Artists

Quatra Duo, comprised of guitarist Jeff LaQuatra and flutist Michelle Stanley, have been performing together since 1998. Through their performances, they have enjoyed presenting much of the great repertoire for this ensemble, but their most recent commitment lies in commissioning new works for flute and guitar. Commissions include Painted Music by Bryan Johanson, James McGuire’s Suite for Flute and Guitar, and a piece in 2020 by Grant Ferris.

The Fischer Duo has performed on five continents in its over-50-year history. Founded in 1971 while students at Oberlin College, the Duo has developed a wide-ranging repertoire covering the “canon” plus many forgotten or unknown works of the past. In addition, the Fischers have been very active with music of our own time, commissioning over 30 works and recording even more. The Duo’s extensive discography includes 18 albums from Beethoven, Brahms, 20th Century French Masters, Chopin and Liszt to generations of American composers similar to this recording’s compendium. These recordings have garnered rave reviews from The Strad, Gramophone, Strings Magazine, and BBC Music Magazine.

Martha Hill Duncan’s passion for music started early, inspired by her mother, who sang and played the piano by ear. She was a member of the first graduating class of the Houston High School for Performing and Visual Arts, (Vocal Music ’74) and earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from the University of Texas at Austin (1979). She is grateful to many inspirational and generous teachers including composers Dr. Donald Grantham and Dr. Sam Dolin and pianists Danielle Martin, Gregory Allen, Dr. Errol Haun, and Trudy Borden.

Praised for his "utmost commitment, and sensitivity to the composers' diverse voices" by Fanfare Magazine, Brazilian violist Amaro Dubois has become known for his work in expanding and popularizing lesser-known repertoire for the viola through collaborative projects in Brazil and North America. Recently, Dubois has collaborated with orchestras such as the Paducah and Pensacola Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Iris Orchestra in Germantown-Memphis TN, where he was awarded their Fellowship position under the guidance of music director and conductor Michael Stern for the 2019-2021 seasons.

Karen Dreyfus has distinguished herself as a recipient of many prizes both in this country and abroad including the Naumburg Viola Competition (1982), the Lionel Tertis Competition (1980), the Washington International Competition (1979), and the Hudson Valley Competition (1978). Ms. Dreyfus has concertized extensively in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and South America. Some of her musical collaborations have been with Musicians From Marlboro, Philomusica, Theater Chamber Players of the Kennedy Center, the New York Philharmonic and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

Peter Drew passed through many lifetimes until he honed in on a career in music. As a teenager, he joined the high school orchestra but nothing came of it. He then bought a student clarinet, looked at it, blew a few notes and stuck it in a closet.

Duo Dramatique, a renowned violin-piano ensemble based in Houston TX, has been hailed as “a force to be reckoned with” whose concerts have been described as “passionate and transporting.” Violinist Dominika Dancewicz and pianist Donald Doucet have earned recognition for their compelling, eclectic, and thought-provoking programs that include significant classical music from every era, as well as jazz, broadway, and pop. The duo’s programming is always thoughtfully planned to communicate with audiences beyond just the musical content. The ensemble creates contexts that introduce deeply affecting stories based on historic, social, and emotional issues featured in the music they perform.

John Downey studied musical composition with Lewis Spratlan and electroacoustics with Eric Sawyer at Amherst College. During medical school at Stanford, John continued his involvement in music as a collaborator with Jenny Kallick and Lewis Spratlan on ARCHITECT. John's most recent work for orchestra, The Tides at Golden Gate, had its world premiere at Stanford University and its east coast premiere in 2010 at Amherst College. Dr. Downey is currently a resident radiologist at Stanford University hospital.

Russian-born, American pianist Elena Dorozhkina has captivated her audiences with an expressive warm tone, virtuosity, and passion in her playing. Genuinely committed to share emotions conveyed in music, Dorozhkina has performed solo and collaborative recitals at concert halls of the United States, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, and Ukraine. Dorozhkina’s 2022 Spivey Hall solo and collaborative recital performance was broadcast on The Atlanta Music Scene, WABE FM 90.1 radio. 

Quinn Dizon was born in Santa Rosa CA in August of 1989. When he was nine, Dizon began taking private lessons on the clarinet. Soon, he began playing in his school music program and various youth orchestras in the area. At fifteen, he became interested in composing, and sought out private instruction.

