| FALL ROSTER | ||
PHILIPPE DJOKIC VIOLINIST - Violinist Philippe Djokic is one of Canada’s leading solo and chamber musicians. He received his musical training at the Juilliard School where he studied with the great violin pedagogue, Ivan Galamian. Upon completion of a Master of Music degree, he was awarded the prestigious Fritz Kreisler Prize by Juilliard. He has won major prizes at many international competitions, among them the Jacques Thibauld (Paris, 1975), Sibelius (Helsinki, 1977), Vaclav Huml (Zagreb, 1977) and Paganini (Genoa, 1982). He is also a former First Prize winner of the C.B.C. Young Artist Competition. His performances have taken him throughout Europe and North America as soloist with major orchestras. He is a regular performer at summer music festivals in Montreal, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Utah, Ottawa and Alaska. His recent recording of the Delius violin concerto on the C.B.C. label has been winning praises around the world and given a 5 star rating by B.B.C. Magazine.Mr. Djokic is currently professor of violin at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His instrument is a rare Guarnerius violin made in 1740. |
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ARTURO DELMONI VIOLINIST - Violinist Arturo Delmoni’s remarkably distinctive violin playing embodies the romantic warmth that was the special genius of the great virtuosi of the golden age of violin playing. Audiences everywhere have fallen under the spell of his technical mastery and immediate emotional communication. His stylish, elegant interpretations of classical masterpieces have earned him critical acclaim in the United States and abroad. Arturo has appeared as a recitalist throughout the United States and in Europe, the Middle East, Japan, and Hong Kong. Arturo received his first violin lessons at age four, and soon came to the attention of Dorothy DeLay of the Juilliard School. His public career had already begun with recitals and a network television appearance when he entered Juilliard as a Naumburg scholarship student. He continued his studies with Miss DeLay, Ivan Galamian, and with Josef Gingold during summers at the Meadowmount School. After graduation from Juilliard, Arturo studied with Jascha Heifetz at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Special Musical Studies, and with Nathan Milstein. He took honors in the Dealey, Flagler, Viña del Mar, Kennedy-Rockefeller, and Leventritt competitions. As a chamber musician, he has performed with illustrious colleagues such as Pinchas Zukerman, Elmar Oliveira, Emanuel Ax, Nathaniel Rosen, Jon Kimura Parker, Jeffrey Kahane, and Dudley Moore. Arturo was recently chosen as the new Concert Master of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and has appeared with the St. Louis, Dallas, Jupiter, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston; the California Chamber Symphony; the Rhode Island, Brooklyn, Boston, Omaha, and Kansas City Philharmonics; and the Boston Pops. Arturo Delmoni also serves on the violin faculty of the prestigious Meadowmount School. |
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MARK KOSOWER CELLIST - Cellist Mark Kosower was a winner of the 2002 Astral Artistic Services National Auditions with resulting performances at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. The recipient of a 2002 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Kosower also gave debut recitals at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and at Lincoln Center in New York. Recent solo performances include a concert and a Delos recording with James DePreist and the Oregon Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, the Santa Rosa Symphony, and the Juilliard Orchestra. The 2003-2004 season includes a debut performances with Gerard Schwarz and the Hong Kong Philharmonic in China as well as appearances with the Oregon Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Santa Barbara Symphony, and the Florida Orchestra. During 2003 he made his Asian and South American debuts in recital at the Kumho Cultural Foundation in Seoul, Korea, and as concerto soloist at the IX International Cello Encounter in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A member of Chamber Music Society Two of Lincoln Center, he has performed frequently at the Aspen Music Festival, the Sitka Summer Music Festival, the Park City International Music Festival, the Delaware Chamber Music Festival, and recently served on the faculty at the Northern Lights Chamber Music Institute of Minnesota. Past performances include solo appearances with the Detroit Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as recitals in Chicago, Cinncinati, Detroit, Milwaukee, New York, San Francisco, St. Paul, and on Ravinia’s “Rising Stars Series.” Mr. Kosower has performed in Europe and Mexico in performances at the Theatre du Châtelet in Paris, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Komische Oper in Berlin, and at the Kronberg Cello Festival. He has also been soloist with several major European orchestras, including the Orchestre de Paris. Mr. Kosower won the Grand Prize in the Seventh Irving M. Klein International String Competition, the WAMSO Young Artist Competition; the 2000 Juilliard Cello Concerto Competition and a top prize winner in the Seventh Concours Rostropovich where he also was awarded a special prize for best interpretation of the commissioned work. Mark Kosower holds degrees from Indiana University and an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School serving as Assistant to Janos Starker at Indiana University and as Joel Krosnick’s Assistant at The Juilliard School. Mr. Kosower has recently joined the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory. |
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DENISE DJOKIC CELLIST - Cellist Denise Djokic is establishing herself as one of the most exciting, young talents of her generation. The youthful vigour, confidence and passion of her playing have made her a much sought after soloist with North America's finest orchestras. Her appearance at the 2002 Grammy Awards confirmed her recognition as a young star of the classical world. Ms Djokic has signed on as a Sony Classical recording artist and released her debut self-titled CD which recently won the 2003 CBC East Coast Award for Best Classical Album of the Year. A native of Halifax, Denise Djokic has already captivated audiences all across the continent performing at major music festivals such as Mexico's Son Miguel de Allende festival, Rovinia festival in Chicago, Caramoor festival in New York, Canada's Vancouver and Ottawa Chamber Music Festivals and the Sitka Festival in Alaska. Her recent concerto performances have teamed her with the Santa Cruz Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra to name a few. While still in her teens, Ms Djokic garnered many awards and prizes including the Grand Prize of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition in 1998. Her success has led to performances at the Sumner Museum and the Philips Collection in Washington, D.C., and the Kohl Mansion Series in San Francisco. Her performances are heard frequently on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and National Public Radio programs. Born into a family of musicians, Ms Djokic has grown up with outstanding musical influences. Her early studies with Richard Aaron at the Cleveland Institute of Music's Young Artist Program led to studies with Paul Katz. She began cello lessons with Olive Shaw and Shimon Wait. Denise Djokic gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for their assistance and the loan of the priceless 1696 "Boniour" Stradivari cello, on which she performed for several seasons. |
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JEE-WON OH PIANIST - A native of Seoul, Korea, Jee-Won Oh is an active chamber musician and soloist, having performed in Korea, Europe, and the United States. Among her numerous performances she has given solo recitals and chamber music concerts in Lubeck, Paris, Salzburg, Seoul, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, St. Paul, Washington DC, and on Ravinia’s “Rising Stars Series.” Ms. Oh has performed at the Schleswig- Holstein Festival, the Ernen Musikdorf, the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, and the Sitka Summer Music Festival. Ms. Oh regularly collaborates with her husband, cellist Mark Kosower, and has appeared in concert with him across the United States and abroad. Recent performances include recitals at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Great Performers Series at Lincoln Center, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, at the Kronberg Academy in Germany, and at Kumho Art Hall in Seoul, Korea.In addition to her busy performance schedule Ms. Oh is also a dedicated teacher. She served as the studio pianist and assistant to the famed cellist Janos Starker at Indiana University for five years and as Associate Instructor of Piano at Indiana University from1994-1998. Currently, she teaches privately in the greater New York City area. Ms. Oh received her Masters Degree in Piano Performance from Indiana University and her Bachelors Degree from Han Yang University in Seoul where she was the recipient of a Young Chang Piano Foundation scholarship. Ms. Oh is currently finishing her Doctorate at Indiana University. Teachers of Ms. Oh have included György Sebök and Shigeo Neriki.
