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Strings
Violin I
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ROBIN MAYFORTH, concertmaster, has also served as concertmaster of the Symphony Silicon Valley, San Jose Symphony, Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley; as well as for the Arizona Musicfest, Colorado Music Festival, Utah Festival Opera, San Diego Opera, Performance Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Queens Philharmonia in New York. As soloist Ms. Mayforth has appeared throughout the United States. Ms. Mayforth was founding second violinist of the Lark Quartet and toured extensively with the quartet throughout the world. Among the many competition prizes awarded the Lark Quartet were the Gold Medal in the 1991 Shostakovich International String Quartet Competition and the 1990 Naumberg Chamber Music Award. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Ms. Mayforth began her studies with Estella Frankel and Sylvia Ahramjian. Subsequently Ms. Mayforth received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the Juilliard School, where she studied with Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang and Paul Kantor. Ms. Mayforth has served on the violin faculties of Stanford and Santa Clara Universities. |
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KAREN SHINOZAKI SOR, violinist and Assistant Concertmaster, performs with the Grammy-nominated New Century Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Rosa and Marin Symphonies, and as a regular extra in the San Francisco Opera and Ballet Orchestras. She is also a frequent chamber music collaborator, appearing with diverse groups including the Santa Rosa Chamber Players, the Berkeley Contemporary Chamber Players, the Sor Ensemble, the Worn Ensemble, and the Adorno Ensemble. She serves on the music faculties at the University of California, Berkeley and at the Marin Music Conservatory. Karen likes to relax with her cellist husband, Eugene Sor, son Kenji, cat Bass, and indulge in her addiction to the Times crossword puzzles. |
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MUTSUKO IKENOUCHI TATMAN is a first violin of the Arizona Opera Orchestra and director of the string instruments program at St. Gregory College Preparatory School in Tucson. A graduate of the Oberlin College Conservatory, she studied with David Cerone, with further study under Warren van Bronkhorst at the University of the Pacific where she earned her master’s degree. Mutsuko has served as concertmaster of the American Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Leopold Stokowski, and in both the Stockton and Modesto Symphony Orchestras. Additionally, she was a member of the Honolulu Symphony, the Sacramento Symphony, the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra, and the Carmel Bach Festival. Currently, Mutsuko is an active member of the Sterling String Quartet and Duo Nouveau, a violin and harp ensemble. She has appeared numerous times in performances for Music in the Mountains and the Arizona Musicfest in Carefree. |
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ELINE VAN DEN ENDE is a member of the first violin section of Symphony Silicon Valley, Ballet San Jose Orchestra, the Golden Gate Strings, Midsummer Mozart Festival Orchestra, the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra and the Arizona Musicfest Orchestra. Ms van den Ende was concertmaster of the American Musical Theater of San Jose, from 2001 till 2010. Ms Van den Ende is currently the second violinist of the San Jose String Quartet. Ms van den Ende has appeared as a soloist with the San Francisco Chamber Players, the San Francisco Old First Church Orchestra and the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra and freelances with the major orchestras in San Francisco. Eline trained at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam where she studied with Herman Krebbers, former concertmaster of the Royal Concert Gebouw Orchestra. |
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As a high school senior, Ron Whaley, violinist, was selected to perform as a member of the American Youth Orchestra at a Carnegie Hall performance. He attended Indiana University as a Bachelor of Music student and studied with Urico Rossi and Franco Gulli. Ron was concertmaster of the Orquestra del Noreste in Guadalajara, Mexico for two seasons, then served as assistant principal second violin with the Grand Rapids Symphony for five seasons. Since 1980 Ron has been with the Phoenix Symphony. He has been concertmaster of the Grand Salon Orchestra in Phoenix since 1995. Ron has been performing with Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra since 1996. |
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Daniel Zuckerman is director of The Versailles Quartet and a free-lance violinist in Los Angeles. He received his BA in Music from UCLA. Zuckerman has performed throughout the West with the symphonies of Santa Barbara, Fresno, and Sacramento. Some of his past screen appearances include The Bodyguard, The Relic, Grace of my Heart, Inspector Gadget, Red Dragon, Murder 101, and Fantasia 2000, on which he served as both Concertmaster and Contractor. More recently he appeared in Desperate Housewives, in a non-domestic role. Zuckerman has also played on recordings of The Elvis Schoenberg Surreal Lounge Orchestra, Journey to Eden, and Sleeping in the Arms of Love. |
