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Lara Nie - Mezzo Soprano
Hailed as one of New York’s most “prominent German lied specialist” by New York Magazine and as “an intensely expressive artist” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, mezzo-soprano, Lara Nie, is one of the most versatile and accomplished singers performing today. As an active orchestral soloist, chamber musician and recitalist, her performances are recognized for their passionate interpretation and sophisticated musicality. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2006 at Weill Recital Hall and has appeared in national and international recital, chamber and orchestral venues including the Ravinia Festival, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Munich’s Gasteig Hall, the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, Merkin Concert Hall, the Washington Holocaust Museum Chamber Series, the Windermere Music Festival in Canada, the Edgar M. Bronfman Chamber Music Series, the Society for Ethical Culture, Ensemble du Monde, Sun Valley Summer Symphony and the Chicago Civic Orchestra among others. She has worked with conductors including Christopher Eschenbach, David Gilbert, Alasdair Neale, and Michael Morgan. Ms. Nie has performed with pianists Jon Nakamatsu and Shai Wosner and has collaborated with musicians including members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, St. Louis Symphony and the Washington National Orchestra among others. Her appearances with “Trio Respiro”, of which she is the founding member, have garnered praise for their original and creative programming and for the beauty of their performances. Equally at home on the opera stage, she has appeared with the Altenburger Musik Festival in Germany, Israel Vocal Arts, and the Kentro Musikis in Thessaloniki Greece in roles ranging from Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutti, Brecht and Weil’s “Street Scene” to the premiere of Saruya’s “The Pompeii Exhibit” at New York’s avant-garde theatre, The Kitchen. Ms. Nie has recorded Mozart and Schubert lieder on the Silver Bay Label and has been heard live on Chicago’s WFMT, Florida Public Radio, Radio Free Europe and New York’s WQXR Artist Showcase with Robert Scherman. Highlights of her past season include concerts at Cleveland’s Severance Hall with Ensemble du Monde, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony’s In Focus concert Series, The Kosciuszko Foundation’s Chamber Music Series in New York the Chagrin Valley Chamber Music Concert Series and Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, among others.
Joan Kwuon - Violin  Violinist, JOAN KWUON is praised by the New York Times for her “fiery, intensely musical and impassioned playing.” Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ms. Kwuon made her Tanglewood Music Festival debut with the Brahms Violin Concerto at the invitation of Sir André Previn. Following this debut, she was presented in her New York debut in recital at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Ms. Kwuon’s virtuosity and radiant stage presence have been recognized by media ranging from The Today Show, CBS News and Lifetime Television to National Public Radio. In the 2009-2010 season, Ms. Kwuon made her concerto debut performing the Beethoven Violin concerto in the Czech Republic with Maestro Theodore Kuchar and the Janacek Philharmonic, and her debut in Turkey performing the Brahms Violin Concerto with Maestro Gurer Aykal and the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra. Her re-engagements included the Amarillo Symphony opening their season with Mozart Sinfonia Concertante and Bartók First Rhapsody. Continuing her collaboration with Maestro Enrique Batiz, she was featured soloist at the Festival Internacional Cervantino in León, Mexico, performing Brahms Violin Concerto. Her recital appearances included the Hampton Arts Series, Tannery Pond Concerts, The Peggy Rockefeller Concerts in New York City, the Cal State University at Long Beach Recitals, and the L'Ermitage Foundation concert series in Los Angeles. As a recitalist, Joan Kwuon made her Metropolitan Museum debut in 2006 and has been presented by venues including University of Illinois’ Krannert Center, Universities of Georgia, Rockefeller, Iowa, George Mason, Wooster College and the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia. She has appeared in Boston on WGBH, on “Around New York” on WNYC, and is a frequest guest on “Live from WFMT” in Chicago. Ms. Kwuon has been engaged as guest artist at numerous international music festivals including Great Mountains Music Festival in Korea, Cité de la Musique and Consonance in France, the Summer Festival in Prague, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and La Jolla’s Summerfest. She has enjoyed collaborations with