Youth Arts Center Dance Faculty______________________________________________

Andrew Acquista, Accompanist: BM in Education with a concentration in Percussion from CSU Humboldt and an MM in Performance with a concentration in Percussion from CSU Long Beach with extensive studies in percussion from community to university settings. He has studied all forms of percussion including conga drums, hand percussion, Brazilian percussion, Ghanian music, Djembe and Doun, drum set, vibraphone, steel drum, Mbira as well as orchestral percussion. He has studied with teachers such as Michael Spiro in Afro-Cuban music, Mark Lamson, a Brazilian music specialist, Randy Drake, Brad Dutz, C.K. Ladzeko, Lansana Kouyate, Eugene Novotney, Michael Carney, Ray Holmon, and Michael Cox. Recent performance include an appearance with the Neophonic Orchestra-Jazz Institiute, Santa Monica City College Folkloric Dance Showcase, his Master’s Recital, as well as performances with the salsa big band, Orchestra La Fiebre. He is lead drummer for the West African dance classes and accompanist for modern classes at Santa Monica City College, as well as lead drummer for West African Dance classes and accompanist for modern dance classes at CSULB.

Deborah Brockus, Jazz and Modern Instructor: BFA in dance education and performance from the University of California at Irvine. She has been a television and movie performer and danced with numerous contemporary companies including Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Theater. She is on faculty of the Idyllwild Arts Academy, Huntington Academy and California Conservatory of the Arts. Ms. Brockus is the artistic director of the Brockus Project, a modern-jazz dance company. She is the producer for a concert series in Los Angeles called Spectrum. Her choreographies have been on national television and in films. She has been a guest teacher in France and Italy. This is her sixth season as a faculty member of the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program.

Ron Brown, African and Modern Instructor: began training in Classical Ballet studying at the Ballet Russe of Cleveland, the Akron Chamber Ballet, the School of American Ballet. Later, he explored the modern dance discipline of Jose Limon, Martha Graham and Lester Horton. Presently Ronald has found the joy of movement in West African Dance under the guidance of Nzingha Camara. His professional credits include performing with such notable companies as the Alvin Alley American Dance Theater, Alvin Alley II, Dianne McIntyre’s Sounds In Motion, UCLA Dance Company, JazzAntigua and Malathi Iyengar & Rangoli Dance Company. He has taught extensively throughout the United States at Interlochen Arts Academy, Brown University, Illinois State University, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles County High School for the Performing Arts, Crossroads School for the Arts & Sciences and the Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Theater, and the Dance Connection Academy. Internationally, Ronald has conducted workshops in Finland, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, Brazil and Spain. He has served as Associate Adjunct Professor of Dance in the Dept. of World Arts & Cultures at UCLA for fifteen years. He has received nominations for the Lestor Horton Teacher of the Year Award. For two years Ronald has resided in Manaus Amazonas, Brazil as instructor for the Secretaria de Estado da Cultura e Tourismo. Ronald is currently on faculty with the California State University Long Beach Dance Department, Santa Monica College Dance Department and the Idyllwild Arts Academy Dance department.

Leigh Anne Gillespie, Accompanist: teaches in the Music and Theatre Departments for the Idyllwild Arts Academy. She holds an MFA in Electronic Music from Mills College, a BM in Piano Performance from George Mason University, and has studied piano with Dean Sanders at the University of Illinois. She has worked with many well-known dance teachers and choreographers, accompanying daily classes, master classes and performances for companies and schools such as the Joffrey Ballet, the Eliot Feld Ballets, the Martha Graham Company, the Marylans Youth Ballet and the Washington Ballet. Her compositions and video/multimedia art works have been presented at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Mills College, CSU Los Angeles, and the CEIAT Festival at California Institute of the Arts.

Sean Greene, Modern and Choreography Instructor: Mr. Greene has choreographed for Kuala Lumpur Dance Theater, Laban Theatre in London, Village Theater, Irvin Barclay Theatre, Walman Theater, and Modular Theater. He has worked in various capacities for such groups as Transitions Dance Company in London, Laban Centre for Movement and Dance, Orange Coast College, Phoenix Dance Company, University of New Mexico, University of California, Irvine, and the California State Summer School for the Arts. He has instructedat the University of California, Irvine, University of New Mexico, Idyllwild Arts Academy, California State University Summer Arts Program, Loyola Marymount University and the California Institute of the Arts. He was a company member, principal dancer and master teacher for the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company. Currently he teaches for the California Conservatory of the Arts and is a lectures at Chapman University.

Denise Leitner, Jazz Instructor: born and raised in Los Angeles, startdr her dance training at age 3. As a serious Ballet student she received her training from Stephen Wenta, Stanley Holden and Margaret Hills. After her studies at the Royal Ballet School in London, she returned home and discovered her love for jazz and contemporary dance. She became assistant to master teachers and choreographers including Hama, Ben Lokey and Joe Bennett. Denise has choreographed across the globe for stage, screen, television and music videos. She travels throughout the United States teaching and choreographing for regional companies. She is currently working on a project for Columbia Pictures as a movement consultant. She has trained numerous dancers who have gone on to work in all entertainment mediums and she is a private coach to many celebrities including Kate Hudson, Topher Grace and Riley Keough. Her company, Dancer’s Voice was founded in 1993 and has been critically acclaimed by the Los Angeles Times and continues to perform for dance festivals throughout the country. Currently a faculty member at Edge Performing Arts Center, Denise works intensely with the scholarship students. She is a member of the judging panel as well as a contributing choreographer for the scholarship concert. She is also a faculty member at Loyola Marymount University where she just completed a commission for their faculty concert. Other faculty positions include CSSA, Maui Performing Arts Academy, The Santa Monica Dance Studio and adjudicator for The Great Canadian Dance Festival. Denise has been invited to conduct a jazz intensive in Zurich, Switzerland in the coming year.

Ellen Rosa, Ballet and Pointe Instructor: Currently a freelance dance artist based in Los Angeles. She received her BS in Ballet from Indiana University and her MFA in Dance from Florida State University where she received the Dean’s Teaching Fellowship and a University Fellowship. Miss Rosa recently performed as principal dancer with the Los Angeles and New York City Opera. She has also performed with the San Diego Opera, Charleston Ballet Theater, Russian Ballet Theater of Delaware, and as principal dancer with the Chattanooga Ballet. In Los Angeles she has performed as principal artist with the Media City Ballet, City Ballet of Los Angeles, and LaDanserie, and has also performed as the Bluebird in Disney’s Snow White, An Enchanting Musical. As a choreographer she has had her works performed nationally and was recently a finalist in the Dance Under the Stars choreography competition. As a dance educator, Miss Rosa is currently on faculty at the Idyllwild Arts Academy, Moorpark College and east Los Angeles College.

Jonathan Sharp, Ballet Instructor: received dance training at the School of American Ballet. Most recently he performed as principal dancer with the Los Angeles and San Francisco Opera. Mr. Sharp has also danced with the Boston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and is an International Guest Star. His other stage credits include the original Broadway cast of The Red Shoes, the Tony Award winning revival of Carousel, The Rocky Horror Show Live, The Dance of the Vampires, and the revival of Fiddler on the Roof. Television credits include guest starring roles on the Gilmore Girls, Law and Order-SVU, Jack and Jill, The Cosby Mysteries, and two years on Another World. As a choreographer he has presented works internationally and as a dance educator he is currently on the faculty of California Dance theater, The Edge Performing Arts Center, and Bobbie’s School of Performing Arts.

Kenji Yamaguchi, Modern, Ballet & Jazz Instructor: a graduate of Cal Arts. He is on the faculty at Millennium Dance Complex, Homas Dance Center, Cerritos College, Pomona College, Okada Ballet, and Cal Arts Summer Program. He won first prize at the Youth American Grand Prix Semi-Final for Choreography. He has performed as a gymnast in Japan, as a dancer in the New York International Fringe Festival, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, with KIN Dance Company, Praxis Project, La Danserie. He also took first prize as a dancer at the Palm Desert Dance Under the Stars Festival.

