Ingrid Stölzel (b.1971) has been hailed “as a composer of considerable gifts” who is “musically confident and bold” by National Public Radio’s classical music critic. Her music has been described as “tender and beautiful” (American Record Guide) and as creating a “haunting feeling of lyrical reflection and suspension in time and memory” (Classical-Modern Review). At the heart of her compositions is a belief that music can create a profound emotional connection with the listener.

Stölzel’s compositions are performed in concert halls and festivals worldwide, including the Seoul Arts Center, Kennedy Center, the Thailand International Composition Festival, Festival Osmose (Belgium), Vox Feminae Festival (Israel), Festival of New Music at Florida State (USA), Beijing Modern Music Festival (China), Festival of New American Music (USA), and SoundOn Festival of Modern Music (USA). Her music has been awarded and recognized in numerous competitions, among them the Red Note Composition Competition, the Robert Avalon International Competition for Composers, and the Ortus International New Music Competition.

Stölzel earned her doctorate degree in composition from the University of Missouri, Conservatory of Music and Dance in Kansas City and holds a Master of Music in composition from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT. She is on the composition faculty at the University of Kansas.

Sarah Tannehill Anderson is a singer of opera, oratorio, choral music, contemporary works, and art song. Having performed at companies including Opera Company of Philadelphia, Boston Lyric, Opera Omaha, Fort Worth Opera, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sarah is now making her career in the vibrant Kansas City music scene. Sarah is resident soprano of the Kansas City Chorale, Lyric Arts Trio and Bach Aria Soloists. A featured soloist on the Kansas City Chorale’s Grammy Award-winning album, “Life and Breath,” Sarah’s exceptional musicianship and interpretive skills have made her a sought-after soloist with the Kansas City Symphony, the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, the New Ear Contemporary Ensemble, Spire Chamber Ensemble, Kansas City Baroque Consortium, and the Kansas City Ballet. She is also a featured soloist on the album, The Trumpet Sounds, written by Anthony Maglione. Sarah is a teacher and clinician, and the founder of Raise Your Voice, KC.

Keith Bohm, saxophonist, has been noted for his “virtuosity,” and “expressive playing” in the Sacramento Bee and San Francisco Classical Voice. Dr. Bohm is a Yanagisawa Performing Artist through the Conn-Selmer Corporation and ACME Artist through Mu Phi Epsilon. He has performed throughout the United States and Europe including The Kennedy Center, Bicentenaire de la Revolution Francaise and Montreux Jazz Festival. Dr. Bohm has premiered the works of Samuel Adler, Jerome Begin, Leo Eylar, Jeffrey Hoover, William J. Lackey, James Mobberly, Ingrid Stölzel and Chen Yi. He was the winner of the 1998 Mu Phi Epsilon International Competition and past Artistic Director of FeNAM. Dr. Bohm is currently Professor of Saxophone at CSU, Sacramento and was the Artist Affiliate of Saxophone at UC Davis. He received degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Southern Mississippi and CSU, Sacramento.

Anne-Marie Brown is a member of the Kansas City Symphony first violin section and performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the Kansas City area. The Kansas City Star has described her performances as displaying “splendid virtuosity…with a rich, impressive tone.” Brown is also a co-principal second violin of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and concertmaster of the Starlight Theater Orchestra. In addition to performing, she is a dedicated teacher, serving on the faculty of the Heartland Chamber Music Festival and maintaining a private violin studio. Brown holds degrees from Northwestern University and Manhattan School of Music, where she was a student of Glenn Dicterow. She also has studied and performed at numerous music festivals, including the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, ENCORE School for Strings, Tanglewood and the Park City International Music Festival, among others.

Cellist, Lawrence Figg began the cello in fourth grade strings class and later was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age 18. After graduating in 1985, he moved to France where he lived for five years in Paris. He was a member of the Orchestre de Chambre d’Alexendre Stajic, performed a season with Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble Intercomtemporain, and he was a regular recording artist for French radio and television. In 1986, he was a semi-finalist at the Tchaikovsky in Moscow and performed as soloist with several French orchestras during his stay in Paris. In 1991, he won a position as section cellist in the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine under the direction of Alain Lombard and was later appointed the to the position of assistant principal and then principal cello until 1994. Figg has been a member of the Kansas City Symphony since 1999.