Cho-Liang Lin, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, the Juilliard String Quartet, Bright Sheng, Heidi Grant Murphy, Vladimir Feltsman, and Tony Bennett. Ms. Kwuon received advanced degrees from Indiana University, The Juilliard School and the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has taught at the Juilliard School and is currently on the faculty at The Cleveland Institute of Music, and The Bowdoin International Music Festival. Joan Kwuon is grateful to Elliott and Mona Golub for the generous loan of the 1734 ‘Spagnoletti’ Guarneri del Gesù. www.joankwuon.com Misha Quint - cello  Russian-born cellist Misha Quint, 2009 first prize winner of the CRS National competition, captivates his audiences with his lyricism, passion and dazzling technique. Described by The Philadelphia Inquirer as a "master of probing sentiment", his repertoire ranges from Bach to premieres of the most outstanding composers of today including Sophie Goubadalina, Robert Sirota, Steven Gerber, Nathan Davis, and Alfred Schnitke. Quint is Founder and Music Director of the InterHarmony International Music Festivals and the Sulzbach-Rosenberg International Musik Festival in the USA and Europe. As a special guest artist Misha Quint was broadcast on a live television performance of the Unaccompanied Bach Suite No.5, in WQXR's "In the Listening Room" and live recitals on WGBH (Boston), WMNB (NJ), WNYC (NY). A graduate of the Leningrad Special School for the Gifted and the Leningrad Conservatory, Misha Quint made his orchestral debut at the age of 13 after winning first prize at the Boccherini Competition in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad). He gained international recognition after capturing top prizes in the International Competition in Prague and the Russian National Competition. Quint immigrated to the US and made his critically acclaimed New York recital debut at the 92nd Street Y and his orchestral debut in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. He has given numerous solo recitals and master classes in the leading halls of England, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland Russia, Latvia, Georgia, Belorussia, and the US. Misha Quint has appeared with such celebrated orchestras as the Orquestra Sinfônica do Teatro Nacional do Brasilia, Metropolitan Symphony, the New York Chamber Orchestra, National Irish Symphony, New York Chamber Symphony and the London Soloists Chamber Orchestra at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Leningrad State Orchestra, Orchestra of Classical and Contemporary Music as well as with the Symphony Orchestras of Latvia and Georgia. He has worked with an equally illustrious group of conductors including Maxim Shostakovich, Paul Lustig Dunkel, Colman Pierce, Sidney Harth, Ravil Martinov, Camilla Kolchinsky, Yakov Bergman, and most recently Ira Levin in Brasilia. Misha Quint is strongly committed to teaching and is on the faculty of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and Mannes School of Music in New York. His prestigious InterHarmony music festivals boast an outstanding faculty of established soloists and teachers and inhabit two locations in Birklehof, Germany; and Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany. He has been on the faculty of the International Institute of Music in Marktoberdorf, Germany, and was the music director and founder of the Soesterberg International Music Festival in Holland, the International Cello Festivalin Blonay and Interharmony Music Festival in Geneva, Switzerland.
Eriko Izumida - Piano  Pianist Eriko Izumida has been an active soloist, collaborative pianist, and chamber musician. She has performed extensively throughout the United States and Asia with numbers of artists including the Cleveland Orchestra members. In addition, she presents a number of recital programs for various community service venues. Ms. Izumida has been teaching the piano privately and has been on the piano faculty of Baldwin Wallace Collage Preparatory/ Adult Education Department, and also a staff accompanist at BW Conservatory. Her students have won contests and scholarships; some has been frequently appearing local hospitals and retirement houses. A native of Japan, she began studying piano at the age of three. She has studied with Graeme Humphrey at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Dr. Thomas Hecht at the Cleveland Institute of Music where she holds both Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in piano performance. Other teachers include Robert McDonald, Jacques Rouvier, Ellen Mack and Daniel Shapiro, Noriko Iwabe and Michio Kobayashi. Her chamber music/collaborative piano mentors include Anne Epperson and Eric Charnofsky. In addition, she studied harpsichord with Janina Ceaser. Her CD is available under TC Recordings label.
