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FIRST VIOLIN
EMF alumnus and concertmaster
JEFFREY MULTER returns to
Greensboro and the Eastern Music Festival for his seventeenth
season in 2005. The two summers he spent as an EMF student
bring his total summers at the festival to eighteen. Jeff is
also first violinist of New York City’s critically acclaimed
Elements Quartet, whose New York series was named “Best
classical music event of 2003” by the Washington Post. Jeff
has appeared as soloist and recitalist in concert halls
throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and South America,
including: Lincoln Center in New York, the Mozarteum in
Salzburg, the Rudolphinium in Prague, and the Kennedy Center
and National Gallery in Washington, DC. As a chamber musician,
he frequently appears with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, has
served as first violinist of the Oxford String Quartet, as a
member of the Kennedy Center Theater Chamber Players and has
been a core member of the Great Lakes Chamber Festival in
Detroit, Michigan. Other concertmaster appointments include
the Colorado Symphony, the Breckenridge Music Institute in
Colorado, the Washington Concert Opera and the Echternacht
Festival in Luxembourg. Recently, The Detroit Free Press
praised Jeff for his “Extraordinary precision and poise” and
the Cleveland Plain Dealer called him “a prodigious and
aristocratic violinist”, while the Washington Post called his
recent solo recital at the National Gallery “a dazzling
performance.” Jeff currently teaches at The Juilliard School
in the pre-college division.
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Originally from Vancouver, Canada, EPO
Associate Concertmaster LISA SUTTON holds an M.M. from Yale University,
where she studied with Broadus Erle, Syoko Aki and Szymon
Goldberg. Currently she resides in Los Angeles, where she is
Assistant Concertmaster for the Los Angeles Opera. She was
also a principal player with the Los Angeles Chamber
Orchestra, and has played on numerous record albums and sound
tracks, most recently for Sir Elton John, and for the motion
pictures The Legend of Zorro, The Lion, the
Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Syriana. Ms. Sutton
is also a member of the Primavera Trio, and has recorded with
them for Centaur Records. Prior to living in Los Angeles, Ms.
Sutton was a member of the Houston Symphony.
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JOHN FADIAL is professor of violin at the
University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and concertmaster of
the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. He holds degrees from the
North Carolina School of the Arts (BM), the Eastman School of
Music (MM), and the University of Maryland (DMA). He has won
prizes in the ASTA Solo Competition and the Baltimore Chamber
Awards. Recent appearances have included recitals at the
Phillips Collection; the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater; the
Smithsonian Institution; the Third Street School (NYC); the
Salle Poirel, Nancy, France; and the American University of
Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. As violinist of the Fadial/Vanderbourgh
Duo, he has served as United States Information Service Artist
Ambassador, and has toured extensively on four continents.
Highly sought after as a chamber music collaborator, he has
appeared in concerts with Van Cliburn International laureate,
Jon Nakamatsu; violinist Martin Beaver, of the Tokyo Quartet;
and harpsichordist, Anthony Newman. Upcoming engagements
include performances in Brazil and France, and collaborations
with Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Bella Davidovich, and the Ensemble
Stanislas. Dr. Fadial’s teachers have included Elaine Richey,
Charles Castleman, Zoltan Szekely, and Arnold Steinhardt. John
Fadial performs on a rare eighteenth century Cremonese violin,
the work of Joseph Guamerius (filius Andrea), on a generous
loan from Sam LeBauer.
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ARIADNA BAZARNIK-ILIKA, violin, was born in Wroclaw,
Poland, where she studied violin from age seven at the Karol
Szymanowski Music School, studying under Bozena Wikar and
Andrzej Woznica. At age 18 Adriadna entered the prestigious
Krakow Music Academy to study with Adriadna Lwowicz and
obtained her M.M. in 1998. Adriadna first came to the United
States as a full-scholarship student at the Eastern Music
Festival for her summers beginning at age 18
and became a
full member of the faculty there in 1997. She has since held
positions on modern violin with the Delaware Symphony, Opera
Delaware, and the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, and with
Philomel, Brandywine Baroque and the Classical Symphony of
Philadelphia on Baroque violin. Since moving to North Carolina
in 2001, she has substituted regularly with the North Carolina
Symphony.
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JOAN GRIFFING is the concertmaster of the Shenandoah
Valley Bach Festival Orchestra and the Shenandoah Symphony
Orchestra, a member of the Virginia Symphony, and Associate
Professor of Music at Eastern Mennonite University. She earned
her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Indiana
University, where she studied with Tadeusz Wronski, and her
D.M.A. in violin performance from Ohio State University. She
received her chamber music coaching under such artists as
Joseph Gingold, Janos Starker, James Buswell, the Fine Arts
String Quartet, and the Tokyo String Quartet. In the spring of
1999, she premiered a violin concerto written for her by Terry
Vosbein, composer-in-residence at Washington and Lee
University. She has performed as concertmaster with the AIMS
Festival Orchestra in Austria and Italy as well as with the
Coronado, Grand Teton, Norfolk and Spoleto Festivals in the
U.S. She is a founding member of Tal Consort, a chamber music
group based in the Shenandoah Valley. Dr. Griffing spent this
past year in Atlanta studying baroque violin, performing with
the baroque ensemble Ritornello and toured Taiwan for three
weeks with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra.
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COURTNEY LeBAUER is a Greensboro native who began studying
the violin at the age of six. While still in high school, she
was asked to join the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, becoming
the youngest musician ever to play in the orchestra. Dr.
LeBauer earned her Bachelor of Music summa cum laude at Rice
University, studying with Kathleen Winker. She earned her
Master of Music with highest honors at the University of
Michigan while studying with Paul Kantor and her D.M.A. at the
Cleveland Institute of Music with William Preucil. As a
Fulbright Scholar, she studied with Ida Bieler in Düsseldorf,
Germany. After completing a year as Visiting Asst. Professor
of Violin and Chamber Music at Arizona State University, she
returned to Germany in 2004, where she was invited to join the
faculty of Düsseldorf's Städtische Clara-Schumann-Musikschule.
In addition to teaching, Dr. LeBauer performs with orchestras
in Düsseldorf, Essen, and Cologne.
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A native of Taiwan, BONNIE LIN began violin studies at the age of ten.
She has performed in numerous recitals throughout Taiwan and
the United States. Ms. Lin is the recipient of numerous awards
and scholarships in Taiwan and the United States. Her teachers
included Daniel Phillips, Sylvia Rosenberg, Gerald Beal, Naoko
Tanaka, Nan-Yuen Hu, Lucie Robert, and the members of the
American String Quartet. She has also played in the master
classes of Itzhak Perlman, Ruggiero Ricci, Lewis Kaplan, and
the Raphael Trio. As a teacher, Ms. Lin has served as a
chamber music faculty member at the Merrimack Valley Music,
the Art Center Chamber Music Festival in Boston in 1997 and
the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina. Upon
returning to Taiwan in 2000, she has been teaching as an
adjunct professor at the National TaiChung Teaches College,
the National ChiaYi University, and several local schools in
Tainan. She also served as an adjunct professor at the
National KaoHsiung Normal University since the fall in 2004.
In addition to being a very active performer and teacher, Ms.
Lin is currently working on a doctoral of music degree at The
City University of New York in the United States. Her
dissertation, "Violin Concerto in D by Tyzen Hsiao - The First
Violin Concerto by a Taiwanese Composer" is to be completed by
the end of 2005. She also attended the National Taiwan Normal
University for musical studies, and the Manhattan School of
Music in New York for her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music
degrees.
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JENNIFER RICKARD is currently a substitute with the
National Symphony Orchestra, the Richmond Symphony and the
Alabama Symphony. She is a member of the National Chamber
Orchestra and the National Gallery Orchestra, and holds a
principal position in the Washington Chamber Symphony. In
addition, she coaches violin sectionals and the string quartet
program for the Northern Virginia Youth Symphony Association
and maintains a private teaching studio in her home. Prior to
moving to the Washington area, Ms. Rickard played in the New
Orleans and Phoenix Symphonies, spending the 1991-92 season in
New Orleans as associate and acting concertmaster. She
received her B.A. from Barnard College in New York and her
Master of Music from the Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati.
Ms. Rickard has been on the faculty of Eastern Music Festival
since 1990.