Annie Gnojek is in high demand as a freelance musician, flute educator and clinician in the Lawrence and Kansas City areas, where she manages a successful flute studio. Apart from her teaching career, Annie is also the flutist in the trio Allégresse along with Margaret Marco, oboe, and Ellen Sommer, piano. Together they perform numerous concerts throughout the year both nationally and internationally. Annie can be heard as principal flutist on the 2006 Naxos Release of Redline Tango with the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble and on the Allégresse recordings, Allégresse: Music for Flute, Oboe, and Piano (2009), Fresh Ink (2010), and (Mercury 2016). Annie has also performed the music of Brian Kip Haaheim on the soundtrack to the Showtime documentary film, Fall from Grace.

Margaret Marco is Professor of Oboe at the University of Kansas School of Music and principal oboist of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. She began her professional career as the principal oboist of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Maracaibo in Venezuela. Since then, her many solo, chamber and orchestral performances have taken her to a variety of prestigious international venues in locations such as Japan, Costa Rica, England, Canada, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and Beijing where she performed and presented master classes at the distinguished Central Conservatory. National festivals and concert appearances include the Festival of New American Music in Sacramento, California; the Conservatorio de Música in Puerto Rico; New Frontiers Music Festival in Laramie, Wyoming; the Sunflower Music Festival in Topeka, KS; Encuentro de Oboes y Fagotes, in Costa Rica and many International Double Reed Society (IDRS) Conferences. She served as Chair of the prestigious IDRS Fernand Gillet-Hugo Fox Oboe Competition from 2009-2017. A strong advocate for new music for her instrument, Dr. Marco has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mu Phi Epsilon and the University of Kansas to perform and record new chamber works by American composers. She can be heard on her solo CD, Hidden Gems: Oboe Sonatas of the French Baroque, with her trio on Allégresse; music for flute, oboe and piano and Fresh Ink and with the KU Wind Ensemble performing Copland’s Quiet City on the NAXOS label.

Canadian violinist Véronique Mathieu has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Asia, Canada, Europe, South Africa, South America, and the United States. She was a prizewinner in the 2012 Eckhardt–Gramatté Contemporary Music Competition and the 2010 Kraków International Contemporary Music Competition as well as a three-time winner of the Canada Council Bank of Instruments Competition. An avid contemporary music performer, Ms. Mathieu has commissioned and premiered many works by American and Canadian composers, and recorded for the CD series New Music at Indiana University, as well as the labels of Radio-Canada, Navona Records, Centrediscs, and Pheromone. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, Shenyang Symphony Orchestra (China), Filarmonica de Americana, Kokomo Symphony, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Montreal Contemporary Ensemble, and the Orquestra Sinfonica de Indaiatuba (Brazil). www.veroniquemathieu.net

Lauded by Opera News as an “artist of inspiring onstage honesty,” mezzo-soprano Phyllis Pancella consistently earns acclaim for her expressive voice, artistic versatility, and superlative musicianship. Ms. Pancella’s opera roles have ranged from Carmen and Adalgisa to Lizzie Borden and Nero, with major companies in Houston, Chicago, and San Francisco, London, Paris, Tel Aviv, and Naples, Italy. In concert repertoire, she has performed under the batons of Leonard Slatkin, Jane Glover, Daniel Barenboim, James Conlon, and Anne Manson. A highly regarded interpreter of chamber music and art song, she has appeared with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Chamber Music Northwest, OK Mozart, BargeMusic, and for the Prague New Music Festival. Her work with contemporary composers has resulted in many premieres, including the Alice Tully Hall presentation of Argento’s Miss Manners on Music, and she appears on recordings with the Naxos, Erato, and Neos labels.

Robert Pherigo is a composer, pianist, tenor and conductor. He was a member of newEar Contemporary Music Ensemble for 15 years, exploring the music of today’s composers. He participated in numerous world premieres and performed at Modern Music festivals in Thailand and China. Robert has composed works for, among others, newEar, Kansas City Chorale, Lyric Arts Trio, and the Lawrence Children’s Choir. His arrangement of the well-known Christmas Carol Sing We Now of Christmas, is published by Santa Barbara Musical Publishing under the title Sing We Now Noel! Robert sang with the Grammy award winning Kansas City Chorale for 10 years. He enjoys playing solo piano recitals, recently performing Charles Ives’ “Concord” Sonata and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E major, Op. 109. His piano artistry can be heard on recordings of the music of Ingrid Stölzel, Narong Prancharoen, and Mara Gibson.

