Jon Nakamatsu

One of the most sought-after pianists of his generation, Jon Nakamatsu is a frequent concerto soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and solo recitalist throughout the United States, Europe and Japan. He enjoys a continuously expanding career based on a deeply probing and illuminating musicality as well as a quietly charismatic performing style.

Highlights of Jon Nakamatsu’s current season include return engagements with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Annapolis, Bozeman and Greenwich symphony orchestras,  Lexington and Reno philharmonics and Santa Fe Pro Musica, as well as performances with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic and the orchestras of Cape Cod, Fremont, La Crosse, Lincoln and Norwalk. He reunites with his colleagues of the Berlin Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet for performances in Berlin and Detroit, and is presented in recital from coast to coast. With his duo-recital partner, clarinetist Jon Manasse, Mr. Nakamatsu performs at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and in New York City, Boston, Des Moines and Saratoga, CA.

Initially brought to global attention in June 1997 by being named Gold Medalist of the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Jon Nakamatsu subsequently appeared as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and the Boston Pops at Tanglewood, as well as with, among many others, the orchestras of Buffalo, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Dallas, Dayton, Delaware, Detroit, Fort Worth, Honolulu, Memphis, Milwaukee, Naples, New Mexico, New World, Portland, Rochester, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Barbara, Seattle, Syracuse, Toledo and Utah. Abroad, he has been heard as soloist with Italy’s famed Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Berlin’s Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica, Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional de Santo Domingo and Japan’s Tokyo and Hiroshima Symphony Orchestras.  In 2005, he toured Spain as soloist with the San Jose Youth Symphony, followed by a 2007 tour with the Peninsula Youth Symphony that included performances in Budapest and Prague. Mr. Nakamatsu has collaborated with many of today's leading conductors, among them Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Peter Bay, William Boughton, George Cleve, James Conlon, Grant Cooper, Leslie B. Dunner, Philippe Entremont, Neal Gittleman, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Marek Janowski, Chosei Komatsu, Michael Lankester, Peter Leonard, Raymond Leppard, Jahja Ling, Keith Lockhart, David Lockington, Christof Perick, Larry Rachleff, Peter Rubardt, Matthew Savery, Alfred Savia, Carl St. Clair, Christopher Seaman, Stanislaw Skrowaczeski, Markand Thakar, Michael Tilson Thomas, Osmo Vänskä, David Wiley, Peter Stafford Wilson and Samuel Wong. His 1998-99 season was highlighted by a White House performance of Rhapsody in Blue, hosted by President and Mrs. Clinton.     

Jon Nakamatsu's extensive recital tours throughout the United States and Europe have featured perfromances in New York City (Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall), Washington, DC (John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts), Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Miami, Houston, San Francisco, Paris, London and Milan. The recipient of the Steven De Groote Memorial Award for his semifinal round chamber music performances at the Cliburn competition, he has subsequently collaborated with various chamber ensembles, among them the Brentano, Ives, Manhattan, Miami, St. Lawrence, Prazak, Tokyo and Ying String Quartets and the Stanford Woodwind Quintet. Mr. Nakamatsu has also made three United States tours as the guest soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet.

Jon Nakamatsu’s festival appearances include Tanglewood, the famed summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival with Christopher Seaman and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also been a guest artist at France's Evian and Montpellier music festivals and Germany’s Klavier Festival Ruhr, Festival Casals de Puerto Rico, performing with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Carl St. Clair, and at the Colorado Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Florida’s Brevard and Sanibel music festivals, Tacoma International Music Festival, Lincoln’s Meadowlark Music Festival, New York’s Skaneateles Festival and California’s Midsummer Mozart Festival.

Jon Nakamatsu has studied privately with Marina Derryberry since the age of six, has worked with Karl Ulrich Schnabel, and studied composition and orchestration with Dr. Leonard Stein of the Schoenberg Institute at the University of Southern California. In addition, he has pursued extensive studies in chamber music and musicology. A former high school German teacher, Mr. Nakamatsu is a graduate of Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in German  Studies and a master’s degree in Education.

Jon Nakamatsu and his duo-partner, the renowned clarinetist Jon Manasse, serve as Artistic Directors of the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, an appointment announced during summer 2006.

