Schmiege, Erin M. Smith and Ceceilia Allwein, sopranos; Amanda Robie, mezzo-soprano; Delvyn Case, Beth Karp, Mabel Kwan, Leah Kosch and Yuko Tanaka, piano; Will Roseliep, Christopher Welch, Matthew Laughlin and David Meyer, cello; Olga Kradenova, Olga Patramanskaya, Wayne Shen, Megan Seiler, Sam Stapleton, Rhiannon Banerdt and Emily Deans, violin; Samuel Gold and Rebecca Matayoshi, viola; Yhasmin Valenzuela, clarinet; and Sam Stapleton, conductor. Entry is free, but donations are always gratefully welcomed.
Selected biographies of performers and composers:
Ceceilia Allwein, soprano: Noted for her combination of leadership and dramatic flair, IN Los Angeles Magazine writes, "The audience jumped to their feet in standing ovation after a performance by soprano Ceceilia Allwein." Beginning with her concert debut with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic under the baton of Edvard Tchivzhel, Ms. Allwein has performed regularly as a soloist and chamber musician in venues ranging from Jordan Hall and Boston Community Music Center to Jim Henson Studios in Los Angeles. Her performance experience includes Adele in Die Fledermaus, Cunegonde in Candide, Susan in Sir Lennox Berkeley's rarely performed A Dinner Engagement, Eurydice in Orphée aux Enfers, First Spirit in Die Zauberflöte, Soprano solos in Mozart's Requiem, Marie in La Fille du Régiment, and Feu/Rossignol in L'Enfant et les Sortilèges. Ms. Allwein is also no stranger to the performance of contemporary music. She has sung premieres at New England Conservatory, the New Gallery Concert Series (Boston, MA), Brandeis New Music, and the Leonard Bernstein Festival for the Arts. Composers in her repertoire include Anthony Green, Vanessa Wheeler, Joan Arnau Pàmies, John Cage, and Libby Larsen. In 2009 Ms. Allwein gave the second-and only recorded-performance of Ricky Ian Gordon's Love, My Sweet Rain with the Boston Gay Men's Chorus, and in 2010 Ceceilia will perform György Kurtagss epic Kafka-Fragmente at Yellow Barn Music Festival. Recognized in the national press for her commitment to citizenship, Ms. Allwein has been featured in articles by the The Boston Globe and The Advocate. In 2006 she collaborated with composer Caroline Park and ArtsAhimsa to advocate for non-violence, and in 2007 and 2008, Ceceilia appeared as a repeat guest performer and speaker of ABC Television Network, Time Warner and Point Foundation advocating for marginalized, LGBTQ student leaders. Currently, Ms. Allwein is completing undergraduate degrees in Voice and Music Theory at New England Conservatory. She has studied with Claudia Waite, James McDonald and Beverly Rinaldi. Coaches include Patricia Weinmann, Emily Hindrichs, and Eric Malson.
Aaron Alon, composer: Aaron Alon's music has been performed around the world by such acclaimed musicians as Leone Buyse, Ian Davidson, Andrea Ceccomori, Catherine Branch, Mark Whatley, and new music groups Sounds New and the Vientos Trio. His works have been released on three CD labels and awarded numerous national and international composition honors, including those from the National Federation of Music Clubs; the National Association of Composers/USA; the Society of Composers, Inc.; ASCAP; Meet the Composer; the Lotte Lehmann Foundation; the Renée B. Fisher Composer Awards; and Mu Phi Epsilon. Alon is a member of ASCAP and a past chapter president of Mu Phi Epsilon. He is also highly active as a teacher. He is the composition department head for the American Festival for the Arts and an adjunct instructor of music at Alvin Community College. He has also taught for Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. Current projects include an opera with librettist Michael Remson, a musical with lyricist Joe Barnes, a new solo saxophone work commissioned by Dr. Jeffrey E. Vickers, and a cycle of songs for bass David Keck. Alon holds a DMA from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, an MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a BA from the University of Chicago. His past teachers include Karim Al-Zand, Anthony Brandt, Shih-Hui Chen, Jean Milew, Marta Ptaszynska, and Orianna Webb. For more information, please visit Aaron Alon's website at www.aaronalon.com.
