Theory/Composition/Choir/Voice/Percussion
Faculty

Thomas Erik Angerhofer - Voice (YAS - Visiting Artist)

Thomas Erik Angerhofer has been praised by audiences and critics alike for his powerful and sweet baritone. Noted for the virility of his singing and the honesty of his interpretation, Erik’s career has taken him throughout North America and Europe. His repertoire spans every major genre, period, and style. Recent opera performances include Joseph DeRocher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, Figaro in Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro, Tarquinius in Britten’s Rape of Lucretia, The Grandfather Clock and the Black Cat in Ravel’s L’enfent et les Sortileges, Anneas in Purcell’s Dido and Anneas, Belcore in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Guglielmo in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Peter in Hansel and Gretel, Marquis de la Force / Jailor in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Somnus in Handel’s Semele. He has been seen in operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan as Dick Deadeye, Captain Corcoran, Giuseppe, and Samuel. In demand as a concert artist, Erik is frequently heard as a soloist in works such as Bach’s St. John Passion, Handel’s Messiah, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Faure’s Requiem, in addition to works of Vaughan-Williams, Telemann, Rameau, Battistin, Monteverdi, Strozzi, and more. He has appeared with opera companies, orchestras, and other performing organizations in London, Innsbruck, Luzerne, Venice, Paris, New York, Rochester, Buffalo, Denver, Boulder, Longmont, Grand Junction, Aspen, Billings, and Brevard, among others. Originally from New York, he appeared as a soloist in his first European tour at age 18, and has continued to move audiences with his compelling vocal and stage presence ever since.

Erik completed (magna cum laude) his undergraduate studies at S.U.N.Y. Fredonia, where he studied Music Education and Choral Conducting in addition to Voice Performance and Pedagogy. He earned a master’s degree in Voice Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and has been awarded numerous fellowships, assistantships, and scholarships to further his musical education and experience. Appearances at major music festivals, including Aspen (AOTC), Brevard (Janicek Opera), and Chautauqua, include leading roles in opera and musical theater, concert, and recital performances.  Erik has also participated in master classes given by leading musicians and teachers, including: Richard Miller, William McIver, Nico Castel, Martin Isepp, Michael Dean, and Deborah Voight. His principal voice teachers have been Kerrie Schreor-Templeton, Dr. David Evans, Seth McCoy, Patrick Mason, Daniel Ihasz, William Sharp, Julie Newell, Douglas Ahlstedt, Carlos Serrano, Cathy Kasch, William Wilson, and Margaret Lattimore.

After a year of post-graduate work focusing on opera stage direction at the University of Northern Colorado with Brian Luedloff, Erik is now working on a doctorate in Voice Performance and Pedagogy at CU Boulder where he continues his study of opera production as a Graduate Assistant in Opera Studies under the direction of Dr. William Gustafson. He is also a member of the voice faculty at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. His recent performance of Joseph de Rocher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking was given the distinction of being named 5th out of the top 10 classical music performances of 2006 by the Rocky Mountain News, a list which included notable performers and organizations such as Renee Fleming, Thomas Hampson, Joshua Bell, Central City Opera and Opera Colorado. Upcoming performances include Marcello in La Boheme and a new Requiem by James Martin.

Peter Holsberg - Conductor (JSS1, JSS2)

Peter Holsberg joined the faculty of St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey in 2002 to create a brand new instrumental music program in a school that had not had music for 30 years.  Now, less than six years later, the program boasts over 100 students playing instruments and a full music curriculum for grades 7-12.

Mr. Holsberg has been active in the field of education teaching in both public and private schools in New York City and New York State.  He has taught at the elementary, middle and high school levels before starting the instrumental music program at St. Benedict’s Prep.  His performing groups have received NYSSMA Gold medals in adjudication festivals as well as superior ratings and first place awards in music festivals in Boston and Montreal.  He has written and arranged music for band, jazz ensemble, salsa band and marching band.  He recently premiered his first original work for band Passacaglia and Chorale.  Mr. Holsberg serves on the governing board of the Master Teacher Collaborative of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Holsberg has led an eclectic career as a professional trumpet player.  He has performed as a trumpeter for a number of Broadway shows, including Cats, Carousel, Crazy for You, Camelot,and A Chorus Line in New York City and throughout North America and Europe.  He has performed many different styles of music in a variety of ensembles from regional symphonies and salsa orquestras to playing with the Motown legends The Temptations.  Before coming to New York City, Mr. Holsberg was a featured trumpet soloist with the touring brass ensemble The Busch Brass, and spent three years touring the globe as a trumpeter on Holland America and Carnival Cruise Lines.  Mr. Holsberg is currently the principal trumpet in the New York based Cornerstone Chamber Orchestra and performs as a freelance musician in New York. 