Youth Arts Center Music Faculty______________________________________________

Robert Allen, trumpet: MM in Performance, University of Southern California, BA, California State University, Long Beach. Freelance musician in Los Angeles and Orange County. Mr. Allen currently teaches trumpet at Long Beach City College as well as having an extensive private studio in the Orange County area. Principal teachers include Roy Poper, George Graham and David Evans.

Allison Allport, harp: Upon earning her doctorate of musical arts the May in harp performance, music education, instrumental conducting and orchestration, Allison Allport was named the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music string department’s Outstanding Graduate. Allison earned her Bachelor’s and master’s degrees at USC as well, where her education was funded by a full scholarship for music and academics. Allison has received awards from the Pasadena Fine Arts Club, Sigma Alpha Iota, Pi Kappa Lambda, American Harp Society, Young Musicians Foundation and was the first place winner in the junior division of the American String Teacher’s Association National Solo Competition. She was also invited to present a solo recital at the World Harp Congress in Prague. Allison performs with many orchestras including Pasadena Symphony, Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, Long Beach Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and New World Symphony. Concerto appearances include Colburn Chamber Orchestra, USC Thornton Chamber Orchestra, Young Musicians Foundation Debt Orchestra and the Long Beach Bach Festival. Allison maintains a busy freelancing career and enjoys balancing symphony concerts, solo appearances, studio work, chamber music and teaching.

Doug Ashcraft has performed throughout the United States and Europe in venues that include Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, and Jacqueline Du Pre Hall at Oxford University in England. He has won prizes in many competitions including the Young Keyboard Artists Association, Music Teacher’s National Association, and the American pianists Association. He completed his masters and doctoral degrees at the University of Southern California working with pianist John Perry. He has participated in the Aspen Music School and the Holland Music Sessions in Alkmaar, Netherlands. He has been a member of the Idyllwild Arts Academy faculty since 1995.

Shalom Bard, clarinet: When Zubin Mehta invited him to play as an Acting Principal Clarinetist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Shalom Bard was already becoming a rising star in the music world. He has clarinet performance degrees from the University of Toronto and the University of Southern California. The two-time Chalmers Award Winner has collaborated with some of Canada’s leading ensembles and orchestras. He has played as a soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra, and has performed in concert with the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the Penderecki String Quartet, the Duke Trio, the Art of Time Ensemble and the Queen of Puddings Music Company, Canada’s leading contemporary opera music company. Shalom Bard is a member of the Glenn Gould Professional School and the Community School at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

Fredric Beerstein, oboe: Former principal oboist of the Bakersfield Symphony and Chamber Orchestra. Performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, California Chamber Symphony, Pacific Symphony and the Texas Festival Orchestra at Round Top. Served as a Fellow to the Aspen Music Festival. Oboe instructor, Ventura College, Pierce College, Los Angeles, CA; member New West Symphony Orchestra, Ventura College; freelance musician in Los Angeles.

Richard Berent, accompanist: has an active career as pianist, musical director, and composer in the Los Angeles area. His original musicals have been produced at regional theaters throughout the United States, including his latest children’s musical, Goldilocks, which will soon be available on video. He is a staff accompanist at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, where he helps train the next batch of Tony Award winners.

Amy Bowers , trombone: is a freelance musician in Southern California and performs with many of the top orchestras, including Pacific Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and is the second trombonist in the Santa Rosa Symphony Orchestra. She currently teaches at the University of Southern California where she instructs chamber music and teaches trombone and euphonium. She has won many solo competitions including the Pasadena Solo Competition, Sigma Alpha Iota Solo Competition, USC Concerto Competition, YMF Debut Orchestra Concerto Competition, Pasadena Young Artist Solo Competition, and was the recipient of the Robert Marsteller Outstanding Brass Player Award from the Thornton School of Music. Miss Bowers received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California.

John Campbell, bassoon: He has performed professionally for over 40 years. From 1969 to 1974 he served as the principal bassoon of the Calgary Philharmonic (Canada). Currently a freelance player in Los Angeles he serves as principal bassoon with the Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay, Culver City Symphony, Marina Del Rey Symphony, Peninsula Symphony and the Carson Symphony. As a commercial performer he has been on the sound tracks of many movies, TV shows and commercials, these include such classics as Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddle, The Lion King and Mickey’s Christmas Carol for Disney. Mr. Campbell is on the faculties of Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Los Angeles, Chapman University and Biola College. His students hold current positions in orchestras in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia.

Rose Corrigan, bassoon: is adjunct assistant professor, winds and percussion, at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. She is principal bassoon of the Pacific Symphony and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, performs regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Pasadena Symphony, and is a former member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra. She is an active recording artist for the television and motion picture industries, where she was recently featured with screen credit for her solo in the motion picture, March of the Penguins. She has a B.A. in bassoon performance from USC where she studied with Michael O’Donovan.

Thomas Cuffari, pianist, is active as a classical, jazz and gospel musician. Mr. Cuffari holds a bachelor of music degree from Chapman University in Orange, California and masters of music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. He has been featured on WQXR's "Young Artists Showcase" with Bob Sherman, and has performed on the ”Dame Myra Hess Concert Series” broadcast live on WFMT in Chicago. Mr. Cuffari is President of International Concert Alliance, a non-for-profit organization that holds annual voice and piano competitions and provides musical experiences in many schools. He is currently on faculty at Concordia Conservatory in Bronxville, NY and serves as Associate Minister of Music and Pipe Organist at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, NY.

Brian Dehn, tenor coach: St. Simon and Jude Catholic Church, Orange County Catholic Chorale, Huntington Beach, CA.

Charles DeRamus, bass: The third generation bassist in his family, Charles is currently a member of Sweden’s national orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Previously he has served as principal bass of the Norrlands Operan (Sweden), been a member of the New World Symphony, and worked extensively with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. His Studies include degrees from Indiana University, Rice University, and participation in numerous summer festivals including the Tanglewood Music Center, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Pacific Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, and National Orchestral Institute. Charles is currently a faculty member of the Sequoia Chamber Music Workshop, has served on the faculties of the All-State at Interlochen and University of Michigan Summer Arts Institute, and has given guest masterclasses in England at the Royal College of Music and the Yehudi Menuhin School.

Bobby Dominguez, saxophone: BM in Performance from Cal State University Fullerton, MM in Performance from the University of Southern California, and is currently working on her Doctorate of Musical Arts from USC. She is a freelance performer and teacher in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas. She has been playing woodwinds for over seventeen years specializing in saxophone and bassoon. Mrs. Domingues has performed with several groups such as the Fullerton Civic Light Opera, Cypress Pops Orchestra, Disneyland College Saxophone Quintet, and the Pacific Symphony Institute. Cameron is a member of the South Coast Saxophone Quartet who went to the Colman Competition finals in 2003. She is a faculty member at Mt. San Antonio College and teaches a large studio of private students ranging in ages from middle school to college.

Cameron Domingues, saxophone: BM in Performance from Cal State University Fullerton, MM in Performance from the University of Southern California, and is currently working on her Doctorate of Musical Arts from USC. She is a freelance performer and teacher in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas. She has been playing woodwinds for over seventeen years specializing in saxophone and bassoon. Mrs. Domingues has performed with several groups such as the Fullerton Civic Light Opera, Cypress Pops Orchestra, Disneyland College Saxophone Quintet, and the Pacific Symphony Institute. Cameron is a member of the South Coast Saxophone Quartet who went to the Colman Competition finals in 2003. She is a faculty member at Mt. San Antonio College and teaches a large studio of private students ranging in ages from middle school to college.

