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Kate Ransom
violin & artistic director
Hailed in the New York Times for "impassioned" playing and "clear articulation and unity
of purpose," violinist Kate Ransom is a distinguished chamber musician, recitalist and
teacher who has presented hundreds of concerts in major chamber music concert halls
in North America and Europe. Ms. Ransom is artistic director of Serafin Ensemble, and
founding violinist of Serafin String Quartet - lauded by Gramophone and Fanfare
Magazine for the Naxos release of early works by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer
Jennifer Higdon and by The Strad Magazine and American Record Guide for their debut
Centaur release. She also directs Serafin Summer Music, a chamber music festival in
Delaware.
As founding and six-year member of the Alexander String Quartet, she received first
prize and audience prize at the London String Quartet Competition and toured
internationally. Kate Ransom has played to numerous composers, consulting with them
in preparation for performances of their works, including Aaron Copland, Jennifer
Higdon, Elliot Carter, and George Rochberg. She is an active collaborator on series and
festivals throughout the United States and has performed with artists and ensembles
such as David Coucheron, Charles Abramovic, Steven Tenenbom, Sara Sant’Ambrogio,
Eliot Fisk, and members of the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, Eroica Trio,
Empire Brass Quintet and Juilliard, Orion, Attacca, and Vega String Quartets.
Ms. Ransom’s recital and solo performances include the Bach Concerto for Two Violins;
complete Brahms violin sonatas in PA, TX and DE; complete violin Beethoven sonatas
in DE, FL, PA and VT; and the Mozart Symphonie Concertante. She has recorded for
Gallo, CRI, Centaur, Klavier and Naxos. Ms. Ransom was formerly adjunct violin
instructor at the University of Delaware as has held visiting artist positions at Brevard
College and Lehigh University. Her quartets have been Ensemble in Residence at
University of Delaware, St. Lawrence University, SUNY-Potsdam, Lehigh University,
and she was artist in residence at Brevard University.
Ms. Ransom pursued post-graduate chamber music study at The Juilliard School with
Robert Mann and holds master's and bachelor's degrees in violin performance from
Yale University and University of Michigan, respectively. Her major teachers were Paul
Makanovitzky, Szymon Goldberg and Ivan Galamian, and she was a chamber music
protégé of Tokyo Quartet. Devoted to organizational advancement in the arts, she has
held executive positions at music schools since 1990 including 9 years as founding
director of what is now the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University, and 23 years as
president of The Music School of Delaware. Ms. Ransom plays a violin made in 1728 by
the Venetian master, Sanctus Serafin.
Eric Pritchard
violin
Eric Pritchard has been serving as First Violinist of the Ciompi Quartet of Duke
University since 1995. His previous appointments as First Violinist of the Alexander and
Oxford String Quartets included positions at City University of New York, San Francisco
State University, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and Miami
University. A native of Durham, New Hampshire, he studied at the New England
Conservatory, the Indiana University School of Music and the Juilliard School where he
received a Master of Music in 1985. His principal teachers were Josef Gingold, Ivan
Galamian, Eric Rosenblith and Giorgio Ciompi. Pritchard was awarded First Prizes at
the London International String Quartet Competition and at the Coleman and Fischoff
national chamber music competitions. He was also the winner of the National
Federation of Music Clubs Award in violin in 1981.
Mr. Pritchard has appeared as concerto soloist with orchestras including the Boston
Pops, the Indianapolis Philharmonic and the Orchestra of New England. He has served
as Concertmaster of the Columbus Symphony, the Opera Company of North Carolina
and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra. As a baroque violinist, he performs on an
historically restored 18th century British violin from the Duke University Musical
Instrument Collection. Pritchard has premiered string quartets by illustrious composers
such as Aaron Copland, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and his solo and chamber music
performances have been released on Naxos, MSR Classics Albany, Amplitude,
Arabesque, Carlton, CRI, Gallo, Gasparo, Mastersound, Pro Organo, VAC, and Verdi
labels.
As a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, Pritchard offers workshops and
classes for instrumentalists and singers at Duke and elsewhere that focus on achieving
peak performance through increased body awareness. He resides in Durham, NC with
his wife, Laura Lawton and sons, Shea and Aaron.
