Honoring Emil Torick

Steve Hodson is Professor of Music at Westmont College where his duties have included teaching piano and organ, conducting, and music survey, and leading various singing groups. He conducts the Santa Barbara Master Chorale and serves as organist at First United Methodist Church of Santa Barbara. Hodson holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is Vice-President of the Western Division of the American Choral Directors Association (encompassing California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona), and past President of California ACDA. He enjoys performing on piano, organ, and harpsichord and is an accomplished accompanist.

Organist Thomas Joyce is Director of Music at Trinity Episcopal Church. Originally from Cambridge, England, Thomas has spent most of his life living in the United States. This past July, he finally became a U.S. citizen.

Mr. Joyce began his musical career as a boy chorister at the Washington National Cathedral, and continued his studies at Interlochen Arts Academy. He later attained degrees in music from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Yale University, and University of Washington. Before finding his home in Santa Barbara, Thomas worked for several churches and cathedrals throughout the United States as an organist and choral conductor.

In addition to his work as a church musician, he serves on the music faculty at Santa Barbara City College, instructs organ students from Westmont College, and is the keyboard accompanist for Adelfos Ensemble.

Christopher Davis, pianist, has been concerto soloist with several orchestras including the Northwest Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and has studied with renowned teachers and scholars in Germany, Austria, and Portugal. He earned his BA Degree from UC San Diego, his MM Degree from the University of Arkansas, and his DMA Degree from UCSB. In addition to serving as the Music Academy of the West’s House Manager (2009-2016), Dr. Davis has been on the staff of the Ojai Music Festival and Westmont College (2014-2016), and has worked for Camerata Pacifica, collaborating independently with many of their musicians.

San Francisco Bay area cellist Joanne de Mars is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Jennifer Culp. Originally from Seattle, Joanne graduated from the University of Washington with her BA, BM, and BS. She is a member of the contemporary ensemble Wild Rumpus, and is an active solo and chamber music performer whose collaborations include the UC Berkeley Dance Department and Stanford’s New Ensemble. Joanne has a wide variety of interest in all styles of music. She is currently a member of Oakland based rock band Felsen, and has performed with jazz, pop, classical, and contemporary groups, including Butch Morris’s conduction ensemble, Kanye West, Vertigo Quartet, and Maestro Shajarian, Iranian singer and icon.

Jane Hahn, singer and flutist, grew up in Santa Barbara, and has studied and performed as a singer and a flutist her whole life. Her modest singing career includes several comprimario roles with Opera Santa Barbara, and she has been the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Santa Maria. Jane has directed the women’s vocal ensemble, LUX, as well as choirs at St. Michaels and Trinity Episcopal churches. Jane studied flute at the college level at UCSB, and continues to practice and perform as a freelance musician today, lately branching out into the Jazz genre. Jane is a retired Software Engineer and Project Manager. She and her husband are very proud of their two married sons and their precious grand-daughter. Her hobbies include yoga, pottery, and house-building with her husband.

Louis Grace, oboist, began his oboe studies with Lois Wann in the pre-college division of the Manhattan School of Music, and then continued with her in the pre-college division of The Juilliard School of Music. During his college years, he studied with David Weber at Oberlin College, and with Engelbert Brenner, retired English Hornist of the New York Philharmonic. Shortly after he arrived in Santa Barbara, Louis played for several years in the UCSB Symphony. He is currently principal oboist in the SBCC Symphony, and in the West Coast Symphony (Mozart by Candlelight, Santa Barbara July Fourth concert, end-of-Fiesta free concert). Louis holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Michigan, and he is the lecture demonstration coordinator in the physics department at UCSB.

Per Elmfors, clarinetist, was born in Sweden and earned his PhD in Physics from Chalmers Institute of Technology (Gothenburg, Sweden). An avid chamber musician, his emphasis has been on performing with string and woodwind ensembles. He is currently Principle Clarinet in the SBCC Symphony, and also plays in several chamber music ensembles. Dr. Elmfors moved to Santa Barbara in 2010, and is a Senior Systems Engineer at FLIR Systems.

Paul Mori, bassoon, received his earliest start in music through school music programs here in his native Santa Barbara and continued his musical education at Westmont College. From here, he relocated to Baltimore to study at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, earning a master’s degree in bassoon performance with Phillip Kolker and later completing a doctorate in orchestral conducting, studying with the legendary Frederik Prausnitz. He served as music director of orchestras in the Pacific Northwest and Baltimore before returning to Santa Barbara. Currently, he conducts the Santa Barbara Reading Orchestra and is on the music faculty at Westmont College.

Johann Trujillo is a French horn player based in Santa Barbara, performing regularly with local ensembles such as the Santa Barbara Chamber Players, the Santa Barbara City College Symphony and Concert Band, the Ojai Pops Orchestra, and the Bottom-Line Brass. He is also a co-founder of the Los Padres Sound, a horn quartet that performs throughout the region from Goleta to Ojai. Johann studied horn at UC Davis while pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, balancing his love for music with his professional career.