Artists/Educators
Jennifer Bill - Shelagh Abate - Elissa Alvarez - Elisabeth Axtell - BRUSH|REED - Oliver Caplan - Justin Casinghino - Duo2Arts - David Faleris - Fenway Quintet - Elizabeth Heath - Anne Howarth - Yoshiko Kline -
Mary Ellen Kregler - Michael Kregler - Hyun-ji Kwon - Christopher LaRosa - Linnea Maas - Jose Martinez -
Josh McDonald - Courtney Miller -Pharos Quartet - Samuel Solomon - Klaudia Szlachta -
Triage Woodwind Ensemble - Virtuoso Soloists - Thomas Weaver - Marisa Youngs
Shelagh Abate horn Shelagh Abate is a celebrated horn player, educator and clinician in both New York and New England. Her warm, expressive playing and gregarious personality has helped earn her place among today's most sought-after brass artists. Well-established in the New York area as a Broadway performer, Shelagh is also an experienced chamber musician, and orchestral player. A founding member of the award winning Triton Brass Quintet (www.tritonbrass.org), principal horn of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra with Jaime Laredo, Shelagh is also a frequent artist on television programs such as America's Got Talent, A&E's Live! By Request, Good Morning America, the Today Show, as well as dozens of commercial jingles and commercial recordings. shelaghabate.com 
Elisabeth Axell
horn - modern & natural Elisabeth Axtell represents a generation of musicians whose careers are equal parts artistry and entrepreneurship. She is a co-founder and core member of Grand Harmonie, a groundbreaking ensemble bringing a fresh, spontaneous voice to period music performance on the East Coast. Recent performance engagements include Handel & Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Boston Early Music Festival, Pacific MusicWorks, Bach Society Houston, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity NYC, Blue Hill Bach Festival, and the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra. A native of Washington State, Elisabeth holds dual degrees in English and music from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota and a masters degree in music performance from Boston University. 
Oliver Caplan
composer Award-winning American composer Oliver Caplan writes melodies that nourish our souls, offering a voice of hope in an uncertain world. Inspired by the resiliency of the human spirit and beauty of the natural world, his music celebrates stories of social justice, conservation and community. Mr. Caplan’s works have been performed in over 125 performances nationwide. He has been commissioned by the Atlanta Chamber Players, Bella Piano Trio, Bronx Arts Ensemble, Brookline Symphony Orchestra, Columbia University Wind Ensemble, El Sistema Somerville and New Hampshire Master Chorale, among others. Winner of a Special Citation for the American Prize in Orchestral Composition, additional recognition include two Veridian Symphony Competition Wins, the Fifth House Ensemble Competition Grand Prize, seven ASCAP Awards, and fellowships at VCCA and the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts. Recordings of Mr. Caplan’s music include You Are Not Alone, a forthcoming album with Juventas, his 2012 debut album Illuminations, 2015 EP Moon Over Appalachia and a track on the Sinfonietta of Riverdale’s 2016 album New World Serenade (Albany Records). Mr. Caplan is the Artistic Director of Juventas New Music Ensemble. He holds degrees from Dartmouth College and the Boston Conservatory, is a voting member of the RecordingAcademy, and resides in Medford, Massachusetts. www.olivercaplan.com 
Duo2Arts
Duo2Arts! was born in July 2019 as a wish of a couple to bring their passions together. The first few months of existence introduced the artists to audiences in Spain and Portugal, and brought them to France in order to be coached and inspired by actor Cédric Chapuis and actress Margot Mouth. Gene Pokorny, principal tubist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, described the Duo’s performance in Portugal as “fabulous, great, with a beautiful sub-plot.” Their first play, “Poiesis” (Creation), developed through these experiences into a very special project, “Adulthood Stories”, a tale told without the use of words via music, dance and theater, that was presented at the end of 2019 while on tour, with pianist extraordinaire David Jiménez, in Spain and the USA. Most recently, after a performance at the 2020 #GESTO Street Dance Festival, Juan de Torres, its Artistic Director, described the show like "a Hollywood story, a fairy tale, beautiful and very touching”. www.duo2arts.com 
David Faleris
composer-trombone An active and versatile musician, David Faleris wears many hats as a composer, trombonist, educator, and administrator. After completing his undergraduate work at Boston College (B.A. Music), David returned to his home state of Maryland to study with James Olin at The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University (M.M. Trombone Performance). He returned to Boston and served as Program Administrator for the Boston University Tanglewood Institute while teaching at Boston College and freelancing as a composer and trombonist. After eight years, David set out to pursue his long-time passion of composing for visual media by way of Berklee College of Music (M.M., Post-Graduate Fellowship, Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games) in Valencia, Spain. He currently resides in Edinburgh, UK, where he is focusing both on composing for visual media and new works for the concert hall. www.davidfaleris.com 
Anne Howarth
