Performers

Portuguese violist Anibal Dos Santos was born in born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1963. He began his musical studies at an early age in his native city with Gianfranco Farina and Mario Mescoli. At age 18, he traveled to Philadelphia PA to study with renowned violist Joseph de Pasquale, obtaining his degree in 1988 at the Curtis Institute of Music. Since then, he has dedicated his career to perform viola repertoire with many orchestras in the Americas, as well as recitals and chamber music appearances.

Daniel Schlosberg leads a kaleidoscopic musical life. He has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in numerous chamber music concerts and new music concerts, and was a featured soloist in subscription performances of Messiaen’s Trois Petites Liturgies. He has a passion for contemporary music, collaborating frequently with Eighth Blackbird and Third Coast Percussion.

A native of Houston, Andrew Schneider is a composer, pianist, and vocal coach whose virtuosic technique and daring interpretation has cemented his reputation among clients as a fearless musician. His extensive collaborative activity encompasses early music, standard operatic and art song repertoire, as well as contemporary music. Proficient for coaching purposes in French, German, Italian, and Latin, as well as adept with less frequently encountered languages, especially Slavic ones, Schneider enjoys using his considerable linguistic skill to help make challenging texts accessible to his clients. His wide ranging musical activities also include harpsichord and organ performance and conducting.

Laudon Schuett is a lutenist and early music specialist. He has been called “a masterful performer ...[and] a brilliant educator” (Classical Voice of North Carolina) with “immaculate articulation and sensitive phrasing” (Fanfare). In addition to performing and expanding the solo repertoire, he formed the lute song duo BEDLAM with Kayleen Sánchez. They have toured the U.S. and recorded two albums, BEDLAM, and Died for Love, both for Soundset Recordings. Schuett has a forthcoming book on the lute being published by Mel Bay, which includes many of his solo works. He studied with Paul O’Dette, Frank Koonce, and Chuck Hulihan. He holds a D.M.A. in Early Music from the Eastman School of Music.

Flutist Julie Scolnik’s tonal enchantment and communicative gifts have captivated audiences in America and France. The Boston Globe writes that “she plays with an urgency full of fire that melts into disarming delicacy,” and a French critic from La Provence praises “her vast palette of sultry colors and magical phrasing.” Scolnik has enjoyed a diverse musical career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral flutist. As a guest flutist at festivals across the United States and France, Scolnik has collaborated with countless world-class artists and chamber groups that include the Brentano, Arabella, and Borromeo String Quartets. She is active as a soloist and for many years presented an annual fall recital at the Salle Cortot in Paris. She currently offers concerts each summer in Provence.

Pianist Sophie Scolnik-Brower’s innate grace and musical sensitivity have moved audiences across the United States and abroad. Her playing has been called “soulful artistry that underlines gorgeous harmonic change.” She has performed extensively at the Perlman Music Program, La Jolla Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, and the Pablo Casals Festival. She is a member artist of Mistral Music and a frequent guest on WCRB Radio in Boston.

Deb Scott grew up on the flat plains of Lubbock, Texas. With not much else to do but play trombone, she began soloing at an early age. By the time she was in high school, she had performed the Lars-Erik Larsson Concertino with her high school orchestra, performed with professional symphonies, and played regularly in a jazz combo. She graduated with top honors from Texas Tech University and also received the top award for her master’s degree at the University of Northern Colorado.

Duo Sequenza’s passion is to build new audiences for today’s classical music and promote the work of living composers. The duo has toured extensively, premiering American new music throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. Lauded as "… brilliant, gossamer, and completely engaging…a delight to hear..." by Arts Indiana Magazine, they have been honored with invitational performances at the 21st Century Guitar Conference, Flute New Music Consortium Festival, Mid-Atlantic Flute Festival, National Flute Association Convention, and others. Award-winning adjunct projects, composer collaborations, and residencies augment their impact on today’s classical music, as have more than 20 new works written for them.

Chamber Singers is the premiere vocal ensemble at the University of South Dakota. It is comprised of graduate and undergraduate students selected through audition from the entire university student body. Known to critics for “creating a choral concert of stunning beauty and musical understanding,” its repertoire, which is primarily a cappella, includes music from the Renaissance to the present in a wide variety of styles.

