Bruce Babcock - Irrational Exuberance
Doug Masek alto saxophone
Internationally renowned saxophonist Douglas Masek whose performances have emphasized versatility in a wide range of musical styles, from classical and contemporary to jazz, have consistently garnered critical acclaim. The Los Angeles Times stated that Masek’s playing is “smooth, sinuous, stunning, stylish, dazzling, and glowing with the requisite rich color.” The Daily Review in Oakland, California, wrote that “Masek plays with dazzling virtuosity”, while The Outlook in Santa Monica, California, declared that “Masek’s performance was marvelous...his control was almost uncanny...extraordinary musicianship”. Pamina Concerts in Barcelona, Spain, adds that “Masek’s playing is always exquisite and full of feeling and musicality”. In South Africa, The Argus wrote “Masek”s tone: beautiful and pure” and the Cape Times added “dynamic and magical”.
Having received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music, and his MM degree from The Ohio State University, Dr. Masek completed his academic education with a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Southern California. In much demand as a master teacher, Douglas is also a Vandoren Elite Artist, performing and lecturing internationally at schools, colleges, and universities. A recent visiting Professor at the University of Cape Town, he is currently Professor of Saxophone at UCLA.... www.dougmasek.com
David Speltz cello
David Speltz, cellist, began his formal studies with Eleanore Schoenfeld after being introduced to the cello by his father. Later, he was invited to join the Piatigorsky masterclass at USC.
He earned a master's degree in mathematics from UCLA but soon realized that music -and the cello - was the path he should follow. In 1973 he helped form the Arriaga String Quartet, which went on to win first prize in the prestigious Coleman competition in Pasadena.
As a member of the Musical Offering ensemble, he performed at the Library of Congress, Lincoln Center, Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, and recorded on the Nonesuch label. He has played on many of the chamber music series in Los Angeles, including Pacific Serenades, Chamber Music in Historic Sites, the Bing series, the IMA, South Bay, and LACMA chamber music series. During the summer months, he participates in music festivals in Santa Fe, the Grand Canyon, and at the Oregon Bach Festival.
Speltz was a member of LACO during Sir Neville Marriner's tenure and principal cellist of the California Chamber Symphony for eight seasons. In 1989 he was invited by Helmuth Rilling to serve as principal cellist of the Bachakademie in Stuttgart, Germany. He is also active in the Los Angeles recording field, performing on such films as Schindler's List and Jurassic Park. www.allmusic.com/artist/david-h-speltz
Louise Thomas piano
Louise Thomas has concertized extensively throughout Europe, North America and Asia at such concert venues as the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow, the Franz Liszt Academy Museum in Budapest, the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Weill Hall in New York City.
Louise was born in Ireland and completed undergraduate musicology studies at Trinity College, Dublin. She received a German Government scholarship to continue piano performance studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover, Germany where she received a Konzertdiplom in the solo piano class. Dr. Thomas won second prize at the Ibla-Ragusa competition in Sicily where she was awarded the Béla Bartók Prize. She also won the concerto competition at the University of Southern California and performed with Maestro Sergiu Comissiona. She received her doctorate in piano performance in 1999 from USC where she studied with Prof. John Perry and Director of Keyboard Collaborative Arts, Dr. Alan Smith.
A dynamic collaborative pianist, Louise has made CD recordings in Germany (as part of the chamber music festival, “Schwetzinger Festspielen”); at the Banff Center for the Arts in Canada with the Irish Contemporary Music group, Nua Nós, and has appeared on numerous live radio broadcasts for Irish Radio, BBC Radio Northern Ireland, Moscow radio, K-USC and K-MZT in Los Angeles. She has also played live and recorded for RTE (Irish National Television) and the nationally distributed Ovation Arts Channel in Los Angeles. Her recordings are available at iTunes.com and on the Centaur label. She concertizes regularly with violinist, Elizabeth Pitcairn, who performs on the legendary “Red Mendelssohn” Stradivarius, in addition to appearing regularly on the acclaimed Jacaranda Series in Los Angeles.... www.chapman.edu/our-faculty/louise-thomas
Joyce Wai-chung Tang - SnOWY LANDSCAPE
Lucie Kaucká piano
The pianist Lucie Kaucká was born on March 31, 1978 in Kraslice near Karlovy Vary, where she began studying music at the age of seven. She continued her piano studies at the Conservatory of Teplice and the Conservatory of Pardubice with Martin Hröel. After graduation from Pardubice she concentrated on the study of musicology at the Palacky University in Olomouc and finished successfully there in 2003.
