Performers

Brass Players
Steven Gross
Steven Gross,
Hornist

Steven Gross, French horn, is UCSB Professor of Horn and Head of the Wind, Brass, and Percussion Area. His renowned concert and teaching career worldwide has featured solo and ensemble performances in Europe, China, Russia, East Africa, and the U.S., as well as positions with distinguished symphony orchestras, including 24 years as Principal Horn of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. He has recorded 6 solo CDs, all to impressive critical acclaim. Please view StevenGrossHorn.com.

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Randall (Randy) Jones
Randall (Randy) Jones,
Trumpet

Randall (Randy) Jones, cornet/flugelhorn, currently serves as Principal Trumpet with the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra. He began trumpet studies at age nine, and went on to co-found the Ventura British Brass ensemble (www.VenturaBritishBrass.com), in which he performs soprano cornet. A retired electrical lineman, Randy also performs with the Ventura Community Concert Band and The Swingshift Jazz Big Band.

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John Mason
John Mason,
French Horn

John Mason, French horn, is a freelance musician in the greater Los Angeles area, and records for motion pictures and television. His most recent work includes John Williams: Star Wars Episode VIII, Geostorm, and various Marvel Movie and TV projects, as well as The Black Eyed Peas upcoming album. John also performs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Long Beach Symphony, Santa Barbara Opera and Santa Barbara Symphony, and is Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony.

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Johann Trujillo
Johann Trujillo,
French Horn

Johann Trujillo, Horn, studied at the University of California, Davis with Peter Nowlen, while working on his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. He currently plays with the Lompoc Pops Orchestra and the Santa Barbara City College Band and Symphony, with which he has done a solo performance. He has also played with the Mesa Symphony, Ojai Pops, and the Santa Barbara Revels. He is a cofounder of the Los Padres Sound – Horn Quartet. For his day job, he is currently a Principal Systems Engineer at Raytheon.

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Keyboard Players
Timothy Accurso
Timothy Accurso,
Pianist

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.

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Mariusz Adamczak
Mariusz Adamczak,
Pianist

MARIUSZ ADAMCZAK, pianist, has concertized in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Republic of Moldava, Morocco, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Uzbekistan and the United States, and has been prize winner in piano competitions in Greece, Italy, Poland, and Romania. As concerto soloist, he has been featured with major European orchestras, and as chamber music pianist he has appeared with the Camerata, Consonante, and Gaudeamus Quartets, the Cracow Royal Quartet, and the Camerata Vistula and Varsovia Ensembles. He has been invited to present concerts at national and international festivals, including the “Fryderyk Chopin Music Festivals” in Ghent (Belgium) and in Gaming (Austria) the “Forum of Young Pianists” in Darmstadt (Germany), the “Young Pianists Interpretations” in the Chopin Festival in Valldemossa (Mallorca), and the “Floralia Music Festival in Warsaw (Poland), and has recorded live studio concerts for the BBC and Polish Radio.

Born in Poland, Mr. Adamczak graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin State School of Music in Warsaw, receiving the Artistic Scholarship from the Polish Ministry of Culture and Arts, graduated with distinction from the Cracow Academy of Music, and also studied at the National University of Music in Bucharest, Romania. In 2014 he instituted his private piano class, from which his students have been awarded prizes in national and international piano competitions.

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Miriam Arichea
Miriam Arichea,
Pianist

Miriam Arichea, piano, is active as both musician and attorney, and earned her JD Degree from Duke University School of Law. She has been featured soloist in annual concerts with the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra (CHICO), including performances of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1, Dvorak’s Piano Concerto, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Variations, and has been pianist in numerous chamber music ensembles throughout Southern California. She is currently Deputy District Attorney for Ventura County.

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John Ballerino
John Ballerino,
Pianist

John Ballerino, pianist, was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and earned his DMA in Collaborative Arts from USC. His principal teachers have included Gwendolyn Koldofsky, Brooks Smith, and Martial Singher, the latter at the Music Academy of the West. An accomplished speaker about and performer of Spanish and Latin American music, he lectures and performs throughout the United States and the Caribbean and has served as Spanish diction coach for productions by the Los Angeles Opera and Los Angeles Master Chorale. Former Chorus Master and Assistant Conductor for Opera Santa Barbara, Dr. Ballerino is currently Continuing Lecturer of Collaborative Arts at UCSB.

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Paul Berkowitz
Paul Berkowitz,
Pianist

Paul Berkowitz, a native of Montreal, Canada, is a graduate of McGill University and of the Curtis Institute, where he studied with Rudolf Serkin. He lived in Britain for 20 years appearing frequently at the Queen Elizabeth and Wigmore Halls and on the BBC, as a soloist with major orchestras in Britain and Canada and at music festivals in Belgium, Denmark, England, Scotland, France, Italy and Spain. Mr. Berkowitz left the Guildhall School of Music in London, where he had been a professor since 1975, to join the music faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1993, where he is Professor of Piano and served as Chair of the Department of Music 2007-12. He has been invited to present master classes at major conservatories, universities and festivals, and his students have won prizes in numerous competitions, including the BBC Young Musician of the Year (Thomas Adès), the International Piano Competition Palma d’Oro in Italy, the Bradshaw and Buono International Competition in New York, and the Los Angeles Liszt Competition and have gone on to have concert and academic careers of their own in Europe, North America and Asia.

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Allen Bishop
Allen Bishop,
Pianist

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.

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Leslie Cain
Leslie Cain,
Pianist

Leslie Cain, pianist, completed her undergraduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with André-Michel Schub. She also holds a BA Degree in Philosophy from California State University, Los Angeles, from which she graduated at age 18 as part of the school’s Early Entrance Program, and her honors include First Prizes in the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition. By invitation of the Weill Music Institute, she performed in a master class conducted by Richard Goode in the inaugural season of the Resnick Education Wing at Carnegie Hall, and has also participated in master classes with Jeremy Denk, Lynn Harrell, Gilbert Kalish, and Yo-Yo Ma, as well as the Danish and Kronos String Quartets. She was a participant in the 2016 Ecole d’Art Américaines, the renowned music festival held each summer at the Chateau de Fontainebleau, France, and her other recent appearances include the Appaloosa Festival in Front Royal, Virginia, adding classical music to their lineup of rock and bluegrass performers. Leslie is currently a DMA candidate at UCSB, studying with Paul Berkowitz, and a fellowship member of the UCSB Young Artist Piano Quartet.

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Robert Cassidy
Robert Cassidy,
Pianist

Pianist Robert Cassidy has performed in solo and collaborative recitals and with orchestra throughout the United States and Canada, and has received critical acclaim for his performances and recordings of both solo piano repertoire and chamber music. Dr. Cassidy has appeared in such venues as New York City’s Merkin and Weill Halls, the Lyceum in Alexandria (VA), Santa Barbara City College (CA), and the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada. He has also been presented on radio stations WFMT in Chicago (Dame Myra Hess Series), WCLV and WCPN in Cleveland, and WNYC in New York (Around New York). A strong advocate of contemporary music, Dr. Cassidy has premiered works by the American composers David Noon and Keith Fitch. He is the pianist in the Cleveland-based Almeda Trio and regularly performs chamber music with members of The Cleveland Orchestra.

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Ellie Cornfeld Melton
Ellie Cornfeld Melton,
Harpsichordist

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.

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Christopher Davis
Christopher Davis,
Director Emeritus; Pianist

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.

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Emma Lou Diemer
Emma Lou Diemer,
Composer, Pianist, Organist

Composer, pianist, and organist Emma Lou Diemer is 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. She studied 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. In 1971 she moved from the East Coast to teach composition and theory at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she was instrumental in founding the electronic/computer music program. In 1991 she became Professor Emeritus at UCSB.

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Neil DiMaggio
Neil DiMaggio,
Pianist

Neil Di Maggio, pianist, enjoys a dual career as solo and collaborative pianist and as a researcher for Westmont College. His performing career has taken him from California to Phoenix to New York City, and he recently served on the faculty of the Westmont Academy for Young Artists. He earned his BM Degree, summa cum laude, from San Jose State University, MM Degree from the San Francisco Conservatory, and MM Degree in Collaborative Piano from UCSB, studying with Paul Berkowitz Anne Epperson, and Yael Weiss. Currently Director of Research in the Office of College Advancement at Westmont, Neil maintains a private piano studio, and his students are frequent award winners with the Santa Barbara Music Club and the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation competitions.

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Raymond Egan
Raymond Egan,
Organist

Raymond Egan’s music has been performed throughout the United States, in Europe, in Australia, and at conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and The American Guild of Organists. He has had commissions from the General Assembly of The Unitarian Universalist Church and from California State University Los Angeles. His sacred music includes two masses, some larger choral works on environmental themes, and lots of choral, solo voice, and organ music. In the secular realm he is the composer of the score for the United States Steel documentary, Worlds of Von Braun. Raymond Egan was a composition student of Samuel Adler and John Corigliano, and an organ student of David Craighead. He has a Doctoral degree in conducting from the Thornton School of Music, The University of Southern California, where he was the Outstanding Doctoral student of 1996.

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Robert Else
Robert Else,
Director Emeritus, Pianist

Robert Else, pianist, is active in both the classical and jazz worlds. He earned his BA Degree in Music from Cal Poly Humboldt and pursued graduate studies at USC, studying with Gwendolyn Koldofsky and Brooks Smith; he also received a BA in Jazz Piano from Berklee College of Music in Boston. His activities include solo piano, chamber music, jazz ensembles, singing tenor with the SB Noel Carolers, and composing tracks for film and TV, many of which can be heard at www.robertelse.com. A SBMC Advisory Board member, he also plays acoustic bass in various local Bluegrass and Americana bands.

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Marc Evanstein
Marc Evanstein,
Director, Pianist

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.

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Candace Fazzio
Candace Fazzio,
Director Emeritus, Pianist

Recently relocated to Santa Barbara from Gilroy, CA, Candace Fazzio is a well-rounded pianist and teacher with a special interest in composers from the American continents beginning with the Ragtime Era and moving to the present day. Her constantly-expanding repertoire also includes lyrical arrangements of popular music standards. She has also created well-received live piano accompaniments for silent movies such as Chaplin’s The Tramp, several Harold Lloyd films including the full-length feature The Kid Brother, and Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. Candace has performed as a soloist with South Valley Symphony and Chorale and in the San Juan Bautista SHP museum for Living History Days and has participated in both the Sutter Creek and West Coast Ragtime Festivals. She has presented her programs “Beyond the Maple Leaf Rag, How Syncopation Led to a Century of Keyboard Music,” and “Piano Music with a Latin Flavor,” to state-level conferences of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers and the Music Teachers’ Association of California. Candace’s teaching career began in Saratoga, CA in 1973. In 1995, she opened The Music Academy, located in downtown Gilroy, which, in addition to instruction in piano, guitar, and voice, presented periodic concerts featuring local musicians.

