Guest Clinicians

Tenure of guest clinicians: one day to two weeks.

Jonathan Keeble

Jonathan Keeble

Flutest - In residence July 12 - July 13, 2012

Described as having an “infinitely flexible sound, with many subtle colors” (Flutist Quarterly), Jonathan Keeble is among the leading performer/pedagogues of his generation. His concerto appearances with orchestras and wind ensembles have taken him to venues in North America, South America and Europe.

Jonathan’s passion for new music led him to commission many new works for the flute from rising young composers. From these efforts come the recently released, critically acclaimed recordings Voyage, music for flute and harp, and Turbulent Winds with the Prairie Winds. Critics have lauded the collaboration in Voyage as being “memorable,” and Keeble’s performance as “spellbinding.” In Fanfare Magazine, the Prairie Winds were lauded for “the players individually and as an ensemble being superb.” These come in addition to his first solo recording, icarus, and Gale Force, ranked among the top 15 recordings of 2000 by Chicago Tribune critic John von Rhein. In addition to his active solo and chamber career, Jonathan is the Principal Flute of Sinfonia da Camera.

Recent tours have taken Jonathan to Mexico City to perform and teach at the National Conservatory, in addition to concerts and classes in Austria, Holland, Serbia, Sweden, Canada and the Far-East. A popular invitee at regional flute festivals, the last year has seen appearances as a featured guest at Seattle Flute Society, Northeast Ohio Flute Association, Texas Flute Society, and Dana Flute Festival events.

He is a regular performer, adjudicator, and presenter at National Flute Association conventions, and is currently the Chair of the Association.

Jonathan’s teaching experience includes his present position as the flute professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He spends summers performing and teaching at Aria International, Madeline Island Music Camp, and at the University of Illinois Summer Youth Music Flute Camp.

For more information on Dr. Keeble click here.

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Jeani Foster

Jeani Foster

Flutist - In residence July 27, 2012

MSO Principal Flutist Jeani Foster has appeared as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony, Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, and several other American orchestras. Ms. Foster is a winner of the Concert Artists Guild Award and the Artists International Distinguished Artist Award. She has given recitals in Brussels, Belgium and Geneva, Switzerland.

World-premiere performances include David Noon's Partita, Mark DiPalma's Duo Concerto, Ronald Foster's Conversations for Flute and Orchestra, Summertime Fantasy for Flute and Orchestra (after Gershwin), Meditations for Flute and Harp and Normand Lockwood's Preambles for Solo Flute. Recordings include works by Arthur Foote, Lukas Foss and Roberto Sierra.

Ms. Foster was on the faculties of The Colorado College, University of Denver, and UW-Parkside. Formerly principal flutist of the Colorado Springs Symphony and the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony, she has played with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble and the Colorado Ballet Orchestra.

Ms. Foster is a graduate of the University of Southern California and the Manhattan School of Music, where she received the Pablo Casals Award for Musical Accomplishment and Human Endeavor.

More information may be posted at the MSO website.

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Valerie Gardner

Valerie Gardner

Violinist - In residence 2011, 2012

Valerie Gardner grew up in Florence, SC. At age 14, she began studying with graduates of Julliard School of Music and Curtis Institute of Music, and also soloed with several orchestras in the South and Northeast. She earned a Bachelors Degree in Violin Performance from the Curtis Institute of Music as a student of Jascha Brodsky, and a Masters Degree from Carnegie-Melon University as a student of Sydney Harth.

After her marriage in 1970, Ms. Gardner began playing with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Robert Shaw. In 1974 she "retired" from the Symphony to raise a family of five. She taught her four daughters to play and teach the violin, and all four have become professional violinists and teachers.

After raising her children, Ms. Gardner devoted the following years to teaching violin and giving numerous technique workshops across the country. She published Complete Scales for the 21st Century (violin/viola) and produced a series of violin/viola teaching DVD's entitled, "Building Blocks for Violin Virtuosity."

