Villa-Lobos International Chamber Music Festival

Artists

• Lars Hoefs, artistic director, cello

  American cellist Lars Hoefs, professor of cello and music history at Sao Paulo State University in Campinas (Unicamp), performs in Brazil, the United States, and Europe. 2015 highlights included solo performances with the Collegium Musicum Orchestra in Berlin, recitals in Poland, appearances in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, the Ipalpiti Festival at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and numerous solo performances throughout Brazil. At Unicamp, Lars leads a cello ensemble of his students that tours regularly, and will release the album “Violoncelos sem Fronteiras” in 2016.

  Lars has established himself as a leading expert on the cello repertoire of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. He was the first cellist to perform together in one program the complete works for cello and orchestra by Villa-Lobos with the Orquestra Sinfonica da Unicamp. In 2012 he was invited to perform Villa-Lobos’ complete works for cello and piano at the 50th annual Festival Villa-Lobos in Rio de Janeiro. In January of 2015 Lars was artistic director of the first Villa-Lobos International Chamber Music Festival at the University of California in Riverside, presenting 10 concerts in Riverside and Los Angeles and premiering composer Paulo C. Chagas’ monumental cycle “Gravity and Grace, Mobiles I-III.”

  As soloist in Brazil, Lars has performed concerti with the Amazonas Filarmonica in Manaus; the symphony orchestras of Barra Mansa, Braganca Paulista, Nova Odessa, and Sorocaba; youth orchestras in Salvador (NEOJIBA), Campos do Jordao, Piracicaba and Rio de Janeiro (OSB Jovem); and notably the South American premiere of Korngold’s Cello Concerto with the Orquestra Sinfonica Municipal of Campinas and Maestro Victor Hugo Toro. Lars is a frequent guest at the Rio International Cello Encounters and the Festival Virtuosi in Recife, and in 2009, Lars spent the year as co-principal cellist of the Orquestra Sinfonica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro under conductor Roberto Minczuk.

  Originally from Appleton, Wisconsin, Lars earned his high school diploma at the North Carolina School of the Arts, a Bachelors from Northwestern University studying with Hans Jorgen Jensen, and both Masters and Doctorate degrees from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where he studied with former Los Angeles Philharmonic principal cellist Ronald Leonard.

• Paulo C. Chagas, composer-in-residence

  Paulo C. Chagas is Professor of Composition at the University of California, Riverside. A very versatile composer, Chagas has written over 140 works for orchestra, chamber music, electroacoustic music, audiovisual and multimedia compositions. His music unfolds a pluralistic aesthetic, using the most diverse musical materials from different cultures, acoustic and digital media, dance, video, and audiovisual installations. His works have resulted from numerous commissions and fellowships and have been performed in Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Czech Republic, Swiss, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Serbia, Croatia, Romania, South Korea, the USA, and Latin America to public and critical acclaim.

  The creative manipulation of electronic and digital sound and the integration of music into multimedia forms is a significant aspect of Chagas’ work. As he states: “My compositions make extensive use of technology while seeking to understand the ways of thinking that lie behind technology by making it transparent. In accordance with Heidegger, I believe that “the more questioningly we ponder the essence of technology, the more mysterious the essence of art becomes.” The pursuit of the humanistic endeavor and the ascent of man as a spiritual being is at the core of my aesthetics that emphasizes the human, symbolic and ritualistic dimension of music.”

  Chagas is also a prolific author of articles on musical semiotics, electroacoustic and digital music. His most recent book Unsayable Music (Leuven University Press, 2014) presents theoretical, critical and analytical reflections on contemporary music creativity. The six essays of the book approach music from different perspectives such as philosophy, sociology, cybernetics, musical semiotics, media, and critical studies.

• Alexandra Aubert, piano

  Eclectic artist Alexandra Aubert was international piano competitions and obtained in 2002 the DEM (Diplôme d’Etudes Musicales), Piano and Chamber Music Degree from the National Conservatory of Toulouse.