Rhiannon Bandert, violin: A native of Los Angeles, 21-year-old Rhiannon Banerdt made her solo debut at age 14 with the New England Youth Ensemble in South Africa. A former member of the Amethyst Piano Trio, Ms. Banerdt was selected for the semifinals of the 2006 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the same year was awarded first prize in the International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition. She is a member of Discovery Ensemble, a chamber orchestra presenting workshops and performances in underserved communities in the Boston area. Rhiannon is currently completing an undergraduate degree at the New England Conservatory, where she studies with Lucy Chapman.
Oliver Caplan, composer: Oliver Caplan was raised in the Bronx, New York. He studied Music and Geography at Dartmouth College, graduating with honors in 2004. While a student at Dartmouth - amidst irreverent marching band antics and musical studies abroad in London - he found his calling: musical composition. He studied composition with Charles Dodge, sang in the college Handel Society and served as President of the Marching Band. Mr. Caplan entered the Boston Conservatory's composition program and received his Masters of Music in 2006, graduating with Pi Kappa Lambda honors. At the Conservatory, he studied with composers Dalit Warshaw and Dana Brayton. Mr. Caplan currently resides in Somerville, Massachusetts. An avid hiker, he finds inspiration through his time outdoors. Mr. Caplan's works have been commissioned by the Bronx Arts Ensemble, The Columbia University Wind Ensemble and The Washington & Jefferson College Wind Ensemble. His music has also been presented by the Cleveland Contemporary Players, Lorelei Ensemble, the 11:11 Theatre Company, Juventas New Music Ensemble, dance choreographers Mary Chris DeBelina and Susan Graham, members of the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, and the Dartmouth Chamber Orchestra. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers recognized him in 2008 and 2009 with ASCAPLUS Awards for emerging artists; and in 2009 as a Finalist for the Morton Gould Young Composer Award. For more information visit www.olivercaplan.com.
Delvyn Case, composer and piano: Delvyn Case (b. 1974) is a composer, conductor, scholar, and educator based in Boston. As a composer, he has received honors and fellowships from numerous organizations, including BMI, The Society of Composers, The MacDowell Colony, The New York Virtuoso Singers, The Atlantic Center for the Arts, The Composers Conference at Wellesley, the Orvis Foundation, The Chicago Ensemble, Audio Inversions, Sounds New, Manhattan Brass Quintet, and The College Music Society, among others. Highlights of the 2009-2010 season includes performance by the Louisville Orchestra, Northwest Florida Symphony, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony (Iowa), North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra (Mass.), Fall River Symphony (Mass.), and the University of Rhode Island Symphony Orchestra; mezzo-soprano D'Anna Fortunato; the Fenway Brass Quintet; and Ibis Camerata. He has recently been commissioned by the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra for an educational outreach piece for the 2010-2011 concert season, and by the Cambridge-based ensemble Dance Currents, Inc., for whom he serves as composer-in-residence. Delvyn Case is the composer of The Prioress's Tale, a 75-minute chamber opera inspired by Chaucer, whose January 2008 premiere garnered feature articles in the Boston Globe and the South Shore Patriot Ledger. A parable about the power of forgiveness to heal the wounds of religious intolerance, the production was funded by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a variety of churches and other community organizations, and numerous individuals. The production tours throughout New England each winter, supported by institutions wishing to explore issues of interfaith dialogue and peace-making in a unique way. Sponsoring institutions in 2009 included the Yale Institute for Sacred Music, the Massachusetts Council of Churches, Andover-Newton Theological School, and Hebrew College. Performances are scheduled in 2010 at First Church in Cambridge and the Christ Church Arts Series in Brockton. Delvyn Case currently serves as Visiting Faculty at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass. He holds degrees from Yale (B.A. summa cum laude) and the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed the Ph.D. in composition at the age of 26. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Timothy A. Davis, composer: Timothy A. Davis (b. Springfield, Massachusetts) has studied composition with Lawrence Fritts, David Gompper, Thomas Oboe Lee, Salvatore Macchia, and Bruce MacCombie, and has earned degrees from Boston College (B.A., 2002), the University of Massachusetts (M.Mus., 2006), and the University of Iowa (Ph.D., 2009). Commissions of Tim's work include Americana (2006) for the Bay Colony Brass, Chants of the Ocean (2007) for tubist Valentine Bialecki, and The Terraces of Purgatory (2008) for soprano Shannon Rose McAuliffe. Tim's music has been performed by the Bay Colony Brass; the Indiana University Brass Choir; the University of Iowa Chamber Orchestra; choirs at the University of Massachusetts, the University of Iowa, and Indiana University; the Movadi Wind Quintet; the University of Massachusetts Graduate Woodwind Quintet; and by numerous undergraduate and graduate students and ensembles. His compositions have been programmed at the 2007 and 2008 Midwest Composers' Symposia, the 2009 "Tutti" New Music Festival at Denison University, and at the 2009 Bay View (Michigan) Music Festival. In Memoriam (2005, rev. 2008) for symphony orchestra will appear in an upcoming volume of ERM Media's "Masterworks of the New Era" CD series, recorded by members of the Prague Radio and Czech Philharmonic Symphony Orchestras. Tim is the president and founder of the Boston New Music Initiative, an organization dedicated to maintaining a network of composers, performers, conductors, and directors in order to generate new music concerts, compositions, collaborations, and commissions. More information regarding Tim's music can be found at www.tadavis.org.