Dominick DiOrio (b. 1984) is a conductor and composer who has won widespread acclaim for his contributions to American music. He has been recognized with The American Prize in both Choral Composition (2014) and Choral Performance (2019, with NOTUS). Since 2012, he has been a member of the choral conducting faculty at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he serves as Professor of Choral Conducting and leads the select, new-music chamber chorus NOTUS. DiOrio has conducted ensembles around the world, from the Houston Chamber Choir and Choral Arts Initiative in the United States to Allmänna Sången and Ars Veritas abroad. In July 2020, he became the 14th Artistic Director & Conductor of the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia.

Pianist Chuck Dillard is a multi-faceted and sought-after performer, educator, conductor, lecturer, producer, and arranger. Highlights from his 2020-2021 season include performing with Met Opera baritone Damien Geter, producing a virtual production of Menotti’s “The Old Maid and the Thief,” presenting a lecture — “Beyond the Pants Role” — for the College Music Society, and speaking at a Symposium on Transgender and Non-Binary Voice Pedagogy.

The music of Christopher Dietz (b. 1977) has been recognized by honors and awards from Copland House, Canada's Banff Centre and National Arts Centre, the Camargo Foundation, ASCAP's Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, the Minnesota Orchestra Reading Sessions and Composer Institute, the League of Composers/ISCM Orchestral Competition, the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music, the Riverside Symphony Composer Reading Project (NYC), North/South Consonance (NYC), the Chicago Ensemble's Discover America competition, the Utah Arts Festival's Orchestral Commission Prize, the NewMusic@ECU festival, as well as numerous academic scholarships and fellowships.

Missouri native Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927) was born into a musical family and had begun her early compositions at the age of 5. Throughout her elementary and high school years her performance studies continued and her interest in composition intensified, and she attended the Eastman School of Music and the Yale School of Music, receiving her bachelorís and masterís degrees in composition from the latter and her Ph.D. from the former.

Kim Diehnelt (b. 1963) is compelled to create beauty through her work as a conductor, composer, and artistic coach. Trained in the United States and Europe, Kim Diehnelt established her musical crafts in Finland and Switzerland, leading Baltic, Russian, and European ensembles. Trained in the United States and Europe, Kim Diehnelt established her musical crafts in Finland and Switzerland, leading Baltic, Russian, and European ensembles. She currently resides in Burlington VT. Diehnelt has been composing works for solo instruments, chamber, orchestral and choral ensembles since 2011 when, after decades on the conductor’s podium, she “suddenly had something to say.”

Paula Jespersen Diehl came to New Jersey from China as an infant with her Danish parents and older brother. From her time of awareness, she heard music in the home. She and each of her three brothers studied a musical instrument; her mother listened to opera and played Danish songs on the piano for the children to sing, and her father and an uncle sang Danish songs.

Violinist Glenn Dicterow has established himself worldwide as one of the most prominent American concert artists of his generation. His extraordinary musical gifts became apparent at the age of 11 when he made his solo debut in Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic where his father, Harold Dicterow served as principal of the second violin section for 52 years.

Dr. David Dickau is a choral conductor and composer residing in Mankato, Minnesota where he is Director of Choral Activities at Minnesota State University, Mankato. As a part of his duties, Dr. Dickau conducts the Concert Choir and teaches conducting and composition. Dr. Dickau holds advanced degrees in Choral Music from Northwestern University (Evanston IL) and the University of Southern California (Los Angeles CA) where he studied with Morten Lauridsen and Rodney Eichenberger. He has taught choral music on both the high school and college levels and has conducted community and church choirs.

Georgia native Gabriela Diaz began her musical training at the age of 5, studying piano with her mother and the next year, violin with her father. As a childhood cancer survivor, Diaz is committed to supporting cancer research and treatment in her capacity as a musician. In 2004, Diaz was a recipient of a grant from the Albert Schweitzer Foundation, an award that enabled Gabriela to create and direct the Boston Hope Ensemble. This program is now part of Winsor Music. A firm believer in the healing properties of music, Diaz and her colleagues have performed in cancer units in Boston hospitals and presented benefit concerts for cancer research organizations in numerous venues throughout the United States.

Dave Dexter (b. UK, 1985) came to composing relatively late, without formal music education, by unsuccessfully entering a contest with the Liverpool Philharmonic in 2015. The rejection spurred him into a long period of self-tuition in composition, engraving, and orchestration — by the following year he had recorded his first works with string quartet, then orchestra and choir, and finally a full symphony orchestra in 2018.