Ken johnston - Violin 
Ken Johnston is active both as a performer and a teacher of the violin. In addition to his performing as Concertmaster of the Erie Philharmonic, he holds the same chair with the Blue Water Chamber Orchestra of Cleveland. He has played with the Akron, Canton, Youngstown, and Cleveland Pops Orchestras of Ohio, as well as the Virginia Symphony and the Wheeling Symphony of West Virginia. Donald Rosenberg of The Plain Dealer remarked that Johnston “triumphed whenever he touched bow to strings.” He is currently teaching violin students at Ohio State University, and has served on the faculty of Mercyhurst College, where he taught both violin and viola to undergraduate music students and conducted ensemble performances such as Mozart’s Opera, The Magic Flute. In addition, he has been a faculty member of the Luzerne Chamber Music Festival, where he performed as a member of the Luzerne Chamber Players. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he received both a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree in Violin Performance, Johnston studied with Professor David Updegraff and served as Mr. Updegraff's Teaching Assistant.
Dorota Sobieska - Soprano  Dorota Sobieska, soprano, sings a wide variety of repertoire. Among composers to whom she feels an especially close connection are Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi, as well as Mozart. In Cleveland, Sobieska has been noted for her rendition of six Bellini heroines: Amina, Elvira, Giulietta, Norma, Alaide, and Imogene. She has also appeared in the leading roles of eight Mozart operas, including Konstanze, Elisa, Zaide, Fiordiligi, Costanze, La Contessa, and the Queen of the Night—the last of which she performed in a fully-staged production on tour in Germany. In May of 2006, she sang Saïs, the leading soprano role in the world premiere of the opera Thamos, King of Egypt by Halim El-Dabh, which incorporates fragments of music by Mozart. Sobieska is also an acclaimed recitalist, having performed in the United States, Poland, Canada, Bulgaria, and Germany. In April of 2007, she sang a joint recital at Carnegie Hall: Zankel Hall in a program that included world-renowned bass Dimitri Kavrakos, and in June 2009, she sang a solo recital of Donizetti’s arias with Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra in Bulgaria. Together with her husband Jacek Sobieski, she founded Opera Circle in Cleveland in 1995. Since its inception, the company has produced over 30 operas in Italian, German, Polish, French, and English, as well as numerous concerts. Opera Circle enjoys critical acclaim and rapport with its enthused audience. Sobieska stage directed many Opera Circle productions, and wrote very successful dialogues for Zaide, Thamos, King of Egypt, and Bastien und Bastienne. Sobieska holds a doctoral degree from Kent State University, with dissertation on poetry, music and philosophy of art.
Daniel Doty - Tenor  The Rev Mr. Daniel J. Doty serves as Senior Minister of Trinity United Church of Christ, Wadsworth, OH. Rev. Doty has served congregations in Illinois and Ohio. Dan has a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Bowling Green State University. He taught in two public school systems in Ohio before perceiving his call to ministry. Upon completing candidate studies, Dan attended Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL and earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1998. Ordained in The United Methodist Church in 1998, Dan completed a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Methodist Medical Center, Peoria, IL. Rev. Doty actively teaches in the areas of worship/liturgy and hymnody. He has served as the President of the Wadsworth Ministerial Association for the past four years. He has been a member of the Order of Saint Luke for 15 years and currently serves as the Prior of the East Ohio Chapter. Daniel Doty is also a classically trained tenor who is equally at home on the opera, theatre or concert stage. He has appeared with the symphonies in Akron (OH), Mansfield (OH), Muncie (IN), Urbana (IL), Marion (OH), and community bands in Medina (OH), Mercer (PA), and Wadsworth (OH). Performances have found him in a variety of settings from church sanctuaries to concert halls, and at such locations as the Celle di Puccini (Puccini summer home) and Severance Hall. Daniel recently appeared with Opera Circle (Cleveland, OH) as Alfred in “Die Fledermaus”. Next up he will sing Bruno in “I Puritani” with Opera Circle. He will also appear with the Sounds of Sousa Band in Akron’s historic Civic theatre and as tenor soloist with the Marion Civic Orchestra in their 61st presentation of Handel’s “Messiah.” As participant of the Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca, Daniel spent six weeks in the Tuscan village of Lucca (Italy) singing operatic arias at various venues associated with Lucca's most famous son, Giacomo Puccini. Daniel has appeared in Master Classes with such Metropolitan Opera stars as Martina Arroyo and Angela Brown. A past Guest Artist with the Masterworks Festival, Daniel worked with David Geier, Assistant Conductor for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Rev. Doty lives in Wadsworth, Ohio with his wife Amy and their children Kristian, Sean, and Kaetlyn.