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JACQUELINE SAED is the assistant principal second
violinist of the North Carolina Symphony. She has previously
played with the Charleston Symphony and has taught at the
College of Charleston. She has attended summer festivals with
the Chautauqua Symphony, Verbier Orchestra in Switzerland,
Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Steans Institute for Young
Artists, Keshet Eilon in Israel and Weathersfield Music
Festival in Vermont. Jacqueline has had the great pleasure of
working with James Levine, Kurt Masur, Rostropovich, Claude
Frank, Tim Eddy, Paul Katz, Joseph Silverstein, Peter Salaff,
Bill Preucil, Frank Cohen, and the Vermeer and Tokyo String
Quartets-among others. She received her master of music at the
Cleveland Institute of Music with Donald Weilerstein and her
bachelor of music at the Oberlin Conservatory with Roland and
Almita Vamos.
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MARION TURNER performs with the Vancouver Symphony
Orchestra and the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. She was formerly
a member of the North Carolina Symphony and has performed with
the North Carolina Chamber Players and the Canada West Chamber
Orchestra. Ms. Turner received her Bachelor of Music degree
from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her
Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music,
studying with Bert Senofsky.
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A native of Chicago, SHAWN
WEIL holds a bachelor’s degree and
performance diploma from Indiana University. Following his
studies, he spent several years with the New World Symphony
rotating as concertmaster, principal second and section
violinist. An active chamber musician, he has performed in
such varied locals as Prague, Rome and Monte Carlo as well as
the Hamptons in New York. His principal teachers have included
Yuval Yaron, Henryk Kowalski, David Taylor and Mimi Zweig.
Currently in his second season at EMF he is also a member of
the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in Idaho. Shawn Weil has been
performing with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra since
September of 2003.
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DAVID
YARBROUGH earned the doctor of
musical arts degree from the Peabody Institute of Music in
Baltimore, Maryland, where he studied with Herbert Greenberg.
He earned a bachelor of music degree from the New School of
Music in Philadelphia, and received a fellowship for his
master’s degree from the State University of New York at Stony
Brook. Dr. Yarbrough has performed with many important
orchestras: The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore
Symphony, The Philadelphia Opera Company, and the Delaware
Symphony Orchestra. Recently he helped found the Amistad
String Quartet, an ensemble which not only performs
traditional European repertoire, but also researches and
performs the chamber works of African American composers. His
participation in international music festivals includes: The
Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina and Spoletto,
Italy; the American Institute of Music Studies (AIMS) in Graz,
Austria; the Waterloo Festival in New Jersey; and the Gateways
Festival in Rochester, New York, a music festival comprised of
African American musicians. Presently, Dr. Yarbrough is on the
faculty at Towson University in Maryland and is the assistant
director of the Baltimore Talent Education Center, a
preparatory string instrument music program for the Baltimore
City Public School System. Previous teaching associations
include the Peabody Institute of Music and the Settlement
School of Music in Philadelphia.
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SECOND VIOLIN
RANDALL WEISS, principal second violin of the
Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra, made his solo debut as a
winner of the Victoria, BC concerto competition. He studied
with Tadeusz Wronski at Indiana University, received his M.M.
from the University of Victoria under Paul Kling, and engaged
in further study at both the Peabody and Oberlin
Conservatories, most notably with Sylvia Rosenberg and William
Berman. Mr. Weiss spent 17 years as Assistant Concertmaster of
the San Jose Symphony, regularly substituting as
Concertmaster. He is currently Assistant Concertmaster of
Symphony Silicon Valley, and has been Associate Concertmaster
of the Music in the Mountains Festival, as well as
Concertmaster of the Santa Cruz Symphony and the AIMS
Orchestra in Graz, Austria. He has performed with the San
Francisco Opera Orchestra, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra,
and the New Century Chamber Orchestra. As a member of the
Louisville Orchestra, Mr. Weiss participated in the First
Edition recordings under the direction of Jorge Mester. Mr.
Weiss is the founder of Music in the Mishkan, a chamber music
series in San Francisco, and he is a founding member of The
Bridge Players, a chamber ensemble based in San Francisco. Mr.
Weiss joined the EMF faculty in 1989.
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PENNY THOMPSON KRUSE serves as Assistant Professor of
Violin at Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio)
and previously taught for eight years at William Jewell
College (Liberty, Missouri). Dr. Kruse was trained at
Northwestern and Yale Universities and earned the D.M.A. in
violin performance from the Conservatory of Music, University
of Missouri —Kansas City. For five seasons, she was a member
of the Kansas City Symphony, serving as associate
concertmaster during the 1989-90 season. Dr. Kruse has
performed extensively in solo and chamber recitals, in
addition to solo appearances with numerous orchestras in the
US. As first violinist of the Escher Quartet, she was an
artist-in-residence at Music at Penn’s Woods at Pennsylvania
State University. Her recording of Chinese Folk Dance
Suite by Chen Yi with the BGSU Philharmonia, is available
through Albany Records. Internationally, Dr. Kruse has
performed and given masterclasses in Vietnam, Taiwan, Germany,
and Romania. She has presented at conferences of the College
Music Society, American String Teachers' Association, and
International Viola Society. Dr. Kruse has co-authored
articles with husband Steven Kruse in the American String
Teacher, Journal of the American Viola Society,
and Strad. Prior to joining EMF in 1993, she
performed in the Grand Teton, Colorado, Peninsula, and
Sunflower Music Festivals. Currently, Dr. Kruse serves as
assistant principal second violin at Eastern Music
Festival.
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JOCELYN ADELMAN has earned recognition for her
versatility as a chamber musician, teacher, and orchestral
player. Her “warmth of tone…called to mind an eloquent,
impassioned human voice,” declared the Washington Post. Ms.
Adelman joined the Richmond Symphony in the fall of 2003,
having previously served as concertmistress of the Frederick
Orchestra of Maryland. She has also performed with the
National Symphony, Washington Opera and Chorus Orchestras.
Festival appearances include Aspen, Tanglewood (two year
fellowship participant), Music at Angel Fire, and the Eilon
Violin Mastercourse in Israel. As a violinist of the Hestia
Quartet, she was invited to play for Vice President Dick
Cheney in 2001 where they received rave reviews in the
Washington Post. This success has led to an ongoing series of
concerts presented annually by Ms. Adelman at the Vice
President’s residence. She has taught at the Cleveland
Settlement School, The Cleveland Institute of Music
Preparatory Program, and presently teaches privately in
Richmond, Virginia. Ms. Adelman studied at Interlochen Arts
Academy, Rice University, and The Cleveland Institute of
Music, where her principal teachers included Julia Bushkova,
Kenneth Goldsmith, Linda Cerone, Stephen Rose, and William
Preucil respectively.
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CATHERINE CARY joined the EMF faculty in 1999 and has
been a member of the Richmond Symphony’s first violin section
since 1994. She has performed as acting concertmaster and
assistant concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony. Ms. Cary has
been a member of the Harrisburg Symphony, the Northeastern
Pennsylvania Philharmonic, the Opera Company of Philadelphia
and the Glimmerglass Opera Company. Most recently, she has
been a soloist with the Richmond Philharmonic. Ms. Cary
studied with Philadelphia Orchestra members William de
Pasquale and Yumi Ninomiya Scott and holds degrees from Temple
University’s Esther Boyer College of Music.
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IOANA GALU is a native of Romania, where she
earned her B.M. and a M.M. in Violin Performance from Gheorghe
Dima Music Academy of Cluj. Before coming to the US she served
in the faculty of the Academy as Assistant Professor of Violin
and Chamber Music. She earned a second Master’s in Violin
Performance from Bowling Green State University, Ohio,
studying with Prof. Vasile Beluska and is currently enrolled
in a doctoral program in Music Performance at the College
Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, studying
under the direction of Dr. Won Bin-Yim. Ioana Galu has
received awards in numerous national and international
competitions, including the Second Prize in Mozart
International Competition for Piano Trios (Romania) and the
First Prize and Special Prize of SOROS Foundation in George
Enescu Violin National Competition (Romania). She also won the
Second Prize in the Starling Violin Competition (University of
Cincinnati) and was the winner of the University of Cincinnati
Concerto Competition in February 2004. She has appeared as a
soloist with several philharmonic orchestras in Romania and
with CCM Orchestra in 2004, and is an active recitalist.
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JENNY
GRÉGOIRE has been concertmaster
of the Mobile Symphony Orchestra since August 2001. Since
joining the orchestra, she has performed twice as a soloist,
most recently in March of 2004. Born in Québec, Canada Mrs.
Grégoire studied at the Québec Music Conservatoire, where she
earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in violin
performance. Upon leaving Québec, she moved to Chicago to
attend Northwestern University, where she would obtain a
Master’s degree in Violin Performance and Pedagogy with Dr.
