Faculty
Tünde Szabóki
soprano
The outstanding dramatic soprano studied piano n Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest , then singing in Graz and summer academy of Bayerische Staatsoper in München under Astrid Varnay. Her career as opera- and concert-singer started in Austria, one of her most memorable performance was in the world-premier of Schubert's opera Der Graf von Gleichen in Styriarte Festival leading by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. With Graz Philharmonic Orchestra she sang among others in Mahler's Symphony VIII., under the baton of Fabio Luisi. She is a regular guest in famous concert halls in Vienna, Musikverein and Konzerthaus. She often serves in Stephansdom in Vienna, she participated in high mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI. In Hungary after a successful career as an oratorio-singer she debuted in Fidelio-premier of Hungarian State Opera with Thomas Moser under the baton of Ádám Fischer. In the Palace of Arts in Budapest in June 2009 she sang more roles in the Ring with Ádám Fischer, and in September 2009 she appeared in Britten's The Death in Venice in Theater an der Wien under the baton of Donald C. Runnicles.
The famous mezzo-soprano won III. Prize of Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and appeared in Europalia in Bruxelles with the Hungarian Radio Orchestra under the baton of Tamás Vásáry in 1999. Her most famous role is Judit in Duke Bluebeard's Castle: she often portrays it all over Europe and the world (among others in Teatro Massimo in Palermo, in Barbican Hall in London, in the Palace of Arts and from the last season in Stuttgart Opera) and she sings in the Naxos-recording published in 2007. She sings in Hungarian State Opera from 1998, beside Judit she often sings Dorabellát, Sesto, Rosina and Orlovsky. Newly she had outstanding successes in Serse and in Die Rosenkavalier. Among her numerous CD Galuppi's La clemenza di Tito (under the baton of Fabio Pirona, Hungaroton) and Mozart's Don Giovanni (with Ferruccio Furlanetto and László Polgár, under the baton of György Győriványi Ráth György, Vox Artis) could be excepted. She is a significant artist as an oratorio-soloist, she won Artisjus-prize for 8 times for her commanding activity in the field of contemporary Hungarian music's interpretation. From January 2009 she is a department chief in University of Pécs.
The American-born lyrical tenor lived in Hungary between 1995 and 2006. He has sung in Hungarian State Opera since 1998 and he often sings in concerts, among others with the National Philharmonic Orchestra and The Symphonic Orchestra of Hungarian Radio. Her repertory ranges from the baroque to the contemporary music and his appearances are exciting also as theatrical aspects. She played more than 30 roles, his most unforgettable portrayals: Nero (L'incoronazione di Poppea), Nemorino, Edgardo, Alfredo, Tom Rakewell and the Mozart-heroes (Belmonte, Ferrando, Don Ottavio, Tamino, Titus), in which he has special appreciation. He appeared with Strasbourg Philharmonic,Warsaw Philharmonic, Sophia Philharmonic Orchestra, Saint Petersburg's State Philharmonic Orchestra, Lille Philharonic, Avignon Philharmonic and New Israel Chamber Orchestra. He made numerous CD-s with Hungaroton and in the edition of Naxos he sings in the recording of Mahler's Symphony VIII. with Warsaw Philharmonic. He is the founder and artistic leader of Crescendo Summer Institute of the Arts and the president of Song for the Nations Cultural Foundation organizing the Summer Institute.
She is a musical assistant in Hungarian State Opera. After her studies as chorus master and cemballist she became the member of her mother-theater in 1990. She is also active in early music and plays regularly with the Capella Savaria Baroque Ensemble and Aura Musicale Baroque Ensemble in addition to many concerts of chamber music and song. She often participates in concerts as cemballist and pianist. Last year she was artistic leader and conductor of the production of Crescendo Aristic Summer Academy, Haydn's Le pescatrici in Ede Paulay Theater in Tokaj.
The excellent American buffo-baritone, Steven Condy won the Pavarotti-competition in1992. Since then he is a regular guest in great American opera-houses (Los Angeles, Houston stb.) and he plays such brilliant roles like Leporello, Don Pasquale, Dulcamara, Dr. Bartolo, Don Magnifico and Falstaff. In the last season he was Betto in Gianni Schicchi in Los Angeles Opera and in Spoleto Festival, in the direction of Woody Allen, under the baton of James Conlon. He is also recognized as the professor of Haverford College in Pennsylvania and leads the Opera Studio of Philadelphia Biblical University with his wife.