Emily Deans, violin: After claiming first prize in the 2009 Washington International Competition for Strings, and second place in the 2008 Primrose Viola Competition, Emily Deans is quickly building a strong reputation as a rising star in the performance community. Her virtuosity brought her the Primrose Prize for best Primrose transcription, and she was the only finalist to receive the Audience Award in the Washington Competition. Other recent accomplishments include 4th place in the Irving M Klein International String Competition, and an invitation to the Marlboro Music Festival. Emily enjoyed a busy summer of traveling and performing, including appearances at the Olympic Music Festival, the Festival & Rencontres de Musique de Chambre du Larzac in France, and Open Chamber Music at Prussia Cove. She recently collaborated in ensembles with Pam Frank and Timothy Eddy at the Caramoor Rising Stars Series, and upcoming concerts include a recital at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., the 2010 Musicians from Ravinia's Steans Institute Tour with Miriam Fried. Emily began her musical studies in Dallas at the age of five, and began taking lessons with Emmanuel Borok, concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony, just two years later. She would make her Meyerson Symphony Hall debut shortly after, and at thirteen she made her first solo appearance with the Philadelphia Orchestra. In the fall of 2000 she returned to perform with them under the baton of Wolfgang Sawallisch, and she has soloed with the Disney Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra on national television and performed in the Library of Congress. Also an enthusiastic chamber musician, she has performed in ensembles with David Geber, Joseph Silverstein, Timothy Lees, Barbara Westphal, Timothy Eddy, Miriam Fried, Atar Arad, and Ronald Thomas, among others. She has attended numerous chamber music festivals, including Kneisel Hall, the Taos School of Music, and the Ravinia Steans Institute, and she returned to IMS Prussia Cove in the spring as a student of Steven Isserlis. As a recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Emily is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree with Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory of Music. Previous teachers include Pamela Frank, Arnold Steinhardt, Joseph de Pasquale, Emanuel Borok, Robert Lipsett, Robert Chen, Judith Ingolfsson, and C.J. Chang, among others. She has also worked extensively with many distinguished artists, including Peter Wiley, Michael Tree, Roger Tapping, Leonidas Kovakos, Joel Krosnick, Ronald Copes, Lucy Chapman, Seymour Lipkin, Bonnie Hampton, Joseph Kalichstein, Jaime Laredo, Atar Arad, Thomas Riebl, Martha Katz, and members of the Borromeo, Shanghai, and Brentano quartets.
Samuel Gold, viola: Samuel Gold began viola studies at the age of 4 with Sherida Josephson of the Des Moines Symphony. He is currently a student of Martha Strongin Katz at the New England Conservatory. He has performed at such festivals as the American Suzuki Institute and the Aspen Music Festival. Before moving to Boston, he studied with Christine Rutledge and Elizabeth Oakes at the University of Iowa, and in 2007 performed as soloist with the university orchestra after winning the school's concerto/aria competition.
Daniel Houglum, composer: Daniel Houglum, from Soldotna, Alaska, is currently in the Ph.D. in Music Composition program at the University of Iowa. He received his B.A. degree from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington and his M.Mus. degree from Northern Illinois University. Houglum has served as an instructor for Kishwaukee College in Malta, Illinois. His composition teachers include Kevin Waters (S.J.), Robert Fleisher, David Maki, John Eaton and David Gompper. My Guardian Dear, commissioned by the Alverno College Women's Chorus, was premiered in Milwaukee (December 2008). His chamber work, Pieta(s), was premiered at the Midwest Composers Symposium at the University of Michigan (February 2009). Intecessions II, for soprano saxophone and tape, was premiered by Stephen Page at the Society of Composers Region V Conference (November 2009). Houglum currently teaches at the Preucil School of Music as theory instructor for the Certificate Program. For more information please visit www.houglum-music.com.