Hal Grossman
violin
Enthusiastically acclaimed by critics and audiences alike for his “vibrant tone” and
“superb technique,” Hal Grossman is Grand Award Winner of the Lima Young Artist
Competition and Silver Medalist of the International Stulberg String Competition. He also
received First Prize Awards at the prestigious International Cleveland Quartet
Competition and the National Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. His New York
Debut at Carnegie Hall received exceptional reviews from The New York Times. He was
invited to perform for their Royal Highnesses, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, in a
CBC television and radio broadcast. Recital appearances have taken him throughout
North America and Europe. In the United States he has also been heard on National
Public Radio, WQXI-New York, and WFMT-Chicago. Mr. Grossman served as the
Concertmaster of the Echternach Festival Orchestra in Luxembourg, a position he has also
held with the Illinois Philharmonic, the Boise Philharmonic, the Lansing Symphony and the Saginaw Bay
Symphony Orchestra. He has been featured at the Casals (Puerto Rico), Evian (France), Orfeo (Italy),
InterHarmony (Germany) music festivals and, in the continental U.S., the Aspen, Lancaster, Breckenridge,
Fontana, Great Lakes, Marrowstone, Manitou, and Garth Newel music festivals. Mr. Grossman holds music
performance degrees from the University of Michigan and the Eastman School of Music. He is professor of
violin at the University of Oregon and on the violin faculty at the Aria International Music Academy,
Marrowstone Music Festival the Northwest Music Retreat. Mr. Grossman's students can be found in the New
York Philharmonic, National Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Louisville Orchestra and in every major music
conservatory in the nation. He is the founder and creator of The Grossman Method®, an internationally
acclaimed course of study addressing musician’s health issues, which was awarded the Louisville Award in
Music and has been nominated for Outstanding Achievement in String Research Award by the American String
Teachers Association.
Amadi Azikiwe
viola
Amadi Azikiwe, violist, violinist, and conductor, has been heard in recital in major cities throughout
the United States, including an appearance at the U.S. Supreme Court. He has also been a guest of the
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at the Alice Tully Hall and the Kennedy Center. Abroad, he has
performed throughout Israel, Canada, South America, Central America, Nigeria, India, Japan, and Hong
Kong. As a soloist, Mr. Azikiwe has appeared with the Prince George’s Philharmonic, Delaware Symphony,
Virginia Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, Virginia Beach Symphony, Roanoke
Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Western Piedmont Symphony, Salisbury Symphony, the Gateways Music
Festival Orchestra, the City Island Baroque Ensemble of New York, the National Symphony of Ecuador,
and at the Costa Rica International Music Festival. Currently, he is Music Director of the Harlem
Symphony Orchestra as well as Community Engagement Director of the Harlem Chamber Players and a member
of the Pressenda Chamber Players. As an orchestral musician, he appeared with the New York Philharmonic
and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and as guest principal violist of Canada’s National Arts Centre
Orchestra. A New York City native, he first studied music with his mother, then began training at the
North Carolina School of the Arts as a student of Sally Peck. His studies continued at the New England
Conservatory with Marcus Thompson and at Indiana University as a student of Atar Arad.
Luke Fleming
viola
Praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for his “glowing refinement,” Luke Fleming’s
festival appearances include the Marlboro Music School and Festival, the Steans Institute
at Ravinia, Perlman Music Program, the Norfolk and Great Lakes Chamber Music
Festivals, the Melbourne Festival, Bravo!Vail, and Festival Mozaic. Formerly the violist
of the internationally acclaimed Attacca Quartet, he has served as Artist-in-Residence for
the Metropolitan Museum of Art and received the National Federation of Music Clubs
Centennial Chamber Music Award. He was awarded First Prize at the Osaka International
Chamber Music Competition and top prizes at the Melbourne International Chamber
Music Competition. In 2015, Mr. Fleming became the Founding Artistic Director of both
the Manhattan Chamber Players, a New York-based chamber music collective, and the
Crescent City Chamber Music Festival. He has performed as a guest artist with the
Pacifica, Solera, Serafin, and Canterbury Quartets, the Eroica and Gryphon Trios, the Chamber Music Society
of Lincoln Center, Sejong Soloists, Ensemble Connect, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the New York Classical
Players. He has served on the faculties of the Innsbrook Institute, Renova Music Festival, Festival del Lago, and
Houston ChamberFest, and Fei Tian College and is Lecturer-in-Residence for the concert series Project: Music
Heals Us. Mr. Fleming holds the degrees of Doctor of Musical Arts, Artist Diploma, and Master of Music from
the Juilliard School, a Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music in London,
and a Bachelor of Music summa cum laude from Louisiana State University.
Adelya Shagidullina
viola
“Most impressive…exceptional playing.” - The American Prize
“…elegance, grace, and a pure singing tone” - BroadStreetReview.com
Adelya Shagidullina is a prizewinning violist. She has performed in such venues as the Kimmel
Center in Philadelphia, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, and
the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, among others.
Adelya Shagidullina appears in various chamber concert series, such as the Jupiter Symphony
Chamber Players, Bargemusic, Ltd., BCENY Concert evenings, Embassy Concert Series, and
Candlelight Concert Series. Ms. Shagidullina collaborated with such prominent musicians as
Dmitry Berlinsky, Svetlana Smolina, Luiza Borac, Mark Peskanov, and Branford Marsalis, to
name a few. Ms.Shagidullina is a member of the Embassy Quartet, and a new member of the
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra.
Adelya Shagidullina is a Doctor of Musical Arts. She completed her doctoral studies at Temple
University in 2019. Ms. Shagidullina plays on a copy of Carlo Giuseppe Testore, generously
gifted to her by a renowned luthier, Jon Van Kouwenhoven.
