2013 Summer Chamber Music Festival Faculty

Anton Miller, violin - The Hartt School

Since giving his Carnegie Hall concerto debut, American violinist Anton Miller has appeared throughout the United States and abroad as a soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, and pedagogue. He is currently Associate Professor of Violin at The Hartt School and on the violin and chamber music faculty at New York University. He previously has been on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory, Lawrence University, and Swarthmore College. Mr. Miller is a founder and the Artistic Director of the Three Bridges International Chamber Music Festival in Minnesota, and was the co-Artistic Director of the Silver Bay Festival. Past and current festival faculty positions also include Foulger International Music Academy, the Intensive String Quartet Workshop at New York University, Aria International Academy, the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, the Festival Eterna Primavera in Cuernavaca, Mexico, the Summer Festival of Thessaloniki, Musicorda, Hsing Tien Kon (Taiwan), Bearstown (Korea), Killington, Hot Springs, and New Arts Festival. As a chamber musician he can be heard in concert with the Miller-Porfiris Duo, Trio Respiro, Trio Nuovo, Con Brio Ensemble and the Phenix Ensemble.

Anton Miller completed his Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School studying with renown violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay and chamber music with Felix Galimir and members of the Juilliard Quartet. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree from Indiana University as a student of Franco Gulli and was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate.
Mr. Miller's dedication to expanding the violin repertoire can be seen in his frequent commissions and premieres of the music of living composers. Recently recorded and released CDs include an album of new music for violin and viola by composers of the Americas, and a recording of Kurt Weill's Violin Concerto. His world premiere performance of Xiogang Ye's "Last Paradise" for violin and orchestra in Beijing, China was recorded for broadcast throughout Asia and released on CD. His complete discography can be found on the Dorian, Jericho, Full House, Hugo, Naxos and Klavier labels.

 

Kurt Nikannen, violin - concertmaster of the New York City Ballet Orchestra

American violinist Kurt Nikkanen is an international soloist of the highest order. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, he began his violin studies at the age of three, later studying with Roman Totenberg and Jens Ellerman. At twelve he gave his Carnegie Hall debut, performing with the New York Symphony; two years later he was invited by Zubin Mehta to perform the Paganini Concerto No.1 with the New York Philharmonic for a Young People's Concert. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he was a scholarship student of Dorothy DeLay.

Mr. Nikkanen regularly receives invitations from the leading orchestras and presenters in the USA and Europe, and has toured Japan and the Far East. In North America he has appeared with the Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Cleveland Orchestra, and in Europe with the BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Dresden Staatskapelle. He has worked with many leading conductors.
An enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music, Kurt Nikkanen has given numerous performances of the John Adams Violin Concerto, with orchestras such as the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Oregon Symphony, Hallé Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony (all under the composer's direction). 

Highlights of recent seasons have included a UK tour with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, performances with the Gothenburg Symphony and Neeme Jarvi at the BBC Proms, and concerts with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Prague Symphony and RTE Orchestra in Dublin; also with the Bayerischer Rundfunk and Suddeutscher Rundfunk orchestras, both with the late Yakov Kreizberg, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra with Junichi Hirokami. He has also appeared with the Belgian National Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony and the orchestra of RAI Turin, the Detroit Symphony and Orchestra of Galicia, the Bilbao Symphony, the Malaysian Philharmonic and performances of the Dvorak concerto with the Czech Philharmonic and Vladimir Ashkenazy, both in Prague and on tour in the USA, with concerts in New York and Chicago. In 2011, he was featured as soloist in a performance of the Barber Violin Concerto and Ravel Tzigane with the Turku Philharmonic in a live webcast that was streamed worldwide.

Mr. Nikkanen has had many works written for him, including Steven R. Gerber's violin concerto, which he has recorded for Koch International. In 2009, Mr. Nikkanen performed the world premiere of Mikko Heinio's concerto Alla Madre, subsequently recording it for Sony Classical with the Turku Philharmonic under Petri Sakari and released in 2010. His recording of William Walton's Violin Concerto with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra was released on the Nimbus Alliance label in 2010 and was chosen as "Critics Choice for 2010" in Gramophone Magazine.
Mr. Nikkanen gave the New York premiere of the Violin Concerto by Thomas Adès in May 2010 and has since performed it in Australia with the Perth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paul Daniel. 

