Dwight Anderson, Cello

Dwight Anderson grew up in Phoenix, Arizona where in his high school years he was a fellowship winner of The American Federation of Musicians’ Congress of Strings award. While attending The Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan he was also awarded a scholarship at The New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Lawrence Lesser and received his Bachelor of Music degree in 1981. Since then, Mr. Anderson has performed in many symphony orchestras including The Colorado Philharmonic, The Youth Orchestra of Mexico in Mexico City, The Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, The South Florida Summer Music Festival, The Utah Festival Opera, The Ashlawn Virginia Opera Festival, The Richardson Symphony Orchestra and The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

Currently, in addition to being the cellist of The Phoenix Trio Mr. Anderson is also the Principal Cellist of The Garland/Los Colinas Symphony Orchestras and The Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Anderson has performed several solos with various orchestras including the Haydn Concerto in D Major, the Shostakovich Concerto No. 1 in E-flat and the Brahms Double Concerto.

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Kathleen Knox Berry, Flute

Kathleen Berry earned a music degree at Texas Christian University where she studied flute with Ralph Guenther.  While in graduate school, she played with the Fort Worth Symphony, Opera and Ballet Associations.  She holds doctorate and post-doctorate degrees in law from Texas Tech University and Southern Methodist University respectively, and has practiced business and tax law in the Dallas area for over twenty years.  She is active in Mu Phi Epsilon, Musical Arts Club and Pro Musica. 

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Rick Bogard, Trumpet

Rick Bogard has been a member of the music faculty at the University of Texas at Arlington since 1990. At UTA, Dr. Bogard teaches studio trumpet and conducts the UTA Trumpet Ensemble. He earned the DMA in Trumpet Performance from the University of North Texas, the MM in trumpet performance from Baylor University, and the BME in music education from the University of Central Arkansas.  

Dr. Bogard performs as Second Trumpet with the Dallas Opera Orchestra, a position he has held since 1989, and served as Principal Trumpet during the 1993-94 season. He has recorded Mahler, Shostakovich, and Respighi on six CDs with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and participated with the DSO in opening concerts of the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. Bogard has been a member of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Waco Symphony Orchestra, and the Dallas Wind Symphony. He has performed with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfonica de Mineria in Mexico City, and as trumpet soloist with the Texas Wind Symphony, the UTA Wind Ensemble  and the UTA Symphony Orchestra.  

Bogard has written a method book for trumpet, titled Daily Warm-Ups and Skills Studies for Trumpet, published by Gore Publishing Company. He is the recipient of a 2002 Research Enhancement Grant from the University of Texas at Arlington, and with John Solomons has recorded a  solo CD "Trumpet Songs" on the Centaur Records label.  Dr. Bogard is an artist/clinician for the Vincent Bach trumpet division of the Selmer Corporation.

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Clarece Candamio, Piano  

A native of Durant, Oklahoma, she holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Oklahoma where she was a student of the renowned organ professor Mildred Andrews. Later graduate study was done at Stanford University under Herbert Nanney. 

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“One of the Greatest Pianists of Her Generation”----Washington Post

An internationally acclaimed pianist, Fenia I-Fen Chang, is currently on the piano faculty at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Dr. Chang started her career by winning the first Taipei Kawai International piano competition at age 11, two years after her formal piano lessons, and made her solo debut immediately after on TV and Radio Broadcasting. She holds both her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music Degrees in Piano Performance from The Juilliard School, and Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at University of Maryland where she had studied with Abbey Simon, Russell Sherman, Jerome Lowenthal, Thomas Schumacher and Santiago Rodriquez. Since the mid-1980s, she has maintained a successful concert career and has been a collaborative pianist in chamber music and accompanying in much of Asia, Europe and North America as well as throughout her native Taiwan.

Ms. Chang has accumulated numerous accolades in recent years for her pianistic achievements, including top prizes at the Thomas Richner, Frinna Awerbuch, and Young Keyboard Artist International Competition, the prestigious Rising Musician Award of Taiwan in 1991, the Best Interpretation Composer’s Prize at the Olivier Messiaen piano competition in Paris, France, and First Prize at the Elizabeth Davis International piano competition in 1994.  

Collaborative performances include the International Music Festival in Keelung, Taiwan in 1997, and at National Taiwan Summer Music Festival in Taichung, Taiwan in 2000 and 2001. Her Duo-Piano performances have also taken her to the University of Nebraska at Kearney, MTNA Central Division Conference Concert in Omaha, Nebraska and Kansas City.

