Strings Faculty
Benjamin Altman is a dynamic young guitarist with a fresh take on the classical guitar. He has been an active performer across the country from his native Georgia to San Francisco. Most recently he has given concerts at Georgia State College and University, Mercer University, and with the Arvada Center Chorale.
Mr. Altman is a proponent of new music, and took part in the premieres of the Guitar Quartet by his colleague David Plylar and Open Strings by Jorge Liderman, as well as the United States and New York premieres of Y Bolanzero by Terry Riley. He also pursues performances of new music on the mandolin, and last season performed works by Henze, Webern, and Donatoni with this instrument.
Committed to community outreach, Mr. Altman was active as an assistant to the Eastman School’s Music For All program, The Creative Access in Baltimore, and the Community Service Project at the San Francisco Conservatory. He continues to seek new ways and venues to promote his music to wider and underserved audiences.
In addition to his activities as a performer, Mr. Altman is a dedicated teacher. He has served on the faculty at Nazareth College in Rochester, NY, and the Eastman Community Music School. He now maintains a private studio in Denver, where he teaches a variety of guitar styles.
Mr. Altman is a doctoral candidate at the Eastman School of Music where he is an assistant to Dr. Nicholas Goluses. He has previously studied at the Peabody Conservatory and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where his major teachers were Julian Gray and David Tanenbaum, respectively. In addition to the classical guitar, Mr. Altman plays in the Denver Mandolin Orchestra, and plays traditional American and Balkan folk music on a variety of stringed instruments.
Pam Arnstein has been a violinist in the Minnesota Orchestra since 1983, earning three promotions by audition. In her first year, Pam won first prize in the WAMSO Young Artist Competition and performed the Tchaikovsky concerto with her colleagues. With the Minnesota Orchestra she has toured America, Europe, Japan, and Australia, performing in Carnegie Hall and Vienna’s Musikverein. The Minnesota Orchestra’s recordings include the complete Beethoven Symphonies on the Bis label, completed in 2008.
In addition to performing, Pam is very active in music education. She teaches privately, does audition coaching, and leads sectionals for university orchestras and youth symphonies. Through the Minnesota Orchestra’s Adopt-a-School program, she goes into the public schools monthly to give presentations about classical music and the instruments of the orchestra.
Motivated by her teaching, Pam has composed and recorded a set of six intermediate-level violin solos called Sketches which she also publishes. She has written some arrangements for string quartet as well.
A native of Fargo, Pam’s violin training began with Isabelle Thompson (a student of Ivan Galamian.) Pam played in the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony during high school and had piano lessons for many years. Earning her Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Illinois, Pam was a pupil of the great pedagogue, Paul Rolland. At UW-Madison for her Master’s degree she was a student of Norman Paulu, first violinist of the Pro Arte Quartet. He helped her prepare for her Minnesota Orchestra audition.
Jeannie Kern Chenette - harp (JSS2)
Jeannie Kern Chenette received her early training on pedal harp but for the past decade has added historical and traditional harps to her list of musical passions. She received a Masters in Harp Performance from New England Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Bernard Zighera and performed as principal harpist of the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa Symphonies. She has twice resided in the British Isles, pursuing Celtic music sources and creating music. She has received instruction on the Paraguayan harp and the West African kora from masters of these instruments.
Ms. Chenette has performed concerts and provided residencies under the auspices of the Iowa Arts Council. She is on the faculty of Grinnell College. She divides her time between performance, teaching, and composition/arranging for harp.
Matthew Dane is currently on the teaching faculty at: Metropolitan State College of Denver, University of Colorado, Texas Music Festival, Rocky Ridge Music Center.
Dane earned tenure as Associate Professor of Viola at the University of Oklahoma (2000-2007), and was previously a teaching assistant at both Rice University's Shepherd School and Amherst College.
He has served on the faculties of many summer festivals, including Heifetz Institute (Wolfeboro, NH), Green Mountain Festival (Burlington, VT), Musicorda (S. Hadley, MA), Sierra Festival (Mammoth Lakes, CA- for adult amateurs), American Festival for the Arts (Houston, TX), and Greenwood Music Camp (Cummington, MA).