  At the same time she studied Musicology at the University of Toulouse – Le Mirail: Bachelor’s degree in 2000 and Master in 2001.

  She obtained her vocal technical training with the opera singers and professors Paulette Simard (Bordeaux), Monique Hauswald (Montauban) and Michelle Zini (Toulouse).

  In France, she has been guided by the pianists Christine Nègre, Michel Dru and Hubert Guáry. She also has been adviced by great artists like Raquel Boldorini (Uruguay), Edith Fischer (Chile), José Luis Juri (Argentina) and Fernando Lopes (Brazil).

  Always active in chamber music, Alexandra Aubert was titular Piano Accompanist of the semi-professional choir “Stella Montis” and artistic director of ensamble “Cambalachev” in France, pianist of “Duo Bilitis” in Chile, and accompanied to renowned international musicians.

  As a piano soloist, she had her debut in France in 1994. She continued her career granting concerts in Santiago and all along Chile (where she lives since 2002), as well as in Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil at UNICAMP (State University of Campinas), Mexico (State University of Guanajuato, and Conservatory of Music in Puebla). She has participated in festivals and international encounters in France (Orphée Festival, Chambre avec Vues), in Chile (Tsonami, Darwin Vargas, Campamento Marqués de Mancera...), in Argentina (Festival Nacional e Internacional de Pianistas, Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires) and Ecuador (FIAMA). She performed piano concertos with orchestras such as Camerata Andrés Bello, OSNJ, Orquesta Marga-Marga, Orquesta del Conservatorio PUCV, Orquesta Sinfónica de Antofagasta; under the direction of Santiago Meza, José Luis Domínguez, Luis José Recart, Gonzalo Venegas, Christi´n Baeza.

  She has also been regularly invited to play within the Orquesta Clásica del Maule (Talca, Chile) conducted by Ernesto Acher, Octavio Torres, or Jorge Rotter.

  Alexandra Aubert is particularly involved in Latin American contemporary music creation and diffusion; she has been working with leading Chilean composers like Fernando García and Rafael Díaz, young creator Andrés Rivera, as well as Argentinian talented composer Esteban D’Antona.

  Her teaching career began in 1996 in France. In Chile, she worked at Universidad de Playa Ancha (Valparaíso), Conservatorio Prokofiev (Viña del Mar), Conservatorio de la Universidad Mayor (Santiago). She’s the current Choral Music teacher at the Conservatory of Music of the Universidad Austral de Chile (Valdivia), since April 2015.

  She has chaired piano and chamber music’s master classes, courses and music camps in Puebla and Guanajuato (Mexico); Campinas (Brazil); Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata (Argentina); Olmué, Valdivia, Niebla, Valparaíso, Quilpué and Puerto Varas (Chile). She has been member, or president of jury in several piano competitions: “Claudio Arrau” (Quilpué, Chile), Chilean pre-selection of Lang Lang Piano Competition , the 1st , 2nd and 3rd National Competition “Festival de Pianistas Mar del Plata” (Argentina), Competition of “Conservatorio de la Universidad Mayor” (Santiago de Chile).

  Besides her roles as soloist and chamber music pianist, choirmaster – she’s founding director of Coro de Cámara EAS (an independent semi-professional chamber choir) – and soprano, Alexandra Aubert leads the Escuela de Muúsica EAS (Escuela de Arte Sagrada), in the south of Chile (Valdivia), where she also teaches.

• Patricia Caicedo, soprano

  Recognized as “The Voice of the Latin American and Iberian Art Song” and often described as its ambassador, Patricia Caicedo is a leading interpreter of the Latin American and Iberian vocal repertory and has sung in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Holland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Germany, Puerto Rico and Latin-America to public and critical acclaim.

  Singing in Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Quechua and Nahuatl she draws listeners into the world of beauty, poetry, and warmth that is the Latin American & Spanish Art Song – a world that continues to thrive because of her determination to ensure its future.