Pianist Ellen R. Sommer has quickly established a reputation as a much sought-after collaborative pianist, chamber musician, and coach. She performs extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Central and South Americas, Europe and Asia. Most recent engagements include concerts and master classes at Universidad de Costa Rica Conservatory in San Jose, and performances at the Montgomery Arts House for Music and Architecture in Malibu, California. Sommer often serves as a pianist for regional, national and international competitions and festivals, as well as recital series and radio broadcasts. Additionally Sommer coaches and performs for several summer camps and institutes, including the Omaha Conservatory of Music Institute, BLYAP and Sound Encounters Suzuki Strings camp in Ottawa, Kansas, Midwestern Music Camp in Lawrence, KS, and Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. Recently, Ellen was awarded a prestigious honor as a 2016 Distinguished Alumni from Missouri Western State University in Saint Joseph, MO. Sommer is a founding member of Allegresse, a fresh and inspiring trio for flute, oboe and piano. She serves as a Lecturer in Piano at the University of Kansas School of Music.

Ingrid Stölzel (b.1971) has been hailed “as a composer of considerable gifts” who is “musically confident and bold” by National Public Radio’s classical music critic. Her music has been described as “tender and beautiful” (American Record Guide) and as creating a “haunting feeling of lyrical reflection and suspension in time and memory” (Classical-Modern Review). At the heart of her compositions is a belief that music can create a profound emotional connection with the listener.

Stölzel’s compositions are performed in concert halls and festivals worldwide, including the Seoul Arts Center, Kennedy Center, the Thailand International Composition Festival, Festival Osmose (Belgium), Vox Feminae Festival (Israel), Festival of New Music at Florida State (USA), Beijing Modern Music Festival (China), Festival of New American Music (USA), and SoundOn Festival of Modern Music (USA). Her music has been awarded and recognized in numerous competitions, among them the Red Note Composition Competition, the Robert Avalon International Competition for Composers, and the Ortus International New Music Competition.

Stölzel earned her doctorate degree in composition from the University of Missouri, Conservatory of Music and Dance in Kansas City and holds a Master of Music in composition from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT. She is on the composition faculty at the University of Kansas.

Sarah Tannehill Anderson is a singer of opera, oratorio, choral music, contemporary works, and art song. Having performed at companies including Opera Company of Philadelphia, Boston Lyric, Opera Omaha, Fort Worth Opera, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sarah is now making her career in the vibrant Kansas City music scene. Sarah is resident soprano of the Kansas City Chorale, Lyric Arts Trio and Bach Aria Soloists. A featured soloist on the Kansas City Chorale’s Grammy Award-winning album, “Life and Breath,” Sarah’s exceptional musicianship and interpretive skills have made her a sought-after soloist with the Kansas City Symphony, the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, the New Ear Contemporary Ensemble, Spire Chamber Ensemble, Kansas City Baroque Consortium, and the Kansas City Ballet. She is also a featured soloist on the album, The Trumpet Sounds, written by Anthony Maglione. Sarah is a teacher and clinician, and the founder of Raise Your Voice, KC.

Keith Bohm, saxophonist, has been noted for his “virtuosity,” and “expressive playing” in the Sacramento Bee and San Francisco Classical Voice. Dr. Bohm is a Yanagisawa Performing Artist through the Conn-Selmer Corporation and ACME Artist through Mu Phi Epsilon. He has performed throughout the United States and Europe including The Kennedy Center, Bicentenaire de la Revolution Francaise and Montreux Jazz Festival. Dr. Bohm has premiered the works of Samuel Adler, Jerome Begin, Leo Eylar, Jeffrey Hoover, William J. Lackey, James Mobberly, Ingrid Stölzel and Chen Yi. He was the winner of the 1998 Mu Phi Epsilon International Competition and past Artistic Director of FeNAM. Dr. Bohm is currently Professor of Saxophone at CSU, Sacramento and was the Artist Affiliate of Saxophone at UC Davis. He received degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Southern Mississippi and CSU, Sacramento.