Masterclasses have been given at the 33rd International Viola Congress (Iceland), University of Houston, Gustavus College (MN), University of Arkansas, OK Mozart Festival, Brigham Young University, University of California- Santa Barbara, Texas Christian University, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Colorado.
Dane has served as an adjudicator for national competitions including the Primrose International Viola Competition, and has judged many regional solo and chamber competitions as well.
Matthew Dane regularly performs with: the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (Principal), Boulder Piano Quartet, Colorado Music Festival (Assistant Principal)
and with Christina Jennings
He has held orchestral positions the Oklahoma City Philharmonic (principal), Houston Ballet Orchestra, Hannover State Opera (Germany), and Springfield Symphony (Massachusetts).
As an orchestral soloist, his varied repertoire has included Shulman Theme and Variations, Vaughan Williams Suite for Viola and Orchestra and Flos Campi, Vanhal Concert, Mozart Sinfonia Concertante, Telemann Concerto, Rolla Rondo, Stamitz Concerto in D, Bach Brandenburg Concerto #6, and Strauss Don Quixote .
As a chamber collaborator, he has performed with many ensembles, including the Colorado Quartet, the Dorian Wind Quintet, Houston-based CONTEXT, Athelas Ensemble (Denmark), the Fischer Duo, the Portland String Quartet, and members of the Brentano Quartet, among others. Chamber music festival appearances include OK Mozart, Portland (Maine), Chamber Music Quad Cities (Iowa), and Tanglewood. He and his wife Christina Jennings founded Brightmusic , a chamber music series in Oklahoma City. With the Boulder Piano Quartet and Jon Manasse he has recorded quintets of Lowell Liebermann. In January 2008, he will perform Boulez' monumental chamber work Le Marteau Sans Maitre with Orchestra 2001.
James Fittz began his formal music studies at the age of five. As a student in high school he won first prize in the International Music Competition in Tokyo, Japan. His principal teachers were internationally renowned artists Gordon Epperson and Yoshio Sato. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and philosophy from Wheaton College (Illinois) and the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in cello performance and music literature from the University of Arizona.
Fittz has taught cello at Wheaton College, the University of Arizona, Central Washington University, Shenandoah Conservatory, and New Mexico State University before joining the string faculty of the School of Music, University of Northern Colorado, where he is now Professor Emeritus.
Fittz has performed throughout the United States, in Asia and in South America as recitalist, as concerto solo artist, and as guest chamber music artist. He has appeared in festival orchestras, on public radio and television, and as a member of touring chamber music ensembles.
Long a champion of contemporary music, Fittz has presented premiere performances for several composers who have written expressly for him. In 1995 the famed Colombian composor, Blás Emilio Atehortúa, on hearing Fittz' performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto, asked to dedicate his new Sonata for Cello and Piano to the artist. Fittz' recording of composer John Rinehart's Paths for Amplified Cello and Synthesized Sound is available on the SCI label, Volume 9 of the recording series of the American Society of Composers. Rinehart writes concerning his choice of cellist, "James Fittz is among the country's finest artists; his playing commands a broad range of expression and technique and a communicative warmth that makes him a favorite of audiences everywhere."
Masakazu Ito - guitar (Guitar Seminar)
Masakazu Ito is recognized as one of today's top guitarists, acclaimed by musicians,
composers, conductors, and critics for his mastery of the instrument and
its repertoire. "He has it all," says guitarist Ricardo Iznaola, "virtuosity, musicality
and flair. He is certainly a name to watch."
Since his professional debut in Tokyo 1987, Ito has won top prices in seven
major international guitar competitions, including the Andres Segovia International
Guitar Competition, the Tokyo International Guitar Competition, the Guitar
Foundation of America International Guitar Competition, and the Seto Ohashi
International Competition.
Ito is active as a performer, teacher, composer, and recoding artist. He
has been featured as soloist with symphony orchestras throughout Japan
and the United States . Most recently, he appeared with the Colorado Symphony
Orchestra, of which the Denver Post wrote, "Guitarist Masakazu Ito further
contributed to the overall spellbinding performance." Ito has also been
a guest at festivals such as the Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
the Methow Valley Music Festival in Twisp, Washington, the International
Guitar Week at the University of Denver, and the Colorado Music Fest at
Colorado State University, Pueblo, among others.