James Stephenson

James Stephenson's music is the complete package: a fresh and energizing sound scape that delights the audience while maintaining integrity and worthwhile challenges for the performing musicians. This rare combination has rewarded Stephenson with ongoing commissions and projects. Current collaborations include a concerto for Branford Marsalis with Rodney Mack; a work for the Houston Symphony,; a concerto for the Philadelphia Orchestra's principal trombonist, Nitzan Haroz; a piano/trumpet concerto for Lisa Leonard and Marc Reese; and a new work for the Bozeman Symphony.

Stephenson's music has been performed by many of today's leading orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the symphonies of Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, Baltimore, Oregon, Jacksonville, the Rochester Philharmonic, Florida Orchestra, and the Naples Philharmonic. His music has been conducted by such notables as Gustavo Dudamel, Jorge Mester, Fabio Mechetti and Thomas Wilkins. His symphonic arrangements have been performed by almost every leading orchestra in the U.S. A diverse sampling of individuals who have performed Stephenson's works would include Pinchas Zukerman, Denyce Graves, Jennifer Frautschi, the Chicago Symphony String Quartet, Empire Brass members Marc Reese, Mark Hetzler and Greg Miller, and even the Pointer Sisters and 98 Degrees. Stephenson's music appears on many artists' recordings, including those of Jouko Harjanne, Eric Berlin, Richard Watson, the Christy Quartet, Musicians-out-of-the-Box and his own, Colors, released in 2002.

Stephenson's commitment to music for young audiences resulted in his landmark educational work: Compose Yourself! This interactive and informative introduction to the symphony orchestra has been performed over 125 times nationwide since its 2002 premiere.

Increasingly in demand for his passionate work with young musicians, Stephenson has appeared as resident composer at many festivals, including the Las Vegas Music Festival, the Southern Illinois Music Festival, and most recently he was featured at Lynn University's Contemporary Music Festival in Boca Raton, FL and the St. Barts (French West Indies) Music Festival. A similar highlight of 2007 involves three brass conferences in three weeks, one of which being ITG's National Conference, including two world premieres, and a showcase of Stephenson's brass compositions.

Stephenson studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he earned his Bachelor of Music with distinction in trumpet performance. His wife, Sally, is a performing violinist, and they have four children.

Judith Ingolfsson

Since winning the 1998 Gold Medal of the prestigious International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, Judith Ingolfsson has established herself world-wide as an artist of uncompromising musical maturity, extraordinary technical command and charismatic performance style.

A native of Iceland, Judith Ingolfsson made her debut as orchestral soloist in Germany, at the age of eight. In the United States, she has been heard with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra and The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, as well as the orchestras of Austin, Binghamton, Dayton, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lexington, Louisville, Memphis, New Haven, Omaha, Pacific, San Diego, San Juan, South Carolina, Vermont, Victoria, West Virginia and Wichita; and she has collaborated with many of the acclaimed maestri of our time, including Jesus López-Cobos, Raymond Leppard, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Gerard Schwarz and Leonard Slatkin. Ms. Ingolfsson was also heard as soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra on its 2000 15-city North American tour, highlighted by a performance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, while, abroad, her engagements have included Germany’s Neubrandenburg Philharmonie, the Czech Republic’s Bohemian Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, Russia’s Saratov Philharmonic, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Tokyo and Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, with which she recorded the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto for the orchestra’s BPO Live label.

Highlights of Judith Ingolfsson’s current season include a return engagement with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, performances with the Boulder and Santa Maria philharmonic orchestras, the Bakersfield, Bozeman, Kenosha, Longmont and Roswell symphony orchestras and the New England String Ensemble, as well as a recital at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

Judith Ingolfsson’s recital performances have taken her throughout the United States and around the world: National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, Cleveland Institute of Music, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, Reykjavík Arts Festival, Pro Arte Musicale of Puerto Rico, La Asociación Nacional de Conciertos de Panamá, Macao Cultural Center and Tokyo Metropolitan Art Center. With pianist Vladimir Stoupel, she has performed in Germany, Italy and on Brooklyn’s famed Bargemusic series. An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with the Avalon and Miami String Quartets and the Broyhill Chamber Ensemble, and has appeared, both on tour and at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ Alice Tully Hall, with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two. Her festival appearances include the Appalachian Summer Festival, Boulder Bach Festival, Cape and Islands Chamber Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, Finland’s Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Germany’s Bodensee Festival, Switzerland’s Menuhin Festival and the Orlando Festival in The Netherlands.

