Sherna Armstrong,
Mezzo-Soprano
Sherna Armstrong
is currently a Professor of Voice at
Navarro
College
in Corsicana, Texas. She is also pursuing the
PhD in Arts and Humanities in the Aesthetics from the
University
of
Texas
at Dallas. Most recently Sherna
performed in the role of The Baroness in the Grand
Duke, and Lady Jane in Patience
with the Regal Opera. She
also appeared as Anna for a Porgy and Bess production at the Dallas
Myerson. She covered the
role of Serena and was invited to tour
South Africa
with the cast. Sherna
currently studies with
Kathryn Evans
and coaches with Martha Gerhart. She
is also a member of the Musica Nova Chamber Ensemble under the direction
of Dr.
Robert Xavier Rodriguez
.
Sherna received degrees both
in Voice Performance and Music Education from Southern Methodist
University in Dallas, where she studied in the studio of Barbara Hill Moore.
She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of
Singing (NATS) and maintains a private Voice and Piano studio, and
conducts group Voice Classes for the
Plano
Parks
and Recreation
Center. Sherna enjoys an extensive
performance career which requires that she perform varied genres including
opera, musical theater, gospel, and jazz. Her recent solo project entitled, “My
Soul Music,” reflects
her unique ability to perform a diverse palette of music equally well. Sherna has served as soloist, section leader, and Music Director of
children, youth, and adult choirs. Sherna
lives in the Dallas Metroplex with her husband Conroe, daughter, and
son.
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Austin College Faculty Trio
Cathy Richardson, violin; Rick DuHaime, clarinet; Barbara Case, piano
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Camerata Winds
Founded in 2004 and led by Artistic Director James Rives-Jones, Camerata Winds performs the finest chamber music for mid-sized wind ensembles and is dedicated to educating the community through their subscription and outreach performances.
The woodwind quintet featured during Mu Phi Epsilon’s February 5th concert is the heart of this ensemble, which expands to perform works for double woodwind quintet and incorporates Dallas Opera, Dallas Symphony, and SMU faculty musicians when other instruments (strings, percussion, brass) are required. The quintet will perform part of the Danzi Quintet and the entire Nielsen Quintet, Op. 43: smaller ensembles will present works by Arnold and Devienne. Families are encouraged to attend!
Camerata Winds performs it’s spring subscription concerts at the First United Lutheran Church in East Dallas on March 5 and May 7, 2006. Come early and stay late to get the most of your evening with Camerata Winds! Pre-concert discussions begin at 5:30 p.m.: the concert begins at 6 p.m. and a reception hosted by Starbuck's and Whole Foods follows. Discount tickets are available for group sales, practice card participants, senior citizens and students of all ages. For ticketing or general information, please visit
www.cameratawinds.com or call 214.731.0044.
Participating musicians for the Mu Phi Epsilon concert include:
Robin
Garner(clarinet)
Erin Hannigan (oboe)
Jeff Strong (bassoon)
Mayve Strong (clarinet)
Scott Strong (French horn)
Jessica Truax (flute)
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Clarece
Candamio, Piano and Organ
A
native of Durant, Oklahoma, Clarece Candamio 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.
She has performed with many distinguished church
musicians and conductors, and has appeared in concerts with the Fort Worth
Chamber Orchestra and the Dallas Brass and has toured Europe
giving organ concerts in churches of
Eastern Europe. Though primarily an organist, she also enjoys
performing repertoire for the piano. She has been the organist for
Lovers
Lane
United
Methodist
Church
in
Dallas
for thirty-six years. She is a member of Mu Phi Epsilon and Musical
Arts Club.
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Tommaso Cogato,
Native Italian Tommaso Cogato started his piano studies at the Vicenza Conservatory at the age of 10 and completed with full grades, honors, and an honorable mention at the Monopoli Conservatory under Benedetto Lupo's guidance. He emerged on the occasion of the High Specialization Courses given by Joaquín Achúcarro, who conferred him a merit degree at Chigiana Academy in Siena. Being also interested in the study of the interpretative techniques of the Classical period and style, he attended Robert Levin's course at Gargano International Festival, through which he studied Mozart's and Beethoven's piano works.