Myron Kartman. She was also a member of the Civic Orchestra of
Chicago for the duration of her studies. In September 2000,
Mrs. Grégoire won a fellowship position with the New World
Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. An
active chamber and freelance musician, she has taught and
performed for two years at the Milwaukee Chamber Music
Festival and regularly performs with the Alabama Symphony, the
Tuscaloosa Symphony and the Pensacola Symphony. In addition to
having a full studio of private students, Mrs. Grégoire is
also an adjunct music instructor at Alabama State University
and the University of West Florida.
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Originally from Whitestone, New York,
YUKA KADOTA is a graduate
of Indiana University with a B.M. and a Performer Diploma in
Violin Performance. Ms. Kadota studied with Professors Henryk
Kowalski and Franco Gulli while at Indiana and received
chamber music coachings from Rostislav Dubinsky, Tsuyoshi
Tsutsumi and Edmund Battersby. After graduating from Indiana,
she was invited as a guest student to study at the Royal
College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden for two years. In
addition to performing as a soloist with several orchestras,
Ms. Kadota has also given solo performances at the White
House, the Vatican and the UN General Assembly. Most recently,
she performed Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto with the Fort
Wayne Philharmonic, where she currently holds the title of
Associate Concertmaster. She is also second violinist of the
Freimann Quartet, the quartet-in-residence of the Fort Wayne
Philharmonic.
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SO YUN KIM
began studying the violin at the age of four with her father,
also a violinist. She attended Eastman School of Music,
studying with Charles Castleman and Camilla Wicks, where she
received her Bachelor’s degree in performance and a
Performer’s Certificate. So Yun was a member of the
Nightingale String quartet, a graduate string quartet in
residence at the University of Nevada, Reno where she received
her Master’s degree in performance in the studio of Phillip
Ruder. Upon graduation, she began working for the Naples
Philharmonic and, the next season, joined the North Carolina
Symphony where she is currently part of the first violin
section. So Yun has attended numerous music festivals
including the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Encore
Summer festival, New York String Seminar, Heidleberg Opera
festival, Sarasota Chamber Music Festival and
Shleswig-Holstein Music Festival.
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Originally from Pennsylvania, violinist
ANNEMIEKE MILKS earned her
B.M. summa cum laude from the University of Michigan, studying
with Stephen Shipps and her M.M. as a fellowship student of
Andrés Cárdenes at Carnegie Mellon University. Annemieke spent
the following three years as a member of the New World
Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida, rotating between
Concertmaster, Principal Second and section violinist, and
performing frequently in the NWS Chamber Music Series, the
Musical Exchange Series, and the Musicians' Forums. In
addition she was a member of Seraphic Fire, a choral and
chamber ensemble of young, virtuosic musicians interested in
offering the community an alternative to large ensemble
concerts. Annemieke has performed extensively with festival
orchestras in both the United States and Europe, including the
Spoleto Festival USA, the Netherlands Jeugd Orkest, the
National Repertory Orchestra, and the Britt Festival
Orchestra. She has always had an interest in education, having
been a private teacher for over ten years. In 1999 she was
Stephen Clapp's teaching assistant at the Meadowmount School
of Music, and held a similar position in music theory at CMU.
While in Miami she participated in the NWS Outreach and Mentor
programs, as well as holding a faculty position at the CGCC
Conservatory for the Arts. She is currently freelancing and
teaching in London.
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JEREMY PRESTON has performed in Canada and Brazil
as well as major concert halls in the United States. He has
performed at major music festivals including Tanglewood,
Blossom, and Spoleto. Trained at New England Conservatory's
Walnut Hill School, Rice University and at the Cleveland
Institute of Music, his distinguished teachers include Marylou
Speaker Churchill, Lynn Chang, Kathleen Winkler, Sally Thomas
and William Preucil. His chamber music coaches include Norman
Fisher, Pamela and Claude Frank and members of the Cleveland
Quartet and Juillard Quartets. Jeremy has performed with the
Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Canton
Symphony Orchestra, and was a concertmaster of the Tanglewood
Music Center Orchestra as well as the Shepherd School
Orchestra at Rice University. Mr. Preston has recently joined
the second violin section of the North Carolina Symphony.
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DAN SKIDMORE is currently pursuing a D.M.A. in
Violin Performance at the University of North Carolina in
Greensboro and is an adjunct violin and viola professor at
Appalachain State University. In the summer he teaches violin
and performs with the faculty orchestra at the Eastern Music
Festival. He is the Concertmaster of the Salisbury Symphony
and also performs with the Greensboro and Winston-Salem
Symphonies. Mr. Skidmore also arranges music for string
quartet, other chamber ensembles and orchestra. Four of his
arrangements are available through Alcove Publications in
King, North Carolina.
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DIANA TSALIOVICH, an EMF alumna, began violin
lessons in Russia when she was four years old. She continued
her musical education upon immigrating to the United States
and eventually received a BM from the Mannes College of Music
and an MM from Yale University. She has performed chamber
music with the Emerson Quartet, studied with the Tokyo
Quartet, and participated in masterclasses of Joseph Gingold
and Ruggiero Ricci. She has performed as a concerto and
recital soloist and chamber musician in the United States and
Europe. Diana also has considerable experience as an
orchestral player, performing as the concertmaster of the
Spoleto Festival Orchestra and as the leader of an ensemble
conducted by Pierre Boulez at the Aix-en-Provence Music
Festival. She has been a member of several other orchestras,
working with conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Loren
Maazel, and Mstislav Rostropovich. After receiving a Fulbright
Grant to study at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, Diana began
her present occupation as a first violinist at the Finnish
National Opera. Diana is enthusiastic about passing on her
love of music to her students, completing long-term Suzuki
Method training and teaching young musicians throughout her
own career.
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VIOLA
Assistant principal violist DANIEL
REINKER, has been a member of the
EMF faculty since 1987. He recently joined the Nashville
Symphony as Principal Violist after a number of seasons as
Associate Principal with the San Antonio Symphony. In
Nashville he also serves as a member of the viola faculty at
the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. While
living in San Antonio, Mr. Reinker taught at the University of
Texas at San Antonio and was a founding member of the chamber
ensemble Musicopia. He has also performed as Principal Viola
with the Ohio Chamber Orchestra and with the Garth Newel and
Colorado summer music festivals. Mr. Reinker received his
education at the University of Cincinnati
College-Conservatory, the Yale School of Music, and the
Cleveland Institute of Music.
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Violist SARAH COTÉ is a graduate of Indiana University,
where she earned degrees in both violin and viola. She has
studied with Mimi Zweig, Karen Tuttle, Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne
Ramsay Irvine and Patricia McCarty. Ms. Cote recently moved to
Nashville, Tennessee where she is a member of the Nashville
Chamber Orchestra. She is also on the faculties of Belmont
University and Middle Tennessee State University. She is
currently on leave of absence from the San Antonio Symphony
where she has been a member for sixteen years.
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Originally from Miami, Florida
JEROME GORDON began his
viola studies at the age of 11. He received his BM from
Northwestern University, studying primarily with Roland Vamos,
and MM from the University of Southern California, working
with Donald McInnes. While at USC Mr. Gordon began playing
with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 2005 he moved to Miami
Beach, FL and joined the New World Symphony under the
direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. In addition to the New
World Symphony Mr. Gordon teaches privately and mentors
students in the Miami area, and continues to perform with the
Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has attended numerous festivals
over the years including Eastern Music Festival, Encore,
Bowdoin, Weathersfield, and Music Academy of the West.
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JAMIE HOFMAN, assistant principal viola, is a
graduate of Indiana University and holds performance degrees
in violin (BM) and viola (BM), as well as a Performer Diploma
for viola. His principal teachers have been Mimi Zweig, Jerry
Horner, and Atar Arad. He is a member of the Louisville
Orchestra and the Louisville String Quartet,
quartet-in-residence at the University of Louisville, where he
is also a faculty member. Mr. Hofman has performed around the
world at festivals such as the Hirosaki Chamber Music Festival
(Japan), Schlewig-Holstein Musik Festival (Germany), European
Musik Festival (Stuttgart), International Festival Symphony
(Jerusalem), Pacific Music Festival (Japan), Blossom Music
Festival (Cleveland), and the Sarasota Music Festival
(Florida). Mr. Hofman won the second prize in the Chicago
Viola Society solo competition and has performed as a soloist
in Milwaukee with the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, the
Catholic Symphony Orchestra, and on the Civic Music Artist and
Ensemble series. Mr. Hofman is actively involved in teaching
through the University of Louisville, the Louisville Youth
Orchestra, various summer camps, and private studio
teaching.
