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PROJECT STEP FACULTY
Jason Amos, viola
Jason Amos began the viola at age eleven in his hometown of Southfield, MI. He placed 4th in the 2007 Sphinx Competition and 1st in the 2006 Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Bradlin Scholarship Concerto Competition. He has also performed as the featured young artist of the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings and as soloist with the Ann Arbor Symphony. After undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, Mr. Amos received a Graduate Diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music. During the summers, he has enjoyed serving as faculty for the Sphinx Performance Academy and the Four Strings Academy (Lexington, MA), as well as mentoring the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Jason studied primarily with Martha Strongin Katz, Yizhak Schotten, Caroline Coade, and Catherine Carroll. Mr. Amos completed the Fellowship program at Community MusicWorks in Providence, RI. In addition to viola, Jason enjoys singing and directs a young men’s choir (“The Fellas“) as part of the Boston City Singers. Jason serves as violist in the Boston Public Quartet, which has a permanent residency at the Chittick Elementary School in Mattapan, MA.
Javier Caballero, cello and chamber music
Cellist Javier R. Caballero, born in Puerto Rico, received his Master’s Degree as a student of Rhonda Rider at the Boston Conservatory, where he won the 2005 String Department Honors Competition. Previously, he received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of South Florida under Scott Kluksdahl. A versatile freelancer, he has performed with Diana Ross and the Supremes, musical theater shows at Boston Lyric Stage, early music with Concerto Antico (Boston) and Florida Pro Musica (Tampa) and recorded several albums with Middle Eastern, New Age, Balkan and Indie Rock groups. Mr. Caballero toured China with the Tim Janis Ensemble and was featured on the TV stations PBS and QVC. He also regularly travels to Palestine and Israel as part of the Baroque Festival organized by the Al Kamandjati Music Center.
Lucy Chapman, violin
Violinist Lucy Chapman is chair of New England Conservatory’s strings studio faculty. She has performed throughout the USA, Europe, Korea and Japan. She has held positions as acting associate concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony and first violin of the Muir String Quartet, and won a Grammy nomination for her recording with clarinetist Richard Stoltzman and pianist Richard Goode. Recent performances include the Mozart Sinfonie Concertante with violist Kim Kashkashian, an all-Mozart concert in New York with pianist Robert Levin, frequent guest appearances with the Boston Chamber Music Society, and return visits to the Busan Festival in Korea and the Marlboro Music Festival. Chapman is a former faculty member of the University of California/Santa Cruz, Boston and Harvard Universities. During the past eight summers she has been on the faculty of Kneisel Hall in Blue Hill, Maine. She is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Arnold Steinhardt of the Guarneri Quartet; other principal teachers include Dorothy Delay and Marc Gottlieb.
Andrew Goodridge, music theory
Mr. Goodridge accompanies regularly in the violin studio of Roman Totenberg and many other prestigious studios and was formerly the official accompanist for Project STEP. Mr. Goodridge is active as a teacher, lecturer, and writer. He teaches piano and coaches chamber music at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, the Powers Music School, and the Lexington Music School, and has taught music history at the New England Conservatory. Mr. Goodridge received an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Harvard University (B.A., 1993, cum laude), and a Masters degree in Piano Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music (M.M., 1995), as a student of Patricia Zander. He holds a doctorate in Collaborative Piano (accompanying) from NEC.
Mariana Green-Hill, violin and chamber music
Mariana Green-Hill was named Project STEP’s Artistic Director in the Spring of 2008. Ms. Green is an alumna of Project STEP and was a First Place winner in the Boston Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition (1996) and the Harry and Marion Dubbs Competition. As a member of the Amaryllis Quartet, they won the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. She has performed with numerous symphony orchestras and with renowned musicians. She earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees from the Juilliard School and a Professional Studies Diploma from the Mannes College of Music.
Janet Packer, violin
B.A. with honors, Phi Beta Kappa, Wellesley College; M.A., Brandeis University. Violin with Millard Taylor, Broadus Erle, George Neikrug. Chamber music with Gyorgy Sebok, Sander Vegh, Guarneri String Quartet. Soloist with Warsaw Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Panama, Boston Pops, and Rochester Philharmonic. Recitals throughout the U.S. and Europe. Commissioned and premiered works for violin and piano by Vagn Holmboe, Edwin London, Mary Mageau, and Gardner Read; for solo violin by Andrew Imbrie and Ezra Sims; and for violin and orchestra by Vittorio Rieti and William Thomas McKinley. President: Pro Violino Foundation. Recordings: Centaur, CRI, Northeastern, Opus One. Chair – Longy School of Music Strings Department.