  Her well-received CDs include: Aves y Ensueños: Colombian Art Songs by Jaime Leon (2011), Estrela e lúa nova...(2011), De mi corazón latino - Latin Songs of All time (Mundo Arts, 2010), A mi ciudad Nativa – To My Native City (Mundo Arts, 2005), Lied: Art songs of Latin America (Albert Moraleda, 2001) and La Felicidad, recorded with the Banda Sinfónica Santafé de Bogotá in 1997.

  As a musicologist Patricia is internationally recognized as a leading expert in the study and performance of the Latin American & Iberian art song. Her pioneering books The Latin American Art Song: A Critical Anthology and Interpretive Guide for Singers, The Colombian Art Song - Jaime León: Analysis and Compilation of his works for voice & piano Vol.1 & 2, The Bolivian Art Song and The Argentinean Art Song, are consider reference books in the field. Caicedo regularly gives concert, lectures, master classes and serves as an artist in residency at leading universities in the United States and Europe.

  She is the founder and director of the Barcelona Festival of Song, a Summer Program & Concert Series focused on the study of the history and interpretation of the Latin American & Iberian vocal repertoire that is reaching its 12th edition in 2016.

  Her interest in exploring the possibilities of technology to create educational channels and to promote the Latin American & Iberian repertoire and composers, brought her to create Mundo Arts Spain., an Internet company that developed in to a Music Publisher, a Record label, a Online TV channel and an Online Store. In 2014 Patricia started EYECatalunya,a technological platform dedicated to internationally promote Catalan creators.

  As a performer, she has served as a cultural ambassador for the Government of Colombia and Spain and has performed throughout Europe, the United States and Latin-America.

  Born in Ibagué, Colombia, Ms. Caicedo began studying piano, music theory, and voice as a child at the Tolima music conservatory. After completing medical studies, she resumed her voice studies and has since worked with Rocío Rios, Alfredo Krauss, Maya Maiska and Gilberto Escobar.

  Caicedo lives in Barcelona and holds a Medical Doctor degree from the Escuela Colombiana de Medicina and a PhD in Musicology from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

  Since 2008 Caicedo was included in the Who’s Who in America. Published by Marquis Who’s Who is the leading biographical reference publisher of the highest achievers and contributors from across the country and around the world. Her inclusion represents a tribute to her discipline and hard work as an advocate of the Latin American and Spanish Music. Since 2010 Patricia is also included in the Who’s Who in American Women and Who’s Who in the World.

• Karl Pasch, composer/clarinet

  Karl Pasch is principal clarinetist with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, and is active as a chamber musician, conductor, and composer. He has performed concert tours with the Blue Rose Trio in California and Alaska, and was a featured guest artist at the Virtuosi Festival in Recife, Brazil.

  After winning a Rasmussen Artist Grant, he toured in Brazil and released a live CD of South American chamber music.

  Karl has conducted with the Anchorage Civic Orchestra, the Anchorage Ballet, the Anchorage Concert Chorus, and Anchorage Theatre Orchestra. He also performs with the Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet, and the gypsy jazz group the Hot Club of Nunaka.

• Beth Ross-Buckley, flute

  Beth Ross Buckley, flute, is the Executive Director of Camarada. Ms. Ross-Buckley is an advocate of chamber music and dedicated to her craft. An original founder of Camarada, for 22 years Beth has been the driving force behind this ensemble and has added many new venues, compositions and musicians to its celebrated history.

  Ms. Ross-Buckley received her Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from St. Olaf College and her Masters of Music from the University of Minnesota. Her teachers include Kay Sahlin, Julia Bogorad, Elaine Eagle, Damian Bursill-Hall, Frances Blaisdell and Timothy Day. Ms. Ross-Buckley has been a featured artist at the National Flute Association Convention and Music Teacher’s Association of California. She also performed as Principal flute of the former San Diego Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Nova for 25 years. Beth enjoys performing in local Broadway musical theater productions – including Wicked, Evita and Cinderella. Along with being the executive and artistic director for Camarada, Ms. Ross-Buckley also has a portrait photography business, Beth Ross Buckley Photography. Her other passions include family, friends, reading, and traveling.