In addition to his orchestral appearances, Kurt Nikkanen performs regularly as a recitalist both in the US and abroad with his wife, pianist Maria Asteriadou, presenting repertoire ranging from the complete Beethoven sonatas to Piazzolla tangos.
He is the Concertmaster of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and maintains a private teaching studio in New York, where he resides with his family.

Rita Porfiris, viola - The Hartt School

Rita Porfiris is the Associate Professor of Viola at The Hartt School and previously on the faculty of New York University, The University of Houston, and Florida International University. As a soloist Rita has appeared with numerous orchestras including the Mexico City Philharmonic, New World Symphony and the Houston Symphony Baroque Festival. As a chamber musician she is a member of the Miller-Porfiris Duo, Phenix Ensemble and Hartt Quartet and has given masterclasses and performances throughout the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, and South and Central America. Formerly a 15- year veteran of the Houston Symphony, she was also Guest Principal Violist with the Indianapolis Symphony and Principal Violist with the New World Symphony, extra in the Radio-Sinfonie Orchester Berlin and the Baroque Orchester Berlin. Rita is the recipient of Austria's Prix Mercure, a prize winner in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and Primrose International Viola Competition, and laureate of the Paolo Borciani International Quartet Competition.

Rita Porfiris has had a busy season in 2012-13, including several solo performances of Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with violinist Anton Miller in New York and Connecticut, and a world premiere of her transcription of York Bowen's Sonata No. 1 for Viola and String Orchestra in Arizona. She has also been seen this season in chamber performances and mini-residencies at Duke University, University of Minnesota-Duluth, Lehman College, and at Lincoln Center, as well as chamber concerts all over Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Massachussetts, Texas, and Wyoming. Upcoming concerts include various chamber performances in Connecticut and Rhode Island with Lynn Harrell, cello; Joseph Kalichstein, piano; and Jamie Laredo, violin. She has just been invited by the City of Leipzig, Germany, to perform Bartok's Viola Concerto in the historic Leipzig Gewandhaus in the fall of 2013.

She received her BM and MM from the Juilliard School.

 

Peter Sanders, cello - New York City Ballet Orchestra

Peter Sanders, cello, is a native New Yorker and a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music.  Mr. Sanders is a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra (for which he has served as Acting Principal), performs with the Riverside Symphony, the Stamford Symphony and has performed and recorded as a guest artist with the Perspectives Ensemble.  He has toured Southeast Asia twice with the New York Symphonic Ensemble and as concerto soloist with the group performed in concerts in Taipei and Singapore.  He is Artistic Director of the Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival, which had its inaugural season in 1993.  Mr. Sanders was a winner of the 1998 Artists International award as a member of the Hollaender Ensemble and is currently a member of the Ariadne Trio.  He has participated in many summer festivals including the Colorado Music Festival, Skaneateles Festival, Crested Butte Chamber Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival (faculty position), CVCMF, Lancaster Festival, Ohio (where he was principal cello from 1992-98), Windham Chamber Music Festival, the Sherman Chamber Ensemble, the Park City & SLC Autumn Classics Music Festival and the Moab Music Festival. As a studio musician Mr. Sanders has recorded for a variety of popular artists including Pat Metheny, Jewel, Kathie Lee Gifford, Andy Bey and Carlinhos Brown.  He can be heard on the Delos, Muse, Bridge, RCA Victor-Red Seal, New World, On the Lamb and KOCH International Classics labels.  Radio and television broadcasts include WQXR, NPR's "Performance Today", PBS and Vermont Public Radio.

Dr. Maria Asteriadou, piano - Kutztown University/Manhattan School of Music

Heralded as "an artist with intense personality, virtuosic flair, unusual poise and intimate contact with style" by The New York Times, Greek pianist Maria Asteriadou is an acclaimed soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue.

Ms. Asteriadou's performances have taken her throughout the world appearing in recitals and as soloist with orchestras playing in major concert halls in the United States, South America, Canada and Europe. She has performed with the Moscow Radio Symphony, Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the National Symphony of Costa Rica, the Stuttgart Kamerata, Luxembourg Philharmonia, the Bucharest Chamber Orchestra, Iasi Philharmonic Romania, the Adrian (Michigan) Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Chamber Academy, Athens State Orchestra and the Thessaloniki State and City orchestras.

