Artists

John Rommereim is a musician who has pursued a varied career as a composer, conductor, keyboardist, and professor. He has written works for choir, solo voice, orchestra, string quartet, saxophone quartet, flute ensemble, guitar, organ, piano, and electronic media, as well as a chamber opera, and music for theater and film. The New York Times praised the “richly expressive” character of his work for voice and piano, Into the Still Hollow.

John D. Rojak joined the American Brass Quintet in 1991. He is bass trombonist with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, IRIS, New York Pops, Little Orchestra Society, Stamford Symphony, and played for the 16-year run of Broadway’s Les Misérables. He has performed and recorded with the New York Philharmonic, Orpheus, New York Chamber Symphony, and as solo trombone of Solisti NY. He has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, for Pope John Paul II in New York's Central Park and St. Patrick's Cathedral, and for Pope Francis in Madison Square Garden.

Karolina Rojahn is a Los Angeles based pianist who has dedicated the last decade of her career to premiering and recording contemporary music repertoire. She has premiered over a hundred new works and collaborated with various classical music labels, most notably Naxos, having released over 43 recordings of chamber and solo piano music, including 5 piano concertos written specifically for her.

Erik Rohde maintains a diverse career as a conductor, violinist, and educator, and has performed in recitals and festivals across the United States and in Europe and Asia. He is the Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Northern Iowa and the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Winona Symphony Orchestra (MN).

A two-time Michigan Emmy Award winner, a 2017 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, and a 2015 Grammy® Award nominee, Eugene Rogers is recognized as a leading conductor and pedagogue throughout the United States and abroad. In addition to being the founding director of EXIGENCE and the director of choirs and an associate professor of conducting at the University of Michigan, Rogers is the artistic director of The Washington Chorus (Washington DC). 

Hailing from the vibrant heart of Rio de Janeiro, Eliane Rodrigues emerged early on as a musical prodigy, her innate talent blossoming in the colorful tapestry of Brazilian culture. Her exceptional capabilities were first nurtured by Helena Gallo and subsequently honed under the guidance of Arnaldo Estrella, a student of the renowned Alfred Cortot and Yves Nat.

Houston native Dr. Chad Robinson is the Artistic Director and founder of Texas New Music Ensemble, a Houston-based mixed chamber ensemble focused solely on the work of Texas composers. As a composer, he has worked with many other prestigious ensembles and soloists, such as Ethel, Lontano, The Jack Quartet, The Parker Quartet, Musiqa, George Vosburgh, Mary Dullea, and Emma Steele.

(Ernest) John Robertson (b. 1943) was born in New Zealand but is a longtime resident of Canada. His secondary school offered music as a full time subject, allowing Robertson to find his footing. Upon leaving school, he went into the insurance business where he spent his working life. Having emigrated to Canada in 1967, he continued to compose on the side.

Described as an “eclectic whose works draw on popular and electronic music” (Wall Street Journal), and a “genuinely American composer” (Gramophone), Anthony Paul De Ritis has received performances around the world including at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Le Poisson Rouge, Lincoln Center, Beijing’s Yugong Yishan, Seoul’s KT Art Hall, the Italian  Pavilion at the World Expo in Milan, and UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

Denice Rippentrop believes that composing is a craft that is as much about the creative journey as the final composition itself. Rippentrop is the creator of numerous choral works, each of which she finds challenging in process, but fulfilling in the end. Composing gives her energy and purpose as she continually challenges herself to write with integrity and compassion. Rippentrop writes with a style and flair that reflects her understanding of the voice and ensemble balance.

Alan Rinehart has over 45 years of experience as a professional classical guitarist with many contributions to the guitar world as a performer, teacher, and music editor. Upon completing university, he studied lute repertoire and technique in London, England at the Early Music Centre.

A Midwest native (WI, MN), Marga Richter earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in composition from The Juilliard School. She has written over 150 works, encompassing virtually every genre. Her orchestral music has been performed by more than 50 orchestras including the Atlanta, Oklahoma, and Milwaukee Symphonies and the Minnesota Orchestra, and recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

Howard L. Richards Jr. received his first piano lesson when he was six years old and began studying popular piano and trumpet at the age of eight. He attended high school at Culver Military Academy in Indiana and was a member of the Infantry Band for four years. Upon graduating high school, Richards spent one year at the University of Michigan to study Physics, but switched at midyear to major in Music Composition.

Emma-Ruth Richards is a composer much in demand in the UK and overseas, acclaimed for her understanding of both instrumental and vocal writing which has earned her a role as a favorite among musicians and singers.

Phillip Rhodes was born in Forest City, North Carolina in 1940 and received degrees from Duke University and the Yale University School of Music. His principal teachers have been William Klenz, Iain Hamilton, Donald Martino, and Mel Powell.

Dr. Diane Retallack has been Artistic Director of the Eugene Concert Choir organization since 1985 and is the founding director of the chamber ensemble Eugene Vocal Arts and the Eugene Concert Orchestra. She earned a Doctor of Music in Choral Conducting from Indiana University where she studied conducting with Margaret Hillis, founding director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, and score analysis with master choral scholar Julius Herford. She has also drawn experience and inspiration from workshops and festivals with Helmuth Rilling and Robert Shaw. 

The music of Wieslaw Rentowski has been performed at hundreds of international festivals, concerts, and conferences in Europe, Russia, Asia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada. In 1988, Rentowski was awarded the 1st Prize in the National Competition for Young Composers in Warsaw, Poland. He has received several composition prizes for his orchestra, chamber, and solo works from the Polish Composers’ Union, the Fr. Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, the City of Elblag (750th anniversary), Louisiana Music Teachers Association (1st Prize in 1990 & 1998, LMTA All State Competition).

Alyssa Reit is an independent composer, arranger, performer, teacher, and storyteller. As a harpist, she has performed with institutions ranging from the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Metropolitan Opera, to contemporary music groups and Irish bands. She has given concerts with John Cage, toured Europe with the legendary Martha Clarke, and traveled the United States playing with the world famous vocal group, Anonymous 4. Her main body of work has been creating theatrical-musical settings of myths, classic stories, and fairy tales; these have been performed at such venues as the Caramoor Center for the Arts, the NYU Steinhardt’s storytelling series, and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to critical acclaim.

Bruce Reiprich's music has been described as having "unapologetic lushness" (New Music Box), "post-romantic radiance" (Danbury News-Times), and "a contemplative mood, its sedate pace subtly dilating the flow of time" (Eagle Rock Patch). It has also been characterized as "a deeply personal mediation on the poet's feelings" (San Francisco Classical Voice), "very powerful" (All Music Guide), "lovely and evocative" (Guitar Review-New York), "very impressive" (Cumhuriyet-Turkey), and "of special interest" (Guitar International-England). Praise for the Navona Records recording of his Lullaby for violin and orchestra highlights “what would make for a really gorgeous encore number” (Cinemusical), and “emotional effects so powerfully instantiated” (Textura).

Composer Sally Reid was born in East Liverpool, Ohio, in 1948. She holds the Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and is Professor of Music and Director of the School of Music at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. Reid was editor of the ILWC Journal (International League of Women Composers) from 1991-1995 and served as President of the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM) in 1999-2000. She is also a member of the Society of Composers, Inc., the Southern Composers League and the Nashville Composers Association.