Alan Durst, saxophone: has been an active performer and educator throughout the United States, Mexico, Central America, and Europe. His performances explore a diverse range of styles, and he has appeared in concert halls such as Panama City Anita Villalaz, Los Angeles Disney Hall, Los Angeles Ford Amphitheatre, Santa Barbara Arlington Theatre, Fresno Saroyan Theatre, and Cleveland Masonic Temple. He performs frequently with the Fresno Philharmonic and Santa Barbara Symphony. He is currently the cofounder/soprano saxophonist of the Panama International Saxophone Quartet which actively tours Central America. Durst currently serves on the faculty at California State University, Fresno where he is a Lecturer of Music (Saxophone) in addition to teaching woodwinds at the Korean Institute of Southern California. His formal studies include a D.M.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), an M.M. from the University of Miami School of Music, and a B.M. & B.M.E.Cum Laude graduate of the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music. He has been fortunate to have studied with world-class saxophonists Douglas Masek, Gary Keller, and Greg Banaszak as well as Arno Bornkamp, Ernie Krivda, and Angelo Fortini.

Lisa Edwards, piano studies in Piano Performance at North Texas State University, MM in Accompanying, University of Southern California. Currently she is music assistant and pianist for the Los Angeles Master Chorale. On recording, Lisa can be heard on You Are (Variations) by Steve Reich on Nonesuch. As organist, she serves at San Marino Community Church, Stephen S. Wise Temple and Congregation Kol Ami.Previous faculty positions have been held at California State Univerity, Long Beach and Glendale Community College.

David Evans, conductor: Graduate of San Diego State University, Music Performance Degree with Distinction; and California State University, Northridge, Masters Degree, Music Performance and elected member of Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society. Mr. Evans is a professor of music at California State University, Long Beach. He has studied conducting with Dr. Frederick Fennel and has been guest clinician for the Southern California School Band Association and guest conductor for several honor bands throughout Southern California. As a trumpet performer he has studied with James Stamp, Uan Rasey, Claude Gordon and Thomas Stevens.

Sam Fischer , violin: has performed as a soloist throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. A graduate of the University of Southern California and the Juilliard School, Mr. Fischer’s principal teachers include Robert Lipsett, Dorothy DeLay, and Masao Kawasaki. He has appeared as soloist with several orchestras in his native Los Angeles, as well as with the Aspen Young Artists Orchestra and the Charleston Symphony. As a freelance musician, he has performed with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, and the Pacific Symphony. He has also played on major motion picture sound tracks for many of Hollywood’s top composers, including Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Alan Silvestri, and Hans Zimmer. He gives frequent chamber music performances as a member of the California String Quartet and has also performed at the Yellowbarn Chamber Music Festival and the Austin Chamber Music Festival. An avid teacher, Mr. Fischer is on the faculty of the Colburn School of Performing Arts.

Lee Gause, trombone: Served thirty years as trombonist and leader of the United States Navy Band Commodores jazz ensemble in Washington, D.C. He has performed extensively at the White House and has toured throughout the US, Europe and South America.He has appeared at prestigious jazz festivals such as Newport, Detroit/Montreaux and national conventions including IAJE and The Midwest. As a freelance player, Gause has performed with many of the giants in the jazz entertainment business from Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennet, Natalie Cole and Henry Mancini to Dizzy Gillespie, Bob Mintzer, Christian McBride and Louie Bellson. Besides recordings with the Commodores he has appeared on projects with Bill Potts, Frank Mantooth, George Roumanis, Ashley Alexander and numerous recordings with the Washington Winds. He is an active musician and private teacher in the Washington area.

Richard Gianguilio, conductor: Music Director and Conductor of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, is now in his twenty-sixth season with the GDYO. Mr. Giangiulio holds music degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School of Music and the Paris Conservatory where he studied under Maurice Andre while on a Fulbright grant, and was awarded the first prize. In 1967, Mr. Giangiulio was a First Medal winner in the Geneva International Trumpet Competition. He has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Knoxville Symphony, and at summer festivals in Ansbach, Germany; Lucerne, Switzerland; and Lieska, Finland. He served as Principal and Co-Principal trumpet of the Dallas Symphony for thirty-two years. From 1977-1982 he was the assistant conductor for educational concerts with the Dallas Symphony, developing and conducting multi-age youth concerts and park concerts. Mr. Giangiulio is also the newly appointed Music Director of the Allen Philharmonic. He has been on the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program faculty since 1994. He has recorded over thirty solo and symphonic CDs.

Yehuda Gilad, clarinet: Educated in Israel and at the University of Southern California School of Music. Associate Professor of Music, USC, and Master Teacher, R.D. Colburn School of Performing Arts. Recipient of many awards including the Israel-America Cultural Foundation Scholarship and the Robert Simon Award in Music. Conductor of the Santa Monica Symphony, 1982-88. As a clarinetist, he has performed with the Marlboro Music Festival, the Music Academy of the West, the San Francisco Chamber Music Festival and the Israel Philharmonic.

William Goldenberg, piano: MM, The Juilliard School of Music, Doctorate, Indiana University. Advanced studies include chamber music with Menahem Pressler, Gilbert Kalish, Felix Galamir and Josef Gingold. Over 500 concerts throughout the US as soloist and chamber musician including Tanglewood and Grand Teton Festivals, and Chicago’s Myra Hess Series. Has performed regular service as accompanist for studios of violinists Ivan Galamian and Josef Gingold, and cellist Raya Garbousova. Professor of Piano and director of the piano chamber music program at Northern Illinois University.

Joseph Gramley, multi-percussion: Extensive performance career as both a soloist and member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble; numerous appearances as concerto soloist; frequent orchestral work on Broadway and for Metropolitan Opera and City Opera in New York City, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra of St. Lukes; two solo albums, American Deconstruction, Global Percussion, two best-selling albums with Yo-Yo Ma on Sony Classical and forthcoming duo album with organist Clive Driskill-Smith. Recognized as a “Heifetz of the marimba” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He enjoys a reputation as a dynamic teacher of workshops and master classes. Instructor at Queens College, New York City, and director of the Juilliard School’s Summer Percussion Seminar for young performers. Presidential Scholar in the Arts (1988) and recipient of the Albert A. Stanley Medal (Univ. of Michigan). Master of Music from the Juilliard School; Bachelor of Music from the University of Michigan. Now serves on the Board of Governors of the University of Michigan School of Music Alumni.

Igor Gruppman, violin: Critically acclaimed for the richness and beauty of tone, elegant phrasing, drive, passion and virtuosity, Igor Gruppman enjoys a career as soloist, chamber musician and recording artist. He studied with Leonid Kogan and M. Rostropovich at the Moscow Conservatory, and later with Jascha Heifitz. Now the concert master and Associate Conductor of the Florida Philharmonic, he is the frequent guest leader of such orchestras as the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic, and has worked with conductors such as Solti, Rostropovich, Colin Davis, Eschenbach, Gatti, and Haitink. He has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in the major cities of North America, Europe, Israel and New Zealand. He has recorded the Sinfonia Concertante and Violin Concerto of Miklos Rozsa, Respighi’s Poema Autunnale, and the Berlioz Reverie and Caprice.

Vesna Gruppman, violin: Her career started early as a six-time winner of Yugoslavia’s National Violin Competition, before going on to study at Moscow’s legendary Central Special Musical School and the Moscow Conservatory. Today, she is active as a violin and viola soloist, having appeared with the Prague Philharmonic, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Ukraine Philharmonic, Florida Philharmonic, and London’s Beethoven Philharmonic, and in recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall and St. John’s Smith Square, Kiev Philharmonic Hall and Mozart’s Bemtraka in Prague. As a chamber musician she has collaborated with the Tokyo String Quartet, the principal players of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Pinchas Zucherman, Itzak Perlman, Jamie Laredo, and Lynn Harrell.