A devoted chamber musician, Ms. Asteriadou has collaborated with members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and performs regularly in festivals and summer music festivals. Together with her husband, violinist Kurt Nikkanen, she appears in recitals worldwide presenting programs showcasing composers from Bach to Piazzolla.

Her love for her native Greece and her enthusiasm for contemporary music have resulted in prestigious premieres by many of Greece's most prominent composers including Dimitri Mitropoulos, Nikos Skalkottas, Christos Samaras, Yiorgos Sicillianos as well as numerous collaborations with the American-born Greek composer George Tsontakis. In addition, she has collaborated with the American composer David Noon, recently premiering his Concerto for Piano and Percussion.

For the BIS label, Ms. Asteriadou has recorded the complete piano and string chamber works of Nikos Skalkottas as well as his Concertino for Two Pianos, and the complete violin and piano works of Carl Nielsen. She has also recorded works by Greek composers Yiorgos Sicilianos, Emilios Riadis, Dimitri Mitropoulos and the American composer Ron Wasserman.

Maria Asteriadou is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes including first prize in performance from the State Conservatory of Greece, and top prize in the Maria Callas International Piano Competition. She also holds the distinction of being the only pianist selected from the Musik Hochschule in Freiburg to perform in honor of Maestro Pierre Boulez.

Following in the footsteps of her teacher, the esteemed Constance Keene, Ms. Asteriadou is also an energetic, dedicated and passionate pedagogue. She teaches at Manhattan School of Music and at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, where she is a member of the piano and chamber music faculties, serves as director of the Chamber Music Outreach Program and is artistic director of the Kutztown University Summer Chamber Music Festival. In addition, Ms. Asteriadou has been an artist faculty member at many festivals including the University of Michigan's Summer Arts Institute, Canada's International School of Musical Arts, and the West Branch International Music Festival in New York. She has also given master classes at the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica in the Dominican Republic, and in her native country has appeared at the Music Village Workshops as well as the Saint George Festival, among others. She also serves on the board of the Children's Foundation for the Arts.

Maria Asteriadou holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Manhattan School of Music where she was a student of Constance Keene. She received her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School as a student of Jacob Lateiner. Following her undergraduate studies at the State Conservatory of Music in Thessaloniki, Greece, Ms. Asteriadou was accepted at the Musik Hochschule in Freiburg, Germany where she studied with Tibor Hazay and received her Graduate Soloist Diploma with honors. She has also worked with Domna Evnouchidou, Vitalij Margulis, Gyorgy Sebok and Richard Goode.

Joanne Bates, string bass - Kutztown University

Philadelphia native Joanne DiMaria Bates is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Philadelphia Orchestra principal bassist Roger M. Scott. Mrs. Bates also studied with Boston Symphony principal bass Edwin Barker and assistant principal Lawrence Wolfe at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, where she was the recipient of the Koussevitzsky Foundation Fellowship, and with New York Phiharmonic principal bass Eugene Levinson at the Aspen Music Festival. Prior to Curtis, Mrs. Bates studied with Philadelphia Orchestra bassist Henry G. Scott on a Ford Foundation Fellowship.

Mrs. Bates has been a substitute member of the Philadelphia Orchestra (the first woman to play in their bass section), performing with them at the Academy of Music and at Carnegie Hall. Currently, Mrs. Bates is a member of the Princeton Symphony, the Riverside Symphonia, and the early music group Vox Amadeus, as well as a freelancer with many other area performing arts organizations. Mrs. Bates teaches at Kutztown University, Germantown Academy, St. Basil Academy, and Temple University's Center for Gifted Young Musicians. Mrs. Bates is a member of the International Society of Bassists, where she has served on the Board of Directors and authored several articles appearing in their publication. Mrs. Bates was featured in the 1981 Twentieth Century Fox motion picture "On the Right Track," playing her double bass.