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Nancy Hill, violin, received her BS and MA degrees from the Juilliard School of Music, NYC. She studied with Ivan Galamian, Dorothy Delay and Robert Mann. Hill was awarded a Fulbright Grant to study at the Hochschule in Cologne, Germany, and remained in Europe, playing for the Rhein Chamber Orchestra, and performing contemporary chamber music. She has appeared with the San Diego Symphony and Opera, the Tulsa Philharmonic and Opera, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, National Orchestra of Mexico, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. Hill resides and teaches in the Grass Valley area. |
| A Nevada County native, SARAH WOOD studied with Paul Kantor and William Preucil at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s in violin performance. Previous teachers include Zaven Melikian, Robin Sharp, Nancy Hill and Nancy Ewing-Wood. From 1998 to 2001, Sarah took first prize in the Music in the Mountains Young Musicians’ Competition and has been a member of the Festival Orchestra since 1999. She was also awarded the first Jason Pell Memorial Scholarship in 2006 in order to complete her studies in Cleveland. Currently, Sarah is a member of the Greeley Philharmonic and the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra in Colorado, in addition to Ensemble Pearl, a Baroque performance group. Sarah is pursuing her doctorate in violin performance at the University of Colorado at Boulder, studying with Lina Bahn and Takacs Quartet violinist Karoly Schranz. | |
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Anna Gendler, graduate of the Moscow Conservatory in Russia, has been a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra since 1991. She performed with the Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony String Quartet, Flute Trio, Daystar Chamber Players, and also with her husband, Alexander Tentser, in a violin and piano duet. In the summer she performs with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta in New York, Arizona Musicfest and Music in the Mountains Festival. Being an accomplished chamber musician she also dedicates her time to children’s musical education in Tucson. She is a teaching artist for the OMA Project (Opening Mind through the Arts), and on the Music Faculty at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona. |
Concertmaster 
Assistant ConcertmasterViolin II
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RAE ANN GOLDBERG, violin, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where she performs with Symphony Silicon Valley, Midsummer Mozart Festival, and the California Symphony. She received a BA from Mills College and an MA from the Brooklyn College Conservatory where she was a member of Itzhak Perlman’s master class, a student of Masao Kawasaki, and the recipient of a teaching fellowship. Rae Ann is also a musician with the Living Arts Playback Theater Ensemble, a troupe of improvisational actors and musicians who “play back” personal stories shared by audience members in ways that both honor and illuminate the original experience. |
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Jan Septon began studying violin at age ten in the Billings, Montana public school system. She attended Indiana University, graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Music Education, and received a Master’s in Performance from Florida State University. Her teachers included Ruth Posselt and the concertmasters of the Minnesota, Boston, and Chicago Symphony Orchestras. Before winning the audition for the Phoenix Symphony in 1988, she served as Assistant Concertmaster of the Oklahoma Symphony, the Oklahoma City Chamber Orchestra, and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria of Mexico City. She is a founding member of the “Go For Baroque” chamber ensemble. |
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Brooke Aird studied violin at the Manhattan School of Music with Raphael Bronstein and Ariana Bronne. He is currently a member of the Marin Symphony and freelances with many of the San Francisco area musical organizations. An accomplished soloist, Brooke has performed numerous solo recitals and has several performances as a concerto soloist to his credit. His father, Donald Aird, was a distinguished Bay Area composer and from him Brooke inherited an interest in contemporary music. He performs as the violinist with “Sounds New,” a new music group specializing in living American composers. |
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Violinist CLAUDIA FOUNTAIN is a member of the San Jose, Monterey and Marin County Symphonies. She also plays periodically with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Western Opera, and Midsummer Mozart, as well as teaching part-time and performing in a Bay Area chamber music group. She received her degree and teaching credential at the University of Southern California, and completed her Masters in violin at the University of Miami. While in Florida studying for her degree, she played with the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra for four seasons. She has been with the Music in the Mountains Festival since 1989. |
