School of Music

Arcos Trio members Seunghee Lee and Carl Donakowski have been performing together in the United States and abroad since 1994. With the addition of pianist Anthony Padilla, the Arcos Trio has embarked in an exciting new direction. Arcos Trio performances blend re-exploration of the classics with lesser known works and music of our own time, particularly emphasizing works by American, Latin American and women composers.

• Seunghee Lee, violin
• Carl Donakowski, cello
• Anthony Padilla, piano
(photo by John Schultz)

Seunghee Lee has delighted audiences with performances described by music critics as … a stunning performance. Lee left a lasting impression with her marvelous playing, Seunghee Lee was spectacular … her tone was liquid and lovely, and she sang out her story with vivid emotion, and Lee’s sensitive phrasing … glowed with confidence and adroit technical range. As a soloist and a chamber musician, she has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Russia, and the Far East. She has appeared as soloist with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, the Sophia (Bulgaria) Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sarajevo National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, the Kharkov (Ukraine) Symphony Orchestra, the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, the Renaud Chamber Orchestra, and the Michigan Chamber Symphony Orchestra. Her chamber recital experience includes a performance at Lincoln Center, New York, as well as performances with the Fontana Concert Society, the Renaud Chamber Music Society, the Orpheus Trio, and the Westbrook String Quartet. Currently she is the concertmaster of the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra, and she has served as the concertmaster of the Midland Symphony Orchestra and the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra. As a member of the Korean National Philharmonic Orchestra, she toured Southeast Asia. She has won several competitions and awards, both in the United States and in Korea. Also, she has given master classes at many universities in the United States and abroad. She was a faculty member of the Interlochen International Summer Camp and a resident artist faculty at the Bay View Music Festival during the summer. Dr. Lee, a native of Seoul, Korea, is Professor of Violin at Central Michigan University.

Cellist Carl Donakowski was a finalist in the 1989 Mendelssohn Competition in Berlin. His recital performances have aired on WQRS Detroit, WQXR New York and Sudwestfunk Radio Baden-Baden. As a chamber musician, he has been a member of the North Shore Pro Musica, the Fontana Chamber Music Society, and the Arcos Piano Trio. As a member of the West End Chamber Ensemble, he twice participated in the National Endowment for the Arts/Chamber Music America Rural Residency Chamber Music Initiative outreach program. He has been heard in recital at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and as concerto soloist with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra. He previously served on the faculties of Central Michigan University School of Music and Alma College. During the summer, he teaches and performs as artist-in-residence at the Bay View Music Festival. His major teachers were Janos Starker, Timothy Eddy, Gary Hoffman and Christoph Henkel. He is currently associate professor of cello and head of the string area at James Madison University in Harrisonburg Virginia.

Anthony Padilla is professor of piano and chamber music and chair of the Keyboard Department at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin. An American pianist of Filipino-Chinese ancestry, Padilla receives public and critical acclaim for performances of “enormous freshness, vitality, and poetry” (Chicago Tribune). Recognized internationally as pianist of remarkable sensitivity, refined interpretation and dazzling technique, he joined the Concert Artists Guild’s distinguished roster of soloists in 2000 as the top prizewinner of the Concert Artists Guild International Competition. A native of Richland, Washington, he first performed as soloist with the Mid-Columbia Symphony at age nine, made his debut with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra in 1983, and has since become a popular guest artist with orchestras and at concert series and music festivals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Highlights include solo and collaborative appearances at the Ravinia, Chautauqua, Schleswig-Holstein, Holzhausen, Victoria, Sarasota, Cascade, Bay View and San Luis Obispo Festivals. After his New York debut recital, the New York Concert Review called him

a strong-willed, steel-fingered tornado; he plays the piano with absolute authority and gives new meaning to the idea of ‘interpretation’ to the extent that the U.S. Patent Office might well grant him a number. Nobody could copy him.