Olga Kradenova, violin: Originally from Saint Petersburg, Russia, Olga Kradenova studied at St. Petersburg Conservatory and received her B.Mus. with distinction from Royal Northern College of Music (England). Olga has taken part in such festivals as Fondazione Musicale S. Cecilia in Portogruaro, Marktoberdorf Music Academia, Manchester Music Festival, and Atlantic Music Festival in Maine. As a chamber music performer and soloist, Olga has toured throughout Europe. She has played as a soloist with Vrotslavky Chamber Orchestra (Poland) and "Congress-orchestra" (St. Petersburg). She has performed in such concert halls as St. Petersburg Philharmony's Shostakovich Hall, Glinka Hall, and State Academic Chapel of St. Petersburg. Olga was the recipient of a grant from the Philharmonic Society in St. Petersburg. She has had masterclasses with such musicians as Julian Rahlin, Helmut Zehetmair, Pavel Vernikov, Antonina Kazarina, Ivry Gitlis, Charles Castelman, Eric Rosenblich, and Janet Sung. Olga is currently pursuing her Master's Degree at Longy School of Music under the tutelage of Sophie Vilker. She is a member of Longitude Ensemble, committed to performing new music.
Mabel Kwan, pianist: Chicago-based pianist Mabel Kwan focuses primarily on the performance and study of contemporary music. She is especially interested in works written by composers of her generation, as well as music's intersection with visual art and technology. As a pianist for Ensemble Dal Niente, Mabel performs regularly on their concert season and education outreach programs. She and percussionist Andrew Bliss are founding members of the piano and percussion duo, Nothing in Common. The duo is dedicated to promoting inter-disciplinary works by emerging artists, and was invited to perform at the 2009 SEAMUS Conference. Mabel was invited to perform a solo recital at the 2008 Sonic Fusion Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, and collaborated with Liminal Group on a world premiere for Chicago's Looptopia in 2007. In July 2010, Mabel will perform with Ensemble Dal Niente as a participant in ENSEMBLE 2010 at the International Summer Course for New Music in Darmstadt. A native of Austin, Texas (b. 1981) Mabel received her performance degrees from Rice University and Northern Illinois University.
Laura Macias, composer: Laura Macias, is a Mexican American composer, born in El Paso, TX on September 24, 1979. Laura's catalog includes music for chamber orchestra, art songs, chamber music and incidental music for the theatre. Her music has been performed in various venues in El Paso, TX, Santa Fe, NM, Spartanburg, SC, Raleigh, NC, Boston, MA and Paris, France. Macias received her Bachelors in Music Composition and Theory from the Petrie School of Music and her Masters in Composition from the Longy School of Music, where she was awarded the Nadia Boulanger scholarship. In 2005 she was selected to be part of the European American Music Alliance, where she was awarded a scholarship to participate in a composition program in Paris. Laura is currently working on receiving a Kodaly Certification from the New England Conservatory of Music. Macias is the Sprouts Coordinator at ZUMIX, a non-profit music organization in East Boston, where she teaches private piano, directs the Sprouts Children's Chorus and the ZUMIX Theatre Troop. She is also one of the music teachers at the Edward Devotion School in Brookline, MA, where she teaches K-1 music and directs two children choruses.
Rebecca Matayoshi, viola: A native of Chicago, IL, Rebecca Matayoshi began her musical studies at the age of 6 on the piano and at 10 turned her attention to the viola. She completed her Bachelor of Music under the tutelage of Masumi Per Rostad and Rudolf Haken at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and chamber music studies with the Pacifica String Quartet where she was a recipient of the Edward J. Krolick full-tuition scholarship. Currently she is a Master of Music candidate at the New England Conservatory of Music studying under Marcus Thompson. Additionally, Rebecca has played in masterclass for renowned artists like Ivo-Jan Van Der Werff, Karen Ritscher, Jeffrey Irvine, Carol Rodland, Michelle LaCourse, Antoine Tamestit, Csaba Erdélyi and Wing-Ho. She has been a member of the Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Sinfonia da Camera, Kankakee Valley Symphony and is also an alumnus of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (class of 2004). Now residing in Boston, she plays with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Neponset Valley Symphony Orchestra. Outside of music, she enjoys spending time with friends, her dog and exploring the world of food and wine.