| MICHELLE MARUYAMA began her violin studies at age 4 after seeing Itzhak Perlman on PBS’s Sesame Street. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Violin and Master of Music degree in Chamber music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a student of Ian Swensen and Mark Sokol. After graduating she participated in the Carnegie Fellows Program as a member of the Phoenix Quartet. She held a fellowship with the New World Symphony for one season and currently freelances in the bay area, Michelle has performed as Principal 2nd Violin in the Santa Rosa, Napa Valley and Stockton Symphonies and the Fresno Philharmonic and in the sections of the San Francisco, Marin and California Symphonies and the New Century Chamber Orchestra. | |
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RANDI SOULE, violinist, is a Nevada County resident who plays with The Foothill Theatre Company and the Twin Cities Concert Association, as well as teaching the Suzuki Violin Method in Grass Valley. She is a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and a former student of Almita Vamos at Western Illinois University. In addition to her teaching studio Ms. Soule performs with Orchestre Panache, Apollo Orchestra, and the Three-for-All String Trio. She serves as concertmaster for the chamber ensemble in the Music in the Mountains Festival Chorale Holiday Concerts and has been with the Festival since 1984. Ms. Soule has served as adjudicator on several occasions for the Music in the Mountains Young Musicians Competition and serves as orchestra librarian. |
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Violinist ROSE-MAY MICKELSON was born and raised in Switzerland, where she started playing the violin at the age of six. She studied at the Conservatoire de Lausanne with Rose Hemmerling and Arpad Gerecz. Prior to arriving in the United States, she performed with various orchestras and chamber ensembles in Europe. Since settling in Nevada County,in 1984, she has been active with area orchestras and chamber ensembles. She has participated in the Festival since 1989. She also has a private teaching studio in Grass Valley. |
| Violinist ANN GAINES is a Los Angeles native who was fortunate enough to attend a public elementary school with a string program, where she was first introduced to music. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and a teaching credential from California State University, Chico, and has studied violin with Alice Shoenfeld, Manuel Newman and Ralph Matesky. Gaines is a member of the Auburn Symphony and has appeared with the Chico Symphony Orchestra, La Jolla Civic Symphony, Apollo Orchestra and Apollo Opera, Orchestre Panache, and performs with musical ensembles around Northern California. She is a founding member of the Classic String Quartet and Classic String Trio, providing chamber music in the foothills since 1989. | |
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Sergi Goldman-Hull grew up in San Mateo, CA. and was inspired by a violin performance in his Kindergarten class to begin his violin studies at age 5 with Noni Aiken. His primary teacher in High School was Mr. Li Lin, the former Teaching Assistant of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Professor Emeritus, Zaven Melikian. He received his Bachelor of Music in Violin from the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD., studying primarily with Herbert Greenberg (former Baltimore and Pittsburgh Symphony Concertmaster). He is a member of Symphony Silicon Valley, Opera San Jose, Oakland East Bay Symphony, California Symphony, and Marin Symphony. Sergi also teaches young violin students privately and performs in various chamber ensembles in the Bay Area. |
PrincipalViola
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Janet Sims, violist, is the assistant principal violist of Symphony Silicon Valley and the Ballet San Jose Orchestra. She is also a founding member of the San Jose String Quartet and San Jose Chamber Players. Aside from being the principal violist with the Music in the Mountains Festival, she is also the principal viola of the Midsummer Mozart Festival and has been principal viola and guest soloist with the Arizona Musicfest since its premier season. Ms. Sims is an active performer in the San Francisco area, appearing on the series Music at Kohl Mansion, Performances at Six, Trinity Chamber Music Series, Composers’ Inc., and the San Jose Chamber Music Society. She appears regularly as a soloist with Music in the Mountains and is a regular chamber music performer at Santa Clara University and the Community Music School. Ms. Sims is a graduate of Stanford University and is currently on faculty at Santa Clara University. |
| David Gold, viola, is returning for his 14th season with Music in the Mountains. Originally from the Bay Area, David now lives in New York City where he is Principal Violist of the Grace Church Chamber Orchestra, founding member of the chamber group, The Willow Ensemble, and was a member of the New York City Opera National Company during its last four national tours. He has appeared regularly with the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra and in orchestras on Broadway. David has performed with Hall & Oates, Diana Krall, John Mayer, Patty Griffin, Burt Bacharach, and recorded with Tony Bennett, Norah Jones, Ray LaMontagne, Martha Wainwright and Sheryl Crow. He has also appeared on Saturday Night Live, on the PBS shows Live from the Artists Den and Soundstage, and in Lou Reed’s live performance DVD, Berlin. | |