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Andreas Boyde

Andreas Boyde

Pianist - In residence 2009, 2010, 2011

Hailed by the critics as Monsieur 100,000 Volts, pianist Andreas Boyde’s performances have electrified audiences worldwide. His recitals in renowned concert venues and appearances as soloist with such orchestras as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Radio Orchestra, the Zürcher Kammerorchester, the Bamberger Symphoniker, the Hallé Orchestra Manchester, the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Sinfoniker, the London Mozart Players and the Berliner Sinfonieorchester have secured Boyde’s reputation as an esteemed performing artist.

In 2008 Andreas Boyde concluded his recordings of Johannes Brahms’ complete solo piano works produced by Oehms Classics, the repertoire now being performed in a cycle. Boyde’s extensive CD recordings receive five star reviews from leading music magazines praising his interpretations “a stroke of genius” (Fono Forum, Germany). He enjoys a close association with German radio established by frequent broadcasts and productions.

The sought-after pianist’s wide-ranging repertoire encompasses all major areas of the piano literature. Also committed to contemporary music he gave the European premiere of Paul Schoenfield’s Piano Concerto Four Parables, as well as the first performance of John Pickard’s Piano Concerto, which is dedicated to him. Boyde’s musicological interests are demonstrated in his reconstruction of the ‘Schubert’ Variations by Robert Schumann, now published by Hofmeister Leipzig. It is a work that has enjoyed great acclaim since its premiere in New York.

Born in Oschatz Germany, Boyde studied with Christa Holzweißig and Amadeus Webersinke in Dresden and subsequently with James Gibb in London. His mentor and promoter Malcolm Frager also proved a major influence.

Columbia Artists Management Inc. has announced the addition of Andreas Boyde to its roster of artists under the personal direction of Vice President, Mark Z. Alpert.

Andreas Boyde lives in London.

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Anthony di Bonaventura

Anthony di Bonaventura

Pianist – In residence 2008

Anthony di Bonaventura made his debut with the New York Philharmonic at age thirteen.

A Professor of Piano at the School of Fine Arts of Boston University, di Bonaventura is one of the most eminent pianists of his generation. Mr. di Bonaventura has performed in 25 countries to superlative critical acclaim. He has performed in all the major festivals and also in the Great Performers Series at Lincoln Center.

Among hundreds of laudatory reviews, random samplings state "an exciting performance and a shiny virtuoso one ... poised, full of insight and technically brilliant" (The New York Times)..... "tone sensitively modulated ... his touch an example of graduated control in the finest degree ... a musician and pianist to be remembered and anticipated" (The Washington Post)..... "a bravura approach when the music demands it, but founded throughout on a noble musicality, delicate and full of poetry." (Neues Oesterreich, Vienna).

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 Cyrus Forough

Cyrus Forough

Violinist - In residence 2010

Noted for the "fiery intensity" and "poetic vision" of his playing, Cyrus Forough has received reviews which comprise a lexicon of superlatives in more than a dozen languages. A Laureate of the Tchaikovsky International Competition, he has also won first prize in the Milwaukee Symphony Violin Competition, and along with his wife, pianist Carolyn McCracken, was a winner of the United States Artistic Ambassador Program's National Violin/Piano Duo Competition as the Forough/McCracken Duo.

He began violin studies at age five with his mother, a graduate of the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music. At nine, Forough was admitted to the Royal Conservatory of Music, Brussels as a pupil of Arthur Grumiaux. Later studies were with the legendary David Oistrakh at the Moscow Conservatory. Following Oistrakh's death, Forough came to the United States to study with Josef Gingold at Indiana University and served as Gingold's assistant.

He has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Milwaukee Symphony, the Alabama Symphony, the Belgian National Radio Orchestra, NIRT, The Moscow State Orchestra, and with other orchestras internationally with such conductors as Rudolf Barshai, Zdenek Kosler, Farhad Mechkat, Paul Polivnick, Alexander Rahbari, Loris Tjeknavorian, and Andre Vandernoot.

At present, Mr. Forough is a full-time Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Artist Teacher of Roosevelt University's College of Performing Arts in Chicago, a faculty member of the Chicago Institute of Music. Mr. Forough has taught at the International Music Academy in Pilsen, Czech Republic, the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Brunswick, Maine, and the Beverly Hills International Chamber Music Festival in California. Mr. Forough has previously served as a faculty member at other summer festivals such as the Meadowmount School of Music, the Indiana University String Academy, Bloomington, and numerous others.