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Adán Fernández
Adán Fernández,
Organist

Dr. Adán Fernández is the Director of Music and Liturgy/Organist at holy Family Catholic Church. He is also the University Organist and Adjunct Professor at California Lutheran University where he teaches Keyboard harmony and Worship and Music Courses. Dr. Fernández is the founding director of the Glendale Youth Symphony, a non-profit in Glendale California, and Associate Conductor of the National Children’s Chorus. Dr. Fernández has performed around California on some of its most prominent organs and performs a thirty minute program every month at Cal Lutheran for their Monthly Bach Recital Series. Dr. Fernández has degrees in piano, organ, and a doctorate in Sacred Music from USC with an emphasis in Organ Performance and Choral Music.

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Constantine Finehouse
Constantine Finehouse,
Pianist

Constantine Finehouse was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and attended New England Conservatory, Juilliard and Yale. His principal teachers included Fredrik Wanger, Natalia Harlap, Herbert Stessin, Jerome Lowenthal, Boris Berman and Bruce Brubaker. Praised by Rhein Main Presse Allgemeine Zeitung for his “interpretations of depth and maturity,” Finehouse has performed extensively in the US (including in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Washington) and abroad (including in Lausanne, London, Odessa, St. Petersburg and Trieste). Recent recordings include Backwards Glance [Spice Rack Records 101-01], which interweaves music of Johannes Brahms and Richard Beaudoin. The Bolcom Project, made in collaboration with his American Double partner, violinist Philip Ficsor, included double-CD [Albany Troy 959/960] and a national tour. Fanfare praised the recording as “indispensable to any serious collector with an interest in later 20th century duo repertoire for violin and piano.” As part of American Double, Finehouse also toured Hungary, performing sonatas by Brahms, Bolcom and Ravel. More recently, he collaborated with violinist Olga Caceànova at Lausanne Conservatoire and with cellist Sebastian Bäverstam at Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall) and Merkin Recital Hall (Kauffman Center). Finehouse is currently recording Bolcom’s complete piano solo works for Naxos Records.

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Sergio Gallo
Sergio Gallo,
Pianist

Sergio Gallo, pianist, was born in Brazil and received his Diplôme d’Excellence from the Conservatoire Européen de Musique de Paris, his Postgraduate Certificate from the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary, his MM Degree and Artist Diploma from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, and his DMA Degree from UCSB. Specializing in the repertoire of the Romantic period, he has also championed the work of Brazilian composers. He has performed with orchestras throughout the Americas and worldwide, and given recitals in Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Korea, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, and the U.S. Honors accorded him include a grant from the Henry Cowell Incentive Fund at the American Music Center (NY) to record works by the composer, and a Challenge America Fast-Track Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. A Steinway Artist, he has recorded several CD’s for Eroica Records, receiving high praise from American Record Guide, BBC Magazine, and Gramaphone Magazine, with forthcoming projects on the Naxos Grand Piano and Quartz labels. Dr. Gallo is Associate Professor at Georgia State University, Atlanta, and is appointed to the affiliated artist staff of the Rocky Ridge Music Academy in Estes Park, Colorado. Further information can be found on his website: www.drsergiogallo.com.

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Tachell Gerbert and Bradley Gregory
Tachell Gerbert and Bradley Gregory,
Duo Pianists

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.

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Marian Drandell Gilbert
Marian Drandell Gilbert,
Pianist

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.

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Robert Hale
Robert Hale,
Pianist

Robert Hale, pianist, holds a degree in piano performance from Southern Illinois University. After working in arts administration, including Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Syracuse Symphony, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, he changed careers to software development. Robert studies piano with Zeynep Ucbasaran and plays chamber music with friends and colleagues in the Santa Barbara area.

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Renée Hamaty
Renée Hamaty,
Pianist

Renée Hamaty, pianist, has performed worldwide as soloist and collaborative pianist. She majored in music at Occidental College, studying with Aube Tzerko, and has concertized widely as vocal and instrumental accompanist, including collaboration with Leonard Bernstein in West Coast premieres (Candide and Mass) and Stephen Sondheim in Chicago and Los Angeles. For fifteen years she was Music Director and pianist for “Opera & Broadway Under the Stars” concerts at Arts & Letters Cafe in Santa Barbara, and served as vocal faculty pianist for the Music Academy of the West’s 2013 MERIT program. In addition to her active piano collaborating schedule, Renée teaches private piano students of all ages in her Santa Barbara studio.

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Paula Hatley
Paula Hatley,
Pianist

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.

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Steve Hodson
Steve Hodson,
Director Emeritus, Pianist, Organist

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.

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Leslie Hogan
Leslie Hogan,
President, Pianist

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.

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Bridget Hough
Bridget Hough,
Pianist

Bridget Hough, pianist, is equally at home in solo, chamber, and duo repertoire, and is regularly engaged for competitions, performances, and recording projects. A piano student of Paul Berkowitz, Robert Koenig, and Betty Oberacker, she has been an invited pianist for summer festivals, including SongFest at the Colburn School (Los Angeles), the Schubert-Institut (Austria), and the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, where she was a Fellow for two seasons. She earned her B.M. Degree summa cum laude and her D.M.A. Degree from UCSB. Committed to new music, Dr. Hough has premiered works by many contemporary composers, including Tom Cipullo, Juliana Hall, Jake Heggie, Libby Larsen, Thea Musgrave, John Musto and John Villar.

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Egle Januleviciute
Egle Januleviciute,
Pianist

Egle Januleviciute, pianist, was born in Lithuania and holds the Diploma with Highest Honors from the Lithuanian Academy of Music, Vilnius, MM Degree from Bowling Green State University. and DMA Degree from UCSB. She has toured throughout Europe and the former Soviet Union, won several international piano competitions, and has recorded for Eroica, Hurstwood Farm Music Studios, Opus One, and Tembras Studios. Dr. Januleviciute currently teaches at Westmont College and Cate School, as well as privately.

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Thomas Joyce
Thomas Joyce,
Organist

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.

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Natasha Kislenko
Natasha Kislenko,
Pianist

Natasha Kislenko, pianist, was born in Moscow, holds graduate degrees from the Moscow Tschaikowsky Conservatory and Southern Methodist University (TX), and earned her DMA Degree from Stony Brook University (NY). She has concertized in Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, Turkey and the U. S., and has been prizewinner in piano competitions in both Europe and the U.S. Collaborative faculty member at the Music Academy of the West since 2004 and Principal Keyboard with the Santa Barbara Symphony since 2010, Dr. Kislenko is currently a Lecturer in the UCSB Department of Music.

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Kacey Link
Kacey Link,
Pianist

Kacey Link is a pianist and scholar residing in Santa Barbara, CA. As a both a solo and collaborative artist, she performs regularly in Southern California and has given recitals in the United States, France, and Switzerland. She is a pianist for University of California—Santa Barbara Department of Theater and Dance and served as music director for Out of the Box Theatre Company for the 2014-2015 season. She also has worked as a pianist for Opera Santa Barbara, Kansas City Lyric Opera, and New Theatre of Kansas City as well as accompanied classes for such prestigious artists as Marilyn Horne, Yo-Yo Ma, and ballerina Heather Watts. As a scholar, her research focuses on the music of Latin America with specific concentration on tango music of Argentina and has co-authored the forthcoming book Tracing Tangueros: Argentine Instrumental Tango Music (Oxford University Press). She holds degrees from University of California – Santa Barbara (D.M.A. in Keyboard), University of Miami (M.M. in Musicology), and University of Kansas (M.M. in Accompanying, B.M. in Piano Performance).

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Rosa LoGiudice
Rosa LoGiudice,

Rosa LoGiudice, pianist, graduated summa cum laude from Hunter College, earning BM and MM Degrees in Piano Performance, and earned her MM Degree in Collaborative Piano from UCSB, studying with Robert Koenig. Active as soloist, collaborative pianist, and chamber musician, she is a founding member and frequent performer at the Glendale Noon Concert Series, and was Staff Pianist and Assistant Director for the Newbury Park High School Choral Department from 2005-2013. Ms. LoGiudice is a member of the Music Teacher’s Association of California and has maintained a piano studio for ten years; her students have participated in and received honors in programs such as the Certificate of Merit and the Southern California Junior Bach Festival.

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Donna Massello-Chiacos
Donna Massello-Chiacos,
Pianist

Donna Massello-Chiacos, pianist, presents workshops internationally and teacher training programs nationally, and has held workshops in Taiwan, Canada, and throughout the United States. She received her BA Degree from UCSB, studying with Dr. Betty Oberacker, and earned her MA in Music Education with emphasis in Orff Schulwerk from the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), also coaching with Dusi Mura in Santa Monica and performing in solo and chamber music master classes. A certified Orff Schulwerk specialist, she established Orff Schulwerk-based music programs in the Montessori Center and San Roque Schools, assisted in creating the Music Academy of the West’s MERIT Program, and served as the Program Coordinator for six years.

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Lynnette McGee
Lynnette McGee,
Organist

Dr. Lynnette Ball McGee has forged an active career as an organ recitalist, teacher, collaborative musician, and conductor. She is presently on the organ faculty at California State University, Fullerton, and is Music Director at First Presbyterian Church, Fullerton, where she conducts the Kirk Choir, Kirk Handbell Choir, and is principal organist.

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Tom Mueller
Tom Mueller,
Organist

Tom Mueller, organist, is an award-winning church musician who is Associate Professor of Church Music and University Organist at Concordia University in Irvine, CA, where he directs academic programs in keyboard, composition, and jazz. An active recitalist, clinician, and adjudicator, he also serves as Associate Organist at St. James’ Church in Los Angeles, where he accompanies the acclaimed Chair of St. James’. He was awarded First Place in the Schoenstein Competition in Hymn-Playing, and was honored by The Diapason as a member of the inaugural “20 under 30” list of influential figures in the world of organ and church music. Dr. Mueller maintains an active concert schedule, and has performed at universities and churches across the United States. In 2010, he performed the complete organ works of J. S. Bach in a series of seventeen concerts in his native state of Maine. He has received numerous commissions for new choral and liturgical works, and performances of his compositions have been broadcast on national radio and television. His recording credits include Scott Perkin’s A New England Requiem and O Beauty Ever Ancient Ever New by the Choir of St. James’, both of which were released on the Gothic label. He is also an accomplished guitarist, and toured the country as a member of “The Muellers,” a nationally recognized family bluegrass band. Their fourth album, The Muellers, was released in 2009. Mueller earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with David Higgs. He also holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame (M.S.M. in organ), and the University of Maine at Augusta (B.M. in jazz composition and piano), where he graduated summa cum laude. He resides in Orange County with his wife and two daughters.