Charae Krueger
cello
Cellist Charae Krueger is Principal Cellist for the Atlanta Opera Orchestra and the Atlanta Ballet
Orchestra. She is Lecturer and Artist in Residence in Cello at Kennesaw State University in
Georgia, having been a faculty member since 2006. Ms. Krueger is an avid chamber musician
and is a member of the Summit Piano Trio and the Serafin Ensemble. She is a regular featured
artist at the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival in North Carolina, the Grand Teton
Music Festival in Wyoming and at Serafin Summer Music. Her solo and chamber music recitals
have been featured on NPR's Performance Today, WABE Radio Atlanta and WGBH Radio
Boston. She plays frequently with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Charleston
Symphony.
Ms. Krueger also enjoys recording studio work and has played on albums of Bruce Springsteen,
Faith Hill and Natalie Cole. Recent concerts include chamber music performances at the
Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Grand Teton Music Festival with violinist Julian Rachlin,
Charleston’s Piccolo Spoleto Festival, concerts with ChoLiang Lin and Concertmasters William
Preucil, Andres Cardenes and David Coucheron at the Highland-Cashiers Chamber Music
Festival, chamber music performances with the Atlanta Chamber Players and the Emory
Chamber Music Society of Atlanta. Ms. Krueger has been featured in solo recitals at the Blue
Ridge Chamber Music Festival and All-Saints Church concert series in Atlanta, concerto
performances with DeKalb Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Community Orchestra. She
has twice performed the entire Beethoven cycle of Cello Sonatas with pianist Robert Henry and
has done a recital tour and accompanying live CD of the Southeastern US with pianist Stanley
Yerlow.
Ms. Krueger received her early cello training in Canada at the Regina Conservatory of Music.
She went on to study at Brandon University and received her Bachelor of Music Performance
degree from New England Conservatory in Boston. She also holds an Artist Diploma from the
Longy School of Music in Cambridge MA. She continued her training during the summers at the
Banff Centre in Canada and did quartet training with the Juilliard Quartet at the summer
program at the Juilliard School. Ms. Krueger was also a participant in the New York String
Orchestra Seminar under the direction of Alexander Schneider with concerts at Carnegie Hall.
She was a founding member of the award-winning Arden String Quartet, with national and
international appearances at Merkin Hall in NYC, Brown and Hofstra Universities as well as
radio programs throughout the US East Coast.
Jacques-Pierre Malan
cello
South African American cellist, Jacques-Pierre Malan is taking the classical music world by storm
with his unparalleled performances, innovative projects, and uncompromising dedication to
energizing and uplifting both audiences and musicians alike. His initiatives have landed him on
stages across the world from Africa to Europe to the USA. He is currently based in Baltimore
Maryland, allowing him access to America’s greatest musicians and performing opportunities.
Serving as an ambassador for South African classical musicians within the USA, Malan works
tirelessly as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, as well as a dedicated teacher and program
coordinator.
As a performer, Malan’s career was launched through winning top competition prizes and
scholarships including Yale Gordan String Competition, SAMRO Bursary Competition, Stellenbosch
International Chamber Music Festival Competition, Getting To Carnegie Hall amongst several
others. As a soloist, Jacques-Pierre has performed cello concertos with Kwazulu Natal Philharmonic,
Johannesburg Philharmonic, Capetown Philharmonic, Peabody Conductors Orchestra, Mid Atlantic
Symphony Orchestra, Chesapeake Bay Youth Orchestra. His impeccable technique, endless
energy, and unifying personality has allowed him to perform chamber music with Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Jonathan Carney as well as numerous faculties from Julliard
School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, and the Curtis Institute.
In 2016, after completing his Master degree at Peabody Conservatory with Israeli cellist Amit Peled,
Malan was invited to continue his contributions to the music world in America on an O1 Visa for
Extraordinary Ability in the Arts which was sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra,
Chamber Encounters Inc. and Friends of Chamber Music Concert Series. In less than two years, he
founded the Baltimore String Quartets and Trios, a business that pairs upscale event planners with
elite musicians, and Creative Concert Group, which produces visionary concert programs never
been done before, including the Dvorak Cello Concerto performed with String Quartet, which Mr.
Malan premiered in Washington DC. Mr. Malan’s work performing at the South African Embassy has
led him to working as Artistic Program Coordinator for the Embassy Series, which, through putting
on performances at embassies from all over the world, aims to unite people through musical
diplomacy.
Malan is currently employed as the principal cello performer with Listeso Group; Serafin Ensemble;
Mid Atlantic Symphony Orchestra; The Embassy Series and as cello faculty at the Nelly Berman
School of Music.
Sara Sant’Ambrogio
cello
Grammy Award-winning cellist Sara Sant’Ambrogio first leapt to
international attention when she was a winner at the International
Tchaikovsky Violoncello Competition in Moscow, Russia. As a result of her
medal, Carnegie Hall invited Ms. Sant’Ambrogio to perform a recital that
was filmed by CBS News as part of a profile about her, which was televised
nationally. The New York Times described Ms. Sant’Ambrogio’s New York
recital debut as “sheer pleasure,” saying “There was an irresistible warmth
in everything Miss Sant’Ambrogio did.”