horn Horn player Anne Howarth has a passion for small group collaborations and the opportunities they offer to forge personal connections with the music, other musicians, audience members, and the wider world. She is a founding member and Outreach Director of the mixed-instrumentation chamber group Radius Ensemble and is a senior member of the wind quintet Vento Chiaro. Curious about the intersection between live music and movement, Anne has collaborated with Monkeyhouse and dancer/choreographer Karen Krolak at First Night Boston, the Oberon, and Tufts University. Anne plays principal horn with the Plymouth Philharmonic and the Lexington Symphony, teaches horn and coaches chamber music around Boston, and freelances. She holds degrees from Oberlin College, Oberlin Conservatory, and New England Conservatory. 
Michael Kregler
composer - piano Accomplished composer arranger, and accompanist Mike Kregler was born in New York, New York. He earned both undergraduate and master's degrees at the University of Miami before beginning his wide-ranging career in music. As composer and arranger, Mike has been published by Walton and G|A for his choral compositions. His compositions span multiple genres including operetta, choral, solo piano, and chamber music. As accompanist and pianist, Mike has played extensively throughout the Northeast and currently serves as faculty accompanist and lecturer at Providence College. An artist of many styles, Kregler has developed the reputation for being equally adept in the fields of jazz, opera, choral music, art song, chamber music, musical theater, and popular music. www.michaelckregler.com 
Christopher LaRosa
composer Christopher LaRosa’s music exhibits a fascination for temporal perception, human aggression and compassion, and technology. His music has received performances throughout North America, Europe, and Asia by ensembles such as the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, United States Marine Band, Boston New Music Initiative, CEPROMUSIC, Genesis Chamber Singers, premier university ensembles, and by soloists such as pianist Thomas Weaver, percussionist Gregory LaRosa, and organist James Kibbie. LaRosa’s electronic music has received performances at the Society of Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States, Seoul International Computer Music Festival, and Electronic Music Midwest. He has received commissions from the American Guild of Organists, Atlantic Coast Conference Band Directors Association, Georgina Joshi Foundation, and Hartford Symphony Orchestra. LaRosa was recently a winner of the 2018 Jinji Lake Composition Competition. LaRosa holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. www.chrislarosa.com 
Jose Martínez
tuba A native of Chelva (Spain), Jose Martínez is principal tuba of the National Orchestra of Spain as well as a member of the Duo2Arts! An enthusiastic orchestral player, he previously was the tubist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and performed as guest with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. A learner for life, Jose will forever be indebted to Mike Roylance, Gene Pokorny, Morten Agerup and also Sergio Finca, his greatest influences. Having studied in Spain, Sweden in addition to the USA, Dr. Martinez recently completed an online certificate on The Science of Well-Being at Yale University. www.josetubachelva.com 
Courtney Miller
oboe Dr. Courtney Miller is Assistant Professor of Oboe at the University of Iowa. Dr. Miller has been a devoted performer traveling throughout the United States and abroad as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician. Professor Miller ardently believes music has the power to reach and influence people and that it must be accessible to everyone. She regularly engages artists and dancers in interdisciplinary outreach projects to bring classical music to new audiences. Dr. Courtney Miller recently released a solo album Modern Fairy Tales on Centaur Records. In addition to her solo endeavors, Dr. Miller is also an enthusiastic chamber musician and a core member of the prestigious international chamber ensemble, VirtuosoSoloists. For more information about Courtney and her upcoming projects and performances please go to www.courtneymilleroboe.com 
Samuel Z. Solomon
percussion Samuel Z. Solomon teaches percussion at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Boston University, is Percussion Director of The Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI), and Artistic Director of the Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar. From 2007-2011 he was president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society. His book, “How to Write for Percussion,” has received critical acclaim from composers, performers, and conductors worldwide and is available in three languages. He has also authored three books on percussion playing and curated two collections of percussion etudes and solos. Solomon is founding member of the Yesaroun’ Duo and the Line C3 percussion group, from 2005-2010 he was percussionist-in-residence at Harvard University, and from 2003-2015 he was principal timpanist of the Amici New York chamber orchestra. He can be heard as soloist and chamber musician on GM, Albany, Bedroom Community, New Focus, and Tzadik labels, as well as performing the music of Björk on her soundtrack to Matthew Barney’s film “Drawing Restraint 9.” He lives in Scituate, Massachusetts with his wife, Kristy, and children, Nicolas, Leo, and Luciana. Please visit www.szsolomon.com for more. 