Brian Keith Johnson - Baritone  Brian Keith Johnson has performed many roles in opera from Figaro in il barbiere di Siviglia to Ford in Falstaff. As a member of Actors’ Equity Association, he has also performed a variety of musical theatre roles ranging from Jim in Big River and Joe in Show Boat to Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar and Father/God in Children of Eden. Operatic roles include Henry Box Brown and Frederick Douglass in Opera Columbus’ World Premiere of Leslie Burrs’ Vanqui; the Kaiser in Cleveland Public Theatre’s production of Viktor Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis; Masetto in Don Giovanni and Valentin in Faust with Cleveland Opera; Bellomy in The Fantasticks, Dewain in I Was Looking At The Ceiling and Then I Saw The Sky, Belcore in The Elixir of Love and Figaro in The Barber of Seville with Lyric Opera Cleveland; Figaro in il barbiere di Siviglia, Giovanni in Don Giovanni, Peter in Hansel und Gretel and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with The Duke Symphony Orchestra; Crown in Porgy and Bess with The Beck Center; Crown in Porgy and Bess and Michele in Il Tabarro with Union Avenue Opera: Tonio in Pagliacci, Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Marcello in La Boheme and Sharpless in Madama Butterly with Opera Western Reserve and Germont in La Traviata with The Carolina Master Chorale. This season, he will sing the role of Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte with The Duke Symphony Orchestra, Tonio in Pagliacci with The Bechstein Concert Series and Michele and Schicchi in Il Trittico with Dellarte’ Opera. Mr. Johnson’s concert performances include excerpts from Die Zauberflöte and La Cenerentola with The Cleveland Orchestra; Carmina Burana with both The San Jose Ballet and The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre; Porgy in Porgy and Bess, The Five Mystical Songs, The Bach Magnificat, Carmina Burana, The Messiah and The Brahms Requiem with The Akron Symphony Orchestra; The Fauré Requiem and Carmina Burana with The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra; The Bach Magnificat, Crown in Porgy and Bess, Carmina Burana, Adam in The Creation, Schlendrian in The Coffee Cantata and The Bonze, Yamadori and The Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly with The Canton Symphony Orchestra; Kirke Mechem’s Songs of the Slave from the opera John Brown with The Summit Choral Society; The Brahms Requiem, The Songs of Travel by Vaughan Williams and Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death with The Duke Symphony Orchestra; The Mozart Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Carmina Burana with The Ashland Symphony Orchestra; Carmina Burana and Elijah with The Suburban Symphony Orchestra; The Mozart C Minor Mass with The Dayton Bach Society; La Traviata and La Boheme with The New Opera Festival di Roma Orchestra in Rome, Italy; Elijah and The Verdi Requiem with The Warren Philharmonic Orchestra; La Boheme and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with The Missouri Symphony Orchestra and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with The Springfield Symphony Orchestra. This season’s concert performances include and evening of Verdi and Puccini with The Akron Symphony Orchestra, The Porgy and Bess Suite with The Suburban Symphony, a concert of spirituals at Severance Hall, a concert dedicated to teachers with The Warren Philharmonic Orchestra and The Faure’ Requiem with The Western Reserve Chorale.