Robin Leigh Massie
soprano
Robin Leigh Massie is an all-round artist, who, beside her operatic roles, often appears in concert and in operetta- and musical-performances. Her most important roles: Zerlina, Lauretta and Sofia in Signore Bruschino. In the New York City Opera she debuted as Flora in Britten's The Turn of the Screw. Her pedagogical activity is significant: she teaches in Westminster Conservatory and she is the leader of Opera Studio of Philadelphia Biblical University.
Uta Runne
mezzo-soprano
Uta Runne graduated with distinction from Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main with degrees in instrument and singing. She received a scholarship from the DAAD allowing her to study one year in France, where she focused on French Chanson and Art Songs. Master classes and private voice lessons with Anna Reynolds, Prof. Renate Faltin and Ingeborg Danz completed her studies. In Operatic works Uta Runne concentrated on Mozart Operas , singing such roles as “Papagena” and the “dritte Dame” in The Magic Flute, “Donna Elvira” in Don Giovanni, „Marcellina“ in Le nozze di Figaro and „Dorabella“ in Così fan tutte . In Berlin, spring of 2010, Uta Runne had the opportunity to debut the role of Violetta from Verdis La Traviata in a mezzosoprano-version transposed specifically for her. Her art work has led her to most of the European countries and recently to the USA and China. In addition to her career as an Opera and Oratorio-singer, Uta Runne has broadened her spectrum with Jazz, offering solo-recitals that include a variety of different styles of music, called Crossover-concerts.
Christian Radelhof
pianist, coach
Christian Radelhof Studied accompaniment in Franz- Liszt- Conservatory in Weimar 1984-1989, from 1989 he is an accompanist in State Ballettschool of Berlin (Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin). He regularly appears with singers. Since 2005 he is accompanist at Crescendo Summer Institute of the Arts.
Katalin Hegedüs received a degree in choral conducting in 1981 and in piano in 1983 from the Liszt Ferenc Music Academy. She is a regular performer in chamber ensembles in Hungary and abroad and gives an annual concert in the Music Academy in Budapest with her husband, pianist Endre Hegedűs. Their latest CD features a series of four-handed pieces by Mozart and Schubert, a Famous Bulgarian composer of XX. Century, Pancho Vladigerov's work and the four-handed version of Liszt’s Via Crucis with Pater Balázs Barsi’s devotionals. Besides the most popular repertoire pieces of the sonata, trio and quartet literature, she also enjoys performing less-known chamber compositions.
CHAMBER MUSIC
The violinist of Prague Philharmonic, David Danel has a significant career also as a soloist: he appeared with Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Ostrava Orchestra, Capella Istropolitana in Slovakia, Prague Philharmonic Chamber Soloists and Talich Chamber Orchestra in Prague. He has made many recordings of solo and chamber music for the Czech Radio and Slovart Records. He has received prizes in several national and international competitions including the Ludwig van Beethoven International Violin Competition and the Leos Janacek Violin Competition. He enjoys looking for ways to bring the violin into new mediums, and often cooperates with dancers, choreographers, visual artists and narrators, and frequently premieres new works by Czech composers. Beside his artistic career he teaches at the University of Ostrava.
Eszter Dudás violist, she received her diploma from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in 1999, as the student of László Bársony. She played in National Philharmonic Orchestra and in the MATÁV Symphonic Orchestra, she often participated their European concert-tours. Currently she is a section leader and soloist of Pest County Symphonic Orchestra and member of the HÍD Chamber Ensemble, Sárospatak String Quartett and the Violinetta Duo founded with his husband, Attila Füzesséry. The Violinetta Duo won the prize of ARTISJUS Musical Foundation for their commanding activity in the field of contemporary Hungarian music's interpretation. She taught at the Vác Music Conservatory from 2000 to 2004, from where her students got into the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest and its departments in Debrecen and Szeged. How she teaches viola at the Kőbánya Music School where she is also the conductor of the orchestra. Her students won numerous prizes in solo- and chamber music-competitions in Budapest and Hungary. In 2004 from the initiation of Timothy Bentch, in her native town, Sárospatak, they founded Crescendo con Spirito Summer Artistic Academy, in which she is a leading teacher. From September 2006 she is the director of Song for the Nations Cultural Foundation organizing the Summer Institute. With the support of Royalty-base of Performers he was invited in East-Helsinki Music Institute.