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Erich Eichhom

Erich A. Eichhorn

Violinist – In residence 2008

Erich A. Eichhorn, adjunct professor of violin, a native of Germany, has been a first violinist with the Cleveland Orchestra since in 1968. He holds the Paul and Lucille Jones Chair. Before joining the Cleveland Orchestra, Mr. Eichhorn was principal second violin with the Buffalo and St. Louis symphonic orchestras. In 1961, he graduated from the Musikhochschule Stuttgart, Germany, with a Concert Artist Diploma for Violin and Piano Duo. The recipient in 1965 of the German Industry Prize of the Arts for violin-piano duo, Mr. Eichhorn served as the Assistant Concertmaster for the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Stuttgart from 1960 through 1966. That same year he began his musical career in the United States. Mr. Eichhorn serves on the music faculty of Cleveland State University where he teaches violin studies, and coaches chamber music and orchestral repertoire. Mr. Eichhorn founded The Cleveland Octet in 1978, a chamber music ensemble consisting of all Cleveland Orchestra musicians. The group has given concerts throughout the United States and abroad. Its recording of the Schubert Octet is available on Sony Classic CD.

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David Cerone

David Cerone

Violinist - In residence 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012

Prior to his appointment as President of The Cleveland Institute of Music in 1985, David Cerone served on the faculty of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music for nine years and for ten years was Chairman of the CIM String Department. He was Director of the Meadowmount School of Music and member of its faculty for nineteen summers. In 1975, he joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and was appointed Chairman of the Violin Department.

He and his wife, violinist Linda Sharon Cerone, founded the nationally acclaimed ENCORE School for Strings in Hudson, Ohio, in 1985. Mr. Cerone made his Cleveland Orchestra solo debut in 1987. He is associated with many prominent national and international music competitions, such as the Indianapolis International Violin Competition, the Paganini Competition, and the Henryk Szeryng Foundation Career Award. Mr. Cerone's extremely popular recordings of the Suzuki Violin Method Books I through IV have recently been reissued by Warner/Chapell. He is a board member of University Circle, Inc. and the Avery Fisher Artist Program and a member of the Leadership Cleveland Class of 1989.

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Linda Cerone

Linda Cerone

Violinist - In residence 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012

Linda Cerone, Violin, Artistic Director of Preparatory Violin Department, is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where she was a student of Ivan Galamian. She has also studied with violinist and conductor Paul Katz, and with Walter Levin of the La Salle Quartet. She has appeared both in recital and as soloist with orchestras throughout the U.S., including performances with Max Rudolf and Eugene Ormandy. Mrs. Cerone served on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory, was professor of violin at the New School in Philadelphia and, for 19 years, was a member of the faculty at the Meadowmount School of Music. She was a co-founder of the ENCORE School for Strings, where she has co-directed and served as faculty member since 1985. Mrs. Cerone has served as adjudicator and on the advisory boards of national competitions. Her former students hold important positions in orchestras throughout the world and enjoy successful careers in chamber ensembles and as touring soloists.

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Dominique Labelle

Dominique Labelle

Operatic Soprano – In residence 2008, 2009

Dominique Labelle first came to international prominence as Donna Anna in Peter Sellar’s stunning PepsiCo Summerfare Festival production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, set in Spanish Harlem, which she performed in New York, Paris and Vienna. Since then she has been acclaimed in a repertoire that ranges from Bach to 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner Yehudi Wyner. She has worked with conductors from Boulez to Zinman, and orchestras from Atlanta to San Francisco. She is a regular guest soloist in Europe.