She has appeared as soloist with numerous symphony orchestras, including Syracuse Symphony Orchestra in NY. Her 2004 engagements include recitals at University of Nebraska, Texas A&M-Commerce, Baylor University, Texas Women's University and Southern Methodist University. Besides being an active soloist and collaborative pianist, Dr. Chang has served on the piano faculty at Washington Bible College in Lanham, Maryland, at Taipei Normal City College, National Taiwan University of Arts, Soo-chow University in Taipei, Tung-Hai University in Taichung, and The Tainan Women’s College of the Arts, all in Taiwan. She has given many master classes and is a regular adjudicator for piano festivals/contests. Her former students have won top prizes at many well-known piano competitions throughout the world.

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Megan Chiavetta, Clarinet

Megan Chiavetta is a senior clarinet performance major at Southern Methodist University.  She studies with Paul Garner (associate principal and e-flat, Dallas Symphony). She has also studied with Philippe Cuper (premier soloist, Paris Opera). Ms. Chiavetta is currently a member of the Meadows Symphony Orchestra (Paul Phillips, music director), the Meadows Wind Ensemble (Jack Delaney, music director), and the Meadows Clarinet Quartet.  She is also the social chair of the Mu Chi chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon.  Ms. Chiavetta plans on returning to SMU after her graduation in May to study sacred music.

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Classic Trios

Kathleen Knox Berry, Flute; Brian J. Rafferty, Violin; Barbara Jackson, Piano; Clarece Candamio, Piano; Gretchen Nichols, Cello.

Robert Davis, Cello

Robert Davis began playing cello at age 10 and joined the Beaumont Symphony at age 15. He became principal cellist age 21. He had no formal training until age of 35 when began studies with Carter Enyeart, Professor of Cello North Texas State University. He moved to Dallas 1986 and is currently principal cellist of the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving, principal cellist of the Lake Charles Symphony, principal cellist of the Symphony of the Pines, and principal cellist of the Arlington Philharmonic. He has appeared as soloist with all five orchestras.

Andrew Dees, Clarinet  

Andrew Dees is a senior at Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts where he studies under Paul Garner (associate principal and e-flat, Dallas Symphony). Mr. Dees is currently a member of the Meadows Symphony Orchestra (Paul Phillips, music director), the Meadows Wind Ensemble (Jack Delaney, music director), and the Meadows Clarinet Quartet. He is a member of the Mu Chi chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon. In high school, Mr. Dees was a member of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra (Richard Giangiulio, music director) and was a four-year member of the Texas All State Bands. Mr. Dees has studied with Philippe Cuper (premier soloist, Paris Opera) and Forest Aten (associate principal, Dallas Opera). Mr. Dees maintains a private studio in the Richardson Independent School District.

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Lori Dunn, Piano  

Pianist, Lori Dunn, from Winchester, Kansas, concertizes both nationally and internationally as a soloist and a collaborative artist. She has performed in France, Belgium, and has toured as an accompanist for the University of Kansas Choir in Australia, and performed with the Orenunn Trio throughout the Midwest in 2004. Ms. Dunn has also won top prizes in national competitions including the Naftzger Competition. As a young student, she performed the Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor with the Topeka Youth Symphony and has since performed Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto with the University of Kansas Symphony Orchestra.

Her principal teachers have included Dr. Richard Angeletti, Dr. Jack Winerock, and presently, Dr. Tamas Ungar. She has taken Master Classes with renowned artists such as Philippe Entremont, Nelson Delle-Vigne, and Ann Schein. In 2003, Ms. Dunn graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelors degree in Piano Performance. Currently, she is pursuing her Masters degree in Piano Performance under the instruction of Tamas Ungar at Texas Christian University.

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Frances Estes, Oboe

Frances earned a music degree from Texas Christian University, and a masters degree from Southern Methodist University.  She played oboe and English horn for many years with the Fort Worth Symphony and the Fort Worth Opera orchestra.  She currently performs solo and chamber music, including performances with the Dallas Camerata Woodwind Quintet and the Les Amis chamber ensemble. She has performed for many years at Thomas Stacy’s English Horn Seminars; she presently plays with Les Amis Chamber Ensemble and other chamber groups. She is a member of Mu Phi Epsilon, Musical Arts Club, and Pro Musica. 