Judith Ingolfsson has frequently appeared on radio and television broadcasts, beginning with a performance on Icelandic TV at the age of five. Since then, she has been seen on PBS, "CBS Sunday Morning" and Japan’s National Broadcasting Company (NHK). In 1999, National Public Radio’s "Performance Today" named her "Debut Artist of the Year" for her "remarkable intelligence, musicality, and sense of insight." She is also the recipient of the 2001 Chamber Music America/WQXR Record Award for her debut CD for Catalpa Classics, featuring a varied program ranging from Bach to Ned Rorem.

At the age of 14, Judith Ingolfsson was admitted to The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she pursued studies with the legendary violinist and pedagogue Jascha Brodsky. She went on to earn her Master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of David Cerone, and continued her graduate studies at the same institution while working with Donald Weilerstein. Prior to her triumph at the Indianapolis Competition, Ms. Ingolfsson, who began violin studies at the age of three, was a prize-winner at the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York City and the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy.

Debbie Gravitte

Debbie’s varied career has taken her from the Broadway Stage to the Symphony Hall and points between. She won the prestigious TONY AWARD for Best Featured Actress In A Musical for JEROME ROBBINS’ BROADWAY, along with a Drama Desk Award Nomination and New York Showstopper Award. After making her Broadway debut in the original cast of THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG, she went on to appear in: PERFECTLY FRANK (DRAMA DESK AWARD NOMINATION), BLUES IN THE NIGHT, AIN’T BROADWAY GRAND, ZORBA, CHICAGO, and LES MISERABLES.   Debbie has appeared in the ENCORE’S series productions of THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, TENDERLOIN, and CARNIVAL at New York’s CITY CENTER.

Debbie has performed her nightclub act worldwide, from New York’s RAINBOW AND STARS, to London’s PIZZA ON THE PARK, and back home again to Atlantic City, where she’s had the honor to perform with JAY LENO, HARRY ANDERSON, and the legendary GEORGE BURNS.

She has sung with numerous symphony orchestras including the NATIONAL SYMPHONY (WITH MARVIN HAMLISH), THE BOSTON POPS, PETER NERO AND THE PHILLY POPS, ATLANTA SYMPHONY,CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA, PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY, UTAH SYMPHONY, ST. LOUIS, HOUSTON and SAN DIEGO SYMPHONIES. Overseas, Debbie has sung with the LONDON, AALBORG AND BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS, STOCKHOLM PHILHARMONIC, the GOTESBORG and JERUSALEM SYMPHONIES, MUNICH PHILHARMONIC, the ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA and  SYMPHONICA OF BRAZIL.  In May, she will perform with the Hong Hong Philharmonic in The 3 Broadway Divas.

On television, Debbie co-starred on the CBS series TRIAL AND ERROR, was seen on NBC’S PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, and has starred in several specials for PBS, including LIVE FROM THE KENNEDY CENTER, THE BOSTON POPS CELEBRATE BERNSTEIN, RODGERS AND HART for GREAT PERFORMANCES, and IRA GERSHWIN’S 100th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION from  London’s ROYAL ALBERT HALL as well as CARNEGIE HALL. Recently, she returned to CARNEGIE HALL with SKITCH HENDERSON and THE NY POPS.

Debbie recently released her latest CD: DEFYING GRAVITY, follow-up to THE MGM ALBUM, and PART OF YOUR WORLD, THE MUSIC OF ALAN MENKEN. Her other recordings include: CALAMITY JANE, UNSUNG SONDHEIM, LUCKY STIFF, MISS SPECTACULAR., LOUISIANA PURCHASE, A BROADWAY CHRISTMAS, as well as MACK AND MABEL IN CONCERT among others.

Debbie recently debuted with the NEW YORK CITY BALLET singing in PETER MARTIN’S “THOU SWELL” at LINCOLN CENTER. She appeared with BETTE MIDLER in the Universal Feature, ISN’T SHE GREAT?, and can be heard as one of the voices in DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID. Debbie is the proud and tired mother of three beautiful children.

Michael Hall

Celebrating his inaugural season as Music Director of the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, Michael Hall is an acclaimed and commanding presence on the podium. His current season also includes a return to the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and a debut with the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra, as well as his continuing in a third season as Associate Conductor of Orange County’s Pacific Symphony, where he leads all of the orchestra’s “Family Music Mornings.”