His great musicality, together with his unique technical and expressive skills, allowed Tommaso Cogato to stand out during national and international competitions; he was awarded the first prize in the Ferrol Piano Competition in Spain (2005), first prize at “Pietro Argento” National Music Contest in Gioia del Colle (2002), and a special prize for the best Beethoven performance at “Camillo Togni” International Piano Contest (2002). The remarkable naturalness and the adaptability of his timbre gave him the possibility of performing as soloist with orchestra and as a chamber pianist, taking part in important opera recitals. Currently, after winning a conspicuous scholarship and receiving an Artist Certificate in Piano at Southern Methodist University, Tommaso is a first-year Masters student continuing his studies with Joaquín Achúcarro at the same university.
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Dallas Renaissance and Medieval
Music
Playing viols and recorders,
these musicians enjoy recreating period music: Scott
Bracken, Judson Maynard, Laura Moynihan, Hazel Mosely, Bill Patterson, Harald Poelchau,
Susan Poelchau, Howard Scheib, Susan Scheib and Jack Waller.
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Norma
Lewis Davidson
Norma Lewis Davidson, violinist/composer,
received her training at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara,
and at the Juilliard School of Music and Mannes College of Music in
New York City. She is Artist-in-Residence and Professor Emerita from
Texas Woman's University, and a long time member of the Dallas Symphony.
She has performed weekly on NBC television, many times in Carnegie Hall,
and gave a series of concerts at Lincoln Center at the invitation of Mme. Serge Koussevitsky. Concert tours have
taken her throughout the world, including a week of concerts in which she
helped represent the United States at the Festival of the Arts in Singapore. Ms. Davidson is an internationally known expert on women
composers. Her biography appears in, among many other publications,
Who's Who in the World, and the Polish Archives.
As a composer, Ms. Davidson began
young. Her first published composition, written at the age of six,
appeared in a teaching manual for the Demonstration School at the University of Utah. In High School she won several composition awards, one for her
"Caprice" for Violin and Piano, and one for a musical she wrote
entitled Janie. Her composition teachers include Helen Taylor
Johannessen, Arnold Schonberg, and Darius Milhaud. She has recorded
for Mr. Milhaud's private library. Further awards have been
given for Ms. Davidson's "Meditation" for Viola and Piano, and
the minimalist String Quartet, Nocturne and Diurne. In 1998 the Ravel String Quartet, based in
New York City, performed the premiere of the quartet on a program of Ms. Davidson's
compositions presented at Texas Woman's University.
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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 he 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.
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Denton
Composers Showcase
Composers Joseph
Pinson, Norma Lewis Davidson and Joseph
Klein.
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The
Color of Sound
Lisa Sims - Soprano, Carrie Taylor - Soprano,
Laci Strickland - Alto, Mark Miller - Violin, Ute Miller - Viola and Ron Clinton - Piano
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Jimmy Emery, Piano
Jimmy
Emery has served as Director of Music & Fine Arts at
Tyler Street Methodist Church since 1999. Jimmy began his musical training with his mother at the
age of four and has studied piano with M. Antoinette Janetka and Alfred
Mouledous. He holds Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano Performance,
Piano Pedagogy and Music Education from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University. He is
currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at SMU in Music Education with
a concentration in Choral Conducting under the training of Dr. Alfred
Calabrese.
Jimmy, a native of Pennsylvania, resides in Cedar Hill with his wife, Jill, and three
children. In addition to his church ministry, Jimmy
remains active throughout the metroplex as a freelance performer and
accompanist.
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Robin Garner, Clarinet
An active freelance musician, Robin performs regularly
with the Garland/Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra and Camerata Winds. She holds music therapy
and social work degrees from Loyola University-New Orleans and the
University of Texas at Arlington, respectively, and has studied clarinet with Steve Cohen, Paul Garner and
Andy Crisanti. Robin enjoys
blending her skills to write and perform educational music programs for
children.
