PBCMF ARTIST BIOS

Sherie Aguirre, oboe, is presently Principal Oboe with the Virginia Symphony and the Virginia Opera.  She graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Music in Performance and began a Master of Music program at Northwestern University.  For the next eight years Ms. Aguirre worked outside of the United States as Principal Oboe with the Singapore Symphony, the Maracaibo Symphony in Venezuela and the Madrid Symphony in Spain.  Ms. Aguirre appears regularly as soloist with the Virginia Symphony as well as the Chamber Music series of the Virginia Waterfront International Arts Festival.  She also serves on the faculties of William and Mary College, Old Dominion University, the Governor's School for the Arts and Christopher Newport University.  Ms. Aguirre appears on three Chamber Music Palm Beach CDs on the Klavier Music Production Label.

Karen Dixon, flute, has been Principal Flute of the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra and the Palm Beach Symphony since 1989, appearing as a concerto soloist with the Symphony in 2006 and 2009.  She is also Principal Flute of Orchestra Miami and the New Philharmonic Orchestra.  She is a member of the Boca Raton Symphonia and was also a member of the Naples Philharmonic from 1989 to 1999.  In addition, Ms. Dixon has played regularly for Ballet Florida, Miami City Ballet, the Concert Association of Florida and the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra.  As a fellow with the New World Symphony, she appeared as a concerto soloist and toured South America and Europe.  She is currently Artist-in-Residence at the Bak Middle School of the Arts and was adjunct Instructor of Flute at Palm Beach Atlantic University for six years.  Both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees are from the Manhattan School of Music.  She also attended the Cleveland Institute of Music and Indiana University School of Music, where she was an Associate Instructor of Flute while pursuing a doctoral degree.  Ms. Dixon is on the Board of Directors and is a founding member of the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival, appearing on all six Chamber Music Palm Beach CDs on the Klavier Music Production label.

Michael Ellert, bassoon, studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. He is Principal Bassoon of the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, the Palm Beach Symphony, the Southwest Florida Symphony (Fort Myers), Boca Raton Symphonia and the New Philharmonic. He is a former member of the Israel Chamber Orchestra and has performed for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, New York City Opera and the New Jersey Symphony. Mr. Ellert is the Bassoon Instructor and Head of the Woodwind Department at Lynn University’s Conservatory of Music, teaches bassoon at Palm Beach Atlantic University and is an Artist-in-Residence at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts. He is on the Board of Directors and is a founding member of the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival, appearing on all six Chamber Music Palm Beach CDs on the Klavier Music Production Label.

Michael Forte, clarinet, is Principal Clarinet of the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, the Palm Beach Symphony and the Southwest Florida Symphony (Fort Myers). He is a former member of the Maracaibo Symphony in Venezuela and is a graduate of Syracuse University.  He has appeared as soloist in the concertos of Mozart and Weber with the Maracaibo Symphony, the Southwest Florida Symphony, the Palm Beach Symphony and the Palm Beach Atlantic Symphony.   Mr. Forte teaches at Palm Beach Atlantic University and is an Artist-in-Residence at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts and the Bak Middle School of the Arts. Mr. Forte is on the Board of Directors and is a founding member of the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival, appearing on all six Chamber Music Palm Beach CDs on the Klavier Music Production Label. 

Dina Kostic, violin, is a native of Belgrade, Serbia.  She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Music in Performance from Northwestern University.  Ms. Kostic was Assistant Concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and a fellow with the New World Symphony prior to winning a position with the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra.  Since the FPO closed its doors, she has performed as Concertmaster of the Orlando Philharmonic and is currently a member of the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, the Boca Raton Symphonia and is an active studio musician.  In addition, she serves as Professor of Violin at Barry University.  Ms. Kostic has been a participant in many festivals in this country and abroad and is thrilled to be in her fifth season with the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival.  She appears on four Chamber Music Palm Beach CDs on the Klavier Music Production Label.