Anne-Marie Brown is a member of the Kansas City Symphony first violin section and performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the Kansas City area. The Kansas City Star has described her performances as displaying “splendid virtuosity…with a rich, impressive tone.” Brown is also a co-principal second violin of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and concertmaster of the Starlight Theater Orchestra. In addition to performing, she is a dedicated teacher, serving on the faculty of the Heartland Chamber Music Festival and maintaining a private violin studio. Brown holds degrees from Northwestern University and Manhattan School of Music, where she was a student of Glenn Dicterow. She also has studied and performed at numerous music festivals, including the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, ENCORE School for Strings, Tanglewood and the Park City International Music Festival, among others.

Cellist, Lawrence Figg began the cello in fourth grade strings class and later was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age 18. After graduating in 1985, he moved to France where he lived for five years in Paris. He was a member of the Orchestre de Chambre d’Alexendre Stajic, performed a season with Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble Intercomtemporain, and he was a regular recording artist for French radio and television. In 1986, he was a semi-finalist at the Tchaikovsky in Moscow and performed as soloist with several French orchestras during his stay in Paris. In 1991, he won a position as section cellist in the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine under the direction of Alain Lombard and was later appointed the to the position of assistant principal and then principal cello until 1994. Figg has been a member of the Kansas City Symphony since 1999.

Annie Gnojek is in high demand as a freelance musician, flute educator and clinician in the Lawrence and Kansas City areas, where she manages a successful flute studio. Apart from her teaching career, Annie is also the flutist in the trio Allégresse along with Margaret Marco, oboe, and Ellen Sommer, piano. Together they perform numerous concerts throughout the year both nationally and internationally. Annie can be heard as principal flutist on the 2006 Naxos Release of Redline Tango with the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble and on the Allégresse recordings, Allégresse: Music for Flute, Oboe, and Piano (2009), Fresh Ink (2010), and (Mercury 2016). Annie has also performed the music of Brian Kip Haaheim on the soundtrack to the Showtime documentary film, Fall from Grace.

Margaret Marco is Professor of Oboe at the University of Kansas School of Music and principal oboist of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. She began her professional career as the principal oboist of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Maracaibo in Venezuela. Since then, her many solo, chamber and orchestral performances have taken her to a variety of prestigious international venues in locations such as Japan, Costa Rica, England, Canada, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and Beijing where she performed and presented master classes at the distinguished Central Conservatory. National festivals and concert appearances include the Festival of New American Music in Sacramento, California; the Conservatorio de Música in Puerto Rico; New Frontiers Music Festival in Laramie, Wyoming; the Sunflower Music Festival in Topeka, KS; Encuentro de Oboes y Fagotes, in Costa Rica and many International Double Reed Society (IDRS) Conferences. She served as Chair of the prestigious IDRS Fernand Gillet-Hugo Fox Oboe Competition from 2009-2017. A strong advocate for new music for her instrument, Dr. Marco has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mu Phi Epsilon and the University of Kansas to perform and record new chamber works by American composers. She can be heard on her solo CD, Hidden Gems: Oboe Sonatas of the French Baroque, with her trio on Allégresse; music for flute, oboe and piano and Fresh Ink and with the KU Wind Ensemble performing Copland’s Quiet City on the NAXOS label.

Canadian violinist Véronique Mathieu has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Asia, Canada, Europe, South Africa, South America, and the United States. She was a prizewinner in the 2012 Eckhardt–Gramatté Contemporary Music Competition and the 2010 Kraków International Contemporary Music Competition as well as a three-time winner of the Canada Council Bank of Instruments Competition. An avid contemporary music performer, Ms. Mathieu has commissioned and premiered many works by American and Canadian composers, and recorded for the CD series New Music at Indiana University, as well as the labels of Radio-Canada, Navona Records, Centrediscs, and Pheromone. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, Shenyang Symphony Orchestra (China), Filarmonica de Americana, Kokomo Symphony, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Montreal Contemporary Ensemble, and the Orquestra Sinfonica de Indaiatuba (Brazil). www.veroniquemathieu.net