Michael Hall has made numerous guest appearances with some of the finest ensembles of North America, among them the symphony orchestras of Houston, Southwest Florida, Toledo, Tucson, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Windsor and Okanagan, as well as the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. While still an undergraduate, he held the positions of Music Director of the Dundas Symphony Orchestra and assistant Conductor of the Oakville Symphony Orchestra. In the United Kingdom, Mr. Hall conducted the Hammersmith and Havant Symphony Orchestras, serving the latter as Associate Conductor for the 1998-1999 season. His career has led him to work with a diverse range of soloists, from Angela Hewitt to Anne Murray.  

A native of Canada, Michael Hall pursued post-graduate studies at London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Music, where he worked with Sir Colin Davis, Mark Wigglesworth, George Hurst and Yuri Temirkanov, and was the recipient of a number of scholarship prizes. He also holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto and a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Gustav Meier. Mr. Hall was a finalist in the 2003 International Conducting Competition in Besançon, France and was awarded Third Prize in the 2004 Cadaques Orchestra International Conducting Competition in Spain.

From 1999 to 2002, Michael Hall served as Resident Conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. His performances have been recorded by CBC Radio and heard throughout Canada. In 2001, he appeared with the orchestra in the BRAVO television series Whole Notes, hosted by renowned pianist Jon Kimura Parker.

Michael Hall is dedicated to encouraging the growth and success of younger musicians and is currently Music Director of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra. In Winnipeg, he served as Conductor of both the Winnipeg Youth Symphony Orchestra and the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Hall is a resourceful educator and is the author of all the Pacific Symphony Orchestra’s “Family Musical Mornings” scripts, based on his original concepts.

Jesse MacDonald

Jesse Macdonald has studied the violin since the age of 4. As a 14 year old, he now studies with Carrie Krause, Concertmaster of the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra.  He previously studied with Dr. Javier Pinell, Professor of Music in Laramie, Wyoming, and instructor at Interlochen Music Festival. 

In March 2005, Jesse received a Superior Rating in Young Artist Competition in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  In May of the same year, Jesse won the Young Artist Competition, in southern Oregon and was invited to perform as a Guest Soloist.    He was a Gold Medal winner at Musicfest Northwest, in Spokane, Washington in April 2006.  Then in March 2007, he was the winner of the 2007 Montana Association of Symphony Orchestras competition, Junior Division.  He received a cash award and is scheduled to perform as a soloist with the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra in December 2007.

He performs with the Symphony I Orchestra and Kamerata (most advanced ensemble) at Bozeman High School, and was invited to perform with them as an 8th grader.  He was recently invited to be a part of the All-Northwest Orchestra which performed in Portland, Oregon. 

Jesse is first violin in a quartet that he formed 2 years ago which is much in demand at many functions.   He is also a member of Allegro Quartet that has been together 2 years. 

He attended Interlochen Music Festival in 2005 and 2006, and was appointed Associate Concertmaster of the Intermediate Symphony Orchestra. 

Jesse was recently invited to participate in a Master Class with Midori.  For 4 years, he has also been a fiddler in the Broken String Band that plays for many dances, and he has enjoyed studying regional folk music from Mexico.

Helene Werner

 Helene Werner is both a cellist and pianist and is privileged to study with three wonderful teachers, cellist Richard Aaron with the University of Michigan and the Juilliard, School, pianist Brian Johnson, and eurhythmics instructor David Brown with the Cleveland Institute of Music.  As well, she is a distinguished participant in the Royal Conservatory of Music's piano program.

     Helene performs regularly as a soloist and as a member of the Werner Cello Quartet with siblings, Lucien, Mariel, and Andree.  On December 13, 2007, the quartet's performance of the Boccherini Sonata in A Major will be aired on National Public Radio's program “From The Top”.  As First Prize recipient in the Senior Division of the Montana Association of Symphony Orchestra's 2007 Young Artist Competition, Helene was invited to perform as a soloist with the Great Falls Symphony Orchestra and in upcoming concerts with the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra.

     During the summer of 2006, Helene attended two international music festivals at La Ferme de Villefavard in the Limousin region of France and Peter de Grote Festival in northern Holland.  Along with the Werner Cello Quartet and a dynamic group of musicians from across Europe and Asia, Helene participated in masterclasses with acclaimed faculty from the Conservatoire de Paris and the Prince Claus Conservatoire.  This past summer, Helene and The Werner Cello Quartet  toured and performed in Spain, France, and Italy, and worked with Wolfgang Lehner of the Kronberg Academy, Michel Strauss of the Paris Conservatoire, and Spanish cellist Lluis Claret.

     It is Helene's honor to be invited to perform on this concert with the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra.   

