Artists

Nathan Buckner, Ting-Lan Chen, and Noah Turner Rogoff form the Frahm-Lewis Trio, which has served as the resident faculty piano trio for the University of Nebraska at Kearney since 2008. The ensemble has appeared in many of the principal performance venues throughout Nebraska, as well as in recitals in England, Malaysia, and the United States.

David Jaeger is a music producer, composer, and broadcaster. Jaeger's compositions range from chamber music to vocal and choral works and opera, as well as orchestral and electronic music. His works for the piano form a large portion of his canon, most of it added since his retirement from CBC in 2013. Since that date, Jaeger has concentrated increasingly on compositions for solo instruments and voices, often based on literary texts. His Nocturnes, written between 2020 and 2023, are all based on poetry he compiled from several authors who he has collaborated with: David Cameron, Seán Haldane, Bruce Whiteman, and his pianist collaborator, Christina Petrowska Quilico.

Praised for “a dramatic intensity that honored the texts” by the New York Times, soprano Jessica Gould has been noted for her “electrifying voice" (Musicweb International), “multi-hued powerful sound” (Seen and Heard International), and “beautiful interpretation” (Lute Society of America Quarterly). With repertoire spanning four centuries, her discography includes projects for Sony Classics, New World Records, and MV Cremona, among others. Recitals include concerts with lutenist Nigel North, with whom she has appeared as a guest artist on the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Faculty Series, among others.

Dr. David Holdhusen is the Director of Choral Activities and the Douglas and Susan Tuve Distinguished Professor of Choral Music at the University of South Dakota. His responsibilities include serving as conductor for the Chamber Singers and teaching courses in conducting. In addition to his teaching duties, Holdhusen is currently the Chair of the Department of Music and Director of the university’s annual Choral Directors Institute as well as the USD Summer Music Camp. He is also the co-founder and Executive Director of the Vermillion Children’s Chorus.

Chamber Singers is the premiere vocal ensemble at the University of South Dakota. It is comprised of graduate and undergraduate students selected through audition from the entire university student body. Known to critics for “creating a choral concert of stunning beauty and musical understanding,” its repertoire, which is primarily a cappella, includes music from the Renaissance to the present in a wide variety of styles.

Christopher Alan Schmitz composes solo, chamber, and ensemble music that has been described as “sublimely gorgeous” (Fanfare) and “pensive…hard-driving…and whimsical” (American Record Guide). His compositions have been performed and recorded internationally, featuring a broad range of musicians and styles from the London Symphony Orchestra to the USAF Airmen of Note, in venues ranging from New York City (Carnegie Hall) to Alaska (Denali National Park) and London (St. Luke’s Church). Schmitz’s educational music has appeared in concert programs at all levels of development and his recent solo and chamber works have been performed by artists such as the Cortona Trio, Svyati Duo, Terell Stafford, Amy Schwartz Moretti, and Denson Paul Pollard, among others.

As a prize-winner in scholastic (Dora Khyatt); Collegiate (Bi-Co Concerto Competition); national (Seattle International Virtuoso Artists Festival); and international (Quebec International Music Competition) piano adjudications, Bruce Leto’s music tenure has enabled him to perform in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, New York, and Italy. During his collegiate years, Leto received 1st Prize in the Bi-College Student Concerto Competition and performed the 3rd Movement of Gershwin’s Concerto in F with the Haverford/Bryn Mawr Orchestra.

Curt Cacioppo's compositions synthesize and reflect multiple dimensions of his musical and humanistic experience. Like his mentor Leon Kirchner, and other composer/performers such as Frederic Rzewski and George Walker, he is a formidable pianist, fully grounded in the traditional solo, ensemble, and concerto literature, and avidly involved with new repertoire.

Maurice Ravel, in full Joseph-Maurice Ravel, (born March 7, 1875, Ciboure, France—died December 28, 1937, Paris), was a French composer of Swiss-Basque descent, noted for his musical craftsmanship, perfection of form and style, and distinct musical language. Ravel was born in a village near Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France, of a Swiss father and a Basque mother. His family background was an artistic, cultivated one, and the young Maurice received every encouragement when his musical talent became apparent at an early age.

All Classical Radio is consistently ranked in the United States’ top three classical radio stations. The network is recognized for its bold collaborations and outreach, and for broadcasting 98% locally-produced programming, including innovative music playlists, interviews, and live broadcasts. Home to the award-winning Recording Inclusivity Initiative and the International Children’s Arts Network, All Classical Radio is one of the first classical stations in the nation to name artists in residence and to develop robust youth journalism mentorships.

