CICA Summer Music Festival
And School
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Past Faculty and Guest Artists Information
Note: (Information is still being added. Please keep checking back for more updated information.)
Program director:
Thomas Chun-yu Chen
Violin Faculty:
Dr. Gregory Maytan
Alla Aranovskaya
Dr. Felix Olschofka
Thomas Chun-yu Chen
Alexander Gilman
Dr. Christopher Thompson
Dr. Shih-peng Chang
Aisha Syed Castro
Evgeny Zvonnikov
Julia Bushkova
Lino Megni
Daniella Sangali
Ronda Cole
Viola Faculty:
Dr. Marshell Fine,
Dr. Matthew McBride-Daline,
Dr. Ellen Rose
Cello Faculty:
Fausto Solci
Angelina Marie
Shukaev Leonid
Winds Faculty:
September Payne (flute)
Dr. Julee Walker (flute)
Brass Faculty:
Dr. Tony Baker (TB)
Dr. Brian Walker (TP)
Dr. Kevin Young
Piano Faculty:
Arthur Hart
Dr. Le Kang
Dr. Mei Zhu
Voice Faculty:
Ceryl Coleman
Violin Faculty
Boris Vayner
Vayner joined the faculty of the University of Kansas School of Music in August 2017. Prior to this, he served as an adjunct faculty and a member of the quartet-in-residence at the Wichita State University. Several of his students went on to win concerto area competitions, as well as local and national chamber music competitions. He also served as a sabbatical replacement for the viola professor and the director of the Luther College Philharmonia at the Luther College, Decorah, for the spring semester 2013. Vayner gave master classes at many educational institutions in the U.S. and around the world, including San Francisco Conservatory, University of Toronto (Canada), Groton School, Stephen F. Austin State University, and Colima University (Mexico). He has been on faculty at many international summer festivals, including St. Petersburg International Summer Academy, Montecito Music Festival, Musica Mundi Festival, and Alion Baltic International Music Festival. Vayner also teaches viola and violin lessons at the Kansas City School of Music.
Aisha Castro
Described by the press in three continents as a “virtuoso” (Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania, Frankfurt Neue Presse in Germany, Time Out Magazine and The National in the UAE, Lokal-Nachrichten in Bern, Switzerland), a “deeply gifted artist” (Ft. Lauderdale Connex in Florida) and “one of the youngest and most talented ambassadors of the violin in the world” (Live Out Loud Magazine in Los Angeles, California) Aisha became the first latina to attend the child prodigy Yehudi Menuhin School in England where she also studied at the Royal College of Music with a full scholarship by the Soirée d’Or committee.
She has performed all around the world as a soloist in places such as the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, the Palace of the Grand Dukes in Vilnius, the Palacio de Linares in Madrid, the Fontainebleau Palace in Fontainebleau, the National Philharmonic Hall in Vilnius, the headquarters of the Organization of American States in Washington DC, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Kauffman Hall in New York, the Clairmont Hall in Tel‐Aviv, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Florida, the Yehudi Menuhin Forum in Bern, the Barocksaal in Vienna among many other halls. She has also performed as a soloist in many festivals including the Abu Dhabi Music Festival, the Banstead Arts Festival, the Leamington Hastings festival, the Yehudi Menuhin International Music Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland, the Santo Domingo Music Festival, the Gaida Contemporary Music Festival (where she gave the world premiere of the Alguirdas Martinaitits violin concerto, dedicated to her, at the National Philharmonic Hall with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra in Vilnius), at the CICA International Music Festival in Texas and at the Fontainebleau Summer Music Festival by personal invitation of its Artistic Director Phillipe Entremont.
Viola Faculty
Lech Antonio Uszynski
Lech Antonio Uszynski has emerged as one of the most promising violists of his generation. He is an exceptionally dedicated and gifted performer whose passionate artistry has been heard and embraced around the world. Chamber music is an important element of his work and life. Lech Antonio is the violist of the Stradivari Quartet which successfully performs on major stages around the globe (such as Kioi Hall Tokyo, Wigmore Hall London and NCPA Beijing). 2010 he founded the "Duo Cremona" with the young pianist Andriy Dragan, which is prizewinner of the ORPHEUS competition 2011. Lech Antonio has performed with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra, Bron Chamber Orchestra, Aukso Chamber Orchestra and the Eureka Springs Symphonic Orchestra. In January 2011, he went on a European Tour with the Young Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Maestro Mark Mast. The highlights of his upcoming concert appearances include a Germany tour in January 2013, where he will perform at major concert halls with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bonn. Along with numerous recitals and chamber music concerts, he will also be on tour in the seasons 12/13 with the Stradivari Quartet in Japan, China and the US. In October 2012 the Duo Cremona will hold their recital tour in the Ukraine.... (Click for more info)
Marshell Fine --- Dr. Maeshell Fine: Wonderful composer, conductor and violist. He is a great and kind person, good friend, and a loving teacher. He has inspired many teachers and students. He passed away due to an car accident. We will miss him and always remember him.