Ellen Rose, a Juilliard School graduate, has served as Principal Violist of the Dallas Symphony since 1980. She has performed as recitalist throughout America and Europe, and she has appeared in chamber music performances with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Yo Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell and Ralph Kirschbaum. She premiered and recorded numerous contemporary works. As a fund raiser, her annual "Ellen Rose and Firends" chamber music concerts has raised funds for the cancer unit at Children's Medical Center of Dallas and her group is currently benefiting The Nelson Center, a home for abandoned, abused and neglected children. She is on the Viola Faculty at Southern Methodist University and teaches professional musicians throughout the country. She is on the Advisory Council for the DSO'S Young Strings Project. Some master classes include The Juilliard School, Cleveland Institute of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, University of Michigan, and The Manhattan School of Music. She has written several transcriptions and arrangements, magazine articles, and has written two books, Viola Excerpts PLUS, and a scale book called EXTREME VIOLA.
The 23-years-old Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, the winner of Rostropovich-competition in 2005, one of the most celebrated cellist of the young generation. When she was 5 years old, she started her studies in her native town, Zwickau. As 16-years-old she won German National Competition “Jugend” Musiziert, she had numerous concerts in German towns and London. Many of her concerts were supported by Yehudi Menuhin Foundation. From 2001 she in the student of Peter Burns, but she participated in master-classes of Steven Isserlis, Leonid Gorokhov, Daniel Hope, Paul Watkins, Jonathan Tunnel, Gary Hoffman, Philippe Muller and Bernard Greenhouse. Now she appears with the most famous musician of the world, over Europe and the world. Her most illustrious partners were Claudio Abbado, Jurij Bashmet, Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltika (with whom she is making a CD). She has many recordings, in 2004 she recorded Kodály's Solo-sonata. From November 2008 her master is Frans Helmerson in the Kronberg Academy.
cellist
Bálint János
flautist
A excellent flautist, János Bálint started his studies in his native town, Hódmezővásárhely, then he studied in Szeged and between 1979 and 1984 in the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest, as the student of Lóránt Kovács Lóránt. From 1980 to 1991 he played in Symphinic Orchestra of Hungarian Radio and Television. From the beginning of his career Italy is one of the stage of his activity: in 1983 he participated in András Adorján's Master-course there. In 1984 he won the I. Prize and the town's great prize in the International Flute Competition in Ancona. He got invitation to Ferrara in 1985, where he debuted in Aterforum Festival with great success. In 1986 he won the fellowship of György Cziffra Foundation. Now he is a professor of Detmold Hochschule für Musik and Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. He recorded numerous CD-s edited by Hungaroton and Naxos. His solo-record entitled “Flutebeads” was published in 2001. He is regular guest in abroad. He was honored pwith Artisjus-prize in 1994 for his activity activity in the field of contemporary Hungarian music's interpretation. In 2008 he got Franz Liszt-prize.
Christian Studler
flautist
The well-known Swiss flautist, Christian Studler is a winner of numerous competitions earlier in his career, he studied with Aurèle Nicolet, Marcel Moyse, and James Galway. As a flute soloist he has played under such conductors as Marcello Viotti, Okko Kamu, Gustav Kuhn, Peter Gülke, and Ivan Anguélov. He has been the solo flutist with the Bern Symphonic Orchestra since 1979 and also professor of music at the Music University Bern since the same year.
József Kiss, oboe was born in Sátoraljaújhely, Hungary in 1961. He graduated from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in 1986 where he studied with Péter Pongrácz. He has now taught at the same institution for over 20 years. In 1984 he won the "Bronz Medaille" in the Touloni International Oboe Competition and he won the Grand Prize of the Hungarian Radio National Woodwinds Competition. He was the first oboist with the Hungarian Radio Symphonic Orchestra for almost ten years. From 1992 to 2009 he was the principal oboist with the Hungarian National Philharmonic where he was twice awarded "Artist of the Year" in 1998 and 2001. Since 1997 he has been a guest professor at the Tokyo Musashino Academy of Music. He was a member of the Budapest Woodwind Ensemble and the New Budapest Woodwind Quintet. In 2005 he was awarded the prestigious Liszt Prize by the Hungarian Government. Presently he is a tenured professor at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music and also a professor at the Detmold Hochschule für Musik. He has made many solo and chamber music recordings with the Naxos and Hungaroton recording labels some of which can be heard with the partnership of pianist Jenő Jandó. He has worked with the many prestigious conductors including George Solti, Antal Doráti, János Ferenscik, György Lehel, Zoltán Peskó, Gennagyij Roysgzesytvensykij, Lamberto Gardellivel, Giuseppe Patanéva, Kobayashi Ken-Ichiróva and Ádám Fischer.
