Music Adjunct Professors
Music Theory, Aural Skills Professor Matthew Brown, a native of Southern California, Matthew Brown completed
his masters and doctoral studies in music composition at the USC Thornton School of
Music, where he studied with Morten Lauridsen, Frank Ticheli, Donald Crockett, Frederick
Lesemann, Randy Newman, and Tamar Diesendruck. |
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Harp Professor Maria Casale, a world-class concert artist is the gold medal winner of the 1989 USA International Harp Competition, and has received numerous awards for her performances. Her solo debut recital in 1990 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, brought her critical acclaim. She was a featured soloist this past summer at the World Harp Congress in Prague, Czech Republic and also in 1990 Paris, France. As a concert soloist, she has enamored audiences throughout the world, including Japan, Europe, Israel, Mexico, and United States. Among the prestigious list of orchestras that Professor Casale has performed solos with are the Israel Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Orquesta Sinfonica National. Professor Casale has also performed with the Santa Barbara Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, San Louis Obispo Mozart Festival, and Peter Britt Music Festival (Oregon). Currently she is Principal Harp with the New West Symphony, the California Philharmonic and the Downey Symphony. In April of 1999 she played the "Andrea Bocelli West Coast Tour of the Americas". In addition to her busy performance schedule, she teaches harp at Pepperdine University and California State University, Northridge. Professor Casale began her harp studies at the age of six with Sister Emerentia at Marylhurst College in Portland, Oregon. In 1980 she entered the Julliard School of Music, studying under Susann McDonald, where she earned both her Bachelor and Master Degrees. |
Violin Tamara Chernyak, originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, started playing the violin at the age of five. She studied with Michael Viman and graduated with honors from the Rimsky-Korsakov College, Conservatory and post-graduate programs with degrees in both performance and pedagogy. While studying, she became a member of the Mihaylovski opera and ballet theater and in 1972 she joined the Leningrad Philharmonic. In 1974, Ms. Chernyak emigrated to the U.S where she spent the summer playing at the Sarasota Festival and was awarded the Leonard Bernstein personal scholarship to play in the Tanglewood Festival. There she participated in master classes with Richard Burgin, Josef Gingold, and Joseph Silverstein. In September, Ms. Chernyak was appointed Associate Concertmaster of Kansas City Philharmonic and Concertmaster of Kansas City Opera. One of the first women from Russia to become part of a major symphony orchestra, Ms. Chernyak joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1976 and played 38 years in the Music Center, Hollywood Bowl and Disney Hall stages. She has appeared as a soloist several times including performances of Bartok's Violin Concerto with Zubin Mehta and concertos by Vivaldi conducted by Christopher Hogwood and by Carlo Maria Giulini. In her orchestral career, Ms. Chernyak has worked with world-renowned conductors and soloists including Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Lorin Maazel, Joshua Bell, Lang Lang, Itzhak Perlman, Emmanuel Ax, Sarah Chang, Midori, Evgeny Kissin, Leila Josefowicz, Gil Shaham, Martha Argerich, Gidon Kremer, Yo-Yo Ma, John Williams and Gustavo Dudamel among others. She has played in the Salzburg Festival, Austria; Stravinsky Festival, Paris; Shostakovich Festival, Los Angeles; and Mahler Festival, Caracas and performed on the most famous stages in the world, including La Scala, Kennedy Center, Royal Albert Hall, Concertgebouw, and Carnegie Hall. Not a stranger to studio work, Ms. Chernyak has been part of hundreds of recordings, including iconic soundtracks such as Star Wars, ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Grammy award-winning Brahms Symphony No. 4. She has played with numerous jazz and rock artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Pink Martini, Herbie Hancock and performed with Andrea Bocelli and The 3 Tenors. She is the founder of the Daria String Quartet and served as the Calabasas Chamber Orchestra's Concertmaster and soloist, performing throughout Southern California and touring in Europe. Ms. Chernyak's chamber music collaborations include her performances with Christian Zacharias, Lars Vogt and others. She was a founding participant of the Green Umbrella Contemporary Music series and regularly performed at the Japan American Theatre and Gindi Auditorium. Ms. Chernyak has been recognized as one of the most dedicated and respected teachers in Southern California in both her private teaching practice and as a regular member of Gold Coast and International Beverly Hills festivals. She has served on the faculty of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute and has been a member of the Pepperdine University music faculty since January 2015. She currently lives in the San Fernando Valley with her family. |
