Director Franz Vote

Franz Vote has been called one of the finest conductors of his generation. Named a “singer’s conductor” by reviewers, his rapport with musicians, both on stage and in the orchestra pit, elicits music-making of the highest level. Regarding his premiere of Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Metropolitan Opera, one reviewer noted, “… during the curtain call, a very unusual thing happened. Usually half or more of the musicians have left the orchestra pit by the time the conductor gets to take his curtain call, and he then has to stand there and extend his gratitude to an almost empty pit. Not this time. Last night most, if not all of the musicians stayed in their spots, and what’s more, they stood up and avidly applauded Franz Vote.”

Maestro Vote began his professional career in 1980 as a conductor at The Eastman School of Music and The Aspen Music Festival. In 1982 he was engaged at the Musiktheater im Revier in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, where he conducted Le nozze di Figaro, L’elisir d’amore, Giulio Cesare, Xerxes, and L’Orfeo. His successes there led to productions of Gianni Schicchi and Hans Werner Henze’s Don Chisciotte de la Mancia in Aachen. From there, he went to the Gärtnerplatz Theater in Munich and the Theater des Westens in Berlin. Maestro Vote’s approach to conducting is informed by extensive experience in German opera houses and his 1989 engagement at the Bayreuth Festival as Assistant Conductor to Daniel Barenboim and James Levine.

In 1990 he was invited by James Levine to join the Metropolitan Opera, conducting performances of Elektra, Madama Bufferfly, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Les contes d’Hoffmann, and the 1996 New Year’s Eve Gala. Placido Domingo invited him to lead Tokyo’s Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra for the Operalia Vocal Competition.

The Los Angeles native has collaborated with many of the world’s most prominent operatic artists, including Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Hildegard Behrens, Stephanie Blythe, Jane Eaglen, Renée Fleming, Galina Gorchakova, Ben Heppner, Jerry Hadley, James King, Susanne Mentzer, Richard Leach, Samuel Ramey, and Deborah Voigt, among many others.

Maestro Vote achieved international prominence and received high acclaim as Music Director of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at Seattle Opera in 2001 with soprano Jane Eaglen. Called the “musical Wotan of the production…..a real master of Wagnerian style….a conductor who brings out the best in his players,’’ the New York Times noted that his performance was “beautiful, conceptually unified and musically strong…Mr. Vote brought vigor and textural clarity to the score.”

Recent seasons have included Opera Memphis’ Samson et Dalila with Barbara Dever and Otoniel Gonzaga, Aida and Salome for Orlando Opera, plus touring with that company to Toulon, France; Faust at Sarasota Opera, which Opera News called a “Faust, passionately, arrestingly conducted by Franz Vote, who was as interested in theatrical sweep as in nuances of tempo and phrasing.” His recent performances of Lucia di Lammermoor at Opera Naples were called the company’s “best ever…every section was strong, tightly meshed and well-rehearsed. Vote’s direction created a seamless tapestry from [the orchestra] and the singers…”

Franz Vote currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he is Music Director and Conductor of the New Mexico Bach Society and Vice-President of the New Mexico Performing Arts Society. He also guests conducts at various opera houses around the country.

Linda Marianiello

Linda Marianiello, Flutist. Linda Marianiello enjoys an ongoing solo career that includes concerto appearances with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Orchester Concerto Armonico Oberammergau, the New American Chamber Orchestra, the Fairfield Chamber Orchestra, the Wyoming Symphony, the Mercury Ensemble, and the Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra. She plays in recital at European festivals in Bayreuth, Salzburg, Potsdam-Sanssouci, Oberammergau, Deya-Mallorca, Elba, and Graz. In addition to performing on many well-known concert series throughout the United States, she is a frequent guest at National Flute Association conventions. She also appears in live television broadcasts on ORB-Berlin, Spanish National Television, Austrian National Television, Bavarian Television, and numerous PBS television stations. Linda Marianiello is heard on many National Public Radio stations, most notably in live performance on WNYC-New York.

She is particularly interested in recording standard repertoire in new ways and has a passion for introducing quality repertoire that is less widely known. Her numerous chamber music recordings for the Bavarian Radio Studios in Munich, Germany emphasize nineteenth and twentieth-century works for flute with piano and strings. “Baroque Sampler” (Swineshead Productions, Berkeley, CA 2001) features French and German works for baroque flutes and harpsichord. The American Music Research Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder commissioned the Marianiello-Reas Duo to record “Dialogues: American Music for Flute and Organ” (MSR Classics 2003). The success of the first CD led the Duo to release a second album, “Cantilena” (MSR Classics 2010). “Consolations” (MSR Classics 2008) features Romantic works by Franck, Widor, and Liszt. Recorded in the Europasaal in Bayreuth, “Consolations” showcases the more intimate sounds of a historic 1930 Verne Q. Powell flute and an 1872 Steingraeber Liszt grand piano.

Her desire to collaborate has led to the founding of many chamber music groups, among them The Con Brio Chamber Ensemble with colleagues from the Bavarian State Opera; The New England Trio with flutist Brooks de Wetter-Smith and pianist-conductor Franz Vote; The Chicago Fine Arts Chamber Players with Stephen Balderston, former associate principal cellist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Professor of Cello at De Paul University, and pianist Aaron Krister Johnson, a multi-keyboardist, composer, and the artistic director of Midwest Microfest.

As a teacher, Linda Marianiello has served on the faculties of the City University of New York-Brooklyn College, Colorado State University, and the Summer Flute Institute at the Sherwood Conservatory of Columbia College in Chicago. She has performed and taught at numerous universities as a guest artist in residence including Yale, Cornell, Northwestern, De Paul, Rhodes College, Miami University of Ohio, SUNY-Fredonia, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Brigham Young University, and the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, China. Thanks to new technologies, Marianiello now also teaches extensively via the Internet.

Linda Marianiello lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Marianiello is president of the New Mexico Performing Arts Society, the umbrella organization that includes the Chapel Series at Immaculate Heart, Santa Fe Flute Immersion, and the New Mexico Bach Society. She is a Recording Studio Artist for Verne Q. Powell Flutes, which also sponsors her on tour and in recording. Her principal teachers are Bernard Goldberg, Walfrid Kujala, Thomas Nyfenger, Peter Thalheimer, and Andras Adorjan. Marianiello holds a B. A. from Yale University and an M. A. from the City University of New York-Brooklyn College.

Aaron Alter

Aaron Alter, Composer.

A native of Chicago, Aaron Alter’s musical background was a product of the rich musical life that he found growing up in the Windy City. While a high-school student, Aaron studied Jazz Piano with Alan Swain and Classical Piano with Helen Engler at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. For two years, while in high school, Aaron played piano in a band led by the legendary Chicago-based saxophonist Fred Anderson. Aaron received his Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University, where he studied piano with Frances Larimer and Gui Mombaerts, and composition with Lynden DeYoung and David Noon. He received his Master of Fine Arts Degree from Princeton University, where he studied with Milton Babbitt and James K. Randall.

Aaron’s Earth Cantata (inspired by the Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach) for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra, was commissioned by the New Mexico Performing Arts Society and premiered in 2023 in two special New Mexico Bach Society concerts. Aaron’s music has won numerous awards from the Global Music Awards and The American Prize. Recordings of Aaron’s music can be found on the Sarton, Phasma Music and Composers Concordance labels.

Aaron is a regular contributor of compositions to the repertoire of the The New Mexico Performing Arts Society, the flutist Iwona Glinka, the pianist and Steinway artist, Susan Merdinger, the Cracow Duo, the ÉxQuartet, the pianist Vania Pimentel, and Composers Concordance in New York.

Aaron also serves as an Executive Board Member of the Carlsbad (California) Friends of the Arts and is the former Chair of the Carlsbad Arts Commission.

Recent Compositions include:

Earth Cantata (inspired by the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, commissioned by NMPAS) (2022)
Who, if not You for Mixed Chamber Ensemble with Percussion and Tap Dancer (2023)
Vival-departures (inspired by the music of Antonio Vivaldi) for String Orchestra (2022)
Fire and Sleet and Candlelight for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble (2022)
Lament, Prayer and Renewal for Tenor Saxophone and Electric Guitar (2021)

Aaron’s music is published by Universal Edition and Silverwinds Publishing.
For more information about Aaron and his music, please visit his website https://aaronalter.com

José Daniel Apodaca

José Daniel Apodaca

José Daniel Apodaca holds a BA in music from Stanford University, an MA in voice from the University of New Mexico, and an BA in elementary Bilingual/ESL education from the College of Santa Fe.  José has an extensive background performing in the zarzuela genre.  He has performed in zarzuela productions with Teatro Nuevo México at the Hispanic National Cultural Center in Albuquerque, Opera Southwest, the Chamizal National Zarzuela festival in El Paso, Texas and the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas, Texas.  He has performed in the following Zarzuelas: La Dolorosa, La Verbena de La Paloma, El Barberillo de Lavapiés, El Barbero de Sevilla, La Corte del Faraon, La Tabernera del Puerto, La del Manojo de Rosas, and Luisa Fernanda.   He has performed in numerous concerts of zarzuela anthologies at the Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.  José has also performed in operas including Carmen, The Merry Wives of Winsor, The Abduction from the Seraglio, The Magic Flute, and The Marriage of Figaro at the University of New Mexico.  José performed in Amahl and Night Visitors and The Marriage of Figaro with Opera Southwest.  He has won various awards in education including numerous Spanish grants to summer studies at Spanish universities in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2006.   He received a grant from the Spanish government in 1992 for the celebration of the quincentennial of the arrival of Columbus in the new world in 1492.  This was to produce the zarzuela El Barberillo de Lavapiés in Albuquerque and El Paso, Texas at the Chamizal National Zarzuela Festival. He received a Golden Apple National Excellence in Teaching Award in 2004.  He was a Fulbright finalist in voice to Spain in 1988, 1989, and 1991.  José currently sings with a professional Mexican folk group, La Rondalla de Albuquerque, which performs Boleros, Norteñas and classic Spanish songs from Spain and throughout Latin America.