Peter Takács - Piano  Hailed by the New York Times as “a marvelous pianist,” PETER TAKÁCS has performed widely, receiving critical and audience acclaim for his penetrating and communicative musical interpretations. Mr. Takács was born in Bucuresti, Romania and started his musical studies before his fourth birthday. After his debut recital at age seven, he was a frequent recitalist in his native city until his parents' request for emigration to the West, at which point all his studies and performances were banned. He continued studying clandestinely with his piano teacher until his family was finally allowed to emigrate to France, where, at age fourteen, he was admitted to the Conservatoire National de Paris. Upon his arrival in the United States, his outstanding musical talents continued to be recognized with full scholarships to Northwestern University and the University of Illinois, and a three-year fellowship for doctoral studies at the Peabody Conservatory, where he completed his artistic training with renowned pianist Leon Fleisher. Mr. Takács has received numerous prizes and awards for his performances, including First Prize in the William Kapell International Competition, the C.D. Jackson Award for Excellence in Chamber Music at the Tanglewood Music Center, and a Solo Recitalist Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. His performances have been hailed by audiences and the press for their penetrating intellectual insight as well as for emotional urgency and communicativeness. Mr. Takács has performed as guest soloist with major orchestras in the U.S. and abroad, as well as at important summer festivals such as Tanglewood, Music Mountain, Chautauqua Institution, ARIA International, Schlern Music Festival in the Italian Alps, Tel Hai International Master Classes in Israel, and Sweden’s Helsingborg Festival. Since 2008, he has been a member of the faculty at the Montecito Summer Music Festival in Santa Barbara, CA. He has performed and recorded the cycle of thirty-two Beethoven Piano Sonatas, which are due for release on the CAMBRIA label in 2011. Mr. Takács’ success as a teacher is attested to by his students’ accomplishments, who have won top prizes in competitions in the United States, Canada, Europe, and South Africa. They have been accepted at major graduate schools such as the Curtis Institute, Juilliard School, and Peabody Conservatory, among many others. Mr. Takács has given master classes in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and has been a jury member at prestigious national and international competitions such as San Antonio International Keyboard Competition (twice), Canadian National Competition (three times), Cleveland International Piano Competition, and Hilton Head International Piano Competition. Mr. Takács is Professor of Piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he has been teaching since 1976.
Michael Gelfand - Cello 
Michael Gelfand received his Bachelor of Music degree at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and his Master of Music at the Cleveland Institute of Music in cello and conducting. His cello teachers have included Janos Starker, Fritz Magg, and Marion Feldman. He pursued doctoral studies in conducting at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, and at the Pierre Monteux School for Advanced Conductors. From 1980‐1990 he was Director of Orchestra, Opera and Musical Theater Productions at the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University. Since 1975 he has been Professor of Music at Youngstown State University and Principal Cellist of the Youngstown Symphony and Warren Chamber Orchestra, and has performed concerts since 1990 as a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra cello section. He is a former member of the Cleveland Orchestra, former principal cellist of the Syracuse Symphony, and member of the Cazenovia String Quartet. Gelfand is active as a guest soloist, conductor, adjudicator at many high schools, colleges, and music festivals throughout the United States. He was awarded the Distinguished Professor of Music Award at Youngstown State University in 1984, and was promoted to the rank of Full Professor in 1994. Mr. Gelfand performs as a member of the Amici Trio in residence at Youngstown State University. In August 2002 Michael Gelfand was named Music Director/Conductor of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, in Greenville, PA. Gelfand was named Music Director/Conductor of the Ashtabula Area Orchestra in June 1992, and in that capacity has expanded its season which now includes subscription and pops
concerts, as well as performances with the Ashtabula Arts Center Ballet, the Ashtabula County Choral Society, and the Youngstown Symphony Chorus. |
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