Koji Okazaki
bassoonist
Born in Hiroshima, Koji Okazaki began his study of the bassoon at the age of sixteen and had his professional training from 1968 to 1972 at the Musashino Academy of Music, thereafter joining the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. A second prize winner at two of the NHK/MaiNichi Music Competitions, he was awarded the Deutsche Akademische Austauschen Dienst Fellowship in 1974 and embarked on a course of study at the Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademie in Detmold, undertaking concert-tours and recordings as a member of the Detmold Wind Ensemble. A prize- winner in the Trio Class at the Colmar International Chamber Music Competition, he graduated with the highest distinction in 1978 and was immediately invited to take up his present position as principal bassoonist of the NHK Symphony Orchestra (the top orchestra in Japan) in Tokyo. He also serves as a member of the teaching staffs of the Musashino Academy of Music, Elizabeth Music University, and is professor of bassoon at the Tokyo Univeristy of the Arts.
Julian Poore
trumpeter
Julian Poore was taught to play by John Knight, the founder of the Hampsire County Youth Band. With additional help from Ernest Piper and Chris Kennett he qualified for study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Horace Barker, Ray Simmons and John Miller. In 1982 he became a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, which has taken him all over the world. Highlights have included Beethoven cycles in Salzburg and New York with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Schubert cycles in Salzburg and Japan with Claudio Abbado, Rossini operas with Abbado, a Sibelius cycle in Finland with Paavo Berglund, and the many world-class soloists he has had the privilege to accompany. The continually varying challenges of a freelance music career help keep Julian’s life interesting and stimulating. He once spent a week in a BBC recording studio playing conch shells. On another occasion the expected cue was not given, and the Queen was kept waiting for her fanfare! His solo repertoire includes Haydn, Hummel, Vivaldi, Neruda, Copland, Aratunian, including a recording of Shostakovitch’s Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings with pianist Steve Robbings and the New English Orchestra. In 2006 he performed with Andrew Lumsden as part of the Winchester Festival. Julian teaches at Peter Symond’s, Winchester College, St Swithun’s, Pilgrims’ and Southampton University, and directs the band and choir at the Salvation Army in Alton.
Jeffrey Powers
hornist
Jeffrey Powers, principal horn with the Waco Symphony Orchestra and The Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, is a member of the Baylor Woodwind Quintet and the Baylor Brass. Mr. Powers also performs regularly with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and the East Texas Symphony Orchestra. Associate Professor of Horn at Baylor University School of Music, graduated with a masters degree in horn from the Cleveland Institute of Music. His major instructors were James London of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Albert Schmitter and Myron Bloom of the Cleveland Orchestra, and Roy Waas of the Buffalo Philharmonic.
Mr. Powers brings extensive experience in performing and teaching to his duties at Baylor University. He played fulltime professionally and internationally in symphony orchestras for twenty-three years. Having begun his career as second horn in the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Mr. Powers then served as second horn in the New Jersey Symphony, fourth horn in the Philharmonic of Caracas, Venezuela, and fourth horn and Wagner tuba in the Cleveland Orchestra under Lorin Maazel and Christoph von Dohnanyi. Then followed sixteen years as principal horn with the Royal Philharmonic of Flanders, Antwerp, Belgium. During his tenure in Belgium, he also performed as guest principal horn with most of the major orchestras of the Benelux (Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg) region, including the Philharmonic Orchestra of Luxembourg, the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the Brabants Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia.
Before coming to Baylor, Mr. Powers served on the faculties of the Lemmens Institute in Leuven, Belgium, the Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory Department, the Summer Music Experience in Hudson, Ohio, and the Hong Kong Government Music Administrators Office. Recently graduated performance majors from the Baylor University School of Music Horn Studio have received scholarships and assistantships for graduate study to The Juilliard School, the University of Maryland and the University of Houston, and many of the music education majors are teaching in significant music programs in middle and high schools throughout Texas. His former students are playing in professional ensembles such as The National Orchestra of Belgium and The U.S. Army Field Band.