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Violist STEVEN KRUSE currently performs as principal
viola of the Windsor Symphony in Ontario, Canada and the Flint
Symphony in Michigan. He performed for six years as principal
viola with the Kansas City Symphony and for four seasons as
principal viola of the Kansas City Camerata, appearing as
soloist with both groups. Dr. Kruse served on the faculty of
the Conservatory of Music, University of Missouri-Kansas City
for twelve years. He has also held teaching positions at
Bowling Green State University, William Jewell College, the
University of Notre Dame, and Bethany College in West
Virginia. Dr. Kruse earned his Bachelor and Master of Music
degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Doctorate
from Ball State University. His principal teachers have been
Lillian Fuchs, Milton Thomas, Robert Slaughter, and Jerzy
Kosmala. He was a founding member of the Kansas City Chamber
Soloists and a member of the Appalachian String Quartet for
four years, a resident quartet in West Virginia.
Internationally, Dr. Kruse has performed in Germany, Taiwan,
Romania, Canada, and Vietnam, where he has appeared as both
viola soloist and conductor. Steven has co-authored articles
with his wife, Penny, ine the Strad, American String
Teacher, and the Journal of the American Viola
Society. Dr. Kruse is currently treasurer of the American
Viola Society and has served as an adjudicator for the William
Primrose International Viola Competition.
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A North Carolina native and former EMF
student, violist DIANE PHOENIX-NEAL serves as assistant principal
viola of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and is co-principal
viola of the Carolina Chamber Symphony. She studied at the
North Carolina School of the Arts with Sally Peck and at
Juilliard with William Lincer. She enjoys teaching and serves
on the faculty of the Community Music School of the North
Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
As a member of the Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra of Lisbon,
Portugal, she toured Portugal and Spain for two years.
Residing in France from 1989 to 1997, Ms. Phoenix-Neal served
as principal viola of the Orchèstre de Picardie and as a
member of Quatour Joachim, a string quartet based in
Amiens.
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Violist JENNIFER PUCKETT has just completed three years as a
member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. She
was recently appointed principal viola with the Memphis
Symphony Orchestra in Tennessee. Originally trained as a
violinist, she received her Bachelor's degree in violin
performance from the University of Alabama. She also attended
various summer music festivals such as the Brevard Music
Center, Sewanee Summer Music Center, Meadowmount School of
Music, National Repertory Orchestra, Sarasota Music Festival,
and the Aspen Music Festival. Aspen led her to the University
of Colorado in Boulder where she received her Master's degree
in viola performance. Ms. Puckett held teaching assistantships
for the three years she was at the Universtiy of Colorado,
including being a member of the graduate string quartet her
first year. Over the years she has played professionally with
many orchestras including the Colorado Symphony, Alabama
Symphony, Missouri Symphony Society, Tuscaloosa Symphony,
Tupelo Symphony, Huntsville Symphony, and the Central City
Opera. In addition to her new position with the Memphis
Symphony, her other experience as principal viola includes the
2005 Mahlerfest in Boulder, Colorado, numerous ocassions with
the New World Symphony, and throughout her college career.
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As a young student SUZANNE ROUSSO studied at Juilliard Pre-College and
then went on to study at the Curtis Institute of Music, The
Eastman School and New England Conservatory, earning a B.M.
and M.M. Some of her teachers include Eugene Becker, Max
Aronoff, Heidi Castleman and Walter Trampler. She also had the
pleasure of studying chamber music with Misha and Sasha
Schneider; Felix Galimir; Eugene Lehner; Karen Tuttle; and
members of the Guarneri, Tokyo, Fine Arts, and Emerson
Quartets. From 1989-2001 Ms. Rousso was the principal violist
of the Greensboro Symphony and is presently a faculty member
at the Eastern Music Festival and at North Carolina State
University. Ms. Rousso has performed with the Mallarmé Chamber
Players, Triangle Opera Theatre, Opera Company of North
Carolina, Carolina Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle
and the Charlotte Symphony. She was formerly a member of the
New Mexico Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, Amarillo Symphony,
Chattanooga Symphony, and Opera Company of Boston, as well as
participant in the Spoleto Festival and the Norfolk Chamber
Music Festival. Ms. Rousso also plays regularly with the North
Carolina Symphony and was appointed as education and outreach
manager for the NC Symphony in 1999 and then director of
education in June of 2000. She is also the personnel manager
for Eastern Music Festival. In January 2001, Ms. Rousso
graduated from the American Symphony Orchestra League’s
“Developing Strategic Management Skills” seminar after
spending a week working with orchestra managers Henry Fogel,
Tom Morris, Deborah Card, Don Roth and Peter Pastreich.
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VIOLONCELLO
Cellist NEAL CARY joined the EMF faculty in 1984 and
has served as principal cello of the Eastern Philharmonic
since 1988. He is principal cello with the Richmond Symphony
and is on the adjunct faculty at the College of William and
Mary and Virginia Commonwealth University. He was co-principal
cello of the Kansas City Philharmonic and assistant principal
cellist of the Tulsa Philharmonic, the San Antonio Symphony,
and the Denver Symphony Orchestras. His major teachers have
included Robert Newkirk, Channing Robbins, and the
world-renowned Leonard Rose. Mr. Cary holds the M.M. from the
Juilliard School of Music, holding a chamber music teaching
assistant position to both Claus Adam and Earl Carlyss of the
Juilliard String Quartet during his final year. Notable
recital performances in the Richmond area include performances
from memory of the 40 Popper Etudes and all the Bach Suites
for Solo Cello. Mr. Cary has completed a new "performance
edition" of the Popper Etudes (as yet unpublished) and is
working on a companion book which explains how to practice
these etudes. He has also completed an unpublished edition of
the Bach Suites for Solo Cello, based on the three surviving
copies from Bach's manuscript.
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Cellist ANTHONY ARNONE is an active soloist, chamber
musician, conductor and teacher. Mr. Arnone is currently the
Assistant Professor of Cello at The University of Iowa School
of Music. He also conducts and teaches at the Preucil School
in Iowa City. An active clinician as well, Mr. Arnone has
given masterclasses at Wichita State University, the
University of Ohio at Toledo, Oklahoma State University, and
with the Iowa Cello Society. As a cello soloist and chamber
musician, Mr. Arnone was a founding member of the Meridien
Trio and the Sedgewick String Quartet, which performed
regularly at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston. He also has
performed as soloist with orchestras including the
Newton/Mid-Kansas Symphony, Madison Symphony, and the Wichita
State University Orchestra, and regularly performs solo and
chamber music recitals around the country. A native of
Honolulu, Mr. Arnone received his Bachelor of Music degree
from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied
with Colin Carr. He left graduate studies with Bonnie Hampton
at the San Francisco Conservatory to accept a position with
the Orchestré Philharmonique de Nice, France, where he
remained for 2 years, continuing his studies with Paul and
Maude Tortelier. He later returned to the United States to
complete his Master's degree in conducting at Wichita State
University. Before coming to the University of Iowa, Mr.
Arnone was Professor of Cello and Conducting at Ripon College
in Ripon, WI, in addition to being principal cellist of the
Madison Symphony. Mr. Arnone and his wife, Hannah Holman, have
recently started the Iowa Cello Society, which had its
inaugural concert September 28, 2002.
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HANNAH HOLMAN is currently assistant principal cello of the
American Sinfonietta. She began her career in England, playing
with the English String Orchestra under Yehudi Menuhin and the
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Simon Rattle. On
returning to the U.S., she became principal cello of the
Jackson Symphony (MI) and assistant principal with the Greater
Lansing Symphony Orchestra and Michigan Chamber Orchestra. She
has served on the faculties of Worcester College (UK),
Michigan State University Community Music School and Virginia
Union University. Ms. Holman studied at the Eastman School of
Music and Michigan State University, where she completed her
bachelor of music. She obtained her master of music degree
with Fritz Magg at the New England Conservatory in 1993.
Always an active chamber musician, Ms. Holman was a founding
member of Beaumont Piano Trio, performing recitals in several
states, as well as on tour in England, and was a founding
member of Quadrivium, a music ensemble in residence at the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. She has also had an active solo
career, performing with orchestras in Michigan, Virginia and
Georgia, as well as being invited and participating in the
Pablo Casals Cello Competition in Germany and the Luis Sigall
Cello Competition in Chile.
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A resident of Boston since 2001, cellist
MARC MOSKOVITZ has
performed with some of the city's most venerable music
organizations including The Boston Pops, The Handel and Haydn
Society and the Lydian String Quartet, and has appeared as a
guest of the Regina Carter Quintet at Skullers Jazz Club.
