Performers

“Richard Galliano has changed the course of accordion history. Today we can speak of ‘before’ and ’after’ Galliano.” — Yasuhiro Kobayashi, accordionist and musician accompanist of the singer Björk It was my dearest wish: to give a fair place to this instrument, unjustly qualified as the “poor man’s piano,” whereas my accordion has always been a Steinway with braces. I was determined to restore the image of my instrument, so I left my native village and “went up to Paris” like many others. There I had the chance to meet artists who quickly put their trust in me: accordionists like Jo Basile, singers like Claude Nougaro, Serge Reggiani, Barbara, and jazzmen like Chet Baker, Charlie Haden, Ron Carter and Michel Portal.

Timothy Gaylard, Professor of Music, holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from Columbia University, Artist Diplomas from the Royal Conservatory of Music at the University of Toronto and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and B.A. and B.M. degrees from Carlton University.

Ian Gindes has performed live at many venues, including PianoForte Chicago, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, the Donald W. Nixon Centre, Yavapai College Performance Hall, and Carnegie Hall in New York. Gindes’ debut there earned praise from New York Concert Review. His previous recording, American Visions, was lauded by Gramophone Magazine (UK) for its “keyboard brilliance,” and his music, along with his last album, has been featured on many radio stations including SiriusXM Symphony Hall, WFMT (Chicago), WWFM (New Jersey-Pennsylvania), as well as on American Veterans Radio, Chicago’s WGN-TV, and WAIF Radio of Cincinnati OH.

Pianist Pavel Gintov has been described as “a poet of the keyboard” by Marty Lash of the Illinois Entertainer, a “musical storyteller” by the Japanese publication Shikoku News, and “a fantastic pianist and extraordinary artist” by Jerry Dubins of the Fanfare Magazine.

Hilary Glen, cellist, has been praised as a “standout performer” who has successfully “taken on the demanding and most expressive responsibilities assigned to [her] instrument.” As an enthusiastic performer, she enjoys a varied career that has taken her from the Italian Alps to Carnegie Hall and many places in between. She has collaborated with musicians including Gil Shaham, Gary Hoffman, Yefim Bronfman, and The Who. Formerly a cellist with the New World Symphony, Glen currently performs as the Assistant Principal in the Atlanta Opera Orchestra, Principal of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Georgia, and is a section member of the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra and the Des Moines Metro Opera.

Flutist Lindsey Goodman is a soloist, recording artist, chamber collaborator, orchestral musician, educator, and clinician whose “palette of tone colors includes cool silver, warm chocolate, the bright colors of a sunrise, and the deep blue of midnight.” (The Flutist Quarterly) Renowned for her “energy and artistry, conveying her exuberance and creativity” (Pittsburgh in the Round), Lindsey has performed solo and chamber concerts, taught masterclasses, and given presentations at countless series, festivals, and universities.

Pianist Kathryn Goodson, an international performer, teacher and coach, has performed collaborative recitals with vocalists and instrumentalists throughout the United States, Europe and Japan. In 2013-2014, she was a recital partner at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C., Stanford University, the Grand Teton Music Festival and the first-ever Alumni-Konzert at Karlsruhe Musikhochschule in Germany.

Elaine Greenfield is a widely acclaimed pianist, recognized internationally for her performances, recordings, and teaching, with a distinguished career as soloist/lecture recitalist, and collaborative artist. She has received rave reviews from The New York Times for performances at Carnegie, Merkin, and Steinway Halls; and nationally for performances at the Phillips Collection, Boston’s Gardner Museum; plus, university and community concert series coast to coast. She has been televised and broadcast over national and international radio, including the BBC, NPR, WGBH, WNYC, WAMC, WVPR, and KBAQ. Elaine was a founder of VT Contemporary Music Ensemble, and toured for two decades with Philadelphia flutist & NY Concert Artist Guild winner, Pamela Guidetti.

The Arts Fuse lauds de la Guardia’s sound as “lovely, natural” and “as clear and powerful as grain alcohol.” As an active soprano vocalist, Aliana de la Guardia has garnered acclaim for her “dazzling flights of virtuosity” (Gramophone) in “vocally fearless” performances that are “fizzing with theatrical commitment” (The Boston Globe). A graduate of the Boston Conservatory and consummate interpreter of new classical concert repertoire, she has enjoyed collaborations with many ensembles featuring today’s most eminent composers including “Scenes from a Novel” and “Kafka Fragments” with violinist Gabriela Diaz by György Kurtág, “Aspen Suite” by Salvatore Sciarrino,“Nenia: the Death of Orpheus” by Harrison Birtwistle conducted by Jeffery Means, and the world premiere of “Earth Songs” by Ronald Perrera with New England Philharmonic, among others.

Soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine is acclaimed for her “utterly thrilling, agile voice” and praised for bringing “pathos, beauty, and heartbreaking skill” to her performances. She has performed on the stages of Los Angeles Opera, Minnesota Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Chicago Opera Theater, Austin Opera, Utah Opera, Fort Worth Opera, the Madison Symphony, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, The National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, and the Santa Fe Symphony, among many others.

Yoko Hagino was born and raised in Japan, where she began her piano studies at the age of 4. As a child, she performed her own compositions, which took her to Europe and the United States, including performances as a concert soloist with the Czech Symphony, the University of Southern California Symphony, Kyoto City Symphony, and Ensemble Orchestra Kanazawa. Hagino has appeared as a soloist with Osaka Century Orchestra, UMass Boston Chamber Orchestra, Key West Symphony Orchestra, White Rabbit Sinfonietta, and has also performed various piano recitals ranging from the music of Bach to contemporary repertoire. Hagino is a prize winner of the Steinway Society Piano Competition, the First International Chamber Music Competition, the All-Japan Selective Competition of the International Mozart Competition, and Chamber Music Competition of Japan.

Hailed by the Calgary Herald as having “beauty of tone and a wonderfully flexible phrasing”, Sara Hahn has been Principal Flute for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) since 2006. In 2005 she was Assistant Principal Flute/Piccolo with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and in 2002 she completed a three week tour of Japan and Hong Kong with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Semir “Sammy” HASIĆ (b. 1964) began playing music at the age of 6. He attended music school in Zenica and studied theoretical and pedagogical direction under professor Vinko Kreitmeyer in Sarajevo, eventually completing his studies of composition and conducting in Würzburg where he became professor of composition and conducting.

Jean Hatmaker is a founding member of the Kontras Quartet, the internationally acclaimed quartet-in-residence at Grace Lutheran Church of River Forest IL. Known for their well-crafted performances, diverse programming, and accessible audience relations, Kontras Quartet has brought their message of inclusivity to concerts across the United States, Europe, and Africa. In addition to classical concerts, Kontras Quartet performs with the bluegrass trio the Kruger Brothers, with whom they have appeared at festivals internationally.

Patrick Hawkins holds degrees in performance from the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University, East Carolina University, and Arizona State University. Post-graduate studies in music education were taken at California State University, Los Angeles, and at the University of Washington, Seattle. His major teachers have included Janette Fishell, Peggy Haas Howell, Kimberly Marshall, and Carole Terry (organ); Shirley Mathews, and Webb Wiggins (harpsichord); and Shuko Watanabe and Joseph Rackers (piano).

Growing up on a farm outside of Spartanburg SC, Dr. Phillip Chase Hawkins serves as Principal Trumpet with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 2013. He is also a member of the cornet section in Fountain City Brass Band and is an active performer on historical instruments as a member of Kentucky Baroque Trumpets and Saxton’s Cornet Band. Hawkins can also be heard as a performing and recording artist for the Nashville Music Scoring Studio and Sound Lair Studio.

Tyler Hay was born in 1994 in Kent and began learning the piano at the age of 6. He studied with the Head of Keyboard, Andrew Haigh at Kent Music Academy for three years before gaining a place to study at the Purcell School for Young Musicians in 2007 where he continued under Tessa Nicholson. He completed his studies as an ABRSM scholar at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2016 where he studied with the Head of Keyboard Graham Scott and Professor Frank Wibaut.

Roaring onto the operatic stage in recent seasons, Melanie Henley Heyn made her Straussian and Wagnerian debuts as Salome & Brünnhilde, followed closely by a harrowing portrayal of Magda Sorel in Gian Carlo Menotti’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, The Consul. Singing a vast repertoire of music spanning the opera, concert, and folk worlds, her 33 divas recording project combining classic Wagner, Verdi, and Puccini roles with modern American opera heroines remains the No. 1 Most Funded Kickstarter for a Solo Classical Artist.

Having been praised by the press as “precise and keenly projective” and demonstrating “the highest level of proficiency,” Japanese-Canadian pianist Yoko Hirota is considered one of the leading interpreters of contemporary piano repertory of her generation. Hirota received her doctoral degree in piano performance under Louis-Philippe Pelletier at McGill University. Grants from the Canada Council for the Arts allowed her to study in Europe, with Gabor Eckhardt in Hungary, Herbert Henck in Germany, and Florent Boffard in France.

Pianist Russell Hirshfield has received critical acclaim for his original and powerful interpretive insights across a wide repertoire. He has performed in recitals regularly throughout the world, giving concerts across the United States, Brazil, China, Belgium, England, Serbia, Costa Rica, and South Africa, including recent performances at the Sheldonian Theater and Holywell Music Room in Oxford, and the Royal Flemish Academy in Brussels. His latest solo recording, ALEXANDER SCRIABIN: EARLY WORKS (Navona Records, 2020) has been programed in radio broadcasts in at least 20 countries. It features a brilliant program of Scriabin’s earlier, and lesser-known, works for solo piano.