Carlos Archuleta

Baritone Carlos Archuleta, a native New Mexican, has had a varied and full singing career as an operatic baritone. His repertoire ranged from Rossini and Verdi to Adams and DeFalla. He has performed with notable companies such as The Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, New York City Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Dallas Opera, Minnesota Opera, Orlando Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and Utah Opera. Repertoire includes Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Le Nozze de Figaro, Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze de Figaro, Papageno in Die Zauberflote, and Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore. One of his signature roles was Escamillo inCarmen, which took him to London, performing in the Royal Albert Hall.

Other roles include Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Nixon in Nixon in China, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Marcello and Schaunard in La Boheme, Silvio in Pagliacci, Alvaro in Florencia en el Amazonas and Germont in La Traviata. As an oratorio soloist, Mr. Archuleta has performed the solos for J.S. Bach’s Cantata, “Ich habe genug” with the American Festival of Microtonal Music (NYC), and was the baritone soloist in Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3 with Maestro Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra. Other appearances include Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah, and Bach’s Magnificat, most recently with Maestro Franz Vote and the New Mexico Performing Arts Society and the New Mexico Bach Chorale, with both Mr. Archuleta is a member, Orff’s Carmina Buranaand Faure, Verdi and Brahms Requiem. Mr. Archuleta has also recently completed a recital tour with Debra Layers and Christina Martos around the northern NM area featuring vocal music inspired by William Shakespeare.

Elizabeth Baker

Elizabeth Baker violinist, moved to Taos NM in 2017 following a 40-year orchestral career as a member of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for 10 years, and then 30 years with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She appeared as soloist three times during her tenure with the LAPhil, all premieres, and all receiving critical acclaim. She also performed chamber music with her colleagues from both orchestras, as well as with XTet and Bach’s Circle, LA-based chamber groups that appeared at Chamber Music Northwest, Sedona Music Festival, South Bay Chamber Music, and Bach Festivals in California and Oregon. In addition to appearing on the Taos Chamber Music Group, Montage Society, New Mexico Performing Arts Society, and Santa Fe Pro Musica, Elizabeth Baker taught at New Mexico School for the Arts until the start of the pandemic.

Robert Barney

Robert Barney, string bassist, Robert started his career at age 13 when he auditioned for the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and was accepted.  He went on to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy, winning the concerto competition, and receiving the “Young Artist Award” upon graduation. He was Principal Bass of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for 37 years before moving to Santa Fe, and has also been a Principal player at the Grand Teton Music Festival where he has performed during 15 summers.

Joel Becktell

Joel Becktell cellist, has performed, taught, and lectured throughout North and Central America and Europe. He has been a member of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nichols Quartet, the Harrington String Quartet, and Moveable Feast. He has served as Principal Cellist of the Austin Symphony and Santa Fe Pro Musica, and is Assistant Principal cellist of the Santa Fe Symphony and a member of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus. Joel appears on historic and modern cello as soloist and with ensembles throughout North America. He is a founding member of REVEL, The Analog Cello Company, Movable Sol, and the baroque ensemble BWV. Joel has appeared as soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Austin Symphony, and the Santa Fe Symphony. His latest CD, Bach’s Solo Cello Suites, Volume I, was released in 2014.

Zachary Bush

Zachary Bush string bass, Zachary Bush (b. 1993) studied composition with Dr. James David and bass performance with Dr. Forest Greenough at Colorado State University from 2011-2015. Zachary graduated from CSU in 2015 with degrees in Music Composition, Music Performance, and Music Education. While at CSU, he won two awards in the CSU annual composition contest and received two commissions from CSU’s Middle School Outreach Ensemble. He also played in the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra for 3 seasons and in the Fort Collins Wind Symphony for 2 seasons. Zachary graduated from Arizona State University in 2018 with a double Master’s in Music Composition and Music Performance. He studied composition with Jody Rockmaker and bass with Catalin Rotaru. He stayed at ASU and completed a DMA in Composition in 2021. While at ASU, he received several commissions from The Harmony Project Phoenix, collaborated with the Biodesign Institute at ASU, and won a first-place prize in the 2019 Mykytyn composition competition. His music has been performed and commissioned in multiple states. He held principle bass positions in local Arizona ensembles ProMusica, Musica Nova, Symphony of the Southwest, and the Four Seasons Orchestra. He also played section bass in the West Valley Symphony and freelance bass for other local concerts and music theaters. In 2022, Zachary won a one-year principal bass position for the New Mexico Philharmonic. He currently teaches orchestra in the Rio Rancho Public School District, plays with Opera Southwest, New Mexico Performing Arts Society, and Festival Ballet Albuquerque, and also substitutes with the New Mexico Philharmonic and Santa Fe Symphony.

Laura Chang

Laura Chang, Laura is an avid chamber and orchestral musician whose performances have taken her to venues across the US, Canada, and Europe. While a resident of Washington, DC, she was a member of the National Philharmonic, and the Maryland Symphony, and frequently performed as an extra with the major orchestras in the Baltimore/Washington metro area. More recently, she performed with the Colorado Symphony and the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. In 2020, Laura and her family relocated to Albuquerque, where she is the Principal Violist with the New Mexico Philharmonic, and a first violinist in the Santa Fe Symphony. Laura is also a member of the Central City Opera Orchestra, and performs with the Santa Fe Opera.

Cammy Cook

Cammy Cook soprano, Albuquerque native Cammy Cook has established herself as a soprano in high demand. She makes regular appearances with Opera Southwest, where she has sung roles in Norma, I Pagliacci, Aida, Madama Butterfly, Gianni Schicchi, and various children’s productions. With the New Mexico Philharmonic Cammy Cook has been a soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, and Zarzuelas! Rediscovered Romance. She has also worked with other regional ensembles, including Santa Fe Opera, Polyphony Voices of New Mexico, and Canticum Novum. In 2017 Cammy Cook was one of the top finalists in Phoenix Opera’s Voices of the Southwest competition, which is open to young singers from Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada. She maintains an active private studio and teaches group voice at CNM. She is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and University of Colorado at Boulder, and holds degrees in Voice Performance from both. Her teachers include Sam Shepperson, Marilyn Tyler, Margaret Lattimore, and Dr. Patti Peterson.

Kevin Darrow

Kevin Darrow, oboe, Texas native Kevin Darrow performed 12 years with the Air Force Premier Concert Band in Washington, DC, and was a founding member of several groundbreaking chamber music ensembles in the Mid-Atlantic and New England. He has performed as a soloist and chamber music clinician at many distinguished colleges, universities, and music festivals throughout the United States.

Kenneth Dean

Kenneth Dean plays timpani in the Santa Fe Symphony and percussion in the New Mexico Philharmonic. Ken is a graduate of UNM, where he studied with Robyn Shulkowsky. He likes hiking, camping, and the occasional foray into 18th Century Jaw Harp music.

Gabriel Deyarmond

Michigander and tenor, Gabriel Deyarmond has been described as having a “dramatic and evocative” voice as well as possessing “fast as fire” coloratura. He was most recently seen as Florestan in Beethoven’s Fidelio with the Opera Company of Middlebury in Middlebury, Vermont. Past seasons include roles in Tosca, Lohengrin, The Turn of The Screw, Alcina, Gianni Schicchi, and Bless Me, Ultima, among other operas. In addition to staged roles, Gabriel is an avid lover of oratorio, and has sung Handel’s Messiah, Bach Cantatas 21, 57, 84, & 156, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Dubois’ The Seven Last Words of Christ, Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio, Mozart’s Solemn Vespers, and Mozart’s Requiem.

Gabriel holds a Master of Music from the University of New Mexico where he studied under Dr. Michael Hix, as well as a Bachelor of Music from Central Michigan University where he studied under Dr. Eric H. Tucker. In addition to his vocal studies, he also studied oboe under Dr. Lindabeth Binkley as well as piano under Dr. Adrienne Wiley during his undergraduate degree. Gabriel currently resides in Albuquerque, NM where he teaches voice and piano for the New Mexico School of Music, as well as maintaining his own voice studio.
He also serves on the board of the New Mexico Opera On Tap chapter, as well as serving as tenor section leader at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. When not performing or teaching, he can most likely be found perusing operatic repertoire, binging Hulu, and making reeds for the occasional oboe gig.