• Jenny Yeo, piano

  Jenny Yeo, a native of South Korea, immigrated to Brazil at the age of nine and in 2006 she started her graduate studies in the US. She is prizewinner in piano competitions in Korea and Brazil such as the Jon-La province piano competition, Artlivre, Souza Lima and of city of Araçatuba in São Paulo. She holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the University of São Paulo under the instruction of Eduardo Monteiro. Other teachers include Beatriz Balzi and Marisa Lacorte. She has performed in cultural venues in Brazil such as Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Espaço cultural Qum and appeared in solo and chamber music performances in International Music Festival Campos do Jordão and Festival Música nas Montanhas em Poços de Caldas - MG.

  Ms. Yeo received her Master of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance under the tutelage of Bernadene Blaha at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where she was an Assistant Lecturer.

  Her passion in teaching resulted in a vast experience in private and group instructions, as well as coaching chamber music. While pursuing strong interest in Music Education, she was part of a research project of Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles in association with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

  Currently she teaches at PianoForte Music Studio in Irvine and maintains a private teaching studio.

• Michael Couper, saxophone

  Hailed by the New York Times for his “sweet intensity” and “insinuating smoothness,” Michael Couper is active in the advancement of the saxophone repertoire to include music of our time, traditional music reinterpreted, and innovations in pop styles. Dr. Couper was a finalist for the 2015 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, a rare distinction among saxophone soloists. He is also a founding member of the critically-acclaimed Mimesis Ensemble, a group based in New York City that is dedicated to presenting works of poignant cultural significance, largely by living composers. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed internationally at major venues including the Seoul Arts Center, Miller Theater, Merkin Hall, and Carnegie Hall, among others. Under the pseudonym “Shrodinger's Sax,” Couper plays soprano saxophone with the musically acrobatic and genre-defying band SWARMIUS, described as a “sonic fusion of hip-hop and house-lounge-techno meets modern-classical.” He has performed concerti with the USC Thornton Symphony, the San Diego State University (SDSU) Symphony Orchestra, the SDSU Wind Ensemble, and the Swarmaphonic Orchestra, and is engaged in several new concerto projects for the 2016/2017 season, including one with Mohammed Fairouz. Partnering with saxophonist Kenneth Radnofsky, Dr. Couper co-founded a music publishing company, RCEditions (www.rceditions.com) that endeavors to enrich the repertoire of the modern saxophonist, offering as part of its catalog adaptations of historical masterworks as well as exciting new commissions.

  Dr. Couper plays with the San Diego Symphony, and has also performed with the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music, the San Diego Opera, and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, as well as several local orchestras in the Los Angeles area. He has given guest artist recitals and masterclasses at universities and conservatories around the country, including New England Conservatory, the Longy School of Music, Boston University, CSU Sacramento, and CSU Long Beach, among others. He is an active teacher and performer in the community, with recent faculty appointments at San Diego State University and CSU San Bernardino, and summer festivals including CSU Summer Arts, and the California State Summer School for the Arts. In November of 2011, he collaborated on a Grammy-nominated disc of chamber works on the Sono Luminous label, and has subsequently recorded with SWARMIUS and for the LA Operetta Foundation.

  Dr. Couper earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts with distinction from the University of Southern California, his Master of Music from New England Conservatory, and his Bachelor of Music from San Diego State University, where he was the outstanding graduate for the School of Music, and the recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award. His past teachers include Todd Rewoldt, Kenneth Radnofsky, James Rötter, and Douglas Masek for saxophone, Frank Ticheli, Malcolm Peyton, and Brent Dutton for composition, and Lucinda Carver and Larry Livingston for conducting. Dr. Couper is a Conn-Selmer Artist endorsing Yanagisawa saxophones.