Katherine Freiberger, Piano/Composer

Katherine Freiberger, pianist and composer, holds degrees in English literature from the University of Texas and in piano from Southern Methodist University. She was one of three American composers featured on the Classical Conversations Series directed by pianist Norman Krieger in 1996. 

As a private piano teacher in Dallas for more than twenty years, she composed many teaching pieces for piano which were performed at Texas Music Teachers Conventions and elsewhere, and were chosen for the American Federation of Music's Junior Lists.  Her more serious compositions are for piano and voice, often with added instruments such as flute, oboe or marimba. 

She won first prize in the Mu Phi Epsilon International Composition Contest in 1989 and the Elizabeth Mathias Award in 2001. Since 1985 she has lived part-time in Durango, Colorado, where she is active in the Music in the Mountains Summer Festival at Durango Mountain Resort.  Three of her compositions have been performed at the Festival, the most recent being  "Winter Apples," a setting of a poem by Charlie Langdon scored for two sopranos, oboe and piano.  Ms. Freiberger is also a member of Musical Arts Club.

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Meghan Gomen, Harp

Meghan Gomen is a senior music education major at Southern Methodist University where she studies with Susan Dederich-Pejovich, (principal harp, Dallas Symphony).  She has also studied with Naoko Nakamura, Paula Page, Gayle Barrington, Marian Schaffer and has participated in master classes with Alice Chalifoux and Delaine Fedson. Ms. Gomen is currently a member of the Meadows Symphony Orchestra (Paul Phillips, music director) and the Meadows Wind Ensemble (Jack Delaney, music director). She is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), Collegiate Music Educators National Conference (CMENC), and is the president of the Mu Chi chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon.  Ms. Gomen plans to teach orchestra in a junior high or high school and then attend graduate school.

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Justin Gray, Piano

Justin Gray, 28, is a graduate of The Juilliard School where he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance under Gyorgy Sandor and was a recipient of the William H. Merrill scholarship.  A frequent performer in masterclasses, Mr. Gray has worked with such artists as Nancy Garrett, Ian Hobson, Claude Frank, Tamas Ungar, John Owings, William Race, Jose Cocarelli, Anton Nel, Miyoko Lotto, Jeffrey Swann, Dr. Pamela Mia Paul, and Joseph Banowetz.  He has continued his musical education with such artists as Tong-il Han, Dr. Donna Edwards, Dr. Carol Leone, and Jerome Lowenthal.  

In his career, Mr. Gray had been a participant in the 1995 Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, the 1996 YKAA Festival for Young Artists in Lawrence, Kansas, and the 1997 TCU/Cliburn Institute for Young Artists in Fort Worth, Texas.  Mr. Gray has also won third prize in the 1994 Kingsville International Competition, second prize in the 1995 TMTA Solo Competition, sixth prize in the 1996 Grace Welsh prize for Piano, second prize in the 2004 Mid-Texas Symphony Competition, and fifth prize in the 2004 Los Angeles Liszt Competition.  He was also selected to be one of twelve pianists participating in the 2004 International World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Mr. Gray has been a contestant in the 1997 Koscuisko Chopin Competition in New York City, as well as the 2003 Nina Wideman and 2003 Sorantin Competitions.  

An active teacher and performer, Mr. Gray has given frequent community performances in the greater Dallas and New York City areas, and he is currently an active teacher at the Gray Piano Studios, a family owned business.  He recently graduated with his Masters of Music degree in Piano Performance from Southern Methodist University, where he was granted a full artistic scholarship and was under the instruction of Alfred Mouledous.  Mr. Gray is currently a Doctoral candidate at the University of North Texas, where he is a student of Joseph Banowetz.

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Dr. Ted Hansen, Jazz Piano

Ted Hansen received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Colorado, his Master of Music from Arizona State University and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Arizona. He majored in piano and composition.

He has been on the faculties of St Louis Conservatory of Music, University of Tulsa and Arizona State University and is presently Professor of Music at Texas A & M University where he was also head of the Music Department there from 1990 – 1994.

He has won many awards, including six  ASCAP awards for performances, publications, commissions and related data. He is a prolific composer of both concert and jazz music, and his work has been performed by many orchestras and small groups. He has recorded his Symphony #1 with the University of Tulsa Orchestra, his Mirrors for Violin and Viola with Mark and Ute Miller, and his most recent, Tribute – Solo Jazz Piano.