Tracy Kane Doyle

Flutist Tracy Kane Doyle is the Director of the School of Music at the University of Puget Sound. Previously Tracy spent fifteen years as at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado where she taught applied flute and courses in music education. Advocacy, equity, and community engagement are at the heart of Tracy’s work as a musician, educator, and leader. Having taught at a variety of levels including elementary general music, secondary instrumental music, and higher education, her holistic philosophy of music education inextricably links education with performance.

Multidisciplinary collaboration is at the core of Tracy’s creative activity as a flutist. She finds joy in performing in a variety of settings ranging from solo, chamber, and orchestral to Irish traditional music. Performances have taken her throughout the United States, Australia, and Japan. As a member of the Japanese- American Apricity Trio, with clarinetist Chiho Sugo and percussionist James Doyle, she recently released a CD titled “Sandhill Crane,” featuring newly commissioned works as well as standard repertoire. Tracy is a regular performer at the National Flute Association Convention and was a winner of the Convention Performers Competition, premiering several new works for flute and piccolo. Tracy currently serves as piccoloist with the San Juan Symphony in Durango, Colorado and is on faculty with the Santa Fe Flute Immersion summer intensive.

Tracy earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in flute performance from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and her Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees in music education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In her free time Tracy enjoys hiking, kayaking, yoga, cooking, and spending time outside with her dogs.

Deborah Dunham

Deborah Dunham, double bass and violone, is thrilled to be transitioning into the Santa Fe area this season. Since 2002 she has served as principal with Ars Lyrica Houston, Bach Society Houston, and Mercury Chamber Orchestra, and, since 2008, performed as a regular player with Houston Grand Opera. In 2006 she became Adjunct Professor of Double Bass and Chamber Music at Sam Houston State University. From 1996-2001 Deborah was principal for Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and Cantata Singers, and performed regularly with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Emmanual Music, and Handel Haydn Society. She maintained her principal position with Boston Baroque from 2000-2018. She was also a tenured member of the Rochester Philharmonic from 1986-1996. Her participation in Grammy nominated recordings with Ars Lyrica Houston, Boston Baroque, and Eastman Chamber Players can be found on Telarc and Naxos Records. Past collaborations with artists Andy Narel and John Dykers, and composers Bernard Rands and John Harbison are on Bridge, Mode, Naxos, New Albion, and New World Records. Deborah recently performed with New Mexico Philharmonic and Santa Fe Symphony, and will also play this season with Opera Southwest and New Mexico Performing Arts Society.

Oksana Filatova

Oksana Filatova, violist and violinist, moved from Ukraine to Albuquerque, NM in April 2023, following a 30-year career as a member of the Ternopil Philharmonic Symphony and Chamber Orchestra. She also played with the Drama Theater Orchestra of Ukraine for 10 years, and with different quartets, trios and duos for 8 years, performing on cruise ships to various European countries, South Korea, the USA, and others. In addition, she has performed chamber and pop music on acoustic and electronic instruments. As soon as Oksana arrived in Albuquerque, she joined the New Mexico Philharmonic, Opera Southwest Orchestra and the orchestra for Quintessence, as well as other ensembles in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Teaching also features prominently in her life. Since graduating from music school with honors, her work as a teacher, soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra member has continued to provide satisfying and diverse professional opportunities. Oksana looks forward to new collaborations with musicians and educators here in New Mexico.

Aimee Fincher

Aimee Fincher, Piano. Dr. Aimee Fincher serves as Assistant Professor of Practice in collaborative piano at Northern Arizona University (NAU), where she is delighted to be part of a vibrant piano-area team. At NAU, she performs with students and faculty, facilitates collaborative piano assignments, coaches chamber music, and co-teaches piano ensemble. An experienced chamber musician, collaborator, and large ensemble pianist, she is comfortable performing wide-ranging styles and genres. Orchestral performances have included premieres by William Price and Amir Zaheri, Credo in US by John Cage, and Absolute Jest by John Adams. Prior to her work at NAU, Aimee worked at Oakwood University and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Dr. Fincher earned her doctorate in collaborative piano at Arizona State University, and performance and pedagogy degrees from the University of Alabama and the University of South Carolina, where her professors included Andrew Campbell, Russell Ryan, and Scott Price.

Richard Fountain

Richard Fountain, serves as Dean and Professor of Piano in the School of Creative Arts at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, TX, where he provides academic and strategic leadership in the areas of music, art, media, and communications. Fountain teaches entrepreneurship, applied and collaborative piano, and piano pedagogy in both traditional and online formats, and also serves as Wayland’s official institutional representative to the National Association of Schools of Music. As a performer he has enjoyed a varied career as soloist, orchestral pianist, collaborator, and chamber musician.

Fountain is one of very few pianists to perform the complete cycle of Franz Liszt’s monumental transcriptions of Beethoven’s nine symphonies. His solo and concerto repertoire highlights American music from all eras, and he is also devoted to the poetic and religious music of Liszt.

Fountain holds the positions of Principal Keyboard with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra and the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. His major teachers and mentors include David Gerard, Leon Harshenin, Paul Barnes, Malcolm Bilson, and Luiz de Moura Castro. He holds a BM from Taylor University, MM and DMA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and an MBA from Wayland Baptist University.

Fountain is President of the Texas Music Teachers Association, serves on the U.S. State Department’s Fulbright Specialist Roster, and was inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame in 2021. He has received numerous awards for professional activities, teaching, and service from the Lubbock Music Teachers Association, the Nebraska Alumni Association, and from his colleagues at Wayland. He has been named as the 2024 MTNA Fellow for the state of Texas.

Fountain is an enthusiastic traveler, having traveled to forty-five of the fifty United States and eleven other countries. He particularly loves long road trips on the open highways of America, and possesses a strangely comprehensive knowledge of the U.S. Interstate Highway system.

Natalie Frantz

Natalie Frantz grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico where she studied violin under Susan Kempter and Kathie Jarrett. She went on to pursue an undergraduate degree in Violin Performance at the University of New Mexico where she studied with Carmelo de los Santos. She is an active performer in both Albuquerque and Santa Fe where she plays in the New Mexico Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, Opera Southwest, New Mexico Performing Arts Society and Chatter Albuquerque among other groups. Natalie was also an associate member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for the 2017-2018 season and has performed in music festivals throughout the United States, Brazil, and South Africa. Outside of the concert hall, she enjoys playing music across many genres and blending her love for classical music with improvisation.

Gregory Gallagher

Dr. Gregory Gallagher has been proclaimed one of today’s finest young singers and has appeared on the operatic and musical stages in over 40 different productions worldwide, spanning 20 different roles. In addition to his stage performances, Gallagher has performed at numerous events as a concert soloist and received various awards, including the VA Wall Award, the Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico Award, and an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera. He completed his BM in Vocal Performance at Cedarville University and both his MM and DMA in Vocal Performance with a minor in Vocal Pedagogy at Louisiana State University. Before moving, Gregory Gallagher was a tenured Associate Professor of Music at Eastern New Mexico University. He now resides in Albuquerque with his wife, Melody, and beagle, Strauss, and serves as the Director of Worship and Music at St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church. Dr. Gallagher is the Music Director for various local performance organizations throughout Albuquerque and also serves as the President of Rio Grande NATS, the Board of Control for Texoma NATS, and as an advisory board member of NMPAS.

Dr. Andre Garcia-Nuthmann

Dr. Andre Garcia-Nuthmann has been a tenor soloist in the New Mexico area for many years. In the summer of 2009, Andre sang the tenor solos in a performance of Joseph Haydn’s “ Die sieben letzten Worte” in Eisenstadt, Austria at the Haydn Saal in the Esterhazy Palace. This concert was part of the commemoration programs in remembrance of Haydn’s 200th death anniversary. In the summer of 2007, Andre and his choir “El Coro de la Tierra Alta” participated in the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria celebrating Joseph Haydn’s 275th Birthday. While there, Andre was the guest soloist and his choir was “Choir in Residence.”