Triage Woodwind Ensemble
Contemporary Classical Concerts, Workshops and Masterclasses featuring Bill Kirkley, Amy McGlothlin and Eileen Yarrison on a variety of clarinets, saxophones and flutes. triagewoodwind.com 
Thomas Weaver
composer - piano Thomas Weaver is an American pianist and composer currently based in Philadelphia. Weaver's playing has been hailed as displaying "sensitivity" and "deep resonance," as well as "incredible dexterity." He has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician, appearing in recitals both in the United States and abroad. He has been heard in concert halls in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Nashville, Florida, Texas, New Hampshire, Tanglewood, Germany, and others. Weaver is an award-winning composer, whose works have been heard throughout the United States, Japan, Austria, and Germany. He has written for a variety of mediums, including solo, chamber, orchestral, vocal, and stage works. His musical language blends a love of Romantic timing and phrasing with a modernist harmonic and motivic language. Weaver is on faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He is also a staff pianist and accompanist at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and for Mannes College The New School for Music. www.thomaseweaver.com |
Jennifer Bill
saxophone-conductor Saxophonist and conductor, Dr. Jennifer Bill has performed in Europe, Asia, and the United States. She performs solo and chamber music with a variety of groups including BRUSH|REED and Pharos Quartet. Dr. Bill is a Selmer Artist. As a conductor Dr. Bill currently leads the Boston University Concert Band. Dr. Bill is currently faculty at Boston University, Boston College, Pine Manor College, Rhode Island College, Stonehill College, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Dr. Bill is also the sole organizer, director and officer of Music Performance &Education, Inc. www.jenniferbill.com 
Elissa Alvarez
soprano Noted by the Boston Globe for her “intensely lyrical” singing, soprano Elissa Alvarez is an avid interpreter of recital, concert and operatic repertoire. Her diverse interests, spanning early to modern music, have allowed her to work closely with conductors, composers, and chamber ensembles alike. She is also is deeply devoted to the study and performance of Latin American art song. Dr. Alvarez is an Assistant Professor of Music at George Mason University. 
BRUSH|REED
BRUSH|REED is a collaboration between artist and musician to explore the parallels of painting and sound through live performance. BRUSH|REED engages an audience through color, pitch, representational lines, rhythm, intensity and expression: an auralvisual experience. www.brushreed.com 
Justin Casinghino
composer Justin Casinghino composes in a variety of genres, striving to create works that are lyrical, rich in harmony and possess a sound structural integrity. Also a performer in the jazz and popular idioms, this influence is often present in his music, but commonly at subtle levels. His studies of composition include work with, amongst others, Gunther Schuller, Lukas Foss, Theodore Antoniou and Richard Cornell. Casinghino has had pieces requested and performed by such groups as the Boston Symphony Orchestra Wind Quintet, ALEA III, the Longy Chamber Orchestra, the Rivers Symphony Orchestra, the Arneis String Quartet, the Lorelei Vocal Ensemble and the wind quintet Vento Chiaro, and was the featured composer on the Rivers School Conservatory’s 34thAnnual Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young. His music has been featured in such venues as Tanglewood’s Seiji Ozawa Hall, NY’s Carnegie Hall and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA; and has been funded via grants through the Free For All Concert Fund and the New England Federation for the Arts. Dr. Casinghino is a lecturer in the departments of composition and theory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston University, and is the Associate Director of the Young Artists’ Composition Program at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. www.jdcas.com 
The Fenway Quintet
The Fenway Quintet, Ensemble-In-Residence at Saint Peter's Episcopal Church, has been entertaining audiences throughout New England since its formation in 2006. In this time, the group has firmly established itself as one of the area's most esteemed professional brass quintets. Fenway's programming explores music both classical and adventurous, with a special emphasis on educational outreach for audiences of all ages. It is the quintet's mission to present challenging music at the highest level. 