• Marek Żebrowski, composer/piano

  Marek Żebrowski began studying piano at the age of five. After graduating with the highest honors from the Poznań Music Lyceum, he studied with Robert Casadesus and Nadia Boulanger in France and Russell Sherman at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees. Hailed as “firm and eminently musical” by the Boston Globe, “strong and noble” by the Washington Post, and accorded highest accolades by the world press, Marek Żebrowski has appeared as soloist in recital and with symphony orchestras throughout the world. He has recorded works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Scriabin and Prokofiev for the Polish Radio and works by Ravel and Prokofiev for Apollo Records in Germany, and his performances and compositions are featured on the Titanic Records and Harmonia Mundi labels. Recognized as a composer with a catalogue of orchestral and chamber works, piano compositions and transcriptions, and film and stage scores, Mr. Żebrowski has received commissions from Meet the Composer and The New England String Quartet, among others, as well as composition prizes in the Netherlands. Mr. Żebrowski's works were premiered throughout the United States, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, and South Africa. For the past several years he has collaborated with director David Lynch and their album of free improvisations, Polish Night Music, was released in April of 2008.

  Marek Żebrowski has lectured for the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Harvard University, and The New England Conservatory of Music, and for several years was a contributing writer for the Boston Book Review. He has given master classes and has coached various chamber music ensembles and chamber orchestras. His academic career included teaching at the University of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and UCLA. Currently, Mr. Żebrowski resides in Los Angeles and serves as the Program Director for the Polish Music Center at USC and the Artistic Director of the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles, California.

  Marek Żebrowski is a Steinway Artist. He authored Celebrating Chopin & Paderewski, Paderewski in California and several other books about film directors and cinematographers, published by the Tumult Foundation. The 2007 recipient of the Silver Gloria Artis medal from Poland’s Minister of Culture and National Heritage, in 2011 Mr. Żebrowski was recognized with the Telly Award for his score to a documentary film, The Labyrinth and awarded the Golden Cross of Merit by the President of Poland. In April 2012, together with Lech Wałęsa and Professor Władysław Bartoszewski, Marek Żebrowski was honored by TV Polonia with the Award for the Promotion of Poland and Polish Culture abroad.

• Bridget Dolkas, violin

  Bridget Dolkas, Principal Second Violin of the Pacific Symphony, enjoys life as an innovative musician of the 21st century. 2013 saw her first endeavor as co-writer and director of a ground-breaking and “frighteningly funny” mash-up music video, “Frite of Spring” (check it out on youtube!). Bridget performs with the newly formed chamber ensemble, Renga, which recently performed at the 2014 Ojai Festival. Also in 2014, Bridget performed in the inaugural season of the Villa-Lobos International Chamber Music Festival. As first violinist and founding member of the California Quartet, she co-founded the critically acclaimed Connections Chamber Music Series, of which Tim Mangan of the Orange County Register wrote, “a worthy series”. Bridget rocks out in the jazz-classical fusion band, the Peter Sprague Consort, an intriguing ensemble combining string quartet and jazz trio- and always a favorite at the Idyllwild Jazz Festival. Since the year 2000, Ms. Dolkas has performed with the California Quartet in Europe and the United States to great acclaim, and has performed world-wide since the age of ten. In recent years, she has performed as soloist with the Pacific Symphony, South Coast Chamber Orchestra, and Poway Symphony. As a chamber musician, she performs regularly on Pacific Symphony’s chamber music series, Café Ludwig, and has shared the stage with such greats as Mark O’Connor, Orli Shaham, Peter Sprague, and Paul Katz. Ms. Dolkas performed for eight years in the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Opera Orchestra. Studying chamber music under such masters as Joseph Silverstein, Kim Kashkashian, Fred Sherry, Toby Appel, as well as the Juilliard, Alexander, and Miro Quartets, has made a tremendous musical impact on Ms. Dolkas. As a student of Alice Schoenfeld, she earned her BM degree at the University of Southern California, where she was awarded Chamber Musician of the Year. Continuing her studies with Isaac Malkin, she completed an MM degree from the Manhattan School of Music. She neared completion of a DMA degree from UCLA, where she studied with Mark Kaplan. Ms. Dolkas performs on a cherished 1798 Lupot violin.