Before coming to Boston, Moskovitz was associate professor of
music at The University of Toledo and now returns to Ohio
about eight times a year as principal cellist of the Columbus
ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. With Music at Eden’s Edge,
Moskovitz performs chamber music during the summer on Boston’s
North Shore and has been a faculty member of the Eastern Music
Festival for more than a decade. Moskovitz can be heard as
cellist of Duo Hebraïque (ASV, London) and on an acclaimed
compact disc (VAI) performing the music of David Popper. His
articles have appeared in leading music journals, he has
written program notes for the Aspen Music Festival and has
contributed several entries for The New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians.
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MARTA SIMIDTCHIEVA is currently on the music
faculty of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville where
she is also a member of the LeClaire Piano Trio and the
Illinois Symphony Orchestra. A native of Bourgas, Bulgaria and
graduate of the Bulgarian State Academy of Music in Sofia, she
earned her Doctorate of Music from Florida State University
where she was a student of Lubomir Georgiev, a member of the
Eppes String Quartet, and principal cellist with the
University Symphony Orchestra with whom she also appeared as a
soloist several times, most notably performing the Vivaldi
Concerto for Two Cellos with vocalist Bobby McFerrin. The
recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including the 2002
Florida State Doctoral Concerto Competition, Dr. Simidtchieva
has been a member of, or performed with, the Tallahassee
Symphony Orchestra, New Symphony Orchestra (Sofia, Bulgaria),
Orlando Philharmonic, Columbus (Georgia) Symphony, Eastern
Music Festival Orchestra, the Wildwood Opera Festival, and a
regular performer at the New Bulgarian Music Festival.
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Cellist LAWRENCE STOMBERG enjoys a wide ranging career as
soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue. As a student of
Shirley Trepel at Rice University, he graduated summa cum
laude with a Bachelor of Music degree, and continued his
studies with Timothy Eddy, receiving his Masters and Doctor of
Musical Arts degrees at the State University of New York at
Stony Brook. He has performed as soloist and chamber musician
at numerous music festivals, including the Tanglewood Music
Center, Sarasota Music Festival, Texas Music Festival, Kneisel
Hall Festival, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. A founding
member of numerous chamber ensembles, including the piano
trios Trilogy and the Johannes Trio as well as the mixed
ensemble Brightmusic, he is active as soloist and chamber
musician across the country. In October of 1999, he made his
New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall,
a performance that was hailed in Strings Magazine for
its "style and elegance" and "lyrical expressiveness". As a
committed performer of contemporary music, Stomberg has been
involved with world premiere concerts at New York's Miller
Theater and Merkin Hall. In 2000, he released his debut
compact disc of solo contemporary music, The American
Cello, and has recently premiered commissioned works by
American composers Roger Zahab and Paul Siskind. He served as
Assistant Principal Cellist in the Oklahoma City Philharmonic
from 2002 until 2004, after four years as a member of the
Tulsa Philharmonic. An active and dedicated pedagogue,
Stomberg served on the faculties at Truman State University in
Missouri and Oklahoma State University before joining the
music faculty at the University of Delaware in 2004. He lives
in Delaware with his wife, cellist Jennifer Crowell Stomberg,
and their three children.
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BETH VANDERBORGH is principal cellist of the
Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and the Winston-Salem Symphony
Orchestra, and co-principal of the Carolina Chamber Symphony.
She has captured top prizes in the Baltimore Chamber Awards,
The National Society of Arts and Letters Chamber Cello
Competition and the Ulrich Solo Competition. Dr. Vanderbourgh
holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, the Eastman
School of Music, and the University of Maryland. As United
States Information Service Artistic Ambassador, her
performances have taken her to four continents. Recent
engagements have included performances at the Kennedy Center,
the Phillips Collection, the Teatro Nacional in Costa Rica and
the American University in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. Highlights
from recent seasons include solo appearances with the GSO
(Stauss' Don Quixote and Haydn's D Major cello
concerto), performances at festivals in France and Brazil, and
performances on the chamber series “Dmitry Sitkovetsky and
Friends” with Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Bella Davidovich, Lynn
Harrell, and Elmar Oliviera. A dedicated and successful
pedagogue, her students have been accepted at such prestigious
institutions as the Curtis Institute, the Peabody
Conservatory, the Cleveland Institute, and the North Carolina
School of the Arts. Dr. Vanderbourgh has served on the
faculties of the City Music Center of Duquense University,
Alderson-Broaddus College, and Valdosta State University. Her
mentors include David Geber, Steven Doane, Evelyn Elsing, and
David Soyer.
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REBECCA ZIMMERMAN began studying piano at the age
of four and cello at the age of ten. Throughout her early
development as a cellist, Rebecca studied with several
teachers including Dajing Yang, Jim Wilson of the Shanghai
Quartet, and Neal Cary, principal cellist of the Richmond
Symphony. Rebecca graduated from the Cleveland Institute of
Music in 2003 with a BM in Cello Performance, studying under
Stephen Gerber, former principal cellist of the Cleveland
Orchestra. She also became a member of the Canton Symphony
Orchestra and served as the cello instructor for Educator's
Music in Lakewood, Ohio. Rebecca has attended the Eastern
Music Festival, Tanglewood, Kent-Blossom Music Festival, and
the National Orchestral Institute, all of which she served as
principal cellist. Rebecca's competition winnings include the
1999 Richmond Symphony Concerto Competitionand the 2000
Eastern Music Festival Competition. She has also performed the
Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Richmond Symphony and
the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 with the
Eastern Music Festival OrchestraRebecca enjoyed a temporary
full-time position with the Richmond Symphony as well as a
fellowship with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach,
Florida. She is currently living in Chicago enjoying chamber
music in various freelancing opportunities.
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DOUBLE BASS
Principal double bass LEONID
FINKELSHTEYN began studying
piano at the age of six, and at thirteen, he took up the
double bass while enrolled at the Special Music School of the
Leningrad Conservatory. At the age of 19, Mr. Finkelshteyn won
a position in the Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad
Philharmonic, beginning as a section player and eventually
working his way up to principal double bass. In 1984, he was a
prize winner in the Soviet Union Double Bass Competition. Mr.
Finkelshteyn completed his M.M. and graduated with honors from
the Conservatory in 1986. He immigrated to the United States
in 1990, settling in Chicago, and performed with various
groups in the Chicago area, including the Chicago Symphony,
Lyric Opera and the Milwaukee Symphony. Mr. Finkelshteyn
attended the Aspen Music Festival during the summer of 1991,
where he won the concerto competition and performed the
Koussevitzky Concerto for Double Bass. In 1996 he joined the
North Carolina Symphony as principal double bass; he is also
principal double bass of the Peninsula Music Festival in
Wisconsin. In 2001, Mr. Finkelshteyn joined the faculty of
East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. He has been a
member of the EMF faculty since 1999.
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Originally from Alabama, EPO assistant
principal bassist DACY GILLESPIE is currently co-principal bass of
the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson
Thomas. After attending the Oberlin Conservatory, she received
her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the
Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she studied
with Timpothy Pitts and Paul Ellison. Dacy has performed with
the St. Louis Symphony and as principal bass at the Spoleto
Festival USA, Tanglewood Music Center, Pacific Music Festival,
and Music Academy of the West.
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LUCIANO CARNEIRO received his D.M.A. from the
University of Iowa, M.M. from Yale University, and his B.M.
from the New England Conservatory of Music. He also attended
the Franz Liszt Academy at Budapest and Universidade do Rio de
Janeiro in Brazil. His major teachers have been Diana Gannett,
Gary Karr, Zoltan Tibay, Bela Wurtzler and William Rhein. Dr.
Silva has been principal bass of the Orquestra Estadual do
Estado de São Paulo and a member in the double bass sections
of the Virginia Symphony and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.
He has appeared as soloist with many major orchestras in South
America and in numerous performances in Brazil and the United
States. He is the recipient of the 1996-97 Henry and Parker
Pelzer Award for strings. Dr. Carneiro has been on the
Universidade Federal da Paraiba (Brazil) since 1992, and
principal bass of the Orquestra Sinfônica do Rio Grande do
Norte since 1989.
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MARC FACCI is currently principal double bassist
with the Tulsa Opera Orchestra. He also was associate
principal bassist with the former Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra
and has been a member of the Florida Orchestra and former
assistant principal with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. Mr.
Facci received his B.S. from the State University of New York
at Fredonia and M.M. from the University of Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music where he studied with Barry
Green. Mr. Facci has also studied with Peter Rofé and Walter
Botti. Mr. Facci currently is on the faculty at the University
of Arkansas - Fayetteville.