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Mr. Padilla studied with Nelita True, Jeffrey Kahane, Natalya Antonova, Béla Síki, Leonard Richter, Donald Walker, and Jorge Bolet. Awarded the prestigious Beethoven Fellowship by the American Pianists Association in 1991, Mr. Padilla is also a laureate of the Gina Bachauer, Cleveland, William Kapell, and Walter Naumburg International Piano Competitions. In addition, he has received major prizes from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, the Society of American Musicians, the Music Teachers National Association, the Koszciuszko Foundation, the Harvard Musical Association, and the Theodore Presser Foundation. A nationally certified member of the Music Teachers National Association, he is in demand at regional, state, and national levels for his successful master classes, adjudications, and clinics. His program on “The Classical Sense of Humor” stirred much interest at the MTNA National Convention in Los Angeles. His students regularly earn top prizes at MTNA, Wisconsin Music Teachers Association and other competitions. His recordings include the premiere of Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s Second Sonata for Piano on CRI. He is married to pianist Sooyeon Kwon, with whom he frequently collaborates as duo-pianists.

Born in Chicago in 1992, violoncellist Gabriel Cabezas commenced his music studies at age four. Cabezas has been portrayed as …an intense player who connects to the music naturally, without artifice, and brings a singing line to the cello (David Stabler, The Oregonian) and his debut performance with The Cleveland Orchestra described as a …remarkably poised and elegant account, with superb attention to phrasing, nuance and tonal coloration (Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer).

Cabezas has performed with artist Béla Fleck in the televised program From The Top – Live from Carnegie Hall and with the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra at The Sphinx Gala Concert, both at New York’s Carnegie Hall. He has made appearances on the National Public Radio (NPR) programs From The Top and Performance Today, and Chicago’s WFMT 98.7’s “Introductions,” as well as performances in Chicago’s Music in the Loft, “Exploring Music Live with Bill McLaughlin” and The Northeastern Illinois University’s Music Series.

Cabezas has performed as a guest soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, the MYA Orchestras, the Nashville Symphony, the Rackham Symphony Choir and the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, among others. More recently, Cabezas was invited to open the 2008 Official Season of the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica as guest soloist in the historic National Theatre in San Jose, Costa Rica in March 2008. In February 2007, Cabezas released Moyugba Orisha, his first compact disc with Portuguese pianist Alexandra Mascolo-David featuring a collection of Latin American works for violoncello and piano on the White Pine recording label. In March 2007, Cabezas' first orchestral work entitled “March” premiered by the Northbrook Symphony under the direction of Lawrence Rapchak.

Cabezas is a Second Prize Winner of the prestigious 2007 – 2008 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, as well as the recipient of “The Emerging Artist Prize of the Seattle Chamber Music Festival“ and “The Sander Buchman Memorial Prize.” Additionally, Cabezas received the First Prize Award of the 2008 CSO Youth Auditions securing a debut as soloist with the renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the First Prize of the Low Strings Concerto Competition of the 2008 Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Gold Medal of the Junior Division of the 2008 Fischoff Chamber Music National Competition (The Quartet Polaris). Also, Cabezas is the First Prize Laureate of the Junior Division of the 2006 Sphinx National Competition, the Overall Performance Winner of the Midwest Young Artists Open Division of the 2005 Walgreens National Competition, the Bronze Medal Winner of the Junior Division of the 2005 Fischoff Chamber Music National Competition (BAM String Quartet), and the Overall Performance Winner of the Midwest Young Artists Junior Division of the 2004 Walgreens National Competition. He also received “The María Isabel Prieto Award” at the Fifth Carlos Prieto Violoncello International Competition for his extraordinary talent and magnificent performances.

Cabezas actively supports and participates in community outreach programs for the youth through entities such as The Sphinx Organization and From The Top in the United States, and the Programa Nacional de Educación Musical (SINEM) of the Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud / Ministry of Culture and Youth in Costa Rica.

Cabezas studies under the tutelage of Professor Hans Jørgen Jensen of the Academy of the Music Institute of Chicago and Northwestern University, and is a student of the New Trier Township High School in the Chicago area.

Cabezas plays a distinctive violoncello crafted in 1934 by Chicago’s legendary luthier Carl G. Becker.