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Chicago Park resident MELINDA RAYNE, violinist,became a member of the Monterey County Symphony at the age of 16. She has studied with a variety of teachers including Jascha Veissi, Andor Toth, Sr. and William Magers, her primary mentor and master teacher. She has played in numerous soundtrack recordings for radio and television, and has recorded several CDs with the Women’s Philharmonic and San Jose Chamber Orchestras. Melinda was principal violist for the Peninsula Symphony. She is principal violist for the Western Opera Theater (San Francisco Opera touring troupe) and is also a member of the San Jose Chamber, Opera San Jose, Sacramento Opera, Sacramento Philharmonic and Sacramento Chorale Society Orchestras. |
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David Thorp, viola, earned a Masters in Music degree in 1978 studying with violist Lillian Fuchs at the Manhattan School of Music, New York City. He has served as principal violist of the American Philharmonic Orchestra of Carnegie Hall. In the period 1969-1976, he played in the second violin section of the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra. He has served as principal violist of the Apollo Orchestra, the Auburn Symphony, the North State Symphony and the Stockton Symphony. He teaches at the Music and More Arts Academy and the Marysville Charter Academy of the Arts. |
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Violist Nancy Ewing was an active free-lance violinist appearing with the Oakland, San Jose, Marin and Berkeley Symphony Orchestras as well as Western Opera Theater and The Lamplighters Theatre Orchestras before moving to Nevada County in 1990. She holds her bachelor of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she studied with Don Ehrlich, Gennady Kleiman, and Don Kobialka. She continues her private teaching in Nevada and Placer Counties and has played with valley orchestras from Chico to Modesto. Nancy is a regular performer with the Music in the Mountains Summer Festival Orchestra. |
Cello
PrincipalCello |
Cellist JANET WITHARM graduated from the New School of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied with Orlando Cole of the Curtis String Quartet. Post graduate study included a six year fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival under David Finckel of the Emerson String Quartet, along with Ron Leonard of the LA Philharmonic and Alan Harris of the Eastman School of Music. She has also worked extensively with Michael Grebanier, whom she regards as a primary influence. A member of the San Jose Symphony from 1970-2002, Janet currently performs with Symphony Silicon Valley, Ballet San Jose, West Bay Opera and Arizona Musicfest. She has served on the faculty of San Jose State University as cello and chamber music instructor, as cello faculty for Cazadero Performing Arts Camp for 10 seasons, and substituted with the San Francisco Symphony. Founding and current Principal cellist of the Music in the Mountains Festival, Janet lives in Palo Alto with a musical family: husband Greg (bass), son Alex, 16 (violin) and daughter Emma, 12 (violin). |
| Mary True is principal cellist for the Western Opera Theater Orchestra, as well as being a member of both the San Jose Symphony and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. She also free-lances for various chamber and orchestral groups in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. She began her studies in Berkeley with Colin Hampton, and continued in Boston with Leslie Parnas and in Philadelphia with Orlando Cole. In 1979, she traveled to Hong Kong where she served for five years as assistant principal cellist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic. In 1984, she returned to the Bay Area. She has been with the Festival since 1987. | |
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Cellist NORIKO KISHI holds a B.M. from the Eastman School of Music, and a M.M. from the New England Conservatory. Her principal teachers were Irene Sharp, Robert Sylvester and Bernard Greenhouse. Ms. Kishi has appeared as soloist with the New World Symphony, Michael Tilson-Thomas conducting, and with the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra. She has worked with distinguished conductors, Leonard Bernstein, Sir Georg Solti and Seiji Ozawa, and participated in masterclasses and coachings with members of the Guarneri Quartet, the Cleveland Quartet and Yo-Yo Ma. Ms. Kishi can be heard on recordings with Stratos Chamber Orchestra (Warner Bros.), and with New World Symphony (Decca). She was a Fellow at Tanglewood and participated in the Aspen, Spoleto (USA, Italy), Colorado and Moab Music Festivals. |