Guitar Anastasios Comanescu is a promising, young guitarist in the Los Angeles area. He was a finalist at the 2009 California A.S.T.A. competition and grand prizewinner at the 2011 Pacific Guitar Festival. His debut solo classical record, "Epitaphios" (2011), features the music of Narvaez, Tansman, Barrios and Theodorakis. It is available on iTunes, Amazon and CDBaby. In 2010 Comanescu began a new musical project with internationally acclaimed lyric tenor Charles Castronovo, performing guitar and arranging music for the ensemble. Their program, entitled Charles Castronovo's Italian Songbook, consists of popular Neapolitan, Sicilian and Italian folk songs. Past performances, including a debut at the famous Zipper Hall in Los Angeles, have been received with critical acclaim. Performing Arts Live writes of an "extraordinary performance.... A grand program of famous arias and Neapolitan Songs...(Castronovo) was accompanied by an impressive five piece musical ensemble." Their debut recording "Dolce Napoli: The Neopolitan Songs" is available on iTunes and Amazon. The 2012 - 2013 concert season will see the group perform around the world. Comanescu is a founding member of the "Gi-táhr Duo", a successful collaboration with guitarist Austin Grant (2009). Their eclectic programming has garnered praise from guitar virtuoso Christopher Parkening as "an exciting, young, American guitar duo of this generation". More recently he has also shared concerts with esteemed Slovenian guitarist Mak Grgic. Comanescu studied flamenco guitar with Charles Sedlak and classical guitar with David Dueñas prior to college. He earned a Bachelor's degree in 2010 from Pepperdine University where he studied classical guitar with Christopher Parkening. Comanescu completed his Master's degree at the University of Southern California under Scott Tennant in 2012. In addition to classical guitar, Comanescu has studied contemporary, jazz and flamenco guitar. Past teachers include electric guitar virtuoso Steve Trovato and Falla Guitar Trio members Kenton Youngstrom and Adam Del Monte. Anastasios has been a member of the music faculty at Pepperdine University since Fall 2011. |
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Jazz and Trombone Originally from St. Paul, MN, Nicholas Daley is an active freelance trombonist in the greater Los Angeles area where he regularly performs with a diverse collection of ensembles ranging from orchestras to jazz, salsa and pop bands, while playing recording sessions for video game, television and movie scores. Noted performances include playing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, Broad Stage Celebrity Opera Recitals, MUSE/IQUE, Pasadena Master Chorale, Pete Myers Orchestra, Frank Stallone, Jazz on the Latin Side All Stars, Buddy Rich Band, Disneyland Band and early music ensembles Tesserae, San Diego Bach Collegium,Tenet and Dark Horse Consort.
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Guitar Kevin Enstrom is an up and coming guitarist in the Los Angeles area. Originally from Ontario, Canada, Kevin has performed throughout the U.S, Canada, and Europe, playing works by Torroba, Tedesco, Rodrigo, Dyens and many more. In 2014 Enstrom co-founded the “Orpheo Guitar Quartet” along with guitarists Tomasz Fechner, Christian Cruz, and Sean Mulholland, premiering on KUSC’s radio concert hour at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The quartet began touring recital halls, schools, and correctional facilities showing the beauty and versatility of the classical guitar. Recently Enstrom and The Orpheo Quartet performed alongside Grammy-winning guitarists Scott Tennant, Andrew York, and Bill Kanengiser at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music. The group was later awarded the “Outstanding Ensemble Award” from the Thornton School of music at the University of Southern California.