In March of 2003, Ito was chosen by the Japanese government to celebrate
150 years of US-Japan relations by presenting a solo guitar recital at
the official residence of the Japanese Consul General in Denver, Colorado.
He has also performed world premieres of works by three prominent American
composers: Daniel Pinkham's Sagas, for guitar and cello, at the Rocky Mountain
Music Festival in 1997; Quiver Songs, a work by Stephen Everett for shakuhachi
and guitar, at the Modern Festival in 1998, which featured Japanese portraits
at a world music concert; and Ricardo Iznaola's Musique de Salon No 8 for
guitar and string quartet, which was written for and dedicated to Ito in
2003.
As a teacher, Ito currently holds a position at the
University
of Denver 's Lamont School of Music, where he received his master's degree
under the guidance of Ricardo Iznaola. A unique dimension of Ito's career involves
his friendship with popular Japanese musician Kitaro. The two collaborated
in an outdoor duo concert presented in 1991. In 2000, Ito recorded guitar parts
for Kitaro's album, "Thinking of You" (Domo Records). The recording won a Grammy
in January, 2001 for Best New Age Album.
Kitaro has been an influence on Ito's own work as a composer: Ito's 1996
album, "Intimate Guitar," contains some of his own compositions. His second
CD Release, "A Truly Classical Christmas," features Ito's arrangements
of popular holiday songs as well as his original works.
Ito's solo repertoire is notable for including works by Japanese composers
such as Takemitsu, Yoshimatsu and Yocoh. His favorite guitar music, however,
comes from Spain . "Espana! Music from Spain ," is his latest recording
project. December 1997 saw the release of "Espana Vol. 1," a CD that Classical
Guitar said "is a recording of depth . . . [and is] most musically satisfying"
(1999). (Tom Williams, May 2005). Masa Ito's website is located at www.masakazuito.com
Parry Karp - cello (YAS - Visiting Artist)
Cellist Parry Karp is Artist-in Residence and Professor of Chamber Music and Cello, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is director of the string chamber music program. He has been cellist of the Pro Arte Quartet for the past 30 years, joining the group in 1976.
Parry Karp is an active solo artist, performing numerous recitals annually in the United States with pianists Howard and Frances Karp. Mr. Karp has played concerti throughout the United States and gave the first performance in Romania of Ernest Bloch's Schelomo with the National Radio Orchestra in Bucharest in 2002. He is active as a performer of new music and has performed in the premieres of dozens of works, many of which were written for him, including concerti, sonatas and chamber music. As a solo recording artist, he has recorded the solo cello works of Ernest Bloch, and works of Frank Bridge, Rebecca Clarke, Ernest Chausson, Edward Joseph Collins, Georges Enesco, John Ireland, Alberic Magnard, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Miklos Rosza, and Richard Strauss. Unearthing and performing unjustly neglected repertoire for cello is a passion of Mr. Karp's. In recent years he has transcribed for cello many masterpieces written for other instruments. This project has included performances of all of the Duo Sonatas of Brahms, as well as compositions of Bach, Dvorak, Hindemith, Strauss, Stravinsky and Szymanowski. Parry Karp performs annually in summer music festivals throughout the United States.