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MEREDITH JOHNSON began playing the double bass while
pursuing a Bachelor's degree in English Literature at
Vanderbilt University, studying under Edgar Meyer. He received
his M.M. in Music Performance at Boston University where he
studied with Todd Seeber and Edwin Barker of the Boston
Symphony. Mr. Johnson has performed extensively throughout the
United States and Europe as a member of festival orchestras
including: Classical Winter in Jerusalem, Schleswig-Holstein,
National Repertory Orchestra, Sarasota Chamber Music and
Tanglewood Music Center. Meredith was the recipient of the
Henri Cohn Memorial Award during the 2000 Tanglewood festival
season and was also a member of the New World Symphony from
1999-2002. During his tenure with the New World Symphony, he
performed with the Charleston and Atlanta symphonies. At the
end of his fellowship with the New World Symphony, he moved to
Philadelphia where he was a student of Philadelphia Orchestra
principal bassist Hal Robinson. In the fall of 2004, Mr.
Johnson moved to Winnepeg, Manitoba to join the Winnipeg
Symphony Orchestra as principal bassist. He is also principal
bassist with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. This will be his
sixth summer at EMF.
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As an active freelance musician,
RICK OSTROVSKY performs
regularly with some of the most respected ensembles in New
York City. They include the American Symphony Orchestra, the
American Composers Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic
Orchestra, and the New York City Ballet. He has toured
extensively, playing in major concert halls throughout the
United States, Europe, South America and Japan. He can be
heard on orchestral recordings of the American Symphony
Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Lukes. Mr. Ostrovsky was a
member of the Colombus Symphony Orchestra and was the solo
bass with the Soviet Émigré Orchestra, an ensemble of thirteen
string players. He has also had the opportunity to perform in
a variety of chamber and solo settings, including a
performance of the Bottesini Gran Duo in concert with
violinist Erick Friedman, and to share the recital stage with
his wife, soprano Kaori Sato. Mr. Ostrovsky received both his
B.M. and M.M. from The Juilliard School.
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FLUTE
LES ROETTGES, principal flute of the Eastern
Music Festival, has been principal flute of the Jacksonville
Symphony Orchestra since 1986. A native of Ohio, Mr. Roettges
became a student of the Cleveland Orchestra’s Maurice Sharp at
age 15. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the New England
Conservatory, a Master of Music from the Juilliard School, and
studied for a year in Paris. His teachers include Paula
Robison, Julius Baker, and Alain Marion. Mr. Roettges was the
winner of the first annual James Papoutsakis Memorial Flute
Competition. He has participated in the Amelia Island Chamber
Festival, the Colorado Music Festival, the Bowdoin Chamber
Music Festival, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute.
Before taking the position in Jacksonville he performed as the
principal flute for the Philharmonic Orchestra of Mexico City,
Solisti New York, the Opera Ensemble of New York, Bel Canto
Opera Company of New York, the Boston Philharmonic, and many
other freelance orchestras in New York and Boston.
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ANN CHOOMACK
has recently completed her third season as third
flute/piccolo with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra in
Richmond, Virginia. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music,
she went on to complete her Master's degree at the New England
Conservatory in Boston. Before arriving in Richmond, Ann
participated in numerous music festivals including Music
Academy of the West, National Repertory Orchestra, and the
Tanglewood Music Center. In addition to her duties with the
Richmond Symphony she also performs regularly with the
Virginia Symphony, the Virginia Opera, as well as maintaining
a private teaching studio in Richmond.
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BRIAN GORDON has been assistant principal flute
and piccolo with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra since 1981 and
has played piccolo and flute at Eastern Music Festival since
1986. He earned his B.M. from the Eastman School of Music and
M.M. from Indiana University, where he performed as principal
flute with the Evansville Philharmonic. As a soloist he has
appeared with the Phoenix Symphony, the Columbus Symphony and
the Shenandoah Bach Festival. As a chamber musician, he has
performed at the Portland Chamber Festival in Maine, the
Rossmore Music Series in California and the Sedona Chamber
Festival in Arizona. In 1998, Mr. Gordon appeared as the guest
piccolo player with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on their
European tour. His teachers include William Hebert, Walfrid
Kujala, Marcel Moyse, Kazuo Tokito and Lois Schaeffer.
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OBOE
SUSAN EISCHEID currently holds the position of
principal oboe with the Valdosta Symphony and also serves as
Professor of Music at Valdosta State University. Dr. Eischeid
has performed widely, both in North America and in Europe, and
was a member of the Mexico City Philharmonic from 1983-1985.
She has appeared with the Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra and the
Richmond Symphony, and has been a member of the Eastern
Philharmonic Orchestra since 1987. She received her D.M.A. in
oboe from the University of Cincinnati and her M.M. from the
Philadelphia University of the Arts. Major teachers include
the late Robert Bloom and Sara Lambert Bloom. Previous to her
move to Valdosta, Dr. Eischeid taught at Wright State
University and Antioch College. In 2000, Dr. Eischeid
premiered the Oboe Concerto No. 2 by noted Hungarian composer
Frigyes Hidas. That same year she was awarded a Fellowship in
the Distinguished Professor Program of the Center for the
Advancement of Teaching and Learning at Valdosta State
University. For the academic year 2003-2004, Dr. Eischeid was
nominated for the Excellence in Professional Activities Award
at Valdosta State University.
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KAREN BIRCH, English horn and oboe, is an Eastern
Music Festival alumna and is pleased to join the EMF faculty
for the 2005 summer season. Miss Birch recently finished her
tenure as Co-principal oboe/English horn with the New World
Symphony, where she is currently Director of Community
Engagement. During her time with the NWS she performed in
Carnegie Hall and Rome under the baton of Michael Tilson
Thomas as well as in concert with many distinguished guest
conductors including, James Conlin, Hans Graf, Robert Spano,
Sir Neville Marriner, David Robertson and Marc Wigglesworth.
Before coming to Florida, Miss Birch served as the Principal
oboist for the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria in Mexico City.
In addition, she has performed with the Houston Symphony, the
Houston Ballet Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, The
Emerson String Quartet and the New Sousa Band. Ms. Birch holds
degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and The Hartt School where
she studied with James Caldwell and Humbert Lucarelli,
respectively. She is committed to community engagement and
fosters her passion for audience development by teaching adult
education classes, giving in-school presentations to children,
and teaching privately.
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CLARINET
SHANNON SCOTT has been principal clarinet of the
Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra since 1991 and is also the
principal clarinet of the Tulsa Opera Orchestra. She teaches
clarinet at the University of Tulsa. From 1988 to 2002 Shannon
served as principal clarinet of the Tulsa Philharmonic
Orchestra. She is member of the Scott/Garrison Duo with
flutist Leonard Garrison, 2002 winners of the National Flute
Association Chamber Music Competition. She holds degrees from
Juilliard, Yale University and Northwestern University.
Shannon also studied clarinet and chamber music in Paris as
winner of the Harriet Hale Wolley Fellowship, the Beebe Fund
Grant, and the Nadia Boulanger Scholarship. Prior to joining
the Tulsa Philharmonic, Shannon was associate principal
clarinet of the Orchestra of the Opera of Lyon, second
clarinet for the Grant Park Symphony in Chicago, and played in
the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, where she participated
in three Music from Marlboro tour groups and recorded for the
Marlboro Recording Society.
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Clarinetist JUDITH DONALDSON is the 2nd and E-flat clarinet of
the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. Former affiliations include
the Cahaba Trio and the Birmingham Musica Antiqua. Since 1972,
she has been a faculty member of the Birmingham Southern
College. Ms. Donaldson received B.M. and M.M. degrees from the
New England Conservatory of Music. She has been a member of
the EMF faculty since 1976.
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BASSOON
KARLA EKHOLM is the principal bassoon with the
Western Opera Theater, the touring affiliate of San Francisco
Opera. She is also principal bassoon of the San Francisco
Chamber Orchestra and Pacific Chamber Symphony, and second
bassoon of the Marin and Santa Rosa symphonies. She has
performed with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, the San
Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.
With her quintet, she has performed over 150 concerts in the
public schools this year under the auspices of the San
Francisco Symphony. Ms. Ekholm received her B.M. from the San
Francisco Conservatory of Music and her M.M. from Temple
University. Her major teachers have included Walter Green,
Stephen Paulson and Bernard Garfield.
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HORN
LESLIE NORTON, principal horn of the Eastern
Philharmonic Orchestra, has served as principal horn of the
Nashville Symphony since 1990. Formerly principal horn of the
New Orleans Symphony, Ms. Norton has also performed with the
Atlanta Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic and the Grant
Park Orchestra. She is currently an Assistant Professor of
Music at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music and
formerly served on the faculty at Western Kentucky University
and the University of Evansville. She has performed several
concertos with the Nashville Symphony and is a founding member
of the ALIAS chamber group.