All Things Strings Review

The Central Michigan University Faculty Jazz Ensemble is made up of seasoned jazz players and educators who lead one of the outstanding jazz programs in the Midwest. CMU’s School of Music has over 500 students in its award-winning facility, with majors in performance, education, theory, and composition. Its annual Jazz Weekend festival has been bringing together the top high school bands from all over Michigan for more than thirty years.

Rob Smith, Director of Jazz Studies at Central Michigan University, graduated from CMU in 1986 and earned a Master of Music-Jazz Studies degree from The University of North Texas in 1989. Under his direction, CMU Jazz Lab I has earned recognition at the Notre Dame Jazz Festival and the Elmhurst (Chicago) Jazz Festival; and has performed on tour throughout mid-Michigan. Rob performs regularly on trumpet and saxophone throughout the United States, Canada and Europe with several notable jazz groups, including The Woody Herman Jazz Orchestra, The Kirk MacDonald Quintet, The Steve Haines Quintet, The Jeff Haas Quintet, Terri Lyne Carrington and Dianne Reeves. Rob has amassed a large discography including Live in London at Ronnie Scott’s – The Woody Herman Jazz Orchestra (1999); Live At The Montreaux – Detroit Jazz Festival – Larry Nozero (2000); New Beginnings – The Kirk MacDonald Septet (1998); Step By Step – The Terry Lower Quintet (2005); and recordings with the Jim Cooper Quintet (2004), the Steve Haines Quintet (2002), the Jeff Haas Trio, Sherman Mitchell, Mind’s Eye, and the University of North Texas’ One O’Clock Band (1987-89).

John Nichol, Professor of Saxophone at Central Michigan University since 1980, received an CMU Excellence in Teaching Award in 1997.  He has performed at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, the Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival, and at six World Saxophone Congresses.  John has performed with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, the Harry James Orchestra, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, the Lansing Symphony Big Band, the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, the Saginaw Bay Orchestra, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and the Midland Symphony Orchestra.   He is an active adjudicator for the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association and recently taught at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.  In the past six years his studio has had four student saxophone quartets participate as semi-finalists in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and several of his students have been state winners in the Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Competition.  He can be heard on Flights of Fancy (Centaur - 2003) and a forthcoming CD of woodwind chamber music on White Pine Music.  John is a Yamaha Performing Artist.

Robert Lindahl, Professor of Trombone, teaches applied trombone and jazz studies for Central Michigan University. He is an artist and educational consultant for C.G. Conn Musical Instruments and has served as guest clinician and performer throughout the United States. He has played regularly with the CMU Faculty Jazz Ensemble, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, and the Usual Suspects Jazz Band. He served as principal trombonist with the Midland Symphony Orchestra from 1993-2003, and has performed with the Bijou Orchestra, Saginaw Bay Symphony, and the Lansing Symphony Big Band. He has also appeared with Summit Brass, Wayne Newton, the Henri Busse Orchestra, Patti Page, Dave Brubeck, Natalie Cole, the Bill Tole Orchestra, and The Harry James Orchestra, among others. In 1998, Bob was recognized by Central Michigan University's Mortar Board organization as an outstanding faculty and in 1999, he received the Excellence in Teaching award from CMU. He currently serves as the National Music Adviser for Delta Omicron Professional Music Fraternity. Bob holds degrees from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Youngstown State University, and Arizona State University.

Jeff Kressler, Instructor of Jazz Keyboard, has been an active jazz pianist and arranger for many years. He received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Michigan State University, and has contributed dozens of arrangements to the libraries of the Spartan Marching Band and the Jazz Ensemble. He has also written arrangements for bands & orchestras at other universities and high schools throughout the nation. In addition, he has several original compositions and arrangements published by Watchdog Music. He has also performed with many of the top jazz artists in Michigan, and has played with both the Woody Herman and Jimmy Dorsey Orchestras. Jeff is a retired high school band director of DeWitt Public Schools.