As an internationally performed composer, Peter Dickson Lopez traces his musical roots to a broad range of influences from his tenure as a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley, as a Tanglewood (USA) Fellowship Composer, and as recipient of the George Ladd Prix de Paris (1976-78). The eclectic nature of Lopez’s mature style stems no doubt from having worked directly with composers of diverse approaches and philosophies during his early years at Berkeley and Tanglewood: with Joaquin Nin Culmell, Andrew Imbrie, Edwin Dugger, Olly Wilson, Earle Brown at UC Berkeley (1972-1978); and with Ralph Shapey and Theodore Antoniou during his Fellowship at Tanglewood (1979). Even more influential to Lopez’s artistic development was his residence in Paris where he had the opportunity to listen to many live concerts of contemporary European composers as well as to attend numerous events at IRCAM.

Lawrence Mumford's music, published by eight different companies, has premiered in cities across the country. Movements from his Symphony No. 4 have recently become a part of  the broadcast libraries of the largest classical radio stations in Boston, Washington DC,  Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other cities, and have been played repeatedly — even  being included in two stations’ “Ultimate Playlist.” This music is also available on major streaming services including Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music. 

The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the foremost and oldest symphony orchestras in the Czech Republic. It is based in the historical capital of Moravia, the city of Olomouc, and has been a leader of music activities in the region for the past 70 years. Its artistic development was directly influenced by distinguished figures from the Czech and international music scene.

Samuel A. Livingston was born in 1942, and served from 1966-1967 with the U.S. 4th Armored Division Band. Livingston currently resides in New Jersey and plays the clarinet in a community band, traditional jazz groups, and chamber music groups. As a composer, he is entirely self-taught. His recent (21st century) compositions include works for concert band and several chamber pieces, mostly for wind instruments.

David Eccott lives and works as a peripatetic instrumental music teacher, specializing in piano and brass in his home county of Kent in England. He studied trombone with Denis Wick, former principal trombone with the London Symphony Orchestra, and piano with Robert Collett at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He has worked as an orchestral freelance trombonist and was an examiner for The Associated Board of The Royal Schools of Music for 23 years. He also composes. His Concertino For Oboe And Small Orchestra and his symphonic poem Rochester Creek: Scenes From PreColumbian Utah for large orchestra have recently won online composition competitions.

Nina Feric, born in Zagreb, Croatia, began her musical studies at the age of 6. She obtained her Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from the Music Academy of the University of Zagreb (Croatia) in the class of Prof. Veljko Glodic, and continued her studies at Postgraduate Course in Music Disciplines at DAMS Bologna (Italy). 

Tyler Goodrich White is Professor of Conducting and Composition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he has served as Director of Orchestras since 1994.  Under White’s direction, the UNL Symphony has been recognized as one of America’s outstanding collegiate orchestras.  As a composer, White has received commissions from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, and numerous other organizations.  He was awarded a Silver Medal in the 2019–2020 Global Music Awards, and in 2020 he was awarded The American Prize for Orchestral Composition.  White currently serves as Composer-in-Residence of Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra.

Jonathan Miller was a pupil of Bernard Greenhouse. He is a 43-year veteran of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and has performed as a soloist with the Hartford Symphony; the Boston Pops, Cape Ann Symphony, and Newton Symphony; Symphony By The Sea, and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra of Boston. Miller won the Jeunesses Musicales auditions, twice toured the United States with the New York String Sextet, and appeared as a member of the Fine Arts Quartet. He performed as a featured soloist at the American Cello Congress in both 1990 and 1996.

Lucia Lin currently enjoys a multi-faceted career of solo engagements, chamber music performances, orchestral concerts with the BSO, and teaching at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts. Lin made her debut at age 11, performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Chicago Symphony, then went on to be a prizewinner of numerous competitions, including the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. She joined the BSO at the age of 22, and has also held positions as acting concertmaster with the Milwaukee Symphony and for two years, concertmaster with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Award-winning Michigan composer Dinah Bianchi creates vibrant and exciting music; music that is sublime, beautiful, and full of the communicative power of art. She is well versed in a variety of musical genres with a portfolio that includes music for orchestra, concert band, string ensemble, chamber ensemble, solo works, and electronic music. Well received both nationally and internationally, Bianchi’s music has been performed in concert halls in Europe, Asia, Canada, and the United States. Recently, she completed a recording session for Chasse Noir with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava in the Czech Republic. The recording was released in August of 2022 and is anticipating an album release with PARMA in the Spring of 2024.