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Winner of the 2005 Hugo Kauder
International Music Competition and the 2003 American Horn
Competition, THOMAS JÖSTLEIN is in his first season as Third Horn of the
Omaha Symphony. Previously he was a member of the Richmond
Symphony Orchestra (RSO), and was Principal horn of the Kansas
City and Honolulu Symphonies. Thomas has performed as a
soloist with the RSO, the Naperville (IL) Municipal Band, the
Staunton Music Festival, the Lancaster Festival Orchestra and
with members of the Honolulu Symphony. As part of the 2005
Richmond Festival of Music, he performed the Mozart Horn
Quintet, K. 407, described by the Richmond Times-Dispatch as
“an elegantly extroverted treatment.” Thomas also played Kerry
Turner’s The Scorpion in the Sand, a work Thomas commissioned
for his cello-horn-piano group, Trio Cornicello. In June 2005
he performed at the 37th International Horn Society Symposium
in Alabama, and will perform a recital of works by Hugo Kauder
at Merkin Hall in New York City in 2006. His teachers include
Arnold Jacobs, Roger Rocco, and William Vermeulen among
others.
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A native of Florida, KEVIN
REID is currently the principal horn
of the Jacksonville Symphony and has previously been a member
of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach. Kevin has an M.M.
from Southern Methodist University, where he studied with Greg
Hustis, and a B.M. from Florida State University, where he
studied with William Capps. He has played with symphony
orchestras in Dallas, Waco, Tallahassee, Albany, Aspen,
Boston, Breckenridge and the Dominican Republic. Mr. Reid
maintains an active role in chamber music, performing several
times a year with the First Coast Woodwind Quintet. This is
his sixth year at the Eastern Music Festival.
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KELLY SCHURR currently serves as the third horn
of the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra in St. Joseph,
MI. Kelly is also an active freelancer in the Chicago area
where she has played with orchestras such as the Symphony of
Oak Park and River Forest, Northbrook Symphony, New
Philharmonia Orchestra, and Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Kelly
also enjoys playing concerts for senior citizens in retirement
homes. In addition, she has a full private horn studio and
conducts two handbell choirs. Originally from Washington D.C.,
Kelly studied with Ted Thayer and later went on to attend the
New England Conservatory to study with Dick Mackey. Kelly is a
recent graduate of Northwestern University where her primary
teacher was Gail Williams. In past summers, Kelly has been
part of the Master Works Festival and Tanglewood Music
Center.
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TRUMPET
MARK NIEHAUS, EPO principal trumpet, has been
principal trumpet of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since
1998 where he has often been a featured soloist with the
orchestra. He has also performed as a soloist with the New
World Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Eastern Philharmonic
and the New Haven Symphony. Prior to joining the Milwaukee
Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Niehaus spent three seasons as
principal trumpet of the New World Symphony on Miami Beach
with Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas. He may be heard
on two RCA label recordings with the New World Symphony:
The Music of Villa Lobos and New World Jazz,
on which he is a featured soloist. Mr. Niehaus began his
professional career as principal trumpet of the New Haven
Symphony, a post he attained while still a freshman at The
Juilliard School. He remained with New Haven for six years,
simultaneously serving as principal trumpet of the Juilliard
Orchestra. His teachers at Juilliard included Mark Gould and
Raymond Mase. Immediately upon graduation, Mr. Niehaus joined
the faculty of The Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division and
was active in The Juilliard School’s Music Advancement
Program, where he taught high school students from the New
York City public school system. Mr. Niehaus has spent past
summers at the Tanglewood Music Festival, National Repertory
Orchestra, Pacific Music Festival, Spoleto USA, and the
Colorado Music Festival. Mr. Niehaus is also a founding member
of two brass ensembles: the New York Big Brass and the
National Brass Virtuosi, composed of members of the Cleveland
Orchestra and the Houston Symphony.
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ROBERT WHITE holds the position of Second Trumpet
with the Charlotte Symphony. Prior to joining the Charlotte
Symphony in 2004, Mr. White was on the faculty of Indiana
State University and enjoyed an active career in Indianapolis
as a studio musician and freelance trumpeter. While in
Indianapolis, Mr. White also performed regularly with the
Indianapolis Symphony, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the
Columbus Symphony, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and the New
World Symphony. He has also participated
in the Spoleto USA Festival, Music Academy of the West, and
the Aspen Music Festival. Mr. White is currently completing a
Doctor of Music degree in Trumpet from Indiana University,
where he also received his Master of Music degree, and
appeared as soloist with the IU Chamber Orchestra. Robert
completed a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Western
Michigan University. His primary trumpet teachers are John
Rommel, Stephen Burns, and Scott Thornburg.
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JUDITH SAXTON, a native
Pennsylvanian, is currently the Associate Professor of Trumpet
at Wichita State University, principal trumpet and frequent
soloist with the Wichita Symphony and Wichita Brass Quintet,
principal and soloist with the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival
(VA), and principal with the Key West (FL) Symphony. Saxton is
excited to be returning for her ninth season at EMF as
Associate Principal/Third trumpet. Her degrees include the
Bachelor of Music Education from Mansfield University (PA),
and Master of Music from Northwestern University. Saxton’s
teachers were Vincent Cichowicz, Arnold Jacobs, William
Scarlett, Susan Slaughter, and Michael Galloway. The legendary
Adolph Herseth was her coach during her four years with the
Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the training orchestra for the
Chicago Symphony. Ms. Saxton was principal trumpet with the
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra from 1990-1993, taught at the
Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and presented many
concert/clinics across the Far East. While freelancing in
Chicago for 10 years, she was principal with seven Midwest
orchestras, principal and soloist with the Chicago Chamber
orchestra, and performed with the Chicago Symphony and CSO
Brass Quintet, the Grant Park Symphony, and Concertante di
Chicago. An active chamber musician, she has performed with
the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Sierra Brass (Japan tours), and
is a frequent and enthusiastic collaborator on chamber music
series in Wichita, KS. She has recorded as a member of the
Millar and Monarch Brass Ensembles on Koss, Crystal, Proto,
and Novitas labels. Saxton is a Selmer-Bach artist/clinician
and recitalist across the U.S., and was chosen for the Kansas
Arts Commission Touring Roster. Ms Saxton taught previously at
Illinois Wesleyan and Northeastern Illinois Universities. She
is a charter member and is on the board for the International
Women’s Brass Conference, and is active in the International
Trumpet Guild. She has been featured in and has written for
the ITG Journal, and she initiated the Wichita State
University-ITG chapter. The WSU trumpet ensemble performed at
the Denver ITG conference in June 2004.
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TROMBONE
GREGORY COX returns for his 27th season as
principal trombone with the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra.
During the remainder of the year he is a member of the
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the CBC Vancouver Chamber
Orchestra. In addition to his orchestral positions he serves
on the faculties of Western Washington University, the
University of British Columbia, Kwantlen College and the
Vancouver Academy of Music. Mr. Cox is active as an
adjudicator, clinician, chamber musician and recitalist. He
has performed extensively in British Columbia, Washington, and
North Carolina. A former member of the North Carolina Symphony
and a former faculty member of the North Carolina School of
the Arts, Mr. Cox has also performed with the Rochester
Philharmonic and the Regina and Winnipeg Symphonies. Mr. Cox
received his B.M. from the Eastman School of Music. His major
teachers include Kenneth Cloud, William Gray and Emory B.
Remington.
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JOHN ILIKA has been principal trombone with the
North Carolina Symphony since 2001. Prior to that, he held
principal positions with the Pennsylvania Ballet, Delaware
Symphony, Reading Symphony, Opera Delaware, Florida Music
Festival, Orquesta Sinfonica de Maracaibo in Venezuela and was
trombonist with the Philadelphia Brass quintet. He has been a
substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra since 1989. John
has worked with every important musical organization in the
Philadelphia area and a great many that weren’t. In December
2004, he was engaged as substitute principal trombone for the
Orquesta Sinfonica do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil. He has
played/taught both tenor and bass trombone for the Eastern
Music Festival since 1994 and has also held teaching positions
at Lehigh University and Moravian College in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania; Community College of Philadelphia, West Chester
University (PA) and the University of Delaware. He studied
trombone at the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts, now
the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and music education
at Luther College, in Decorah, Iowa. His principal teachers
were Charles Vernon, Eric Carlson and Fred Nyline. He lives in
Garner, North Carolina with his violinist wife, Ariadna and
his children, Tristan and Zofia.