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Clarinet Mary Gale, clarinetist with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra for twenty-five years, played in the first production of Wagner's Ring Cycle in Los Angeles. She has played with the Santa Barbara Symphony, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Long Beach Opera Orchestra, Joffrey Ballet Orchestra, Royal Ballet Orchestra, Los Angeles Concert Orchestra, William Hall Chorale, and Honolulu Symphony. She is principal clarinetist of the Amara Ensemble and was featured as guest principal clarinetist with the San Diego Symphony. She performs in the Motion Picture, TV, and Recording Industry. Known for her exquisite tone, musicality and sensitive ensemble playing, her major teachers were Mitchell Lurie, Harold Wright, and Larry Combs. She studied chamber music with Marcel Moyse and James Galway, and breathing techniques with Arnold Jacobs. She attended the Music Academy of the West with Maurice Abravanel, conductor, where she was a scholarship recipient and winner of the Simon Kovar Award for outstanding performance. She is a recipient of the Theodore Presser Foundation Award. A graduate of California State University, Northridge, she later was professor of clarinet there for twelve years. She was also a faculty artist at the Idyllwild Summer Music Festival for more than ten years and at the Fairbanks Alaska Music Festival. Other summer festival appearances include the Hindemith Festival in Oregon and California and the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival. Artists she has worked with include Plácido Domingo (as singer and conductor), José Carreras, Vladimir Chernov, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Eric Halfvarson, Anna Netrebko, Luciano Pavarotti, Samuel Ramey, Erwin Schrott, Frederica von Stade, Carol Vaness and Rolando Villazón, as well as conductors Richard Armstrong, Philippe Auguin, Richard Bonynge, Valery Gergiev, Grant Gershon, Kent Nagano, Julius Rudel and Simon Rattle. In musical theater, she has worked with Richard Burton, Christine Ebersole, Robert Goulet and Richard Harris. Mary Gale is married to conductor James Martin and has two daughters and two stepdaughters who all share a love and passion for the arts. |
Flute Flutist Flutist Susan Greenberg enjoys a versatile career as soloist, chamber musician, symphony player, and recording artist. The Los Angeles Times has described her playing as "brilliant," "elegant" and "supple," and has lauded her "panache" and "musical projection." As a member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra from 1975-2011, she was a frequent soloist on both flute and piccolo, premiering a concerto for piccolo by Bruce Broughton and performing a concerto for flute, alto flute and piccolo written for her by Gernot Wolfgang. Ms. Greenberg has also appeared as guest soloist with the San Francisco and Oakland Symphonies, the Santa Monica Symphony, the Napa Valley Symphony, and at the Hollywood Bowl. She has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, L.A. Opera, New York City Opera, American Ballet Theater, Joffrey Ballet, as well as at the Casals, Ojai and Martha's Vineyard Music Festivals. Ms. Greenberg was the principal flutist for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra's tour of Japan, and has received the "Most Valuable Player" award on the flute from the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences. Ms. Greenberg began her career performing throughout the U.S. and Canada, Europe and the Middle East, as principal flutist with the Roger Wagner Chorale and Orchestra. She was a fellowship recipient to Tanglewood and to the Music Academy of the West. She received both her B.A., cum laude, and her M.A. from UCLA. Ms. Greenberg is also a speaker for the Los Angeles Opera Speaker's Bureau. Ms. Greenberg is presently an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University and has also taught at California Institute of the Arts and Occidental College. Ms. Greenberg is the Co-Artistic Director of Chamber Music Palisades, now celebrating its sixteenth season (www.cmpalisades.org). She often performs at LACMA and at the South Bay Chamber Music Series. Ms. Greenberg has recorded for over 500 motion pictures and is the flutist for The Simpsons television show. |
Piano Born in Japan, Dr. Hiroyo Hatsuyama began playing the piano at the age of three. After earning BM with honors in Japan, Dr. Hatsuyama participated in numerous master classes with such renowned artists as Lubov Chimofeeva (Russia) and Klaus Shilde (Germany). She continued her music education studying with Professor Elena Shishko at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia and Professor Kevin Fitz-Gerald and Dr. Alan Smith at the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music in the United States of America. As a recipient of full-tuition Dean Scholarship and Teaching Assistantship at the USC, she completed both degrees, Master of Music in Piano performance and Doctor of Musical Arts specializing in Keyboard Collaborative Arts with great interest in chamber music. She was invited to play for the master classes for Martin Katz, Midori Goto, Eudice Shapiro and Ruggiero Ricci. As a versatile pianist and harpsichordist, Dr. Hatsuyama frequently performs as a recitalist and collaborative artist, and serves as an enthusiastic educator for musicians of all ages. Her teaching experience of more than 20 years includes coaching for Junior Chamber Music and Beverly Hills International Music Festival. Dr. Hatsuyama has been successfully teaching not only piano instruction but also chamber music, harmony, music history, music theory and aural skills with global approach in her teaching method. After teaching at the University of La Verne and the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, she joined the Pepperdine University as an adjunct faculty in 2011. |