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Marilyn Darden Irons

Marilyn Darden Irons has been a featured soloist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra with Andrew Litton conducting, the Gala Concert for the International Church Music Festival at Coventry Cathedral with Sir David Willcocks conducting, the Irving Chorale and Orchestra, the Boston Chorus Pro Musica, the Dallas Brass and two special concerts at Theatre Three with Piotr Tschaikowsky. She recently recorded a CD featuring some of her favorite arias. Her love is church music through which she lives out her faith as soprano soloist at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas.

Marilyn shares her enthusiasm and talent for music and theater by writing, producing and directing youth/children’s musicals. She co-authored a children’s musical, “Joseph, What a Life.” With Hal Hopson. She most recently wrote a new children’s musical, “Johnny B,” which was filmed by KERA public television. She generously shares her knowledge and creativity with other producers/directors as guest clinician at various music workshops. She is also a featured singing artist on ten children’s recordings. Her television experience has been as Travel Editor for the ABC TV show “PM Magazine” as well as TV show host of  “Planetalk” for American Airlines. She enjoys a full life as wife, mother and most recently, grandmother.

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Barbara Jackson, Piano

Barbara Jackson graduated from Oberlin Conservatory with a major in piano, and taught piano at Ohio State University.  She currently performs and teaches in the Dallas area, where she is active in Musical Arts Club and Pro Musica. 

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Claudia Jameson, Soprano 

Claudia Navarro Jameson, a member of Mu Phi Epsilon, is a native of San Antonio. She has sung as a soloist in many churches in the Dallas area and most recently was a soloist in the Mozart's Requiem performed at Canton Creek Presbyterian Church. Claudia received a Bachelor of Music degree from Trinity University where she studied voice with Rosalind Phillips. She toured with the Augusta Opera Co. and performed many roles in both musical theatre and opera including Despina in Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutti with Arlington Opera and recently sung the Bachianas Brazilieras No. 5 with Celissima at the Irving Symphony Hall. She lives in DeSoto with her two children and is a 2nd grade bi-lingual teacher with the Grand Prairie ISD.

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Doohi Lee, Piano

As founding pianist of The Phoenix Trio, Dr. Lee is devoted chamber musician. He has performed with the members of The Cleveland Orchestra, The Detroit Symphony, The Montreal Symphony and the Lyric Chamber Ensemble. In June of 1991, he was the invited pianist with The Lafayette String Quartet in the Piano Quintet (“Trout”) by Schubert for the benefit of The Center for Creative Studies in Detroit.

As piano soloist, Lee performed the Piano Concerto Nos. 19 and 20 by Mozart with the Redford Civic Symphony Orchestra in Michigan. He has also presented solo recitals in Lexington, Richmond, Cleveland, Detroit, Antwerp, Montreal, and Buenos Aires. In June of 1999 and in 2000, he was invited to participate in the First and Second Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs at Fort Worth, Texas. In August, 2001, as part of Altamura Music Festival On the Greene (Catskills, New York), he performed and recorded the Piano Concerto No. 20 (K. 466) by Mozart with the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacau, Romania, Karel Mark Chichon conducting.

Also a conductor, studied orchestral conducting with David Daniels, Michael Charry, David Delta Gier, and Gustav Meier. He has conducted The Pontiac-Oakland Symphony in Michigan, and the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacau, Romania at the Altamura Music Festival in Catskills, New York.

Lee has studied and coached with many pianists, including Paul Kueter, Harriet Goler (The Cleveland Institute of Music), the late Gaby Casadesus (the Fontainebleau School of Music, France), William Appling, the late Andrius Kuprevicius, Carolle-Anne Mochernuk, Samuel Sanders, Emilio del Rosario, Jose Fegahli, and Tamas Ungar.

Apart from music, Lee is a physician, specializing in Musculoskeletal and Sports Imaging. He is frequently invited to lecture and teach internationally in this field. 

Kaleena Loard, Flute

Kaleena Loard is a senior music education major at Southern Methodist University where she studies with Jean Larson, (principal flute, Dallas Symphony) and Debbie Barron (piccolo, Dallas Symphony). She has also studied with Claire Johnson and Helen Blackburn. Ms. Loard is a member of the Meadows Symphony Orchestra (Paul Phillips, music director) and the Meadows Wind Ensemble (Jack Delaney, music director). She is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), Collegiate Music Educators National Conference (CMENC), and is the vice president of the Mu Chi chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon. Currently Ms. Loard teaches a private flute studio in the Dallas area.  She plans to continue her studies in graduate school in the near future.