Ms. Sant’Ambrogio has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as the
Atlanta, Beijing Philharmonic, Boston, Budapest, Chicago, Dallas, Moscow
State Philharmonic, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Osaka Century Orchestra
(Japan), Royal Philharmonic, St. Louis, San Francisco, Seattle and Vienna
Symphony; she has performed thousands of concerts on six continents at
the world’s major music centers and festivals including Aspen,
Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, Kennedy
Center, Konzert Huset in Stockholm, Marlboro, Muiskverein in Vienna,
Ravinia, Orchard and Suntory Halls in Tokyo and Great Mountain Festival
and Seoul Arts Center in Korea. Ms. Sant’Ambrogio is particularly excited
to have finally performed in all 50 United States last season when she
performed at the Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival in Alaska!!
Always looking to draw in new audiences and push the boundaries of
classical music, Sara has performed with Sting and Joshua Bell in the
production of “Twin Spirits,” the story of the love affair between Clara and
Robert Schumann. The Los Angeles Times wrote, “Joshua Bell and Sara
Sant’Ambrogio played with lyrical restraint and lovely tone.” Tracks from
her solo cd “Dreaming” have been featured on multiple film soundtracks,
including the opening title on the HBO award winning documentary, “A
Matter of Taste.” Ms. Sant’Ambrogio has collaborated with the New York
City Ballet in 7 highly successful sold out concerts at Lincoln Center
performing the Bach Suites and was featured in the opening Fall Gala of
the ballet performing Elgar Cello Concerto. Sara has recorded with Tim
McGraw on the #1 hit “Humble and Kind” and performed with Rufus
Wainwright in the inauguration of a new concert series at the National Arts
Club.
Ms. Sant’Ambrogio started her cello studies with her father John
Sant’Ambrogio, who was principal cellist of the St. Louis Symphony, and at
the age of 16 was invited on full scholarship to study with David Soyer at
the Curtis Institute of Music where she received her high school diploma.
Three years later, world renowned cellist Leonard Rose invited Ms.
Sant’Ambrogio to study at The Juilliard School; within weeks of arriving,
she won the All-Juilliard Schumann Cello Concerto Competition, resulting
in the first of many performances at Lincoln Center.
In addition to her Tchaikovsky Medal, Ms. Sant’Ambrogio has won
numerous international competitions, including The Whitaker, The Dealey,
Artists International, Palm Beach Awards and the Naumburg Award with
her ensemble the Eroica Trio. Ms. Sant’Ambrogio won a Grammy Award
for her performance of Bernstein’s Arias and Barcarolles and the NPR Best
Debut Recording with Eroica for their Debut recording. She has been
profiled in Strings, Glamour, Gramophone, Vogue, Strad, Elle, Bon Appetit,
In Fashion, Travel and Leisure, Detour, Fanfare magazines as well as The
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and on CBS, ABC, PBS,
USA and CNN networks. Ms. Sant’Ambrogio is the subject of a feature
length documentary, which has had hundreds of airings nationwide on PBS
and international networks.
Ms. Sant’Ambrogio is a founding member of the Eroica Trio, which has
toured extensively the US, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Australia and New
Zealand. The trio opened the “Distinctive Debuts” series at Carnegie Hall,
and that year represented Carnegie Hall and the United States as the
official chamber music ensemble in concerts worldwide. While touring the
globe, Eroica has released 9 celebrated recordings garnering multiple
Grammy nominations.
While touring with all the beloved standards of the cello repertoire, Ms.
Sant’Ambrogio is very excited to have given the world premiere of Michael
Bacon’s Passacaglia and Toccata for cello and chamber orchestra in the
summer of 2022 as well as the release of her latest recordings, 1 with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of the romantic masterpiece, Elgar Cello
Concerto, a gorgeous new concerto written for her by the American
composer Bruce Wolosoff and two of her own arrangements of Astor
Piazzolla’s sultry Oblivion and Libertango and Paradise Found, a recording
made during the pandemic, of cello and piano works by Bruce Wolosoff,.
Both of these latest recordings debuted on Billboard Magazine’s Top Ten
Classical Recordings where they continued to reside for many months.
Gramophone Magazine described her recording as “A miracle of sound!”
Ms. Sant’Ambrogio performs on a Johannes Gagliano cello, Napoli, ca
1800. Sara’s CD’s, photographs and tour information are available at her
website www.sarasantambrogio.com www.amazon.com and on iTunes.
Visit Sara on Facebook, search sara.santambrogio1 and Instagram and
join the fun!
Lawrence Stomberg
cello
Cellist Lawrence Stomberg enjoys a varied career of performance as soloist and
chamber musician, pedagogue, and in community outreach through music. Hailed for "style and
elegance" and "drama and rhetoric" (Strings Magazine), and "lyrical yet impassioned
interpretation" (Fanfare Magazine), he has been a featured performer at the
Eastern Music Festival
and Texas Music Festival,
and Serafin Summer Music
and Master Players Festival,
and performs annually at the Techne Music Festival.