• Eduardo Semencio, violin

  A believer that music can change lives, Eduardo is always committed to the role that music has in society. He is frequently involved in social projects of music teaching and orchestral groups that are devoted in deliver high quality music.

  Having earned a Bachelor in Violin Performance at Sao Paulo State University in Campinas, UNICAMP, recently he moved to Canada pursuing a master degree at the University of Western Ontario.

  Eduardo has been playing in professional Brazilian orchestras since 1996, including the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra; Amazon Philharmonic Orchestra where he participated in XII, XIII, and XIV Amazon Opera Festival; Amazon Chamber Orchestra; Amazon Baroque Orchestra; Mato Grosso State Orchestra; São José dos Campos Symphony Orchestra; Santos Symphony Orchestra; Americana Symphony Orchestra; Rio Claro Symphony Orchestra where he was the concertmaster from 1997 to 2007; etc. Currently, he is a member of the UNICAMP Symphony Orchestra; Oficina de Cordas Chamber Orchestra and concertmaster of Rock Orchestra Campinas. He participated in Rock in Rio Brazil 2011 playing in the “Tribute to Legião Urbana”. He also played in the Camerata Vitta first Brazil-Uruguay tour in 2007 as principal second violin.

  He has performed at several music festivals in Brazil such as "Festival Internacional de Inverno" in Campos do Jordão in 2006, 2007, and 2008, “Eleazar de Carvalho” Music Festival in Fortaleza 2003. He has played in masterclasses for professors Carmelo de los Santos, Betina Stegman, Yerko Tabilo, Elisa Fukuda, Ludwig Dürichen, Vesselin Gellev, Kees Hülsmannm, Mauro Loguercio, Bernardo Besseler and Daniel Guedes. In orchestras, he played with great conductors such as Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel (complete Beethoven Symphonies – Brazilian Symphony Orchestra 2011), Roberto Minczuk, Luiz Fernando Malheiro and Carlos Moreno.

  In 2010, Eduardo was selected as violin teacher at CAUA of the Amazon Federal University. He also taught violin, viola and chamber music in Lyceum of Arts “Claudio Santoro” in Manaus, in Cultural Foundation “Cassiano Ricardo”, and in the Music School “Fábio Marasca”.

  Eduardo was responsible for the restructuring of the Rio Claro Symphony Orchestra and its Music School, serving as the Artistic Director from 2003 to 2007. The new pedagogic approach follows the “El Sistema” model. In 2011 he was elected as its CEO and runs a new project to improve the orchestra and the school. In 2012, he organized and was the Executive and Music Director of the First Rio Claro Pedagogic Music Festival in Rio Claro. His new approach allowed the orchestra to receive financial support from the government and the Rotary Club. Thereafter, he also founded the Experimental Orchestra (2014) with the students’ school and students from surrounding cities. The project had great success because it provided an environment to new conductors, musicians and soloists to develop their careers and it became one of most active groups in the region.

• Monica de la Hoz, viola

  Monica de la Hoz, a native of Brazil, is currently working as Suzuki Instructor in Texas (GISD), after finished her Doctoral Degree in viola and violin performance at the Louisiana State University under the guidance of Professors Elias Goldstein and Espen Lilleslatten. She earned her undergraduate degree in violin at the School of Music and Arts of Campinas State University in Brazil and she holds two Masters’ Degrees, in violin performance from The University Southern Mississippi and in viola performance from University of New Mexico. During her time spent in New Mexico, she also received the Certificate in Suzuki Philosophy and Violin Teaching Long Term Training under Professor Susan Kempter. Monica took part in numerous international music festivals and masterclasses with artists as Roberto Diaz, Nadja Salermo, Erick Friedman, Boris Belkin, Alexandre Brussilovsky, Ole Bohn and Manfredo Kraemer. As a soloist, she gave solo and chamber recitals in Brazil, USA, Slovakia and Italy. She is the winner of the Louisiana Viola Society Competition (2011).

