Ellie Cornfeld Melton, harpsichordist, received her BA Degree in Music from the School of Music at the University of Oregon and her MA Degree in Early Music Performance Practice from Stanford University. She has performed at the Peter Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon) Old First Church in San Francisco, and with the University of Pennsylvania Baroque Ensemble.
Dr. Roger Nyquist, concert organist and composer, is an internationally known organ virtuoso and recording artist who has concertized throughout the U.S. and Europe and is in demand as recitalist and master teacher. Born in Rockford, IL, he earned his BM Degree, cum laude, from Augustana College, his MM Degree from Syracuse University, and his DMA Degree from Indiana University. Much like his renowned teachers, Arthur Poister, Catharine Crozier, and André Marchal, he has devoted a major portion of his career to teaching: he served on the faculty of Southwestern College (Winfield, KS) and the University of California, Santa Barbara, and was Professor of Music and University Organist at Santa Clara University.
Among numerous honors, he is listed in International Who’s Who in Music, Outstanding Educators of America, and American Keyboard Artists and received the “Outstanding Achievement Award” from the Alumni Association of Augustana College for his career as concert organist and teacher. He is the composer of the frequently performed Adagio, for organ, and Alleluia, an anthem for mixed choir, and is author of the book,
Now residing in Sacramento, CA, Dr. Nyquist devotes full time to his concert career, private organ teaching, and recording. The following quote from Dr. Nyquist’s writings exemplifies his philosophy regarding the ability to communicate through music making: “It is the spirit of the music that remains with the listener long after the sound has subsided. The spirit of the composer co-mingles with the performer’s spirit to produce one blended spirit. When this act occurs, one hears the very essence of the music.”
Marian Drandell Gilbert, pianist, received her BM degree from UCSB and her Masters in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music. She has twice attended the Music Academy of the West. She maintains a private teaching studio in San Luis Obispo, where she lives with her husband and two children. She is a soloist with the San Luis Chamber Orchestra and is on the Board of Directors of the SLO Symphony Orchestra.
Anne Weger, pianist, has been involved in numerous musical theater productions and is an active collaborative pianist involved in local string, wind, and vocal studios. She received her AA in Music from SBCC, studied with Dr. Reginald Stewart at the Music Academy of the West, and continued her studies at California Institute of the Arts. Anne was pianist with the SB Master Chorale and Assistant Director of Music at First United Methodist Church, and is currently pianist on the staff of St. Mark United Methodist Church.
Timothy Accurso, pianist, joined the Santa Barbara Opera team as Principal Pianist and Music Administrator in 2018, after having been on the music staff of the Palm Beach Opera and the Seagle Music Colony. He earned his BM Degree at Susquehanna University and his MM Degree at the Univerity of Illinois, thereafter becoming Resident Artist with the Utah Opera as well as Young Artist with Opera Saratoga, where he now spends his sumers on staff. Tim coaches with the Chrisman Studio Artists, engaging in education initiatives of Opera SB.
Charles Talmadge, organist, is currently Assisting Organist at The Old Mission and Interim Organist at All Saints-By-The-Sea Episcopal Church. He likes to think of himself as a well-rounded musician who plays organ and piano, with experience as bassist and cellist; choral singing from an early age has added to his enjoyment of creating music with others, with these contrasting liturgical traditions providing a rich background in sacred music. He majored in piano performance at California State Universities, San Bernadino and Fullerton, and did graduate study in organ at San Diego State University. Past recitals have been presented at St. Mary’s Cathedral, San Francisco, Trinity United Methodist Church, Eugene, Oregon, Advent Series at Trinity Episcopal and Lenten Series at First United Methodist Church, Santa Barbara, and he has been pianist for Capitol Opera in Sacramento since 1997.
Emma Lou Diemer was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 24, 1927 and died in Santa Barbara, California on June 2, 2024. Her father, George Willis Diemer, was an educator (college president); her mother, Myrtle Casebolt Diemer, was a church worker and homemaker. Her sister, Dorothy Diemer Hendry, was an educator, poet, writer, musician (married to Col. Wickliffe B. Hendry; their children are Betty Augsburger, Terri Sims, Alan Hendry, Bonny Gierhart). Her brothers were George W. Diemer II, an educator, Marine fighter pilot, musician, and John Irving Diemer educator, musician (his children are George W. Diemer III, René Krey, Jack Diemer, Dee Dee Diemer).
