2017

Enrico Elisi returns to Penn Alps in a solo piano performance. Elisi has appeared with the Florence Symphony, Italy; Orchestra Classica de Porto, Portugal; Bay Atlantic Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, Williamsport Symphony, Pennsylvania Centre, Penn State Philharmonic, Penn’s Woods, UNLV Chamber and Johns Hopkins Symphony orchestras, USA. He also debuted as soloist/conductor with the Green Valley Festival Chamber Orchestra.

Elisi recently joined the distinguished Faculty of Music of the University of Toronto as an associate professor, having previously taught at the Eastman School, the Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Nevada L.V. His current and former students include prizewinner in competitions; hold teaching posts; performed with orchestras (including the Rochester Philharmonic and Dallas Chamber Symphony); gave debut recitals from New York to Caracas, Paris and Seoul; garnered fellowships and scholarships at summer programs and have been accepted in Artist Diploma (Rice University among others), MM, and DMA programs in prestigious institutions in the US and abroad.

Elisi studied at the Conservatory of Bologna and Florence and the world-renowned Incontri col Maestro International Piano Academy of Imola. He worked with Schnabel’s disciple Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. A year after graduating, at Fleisher’s invitation, he performed at the World Piano Pedagogy Conference in a joint recital with his mentor. Among his teachers were pianist Lazar Berman and Boris Petrushansky, respectively pupils of Goldenweiser and Neuhaus, as well as Alexander Lonquich, Franco Scala and Giuseppe Fricelli.

Nancy Roldán is a founder of Music at Penn Alps and has performed with us frequently. This performance features Nancy on piano with José Cueto on violin.

Nancy Roldán has performed worldwide as recitalist, collaborative artist and piano soloist with orchestra. Born in Argentina, she is a champion of compatriot Carlos Guastavino’s music, and has recorded many of his works for solo piano, piano duo with Noel Lester and violin-piano duo with José Cueto. A frequent guest artist at the Great Romantics Festival in Canada, the Ravello Festival in Italy and several sponsored by the American Liszt Society, she is founder/director of the Liszt-Garrison Festival and International Piano Competition, serves on the Board of Directors of the American Liszt Society and presides over its Baltimore-Washington Chapter. She records for Centaur Records and maintains a private teaching studio in Reisterstown, Maryland.

Recognized for the beauty of his tone, Mr. Cueto performs worldwide as chamber musician and guest soloist with orchestras. His recordings with orchestra include Gladness of Heart, performing the Menotti Violin Concerto with Concert Artists of Baltimore conducted by Edward Polochick (Sonora label) and Two Italian Violin Concerti – featuring Violin Concertos by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Ottorino Respighi, in addition to his own violin solo and string orchestra arrangement of the song La rosa y el sauce by Carlos Guastavino, with Vladimir Lande conducting the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra of Russia (Marquis label.) A featured guest artist in major music festivals in North America, Puerto Rico, France, and Italy, recent tours include Hungary, Slovakia, China, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Russia.  Mr. Cueto is Concert Master of Concert Artists of Baltimore and the Chesapeake Festival Orchestra. He teaches for the Road’s Scholar program at Johns Hopkins University Peabody Institute and the Catholic University of America String Department. He has also served as Artist in Residence and Chair of Strings at St. Mary’s College of Maryland through the present.  While pursuing his studies at the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University, he performed with Ruggiero Ricci and his teacher Berl Senofsky in the “Masters of Today and Tomorrow” series. He has also shared the stage with cellist Steven Kates, harp virtuoso Nicanor Zabaleta, clarinetist Gervase de Peyer, pianists Leon Fleisher, Jesus Maria Sanromá, and Nancy Roldán, with whom he has toured and recorded extensively.  José Cueto plays a 1920 Stefano Scarampella, and a 2006 Luiz Bellini violin.

The West Virginia Brass Quintet will feature a performance of a new work commissioned by Music at Penn Alps to celebrate our 25^th  year of presenting the best of ensemble music in Western Maryland! This composition by Sean Beachy will receive its inaugural performance.