As cellist of the Pro Arte Quartet he has performed over 1000 concerts throughout North, Central and South America, Europe, and Japan. His discography with the group has been extensive and includes the complete string quartets of Ernest Bloch, Miklos Rosza, and Karol Szymanowski . Many of these recordings received awards from Fanfare and High Fidelity Magazines. Other composers whose string quartets or string quintets the Pro Arte Quartet has recorded during his tenure include: Beethoven, Luís de Freitas Branco, Martin Boykan, Tamar Diesendruck, Dvorak, Brian Fennelly, Andrew Imbrie, Fred Lerdahl, Walter Mays, Mendelssohn, Karol Rathaus, Samuel Rhodes, Roger Sessions, and Ralph Shapey. As a member of the Pro Arte Quartet he has recorded the Piano Quintets of Ernest Bloch, Johannes Brahms and Armando José Fernandes with pianist Howard Karp. Guest artists with the Pro Arte during his years have included: the Emerson Quartet, Denes Koromzay, Leon Fleischer, Sidney Harth, Gunnar Johansen, Gilbert Kalish, Jerome Lowenthal, Robert Mann, Samuel Rhodes, Robert Silverman, Christopher Taylor, Laszlo Varga and Tamas Vasary. Gunther Schuller conducted the group in the premiere of his String Quartet Concerto which he wrote for the Pro Arte Quartet. The Pro Arte Quartet was one of five finalists (the others were the Juilliard, Tokyo, and Emerson Quartets, and the Beaux Arts Trio) for the First Annual Arturo Toscanini Award in the Chamber Music Category
Parry Karp's chamber music discography outside of the Pro Arte Quartet includes the three piano trios of Joel Hoffman, as well as works of Britten, Fauré, Martinu, Mozart and Pierné. Mr. Karp had a visiting professorship at the University of British Columbia, and has been a visiting fellow at Princeton University. Former students of Mr. Karp's are members of professional string quartets, major orchestras, and teachers in the United States.
Mr. Karp received early training in Vienna, Austria and studied cello with Lee Duckles, David Kadarauch, Peter Farrell, Gabriel Magyar and Gabor Rejto. Inspirational chamber music teachers included Gabriel Magyar, Howard Karp, Lorand Fenyves and Zoltan Szekely.
David Neely - violin, viola (JSS2)
David C. Neely is Associate Professor of Violin at the UNL School of Music, where he joined the faculty in 1993. Professor Neely also serves as artist/teacher of violin at the Rocky Ridge Summer Music Festival in Estes Park, Colorado each summer, and has been on the faculty of the Schlern Summer Music Festival in Schlern, Italy since 2006.
Mr. Neely received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts and his Bachelor of Music degree from Iowa State University. He has also studied at Indiana University and had post-graduate studies with Peter Marsh. Mr. Neely's teachers include, Peter Marsh, Josef Gingold, and Mahlon Darlington. Prior to his appointment at UNL, Mr. Neely was associate professor of violin/viola at the University of South Dakota and a founding member of the Rawlins Piano Trio. Mr. Neely served as first violinist of the Omega String Quartet at the Lutheran Summer Music Festival from 1989 to 1998.
Professor Neely has performed and given master classes throughout the United States, and has recorded on the Albany Records label. He continues to review violin, viola, and chamber music literature for the American String Teachers Magazine. Mr. Neely has performed as guest concertmaster of the Lincoln Orchestra and as co-concertmaster of the Sioux City Symphony. He has been a member of several orchestras including the South Dakota Symphony, the Baroque Music Festival in Corona del Mar, CA., and currently plays with the Omaha Symphony.
During the summer of 1997, Professor Neely performed and taught throughout Switzerland and Germany. He taught at the Leysin American School, Aiglon College and the University of Maintz. In addition to recital performances at these schools, he also gave recitals at Winterther, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, and Zurich. Professor Neely also taught and performed at the Sebelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland through the teacher exchange program in 2000.
Prof. Jakub Jerzy Omsky graduated with honors from Oberlin Conservatory and USC Thornton School of Music. Yo Yo Ma calls him "extraordinarily talented and dedicated musician". Eleanor Schoenfeld praised his "superlative
technical skills and exceptional artistry". Critics say he "sets a standard of contemporary interpretation" and call him "Master of Cello". Omsky won many awards including official U.S. Congress and Senate "Local Hero"
recognition as creator of original sound healing methods and innovative concert programming and performance. He works as Assistant Professor of Cello at Wichita State University College of Fine Arts and Principal Cellist of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra in Kansas. He lives with his dog, Rafi, at the heart of America.
Cellist Andrew Smith is an Associate Professor of music at the University
of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he performs regularly as a member of The Cerberus
Trio. He is a member of the Camerata Deiá, a group founded
in 2001 to be the resident ensemble with The Festival Internacional
de Deiá, a summer festival in Mallorca, Spain. He is
also a founding member of The Adriatic Chamber Music Festival, a summer
music program in southern Italy, where he has taught and performed since
its inception in 1998.