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SCOTT YOO CONDUCTOR |
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RUSSELL HARLOW CLARINETIST - Russell Harlow has become one of the nation's premiere solo and chamber clarinetists. Recent performances include two performances of the Finzi Clarinet Concerto with the Sonolumina Chamber Orchestra, the Debussy Rhapsody, Andante con Eleganza by Pierne and the Beethoven Opus 11 Trio in a Park City International Music Festival concert with violist Leslie Harlow and pianist Gail Niwa, as well as a guest appearance with the Puero Rican Clarinet Festival and performances with the 2004 Park City Festival and with the Contemporary Music Consortium of Utah. In 2002 clarinetist Russell Harlow was chosen as an official Yamaha Artist and has been working directly with Yamaha on clarinet design. Mr. Harlow recently lectured and performed at the International Clarfest 2003 in Salt Lake City. His lecture will include a demonstration of his CD Rom Multimedia Encyclopedia of the Clarinet which includes results of his research on the finest clarinetists of the past century. He has performed for the International ClarFest in the past as well as the Amsterdam Chamber Players in a live television broadcast, is currently associate principal clarinetist of the Utah Symphony with numerous recordings to his credit. Mr. Harlow joined the Utah Symphony at the age of 21. Mr. Harlow is featured on two recent compact disc releases with flutist Laurel Ann Maurer and pianist Joanne Pearce-Martin of works of Meyer Kupferman and flutist Maurer and pianist John Jenson. Mr. Harlow has also served as principal clarinet for the Utah Symphony and Buffalo Philharmonic. He is also featured as soloist on a number of filmscores. He studied with Gary Foster, Mitchell Lurie and the late Harold Wright. Mr. Harlow has performed the Copland and Mozart Concertos with the Park City Festival Orchestra. Russell Harlow's artistry has led him to become one of the nation's premiere solo and chamber artists. |
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LESLIE BLACKBURN-HARLOW VIOLIST - Leslie Blackburn-Harlow, violist and Founder/Director of the Park City International Music Festival, earned her masters degree in performance on scholarship at The Juilliard School. She was one of three finalists for the Viola Concerto Competition at The Juilliard School. Prior to Juilliard she earned masters and bachelors degrees in performance at Texas Tech University. During her student years Ms. Harlow also performed as guest artist with the Skaneateles, Eastern Music Festival and Missouri Symphony Society Festivals. After graduation from Juilliard, Ms. Harlow founded the Park City Music Festival. Ms. Harlow's solo and chamber music performances include the world premieres of the David Carlson “Quantum Quartet”a work commissioned by the Festival and now published by Boosey and Hawkes, and Frank Ezra Levy’s Piano Quartet. Ms. Harlow has performed in chamber music concerts for the Piatigorsky Foundation, and in chamber concerts with many of the world's finest classical artists including violinists Bill Preucil (concertmaster of Cleveland Orchestra), Glenn Dicterow (concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic), Andres Cardenas, Schlomo Mintz, Charles Libove, Paul Rosenthal, Margaret Batjer, Arturo Delmoni, Elmar Oliveira, Charles Castleman, Joseph Silverstein, Koh Gabriel-Kameda, cellists Yehuda Hanani, Jeffrey Solow, Fred Zlotkin, Evan Drachman, Scott Ballantyne, Mark Kosower, violist Paul Neubauer, the Leonore Trio, the Raphael Trio, the Elements String Quartet, the Muir Quartet, as a guest artist on the Ling Concert Series and the Sitka Summer Music Festival and can be heard as soloist on numerous film soundtracks including “Murder in the First” and “Surviving Picasso”. Ms. Harlow has performed as Principal Violist for the Juilliard Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, Twelve years Principal Violist and Soloist for Utah’s Ballet West Orchestra, Acting Principal for the Utah Symphony, Principal Violist for the Madeleine, Intermountain, and the Opus Chamber Orchestras and Principal and Solo Violist for the studio recording orchestras of Utah. Ms. Harlow is currently performing with the Utah Symphony and has performed on tour in Europe and California with both the Juilliard Orchestra and the Utah Symphony. Ms. Harlow is co-founder the Cathedral of the Madeleine Chamber Orchestra, recently appearing as soloist with the Chamber Orchestra and Cathedral Choir in “Flos Campi” by Vaughan Williams on the Madeleine Festival Series. Ms. Harlow has also performed recitals in New York, Michigan, Texas, Utah and Oklahoma. In May she also performed one of three solo viola parts in the Utah Symphony’s recent performance of Bach’s Third Brandenburg Concerto. |
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DARA MORALES VIOLINIST - Dara Morales, violinist, has performed in United States, Mexico, Venzuela, Puerto Rico, Portugal, St. Thomas, France and Belgium and has performed as soloist with the Cincinnati Orchestra, the Puerto Rico Symphony, the Bangor Symphony, the Lancaster Symphony and the Aspen Institute Artists Orchestra. Ms. Morales has participated in the Festival Casals in Prades, France and the Alfred Summer Chamber Music Institute. Currently serving as Principal Second Violin of the Utah Symphony, Morales previously held positions as Principal Second Violin of the Puerto Rico Symphony and Professor of Violin at the Puerto Rico Conservatory. She has also served as Concertmaster of the Northern Kentucky and the Puerto Rico Symphonies. Ms. Morales earned her Bachelors and Masters Degrees and served as graduate teaching assistant at the Cincinnati Conservatory. During the summers Ms. Morales has been a fellowship student at Aspen Music Festival and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. |
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JESUS MORALES CELLIST - Jesus A. Morales Matos, violoncello, recently held the positions of Principal Cellist of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Puerto Rico and Professor of Cello at the Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto Rico. Currently living in Utah, Mr. Morales recently performed as a member of the Utah Symphony on tour in Europe. Mr. Morales has been a prizewinner of the Camerata Solo Competition for Cello, the Eastern Connecticut Young Artist Competition and the Grace Vamos Cello Competition. He has appeared as soloist with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Puerto Rico, the Camerata Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Starling Chamber Orchestra and the Festival de Orquestas Sinfonica Juvenil de las Americas. He has participated in festivals including the Banff Center for the Arts, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Bowdoin Music Festival and Eastern Music Festival. Mr. Morales holds a bachelors degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and has done post-graduate work at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. His major teachers include Dr. Ronald Crutcher, Alan Harris, Helga Winold and chamber music with Peter Oundjian. |