Mr. Powers is also on the faculty of the MasterWorks Festival, sponsored by the Christian Performing Artists Fellowship, held each summer at Winona Lake in Indiana. Well known for his clinics and master classes, Mr. Powers has given clinics on topics such as the low register of the horn, the essentials of training young horn players, the All State experience, and playing and using the assistant horn, and he has taught master classes to students of all levels (see
Mr. Powers has recorded extensively in ensemble and has 3 solo CD's released to date (see
"Jeffrey Powers – Clinics" below). This past fall Mr. Powers toured with Dr. de Vries to China where they played in recital and taught the students at Hong Kong Baptist University, Taipei National University of the Arts and the Shanghai Conservatory. Mr. Powers is also in demand as an adjudicator being asked to regularly judge the Texas State Music Educators (TMEA) All State 5A Horn Placement auditions and the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Texas State Solo and Ensemble Competition (TSSEC)."Jeffrey Powers – Recordings" below). Let All That Hath Breath Praise the Lord: Music of Praise for Horn is the title of Mr. Power's first solo CD. This recording includes works by Basler, Gryc, Hindemith, Krol, Marc, and the Sonata in One Movement by Hugh Chandler written for Mr. Powers. Together with Dr. de Vries, Mr. Powers has released 2 CD's on the MSR Classics label. His second solo CD: Into the 21st Century: Music for Horn and Piano by Baldwin, Bentzon, Pilss and Vignery includes the Appalachian Suite written for Mr. Powers by Daniel Baldwin. In a Lyrical Way: Music for Horn and Piano by Flemish Masters was released in the Fall of 2008. They are presently in the process of recording a new CD of major sonatas for horn and piano including those written by Beethoven, Rheinberger and Hindemith. In addition to Mr. Baldwin's and Mr. Chandler's pieces, Mr. Powers has premiered numerous other works including Thou Holiest of Rivers written specifically for him by David Uber (see "Jeffrey Powers – Premieres" below). His own transcription of "5 Psalms" by Dvorak for horn and piano has been published by Imagine Music Publishers.
Gregory Pascuzzi
trumpeter
Born in 1952 in Pittsburgh to musician parents, Gregory Pascuzzi studied composition and conducting with Karel Husa, Frank McCarty, Henry Mazer, Manuel Alverez and Sheldon Morgenstern. Anthony Pasquarelli was his main trumpet teacher. His music (original and arragements) has been played by many orchestras, soloists and chamber ensembles around the world. Gregory Pascuzzi served 27 years (1972-1999) with two major American military bands (US Military Academy Band at West Point and the US Army Field Band in Washington) as conductor, composer, arranger and musician. He also was co-director of Music at the Bishop Cummins Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church in Baltimore. A wide range of influences has resulted in an eclectic output. Early influences included the wind band traditions of America, England (Sousa to Husa), 20th century composers ranging from Vaughn Williams to Penderecki, jazz and big band composers and arrangers (Thad Jones, Don Sebesky, Stan Kenton, etc.), film score composers, and, occasionaly, even PDQ Bach. A third of it is sacred music.
PIANO
István Dominkó
pianist
István Dominkó, pianist, received his diploma from the Liszt Conservatory of Music and is professor of piano at the Eötvös University in Budapest. He is a candidate for a doctorate in piano and is active as a soloist and chamber musician. He is the founder and director of the HÍD Chamber Ensemble and performs regularly in the Budapest Spring Festival.
Martin Helmchen
pianist
This ‘Moment called Martin Helmchen "one of the most promising young German pianists, whose musicianship is not only shown in his virtuosity but also in his love of chamber music. He plays Mozart’s intimate A major concerto, K. 414 with finesse, with feelings so clear and simple in expression and phrasing that one felt close to the genius of the 26 year old composer himself.” -Badische Zeitung. In September 2006 Martin Helmchen was the recipient of the “Crédit Suisse Award” which was marked by his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Valery Gergiev at the Lucerne Festival. In a young career that has already included several significant prizes (he won the Clara-Haskil-Competition in 2001 and was awarded a Fellowship with the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in 2004) this prestigious award has contributed significantly to the increasing profile of this remarkable artist. Born in Berlin, he studied for seven years with Prof. Galina Iwanzowa and since October 2001 Helmchen has been a student of Prof. Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hanover.
Martin Helmchen has already played with the Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, Bamberg Symphony, the Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Stuttgart (SWR), the NHK Symphony and the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestras of Munich, Cologne, Vienna and Lausanne, working with conductors including Lawrence Foster, Vladimir Jurowski, Bernhard Klee, Jiri Kout and Christoph Poppen. He has also appeared at some of the major summer festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Kissinger Sommer, the Klavierfestival Ruhr, Schwetzingen, the Jerusalem Festival, Lockenhaus and at the Marlboro Festival in the US.
As a keen chamber musician, Martin Helmchen worked closely with the late cellist Boris Pergamenschikow – a pedagogue who had a considerable impact on this young pianist. He has also performed with Christian Poltera, Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, Isabelle Faust, Daniel Hope, Tabea Zimmermann, Mario Brunello, Sharon Kam, Lars Vogt. Most recently he has collaborated with Heinrich Schiff performing the complete Beethoven duos, which have been heard both in concert and on the radio, and this collaboration is set to continue in the future. This season Martin Helmchen plays with the Royal Flanders Philharmonic, the Radio orchestras of Saarbrücken and Berlin (RSB), the orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin and the BBC Orchestras in London, Scotland and Manchester and the Symphony Orchestras of Bonn, Bern, Göttingen, Winterthur and Bournemouth. Regarding conductors he will work with Philippe Herreweghe, Marek Janowski, Marc Albrecht and Bruno Weil. He will also play recitals in Holland, Brussels, Zurich and give his debut recitals in Salzburg and London’s Wigmore Hall. Martin Helmchen has signed an exclusive contract with the label PentaTone. In Spring 2007 he recorded Mozart’s piano concertos KV 415 and KV 491 with the Nederlands Chamber Orchestra.