Lauded by Opera News as an “artist of inspiring onstage honesty,” mezzo-soprano Phyllis Pancella consistently earns acclaim for her expressive voice, artistic versatility, and superlative musicianship. Ms. Pancella’s opera roles have ranged from Carmen and Adalgisa to Lizzie Borden and Nero, with major companies in Houston, Chicago, and San Francisco, London, Paris, Tel Aviv, and Naples, Italy. In concert repertoire, she has performed under the batons of Leonard Slatkin, Jane Glover, Daniel Barenboim, James Conlon, and Anne Manson. A highly regarded interpreter of chamber music and art song, she has appeared with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Chamber Music Northwest, OK Mozart, BargeMusic, and for the Prague New Music Festival. Her work with contemporary composers has resulted in many premieres, including the Alice Tully Hall presentation of Argento’s Miss Manners on Music, and she appears on recordings with the Naxos, Erato, and Neos labels.

Robert Pherigo is a composer, pianist, tenor and conductor. He was a member of newEar Contemporary Music Ensemble for 15 years, exploring the music of today’s composers. He participated in numerous world premieres and performed at Modern Music festivals in Thailand and China. Robert has composed works for, among others, newEar, Kansas City Chorale, Lyric Arts Trio, and the Lawrence Children’s Choir. His arrangement of the well-known Christmas Carol Sing We Now of Christmas, is published by Santa Barbara Musical Publishing under the title Sing We Now Noel! Robert sang with the Grammy award winning Kansas City Chorale for 10 years. He enjoys playing solo piano recitals, recently performing Charles Ives’ “Concord” Sonata and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E major, Op. 109. His piano artistry can be heard on recordings of the music of Ingrid Stölzel, Narong Prancharoen, and Mara Gibson.

Pianist Ellen R. Sommer has quickly established a reputation as a much sought-after collaborative pianist, chamber musician, and coach. She performs extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Central and South Americas, Europe and Asia. Most recent engagements include concerts and master classes at Universidad de Costa Rica Conservatory in San Jose, and performances at the Montgomery Arts House for Music and Architecture in Malibu, California. Sommer often serves as a pianist for regional, national and international competitions and festivals, as well as recital series and radio broadcasts. Additionally Sommer coaches and performs for several summer camps and institutes, including the Omaha Conservatory of Music Institute, BLYAP and Sound Encounters Suzuki Strings camp in Ottawa, Kansas, Midwestern Music Camp in Lawrence, KS, and Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. Recently, Ellen was awarded a prestigious honor as a 2016 Distinguished Alumni from Missouri Western State University in Saint Joseph, MO. Sommer is a founding member of Allegresse, a fresh and inspiring trio for flute, oboe and piano. She serves as a Lecturer in Piano at the University of Kansas School of Music.

Ingrid Stölzel (b.1971) has been hailed “as a composer of considerable gifts” who is “musically confident and bold” by National Public Radio’s classical music critic. Her music has been described as “tender and beautiful” (American Record Guide) and as creating a “haunting feeling of lyrical reflection and suspension in time and memory” (Classical-Modern Review). At the heart of her compositions is a belief that music can create a profound emotional connection with the listener.

Stölzel’s compositions are performed in concert halls and festivals worldwide, including the Seoul Arts Center, Kennedy Center, the Thailand International Composition Festival, Festival Osmose (Belgium), Vox Feminae Festival (Israel), Festival of New Music at Florida State (USA), Beijing Modern Music Festival (China), Festival of New American Music (USA), and SoundOn Festival of Modern Music (USA). Her music has been awarded and recognized in numerous competitions, among them the Red Note Composition Competition, the Robert Avalon International Competition for Composers, and the Ortus International New Music Competition.

Stölzel earned her doctorate degree in composition from the University of Missouri, Conservatory of Music and Dance in Kansas City and holds a Master of Music in composition from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT. She is on the composition faculty at the University of Kansas.