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PETER SANDERS CELLIST, is a native New Yorker and a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Sanders is a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra (for which he has served as Acting Principal), principal cello for the New Philharmonic of New Jersey and performs with the Riverside Symphony, the Stamford Symphony and has performed and recorded as a guest artist with the Perspectives Ensemble. He has toured Southeast Asia twice with the New York Symphonic Ensemble and as concerto soloist with the group performed in concerts in Taipei and Singapore. He is Artistic Director of the Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival (www.centralvtchambermusicfest.org), which had its inaugural season in 1993. Mr. Sanders was a winner of the 1998 Artists International Award as a member of the Hollaender Ensemble and is currently a member of the Ariadne Trio. He has participated in many summer festivals including the Colorado Music Festival, Skaneateles Festival, Crested Butte Chamber Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival (faculty position), Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival, Lancaster Festival, Ohio (where he was principal cello from 1992-98), Windham Chamber Music Festival and this summer with the Sherman Chamber Ensemble. As a studio musician Mr. Sanders has recorded for a variety of popular artists including Pat Metheny, Jewel, Kathie Lee Gifford and Carlinhos Brown. He can be heard on the Delos, Muse, Bridge, RCA Victor-Red Seal, New World and On the Lamb labels. |
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| SUSAN WALTERS PIANIST, studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Mannes College of Music (where she won the Performance Award and a scholarship to study at L’Ecole d’Arts Americaines in Fontainbleau, France). A founding member of the Dakota Piano Trio, she performed in over 50 cities during the 1996 season and toured Australia for Musica Viva in March 1997. She has appeared with orchestras throughout the United States and collaborated with such renowned artists as Midori, Peter Wiley, Sharon Robinson, and the Mendelssohn String Quartet. Her great love of chamber music was inspired by her studies with Rudolf Serkin, Nathan Milstein, and Felix Galimir. A co-founder the Golden Isles Chamber Music Festival on the Sea Islands of Georgia, Ms. Walters has also been a featured performed at the Chautauqua, Caramoor, and Mostly Mozart Music Festivals. She is a solo pianist with the New York City Ballet, and lives in New York City with her husband and her two children. | ||
JOHN NOVACEK PIANIST: The New York Times has called John a "wise, nimble, sensitive artist." The Los Angeles Times has stated "Novacek is a commanding presence at the keyboard, not just because of a sterling technique, but also his virile, integrated playing." Harold Schonberg, noted critic and author writes of Novacek's performance on his newest Four Winds release Last Kiss : "By any standards this is superior piano playing and music making, with sonics to match... his playing is always animated by ideas that make the listener put a finger on the pause button and do a little thinking."
John has toured frequently across Asia, Europe, and North America both as a soloist and a much sought-after collaborative artist. He has performed in venues from the Kennedy Center to the Hollywood Bowl, from Suntory Hall (Tokyo) to the Theatre des Champs-Elysees (Paris). Novacek has won a number of international piano competitions including the Leschetizky, the Mannes Concerto, the Joanna Hodges, the Carmel Music Society, and the Etude Music Club. He has played with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Leila Josefowicz, Emmanuel Pahud, Lynn Harrell, Julius Baker, and Kristina Cooper & Laura Frautschi. He has given numerous world premiers, and worked closely with composers John Williams, George Rochberg, and Lalo Schifrin. John studied piano with Peter Serkin, Bruce Sutherland, and Jacob Gimpel, chamber music with Jamie Laredo, and Felix Galimir, also often coaching with Gary Graffman and Isaac Stern. Grammy-nominated pianist John Novacek regularly tours North and Central America, Europe, Japan, Korea, and China as both recitalist and concerto soloist; in the latter capacity he has presented over thirty different concerti with dozens of orchestras. Venues include Kennedy Center, Avery Fisher Hall, the 92nd Street Y, Merkin Hall, Weill Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, UCLA’s Royce Hall, Ambassador Auditorium, Irvine Meadows Amphitheater, Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Theater des Champs-Elysees (Paris), and Wigmore Hall (London). In addition he has appeared at Lucerne Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival (Lincoln Center), Wolf Trap, SummerFest La Jolla, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Stavanger (Norway) International Chamber Music Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad (Switzerland), and Ravinia. Novacek took top prizes at the Leschetizky, Etude Music Club, Carmel Music Society, Mannes Concerto, and Joanna Hodges International Piano Competitions. He has played on radio broadcasts worldwide, often heard on syndicated programs such as NPR’s Performance Today, The Record Shelf, First Hearing, and St. Paul Sunday, and he’s been a featured performer on many television shows including Tonight Show and Entertainment Tonight. A much sought-after collaborative artist, Novacek has played with Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Leila Josefowicz, Emmanuel Pahud, Truls Mork, Julius Baker, and the Colorado String Quartet. He’s given numerous world premieres and worked closely with composers John Adams, George Rochberg, John Williams, John Harbison, Sebastian Currier, and John Zorn. He studied piano with Peter Serkin, Bruce Sutherland, and Jakob Gimpel, chamber music with Jamie Laredo and Felix Galimir, also often coaching with Gary Graffman and Isaac SternNovacek’s compositions and arrangements have been performed by the Pacific Symphony, Concertante, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Fresno Ballet, Harrington String Quartet, Millennium, Diana Ross, Kiri Te Kanawa, Ruggiero Raimondi, and the Three Tenors. Novacek has recorded over twenty-five CDs encompassing solo and chamber music by most major composers from Bach to Bartok, and many contemporary and original scores. He records for Philips, Nonesuch, Arabesque, Warner Classics, Koch International, Atlantic, Ambassador, Pony Canyon, Four Winds, Arkay, Virtuoso, and EMI Classics; CD titles include Great Mozart Piano Works, Spanish Rhapsody, Novarags (original ragtime compositions), Classic Romance, Hungarian Sketches, Intersection, Romances et Meditations, and with Ms. Josefowicz, Americana and For the End of Time. |
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| SUMMER 2005 ROSTER (Summer Festival just completed) | ||