Edward Fedewa, Instructor of Double Bass, is a member of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, and serves as a mentor in the Lansing Symphony Mentor program. He has performed in the pit orchestras of numerous Broadway shows at the Wharton Center and with the Boarshead Theater and has performed with Sunny Wilkinson, the Moody Blues, and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. He has recorded with the Capitol Jazz Quartet, Shawn Wallace, Ann Elizabeth Rick Holland, Hendrick Merkins, and folk artists such as Pat Madden. In addition to performing and teaching, Ed restores double basses at the Guarneri House in Grand Rapids. Professor Fedewa earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music from Michigan State University.  

Andrew Spencer, Professor of Percussion, is an active recitalist and clinician and has performed as a soloist in the United States, Poland, Japan, Canada, and Costa Rica.  In 1999 he released the CD “Slender Beams,” which features works by composer Dave Hollinden.  In addition, he has premiered numerous compositions, including works by Hollinden, Mark Polishook, Samuel Adler, Robert May and Henry Gwiazda.  Andrew is timpanist with the West Shore Symphony Orchestra and has held positions with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, Cascade Festival Orchestra, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra and the Fargo-Moorhead Civic Opera Company. He has performed with the Spokane Symphony, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has performed with numerous chamber ensembles around the country and plays drumset with the Jazz Avengers.  Andrew received the Bachelor and Master of Music degree in performance (percussion) at Northwestern University where he studied with Dr. Terry Applebaum, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in performance and literature (Percussion) from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with John Beck.  In addition, Eastman granted Andrew the coveted Performer’s Certificate as a percussion soloist.

The Crescent Duo, founded in 1985, has performed in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and California, and has been featured as a duo at the International Clarinet Association and the National Flute Association Conventions. They have released a CD, Flights of Fancy on Centaur Records in the fall of 2002.

• Joanna White, flute
• Kennen White, clarinet

• Joanna White, flute
• Kennen White, clarinet
• John Nichol, saxophone

Joanna Cowan White, Professor of Flute at Central Michigan University, and principal flutist with the Saginaw Bay Symphony and the Midland Symphony, also performs with other Michigan orchestras, the Powers Woodwind Quintet, the Eclectic Trio, and the Crescent Duo. Recordings include Flights of Fancy (2003) with the duo and trio, Bremen Town Musicians (2005) with the quintet, and two works on an upcoming CD of the works of Alvin Etler, all on Centaur Records. Joanna White teaches in the All-State Orchestra program at Interlochen and writes many published articles. She holds degrees from the University of Southern California, Northwestern University, and the University of Michigan, and her flute teachers include Walfrid Kujala, Janet Woodhams, Patricia Garside, Roger Stevens, Thomas Nyfenger, Judith Bentley, Clement Barone, and Leone Buyse.

Kennen White, Professor of Clarinet at Central Michigan University and principal clarinetist in the Saginaw Bay Symphony, has held positions with the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Symphony, and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and has performed with the Detroit Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theatre, and the Flint and Traverse Symphonies. White can be heard with the Crescent Duo on Flights of Fancy (Centaur - 2003), with the Powers Woodwind Quintet on Bremen Town Musicians (Centaur - 2005), and on an upcoming Centaur Records solo/chamber release of the music of Alvin Etler. He teaches in the All-State program at Interlochen. Kennen White received degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Michigan where his teachers included Robert Marcellus, Clark Brody, and Fred Ormand.

John Nichol, Professor of Saxophone at Central Michigan, has performed at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, the Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival, at six World Saxophone Congresses, and with the Jimmy Dorsey, Harry James, and Nelson Riddle Orchestras. He has also played with the Lansing Symphony Big Band, the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, the Saginaw Bay Orchestra, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and the Midland Symphony Orchestra. He is an active adjudicator for the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association and teaches at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. John Nichol is a Yamaha Performing Artist and can be heard on the recording Flights of Fancy (Centaur - 2003).

Andrew Spencer, Professor of Percussion at Central Michigan University, is an active recitalist and clinician and has performed as a soloist in the United States, Poland, Japan, Canada, and Costa Rica. In 1999 he released a compact disc Slender Beams, which features works by composer Dave Hollinden. In addition, he has premiered numerous compositions, including works by Hollinden, Mark Polishook, Samuel Adler, Robert May and Henry Gwiazda. Andrew Spencer is timpanist with the West Shore Symphony Orchestra and has held positions in orchestras throughout the United States. Andrew Spencer received degrees from Northwestern University and the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Dr. Terry Applebaum and John Beck. In addition, Eastman granted Dr. Spencer the coveted Performer’s Certificate as a percussion soloist.