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Laurel McConkey, Harp   

Laurel McConkey, a graduate of the University of North Texas, has been playing the harp professionally for over twenty years. She played for Sunday brunch at the Omni Dallas Hotel Park West for five years, appeared nightly at Laurels in the Sheraton Park Central for six years and also appeared regularly at the Melrose Hotel, the Plaza of the Americas Hotel and the Westin Hotel Galleria. She has performed with the Northeast Texas Symphony and the Fort Worth Chamber Orchestra, as well as playing at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center with Gary Morris and Ray Charles. Laurel has also played live on the morning show for KZPS 92.5 and appeared on Mike Castelucci’s “The Why Guy” on WFAA Channel 8.   

In addition to being an accomplished harpist, Laurel is a professional singer and actress and has performed with the Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Music Theatre of Wichita, Dallas Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Dallas Symphony Chorus, Musicana Dinner Theatre of Florida, and toured nationally in A Christmas Carol.  

Nancy Messuri, Violin

After receiving her Master of Music from Arizona State University, Ms. Messuri joined the faculty of The Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin teaching violin, viola and chamber music.  While in Wisconsin, she performed often as a soloist and chamber musician and was a featured artist on Wisconsin Public Radio.  She was Concertmaster and Soloist for both The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and The Fox Valley Symphony.  After moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin she performed as first violinist with The Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, The Milwaukee Opera Orchestra, The Bel Canto Chorus Orchestra, The Woodstock Mozart Festival Orchestra, and performed frequently with The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Messuri is presently the Associate Concertmaster of The Richardson Symphony Orchestra and is a founding member of The Phoenix Trio.  She is a first violinist with The Texas Chamber Orchestra, The Wichita Falls Symphony, The Lewisville Lake Symphony, and has also performed with The Fort Worth Symphony, The Dallas Opera Orchestra, The Dallas Summer Musicals, The Oklahoma City Philharmonic, The East Texas Symphony, and The Amarillo Symphony.  She has a private teaching studio and is active as an adjudicator for area festivals and competitions.

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Gretchen Nichols, Cello 

Gretchen began her study of cello with Audrey Anatasi and Lev Aronson of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. She continued her studies with Aronson at Southern Methodist University and graduated from SMU with concentrations in music and French. More recently she has studied with Yves L'Helgoual'ch. She plays in several regional symphony and does freelance playing orchestras, teaches cello, plays in local and regional orchestras, and is active in Mu Phi Epsilon and Musical Arts Club .  She is a distinguished patron of Mu Phi Epsilon.  

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Carlo Pezzimenti, Classical Guitar

Since beginning his study of classical guitar in Florence, Italy at the age of thirteen, Carlo Pezzimenti has worked successfully to impart his wealth of knowledge to students of the guitar, to further develop his artistry, and to share his musical philosophy with audiences throughout the world.

Summers, Pezzimenti attended Andrés Segovia’s “Music in Compostelo” festivals. Studying with the father of classical guitar, he laid a strong foundation for his musical career. Pezzimenti continued his studies at Loyola University in Rome with Sergio Notaro. Later he acquired a degree in music from the prestigious Molacchi Conservatory in Perugia, and furthered his studies with José Tomás in Alicante, Spain. After returning to the United States in 1974, he attended master classes with Jesús Silva, Oscar Ghighlia and Federico Moreno-Torroba.  His private studies with Segovia continued from 1980 to 1985 during annual visits to Madrid.

He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1982 to great acclaim. Subsequent performances included concerts with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Chamber Orchestra and the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Pezzimenti has gained the attention of the music world through performances in the United States, Europe and Latin America. His appearances on the concert stage, as well as on radio and television, have received consistent, ever-widening acclaim. He specializes in works of the 20^th century, including composers such as Federico Mompou, Manuel Ponce, Ernesto García de León, Brian Clément-Foreman, James Phelps and Antonio Lauro. He frequently performs in multi-media performances with dancers, sculptors, painters and poets, and conducts master classes when on tour.

Mr. Pezzimenti is a highly respected teacher of the guitar, holding faculty positions at Brookhaven College in Dallas and at Texas Woman’s University in Denton. 