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Farley Neumann
Farley Neumann,
Pianist

Farley Neumann, pianist, received his AA Degree from Cuesta College, and was concerto soloist with the San Luis Obispo Symphony in Brahms Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major. As a double major at UCSB, he earned his BA Degree in Composition and Piano Performance, and as winner of the UCSB Concerto Competition he performed Liszt’s Concerto No. 2 in A major. Farley has published Five Pieces for Piano (1985) and Four Pieces for Piano (1987), and currently is the owner of Dependable Appliance Repair in Santa Barbara.

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Roger Nyquist
Roger Nyquist,
Organist

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.

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Betty Oberacker
Betty Oberacker,
Vice President-Concerts, Pianist

Betty Oberacker, pianist, is internationally acclaimed for her interpretations of both traditional and contemporary solo and chamber music repertoire, and has toured throughout Europe, Israel, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and the U.S., including performances at Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonic Hall and Vienna Musikverein. She has been Artist-in-Residence at 55 universities, conservatories and music festivals worldwide, and many important composers have dedicated their compositions to her. Her musical gifts were evidenced at three, when she began to play the piano and compose entirely by ear. Piano lessons started at age seven, and at nine she was accepted on scholarship as the only child student of the noted pianist Beryl Rubinstein. Her BM/MM Degrees are from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and her DMA Degree is from Ohio State University, where she was concomitantly a member of the piano faculty. Her discography includes Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (Clavier Records), A Bach Commemorative Recital (MIT Great Performances Archives), Chamber Music of Emma Lou Diemer (Orion), Schönberg’s Pierrot Lunaire (Century), John Biggs’ Variations on a Theme of Shostakovich (VMM), and Diemer’s Piano Concerto (MMC), the latter two works composed for Oberacker. Honors accorded her include a Fulbright Research Fellowship to Italy and the University of California Distinguished Teaching Award, and her students hold important positions as performers and teachers in the U.S., Asia and Europe. Dr. Oberacker is UCSB Professor Emeritus, and enjoys an active performing, teaching and chamber music coaching schedule.

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Davis Reinhart
Davis Reinhart,
Pianist

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.

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Svetlana Rudikova-Harris
Svetlana Rudikova-Harris,
Pianist

Svetlana Rudikova-Harris, pianist, was born in Russia and is an internationally renowned solo and collaborative pianist, recording artist, and pedagogue. She earned three Masters Degrees in Performance as well as the Special Award for Excellence in Piano Performance and Instruction at the Russian National Education Competition. Gold Medalist in the Russian National Young Performance competition at age 16, she won the Russian Choral Conducting, National Piano Prize, and Russian Piano Competitions. Svetlana has recorded on the Melodiya label and has performed for over 20 years with sister-in-law Tracy Harris, both in orchestral concerts and in their “Wyndfall Duo.” In addition, she conducts clinics, and lectures and maintains a private piano studio.

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Mao Saito
Mao Saito,
Pianist

Mao Saito was born in Osaka, Japan in 1986. She graduated as the best student from Kyoto City University of Arts in 2009. From 2010 to 2012, she studied at Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with Prof. Fabio Bidini, attaining a Master of Music with the best note in 2012. Mao Ishida won the “Ugorski Special Prize for an outstanding performance of Schumann” at the ARD International Piano Competition in Germany in 2011, the third prize at the 8th piano competition Prix Amadèo in Aachen in 2012, and the second prize at the 6th Berlin piano competition in 2012. She was on a scholarship from Yamaha Music Foundation from 2012-2015, and got “Final round scholarship” at the 60th Busoni International Piano Competition in 2015. She often performs chamber music in Japan and Berlin and works as an accompanist.

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Pascal Salomon
Pascal Salomon,
Pianist

Pascal Salomon, piano, was born in Israel, grew up in France, and has concertized as recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber music pianist in Europe, Israel, China, and the U.S. He has been featured soloist with prominent European orchestras, and has recorded three solo and chamber music CDs. A dedicated teacher, Dr. Salomon taught piano for 9 years at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, Switzerland, and has served as collaborative piano faculty member at Westmont College.

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Mandee Sikich
Mandee Sikich,
Pianist, Director Emeritus

Mandee Sikich completed her MM degree in Collaborative Piano in 2014 with Robert Koenig at UCSB where she was the recipient of a full-tuition music department fellowship. She also studied chamber music with Yuval Yaron. Mandee is the recipient of various awards including the Musician of the Year award (The Master’s College), the Christopher Parkening Scholarship for Excellence in Musical Performance, and the Estella Mays Memorial Award for Piano Performance. She has toured extensively to Italy, Germany, Israel, and Russia as a choral accompanist and served as the Westmont College Choir pianist from 2011 to 2014. She has maintained a private teaching studio in Santa Barbara since 2010 and is serving as the vice-president of the Santa Barbara Branch of the MTAC for the 2015-2016 season. Mandee has also worked as a music director for various theater companies in Santa Barbara including Elements Theatre Collective and Out of The Box Theatre Co. Her music direction credits Tom Greenwald Andrew Lippa’s John and Jen, Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins and Duncan Sheik’s and Steven Sater’s Spring Awakening for which she received an Indy Award for Music Direction in May 2012. She has spent the past eight years accompanying various opera productions in the Los Angeles area and has also collaborated with numerous vocalists and instrumentalists for recitals, competitions, and recordings. This summer she studied for six weeks in Austria as a Lieder Studio pianist for the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz.

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Ilya Sinaisky
Ilya Sinaisky,
Pianist

Ilya Sinaisky, pianist, was born in the Ukraine and emigrated to Israel in 1990. Following undergraduate studies at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, he earned his MM Degree from Tel Aviv University and his DMA Degree from the University of Maryland. Prizewinner at the Darius Milhaud Performance Competition, he was awarded the Robert McCoy Prize for Excellence in Collaborative Piano at the University of Maryland. Dr. Sinaisky has been a collaborative piano faculty member at Colorado State University, Heifetz International Institute for Strings, and the Aspen Music Festival, and currently teaches piano at Rubin Conservatory (Haifa) and is pianist for the Israeli Opera.

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Charles Talmadge
Charles Talmadge,
Organist

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.

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Paolo Tatafiore
Paolo Tatafiore,
Pianist

Paolo Tatafiore is a native of Naples, Italy, and comes from a family of composers, pianists, conductors, and painters. He has concertized to considerable acclaim in Germany and the United States, as well as throughout his native Italy. In the Italian Middle School and the Conservatory of Avellino he also became a passionate and devoted piano teacher; he has continued his pedagogical interests to this day, with some of his students having become internationally recognized performers. Among his recordings is a live performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at the Herkulessaal der Residenz in Munich, Germany, with outstanding critical notices in major newspapers as well as the leading German magazine, Das Orchester. Mr. Tatafiore has recently moved back to the U.S. and lives in Los Angeles, with upcoming engagements including recitals in California and concerts with American orchestras. As a composer, he has recently published a group of piano pieces and a set of variations for viola and orchestra that will be premiered in Ohio in October of this year.

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Zeynep Ucbasaran
Zeynep Ucbasaran,
Pianist

Zeynep Ucbasaran, pianist, was born in Turkey, began music studies at age four at the Istanbul Conservatory, and has her Concert Artist Diploma from the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest. After advanced studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Freiburg, Germany, she obtained her MA and DMA Degrees in Piano Performance from USC. Her honors include the American Liszt Society Award, and she was a prize-winner in the 1996 and 2000 Los Angeles Liszt Competitions. She has concertized in many countries, and has recorded for Eroica Records and Naxos International to critical acclaim; her discography includes the music of Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Mozart, Scarlatti and Schubert, as well as twentieth-century composers such as Bernstein, Muczynski, and Saygun, and she has recently completed her project of recording the complete set of Mozart’s Variations for Piano. Her performance of works that Liszt played in Istanbul in 1847 was broadcast by the European Broadcasting Union to all of Europe in 2011; a compilation of these selections was released in 2013 under the title, Liszt in Istanbul. Dr. Ucbasaran has given master classes and lecture-recitals throughout the U.S. and in Brazil, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey, has toured with pianist Sergio Gallo, violinist Cihat Askin, and performed with the Trio Troy and the Smyrna Woodwind Quintet. Further information can be found on her website: www.zupiano.com.

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Eric Valinsky
Eric Valinsky,
Past President, Pianist

A native Manhattanite, Eric Valinsky has, for more years than he would like to admit, maintained dual careers in computer systems architecture and music. He was educated at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the University of Illinois, finally achieving his DMA in music composition from Columbia University. He studied composition with Walter Aschaffenburg, Salvatore Martirano, Jack Beeson, and Darius Milhaud; piano with Sara Crawford Drogheo and Emil Danenberg; and conducting with Harold Farberman. While living in Los Angeles, he became music director and composer-in-residence for The Storie-Crawford Dance Theatre Ensemble. Returning to New York, he served in a similar capacity for Danny Buraczeski’s Jazzdance, Uris Bahr and Dancers, and The New American Ballet Ensemble as well as composer-in-residence for The Rachel Harms Dance Company, Opera Uptown, and the Dance Department at City College of New York. He is currently Music Director for the American Dance & Music Performance Group and moonlights as founder and partner of Inlineos LLC, a strategic Internet consulting company.

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Anne Weger
Anne Weger,
Pianist

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.

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String Players
Timothy Beccue
Timothy Beccue,
Cellist

Timothy Beccue, cellist, has won numerous awards for his performances spanning North America and Europe, including First Place in the 2018 SB Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Competition. He graduated with a physics degree from Westmont College, where he studied cello with Trevor Handy, has been soloist with the Westmont Orchestra and West Coast Symphony, and contracts as substitute cellist with the SB Symphony. In addition to his musical pursuits, he works with robotic telescopes at Las Cumbres Observatory.

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Nicoletta Christina Browne
Nicoletta Christina Browne,
Cellist

Nicoletta Christina Browne, cellist, is from Tucson, AZ and has played cello since age 10. She earned her BA Degree in Chemistry from Pomona College, where she studied cello with Roger LeBow, and her MS Degree in Earth Science is from UCSB, where she was awarded an Earth Research Institute Fellowship for her project, “Petrogenesis of Late-State, High-K Magmas Within a Continental Arc: Insights From Petrographic Studies.” Ms. Browne performed in the Pomona College Orchestra, is a longtime member of the Santa Barbara City College Orchestra, and hosts a radio show, Hardly Strictly Americana, on KCSB.