Andre has often been featured as tenor soloist in Canticum Novum conducted by Kenneth Knight. In March of 2006, he sang the tenor solos in the Verdi Requiem with the Santa Fe Community Orchestra conducted by Oliver Present. Andre often has soloed with the Santa Fe Symphony including Haydn’s “Theresienmesse” and “Paukenmesse”, Mozart’s “Requiem”, Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy”, Dave Brubeck’s “Fiesta de la Posada”, Bach’s “Magnificat”, “Mass in b minor”, and Handel’s “Messiah”. In 2001 he was invited by BachWorks, with Anthony Newman, director, to celebrate Bach’s birthday in Manhattan. Besides oratorio, Andre has been featured in several operatic roles including “Don Giovanni”, “Die Zauberflöte”, “The Prima Donna”, “The Bartered Bride”, “Amahl and the Night Visitors”, “Bastien and Bastienne” and has performed for the Santa Fe Opera Outreach Program and One Hour Opera. The favorite role he sang was “Lenski” in UNM Opera studio’s production of Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” under the direction of Marilyn Tyler. His most recent role was that of the “Mad Woman” in Britten’s “Curlew River.” In summer 2002 Andre shared the stage with Kurt Ollmann in a musical homage to Leonard Bernstein. Currently, Andre is the Chair of Visual and Performing Arts at New Mexico Highlands University. He holds a doctorate in vocal performance at Arizona State University and coaches voice with Regina Rickless.

Tjett Gerdom

Tjett Gerdom tenor, is originally from Iowa and has a degree in Music Education from Cornell College. Since moving to New Mexico four years ago, he has twice performed with Opera Alta’s “Opera on the Rocks” at the amphitheater in Bandelier National Monument. He has been a featured soloist with the Santa Fe Community Orchestra, Santa Fe Music Works, Coro de Cámara, the Los Alamos Oratorio Society, the Los Alamos Choral Society, and, more recently, with the New Mexico Performing Arts Society. In addition to singing, Tjett has conducted performances with the Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra and the Los Alamos Oratorio Society and is the principal trumpet with LASO and the Los Alamos Community Winds.

Mike Gruetzner

Clarinetist Mike Gruetzner strives to bring excitement and energy to the concert stage, as well as the classroom. He is particularly passionate about contemporary music and has shared this passion internationally through solo performances of modern repertoire. Beyond his performing career, Gruetzner has maintained an active teaching schedule where he has taught clarinetists of all ages ranging from beginning junior high students to graduate music majors. Dr. Gruetzner’s orchestral experience is not limited to the traditional concert stage. He can be heard playing clarinet on 9-time CMA Musician of the Year Mac McAnally’s 2017, “Southbound: The Orchestra Project,” as well as Amazon Best Selling Author and Singer/Songwriter Mishka Shubaly’s 2020 release “I’ll Be Gone.” Beyond the realm of performance, Gruetzner holds a passion for teaching music. He has taught at University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire, where he held the position of Visiting Instructor of Clarinet. Before that, he held a Graduate Teaching Assistant position at both the University of New Mexico and The University of Southern Mississippi, during which time he taught graduate and undergraduate clarinet lessons to music majors and minors. Over the past ten years, Mike has also taught at a number of junior high and high schools in New Mexico and Mississippi. Along with his work in local schools, he maintains a clarinet studio, teaching private lessons to students of all skill levels. He holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from The University of Southern Mississippi, where he studied under the direction of Dr. Jacqueline McIlwain, and both a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the University of New Mexico, where he studied under Professor Keith Lemmons.

Sally Guenther

Sally Guenther, New Mexico cellist with performance degrees from Indiana University and the Juilliard  School of Music , has served in several major US orchestras (Syracuse, Cincinnati, Metropolitan Opera) before settling for twenty years in Norway as a solo cellist with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.  While there, she also taught at the Grieg Academy of Music as well as touring extensively throughout Europe , Russia and the Far East with the contemporary ensemble BIT 20.  Since returning to the US, she has performed with all of the major New Mexico ensembles including Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Santa Fe Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, Chatter, Taos Chamber Music Group, Montage Music Society and NM Performing Arts Society. Recent activity includes solo performances in Cesis, Latvia and Master Classes in Sonora, Mexico.
Guenther has been on faculty of the New Mexico School for the Arts and maintains a private teaching studio . She plays a 1790 John Betts cello which was totally and masterfully restored in 2017 by the late David Caron of Angel Fire, New Mexico.

Elaine Heltman

Elaine Heltman, Principal Oboist with The Santa Fe Symphony, hails from Saddle Brook, New Jersey, and graduated from the Ithaca College School of Music. Following college she studied with Joseph Robinson, former Principal Oboe of the New York Philharmonic. In 1981, Elaine was appointed to the Filarmónica de Caracas, Venezuela. Later that year, Elaine moved to Israel to perform and teach. She held positions in Israel with the Jerusalem Radio Symphony and Israel Chamber Orchestra, while she taught oboe at the Beersheva Conservatory and at Kibbutz Ein Charod in Tel Josef.

In 1983, she moved to New Mexico with Greg Heltman, and with the help of a group of fellow musicians, they created the unique collaborative orchestral model that is the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Over the years Elaine has sat on the Symphony’s Board of Directors as a musician member, served on the orchestra Steering Committee and the Programming Committee.

Elaine has performed as Principal Oboe of The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus since its inception, and with the Musica Camerata Ensemble (Santa Fe Concert Association) for 20-seasons, as well as with many other chamber ensembles in and around New Mexico. As principal oboist, Elaine performed with the Four Corners Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and at the Britt Music Festival in Oregon. She has also performed with the Santa Fe Opera onstage and in the pit, and can be heard on various Indie film scores and CDs. She performed in Albuquerque for many years with the New Mexico Woodwind Quintet and as Principal Oboe with the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque and the Southwest Opera.

During the Covid pandemic she explored new music and performed extensively on the Santa Fe Symphony’s Virtual Series, and honed her virtual teaching skills.

In addition to performing with the Symphony and teaching privately, Elaine can be heard on occasion with the New Mexico Philharmonic, San Juan Symphony, New Year’s Eve Orchestra, and Southwest Opera. Elaine is the adjunct oboe teacher at the New Mexico School for the Arts, and works by day as a project manager at the New Mexico State Land Office in the Office of General Counsel.

Patricia Henning

Patricia Henning has sung in various choirs in the US and the Netherlands, including the Wellesley College Choir, and Sangwijn. In Albuquerque, she has sung with Quodlibet, UNM’s Las Cantantes and Concert Choir, Polyphony, and Quintessence. She serves on the board of the Vocal Artistry Art Song Festival and the Advisory Board for New Mexico Performing Arts Society.

Before her retirement from UNM, she was a university administrator and professor of Physics and Astronomy, conducting research using radio telescopes to study the distribution and evolution of galaxies in the universe. She and her students and collaborators have discovered over 1000 galaxies behind the Milky Way. She taught astronomy classes as well as the Musical Acoustics physics class at UNM. In addition to teaching university courses, Dr. Henning has given science talks for non-specialists, including public talks delivered in the US, Australia, and China. She is currently working as the director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Very Large Array radio telescope, located 50 miles west of Socorro, NM.

Marshal Hollingworth

Baritone Marshal Hollingsworth  is a recent recipient of his Master of Music in Voice Performance from the University of New Mexico, where he studied under Dr. Michael Hix. Currently based in Albuquerque, he serves as a staff singer at Central United Methodist Church and in Quintessence: A Community of Singers. Born in Colorado, he received his bachelor’s in performance from Adams State University in Alamosa, CO, studying under Dr. Matthew Valverde, and while there was involved in several different choirs including concert, chamber, and a cappella ensembles. Since coming to New Mexico, he has participated as a chorus member for Santa Fe Opera’s premiere of This Little Light of Mine in 2022 and has performed in roles at UNM such as Papageno from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro. In the coming spring, he will be featured as Enosh and the Scribe in Opera Southwest’s premiere of Llantos 1492. 

Joyce Huang

Joyce Huang is a Taiwanese violist who moved to Albuquerque in Fall 2022. Joyce is an active professional and has performed with many orchestras including the Phoenix Orchestra, Apollo Ensemble of Boston, Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, and Philharmonia Boston, among others, and at several major venues including Boston Symphony Hall, Jordon Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan. She was also a top prizewinner at the Duxbury Music Festival competitions in 2017, a first prizewinner at the American Protégé International Competition in 2021, and she will have her debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in December 2022. Joyce received her Masters in Viola Performance from Boston University in 2019, and she will finish her DMA with Prof. Michelle LaCourse, also at at Boston University, in December 2022.

Gary Hudson

Gary Hudson is Professor of Music (High Brass) at South Plains College and holds the position of Second Trumpet in the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in Performance from Texas Tech University, and the Bachelor of Music (summa cum laude) with teaching certification from the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music. Gary Hudson’s primary teachers include James Austin and Will Strieder. He has also performed in masterclasses with Philip Smith, Raymond Mase, and Mauro Maur. An active freelance artist, Gary has performed with Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, and Santa Fe Pro Musica. Gary Hudson is also an active performer in the South Plains area.