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Grace Lee is a concert pianist, teacher, and active accompanist in Los Angeles Area. She has performed at New York Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Zipper Hall, Wilshire Ebell Theater, and in addition to many other stages in Los Angeles, Europe, and Asia. Lee received her Masters of Piano Performance from Nuremberg University of Music in Germany and her Bachelor of Music at Mount Saint Mary’s University. |
Piano Dr. Kyung Lee is a gifted artist who emigrated from Korea to the United States at age 9. She made her debut with orchestra at age 10 and her first television appearance at age 11. She won numerous competitions from Florida Federation of Music Clubs and was awarded many scholarships, including a 10-year scholarship allegiance from Miami Music Club. Upon entering University of Miami, she won the prestigious Van Steenberg Scholarship which is awarded to an incoming freshman at the university's music department open instrument competition. At age 21, she won the West Regional Chopin Competition in the 21 to 29-year age category. She was the winner of the Outstanding Keyboard Student of University of Miami Music Department where she received her Bachelor of Music degree with major in piano performance. She continued her studies at University of Southern California where she earned both her Master of Music degree and Doctor of Musical Arts degree with Piano Performance Major. She is now a very active teacher and member of the Music Teachers' Association of California, having served as both Vice President and President of the MTAC-Conejo Valley Branch. Dr. Lee's teaching experience spans over 20 years, that of Conejo Valley beginning in the year, 2000. Her students' accolades include winning SYMF competition, Southern California Junior Bach Showcase, and Conejo Valley Contemporary Fall Festival Gold Medal, among others. In addition to her private studio, she has taught group music lessons at a local music academy for 8 years. Her strengths lie in versatility of teaching styles and the depth of understanding her students. Such forte is reinforced by her minor fields in music education with emphasis on early childhood music, and piano pedagogy. Consequently, her expertise lies, not only on the technical and musical levels, but also on the levels of cognitive and emotional development. Dr. Lee is active in the music community, and is an enthusiastic supporter of the performing arts and organizations, especially the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic. She is serving on the board of T.O. Philharmonic and is committed to giving back to the community by performing regularly in benefit recitals. |
Voice A graduate of the University of Miami with emphasis on Studio Recording and Jazz Vocal Performance, Lori has extensive vocal experience as a recording artist, commercial session singer and live performer, and her songwriting has earned her Billboard Magazine's Songwriter of the Year Award. She was the director of DePaul University's Jazz Vocal program from 1991-1997 and is a vocal clinician for the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (the GRAMMYS) with emphasis on jazz and contemporary vocal instruction. She currently teaches voice at Pepperdine University, is the founder and Executive Director of Chick Singer Night, a national performance network for female artists (www.chicksingernight.com), and is the founder and President of Breathe - A Foundation for the Artist, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the needs of all artists. |
Cello Spanish cellist Javier Iglesias-Martin is a first prize winner of the 2016 American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition and the American Protégé Strings Competition, who gave him the opportunity to play at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall. Other awards include the 3rd prize at “Villa de Llanes” International Competition, the Nathaniel Rose Award, and the Juventudes Musicales scholarship awarded by the Queen of Spain. He has participated in festivals such as Yellow Barn, Perlman Music Program, the Heifetz Institute, “Pablo Casals”Festival in Prades, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, the New York String Orchestra Seminar and has been accepted to Ravinia Steans Institute and the Piatigorsky Cello Festival. As a chamber musician, he has performed with artists such as Donald Weilerstein, Joel Krosnick, Anthony Marwood, Roger Tapping, Lucy Shelton, Ronald Leonard and Robert McDonald, and played in masterclasses for the Takacs, Guarneri, Tokyo and Emerson String Quartets. Based in Los Angeles, Javier is an active chamber musician and a regular member of Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra and Delirium Musicum. A former student of Amit Peled at the Peabody Conservatory and Paul Katz at the New England Conservatory, he recently finished his doctorate at the University of Southern California where he studied with Ralph Kirshbaum. In addition to teaching his own private studio, Javier is the new adjunct professor of cello at Pepperdine University. |
Piano Native of Boston, Massachusetts, pianist Beverly Min Thiagarajan enjoys a versatile career in music as a soloist, collaborative pianist, opera coach, and teacher. She received her D.M.A. in Keyboard Collaborative Arts from the University of Southern California after receiving a M.M. in Chamber music and Accompanying from the Shepherd School of Music of Rice University, and B.M. and M.M. in Piano performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music. She has participated in the Sarasota Music Festival, Banff Chamber Music Festival, Cours International de musique in Morges, Switzerland, and Aspen Opera Theatre Center as a fellowship pianist and coach. She has been a member of the Eastman Contemporary Music Ensemble, Shepherd School Contemporary Music Ensemble, and the USC Thornton School Contemporary Music Ensemble, performing on the Los Angeles Philharmonic Green Umbrella Series at Zipper Hall. As an accomplished solo pianist and chamber musician, she has performed in numerous venues across USA, Germany, Korea, Netherlands, and Switzerland. Her teachers include Natalya Antonova, Bernadene Blaha, Brian Connelly, Kevin Fitz-Gerald, and Alan Smith. Dr. Thiagarajan is currently on the faculty at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California and Chapman University in Orange, California, where she teaches piano, vocal and instrumental coaching. |