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Gary Chandler
Gary Chandler,
Violinist

Gary Chandler, violinist, received his Bachelor’s Degree from UCLA with a major in motion pictures and a minor in music, and worked in the motion picture post-production industry at Paramount, Lorimar and Disney Studios for 40 years. He has played in a number of orchestras, including the Santa Monica Symphony, the Valley and New Valley Symphonies, and the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra. An avid collector of fine violins, he is active in presenting lectures and demonstrations, discussing the beauty and history of extraordinary violins, sharing both his insight and his collection of violins and bows.

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Joanne de Mars
Joanne de Mars,
Cellist

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.

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Erik Fauss
Erik Fauss,
Violist

Erik Fauss is a freelance violist and singer/songwriter. He is currently finishing his Masters at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Juan-Miguel Hernandez and Helene Clement. Before moving to London, Fauss completed his Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. In the Fall of 2016, he studied with Matthias Maurer and Thomas Selditz in Vienna and Yuta Nishiyama at the University of Arts in Berlin.

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Larissa Fedoryka
Larissa Fedoryka,
Cellist

Larissa Fedoryka, cellist, began her cello studies at the age of three. As a child she joined her nine siblings who toured as the Classical chamber ensemble, The Fedoryka Family Players. The group performed in venues nationally, their tours culminating in multiple performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as well as a performance at The Wolf Trap International Children’s Festival. More recently Larissa has made the transition to world music, touring with artists such as Marco Antonio Solis, Croatia’s pop artist Tajci, the Celtic/Americana band Scythian, and Mexico’s pop diva Gloria Trevi. In 1910 she was hired to arrange pop songs for orchestra by “The Harmony Project” – the LA Symphony’s program to enrich inner city youth through music. She studied at the Boston Conservatory with Andrew Mark and at Ohio University with Dr. Michael Carrera, and is currently completing her DMA in Performance at UCSB, where she studies with Jennifer Kloetzel.

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Philip Ficsor
Philip Ficsor,
Violinist

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.

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Joaquin Gray
Joaquin Gray,
Guitarist

Joaquin Gray, guitarist, is self-taught on that instrument as well as on the piano, and has played the many instruments of rock music and electronica, touring the U.S. with the experimental band Trance to the Sun. He received his BM Degree in Music Composition at UCSB, studying with Dr. Joel Feigin. Joaquin currently studies Flamenco guitar with the renowned choreographer Anna Galindo, in addition to collaborating in concerts as continuo player with the viola da gamba, amassing techniques to further his own compositions.

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Wynston Hamann
Wynston Hamann,
Cellist

Wynston Hamann, cellist, is a freshman at Westmont College, studying with Trevor Handy and performing in the Westmont College Orchestra and chamber music groups. Wynston has been a pupil of Jamie Kellog in Phoenix, AZ, and spent four summers at Interlochen Summer for the Arts, studying with Jeffrey Lestrapes and performing with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra.

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Marie Hébert
Marie Hébert,
Violinist

Marie Hébert, violin, is active as soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. A former SB Music Club Scholarship awardee, she earned her BM and MM Degrees at UCSB, has performed with the Montecito International Music Festival, and toured in China with the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra. Marie is currently Teaching Artist and Youth Ensembles Personnel Manager with the SB Symphony, Teaching Artist for SB Strings, violinist with the Folk Orchestra of SB, and maintains a private violin/viola teaching studio.

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Thomas Heck
Thomas Heck,
Guitar

Thomas Heck, classical guitarist, is a graduate of the doctoral program in musicology at Yale University (1970). After a career in the histories of both music and theatre, he enjoys ‘emeritus’ opportunities like this to perform for the pure pleasure of it. He especially likes to accompany the human voice with his classical guitar. Currently he is an adjunct faculty member at Santa Barbara City College’s Center for Lifelong Learning and a frequent musical animateur at continuing care facilities for the frail elderly in Santa Barbara.

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Kristi Holstein
Kristi Holstein,
Violinist

Kristi Holstein, violinist, was born in Charleston, West Virginia and began playing violin at age 7. She received her BM Degree, Summa Cum Laude, from West Virginia University and her MM Degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. A member of the American String Teachers Association, National Association for Music Educators, American Chamber Music Society and Society of Music Theory, she is currently a teaching artist with BRAVO! and Santa Barbara Strings and a member of the American Youth Symphony, Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara, Lompoc Pops Orchestra, Opera San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria Philharmonic Society, and Young Musicians Foundation Debut Chamber Orchestra and maintains a private violin and viola studio in Santa Barbara.

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Isaac Kay
Isaac Kay,

Isaac Kay, violinist, is a senior at Westmont College, majoring in Music Performance and studying with Dr. Han Soo Kim. He studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music during his high school years, and was a principle player in the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. Isaac has performed in the Brevard and Credo Chamber Music Festivals and the Stringendo School for Strings.

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Han Soo Kim
Han Soo Kim,
Violinist

Han Soo Kim, violinist, is an award-winning and internationally accomplished artist who has performed to critical acclaim in numerous countries on four continents. Dr. Kim has concertized extensively as solo performer, duo-recitalist and chamber musician. In the United States, he has performed in some of the nation’s most prominent venues including Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Weill Recital Hall and Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, Cutler Majestic Theater, Jordan Hall, Kaufmann Concert Hall, and The Kennedy Center. Performances have also led him to institutions and festivals including Académie Internationale de Courchevel, Boston Conservatory, Columbia University, Le Domaine Forget International Music Festival, The Juilliard School, Longy School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College, Meadowmount School of Music, Morningside Music Bridge, Musicorda, New England Conservatory, and Stony Brook University. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras in the US and abroad performing standard concertos to contemporary world premieres. As a Promessa Records Artist he has released Encore Favori, a solo CD featuring a dozen encores and virtuosic showpieces, and will be recording the next album in 2021. He is Founder and the violinist of The Finehouse-Kim-Yhee Trio.
Dr. Kim has earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in violin performance under a fellowship grant. His Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in violin performance are from The Juilliard School where he was a merit scholarship recipient. His influential teachers and mentors include Roman Totenberg, Sally Thomas, and Pamela Frank. He has worked with distinguished chamber music artists including Emerson, Guarneri, Juilliard, and Orion String Quartets. He is a Bella Rosins Artist and performs on a Carlo Antonio Testore of 1721. His CDs can be purchased at the Westmont College bookstore and hanjoannekim.com. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, son Kian and dog Dolce, exploring restaurants in Santa Barbara, playing pool, and gardening.

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Ervin Klinkon
Ervin Klinkon,
Cellist

Ervin Klinkon, cellist, received his musical training in Germany and New York. He has performed as soloist and with chamber music ensembles in Europe and the U.S., and with orchestras in Houston and in Washington, D.C. (Kennedy Center Opera House, National Gallery, and National Symphony). Ervin served as Chairman of the Music Department at Montgomery College (MD) and conducted the Montgomery College Symphony Orchestra for twenty years. He now lives in Santa Barbara where he continues to lead an active musical life, playing with various ensembles, teaching cello, and coaching chamber music groups.

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Virginia Kron
Virginia Kron,
Cellist

Virginia Kron, cellist, was hailed in the Los Angeles Times: “Accomplished cellist … has done her best to keep alive the music of our time” and by the Ventura County Reporter: “Virginia evoked a rich, dark tone from her 300 year-old instrument.” From her extensive career, of special note is her premiere of John Biggs’ Cello Concerto with the New West Symphony and subsequent recording with the Czech National Symphony, and most recently, her premiere of Jimmy Calire’s Jazzical Cello Sonata. Her original album, “The Crystal Harp,” evoked this tribute from the American Library Association Booklist Review: “This original humorous fantasy, written and performed by Virginia Kron, features clear, well-paced narration and delightful music.” She has a B.M. Degree from the University of Wisconsin and a M.M. Degree from USC, and has long been a pillar on cello at California’s Cabrillo Festival. A frequent collaborator with UCSB’s Ensemble for Contemporary Music with featured festival performances and recordings, her mastery of the music of our time is matched by recordings and concerts with noted Celtic harpist Kim Robertson.

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Claude-Lise Lafranque
Claude-Lise Lafranque,
Violinist

Claude-Lise Lafranque, violinist, grew up in Bordeaux. France. She graduated from Bordeaux’s National Conservatory with a first prize in performance. She studied in Paris with Maestro Nerini and has worked with Irina Boshkova from Moscow Conservatory. She relocated to Santa Barbara after an invitation to play in the Music Academy of the West. She has been performing with the Santa Barbara Symphony for 25 years. A very active member of the Santa Barbara music community, she plays in the Santa Barbara Opera and Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra as well as many other ensembles. Claude-Lise Lafranque is a very dedicated teacher with over 25 years of experience.

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Andrea Landin
Andrea Landin,
Cellist

Cellist Andrea Shigeko Landin has performed, taught, and collaborated with other musicians throughout the U.S. and Latin America, including residencies in Boston, Alaska, Guatemala , and Venezuela. She is passionate about using music as a tool for social change, and has received grants from both the Center for Cultural Innovation and the New England Conservatory to research developing specific social skills in youth through music. She has also presented at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Take a Stand Conference, and was featured on the TED prize blog as an innovator of music education and community building. Andrea has performed in diverse venues ranging from orchestral concerts in Carnegie Hall and Disney Concert Hall to collaborating with singer songwriters in local bars and open mic nights. In 2012 she was a recipient of the Sistema Fellowship at New England Conservatory, selected as one of fifty international musicians over a period of five years, and holds a B.M. in Cello Performance and a B.A. in Anthropology from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music. Andrea is currently the Director of New West Symphony Harmony Project, a youth development program whose mission is to enact social change through music by providing low income youth in Ventura with tuition free, high quality ensemble based music instruction. In 2015 she was granted the City of Ventura Mayor’s Arts Educator Award.

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Andrea Lárez
Andrea Lárez,
Violinist

Andrea Lárez, violinist, graduated from Westmont College in 2017. She is currently a member of the Camerata Internacional de Barcelona.

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Jeannot Maha'a
Jeannot Maha'a,
Cellist

Jeannot Maha’a, cellist, is a specialist in historical performance practice on original instruments and studied at the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute. In 2010 he founded Editions Violone, a Santa Barbara-based publishing house specializing in scholarly performing editions of rare and little-known music of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and currently heads an international team of musicologists in the search for forgotten music. Mr. Maha’a maintains a private cello and bass studio in SB, and performs on an Italian cello made in 1766.

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Matthew Maler
Matthew Maler,

Matthew Maler, violinist, is currently a junior at Westmont College, studying philosophy and performing with the Westmont Orchestra. He has performed in several Westmont theater productions in both acting and musical roles, and is engaging in research in preparation for graduate study in philosophy.