Michael Reynolds, cello
Cellist Michael Reynolds teaches at Boston University and has been the cellist of the renowned Muir String Quartet since its inception in 1979 winning first prize at the Evian Competition (1980), the 1981 Naumburg Award, the Gramophone Award (1987), a Grammy (1995), and an internationally acclaimed PBS broadcast, "In Performance at The White House" for President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan. A native of Montana, he attended the Curtis Institute of Music, where he was a student of David Soyer and Martita Casals, continuing with Karen Tuttle and George Neikrug and studies at Yale University. He is also co-founder and Artistic Director of Classics for Kids Foundation, which offers matching grants for quality student instruments and inspirational mentoring to strings programs around America, and he directs the Muir Quartet’s Emerging Quartets and Composers program in Park City, Utah. He also is Artistic Director of Bay Chamber Concerts’ Fall Foliage Weekend, a yearly gathering of amateur musicians in Rockport, Maine. Mr. Reynolds has also served on the faculties of New England Conservatory, Rutgers University, the University of Utah, and UC Santa Cruz. He received an honorary doctorate from Rhode Island College in 1995. In his spare time he is an avid flyfisherman and outdoorsman. His most recent appointment is as Artistic Director of the Fredericksburg Festival of the Arts.
Magdalena Richter, violin
Originally from Poland, Magdalena Richter has appeared as a soloist with the Warsaw and Cracow Philharmonic and in the US with the Boston Pops, Cape Ann Symphony, the Nashua Philharmonic and Symphony by the Sea among others. She studied first at the Academy of Music in Warsaw, where she earned her diploma with highest honors and joined the faculty. She continued her studies in the US at Boston University and Longy with Roman Totenberg. Ms. Richter holds her Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where she was a scholarship student of Dorothy Delay. Ms. Richter is also a very devoted teacher and serves as the Chair of the New England Conservatory Preparatory School String Department and the Rivers School Conservatory String Department. In May 2009 she was awarded the prestigious Jean Stackhouse Award for Excellence in Teaching at NEC Preparatory School. She is also the Director of the Rivers School Chamber Orchestra.
Aristides Rivas, cello
Cellist Aristides Rivas made his solo debut at age fourteen with Los Llanos Chamber Orchestra in Guannare, Venezuela, where he became the Associate Principal Cellist the following day by audition. His musical training began at age seven when he started to learn the cuatro, one of the most representative folk instruments in Venezuela. At age ten, Mr. Rivas joined the Barinas city wing of the internationally known Venezuela National Youth Orchestra Program, a musical-social project created by the visionary Jose Antonio Abreu in the 1970’s. Mr. Rivas has been a member of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra since 2005.
William Rounds, cello
William Rounds has been a member of the Portland Symphony Orchestra since 1988, as well as being an active soloist and chamber musician in the Boston area. He is a native of Rapid City, S.D., and came to New England to study with George Neikrug at Boston University where he received his M.M. and was the winner of that school's Concerto Competition. As a former member of the Artaria String Quartet, he has performed and taught throughout the Eastern United States and toured Germany. He also concertized throughout the Orient as assistant principal cellist with the National Repertory Orchestra. He is a member of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and plays frequently with the Boston's Symphony. William Rounds teaches applied cello, and has also taught Strings at University of Southern Maine.
Dubravka Sajfar, viola
Graduate, Zagreb University and Brussels Royal Conservatory; Diplome Superieur for violin and Premier Prix for Chamber Music; studies with K. Hauser, I. Pinkava, A. Gerller, Yankelewitch, and Chugajewa; masterclasses in Budapest, Weimar, Salzburg, Goslar; solo and chamber music performances in Europe and U.S.; faculty, New England Conservatory; TV and radio recordings; member Duo Affetuoso.
Joung Hoon Song, violin
Joung Hoon Song, after winning the Seoul Philharmonic Concerto Soloist Competition, made his debut with the orchestra at the age of 15. His concerts as a soloist with orchestras include appearances with the Budapest Radio Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Korean Symphony Orchestra, and the Aspen Baroque Chamber Orchestra. His major recitals and chamber music appearances have been in Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Michael C. Paul Hall at Lincoln Center. Dr. Song has also been a featured artist on Classical Music, the CBS radio program in New York. In 1987, Song entered the Pre-college Division at The Juilliard School and received his Bachelor’s degree from Juilliard, where he studied with Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, and assisted Eugene Becker. He completed his Master of Music and Artist Diploma degrees in 1996 at Yale University on a full scholarship. Most recently, Song completed two Doctorate degrees (D.M.A) in violin and viola at Boston University. Song currently serves as Conductor for the Preparatory String Orchestra as well as faculty member of at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. B.M. (The Juilliard School), M.M. and Artist Diploma (Yale University), D.M.A violin and viola (Boston University)
Helen Stevenson, double bass
B.M. (New Zealand); post-graduate study, Sydney Conservatorium; member, Australian Broadcasting Commission Orchestras; extensive teaching and performing in the Boston area; faculty, Powers Music School, Intensive Community Program of the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra; frequent clinician at U.S. and international bass conventions; author of the American Colourstrings Double Bass books.