Trumpet Originally from Des Moines, IA, Dustin McKinney is a Los Angeles based freelance
trumpet player and teacher. |
Viola Karolina Naziemiec is a Polish violist who has been training, teaching and performing in the United States since 2001. Ms. Naziemiec earned her Masters in viola performance from USC. She was granted an artistic visa on the recommendation of the American Federation of Musicians, who cited her as being “a violist of extraordinary ability.” Ms. Naziemiec appeared with many orchestras in Poland, Germany, France, Belgium, Japan, and USA and participated in numerous music festivals throughout the world. She has worked with some of the most distinguished composers and musicians in the world: John Williams, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, Jorge Calandrelli, Randy Newman, Alf Clausen, Kent Nagano, James Conlon, Gunther Schuller, Arturo Sandoval, Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, James Newton-Howard, Patrick Williams, Andy Williams, Sue Raney, Bonnie Raitt, Diana Krall, Carmen Bradford, John Corigliano, Randy Newman, Sergio Commissiona, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Jacek Kaspszyk, Larry Livingston, Carl St.Clair, David Zinman, Noreen Green, Burt Bacharach, and Hal David. As a teacher, Ms. Naziemiec was on the faculty at California State University, Northridge 2007-09 while also teaching at the Idyllwild Summer Festival as a viola coach. Now she has her private studio as well as she has been a coach to students in Santa Monica and Malibu district for ten years. She’s also performed as a jazz vocalist in Los Angeles and Poland, and has recorded in scoring sessions at studios such as Warner Brothers, Fox, Sony and Paramount. |
String Bass Barry Newton, a Los Angeles native, studied at the University of Portland and received his B.F.A./ M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts. He has studied extensively with notable bassists including Tommy Thompson, Fred Tinsley, and Peter Rofe. His orchestral credits include Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, New West Symphony, and the New York Philharmonic. Barry has worked with such eminent conductors as Leonard Bernstein, John Mauceri, John Williams, and Boris Brott. He has accompanied Yes, Chicago, Moody Blues, The Scorpions, Elton John, Brian Wilson, The Three Tenors and Andrea Bocelli, among others. Barry's dedication to contemporary performance practice has included regular performances with the Cal Arts New Century Players directed by David Rosenboom. His jazz experiences have lead him to performances with Peter Erskine, Anthony Braxton, Buddy Childers and the Dave Pell Octet. Barry often works and composes with various Rock/Pop projects on the west coast. His current group 'Kiss the Frog' is an assortment of pop, electronica, and experimental improvisation. His interest in non-western music has guided him to regular performances with the Indonesian gamelan group 'Bali and Beyond' and Suzanne Teng's 'Mystic Journey' an eastern/western hybrid collaboration. Barry has been the recipient of scholarship awards by the Ahmanson Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, and the Doris Duke Charitable Trust Foundation. Barry currently lives with his daughter Hannah in Topanga, California. |
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Aki Nishiguchi, oboist, is an active performer and teacher in the Los Angeles area. She has completed a Doctorate of Musical Arts in oboe performance at the University of Southern California where she studied with David Weiss, Joel Timm and Allen Vogel. While at USC she had been the recipient of a number of awards including the Tony Sayre Memorial Scholarship, Colburn Foundation Early Music Performance Scholarship, USC Chamber Music Award, USC Collegium Ensemble Award and USC Early Music Ensemble Award. Beyond her interest in standard solo and orchestra repertoire, she has devoted much of her study at USC to performing New Music and Early Music. She was an oboist for the USC Contemporary Music Ensemble for four years and performed with the Los Angeles based contemporary music group, What's Next? Ensemble. Aki's passion for Early Music has led her to study performance practice and period instruments including baroque oboe, renaissance shawms, dulcian and recorders under the direction of Adam Gilbert, Rotem Gilbert and Paul Sherman. As an early woodwind player, she has performed with early music groups including Ciaramella, Musica Angelica, Bach Collegium San Diego, California Bach Society among other ensembles. She currently serves as director of the Performing Arts Academy Advanced Music Program at Diamond Bar High School where she teaches Music Theory, Aural Skills, Music History and coaches numerous chamber ensembles. Aki can be heard on a recording of Ciaramella from Yarlung Records and on two albums of newly composed guitar concertos featuring USC guitar faculty from Doberman-Yppan Publishing. |
Guitar Alex Park is an acclaimed international concert guitarist engaged as a soloist and
collaborator throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has received numerous
competition awards including first place in the Thomas M. Osborn Concerto Competition.