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Sofia Malvinni
Sofia Malvinni,
Violinist

Sofia Malvinni, violin, started violin lessons at age three with her mother, a Curtis Institute of Music and UCSB alumna. A Santa Barbara Music Club scholarship awardee, Sofia has won numerous prizes and awards, including First Prize in the 2019 Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Junior Competition. She is a three-time winner in the Santa Barbara Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, where she has served as concertmaster for the last four years. At age 11, she performed the Bach Double Concerto with the Santa Barbara Symphony under the direction of Nir Kabaretti at the Granada Theater. In May of 2022, she was invited by Maestro Kabaretti to play in the first violin section of the Santa Barbara Symphony.

Sofia is currently attending the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as an undergraduate violin major in the studio of Professor Simon James. She plays on a 1741 Guarneri copy by renowned German maker Bernd Dimbauth and is striving to win a competition where she can receive the loan of an old Italian instrument to further her career ambition to be a soloist.

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David Malvinni
David Malvinni,
Director

David Malvinni, ethnomusicologist and classical guitarist, has written books and articles on Roma (Gypsy) music and its appropriation in classical music, the Grateful Dead’s improvisational rock, and the Rolling Stones’s brand of Americana (2016). In addition to teaching in the UCSB Music Department (where he completed his Ph.D.) as an Ethnomusicology Lecturer, he teaches as an adjunct professor in Music and Ethnic Studies at SBCC. He also serves on the Board and Concert Committee of the Santa Barbara Music Club. David studied classical guitar with noted Segovia pupil Phillip de Fremery, and completed advanced studies with him at Amherst. Master classes include Eliot Fisk (NEC and Mozarteum) and Oscar Ghiglia (Basel).

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Joey Malvinni
Joey Malvinni,

Joey Malvinni, classical guitarist, began his guitar studies at age four with his father. Already a virtuoso player, he has honed his performance level in masterclasses throughout the USA and Europe, including the Chigiana (Siena, Italy), Mozarteum (Salzburg, Austria), and Boston GuitarFest. This past summer (2023) he returned to all three master classes, and also gave a recital at the first annual Eliot Fisk guitar seminar in Granada, Spain. In November of 2022 he gave his first full recital, as he was invited to play a solo concert of Spanish guitar music at UC Santa Barbara as part of the World Music Series. As the winner of the Santa Barbara Symphony concerto competition, he was honored to perform the first movement of the Castelnuovo Tedesco Guitar Concerto with conductor Nir Karberetti and the SB Symphony in May 2021. Joey enjoys coding and chess and aspires to be a concert classical guitarist with a career in computer science.

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Nicole McKenzie
Nicole McKenzie,
Violinist

Nicole McKenzie, violinist, has concertized widely as soloist and chamber musician, and her performances of classical, contemporary, and ethnic repertoire (the latter including the Klezmer/Jazz group Kalinka) have earned her lavish critical praise. The Santa Barbara Independent declared, “McKenzie made a splash in the luscious and exciting music – she performed with gorgeous musicality.” Winner of the Sutton Chamber Music Award, she graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy, earned her BM Degree from Oberlin Conservatory, her MM Degree from Florida State University, and studied with Dr. Gary Kosloski at the Music Academy of the West. With a background in dance, she teaches the course, Music For Dancers, as a UCSB faculty member, and was founding member of the Nicole McKenzie Improv Group, an improvising group of dancers and musicians. Concertmaster of the Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara, she coaches chamber music for Santa Barbara Strings, co-directs and teaches for Sandcastle Music together, and maintains a private violin studio. Ms. McKenzie’s violin was created for her by Michel Eggimann of Rome, Italy.

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Elizabeth Olson
Elizabeth Olson,
Cellist

Elizabeth Olson, cellist, began music studies through public school music programs; continuing with private lessons, she currently studies with Geoffrey Rutkowski. She earned her BS Degree in Chemistry from Loma Linda University and her MS Degree in Accountancy from CSU San Bernardino. For the past ten years her passion has been chamber music, with performances including concerts at Loma Linda University and the Santa Barbara Music Club. Elizabeth is currently a CPA at Nasif, Hicks, Harris & Co. in Santa Barbara.

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Hal Onserud
Hal Onserud,
Bass

Hal Onserud, bass, is Principal Bassist of the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra and has been substitute bassist with the SB Symphony. He was a member of the American Symphony, Canada Symphony (Montreal). New Jersey Symphony, Orchestra/Chamber Orchestra of St. Luke’s (New York City), and Maracaibo Symphony (Venezuela). A frequent performer in improvised/new music groups in Amsterdam and NYC, he continues those activities in California. His album, Hal 2008, is available at www.amazon.com/Hal-2008-Onserud/dp/B0045H8MIQ.

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Chavdar Parashkevov
Chavdar Parashkevov,
Violinist

Chavdar Parashkevov, violinist, was born in Bulgaria and has concertized to lavish critical acclaim throughout Europe and the United States. Winner of prizes from national and international competitions, his diverse career has included appearances as concerto soloist, solo recitalist, and chamber musician in Denmark, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the U.S. A graduate of the School for the Arts in Varna, Bulgaria, he came to the U.S. in 1997 to continue his education with Edward Schmieder at Southern Methodist University and Andjei Grabiec at the University of Houston. In 2005 Chavdar and pianist Vessela Gintcheva released the CD Moto Perpetuo, which features Bulgarian violin music, and in 2009 the CD was played for the Shuttle Atlantis during Mission STS 125 to the Hubble Space Telescope. Mr. Parashkevov currently combines performing and teaching careers, and performs in the Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet Orchestras.

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Carol Pool
Carol Pool,
Violinist

Carol Pool, violinist, began playing violin in the Houston Public School System, and received her BM and MM Degrees at the University of Houston and The Juilliard School. As an in-demand player in New York, she performed in Evita, Hairspray, and Phantom of the Opera, and with many symphony and ballet orchestras in New York and Los Angeles. In addition, she has recorded with such artists as Tony Bennett, Philip Glass, and Barbara Streisand, and has played on numerous movie sound tracks, such as Star Wars, Rio, Coco, and The Grinch.

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Laurie Rasmussen
Laurie Rasmussen,
Harpist

Laurie Rasmussen, harpist, has toured across the U.S., Canada, and Europe as soloist and collaborative artist. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder, was top prize winner at the 2007 Lyon & Healy International Jazz and Pop Harpfest Competition, and was featured artist at Celtic music festivals in Germany and Italy. Laurie is currently harpist with the SB Folk Orchestra, is Instructor at SB City College, maintains a private teaching studio, and is owner of the harp showroom, Harps by the Sea.

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Mirah Ray
Mirah Ray,
Violinist

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.

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Diana Ray-Goodman
Diana Ray-Goodman,
Violist

Diana Ray-Goodman, violist, received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in music from California State University Northridge and worked on her Master’s Degree at Arizona State University. She has performed with several orchestras, including the Phoenix, Santa Barbara and Conejo Valley Orchestras and the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic. A member of the music faculty at both California State University Channel Islands and Moorpark College, she is an adjudicator and registered teacher with the Suzuki Association of the Americas, and also maintains a studio for violin and viola students in Thousand Oaks.

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Andrew Saunders
Andrew Saunders,
Viola da gambist

Andrew Saunders, viola da gambist, received his early training from Bill Darst, Professor of Baroque Violin at Oberlin Conservatory, with continued study at Viola da Gamba Society of America workshops. As cellist and double bassist, he has performed with the SBCC Symphony and the West Coast Symphony, and with chamber ensembles including Ensemble Aquila, the Paradox Trio, and the band, Waters Rising. Andrew performs on a viola da gamba left to him by Bill Darst when he passed away, and it is his inspiration that keeps his music alive.

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Ray Tischer
Ray Tischer,
Violist

Ray Tischer, violist, has performed internationally and has recorded over 1500 soundtracks, TV series, commercials, and albums with Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and other notables. Dr. Tischer earned his DMA Degree from USC in viola and musicology, and is an avid practitioner of early music performance practice and jazz, in addition to being an Integrative and Music Therapist at Cottage Hospital. He performs on a Pietro Pallotta viola, made in Perugia, Italy in 1809, which he inherited from his mother, the esteemed violist Ann Tischer.

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Tom Turner
Tom Turner,
Violist

Tom Turner, violist, is a former President of the SB Music Club (2006-2008). He earned his BA in Music from CSU Northridge, and served as Principal Viola and soloist with the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra and the Moorpark Symphony. He has been Principal Viola for the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera and Lompoc Pops orchestras, and has performed with the SB Symphony and SB Chamber Orchestra. Tom has served as Principal Viola of the Santa Maria Philharmonic and presently is violist and Orchestra Liaison with the orchestra.

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Irving Weinstein
Irving Weinstein,
Violinist

Irving Weinstein, violinist, received his MA Degree from DePauw University and an Artist Diploma from the Los Angeles Conservatory, where he studied with Toscha Seidel. Violinist with the Oceano Chamber Players and violist in the Roth String Quartet, resident quartet at UCLA for 11 years, he taught violin and viola in the Los Angeles Public School System. Irving has been Administrator in the LA Community College District, Academic Vice President at two of its colleges, and retired as the Vice Chancellor of the college district. He currently performs in several local orchestras and chamber music ensembles.

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Rodney Wirtz
Rodney Wirtz,
Violist

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.

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Sang Jun Yhee
Sang Jun Yhee,
Cellist

Sang Jun Yhee, cello (Tenafly, New Jersey), pursued his studies at the Juilliard School in New York under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick, Harvey Shapiro, and David Soyer. He has also studied with David Geringas in masterclasses at the Chigiana Academy in Siena, Kronberg Academy, Interlaken Classics, and Usedom Music Festival. He will be pursuing his doctorate at Manhattan School of Music in the fall. Sang has won the Juilliard School Shostakovich Cello Concerto Competition and has been a quarter-finalist at the Concours de Genève in Geneva, Switzerland. He also won first place at the Thavieu String Competition, the Society of American Musicians Competition, and is a recipient of the 2013 Frank Huntington Beebe Fund. He has performed as soloist with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Juilliard Pre-college Orchestra, World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Northshore Orchestra. Past Yellow Barn musician (2013-2014)

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Vocalists
Deborah Bertling
Deborah Bertling,
Soprano

Deborah Bertling (Soprano) earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Bob Jones University, Greenville, SC. She also earned a certificate at American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. She has performed in dozens of operas, plays, and concerts throughout California, most recently in Gianni Schicchi and Suor Angelica with Opera Santa Barbara. She is President of Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation, 1st Vice President of Community Arts Music Association, music docent in local elementary schools and mentor with Royal Family Kids. She will appear in the world premiere full-length feature film, Mirror Of My Soul, March of 2017. www.deborahmarksbertling.com

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Adam Bradley
Adam Bradley,
Tenor

Adam Bradley, tenor, is a graduate of Luther College and is currently in the MM Program at UCSB, studying with Linda Di Fiore. First Place Winner at the Santa Barbara Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation, he performed at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival and the American Institute of Music Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria, and he has sung the tenor lead in the West Coast premiere of Joel Feigen’s Twelth Night. Adam’s future performances include the role of Maestro Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi with Opera Santa Barbara in April.