For two years he was principal cellist with the West Virginia Symphony, where he was in residence with the Montani String Quartet. He has won several awards and prizes, including first prize in the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation competition in Santa Barbara, and an Esperia Foundation grant to study with the eminent Hungarian cellist Csaba Oncay at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. In the fall of 2005 he performed recitals in Sweden and Italy (with pianist Carl Pontén), and in Kosovo, Serbia, and Macedonia (with pianist Alfredo Oyaguez). In fall, 2008 he begin an appointment as Principal Cellist with the Las Vegas Philharmonic.
Mr. Smith is a recipient of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was a member of the Young Artists String Quartet. He also holds a Master's degree from The Mannes College of Music in New York, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hartt College of Music in Hartford, CT. He has studied cello with Timothy Eddy, Bernard Greenhouse, Leslie Parnas, Ron Leonard, and Geoffrey Rutkowski.
Beth Root Sandvoss - cello (YAS)
Cellist Beth Root Sandvoss has a notably varied career as a recitalist, chamber musician and pedagogue. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, she began studying
the cello at the age of eleven with Margaret Christy. Further tutelage
occurred with Parry Karp, Alan Harris and Irene Sharp. When finished
with her Bachelors degree in performance from the University of Wisconsin,
Madison, Beth’s early professional activities took her to Hong
Kong, where she became a member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
as well as the Victoria String Quartet, performing throughout Asia. After
completing graduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music as well
as further studies in San Francisco, Beth settled in Calgary, Alberta
where she enjoys an active performance career in Canada and abroad. She
has recorded for WERN Madison public radio, RTHK Radio Hong Kong, and
CBC Radio. Recent appearances include concert tours in China and Portugal.
December 2007 marked the much anticipated release of Beth’s CD, Blue
Autumn with pianist Marcel Bergmann.
Beth has an intense interest in new music and is a founding member of the acclaimed Land’s End Chamber Ensemble, winners of both the 2005 and 2006 Western Canadian Music Award for Outstanding Classical Recording. In addition to her Land’s End Chamber Ensemble activities, Beth is a member of the UCalgary String Quartet in residence at the University of Calgary.
Along with her performance career, Beth is a very dedicated pedagogue. As a sought after clinician she has worked with both teachers and students on her methods. Her pupils have won numerous competitions in Canada and are regularly invited to summer festivals around the world. She is a faculty member at the University of Calgary as well as the Mount Royal College Conservatory and spends her summers teaching and performing at music festivals throughout Canada and the United States. Beth has the great pleasure and privilege to perform on an award - winning cello made by her husband, Luthier, Christopher Sandvoss.
Daniel Sweaney made his New York debut in Avery Fisher Hall at the 1999 Mostly Mozart Festival performing with world renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman. “..extremely talented and highly trained...poised and accomplished...” said Strings Magazine. Mr. Sweaney began his musical studies at age eleven and has since had a diverse education in the United States and Europe. He has won many prizes and performed across the globe.
Daniel Sweaney has won prizes at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Down Beat Magazine Chamber Music Competition, was a two time recipient of the Interlochen Arts Academy Fine Arts Award for Outstanding Performance in Viola, he was the recipient a Frank Huntington Beebe Grant, and winner of the Fifth Annual Sister Mary Faustina Memorial Concert in Marylhurst, Oregon. He has been teaching assistant to Heidi Castleman and a chamber music coach at The Perlman Music Program. He participated in exchange programs through The Perlman Music Program on trips to Tel-Aviv and Shanghai. Mr. Sweaney has held faculty positions at the Cleveland School for the Arts, Rice University Preparatory Department, The Boulder Arts Academy, teaching assistant at the University of Colorado, and is currently on the faculty of the North American Viola Institute, Rocky Ridge Music Center, and The University of Alabama. He has given master classes at the University of Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Southern Illionois, Bowling Green State University, and the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana Cuba.