David Meyer, violoncello: Cellist David Meyer has performed symphonic and chamber music in Europe and North America as part of festivals at Schleswig-Holstein, Moritzburg, Viana do Castelo, and Colorado College. He served as principal cellist of the Britten-Pears Orchestra, American Youth Symphony, Thornton Symphony, and Claremont Young Musician's Orchestra, and as a substitute musician in the New World Symphony. As soloist he as performed with the Colorado College Summer Music Festival Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, and Claremont Young Musician's Orchestra. David frequently brings contemporary music to life, and gave the European premier performance of the Sonata for Solo Violoncello by NL Qosqadi in 2007. A zealous chamber musician, he was the cellist of Tetrachord, performing in New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall in a 2009 Honors recital. After childhood cello training with Rick Mooney in Southern California, and further schooling at the Chicago and Ithaca Suzuki Institutes, National Cello Institute, World Cello Congress, and Encore School for Strings, he was one of the last students of Eleonore Schoenfeld. David has also worked with and performed in the classes of cellists, including David Ying, Bion Tsang, Gilda Barston, Nathaniel Rosen, Ivan Monighetti, Peter Stumpf, and Bernhard Gmelin. In chamber music, his mentors include Midori Goto, David Dunford, Jan Vogler, Roger Tapping, and the Borromeo, Cavani and Ying String Quartets. David holds his Bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and now studies with Laurence Lesser at the New England Conservatory in Boston.
Olga Patramanskaya, violin: Olga Patramanskaya was born and raised in Ukraine, where she received her musical education. After finishing her Bachelor's degree at the R.M. Glier Kyiv State Higher Music College and spending a few years at the National Musical Academy of Ukraine, she came to Boston to continue her education at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. She received her Masters of Music degree under the guidance of Mr. Mark Lakirovich. Olga is an active performer and participant in numerous concerts, projects and festivals. She is a winner of Concerto competition and Honors competition at the Longy School of Music, and has performed as a soloist with the Longy Chamber Orchestra, as well as the National Pops Symphony Orchestra in Ukraine. Olga is a winner of several competitions in Ukraine and has traveled throughout Europe performing solo recitals and playing in violin ensembles. Currently, Olga is an assistant conductor and chamber music coach in the Preparatory Department of the Longy School of Music. She is also a member of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, the Atlantic Symphony, the Newton Symphony and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. In addition to giving private lessons, Olga is actively playing chamber music with her friends in the Greater Boston area.
Amanda Robie, mezzo-soprano: A native of New Hampshire, mezzo-soprano Amanda Robie received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Bucknell University and her Master of Music in Voice Performance from The Boston Conservatory. Her roles include Mother Jeanne in Dialogues of the Carmelites, The Witch in Hansel and Gretel, Third Lady in The Magic Flute, Bradamante in Alcina, Tisbe in La Cenerentola and Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible. In 2009, she won 2nd place in Division 5 of the NATS Boston Song & Aria Competition. On the concert stage, she has been the Alto soloist for Vivaldi's Gloria, J.S. Bach's Magnificat in D and Handel's Messiah. Ms. Robie's next engagement will be with the Juventas Opera Project 2010 where she will be performing the role of Frau A in their May production of 3x3=8. She currently lives in Brookline, is a member of Boston Opera Collaborative as well as the Vice President and studies with Monique Phinney.