Mr. Holsberg has continued his conducting and music education studies at the Eastman School of Music, Long Island University, Northwestern University and Columbia University.  Currently a Doctoral student at Teachers College, Columbia University, he received his M.Ed. from Teachers College, Columbia University, M.M. from SUNY Stony Brook, a B.S. in Music Education from Duquesne University, and is an alumnus of the nationally-renowned band program of DeMatha Catholic in Washington, D.C.

Lisa Radakovich Holsberg - Voice & Choir (JSS1, JSS2)

Soprano and teacher Lisa Radakovich Holsberg has performed worldwide in musical theatre, chamber music, opera and cabaret venues.  Recent years have found her traveling across the U.S. presenting her award-winning music peace project, Race for the Sky, a song cycle based on poems found on the New York City streets after 9/11, with music by Richard Pearson Thomas.  Lisa brings the riches of her eclectic performing background as well as an unceasing quest for knowledge to her teaching.  Serving on the Outreach Department faculty of The Diller-Quaile School of Music in Manhattan, Lisa conducts workshops, mentors teachers and presents music classes in Harlem preschools and daycare centers.  She teaches voice, diction and vocal pedagogy as a member of the faculty of the Department of Music of the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. 

Lisa earned a M.Ed. in Music and Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, a M.F.A. and B. Music in Vocal Performance from the University of California, Irvine, and pursued postgraduate studies as a Rotary Foundation International Scholar in Elizabethan Music and Poetry at Hull University, England.  Her interests are the science and pedagogy of the singing voice, acting in singing, and the learning process.

Daniel Ihasz - Voice & Chamber Choir (YAS)

Lyric Baritone Daniel Ihasz earned a Master of Music degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, along with the prestigious Performer's Certificate. Since 1992, he has been a member of the voice faculty at the State University of New York at Fredonia where he is currently an Associate Professor and Co-Chair of the Voice Area.

He has served as recitalist and clinician in Colorado, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico as well as Artist in Residence for the 2002 Canitcum Novum Festival in Caracas, Venezuela. Other engagements include appearances with Dave Brubeck, Glimmerglass Opera (including the world premiere Central Park taped for PBS - Great Performances and broadcast in January 2000), Carolina Chamber Chorale (Piccolo Spoleto Festival), Central City Opera, Opera Sacra, New York State Baroque, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Rochester Chamber Orchestra, Rochester Oratorio Society, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony, Milwaukee Opera and the Fredonia Chamber Players. Recording labels include Centaur, Albany and Naxos.

Daniel Ihasz currently serves as the NATS Vice President and Auditions Coordinator for the local chapter and recently as Coordinator for the 2003 NATS Summer Intern Program

Cynthia Katsarelis, Orchestra Conductor (YAS)

Currently Music Director and Conductor of Lafayette Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, Cynthia Katsarelis is also Music Director and Conductor of the Youth Orchestra of the Rockies in Fort Collins, Colorado. She has conducted excellent professional, conservatory, youth and training orchestras. As Conducting Assistant with the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops, Ms Katsarelis worked with top conductors and guest artists, assisted with recordings for Telarc Records, and worked with James Conlon and the Cincinnati May Festival. Her professional activities include conducting the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the symphonies of Knoxville, Kansas City, Spokane, Flint, Georgetown and the Columbus Women’s Orchestra.  She made her international debut leading the Bourgas Philharmonic in Bourgas, Bulgaria. Ms. Katsarelis has served as music director of the Seven Hills Sinfonietta, Antioch Chamber Orchestra, Northern Kentucky Chamber Players, Dearborn Summer Music Festival and Hillman Opera. Critical reviews have praised her work as a model of precision and spirit.