Robert Ingliss

Robert Ingliss is principal oboist of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. He has performed in dozens of countries on five continents and has appeared on numerous recordings, playing Beethoven to Broadway, Gershwin to Carter, Hollywood soundtracks to avant-garde multimedia installations. Concertos he has debuted include works by Marc-André Dalbavie, Matthew Greebaum, and Charles Wuorinen. Earlier this month he presented premieres with Cygnus Ensemble of music by Andrew Waggoner and Steven Blumberg and performed Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses after Ovid at Merkin Hall in New York City. Locally, he appears frequently with the New Mexico Philharmonic, Santa Fe Pro Musica, and at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

Christine Keightley

Christine Keightley, originally from Dallas, TX, currently lives in Las Vegas, NM. He has served as a music director, choir director, and pianist at churches in Wyoming, California, Texas, and New Mexico. He has been featured as a soloist at the Dallas chapter of Opera on Tap and the Dallas Classical Singers. Jordan is currently earning his degree in Vocal Performance under Dr. Andre Garcia-Nuthmann at New Mexico Highlands University. His aspirations include going to graduate school for choral conducting and composition.

Kenneth Knight

Kenneth Knight, Bass-baritone, a native of Texas, received his B.A. degree in music theory from Yale University, where he sang in the Yale Glee Club and the Whiffenpoofs. After graduate study in voice, musicology, and conducting at the Manhattan School of Music, he toured for several seasons with the Norman Luboff Choir. He has also sung with the Roger Wagner Chorale, the Gregg Smith Singers, the Don Ellis Band, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, American Bach Soloists, and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Chorus. In 1987 he was chosen to be the principal cantor for papal masses at the Los Angeles Coliseum and Dodger Stadium during the visit of Pope John Paul II. In California he was director of music for eight years at St. Clare’s Catholic Church in Santa Clarita and for five years at Petaluma United Methodist Church. He is also the founding director of the Sonoma County Men’s Chorus. Now a resident of Santa Fe and Fort Worth, TX, Mr. Knight was the founding director of the Canticum Novum Chorus & Orchestra, and has also directed the Zia Singers and the Santa Fe Men’s Camerata.

Wade Knight

Wade Knight, is a local bass player, composer, and educator who works throughout the Southwest. He participates in a wide range of music-making projects ranging from classical to folk to jazz. In 2014, he earned a Master’s degree in music from the University of New Mexico, and has enjoyed being a part of the New Mexico community ever since.

Carla Kountoupes

Carla Kountoupes, violinist, is a member of the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Opera Orchestra, Santa Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, and Piazzolla da Camera Piano Trio. In addition, Carla can be heard performing frequently around northern New Mexico with the NMPAS orchestra, Chatter Abq ensembles, and the Nacha Mendez Latin World Trio. She has toured and performed professionally with orchestras and chamber ensembles in Central America, Taiwan, Germany, and all over the United States, including as a member of the New Century Chamber Orchestra in San Francisco and the Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra. She enjoys performing and recording many genres in addition to classical, including Latin/world, alt-rock/pop, and jazz. A dedicated music educator, Carla holds a Master of Music degree in Music Teaching. She has taught private violin lessons to children and adults for more than 25 years and is currently on faculty at the New Mexico School for the Arts as String Orchestra Director and Violin Instructor. Carla was awarded Music Teacher of the Year in 2016, by the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) of New Mexico, and received the Santa Fe Public Schools’ 2017 Teachers Who Inspire Award. She is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory (Violin Performance) and Oberlin College (English Literature). Carla’s violin was made in the 1740’s and was inherited from her grandfather. www.ckviolin.com

Kayla Liechty

Kayla Liechty is Vocal Coach and Collaborative Pianist at Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU), where she coaches voice students, teaches music courses and collaborates in recital with student, faculty, and guest artist recitals. Prior to coming to ENMU, she was a full-time pianist and coach at the University of Oklahoma (2002-2005) and Director of Collaborative Piano at Stetson University (1992-2002).

Kayla Liechty received a Bachelor of Music Education degree in piano from Stetson University and a Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano and Piano Pedagogy and a Master of Music Education from The Florida State University. Piano teachers who have made a difference in her life are Sharon Walker, Mary Lou Krosnick, Eugene Hudson, Michael Rickman, Karyl Louwenaar and Carolyn Bridger.

Widely experienced in both vocal and instrumental repertoire, Ms. Liechty has collaborated with many of the finest musicians of our time. Her work with operatic singers and stage directors includes master classes with Marilyn Horne, Sherrill Milnes, Tito Capobianco, Fabrizio Melano, Jennifer Larmore, Martina Arroyo, Marquita Lister, Leona Mitchell and Maria Spacagna. Of the numerous instrumentalists she has collaborated with in recital, most notable are cellist Christopher Adkins, oboist Wayne Rapier, tubist John Griffiths, pianist Charles Wadsworth and trumpeter Fred Mills.. As a choral pianist, she has collaborated with choirs in Carnegie Hall (five performances), China, Newfoundland, Norway and throughout Europe, spending two full seasons as pianist/organist for the renowned Santa Fe Desert Chorale (organist for the 2003 Journeys of the Spirit CD). Ms. Liechty spent a decade as a vocal coach and accompanist for Sherrill Milnes’ summer opera workshop, VOICExperience!, and was National and Open-Call Auditions Pianist for Walt Disney World Entertainment for many years. She will accompany the 2022 NMMEA All-State Mixed Choir for her seventeenth year.

Ms. Liechty’s scholarly and artistic endeavors include Bach to Bix, a CD collaboration with tubist Ted Cox; The French Connection, a CD collaboration with hornist Eldon Matlick; an 80-accompaniment CD companion to Roberto Mancusi’s textbook, Voice for Non-Majors; and ENMU Choirs’ Fall 2016 CD release, What Sweeter Music. Academic presentations she has made include Professional Music Teachers of New Mexico Annual Conference (2011), Rocky Mountain CMS Conference (2012), National NAfME Conference (2014), SWACDA Conference (2015) and National ACDA (2016). Her research in collaborative piano has been published in the professional journals of the Music Teachers National Association, National Association for Music Education and American Choral Directors Association. Ms. Liechty co-authored a chapter in the book, “The Nurturing of Talent, Skills and Abilities (Nova Science).” The publication which holds the most significance for her is the January 2004 Neurocase article, “Musical Skill in Dementia: A Violinist Presumed to Have Alzheimer’s Disease Learns to Play a New Song.”

Alan Mar

Alan Mar moved to New Mexico from Santa Barbara, California in 1995 after completing graduate studies in electrical engineering at the University of California and is currently a research scientist at Sandia National Laboratories. Alan began playing the violin in the fifth grade and was Concertmaster of the Pasadena Youth Symphony for two years before entering Occidental College to study Physics. After performing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Occidental-CalTech Symphony, Alan took a prolonged hiatus from the violin to attend graduate school. Upon arriving in Albuquerque, Alan again took up the violin, studying with Leonard Felberg. Alan plays in numerous ensembles throughout New Mexico, including the Santa Fe Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, and the Las Cruces Symphony.

Nancy Maret

Nancy Maret, soprano, is pleased to join the NMPAS singers for the second time. She is a 7-year member of the Santa Fe Women’s Ensemble and participated in a 2019 “Winter Blues” collaboration with NMPAS. Music has been part of her life since childhood and sustained her as an adult through a 40-year business career. Additional singing credits include a variety of choirs in her home state of New York, and in New Mexico, 13 years with the Santa Fe Symphony Chorus. For over 20 years she has been a member and soloist in the First Presbyterian Church chancel choir.

Jonah Mendelsohn

Tenor Jonah Mendelsohn, currently splits his time between Santa Fe and New York City. He grew up in Albuquerque singing with the Albuquerque Boy Choir and Opera Southwest. Experience includes Cantors World at Avery Fischer Hall (Mati Lazar, conductor); Americas Vocal Ensemble (Nelly Vuksic, director); Shira Choir at Sutton Place Synagogue (Richard Slade, conductor); Oratorio Church of St. Boniface, Brooklyn (Dennis B. Delaney, music director); The Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity, Brooklyn (Gregory Eaton, director). Recent experience in Santa Fe includes the Temple Beth El Synagogue choir under the baton of André García-Nuthmann, and David Geis’s cabaret at Osteria de Assisi. Also an actor, Jonah performed his solo play Love Alone: Elegies for Rog at Teatro Paraguas in October, and will appear this spring in the Santa Fe Playhouse production of What the Constitution Means to Me. www.jonahscottmendelsohn.org.

Sheila McLay

Sheila McLay, Violinist, Sheila began her career at age 18 with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra. She is currently a violinist with both the New Mexico Philharmonic and the Santa Fe Symphony.  She has also been the librarian for both symphonies as well as played with Opera Southwest, Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, Musical Theatre Southwest, the Flagstaff Symphony, Flagstaff Festival of the Arts, and the Phoenix, Roswell, San Juan and Las Cruces Symphonies. She has many interests and at the age of 60 took a month off to get her Commercial Drivers License and spent a year and a half team driving with her husband in their trucking business.  She also co-owns and manages a mobile home park and also spent a year on the mission field in Brazil and Mozambique and hopes to have that opportunity again soon. She loves animals of all kinds, especially her pomeranians and enjoys flower gardening in her spare time.