• Michael Gratovich, guitar

  Michael Gratovich began playing classical guitar in Austin, Texas, when he was eight years old. After many years of study with Dr. Matthew Hinsley, executive director of Austin Classical Guitar, Michael continued his musical education at The University of Texas at Austin, earning his Bachelor’s degree with legendary American classical guitarist, Adam Holzman. In 2014 Michael earned the degree of Master of Music from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he is currently pursuing Doctoral studies with a Teaching Assistantship award. Michael currently studies classical guitar performance with Scott Tennant and William Kanengiser, who are both founding members of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and Maestro Pepe Romero. He also studies flamenco guitar with Adam del Monte.

  In November, Michael was invited to join the USC Thornton Opera in their Fall production of Osvaldo Golijov’s flamenco-inspired opera, Ainadamar. He has also been an invited artist of the Austin Symphony Orchestra and the GRAMMY-winning vocal ensemble Conspirare, with whom he recorded an album of new music on the Harmonia Mundi label. The album, “Pablo Neruda: The Poet Sings,” received a 2016 GRAMMY nomination for best choral performance. He is a prizewinner in several competitions, including first prizes in the 2014 Philadelphia Classical Guitar Competition and the 2014 Pacific Guitar Festival in Los Angeles, as well as second prize in the 2013 ASTA-LA Classical Guitar Competition and first prize in the 2011 Classical Minds Guitar Institute and International Competition in Houston, Texas. Additionally, he has been invited to perform in masterclasses with world-renowned artists including Kazuhito Yamashita, in his first ever U.S. masterclass appearance, David Russell, Aniello Desiderio, and Alvaro Pierri among many others.

• Peter Sprague, composer/jazz guitar

  Peter Sprague was born in Cleveland, Ohio and was raised in Colorado until 1963, when his family moved to Del Mar, California. Inspired by his father's love of jazz, he took up the guitar when he was twelve. By the age of fifteen he was devoting all his time and energy to learning music.

  Following a year's study at the Interlochen Arts Academy, Sprague studied privately and performed around the San Diego area until 1976. That year found him moving to Boston to study with many notable musicians including Pat Metheny, Madame Chaloff and Albin Czak (who taught Peter classical guitar). Peter returned to San Diego in 1978 and formed his ground breaking jazz group The Dance of the Universe Orchestra.

  At the age of 20 Peter started recording his own albums on the Concord Jazz and Xanadu record labels. He has been a guest artist on many other records and performed and toured with Chick Corea, Hubert Laws, Dianne Reeves, David Benoit, Sergio Mendes and many others. On his debut with the Chick Corea band for a series of concerts at Disneyland noted Los Angeles Times jazz critic wrote in a review the following day "Peter Sprague is one of the emergent great guitarists." Peter also worked with Chick on the film score to the movie The Cat Chasers, starring actress Kelly McGillis.

  From 1990 to 1993 Sprague taught music at both California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles and the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. He continues to teach every summer at the annual UCSD Jazz Camp in La Jolla, CA.

  Peter was involved with the legendary record label GRP Records on a number of projects. He arranged Chick Corea's song "Spain" for the GRP All-Star Big Band record and video. This performance featured Randy Brecker, Lee Ritenour, Dave Weckl, Ernie Watts among many other jazz legends. Peter was featured on David Benoit's GRP releases Letter To Evan and Shaken, Not Stirred. Also on GRP Records, Sprague played on Eric Marienthal’s recording One Touch featuring Russell Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip, Alex Acuna, and Ivan Lins.

  Peter has been the recipient of many awards: His CD Blurring the Edges won the Best Contemporary Jazz Recording of 1994 from the San Diego Music Awards (SDMA); Best Jazz Musician of the Year in 2000 by the SDMA; The San Diego Reader voted Peter the Best Jazz Group for the 2002 Best Of issue; 2004 Best Jazz Artist of the year by the SDMA; In 2006 Peter was the Honored Musician at the Museum of Making Music’s Evening of Note; 2007 Best Jazz Artist of the year by the SDMA; In 2000 his CD Nikki's Rose was nominated for the Best Jazz CD by the SDMA; In 2003 his CD Pass The Drum was nominated for CD of the Year by the SDMA.