The West Virginia Brass Quintet (WVBQ) formed in June 2009 is one of the most exciting new chamber ensembles in West Virginia.  This versatile group’s repertoire spans five centuries of music, from Renaissance and Baroque to Contemporary to Dixieland Jazz with an emphasis on traditional American music.  With members living more than one hundred and fifty miles apart, the WVBQ goes to great lengths to sustain their passion for music making. From their annual Holiday Residency at the famous Greenbrier Resort to Artist Series Concerts at the Tamarack Center in Beckley and Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg to myriad church services, weddings, and civic functions, the West Virginia Brass Quintet has performed extensively throughout the Mountain State and surrounding areas.

Nicole Halmos, soprano, and Chris McCabe, piano, present their program “The Profound and the Profane.”

Nicole Halmos – was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  After graduating from Carnegie-Mellon, she has worked professionally as an actress and singer both nationally and internationally for almost 30 years.  Regional work includes productions at The Shakespeare Theatre, Yale Repertory, Virginia Stage, Dallas Theater Center, Triad Stage, Baltimore Center Stage, The Wellfleet Theater, Mill Mountain Theater and Ford’s Theatre with roles in The Importance of Being Earnest, Hairspray, Fiddler on the Roof, Dirty Blonde, Shirley Valentine, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Full Monty, The King and I, Man of La Mancha, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.  New York performances include Faust; Dido, Queen of Carthage; The Seagull; Hamlet;  and Funeral Games at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater, as well as the off-Broadway productions of The Holy Mother of Hadley, New York and The Fabulist.  She toured nationally and internationally in The Sound of Music with Marie Osmond and Debbie Boone (though not at the same time).  Nicole also sang in opera and oratorio including the world premieres and recordings of Maura Ellen’s Three Blondes and a Bowl, David Spencer’s The Fabulist, Cheryl Davis’ and C. Colby Sachs’ Sugar Dumpling and Phillip Johnston’s and Richard Foreman’s Young Goodman Brown.  Ms. Halmos’ work has been honored with a Sustainer’s Award for Best Supporting Actress as Charlotte in A Little Night Music, The Boston Globe’s “Year’s 10 Best” Award for the role of Hannale in The Captain’s Doll, The Syracuse Post-Standard’s “Not To Be Missed” for Molly Sweeney and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Bishop Walsh High School. Ms. Halmos currently lives in Cumberland continues to work in the three “P”s – performing, painting and psychotherapy.

Chris McCabe holds the degree of Music Education from Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music with concentrations in both piano and voice.  A musical fixture in Allegany County, Chris has accompanied The Cumberland Choral Society, Frostburg State University choral and vocal performances, numerous churches and for visiting soloist and ensembles. He has worked primarily in musical theatre and was the resident musical director for the Cumberland Theatre for 25 years.  He has also musically directed for Frostburg State University Theatre Department, Front and Centre Stage, Kidspired, Stage Left Theater, Mountain Ridge High School and CEM 1 Productions.  His directing/music directing credits include over 125 productions.

Zaffiro Trio joins together the superb artistry of musicians Tina Faigen (piano), Mary Beth Malek (clarinet), and Paula Tuttle (cello). All three have extensive backgrounds in performance, recording and teaching. Tina, in addition to her active solo career, has a library of published music editions, Mary Beth and Paula are both long time members of the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestras, and all three are faculty members at University of Pittsburgh. The Zaffiro combination of instruments provides the audience the opportunity to hear beloved works of the great masters, such as Brahms and Beethoven that are rarely heard in concert. Together these three founding members of Zaffiro Trio bring a unique quality of sound, expertise and sensitivity to their ensemble that audiences adore.

Tina Faigen, concert pianist, recording artist, teacher, and published music-writer, holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College and both Master and Doctorate degrees from University of Miami where she studied with renowned pianist Ivan Davis. Most recent performances include the Brahms Concerto No. 1 with the DeKalb Symphony in Atlanta and a solo recital for the Johnstown Music Series. Faigen has also performed on the Steinway Recital Series, Chatham Guest Artist Series, and the Pittsburgh Concert Society.