Ashlee Young

Ashlee began her piano study at the age of 4 in Southern California and continued studying with various teachers after her move to Nevada.  In 2001 she came to Montana where she attended high school and studied with Kathleen Guehlstorff.  In 2005 she auditioned and was accepted into the music department at Montana State University-Billings.  She then began her study with her current teacher, Professor Dorothea Cromley.

Throughout her career, Ashlee has been an active performer appearing in many recitals, festivals and competitions.  In November of 2001, she won the state Music Teachers National Association competition in the junior division in Nevada.  Most recently, in 2006 she traveled to Los Angeles to compete in the International Franz Liszt Competition where she received honorable mention.  She was the winner of the Montana Association of Symphony Orchestras Competition in January of 2007. She appeared with the Great Falls Symphony in March of 2007 billed on the same program as world renowned violinist, Midori.  In addition to this performance, she appeared with the Billings Symphony Orchestra in November of 2007.  Also in November of 2007, she will be competing in the State Music Teacher’s National Association Competition. 
         
Ashlee intends to pursue a career as a concert pianist and devotes most of her time to the piano.  She is excited and honored to be appearing as a soloist with the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra. 

Scott Kluksdahl

A native of California, cellist Scott Kluksdahl made his debut with The San Francisco Symphony, and has been heard since as orchestral soloist, recitalist and chamber musician in major metropolitan centers throughout the United States, Europe, Israel and Latin America.

In addition to The San Francisco Symphony, Scott Kluksdahl has appeared as guest soloist with the orchestras of Asheville, Marin, Omaha, Richmond (Indiana) and Tampa Bay as well as Bulgaria’s Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra and Colombia’s Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá. He gave the premiere performances of Augusta Read Thomas’ Passion Prayers with the Chicago Contemporary Players and the Philadelphia Network for New Music, with whom he subsequently recorded the work, performed Ralph Shapey’s Double Concerto for Cello, Piano and Orchestra with Florence Millet at the Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards, and presented the world premiere of James Lewis’ Doubles Singles Variables. Israel’s Hed Music Center featured Mr. Kluksdahl in premieres of Hanoch Jacoby’s King David’s Lyre, Oedeon Partos’ Yzkor and Mourning Music and Tzvi Avni’s Khaddish, all for cello and orchestra.

Jeanne Stark-Iochmans

Jeanne Stark-Iochmans graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and received the Conservatory's Prix de Virtuosite avec Grande Distinction.  Born in Belgium, Ms. Stark-Iochmans won the Laure Van Cutsem Prize, appeared as soloist with her country's national orchestra and was selected to represent Belgium at an international festival of modern music in Bayreuth.

An International Queen Elisabeth scholarship brought Ms. Stark-Iochmans to the United States for advanced study with Mieczyslaw Horszowski and Edwine Behre. Since that time, she has appeared in France, Canada, Mexico and Belgium. Following her debut in New York's Carnegie Hall, Ms. Stark-Iochmans has performed with the New Haven Symphony, with the Boston Civic Orchestra, in Town Hall and on WNYC in New York .  Ms. Stark-Iochmans has performed extensively with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, including a performance of Messiaen's Turangalila with Kent Nagano conducting.

In 1985, she performed a solo recital program at Carnegie Recital Hall and gave recitals at Alice Tully Hall in 1988 and 1992, both under the auspices of Today's Artists Concerts.  In 1996, she performed Bach's Goldberg Variations at Alice Tully Hall, under the auspices of Four Seasons Concerts. In 1998, Ms. Stark-Iochmans performed at the University of Istanbul in Turkey.

She can be heard on Arch Record's label in Debussy's Preludes, Books I and II. Her CD recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations and of the Last Three Sonatas of Beethoven are available at Tower Records. In October 2001, Ms. Stark-Iochmans gave her Carnegie Hall debut recital under the auspices of Four Seasons Concerts.

Ian Hobson

British-born Ian Hobson is a musician of tremendous versatility who has earned a worldwide reputation as a pianist, conductor and teacher. A finalist in the 1977 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, he later took silver medals at the Artur Rubinstein and the Beethoven International Competitions. His international career as a pianist was launched in 1981 when he won First Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition.

Hobson's training as a conductor began at Yale University where he worked with Otto Werner-Mueller. Subsequent studies with Gustav Meier, Daniel Lewis, Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa and Andre Previn took place at Aspen and at Tanglewood.  Lorin Maazel twice invited Hobson to conduct the Cleveland Orchestra for their Young Conductors' Symposia.