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Leslie Cook
Leslie Cook,
Mezzo-soprano

Leslie Cook, mezzo-soprano, is a Santa Barbara Music Club scholarship recipient who is currently concertizing on both opera and concert stages in Europe and the United States. She earned her BM and MM Degrees from UCLA, studying with Vladimir Chernov, and while living in Europe she won First Place in the Vissi d’Arte International Singing Competition in Prague. Her performances include the title role of Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice (Czech Republic) as well as numerous major operatic roles and concert performances. Leslie has been awarded many honors, including First Prize in the Sigma Alpha Iota Competition in Los Angeles and the Young Musicians Foundation.

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Kyra Folk-Farber
Kyra Folk-Farber,
Soprano

Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Kyra Folk-Farber has sung operatic roles and concert performances across North America and Europe. Her Mozart roles include Donna Anna, Zaide, Despina, and Susanna; she has also portrayed Mimì, Poppea, Mélisande, Anne Truelove, and The Soprano in Claude Vivier’s Kopernikus. Kyra has performed as a soloist under the batons of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Kent Nagano, and Paul McCreesh, and has been featured as a soloist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Tel Aviv Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitain, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. She specializes in new music and has premiered works by composers Ori Barel, John Villar, Hans Christian Détlefsen, and José Evangelista, among others. Kyra has also performed Yiddish songs at Canadian music festivals such as Ashkenaz and Chutzpah!.

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Christine Hollinger
Christine Hollinger,
Soprano

Christine Hollinger, soprano, is originally from Minneapolis, MN. She received her BA Degree at Southwest Minnesota State University, where she was active in both theater and music, and her MM Degree from UCSB. Featured as soprano soloist in many works with the Santa Barbara Master Chorale and the Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale, she has appeared with the Opera Santa Barbara as well as the Music Academy of the West choruses. Ms. Hollinger currently sings with the Adelfos Ensemble and the First Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir.

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Carolyn Kimball Holmquist
Carolyn Kimball Holmquist,
Soprano

Carolyn Kimball Holmquist, soprano, graduated from Mt. Holyoke College and has won international acclaim for her concert, film, musical comedy, opera, theatrical, and TV appearances. She has represented the U.S. in the Tchaikovsky International Vocal Competition, toured Central and South America presenting American music for the U.S. State Department, and sang three seasons with the Bellas Artes National Opera. Ms. Holmquist sings in six languages, and has had leading roles in many musicals, including Carousel and The Sound of Music. In addition to numerous TV appearances, she starred in a Gershwin tribute for ABC and had a recurring role on the PBS Series, On Common Ground.

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Brian Hotchkin
Brian Hotchkin,
Baritone

Brian Hotchkin is a baritone, vocal instructor, and stage director. Hailed for his “strong and effortless” voice and his “unerring, witty sense of theater,” Brian has performed opera, music theater and cabaret performances with companies that include the Virginia Opera, Opera New Jersey, Opera Santa Barbara, Chamber Opera Chicago, and the Aspen Music Festival. His many operatic roles include Papageno in The Magic Flute, both Marcello and Schaunard in La bohème, and the title role in The Marriage of Figaro. Equally at home in operetta and musical theater, Brian has performed leading roles including KoKo in The Mikado, Bobby in Sondheim’s Company and Merlyn/Pellinore in Camelot. As a stage director, Brian has led recent productions of Adam Guettel’s The Light in the Piazza and Sweeney Todd for Ventura College. Brian served as Company Manager and Artistic Administrator for Opera Santa Barbara, and currently teaches singing to students of all ages at his private voice studio in Santa Barbara.

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Bryan Lane
Bryan Lane,
Tenor

Bryan Lane, tenor, received his B.A. Degree from Westmont College, his Artist Diploma from Cornish College (Seattle), and his MM Degree from UCSB. Featured soloist with the Los Angeles Chamber Choir, his operatic and oratorio credits include Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, Messiah, and the Seattle Opera’s cycle Our Earth. Bryan has sung with Opera Santa Barbara, the Oregon Bach Festival, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and the Seattle Opera, and is currently a member of the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

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Carol Ann Manzi
Carol Ann Manzi,
Soprano

Carol Ann Manzi, soprano, earned her Masters of Music in vocal performance from the Yale School of Music, specializing in opera. From the outset of her career she has been in demand as a soprano soloist. In addition to singing numerous leading operatic roles, she has also presented many vocal recitals with a variety of accompanists, and has regularly been invited to sing solos in oratorios and other major choral works. Most recently, she was featured soloist in the Wranitzky Festival in the Czech Republic. Please visit manzisings.info.

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Byron Mayes
Byron Mayes,
Baritone

Byron Mayes, baritone, is originally from Houston, TX, received his BM Degree at Columbus State University (GA), and is currently pursuing his MM Degree at UCSB, studying with Dr. Linda Di Fiore. While attending Columbus State he was featured in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Gilbert & Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, and Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, and has since sung with the Houston Grand Opera Chorus. Bryan is currently a member of the Opera Santa Barbara chorus and will be performing in this season’s productions.

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Laurie Neumann
Laurie Neumann,
Soprano

Laurie Neumann, lyric soprano, began singing at age 7 in her church’s Junior Choir, later receiving private voice lessons from Floyd Mussard. She received her AA Degree from Cuesta College, studying with Nella Girolo, and earned her BA Degree from UCSB, studying with Dorothy Westra and performing in recitals and opera workshops. Winner of the Monday Club Scholarship Competition in San Luis Obispo, Laurie has performed throughout the Central Coast and is currently Unit Commander for the Santa Barbara Cottage Health System.

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Katelyn Neumann
Katelyn Neumann,
Mezzo-soprano

Katelyn Neumann, mezzo-soprano, is a previous SB Music Club scholarship awardee. Ms. Neumann earned her A.A. in Music at SBCC where she studied classical voice under the tutelage of Nathan Kreitzer. She earned a B.A. in Music at CPSU, San Luis Obispo, and attained a M.M. in Vocal Performance at CSU, Northridge. Ms. Neumann has performed as a soloist throughout California and has been the recipient of various accolades both locally and nationally. Ms. Neumann has performed several operatic roles including Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Lyric Opera Studio Weimar in Germany, the title role in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, and as Mother in Capitol City Opera’s world premiere of Curtis Bryant’s The Secret Agent. Ms. Neumann performed the role of Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto with Capitol City Opera in 2012 and made her Lamplighters Musical Theatre debut in San Francisco as Leila in Iolanthe in 2013. Ms. Neumann sang with Opera San Jose in its productions of Madama Butterfly, Don Giovanni, and Le Nozze di Figaro, and with the Lyric Theatre of San Jose in their productions of The Prince of Pilsen,Utopia Limited, and Iolanthe, as Mrs. Crocker, Lady Sophy, and the Fairy Queen respectively. Ms. Neumann is also a cantor and soloist at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in San Francisco. In February, she will be singing the role of Mother and inspiring children in the Bay Area to love music and theater through the Children’s Theatre production of Stiles & Drewe’s musical The Three Little Pigs in Palo Alto.

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Tyler Reece
Tyler Reece,
Baritone

Tyler Reece, baritone, is in his final year as a doctoral candidate at UCSB. He earned his BM Degree at Luther College (Iowa), and did graduate study with Dr. Linda Di Fiore at both the University of North Texas and UCSB. In February Tyler made his role debut as Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro; other recent operatic engagements include the title role in Pasatieri’s comedy, Signor Deluso, as Malvolio in the West Coast premiere of Joel Feigin’s setting of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, and as Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Italy. Tyler sings professionally at Old Mission Santa Barbara and with the Santa Barbara Choral Society, and in accordance with his passion for education, he has served as Teaching Assistant at UCSB.

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Ken Ryals
Ken Ryals,
Baritone

Ken Ryals, baritone, holds an MM Degree from the University of Arizona and is an alumnus of SBCC, where he is now a faculty member. He performs in many different vocal milieux, ranging from opera to musical theater to jazz ensembles to cabaret entertainment, and his activities include serving as choreographer, composer/arranger, and director. He has toured with the vocal jazz group Cloudburst, and has produced a CD, Elements of Sunday Jazz, with guitarist Anthony Ybarra, with whom he performs regularly in Southern California.

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Andre Shillo
Andre Shillo,

Andre Shillo, baritone, was born in the Ukraine and earned his AA Degree in Music from Santa Barbara City College. Honored with awards from the Léni Fé Bland, Pillsbury, John C. Profant, and Performing Arts Scholarship Foundations, SB City College, and the SB Music Club, he has sung with Opera Santa Barbara, was featured soloist in the Puccini Festival, and has performed in the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival (Bonefro, Italy) and in Bizet’s Carmen and Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera with the Pacific Repertory Opera of San Luis Obispo.

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DeAndre Simmons
DeAndre Simmons,
Bass

DeAndre Simmons, bass, has gained international recognition for his wide-ranging repertoire of concert and operatic performances in the U.S. and Europe. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, he also studied at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Honors accorded him include First Place Prize in both the George London Foundation Vocal Competition and the National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition, and he has been featured at Carnegie Hall in recitals and workshops, with the Opera Company of Philadelphia in the East Coast premiere of David DiChiera’s opera Cyrano, in The Beggar’s Opera by Benjamin Britten under Lorin Maazel, in Regina with the Pacific Opera Victoria, and with the Music Academy of the West Orchestra in both Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait and the West Coast premiere of A Wedding by William Bolcom. He sang the Shepherd Boy in a recording of Tosca, performed in Aida, Carmen, Tosca, and Porgy & Bess, was a principal in the West Coast revival of A Bayou Legend by William Grant Still, and has sung for noted mezzo-soprano Florence Quivar (also his mentor). His singing credits in musicals including Showboat, Ain’t Misbehavin, The Wiz, Dream Girls, and Sweet Charity (in which he was also principal dancer), and his many television guest appearances and commercials include The Cosby Show and Sesame Street.

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Takako Wakita
Takako Wakita,
Soprano

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.