Lisa Leonard, piano, is a native of Washington, D.C. and made her debut in 1990 with the National Symphony Orchestra. She has performed throughout Europe with orchestras including the East/West International Symphony of Germany and the International Music Festival Orchestra, with whom she recorded the Shostakovich First Piano Concerto for Hessiches Rundfunk. Ms. Leonard has also appeared as soloist in the United States, Russia and Japan where she performed with members of the Vienna Philharmonic at the Pacific Music Festival. She hasserved on the faculties of the North Carolina School of the Arts and Barry University and currently serves on the faculty of the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University. Ms. Leonard received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.  Ms. Leonard appears on one Chamber Music Palm Beach CD on the Klavier Music Production Label.

Jason Lindsay, bass, moved to the South Florida area in 1988 and since then has performed with the Florida Philharmonic, Naples Philharmonic, Jacksonville Symphony, Southwest Florida Symphony, Palm Beach Opera, Gold Coast Opera, Miami City Ballet and Ballet Florida.  He has also been a member of the Spoleto Festival Orchestra and Augusta Opera.  Mr. Lindsay earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Miami.  He appears on four Chamber Music Palm Beach CDs on the Klavier Music Production Label.

Mei Mei Luo, violin, was a member of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra for ten years, where she acted as Associate Concertmaster for two years.  Born and raised in China, Ms. Luo's early accomplishments include Second Prize in the Nations Young Violin Competition in China and Third Prize in the San Diego Youth Music Competition.  At the age of twelve she performed with the prestigious Peking Opera Company. Her first position in the United States was as an alternate in the Philadelphia Orchestra.  In 1997 Ms. Luo was selected from a worldwide group of Chinese musicians to participate in the reunification celebration of the return of Hong Kong to mainland China.  She performs on an 1803 Johannes Gagliano violin made in Naples, Italy.  Ms. Luo appears on four Chamber Music Palm Beach CDs on the Klavier Music Production Label.

Susan Moyer, cello, is a member of the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra.  She is a former member of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra where she performed for 10 years.  She studied extensively at the University of Akron, the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Miami.  Before joining the Philharmonic, she was a fellow and Principal Cello of the New World Symphony for two seasons, during which time she performed in two special chamber music collaborations with Sir Georg Solti. She has appeared all over South Florida as a member of the Dalbergi Trio.  Ms. Moyer may be heard on four Chamber Music Palm Beach CDs on the Klavier Music Production Label.

Rene Reder, viola, was born and raised in Tacoma, WA, where she attended the University of Puget Sound, earning her Bachelor of Music degree.  She received her Master of Music degree and Performance Diploma from Temple University in Philadelphia.  Ms. Reder has been a fellow with the New World Symphony and a member of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, the Virginia Symphony in Norfolk, and is currently a member of the Alabama Symphony in Birmingham.  She appears on three Chamber Music Palm Beach CDs on the Klavier Music Production Label. 

GUEST ARTISTS

Amy Bookspan, horn, a graduate of the Harid Conservatory, is a member of the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, Palm Beach Symphony and the Atlantic Classical Orchestra.  Formerly with the Portland Symphony, Portland Woodwind Quintet and the Maine State Ballet Orchestra, she currently performs and teaches throughout South Florida.  In addition, Ms. Bookspan serves as Principal Horn/Soloist with the Miami Bach Society.

Dione Chandler, oboe, is Principal Oboe of the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra.  She is also a member of the Palm Beach Symphony and regularly performs with the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra.  In addition, she has appeared with Miami City Ballet, Florida Grand Opera, the Orlando Philharmonic, the Naples Philharmonic and the Boca Raton Symphonia.  Ms. Chandler is a graduate of Rice University and the University of Southern California with her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music, respectively.  Her principal teachers are Robert Atherholt, John deLancie, Sandra Gerster, Eric Ohlsson and Allan Vogel.  Ms. Chandler has also attended the Aspen Music Festival, Banff Chamber Music Festival and the AIMS Festival in Graz, Austria.  She teaches oboe at Florida International University, in several Broward County public schools and maintains a private oboe studio. For the past three years she has served as oboe clinician at the Ramblewood Band Camp.  An active member of the South Florida Musicians Association (AFM, Local 655), she serves as Vice-President and Music Performance Trust Fund Administrator.