Sarah Tannehill Anderson is a singer of opera, oratorio, choral music, contemporary works, and art song. Having performed at companies including Opera Company of Philadelphia, Boston Lyric, Opera Omaha, Fort Worth Opera, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sarah is now making her career in the vibrant Kansas City music scene. Sarah is resident soprano of the Kansas City Chorale, Lyric Arts Trio and Bach Aria Soloists. A featured soloist on the Kansas City Chorale’s Grammy Award-winning album, “Life and Breath,” Sarah’s exceptional musicianship and interpretive skills have made her a sought-after soloist with the Kansas City Symphony, the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, the New Ear Contemporary Ensemble, Spire Chamber Ensemble, Kansas City Baroque Consortium, and the Kansas City Ballet. She is also a featured soloist on the album, The Trumpet Sounds, written by Anthony Maglione. Sarah is a teacher and clinician, and the founder of Raise Your Voice, KC.

Keith Bohm, saxophonist, has been noted for his “virtuosity,” and “expressive playing” in the Sacramento Bee and San Francisco Classical Voice. Dr. Bohm is a Yanagisawa Performing Artist through the Conn-Selmer Corporation and ACME Artist through Mu Phi Epsilon. He has performed throughout the United States and Europe including The Kennedy Center, Bicentenaire de la Revolution Francaise and Montreux Jazz Festival. Dr. Bohm has premiered the works of Samuel Adler, Jerome Begin, Leo Eylar, Jeffrey Hoover, William J. Lackey, James Mobberly, Ingrid Stölzel and Chen Yi. He was the winner of the 1998 Mu Phi Epsilon International Competition and past Artistic Director of FeNAM. Dr. Bohm is currently Professor of Saxophone at CSU, Sacramento and was the Artist Affiliate of Saxophone at UC Davis. He received degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Southern Mississippi and CSU, Sacramento.

Anne-Marie Brown is a member of the Kansas City Symphony first violin section and performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the Kansas City area. The Kansas City Star has described her performances as displaying “splendid virtuosity…with a rich, impressive tone.” Brown is also a co-principal second violin of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and concertmaster of the Starlight Theater Orchestra. In addition to performing, she is a dedicated teacher, serving on the faculty of the Heartland Chamber Music Festival and maintaining a private violin studio. Brown holds degrees from Northwestern University and Manhattan School of Music, where she was a student of Glenn Dicterow. She also has studied and performed at numerous music festivals, including the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, ENCORE School for Strings, Tanglewood and the Park City International Music Festival, among others.

Cellist, Lawrence Figg began the cello in fourth grade strings class and later was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age 18. After graduating in 1985, he moved to France where he lived for five years in Paris. He was a member of the Orchestre de Chambre d’Alexendre Stajic, performed a season with Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble Intercomtemporain, and he was a regular recording artist for French radio and television. In 1986, he was a semi-finalist at the Tchaikovsky in Moscow and performed as soloist with several French orchestras during his stay in Paris. In 1991, he won a position as section cellist in the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine under the direction of Alain Lombard and was later appointed the to the position of assistant principal and then principal cello until 1994. Figg has been a member of the Kansas City Symphony since 1999.

Annie Gnojek is in high demand as a freelance musician, flute educator and clinician in the Lawrence and Kansas City areas, where she manages a successful flute studio. Apart from her teaching career, Annie is also the flutist in the trio Allégresse along with Margaret Marco, oboe, and Ellen Sommer, piano. Together they perform numerous concerts throughout the year both nationally and internationally. Annie can be heard as principal flutist on the 2006 Naxos Release of Redline Tango with the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble and on the Allégresse recordings, Allégresse: Music for Flute, Oboe, and Piano (2009), Fresh Ink (2010), and (Mercury 2016). Annie has also performed the music of Brian Kip Haaheim on the soundtrack to the Showtime documentary film, Fall from Grace.