Mary Beth Malek, principal clarinetist for the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestra, has also held the principal clarinet chair in the Wheeling Symphony and Westmoreland Symphony Orchestras. Summers she performs with Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and Opera Theater of Pittsburgh’s Summerfest. A former member of Renaissance City Winds, she performed extensively in the region and in Carnegie Hall in New York. As principal clarinetist with Pittsburgh Opera, she received special recognition from Luciano Pavarotti during his curtain calls of Tosca, and again from Lorin Maazel during his curtain calls of La Traviata. Mary Beth enjoys collaborating with local musicians and performing a wide range of musical styles from Classical to Jazz, Broadway and Klezmer. With Tom Roberts, (piano) they accompany the silent films of Charlie Chaplin with original music, performing in movie theaters and concert venues in the Pittsburgh area.

A recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, Mary Beth studied in Vienna, Austria after receiving her Masters Degree from the Eastman School of Music where she graduated with the Performer’s Certificate Award. Mary Beth performed in Austria at the Graz Festival, toured Austria with a youth orchestra and presented solo recitals during her Fulbright residency. She joined the Heidelberg Festival in Germany for two summers. She previously earned her Bachelor’s degree at Northwestern University.  Mary Beth teaches clarinet at the University of Pittsburgh as well as Chatham University, and works with high school students in her home and during summer festivals. Each year PMEA State band selects several students from her home studio, as in 2016 five of her students were awarded the special honor of attending the PMEA State Band Festival.

Cellist Paula Tuttle, has traveled and performed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia  as orchestral musician, soloist and chamber music artist. She performed as principal cello for the internationally renowned Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, and the Festival of the Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. During three summers at the Acadamie Franco Americain in Vaison-la-Romaine, France, she presented numerous solo recitals and chamber music performances. An active soloist and recitalist in the Western Pennsylvania region, she recently performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto with University of Pittsburgh Orchestra, as well as past performances of concerti with Pittsburgh Festival Orchestra, Slippery Rock Symphony, I Solisti di Oakland, and Edgewood Symphony.

A member of the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestras, performing as assistant principal cello as well as principal cello, she also is the solo cellist for  PBS”s MyMusic Orchestra, has been part of the creation of many PBS specials and recorded with over 100 Rock, Pop, Soul and Disco stars. She teaches a large cello studio as she is on the faculty of University of Pittsburgh, Chatham University and Carnegie Mellon University. Ms. Tuttle studied at Eastman School of Music, Carnegie Mellon University and New England Conservatory. She and Mary Beth are also founding members of another chamber group called the Diamante Trio which performs an extensive repertoire of Latin American music.  Both the Diamante and Zaffiro Trios have received support from the University of Pittsburgh for their projects bringing music to schools and community organizations.

Program

Barbara Hollinshead and Howard Bass have performed together for more than two decades, presenting delightfully intimate programs featuring Renaissance and early baroque music from England, France, Italy, and Spain, often in thematically linked programs. They have performed at the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Art, the Italian Embassy, on the Gotham Early Music Scene’s series, and on many other D.C. and East Coast music series, and have recorded three CDs. This is their third appearance at Penn Alps.

Mezzo-soprano Barbara Hollinshead loves to sing! She is a member of the Gallery Voices (DC), the Washington Bach Consort, and ARTEK (NYC), and has enjoyed guest solo appearances with Tafelmusik, Chatham Baroque, Opera Lafayette, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, and myriad others. Her recordings include three discs with Howard Bass and several with ARTEK, including a disc of Rosenmuller solo cantatas. Passionate about arts education, Barbara performs in two Bach Consort education programs and teaches voice at American University.

Howard Bass is a lutenist and guitarist and veteran accompanist who performs regularly with Barbara Hollinshead and Sephardic singer-composer Flory Jagoda. A member of Trio Sefardi, he has also performed and recorded with HESPERUS, the Baltimore Consort, the Folger Consort, and the Smithsonian Chamber Players, among many others. From 1981 to 2011 he was a program producer at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the National Museum of the American Indian, where he produced a wide range of programs, festivals, and events featuring music, dance, literature, and traditional crafts, as well as several recordings of traditional music for Smithsonian Folkways.