Jiří Skopal, choral conductor and music educator, was born on August 15, 1947 in Velké Losiny, Czech Republic. Skopal received his first music education from his father, Jan Skopal, a choral conductor of North Moravia’s Teachers’ Association. For his Master’s in Education, he studied in Olomouc from 1965 to 1969, and received his doctorate in 1973. In 1982, he was named Associate Professor at the Charles University in Prague, and in 1994 he became a full Professor.

When NINA SMEETS makes music, she fully expresses the feelings coming from her heart and soul. She combines a fresh, delicate, and clear sound with a full range of musical colors. Her ability to mesmerize the audience with pure, sincere, and touching performances makes her an artist of unconditional value. Smeets devotes herself fully to music. She’s not only a performer, but also a passionate composer. After the release of her solo piano book and album, Project Reborn, Smeets’s music was nominated for an award in 2016.

Pavel Šnajdr is a Czech conductor and composer. He is a graduate of the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts (JAMU), Brno in composition (which he studied with Alois Piňos) and conducting (with Emil Skoták). Beyond working with symphony orchestras, he has been engaged by music theatres including the J.K. Tyl Theatre in Pilsen, the Prague State Opera and the Moravian Theatre in Olomouc, and currently conducts opera at the National Theatre in Brno.

Chi Young Song (he/him/his), violinist and educator, has engaged with audiences throughout Asia, North America, and Europe. A passionate collaborator in both orchestral and chamber music, Chi Young is frequently invited to lead and perform with various ensembles and orchestras throughout the United States. As a recitalist, he is committed to putting into dialogue the works of marginalized and underrepresented composers within traditional repertoire.

Ensemble Spinoza is a Montreal based early music ensemble. It was co-founded by Noémy Gagnon-Lafrenais and Christophe Gauthier in 2020. Acclaimed gambist Margaret Little joined the ensemble in 2021. The group specializes in the performance of 17th century baroque on period instruments. The ensemble’s mission is to uncover hidden gems of the repertoire and make them available to North Americans. Ensemble Spinoza stands apart through its profound artistic contemplation, embodying a pursuit of knowledge that echoes the philosophers from whom it draws its name.

Michelle Batty Stanley is Associate Professor of Music at Colorado State University where she teaches flute and chamber music. Michelle is a regular performer in solo, chamber and orchestral settings. From early music to new music, Michelle is a passionate performer and strong advocate of the musical arts. She is a regular international artist and has enjoyed giving masterclasses from China to the U.S..

Elizabeth Start is a composer, cellist, arts administrator, and union officer, currently dividing her time between Kalamazoo MI and the Chicago area.

Dana Muller and Gary Steigerwalt have performed as duo pianists for more than three decades, creating programs that encompass the historical and stylistic gamut of the piano four-hand genre. As recitalists, they have performed extensively in the United States, South America and Scotland. Festival appearances range from presenting Beethoven’s complete four-hand works at the Beethoven Festival, Oyster Bay, Long Island, to performances at Bethlehem Musikfest (Pennsylvania), Music at Penn Alps (Maryland), and Sevenars Festival and Musicorda Festival (Massachusetts).

Praised by The New York Times for her “thoughtful musicality” and “fleet-fingered panache,” Liza Stepanova has performed at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Weill and Zankel recital halls at Carnegie Hall; Alice Tully, Merkin, David Geffen, and Steinway halls in New York City; and at the Kennedy Center. She has appeared as a soloist with conductors James DePreist and Nicholas McGegan and live on WQXR New York, WFMT Chicago, and WETA Washington.

Emily Sternfeld-Dunn, soprano, is a strong advocate for new music and unconventional performances of art song and opera. Ms. Sternfeld-Dunn regularly gives recitals across the country featuring works of contemporary American composers. Significant performances with Hartford Opera Theater include Laetitia in Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief and Aunt Polly and Susy Harper in Tom Sawyer, a new work commissioned by the company.

Cellist Paige Stockley is known for championing the music of living composers from the Pacific Northwest and is on faculty at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. Paige holds a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Her early training was at the University of Washington, where she studied with cellist Toby Saks while earning a double major in Political Science and English. She has also played in orchestras around the world: from Connecticut to Spain, Mexico City, Prague and Krakow, spending a year at the European Mozart Academy playing under the baton of Sandor Vegh and studying with Steven Isserlis.