He was also a Prizewinner of the Parkening International Guitar Competitions, Miami
GuitArt International Competition, the Philadelphia Classical Guitar, the Lee Ritenour’s
Six String Alex received his Bachelor of Arts from Pepperdine University studying under one of the world’s preeminent virtuosos of the classical guitar, Christopher Parkening. He received his Master of Music degree with Andrew York at California State University Fullerton and is currently working on his Doctor of Musical Arts degree with Brian Head and Scott Tennant at the University of Southern California. He also had the opportunity to study with the two members of the “Royal Family of the Guitar,” Pepe and Angel Romero. In addition to his classical guitar career, Alex has worked on film and media projects as a session guitarist and composer. He has been on the music team for films that have won awards from the Emmy Awards, Cinema Los Angeles Film Festival, and the International New York Film Festival. Alex is currently on faculty at Pepperdine University which is ranked #1 in “The Ten Very Best Colleges for Classical Guitar Performance” by Music School Central. He also has a private studio of guitar, piano, and music theory/composition students. Alex is endorsed by Augustine Strings. For more information, please visit https://www.alexparkguitar.com . |
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Solo Performance Accomplishments 3rd place Carmel Music Festival (2007)
Winner of the Composition for Orchestra and Featured with the Asia America Youth Symphony
(2003) Adjunct Piano Instructor at Pepperdine University (2018—present) Collaborative Experience American Contemporary Ballet Inferno/Burlesque (2017, 2018, 2019) |
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The Los Angeles Times called her “The Nightingale Who Sang on Los Feliz”. Known for her colorful, crystal clear voice, and dramatic and expressive stage presence, soprano Mariné Ter-Kazaryan has been performing around the world as a singer and a pianist since she was a child. She made her debut with the Armenia Philharmonic at the age of 5, and her recordings since that age are still aired on the Armenian National Radio. She has received warm recognition and high ratings from Russian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian, American, Mexican and Armenian music critics and professionals. A devoted teacher and a highly sought-after adjudicator, Ms. Ter-Kazaryan is the Chair of the Vocal Arts Department at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music, and is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Music at Glendale Community College. Most recently, Ms. Ter-Kazaryan recorded Art Songs by Carlos Guastavino, as part of the Latin American Composers themed Faculty Concert at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music. Another major project was the recording of the film- concert titled “Bel Canto” (based on Ann Patchett’s book), as part of the Musical Interludes Series at PCM. In the film, Ms. Ter-Kazaryan portrays the famous opera diva Roxanne Coss, singing arias from the heroine’s repertoire from the story, while the film is narrated by the multiple Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy nominated actress Jane Kaczmarec. Ms. Ter-Kazaryan also performed a Solo Faculty Concert of operatic arias with the Glendale Community College Orchestra, and made her debut at Carnegie Hall! She was the featured musical artist on the Life Changes Radio Show on the BBS network. Ms. Ter-Kazaryan is a winner of International and local competitions, including the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition. She is a graduate of the Tchaikovsky School of Music in Yerevan with a diploma in Piano Performance. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree, Cum Laude in Piano Performance and Vocal Arts, and a Master of Music degree Magna Cum Laude in Vocal Arts from USC Thornton School of Music. |
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Eric Tinkerhess is a musicologist specializing in French baroque music history, theory, and historically informed performance practice. Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, he has a B.A. in cello performance from the Oberlin Conservatory, an M.A. from the Paris Conservatory where he studied the viola da gamba with Christophe Coin, and a Master of Interpretation of Early Music—Research and Practice from the Sorbonne. His recordings with Audax Records have received numerous awards from the international press ("Diapason d'or" from Diapason Magazine, “top ten classical releases of 2019" from The Guardian for The Paris Album with Ensemble Diderot). As a teacher he has given master classes at Huddersfield University (UK) and the Shanghai Conservatory. His compositions have been performed at the Chautauqua Music Festival in New York, the Music Academy of the West in California, and at the Salle Cortot in Paris. Currently he is a PhD student of musicology at the University of Southern California. |
Violin Alexander Treger, noted violinist, gifted educator and accomplished conductor, has joined the Pepperdine University Music Department as an Artist-in Residence in Fall 2013. The Russian-born Treger, studied with renowned violinist David Oistrakh at the prestigious Moscow Conservatory – he often refers to these six extraordinary years as the most influential in his development as a musician. After a few years with the Moscow Radio Orchestra led by Gennady Rojdesvenski and with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, where he held the post of Concertmaster/Soloist, Mr. Treger moved to the United States and joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1974. He became Assistant Concertmaster in 1978, and was appointed Concertmaster in 1985, a position he has held for 25 years. Mr. Treger won high praise for his numerous solo performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and at the Hollywood Bowl, under the direction of Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, Simon Rattle, Pierre Boulez, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. He has also appeared as a soloist with other major U.S. orchestras, including the San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, and Houston Symphonies. An avid chamber performer, he has collaborated in concerts with Radu Lupu, Yefim Bronfman, André Previn, Bernard Greenhouse, and Emanuel Ax. Recognized for his inspiring work with promising young musicians, he held the position of violin professor at UCLA from 1977 to 1997, and he has given master classes around the world. He is currently the Music Director of the American Youth Symphony and Music Director/Conductor at Crossroads School where he has developed a youth chamber orchestra of the highest caliber. Under his leadership, the American Youth Symphony has performed at Carnegie Hall and Walt Disney Disney Concert Hall, and received the hands-on support of world class musicians, including Yefim Branfman, Sarah Chang, Midori, Johannes Moser, Alan Silvestri, and John Williams. He has developed the orchestra into a first-class training ground for young musicians of the 21st century. |
Saxophone Vince Trombetta III comes from a very musical family. From grandfather to father, music and teaching music were always part of the household. Teaching has always been a great passion for Vince, as he loves to impart the knowledge he has learned throughout the years. Vince went to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where he earned a Bachelor of Music. Upon his return to the Los Angeles area, he began touring with Ben Vereen and the Brian Seltzer Orchestra. Vince has been an active member of the Los Angeles music community since 1995 and has worked on such live television shows as "Dancing with the Stars" and "American Idol." He has also performed with many great musical legends such as Frank Sinatra Jr., Steve Lawrence and Eddie Gorme, and Keely Smith. |
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Bassoonist Christin Phelps Webb is a freelance chamber and orchestral musician based in Los Angeles. Originally from Fairfax County, Virginia, Christin relocated to California after attending the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. She holds degrees in music performance from Indiana University and the Peabody Conservatory, where her principal teachers were Sidney Rosenberg and Linda Harwell; she also studied at the University of Southern California with Stephen Maxym and Judith Farmer. For over 25 years Christin has played with Southern California’s finest orchestras as well as logging many hours as a studio musician. As a member of the trio Ceora Winds, Christin is featured on the trio’s debut album “Postcards” and was praised for her “perfectly even fast articulations and rich even tone” by The Double Reed. She is also noted for playing bassoon and contrabassoon on the critically acclaimed album by flutist Jenni Olson, “The Dreams of Birds,” released on the Delos label. In addition to her position teaching bassoon at Pepperdine University, Christin maintains a private teaching studio in the San Fernando Valley, coaches woodwinds in local schools, and will soon publish several of her chamber music arrangements that have been performed and recorded by Ceora Winds. |
Piano Accompanist
Piano
Music History
Bassoon/Contrabassoon