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The Phoenix Trio 

The Phoenix Trio was founded in 2003 as a continuation of The Phoenix Ensemble, which was founded in New York by Doohi Lee. Based on the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes, The Phoenix Trio embodies the ideals of perpetuity of fine music, in that each performance of great music symbolized a rebirth and continuity of musical thoughts that thread through the centuries. 

Since its inception, The Phoenix Trio performed at The North Central Texas College (Gainesville, Texas) in the works of Trio in E-minor, Opus 90 (“Dumky”) by Dvorak and Trio in C-minor (Op. 1, #3) by Beethoven on October, 2003. At the studios of Quin Matthews Film, on June 2004, The Phoenix Trio also gave a performance of the Trio in E-minor by Shastokovich and Trio in B-flat major by Schubert. This performance at the Dallas Public Library marks the third public performance by The Phoenix Trio.

Through exploration and performances of both great as well as less familiar works in the chamber music repertoire, The Phoenix Trio aspires to become an integral part of the music community in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Other members of the trio include Nancy Messuri, Violin and Dwight Anderson, Cello.

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A native of San Antonio, Texas, Donny Pinson is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in trombone performance at the University of North Texas, where he studies with Vern Kagarice.  He previously earned degrees at Southern Methodist University and Texas Christian University, studying with John Kitzman, Dennis Bubert, and Barney McCollum.  

Mr. Pinson has been an active performer and teacher of the trombone in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the past eight years.  He currently performs with the San Angelo Symphony and the Legacy Brass Quintet, and, as a freelance trombonist, he has also performed in diverse styles with such groups as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the East Texas Symphony, the Richardson Symphony Orchestra, and the Galen Jeter Jazz Orchestra.  

Recent solo engagements include a performance on the St. Rita Fine Arts series in Dallas, TX, a guest recital at the University of Texas at Arlington, and performances as a featured soloist with the University of North Texas Wind Symphony.  He was also invited and participated in the prestigious Prague Spring Solo Trombone Competition in May 2004, and, in August 2003 he was selected as a finalist for the Van Haney Philharmonic Prize, held at the International Trombone Festival in Helsinki, Finland.  Mr. Pinson currently teaches trombone as a teaching fellow at the University of North Texas, and he also holds teaching positions with Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch and with the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District.

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Brian J. Rafferty, Violin

Brian J. Rafferty holds a degree in music from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and a degree in computer programming.  He currently plays with the East Texas Symphony, the Waco Symphony and the Wichita Falls Symphony.  By day Mr. Rafferty is a programmer for Perot Systems.  He is a member of Pro Musica. 

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Twenty-two-year-old pianist Paul Tuntland Sánchez was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and started his piano studies at age four. He now is in his seventh year of study with Dr. Tamás Ungár, Executive Director of the TCU/Cliburn Piano Institute and one of the world's foremost pedagogues, at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Among numerous other honors and awards, Paul was the winner of the 2000 South Dakota Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, was a finalist in the 1998 and 2000 Eastman School of Music International Young Artist Piano Competition, was a winner in the 2001 J. Earl Lee National Piano Competition, and was the winner of the 2001 Amadeus Piano Competition.  Paul made his debut concerto performance in 2000 with the Cherokee Symphony, performing Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16.  In May of 2001, he again performed the Grieg concerto, this time with Maestro Henry Charles Smith and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. In February of 2002,Paul performed Rodrigo's Concierto Heroico with the TCU Symphony Orchestra after becoming the first freshman in the history of the School of Music to win the TCU Piano Concerto Competition. In January of 2003, Paul performed Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue to three sold-out audiences with Maestro Henry Charles Smith and the SDSO in their Pops Series, and later returned for a repeat performance of the Rhapsody in Blue benefiting the American Cancer Society. In May of 2004, Paul performed Beethoven's Choral Fantasy with the SDSO in their final concerts of the season, again breaking ticket-sales records and bringing in two sold-out audiences. Paul has also performed in recital throughout the US and also in Mexico.

Rinna Saun, Piano

Rinna Saun received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from the University of North Texas, where she is now a teaching fellow. She received her Master of Music degree from Mannes College of Music and her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Maryland. She has given solo recitals in Texas, Florida and New Orleans, and has performed with chamber groups. She has won first prize in the New York – Korea Times Competition, the American Music Scholarship Association World Competition and the Nina Wideman Concerto Competition.