Emma Lou played the piano and composed at a very early age and became organist in her church at age 13. Her great interest in composing music continued through College High School in Warrensburg, MO, and she majored in composition at the Yale Music School (BM, 1949; MM, 1950) and at the Eastman School of Music (Ph.D, 1960). She studied in Brussels, Belgium on a Fulbright Scholarship and spent two summers of composition study at the Berkshire Music Center.
She taught in several colleges and was organist at several churches in the Kansas City area during the 1950s. From 1959-61 she was composer-in-residence in the Arlington, VA schools under the Ford Foundation Young Composers Project, and composed many choral and instrumental works for the schools, a number of which are still in publication. She was consultant for the MENC Contemporary Music Project before joining the faculty of the University of Maryland where she taught composition and theory from 1965-70. In 1971 she moved from the East Coast to teach composition and theory at the University of California, Santa Barbara. At UCSB she was instrumental in founding the electronic/computer music program. In 1991 she became Professor Emeritus at UCSB.
Through the years she fulfilled many commissions (orchestral, chamber ensemble, keyboard, choral, vocal) from schools, churches, and professional organizations. Most of her works are published. She received awards from Yale University (Certificate of Merit), The Eastman School of Music (Edward Benjamin Award), the National Endowment for the Arts (electronic music project), Mu Phi Epsilon (Certificate of Merit), the Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards (for piano concerto), the American Guild of Organists (Composer of the Year), the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers/ASCAP (annually since 1962 for performances and publications), the Santa Barbara Symphony (composer-in-residence, 1990-92), the University of Central Missouri (honorary doctorate), and many others.
She was an active keyboard performer (piano, organ, harpsichord, synthesizer), and has given concerts of her own music at Washington National Cathedral, St. Mary’s Cathedral and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, and elsewhere.
In 2012 she wrote two works for violinist Philip Ficsor: Concerto for Violin (A Little Parlour Music, Remembrance of Things Past, Santa Barbara Rag) that he premiered October 19, 2012 with the Westmont College Orchestra under Michael Shasberger in Hahn Hall at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. And a light piece for violin and organ: Holiday Madness Medley that he and Diemer premiered at the SB Music Club at First Congregational Church, SB on December 1, 2012. These works will eventually be published. Along with a new work titled Going Away they were recorded by Philip Ficsor and Diemer on the album, Going Away.
Marc Evanstein is a composer currently residing in the Portland area. His music has been featured at festivals in the US and internationally, including the Seoul International Computer Music Festival, the International Computer Music Festival, the Atlantic Music Festival, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival, where he won the Composition Contest in 2015. He has collaborated with artists such as Aperture Duo, Ignition Duo, Hocket Duo, Formalist Quartet and LA Percussion Quartet. A musician and composer since a young age, he pursued his undergraduate degree at Stanford University, where he studied composition with Jarosław Kapuściński and piano with Thomas Schultz. Following up on his interest in computers and interactivity, he then continued on at Stanford with a master’s degree in Music, Science and Technology. More recently, Marc was the recipient of a Chancellor’s fellowship at UC Santa Barbara, where he completed a PhD in composition and a master’s in Media Arts and Technology, studying composition with Profs. Clarence Barlow, Joel Feigin, and Curtis Roads, as well as piano with Dr. Charles Asche.
Composer/pianist Leslie A. Hogan received her principal training at the University of Kansas and the University of Michigan. Her music often manifests her longtime fascination with other art forms and with the potential of music to reflect or respond to visual stimuli from the natural world. As a pianist, she has performed with UC Santa Barbara’s Ensemble for Contemporary Music and was a co-founder and frequent performer for the Current Sounds concert series in Santa Barbara. She was on the board of the Chamber Music Society of Santa Barbara for over a decade. She has received awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (Charles Ives Fellowship, 2002; Charles Ives Scholarship, 1993), the Rapido Composition Contest, the American Music Center, ASCAP, and the Chicago Civic Orchestra, among others. Dr. Hogan has taught composition in the College of Creative Studies at the University of California-Santa Barbara since 1995.
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.