Matt Harris, piano: BA, University of Miami, masters degree from Eastman School of Music; based in Los Angeles; keyboardist, composer/arranger; previously toured with Maynard Ferguson and Buddy Rich; both leaders performed and recorded his charts, many of which are featured in the Kendor jazz catalog. Recording debut as a leader on Voss Records; most recently accepted an appointment as Director of Jazz Studies at California State University, Northridge.

Marshall Hawkins, bass: toured the United States with the Miles Davis Quintet, played two years with Roberta Flack and traveled with Shirley Horn. He formed the Marshall Hawkins Quintet in Washington D.C., and in California he joined Eddie Jefferson and Richie Cole’s Alto Madness. He has performed the Sonata for Strings and Piano at Howard University and cocomposer and recorded The Tanner Suite to accompany an art exhibit by Henry D. Tanner; has made numerous recordings with major artists and has performed internationally. He is an instructor of electric bass, jazz piano and jazz improvisation at the Idyllwild Arts Academy.

Jeff Hellmer, piano: declared “the real virtuoso” of Great American Jazz Piano Competition after one of his two recent appearances as a finalist in the nation’s most prestigious jazz piano competition; musical collaborations include Eddie Daniels, Harvey Pittel and the Lettermen; faculty member, University of Texas, Austin; maintains an active performing schedule at jazz venues in Austin as well as performing and teaching throughout the United States and abroad; compositions are available through UNC Press and Walrus Music.

Frank Heuser, wind and brass coordinator: Symphony Orchestra: Assistant Professor of Music and head of Music Education, UCLA. Has taught at University of Oregon, East Los Angeles College, Cal State University, Los Angeles and Chapman University; researcher in motor control and brass physiology with publication in Medical Problems of Performing Artists and the Southeastern Journal of Music Education; member of the editorial board of the Journal of Music Teacher Education.

Andrew Honea, cello

David Hoover, horn: Has served on the faculties of California State University, Northridge, Glendale Community College, the Los Angeles City Schools, Los Angeles Pierce College, Moorpark College, and the University of Southern California, having also earned the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts at USC. For thirty years, he has appeared in the U.S. and Europe as a performer and conductor with numerous orchestras and ensembles, as a recitalist, on recordings and film soundtracks, and on radio broadcasts. Dr. Hoover is also a composer, arranger, and writer on music. He regularly performs his own compositions and has written a modern horn method. His articles on the horn and other musical topics have appeared in the Instrumentalist magazine and elsewhere, and he has authored various other publications such as a booklet for public school music teachers on how to develop a horn section. As a specialist in early horn performance, he has written A Modern Horn Player’s Introduction to the Natural Horn, as well as his own compositions for the ancient instrument.

Tom Hynes, guitar: BM, University of Southern California, MA, California State University, Los Angeles;currently on faculty of Fullerton College, Citrus College and Cal State, Los Angeles; professional credits include Bob Hope, Danny Ganz, Bobby Vinton, Pia Zadora, Les Hooper, Louie Bellson, Lanny Morgan, Les Brown, the Mills Brothers, and The Fifth Dimension; guest artist, clinician and adjudicator for numerous festivals in California and Arizona;directed the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association High School Honor Jazz Ensemble.

David Jackson, trombone: Professor of Trombone at the University of Michigan, is a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician who has performed with the Chicago Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony, the New World Symphony, the Cabrillo Music Festival Orchestra and the Spoleto, Italy Festival Orchestra. He is an advocate of new music and has commissioned and performed the premieres of eight works for trombone. His chamber music experience includes performances with the Canadian Brass, the American Brass Quintet, Nexus Percussion Ensemble and the Galliard Brass Ensemble. His summers are spent teaching and performing at the Hot Springs Music Festival, the Interlochen Arts Camp All-State Division.

Matt Johnson, drums: considered one of Southern California’s most verstaile drummers, the Los Angeles Times proclaimed Matt Johnson “a hurricane on sticks!” Best known for his jazz stylings, he is equaly versed in all forms of pop drumming and has performed with a range of entertainers from singers Julie Andrews and Andy Williams to Surf-rock pioneers Jan and Dean to big band legends Billy May and Les Brown. Modern Drummer Magazine said Johnson possesses “captivating technique and creativity.” Along with his busy performance schedule, since 1993, he has woked to inspire the next generation of young drummersas part of the music faculty’s of Fullerton College and the Idyllwild Arts Summer Jazz Workshop. A recent entry on ratemyprofessors.com said, “discipline and control dominate his playig and teaching...personality and charisma bring students back again and again.”

Nancy Ambrose King, oboe: is the first-prize winner of the Third New York International Competition for Solo Oboists, held in 1995. She has appeared as soloist throughout the United States and abroad, including appearances with the St. Petersburg, Russia, Philharmonic, the Janacek Philharmonic in the Czech Republic, and the Festival Internacional de Musica Orchestra in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has recorded three CDs for Boston Records, the solo recordings Nancy Ambrose King: The Winning Program and Évocations; and a recording of flute and oboe music with flutist Amy Porter entitled Porter-Ambrose King. She has taught and performed in the Sarasota and Bowdoin Music Festivals, and has appeared as a recitalist throughout the world, including the American Academy of Music in Rome and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Stockholm. Currently Associate Professor of Oboe at the University of Michigan and First Vice-President of the International Double Reed Society, she was previously Associate Professor and University Scholar at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She has also served on the music faculties of Indiana University, Ithaca College, University of Northern Colorado, and Duquesne University Schools of Music.

Sandra Kipp, flute: MM and BM in flute performance from California State University Northridge. Orchestra experience includes Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Glendale Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Long Beach Symphony and Moscow Ballet Orchestra. Director of Sterling and Strings Chamber Music ensemble and member of The Nuance Ensemble. Teaching experience includes current positions at Moorpark College, CSU Northridge, and Pepperdine University in addition to private studio instruction. Freelance recording studio artist.

Dariusz Korcz, viola: studied at the Academy of Music, Katowice, Poland; Principal/Solo viola with National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at Academy of Music, Katowice. Former Principal/Solo viola with Polish Chamber Philharmonic and Icelandic Symphony. First Prize winner, Rakowski Viola Competition, 1985. Has premiered compositions by Shostakovich, Penderecki, Lutoslawski, Gorecki and Messiaen. Coaches and teaches for International Youth Orchestras in Germany and USA. Extensive solo & chamber music experience throughout the world including many recordings for European and American labels, most recently John Donald Robb’s Viola Concerto for Opus One. Maker of fine violins.

Desirée LaVertu, tenor coach, M.M. Choral Conducting/vocal Performance, University of Nevada, Reno. Director of Women’s Glee Club, California Institute of Technology. Soprano soloist and voice teacher; member of the professional female vocal quartet Diva Complex.

Scott Lee, viola: Winner of the 1996 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, he is a top prize winner in the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, the William Primrose Viola Competition, and the Corpus Christi Young Artists Competition. He has appeared as solo ist with numerous orchestras, including the San Diego Symphony, Longmont Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and Merkin Hall in New York, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. A featured soloist at the International Hindemith Viola Fest and at the 22nd and 24th International Viola Congress. Recent highlights of his chamber music concert schedule include performances at the Chamber Music Northwest, OK Mozart Festival, Newport Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, Ravinia Festival, New York City’s Bargemusic, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Musicians from Marlboro, Merkin Concert Hall, and Taiwan’s National Concert Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Gardner Museum in Boston and the Metropolitan Museum, the Marlboro Festival and in numerous chamber music venues across the United States. He has also collaborated with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Orion, and Miami String Quartets, and performed with members of the Beaux Arts and Mannes Piano Trios. He is now Professor of Viola at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music.