Matthew Corey, bassoon, earned both his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees at the University of Miami.   A versatile musician, he regularly performs with touring Broadway shows, local classical ensembles, and also works as a sound designer/composer for many of South Florida’s most prestigious dramatic theaters.  As a chamber musician, Mr. Corey has performed in a variety of ensembles in the area as well as in the Grand Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Tennessee and Colorado. 

Rebecca Diderrich, viola,  was born in London ON Canada, Mrs. Diderrich completed two ARCT performance diplomas with the Royal Conservatory of Toronto as a pianist and violinist at the ages of 18 and 19.  In 2004 she finished a Bachelor of Music Performance degree at the University of Toronto where she studied the violin with Lorand Fenyves.  After deciding that her true musical love was the viola, she began playing with the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra in 2005 and has been playing with that orchestra ever since. Mrs Diderrich performs with many other ensembles in South Florida including the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, the Florida Grand Opera and the 2009-2010 season will be her first year as Principal Violist of the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra.  She is very excited to be returning as a guest performer with the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival this summer.  Mrs. Diderrich is currently completing a Professional Performance Certificate at Lynn University on a full scholarship with Ralph Fielding. 

Scott Ellington, clarinet, is a member of the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, Palm Beach Symphony and Southwest Florida Symphony.  He studied with Stanley Hasty at the Eastman School of Music, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree in 1982.  He was also awarded the Performer's Certificate and while at Eastman was involved in numerous tours.  Mr. Ellington played Principal Clarinet on an Eastman Wind Ensemble commercial recording.  He attended the Aspen Music Festival on a full scholarship and has also held the position of Associate Instructor of Clarinet at the Indiana University School of Music. 

Christopher Glansdorp, cello, is Principal Cello with the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, the Palm Beach Symphony and the Boca Raton Symphonia.  He also performs regularly with the Southwest Florida Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and appears with many touring productions of Broadway Across America.  He received degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Akron and was a fellow with the New World Symphony as Co-Principal Cello.  Mr. Glansdorp has also performed with the Akron Symphony, the Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Florida Philharmonic.   

Kay Kemper, harp, has performed extensively throughout the United States and abroad.  A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, her teachers include Jon Ceo, Lucile Lawrence and Alice Chalifoux.  Ms. Kemper has appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops, the Atlanta Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony and the Orquestra Filarmonica de Caracas in Venezuela.  As an active free-lance musician since 1989, Ms. Kemper performs regularly with the Palm Beach Opera, the Palm Beach Pops and the Southwest Florida Symphony in Fort Myers, as well as various private functions in the area.  Ms. Kemper appears on one of the Chamber Music Palm Beach CDs on the Klavier Music Production label.

Marc Reese, trumpet, joined the Empire Brass in 1996.  Mr. Reese maintains a busy schedule as a chamber musician, soloist and master clinician touring extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and the Far East.  He is also highly regarded as an orchestral musician having been engaged to perform with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and Boston Symphony Orchestra.  As an educator, Mr. Reese serves as Assistant Dean and Head of the Brass Department for Lynn University’s Conservatory of Music.  He is currently the contributing editor of the International Trumpet Guild Journal’s Chamber Connection column.  In addition to recording for Telarc with the Empire Brass, Mr. Reese has recorded for Sony with the Boston Pops and has been featured on the Naxos label with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.  As a young man Mr. Reese attended the Tanglewood Institute and Juilliard School and went on to receive his B.M. from Boston University and M.M. from the New England Conservatory.  