Esther Moses

Esther Moses, Mezzo-Soprano, has recently returned to New Mexico from the Pacific Northwest, where she was part of the statewide outreach, chorus roster, and concert soloist with the Portland Opera for more than a decade. She recently completed assignment as a cover in the title role in Verdi’s Aida with Opera Southwest. Having performed as soloist in the Bach Magnificat last season, Esther returns to the New Mexico Performing Arts Society this season for more Bach, Mozart, and operatic interpretations. Esther has performed as soloist with the Oregon East Symphony in Mahler’s 4th Symphony and Mozart’s Requiem. She has been featured with the Rose City Chamber Orchestra, Kids’ Concert and Yuletide Pops with the Oregon Symphony, and Bach’s St. John Passion with Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland. Other performances include Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Operatic roles include the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd, Arsena in Gypsy Baron, Fatima in Abu Hassan, Laetitia in Menotti’s Old Maid and the Thief, and Tullia in the American premiere of Vivaldi’s Ottone in Villa at the Cincinnati Conservatory. She has been a featured soloist with the Albuquerque Philharmonic and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra as well as soloist in the staged oratorio, Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans, at the Opera Theatre of Lucca, Italy. Esther holds performance & music education degrees from the University of New Mexico and received her Master of Music from the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) at the University of Cincinnati. Esther enjoys raising her children, gardening, and learning beekeeping. She keeps a private vocal studio and teaches part-time in local schools.

Javier Ortiz

Bass-Baritone Javier Ortiz has portrayed nearly 35 leading and supporting operatic roles and has appeared as a soloist in 15 major orchestral works.

Internationally, Javier has performed “Mozart Arias and Duets” in concert at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, sung a duet for the 25th Jubilee Anniversary of the Netherlands Opera’s residence in the Muziektheater, appeared as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte with the Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, and joined the Rotterdam Opera Days as Colline in La Boheme. He portrayed the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Pluton in La descente d’Orphée aux Enfers, and Colline in La Boheme with Opera Studio Nederland. Javier also toured Mexico with the Chicago Arts Orchestra as the bass soloist in Al Combate by Ignacio Jerusalem in celebration of UNAM’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Javier Ortiz has performed a varied operatic repertoire with such companies as Opera North, Opera Southwest, The American Baroque Opera Company, Connecticut Lyric Opera, Sarasota Opera, New Rochelle Opera, and New Jersey Verismo Opera. And he regularly appears in concert across the US with numerous regional orchestras.

Recently, Javier performed a solo holiday concert with the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, played Zachariah in a condensed Off-Broadway version of Verdi’s Nabucco. He appeared in the role of Anaeas in the filmed versions of The American Baroque Opera Company’s Dido and Anaeas, and as Alidoro in Opera Playground’s La Cenerentola.

Upcoming performances in 2021-2022 include the roles of Dottore Grenvil in La Traviata with Opera Southwest, German Solder/Ensemble in All is Calm with Opera North, Pelèe in Marais’ Alcyone with the American Baroque Opera Company, Petate Vendo/Guillermo Kahlo/Mr. Rockefeller/Edward G. Robinson in Frida with Opera Southwest, and concert performances with the New Mexico Performing Arts Society.

Andrew Paulson

Praised for his “strong voice” and “convincingly authoritative character,” Andrew Paulson is an emerging baritone from Great Falls, VA. Recent past engagements featured Andrew Paulson as Jim Crowley in An American Dream by Jack Perla with Virginia Opera, Anchorage Opera and Opera Maine; the baritone soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Richmond Orchestra; baritone soloist with Opera Southwest’s New Years Gala, Bello in La Fanciulla del West, and Starveling in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Virginia Opera. Other career highlights include Paul Jobs in the world premiere workshop of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and Happy in La Fanciulla del West with Santa Fe Opera, as well as Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Prince Ottokar in Der Freischütz, and the Mandarin in Turandot with Virginia Opera. He has also performed Giorgio Germont (La Traviata) with Opera on the Avalon, Clayton McAllister and Luther in Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree at Sugar Creek Opera, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter by Lori Laitman with Opera Colorado. In addition to his operatic engagements, Andrew Paulson has performed with the Utah Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, and Tallahassee Symphony. Performed works include Orff’s Carmina Burana, Dvořák’s Te Deum, Handel’s Messiah, and McCullough’s Holocaust Cantata.

Lidija Peno

Lidija PenoKelly, violinist, was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and received her first violin lesson at age five. As a young violinist, Lidija won five first prizes at national-level competitions. She studied simultaneously at the Academy of Music in Novi Sad (BM, MM) and at the Academia Internazionale di Musica a Portogruaro in Venice, Italy (Performance Diploma). Further studies were completed at the Richard-Strauss-Konservatorium in Munich, Germany (Post Diploma), and the Boston Conservatory of Music (Performance Diploma). Lidija’s teachers include Pavel Vernikov, Ilya Grubert, Martin Albrecht Rohde, G. Jislin, Lynn Cheng, and Tamara Smirnova. Lidija has worked with the Trio Tchaikovsky and has performed as soloist with the Belgrade Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Dubrovnik Philharmonic, and La Picolla Symfonia di Venezia. She was also a member of the Gäertnerplatz Theater Orchestra in Munich. Solo performances include various large and chamber ensembles in Belgrade, Dubrovnik, Moscow, Venice, Milan, Munich, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Chicago, San Francisco, Bordeaux, Madrid, Bilbao, and others. Mrs. Peno-Kelly has also recorded for the Yugoslavian National Radio, Rai Uno, Italy, ARD, and ZDF – Germany, Paris – CD recording. Currently she is playing with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, PORTopera, New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Jennifer Perez

Jennifer Perez, Soprano, holds an M.M. with a concentration in vocal performance from The University of New Mexico. She has performed with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Dallas Choral Festival, and the NM Philharmonic, and she is an active member of New Mexico-based ensembles New Mexico Performing Arts Society, Chatter, and Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico. Her passion lies in vocal chamber music, choral works, and oratorio, with a special affinity for the music of J. S. Bach. Solo performance highlights include Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium, Oster-Oratorium, and Magnificat, Britten’s Les Illuminations and A Ceremony of Carols, Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No.5, and Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor. World premiere performances include Hector Armienta’s Bless Me, Ultima with Opera Southwest, Richard Danielpour’s The Passion of Yeshua with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, and Jenny Olivia Johnson’s “the many poems she learned as a child,” with Polyphony. She has also been featured in several new works, including Luciano Berio’s Agnus, Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater, James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross, David Lang’s Death Speaks, and Christopher Tin’s The Drop That Contained the Sea. She earned “Honorable Mention” in the Boulder Bach Festival’s online World Bach Competition in 2020 and performed in the Boulder Bach Festival in May 2022. Jennifer Perez also enjoys participating in the musical community of Santa Fe as a soprano section leader for the Church of the Holy Faith choir and occasionally performs with the Santa Fe Symphony Chorus and Santa Fe Community Orchestra.

Joshua Pielemeier

Joshua Pielemeier, pianist has enjoyed a steady and fruitful career, performing widely as a soloist as well as collaboratively with choirs, ensembles, singers, and instrumentalists. Recent performance highlights include Ernst von Dohnányi’s Piano Quintet No. 1 in C Minor (I. Allegro) at the 2024 Oracle Chamber Music Festival, and embarking on a tour to Las Vegas, Nevada as orchestral pianist with the Arizona State University Wind Symphony, having the fortunate opportunity there to work closely with composers Viet Cuong, Steve Bryant, and Michael Doughtery.

Growing up in Washington State, Joshua made his orchestral debut with piano concerti by Macdowell and Mozart, and went on to pursue academic studies in piano performance at the Eastman School of Music, University of Arizona, and Arizona State University. From the latter institution, he obtained his Master’s of Music in Performance, with a Concentration in Collaborative Piano, under the astute direction of Dr. Andrew Campbell and Dr. Miki Aoki, having also studied with Robert Hamilton. Past teachers have included Judy Baker, Russell Ryan, John Milbauer, Tanis Gibson, Douglas Humphreys, and Marissa Ramos, having worked briefly with Gerardo Teissonnière and Leonard Richter.

With a passion for collaborative music-making, particularly chamber music and art song, he is active as a performer throughout the Arizona region. A solo recital in Seattle featured works by Florence Price, Mozart, and Liszt, as well as an original arrangement of the hymn Amazing Grace. He has also been engaged as rehearsal pianist for the Chandler Opera Company. Most recently, Joshua is co-founder, along with his colleague Dr. Julia Lougheed, of the Ocotillo Chamber Series, which aims to showcase time-honored works of the western classical tradition along with newer works, especially by underrepresented composers. In his spare time, he is fond of reading, walking, swimming, and enjoying local cuisine.

Valerie Potter

Valerie Potter flutist, has performed as principal flutist of the New Mexico Symphony since 1993 and has held the piccolo position with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra since 1994. She received her Bachelor of Music from Indiana University with a performer’s certificate. Ms. Potter also received a Master of Music from Yale University. She has performed with many orchestras across the country including the Cincinnati Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony and the Houston Symphony. She has been featured as a soloist with the New Mexico Symphony, performing the CPE Bach Concerto in D minor and the Concerto for Flute and Harp by Mozart, and was a soloist in the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival’s performance of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto Number Four. She has been a member of the faculty of the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and is currently serving as Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of New Mexico. She is active as a private flute instructor in Albuquerque and frequently is featured as a solo performer and chamber musician in the area.