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EUGENE SOR has enjoyed a variety of musical endeavors since earning his Master of Music degree in cello performance from UCLA in 1996. He has played in several orchestras in the San Francisco Bay Area, including six seasons as principal cellist in the Stockton Symphony and nine seasons as a cellist in the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. His wide range of chamber music experience includes extensive work with the Chamberlain and Volta String Quartets and the Adorno Ensemble. Currently on faculty at The Crowden Music Center in Berkeley and Resident Conductor with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, Eugene has also held teaching positions at San Francisco State University, Cal-State Hayward University, and Notre Dame de Namur University. More recent projects include an appearance as one of the featured artists in the 2008 documentary film Freeway Philharmonic, which profiles the lives of seven Bay Area musicians. |
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Dahna Rudin, cello, received her artist diploma from the Vienna Hochschule für Musik, where she worked with Wolfgang Herzer, solo cellist of the Vienna Philharmonic, and coached chamber music with members of the Alban Berg String Quartet. She also holds a bachelor of arts from Pomona College. She performs regularly with the Atlantis Trio, and has presented numerous solo recitals throughout the Bay Area. Recent solo appearances have included a performance the Suites for Cello and Orchestra by Lou Harrison with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra and the Shostakovich Cello Concerto #1 with the Redwood Symphony. As an orchestral musician in the Bay Area, Ms. Rudin is principal cellist of the Capriccio chamber orchestra and has also performed with the West Bay Opera, Symphony Silicon Valley, the Midsummer Mozart festival orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony. Visit her website: http://dsrudin.com/ |
Double Bass
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TIMOTHY SPEARS, contra bass, is a member of the San Jose Symphony and Midsummer Mozart Festival Orchestras, and has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Ballet and Opera Orchestras. He graduated from the University of South Florida, where he studied with Diana Gannet-Mizelle and C. Cee Moses. Before coming to the Bay Area, he was assistant principal bassist for the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony and for the Filarmonica de Caracas, Venezuela. In January of 1992 he was a guest artist at the premiere season of the Desert Foothills MusicFest ’92 (Arizona). Spears has been with the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra since the 1987 season, appearing as chamber ensemble player as well as principal double bass. |
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Bassist BILL EVERETT is currently an acting member of the San Francisco Symphony. He studied with Homer Mensch at The Juilliard School and with Ed Barker at Boston University. Everett has served as a member of the San Jose Symphony, and has performed with the New Century Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Ballet and San Francisco Opera Orchestras. He has appeared as soloist with Music in the Mountains, Desert Foothills MusicFest, the Worn Chamber Ensemble and at events sponsored by the San Francisco Symphony. |
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Andy Butler, doublebass, holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory and the Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He is the recipient of several awards and scholarships and performs regularly with San Francisco Bay Area orchestras including the Oakland Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, California Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, San Jose Symphony and Opera Orchestra. Butler has performed with the Mendocino Music Festival, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Oregon Coast Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra and Music in the Mountains Summer Festival. |
Woodwind
Flute
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Jane Lenoir, flutist, performs regularly as a soloist, orchestral musician, chamber music artist, and jazz performer in the San Francisco Bay Area and internationally . A graduate of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, Jane has appeared locally with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, San Francisco Ballet, Oakland Symphony, Ballet and Opera, San Jose Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Music Society and University of California Contemporary Chamber Players. She has performed with many major jazz artists in ensemble and as a soloist and has toured with the Paul Dresher Ensemble and George Coates Performances. Ms. Lenoir has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Beckmesser Award for outstanding performance on contemporary music from the LA Times. Jane has been Principal Flute with Music in the Mountains Orchestra since its founding in 1982. |
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Flutist Carol Adee was born in Hollywood and grew up in California, studying flute, cello and voice. Since completing her Master’s degree at the Yale School of Music she has lived in and around San Francisco. For twenty years, she was principal flutist of the Women’s Philharmonic. She has been principal flutist with the Britt Festival Orchestra and the Tiburon Music Festival and has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Ballet and Opera Orchestras. A champion of the living, breathing composer, her most recent recording is with Bellavente Wind Quintet titled Jewels of the Night. She is currently on the faculty of Dominican University and the Marin Waldorf School. |