Dr. Soo Goh, clarinet - Kutztown University

Soo Goh is the Assistant Professor of Clarinet at Kutztown University, where he also teaches the Introduction to Music Literature course.  Previously, he has taught at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Elon University.  Soo Goh is one of the first few musicians from Penang, Malaysia to further his studies on the clarinet.  He holds a B.A. in Music and Computer Science from Luther College, a M.M. degree from Bowling Green State University, and a D.M.A from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His primary teachers have been Michael Chesher, Kevin Schempf and Kelly Burke.  He has performed regularly with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and was the principal clarinetist of Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and the Raleigh Civic Symphony Orchestra.  Soo Goh is the principal clarinetist with the Carolina Philharmonic. As a founding member of the orchestra, he made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2008 with the ensemble under the direction of Maestro David Michael Wolff.  Soo Goh has also performed in professional music conferences including the ClarinetFest and the Society of Composers, Inc.  His international experience includes orchestral performances in Malaysia, Austria, and Jordan. As a music educator, he coached clarinet and wind sectionals in the North Carolina Orange County area schools.  Soo Goh has a strong interest in technology and loves exploring ways to integrate them in his daily life and teachings.  He particularly enjoys working with geeky students.

Dr. Jeremy Justeson, saxophone - Kutztown University

A native of San Diego, Jeremy Justeson received the Bachelor of Music degree from California State University, Fullerton; the Master of Music degree from Northwestern University; and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Justeson currently serves as the Director of the Wind Ensemble and Professor of Saxophone at Kutztown University.   Dr. Justeson held a prior appointment at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and taught in award-winning instrumental music programs for several years in the Texas public school system. Dr. Justeson has studied with renowned conductors including Dr. Mitch Fennell, Jerry Junkin, and the late John P. Paynter. 

Active regionally, nationally, and internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, clinician, and conductor, Dr. Justeson has appeared in venues such as New York's Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium, Lincoln Center Avery Fisher Hall, Dallas' Meyerson Center, San Antonio Symphony Hall, Allentown Symphony Hall, and San Diego's Copley Symphony Hall to name a few. In the Spring of 2013, Dr. Justeson will lead the KU Wind Ensemble in a performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and perform in Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. 

A proponent of new music, Jeremy Justeson has premiered numerous pieces, worked with many of the day's leading composers, and performs as a member of the New York City-based American Modern Ensemble.  He also serves as the Executive Director of the CASE Arts Group, Inc., a non-profit arts organization supporting performances and commissions of new music.  Jeremy Justeson's two CDs, Juggernaut and Pimpin', feature the music of American composers.  Dr. Justeson's primary saxophone teachers have included James Rötter, Harvey Pittel and Dr. Frederick L. Hemke. Jeremy Justeson is a Selmer Performing Artist and Clinician.

Dr. Susanna Loewy, flute - Kutztown University

Flutist Susanna Loewy is the Assistant Professor of Flute at Kutztown University, is a Teaching Artist for the Philadelphia Orchestra, and is the founder/curator of the Pikes Falls Chamber Music Festival in Jamaica, VT. Susanna has lately become increasingly interested in motion-based learning, and recently earned a teaching certificate in the Dalcroze learning method.

Susanna is the Principal Flutist and Project Manager for Inscape, a chamber music group based in the DC area. Susanna has played with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Ballet, The Louisiana Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, among other groups in the Philadelphia area and across the country. Susanna's Carnegie Hall/Weill Hall debut is in February of 2013, premiering the new works of three contemporary composers.

Outside of the musical realm, Susanna is a certified Spinning teacher and Triathlon/Marathon coach; she is a writer/photographer for athletic-based journals and is a sponsored IronMan Distance Triathlete. With her students, Susanna encourages a healthy and active lifestyle.

Dr. Willis Rapp, percussion - Kutztown University

Willis M. Rapp holds the Bachelor of Science and Master of Music Degrees in Music Education from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, the Diploma of Fine Arts in Conducting from the University of Calgary, Alberta Canada, and the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Instrumental Conducting from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He has done additional study at the Eastman School of Music, the University of North Texas, Westminster Choir College, and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Dr. Rapp has served on the faculty of Millersville University, Southeastern Louisiana University, Iowa State University, and is currently Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music at Kutztown University, where he conducts the university orchestra.