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Justin Gray, Piano
Justin Gray 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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Marilyn
Darden Irons, Soprano
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 sings with the Orpheus Chamber Singers and 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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Krassimira Jordan, Piano
Born in Varna, Bulgaria, of Russian and Bulgarian parents, Krassimira Jordan
began her formative musical training at age four and made her recital
debut when she was seven. She studied in Sofia, Vienna, and Moscow, where she was a pupil of Stanislav Neuhaus and Emil Gilels. During her
years of study, a series of prestigious international prizes were awarded
to Ms. Jordan, including the International Piano Competitions "Alfredo Casella,"
and "Alessandro Casagrande”, as well as the Mozart "Clara
Haskil" Prize. As a representative of Austria, Krassimira Jordan was the Gold Medal winner at the 1981 Rio de Janeiro International Piano Competition.
Ms. Jordan has performed with much acclaim as recitalist and orchestral soloist in
major European cities in Austria, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Russia, Hungary, Poland, the Scandinavian countries, Mexico,
Brazil, Japan, China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the United States. She has appeared as soloist with the Wiener Symphoniker and the
Tonkunstler Orchester in Vienna. In recent years Ms. Jordan has been regularly invited in Japan, China, Korea, and Taiwan to conduct masterclasses at the major universities of Peking,
Shanghai, Seoul, Osaka, Tokyo and Taipei. Highly regarded as a teacher, her students come from all parts of the
world and have won top prizes at numerous international piano competitions
in the USA, Europe, and Asia.
Together with
Wolfgang Watzinger, a pupil of Rudolf Serkin and a Professor of Piano at
the Concert Performance Department of the University of Music
and Performing Arts in Vienna, Krassimira Jordan performs extensively worldwide as the Vienna International Piano Duo.
Krassimira Jordan has recorded a series entitled “Franz Liszt - BerâŠmte Klavierwerke”
(Famous Piano Works).
She has also committed to disc a group of Johann
Strauss waltzes, as transcribed for piano by Leopold Godowsky, Karl
Tausig, and Gyorgy Cziffra. Among her other recordings are piano concertos
and solo pieces by Heitor Villa Lobos and other Brazilian composers. Her
most compact disc releases, “Slavic Masterworks for Piano” and “The
Legacy of Pantcho Vladigerov”, are both available on the Albany Records
label, New York.
A naturalized citizen of Austria, Ms. Jordan was professor of piano at the world-renowned Vienna Academy of Music and
Dramatic Arts from 1979 to 1989. Her Carnegie Hall debut in March 1989 was
followed by a special guest appearance on the noteworthy live radio show
"The Listening Room" with Robert Shermann on the New York Times station,
WQXR, where she interpreted and discussed works by Viennese
composers. Her publications on the teaching of Anton Rubinstein have
attracted the attention of music scholars and magazines worldwide. Future
projects include an in-depth study of reclusive Parisian virtuoso
Charles-Henri Valentin Alkan, and another on the unexplored piano works of
Bedrich Smetana and Pantcho Vladigerov.
Krassimira Jordan joined Baylor University in Texas as an
Artist-in-Residence and Professor of Piano in 1989.
Each June, Krassimira Jordan teaches a select group of pianists and teacher-observers accepted to the Bösendorfer International Piano Academy in Vienna, Austria. She has enhanced the international image of Baylor University through conducting intensive master classes, instruction in European
culture and history, organizing educational tours and student concerts in Europe.
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Cornell Kinderknecht, World Flutes
Cornell Kinderknecht is a performer of historic and
ethnic woodwind instruments from cultures around the world. He received a degree in woodwind performance from Kansas State University where he studied modern oboe, bassoon, and historic woodwinds with Sara
Funkhouser. He has studied
recorder in workshop and masterclass settings with some of the finest
recorder teachers and performers in the world. Cornell is a member of The Wireless Consort Recorder Quartet and
the Heart Of The Cedar Native American Flute Circle. Some of the ethnic flutes that Cornell performs on are Native
American flute, Bansuri flute from
India, bamboo flutes, and ocarinas. In
2005, Cornell released a CD entitled "Returning Home" of
original music for flutes from around the world.