Oboe
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NEIL TATMAN is currently Associate Professor of Oboe at The University of Arizona, oboist of the Arizona Wind Quintet, and principal oboist of the Arizona Opera Orchestra. Originally from Kenosha, Wisconsin, he earned his Doctor of Music degree at Indiana University where his principal oboe studies were with Jerry Sirucek. He served as principal oboist of the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra from 1978 to 1996. In addition to his thirty year association with Music in the Mountains, Neil is a regular member of the Arizona Musicfest and the Carmel Bach Festival. In 2002, he performed and recorded the world premiere of Dan Coleman’s Sonata Lamentosa with Kristina Cooper and Paul Perry at the International Double Reed Society’s annual conference in Banff, Canada. |
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A native of Lubbock, Texas, JASON SUDDUTH has served as solo English horn and oboist with the HOnoluluSymphony for the past four seasons. He received his bachelor’s degree with honors from Texas Tech University, and earned his Master’s Degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He has served as principal oboe with the Lubbock and Midland/Odessa Symphonies, in addition to appearing with the Houston Symphony and Houston Ballet. Jason was second oboist with the San Jose Symphony, and performed frequently with the San Francisco Symphony, Opera San Jose, and the San Francisco Opera. He is currently the oboe instructor at the Punahou School in Honolulu, and is a founding member of the Moving Parts Ensemble. |
Clarinet
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TOM ROSE is principal clarinet with Music in the Mountains Orchestra. He has held this position since its founding, in 1982. He has performed the Mozart and Copland clarinet concertos numerous times with the orchestra, along with other solo works. Tom is a graduate of San Francisco State University (B.A) and Mills College (M.F.A.). His principal teachers were Earl Smith, Leon Russianoff and Rosario Mazzeo. He was Personnel Manager of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra from 1988 until his retirement from the position in May 2010. He is currently an adjunct clarinet teacher at Holy Names University, Oakland, and is also very active in chamber music performance in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2009 Tom formed TRIO BRILLANTE with pianist Betty Woo and violist Caroline Lee. In 2004 he released a CD of music for clarinet and piano with pianist Miles Graber. |
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GEORDIE FRAZER is a San Francisco native who is equally proficient on the clarinet and the saxophone. He performs frequently with major Bay Area orchestras: San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Ballet, Symphony Silicon Valley, Monterey Symphony, Marin Symphony and Santa Rosa Symphony. Geordie also played with numerous theatre orchestras in San Francisco and was a member of the former American Musical Theatre of San Jose Theatre Orchestra for over twenty years. Geordie has appeared as soloist with the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra. Geordie Frazer is a graduate of San Diego State University. |
Bassoon
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Carla Wilson is principal bassoonist with the Santa Rosa, Marin, Berkeley symphonies, and is a member of the California Symphony. She is a frequent performer with the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Symphony, Oakland Symphony and various new music ensembles. She completed a Bachelor of Music degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she studied with Walter Green. Further studies took place at the Aspen Festival, the Tanglewood Music Festival and on scholarship in London. She has participated in the Cabrillo and San Luis Obispo Festivals, and is principal with the Midsummer Mozart Festival. She has been with Music in the Mountains since its first year. |
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Karen Gale studied the bassoon with Donald DaGrade at the University of the Pacific. Other teachers include Greg Barber, Jerry Dagg, Douglas M. Huff and Frank Morelli. She is a member of the Sacramento Philharmonic. Her teaching affiliations have included The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, California State University-Stanislaus and American River College. She performed with the Orquesta Mexicana de FONOPAS, the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds, the Berkshire Music Festival at Tanglewood, the Bach Society of Amherst, the Smith College Faculty Chamber Ensemble, the Peter Britt Festival, the Joffrey Ballet, Sacramento and other major Valley musical arts groups, the San Francisco Choral Society and the Pacific Arts Woodwind Quintet. Please see: www.woodisgoodmusic.com and www.tenorclef.com |
Brass
French Horn