Kaucká is currently an instructor in the department of musicology at the Palacky University, where she teaches piano and music theory. She was active as a pianist under the direction of the late Professor Jirí Skovajsa and has performed in many international master classes. She is the director of the piano department at the international Czech Music Camp for Youth during the summer.
She has performed as a soloist, accompanist, and as a member of several chamber ensembles in the Czech Republic and abroad. She has participated in recordings with the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra and with the chamber orchestra Camerata Moravia since 2004.
Vít Mužík violin
Czech violinist and producer Vít Mužík (b. 1972) is one of the most multifaceted musicians working on the contemporary classical music scene. His abilities both as a performer on the concert stage and in the recording booth have led to appearances on more than 60 recordings in the Navona and Ravello catalogs, making him one of PARMA Recordings’ most frequent collaborators.
Mužík studied under Prof. Ladislav Gorula at the Janáček Conservatory of Ostrava in his native Czech Republic, and his pursuit of advanced studies on the violin later brought him to Mannes College at The New School for Music in New York NY, the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati OH, and the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria under Sándor Végh. Since 2004, Mužík has served primarily as the Concertmaster for the world-renowned Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, frequently serving also as a producer for recording sessions held at Reduta Hall in the ensemble’s home base in the historic city of Olomouc.
As a performer, his talents both as a chamber musician and as a soloist on the violin have brought him to concert stages across Europe and North America.
Jiří Fajkus cello - N/A
Nora Essman Morrow - DAWN
Xiao’n Li conductor - N/A
Arielle Burke flute - www.eastcoastscoring.com/arielle-burke
Michael Norsworthy clarinet in A - www.michaelnorsworthy.com
Daniel Beilman bassoon - www.danielbeilmanbassoon.com
Kinga Bacik cello - www.kingabacik.coM
Nora Essman Morrow - LUCA'S DREAM
Matt Sharrock vibraphone - www.mattsharrock.com
David Maki - Five Impromptus for Two
Lucie Kaucká piano
Martin Smutný piano - N/A
Craig Madden Morris - CROSSCURRENTS
Kelly Yu-Chieh Lin piano
Taiwanese concert pianist Dr. Kelly Yu-Chieh Lin maintains an active schedule as a concert pianist, accompanist, teacher, and chamber musician. She has appeared on the Festival Concert Series at Trinity Church at Wall Street, and was a faculty member and accompanist at Berkshire Summer Music, the Westminster Piano High School Camp, and the 4Strings Music Festival. In 2014 Ms. Lin served as a judge for the Steinway Society Competition. She is currently a staff accompanist at the Juilliard School of Music and Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of Music. Dr. Lin earned a Bachelor, Master degree, and Artist Diploma in Piano Performance at University of Southern California, studied with John Perry. Subsequently, Dr. Lin earned a D.M.A. in Piano Performance from Rutgers University in 2015, where she received a full scholarship and was a teaching assistant.
Nan-Cheng Chen cellist
Cellist Nan-Cheng Chen’s performance was recently described as “personable and smile-inducing” and “fine playing” by Washington Post and “Beautiful Tone” by New York Concert Reviews. At only age of 29, Nan-Cheng is the executive director and founder of the New Asia Chamber Music Society (NACMS) and many other active music ensembles in New York City. An active soloist, Nan-Cheng has collaborated with Simon Bolivar Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Queens Symphony Orchestra, Metro-West Symphony, Quincy Symphony and Symphony Pro Musica, which received a review that states: “It was the kind of performance one might hear live only once a decade”, from Worcester Telegram and Gazette.
Among Nan-Cheng’s many honors and awards are first prize in the 2010 Queens Symphony Concerto Competition, 2009 Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition, 2006 International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition, 2005 Quincy Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, 2004 Hsin-Tian Temple National Cello Competition in Taiwan, and 2003 Metro-West Concerto Competitions. He also won prizes in 2010 Long Island Conservatory Young Artist Competition, 2006 Fischoff National Chamber Competition and 1999 Taiwan National Cello and Piano Competition. During the summer, Nan-Cheng has been invited to music festivals such as Canada’s Banff Centre, Sarasota Music Festival, Heifetz Institute, Encore School for Strings, and Kneisel Hall. He was a guest-performing artist at Chautauqua Summer Music Festival, a Kaplan Fellow at the Bowdoin International Music Festival and served as a teaching artist at the Annual Music Festival of Walnut Hill. As an educator, Nan-Cheng has given cello masterclasses at Penn State University, University of Wisconsin, University of Calgary as well as universities in Panama, Colombia and Taiwan.