Currently a member of the Philadelphia-based mixed ensemble, The Halcyon Consort, he served
thirteen years as the cellist of the acclaimed Serafin String Quartet, having toured around
the United States. Stomberg is invested in presenting the music of the old masters,
including recent performances of the cycle of the six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello of
J.S. Bach and the complete Cello and Piano works of Beethoven, as well as bringing new
works and compositional voices to life, with recent and upcoming premiers and
commissions of solo, sonata, chamber, and concerto works by composers Kirk
O'Riordan, David Osbon, Richard Prior, Mazz Swift, Alisa Rose, and Ketty Nez.
Concerts have taken him across four continents, with recent solo and chamber music
performances in the cities of London, Vienna, Bogotá, as well as across the United States.
He has recorded for the Centaur, Naxos, Albany, Ravello, and VAI labels.
As a recipient of the 2018 Delaware
Division of the Arts Established Artist Fellowship, Stomberg turned much of his performance
activity to musical outreach and community engagement through his project,
Bach in Wilmington, which paired the six Suites for
Solo Cello of J.S. Bach with recorded interviews of residents of Wilmington, Delaware
(his current home), and commissioned works responding both to Bach and Wilmington,
by violinists and crossover artists Mazz Swift and Alisa Rose. This work continues, with
continuing performance and teaching artist appearances in community centers, churches,
food pantries, and re-entry programs around the city, and an upcoming online video
series.
Stomberg is a busy and dedicated pedagogue, having served on the faculties at Truman
State University in Missouri and Oklahoma State University before joining the music
faculty at the University of Delaware School of Music
in 2004, where he is currently
Professor of Cello and Associate Director for Performance Studies. He is a frequent guest
at schools across the United States and abroad giving cello and chamber music
masterclasses, and finds the work of teaching a vital companion to that of performing.
Lawrence Stomberg lives in Wilmington, Delaware with his wife, cellist and pedagogue
Jennifer Crowell Stomberg. They have three adult children, as well as an animal
menagerie of three cats, a dog, and a turtle.
Guang Wang
cello
Chinese-born cellist Guang Wang began his cello studies in Shenyang, China at the age
of eight. In 1994, he joined the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra as the youngest Assistant
Principal Cellist. He worked with Michael Tilson Thomas, Christoph Eschenbach and
other world leading conductors and played over 200 concerts throughout Asia before he
moved to United States. Mr. Wang toured extensively throughout the United States,
Europe and Asia. He has performed at the world's major concert halls in Berlin, Brussels,
London, Mexico City, New York, Paris, Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo, Vancouver, Vienna and
many others. His performances have been heard on many of the nation's prominent
classical radio broadcasts, including NPR’s Performance Today, the National Radio of
China, Shanghai TV, Radio France, and France Musiques. Mr. Wang is a founding
member of the Vega String Quartet. His festival appearances include Aspen Music
Festival, New York's Mostly Mozart, Brevard, Highlands-Cashiers, SummerFest La Jolla, Amelia Island,
Rockport, Juneau Jazz and Classics, San Miguel de Allende (Mexico) and other numerous festivals and concert
series. Mr. Wang’s world-class collaborators have included Lynn Harrell, Zuill Bailey, Sarah Chang, Richard
Stoltzman, Robert McDuffie, Charles Wadsworth, William Preucil, Christopher O'Reily, the Eroica Trio, the
American, St. Petersburg and Ying Quartets. He holds degrees from Shanghai Conservatory of Music, China;
Harid Conservatory, Florida and Manhattan School of Music, New York City. Currently, Mr. Wang and Vega
String Quartet are the Artist-in-Residence at Emory University in Atlanta.
Miles Brown
double bass
Bassist, composer, performer and teacher, Miles Brown comes from a musical family
and began playing the bass at an early age. Dr. Brown is the bassist for the new music
ensemble Alarm Will Sound, and has had his compositions performed at Carnegie Hall
and Lincoln Center. He has performed with Regina Carter, Dave Ballou, Sean Jones, Bill
Dobbins, Walt Weiskopf, Gary Smulyan, Sam Rivers and Steve Wilson. In 2008, Mr.
Brown was the Interim Gussman Director of Jazz at Cornell University. From 2009–
2018, he was the jazz program coordinator at Oakland University, where he taught jazz
classes and applied lessons. For the 2017–2018 academic year, Dr. Brown taught jazz
classes at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. In Fall 2018, he joined the
University of Delaware's full-time faculty as assistant professor of string bass and jazz
where he teaches applied string bass lessons, jazz history, string methods and
contemporary literature. He attended the Eastman School of Music for his undergraduate degree, earning a
Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Jazz and Contemporary Media. In 2003, he received a Master of
Music in String Bass Performance from Mannes College of Music, and earned a Doctorate in Jazz Performance
from Eastman in 2012.
John Dee
oboe
John Dee has performed and taught throughout the world and worked with such orchestras as the Chicago, Saint
Louis, and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras with such conductors as; Claudio Abbado, Sir Georg Solti and James Levine.
