Festival 2007

2008 Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival Musicians
	ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND CELLIST PETER REJTO has performed throughout the U.S. and abroad in hundreds of performances as soloist and with the Los Angeles Piano Quartet of which he is a founding member. Mr. Rejto has appeared at the summer festivals of Aspen, La Jolla, Round Top, Carmel Bach, Marlboro, Fairbanks, Sitka, Santa Fe, Grand Canyon, and BRAVO! Colorado. His many honors include winning the Young Concert Artists International competition and the Debut Award of the Young Musicians Foundation, Los Angeles. He has recorded for Sony Classical, Silva Classics, Summit, Music Masters, and Pickwick.
	WILLIAM BARTON, DIDGERIDOO, was taught the instrument at an early age by his uncle, an elder of the Wannyi, Lardil, and Kalkadunga tribes of Western Queensland, Australia. By 17 he had played his first classical concert with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. His work with leading Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe has led to the inclusion of didgeridoo parts in several of Sculthorpe's orchestral works, many of them recorded on ABC Classics. Mr. Barton has also collaborated with other major Australian composers. In 2003 he composed and performed a commission for the Queensland Biennial Festival of Music. His busy international schedule has taken him to the Colorado Music Festival, Canada's Edmonton Festival, the Estonian Music Festival, the Wassoi World Music Festival in Japan, and concerts with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic, among others.
	BOREALIS STRING QUARTET has established itself as an ensemble praised for its dynamic performances, passionate style, and refined musical interpretation. Formed in 2000 at the University of British Columbia the group now serves as Quartet-in-Residence there, where its members give regular Master Classes and teach chamber music. Members play four historic instruments: a 1698 Rogeri violin, c.1780 Storioni violin, 1791 Mantegazza viola, and a 1778 Storioni cello. Patricia Shih, Violin, has toured he world as a soloist with major symphony orchestras. A student of the legendary Josef Gingold, Ms. Shih received the Special Prize at the International Wieniawski Competition at age 15 and also made a widely heralded Carnegie Hall debut. Since then, she has won other prestigious awards, including the International Kreisler Competition, the Sommerakademie Mozarteum Prize, and the 1993 Sylva Gelber Foundation Award. Yuel Yawney, Violin, completed his advanced training at the Prague Academy with Joseph Suk. Frequently appearing as soloist and chamber musician, he has been heard at the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, the Banff Summer Festival, Domaine Forget and the Scotia Festival. Nikita Pogrebnoy, Viola, served as soloist and Principal Viola for ensembles and orchestras in his home city of St. Petersburg, Russia. More recently, he performed with the Longy Chamber Orchestra in Boston. In 1995, Mr. Pogrebnoy won the Valentino Bucchi International Competition for Viola in Rome. Shi-Lin Chen, Cello, is the recipient of a number of awards and won prizes in both concerto and chamber music competitions at the GuanDu Music Festival. In addition, he has performed in Taiwan's National Performance Hall and toured extensively throughout his home country. He studied at the National Taipei University of the Arts and the New England Conservatory of Music, receiving instruction from, among others, Yo-Yo Ma, Donald Weilerstein, and Vivian Hornic Weilerstein.
	BERNADENE BLAHA, PIANO, has performed recitals throughout Europe and the Americas and has appeared as soloist with numerous major orchestras. She has received top prizes in several international competitions, resulting in two highly acclaimed recital appearances at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center Library. A highly regarded chamber musician, Ms. Blaha has appeared at many festivals, including those in Newport, La Jolla, Banff, and Round Top, among others, and collaborates with major ensembles. Her first solo recording of selected works of Chopin was praised by Piano & Keyboard as having "integrity, with lovely sonorities and total clarity of line." Ms. Blaha is a graduate of the Juilliard School and is currently on the Keyboard Faculty of the University of Southern California.