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Joseph
Klein, Composer
Born
in Los Angeles
in 1962, Joseph Klein holds a Doctor of Music degree in Composition from Indiana
University
where he studied with Harvey Sollberger, Claude Baker, and Eugene O'Brien.
He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the
California
State
Polytechnic
University
at
Pomona, and a Master of Arts degree from the
University
of
California
at San Diego, where his composition teachers included Robert Erickson, Roger Reynolds,
and Bernard Rands. He is currently Associate Professor and since 1999 has
served as Chair of Composition Studies at the University of North Texas
College of Music.
Klein’s
compositions for various media have been performed and broadcast
throughout the Americas and Europe, and have been featured at national and
international music venues including the Gaudeamus International Musicweek
(Amsterdam) and the American Music Week in Bulgaria (Sofia); contemporary
music festivals at Louisiana, Bowling Green, and Florida State
Universities, The Juilliard School, and the University of Memphis; and
conferences of the Society of Electroacoustic Music in the United States,
International Trombone Association, North American Saxophone Alliance,
International Trumpet Guild, International Double Reed Society, Society of
Composers, Inc., and the Music Educators National Conference.
He has been a featured guest composer at academic institutions
throughout the United States and in Europe, where he presents composition masterclasses, organizes performances of
his works, and lectures about issues pertaining to contemporary music and
society. Klein is the
recipient of awards and honors from such organizations as the National
Endowment for the Arts, the American Composers Forum/Jerome Foundation,
the American
Music
Center, the Gaudeamus Foundation of Amsterdam, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonian, Meet the Composer, and the American Society of
Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).
His works are recorded on the Innova, Centaur, and Mark labels.
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Cecile Lagarenné
Cecile
Lagarenné holds a Music Education degree from Florida Atlantic University. In 1985, she moved to the Dallas area where she started a private teaching studio. Her students have
continued success in solo and ensemble competitions; many achieving positions in the Texas All-State bands and orchestras. In addition to tutoring weekly students, Ms. Lagarenné performs on the oboe and English horn with the Richardson Symphony and the Dallas Chamber
Orchestra. She has also played for the Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Symphony and the Shreveport Symphony. Ms. Lagarenné has been a member of Opus III trio since 1995.
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Laura
Love, Cello
Laura Love, 25, began pursuing her musical dream at the age of five, when her
father first gave her piano lessons in the garage of their home.
Since then, she has also studied flute and, briefly, the double
bass, but the instrument of her choice has since become the cello.
She gave her first public concert at the age of 7, and at the age
of 15 won her first concerto competition and the honor of soloing with
Lakeland Civic Orchestra in Lakeland OH. That same year she played in
an exclusive master class led by Yo-Yo Ma, who inspired her to become a
life-long student of the cello.
When
her family moved to Cleveland, OH in 1992 Miss Love began studying with Richard Aaron at the Cleveland
Institute of Music. In high
school she enrolled as a Young Artist at that school, which enabled her to
leave public school early to attend college-level theory, music history
and ear-training classes, as well as intensive performance classes. She performed with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra,
eventually rising to lead the section as principal.
Miss Love also studied the double bass to perform with her high
school’s jazz ensemble and the flute in the Cleveland Youth Wind
Symphony. During the summers
she attended various musical institutes across the country, including
Brevard Summer Music Festival,
Encore School
for Strings, Chautauqua Summer Music Institute, and Indiana
Summer
Music
School, among others.
In
1998 Miss Love graduated as valedictorian of her high school class and
entered Rice University to further pursue her musical education with Norman
Fischer.
She won numerous financial merit awards throughout college and
graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2002 with a Bachelor of Music in Performance.
Miss Love continued her summer studies and attended such exclusive
festivals as National Repertory Orchestra and Spoleto USA, where she served as principal cellist.
She then went on to earn her Master of Music in Performance degree
in 2004 after studying with world-renowned cellist Lynn Harrell.
Miss
Love is currently pursuing an Artist Certificate Degree at Southern
Methodist University under the tutelage of Christopher Adkins, Principal
Cellist for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. She hopes to eventually win a seat in a professional orchestra. In addition to performing, she enjoys teaching and has helped many
of her public school students win seats in the competitive All-Region and
All-State orchestras.