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Hornist Pete Nowlen has been a member of the UC Davis faculty since 1988 and the California State University, Sacramento, faculty since 1990. He is an active orchestral and chamber musician performing frequently with the San Francisco Symphony, Opera, and and as Ballet orchestras; Symphony Silicon Valley; the Sacramento Philharmonic, Opera, and Chamber Music Society; and Music Circus. In 1992 he was third-prize winner of the International Competition for Solo Horn of the Castle of Duino, Italy, and in 1994 he was a semifinalist in the prestigious American Horn Competition. Orchestral conducting has included the Sacramento, Camellia, UC Davis and CSUS Symphony Orchestras and the Music in the Mountains Orchestra. Nowlen has been Concert Band Director at UC Davis since 2002 and director of the fall quarter Wind Ensemble since 1993. He is the director of the CalCap Chamber Music Workshop and artistic director of the Vocal and Instrumental Teaching Artists (VITA) Academy of Northern California, dedicated to integrating and introducing classical music into underserved communities while training a new generation of artist educators. |
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RICHARD BURDICK has been the first horn of Regina Symphony Orchestra since 2003. He is active as a chamber-music musician, performing on a variety of natural horns, and his modern instrument. He is a member of the “Electrum Brass Trio” (a horn, trombone and tuba trio), and performs occasionally with his stepmother pianist Dora Burdick. Richard is an active studio musician recording his own works and a variety of authentic-practice classical works, and horn choir ensemble pieces. He is a prolific composer and works in a number of different styles from neo-classical to microtonal and post-avant-garde. He is also the horn instructor at the University of Regina. For more information about Mr. Burdick please visit: www.horn.pro. |
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Hornist Cara Jones is a member of the Sacramento Choral Society Orchestra and the Merced Symphony. She also free-lances with the Sacramento Philharmonic, Sacramento Opera, Napa Valley Symphony, and Modesto Symphony. Cara also performs with the Arizona Musicfest and the Elk Grove Strauss Festival. Cara is a mentoring professional with the Academy at All Hallows, whose mission is to provide ensemble training to emerging professional musicians. She enjoys teaching and coaching brass ensembles and the brass section of the Sacramento Youth Symphony. She lives in Elk Grove, CA with her husband Bill, son Quinn, and daughter Hannah. |
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Phil Richardson, French horn, received a Bachelor in Music in Horn Performance from San Francisco State University as well as a Masters in Music from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. His career has taken him to Venezuela, Europe, Asia, and throughout the United States where he has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony, Caracas Philharmonic, Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg, Basler Radio Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, San Jose Symphony, and music festival orchestras at Aspen, Lake Tahoe, Rome, and Sun Valley. He has been principal horn and personnel manager for the Monterey Symphony Orchestra. Phil performed in the inaugural season of Music in the Mountains. |
Trumpet
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Trumpeter Scot Macomber is principal trumpet of the Napa Valley Symphony as well as second trumpet of the Santa Rosa Symphony and the Sacramento Philharmonic. Mr. Macomber has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the San Jose Symphony and the Bay Brass. An avid performer of contemporary music, he has performed in over 25 world premieres of solo, chamber, and orchestral music. Mr. Macomber holds degrees from Northwestern University, where he studied with Vincent Cichowicz, and from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has performed with the Empyrean Ensemble, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and Ensemble Parallel. Mr. Macomber is on faculty with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division, UC Davis and San Francisco State University. |
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Kale Cumings, trumpet, is a native of Sparta, Michigan, and received his Bachelors degree from Wheaton College in Chicago, earning his Masters degree from Northwestern University. As a teacher, clinician, and free-lance musician in the San Francisco Bay Area, Cumings has performed with the Sacramento Symphony, the San Jose Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony. Recent summers have found Kale performing in the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra in Sapporo, Japan, the Bravo Colorado Music Festival Brass Quintet, the Grand Rapids Symphony (Michigan), and the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra and Brass Ensemble. |
Trombone
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Don Benham is principal trombonist with the California Symphony and keeps busy as a Bay Area freelance musician, soloist and teacher. While a student at USC, he studied trombone with Robert Marsteller and composition with Hugo Friedhofer. Don has held positions with the Oakland Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Santa Fe Opera and San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. A member of the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra since 1989, Don has appeared as soloist with both the Festival Pops Orchestra and the Blazing Brass concerts. |