Dr. Rapp has a thirty-eight year career as a published author with over 500 publications to his credit through Charter Publications, Jenson Publications, Educational Programs Publications, Meredith Music Publications, and the Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation. Additionally, his articles and reviews have appeared in some of the leading music journals. With one exception, he was the youngest student to have studied timpani and orchestral repertoire with Fred D. Hinger, legendary timpanist for the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Dr. Rapp also performed as Principal Timpanist of the Allentown, PA Symphony Orchestra during the years when William Smith, former Associate Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, served as Music Director and Conductor of the ASO.

Currently serving as conductor of the Reading Pennsylvania Pops Orchestra, Dr. Rapp has directed concert performances for nationally known artists such as David Benoit, Rick Braun, Ann Hampton Calloway, Jane Monheit, Nelson Rangell, the Four Freshmen, and the New York Voices. Dr. Rapp has guest conducted, performed as a recitalist, and appeared as a clinician in thirty states and three provinces in Canada. His scholarly text, The Wind Band Masterworks of Holst, Vaughan Williams and Grainger, was released in March 2005. In 2007 he was the recipient of the Kutztown University Faculty Research Award, and in Fall 2009 he was honored with the Arthur and Isabel Wiesenberger Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. From 2009-2012 he completed a four volume edition of music of Clair Omar Musser's International Marimba Symphony Orchestra - a critical edition of full scores and parts from the 100-piece marimba orchestra that toured Europe in 1935. Dr. Rapp is also a program evaluator for the National Association of Schools of Music, and since 2010 has served on NASM's Commission on Accreditation.

Dr. Valerie Trollinger, bassoon - Kutztown University

Dr. Valerie Trollinger earned advanced degrees in Music Education and Music Performance in Bassoon from Indiana University (Bloomington), with advanced studies in Vocal Performance, Vocal Pedagogy, and Instructional Systems Technology. Currently, she is an Associate Professor of Music at Kutztown University of PA. Prior to Kutztown, she taught at several other universities in the eastern USA, including Indiana University, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. A specialist in both instrumental and vocal music, Dr. Trollinger has taught methods courses ranging from early childhood and elementary general music to secondary choral and instrumental music, all reflected from her 12 years of public school experience teaching grades K-12 in Southeastern Pennsylvania. At the graduate level, she has taught courses in Psychology of Music, Acoustics of Music, Curriculum, and Instructional Technology. Dr. Trollinger's research interests include the physiological development of the voice and bilingualism in relationship to singing, vocal anthropology, performing arts health, and the effective application and design of music education technology programs. She has presented her research and papers, both psychological and philosophical, at national conferences and international symposiums in Denmark, Germany, Finland, Malaysia, and Greece, and serves as a member of the Vocal Health committee for the Health Promotion in Schools of Music project. She has published studies and articles in the Journal of Research in Music Education, The Philosophy of Music Education Review, The Music Educator's Journal, authored two books on technology in music education, contributed a chapter on Singing in John Flohr's "The musical lives of young children," published by Prentice-Hall, and also coauthored "Music in elementary education," also published by Prentice-Hall.

As a professional bassoonist, she is currently the Principal Bassoonist and a member of the Education Committee for the Reading Symphony Orchestra, and has also performed with numerous orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, The North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, and the Aspen Chamber and Festival Orchestras. She is an active chamber musician as well, currently as a member of the 'Fyve" Woodwind Quintet and other groups. She has been a student of Bernard Garfield, Kim Walker, Ryohei Nakagawa, and Sidney Rosenberg.

Kim Webster received a BS in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She is a former member of the Johnstown Symphony and the Allentown Symphony.  Currently, Kim is a member of the Reading Symphony, Reading Pops Orchestra, Berks Chamber Orchestra, the Glynellen Trio, and the Music in the Schools Woodwind Quintet. She has performed with the Pottstown Symphony, Reading Civic Opera Orchestra, Reading Choral Society Orchestra,  the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, and the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra.

She has a private teaching studio for oboe students ranging from grade 5 up through the "more mature" students. Her current and former students are members of the Reading Philharmonic Orchestra, the Wyomissing Band, the Horizon Senior Citizens Orchestra, the Ringgold Band, and the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra, as well as County, District, Regional, and State Bands/Orchestras. She is an adjunct faculty member at Kutztown University.

She is a member of the Reading Musical Foundation Board and a member of the Reading Pops Orchestra Board.