A pioneer for professional women conductors, Ms. Katsarelis served as Associate Conductor with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra (North Carolina) and Music Director of the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra. There, she was a dynamic force for education, creating and conducting dynamic Young Peoples' Concerts, as well as implementing innovative musical programs for economically challenged children, public school students, and gifted young musicians. Ms. Katsarelis charmed audiences in her appearances leading the Greensboro Symphony Pops and the Greensboro Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker and their parody the Cracked Nut.

In Colorado, Ms. Katsarelis was recently invited to assist the Colorado Music Festival by conducting the offstage brass in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, the Resurrection.  For the past two summers, she has conducted the Young Artist Seminar at Rocky Ridge Music Center. She has also conducted clinics and sectionals at numerous Colorado high schools, including Fairview in Boulder, Thompson Valley in Loveland and Rocky Mountain high school in Fort Collins.

Daniel Kellogg (Visiting Artist) - Composition (YAS)

"The sheer polish and profundity of DANIEL KELLOGG’s writing commands attention," wrote the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  His busy career has been highlighted by numerous awards and a growing list of commissions.

Mr. Kellogg’s Praegustatum, which was premiered last year by the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, will receive its U.S. premiere at the Aspen Music Festival in August 2006.  The Colorado Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jeffrey Kahane, will open its 2006-2007 season with a new work commissioned from Mr. Kellogg in celebration of the new Frederic C. Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum.  Mr. Kellogg is also writing an oratorio based on the Book of Daniel, commissioned by Soli Deo Gloria, Inc., which will be premiered by the San Diego Symphony, conducted by Jahja Ling, during the 2007-2008 season..

in 2006 The South Dakota Symphony has chosen Mr. Kellogg as its composer-in-residence for three seasons.  Mr. Kellogg will also hold a Music Alive residency with the Green Bay (WI) Symphony in 2007-2008.

In November 2005, The Philadelphia Orchestra premiered Mr. Kellogg’s work, Ben, commemorating the 300th birthday of Benjamin Franklin, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.  His music has been premiered by the Ying Quartet, the President’s Own United States Marine Band, the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, the Yale Philharmonic, cellist Fred Sherry, flutist Catherine Ramirez, and eighth blackbird.  His works have been performed at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and the National Gallery of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Caramoor Music Festival, and broadcast on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today,” New York’s WQXR, and China National Radio.  His Divinum Mysterium has been released, to critical acclaim, on eighth blackbird’s Cedille Records CD, “Beginnings.”

Mr. Kellogg has been honored in 2003 and 1997 with Charles Ives Awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.  More recently, he was awarded his sixth ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award.  He also received the 2003 ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Award for his orchestral work Jasper and Carnelian, which was premiered by the Santa Barbara Symphony conducted by Gisele Ben-Dor.  He won the 2002 Harvey Gaul Composition Competition to write a work for the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and the 2000 William Schuman Prize from BMI.  Mr. Kellogg was chosen as Young Concert Artists Composer-in-Residence in 2002.

Mr. Kellogg received his Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute and Master’s degree from the Yale School of Music, where he is now a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts.  He has studied at Indiana University, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.  Mr. Kellogg served as composer-in-residence at the University of Connecticut in 2000-2001, and has since returned as a visiting lecturer.  He currently holds the post of Assistant Professor of Composition at the University of Colorado at Boulder and resides in Colorado with his wife, pianist Hsing-ay Hsu Kellogg, and daughter, Kaela Li Kellogg.  His website is at www.danielkellogg.com.

David Ludwig - Theorist/Composer-in-Residence (YAS)

David Ludwig's music has been performed internationally by leading musicians of today in some of the world's most prestigious locations.  His music has been called “entrancing,” and that it “promises to speak for the sorrows of this generation,” (Philadelphia Inquirer).  It has further gained recognition for its “expressive directness” (The New York Times) and has been noted for “a yearning, poetic quality” (Baltimore Sun).  His works have been performed in such venues in the United States as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Library of Congress, and have been heard on PBS and NPR's Weekend Edition.

Ludwig has received commissions from many prominent artists and ensembles. The Grammy Award-winning “eighth blackbird” ensemble premiered his new work Haiku Catharsis at the Kimmel Center in 2004. Also in 2004, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra premiered Ludwig's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra for their 70th Anniversary concert.  In 2005, Ludwig continued his residency with the VSO after writing a new work for violinist Jaime Laredo that the composer conducted on a tour of a dozen concert halls.  His Concertino was one of the top ten most frequently performed orchestra works by a living composer that year according to the American Symphony Orchestra League.