Nan-Cheng is currently a doctoral candidate at CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at CUNY Queens College.
Joseph Summer - They Bore Him Barefaced on The Bier + He Took Me by The Wrist
Kathryn Guthrie soprano
Kathryn Guthrie is praised for her sharp-witted interpretations of contemporary classical and music theater works. After debuting at New York City Opera in 2012 as Marie in folk-pop star Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna, Kathryn has traveled the world promoting the opera and appears on the cast recording of the opera with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
A champion of new music, Kathryn enjoyed other performances with New York City Opera including the VOX concert series and Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland as the Cheshire Cat. She appears on several recordings with The Shakespeare Concerts and Navona Records, about which American Record Guide said Kathryn’s performances “are the high points of this program” and her “singing was radiant”.
Kathryn has traveled the country singing musical theater with Todd Ellison, music supervisor for Broadway’s An American in Paris, including appearances with both the Philly Pops and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Guthrie was a winner of Astral Artists’ 2012 National Auditions, was a member of Glimmerglass Opera’s Young American Artists Program, and holds a Master of Music from the Peabody Conservatory, where she received the Phyllis Bryn-Julson Award for Contemporary Music, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Connecticut.
Neal Ferreira tenor
Tenor Neal Ferreira, especially noted for his dynamic and captivating stage presence, is quickly gaining national recognition.
Mr. Ferreira opened the current season with his Boston Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Hall debut as Ein Tierhändler in Der Rosenkavalier under the baton of Maestro Andris Nelsons. He made another company debut with Odyssey Opera in March 2017, singing the role of Jack in Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's setting of The Importance of Being Earnest. Upcoming engagements include performances with the Shakespeare Concerts this fall, as well as a return to Boston Lyric Opera in the spring of 2018 as the Jazz Tenor in Trouble in Tahiti.
His 2015-16 season was highlighted by a successful performance as The Visitor in Boston Lyric Opera's production of Philip Glass' In the Penal Colony, for which the Wall Street Journal called him “poignant” and the Boston Globe lauded his “firm yet sweet tenor.” In addition to performing roles in Otello with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and The Merry Widow with Boston Lyric Opera, the tenor sang the role of Alan in Joseph Summer's The Tenor's Suite with the Shakespeare Concerts at Jordan Hall.
In the 2014-15 season, Mr. Ferreira debuted the role of Ferdinand in the world premiere of Joseph Summer’s The Tempest with the Shakespeare Concerts. He can be heard on the original cast recording, recently released on Albany Records. He returned to Syracuse Opera as Alfred in Die Fledermaus to great acclaim and sang multiple roles with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra in Un ballo in maschera.
Other recent engagements include Tancredi in John Musto's The Inspector with Boston Lyric Opera, for which Opera News praised his "moving performance" and "beautiful" singing, Charlie Gould (Orlofsky) in Die Fledermaus with Anchorage Opera, and Spoletta in Tosca with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. His performance as Basilio/Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro with Syracuse Opera garnered him the company’s 2012-13 Artist of the Year Award.
Mr. Ferreira made his Opera Colorado debut performing Spalanzani and Andres in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, roles he first performed with Boston Lyric Opera under the direction of Maestro Keith Lockhart and reprised with the Florida Grand Opera. Other appearances have included Sheldon Segal in Later the Same Evening and Charlie Davenport (cover) in Annie Get Your Gun with Deborah Voigt at the Glimmerglass Festival.
The tenor was awarded the 2009 Stephen Shrestinian Award for Excellence from Boston Lyric Opera, and has since performed there in many roles including Monostatos in The Magic Flute, Traveler in Clemency, as Spoletta in Tosca, Snout in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Gran Sacerdote in Mozart’s Idomeneo, re di Creta and Ein Officer in Ariadne auf Naxos, in which he also covered the roles of Tanzmeister and Brighella.
As an oratorio soloist, Mr. Ferreira has performed the role of Uriel in Haydn’s The Creation with world-renowned soprano Jayne West, as well as noted performances in Orff’s Carmina Burana, Bach’s Mass in B minor and Magnificat, Mozart’s Requiem, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, and Dvořak’s Stabat Mater throughout the New England area. He is a regular guest soloist at his alma mater, Providence College, where he most recently appeared in Handel’s Messiah and Dubois’ Seven Last Words of Christ with the Providence College Orchestra and Chorus.