Program:

Time, Cruell Time!
Time at the Court

His golden locks, John Dowland, 1562/3 – 1626

Three-part song:

1. Time’s eldest son, Old Age;
2. Then sit thee down;
3. When others sing Venite

Queen Elizabeth’s Galliard, Dowland

It was a time when silly bees, Dowland

Crabbed Age and Youth

What if a day, Thomas Campion (?), 1567 – 1620

What if a day, Dowland (?)

Though you are young, Campion

Dear do not your fair beauty wrong, Robert Johnson, c. 1583 – 1633

What then is love but mourning, Philip Rosseter, 1568 – 1623

Earthly Folly

What is a day, Rosseter

Pavan: Last Will and Testament, Anthony Holbourne, c. 1545 – 1602

Stay, time, awhile they flying                                          Dowland

The man of life upright                                                    Campion

Passing Time

Time stands still                                                            Dowland

Time, cruell time                                                            John Danyel, 1564 – c. 1626

Mr Dowland’s Midnight                                                   Dowland

Flow not so fast, ye fountains                                         Dowland

The Col Legno Duo consists of a bassoon (Amy Pollard) and marimba (Scott Pollard). The term, col legno, comes from music notation meaning to strike the strings of a violin, viola, etc. with the woody part of the bow to achieve a tuned percussive effect a la a marima but using a tuned wooden bar and a sound column (think tube). While the bassoon could be struck with a mallet or stick, the effect would not be melodic and it would be harsh on the bassoon’s finish.

Based in Athens, GA, the husband and wife duo have performed in South America as well as at major venues across the US, including Rice University, the University of Texas, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Oberlin College, Ohio State University, Michigan State University, the University of Georgia, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Louisiana State University, University of Alabama, and the University of South Carolina. Col Legno has also made appearances at conferences such as the Percussive Arts Society International Convention and the International Double Reed Society conference. The duo is passionate about education and frequently combines master classes and clinics with recitals. One of the major goals for the group is creating chamber music experiences that are accessible, informative, and diverse.

Amy Pollard, a native of Cincinnati, OH, is the Associate Professor of Bassoon at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia. She formerly served as lecturer of bassoon at Baylor University and has also been on faculty at the University of Dayton and the Cincinnati School for the Creative and Performing Arts. During the summer she has been on the faculty of the Interlochen Arts Center Advanced Bassoon Institute. She is currently second bassoonist with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, Symphony Orchestra Augusta, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

Amy has performed as a soloist with the University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra and Wind Symphony as well as with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Chamber Players. An avid chamber musician, she has performed at venues throughout the United States and also in Ireland, Belgium, and Argentina with such groups as the Georgia Woodwind Quintet, the Baylor University Woodwind Quintet, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Woodwind Quintet, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Chamber Players. Her bassoon-percussion duo, Col Legno, has performed recitals and presented master classes at numerous venues throughout the country.

Amy received her Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Louisiana State University.

  

Mark and Sally Minnich

NB: This concert will be in the Chapel!

Revamped is an independent duo comprised of violinists Mark Minnich and Sally Williams Minnich, who have been bringing the precision of classical training together with the energy of pop concerts ever since since establishing the group in 2008. They have performed in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Washington D.C., and abroad in Austria and Greece. Revamped is currently based out of Central Pennsylvania and is available for performances in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., New York City and surrounding areas.

Mark Minnich holds a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from Bowling Green State University. His studies included work with professors Vasile Beluska and Ioana Galu, and he was an active member of various ensembles such as the Philharmonic Orchestra, the Undergraduate String Quartet, the Jazz String Quartet, the Undergraduate Jazz Combo, and the Latin rock band “La Revancha”. Mark has performed on tours within the United States as well as in Canada, Germany, Austria, Poland, Greece, China, and Tanzania. He has been teaching privately since 2007, instructing students of all ages and levels, and is currently working through the State College Music Academy and the Grier School. Mark has continued his studies at Penn State with a Master of Music in violin performance and a Master of Arts in music theory and history.