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Serenata Trio

The Serenata trio is composed of harpist Laurel McConkey, flutist Mary Shinn and cellist Robert Davis.

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Mary English Shinn, Flute  

Mary English Shinn has a BA in Education with a Music Minor from Southern Methodist University, a BME and All Level Teaching Certificate from University of Texas at Dallas, and a MA in Flute Performance and Pedagogy from Texas Woman’s University. She is principal flutist with the Allen Philharmonic Symphony and past principal flutist for the Garland and Mesquite Symphonies, as well as a member of Harmoniemusik Double Quintet, Allen Symphony Woodwind Quintet, Flute Salad Quartet, Flutes Unlimited, and Serenata.  Mary has been a woodwind instructor for Highland Park ISD and currently teaches privately at Highland Park Middle School and Frankford Middle School in Plano, with a teaching load of over 60 students.  Mary is also a talented pianist and organist and often subs at area churches.

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Laurie Shulman, Piano

Laurie Shulman is well known to North Texas classical music audiences as the program annotator for the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth, the Dallas Chamber Music Society, and the new music ensemble Voices of Change. She has earned a national reputation writing for other orchestras, chamber music organizations, and summer festivals throughout the country, ranging from Boston and Tallahassee to Minneapolis and Seattle. Laurie has also furnished CD liner notes for eight classical record companies.

A native of New York, Laurie comes from a family of professional musicians. Her father, the cellist and composer Alan Shulman, was a charter member of the NBC Symphony under Arturo Toscanini. Her mother, Sophie Bostelmann Shulman, was a pianist and music educator. Both her brothers are musicians in New York City. Laurie earned a B.A. in European history from Syracuse University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in historical musicology from Cornell University. She is an active amateur pianist who studied with Richard Contiguglia, Gerard Hengeveld, Edith Fischer and Malcolm Bilson. Since her move to Texas in 1985, she has been increasingly involved in our cultural community.

Her articles have been published in D Magazine, The Dallas Observer, The Dallas Morning News, Chamber Music Magazine, Tempo, and Stagebill.  She was a contributor to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (1992), and The New Grove II, published earlier this year. An authority on new music, she has worked extensively with living composers. Shulman’s first book, The Meyerson Symphony Center: Building a Dream, was published last year by University of North Texas Press. She is currently working on a book about Claudia Cassidy, the former drama, music, and dance critic of the Chicago Tribune. 

Laurie’s interests outside music include European travel, foreign languages, cooking, and wine. She is a veteran long distance runner who has completed nine marathons, including three in Boston.  She lives in Dallas with her husband, William Barstow.

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Dr. Richard Shuster, Piano

Pianist Richard Shuster is active as a soloist, collaborative artist, lecturer, and teacher. His piano performance degrees include a Bachelor of Music from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, where he studied with Dr. Henry Upper and the late Leonard Hokanson. He holds the Master of Music and Doctorate in Musical Arts degrees from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. While at Eastman, Dr. Shuster was a student of Rebecca Penneys and the recipient of a graduate fellowship award in studio and class piano teaching. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Full Grant for study at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary, where he worked with Andras Kemenes. While attending the Chautauqua Institution Summer School of Fine and Performing Arts, Dr. Shuster was the orchestral pianist and featured performer for the Music School Festival Orchestra.

Before joining the faculty of Texas Woman’s University in 2002, Dr. Shuster was Assistant Professor of Piano at Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY. He has also been on the faculties of the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY, Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, NY, and the Indiana University Young Pianists Program. Dr. Shuster also teaches undergraduate music history and coordinates the class piano program at TWU.

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John Solomons, Piano

As winner of the 13th Bartok-Kabalevsky International Piano Competition, John Solomons was praised by Gyorgy Sandor as "an exceptionally gifted young artist, whose musical and pianist achievements are of the highest order."

Born in Colombo, Ceylon, Mr. Solomons has performed as recitalist, orchestral soloist and chamber musician in Spain, France, Italy and the U.S. among his numerous competition winnings and first prize in the Stewart Grant Competition, third prize in the AMSA World Piano Competition and the Catalan Composers Prize in the Montsalvatge Competition in Girona, Spain.

A graduate of the Hartt School of Music and Texas Christian University, Solomons has been a faculty member at Southeaster Oklahoma State University and Tarrant County Junior College. He is currently completing a Doctorate at the University of North Texas and serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Texas at Arlington.

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