Founder and Music Director of Sinfonia da Camera since 1984, Mr. Hobson most recently  conducted Sinfonia Varsovia at Carnegie Hall with Ewa Podles as soloist in Karol Szymanowski's "Three Songs" as well as Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony and Chopin's second piano concerto, conducted and played by Ian Hobson from the keyboard. He has also appeared as guest conductor with the Sinfonia Varsovia, Romanian National Radio Orchestra, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Albanian Radio-Television Orchestra, Santa Rosa Symphony, Fresno Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra, Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Nebraska Chamber Orchestra, Pomeranian Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony and the Illinois Opera Theatre.  Hobson's recordings as conductor or pianist/conductor include repertoire by Falla and Ravel, Ignaz Moscheles, Mendelssohn, Francaix, Milhaud, Saint Saëns, Walton, Sousa, Quincy Porter, and Gillis to name but a few of the releases found in his more than 30 CD discography on the Arabesque, Zephyr, Albany, BMG/Catalyst, EMI, and Hyperion labels. Current recording projects include all of the piano music of Chopin, solo and with orchestra, all of the Rachmaninoff Concertos for Piano which Hobson conducts from the keyboard, and more American music by Gillis.

Hobson has made solo appearances at New York's Mostly Mozart Festival, the Bard Music Festival, and throughout the US, Europe and the Far East. He has performed at Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra and on the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center.  Major orchestras of the world with which he has appeared include the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Scottish National, Royal Liverpool, Halle, ORD-Vienna, Das Orchester der Beethovenhalle, Israel Sinfonietta, New Zealand Symphony, Sinfonia Varsovia, and the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, Baltimore, Indianapolis and Houston.

Ian Hobson is a Swanlund Endowed Professor of Music and professor in the Center for Advanced Study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Hobson is a much sought-after judge for both national and international competitions, including serving as a juror for the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1997. In September 2006, Mr. Hobson returned to the Leeds International Piano Competition as a juror, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his own first prize win at the Competition in 1981.

Joseph Gramley

Multi-percussionist Joseph Gramley's dynamic and exciting performances as a soloist have garnered critical acclaim and enthusiasm from emerging composers, percussion aficionados and first-time concert-goers alike. He is committed to bringing fresh and inventive compositions to a broad public,and each year he commissions and premieres a number of new works. His first solo recording, American Deconstruction, an expert rendition of five milestone works in multi-percussion's huge new modern repertoire, appeared in 2000 and was reissued in 2006. His second, Global Percussion, was released in 2005.

An invitation from Yo-Yo Ma in 2000 led Gramley to join Mr. Ma's Silk Road Ensemble. In addition to participating in the group's extended residencies in American cities, Gramley has toured with Mr. Ma and the Ensemble throughout North America, Europe and Asia, performing in the world's finest concert halls. Along the way, Gramley has studied percussion styles and instruments from around the globe, collaborating with internationally-renowned musicians from India, Iran, China, Japan, Korea and Central Asia. He has also appeared on three top-selling albums with Yo-Yo Ma on the SonyBMG label.

In addition to his solo and Silk Road work, as well as his frequent appearances with chamber groups and orchestras, Gramley performs with the acclaimed British organist Clive Driskill-Smith in the duo Organized Rhythm. The pair's first recording, Beaming Music, will be issued late in 2007.

Joseph Gramley has performed with: the Metropolitan Opera (on stage with Placido Domingo), Pierre-Laurent Aimard (US tour), Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (soloist), Seattle Symphony, Orchestre de Lyon, Dawn Upshaw (US tour), David Robertson (Carnegie Hall), Spoleto Festival (soloist), Martha Graham Dance Company, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, New York City Ballet, Glen Velez (US tour), Keiko Abe (PASIC), Aretha Franklin, Elton John (at Radio City Music Hall and on worldwide TV and DVD), Kayhan Kalhor, Alim Qasimov, Wu Tong, Sandeep Das and numerous others.

Born in 1970, Gramley grew up in Oregon and was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts while a senior at the Interlochen Arts Academy in 1988. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Michigan where he was a student of Michael Udow and Salvatore Rabbio and also attended the Tanglewood Institute and Salzburg Mozarteum.

Gramley made his concerto debut with the Houston Symphony Orchestra after winning their National Soloist Competition, and made his solo debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in 1994. After graduate studies at the Juilliard School in New York, he performed and recorded with the Ethos Percussion Group throughout the U. S. and Europe.