Mr. Sweaney has collaborated with Itzhak Perlman, Ani Aznavoorian, Ron Leonard, Stefan Milenkovich, Merry Peckham, and Peter Sellers. While living in Austria, he performed regularly with the Camerata Salzburg under Sir Roger Norrington, anne Sophie Mutter, Leonidas Kavakos, Walter Weller, and Heinrich Schiff. Recent venues and festivals include, Salzburg Mozarteum Grossersaal, Vienna Konzerthaus and Musikverein, KKL Lucerne, Bilbao and Madrid, Spain, Athens Megaron, Camerata Salzburg’s Beethoven and Haydn Begegnung, Vienna Festwochen, Salzburg Mozart Woche, Bergen Norway Festspiel, Schubertiad Bezau, Austria, Würzburg Mozart Festival, Singapore Arts Festival, The Best of the Nordrhein-Westfalen series, The Beethoven House in Bonn, SUNY Purchase, Lincoln Center’s Great Performers Series, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Orchestra Hall in Chicago, and an open workshop with Nikolaus Harnoncourt. He has recorded with the Camerata Salzburg for Universal the complete works for flute and orchestra with soloist Andrea Griminelli and works by Mozart with pianist Sebastian Knauer and violinist Daniel Hope. In 2007 Daniel Sweaney was heard in a live broadcast with the Signum String Quartet on West German Radio.
Daniel Sweaney studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy, The Cleveland Institute of Music, Rice University, the Universität Mozarteum, Salzburg, and the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has participated in many summer festivals such as The Sewanne Summer Music Center, The Quartet Program, The Aspen Music Festival and School, and The International Musician’s Seminar, Prussia Cove. His major teachers include Heidi Castleman, David Holland, Thomas Riebl, Martha Strongin-Katz, Roger Tapping, Erika Eckert, and Geraldine Walther. In his spare time he enjoys competitive swimming.
William Terwilliger - violin (YAS)
Violinist William Terwilliger has established an active
and diverse career as a performer and teacher on four continents. With
pianist Andrew Cooperstock as the Terwilliger-Cooperstock Duo, he performed
over 30 concerts in seven Latin American countries on a 1993 Artistic
Ambassador tour sponsored by the US Information Agency. The duo has also
performed throughout the United States and in Europe on repeated tours,
including concerts throughout France, England, Scotland, and Sweden.
Recent appearances include a New York recital debut at Merkin Hall, performances
at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston and the Australian Festival
of Chamber Music in Queensland, and concerts in London and Toronto. Their
performances have been heard over NPR, the BBC, Radio France, as well
as Latvian and Australian National Radio. Their CD recording of the Complete
Works of Aaron Copland for Violin and Piano was recently released on
the Azica label and was lauded by Strings magazine and American Record
Guide. As a sought-after pedagogue, Mr. Terwilliger has given master
classes and clinics at numerous institutions across the US as well as
in France, Sweden, England, Latvia, Bolivia, Panama and Australia. He
was Associate Professor of Violin at the University of Toledo and violinist
with the acclaimed Toledo Trio for nine years, and in 1999 he was appointed
to the faculty of the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Since
1991 he has been an Artist Faculty member of the Brevard Music Center
in North Carolina. Mr. Terwilliger received his doctorate from the Eastman
School of Music, where he studied with Zvi Zeitlin and Donald Weilerstein.
While at Eastman, he was first violinist with the award-winning Augustine
String Quartet, which coached with the Cleveland, Emerson, Tokyo and
Juilliard quartets, and concertized extensively throughout the US and
Canada.
Maureen Yuen graduated from the University of British Columbia at the age of 21 with a Master of Music Degree in Violin Performance. Her primary teachers were Andrew Dawes, Nancy Di Novo and Gerald Stanick. She has also worked with members of the Emerson, Fine Arts, Orford, St. Lawrence, and Tokyo string quartets. As a founding member of the English Bay String Quartet, Ms. Yuen has toured North America, and has also performed as a soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Canada, Norway, and Italy. She has played with the Victoria Symphony, Wichita Symphony and the National Academy Orchestra of Canada. She is also a member of the Bellingham Festival Orchestra, whose recordings can often be heard on NPR's Performance Today. Currently,
Ms. Yuen is on faculty at the School of Music at the State University of New York at Fredonia where she maintains a full studio of undergraduate and graduate violin students and several chamber music ensembles. She is also on the faculty of Schlern International Music Festival and Competition in Italy as well as Music, Meadows, and Mountains Retreat on Orcas Island, WA. Ms. Yuen was formerly on faculty at Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA as Instructor of Violin and Viola. Her active schedule includes solo and chamber music recitals and masterclasses throughout North America, including appearances at Brock University, University of Buffalo, Cleveland State University, Ohio University, Northern Ohio University and the University of Minnesota at Duluth. She is a string adjudicator with Kiwanis Music Festivals in Canada and a member of the College of Examiners of the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Annette-Barbara Vogel - violin (YAS)
Not /only possessing “a formidable technique and stunning musicality
but also stage presence that transmits to orchestra and audience alike,
“ violinist Annette-Barbara Vogel has distinguished herself as
one of her generation's most exciting German violinists, acclaimed for
her virtuosity, intelligence and passion. Her numerous appearances at
music festivals and concerts around the world have been met with enthusiasm.