Rachele Schmiege, soprano: Young lyric coloratura soprano Rachele Schmiege is a highly sought-after performer in the New England area. This "silvery, brilliant" soprano is equally at home with new, avant-garde compositions as she is with legendary operatic repertoire. Ms Schmiege is an active and long-standing member of the Boston Opera Collaborative, a Boston based, non-profit arts organization. With the Boston Opera Collaborative, Rachele has performed Frasquita in Carmen, the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Voluptua in Barab's Pizza con Funghi, Blanche de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites, conducted by world renowned coach and conductor Michael Strauss and directed by Metropolitan Opera Director Marc Astafan, and the role of the Goddess Diana in Gluck's Iphigenie en Aulide. Ms Schmiege has performed the role of Fiordiligi with Cape Cod Opera and Lola in Gallantry with the MetroWest Opera. Continuing her work with MetroWest Opera, Ms. Schmiege will sing Pamina in the Magic Flute in the spring of 2010. Other operatic roles include First Witch and Spirit in Dido and Aeneas, Nella and La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi, Laetitia and Susannah. In 2008, Ms Schmiege sang the world premiere of Mohammad Fairouz's Bonsai Journal in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, with Katie Reimer, piano. Later, she reprised this piece at the Miller Theater, New York University with the Mimesis Ensemble, accompanied by Biljana Milovanovic of the Ibis Camerata. In the past two years, Rachele has performed the Bonsai Journal in numerous concerts, aiding in the growth and popularity of this ground breaking composition. Ever active in the new music world, Rachele has also performed works by Kareem Roustom at the Mainly Mozart Festival in Coral Gables, Florida and Eric Ewazen at the Juilliard School. Other concert performances includes oratorio works such as CPE Bach's Magnificat, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Handel's Messiah, Purcell's Sing Unto the Lord, Schubert's Magnificat and Faure's Requiem. Ms Schmiege completed her Master's degree at the New Engla nd Conservatory of Music. A native of Michigan, Ms. Schmiege completed her Bachelors of Music at Western Michigan University. She has received numerous awards including Finalist in both the Jenny Lind and the Orpheus Competition.
Megan Seiler, violin: Megan Seiler, a 2006 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a concentration in music performance, was born into a family of musicians. She began studying violin at the age of seven and has continued playing and performing ever since. At the age of 14, Megan won first place in the concerto division of the New Hampshire Youth Solo Competition and throughout her high school years participated in numerous New Hampshire honors All-State chamber groups. During her years at UNC she studied with Dr. Richard Luby and under his coaching performed in multiple chamber recitals and completed three solo recitals. During her senior year in college, Megan won the UNC Concerto Competition which allowed her the privilege of performing a solo with the UNC Orchestra. Megan's former violin instructors include Mrs. Louise Wear, Ms. Deborah Boykan of the Boston Pops Orchestra, and Mr. Scott Flavin of the University of Miami. She currently studies with Associate Professor Dana Mazurkevich of Boston University.
Erin M. Smith, soprano: Boston-based soprano, Erin M. Smith, has been praised for her "rich and beautiful voice" (Petoskey News-Review). Erin recently performed the role of Contessa Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Bay View Music Festival in Michigan and portions of the role in the inaugural performance of Singers at Play in Boston. As a Young Artist with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Erin has covered the role of Despina (Cosí fan Tutte) and performed the role of Fiametta (The Gondoliers) and Little Red in the children's opera Little Red's Most Unusual Day. Other favorite operatic roles include Corilla (Donizetti's Viva la Mamma!), Alice Ford (Falstaff), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Mrs. Segstrom (A Little Night Music) and Edith (The Pirates of Penzance) to name a few. In March of 2008, Erin traveled to Milan, Italy to study the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with acclaimed Swiss director, Georges Delnon. Equally at home on the recital stage, Erin's repertoire includes Alban Berg's Sieben Frühe Lieder, Debussy's Ariettes Oubliées and Fêtes Galantes (I) and The Terraces of Purgatory: a new song cycle by Timothy A. Davis. Erin is a member of the Boston New Music Initiative, Boston Opera Collaborative, and Boston Metro Opera. Erin holds a Bachelor's degree in vocal performance and music education from Western Michigan University and a Master's degree in voice performance from The University of Iowa. Upcoming engagements include: Pamina in The Magic Flute with MetroWest Opera, Geraldine in A Hand of Bridge and Girl in Red Carnations with Boston Metro Opera.
Sam Stapleton, violin and conductor: Samuel Jack Stapleton met Tim Davis in an orchestration class at the University of Iowa. Stapleton completed his MA in orchestral conducting and MFA in violin performance at the UI this past May. As a graduate student Sam conducted the Philharmonia and All University String Orchestras, while frequently serving as concertmaster of the Symphony and Graduate Chamber Orchestras. Sam also spent a year playing first violin in the Center for New Music. Now living in Boston, Stapleton teaches on the violin faculty at the Royal Academy for Music and plays principle second violin with the Boston String Players. Sam serves as Director of Concert Organization for the Boston New Music Initiative.