Brian Stanley, trumpet, is currently Trumpet Instructor at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and Broward Community College. He performs with the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, Palm Beach Symphony, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and the IRIS Chamber Orchestra in Memphis. He was a member of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra and the Florida Grand Opera Orchestra for eighteen seasons and performs throughout South Florida as a leading soloist, chamber and commercial musician. He has recorded on the Harmonia Mundi, Naxos and Klavier labels featuring music of Mahler, Walton and Bernstein. In addition, Stanley has served as an adjudicator for the National Foundation for the Advancement in Arts.  Mr. Stanley appears on one of the Chamber Music Palm Beach CDs on the Klavier Music Production label.

John Thevenet, bass trombone, born in Dallas, Texas, graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana with a Bachelor of Music Performance degree.  After graduation Mr. Thevenet returned to Dallas where he taught privately in the Richardson Independent School District and was Principal Bass Trombone of the East Texas Symphony in Tyler, Texas.  In 1997 Mr. Thevenet joined the New World Symphony in Miami Beach where he remained for four seasons.  During his tenure with the New World Symphony John attended several music festivals including the Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts, the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. He has performed on CD’s with the Avatar Brass Ensemble and the New World Symphony.  He now resides in Naples, Florida and is the Bass Trombonist of the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ellen Tomasiewicz, horn, earned a B.M. degree from Princeton University and a M.M. degree from the Manhattan School of Music.  She is currently Principal Horn of the Naples Philharmonic and formerly performed as Principal Horn for the Nova Filharmonia Portuguese in Lisbon, Portugal.  Chamber music experience includes the Manhattan Wind Quintet of New York.  She has participated in summer festivals at Tanglewood, Los Angeles, Sarasota (New College), Yale University and Aspen.  Ms. Tomasiewicz has been featured as soloist on recordings in Portugal and for CBS in the United States.  Her most recent recording is a CD of premieres and commissions entitled When Angels Speak with the Manhattan Wind Quintet on the Albany Records label.

Fernando Traba, bassoon, a native of Mexico City, Mexico is Principal Bassoonist of the Sarasota Orchestra.  He began his musical studies with his father at the age of six. At 22, he received the National Youth Award for musical excellence given by the President of Mexico. Mr. Traba has served as Principal Bassoon with all five major orchestras in Mexico City, as well as the Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias in Oviedo, Spain and the National Opera Orchestra in Lisbon, Portugal. He has performed many of the major bassoon concertos with orchestras in Mexico, Europe and the United States and in 1995 was heard as soloist on a Sarasota Orchestra Masterworks concert series. In 2003 Mr. Traba served, alongside Principal musicians from major orchestras across the U.S. and Europe, on the faculty of Instrumenta, an internationally renowned chamber music festival held in Puebla, Mexico.  Mr. Traba holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Cleveland Institute of Music and has done postgraduate work at the Juilliard School.  In addition to his orchestral duties, he has a private bassoon studio in Sarasota, serves on the faculty of Florida Southern College in Lakeland and has edited and provided the Spanish language translation for the 2nd edition of Bassoon Reed Making: Basic Technique by Christopher Weait.

Kyle Wilbert, horn, is a native of Sparta, New Jersey. He recently completed a three-year fellowship as a member of the New World Symphony. In addition to performances with the New World Symphony, he has performed with numerous ensembles around South Florida including the Firebird Chamber Orchestra. Kyle attended Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA) where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Horn Performance. He has participated in numerous summer festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, Music Academy of the West, Sarasota Music Festival, and the Kent-Blossom Music Festival.

Michael Zion, trombone, received a B.M. Education degree from Indiana University and a M.M. degree in Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music.  He is a member of the Naples Philharmonic Brass Quintet, which received first prize at the Summit Brass International Music Competition and second prize at the Narbonne, France International Brass Quintet Competition.  He performed as principal trombone with the Cincinnati Pops orchestra on a tour of Japan and Taiwan.  Zion has also performed with many other orchestras and ensembles including the Summit Brass Ensemble, Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, Boston Pops, Boston Esplanade Pops, Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New Hampshire Symphony.

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