Her many recordings, with repertoire from the 17th to the 21st centuries, appear on Virgin Veritas, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, RCA Victor Red Seal, Koss, Denon, New World, and Muisica Omnia labels. Her recording of Handel’s Arminio won the 2002 Handel Prize. She is a National Winner of the Metropolitan Opera competition, and the recipient of a George London Foundation Award and Boston University’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

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Uri Vardi

Uri Vardi

Cellist and Feldenkrais practitioner - In residence 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

Uri Vardi has performed as a recitalist, soloist, and chamber player across the United States, Europe, South America, and his native Israel. He studied at the Rubin Academy in Tel Aviv, was an Artist Diploma student at Indiana University, and earned his Master's degree from Yale University. Vardi was a founding member of the Sol-La-Re String Quartet. He has served as Assistant Principal Cellist of the Israel Chamber Orchestra and Principal Cellist of the Israel Sinfonietta.

A professor of Cello at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1990, he has taught and conducted master classes at numerous music schools, including the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Indiana University, Eastman School, Cleveland Institute of Music, Geneva Conservatory (Switzerland), Paris Conservatory (France), and the Jerusalem Music Center (Israel). His students have been successful as soloists, chamber players, faculty members of major music schools, and members of major orchestras.

He has also participated in several Summer Music Festivals across the U.S. and Israel. Vardi has specialized in the Feldenkrais Method and was certified by the Feldenkrais Guild of North America and by the International Feldenkrais Federation as a Feldenkrais practitioner in 2003.

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Steven White

Steven White

Conductor - In residence 2010, 2012

Highly regarded for his inspirational leadership and musical integrity, Steven White is one of North America’s premiere opera conductors. In February of 2009 he joins the conducting staff of the Metropolitan Opera to serve as cover conductor for a new production of Bellini’s La sonnambula starring Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Florez. Other engagements during the 2008-2009 season include appearances with L’Opéra de Montréal (Lucia di Lammermoor), Baltimore Opera (Gala Concert), Opera Roanoke (Falstaff, Otello and Das Lied von der Erde) and the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra (Carmen). In the 2007-2008 season Mr. White presided over performances of Roméo et Juliette with Baltimore Opera, L’elisir d’amore with Pittsburgh Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor with Fort Worth Opera, La bohème and Tosca with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, and Fidelio and Hansel and Gretel with Opera Roanoke where he has served as Artistic Director since 1999. He is married to soprano, Elizabeth Futral.

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Kim Josephson

Kim Josephson

Baritone - In residence 2009

Hailed as one of opera’s most versatile baritones, Kim Josephson is a regular guest of leading opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera where, since 1991, he has performed more than 240 performances of 28 roles including the title role in Rigoletto, Germont in La Traviata, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore to name a few. He has also appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, most notably as Eddie Carbone in the world premiere of William Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge and, from the standard repertoire, Rigoletto, Germont, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and Marcello in La Boheme.

Elsewhere in the United States, he has appeared with the Seattle Opera as Rigoletto, Jack Rance in La Fanciulla del West, Minnesota Opera as Scarpia in Tosca, Washington National Opera as Eddie Carbone, Houston Grand Opera, Baltimore Opera, Cincinnati Opera (most recently as Renato), Fort Worth Opera in the title role of Verdi’s Falstaff, Connecticut Opera, the Spoleto Festival, U.S.A., Sarasota Opera, and Tulsa Opera. In Canada, he has appeared with the Vancouver Opera and Opera Hamilton. In Europe, he has appeared on the stage of Vienna State Opera as the Count di Luna in Il Trovatore, Germont, Enrico, Belcore, and Marcello. He has also performed in Japan on tour with the Metropolitan Opera.

Kim Josephson is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Houston where he earned B.M. and M.M. in applied voice. In addition, he has studied voice with Franco Corelli, Louis Quilico, Michael Trimble and Jean Preston. He is the recipient of many honors, including William Sullivan/George London Foundation Award, Baltimore Opera Vocal Competition, Enrico Caruso International Vocal Competition, Loren Zachary Foundation Award, Puccini Foundation Award, Bagby Foundation Award, Bruce Yarnell Award, Singer’s Development Foundation Award, and a Richard Tucker Career Grant. He is currently serving as an Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Oklahoma.