Stefanie Przybylska

Stephanie Przybylska, Stefanie Przybylska is the principal bassoonist of both The Santa Fe Symphony and the New Mexico Philharmonic, and serves as the Music Director of the Bosque Bassoon Band, an innovative and collaborative group of New Mexico bassoon players with over twenty members. Since coming to New Mexico, Stefanie has also performed with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Santa Fe Opera, Serenata of Santa Fe and the New Mexico Performing Arts Society.

She has appeared as a soloist with the New Mexico Symphony, The Santa Fe Symphony, San Juan Symphony and the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, playing music of Mozart, Haydn and John Williams.

Stefanie has played bassoon and contrabassoon with orchestras in the US and abroad including the Chicago Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Bergen (Norway) Symphony, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. While still an undergraduate student at the Juilliard School, Stefanie played at the Marlboro Music Festival, where she performed with an international group of musicians that included many of the classical music world’s finest instrumentalists and singers.

An accomplished teacher, Stefanie’s bassoon students have pursued their college level studies at schools such as the Eastman School of Music, the Curtis Institute of Music and Rice University. Always interested in learning new things, Stefanie recently earned her doctoral degree in bassoon performance at Texas Tech University where she served as a teaching assistant.

A resident of Albuquerque, Stefanie enjoys taking daily walks with her three dogs-Wolfgang, a feisty seven pound mutt, and a sibling pair of Labrador Retrievers named Moose and Birdie.

Rebecca Ray

Rebecca Ray has music degrees from Ithaca College and the University of New Mexico. She is currently principal oboist with the San Juan Symphony and the Las Cruces Symphony, a tenured second chair oboe in the Santa Fe Symphony, and freelances on oboe and English horn with the New Mexico Philharmonic, Chatter, Opera Southwest, and the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, among others. Rebecca also has a teaching and instrument repair studio, Desert Double Reeds.

Jeremy Reger

Pianist and educator Jeremy Reger maintains an active international performing, teaching, and coaching career. During the summer of 2020, he worked on programs for Central City Opera, Seattle Opera, and the Western Slope Concert Series. He spent the previous summer in São Paulo, Brazil, where he was the principal pianist and vocal coach for the Brazilian premiere of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa. He has served on the music staff of Virginia Opera, Eugene Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, Mill City Opera, Central City Opera, Minnesota Opera, Skylark Opera, and Aspen Opera Theater. He has performed with the Virginia Symphony, the Boulder Philharmonic, the Williamsburg Symphony, the Carmel Symphony, and the Boulder Bach Ensemble. He is an associate professor of vocal coaching at CU Boulder, where his classes focus on repertoire, diction, the art of vocal coaching, and audition techniques. He is the head coach of the Eklund Opera Program. A passionate educator, he has taught at the Music Academy of the West, Christopher Newport University, the Opera Studio of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, and at the Jacob’s School of Music at Indiana University. A strong advocate for new opera, Reger has participated in workshops of new opera by composers such as Jake Heggie, Tom Cipullo, Ricky Ian Gordon, Kevin Putz, and Mark Adamo. Reger maintains an active vocal coaching studio throughout the United States and South America. He has a doctorate from the University of Michigan, studying under Martin Katz.

Melissa Riedel

Melissa Riedel is a New Mexico native with a Vocal Performance degree from the University of New Mexico. She enjoys performing classical music and opera in NM and elsewhere, and has added musical theatre to her repertoire, recently performing as Countess Charlotte in “A Little Night Music” with Tri-M Productions. In addition, Melissa is a voice teacher who is passionate about sharing her love of music with her students.

Margaret-Mary Sauppé (née Owens)

Margaret-Mary Sauppé (née Owens) earned her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) and Master of Music (MM) in Organ Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY after studying with Nathan Laube, William Porter, Anne Laver, Edoardo Bellotti, and Lisa Crawford. Her primary research has involved the keyboard works of Sir William Herschel, partially published in the Organ Historical Society’s journal The Tracker (Oct 2023). Previous academic work has involved “The Combination of Digital Communications: Music and the Telegraph in the 19th Century” (2016) and being research assistant to Iain Quinn’s editions of John Goss: Complete Anthems (2015) and [Arcangelo] Corelli’s Twelve Solos [Sonatas, op. 5], (2015). In April 2023, she performed her international debut on the 1746 Hildebrandt “Bach” organ in Naumburg, Germany, which was broadcast on the Belgian internet radio Organroxx.

Some of her awards include academic scholarships from the Eastman School of Music and The Florida State University (2013-2022), several travel and research grants through the Eastman School of Music and the Rochester AGO chapter (2023, 2020), the Clarence R. Warrington Organ Scholarship (2019-2022), a research grant from the Organ Historical Society (2020), and an OHS Biggs Fellowship (2016). Dr. Sauppé has participated in masterclasses led by Raul Prieto-Ramirez, Michel Bouvard, Arvid Gast, Renée Anne Louprette, Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra, Iain Quinn, James Kibbie, and William Porter. From 2011-2013, she maintained a private piano studio, and since 2013, she has held multiple positions on the boards of the Tallahassee FL, Rochester NY, and Albuquerque NM AGO chapters. While at Eastman, Sauppé assisted in the production of the Rochester Celebrity Organ Recital Series (RCORS), the Third Thursdays with Eastman’s Italian Baroque Organ at the Memorial Art Gallery concert series, and she founded her own monthly concert series First Fridays at St. Mary’s. She is currently Organist and Music Director at Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church in Los Alamos, NM.

Daniel Schwab

Clarinetist Daniel Schwab studied with Yehuda Gilad in Los Angeles and Hans Deinzer and Reiner Wehle in Germany. He has performed with the Ahrensburg Symphony (Germany), the Berkeley Lyric Opera and the Santa Fe Symphony. He is principal clarinetist in the Santa Fe Community Orchestra. He pursues a speech- and singing-inspired approach to articulation and expression and his pedagogy integrates aspects of yoga and mindfulness. Daniel is also an urban planner, with expertise in sustainable transport and housing. He is a scholar of ecopsychology and an advocate of nature-inspired urban planning with a Master’s degree from the Technical University of Berlin.

Amanda Talley

Amanda Talley is the second oboist and associate English horn of the New Mexico Philharmonic. In addition to the NMPhil, she performs with Opera Southwest as principal oboe, the Santa Fe Symphony, Pro Musica, and the Santa Fe Opera. Amanda has also performed with many other orchestras, including the Seattle Symphony and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. While on leave from the NMPhil, Amanda held the English horn positions with the Boise Philharmonic and Yakima Symphony, while teaching at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Previously Amanda was a founding member of a competitive woodwind quintet based in Tallahassee, Florida. The chamber group gave their Carnegie Hall debut in 2011, and also received travels grants from Florida State University to perform around the United States. Amanda graduated from Southern Methodist University, receiving her Master’s degree as a student of Erin Hannigan, principal oboist of the Dallas Symphony. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at Florida State University studying with Dr. Eric Ohlsson. Recently, Amanda accepted a summer position as a dean at the Brevard Music Center. In past summers, Amanda has attended numerous summer music festivals, including the National Repertory Orchestra, the Brevard Music Center, Bowdoin International Music Festival as a quintet fellowship recipient, Eastern Music Festival, and the Imani Winds Chamber Music Institute. In her free time, Amanda enjoys being outdoors and spending time with her two dogs, Liesl and Emma.

Jesse Tatum

Flutist Jesse Tatum is a relentless musician, performing chamber music, orchestral music, operas, and solo works.  They are Principal Flute of The Santa Fe Symphony,  Santa Fe Pro Musica,  Opera Southwest Orchestra, and is a Principal Player at Chatter, where she has performed well over a decade of adventurous chamber music with the innovative Albuquerque-based chamber ensemble. Additionally, Jesse has performed many seasons with The Santa Fe Opera and the New Mexico Philharmonic. 

Tatum is described as “reliably excellent” (Santa Fe New Mexican), “The principal flutist Jesse is just a rock star” (Ryan McAdams, conductor), “She is the music of the universe and cannot be contained” (Meow Wolf). Pasatiempo called her an “overachiever” in their profile of the flutist.

Recognized for their authentic, fearless performances, in 2022 Jesse performed as a concerto soloist with The Santa Fe Symphony, the New Mexico Philharmonic, Chatter, and Santa Fe Pro Musica. An enthusiast of the intersection of visual and musical performance art, they were a regularly featured performer from 2017-2020 at the trailblazing Meow Wolf in Santa Fe. In spring 2023, Tatum performed on a decommissioned rifle for Disarm Flute by Pedro Reyes at SITE Santa Fe. Jesse performed a show of contemporary works for solo flute as FluTeBot in conjunction with the 2018 exhibition Patrick Nagatani: Excavations: Buried Cars and Other Stories.  Jesse was a prizewinner at the Myrna Brown Artist Competition. She has performed at the Currents International New Media Festival and appeared as a soloist with the Albuquerque Philharmonic. 