Reto Reichenbach
pianist
Reto Reichenbach has been received by the press and audiences as a musician whose interpretations are particularly intense and sincere. A special focus of his work is directed to the 20th century repertoire, which is reflected in his success at the 2004 international 20th century piano competition in Orléans, France (2nd overall prize and “Nadja Boulanger” special prize). Furthermore, Reto Reichenbach was prizewinner at the international piano competition of the city of Cantú, Italy. For his artistic accomplishments he was given the culture award by the Swiss Bank Corporation and the “Outstanding Young Person Award” by the Swiss Junior Chamber of Commerce. In his widespread musical activities as a soloist, chamber musician and vocal accompanist Reto Reichenbach performed in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Moldova, the USA, Canada and Japan. He appeared at the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, the Mozarteum Salzburg, the Salle Cortot in Paris, and the Tonhalle Zurich.
As a soloist Reto Reichenbach performed with many orchestras, such as the Orchestre National de Lille, the Berne Symphony Orchestra, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Romanian “OLTENIA” Philharmonic Orchestra di Craiova, the Moldova Chamber Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Switzerland, and the Orchestra of the InternationalMenuhinMusicAcademy (Camerata Lysy). A member of the preparatory division of the Basle music academy, Reto Reichenbach has taught master classes at the LevineSchool in Washington, DC and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Born in 1974, Reto Reichenbach grew up in Gstaad (Switzerland). He studied at the Berne Conservatory with Tomasz Herbut and completed his studies with Ann Schein at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and with Boris Berman at the YaleUniversity. Numerous scholarship awards have furthered his career.
ORGAN
László Fassang
organist
A native of Budapest, László Fassang was born into a musical family and began to study the organ at the age of 13 under the tutelage of István Baróti. He graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in 1998, having studied piano under Ilona Prunyi and organ with István Ruppert. Mr. Fassang then entered the Paris Conservatory, where he studied organ with Olivier Latry and Michel Bouvard, as well as improvisation under Loic Mallié, Philippe Lefebvre, Thierry Escaich and Jean-Francois Zygel.
In 2000, Fassang took a sabbatical year to become resident organist at the Sapporo Concert Hall (Japan). During that time he performed several concerts in Japan, and recorded a CD on the Kern organ at Sapporo Concert Hall, which included works by Bach and Liszt as well as his own improvisations.
In 2003 he got his degree of excellent qualification as organist and improvisator at the Conservatoire of Paris; in 2004 he got a degree in piano-improvisation at the same place. Since 2002 Fassang has performed many concerts in Europe, Japan and the USA. After six years abroad, he decided to return to his native country, and settled down there in 2004. He was responsible for supervising the construction of the organ of the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall (Budapest) and was appointed artistic consultant of the organ concerts of the Palace of Arts (Budapest) in 2006.
Fassang continues to play classical works, but he is particularly interested in exploring the world of improvisation, in order to demonstrate the versatility of the organ using different styles of music, such as jazz and folk music. With this aim in view, he performs concerts with Vincent Le Quang saxophonist, Gábor Gadó guitarist, Hungarian folksinger Beáta Palya, Balázs Szokolay Dongó multi-wind instrumentalist, András Dés percussionist and Kristóf Bacsó saxophonist. Since 2002 his concert career has been managed by Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc. in the USA.
Main awards:
2006: Liszt Ferenc Prize; Prima Prize2004: Grand Prix de Chartres International Organ Competition - Grand Prize and "Audience Choice"
2003: First German-French International Organ Competition (Windesheim) - Second Prize (tie) and Special Prize for best interpretation of French works
2002: Royal Bank Calgary International Organ Festival and Competition - Improvisation Gold Medal
2002: 4th International Competition of the City of Paris - Second Prize of improvisation and Duruflé Prize
1998: Gyõr International Organ Competition (Hungary) - Second Prize
1993: Zoltán Gárdonyi Memorial Competition (Budapest) - First Prize
ORCHESTRA
Delta David Gier has been called a dynamic voice on the American music scene, recognized widely for his penetrating interpretations of the standard repertoire and his passionate commitment to new music. During the summer of 2000 he conducted the New York Philharmonic in what were described as “splendid performances . . . He found new ways to look at old repertoire in Stravinsky’s ballet suite from The Firebird (1945).” Since 1994 he has been an assistant conductor for the New York Philharmonic, and has served in that role for the Metropolitan Opera as well. Mr. Gier came to national attention in 1997 while conducting a tour of Carmen for San Francisco Opera’s Western Opera Theater. He has performed with many of the world's finest soloists, including Midori, Lang Lang, Sarah Chang and Jan Vogler.