Elizabeth Heath
soprano Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Providence College and a Master of Music degree in Voice Pedagogy and Performance from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. Elizabeth teaches courses and holds the position of Coordinator of Vocal Studies within the Music Department at Providence College. She also teaches lessons at The Rhode Island Philharmonic School and maintains a private voice studio in Swansea, MA. With extensive experience in sacred music for over fifteen years, Elizabeth serves as cantor for parish and diocesan liturgies at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption in Fall River, MA. She often sings as a freelance soprano at other churches throughout the Diocese of Fall River. Elizabeth is an experienced recitalist in the area of Providence and Southeastern Massachusetts. She enjoys performing a wide range of repertoire from Baroque to contemporary compositions. www.elizabethgracesoprano.com 
Yoshiko Kline
piano Yoshiko performs as recitalist, soloist, and chamber musician throughout Japan and the New England area. Recipient of several awards throughout Japan, Yoshiko was presented the opportunity, as a grand prizewinner, to perform her solo debut in the Tokyo Bunka-kaikan Hall. Her performances have been reported as "carefully colored and musically refined ... with a sensitive ear, relating sound to musical expression... Her remarkably unique interpretations were the charm of her performance..." Since her debut concert, she has returned to Japan by invitation to perform in various concert series. She has been invited to several summer festivals, including The New York Keyboard Festival and The Aspen Music Festival as a two-year fellowship. Yoshiko's performances have been broadcast live from the studios of Boston radio stations WGBH & WMNB and Aspen, CO Radio KAJX. In addition to her classical interests, she excels as contemporary artist performing and premiering new works for resident composers and ensembles. Yoshiko received her BM at Toho-Gakuen Conservatory of Music and MM, with honors, at New England Conservatory of Music. Principal teachers have included Gabriel Chodos, Yoriko Takahashi and Tamiko Ishimoto. 
Hyun-ji Kwon
cello Hyun-ji Kwon, cellist, currently maintains an active schedule as soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. She was the principal cellist for the Ewha orchestra and performed as a soloist with the orchestra in two consecutive years. She has performed in master classes for renowned cellists such as Natalia Gutman and Anner Bylsma, and she has participated in numerous music festivals and concerts in both Korea and North America. Kwon was selected numerous times to perform in joint Faculty/DMA candidate “Chamber Music Masterworks” concerts during her BU studies, and she was awarded special String Department Honors upon graduation. She has performed as guest alumna along with the celebrated Muir Quartet and violist Michelle LaCourse at BU’s Tsai Center, with the Convergence Ensemble, and in several other Boston area ensembles. During recent summers she has served on the faculty of Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute, working with students of the Young Artist Orchestra program as well as BUTI’s String Quartet Workshop. She joined the BU School of Music cello faculty in 2015. 
Linnea Maas
artist Her thoughts are all pictures, and she fills pages of sketchbooks with secret nonsense and meandering doodles, out of which evolve series of characters brimming with internal dialogue. Linnea paints them into pictures to nudge you to believe in her imagined reality where colors are twice as bright, love is infinitely more vivid, and the world is condensed into simple, crystallized pleasures, so just a smile ignites a connection to make any distance small. insidetherobot.com 
Josh McDonald
trumpet Trumpeter Josh McDonald has performed with many notable jazz greats, including Brian Blade, Conrad Herwig, Geoff Keezer, Kevin Mahogany, Christian McBride, John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, Ed Shaughnessy, Bobby Shew, Wayne Shorter, Anthony Wilson, and Gerald Wilson His playing and composing can be heard on several albums, including two releases in 2012: Breathe (Kev McDonald Fellowship) and Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (the Russ Wilcox Jazz Ensemble). Josh is the graduate assistant for the Boston University Jazz Ensembles (BU Jazz), and the director of the BU Jazz Wednesday Combo. He also conducts and composes for the BU Jazz Big Band. His playing and composing can be heard on several albums, including two releases in 2012: Breathe (Kev McDonald Fellowship) and Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (the Russ Wilcox Jazz Ensemble). When not performing or studying, Josh enjoys collaborating with the newly expanded SBS Fellowship, playing soccer, eating gluten-free muffins, and Walden Pond… the place, not the book. 