She has performed throughout Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, the US and
Asia as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, as well as presenting
masterclasses in Albania, Canada, Finland, Germany, Haiti, Rumania, Taiwan,
and the United States.
At age 11, she was admitted to the Folkwang-Hochschule Essen as one of the youngest students ever to be admitted to that university. At the age of 12 she gave her debut as a soloist in the "Tonhalle" Düsseldorf. She consequently continued her studies with Herman Krebbers, Walter Levin, Henry Meyer, Peter Oundjian, Pieter Daniel, and Dorothy DeLay at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, the Musikhochschule der Stadt Basel (Switzerland), the Sweelinck-Conservatory Amsterdam (Holland) and received an Artist Diploma from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. Additionally, she holds three degrees from the Folkwang-Hochschule Essen in violin and chamber music.
Annette-Barbara Vogel initiated and created "MAGISTERRA ! International Chamber Music Festival and Academy, Iowa" which was successfully inaugurated in May 2000, offering masterclasses, lectures and chamber music coachings for students, as well as mixed chamber music recitals. She continued to serve as the Artistic Director and a highly successful second season took place in 2001.
Since January 2004, Annette-Barbara Vogel has been teaching at the University of Western Ontario/Canada. Her complete biography, discography, repertoire, etc., is on her website at: www.annette-barbara-vogel.de
Philip Wharton - violin, viola (JSS1)
Few artists enjoy such high praise for both of their disciplines as composer /violinist Philip Wharton. Of his playing, The New York Times proclaimed, “a rousing performance!” and The Waterloo Courier wrote, “a golden tone with breathtaking execution.” His compositions, heralded from coast to coast, are described by the New York Concert Review as, “…decidedly contemporary…both engaging and accessible.”
Philip’s recent composition, The Prairie Sings, was a prizewinner in the 2008 NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) artsong competition. Lori Laitman, the final judge, described it as “interesting throughout and very sensitive to the text.” Carol Mikkelson, NATS coordinator thanked him, “Your contribution to the world of song is greatly appreciated.” The Prairie Sings was commissioned for an art show opening of prairie images by Iowa artist, Kristi Carlson. So well received was this cycle of songs on poems by Carl Sandburg, Wharton expanded it into a full symphonic work.
Combining art, music, poetry and dance is quickly becoming Philip’s specialty. His 2007 chamber symphony, Passing Season, used titles from his grandfather Orville M. Running’s woodcut prints. His narrated symphonic poem on the book, The Giant Jam Sandwich, captured the author’s verse and illustrator’s design so well that author Janet Burroway sent Philip another poem. The resulting work for voice and piano trio on her story, The Perfect Pig, was premiered in September 2008 to an audience further delighted by seeing a dancer using costumes—tickling both eyes and ears. In the summer of 2005, the Santa Fe Opera mounted Two Saintes Caught in the Same Act as part of their apprentice scenes program. In 2005, the Grammy-nominated Borealis Wind Quintet premiered his Quintet and continue to perform it on their concert tours.
Remaining active as a violinist, in Spring 2007 Philip premiered his composition, Oh, But Everyone Was a Bird, a fantasy for violin and string orchestra, with the Iowa City String Orchestra. In the same concert he performed a Vivaldi concerto for violin and two orchestras with great élan. The following summer, the Moscow Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra premiered Verdant Twilight and then accompanied Philip as soloist in Bernstein’s Serenade. Last season saw repeat performances of Mozart's First Violin Concerto with cadenzas of his own devising.