Maureen O'Flynn

Acclaimed performing and recording artist Maureen O'Flynn garners enthusiastic praise from critics, peers and audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.  Of a recent opening night performance of Romeo et Juiliette at the Metropolitan Opera house, the New York Times says the soprano “won a deserved ovation from the audience” and Variety exclaims “...not only a superb technician, with the full coloratura arsenal at her disposal, but a sensitive interpreter...” As one of Musical America’s coveted “Artists to Watch,” Ms. O'Flynn is also regarded as one of the finest interpreters of the role of Gilda in Rigoletto.  She performed the role with the Metropolitan Opera under the baton of Plácido Domingo, Arena di Verona, Covent Garden, La Fenice, Genoa, Italy, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, San Carlo, Naples, Houston Grand Opera, San Diego Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, New Israeli Opera, the Israel Philharmonic, and debuted with Dallas Opera, winning the company's Callas Award as “Outstanding New Artist of the Year.”  Likewise, as a renowned Nanetta in Falstaff, she made her La Scala debut in a performance conducted by Riccardo Muti, which was recorded on SONY. Ms. O’Flynn has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera several times as Violetta in La Traviata, a role she has also performed with the Hamburg Staatsoper, at the Palacio Festivales in Santander, Spain, Portland Opera, and with the Dallas Symphony.

Upcoming, she will perform Micaela in Carmen with Portland Opera, , Gilda in Rigoletto with Arizona Opera, Juliette in Romeo et Juliette with L'Opera de Montreal, and Leila in The Pearl Fishers with Florida Grand Opera. Most recent engagements in the 2006-2007 Season included Juliette in Romeo and Juliette at the Metropolitan Opera, Amina in La Sonnambula with Teatro Cervantes, Elena in Donna del Lago with Minnesota Opera, Marguerite in Faust with Portland Opera, Pat Nixon in Nixon in China with Cincinnati Opera, and Mimi in La boheme with the Minnesota Orchestra.

Other recent noted performances include Violetta in La Traviata at the MET Opera in the Parks and Opera Company of Philadelphia, Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow with Minnesota Opera, Amina in La Sonnambula at the Opera de la Coruna and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Santander Festival both in Spain, I Puritani at the Deutche Oper Berlin, Konstanze in Abduction from the Seraglio with Opera Omaha, the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor in Trieste, Tokyo and with Florida Grand Opera, 3 heroines in The Tales of Hoffmann at Calgary Opera, Leila in The Pearl Fishers with the Michigan Opera Theatre, Micaela in Carmen with the Metropolitan Opera, the Soprano Soloist in Vaughn Williams A Sea Symphony with the Milwaukee Symphony, and Ravel's Scheherezade with the Bozeman Symphony.

In the U.S. and abroad, Ms. O’Flynn enjoys tremendous acclaim and relationships with houses including La Scala, Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera,  Opéra de Lyon,, Genoa, Italy, Vienna Staatsoper, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Portland Opera, Opera Colorado, the Minnesota Opera, and Cincinnati Opera, and with the Washington Concert Opera, Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, Teatro Comunale in Florence, and Bologna's Teatro Comunale.

She made her New York City recital debut at Carnegie Hall, as well as recitals for the Wexford Festival and the Richard Tucker Gala Concert at Avery Fisher Hall, which is broadcast nationally on PBS and has an all-star cast including Barbara Dever, Denyce Graves, Jerry Hadley and Samuel Ramey for concert performances of Grand Opera's Greatest Hits with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, as well as Broadways Greatest Hits with Jerry Hadley with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Broadway great Paul Gemignani. She has also appeared in a gala concert with Nicola Ghiaurov, conducted by Riccardo Muti and has appeared as the honored soloist for the televised Christmas Midnight Mass at New York City's famed St. Patrick's Cathedral Additional working in this repertoire include Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 with the Orchestra 2001 in Philadelphia, Rossini Stabat Mater with the Tokyo Shinsei Symphony, Amenaide in Tancredi at Carnegie Hall with the Opera Orchestra of New York, Mahler's Symphony No. 4 and Mozart's Exultate, Jubilate!, Mass in C, Coronation Mass and Requiem Mass; Fauré's Requiem and Handel's Alexander's Feast, Judas Maccabeus and Psalm 112.   She has been awarded prizes by two of opera's most prestigious organizations, the Richard Tucker Foundation Grant and the Opera Index First Prize.