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Woodwind Players
Nicholas Akdag
Nicholas Akdag,
Bassoonist

Bassoonist Nicholas Akdag studied at the State Conservatory of Music Berlin “Hanns Eisler” (Berlin, Germany) with Prof. Volker Tessmann. He previously received a Master of Music Degree from the Yale University School of Music with Frank Morelli. He has also attended Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and the Idyllwild Arts Academy. Mr. Akdag currently serves on the faculty at Ventura College. He has performed throughout Europe and North America, and regularly performs throughout southern California with groups like the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, New West Symphony, and others.

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Sam Bergstrom
Sam Bergstrom,
Bassoonist

Sam Bergstrom, bassoonist, earned his BM in Music Engineering at the University of Miami. Previously a member of several amateur orchestras in Germany, including Symphonisches Ensemble München, Symphonisches Orchester München Andechs, and Filmfoniker, he is currently co-principal bassoonist of the SBCC Symphony and an intellectual property attorney.

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Adriane Hill Cleary
Adriane Hill Cleary,
Director Emeritus, Flutist

Adriane Hill Cleary is a flutist based in Santa Barbara, CA, where she works as the Marketing and Communications Manager for the UC Santa Barbara Department of Music. She studied performance at UC Santa Barbara (M.M.) with Jill Felber and the University of Central Florida (B.M.) with Dr. Nora Lee Garcia. As a member of the new music group, the Now Hear Ensemble, she has toured throughout much of California, including appearances at the Center for New Music in San Francisco and the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in Los Angeles. Adriane also serves as the Marketing and Communications Manager for the Los Angeles-based composer-directed collective, Synchromy. Learn more at www.adrianehill.com.

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Chad Cullins
Chad Cullins,
Clarinetist

Chad Cullins, clarinetist, began studies with Elise Unruh and Nancy Mathison in Santa Barbara and furthered his musical education at Santa Barbara City College and USC, the latter as a pupil of Christie Lundquist, Principal Clarinet of the Utah Symphony. Chad has performed in many Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera productions as well as with the SB Choral Society, SB Oratorio Chorale, Symphony of the Vines, and West Coast Symphony, and his performances with the San Luis Obispo Opera Orchestra exemplified his doubling skills on clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute. A current SBCC student and member of the SBCC Symphony, Chad’s goals include expanding his classical and jazz flute repertoire and performing tenor saxophone as soloist and in jazz ensembles.

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Andrea DiMaggio
Andrea DiMaggio,
Flutist

Andrea Di Maggio, Flutist, graduated from San Jose State University, summa cum laude, with a Bachelor of Music degree where she studied with Isabelle Chapuis. While attending Arizona State University, Andrea held a teaching position and worked with the undergraduate flute majors and music education students, and performed in faculty recitals. Studying with Jill Felber at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Andrea graduated with honors with a Masters Degree in Flute Performance. As flute instructor at Westmont College, she is a founding member of the woodwind quintet Sonos Montecito and a faculty member at the Westmont Academy of Young Artists. Andrea also maintains a small and competitive private flute studio, with students winning awards from the Santa Barbara Music Club, The Music Teachers Association of California, and the National Flute Association. Andrea performs on a Miyazawa flute.

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Suzanne Duffy
Suzanne Duffy,
Flutist

Suzanne Duffy, flutist, is an active soloist and chamber musician, serves as Principal Flute for San Luis Obispo County’s Symphony of the Vines and Opera San Luis Obispo, is Second Flute/Piccolo for Opera Santa Barbara, and maintains a private teaching studio. She earned her MM Degree from Indiana University and her BM Degree from Northwestern University. A Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo faculty member since 2015, in March 2020 Suzanne will be featured faculty soloist with the Cal Poly Wind Ensemble in Stephen Bulla’s Rhapsody, and will present a repeat performance at the University of Puget Sound, Seattle.

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Per Elmfors
Per Elmfors,
Clarinetist

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.

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Sherylle Mills Englander
Sherylle Mills Englander,
Flutist

Sherylle Mills Englander, flutist, grew up in the Los Angeles area, where she studied flute with Louise DiTullio. She holds a BM Degree from the Eastman School of Music and pursued graduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in Timothy Day’s studio. Ms. Englander is currently a member of the SBCC Concert Band and the SB Community Flute Ensemble, and performs in a variety of local concerts. Recognized by the Pacific Coast Business Times as one of 2016’s “Top 50 Women in Business,” Ms. Englander manages UCSB’s intellectual property portfolio as Director of its Office of Technology & Industry Alliances: she credits her musical background for her ability to think outside the box in the tech and research environment.

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Trey Farrell
Trey Farrell,
Oboist

Trey Farrell, oboist, received his BA Degree from Pennsylvania State University and his MM Degree from USC. Currently Adjunct Instructor of Oboe at Westmont College, he is an active freelance musician performing throughout Southern California. In addition, Trey teaches instrumental music at Roosevelt Elementary School, performs with the San Luis Obispo Symphony and Opera Orchestra and maintains a private oboe studio in Santa Barbara.

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Louis Grace
Louis Grace,
Oboist

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.

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Jane Hahn
Jane Hahn,
Director, Flutist

Jane Hahn, flutist, studied flute at UCSB as an undergraduate with Burnette Atkinson and has enjoyed playing flute semi-professionally and as a hobby ever since. A student of Suzanne Duffy, Jane presently performs as principal flutist in the SB City College Symphony and collaborates with pianist Christopher Davis, and others, for private performances. She is also a singer, and is director of the women’s vocal ensemble, LUX. By day, Jane is a Project Manager with Bosch Corporation.

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Tracy Harris
Tracy Harris,
Flutist

Tracy Harris, flutist, is internationally renowned as soloist, chamber musician, teacher, and author, and is a former SBMC scholarship awardee. She earned her BM Degree at UCSB, studying with Jill Felber. Founder/Artistic Director of the popular “Tracy Harris Flute Boot Camps,” which assist over 1,000 underprivileged students annually, she records on the Elite Source label and her latest Wyndfall Duo release is the album Eklectick, with pianist Svetlana Harris. Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician, Tracy recently premiered works by Todd Harris, which were showcased at Sir James Galway’s International Master Class. Please visit www.TracyHarrisFlute.com and also view her performances on YouTube.

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Mary Jo Hartle
Mary Jo Hartle,
Director Emeritus, flutist

Mary Jo Hartle, flutist, received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Harvard University and did graduate work in anthropology at the University of Chicago. As Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of the South, her specialty was Indian Goddess Worship. A student of Anne Diener Zentner, former Principal Flute of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, she pursues her love of chamber music as a member of the Firecat Trio and other ensembles, and is frequent participant in the Humboldt State University Chamber Music Workshops. Ms. Hartle is the author of children’s books as well as a former anthropologist, and is currently President of the Chamber Music Society of Santa Barbara.

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Linda Holland
Linda Holland,
Flutist, Composer

Linda Holland is a flutist/composer whose works have been performed internationally: in Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, and at National Flute Conventions across the U.S. A SBCC faculty member since 1998, her honors include awards from the Festival of New American Music, Society of Composers, Inc., and ASCAP. Dr. Holland earned her BM from CSU Sacramento, MM in Composition from San Francisco Conservatory, and both MM in Flute and PhD in Composition from UCSB.

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Joanne Kim
Joanne Kim,
Clarinetist

Clarinetist Joanne Kim, has concertized as solo performer and chamber and orchestral musician in many parts of North America and Asia. Her performing career began in her late teens with the honorable Stamas Scholarship Fund from the New York Philharmonic offering her a new clarinet for her studies and concerts. She has performed with New York Soloist Ensemble, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Korean Chamber Orchestra, Astoria Symphony, New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra, Chelsea Symphony, and the Santa Barbara Symphony. Dr. Kim has earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in clarinet performance at Manhattan School of Music with a fellowship under the tutelage of Mark Nuccio. Her Bachelor of Music is from Mannes College, and Master of Music degree with merit scholarship in the prestigious Orchestral Performance Program is from Manhattan School of Music. Dr. Kim is on the faculty at Westmont College, Santa Barbara City College, Westmont Academy for Young Artists, and InterHarmony International Music Festival in Italy.

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Simon Knight
Simon Knight,
Bassoonist

Simon Knight, bassoonist, is Founder and President of Satya Analytics, a provider of innovative marketing and psychographic analytics to multiple industries and economic development organizations. Satya Analytics is gaining attention nationwide for its ability to understand the ‘why’ behind buying decisions. The Satya Foundation, an offshoot of Satya created to support organizations that cannot afford the high costs of big data, also provides analytical information and insights to local non-profits such as Women’s Economic Ventures. Simon is a graduate of the Warwick Business School, with an MBA focusing on data science. In his musical life, he studied with Kerry Camden, the bassoon professor at the Royal College of Music, and currently plays in amateur orchestras and chamber groups. He is a board member of the Santa Barbara Chamber Music Society and a co-founder of the Garage Chamber Orchestra, a group created during the pandemic to provide performance opportunities for local musicians while fundraising for non-profits.

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Amanda Kritzberg
Amanda Kritzberg,
Clarinetist

Amanda Kritzberg, clarinetist, received her BM and MM Degrees from UCSB, studying with Paul Bambach. She has been involved in many diverse ensembles, including symphonies, chamber orchestras, wind ensembles, clarinet choirs, and contemporary music ensembles, and has been featured recording artist for mixed-media projects, including film. As member of the Now Hear Ensemble she has premiered numerous works, and has toured with the group in the “Made in California” project, which included the “Made in California” album. Most recently, Amanda was awarded a residency at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute and was featured soloist at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in Disney Concert Hall Complex in Los Angeles.

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Evan Losoya
Evan Losoya,
Oboist

Evan Losoya, oboist, has studied oboe for eleven years and played both oboe and English horn in orchestras since age nine. Currently a freshman Music Composition major in the UCSB College of Creative Studies, studying with Dr. Jeremy Haladyna, he has composed for various film projects, was commissioned to compose a 90-minute film score for Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, and his piano piece, Hypnotic Suggestion, was prizewinner in the MTNA competition. A piano student of Dr. Charles Asche, he performs on both oboe and piano as a member of UCSB’s Ensemble for Contemporary Music.

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Paul Mori
Paul Mori,
Bassoonist

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.

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Andy Radford
Andy Radford,
Bassoonist

Andy Radford, bassoonist, is faculty member at both UCSB and Westmont College. Principal Bassoonist of the Santa Barbara Symphony and California Philharmonic, he also serves as Conductor of the Santa Barbara Youth Orchestra. Active in the recording industry, he has performed in over 300 soundtracks, including the films Jurassic Park and Star Wars, and has recorded with such artists as Neil Diamond, The Modern Jazz Quartet, and The Three Tenors.