Since the 2004-05 season Mr. Gier has held the post of Music Director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. During his tenure the orchestra has enjoyed tremendous growth, expanding its offerings and increasing its repertoire, including an annual Mahler celebration and highly successful operatic performances each season. The SDSO has received the coveted ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming for the past three seasons in a row, largely due to its series of concerts featuring works of Pulitzer Prize-winning composers. This program was heralded by the Wall Street Journal as, "an unprecedented programming innovation." Thus far, Pulitzer prize-winning composers Paul Moravec and Steven Stucky have had residencies with the SDSO.
Beginning with the 2007-08 season Mr. Gier has been conductor for the complete series of the New York Philharmonic's Young People's Concerts, the first conductor to do so in over 50 years. These highly innovative programs continue to be the vanguard in introducing new audiences to classical music. During the present season Mr. Gier will also make his debut with the Phoenix Symphony and the American Composers Orchestra.
The release of his recording of Symphony No. 2 (42) by American composer Carson Kievman with the Polish National Radio Symphony on the New Albion label received acclaim from many quarters. “The kind of performance composers live for” was the Denver Post’s response, while Spoleto Today wrote, “It provides one of the most powerful musical experiences I have had in recent times.” The SDSO will premiere a new work of Mr. Kievman's in November 2008.
As a Fulbright Scholar (1988–90) Gier led critically acclaimed performances with many orchestras of Eastern Europe. He was invited to the former Czechoslovakia to conduct Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony in celebration of the 100th anniversary of its premiere. Gier took this opportunity to introduce Eastern European audiences to many American masterworks, such as Barber’s Violin Concerto with the Presidential Symphony of Ankara, and Copland’s Appalachian Spring with the Bucharest Philharmonic. “He possesses an innate sense of expression which stems naturally from an absolute artistic sincerity . . .” was how Mircea Cristescu, the Bucharest Philharmonic’s laureate conductor, characterized Gier’s direction.
Gier earned a Master of Music degree in conducting from The University of Michigan under Gustav Meier. “He communicates a true and convincing interpretation to the audience” Meier observed, ”. . . and, above all, he brings the composer to the center of the stage.” As a student at Tanglewood and Aspen he studied also with Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Masur, Erich Leinsdorf, and Seiji Ozawa, and was later invited by Riccardo Muti to spend a year as an apprentice at the Philadelphia Orchestra. At the invitation of the American Symphony Orchestra League he participated in their National Conductor Preview, a highly selective showcase for young conductors.
Mr. Gier has also been in demand as a teacher and conductor in many highly regarded music schools. serving as visiting professor at the Yale School of Music, the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, the San Francisco Conservatory and SUNY Stony Brook.
"... a bravura performance ... that confirmed his outstanding talent" (Musical Opinion)
The Romanian violinist and conductor Andrei Gocan has graduated as Best Graduand from the Royal Academy of Music in London. He was the winner of the Jeunnesses Musicales International Violin Competition in 2007, as well as prize-winner at chamber music competitions in Italy and Holland. After two years of postgraduate studies in the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris, he has now been offered a place on the prestigious postgraduate conducting course at the RAM in London. His violin teachers have included Remus Azoitei, Thomas Brandis and Boris Garlitsky. Masterclasses with Maxim Vengerov, Miriam Fried, Pierre Amoyal, Zvi Zeitlin, Gyorgy Pauk, Bruno Canino, Eberhard Feltz, members of the Amadeus, Belcea and Maggini string quartets have been an immense inspiration for him. Andrei has performed in solo and chamber music concerts at St Martin in the Fields, St John's Smith Square, Duke's Hall, The Anvil, and Turner Simms Hall in the UK, Salle Cortot in Paris. He has been invited to various chamber music festivals where his partners have included Daniel Adni, Diana Ketler, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Pierre-Henri Xuereb. He has enjoyed solo performances with various symphony orchestras in Romania, with conductors such as Jan Stulen, Theo Wolters, Sabin Pautza, Jochen Wehner.
As an orchestral player, Andrei has played under conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Susanna Malkki, and Trevor Pinnock.