Other commissions have been received from important musicians including pianist Jonathan Biss, flutist Jeffrey Khaner, violinist Soovin Kim, violist Michael Tree, and guitarist Jason Vieaux.  The 2007-2008 Season will feature commissions for the Minnesota Orchestra, Concert Artists Guild, The Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, the University of Michigan Wind Ensemble, and the Detroit Chamber Winds ensemble as well as a double concerto for violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson.

Recipient of the First Music Award, an Independence Foundation Fellowship, and a Theodore Presser Foundation Career Grant, Ludwig has been twice nominated for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Stoeger Award.  He has received awards from the American Composers Forum, American Music Center, and has a three-year residency funded by the prestigious Meet The Composer “Music Alive!” program.
  
Ludwig was the Young Composer in residence at the Marlboro Music School for three consecutive years.  In addition to Marlboro, he has been in residence at the Yaddo and MacDowell artist colonies.  He is a resident artist at the Isabella Gardner Museum, is the resident composer and permanent New Music Advisor of the Vermont Symphony, and is the director of the Contemporary Music Program at The New York Summer Music Festival.

Born in Bucks County, P.A., Ludwig received a B.M. from the Oberlin Conservatory with Richard Hoffmann and his M.M. from MSM.  He continued post-graduate work at The Curtis Institute with Richard Danielpour, Jennifer Higdon and Ned Rorem, and at the Juilliard School with John Corigliano.  He is the George Crumb Fellow in the University of Pennsylvania PhD program.  Ludwig joined the faculty of Curtis in 2002 where he serves as the department coordinator and the artistic director of the 20/21 New Music Ensemble.  His website is at www.davidludwigmusiccom.

Jeanne Nelson - Theory (JSS1, JSS2)

Jeanne Nelson, Theory and Practice Partner, is a piano teacher in Iowa City, Iowa.  A graduate of Augustana College, Ms. Nelson has done post-graduate study at University of Iowa.  She is president of Iowa City piano teachers' organization, adjudicator, church organist, and accompanist for Musical Comedy Troupe.  Her piano students have won many awards for music composition and Ms. Nelson loves teaching music theory.

 

 

James Welch - accompanist (YAS)

Mr. Welch is known throughout the Western New York area as a collaborative pianist and soloist. He is a graduate of East Carolina University where he received his M.M. in Piano Performance and worked as a graduate teaching assistant. He received his B.M. in Piano Performance and a Performer's Certificate from the State University of New York College at Fredonia. His teachers have included Dr. Paul Tardif, Brian Preston, and Robert Jordan. Mr. Welch regularly accompanies vocal and instrumental recitals, choral concerts, musical theatre and opera workshops, master classes, and auditions throughout the Western New York area including a master class given by Renee Fleming in 2006. During the summer of 2007 he served as a staff accompanist for the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp. Mr. Welch presently serves on the faculty at the State University of New York College at Fredonia as a vocal accompanist and instructor of class piano.

Ward Durrett - percussion (YAS, JSS1, JSS2)

Mr. Durrett's teaching credentials include Percussion Instructor/Arranger for the University of Northern Colorado Bands; Instructor of Percussion at Colorado State University; Instructor of Percussion at Colorado Christian University; Director of Admissions, as well as Director of Percussion and Jazz Studies at the Vandercook College of Music in Chicago, and Percussion Instructor/Arranger at Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Illinois.

A graduate of Millikin University and the US Navy School of Music, Mr. Durrett performed with such noted entertainers as Carol Lawrence, Les Elgart, Sheri Lewis, Bob Crosby, Myron Floren and Al Pierson (Guy Lombardo Orchestra). He has also contributed to the percussion programs of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps; three BOA National Championship Marching Bands; and was the first percussionist to be inducted into the Winter Guard International Hall of Fame in December of 2000. In the Fall of 2003, Mr. Durrett directed the development of the specialized electronics utilized by "THE STAMPEDE", the official drumline of the Denver Broncos, and the first official drumline of the National Football League.