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Bradley Williams

Bradley Williams

Operatic Tenor - In residence 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012

Bradley Williams is one of opera's most sought after tenors in the bel canto repertoire. He was an apprentice with the Santa Fe Opera prior to making his professional debut with the Metropolitan Opera Guild as Ernesto. A regular guest of theaters around the world, he has appeared in opera houses throughout Europe. In North America, his extensive credits include appearances with the Anchorage Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Baltimore Opera, Connecticut Opera, Dayton Opera, Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, and many others. This season, he will sing Ramiro for the Arizona Opera and Florentine Opera and Almaviva in Bordeaux. He will also sing Ramiro for Opera Carolina and Piedmont Opera next season.

Williams obtained his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees at the University of Texas at Austin, and pursued graduate studies at the College/Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. He is a recipient of a major grant from the Sullivan Foundation. He is currently an Associate Professor of Music in Voice at the University of Oklahoma, and a recording artist for MusAcom, an internet company providing teaching materials for singers and instructors.

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Deborah Williams

Deborah Williams

Lyric Soprano - In residence 2011, 2012

Deborah Williams has been an active soloist for the past fifteen years in the areas of opera, concert, musical theatre, and recital. She has performed leading soprano repertoire with regional opera companies throughout the southwest in many staples of the operatic and musical theatre repertoire including La Boheme (Mimi, Musetta), Carmen (Micaela), Gianni Schicchi (Lauretta), Die Zauberflöte (Pamina), Oklahoma (Laurie), and West Side Story (Maria). Ms. Williams has also appeared on the concert stage with numerous symphonies and choruses as soloist for works including the Verdi Requiem, Messiah, the Faure Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, the Haydn Creation, and Mozart’s Vesperae Solemne. Recent appearances include Purcell’s Ode on St. Cecilia’s Day 1692, Schumann’s Mass in C minor, the Bruckner Te Deum, Schubert’s Mass in Eb, the Poulenc Gloria, and Beethoven’s Mass in C and Symphony No.9. Ms. Williams has also been an active recitalist in the Northeastern United States and appeared as a featured artist in recital and Masterclasses for the International Festival of Modern Art in Odessa, Ukraine.

Deborah Williams received her Bachelor of Music Education Degree and Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Oklahoma. She pursued her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Voice at both the University of Texas at Austin and the Cincinnati Conservatory, during which time she worked as a private voice teacher, a coach accompanist, and an organist choir director. From 1991 – 1998 Ms. Williams served on the Voice Faculty at Montclair State University, and maintained a private studio of voice students of all ages. She is currently an Associate Professor of Voice and Head of the Vocal Division at Chicago State University.

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Gene Trantham

Gene Trantham

Piano and Music Theory Pedagogue – In residence 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012

Gene Trantham, the Minister of Music at Calvary Baptist Church, Findlay, Ohio, will lecture on Wednesday, June 11, on “Biblical Initiative” and give a lecture on Thursday, June 12, on a TBA topic of music theory. Associate Professor of music theory and coordinator of music theory at Bowling Green University; master’s from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison; recipient of the 1997 Distinguished Teaching Award from Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia; formerly on the faculty at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey; serves as a music theory consultant for the College Board and is active in the AP Music Theory program; directed the Ohio Ambassador Chorus, an ensemble of high school singers, on their biannual tour of Europe; presented papers at the International Technological Directions in Music Learning conference and at the national meetings of the Society for Music Theory, the Association for Technology in Music Instruction and the College Music Society including recent presentations on harmonic patterns in Frescobaldi’s toccatas and the relationship between analysis and performance; publications appear in College Music Symposium, Sixteenth Century Journal, TDML e-journal and Musical Insights; currently, writing Instructor’s Resources to accompany The Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis for WW Norton; serves on the board of the Macro Analysis Creative Research Organization at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and as president of the College Music Society’s Great Lakes chapter.

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Dwight Gustafson

Dwight Gustafson

In residence 2010, 2012

Dwight Gustafson is Dean Emeritus of the School of Fine Arts at Bob Jones University with an administrative, teaching, conducting and composing career that has spanned nearly fifty years. A veteran opera and concert conductor and vocal coach, he brings years of experience working with professional, university and pre-college musicians. His D. Mus. in Composition was earned at Florida State University under a Graduate school grant. As a choir clinician he has assisted churches throughout the U.S.Assisting young Christian musicians is a priority in his life.