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WAYNE SOLOMON is currently the bass trombonist with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra, Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra, and Sarasota (FL) Opera Orchestra, second trombonist with the Monterey Symphony, and has previously held positions with the Napa Valley and Santa Cruz symphonies. He performs frequently with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra in Santa Ana, CA, and has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and San Diego Symphony. Wayne is also the Orchestra Personnel Manager for the Monterey Symphony and Fresno Philharmonic. He has been a member of the Carmel Bach Festival and Music in The Mountains Festival for ten seasons. In his spare time he enjoys playing ice hockey, backpacking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and riding his road bicycle. |
Bass Trombone
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DOUG THORLEY, bass trombonist, moved to Colfax from the Bay Area fifteen years ago. He performs locally with the Sierra Brass Quintet, TCCA, theatre groups and the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra, and teaches music at Live Oak Waldorf School in Applegate. Doug also plays with Philharmonia Baroque, the Napa Valley, Santa Cruz and Sacramento Symphonies, American Bach Soloists and San Francisco Bach Choir, and has performed at the Taos, Carmel Bach and Mendocino Summer Festivals. Mr. Thorley, born in Stoneham, MA., graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music after stops at the University of Lowell, Massachusetts, a dairy farm in the Catskills and UC Santa Barbara. In his free time, Doug enjoys bicycle touring, x-c skiing, cooking and staying at home with his family. |
Tuba
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Tony Clements, tuba, has played with the San Francisco Symphony, San Diego Symphony, the Oakland Symphony, the Sacramento Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, The San Francisco Opera Orchestra and many free-lance orchestras in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2000, Mr. Clements was appointed the Conductor of the Ohlone Wind Orchestra. His teaching positions include Stanford University, Cal State East Bay (Hayward) and Ohlone College, where he directs the 30-member Tuba Union of the Bay Area, a tuba ensemble comprised of local tubists. He was named Director of Bands at Ohlone College and was President of Local 153 of the American Federation of Musicians. |
Percussion
Percussion
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Matthew Darling is a Professor of Music at Fresno State, where he has taught and headed the percussion area since 1991. In addition to teaching, Matt is principal timpanist with the Sacramento Choral Society Orchestra and principal percussionist with the Fresno based Orpheus chamber ensemble. He also actively performs with the Fresno Philharmonic and Sacramento Philharmonic. In April, Matt was the percussionist for the Fresno run of the Wicked National Tour. Darling is the President of the California Chapter of Percussive Arts Society. He is most proud of his role as husband and parent of four wonderful kids. This is Matt’s 25th season with the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra. |
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Scott Ney, percussion, is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Percussion at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Most recently Scott has performed with the New Mexico Symphony the Opera South West orchestras, and continues to perform in chamber ensemble and solo recitals in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Washington. Other professional engagements include work with Seattle Symphony Recording Orchestra, the Sacramento Symphony, Dionne Warwick, Marvin Stamm, Bill Conti, Burt Bacharach and Doc Severenson. Previous teaching positions include the United States Percussion camp, the Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth ( Johns Hopkins University), La Sierra Music Academy and CSU Fresno. Scott has been a member of the Music in the Mountains Chamber Orchestra since 1994. |
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THOMAS RANCE was born in Iowa and began playing percussion at the age of 10. He attended the University of Iowa where he received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education. In the summer of 1984, he left Iowa to attend San Jose State University and study percussion with Anthony Cirone. He has held the position of Principal Percussionist with the Modesto Symphony since 1985. As Principal Percussionist of the Fremont/Newark Philharmonic he was featured as a soloist on a performance of Darius Milhaud’s Concerto for Percussion and Small Orchestra. Arriving in Sacramento in 1992, he performs with the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra. Other ensembles with which he performs include: the Sacramento Opera, Sacramento Choral Society, and Bear Valley Music festival. Previously, Mr. Rance was the Personnel Manager for the Sacramento Philharmonic, which also includes the Sacramento Opera and Sacramento Ballet. He is currently the Personnel Manager with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra |
