Performers

Joanna Marsden is a “fabulous” (The Whole Note) flautist based in Montréal, Québec. She has performed with numerous ensembles throughout North America and Europe “beautifully” (Luis Gago, Madrid) and “with notable rhetorical clarity” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), and worked with conductors including Ton Koopman, Masaaki Suzuki, Václav Luks, Julian Prégardien, Mathieu Lussier, and Florian Heyerick, among others. She holds degrees from Vassar College, the Royal Conservatory of the Hague, and McGill University. She has offered engaging workshops and masterclasses to students throughout Europe and North America.

Recognized as an artist of unusual sensitivity and virtuosity, pianist Steven Masi has concertized extensively throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He has appeared at the Casals Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Chautauqua Festival, Park City International Festival, Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival, and Music Festival of the Hamptons. His many orchestral appearances have included series with the The Atlanta Symphony, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and New Symphony Orchestra of London. In Germany he was an artist member of the Bonn Chamber Music Society.

Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, solo English horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 1995, has toured the globe with the Philadelphia Orchestra to wide critical acclaim with many of the world’s finest conductors. She has premiered several solo English horn pieces written explicitly for her, including concertos by Behzad Ranjbaran and Nicholas Maw, and David Ludwig’s Piccola Notturna for English horn, harp, and string quintet.

Described as a violinist with “chops to burn, and rock solid musicianship” (The Whole Note, Toronto), Canadian violinist Véronique Mathieu enjoys an exciting career as a soloist, chamber musician, and music educator. An avid contemporary music performer, she has commissioned and premiered numerous works by American, Brazilian, and Canadian composers, and has worked with composers such as Pierre Boulez, Heinz Holliger, and Krzysztof Penderecki. Her album debut of solo works by Boulez, Donatoni, and Lutoslawski was praised as a display of “outstanding violin playing” and “stunning [performance] with amazing technique.”

John McGuire has a vast array of performance and teaching experiences. He has performed with many orchestras around the country, most notably the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Opera, the Fort Worth Symphony, the New World Symphony in Miami FL, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and the Florida West Coast Symphony. McGuire has also toured internationally with the acclaimed Fortress Brass Quintet, of which he is a founding member.

From humble beginnings (a haphazard recreational night of singing in a practice room of New England Conservatory in Boston MA), Renaissance Men has emerged as one of the most exciting and vital professional male vocal chamber ensembles in America, having been called the “East Coast answer to Chanticleer” [Cinemusical].

Cuban-American cellist Thomas Mesa has established himself as one of the most charismatic, innovative, and engaging performers of his generation. Mesa was the winner of the $50,000 First Prize in the 2016 Sphinx Competition; the Thaviu Competition for String Performance (Chicago, 2013); The Astral Artists 2017 National Auditions; and the Alhambra Orchestra Concerto Competition. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras in the United States and Mexico, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Santa Barbara Symphony, Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra, which received this rave review from the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “A listener with closed eyes would have been hard pressed to distinguish [Mesa’s] shapely, expressive performance from that of another gifted artist two or three times his age.”

Matej Meštrović (b. 1969) is undoubtedly the most versatile artist on the Croatian cultural scene, and an exclusive artist of PARMA Recordings. In 2018, he premiered the Danube Rhapsody for piano and orchestra in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, thus becoming the first Croatian composer to have his own work premiered in that prestigious hall.

Charles Metz graduated from Penn State University with a B.F.A. in piano. Following graduation, he began private harpsichord lessons under the legendary Igor Kipnis. He continued his harpsichord studies with Trevor Pinnock while earning a Ph.D. in Historical Performance Practice at Washington University in St. Louis. More recently, Metz has worked with Webb Wiggins and Lisa Crawford at the Oberlin Conservatory. He has performed solo recitals at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, Oberlin Conservatory, University of Michigan, and Penn State University in State College PA. He has appeared with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Baroque, and the Newberry Consort of Chicago.

Jonathan Miller was a pupil of Bernard Greenhouse. He is a 43-year veteran of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and has performed as a soloist with the Hartford Symphony; the Boston Pops, Cape Ann Symphony, and Newton Symphony; Symphony By The Sea, and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra of Boston. Miller won the Jeunesses Musicales auditions, twice toured the United States with the New York String Sextet, and appeared as a member of the Fine Arts Quartet. He performed as a featured soloist at the American Cello Congress in both 1990 and 1996.