He has collaborated with nearly every major performing artist in the world including Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras,
Placido Domingo, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zuckerman, Joshua Bell, Lynn Harrell, Yo-Yo Ma, James
Galway, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. He has performed with the Alexander, Miami, Lark, Ying, Jupiter, Vega and
Pacifica String Quartets. He has performed as soloist with I Solisti Aquilani, in Italy, performed in Beijing and Shanghai,
China, frequently teaches in Spain and Korea and has performed for the Pope.
He is featured on Grammy Award-winning recordings, hundreds of commercial recordings, and seven solo CD
recordings. Critically acclaimed for numerous performances and recordings, his latest recording Music from America and
Abroad, was reviewed by the International Double Reed Society (IDRS) Journal: “Hearing John Dee’s mastery of the single
musical line is an education in how to phrase using every element of sound to its fullest tasteful measure… Dee phrases exactly as one would
speak about congenial matters to a good friend.”
He was Principal Oboe of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra and Florida Grand Opera, the Florida Orchestra in
Tampa, the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and taught at the University of Miami, the Harid
Conservatory, the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University and DePaul University in Chicago.
Mr. Dee currently serves as the Bill A. Nugent Endowed Professor of Music Performance and Professor of Oboe
Studies at the University of Illinois, UIUC. He has been awarded the Outstanding Teacher Award by the National
Endowment for the Arts multiple times and his oboe students have earned prestigious performance and teaching
positions throughout the world.
Marci Gurnow
clarinet
Marci Gurnow joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as second clarinet in 2016. Ms. Gurnow began
her orchestral career as second and bass clarinet with the Jacksonville Symphony and held the position
of acting second clarinet with the Detroit Symphony prior to returning to her hometown of Atlanta. She
has also performed as a guest with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, National Symphony,
and Dallas Symphony. Ms. Gurnow enjoys spending her summers out west performing in the Grand
Teton Music Festival. Other festival appearances have included the Bellingham Music Festival, Bravo!
Vail Festival, Highlands Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and the Aspen
Music Festival. A lover of chamber music, Ms. Gurnow is a member of the Merian Ensemble, an
ensemble dedicated to performing and commissioning chamber works by women, and the Chicago
based International Chamber Artists. Ms. Gurnow earned her Bachelor of Music from Southern
Methodist University and her Master of Music from Northwestern University. She is an Artist Affiliate
Instructor of Clarinet at Emory University and teaches privately through the Atlanta Symphony
Orchestra's Talent Development Program. Ms. Gurnow is a Buffet Crampon USA performing artist.
Outside of music, Ms. Gurnow also enjoys a balance of other activities. An avid runner, she has run 12
marathons and has completed the 140.6 mile Ironman Arizona. She also enjoys hiking, knitting, and
traveling.
Augustine Mercante
countertenor and festival manager
Praised for his "lyrical intensity and the way he polishes each word with lapidarian ecstasy",
Augustine Mercante enjoys an active career performing repertoire from the Baroque to the
newly-created. This season includes Handel’s Messiah with the Germantown Oratorio Choir,
Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater at St. Patrick’s Rittenhouse Square, concerts with Crescendo Music
(Connecticut), the Serafin Ensemble, Delaware Choral Arts, Delaware Choral Society, the Music
School of Delaware, and recitals throughout Delaware and Pennsylvania. Gus is a frequent soloist
with the American Spiritual Ensemble with which he has toured Ireland, Spain, France and the
United States, including his debut in New York’s Lincoln Center, and made his debut with Opera
Philadelphia last season. He works regularly with instrument maker and composer Aaron Grad and
premiered Grad’s Old-Fashioned Love Songs for countertenor and electric theorbo, a
performance praised by the Washington Post for "full-bodied sweetness, exemplary pitch, and a
reliably musical imagination.” As a Vocal Fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, his performance
in the American premiere of George Benjamin's Written on Skin was described by the Wall
Street Journal as "riveting" with a voice that "soared above the texture, lining the text with
the haloed elegance of gold-leaf inscription". He is also a fellow of the Delaware Division of
the Arts, most recently being awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship in 2013. He has performed
with organizations throughout Delaware and Philadelphia including Brandywine Baroque, Tempesta
di Mare, the Delaware Choral Society, and the Southern Delaware Chorale and at festivals both
locally and abroad including the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, Serafin Summer Music Festival,
Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Wilmington Fringe Festival, and the International Gluck Festival
(Nurnberg). He can be heard on clarinetist Christopher Nichols’ recording Almost
All-American on the Albany label. Augustine Mercante completed his Artist Diploma in Germany
as a Fulbright Scholar studying with soprano Edith Wiens and performing at the
Prinzregententheater in Munich. He holds degrees from the University of North Texas and the
University of Delaware, where he was honored to be the inaugural recipient of the Robert King
Memorial Scholarship. Gus and his husband, Justin, live in Wilmington, Delaware where Gus
maintains a private teaching studio, teaches at The Music School of Delaware, and is the festival
manager for Serafin Summer Music.