Asst. Principal, Memphis Symphony
Marshall Fine, (b. 1956 in Cleveland, Ohio) is the son, student, and colleague of Burton Fine, former Principal Violist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (with whom he began violin studies in 1963). He continued his studies in viola, composition, and conducting, receiving his DMA in 1990 from the University of Memphis. His other teachers include Julian Olevsky, Francis Bundra, Judith Nelson, composer Donald Freund, and conductor Alan Balter. He is Assistant Principal Violist of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, a charter member of IRIS Orchestra on both viola and violin, and has served as principal viola of the Savannah Symphony and Dallas Opera orchestras. In 1995 he was named Memphis Composer of the Year.
Boris Vayner
Vayner joined the faculty of the University of Kansas School of Music in August 2017. Prior to this, he served as an adjunct faculty and a member of the quartet-in-residence at the Wichita State University. Several of his students went on to win concerto area competitions, as well as local and national chamber music competitions. He also served as a sabbatical replacement for the viola professor and the director of the Luther College Philharmonia at the Luther College, Decorah, for the spring semester 2013. Vayner gave master classes at many educational institutions in the U.S. and around the world, including San Francisco Conservatory, University of Toronto (Canada), Groton School, Stephen F. Austin State University, and Colima University (Mexico). He has been on faculty at many international summer festivals, including St. Petersburg International Summer Academy, Montecito Music Festival, Musica Mundi Festival, and Alion Baltic International Music Festival. Vayner also teaches viola and violin lessons at the Kansas City School of Music.
Cello Faculty
Sara Sant' Ambrogio
Grammy Award-winning cellist Sara Sant'Ambrogio first leapt to international attention when she was a winner at the Eighth International Tchaikovsky Violoncello Competition in Moscow, Russia. As a result of her medal, Carnegie Hall invited Ms. Sant'Ambrogio to perform a recital that was filmed by CBS News as part of a profile about her, which was televised nationally. The New York Times described Ms. Sant'Ambrogio's New York debut as "sheer pleasure." Ms. Sant'Ambrogio has appeared as a soloist with such orchestras as Atlanta, the Beijing Philharmonic, Boston Pops, Budapest, Chicago, Dallas, Moscow State Philharmonic, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Osaka Century Orchestra (Japan), St. Louis, San Francisco and Seattle; she has performed throughout the world at major music centers ... (click for more info)
Dr. Carlton McCreery
Carlton McCreery, Professor of Cello, is a native of Toledo, Ohio and began studying cello with his brother while in the fourth grade. In high school, he served a principal cellist and soloist with the Toledo Youth Orchestra. Later, at Bowling Green State University, he studied with Peter Howard (Principal Cellist of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra). Following his undergraduate degree, Mr. McCreery was appointed Associate Principal Cellist of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. He studied in Zurich, Switzerland with Gregor Piatigorsky and at the Mozarteum Academy in Salzburg, Austria with Antonio Janigro. At the University of Michigan, he studied with Oliver Edell and conducting with Elizabeth A.H. Green. He had further cello study with such noted artists as Zara Nelsova and Lynn Harrell.
His first academic appointment was at the age of 23 at Pittsburg State University, where he was a member of the Resident String Quartet. He also served as a Professor at Southwest Missouri State University and the Lawrence Conservatory of Music. In addition to performing with the internationally acclaimed Cadek Trio, Mr. McCreery serves as Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Alabama. .... (click for more info)
Dr. Simona Barbu
An astounding international cellist and educator, Simona Barbu, began her musical studies at age seven and gained public attention as a member of the leading string quartet of the Conservatory of Timisoara in her native Romania, where she made her solo debut in Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme with the conservatory’s symphonic orchestra. She has traveled in Europe, Asia, and the United States as a soloist, a chamber musician, clinician, and most recently she held residencies at conservatories and universities in China in the cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Ms. Barbu has also been an active orchestra musician, performing in the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra, Bismarck Symphony Orchestra, and serving as principal with both the Eroica Ensemble in Memphis and the Starkville Symphony Orchestra in Mississippi.Dr. Barbu graduated as the Music Conservatory valedictorian from Lynn University in Florida, continuing her studies in the master of music in cello performance program at Southern Methodist University under the tutelage of Nathaniel Rosen and Christopher Adkins. Subsequently, ...