Sally Williams Minnich began Suzuki violin lessons at age four and was accepted at age 16 as a preparatory student of David Russell at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has appeared as a soloist at numerous events, including performances at the Electronic Music Midwest Festival in 2011 and with Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra in 2014. She also recorded strings for Superchic[k]’s album “Rock What you Got” which was nominated for a Grammy in 2008.
Williams Minnich holds bachelor’s degrees in violin performance and music composition and a master’s degree in violin performance from Bowling Green State University as well as a master’s degree in music education from Pennsylvania State University. She has had the privilege of studying with violin pedagogues Vasile Beluska and James Lyon and with composers Burton Beerman, Marilyn Shrude, Elainie Lillios, and Mikel Kuehn. She is currently developing a method for string education while serving as the Creative Director of the State College Suzuki Program.

Program:

Summer” from “The Four Seasons” – Antonio Vivaldi
O Magnum Mysterium – Tomas Luis de Victoria
Beethoven’s Fifth – Ludwig von Beethoven
Scarborough Fair – Traditional English
Ships are Sailing/Red Haired Boy – Traditional Irish
The Star of the County Down – Traditional Irish
Chameleon – Herbie Hancock
Hotel California – The Eagles
Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin

David Pedraza, Violist

David was born in Reynosa, Mexico, and started his musical studies at 14 in the OCJM under Jose Vazquez. Later on he received a full scholarship to study the Bachelor of Music at Shenandoah Conservatory.  From 2003 to 2005 he was part of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas under Placido Domingo, Carlos Prieto and Gustavo Dudamel.  David holds a Professional Performance Certificate from Lynn University Conservatory of Music and recently he finished his Master of Music at the same institution with an award of full scholarship.  He won the First Prize with Vitali String Quartet at the 2004 MTNA Virginia chamber music competition and also has received honorific mentions in 2005 and 2007 from the MTNA Viola competition in Florida. He has participated in master classes of Carol Rodland, Jeffrey Irvine, Roberto Diaz, Kim Kashkashian, Peter Slowik, Orlando Cole, Arnold Steinhardt, Ellen Rose Basil Vendryes and Wilfried Strehle.  Recently he performed  the Bartok Viola Concerto with the Orquesta Sinfonica de la UAT.  David has performed  in countries like: Mexico, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Peru, Spain, France, Switzerland  and the UK. His main teacher was Ralph Fielding. Currently he is part of the Con Brio Quartet, and is Principal viola with the Symphony of the Americas.

Anna Nizhegorodtseva, Piano

Russian   born   pianist   Anna   Nizhegorodtseva   has   garnered   numerous prizes  in international   competitions   for   piano   and   for   chamber   music. Among   these   are   1^st  Prize   from   the  17^th   EUTERPE   International   Music Competition in Italy, 1^st Prize at the Lewisville Lake Symphony International Piano   Competition   in   Texas,   2^nd  Prize   at   the   Los   Angeles   International Bicentennial Liszt Competition, 1^st  Prize at the MTAC in Los Angeles, 2^nd Prize   at   the   Moscow   Chamber   Music   Competition,   and   1^st  Prize   in   the International Piano Competition in Kiev, Ukraine. Anna   frequently   performs   in   the   US   and   abroad,   as   a   soloist   and collaborative pianist. Her performances in the US, France, Italy, Spain and Mexico,   in   venues   like   Carnegie   Hall   in   New   York   and   the   American Cathedral in Paris, have been establishing her reputation. Recognized as a rising   young   star,   she   has   already   been   invited   onto   the   jury  of an international festival, the 2016 Xi’an International Music Festival in China. Anna began her piano lessons when she was 6 years old; she holds an ArtistCertificate from Azusa Pacific University and Doctoral in Musical Arts from The Catholic University of America in Washington DC.

Program

Sonata for Viola and Piano, Jose Pablo Moncayo (1912-1958)

1. Allegro Moderato
2. Lento
3. Allegro

Suite No.6 in G major for Viola, BWV 1012, J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

1. Prelude
2. Allemande
3. Courante
4. Sarabande
5. Gavotte I
6. Gavotte II
7. Gigue

La Campanella (arr. William Primrose), N. Paganini (1782-1840)

Granada “Fantasia Espanola”, Agustin Lara (1897-1970)

Sonata for Viola and Piano, Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979)

1. Impetuoso: Poco agitato
2. Vivace
3. Adagio – Allegro.