Miyuki Tsurutani, keyboard and music theory
M. M., Osaka College of Music. Harpsichord with Hiroko Motooka, recorder with Toru Kamiya, piano with Toshiko Tamura. Performances in Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Italy, France, and Germany and in the US at the University of Hawaii, the University of California, Tulane University (New Orleans), the Killington Vermont Shakespeare Festival, and the Boston Christmas Revels. Faculty: Project STEP, New England Conservatory of Music Preparatory School, and the Cambridge, Massachusetts Public Schools.
Ashley Vandiver, violin and chamber music
Ms. Vandiver has served as Principal Second Violin of the UBS Verbier Orchestra under the direction of Maestro James Levine and has also performed with the Schleswig Holstein Festival Orchestra, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Chamber Orchestra, Fifth Tier New Music Ensemble, Boston Philharmonic and the Resident Orchestra of The Hague. She is currently on the faculty at Wellesley College. She made her professional solo debut with the Fort Bend Symphony in her native Texas at the age of 16. A first-prize winner in the Juanita Miller Strings Competition and the Houston Young Artist Competition, she subsequently was featured on PBS and as a recitalist at Rice University. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, she then went on to receive her M.M. degree from the Royal Conservatory in the Netherlands. Principal teachers include James Buswell, Vera Beths, Kennith Goldsmith and Laura Bossert. Ms. Vandiver has coached chamber music extensively with Paul Katz, Lucy Chapman, Pamela Frank, Anner Bylsma, and members of the St. Lawrence, Mendelssohn, Miami, St. Petersburg, and the Juilliard String quartets.
Emileigh Vandiver, cello and chamber music
Cellist Emileigh Vandiver performed in Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts by age 10 and by age 12 performed as a regular recitalist on the Houston Young Artists Concert series. As a member of the Camerata String Quartet she was awarded 1st prize at the Southern Methodist University’s Chamber Music International competition. She has also performed with dancer Savion Glover and singers Charlotte Church and Gloria Estefan. As soloist, she has performed with the New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, the Virtuosi of Houston Chamber Orchestra, and the Houston Civic Symphony Orchestra. She holds her Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music where she is currently completing her Master’s degree under Natasha Brofsky. Her former teachers are Christopher French and Ann Victor. She maintains a private studio in Jamaica Plain with her student's ages ranging from 5-65. She is currently learning Spanish. On weekends she is often found in the kitchen cooking Tex-Mex with her sisters and friends.
Sophie Vilker, violin
Ms. Vilker graduated from the Gnesin Academy of Music in Moscow, where her principal teachers were Yuri Yurovetsky and Gregory Gamburg. In 1972, she emigrated to Israel where she was a member of the Israeli Chamber Orchestra and collaborated with such artists as Shlomo Mintz, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Isaac Stern. Shortly after coming to the United Sates in 1974, Ms. Vilker was a soloist with the Boston Pops under direction of Arthur Fiedler. Since that time she has performed recitals and conducted masterclasses and workshops throughout the world. Sophie spent ten magical summers on the faculty at Greenwood Music Camp in Cummington, Massachusetts, as a chamber music teacher and, for the last three years, as conductor of the chamber orchestra. For fifteen years she was on the summer faculty of the International Music Camp in Liminka, Finland. Ms. Vilker served for seven years on the Chamber Music Faculty of Harvard University and for eight years as Chair of the String Department at the Longy School of Music. She is presently on the faculty of Longy School of Music, Atlantic Union College, and the Preparatory Division of New England Conservatory.
Michael Zaretsky, violin
Born in the former Soviet Union, violist Michael Zaretsky graduated from the Moscow State Conservatory cum laude. He began his career as a member of the Moscow Philharmonic String Quartet and the Moscow Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra. In 1972, he immigrated to Israel and became principal viola of the Jerusalem Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra and a soloist of Radio Israel. The following year he played for Leonard Bernstein, who brought him to Tanglewood, where he successfully auditioned for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Besides being a member of the BSO for the past thirty-three years, Mr. Zaretsky regularly plays solo recitals and chamber music. A faculty member at Boston University and the Longy School of Music, he regularly performs in Israel, Japan, and Mexico.
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