Guest Artists
Balkan Quartet (Serbia, Bulgaria)
Four established chamber and solo musicians joined together and developed into Balkan Quartet- a dynamic and inspiring string group.
Balkan Quartet plays music by talented contemporary composers: Nickitas Demos, Aleksandra Vrebalov (winner of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Charles Ives Fellowship, 2007), Brian Mitchell, Aleksandar Gajic, Milos Simic, Zvonimir Tot, and Konstantin Blagojevic, and merges it with classical string quartet repertoire by composers Martinu and Glasunov. Their focus is to involve and inspire composers to create new music that would use an indigenous Balkan language, reviving the rich Balkan folk heritage on a high artistic level.
www.balkanquartet.com/
Velvet Caravan, jazz quintet (Venezuela, Slovenia, U.S.A.)
Velvet Caravan is one of the most unusual ensembles in the music business. Combining Gypsy, Honky-Tonk, Swing and Latin, this band plays upbeat tunes from all over the world with thunderous virtuosity and relentless sense of humor.
Bringing together the eclectic sounds are a motley crew of super talented musicians that draw their roots from Venezuela, Serbia, Austin TX, Boston MA, and Southern Georgia.
Qiao Chen Solomon, violin (China)
Hailing from China, Qiao started playing violin at the age of 8 and later pursued the studies of viola, voice, piano, and conducting. Qiao performs as soloist, conductor, chamber musician, and orchestra player throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States. Past performance highlights include a solo performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the UGA Symphony Orchestra and a solo performance of Harvest Celebration at the Grumo Festival in Italy. She has also performed at Carnegie Hall with the ARCO chamber orchestra, and with the same group she has performed and recorded Vivaldi’s Violin Concertos on the Art Classics Label as a featured soloist. Qiao has recorded Pulsar by Augusta Read Thomas and the Sonata for Viola and Piano by Rebecca Clark on a double CD collection of works by women composers commissioned by the National Council of Women of the United States. She has won awards at the 5th Liaoning Violin Competition (China), the West Waterford Music and Drama Festival (Ireland), and the MTNA Competition (United States).
Qiao is an Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral and Strings Studies at Agnes Scott College. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Violin Performance with a Minor in Viola from the University of Georgia, a Master’s degree in Violin Performance with highest honors from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the Conservatory of Capital Normal University in Beijing, China.
FMU Faculty
Paolo André Gualdi, piano (Italy)
Italian pianist Paolo André Gualdi has played recitals in Italy, Brazil and the United States, both as a soloist and chamber musician. He has appeared with numerous orchestras including the Atlanta Philharmonic, Georgia Philharmonic, DeKalb Symphony, Wilmington Symphony, Florence Symphony, and the Universidade de Caxias do Sul Symphony Orchestra.
He has won the top prize in several piano competitions, including the “De Martino Award” at the Ibla International Piano Competition and the First Prize in the 15th Bartók-Kabalevsky International Competition in Virginia.
Gualdi regularly gives master classes and lectures nationally and internationally at universities, conservatories and other music institutes. He is currently Associate Professor of Music at Francis Marion University and founder and artistic director of the South Carolina Chamber Music Festival.
Sinisa Ciric, violin (Serbia)
Dr. Sinisa Ciric received his undergraduate degree from the Academy of Arts, University of Novi Sad (Yugoslavia), masters and doctoral degree in violin and viola performance at University of Georgia in Athens where he studied with world renowned professor Levon Ambartsumian (student of Kogan and Yankelevich) and Dr. Mark Neumann respectively. Sinisa is concertmaster of Savannah Philharmonic, New Atlanta Philharmonic, Gwinnett Ballet Orchestra and Rome Symphony, GA. He appeared as a soloist with New Atlanta Philharmonic, Rome Symphony Orchestra and Georgia Philharmonic as well as Bach Festival Orchestra, GA. As a member of ARCO Chamber Orchestra Mr. Ciric performed in Carnegie Hall and was featured as soloist on ARCO’s most recent recording of Vivaldi’s concertos for two, three and four violins.
He can also be heard on several CD recordings of New Trinity Baroque as violinist and violist.
Prior to coming to USA his orchestral experience involves Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra (Yugoslavia), the Symphonic Orchestra of the Radio-Television of Serbia, the Orchestra of the National Theatre, ensemble Camerata Academica and the Opera Orchestra of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad. Sinisa participated on many concerts as a soloist, member of chamber ensemble, member of an orchestra, etc. He attended master classes with William Preucil and Jean-Marc Vajerbedian. While performing with the Symphonic Orchestra of Serbian Radio Television, he cooperated with many national and international conductors, such as Zubin Mehta, Christian Mandeal, Gyula Nemet, Milen Nachev, Mikis Teodorakis, Christian Badea and many others. Prior to his appointment as a concertmaster of the Savannah Philharmonic, Sinisa was Artist Affiliate at Emory University and taught violin, viola and chamber music at Oxford College of Emory University. He also held a position of Violin and Viola Instructor at Georgia Perimeter College, Atlanta GA.
Dusan Vukajlovic, cello (Serbia)
Dusan Vukajlovic is the principal cellist of the South Carolina Philharmonic, acting principal cellist of Symphony Orchestra Augusta, and cellist of the Upton Trio. He also performs regularly with the Savannah Symphony and with the Sterling Chamber Players. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the Belgrade Music Academy and went on to study with Martha Gerscefski at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia where he completed his Masters degree in 2003. Following that he spent a year studying with Johanne Perron at Lynn University in Florida. Currently, Dusan is a doctoral candidate in cello performance studying under Dr. Robert Jesselson at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
Dusan was born into a musical family in Belgrade, Serbia and began to play the cello at the early age of five. As a soloist he has had a successful career which began with winning the first prize at the Yugoslavian National Cello Competition in Sarajevo in 1987. Two years later he was a member of the piano trio (Do-mi-sol) that won the first prize in the National Chamber Competition in Dubrovnik. In 1991, he won the first prize at a chamber competition in Stresa, Italy. In addition he regularly performed on national radio and television. Dusan has participated in master-classes with Tim Eddy, Bonnie Hampton, Kiril Rodin and Ksenija Jankovic. Recent solo engagements include a performance of the Friedrich Gulda Cello Concerto with the South Carolina Philharmonic.
Terris Roberts, violin (U.S.A.)
Terris began his violin studies at the age of 6. Now 23, he has started to make his mark in the music world. He has worked with internationally renowned conductors including Ransom Wilson of Yale/SUNY Purchase, John Mauceri of the Hollywood Bowl and Charles Barker of the American Ballet Theatre to name a few. He has also worked with renowned chamber music artists such as members of the Vermeer and Melos string quartets as well as the Eighth Blackbird Ensemble and Ivan Chan of the Miami String Quartet as a festival scholar at the Heartland Chamber Music Festival.
In the summers, he has attended the Brevard Summer Music Festival and the Meadowmount School of Music. He training has included Clayton Haslop and Joseph Genualdi.
Terris’s violin is made by Stefano Gironi in Cremona, Italy in 2000.
Terry Roberts, horn (U.S.A.)
Dr. Terry Roberts began his musical studies at the age of five, first with piano, then horn and cello. Dr. Roberts completed his Bachelor of Music at Florida State University in 1976 after which he went to Cologne, Germany to study with Erich Penzel. While in Germany, he was appointed Solo Horn with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, where he performed for 8 years. He was then appointed Solo Horn of the MonteCarlo Philharmonic Orchestra where he stayed for an additional eight years. While in Europe, Dr. Roberts performed in all the major theaters and symphony halls as a soloist and chamber and orchestral musician. He has performed most of the major horn repertoire, and has made recordings with many esteemed orchestras and artists both in Europe and in the United States. It was while he was performing in Europe that Roberts developed an interest in conducting. Dr. Roberts studied in Cologne, Germany and at the Conservatoire du Nice, France. He was also able to work with many well known conductors from all over the world such as Lorin Maazel, Daniel Barenboim and Sir Neville Mariner.
In 1993, Roberts moved back to the United States and started a freelance career as soloist, chamber and orchestra musician. In 1994, he was a prizewinner in the Professional Division of the American Horn Competition.
While at Florida State University as a candidate for the D.M. degree, Dr. Roberts served as Music Director/ Conductor of the Chipola Regional Symphony Orchestra in Florida through 1998. Currently, Dr. Roberts is Assistant Professor and Coordinator of music at Francis Marion University. He maintains an active performing and conducting schedule throughout the Southeast. Dr. Roberts is Music Director/Conductor of the Florence Symphony Orchestra and the Florence Symphony Youth Orchestra in Florence, South Carolina.
Irina Pevzner, piano (Ukraine/Latvia)
Irina Pevzner was born in Ukraine and raised in Latvia. After graduating from the Riga Jazep Medins Music College, she moved to the United States. Dr. Pevzner holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of South Carolina. Her dissertation titled Forgotten Russian Piano Music: The Sonatas of Anatoly Aleksandrov was recently published by Scholar’s Press.
She also holds a Master of Music degree in piano performance from Carnegie Mellon University, Artist Certificate from the College of Charleston, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania.
Irina has performed in Latvia, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Brazil, and throughout the east coast of the U. S. She is a frequent performer at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. Locally, she has performed at the Monday Night Concert Series, International Piano Series, Bishop Gadsden Concert Series, and Emily Remington Concerts. In addition, she is one of the core performers with Chamber Music Charleston.
While continuing solo and chamber music performance career, she is on the faculty at the College of Charleston. She has also been teaching at Charleston Academy of Music since its founding year, and a number of her students have achieved success in local and national competitions.
Ricardo Ochoa, jazz violin (Venezuela)
Born in Venezuela as the son of guitarist Antonio Jose Ochoa, Ricardo began formal training at a very early age with violinist Edgar Aponte. At the age of 15, he was accepted in the Venezuela Philharmonic, becoming the youngest professional musician in the orchestra. Ricardo studied at the Aaron Copeland School of Music in NY under Margaret Pardee and Daniel Philips and has a Masters degree in Music Performance from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh under violinist Charles Stegeman. He was a member of the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestra, and the Savannah Symphony Orchestra. He is currently a member of the Savannah Philharmonic.