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Francesco
Mastromatteo, Cello
Italian cellist Francesco Mastromatteo graduated in 1998 from the Conservatory of Pescara, Italy, and in 2002 got an High Specialization Diploma in violoncello with full grades from the Pescara Musical Academy, attending also R. Aldulescu’s master classes in Italy and Spain, and the special courses given by D. Geringas in Fiesole and by Rocco Filippini at Walter Stauffer Academy in
Cremona. Awarded the First Prize in the “G. Turci” National Cello Competition
(1999) -Ravenna, in the “A.CA.DA.-E.N.DAS” Music Contest-Genova (1998) and of the International Rotary Competition in Teramo (2000), Francesco Mastromatteo was selected as Principal Cello of the Symphonies of Pescara and Foggia , with whom he performed in several occasions as a soloist under the baton of Donato Renzetti and Nicola Samale.
A passionate chamber musician, he played extensively in duo with piano, piano trio, and string quartet in Italy, Greece and Spain, performing with artists such as Laura de Fusco, Benedetto Lupo, the Trio Johannes, Antonio
Pompa-Baldi. Since 2002 he has established an endured collaboration with Tommaso
Cogato.
Extremely interested in all the different aspects of the fine arts,
Mr. Mastromatteo has completed his education getting a degree with full grades and honors in Literature and History of Art from Bari University and publishing his final thesis. Currently enrolled in the Artist Certificate Program under the guidance of Chris Adkins at SMU in Dallas, he often performs as Principal Cello of the Meadows Symphony Orchestra.
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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 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.
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Mark Miller, Violin
Mark Miller, violinist in Duo Renard, is String
Instructor at TAMU-C. An experienced chamber musician, he has an extensive
background with orchestras including the Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn and the Cologne Radio Symphony in
Germany. He performs with the Fort Worth Symphony, the Dallas Chamber Orchestra and the Dallas Opera. He is concertmaster of the East Texas Symphony and of the North
East Texas Symphony.
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Ute Miller, Viola
Ute Miller, violist in Duo Renard, is String Instructor at TAMU-C. Her orchestral experience includes performances with the Frankfurt
and Cologne Radio Symphonies and eight years as assistant principal
violist of the Gürzenich Orchestra-Cologne Philharmonic in Germany. Ms. Miller is principal
violist of the Dallas Opera Orchestra, a member of the Fort Worth Symphony
Orchestra and principal violist of the North East Texas Symphony.
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Grace
Nikae, Piano
Rapidly establishing herself as one of the important young
artists of her generation, American pianist Grace Nikae has been hailed
worldwide for her “poetic and
fiery” playing and for her performances of “superb
technique and powerful expressiveness”. Thrilling and captivating
audiences and critics alike with her exquisite artistry, blazing
virtuosity, and passionate, individual style, Ms. Nikae has garnered
international acclaim for her profound musicianship and communicative
powers on concert stages throughout North America, Europe, and
Asia.
Ms. Nikae’s busy touring schedule of concerti, recital, and
chamber engagements takes her around the world. She has appeared in many
of the world’s foremost halls including Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert
Hall, the
Chicago
Cultural
Center,the Corcoran Gallery,
Amsterdam
’s Concertgebouw and Nagaoka
Cultural
Center
and Matsukata Hall in Japan. Festival appearances include Muskoka
Lakes
(Canada
),
Silver
Bay
(New York), and Kuhmo (Finland),and she has performed as soloist with orchestras throughout the
United States, Europe, and
Japan. In high demand as a chamber musician as well, Ms. Nikae frequently
collaborates with esteemed artists and with members of leading orchestras,
including the
Toronto, Boston, and Beijing Orchestras. She is also the founder and artistic director of
the Madrid Chamber Players, which will be making its inaugural debut in
the 2005-06 season with concerts in
Spain
and Holland.