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Adelle Rodkey
Adelle Rodkey,
Director Emeritus, Oboist

Adelle Rodkey, oboist, received her BM Degree in Music Pedagogy, magna cum laude, from Wheaton Conservatory of Music (Illinois), where she studied oboe with Carl Sonik. A native of Santa Barbara, she was an oboe student of Anne Anderson and a piano student of Lana Bodnar and Marilyn Clemons. Honors accorded her have included the President’s Award from Wheaton College, as well as awards from the Music Teachers National Association and the Pillsbury Foundation. Adelle performs frequently in several orchestras and chamber music ensembles, and is Instructor of Oboe at Westmont College. As a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, she maintains a private studio of oboe and piano students.

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David Singer
David Singer,
Clarinetist

David Singer, clarinetist, enjoys a career as one of the most highly respected clarinetist in the United States. The New York Times proclaimed, “To describe Singer’s playing would be to enumerate a catalogue of virtues.” Principal clarinetist, Emeritus, of the Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, his performances include the White House for Presidents Carter and Clinton, guest artist with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, and chamber music concerts with Yehudi Menuhin, Yo Yo Ma, Rudolf Serkin, and members of the Guarneri and Emerson String Quartets. Gramophone Magazine affirmed, ”His playing is exceptional … sensitive and expressive, technically brilliant.” “Singer’s Copland performance is one of the finest accounts around.” Of his West Coast premiere of the Aldridge Concerto with the L.A. Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Times noted, “… teeming with energy, rowdy, ethnic and fun.” The Max Reger Institute in Karlsruhe, Germany selected Singer’s recording with Rudolf Serkin of Reger’s Clarinet Sonata Op. 107 to be reissued internationally in 2023, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

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Mariana Smith
Mariana Smith,
Flutist
Eliana Van Renterghem
Eliana Van Renterghem,
Flutist

Eliana Van Renterghem, flutist, is a homeschooled high school senior studying with Andrea Di Maggio, and has participated in five masterclasses and several private lessons with UCSB Professor Jill Felber; also a pianist, she is a student of Neil Di Maggio. She has twice been concerto soloist with the SB Youth Symphony and was winner of the National Flute Association’s 2015 High School Flute Competition. Eliana has received SBMC scholarships in both flute and piano, and plans on pursuing music in college and in her future career.

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Elizabeth Van Renterghem
Elizabeth Van Renterghem,
Flutist

Elizabeth Van Renterghem, flutist, is a homeschooled high school senior studying with Andrea Di Maggio, and has participated in five masterclasses and several private lessons with UCSB Professor Jill Felber; also a pianist, she is a student of Neil Di Maggio. She received the “Certificate of Outstanding Achievement” from the Westmont Academy for Young Artists and will be featured concerto soloist with the SB Youth Orchestra. Elizabeth is a SBMC scholarship awardee in both flute and piano, and will be a college music major.

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Cynthia Vong
Cynthia Vong,
Flutist

Cynthia Vong, flutist, is currently pursuing her MM Degree at UCSB, studying with Jill Felber. Cynthia earned her BME Degree from Pennsylvania State University, was featured soloist with the Reading Symphony Orchestra and Ringgold Band, and was invited to perform at the 2013 and 2015 National Flute Association Conventions. At UCSB she serves as Teaching Assistant for the University Wind Ensemble and Flute Choir, and she also teaches flute students in the Santa Barbara School District. She has recently formed a duo, “Midground,” with percussionist, composer and producer Kevin Eppinger, producing electronic music featuring the flute. The duo released its first single, Chroma, on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Apple Music in January.

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Ensembles
Adelfos Ensemble
Adelfos Ensemble,

The Adelfos Ensemble was founded in 2004 as a men’s a-cappella ensemble and pursued that path until 2010, when it became a mixed voice choral ensemble. The ensemble’s goal is to offer the best of a-cappella and other choral music to audiences in the Santa Barbara area through live performances, radio broadcasts, and recordings. The group programs a broad repertoire of music spanning more than a millennium, from ancient chant and Renaissance motets to folksong arrangements and contemporary works. Adelfos Ensemble exists to explore the wide world of choral literature and, as the Santa Barbara News-Press observed, to “move right and left of center in the choral tradition.”

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Sonos5Winds
Sonos5Winds,
Ensemble

Sonos5Winds is the Westmont College Woodwind Quintet-in-Residence and is comprised of Andrea Di Maggio, flute; Trey Farrell, oboe; Joanne Kim, clarinet; Andy Radford, bassoon; and John Mason, French horn. Currently in its fifth year, Sonos5Winds performs traditional and contemporary repertoire and is deeply involved in music education within the Santa Barbara community. The ensemble sponsors events such as last year’s WindFest and the annual Westmont Academy of Young Artists, providing opportunities for students to receive chamber music coaching and lessons with Sonos5Winds members. For information on member bios and the group’s concert schedule, please visit their website here.

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The Westmont Chamber Singers
The Westmont Chamber Singers,
Ensemble

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.

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Westmont String Quartet
Westmont String Quartet,
Ensemble

The Westmont String Quartet consists of four talented students at Westmont College: Sierra Farrar, violinist, is a junior majoring in Ecological Biology and Music and is a winner of Westmont’s Music Guild Competition; Mirah Ray, violinist, is a junior majoring in Music Performance and is a winner of Westmont’s Music Guild Competition; Erik Fauss, violinist, is a senior Music Major who was awarded First Place in the 2017 Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Competition; Timothy Beccue, cellist, is a senior Physics Major who was a Prizewinner in the 2017 Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Competition.

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Composers
Emma Lou Diemer
Emma Lou Diemer,
Composer, Pianist, Organist

Composer, pianist, and organist Emma Lou Diemer is 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. She studied 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. In 1971 she moved from the East Coast to teach composition and theory at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she was instrumental in founding the electronic/computer music program. In 1991 she became Professor Emeritus at UCSB.

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Raymond Egan
Raymond Egan,
Organist

Raymond Egan’s music has been performed throughout the United States, in Europe, in Australia, and at conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and The American Guild of Organists. He has had commissions from the General Assembly of The Unitarian Universalist Church and from California State University Los Angeles. His sacred music includes two masses, some larger choral works on environmental themes, and lots of choral, solo voice, and organ music. In the secular realm he is the composer of the score for the United States Steel documentary, Worlds of Von Braun. Raymond Egan was a composition student of Samuel Adler and John Corigliano, and an organ student of David Craighead. He has a Doctoral degree in conducting from the Thornton School of Music, The University of Southern California, where he was the Outstanding Doctoral student of 1996.

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Robert Else
Robert Else,
Director Emeritus, Pianist

Robert Else, pianist, is active in both the classical and jazz worlds. He earned his BA Degree in Music from Cal Poly Humboldt and pursued graduate studies at USC, studying with Gwendolyn Koldofsky and Brooks Smith; he also received a BA in Jazz Piano from Berklee College of Music in Boston. His activities include solo piano, chamber music, jazz ensembles, singing tenor with the SB Noel Carolers, and composing tracks for film and TV, many of which can be heard at www.robertelse.com. A SBMC Advisory Board member, he also plays acoustic bass in various local Bluegrass and Americana bands.

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Marc Evanstein
Marc Evanstein,
Director, Pianist

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.

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Leslie Hogan
Leslie Hogan,
President, Pianist

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.

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Linda Holland
Linda Holland,
Flutist, Composer

Linda Holland is a flutist/composer whose works have been performed internationally: in Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, and at National Flute Conventions across the U.S. A SBCC faculty member since 1998, her honors include awards from the Festival of New American Music, Society of Composers, Inc., and ASCAP. Dr. Holland earned her BM from CSU Sacramento, MM in Composition from San Francisco Conservatory, and both MM in Flute and PhD in Composition from UCSB.

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Hal Isbitz
Hal Isbitz,
Director Emeritus

Hal Isbitz, composer and pianist, is a classically trained musician who studied composition and music theory with Dr. Ernest Kanitz, then Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California. A retired computer programmer, Hal began writing ragtime and other syncopated pieces in the mid-1970’s, and to date has written over 80 piano pieces. His music has been recorded and performed at ragtime festivals throughout the country, and Tulsey Town Rag, written to commemorate the centennial of Oklahoma statehood, won the 2007 competition held by the Ragtime for Tulsa Foundation.

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William Ramsay
William Ramsay,
Composer

William Ramsay studied music composition with Sotireos Vlahopolous at the Washington Conservatory (DC), and his compositions include the Symphonic Prelude, Glory Road, performed by the Santa Barbara Symphony, a Violin & Piano Suite, The Hawk, a Flute Sonata, a Piano Quartet, and numerous songs, including a setting of Spring Dawn, based on a text by the Tang Dynasty poet Meng Hao-Jan. Dr. Ramsay holds a PhD in Physics from UCLA, has worked as an environmental economist at the Nuclear Regulatory Commision, and has published books and papers in physics and on energy and environmental issues. He has also written novels and a number of plays, published short fiction, and edited the literary journal Fiction-Online.

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Eric Valinsky
Eric Valinsky,
Past President, Pianist

A native Manhattanite, Eric Valinsky has, for more years than he would like to admit, maintained dual careers in computer systems architecture and music. He was educated at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the University of Illinois, finally achieving his DMA in music composition from Columbia University. He studied composition with Walter Aschaffenburg, Salvatore Martirano, Jack Beeson, and Darius Milhaud; piano with Sara Crawford Drogheo and Emil Danenberg; and conducting with Harold Farberman. While living in Los Angeles, he became music director and composer-in-residence for The Storie-Crawford Dance Theatre Ensemble. Returning to New York, he served in a similar capacity for Danny Buraczeski’s Jazzdance, Uris Bahr and Dancers, and The New American Ballet Ensemble as well as composer-in-residence for The Rachel Harms Dance Company, Opera Uptown, and the Dance Department at City College of New York. He is currently Music Director for the American Dance & Music Performance Group and moonlights as founder and partner of Inlineos LLC, a strategic Internet consulting company.

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John Villar
John Villar,
Composer

John Villar, composer, has had his instrumental and vocal works performed in venues across the United States, ranging from the Hammer Theatre Center in San Jose, CA to the National Opera Center in New York City, the latter featuring the premiere of his Serenata bajo la luna performed by mezzo-soprano Anna Tonna, guitarist Francisco Roldán, and pianist Max Lifchitz. John Villar is a graduate of the Thornton School of Music at USC, having studied there with Ellis Kohs and Robert Linn, and thereafter studying privately with William Kraft and Mario Pelusi. His compositions range in scope from solo pieces to works for large orchestra, and in style from atonal to tonal. He is currently at work on a set of symphonic variations.

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