Eileen Grycky
flute
Eileen Grycky, associate professor of flute at the University of Delaware (UD), is a
recipient of the University’s Excellence in Teaching Award. She is a member of the
orchestra of Opera Philadelphia, the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, and the Brandywine
Baroque, and she performs with two resident ensembles at UD: Christiana Winds and the
Taggart-Grycky Flute and Guitar Duo. She is the artistic director of a UD concert series,
Tiger Lily Music: Celebrating the Works of Women, African American, and Latino
Composers. Ms. Grycky appears frequently as a performer at the National Flute
Convention, and she is a member of the NFA’s Cultural Outreach Committee. Ms.
Grycky has appeared as a soloist on several occasions with the Mozart Orchestra of
Philadelphia, Ensemble American (N.J.), and the Newark Symphony (D.E.). She has also
been a frequent substitute in the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 2009 she was awarded an
Established Artist Fellowship by the Delaware State Arts Council. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the
Oberlin Conservatory and master’s degree from the New England Conservatory.
Gregory Miller
horn
Gregory Miller, Director of the School of Music and professor of horn at the University of Maryland, has been a member of the faculty since 2000 and previously served as associate director for academic affairs and director of undergraduate studies.
Over the course of his career, Miller has established himself as an accomplished chamber musician, orchestral player, soloist and teacher. He was appointed hornist of the Empire Brass in 1997 and over the next fifteen years presented hundreds of concerts, masterclasses and clinics throughout the world. The Los Angeles Times hailed the Empire Brass as “lavishly endowed in technique and musicianship. Individually and collectively they proved brilliantly virtuosic.” In addition to concertizing throughout the United States, Miller has performed in twenty-five countries spanning five continents at venues which have included Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Suntory Hall, the Barbican Centre, the Mozarteum and the Musikverein to name but a few. Recorded on the Telarc label, Miller can be heard on EBQ’s "Class Brass: Firedance" and the "Glory of Gabrieli."
His orchestral career began in 1991 as a fellow with the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas. He appeared on three NWS recordings on the Argo Decca label, one of which, "Tangazo: Music of Latin America," received a Grammy nomination. In 1994, Miller was appointed associate principal horn and assistant personnel manager of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. He has regularly performed in the horn sections with the Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and National symphony orchestras as well as with the Miami City Ballet, Washington Ballet, Kennedy Center Opera and Palm Beach Opera orchestras. In 2015, Miller performed as guest principal horn with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica. The following year he served as guest principal horn for the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico’s European tour.
As a soloist, Miller has performed with the United States Navy Band of Washington DC, the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, the Daegu Symphony Orchestra of South Korea, the Palm Beach Symphony and the American Wind Symphony among others. His first solo recording, "From Bach to Bernstein," was released in 2002 on the MSR label. The American Record Guide hailed his next recording, "Solos for the Horn Player" as “accurate, cohesive, and expressive.” He also recorded "American Brass Trios" for Albany Records with UMD colleagues, Chris Gekker and Matthew Guilford, which Fanfare Magazine described as “exquisitely performed… There is simply nothing not to like about this CD.”
Miller has served on the faculties of the University of Hawaii, Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. He is a distinguished artist in residence at the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University, a position he has held since 1996. He has appeared as an international clinician with the Pacific Music Festival (Japan), the International Brass Festival (Australia), the Festival Internacional De Inverno De Campos Do Jordão (Brazil), the Festival de Musique de Saint-Barthélemy (French West Indies) and the Music Festival of Santiago de Queretaro (Mexico). Miller has also performed with the Colorado Music Festival, the Monadnock Music Festival and the Sunflower Music Festival. He currently serves on the faculties of the Miami Music Festival and the National Orchestral Institute.
A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Miller received his B.M. in horn performance from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music where he studied with Robert Fries, former co-principal horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Other teachers have included Eric Ruske, William Slocum and Larry Miller. Gregory Miller is married to violinist Laura Hilgeman and together they have six children.
John David Smith
horn
John David Smith maintains a busy career as professional musician and university
professor. He divides his time between his duties as Professor of Music at the University
of Delaware (UD) and on the professional music scene as Principal Horn of Opera
Philadelphia, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and the Philly Pops, in addition to
frequent appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Recent career highlights have included a solo appearance with the Chamber Orchestra of
Philadelphia at the Kimmel Center, European and domestic tours with Orpheus, and
appearances as a regular substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Dr. Smith joined the
UD Wind Ensemble as soloist during recent festival appearances in Taipei, Taiwan, and
performed with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in a recent production of Wagner’s
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Dr. Smith has made previous appearances with the
Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera orchestra, Orpheus, Orchestra of St. Luke's, New York City Opera
as well as frequent performances of Broadway shows. He has performed on a number of tours of Europe and
Asia with Orpheus and New York City Opera, performed as soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra at Avery Fisher
Hall, and can be heard on numerous commercial recordings, including the original cast recording of Parade.
From 2000-2003 Dr. Smith served as Principal Horn of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, and was a member
of the United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. He previously held teaching positions at Lynn
University and the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Dr. Smith holds doctoral and master's degrees from the
Juilliard School, the Certificate of Advanced Studies and Brass Teaching Licentiate (LRAM) from the Royal
Academy of Music London, the associate's diploma from the Royal College of Music London (ARCM), and
bachelor’s degree from Indiana University. His teachers have included Julie Landsman, Philip Farkas, Robert
Elworthy, Richard Watkins and Michael Hatfield. At UD, Dr. Smith teaches private study horn, horn methods,
and the Artistic Innovations graduate seminar which examines issues confronting the emerging music
professional and offers practical guidance for navigating the perilous professional arts landscape.