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Cliff Jackson

Cliff Jackson

Pianist and vocal coach - In residence 2010, 2011, 2012

Cliff Jackson, native of Gary, Indiana, received his Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and pursued graduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music. Cited for his sensitive accompaniments and insightful musicianship, Mr. Jackson has been the pianist for many internationally renowned artists including Kathleen Battle, Renato Scotto, Simon Estes, Edda Moser, Felicia Weathers, and Gwendolyn Bradley. His skill as a collaborative artist has justly earned him a place on the stages of Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Wierner Musikverein, the Teatro Colon, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Mr. Jackson was awarded a coaching fellowship by the American Opera Center at The Julliard School, where he was a coach for two years. He was also the recipient of the Gramma Fisher Scholarship by the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

Mr. Jackson was awarded a coaching fellowship by the American Opera Center at The Julliard School, where he was a coach for two years. He was also the recipient of the Gramma Fisher Scholarship by the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

Having studied with such highly esteemed pianists as Leon Bates, Frances Walker, Martin Katz, and Warren George Wilson, Mr. Jackson has been recognized as a leading pianist from among the pool of his peers. He has gained a wide reputation as an outstanding coach of vocal repertoire ranging in scope from Baroque through Twentieth-Century opera, in addition to a breadth of song literature encompassing the vastly divergent stylistic periods.

He has acted as pianist, organist, and harsichordist while on musical staffs of Miami Opera, Tulsa Opera, and the Mobile Opera. He was also invited to serve as the head coach for the Central City Opera festival during 1995 and 1997, and as the coach and accompianist for the Chautauqua Opera Festival.

In 1992, Mr. Jackson joined the faculty of University of Kentucky’s School of Music, where he is currently an Associate Professor serving as Vocal Coach for the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre and Voice Curriculum.

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Rebecca Harding Mayer

Rebecca Harding Mayer

Pianist - In residence 2008, 2009

Rebecca Mayer recently has been appointed to the faculty of Oakland University. She graduated with high academic honor from the Cleveland Institute of Music, receiving her Bachelor of Music and her Master of Music, in piano performance. The Cleveland Institute of Music faculty awarded her The Sadie Zellen Prize and the William Kurzman prize in piano.

Rebecca has performed nationally and internationally in master classes and solo concerts, including performances in Prague and Italy. In July of 2003, she made her solo debut at the Carmel Bach Festival in Monterrey, California. In 2000, Rebecca and her two sisters formed a piano trio. They were top prize winners in the senior division of the National Fischoff Chamber Competition , and were winners in several other competitions. As an established trio, they have performed in master classes with Beaux-Arts Trio, Juilliard Quartet, Itzhak Perlman, Paul Katz, John Perry, Norman Fisher, Sergei Babayan, Donald and Vivian Weilerstein, the New Arts Trio, and others.

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Rachel Harding Klaus

Rachel Harding Klaus

Violinist - In residence 2008, 2009

Born in Chicago, Rachel studied violin with David and Linda Cerone at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where the faculty awarded her the coveted Joseph and Elsie Scharff Prize in Violin and the Dr. Jerome Gross Prize. Previous teachers have included Michael Avesharian, Steven Shipps, and Sonja Foster. In the fall of 2004, she won the concerto competition at the Cleveland Institute and performed the Bartok Concerto with the CIM Orchestra. In June of 2005, Rachel was a prizewinner in the International Irving M. Klein String Competition.

Rachel has performed as soloist with the Rochester, Birmingham and Kalamazoo Symphonies in Michigan, and the Asheville Symphony in North Carolina. She has won first place in numerous string and young artist competitions, including the American String Competition of, Birmingham-Bloomfield, Rochester, Zerounian, and Jean Hoffman String Competition as well as the Schoolcraft College Music Competition and the Birmingham Musical. She was also chosen from a small handful of young artists to play for the first Starling-Delay Symposium at Julliard, where she performed for Midori and Dorothy Delay in a special master class.

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Harding Trio

The Harding Trio