VIOLINIST CHARLES CASTLEMAN - A wunderkind almost from the cradle and prizewinner in the Tchaikowsky and Brussels competitions, Charles Castleman has been soloist with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, Moscow, Mexico City, New York, San Francisco, Seoul and Shanghai. A boxed CD set including the 17 best prizewinning violin performances of the Brussels Concours’ 50 year history has recently been released; Charles Castleman’s is one of those performances. Mr. Castleman’s solo CDs include 10 Sarasate virtuoso cameos, 8 Hubay Csardases, and Ysaye’s Solo Sonatas (made at the time of his unique performance at Tully Hall in NYC) on MUSIC AND ARTS, Gershwin and Antheil on MUSICMASTERS, and 20th century violin and harpsichord music for ALBANY. As a Ford Foundation Concert Artist he commissioned the David Amram Concerto, performing its premiere with Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony, and recording it for NEWPORT CLASSIC. He is dedicatee of "Lares Hercii" for Violin and Harpsichord by Pulitzer prizewinner Christopher Rouse. He has participated in such U.S. festivals as Marlboro, Grant Park, Great Woods, Las Vegas, Newport, Round Top, Sarasota, and Saratoga as well as AFCM (Australia), Budapest, Fuefukigawa, Montreux, Shanghai, Sheffield, and Vienna Festwoche. His recitals have been broadcast on NPR, BBC, in Berlin and Paris. Charles Castleman’s long-term chamber music associations have included THE NEW STRING TRIO OF N.Y. (with BASF recordings of Reger and Frank Martin) and THE RAPHAEL TRIO. In the RAPHAEL he recorded Dvorak for NONE- SUCH and SONY, Mendelssohn for DISCOVER, Beethoven for UNICORN, and Wolf-Ferrari for ASV, with premieres of Rainer Bischof’s "Trio 89" for Vienna Festival, and Frederic Rzewski’s "Trio" for the Kennedy Center. Chair of Eastman’s String Department, Mr Castleman has conducted master-classes in Hong Kong, Kiev, London, Melbourne, Salzburg, Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo, Toronto, and Vienna. His students have been winners at Brussels, Munich, Naumburg and Szeryng, are in 30 professionally active chamber groups and are 1st desk players in 12 major orchestras. He is founder/director of THE QUARTET PROGRAM, in its 36th season, now at Bucknell University, an intensive workshop in solo and chamber performance. The Tokyo and Cleveland Quartets, Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma have donated masterclasses there, Mr. Ma praising it as "the best program of its kind..a training ground in lifemanship." Mr. Castleman earned degrees from Harvard, Curtis, and University of Pennsylvania. His teachers were Emmanuel Ondricek (teaching assistant of Sevcik, Ysaye student) and Ivan Galamian, his most influential coaches David Oistrakh, Szeryng, and Gingold. He plays a Stradivarius from 1708, and chooses from 80 bows. |
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GAIL NIWA PIANIST - Gail Niwa's "brilliant insights" and "power, eloquence and striking sound color" have made her an audience favorite throughout the world. Ms. Niwa won high praise for her New York recital debut at Alice Tully Hall, and her recitals at Orchestra Hall in Chicago on the Allied Arts Piano Series and at the Ambassador Auditorium's Gold Medal Series in Pasadena. She also received outstanding reviews for her solo appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in February 1995, performing the Schumann Piano Concerto with Sir Georg Solti conducting. "She reveled in Schumann's lyricism...Her tone is big and velvety, and the concerto's virtuoso declarations were both clearly etched and full of thunder," said the Chicago Sun-Times. "Soloist Gail Niwa...achieved a heroic tone and perfect marksmanship," praised the Chicago Tribune. Among her recent solo engagements are performances of the Brahms Concerto #2 with the San Luis Obispo Symphony and Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto with the California Philharmonic. She has been soloist with the Utah, Memphis, Fort Wayne, Augusta, Columbus, Reno, Evanston and Grant Park Symphonies and has given recitals at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Washington's Kennedy Center, and in Athens, Montreal, Seoul, and St. Louis. She has also toured and the Far East. In 1991 Ms. Niwa created a sensation by becoming the first woman ever to win the Gold Medal at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. She was also awarded the Audience Prize and the Chamber Music Prize. Ms. Niwa has also won major prizes in the International Chopin Competition, the Mae Whitaker Competition and the Washington International Competition. An outstanding ensemble player, Ms. Niwa recently toured Holland as a member of the renowned Het Reizend Musik Geselschap. She won the prestigious Best Accompanist Award at the 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition for Violinists in Moscow. She has been featured soloist with the Kammergild Chamber Players, the Banff Festival Chamber Orchestra, the Highland Park Strings and the Ocean State Chamber Players. She is a regular participant in the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, the Park City International Music Festival and the Roycroft Chamber Music Festival. Ms. Niwa can be heard in Fantasia 2000 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Saint-Saens "Carnival of the Animals". She has also collaborated with violinist David Kim on recordings for the Musical Heritage Society and Teldec labels and with the late bassoonist Bruce Grainger on the Centaur label.The daughter of professional musicians, Ms. Niwa was born in Chicago. She began piano studies with her mother and made her orchestral debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age eight. She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees on scholarship at the Juilliard School as a student of Adele Marcus. Ms. Niwa has given master classes in many parts of the world, including Pusan University in Korea, the TCU Cliburn Institute, Brigham Young University and The University of Oklahoma. In 1999 Ms. Niwa joined the faculty of the University of Southern California as an Assistant Professor of Piano. Feeling the need to return to the East Coast, she resigned her position in 2001. She is the founder and Artistic Director of Chamber Music at Great Gorge, a concert series in northwest New Jersey, and continues to delight audiences with both her solo and chamber playing. |
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JOHN JENSEN PIANIST - Pianist John Jensen received his musical training in Southern California, where he attended Occidental College and the University of Southern California. While in Los Angeles, he wore many hats, including that of operatic conductor, coach and pianist for the Andy Williams TV show. From 1975 to 1990 Jensen recorded, performed and taught as pianist of the Mirecourt Trio, artists-in-residence at Grinnell College. Mr. Jenson recorded a landmark sixteen albums as a member of the Mirecourt Trio and is currently recording and performing with flutist Laurel Ann Maurer and clarinetist Russell Harlow, with several albums due for release this year. Jensen now lives in St. Paul, where he plays regularly with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble and the Dale Warland Singers. His resume also includes synthesizer work for touring Broadway musicals. In the Twin Cities, he serves as music director for the First Universalist Church of Minneapolis. His connection with the University of Iowa has been highlighted by two solo compact discs on the Music and Arts label recorded at Clapp Recital Hall in 1989: the Charles Ives Piano Sonatas, and a solo jazz CD. |