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Bass trombonist TERRY MIZESKO received his B.M. in theory and
composition from East Carolina University where he studied
composition with Martin Mailman and Gregory Kosteck, and
trombone with Eugene Narmour. He has played bass trombone with
the North Carolina Symphony since 1971. He also taught
trombone for many years at Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill,
and St. Augustine's College. In addition to his performing
duties in the North Carolina Symphony, he has also conducted
education and summer pops concerts for the orchestra and has
arranged and composed for the orchestra since 1989. His
original compositions and arrangements have been played by
several orchestras including Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia,
Louisville, Fort Worth, Syracuse, Virginia, and his own North
Carolina Symphony. Mr. Mizesko's most recent orchestral work,
Sketches from Pinehurst, was premiered in April 2005
by the North Carolina Symphony; the orchestra released a
compact disc featuring this piece in September of 2005. Mr.
Mizesko resides in Raleigh with his wife Sandra Schwarcz, a
violist with the NC Symphony, and their two children, Josh and
Elena.
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TUBA
LEE HIPP,
principal tuba of the San Antonio Symphony and the San Antonio
Brass since 1989, has also performed with the Dallas and
Houston symphonies, the Miami City Ballet Orchestra, and the
Southwest Florida Symphony. Mr. Hipp spent the 1998-2000
seasons performing as acting principal tuba with the Utah
Symphony. Mr. Hipp has also taught tuba and euphonium at the
University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Utah and
is currently instructor of Tuba at St. Mary’s University. Lee
Hipp is a native Texan and received his B.M. in Education from
Texas Tech University, studying with David Payne. He earned
his M.M. in Tuba Performance at Southern Methodist University,
studying with Everette Gilmore and Sandy Keathley. Mr. Hipp
has also studied with David Kirk of the Houston Symphony,
Dennis Miller of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and
Donald Little of the University of North Texas and the Ft.
Worth Symphony. Mr. Hipp has performed as a soloist, in
concert and recital, with groups such as the San Antonio
Symphony, the Utah Symphony, the Dallas Wind Symphony, the
Winters Chamber Orchestra, the San Antonio Brass, the King
William Winds and the University of Utah Wind Symphony. He has
also conducted educational clinics across the country as well
as the Texas Music Educators Association and the Texas
Bandmasters Association. Along with his many performing and
teaching duties, Mr. Hipp was also a contributing editor for
The Tuba Source Book published by Indiana University Press.
Mr. Hipp is a Yamaha Artist performing on the Yamaha 822 F
Tuba and the Culbertson “Neptune” CC. He has served as
principal tuba at EMF since 2000.
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TIMPANI
JOHN FEDDERSEN is the principal timpanist with
the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra and the North Carolina
Symphony Orchestra. He is a former member of the American
Symphony Orchestra, the American Wind Ensemble, and the U.S.
Navy Band, with which he appeared as soloist. Mr. Feddersen
appeared as a clinician and soloist with the Percussive Arts
Society and has made solo and chamber music appearances in
North Carolina, Virginia, and Indiana. He received his
Performer's Certificate from Indiana University. His major
teachers include Warren Benson, Paul Price, George Gaber, and
Cloyd Duff.
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PERCUSSION
ERIC SCHWEIKERT is the principal percussionist
with the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra and the principal
timpanist with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. He has performed
with the Chicago and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras and
appeared as soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Former principal with the New World Symphony and the Victoria
Symphony, Mr. Schweikert received his B.M. from the Cleveland
Institute of Music and studied further at The Juilliard School
of Music. His major teachers include Paul Yancich, Richard
Weiner, Cloyd Duff, Roland Kohloff and James Ross.
CHRISTOPHER NORTON is professor of music and director
of percussion studies at Belmont University in Nashville,
Tennessee. Prior to his appointment to Belmont, he taught at
Western Kentucky University for fourteen years. His doctorate
in percussion performance is from Louisiana State University,
while his master's and bachelor's degrees are from the Eastman
School of Music. He performs regularly with the Nashville
Symphony, the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, ALIAS chamber
group, the Bob Becker Ensemble, the Jack Daniel's Original
Silver Cornet Band, and the Peninsula Music Festival
Orchestra; he has performed as a guest artist with NEXUS
percussion group, Rochester Philharmonic, Virginia Symphony,
and Alabama Symphony. His marimba CD is entitled
Christopher Norton: Creston Concertino for Marimba
and includes original compositions and several first edition
recordings of American works.
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HARP
ANNA KATE
MACKLE is the principal harpist of
the Florida Orchestra, under the direction of Stephan
Sanderling. Prior to winning the audition in 1999 she served
as principal harpist of the New World Symphony, the Mansfield,
Youngstown and Wheeling Symphony Orchestras, the Sarasota
Opera Orchestra, the Spoleto Festival Orchestras (Italy and
USA), the National Repertory Orchestra, the Ohio Light Opera
Orchestra and the Colorado Music Festival. Born in New York
City, she began playing the piano at age 5, the violin at 9
and the harp at 10, and during high school attended the
Manhattan and Mannes Schools of Music preparatory programs.
Ms. Mackle earned a B.M. from Baldwin-Wallace College and an
M.M. from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied
with Alice Chalifoux. In addition to her orchestral duties,
Ms. Mackle is active as a soloist and chamber musician, having
performed concertos with the Florida Orchestra, the Eastern
Philharmonic Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the Wheeling
Symphony, the Mansfield Symphony, the Baldwin-Wallace College
Orchestra and the New Jersey Youth Symphony. Ms. Mackle also
performs numerous chamber music concerts every year with
members of the Florida Orchestra. She is also on the faculty
of St. Petersburg College and Gibbs High School, and is a
former faculty member of the Interlochen Arts Camp and the
Baldwin-Wallace College Preparatory Department. Ms. Mackle
lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with her husband, Florida
Orchestra principal percussionist John Shaw, and in her spare
time enjoys competitive running, recently completing a full
marathon, a half marathon, and numerous 5 and 10K races. Ms.
Mackle is an EMF alumna who returns for her seventh summer as
a faculty member.
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CONDUCTORS
One of Spain's most promising young
conductors, JOSÉ-LUIS NOVO
is the newly appointed Music Director and Conductor of the
Annapolis Symphony Orchestra (Maryland), and is currently in
his third season as Music Director and Conductor of the
Binghamton Philharmonic (New York). Prior to these
appointments, Mr. Novo held the positions of assistant
conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, music director
of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Oxford (Ohio)
Chamber Orchestra, and the Miami University Symphony
Orchestra, associate conductor of the National Repertory
Orchestra, and assistant conductor of the National Youth
Orchestra of Spain and the Yale Symphony Orchestra. Recent and
upcoming engagements include the Syracuse, Stamford and
Tallahassee Symphonies, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Abilene
Philharmonic, the Andrés Segovia Chamber Orchestra at the
National Auditorium in Madrid, and the Vallés Symphony
Orchestra at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona. Previous
guest conducting engagements have included appearances with
the Windsor Symphony, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the
Principado de Asturias Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland
Philharmonic, the Springfield Symphony (Ohio), the Echternach
Festival Orchestra at the Kennedy Center and on tour in
Luxembourg and Germany, the City of Granada Orchestra, the
Tenerife Symphony Orchestra and the Castilla y León Symphony
Orchestra. In the summer of 1998 he took the National Youth
Orchestra of Spain on a concert tour of Spain and Portugal
with performances at the Royal Opera House in Madrid and the
World Exposition in Lisbon. Mr. Novo holds music degrees from
the Cleveland Institute of Music, Yale University and the
Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels. This is Mr. Novo’s
eighth summer as a member of the Eastern Music Festival
conducting faculty.
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A native of Los Angeles, SCOTT
SANDMEIER is currently the
artistic director of a chamber orchestra and festival in the
southwest of France (near Bordeaux), and professor of
conducting and director of orchestral studies at the State
Music Conservatory in Freiburg, Germany. While a long-time
resident of Paris, Mr. Sandmeier conducted many of the major
French orchestras and appeared at music festivals in that
country, as well as in Vienna and Prague. Equally at home in
the theatre, he made his debut at the historic Opèra Comique
in Paris in the French premiere of Britten’s Owen Wingrave. He
also held the position of assistant conductor of the National
Orchestra of Lyon. This past season he made his debut in
Madrid conducting the Orquestra de Cámera Reina Sofia (under
the patronage of the Queen of Spain), and in Portugal leading
the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra. Scott Sandmeier studied at
the California Institute of the Arts, The Julliard School, and
the Paris Conservatory, where he was awarded a first prize in
conducting. He participated in the festivals at Tanglewood,
Aspen, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, as well as
in master classes with Leonard Bernstein and Pierre Boulez.
Mr. Sandmeier first came to the Eastern Music Festival as a
guest conductor in 1996; he has been a resident conductor of
the Festival Orchestra since 1998.
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