Margaret Marco is Professor of Oboe at the University of Kansas School of Music and principal oboist of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. She began her professional career as the principal oboist of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Maracaibo in Venezuela. Since then, her many solo, chamber and orchestral performances have taken her to a variety of prestigious international venues in locations such as Japan, Costa Rica, England, Canada, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and Beijing where she performed and presented master classes at the distinguished Central Conservatory. National festivals and concert appearances include the Festival of New American Music in Sacramento, California; the Conservatorio de Música in Puerto Rico; New Frontiers Music Festival in Laramie, Wyoming; the Sunflower Music Festival in Topeka, KS; Encuentro de Oboes y Fagotes, in Costa Rica and many International Double Reed Society (IDRS) Conferences. She served as Chair of the prestigious IDRS Fernand Gillet-Hugo Fox Oboe Competition from 2009-2017. A strong advocate for new music for her instrument, Dr. Marco has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mu Phi Epsilon and the University of Kansas to perform and record new chamber works by American composers. She can be heard on her solo CD, Hidden Gems: Oboe Sonatas of the French Baroque, with her trio on Allégresse; music for flute, oboe and piano and Fresh Ink and with the KU Wind Ensemble performing Copland’s Quiet City on the NAXOS label.

Canadian violinist Véronique Mathieu has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Asia, Canada, Europe, South Africa, South America, and the United States. She was a prizewinner in the 2012 Eckhardt–Gramatté Contemporary Music Competition and the 2010 Kraków International Contemporary Music Competition as well as a three-time winner of the Canada Council Bank of Instruments Competition. An avid contemporary music performer, Ms. Mathieu has commissioned and premiered many works by American and Canadian composers, and recorded for the CD series New Music at Indiana University, as well as the labels of Radio-Canada, Navona Records, Centrediscs, and Pheromone. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, Shenyang Symphony Orchestra (China), Filarmonica de Americana, Kokomo Symphony, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Montreal Contemporary Ensemble, and the Orquestra Sinfonica de Indaiatuba (Brazil). www.veroniquemathieu.net

Lauded by Opera News as an “artist of inspiring onstage honesty,” mezzo-soprano Phyllis Pancella consistently earns acclaim for her expressive voice, artistic versatility, and superlative musicianship. Ms. Pancella’s opera roles have ranged from Carmen and Adalgisa to Lizzie Borden and Nero, with major companies in Houston, Chicago, and San Francisco, London, Paris, Tel Aviv, and Naples, Italy. In concert repertoire, she has performed under the batons of Leonard Slatkin, Jane Glover, Daniel Barenboim, James Conlon, and Anne Manson. A highly regarded interpreter of chamber music and art song, she has appeared with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Chamber Music Northwest, OK Mozart, BargeMusic, and for the Prague New Music Festival. Her work with contemporary composers has resulted in many premieres, including the Alice Tully Hall presentation of Argento’s Miss Manners on Music, and she appears on recordings with the Naxos, Erato, and Neos labels.

Robert Pherigo is a composer, pianist, tenor and conductor. He was a member of newEar Contemporary Music Ensemble for 15 years, exploring the music of today’s composers. He participated in numerous world premieres and performed at Modern Music festivals in Thailand and China. Robert has composed works for, among others, newEar, Kansas City Chorale, Lyric Arts Trio, and the Lawrence Children’s Choir. His arrangement of the well-known Christmas Carol Sing We Now of Christmas, is published by Santa Barbara Musical Publishing under the title Sing We Now Noel! Robert sang with the Grammy award winning Kansas City Chorale for 10 years. He enjoys playing solo piano recitals, recently performing Charles Ives’ “Concord” Sonata and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E major, Op. 109. His piano artistry can be heard on recordings of the music of Ingrid Stölzel, Narong Prancharoen, and Mara Gibson.

Pianist Ellen R. Sommer has quickly established a reputation as a much sought-after collaborative pianist, chamber musician, and coach. She performs extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Central and South Americas, Europe and Asia. Most recent engagements include concerts and master classes at Universidad de Costa Rica Conservatory in San Jose, and performances at the Montgomery Arts House for Music and Architecture in Malibu, California. Sommer often serves as a pianist for regional, national and international competitions and festivals, as well as recital series and radio broadcasts. Additionally Sommer coaches and performs for several summer camps and institutes, including the Omaha Conservatory of Music Institute, BLYAP and Sound Encounters Suzuki Strings camp in Ottawa, Kansas, Midwestern Music Camp in Lawrence, KS, and Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. Recently, Ellen was awarded a prestigious honor as a 2016 Distinguished Alumni from Missouri Western State University in Saint Joseph, MO. Sommer is a founding member of Allegresse, a fresh and inspiring trio for flute, oboe and piano. She serves as a Lecturer in Piano at the University of Kansas School of Music.