Steven Egler, Professor of Organ at Central Michigan University, holds the bachelor of music, master of music and doctor of musical arts degrees in organ performance from the University of Michigan, where he studied organ with Robert Glasgow and harpsichord with Edward Parmentier. Additional study has been with Lillian McCord, Catharine Crozier, Charles W. Ore, Quentin Faulkner and George Ritchie. He has appeared as a soloist, accompanist and member of the Shelly-Egler Flute and Organ Duo for more than 30 years. His performances have been featured several times on Pipedreams and he has performed for several regional and national conventions of The American Guild of Organists and National Flute Association. A church musician for 40 years, he has held rector of music and organist at the First Presbyterian Church in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.

Steven is joined on many of his works by Frances Shelly, Professor of Flute at Wichita Sate University. Shelly has received her undergraduate and graduate degrees form University of Michigan and was a Fullbright Scholar at the Hochschule fur Musik in Berlin, Germany. She is currently a member of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, the Lieurance Woodwind Quintet and the Shelly-Egler Flute and Organ Duo. Dr. Shelly has performed world premieres a the conventions of the National Flute Association and The American Guild of Organists. She was awarded an Artist-Fellowship to Back Aria Festival and Institute in Stony Brook, New York.

In an age of technological saturation, Freshwater strives to rediscover the joy of live acoustic music. Drawing from the ethnic traditions of the British Isles, Canada, and our United States, Freshwater creates a simply exuberant musical experience using song, instrumental music, and the power of percussive step-dance.

Nellie Schrantz, Nic Gareiss, Bill Wiegandt, and Jessie Nieves all grew up in Michigan. There, nurtured by the musicians in the local old-time and Celtic music circles, they began to absorb the traditions associated with fiddle music and percussive dancing. Bill learned folk songs from his father, Jessie was exposed to fiddle music through the alternative strings program at a nearby high school, Nellie attended Irish sessions and feisanna, and Nic learned his first dance steps by watching his parents in their kitchen.

As Freshwater, their mission is to use the music they love to connect with people of all ages and especially to bridge the age gap that often separates young people from traditional music. The sound is rootsy and celebratory, conjuring up deep memories of place and time but in a way that is as crisp and renewing as the breeze off of the Great Lakes themselves. An old-time ballad might follow a set of Irish jigs; followed by a contemporary song, a few crisp Cape Breton srathspeys or some flat-footing.

Dancing is a central element in Freshwater’s performances. Nic, Nellie, and Jessie have spent the last ten years absorbing any kind of percussive dance they could. For Nellie this meant delving into the competitive world of Irish stepdance. Nic gleaned from Appalachian, French-Canadian, and the Irish sean-nos dance traditions by attending folk festivals and asking every person he saw dancing to teach him their style. Jessie studied rhythm tap dance and traveled with friends to Canada where she learned Ottawa Valley step-dance. During a show while the fiddle tunes crank and the harmonies blend, their feet become drumsticks, the floor becomes another instrument. As the Lansing State Journal stated,

Expect to be out of your seats... Freshwater evokes the heartbeat of heritage.

The Harlem Quartet, comprised of first-place laureates of the Sphinx Competition, has a unique and challenging mission: to advance diversity in classical music while engaging young and new audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire, highlighting works by minority composers.

Dedicated to education and community engagement, the Quartet serves as principal faculty at the Sphinx Performance Academy at Walnut Hill School in Massachusetts, and as visiting faculty at the Sphinx Preparatory Music Institute at Wayne Sate University in Detroit. The ensemble released their debut album entitled "Take the 'A' Train" in September 2007 at the annual Sphinx Organization Gala Concert in Carnegie Hall. The Quartet has also been featured on WNBC, CNN, and the Today Show. Highlights of their 2008-2009 season include an exciting collaboration with New York Philharmonic principal cellist Carter Brey on Schubert's String Quintet, and concert performances at the Lied Center of Kansas, Ravinia's Rising Stars Series, and Interlochen among others. In fall 2008 they were also featured artists on the inaugural Sphinx National Tour, which included an appearance with renowned cellist Paul Katz at the 2008 Sphinx Gala Concert in Carnegie Hall.