Stephen Bryant

Bass-baritone Stephen Bryant’s distinguished career in concert and opera has taken him around the world, with acclaimed performances in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Of his performance in the title role of Giulio Cesare, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote “Stephen Bryant sings Caesar’s music with a solid baritone sound that contains enough metal (and mettle) to suggest the strength of a great warrior.”

Season 07/08 brings a slew of oratorio performances. He sings Messiah with the Pensacola Symphony and the Eugene Concert Choir, and the Mozart Requiem with Princeton Pro Musica. He is also scheduled to perform Mahler 8th Symphony with Canterbury Choral Society and will be heard with the Bozeman Symphony and Pioneer Valley Symphony this season.

Mr. Bryant has sung with the New York City Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, the Indianapolis Opera, and other companies of renown. In performance with major orchestras from The New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra, to the Israel Philharmonic and Japan Philharmonic, Bryant has delighted audiences with a repertoire spanning from Mozart and Verdi to Virgil Thomson and Stewart Wallace.

“Bryant stormed the heavens with his large and commanding instrument,” said New York Newsday of his performance in Handel’s Messiah. His numerous appearances in Handel’s Messiah include collaborations with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Musica Sacra at Carnegie Hall.

The Bass-baritone’s frequent performances of Mendelssohn’s Elijah include appearances with the New York Philharmonic under Maestro Kurt Masur, and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Mr. Bryant’s repertoire extends from Bach and Handel to today’s most prominent composers including Tan Dun. In standard repertoire, the Bass-baritone has performed Colline in La bohème (Indianapolis Opera), Leporello in Don Giovanni (Mobile Opera), Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte (Berkshire Opera), Escamillo in Carmen (Opera North), Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro (Madison Opera), the Bonze in Madama Butterfly (San Francisco Opera), and Capulet in Roméo et Juliette at (Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Michigan Opera Theatre, and Chautauqua Opera). He will be performing the role this fall with Toledo Opera as well.  Additionally, Bryant has performed roles in a number of contemporary operas including Robert Gonzales in Stewart Wallace’s Harvey Milk (San Francisco Opera and New York City Opera), George Milton in Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men (Arizona Opera), Indiana Elliot’s brother in Virgil Thomson’s The Mother of Us All (Santa Fe Opera), and covered Claggart in Britten’s Billy Budd (San Francisco Opera).

A premiere interpreter of the works of Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun, Bryant created the role of Dante in the world premiere of the opera Marco Polo.  He reprised the role at London’s Barbicon Center for a performance broadcast by the BBC. Numerous other performances include appearances at the Munich Biennale, the Holland Festival in Amsterdam, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, New York City Opera, the Japan Philharmonic in Tokyo, Settembre Musica in Torino, Italy, and at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in Scotland. The Times of London referred to the “ . . . unearthly overtone singing, brilliantly accomplished by Stephen Bryant.”

Stephen holds a Bachelor’s from Oberlin and a Master’s from the University of Michigan.  On the voice faculty at William Paterson University, he lives in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife Caryl, and their two sons, David and Andrew.

Dr. Z. Randall Stroope

Z. Randall Stroope is widely known as a conductor, lecturer, and composer. He is the Artistic Director of a summer music festival in England, and frequently conducts in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Washington National Cathedral and other well-known venues in the United States.

Dr. Stroope conducted orchestral and choral concerts last summer in Vienna and Salzburg as part of those cities' 250th Celebration of Mozart's birth. Additional guest conducting included the American School in Singapore and music festivals in New York, Texas, Florida, Utah, Illinois, Oregon, Kansas, California, Michigan, and Virginia.  He conducted the Vancouver Symphony last season in a concert titled "A Night at the Opera."

Ensembles under Stroope's direction have taken 35 national tours and 15 international tours, including China, Japan, Russia, Sweden, the Baltics, Finland, central Europe, England, Canada and South Africa. His next tour abroad is to Italy in 2008. 

Dr. Stroope studied composition with Cecil Effinger and Normand Lockwood, both students of Nadia Boulanger (who was a student of Gabriel Faure). Stroope has published 90 musical works, and has sold over a million and a half copies of music. Of his twelve recorded compact discs - three are of his own music, titled Passages I, II & III: The Choral Music of Z. Randall Stroope.

Z. Randall Stroope is Director of Choral Studies at the prestigious Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, where he directs the RU Concert Choir, Women's Chorus, choral arranging, and conducting.  His  wife, Cheryl,  is a middle school choral music teacher in the area.