Jane Levy, viola: A California native, Jane Levy studied chamber music with members of the Griller String Quartet at UC Berkeley and viola with Milton Thomas, Heichiro Ohyama, and David Schwartz in Los Angeles. She plays and teaches both violin and viola, coaches chamber music groups, and works as a free lance musician in the L.A. area. Jane is a member of the Pasadena Symphony and has performed often with the L.A. Opera, L.A. Master Chorale, and Long Beach Symphony. She has played in the Oregon Bach Festival and the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival for many years. She especially enjoys performances of early music on period instruments and is a member of Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra and performs with Seattle Baroque, Santa Fe Pro Musica, and the Corona del Mar Bach Festival.

James Linahon, trumpet: Music producer for Tot’l Entertainment (Hollywood), World Projects International (San Francisco), and LMP. An award winning music producer, composer and trumpet artist with more than 200 recording projects for film, television, radio, musical theater and CDs to his credit. He has an extensive background as performer and studio musician and has produced for a wide diversity of artists, studios, and agencies including Tony Bennet, Frank Sinatra, Arsenio Hall, Barry Manilow, Merv Griffin, Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Henry Mancini, Sarah Vaughn, Beverly Sills, Warner Bros., Disney, Sony, ABC, NBC, World Projects International, Tot’l Entertainment, the United States Department of State and the United Nations. He serves as a United States Cultural Ambassador for the US State Department and has toured on behalf of the US throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Larry Livingston is a distinguished conductor, educator, and administrator, and a highly respected motivational speaker. The founding Music Director of the Illinois Chamber Orchestra, Livingston has appeared with the Houston Symphony and in the Los Angeles Philharmonic Green Umbrella Series. He has conducted at the Festival de Musique in Evian, France, and has led the Stockholm Wind Orchestra, as well as the Leopoldinum Chamber, Chopin Academy, Wroclaw Philharmonic and Academy Orchestras in Poland. He served as Music Director of the Pan Pacific Festival Orchestras in Sydney, participated as a performer and clinician at the International Jazz Festival in Rome, and conducted an electro-acoustic ensemble in concerts in Tokyo under the auspices of Yamaha International. Mr. Livingston has led the American Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Young Musicians Foundation Orchestra, the USC Thornton Chamber and Symphony Orchestras in Los Angeles and the USC Thornton Contemporary Music Ensemble in Berlin, and served on the jury for the renowned Besancon International Conducting Competition in Besancon, France.

Livingston has performed with soloists Keiko Abe, Ran Blake, Shelly Berg, John Barrows, Maureen Forrester, Adolph Herseth, Lawrence Lesser, Yehudi Menuhin, Robert Merrill, Itzhak Perlman, Donald Sinta, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, John Walz and Time for Three, and has premiered and/or recorded works by Jan Bach, Paul Cooper, Mario Davidovsky, Robert Erickson, Ernst Krenek, Kasia Livingston, Edwin London, Pauline Oliveros, Russell Peck, Roger Reynolds, and Yuji Takahashi. He frequently appears with professional, festival, collegiate, and all-state wind ensembles, bands and orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. From 1983 to 2002, he served as a conductor in the University of Michigan All-State Program at Interlochen, and has been the Conductor of the Festival Orchestra at Idyllwild Arts since 1989. He has served as a clinician for the University of Northern Colorado Conducting Symposium, a keynote presenter at the Fine Arts Institute in Tucson, and is an Ambassador for the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Livingston regularly toured Germany and Slovakia with the Internationale Junge Orchesterakademie. The performances and subsequent recordings were “the most successful in this organization’s history,” according to its director. In the last decade, he has conducted extensively in Eastern Europe, and particularly throughout Poland, leading orchestras in Warsaw, Wroclaw, Jelenia Gora, Bialystok, and Olsztyn, attracting consistent critical acclaim.

Since 2004, Mr. Livingston has toured with the famed Landes Jugend Orchester, served as clinician and guest conductor at the College Band Directors National Conference in Alice Tully Hall, led All-State Ensembles in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Texas, where he appeared for the sixth time, a record unmatched in Texas All-State history. He has also twice conducted the George Enescu Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania. In 2008-09, he will lead the Music for All Honor Orchestra for the third consecutive year, direct the Thornton Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, and guest conduct the Thornton Wind Ensemble. Holding Baccalaureate and Master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, Mr. Livingston completed Ph.D. coursework in theoretical studies at the University of California, San Diego. He studied conducting and interpretation with Laurence Livingston, Elizabeth Green, William Revelli, Rafael Druian, and Herbert Zipper. In 1988 he received the Alumnus of the Year Award from the University of Michigan School of Music. Mr. Livingston served as Vice President and Music Director of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he was also Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra and Contemporary Music Ensemble, and, subsequently, became Dean of the Shepherd School of Music and Elma Schneider Professor of Music at Rice University in Houston. From 1986 until 2002, Mr. Livingston served as Dean of the USC Flora L. Thornton School of Music, where he is Chair of the Conducting Department, and Music Director of Thornton School Orchestras. The first music administrator accepted into the Harvard University Executive Education Program, he is a recipient of the Life in the Arts Award from Idyllwild Arts and an Outstanding Teacher Award from the student chapter of the USC Center for Religion. As a motivational speaker, he has established a national reputation for inspiring presentations to corporate and business leaders across the United States. From 2002, to 2007 he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Guitar Center, which he now serves as Director of Educational Initiatives.

Rob Lockhart, saxophone: BM in music theory with a performers certificate and MM from Eastman School in Jazz Studies, as well as attending the Banff School with Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler, and David Liebman. He has played with the Woody Herman Orchestra, Tom Harrell Big Band, Doc Severinsen Big Band, Joe LaBarbera Quintet, Kurt Elling, in addition to single performances with Dave Liebman, Mel Lewis, Hank Jones, Clark Terry, and as a soloist with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. His teachers include Dave Liebman, Al Regni, Micheal Nascimben, Joe Allard, Ramon Ricker, and Mardele Marcellus. As a jazz artist he is a featured sideman with Steve Houghton, Bob Sheppard, Bill Cunliffe, Matt Harris, and Mitch Watkins for Enja records. In TV and film Rob has worked on Star Trek, Jag, Party of Five, Fish Police and many films including the jazz score of Dillinger with Charlie Haden. He has taught for over 20 years in New York, New Orleans, Austin and Los Angeles.

Julie Long, flute: BM, Cleveland Institute of Music; MM, DMA, University of Southern California. Freelance flutist in the Los Angeles area. She has performed with Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Music Center Opera Orchestra, Ojai Festival Orchestra, Long Beach Symphony, Pasadena Symphony and others. Recently appointed second flute, Riverside County Philharmonic Orchestra. Former principal flute, American Youth Symphony and Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra; finalist in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition in 2000 and 2002. Active in the recording studios. Juliie is a member of new music group Ensemble Green; also plays wooden Renaissance and Baroque flutes.

Louise MacGillivray, horn: MA in Music Performance, CSU Northridge. She is a freelance musician in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Currently on the music faculty at CA Lutheran University she also has an extensive private teaching studio and is a clinician/adjudicator/consultant for many local schools and youth symphonies. Her primary interest is in performing and coaching chamber music.

Lori Marie Rios, soprano coach: La Canada High School, La Cañada, CA.

Patricia Massey, clarinet: Northwestern University. Her principal teachers have included Clark Brody, Robert Marcellus and Mitchell Lurie. She has performed with the Charleston, Honolulu and Minnesota Orchestras. Currently, she works as a free-lance musician and teacher in Los Angeles.

Nelms McKelvain is one of the Academy’s primary piano instructors. His students have won major competitions, including the Joanna Hodges Piano Competition and the Los Angeles Liszt Competition. They continue their studies at the finest colleges and conservatories in the country. He performs at the Academy with music faculty, students and guests. McKelvain received his Bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and his Master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, studying with internationally noted artist and teacher John Perry. His doctoral study was also with John Perry at the University of Southern California.

Peter Middleton, flute: Professor of Music, Northern Illinois University where he teaches flute, recording techniques and acoustics. He has a patent on an electronic tuning device and has compiled an extensive flute discography.