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RUSSELL HARLOW CLARINETIST - Russell Harlow has become one of the nation's premiere solo and chamber clarinetists. Recent performances include two performances of the Finzi Clarinet Concerto with the Sonolumina Chamber Orchestra, the Debussy Rhapsody, Andante con Eleganza by Pierne and the Beethoven Opus 11 Trio in a Park City International Music Festival concert with violist Leslie Harlow and pianist Gail Niwa, as well as a guest appearance with the Puero Rican Clarinet Festival and performances with the 2004 Park City Festival and with the Contemporary Music Consortium of Utah. In 2002 clarinetist Russell Harlow was chosen as an official Yamaha Artist and has been working directly with Yamaha on clarinet design. Mr. Harlow recently lectured and performed at the International Clarfest 2003 in Salt Lake City. His lecture will include a demonstration of his CD Rom Multimedia Encyclopedia of the Clarinet which includes results of his research on the finest clarinetists of the past century. He has performed for the International ClarFest in the past as well as the Amsterdam Chamber Players in a live television broadcast, is currently associate principal clarinetist of the Utah Symphony with numerous recordings to his credit. Mr. Harlow joined the Utah Symphony at the age of 21. Mr. Harlow is featured on two recent compact disc releases with flutist Laurel Ann Maurer and pianist Joanne Pearce-Martin of works of Meyer Kupferman and flutist Maurer and pianist John Jenson. Mr. Harlow has also served as principal clarinet for the Utah Symphony and Buffalo Philharmonic. He is also featured as soloist on a number of filmscores. He studied with Gary Foster, Mitchell Lurie and the late Harold Wright. Mr. Harlow has performed the Copland and Mozart Concertos with the Park City Festival Orchestra. Russell Harlow's artistry has led him to become one of the nation's premiere solo and chamber artists. |
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LESLIE BLACKBURN-HARLOW VIOLIST - Leslie Blackburn-Harlow, violist and Founder/Director of the Park City International Music Festival, earned her masters degree in performance on scholarship at The Juilliard School. She was one of three finalists for the Viola Concerto Competition at The Juilliard School. Prior to Juilliard she earned masters and bachelors degrees in performance at Texas Tech University. During her student years Ms. Harlow also performed as guest artist with the Skaneateles, Eastern Music Festival and Missouri Symphony Society Festivals. After graduation from Juilliard, Ms. Harlow founded the Park City Music Festival. Ms. Harlow's solo and chamber music performances include the world premieres of the David Carlson “Quantum Quartet”a work commissioned by the Festival and now published by Boosey and Hawkes, and Frank Ezra Levy’s Piano Quartet. Ms. Harlow has performed in chamber music concerts for the Piatigorsky Foundation, and in chamber concerts with many of the world's finest classical artists including violinists Bill Preucil (concertmaster of Cleveland Orchestra), Glenn Dicterow (concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic), Andres Cardenas, Schlomo Mintz, Charles Libove, Paul Rosenthal, Margaret Batjer, Arturo Delmoni, Elmar Oliveira, Charles Castleman, Joseph Silverstein, Koh Gabriel-Kameda, cellists Yehuda Hanani, Jeffrey Solow, Fred Zlotkin, Evan Drachman, Scott Ballantyne, Mark Kosower, violist Paul Neubauer, the Leonore Trio, the Raphael Trio, the Elements String Quartet, the Muir Quartet, as a guest artist on the Ling Concert Series and the Sitka Summer Music Festival and can be heard as soloist on numerous film soundtracks including “Murder in the First” and “Surviving Picasso”. Ms. Harlow has performed as Principal Violist for the Juilliard Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, Twelve years Principal Violist and Soloist for Utah’s Ballet West Orchestra, Acting Principal for the Utah Symphony, Principal Violist for the Madeleine, Intermountain, and the Opus Chamber Orchestras and Principal and Solo Violist for the studio recording orchestras of Utah. Ms. Harlow is currently performing with the Utah Symphony and has performed on tour in Europe and California with both the Juilliard Orchestra and the Utah Symphony. Ms. Harlow is co-founder the Cathedral of the Madeleine Chamber Orchestra, recently appearing as soloist with the Chamber Orchestra and Cathedral Choir in “Flos Campi” by Vaughan Williams on the Madeleine Festival Series. Ms. Harlow has also performed recitals in New York, Michigan, Texas, Utah and Oklahoma. In May she also performed one of three solo viola parts in the Utah Symphony’s recent performance of Bach’s Third Brandenburg Concerto. |
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LAUREL ANN MAURER - Flutist Laurel Ann Maurer has been lauded by The New York Times as ". . . a secure technician and an assured, communicative interpreter." Fanfare Magazine stated that ". . . she is technically superb in every way. Her tone is consistently attractive even in the most treacherous passages, and she plays with great rhythmic drive and impeccable phrasing." American Record Guide said that ". . . Maurer has a strong, colorful, full sound and a sure technique. . ." Ms. Maurer began her musical studies in Seattle, Washington under the direction of Dorothy Bjarnason, where she was a member of the Seattle Youth Symphony and a recipient of awards from the Seattle Young Artists Festival. She continued her musical education in New York City, studying with Julius Baker, Jeanne Baxtresser and Samuel Baron. Her principal teacher, Mr. Baker, has stated that she is "One of our outstanding and gifted flutists." As an award winner from such organizations as the National Association of Composers – USA, the National Flute Association, the National Orchestra of New York, the Chautauqua Institute and the Utah Arts Council, Ms. Maurer has appeared as flute soloist throughout the United States and Europe, including performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. She has appeared as concerto soloist with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Flute Association's American Flutist Concerto Orchestra, the Salt Lake Symphony and the Long Island Chamber Orchestra. At the forefront of Ms. Maurer's career is her dedication to contemporary music. She has commissioned numerous works for the flute, compelling many fine composers to comment on her performance of their works. Otto Luening wrote, "She projects composers ideas with authority and elegance." Joan Tower has written, "Thanks so much for doing such an outstanding job. . . this performance [was] one of the best I've received." Augusta Read Thomas said, "Bravo! We composers need you." And Meyer Kupferman has called her playing "Truly sensational." Laurel Ann Maurer has recorded for Albany Records, CRI, Soundspells and 4-Tay Records. Ms. Maurer performs exclusively onMiyazawa flutes and is a Miyazawa artist. |