	PAUL COLETTI, VIOLA, is currently Professor of Viola and Head of Chamber Music at UCLA. Prior to this, he held positions at the University of Washington and the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University. He has given numerous Master Classes worldwide. A prolific international performer and recording artist, Mr. Coletti spent 10 years as a founding member of the Menuhin Festival Piano Quartet and Typhoon, a group that also featured some of his compositions. Among his many awards are a Grammy Award nomination and "Best of the Year" from BBC Music Magazine. A diverse musician, Mr. Coletti has also performed jazz with the Claude Bolling Trio and has guest-conducted The New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. His most recent CD is of the Bruch Clarinet and Viola Concerto with the Hannover Radio Philharmonic
	ROSS EDWARDS, COMPOSER, is both global and deeply connected to his roots in Australia, whose cultural diversity his music celebrates, and from whose natural environment he draws many of its shapes and patterns. His intention is to "connect music with elemental forces and restore such qualities as ritual, spontaneity and the impulse to dance." He studied with Peter Sculthorpe, Richard Meale, Sandor Veress and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Edwards' compositions are performed worldwide and include symphonies, concertos, chamber and vocal music, children's music, film scores and music for dance. In 2005 he won an award for the ABC Classics recording of his Guitar Concerto by Karin Schaupp, Richard Mills and the Tasmanian Symphony. Mr. Edwards lives in Sydney and is published by Ricordi London.
	KEVIN FITZ-GERALD, PIANO, performs frequently in recital and as soloist with orchestras. A frequent guest at summer festivals, Mr. Fitz-Gerald is also on the faculties of Banff, Round Top, and the International Chamber Music Institute at Melbourne, Australia. He has collaborated with international artists such as Richard Stolzman, Camilla Wicks, and the Bartok, St.Petersburg and St. Lawrence String Quartets. He has won several prestigious competitions, including the CBC National Radio Auditions and the Young Artists' National Piano Competition. The Blaha/Fitz-Gerald Duo performs extensively throughout Canada under the auspices of the Cross Country Classics. He is Professor of Piano at the University of Southern California.
	ANTONIO LYSY, CELLO, has achieved international stature, performing as soloist in major international concert halls, including the Royal Festival Hall, the Concertgebouw, the Tonhalle, Wigmore Hall, Sala Verdi, Berlin Philharmonie, among others. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Yuri Temirkanov, Charles Dutoit, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Sandor Vegh and Kees Bakels. Recent engagements include recitals, chamber music collaborations and summer festivals in the US, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal and Canada. He is Musical Director and founder of the annual Incontri in Terra di Siena Chamber Music Festival in Tuscany, Italy, now in its 19th season. Mr. Lysy has received critical acclaim for recordings with international radio networks and the Claves, Dinemec Classics, Fonè, and Pelléas labels. In addition to his concert career, he was a Professor at McGill University in Montreal and visiting Professor at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland. Since 2003 he has been a Professor at UCLA.
	KELLY-MARIE MURPHY, COMPOSER, was born in Sardinia and grew up in Canada. She began her studies in composition at the University of Calgary and later received a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Leeds. In addition to many academic scholarships awarded in Canada and England, Ms. Murphy has also won the following firsts: 1992 New Works Calgary Composer's Competition; 1993 Bradford Young Composer's Competition; 1994 People's Choice Award at the CBC Young Composers Competition; and the 2001 International Horn Society's Composer's Competition. She is the recipient of many commissions from the CBC and the Canada Council for the Arts, and has written for some of Canada's leading performers and ensembles with international performances on stage and radio. She resides in Ottawa.
	CHRISTOPHEREN NOMURA, BARITONE, "has a wonderfully expressive face and a first-class baritone voice - warm, robust and clear," says the The Boston Globe. He has received numerous awards, including a Fulbright, the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and the Naumburg. Mr. Nomura has emerged at the forefront of a new generation of American singers performing internationally on operatic, concert and recital stages. These include major Mozart, Puccini and Rossini operas; repertoire with the Boston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and the Boston Pops; and performances under noted conductors such as Bernstein, Ozawa, Hogwood, and Pearlman, among others. A Bach specialist, Mr. Nomura has performed at leading American chamber music festivals. These have led to collaborations with such ensembles as the Boromeo and St. Lawrence String Quartets and pianists Martin Katz, Charles Wadsworth, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. His discography includes recordings on the Sony, Dorian, Teldec, London, Denon, TDK and Telarc labels. He holds a Masters degree and Artists Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Music.