Esther Minwary, viola: received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of Southern California where she studied with Ralph Fielding, Pamela Goldsmith, and Donald McInnes. She was a member of the American Youth Symphony under the baton of Mehli Mehta and Alexander Treger. Mrs. Minwary has been a participant at the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival (Maine) and the Rome Festival Orchestra (Italy). She is currently completing her Masters degree in Viola Performance at California State University, Long Beach. She enjoys performing chamber music and has performed new works internationally. Mrs. Minwary has performed under the direction of Zubin Mehta and Esa-Pekka Salonen in venues such as the Music Center and Walt Disney Hall.

Beth Mitchell, tuba: Received her Bachelor’s Degree in Tuba Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, where she studied with David Fedderly, and holds a Masters Degree in Tuba Performance from the Univeristy of Southern California where she studied with Tommy Johnson and Jim Self. Previously, she was the principal tubist with Women’s Philharmonic Orchestra in San Francisco and the Orchestra Sinfonica de Monterrey in Nueva Leon, Mexico. She has played with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Germany’s Eurobrass, has appeared as a guest with Washington’s United States Navy Band, and has toured frequently throughout the United States and Europe. She enjoys an active freelance career, and performs regularly across the Los Angeles area. She has workekd extensively with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Orange County Philharmonic Societies, the Los Angeles Zipper Orchestra and many other arts groups giving concerts, masterclasses and numerous solo and chamber recitals around southern California. She is currently in the brass faculties of Biola University and Pasadena City College. She also teaches for the Red Lodge Music Festival in Montana and JFK High School.

Joseph Modica, conductor: is presently in his 12th year of teaching. He is the newly appointed Director of Choral Activities at Chapman University, where he conducts the University Choir, University Singers, teaches conducting and choral methods. He has held adjunct teaching positions at Biola University and Chapman University. Mr. Modica has earned a Bachelor of Music degree in conducting from Chapman University, a Master of Music degree from California State University Long Beach, and is currently studying toward the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Music at the University of Southern California. Mr. Modica is formerly the Director of Choral Activities at Mater Dei High School, and he taught for 5 years at Redlands East Valley High School. His choirs consistently received superior ratings at festivals and competitions and have been heard at two CMEA State Conferences. Mr. Modica is active in many professional organizations such as ACDA, MENC, and SCVA, and enjoys serving as a clinician and adjudicator. He also serves on the faculty of the Idyllwild Summer Arts Summer Program as a section leader for the Festival Choir, and taught for five years at the Summer Fine Arts Camp at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. His choirs have toured Italy, Australia, Hawaii, New York, Washington D.C., and Florida.

Lanny Morgan, alto saxophone: As a leader of his own group and a solo performer, he has been on the scene here and abroad since 1969, playing every major jazz club and festival that exists and has been a guest soloist/clinician at colleges and universities in nearly every state of the union. He has performed in bands led by Charlie Barnet, Tommy Alexander, Sal Salvador, Howard McGhee, Bill Berry, Bob Florence, Bill Holman, Shorty Rogers, Terry Gibbs and Frank Capp. He is a 31-year member of the Grammy-winning Supersax. The most recent Morgan-led recording is an all-Charlie Parker project for Fresh Sound Records, A Suite for Yardbird—Lanny Morgan interprets the compositions of Charlie Parker. He has been involved with television specials and a number of variety series as well as movie soundtracks.

Cynthia Moussas, violin: BM, Julliard. Member of the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale and the Long Beach Symphony. Performances with the Green Umbrella Series, Ojai Festival. Active in the recording studios and as a private teacher in Southern California. She has been a coach with the Idyllwild Symphony Orchestra for 16 years.

Linda Muggeridge, costumer: has been involved with the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program’s Musical Theatre classes since the beginning, and has served as costumer for schools such as Palos Verdes High School, Miraleste Intermediate and St. John Fisher School. An accomplished musician, she has been orchestra contractor and instrumentalist (oboe) for musicals and has been costuming the Song and Dance concerts since 1997. A multi-talented artist, she also accompanies for voice classes.

Karolina Naziemiec, viola, was born in Poland , and began her music education at Szymanowski High School in Katowice, Poland. She continued at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. She came to the US in 2000 and four years later she graduated from USC with Master Degree in Music. Ms. Naziemiec has appeared with many orchestras in Poland, Germany, France, Belgium, Japan , and the USA and has participated in numerous music festivals throughout the world. In the U.S., she has performed with The Los Angeles Opera, The Los Angeles Master Chorale, The Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, The American Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall in New York City and in Los Angeles, The Aspen Music Festival Orchestra in Aspen, and The Jewish Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles, among others. She has also participated in recording sessions at studios such as Warner Brothers, Fox, Sony and Paramount.

Edith Orloff, piano: acclaimed performances throughout the U.S. and in Europe as recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with orchestra; concert coordinator of the Summer Chamber Music Program at Idyllwild Arts; faculty member since 1976. She is a founding member of the Pacific Trio, the resident ensemble for Idyllwild Arts, which tours and records in the U.S. and Europe. She has played with such notable ensembles as the Houston Symphony Chamber Players, Ensemble Con Brio of Bruchsal, Germany, and the Czech String Trio of Prague. To promote new music, she has helped to launch several series featuring works by contemporary composers. A recent CD recorded with her husband, clarinetist David Peck, highlights modern works for clarinet and piano. She is a regular guest with Festival Mozaic, having appeared with festivals in La Jolla, Ventura, Grand Tetons, and Andé, France. A Master’s Degree graduate of CalArts, she has taught privately and given masterclasses for over thirty years.

Andrew Park was born in Korea and raised in a musical family. He gave his first public performance at the age of five and won numerous major competitions in Korea, such as the Korea Times Competition and the Jeon-Buk State Music and the Arts Competition. In 1993, he won the first prize of Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition in Palm Desert, California. He has participated and performed in the Boston University Summer Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, and Aspen Music Festivaland is actively performing as a solo musician and a chamber musician nationally and internationally. He is a devoted performer of chamber music and has performed with musicians such as Hai Kyung Suh and his own group, the Park Trio. He was also invited to perform with OMC Orchestra and ICO Orchestra. Dr. Park resides in Fullerton, Orange County area and his students have won the prizes from numerous competitions throughout the country. He is a chairperson of MTNA Annual Evaluation and Sonata/Sonatina competition as well as a judge of SYMF and MTAC competitions. He has taught piano at the Idyllwild Arts Academy for two years, Usc and LACC, and has lectured at USC Thornton School of Music. He completed his bachelor, masters, and doctoral degrees at the University of Southern California with pianist John Perry. He currently teaches at Bethesda Christian University in Anaheim, California. As a conductor, Dr. Park is music director at the Oriental Mission Church and the Private Eye Youth Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Park has recorded the Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens with Idyllwild Chamber Orchestra for the children of the world and a Christian CD, “priere” with his chamber group, the Park Trio.

Olga Perez has a background in vocal performance, music education and theater performance. She began performing in New Orleans as a child in musical theater and went on to pursue music professionally. Her move to Arizona led her to the Arizona Opera where her career has begun to emerge. Ms. Perez received California State University LA’s Roger Wagner music award in the summer of 2003. She also won second place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing in 1997.

Stephen P. Piazza, conductor: Since he first performed as a clarinetist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 1978, Stephen Piazza has appeared with some of the music world’s most highly-acclaimed artists in hundreds of performances in the Los Angeles Music Center, Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. He’s also appeared in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Paris’s Theatre du Chatelet, Mexico City’s Palacio des Belles Artes, Cologne’s Philharmonic and Birmingham’s (UK) Sir Adrian Boult Hall. In August 2004 he conducted the Idyllwild Festival Wind Ensemble in the first wind band performance in Disney Hall. As a member of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, he continues to perform with the current array of internationally recognized conductors and singers, and his studio and commercial work includes numerous motion pictures as well as CD recordings with Barbara Streisand and Josh Groban

In 1983, Professor Piazza was chair of the Pierce College music department when he reorganized the college’s wind band program. As director of the newly-formed Los Angeles Pierce Symphonic Winds, he began to build a community-based ensemble that would eventually perform throughout the United States, Canada, Italy, France, Austria and the United Kingdom. In June of 2004, the L.A. Winds were the featured American performers at the Festivale des Anchez in France’s magnificent Cote d’azur. In December 2004, the Winds performed at the famed Midwest Band and Orchestra clinic in Chicago. In 2007 they were one of the featured performers at the annual California Band Director’s conference and in July, 2008 they were one of two American bands representing the United States at the Mid Europe Band and Orchestra Festival in Austria. Since 1975, Mr. Piazza has been an integral part of the Idyllwild musical community. As director of the Festival Winds for 20 years, he’s helped Idyllwild Arts become one of America’s leading summer music programs and a model for Arts programs around the world.

Thomas Porwol, violin: was born in Rybnik, Poland, and has lived in Germany since 1988. He completed his violin studies with Valery Klimov and Liviu Casleanu. His violin and chamber music education led him to Eduard Brunner, Thomas Kakuska (Alban-Berg-Quartet), and the Kronos Quartet. As a soloist and founder of the Milan Ensemble he performs regularly at festivals such as the Ludwig van Bethoven Festival Glogau, Scarampella Festival Brescia, and Music of the XX & XXI century. The Milan Ensemble has recorded for German, Italian and Polish radio and television and is known for its unconventional repertoire and performances. An important part of his activities is his work with his sister, pianist Alexandra Porwol. As a duo, they have won prizes in international competitions in Europe. Since 2000, he has been the director of the Easter Festival in Bayreuth, Germany, and is responsible for the organization of several important cultural projects from Classic to Jazz in Europe.

Aviva Pressman, acting instructor: has studied musical theatre at Syracuse University and Acting at Oklahoma City University. She returns for her 4th year on staff, coaching Acting and Musical Theatre Repertoire. Her many roles range from serious drama to light opera to musical theatre.

Elijah Pressman, teaching assistant in dance

Joel D. Pressman, Director: With degrees in Voice and Conducting from the University of Southern California, Mr. Pressman has an extensive background in performing, directing and teaching musical theatre. A member of the Broadway cast of Lerner & Loewe’s Gigi, he has also performed with the Los Angeles and San Francisco Civic Light Opera companies, with Valley Opera, Opera a Ia Carte, as conductor/singer of the Disneyland Carolers, and as singer in such diverse situations as Barbra Streisand’s Higher Ground CD, the Ojai Festival and opera for children at the Hollywood Bowl. After 34 years teaching musical theatre and vocal music at Beverly Hills High School and 25 seasons producing musical theatre at Idyllwild Arts, Mr. Pressman is also in demand as soloist and clinician. His students have appeared in the Broadway or National companies of shows such as Light in the Piazza, Wicked, High School Musical, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Ragtime, Cabaret, Aida, City of Angels, Assassins, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats, A Chorus Line, and 42nd Street.

Wendy Knudsen Pylko, vocal coach: MM in Vocal Arts, University of Southern California. Currently a teacher/artist for Los Angeles Opera’s education department and Cerritos Center for Performing Arts. Assistant Music Director of Los Angeles Opera’s annual Opera Camp. Chorus Master for Los Angeles Opera’s production of The Prospector, an in-school opera production, and Brundibar, a production of Los Angeles Opera Camp. Director of Vocal Music at Flintridge Preparatory School for four years. She has performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Minnesota Opera Institute and toured with Orange County Opera for two years. Performances with the Nevada Opera Theater and USC Opera. Other training includes the Music Academy of the West and a bachelors degree from the Evergreen State College. Solo recordings for Los Angeles Chamber Singers and voice-overs for two episodes of Animaniacs, as well as a solo in Steven Spielberg’s documentary The Last Days. She also performs as a Soprano soloist in concerts and recitals in Southern California.

Mark Raphael, trumpet: performed and recorded with various musicians including Wayne Newton, Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughn, Jack Jones, the Temptations, Louie Bellson, Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and many others. He has headlined at Jazz Works and El Chapultapec in Denver as well as participating in Jazz Festivals including Detroit, Fullerton, Disneyland, Mile High and Greeley to name a few. He was jazz trumpet soloist and vocalist with teh USAF Academy Falconaires for eightenn years.

Charlie Richard, saxophone: BA, MA, California State University, Los Angeles. He is an associate professor at Riverside Community College where he directs Jazz Ensemble I and the MIDI Workstation. He studied saxophone at the University of Texas, Austin with Henry Pittel and jazz composition/arranging with Rick Lawn. His compositions and arrangements can be heard on a recent SEA Breeze release, The Hawk’s Out, by the Hawk-Richard Jazz Orchestra. He is also a founding member of the Orion Saxophone Quartet and can be heard on their recent release from Centaur Records. He has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Lou Rawles, the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Doris Day, the Redlands Symphony Orchestra, and Hip Pocket, to name a few.

Lori Marie Rios, soprano coach: La Canada High School, La Canada, CA.

Bart Samolis, bass: A successful session and touring artist, he has performed and recorded with various jazz and contemporary music acts. Playing fretted, fretless, upright and orchestral basses, he can be seen and heard world-wide, in all media as well as live performances. In the studio, his movie credits are many, including Dreamgirls, The Invasion, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Superman Returns, The Fantastic Four, and The X-Men. Bart has also recorded many TV themes and cues including MadMen, Battlestar Galactica, and The Practice. He has also been working with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Educational Program developing high school orchestras and jazz bands. His forte however , is constantly searching for a new approach to his instrument. This is clearly evident in his recordings and becomes even more dynamic in his live performances.

Maria Schleuning, violin: joined the Dallas Symphony in 1994 and has been a featured soloist with the orchestra on numerous occasions. Solo appearances include performances with the Seattle Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Long Bay Symphony, Columbia Symphony, Allen Philharmonic, and the Portland Youth Philharmonic. In 2004 she performed with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra on a tour of Eastern Europe, which included concerts at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the Rudolfinum in Prague. As a chamber musician, she has performed at Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Recital Hall, the Summergarden Series at the Museum of Modern Art, Merkin Hall, and concerts with Villa Musica in Germany. Since 1993 she has been a faculty member and performer at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine, and has also performed at Music in the Mountains and the Skaneateles Festival. She studied violin with Josef Gingold at Indiana University where she was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate; with Yfrah Neaman in London as a recipient of the Dame Myra Hess Foundation Trust; and with Joel Smirnoff at the Juilliard School.

Bill Schlitt, percussion: on the percussion faculty at Azusa Pacific University, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, Concordia University-Irvine, University of Redlands, Vanguard University, and Idyllwild Arts Academy. Currently performs as timpanist and soloist with the Redlands Symphony Orchestra, and as an extra with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed under such conductors as Pierre Boulez, Robert Shaw, Christoph Eschenbach, and Esa-Pekka Salonen and premiered a work by composer John Cage. Formerly principal percussionist with Music Theater of Southern California. He is an accomplished percussion educator, clinician, and author. Performance experience includes: recording artist on various motion picture and television films, numerous audio recordings, and freelance percussionist in various ensembles throughout Southern California.

Robin Sharp percussion: is an active freelance musician and composer in the Los Angeles area. As a youth, Mr. Sharp studied both classical and world percussion at the Idyllwild Arts Academy, winning competitions there and performing as guest soloist with the San Luis Obispo Symphony Orchestra. He attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, where he studied with Tom Gauger and Arthur Press of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Sharp has worked with conductors Esa Pekka Solemen, Michael Tilson Thomas, Mehli Mehta, James Conlon, George Mester and has played in the Juilliard Orchestra, New York Youth, American Youth Symphony, Aspen Festival Orchestra and the Riverside Philharmonic. In 1998 he won the California State University Northridge Concerto Competition where he received his Bachelors of Music in 1999. Mr. Sharp received his Masters of Music from the University of Southern California in 2001, and is currently on faculty at the Pasadena City College where he teaches applied percussion.