The Harlem Quartet is co-managed by Sciolino Arts Management (SAM) of New York City, and the Sphinx Organization of Detroit, Michigan.

Harlem Quartet Members:

• Ilmar Gavilan, violin
• Melissa White, violin
• Juan-Miguel Hernandez, viola
• Desmond Neysmith, cello

Gold Achievement Award Winner of the 9th Annual Senior Division Sphinx Organization Competition 2006, violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez performs as part of the Sphinx/Daimler Chrysler Financial Services Professional Development Program. Hernandez was a first and second prize winner in the National Canadian Music Competition. He also won the Sillery Music Competition and Clermont-Pepin Music Competition.

Juan-Miguel Hernandez was born in Canada in 1985. He began to study violin at the age of seven and changed to viola at age twelve. In the past he has studied at the music high school Pierre-Laporte, continuing at College Vincent-D'Indy in Montreal with Ms. Madeleine Mercy and Ms. Jean MacRae. Currently Hernandez studies with Mr. Paul Coletti at the Colburn Conservatory and has been invited to play in masterclass for Pinchas Zukermann, Roberto Diaz, Paul Neubauer, Steven Dann, James Dunham, Andre Roy, Elmar Oliveira, and Sydney Humphreys. Hernandez has participated in prestigious summer music festivals in Canada such as the Banff Music Festival (Alberta) and Domaine Forget (Quebec). In the United States he has participated in the Colorado Springs Music Festival followed by the International Laureates Music Festival touring New Mexico and Los Angeles.

As a Sphinx artist, Mr. Hernandez gave a stellar performance with the Atlanta Symphony in 2006. The Atlanta Journal Constitution characterized him as ”...tender, lyrical, loaded with personality.”

Mr. Hernandez has given many solo recitals, and has been the soloist in many orchestras. He was invited to play in two Gala concerts at the Pollak Hall in Montreal. He was selected as a showcased artist in the iPalpiti chamber orchestra, under the direction of Eduard Schmieder. He has played with several orchestras including Westmount Youth Orchestra and the Colburn Orchestra. In 2004, Mr. Hernandez gave his first recital for national broadcast by Radio-Canada. He has also appeared on local network television for the viola, hosted by Paul Coletti of Canada. In 2006, he served as a member of the Resident Faculty at Sphinx's Performance Academy which is a summer program for youths at Walnut Hill School's campus.

An avid chamber musician, Mr. Hernandez has studied with Lorand Fenyves and Laurence Lesser and he is a member of the Lamoureux-Hernandez-Pelletier trio. In the summer of 2005 he toured again with the prestigious iPalpiti, still under the direction of Doctor Eduard Shmieder, in Slovenia, Salzburg, New Mexico, Los Angeles and in Israel in February 2006.

Elena Urioste, recently selected by Symphony magazine as an emerging artist to watch, made her debut as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age thirteen as winner of the Albert M. Greenfield Competition. Since then, she has appeared as soloist with major orchestras throughout the United States including the Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Pops, National Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Hartford Symphonies, as well as Hungary's Orchestra Dohnányi Budafok, garnering critical acclaim for her commanding stage presence, rich tone, and the nuanced lyricism of her playing.

Miss Urioste made her Carnegie Hall debut as a featured soloist in the December 2004 Sphinx Gala Concert, and has returned as a soloist in the 2006 and 2007 Galas. She has performed in recital at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall as the youngest musician ever selected for the Young Performers Career Advancement Showcase. Miss Urioste has collaborated with acclaimed artists David Kim, Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster; pianists Christopher O'Riley and Ignat Solzhenitsyn; and conductors Robert Spano, Keith Lockhart, and Shlomo Mintz, among others. She has been a featured artist in the International Young Artists Music Festival, the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, the Sarasota and Aspen Music Festivals, and the Festival International de Musique in Sion, Switzerland.