Piano Faculty
Andrey Ponochevny
Andrey Ponochevny is a prize-winning pianist born in Minsk, Belarus on December 31, 1976. He graduated at the Belarussian State Academy of Music in 2001, and soon afterward was awarded the Bronze Medal at the XIII Tchaikovsky competition. In addition to his success in Moscow, Mr. Ponochevny has won many top prizes, including First Prize at the “Tomassoni International Piano Competition in Cologne”, Germany (1996) and the First Prize at the “William Kapell International Piano Competition in Maryland”, USA (1998). His other competition accolades include top prizes in Prague, Warsaw (Chopin), Dublin (AXA), Moscow, Hong Kong, Riga (Latvia), Alexandria and New Orleans (Louisiana). Since then, he has toured extensively in the United States (in 24 states). He has performed solo recitals at major venues such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City; Kennedy Center and Phillips Collection in Washington, DC; Preston Bradley Hall in Chicago and Cleveland Institute of Music. Mr. Ponochevny has appeared with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Des Moines Symphony, Rogue Valley Symphony and the Illinois Symphony, Nashua Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, Irving Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Plano Symphony, Tianjin Symphony, Xinjiang Philharmonic, Orchester der Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele and Belarusian State Symphony among others..... (click for more info)....
Arthur Hart
Arthur Hart, graduate of the Juilliard School of Music and the Vienna Music Academy, has won numerous top prizes at international piano competitions. These have included the Juilliard Gina Bachauer Prize, the American Chopin Competition, the Maria Callas Prize in Greece, the Claude Kahn European Piano Award in Paris, and many others. On his debut at the Newport Music Festival, the New York Times noted him as, "unquestionably a name to watch for." His marathon concert series' have included the Thirty-Two Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Bach's Complete Well-Tempered Clavier, and the Liszt Piano Transcriptions of Beethoven's Nine Symphonies. An avid interpreter of contemporary music, he was awarded First Prize at the Vienna Music Academy's Twentieth-Century Piano Music Competition. Also active as a composer throughout his career, he was given the Alban Berg Composition Award during his studies in Vienna. He has held positions as Educational Music Director with Opera Carolina, and Artist-in-Residence for the St. Louis City Museum, and the International Piano Guild in West Palm Beach. Presently an accompanist at the University of Memphis, he has just released a CD named "One on One with Chopin", and continues to compose....
Nariaki Sugiura
"Most Sensitive Touch on the Piano”, “Rigueur, Passion and Discipline of an Old Samurai” music critics raved about his solo performance in Europe. International concert pianist Nariaki Sugiura continually gives recitals and concerto performances in U.S., Europe and Asia. His performance was featured at the prestigious concert halls including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Shenzhen Concert Hall and Central Music Conservatory Concert Hall (China), Ferenc Liszt Music Academy Recital Hall (Hungary), Daejeon Arts and Cultural Center Hall (South Korea), Manoel Theater (Malta), Kioi Hall (Japan), Museo de Arte (Puerto Rico). As a collaborator, his performance with cellist Emilio Colón has won great acclaims on their recital tours in Europe, Asia and US. In their European concert tour, the music critics wrote “A Formidable Performing Duo”. He has also performed with top-class musicians including Laszlo Varga (NY Philharmonic Principal Cellist), Csaba Onczay (Liszt Academy cello professor), Federico Agostini (I Musici principal violin), Anastasia Khitruk, Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio (San Antonio Symphony concert master), Fabio Sampó (RAI National Symphony of Torino, Italy Principal Trombone), and Thomas Robertello (National Symphony Orchestra Principal Flute). Devoted in teaching, Nariaki has emerged to be one of the leading piano pedagogues of his generation....
Winds Faculty
Julee Kim Walker - (flute faculty)
Flutist Julee Kim Walker remains an active performer and pedagogue in the DFW and Texoma regions. She is the newly appointed Instructor of Flute at Texas A&M University - Commerce starting Fall 2012. Prior to her appointment, she held teaching positions at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Grayson County College, Eastfield College, and the University of North Texas as a Teaching Fellow. Dr. Walker received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin and her Master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She recently completed the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at the University of North Texas. Dr. Walker has served on the Board of Directors in the Texas Flute Society and the Oklahoma Flute Society, and is the Director of the 3rd Annual Texas Summer Flute Symposium.As a versatile chamber musician, she has performed and recorded with the jazz chamber group, Evan Weiss Project, and with the rock band Oso Closo. Julee has also performed and recorded with the North Texas Wind Symphony under Eugene Corporon, where she can be heard on the Klavier Wind Project, GIA WindWorks and the “Teaching Music through Performance in Band” series from 2005-2009. She appeared as soloist with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra in 2006, and has performed at the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles conventions.
More info is being updated, please keep checking back!