  Peter has been the recipient of many grants and commissions, (San Diego Symphony, Chamber Music America etc.) and has published eleven music books (The Sprague Technique, Brazil Jazz Songbook, etc.)

  Peter is also the chief organizer and transcriber for Chick Corea's music books published with Hal Leonard Publishing. Peter records at his own studio in Encinitas, Spragueland.

• David Buckley, violin

  David Buckley, violin, is an experienced chamber musician, soloist and orchestral player. He is currently Co-Concertmaster of the La Jolla Symphony with whom he has also been a featured soloist. He has also performed locally with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Buckley has been featured in all Camarada seasons and has special expertise in flute/violin repertoire. In addition to music, Dr. Buckley is president of Radiology Medical Group and has served as chief of radiology at Scripps Mercy Hospital. Dr. Buckley is a summa cum laude graduate of St. Olaf College and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. His MD is from the University of Minnesota where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. In San Diego he has been honored twice as a top doctor by the members of the San Diego County Medical Society. Dr. Buckley enjoys travel, golf and relaxing by the lake in his home state of Minnesota.

• Dana Burnett, piano

  Dana Burnett, piano, has been featured with the Eastern Philharmonic, North Carolina, Virginia and Nashville Symphony Orchestras. A former faculty member of UNC Chapel-Hill, Vanderbilt University and the University of Wisconsin, Ms. Burnett was awarded the Alban Berg Fellowship at the Schubert Institute-Austria, and received an Artist Diploma and accompanying prize. She earned her Masters of Music in Performance and Pedagogy from Vanderbilt University and did postgraduate work at Indiana University. For 13 seasons she was an artist teacher at the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina. Ms. Burnett has performed at Carnegie Hall; the Frick Collection, Pittsburgh, Dame Myra Hess Series, Chicago and Academy of Music, Philadelphia. She is currently a member of the MTAC State convention collaborative artist staff, and on the faculties of the Northern California flute camp and Cal State San Marcos. She has recorded for the Naxos and Arabesque labels and been featured on WHYY, Philadelphia “Fresh Air” and NPR.

• Frank Marino, bass

  Frank Marino began his childhood education studying piano and violin in his native San Diego. By the year 1990, he had taken up string bass in the orchestra because he didn’t want to carry his violin to school everyday. Since then, Frank has been carrying his bass to rehearsals, lessons and festivals throughout California and across the country. He has studied with Gunner Biggs, Clifton Swanson, Paul Ellison, and Nico Abondolo, attended such festivals as the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Summer Festival in Catania, Italy, and earned a Master’s degree from the University of Southern California in 2005. Today Frank enjoys teaching music lessons and performing with various ensembles in Los Angeles County, and he loves the Long Beach Symphony.

• Gary Barnett, piano

  Gary Barnett is a lecturer in undergraduate music theory and music skills at the University of California, Riverside. He holds a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of California, Riverside, and a DMA in piano performance from the University of Kansas. His research and performance interests are devoted to keyboard literature from diverse eras and styles with an emphasis on piano music of living composers, especially works featuring piano and electronics. Publications and lecture-recitals at symposiums and conferences include the 2015 Enescu Symposium and the Festival of New Music (SIMN) at the National Conservatory of Music, Bucharest.

  Dr. Barnett has performed as a keyboard soloist and collaborative artist throughout the United States, Latin America, and Europe. This past summer he performed a debut recital of American and Romanian composers in Vienna under the auspices of the Austro-American and Austro-Romanian Societies. In Southern California, concerts include the Culver Center for the Arts, California State University, Northridge, Los Angeles Community College, among others. This past year, lectures and solo recitals for concert series include the Villa Lobos Festival, University of California, Riverside, Northern Arizona University and Dixie State University, Utah.