Victor Asuncion
piano
Hailed by The Washington Post for his “poised and imaginative playing,”
Filipino-American pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion has appeared in Brazil, Canada,
Ecuador, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, Spain, Turkey and the U.S.,
as a recitalist and concerto soloist. He played his orchestral debut at the age of 18 with
the Manila Chamber Orchestra, and his New York recital debut in Carnegie’s Weill Recital
Hall in 1999. He has worked with conductors including Sergio Esmilla, Enrique Batiz, Mei
Ann Chen, Zeev Dorman, Arthur Weisberg, Corrick Brown, David Loebel, Leon Fleisher, Michael
Stern, Jordan Tang, and Bobby McFerrin. He has performed with Lynn Harrell, Zuill Bailey,
Andres Diaz, James Dunham, Antonio Meneses, Joshua Roman, Cho-Liang Lin, Giora Schmidt, the
Dover, Emerson, Serafin, Sao Paulo, and Vega String Quartets. He was on the chamber music
faculty of the Aspen Music Festival, and the Garth Newel Summer Music Festival. For three
seasons, he was the pianist for the Garth Newel Piano Quartet. Recordings include the
complete Sonatas of L. van Beethoven with Tobias Werner; Sonatas by Shostakovich and
Rachmaninoff with Joseph Johnson; the Rachmaninoff Sonata with Evan Drachman; and the
Chopin and Grieg Sonatas, also with Evan Drachman. He is featured in the award-winning
recording “Songs My Father Taught Me” with Lynn Harrell, produced by Louise Frank and
WFMT-Chicago. His most recent recording with John Henry Crawford, entitled Dialogo,
made the Top 7 of The Billboard Classical Music Chart. Mr. Asuncion is the Founder, and
Artistic and Board Director of FilAm Music Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated
to promoting Filipino classical musicians through scholarship and performance. He received
his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in 2007 from the University of Maryland under the tutelage
of Rita Sloan. Victor Santiago Asuncion is a Steinway artist.
Read Gainsford
piano
Pianist Read Gainsford has been described as possessing “finger-numbing virtuosity and
delicately chiseled precision”. Known for his insightful introductions from the stage, he has
collaborated with oceanographers in presenting Crumb’s “Voice of the Whale”, consulted with
art historians and living artists to create a series of images to accompany performances of
Messiaen, and reenacted the famous piano duel between Liszt and Thalberg.
Born in New Zealand, he has performed widely in the USA, Europe, Asia, Australia, New
Zealand and South Africa, as solo recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician,
making successful solo debuts in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall,
as well as playing in the Kennedy Center, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and
others. Recent highlights include performing concertos with the Moravian Philharmonic
Orchestra in Olomouc, Czech Republic, the Frenz ensemble in Paris, and Orchestra da Camera
in Champaign-Urbana, and tours across the USA including a fourth concert in Carnegie Hall.
Gainsford was a founding member of Trio Solis, who made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2009,
he has also collaborated with the Audubon and Serafin Quartets, Pressenda Chamber Players,
Aaron Berofsky, Kathryn Votapek, Richard Stoltzman, Jacques Zoon, Ricardo Morales, and
many others. A keen supporter of living composers, he has premiered and recorded Ladislav
Kubik’s 3rd Piano Concerto and Marc Satterwhite's Five Rivers of Hades, and recorded Ellen
Taafe Zwilich's Images for two pianos and orchestra.
Highly in demand as a master-class clinician and teacher, he is Professor of Piano at Florida
State University.
Gabriel Benton
harpsichord
Gabriel Benton is a keyboardist with a passion for bringing early music alive to
contemporary audiences. As an undergraduate, this passion led him away from the
piano to study harpsichord performance at Oberlin Conservatory. While there, he was
involved in the Venice Opera Project, which brought an opera by Francesco Cavalli
back to the stage in Venice for the first time since 1640. Subsequently, he obtained a
Master’s degree in historical performance from the Juilliard School, where he
performed across the country and worked with luminaries in the field such as Jordi
Savall, William Christie, Masaaki Suzuki, and Richard Egarr. He also holds a degree
in organ performance from Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music, where he was organist at
the University Church in Yale.
In demand as a harpsichord soloist and continuo player, he has regularly performed
across the country, most recently with ensembles Sonnambula in New York and La
Speranza in Houston. He is a harpsichordist for American Bach Soloists, and he can
be heard in three of their recording projects. Gabriel has been the recipient of several
awards including first place in the York Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto
Competition, the Earl Russel Award in historical performance, the Charles Ives organ
scholarship, and two summer workshop scholarships from Early Music America.
He currently lives in Wilmington, Delaware, where he is Director of Music and
organist at the historic Grace United Methodist Church as well as teacher and
accompanist at The Choir School of Delaware.
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