Ricardo has performed as a soloist with the Venezuelan Philharmonic, Amityville Symphony and Queens College Orchestra. Ricardo is fluent in Jazz, Gypsy and Country. He performs with The Train Wrecks, Velvet Caravan and Julie Wilde & The Bohemian Dream Band. Ricardo is also performing with Terrance Simien and The Zydeco Experience during the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Shane Reeves, percussion (U.S.A.)
Shane Reeves, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, has performed with the Central Florida Symphony, Fayetteville Symphony, Gainesville Chamber Orchestra, Palmetto Opera, South Carolina Philharmonic, Wilmington Symphony, J’Ouvert Steel Band, Pantasia Steel Band, Sunshine Steelers, Jacare Brazil, Woyate West African Drum and Dance Ensemble, as well as various rock and pop groups. As a member of the USC wind ensemble, Shane participated in a recording of the music of Leonard Bernstein for the Naxos label and was the principal percussionist during the ensemble’s concert tour of China in 2012. Shane was featured as a marimba soloist with both the University of Florida percussion ensemble and the UAB percussion ensemble. In addition, Shane is active as a freelance performer in various settings including musicals, operas, performances with various rock/pop groups and church concerts.
As an educator, Shane has taught percussion at various middle and high schools in Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina. He has directed outdoor and indoor marching percussion lines, concert percussion ensembles, steel bands and has written and arranged music for all of these mediums. For three years he was the Director of Percussion at Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Alabama where he oversaw all aspects of the percussion curriculum. Shane also served as the front ensemble tech for the UAB Marching Blazers in 2002 and 2003. As a graduate assistant at the University of Florida he taught applied percussion, percussion methods and the beginner steel band. Shane currently teaches applied percussion and percussion ensemble at Francis Marion University and academic music courses at Midlands Technical College. Shane is endorsed by Innovative Percussion and is a member of the Percussive Arts Society.
www.shanereevespercussion.com/
Sumire Worman, piano (Japan)
Born in Tokyo, Japan, Sumire Worman started playing piano at the age of 3 and continued her studies in Switzerland and Canada from age 14. She later obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in piano from The University of British Columbia, and her Master of Music degree in piano performance and literature from The University of Western Ontario, Canada. Her principal teachers are Barrie Barrington, Sara Davis Buechner, Henri-Paul Sicsic, the Canadian duo pianists James Anagnoson & Leslie Kinton, and Takahiro Hoshino.
After graduating, she has performed solo and collaborative recitals across Japan. In addition, she taught piano lessons privately and taught music classes at Canadian International School Tokyo. . Sumire is currently living in the U.S. and she enjoys being on the music faculty at Francis Marion University as well as performing with the Florence Symphony Orchestra.
Brandon Goff, composer (U.S.A.)
Brandon Goff (b.1973) is a composer with an often dramatic and always distinctive voice. Goff has been the recipient of numerous awards and commissions including the Arnold Sallop Prize for Composition, the Smit Award, the ASU Graduate Composer Award, as well as being named a finalist in the BMG Young Composers Competition and the ASCAP Morton Gould competition. Goff's music has been widely performed with numerous premiers in the United States as well as Europe and Asia. Holding both a B.M. and M.M. from Arkansas State University, Goff earned his D.M.A. from the University of Memphis where his principle instructors have included Kamran Ince, John Baur, Jared Spears, and Tom O'Connor
Along with his accomplishments as a composer, Goff is also a prolific performer and producer. As the owner of Poppsycho Studios he has innumerable production credits to his name. Recent projects have included Kyle Thomas/ Not Alone and Doug Pierce/ This Time of Year, both on Loop Road Records. Goff has performed and toured world-wide with the pop group Pierce, with whom he produced and released numerous albums. Goff is also the co-founder and co-owner of Poppsycho Records, a Memphis-based independent record label.
Goff is currently on faculty at Francis Marion University where he serves as Assistant Professor of Music Industry.
Joseph Van Hassel, percussion (U.S.A.)
Joseph Van Hassel is a North Carolina-based percussionist specializing in orchestral and chamber music. Performance highlights include Carnegie Hall, the Cincinnati MusicNow Festival, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the International Tuba Euphonium Conference, and the Hindemith Center in Switzerland. He can be heard on recordings for the Innova, Mode, Equilibrium, nobrow.sounds, and Ohio Percussion record labels, and his solo CD of percussion commissions is available on Soundset Recordings. He is published in Percussive Notes, and his composition Response (after Brün) for solo percussion and fixed electronics is published by Media Press.
An active educator, Joseph has presented master classes and given solo performances at numerous universities throughout the USA, including the Manhattan School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, and the Center for New Music and Audio Technologies at the University of California at Berkeley. He is on the percussion faculty at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and previously taught at Ohio University. Joseph is a member of the Percussive Arts Society’s New Music / Research Committee.