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DARA MORALES VIOLINIST - Dara Morales, violinist, has performed in United States, Mexico, Venzuela, Puerto Rico, Portugal, St. Thomas, France and Belgium and has performed as soloist with the Cincinnati Orchestra, the Puerto Rico Symphony, the Bangor Symphony, the Lancaster Symphony and the Aspen Institute Artists Orchestra. Ms. Morales has participated in the Festival Casals in Prades, France and the Alfred Summer Chamber Music Institute. Currently serving as Principal Second Violin of the Utah Symphony, Morales previously held positions as Principal Second Violin of the Puerto Rico Symphony and Professor of Violin at the Puerto Rico Conservatory. She has also served as Concertmaster of the Northern Kentucky and the Puerto Rico Symphonies. Ms. Morales earned her Bachelors and Masters Degrees and served as graduate teaching assistant at the Cincinnati Conservatory. During the summers Ms. Morales has been a fellowship student at Aspen Music Festival and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. |
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JESUS MORALES CELLIST - Jesus A. Morales Matos, violoncello, recently held the positions of Principal Cellist of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Puerto Rico and Professor of Cello at the Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto Rico. Currently living in Utah, Mr. Morales recently performed as a member of the Utah Symphony on tour in Europe. Mr. Morales has been a prizewinner of the Camerata Solo Competition for Cello, the Eastern Connecticut Young Artist Competition and the Grace Vamos Cello Competition. He has appeared as soloist with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Puerto Rico, the Camerata Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Starling Chamber Orchestra and the Festival de Orquestas Sinfonica Juvenil de las Americas. He has participated in festivals including the Banff Center for the Arts, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Bowdoin Music Festival and Eastern Music Festival. Mr. Morales holds a bachelors degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and has done post-graduate work at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. His major teachers include Dr. Ronald Crutcher, Alan Harris, Helga Winold and chamber music with Peter Oundjian. |
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| SUMMER 2005 ROSTER (Summer Festival just completed) | ||
VIOLINIST CHARLES CASTLEMAN - A wunderkind almost from the cradle and prizewinner in the Tchaikowsky and Brussels competitions, Charles Castleman has been soloist with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, Moscow, Mexico City, New York, San Francisco, Seoul and Shanghai. A boxed CD set including the 17 best prizewinning violin performances of the Brussels Concours’ 50 year history has recently been released; Charles Castleman’s is one of those performances. Mr. Castleman’s solo CDs include 10 Sarasate virtuoso cameos, 8 Hubay Csardases, and Ysaye’s Solo Sonatas (made at the time of his unique performance at Tully Hall in NYC) on MUSIC AND ARTS, Gershwin and Antheil on MUSICMASTERS, and 20th century violin and harpsichord music for ALBANY. As a Ford Foundation Concert Artist he commissioned the David Amram Concerto, performing its premiere with Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony, and recording it for NEWPORT CLASSIC. He is dedicatee of "Lares Hercii" for Violin and Harpsichord by Pulitzer prizewinner Christopher Rouse. He has participated in such U.S. festivals as Marlboro, Grant Park, Great Woods, Las Vegas, Newport, Round Top, Sarasota, and Saratoga as well as AFCM (Australia), Budapest, Fuefukigawa, Montreux, Shanghai, Sheffield, and Vienna Festwoche. His recitals have been broadcast on NPR, BBC, in Berlin and Paris. Charles Castleman’s long-term chamber music associations have included THE NEW STRING TRIO OF N.Y. (with BASF recordings of Reger and Frank Martin) and THE RAPHAEL TRIO. In the RAPHAEL he recorded Dvorak for NONE- SUCH and SONY, Mendelssohn for DISCOVER, Beethoven for UNICORN, and Wolf-Ferrari for ASV, with premieres of Rainer Bischof’s "Trio 89" for Vienna Festival, and Frederic Rzewski’s "Trio" for the Kennedy Center. Chair of Eastman’s String Department, Mr Castleman has conducted master-classes in Hong Kong, Kiev, London, Melbourne, Salzburg, Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo, Toronto, and Vienna. His students have been winners at Brussels, Munich, Naumburg and Szeryng, are in 30 professionally active chamber groups and are 1st desk players in 12 major orchestras. He is founder/director of THE QUARTET PROGRAM, in its 36th season, now at Bucknell University, an intensive workshop in solo and chamber performance. The Tokyo and Cleveland Quartets, Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma have donated masterclasses there, Mr. Ma praising it as "the best program of its kind..a training ground in lifemanship." Mr. Castleman earned degrees from Harvard, Curtis, and University of Pennsylvania. His teachers were Emmanuel Ondricek (teaching assistant of Sevcik, Ysaye student) and Ivan Galamian, his most influential coaches David Oistrakh, Szeryng, and Gingold. He plays a Stradivarius from 1708, and chooses from 80 bows. |
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GAIL NIWA PIANIST - Gail Niwa's "brilliant insights" and "power, eloquence and striking sound color" have made her an audience favorite throughout the world. Ms. Niwa won high praise for her New York recital debut at Alice Tully Hall, and her recitals at Orchestra Hall in Chicago on the Allied Arts Piano Series and at the Ambassador Auditorium's Gold Medal Series in Pasadena. She also received outstanding reviews for her solo appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in February 1995, performing the Schumann Piano Concerto with Sir Georg Solti conducting. "She reveled in Schumann's lyricism...Her tone is big and velvety, and the concerto's virtuoso declarations were both clearly etched and full of thunder," said the Chicago Sun-Times. "Soloist Gail Niwa...achieved a heroic tone and perfect marksmanship," praised the Chicago Tribune. Among her recent solo engagements are performances of the Brahms Concerto #2 with the San Luis Obispo Symphony and Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto with the California Philharmonic. She has been soloist with the Utah, Memphis, Fort Wayne, Augusta, Columbus, Reno, Evanston and Grant Park Symphonies and has given recitals at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Washington's Kennedy Center, and in Athens, Montreal, Seoul, and St. Louis. She has also toured and the Far East. In 1991 Ms. Niwa created a sensation by becoming the first woman ever to win the Gold Medal at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. She