Andrei has studied conducting both in the RAM and CNSM and his teachers have included Denise Ham, Paul Brough and Philippe Ferro. He has conducted various ensembles in London and Paris, including the Orchestre des Laureats du Conservatoire. Meetings with conductors John Nelson, Yoel Levi and Kenneth Kiesler have been a huge inspiration.
JAZZ
Uwe Steinmetz
Saxophonist, Composer
Uwe Steinmentz was born in a little village in Northern Germany in 1975 and studied saxophone and music theory in Berlin, Berne, India and Boston. His teachers included Gebhard Ullmann (Berlin), Andy Scherrer(Basle), Jerry Bergonzi (Boston) and George Russell (Boston). He works as a free-lance composer, saxophonist and lecturer up to and beyond the borders of Europe, including: India, Ethiopia, Korea and the USA. He has won national and international awards for his artistic work, as well as full scholarships for all his studies. Apart form his activity as concert- performer and teacher he is researching the fundamentals of music in various world cultures for a dissertation and supports intercultural and religious dialogue through his own artistic projects. He believes that "Music unifies mind and soul and brings us closer to truth in ourselves, the world and beyond all things. Music shines a fresh, healing light on our momentary fears and longings, our perishable happiness and unhappiness." Web: www.u-musik.us www.wavesmusic.de
Daniel Stickan studied Jazz piano and church organ (with Prof. Pieter van Dijk) at the Hamburg College of Music and Theater. Among his teachers have been highly acclaimed Jazz pianists like Bobo Stenson, Dieter Glawischnig and Vladislav Sendecki as well as the Ligeti specialist Volker Banfield. [He joined organ master classes with famous organists like Harald Vogel, Wolfgang Zerer and Hans-Ola Ericsson] Daniel Stickan won several prizes and reached the "Top 12" of the International Bösendorfer Solo Piano Competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival. He is playing concerts as Jazz piano and organ player and is a demanded musical partner in chamber music. [His organ repertoire spans a widerange from early to contemporary music with a special focus on "exotic" compositions by P. Glass, G. Ligeti, J. Cage, G. Crumb, M. Kagel, A. Pärt and many others.]
Web: www.stickan.org
Gergely Kaposi conductor
Gergely Kaposi is a leading conductor at the Hungarian State Opera. He was the music director of the Debrecen Csokonai Theater and since 1998 has been the lead conductor for the Ferencváros Summer Performances, conducting such operas as Nabucco, Bánk Bán, and the Magic Flute. Since 1998, he has been the conductor for the annual Budapest Ball. Outside of his native country, he has conducted in Germany, Italy, Japan, and Italy. Also active as a pianist, he has performed many concerts with singers and chamber ensembles. He is a graduate of the Liszt Ferenc Conservatory of Music where he studied under Ervin Lukács. He has been the conductor of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music Orchestra since 1997.
Csilla Sallaicellist
Csilla Sallai, cello, is a graduate of the Liszt Ferenc Conservatory and studied at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. She was a founding member of the Erkel Ferenc Chamber Orchestra and presently teaches at the Tóth Aladár Music School. She has given solo concerts in Rome, Sicily, and Berlin.
Pirkko Simojokiviolist
Pirkko Simojoki started playing the violin at the age of 5 as Géza Szilvay’s pupil. She changed to the viola at the age of 14 and continued her studies at The Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where she took her second degree viola diploma in 1996, achieving the top grade. She also studied at The Rubin Academy in Tel Aviv. Her most important and long-term viola teachers were Matti Hirvikangas and Yuri Gandelsman. She is a long-standing section leader of the Helsinki Strings, nowadays coaching the viola section. From 1993 to 2002, Pirkko Simojoki played in the Finnish National Opera Orchestra, first as a tutti player and later as a section leader. Today she is lecturer in viola playing at the East Helsinki Music Institute and teaches viola and pedagogy at the Sibelius Academy. She has adapted the Colourstrings method for the viola, working in close co-operation with Géza Szilvay. Since August 2008 Pirkko Simojoki has been vice director of the East Helsinki Music Institute.
Web: http://www.stephan-jon-tramer.ch/
András Dérfilm and theater director
András Dér is one of the leading Hungarian film directors. His films have won top prizes in the New York, London, Mannheim, and Aix-en-Provent film festivals. In Hungary he was awarded the prestigious Balázs Béla prize. Also active as a theater director, he has directed such plays as Shadowlands, The Angel's Greeting, A. Gelman’s Bench at the Hungarian Theater, and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible at the Vörösmarty Színház in Székesfehérvár.
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