Leonard Bennett Crantford, a native of South Carolina has been a member of the Indianapolis Symphony since 1983. He received a BM from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in the same year. His primary teachers were Stuart Sankey, Eugene Levinson, Peter Rickett and Murray Grodner. Before serving as the Assistant […]
The 2022-2023 season marks violinist Stephen Cepeda‘s 17th year as a concertmaster of the Helena Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared as soloist with the HSO on several occasions including performances of Sibelius, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Korngold, Britten, and Beethoven . This season he played Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy for opening night in Helena and with the […]
Described by the Chicago Sun Times as “…riveting and insightful, who lights up in passages of violin pyrotechnics,” Caroline Eva Chin has concertized throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia in concert halls including the John F. Kennedy Center, the White House during their Christmas Festivities, New York’s Carnegie and Weill Halls, and the Concertgebeau […]
Classical violist and North Carolina native, Aria Cheregosha made her debut in Carnegie Hall at the age of 13 and was the semi-finalist in the 2012 Viola Congress Competition. Aria continued her musical studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston underworld-renowned violist and pedagogue Kim Kashkashian and under Roger Tapping at The […]
Joseph Horowitz’s eleven previous books mainly deal with the history of classical music in the United States. Understanding Toscanini: How He Became an American Culture-God and Helped Create a New Audience for Old Music (1987) was named one of the year’s best books by the New York Book Critics Circle. Wagner Nights: An American History […]
Dr. Renate Stark-Voit was born and raised in Munich, Germany. She studied musicology and German and Italian Literature in Munich, Graz, and Vienna (Austria) earning PhD in 1988 (under the name of Hilmar-Voit) at the University of Vienna. Stark-Voit’s dissertation about Gustav Mahler was printed with the title “Im Wunderhorn-Ton” (In the Wunderhorn Tone) (Tutzing […]
It is no coincidence for Michael Baker to end up as a career musician as he was surrounded by all types of music from childhood. Sunday family dinners were always followed by impromptu concerts of Neapolitan Art songs and opera arias. Michael’s dad was an amateur violinist and a semi-professional alto sax man. Michael’s first […]
Highlights: Philippe in Don Carlos (Hamburgische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper am Rhein). Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin (San Francisco Opera, The National Symphony). Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Opéra Atelier, Boston Lyric Opera, Vlammse Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Wolftrap Opera). Blitch in Susannah (Orlando Opera, Arizona Opera, Nashville Opera). Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress […]
Hailed by the New York Times as possessing “rich tone and deft technique,” Hannah Porter Occeña is Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of Northern Iowa and Principal Flutist of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra (Topeka, KS). Previous positions include Principal Flute of the Midwest Chamber Ensemble (Prairie Village, KS) and Associate Principal Flute of […]
Oboist Jordan Pyle’s love of music came at an early age when she fell in love with Mozart operas—dancing, singing, and acting out scenes from The Magic Flute. This passion for musical storytelling is the foundation of her oboe playing. Jordan Pyle is 2nd oboe/English horn with the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra. She has previously held the […]
Festival Artist Lucas Borges is an Assistant Professor of Trombone at Ohio University (OU) and is a Conn-Selmer Performing Artist. He holds a Doctoral degree from the University of North Texas (UNT), Master’s degree from Indiana University and a Bachelor’s degree from Universidade de Brasilia (Brazil). Before his appointment at OU, Dr. Borges served as a teaching […]
Festival Artist Daniel Kelly, a native of Charleston, SC, is associate professor of trumpet at Texas A&M University-Commerce. He joined the A&M-Commerce faculty in the fall of 2010 after serving on the faculty of Indiana State University and the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Kelly is a member of the Dallas Winds (formerly the Dallas […]
Festival Artist and The Indianapolis Quartet first violinist, Zachary DePue has established himself in concert venues around the world delivering virtuosic high-energy performances. He demonstrates command as a leader, soloist, collaborator, and improvisational artist reaching across a diverse landscape of music. His authentic warmth and generosity on stage invites audiences to join him in all […]
Festival Artist April Fredrick is a soprano with a passion for nuance and text which gets to the heart of both music and character. Equally at home on the opera stage, concert hall and recording studio, April has recently premiered the title role of John Joubert’s opera Jane Eyre in a live concert recording for […]
Dr. Lauren Spaulding, under the alias of @MonochromeViola, has established herself as a rising genre-defying soloist and chamber musician through her “anonymous practice blog” on Instagram. As a lover of learning, Spaulding has sought a variety of mentorship and has worked intensively under the tutelage of Professor Peter Slowik at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, […]