was also awarded the Audience Prize and the Chamber Music Prize. Ms. Niwa has also won major prizes in the International Chopin Competition, the Mae Whitaker Competition and the Washington International Competition. An outstanding ensemble player, Ms. Niwa recently toured Holland as a member of the renowned Het Reizend Musik Geselschap. She won the prestigious Best Accompanist Award at the 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition for Violinists in Moscow. She has been featured soloist with the Kammergild Chamber Players, the Banff Festival Chamber Orchestra, the Highland Park Strings and the Ocean State Chamber Players. She is a regular participant in the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, the Park City International Music Festival and the Roycroft Chamber Music Festival. Ms. Niwa can be heard in Fantasia 2000 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Saint-Saens "Carnival of the Animals". She has also collaborated with violinist David Kim on recordings for the Musical Heritage Society and Teldec labels and with the late bassoonist Bruce Grainger on the Centaur label.The daughter of professional musicians, Ms. Niwa was born in Chicago. She began piano studies with her mother and made her orchestral debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age eight. She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees on scholarship at the Juilliard School as a student of Adele Marcus. Ms. Niwa has given master classes in many parts of the world, including Pusan University in Korea, the TCU Cliburn Institute, Brigham Young University and The University of Oklahoma. In 1999 Ms. Niwa joined the faculty of the University of Southern California as an Assistant Professor of Piano. Feeling the need to return to the East Coast, she resigned her position in 2001. She is the founder and Artistic Director of Chamber Music at Great Gorge, a concert series in northwest New Jersey, and continues to delight audiences with both her solo and chamber playing. |
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JOHN JENSEN PIANIST - Pianist John Jensen received his musical training in Southern California, where he attended Occidental College and the University of Southern California. While in Los Angeles, he wore many hats, including that of operatic conductor, coach and pianist for the Andy Williams TV show. From 1975 to 1990 Jensen recorded, performed and taught as pianist of the Mirecourt Trio, artists-in-residence at Grinnell College. Mr. Jenson recorded a landmark sixteen albums as a member of the Mirecourt Trio and is currently recording and performing with flutist Laurel Ann Maurer and clarinetist Russell Harlow, with several albums due for release this year. Jensen now lives in St. Paul, where he plays regularly with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble and the Dale Warland Singers. His resume also includes synthesizer work for touring Broadway musicals. In the Twin Cities, he serves as music director for the First Universalist Church of Minneapolis. His connection with the University of Iowa has been highlighted by two solo compact discs on the Music and Arts label recorded at Clapp Recital Hall in 1989: the Charles Ives Piano Sonatas, and a solo jazz CD. |
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RUSSELL HARLOW CLARINETIST - Russell Harlow has become one of the nation's premiere solo and chamber clarinetists. Recent performances include two performances of the Finzi Clarinet Concerto with the Sonolumina Chamber Orchestra, the Debussy Rhapsody, Andante con Eleganza by Pierne and the Beethoven Opus 11 Trio in a Park City International Music Festival concert with violist Leslie Harlow and pianist Gail Niwa, as well as a guest appearance with the Puero Rican Clarinet Festival and performances with the 2004 Park City Festival and with the Contemporary Music Consortium of Utah. In 2002 clarinetist Russell Harlow was chosen as an official Yamaha Artist and has been working directly with Yamaha on clarinet design. Mr. Harlow recently lectured and performed at the International Clarfest 2003 in Salt Lake City. His lecture will include a demonstration of his CD Rom Multimedia Encyclopedia of the Clarinet which includes results of his research on the finest clarinetists of the past century. He has performed for the International ClarFest in the past as well as the Amsterdam Chamber Players in a live television broadcast, is currently associate principal clarinetist of the Utah Symphony with numerous recordings to his credit. Mr. Harlow joined the Utah Symphony at the age of 21. Mr. Harlow is featured on two recent compact disc releases with flutist Laurel Ann Maurer and pianist Joanne Pearce-Martin of works of Meyer Kupferman and flutist Maurer and pianist John Jenson. Mr. Harlow has also served as principal clarinet for the Utah Symphony and Buffalo Philharmonic. He is also featured as soloist on a number of filmscores. He studied with Gary Foster, Mitchell Lurie and the late Harold Wright. Mr. Harlow has performed the Copland and Mozart Concertos with the Park City Festival Orchestra. Russell Harlow's artistry has led him to become one of the nation's premiere solo and chamber artists. |
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LESLIE BLACKBURN-HARLOW VIOLIST - Leslie Blackburn-Harlow, violist and Founder/Director of the Park City International Music Festival, earned her masters degree in performance on scholarship at The Juilliard School. She was one of three finalists for the Viola Concerto Competition at The Juilliard School. Prior to Juilliard she earned masters and bachelors degrees in performance at Texas Tech University. During her student years Ms. Harlow also performed as guest artist with the Skaneateles, Eastern Music Festival and Missouri Symphony Society Festivals. After graduation from Juilliard, Ms. Harlow founded the Park City Music Festival. Ms. Harlow's solo and chamber music performances include the world premieres of the David Carlson “Quantum Quartet”a work commissioned by the Festival and now published by Boosey and Hawkes, and Frank Ezra Levy’s Piano Quartet. Ms. Harlow has performed in chamber music concerts for the Piatigorsky Foundation, and in chamber concerts with many of the world's finest classical artists including violinists Bill Preucil (concertmaster of Cleveland Orchestra), Glenn Dicterow (concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic), Andres Cardenas, Schlomo Mintz, Charles Libove, Paul Rosenthal, Margaret Batjer, Arturo Delmoni, Elmar Oliveira, Charles Castleman, Joseph Silverstein, Koh Gabriel-Kameda, cellists Yehuda Hanani, Jeffrey Solow, Fred Zlotkin, Evan Drachman, Scott Ballantyne, Mark Kosower, violist Paul Neubauer, the Leonore Trio, the Raphael Trio, the Elements String Quartet, the Muir Quartet, as a guest artist on the Ling Concert Series and the Sitka Summer Music Festival and can be heard as soloist on numerous film soundtracks including “Murder in the First” and “Surviving Picasso”. Ms. Harlow has performed as Principal Violist for the Juilliard Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, Twelve years Principal Violist and Soloist for Utah’s Ballet West Orchestra, Acting Principal for the Utah Symphony, Principal Violist for the Madeleine, Intermountain, and the Opus Chamber Orchestras and Principal and Solo Violist for the studio recording orchestras of Utah. Ms. Harlow is currently performing with the Utah Symphony and has performed on tour in Europe and California with both the Juilliard Orchestra and the Utah Symphony. Ms. Harlow is co-founder the Cathedral of the Madeleine Chamber Orchestra, recently appearing as soloist with the Chamber Orchestra and Cathedral Choir in “Flos Campi” by Vaughan Williams on the Madeleine Festival Series. Ms. Harlow has also performed recitals in New York, Michigan, Texas, Utah and Oklahoma. In May she also performed one of three solo viola parts in the Utah Symphony’s recent performance of Bach’s Third Brandenburg Concerto. |