Jesse has collaborated with many composers and participated in numerous world, US, and New Mexico premieres of solo, chamber, orchestra and opera works. They have been a Featured Performer of Powell Flutes, profiled in Albuquerque The Magazine, appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, and served multiple times as a Newly Published Music judge for the National Flute Association.

As a student, Jesse was a member of the Catania International Music Festival and the National Repertory Orchestra. Jesse studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of New Mexico. They are also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice. 

Camille Kowash Tierney

Camille Kowash Tierney, Soprano, has performed in opera and concert works throughout the United States. She has appeared with the Phoenix Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, DuPage Opera Theatre (IL), New York City Opera National Company, Opera Theater of Philadelphia, Uptown Opera (Spokane Opera, WA), Sarasota Opera, and Central City Opera. Her operatic roles include Gretel in Hansel & Gretel, Ann Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Norina in Don Pasquale, the title role in The Ballad of Baby Doe, Monica in The Medium, and Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. She has appeared in concert and recital with Arizona Masterworks Chorale, AZ Musicfest, the Phoenix Symphony, Phoenix Youth Symphony, Gulf Coast Symphony (FL), the Tanglewood Music Center, and Seaglass Performing Arts (ME) in such works as Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Handel’sMessiah, the Faure Requiem, the Vivaldi Gloria and Haydn’s The Lord Nelson Mass. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Ms. Tierney has lived all over the United States. She currently makes her home in New Mexico, teaching voice in the Albuquerque area.

John Tiranno

Tenor John Tiranno’s notable past performances include Handel’s Messiah (Santa Fe Symphony), Berlioz’s Requiem (La Jolla Symphony & Chorus), Mahler’s song cycle Das Lied von der Erde (Chatter), Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and Paul Moravec’s The Blizzard Voices (Oratorio Society of New York), Saint-Saëns Requiem (Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra), creating the role of The Young Man in Gisle Kverndokk’s opera Upon this handful of earth (New York Opera Society & Sacred Music in a Sacred Space), Bach’s B minor Mass and the U.S. premiere of Juraj Filas’ Oratio Spei – Requiem (Sacred Music in a Sacred Space), and recitals at King Abdullah University of Science & Technology in Jedda, Saudi Arabia.

Denise Reig Turner

Pianist and educator Denise Reig Turner, bassoon is principal bassoon with Opera Southwest, San Juan Symphony (Durango, CO), Festival Ballet Albuquerque and is second/assistant bassoon with the New Mexico Philharmonic/New Mexico Symphony Orchestra. She was also principal bassoonist and frequent soloist with the former Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque for 18 years.

Denise has been the Instructor of Bassoon at the University of New Mexico since 1995, and performs with the faculty “New Mexico Winds” woodwind quintet. She has performed orchestral, opera and chamber music throughout Europe, Mexico and the West, and shared the stage with numerous artists from Dave Brubeck to Yo Yo Ma. Denise has taught master classes at several US colleges as well as in Mexico and at the Donizetti Conservatory in Italy. She has performed at the Durango (CO) and “3rd Avenue” (CO) chamber music series, the Placitas, Abiquiu and Church of Beethoven/Chatter (NM) chamber series, as well as with the Santa Fe Dessert Chorale, Santa Fe Opera, and Santa Fe Symphony.

Denise is the Artistic Director for the “Music for the Soul” chamber series and has taught/coached/performed several summers at the “Kammermusik” adult chamber music workshop in Santa Fe. In addition, she has performed at the International Double Reed Society conference, the National Flute and the National Clarinet Association conferences, the National College Music Society, the International Festival of Acoustic Music, and the International Festival of the Arts in Bergamo Italy.

Denise has played several Broadway touring productions, including the Lincoln Center production of “The King and I” and toured with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan players.

Originally form Chicago, IL, Denise studied bassoon with Adele Brown (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Wilbur Simpson (CSO), Artemus Edwards, Professor Emeritus, UNM, Betty Johnson, Professor Emeritus, OKCU, baroque bassoon with Michael McCraw (Tafelmusik, Toronto) and chamber music with Marcel Moyse and Sol Schoenbach. She can be heard on NPR, seen on PBS, YouTube, and on slopes with Sandia Peak Ski Patrol.

Dr. Joe Vandiver

Dr. Joe Vandiver is currently the owner and operator of Caprock Brass Repair in Lubbock, TX. Previous appointments have been Professor of Instrumental Studies at Wayland Baptist University and trumpet instructor at Texas Tech University. He holds the Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Texas Tech University.

Vandiver’s trumpet studies have been under Will Strieder, Mo Trout, Dave Ritter, and Griseldis Lichdi. He is currently the only American trumpet player that has been allowed to study the method of Gunther Beetz (former trumpet of the acclaimed German Brass) under the instruction and supervision of Griseldis Lichdi. While at Texas Tech he was recognized with the award of Outstanding Musician and was a member of the Faculty Brass Quintet.

As an educator and performer, he has presented and/or performed at numerous conferences including International Society for Music Education in Bolagna, Italy, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, College Band Directors National Association, American Choral Directors Association, and the Midwest Clinic. His former students have gone on to be successful at the regional, state and national levels.

Vandiver is a member of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra and has performs with the Lubbock Ballet Orchestra, Santa Fe Pro Musica, New Mexico Performing Arts Society, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Roswell Symphony, Midland-Odessa Symphony, Abilene Opera, Plainview Symphony, Lubbock Moonlight Musicals, Caprock Pro Musica, and the Big Spring Symphony. He is an active chamber musician, soloist and clinician throughout United States.

Michael Walker

Michael Walker, French Hornist, is accomplished young performer and teacher and is passionate about collaborating with living composers and performing chamber music around the world. Michael currently serves as the Assistant Professor of Horn at the University of New Mexico, and hornist with the New Mexico Winds, Enchantment Brass Quintet, Fiati Five, and the Amity Trio. As a champion of new music, Michael has commissioned nearly fifteen pieces for horn. As a chamber musician, Michael has performed in Mexico, Italy, and will be performing with the Amity Trio in Belgium this coming summer. In 2017, the Enchantment Brass released their debut album celebrating the brass music of native New Mexican Composer John Cheetham. Prior to his appointment at UNM, Michael served as the second Horn in the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and has performed with the New Mexico Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, Opera Southwest, Utah Festival Opera, Bel Canto Institute, Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, Chatter Albuquerque, New Mexico Performing Arts Society, and as a featured soloist with Musica Nova at the Eastman School of Music. Michael currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his opera-singing wife, and daughter.

Tim Willson

Tim Willson, Baritone, a native of Greeley, Colorado, has also lived in Cleveland and New York. He was seen at the Metropolitan Opera as the mad doll-maker Spalanzani in The Tales of Hoffman, conducted by Julius Rudel, and as Wagner in Mefistofele, conducted by Mark Elder. He also appeared as the Innkeeper in the “Live from the Met” production of Verdi’s Falstaff. On the Sony/Met recording of Il Trovatore, Tim sings the role of the Messenger. Understudy assignments at the Met included Goro in Madama Butterfly and Spoletta in Tosca. He appeared as Pang in Turandot with the Tulsa Opera, Triquet in Eugene Onegin with the Santa Fe Opera, Monostatos in The Magic Flute with Opera Grand Rapids, and Benoit in La Boheme with the Sacramento Opera. With Opera North Carolina he was Gastone in La Traviata and Robot from Arcturus in Starbird. At Amato Opera in New York, Tim sang the leading tenor roles in Lucia di Lammermoor, The Tales of Hoffman, Aida, Otello, Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, and Madama Butterfly. Now a Santa Fe resident, Tim was a soloist in the Santa Fe Symphony’s performances of Dvořák’s Stabat Mater and sang the role of Satan in the Santa Fe Pro Musica’s production of Gerald Fried’s Rock of Angels as well as Pontius Pilate in their performances of J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion. He is also a docent at Las Golondrinas Living History Spanish Colonial Museum, where he appears as a hide tanner and a buffalo hunter.

Elizabeth Young

Elizabeth Young, Violinist, has performed at major New York venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Radio City Music Hall, and The United Nations, as well as the National Gallery of Art and the Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, she has appeared on the BBC, CBS, and CNN, and she has performed concerts throughout the United States, and in Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Italy, and Oman. After over a decade working as a full-time musician in New York City, Elizabeth moved to Santa Fe, where she has performed with the Santa Fe Opera, New Mexico Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, New Mexico Performing Arts Society, Chatter Albuquerque, and Las Palomas Chamber Music Series. She continues to travel nationally for chamber music and solo performances as a violinist and pianist, and in 2018, she was the violin soloist with the Santa Fe Community Orchestra in their performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto. A previous faculty member at the New Mexico School for the Arts and conductor for the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association, Elizabeth can be heard regularly at Vanessie’s, where she performs and improvises music of all styles and genres.