A prizewinner and the highest-ranking American at the
1998 Ibla International Piano Competition in Italy, Ms. Nikae also won the 2000 Artists International Debut Prize, and was
presented in her solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2001 to critical
acclaim. Her numerous other accolades include first prize in piano at the
2002 Sorantin International Young Artist Competition, the prestigious 1995
Sterling Scholar Award in Music, the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra
Scholarship Competition, the Morning Music Club Scholarship Competition,
the Mark Nevin Young Piano Scholarship Award, as well as the Paderewski
Medal and the Cliburn Family and Liberace Memorial Scholarships from the
National Guild of Piano Teachers.
Ms. Nikae’s debut solo CD, Fantasies, featuring the music of Scriabin, Messiaen, Falla, and
Liszt on the Ars Harmonica label, is scheduled for commercial release in
2005. Her engaging personality and many talents have been widely
recognized by the media. She has been featured in print advertisements in
the US, and her performances have been broadcast on Spanish TV, Minami-Nihon TV (Japan), KIKU-TV (Hawaii), and WFMT-FM radio and Channel 25 TV (Chicago).
An active educator, Ms. Nikae has given masterclasses,
lectures, and more informal sessions at conservatories and universities
throughout the US, Asia, and Europe. She is also the founder and artistic director of The Renaissance Academy
in Hawaii, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to providing academic
and artistic enrichment, and to expanding the educational and cultural
possibilities of the Hawaii community.
Ms. Nikae began her musical education at the age of two with her mother. Her first public performance
was at the age of three; by the age of four, she was featured on local
television performing the Haydn C Major Concerto. Her debut as
orchestral soloist came at the age of eight with the Honolulu Symphony
Orchestra, and at the age of 13, she performed her news-making solo
recital debut in Japan. Her teachers have included Martin Canin of The Juilliard School and the
legendary Alexander Slobodyanik, and she also pursued a degree in European
History at Columbia University. www.gracenikae.com
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Pas de Deux -
Flute and Piano
Sabrina Trujillo, Flute and Jimmy Emery, Piano
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Joseph Pinson, Composer, Theramin
Joseph
Pinson, Lecturer in Music Therapy at Texas Woman’s University in
Denton, holds degrees in music from Southern Methodist University and the American
University. He studied composition with
Jack Kilpatrick, Lloyd Ultan, Esther Williamson Ballou, William Latham,
and Merrill Ellis. Before
joining the faculty at TWU Mr. Pinson was Director of Music at Denton
State
School. During that time he wrote
over 300 songs, hymns, and pieces for brass and woodwinds. Over 100 of these have been recorded and published.
Mr.
Pinson has written for orchestra, wind ensemble, adult choir, children’s
Cynthia Stuart choir, brass quintet, woodwind quintet, and electronic media.
His most recent composition, Symetritonix
#1, was premiered by the TWU Wind Ensemble in April. A recent CD entitled Retrospective contains recordings of twenty five pieces in various
media dating from 1970 to the present.
Mr. Pinson is a member of the American Society of Composers,
Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and has received the annual standard award
of the society since 2000.
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Linda Preece
A native of Austin, Linda Preece holds degrees in Voice from The University of Texas and Washington University at St. Louis, where she studied with Martha Deatherage and Leslie Chabay, respectively. She also obtained a master’s degree in Choral Conducting under Constantina Tsolainou at Southern Methodist University and is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Sigma Alpha Iota. For over 20 years in St. Louis, Linda pursued a professional music career as a soloist (recital, chamber music, oratorio, churches and synagogues), voice teacher at Webster and St. Louis Universities, church choral director, and music editor for Concordia Publishing House. Since moving to Dallas in 1990 she has worked at Southern Methodist University, currently as a fundraiser. Along with singing opportunities here, she is founding director of the women’s choir at Zion Lutheran Church, Dallas, where her husband is pastor.
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Pro Musica Chamber Players
Chamber and Solo Piano
group made up of Woody Rowand - Oboe, Sue Wilson - Bassoon, Linda Preece -
Soprano and John Wheeler - Piano.
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Woody Rowand, Oboe
Woody Rowand is the principal oboist with the Allen Philharmonic and performs regularly with the Liptonshire Chamber Players. He moved to the Dallas area in 1986 after earning a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Florida, where he also played in the orchestra and studied oboe.