Pharos Quartet
Based in Boston, The Pharos Quartet is a stirring musical collaborative encompassing four of New England’s most accomplished saxophonists. Emerging from their unique combination of ideas, styles, and expressions - Pharos brings the sound of the saxophone quartet to a new apex. From landmark compositions of centuries past, to the most recent works of this new century, their concerts are stimulating, entertaining, and unpredictable. Its members bring together their own international performance experience and fuse it into a distinct chamber music event. With a vivid repertoire, balanced between notable pioneers as well as visionaries of tomorrow, Pharos maintains a steady appetite for today's most demanding saxophone quartet literature. The Pharos Saxophone Quartet is available for concerts, master classes, residencies, and workshops. 
Klaudia Szlachta
violin Award winning violinist Klaudia Szlachta has both performed and taught internationally. After earning her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at Boston University with Professor Yuri Mazurkervich as her teacher, Ms. Szlachta was invited by the Institute and Festival of Contemporary Performance in New York to perform Luciano Berio’s Sequenza and Elliott Carter’s Triple Duo. Recently she returned to New York to give the World Premiere of “Six Minatures”, composed for her by Thomas Weaver. A Polish national, Ms. Szlachta has won numerous prizes and honors in Poland, including the First Prize and Grand Prix at the National Violin Competition in Elblag, as well as three special prizes for the best performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto. Ms. Szlachta also recently recorded music for a film entered in the Irish Film Institute’s Movie Festival. She has appeared in the prestigious Convergence Ensemble Chamber concert series, and in venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center and Boston’s Symphony Hall. She has collaborated on stage with Menahem Pressler and Joseph Silverstein, and has worked with the Tokyo and Vermeer String Quartets. Currently, Ms. Szlachta is a member of the New England String Quartet. She was asked to join the faculty of the BU School of Music in 2014, where she presently teaches. 
Virtuoso Soloists
Founded in 2014, VirtuosoSoloists (full name: Virtuoso Soloists of New York) unites some of the finest young musicians in New York and Boston. Coming from diverse backgrounds each player brings his or her own personality, culture, life-experiences and musical flair to each performance. Bound together by a passion for musical exploration and excellence, VirtuosoSoloists attracts new audiences by crafting unique programs that highlight the connection between well-known classics and newly commissioned pieces. The innate versatility of VirtuosoSoloists allows the group to transform between small and large chamber groups, ranging from solo piano to string quintets and beyond. The fluid nature of the ensemble opens up a diverse range of repertoire, engaging the audience with a variety of timbres and a plethora of sounds. The VirtuosoSoloists experience conjures the feeling of an intimate 19th-century salon concert in a modern setting. Audience-members leave with a strong connection to both the music and the musicians. EDOARDO CARPENEDO - director 
Marisa Youngs
trumpet Dr. Marisa Youngs is an avid performer, educator, and researcher bringing a fresh artistic vision to the world of brass performance. Dr. Youngs has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia as a soloist, chamber musician, and conductor, as well as with orchestras, wind bands, and jazz bands. Performing and teaching in a multitude of styles, Dr. Youngs’s artistic talents have flourished on the concert stage as well as in the classroom. As a trumpet artist, Dr. Youngs has performed with a wide variety of ensembles and as a featured soloist with several orchestras and wind bands. She has worked with renowned conductors, including Marin Alsop, Leonard Slatkin, and H. Robert Reynolds, and has appeared in historic venues such as Boston’s Symphony Hall, Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall, Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland. Dr. Youngs is currently the Adjunct Professor of Trumpet and Music Theory at Winthrop University. For more information about Marisa’s performances and educational projects, please visit www.marisayoungs.com |