	GERARD REUTER, OBOE & ENGLISH HORN, has enjoyed a distinguished career as a soloist and chamber musician. A recipient of the prestigious Pro Musicis International Award, He has appeared as a soloist throughout the US with orchestras including the Jupiter Symphony and Philharmonia Virtuosi in New York, the National Chamber Orchestra in Washington DC, the Soviet Emigre Orchestra and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, of which he is a founding member. As a chamber musician, Mr. Reuter is a member of the Dorian Quintet and was a founding member of the ensemble An die Musik. He has been heard on major radio stations throughout the world and has recorded for Sony, New World, Telarc, Columbia, BMG-Catalyst, Summit and Musical Heritage Society. He studied at the Juilliard School and the Royal College of Music in London. He is on the faculties of New York University and Sarah Lawrence College.
	LARA ST. JOHN, VIOLIN, has been described by The Strad as "something of a phenomenon" and "high-powered" by the New York Times. Ms. St. John appears frequently in recital on the major international concert stages, performing as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Hong Kong Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, and the Boston Pops, among many others. Her recording career includes titles acclaimed by critics and buyers alike, with a recent work on SONY Classical reaching the top 15 of the Classical Billboard charts. Born in Canada, Ms. St. John began playing the violin at age 2, performed publicly for 10 years, and entered the Curtis Institute at 14. She has won several competitions and was the recipient of a long-term loan of a Stradivarius. Currently, she performs on the 1779 "Salabue" Guadagnini.
	IAN SWENSEN, VIOLIN is one of few musicians to have won the Walter W. Naumburg International Competition's top prize for both chamber music and violin. He studied at The Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay and at the Eastman School of Music with Donald Weilerstein. As a teenager, he formed the Meliora String Quartet and toured for many years. Mr. Swensen has performed in many festivals, including Music at Menlo, Spoleto, Santa Fe, and Marlboro. He has performed with members of the Juilliard, Cleveland, Emerson, Takács, Concord, and Tokyo String Quartets, in addition to notable soloists Gilbert Kalish, Mark O'Connor, YoYo Ma, and Martha Strongin Katz. Recent performances include recitals with Menahem Pressler with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and performances in New York, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and Korea. He has recorded for TelArc and Deutsche Grammophon.
	SYNERGY PERCUSSION QUARTET is acclaimed as Australia's most vibrant and energetic contemporary music group. Its outstanding musicians have earned a substantial reputation in the international arena through performances, recordings and collaborations. Synergy has a 30 year history of commissioning music from Australian composers and collaborates with many leading artists. Members playing in Tucson are: Michael Askill, one of Australia's most experienced percussionists and composers. He has held principal positions in two of the country's leading orchestras and is currently Artistic Director of the quartet. Alison Pratt has been a member of the quartet since 1997, having been a freelance percussionist since 1990. In 1996 she won the Young Australian of the Year Award and in 2000 was awarded a Grant to study at Stockholm's Royal Music College. She is also a founding member of the Match Percussion duo with Daryl Pratt. Philip South joined Synergy in 1999 and exhibits great diversity with the ability to express and blend musical styles. He received a Bachelor of Music with Honors in 1991 from the Sydney Conservatorium. He has been awarded the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship and the Susan Matthew's Upton Fellowship for international study and performance. Timothy Constable pursues a vigorous career as solo, ensemble and orchestral percussionist, and is in high demand as a composer, singer and electronica producer. He has performed throughout Australia, Asia, Europe and Africa with symphonies, chamber music ensembles, and master drummers. He is an Elizabethan Theatre Trust scholar.