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Trio Serenata
Laurel
McConkey, Harp, Mary Shinn, Flute and Robert
Davis, Cello.
Top
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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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 where he is Assistant Professor of Piano and Music History and Piano Coordinator.
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Cynthia Stuart, Piano
Cynthia Stuart holds a Bachelor of Piano Pedagogy degree from Baylor University and has had a successful home studio for over twenty years. She is past president of the Greater Dallas Group Music Teachers Association and a member of the Texas Music Teachers Association. Cynthia is also a specialist in Orff Schulwerk, and has taught Orff music classes for
children ages 3 – 12 in private Montessori schools in Dallas and the surrounding area. She
is past president for the local North Texas Orff chapter and a member of
the National American Orff Society Association.
As an accomplished pianist and professional accompanist, Cynthia
has been the choir accompanist for the First Unitarian Church of Dallas
for seventeen years. She is
also a composer with thirty vocal/piano compositions to her credit.
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Sabrina Trujillo,
Flute
Sabrina Bennett Trujillo grew up in Irving, Texas. She began her musical studies with piano at the age of seven and
started playing flute in the seventh grade. Sabrina graduated magna
cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance from
Southern Methodist University. She traveled to Maryland for her graduate work and received her Master of Music degree in Flute
Performance from the University of Maryland. Sabrina studied with Claire Johnson and William Montgomery.
She has performed in masterclasses with Julius Baker. She is also a member of Mu Phi Epsilon.
Sabrina currently teaches flute privately and serves as
Adjunct Professor of Flute at Dallas Baptist University. She also performs regularly as part of the West Trio and with the
music ministry of Tyler Street United Methodist Church where her husband, Tim, serves as Associate Pastor.
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Vienna International Duo
Krassimira
Jordan
–
Baylor University
,
Waco
TX
and
Wolfgang Watzinger, Vienna
University of
Music, Vienna, Austria
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Wolfgang
Watzinger
Pianist Wolfgang Watzinger was born in
Darmstadt,
Germany, and studied at the music academies in Freiburg, Germany, and Salzburg, Austria. In 1971 he won First Prize at the National Piano Competition of the
German Music Academies in Frankfurt. In 1973-74 he studied with Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.
Wolfgang Watzinger
has performed with much acclaim as recitalist and orchestral soloist in
major European cities, the USA, South Africa, Asia, and South America.
From 1980 until 1994
he was Professor of Piano at the Music Academies in Berlin and Detmold. In 1994 he was appointed Professor of Piano at the Concert Performance
Department of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He is a permanent faculty member of the Vienna International Music
Seminar.
Highly regarded as a teacher, Wolfgang Watzinger's students come from all parts of the world
and have won top prizes at major international competitions.
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John E. Wheeler
John E. Wheeler began his private piano studies with Elizabeth J. Walsh, performing in joint and solo recitals and appearing as concerto soloist with three orchestras. In 1976, Mr. Wheeler was honored as the High School Senior Musician of the Year by the Dallas Music Teachers Association. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance with a minor in French from the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Jack Radunsky and was elected to both the Dean's Honor Roll and Pi Kappa Lambda Honorary Musical Society. He later completed his Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Benning Dexter. Mr. Wheeler received his Master of Arts degree in Linguistics in 1983, also from the University of Michigan, and he spent the next fifteen years abroad in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Slovakia working in the field of English as a Second Language. While abroad, Mr. Wheeler continued to concertize, participating in the International Busoni Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy, in 1988. Mr. Wheeler returned to the U.S. in 1998 to assume his current position as Director of the English as a Second Language Program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
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Sue Wilson, Bassoon
Sue Wilson studied bassoon with Willard Elliot during her high school years. The Texas All-State musician earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree from University of North Texas. A music teacher at Lee Elementary in Irving, she currently plays principal bassoon with the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving and teaches private bassoon lessons. She performs with the Philharmonic Winds and has participated in chamber music gatherings in Texas, Vermont and Oregon. An active member of the music program at First United Methodist Church in Irving, she has directed and participated in the Chancel Choir, handbell choirs and children’s choir program.
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Programs