Ingrid Stölzel, composer: Ingrid Stölzel (b.1971) is a composer whose music is being performed across the United States, Canada and Europe. She has written for ensembles such as newEar, NOISE/ San Diego New Music, California E.A.R. Unit, Adaskin String Trio, Erato Chamber Orchestra and Synchronia, among others. Currently, she is composer-in-residence with the Allegresse Trio and performances of her new work There are Things to be Said (2009) are supported by a National Endowment for the Arts, American Masterpieces: Chamber Music Grant. Stölzel has been invited to the IC[CM] 2010 International Conference on Contemporary Music in A Coruña, Spain. She was also a guest composer at the soundOn 2008 Festival of Modern Music and the 30th Sacramento State Festival of New American Music. In addition, Stölzel was selected for the National Symphony Orchestra Woodwind Quintet reading and as a participant of the Sentieri Selvaggi International Masterclass with James MacMillan in Milan, Italy. She is the 2009 Cheryl A. Spector Prize Winner, first-prize winner of the 2007 UMKC Chamber Music Composition Competition and the recipient of the 2006 PatsyLu Prize awarded by the International Alliance of Women in Music. Stölzel's music has been heard at numerous music festivals around the country including the Oregon Bach Festivals, Ernest Bloch Festivals, 2007 Women in New Music Festival, Chamber Music Conference of the East, Otterbein Contemporary Music Festival, and Indiana State Contemporary Music Festival, among others. Stölzel received her doctorate in composition at the University of Missouri, Conservatory of Music and Dance in Kansas City, where she studied with Chen Yi, Zhou Long and James Mobberley. She holds a Master of Music in Composition from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. Stölzel is a member of the newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble as well as the President of the Board of Directors. She is a native of Germany and has resided in the United States since 1991.
Yuko Tanaka, piano: A Japanese-born pianist, Yuko Tanaka began playing piano at the age of five. An active performer, she has appeared throughout Japan, Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, and the United States. Since winning 3rd prize at the 41st World Piano Competition in 1997 in Cincinnati, she has won many prizes at competitions. She was recently a winner in the Honors Competition at the Longy School of Music. She appears frequently at many festivals, including the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York, Musikseminar in Vienna, and International Piano Week in Belgium. As a chamber musician, she has performed as a member of the Sky Trio, a chamber ensemble founded in 2007 at Longy. Yuko received a Bachelor's Degree with Distinction from Mukogawa University and a Master's Degree from Kobe College in Japan with the top grade. In the fall of 2007, she moved to the U.S. and received the Graduate Performance Diploma in Solo Piano with Distinction from the Longy School of Music. She is currently a candidate for the Graduate Performance Diploma in Collaborative Piano at Longy. She has studied with Victor Rosenbaum, Robert Merfeld, Boris Bekhterev, Naoyuki Inoue and Yumiko Yamamoto.
Yhasmin Valenzuela, clarinet: Yhasmin Valenzuela, native of Peru, earned her bachelor's degree at the Lima Conservatory "Josafat Roel Pineda" in both clarinet performance and music education. She continued her studies in the United States at Texas Christian University where she received her Master's Degree in Clarinet Performance. In 2005, she obtained a Graduate Performance Diploma with distinction at the Longy School of Music. She has performed with ensembles in Peru, Mexico and the United States, including Lima Symphony Orchestra, TCU Symphony Orchestra, TCU Wind Ensemble, Musica Anatolia Contemporary Ensemble. She was recently invited to perform as a soloist with the UTA Orchestra in Texas. Currently, she is a founding member of the Stratus Ensemble, an active winds and piano chamber ensemble based in Boston.
Vanessa Anne Wheeler, composer: Brazilian-American composer, Vanessa Anne Wheeler began her formal musical studies at the piano, and later classical guitar, which she then studied for more than a decade. She furthered her musical experience at Berklee College of Music and garnered both national college and major radio attention after record label, Heavy Rotation Records released her music on their compilation, Volume II, of emerging young artists. After a move to Los Angeles, Vanessa's focus transitioned from the popular idiom to noise and classical composition. During this time she also engineered, produced, and performed for several independent artists at Hot Box Studio Collective. Within two years of study she had earned numerous scholarships and awards for her compositions. In that fall of 2009 she began composition studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts under the tutelage of Dr. Kati Agócs. During the 2009-2010 season, her music was accepted into the repertoires of the Juventas New Music Ensemble of Boston, and the Boston New Music Initiative. Current projects include a set of songs to the poetry of Charles Bukowski for string quartet and soprano, variations on a lullaby for solo piano, and a commission for a solo guitar work. Composition Studies with Kati Agócs and Lyle Davidson at the New England Conservatory of Music. Additional composition studies with Kevin Kelly and Dan Wanner. Piano studies with Christine J. Park. Classical Guitar studies with Stephen Judge.