Jessy Spinella, saxophone: After graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in jazz studies, she turned professional, finding work backing Michael Buble in the recording studio and playing in the touring bands for the Temptations, Jessica Simpson, Michael Bolton, Gloria Trevi, and Armando Manzanero. In 2004, she joined the touring cast of the Off-Broadway musical Blast! as a singer/actress/dancer/saxophonist and toured with the show in the U.S., the U.K., and Japan. Producer/guitarist Paul Brown first gave her a featured spot in his show on February 14, 2006, after which she began to make appearances on her own, her first major show occurring at the Catalina JazzTrax Festival later in 2006. She issued a self-titled album in 2007, then signed to Peak Records for her second CD, Tequila Moon, released on March 4, 2008

Scott Sutherland, tuba: is a native of Los Angeles and primary music arranger for the Presidio Brass, a national touring brass quintet based in San Diego. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from USC and a Master of Music degree from UCLA. As a soloist, Scott has been featured with the San Diego Symphony, Riverside and Burbank Philharmonic Orchestras and has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego Opera, and the New West and Long Beach Symphonies. He is currently on faculty at Palomar College.

Louise Thomas, accompanist: D.M.A.,is director of the Collaborative Arts program at Chapman University. Her responsibilities include coaching vocalists and instrumentalists as well as playing for the nationally-acclaimed Chapman University Choir and Singers and coaching within the opera program.

Jeff Tower; Chairman: BA in Music Education, University of Northern Iowa, MM in Trombone Performance, University of Redlands; currently Director of Bands at Hemet High School; Co-Director of Southern California Jazz Workshops; played professionally behind such artists as Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Ray Charles and many others; instrumental music accomplishments include Downbeat Magazine’s DeeBee Award for best student recordings in the fields of Big Band Jazz and Classical Instrumental; honorary doctorate degree in music from Pacific Western University for musicality and educational accomplishments at the high school level in Southern California.

Chuck Tumlinson, trumpet: joined California State University, Fullerton in 2001 as director of the Jazz Program. Since his arrival, the Jazz Ensemble has appeared twice at the International Association of Jazz Educators conference and throughout the west with winning results at the 2004, 2006 and 2006 Reno Jazz Festivals. Tumlinson has been a featured jazz trumpet soloist at several national conventions, and is in demand as a soloist, clinician and adjudicator throughout the country. He has also led bands and performers throughout the country such as Pete Christlieb, Eric Marienthal, the University of Northern Colorado Lab and the University of North Texas One O’clock Lab Band, and they have recorded many of his compositions and arrangements. Tumlinson has served as principal trumpet in the Wichita Falls (Texas) Symphony, and has performed with the Wichita Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony/Opera among others. Tumlinson received his Ph.D. and master’s degrees from the University of North Texas.

Althea Waites, piano: highly acclaimed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia as a soloist and chamber musician. She is a graduate of Yale University School of Music where she studied with Donald Currier, and has also worked with Alice Shapiro and Russell Sherman. Festival appearances include Aspen, Tanglewood and the Yale Summer Festival. Performances include Geneva Conservatory in Switzerland, Wigmore Hall, London and the University of Heidelberg. Her work in Southern California includes several performances at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Japan America Theater, KCET Public Television, Redlands Symphony Orchestra and UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall, as well as recitals, master classes and residencies at college and universities. She is a Steinway artist and records for Cambria Records.

Amanda Walker, clarinet: MFA, UCLA; currently principal clarinet of the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra where she performed Copland’s Clarinet Concerto on their 1999-2000 series. She has also performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Pacific Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, the Royal and Swedish Ballets, the Los Angeles Music Center Opera Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for a recording of Ned Rorem’s works. She has appeared as one of the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra’s Chamber Musicians and has also participated in the Bach Camerata of Santa Barbara, the Henry J. Bruman Summer Chamber Music series and the Summer Music series at the Getty. She is active in recording for film, freelances and is also in demand as a teacher. Her training in England was at the Royal College of Music where she studied with Thea King. Recordings include Viklarbo’s recent CD release Songs and Romances which can be found on the Raptoria Caam label and the Mozart and Strauss Serenades with the California Philharmonic.

John Walz, cello: A celebrated soloist and chamber music artist, known for his dazzling virtuosity and elegant musicianship. A student of famed French cellist, Pierre Fournier, he has appeared as soloist with more than150 symphony orchestras on four continents. His performances of twenty-five different concertos include both standard showcases and rarities like Martinu’s Concerto #1 and William Schuman’s Song of Orfeus. In 1979, he, along with pianist Edith Orloff, founded the Pacific Trio. Now performing with violinist Roger Wilkie, this renowned ensemble has played more than 900 concerts throughout North America and Europe. In addition to his solo and chamber music duties, he is currently the principal cellist with the Los Angeles Opera, a position he previously held for 20 years with the Long Beach Symphony. His ever expanding discography includes recordings of the concertos by Dvorak, Haydn, Shostakovich, Bloch, Martinu, Vivaldi, and trios by Brahms, Dvorak, Smetana, and the newly released Pacific Trio CD featuring Beethoven’s Triple Concerto and Archduke Trio.

Christoph Wyneken, violin/viola: studied at the conservatories in Berlin, Detmold and Austin, Texas (USA). His work as the concertmaster of the Berlin Radio-Orchestra was followed by further experience with the Berlin Philharmonic and the position of principal concertmaster of the NDR Radio-Orchestra in Hanover, Germany. His performing career has included numerous recordings for radio broadcast, solo concerts and concert tours in Germany and abroad with the Berlin String Trio, the Waldstein Piano Trio and the Orfeo-Chamber Soloists. Many of his former students play in renowned orchestras or study at distinguished conservatories such as the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and the Musikakademie in Vienna. One of Wyneken’s goals is the instruction and support of extraordinarily gifted young musicians not yet at the conservatory or university level. The stage for his engagement in this area is provided by the State Youth Orchestra of Baden-Württemberg, of which Wyneken has been the artistic director since it’s founding over 30 years ago. Many of his students and the chamber music groups he has coached have received first prizes at the national level of the German youth music competition, Jugend Musiziert. Since 1991, Christoph Wyneken has been an instructor for chamber music at the conservatory in Freiburg and is now also a guest professor at the “Musachino” conservatory in Tokyo, Japan.

Craig Yancey, saxophone: For more than 30 years, he has been a professional musician and educator. He has taught instrumental music privately and in public schools, specializing in middle school bands. His jazz and symphonic bands have consistently received superior ratings and awards. A very active adjudicator/clinician for jazz, concert band, solo and ensemble festivals, and featured guest artist through out the southwest. His professional musician credits as a woodwind double specialist include 27 years of playing music in all of the major showrooms in Las Vegas, lounges, Broadway production shows, clubs, studios, and multiple concerts. He has performed with numerous artist including, Joe Williams, Donna Summers, Wayne Newton, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Lou Rawles, Tony Bennett, Carl Fontana, Don Menza, and many others. Mr. Yancey is currently Director of Bands in Menifee, California. Craig is also very active playing professionally in the Southern California area. Mr. Yancey uses Selmer saxophones.

David Young, double bass: BM, Eastman School of Music; M.M., D.M.A., University of Southern California. Studies with Oscar Zimmerman, Peter Mercurio, Dennis Trembly. Principal Double Bass, Los Angeles Opera, Long Beach Symphony; many other performing and recording activities. Faculty, University of California-Irvine, California State University-Long Beach. Creator and Founder, String Family Players. Music video produc