Miss Urioste is the 2007 first prize winner of the Sion International Violin Competition, where she was also awarded the audience prize and the prize for the best performance of the competition's newly commissioned work. She has won both the senior (2007) and junior (2003) divisions of the national Sphinx Competition, as well as the Kennett Symphony Concerto Competition and the Temple University Music Prep Concerto Competition. Miss Urioste's media appearances include performances on national broadcasts of the popular public radio programs From the Top and Performance Today, and the Spanish-language television network, Telemundo. She has been a featured guest on the radio program Anything is Possible, and is also featured in the Emmy award-winning documentary Breaking the Sound Barrier; on the covers of the January/February 2008 issue of Symphony magazine and the January, 2006 issue of Careers and Colleges magazine; and in the Winter 2007 issue of Philadelphia Music Makers magazine.

Miss Urioste recently graduated from The Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Joseph Silverstein, Ida Kavafian, and Pamela Frank. She will begin graduate studies next fall at The Juilliard School of Music as a student of Joel Smirnoff. Other notable teachers include David Cerone and the late Rafael Druian. She is the past recipient of a Starling Foundation Scholarship at Temple University Music Preparatory Center for Gifted Young Musicians in Philadelphia, where she was a student of Choong-Jin Chang and Soovin Kim.

The outstanding violin being used by Miss Urioste is a Michelangelo Bergonzi, Cremona, circa 1750, on extended loan through the generous efforts of Society for Strings, Inc., Meadowmount School of Music, from the private collection of Dr. Charles E. King.

• 1. The Mammals: The House Carpenter / Pipeline
  Folk-rock quintet, The Mammals, have evolved since their birth in the spring of 2001, picking up new sounds and styles along the way. Now, wielding the combined power of Appalachain fiddle-banjo alchemy, thier own contemporary lyric poetry, and a dynamic rock-n-roll rhythm section, The Mammals look to the future with warm-blooded glee.


• 2. Lost World String Band: Sweet Sue, Just You
• 3. Robin and Linda Williams and Their Fine Group: Don't You Want to Go to Heaven?
• 4. Johnny Gimble: Under the X in Texas
• 5. The Chicken Chokers: Saro Jane
• 6. Blue Highway: Don't Come Out of the Hole
• 7. Tim and Mollie O'Brien with Jerry Douglas: Orphan Girl
• 8. Guy Davis: Home-Cooked Meal
• 9. Dewey Balfa: Fiddlesticks / Lost Indian
• 10. Blue Highway: Some Day
• 11. Johnny Gimble: Gardenia Waltz
• 12. The Dixie Hummingbirds: Jesus is Coming Soon
• 13. The Dixie Hummingbirds: Lord, I Want You to Help Me

Dr. Adrienne Wiley is currently Associate Professor of Music at Central Michigan University, where she teaches and administers the piano pedagogy program at the bachelor’s and master’s degree levels, and teaches applied and classroom piano. As part of the Community Music School, she coordinates and teaches the Piano Preparatory Program. Dr. Wiley received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from the University of Kansas, and her doctorate of musical arts in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma. She has studied with Jack Winerock, Flora Silini, Rita Sloan, and Jane Magrath. She has also taken master classes or lessons with Leon Fleisher, Menahem Pressler, Claude Frank, and John Perry.

Because of Dr. Wiley’s dual focus on performance and pedagogy, she has been active in both areas. She maintains an active performance career as a soloist and collaborative pianist. In, addition, she has presented workshops throughout the mid-west, and at several nationally recognized music teachers conferences. Dr. Wiley is certified throught the Music Teachers National Association at the state and national levels and has held stated and national offices for MTNA.

In her spare time, Dr. Wiley continues to practice, research and write articles for the Keyboard Companion and Clavier magazines. She has also reviewed a book, One-Handed: A Guide to Piano Music for One Hand for the Journal of the Music Library Association. A native of Washington State, Dr. Wiley met her husband, Scott, at the University of Kansas. They have one son, Cameron.