Mirah Ray, violinist, is a recent music performance graduate of Westmont College. She is currently pursuing graduate level education and an orchestral career. She is an instructor of violin at San Ramon Music and Fine Art School, Vallejo, California.
Davis Reinhart, pianist, is 15 years old and a sophomore at Santa Ynez Valley High School. His musical studies began at age 4 at the Lompoc School of Music, studying with Dr. Bridget Hough and Jessica Collier, and he participated in numerous adjudications with the International Conservatory of Music Educators, receiving five Guild Awards. Davis performed three times at the annual Santa Maria Youth Showcase, sponsored by the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society, and has done independent study through the Royal Conservatory of Music, earning first class honors. Currently studying piano with Dr. Christopher Davis at the Santa Barbara School of Music, he plays trumpet with the Santa Ynez Valley Jazz Band and High School Jazz Club and also dances tap and hip-hop at the Fossemalle Dance Studio in Santa Ynez.
Tachell Gerbert and Bradley Gregory, duo pianists, have reputations as both concert performers and teachers, and established their piano teaching studio in Thousand Oaks in 1986. Prizewinners in the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Competition, they are active members of the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC). They each received BM Degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory and MM Degrees from UCSB, with emphasis in piano ensemble. While studying at UCSB with Dr. Wendell Nelson they were introduced to the music of Emma Lou Diemer, as the Variations: Homage to Ravel, Schönberg, and May Aufderheide was written for Dr. Nelson and his wife Marjorie. Tachell and Bradley have performed this work in Italy and Japan as well as in the U.S., and in 1996 gave the premiere performance of Diemer’s duo piano work, Norteamexispanicumsake, which was composed for them.
Philip Ficsor, violinist, is a highly acclaimed recording artist and enthusiastic advocate for contemporary American composers. As member of the duo American Double, with pianist Constantine Finehouse, he has toured across the U.S. and Europe, and the duo remains the only ensemble to have recorded the Complete Works for Violin and Piano of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer
William Bolcom (Albany Records). Dr. Ficsor has also released two recordings featuring the works of Emma Lou Diemer: Summer Day and Going Away, with the composer at the keyboard, and in 2012 he collaborated with the Westmont College Orchestra to premiere Diemer’s Violin Concerto. Editorial advisor for publication through E.B. Marks/Hal Leonard Corporation for Bolcom’s violin and
piano works, he was tenured Associate Professor of Music at Westmont College from 2006-2013, and is currently a performing artist based in the Denver area.
Takako Wakita, soprano, has appeared in both concerts and operas in the U. S. and abroad, including Madama Butterfly with the Japanese Philharmonic at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. She has also sung with Opera Santa Barbara, the Pacific Music Society, SB Choral Society, SB Civic Light Opera, and Ventura College Opera. She earned her BA Degree from Kyoiku University and her MA Degree from UCSB. Founder and current faculty member of the Japanese Language Program at SBCC, Professor Wakita also teaches for the SBCC School of Extended learning, is Chair of the Santa Barbara Sister Cities Board, and serves on the board of the Toba Sister City Organization, which promotes Japanese culture in Santa Barbara and sponsors a student exchange.
The Westmont Chamber Singers, Grey Brothers, director, is a select ensemble drawn from the Westmont College Choir. The ensemble offers elite, small-vocal-ensemble experience to advanced singers who wish to explore challenging literature written for few voices per part, and specializes in sacred and secular music from the 15th century to present-day. Their repertoire includes madrigals and motets of the Renaissance, contemporary sacred and secular music, folk-song arrangements, spirituals, and present-day jazz and pop music, as well as early Spanish choral music from Mexico and the United States. The ensemble comprises soprano: Lillyana Huerta, Bethany Le, Jessica Lingua; alto: Sharon Ko, Justice Patocs, Naomi Pulver, tenor: Christopher Browning, Kenny Galindo, Fritz Mora; bass: Alex Dell, Sean McElrath, Nathan Sirovatka.
Rodney Wirtz, violist, is a Southern California native who is active as a freelance musician in the studio scene, performing with numerous orchestras, collaborating on recordings and film soundtracks with renowned popular artists, and touring with them in the United States and abroad. He holds a BM Degree in Viola Performance from California State University Long Beach, studying with John Hayhurst, and an MM Degree from the University of Southern California, studying with Donald McInnes. In the last few years, his most memorable projects have been with Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin, Ron Isley, Michael Jackson, Barry Manilow, Arturo Sandoval, Silversun Pick-ups, Marco Antonio Solis, Barbra Streisand, Taylor Swift, John Williams, Yellowcard, and many other notables. In 2014 he toured internationally with recording artist John Legend for his “All of Me” tour, and continues to perform with a variety of artists and diverse ensembles, including the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Muse/ique Orchestra, and the Santa Barbara Symphony. He currently teaches viola at East Los Angeles College.
Paula Hatley, pianist, earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music from the University of Arkansas, where she studied accompanying with William Gant. She has performed as a vocal studio accompanist, collaborating in numerous song recitals, and has been a member of several chamber ensembles. Active in the Santa Barbara musical community, she has served as accompanist for the Santa Barbara Master Chorale and Santa Barbara Children’s Chorus, and recently retired from the faculty of the Music Department at Westmont College.
Simon Knight, bassoonist, holds an MBA from Warwick Business School (UK) and is an IT Executive. He studied bassoon under Kerry Camden, Professor of Bassoon at the Royal College of Music, and played with the Dartington College of Music orchestra and International Summer School. He is principal bassoon with the Santa Barbara Chamber Players and City College Symphony and plays with various local chamber music groups. He is a founder and treasurer of the Santa Barbara Chamber Players and Vice President of the Chamber Music Society of Santa Barbara. As well as classical music, Simon plays Uilleann pipes, and on saxophone, was a member of jazz fusion ensembles and the Dartington Big Band under the direction of experimental composer James Fulkerson.
Allen Bishop is a psychoanalyst, teacher, and pianist living in Montecito, California, with his wife Dena. Allen is a past president of the Santa Barbara Music Club, and is the founding Director of the Santa Barbara Beethovenfest. In addition, he served for eight years on the Board of Directors of the American Beethoven Society. While Allen has had a life-long interest in the piano and the music of Beethoven, it is only in the last 15 years that he has had the opportunity to study seriously with teachers including Zeynep Ucbasaran, Peter Yazbeck, Betty Oberacker, and Glory Fisher. He has performed frequently in the Music Club Concert Series and the Beethovenfest. As co-founder of the Montecito Chamber Players, he has performed at numerous retirement venues in and around Santa Barbara. Allen is the Dean of the Reiss-Davis Graduate Center in Los Angeles and maintains a private practice in Montecito.