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LAUREL ANN MAURER - Flutist Laurel Ann Maurer has been lauded by The New York Times as ". . . a secure technician and an assured, communicative interpreter." Fanfare Magazine stated that ". . . she is technically superb in every way. Her tone is consistently attractive even in the most treacherous passages, and she plays with great rhythmic drive and impeccable phrasing." American Record Guide said that ". . . Maurer has a strong, colorful, full sound and a sure technique. . ." Ms. Maurer began her musical studies in Seattle, Washington under the direction of Dorothy Bjarnason, where she was a member of the Seattle Youth Symphony and a recipient of awards from the Seattle Young Artists Festival. She continued her musical education in New York City, studying with Julius Baker, Jeanne Baxtresser and Samuel Baron. Her principal teacher, Mr. Baker, has stated that she is "One of our outstanding and gifted flutists." As an award winner from such organizations as the National Association of Composers – USA, the National Flute Association, the National Orchestra of New York, the Chautauqua Institute and the Utah Arts Council, Ms. Maurer has appeared as flute soloist throughout the United States and Europe, including performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. She has appeared as concerto soloist with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Flute Association's American Flutist Concerto Orchestra, the Salt Lake Symphony and the Long Island Chamber Orchestra. At the forefront of Ms. Maurer's career is her dedication to contemporary music. She has commissioned numerous works for the flute, compelling many fine composers to comment on her performance of their works. Otto Luening wrote, "She projects composers ideas with authority and elegance." Joan Tower has written, "Thanks so much for doing such an outstanding job. . . this performance [was] one of the best I've received." Augusta Read Thomas said, "Bravo! We composers need you." And Meyer Kupferman has called her playing "Truly sensational." Laurel Ann Maurer has recorded for Albany Records, CRI, Soundspells and 4-Tay Records. Ms. Maurer performs exclusively onMiyazawa flutes and is a Miyazawa artist. |
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DARA MORALES VIOLINIST - Dara Morales, violinist, has performed in United States, Mexico, Venzuela, Puerto Rico, Portugal, St. Thomas, France and Belgium and has performed as soloist with the Cincinnati Orchestra, the Puerto Rico Symphony, the Bangor Symphony, the Lancaster Symphony and the Aspen Institute Artists Orchestra. Ms. Morales has participated in the Festival Casals in Prades, France and the Alfred Summer Chamber Music Institute. Currently serving as Principal Second Violin of the Utah Symphony, Morales previously held positions as Principal Second Violin of the Puerto Rico Symphony and Professor of Violin at the Puerto Rico Conservatory. She has also served as Concertmaster of the Northern Kentucky and the Puerto Rico Symphonies. Ms. Morales earned her Bachelors and Masters Degrees and served as graduate teaching assistant at the Cincinnati Conservatory. During the summers Ms. Morales has been a fellowship student at Aspen Music Festival and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. |
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JESUS MORALES CELLIST - Jesus A. Morales Matos, violoncello, recently held the positions of Principal Cellist of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Puerto Rico and Professor of Cello at the Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto Rico. Currently living in Utah, Mr. Morales recently performed as a member of the Utah Symphony on tour in Europe. Mr. Morales has been a prizewinner of the Camerata Solo Competition for Cello, the Eastern Connecticut Young Artist Competition and the Grace Vamos Cello Competition. He has appeared as soloist with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Puerto Rico, the Camerata Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Starling Chamber Orchestra and the Festival de Orquestas Sinfonica Juvenil de las Americas. He has participated in festivals including the Banff Center for the Arts, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Bowdoin Music Festival and Eastern Music Festival. Mr. Morales holds a bachelors degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and has done post-graduate work at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. His major teachers include Dr. Ronald Crutcher, Alan Harris, Helga Winold and chamber music with Peter Oundjian. |
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MANUEL RAMOS VIOLINIST - One of the most active Mexican musicians of his generation, violinist Manuel Ramos has delighted concertgoers throughout the Americas, from Canada to Argentina. His repertoire is wide — from Bach to Stravinsky and from the virtuoso showpieces of Paganini to his own striking arrangements of beloved Mexican folk melodies. He has been the featured soloist with such orchestras as the St. Louis and Pittsburgh symphonies in the U.S., as well as with all the major orchestras of Mexico and Central America. His recital engagements include appearances in Carnegie Hall in New York; the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C.; and major halls in Mexico and South America. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Ramos is a regular guest at festivals. Mr. Ramos recently was awarded the position of Artist in Residence performing throughout Mexico for the Coordinacion Nacional de Musica y Opera del INBA. Originally from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, Mr. Ramos studied at the National Music Conservatory of Mexico, followed by studies at Indiana University. He has performed as soloist throughout the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, under the direction of Leonard Slatkin, Enrique Batiz, Gehardt Zimmermann, Eduardo Mata, Raymond Leppard, Francisco Savin and Luis Herrera de la Fuente, among others. Mr. Ramos has won prizes in the Manuel M. Ponce (Mexico) and Tibor Varga (Sion, Switzerland) Competitions. |
2005 Artist Roster - Artists continue to be added to this season's roster, so please check back.