Mr. Ferreira holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory, graduating with Academic Honors in 2005. There he studied with international opera singer Patricia Craig, and he sang the role of Tamino in The Magic Flute as part of New England Conservatory Outreach Opera’s inaugural production.
As a recipient of the Roberts Music Scholarship for musical aptitude and achievement, Mr. Ferreira completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Providence College in 2002, graduating cum laude. While at Providence College, he studied voice with David Harper and appeared in many stage productions with both the Music and Theater Departments. Mr. Ferreira has returned several times as a guest artist to perform in recital as well as teach masterclasses to undergraduate students.
David Salsbery Fry bass
Widely praised for his skills both as a singer and as a nuanced and subtle actor, David Salsbery Fry seized the spotlight when he stepped in as Mosè in Mosè in Egitto for a four-performance run with New York City Opera in 2013 on very short notice. In his review for The Associated Press, Ronald Blum said, “With noble stature and flowing bass-baritone, Fry’s Moses had a world weary and endearing quality ...”
Possessed of an imposing three octave range which gives him command of both the bass and bass-baritone repertoire, Mr. Fry plunged down to contra G (49 Hz) for his performances of Ogro in Gotham Chamber Opera’s production of Montsalvatge’s El gato con botas. Other notable engagements from the past few seasons include Ramfis in Aida in Annapolis, Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia for Vero Beach Opera, Truffaldin in Ariadne auf Naxos under the baton of Christoph von Dohnányi and Wuorinen’s Never Again the Same at Tanglewood, Arkel in Pelléas et Mélisande and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte in Tel Aviv, his Mostly Mozart debut in Stravinsky’s Renard, his debut as Olin Blitch in Susannah with Opera at Rutgers, and T.J. Rigg in Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry in New Jersey.
Mr. Fry is a perennial favorite of the Aspen Music Festival; roles performed there include Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd, Hobson in Peter Grimes, Kammersänger in Intermezzo, Badger & Priest in The Cunning Little Vixen, and Meyer Wolfsheim in The Great Gatsby. He is also a tireless advocate for new music; he has performed in four workshops for The Metropolitan Opera, made numerous appearances in New York City Opera’s VOX Festival and given the world premiere performances of several solo and chamber works, including the song cycle ten songs of yesno by Osnat Netzer.
Mr. Fry received a Graduate Diploma in voice from The Juilliard School, a Master of Music in opera from the University of Maryland, and a Bachelor of Arts in music from the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences of The Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Fry was recently named first place winner of the Bidu Sayão International Vocal Competition, also taking home the prize for best opera aria performance. Originally from Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, he currently divides his time between New York City and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Praised by the Cleveland Plain Dealer for her “Brilliant and solid performances,” and by pianist Wha Kyung Byun for her “innate lyricism” and “poetic enchantment,” internationally acclaimed pianist Sangyoung Kim has gained attention through numerous competitions and concerto performances, including the Gold Medal from the Usasu Bösendorfer International Piano Competition.
SangYoung Kim piano
Since her orchestra debut at age 9 with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Ms. Kim has appeared as a soloist with the Yewon Orchestra and won numerous prizes in Korea. After coming to the United States in 2002, Ms. Kim has continued to meet success in competitions such as the New England Conservatory Concerto Competition and the Heida Hermannes International Music Competition, and obtained not only the Gold Medal but also the Russian and Chopin etude Prizes from the Usasu Bösendorfer International Piano Competition. Other prizes include the highest honors from the both the Yewon Art School and the Seoul Art High School and the Carol and Robert T. Henderson Presidential Scholarship from the New England Conservatory.
Ms. Kim has appeared as soloist with the NEC Philhamonia Orchestra, Concord Orchestra, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie in Belgium and Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. Other featured performances also include recitals at Chopin Hall, Kumho Gallery and Kumho Art Hall in Korea, Norris Cultural Center in Illinois, Williams Hall and Jordan Hall in Boston, Cleveland Play Bolten Theater in Ohio, Eckhardt-Gramatte Hall and Roza Centre in Calgary, Canada, and the Courchevel Music Festival in France. In 2009, Ms. Kim was invited to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D. C. to give a recital as the part of Millennium Stage Concert series.