Award winning cellist Carmine Miranda has established an international career and recognition as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, and is a best-selling recording artist. Praised by many publications such as Fanfare Magazine for “fast becoming known for his ability to combine virtuosity with intense, well-thought-out interpretations” and by The Strad Magazine for “showing himself to be in full command of both instrument and works,” Miranda’s performances and recordings have appeared in some of the finest concert halls, music festivals, radio and TV stations, as well as PBS affiliated stations all over the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

Clarinetist Rane Moore is well-regarded for her thoughtful, provocative interpretations of standard and contemporary repertoire. Fiercely devoted to the new music communities of the East Coast and beyond, Moore is a founding member of the New York based Talea Ensemble which regularly gives premieres of new works at major venues and festivals around the world. Moore has recently joined the award winning wind quintet, The City of Tomorrow, and is also a member of Boston’s Callithumpian Consort and Sound Icon.

Czech violinist and producer Vít Muzík (b. 1972) is one of the most multifaceted musicians working on the contemporary classical music scene. His abilities both as a performer on the concert stage and in the recording booth have led to appearances on more than 60 recordings in the Navona and Ravello catalogs, making him one of PARMA Recordings' most frequent collaborators.

Donald Nally collaborates with creative artists, leading orchestras, and art museums to make new works for choir that address social and environmental issues. He has commissioned over 180 works and, with The Crossing, has 29 recordings, with two Grammy Awards and eight nominations. Nally has served as chorus master at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Welsh National Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and the Spoleto Festival in Italy.

Lenka Navrátilová studied piano and harpsichord at the Teplice Conservatory and choral conducting (sacred music) under the guidance of Jiří Kolář and Marek Štryncl at the Faculty of Education of Charles University in Prague. She is second chorus master of the Kühn Choir of Prague, professor of opera coaching at the Prague Conservatory, and répétiteur of the Prague Philharmonic Choir. As the assistant to the chorus master of the Prague Philharmonic Choir, she has participated in its appearances in Doha, Berlin, and at the Sankt Gallen opera festival.

NdBrass was established in 2015 by the members of the Janáček Opera of the National Theater in Brno. The members are seasoned orchestra soloists with a passion for chamber music, continuous improvement, and innovation. Their common interests led them to form a group with the ability to interpret not only standard repertoire but also to offer new and unique programs.

Christopher Nichols is a versatile clarinetist with performances as a soloist and in ensembles across the United States and abroad. Dr. Nichols regularly performs with orchestras in the Mid-Atlantic such as the Pennsylvania Philharmonic, the Kennett Symphony and the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of Christiana Winds and has recently collaborated with the acclaimed Serafi n String Quartet, the Taggart-Grycky Duo, and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Bree Nichols is a young American soprano praised for her “rich vocal disposition” (KlasikaPlus) and compelling stage presence. A Fulbright grantee to the Czech Republic, Nichols is known for her sensitive interpretations of Czech vocal music as well as over a dozen operatic roles spanning a diverse repertoire. Her career has taken her to the stages of Symphony of the Mountains, Capitol City Opera, Opera Roanoke, Lewisville Lake Symphony, Opera on the James, Opera Experience Southeast, the Olomouc Baroque Festival, and more.

Winner of The American Prize in Choral Performance (2019), NOTUS is one of the country’s most unique collegiate vocal ensembles, with a singular commitment to championing living composers through the commissioning, programming, and recording of new works. Directed by conductor-composer Dominick DiOrio and a curricular ensemble at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, NOTUS has performed across the nation, from regional and national ACDA conferences to Carnegie Hall. In September of 2018, NOTUS released their first commercial album on the Innova label, NOTUS: Of Radiance and Refraction, which includes five world premiere recordings by IU faculty composers. NOTUS was honored to be one of only 24 choirs in the world invited to perform at the 12th World Symposium on Choral Music before it was canceled due to the pandemic. As part of the honor of being invited to the Symposium, NOTUS was named an IFCM Ambassador in 2022 by the International Federation for Choral Music.

Guerilla Opera is one of Boston’s most exciting young companies creating brave new works. Founded in 2007, the ensemble has accumulated a repertoire of 40 new works, which continues to grow, by the most exciting composers of our generation. In daring performances, they have garnered a national reputation for innovative contemporary opera, with the Boston Globe raving that “radical exploration remains the cornerstone of everything it does.”