As a chamber music lover, Ms. Kim’s chamber performances have been frequently heard in Jordan Hall, Fraser Performance Studio in WGBH radio station and Harvard University. Ms. Kim participated in an extensive tour of the Boston area, playing Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with members including flutist Paula Robison as the narrator. She also collaborated with composer, Michael Gandolfi in a performance of his Resin in Resonance (2008) which was broadcasted by WGBH.
After graduating Seoul Art High School as a student of Kyung Sook Lee and Bon Hee Ku, Ms. Kim has studied at the New England Conservatory under the guidance of Wha Kyung Byun and Russell Sherman. She is currently pursuing the Doctoral of Musical Arts program, Ms. Kim enjoys living in the historical Boston area and cheering the Celtics as a crazy fan of basketball!
Tim Ribchester music director
Acclaimed for his “passionate commitment to the composer and score... ...perfected technique [and] a personal aesthetic vision,” Maestro Tim Ribchester is emerging internationally as an inspiring, versatile musical leader and collaborator.
His recent conducting appearances include a triumphant mainstage production of L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Trentino Music Festival (Mezzano, Italy) in collaboration with ROH stage director Greg Eldridge; concert and recording in Boston of Joseph Summer's chamber opera The Tenor's Suite; Les Contes d'Hoffmann with Gidon Saks for Opera on Tap Berlin at the Delphi Stummfilmkino; two concerts with the Bacau Philharmonic (Romania), and Dido and Aeneas in a new staging by David Gately at Trentino Music Festival. In the 2016-17 season he again joined North Carolina Opera (Assistant Conductor, Das Rheingold) and made his debut with the Vidin Sinfonietta, Bulgaria. He returns in 2017 to Boston as Music Director for The Shakespeare Concerts and to Trentino to conduct a fully staged Rinaldo, and will also join the faculties of Berlin Opera Collaborative (Music Director) and InCanto Summer Studio in Colditz, Germany (Vocal Coach).
In previous seasons, Maestro Ribchester has led rehearsals of the orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, Baltimore and Boulder Chamber Orchestras, the Richmond Symphony Chorus, the Academy of Vocal Arts Chorus, and Opera Philadelphia Chorus. He completed a two season contract as Music Director of Delaware County Symphony (Pennsylvania); and made guest appearances with New York Lyric Opera Theater (New York), Concert Operetta Theater (Philadelphia), Gwinnett Symphony (Atlanta, Georgia), and the chorus of Russian Opera Workshop at the Academy of Vocal Arts (Philadelphia). From 2009 to 2013 he was the Music Director of Delaware Valley Opera Company’s summer festival in southeastern Pennsylvania. During this time he was invited to guest conduct for Opera Libera (Philadelphia) and he also appeared as a regular Guest Conductor at the Orchestra Society of Philadelphia. Known for his advocacy of contemporary music, he conducted several premieres at the Curtis Institute of Music as well as commissioning new works for his chamber choir, the Eakins Vocal Consort, from 2006-2009.
A highly accomplished and experienced pianist, Maestro Ribchester has been fortunate to have assisted world-class maestri including J. David Jackson, Christofer Macatsoris, Timothy Myers, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jacques Lacombe, and Steven White. Stage directors with whom he has collaborated regularly include Tito Capobianco, Dorothy Danner, David Gately, Inga Levant, James Marvel, Nic Muni, Detlef Soelter, and Marc Verzatt, and he has coached internationally recognized singers including Maria Aleida, Emily Birsan, Carla Dirlikov, Joyce El-Khoury, Nicole Piccolomini, Michael Todd Simpson, and Gidon Saks. His recital collaborators have included Julianne Baird, Ian Bostridge, William Burden, Paquito D’Rivera, Ricardo Morales, and Leonardo Suarez Paz, and he has led several ensembles from the keyboard in both baroque and tango music. The official audition pianist for Philadelphia-based concert soloist agency Astral Artists, his playing is featured in director Park Chan-Wook's critically acclaimed film The Handmaiden, and on Cassia Harvey's recently released CD The Russian Cello.
Maestro Ribchester trained at Oxford University, the Royal College of Music, London, La Schola Cantorum, Paris, and the Advanced Conducting Academy in Bacau, Romania, in addition to conducting master-classes with several distinguished pedagogues in the United States. Passionate about public arts education, he has served as Manager of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s adult education initiatives and as a regular pre-concert lecturer and broadcast writer/director/host for the orchestra. He is currently based in Berlin, Germany, coaching privately, collaborating with renowned directors and voice teachers, and giving masterclasses at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg.
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