UWO Performers

Joyce Andrews, Soprano, has enjoyed a versatile career in opera, concert, recital and chamber music both in the United States and Europe. Her national credits include such prestigious organizations as The New York City Opera Company, The New Jersey Symphony, Hawaii Opera Theatre, and Chautauqua Opera Company and she is a former national finalist in the Chicago Lyric Opera auditions. Her CD entitled "Emily Dickinson Songs" released by Capstone Records has received such critical praise as: "The Sound flows easily and powerfully in every register and almost never sounds pushed or strident...she is an exceptionally musical singer and her technical poise never deserts her even in the most turbulent songs. (Journal of Singing).. Andrews blends performance with scholarship and her research has been published in The Journal of Singing, Women of Note, College Music Society Symposium, and Women in Music. She also frequently presents at national and international conferences. Andrews was awarded a 2006 Research Fellowship at the Center for Black Music at Columbia College, Chicago and in 2005 she received the Distinguished Teaching Award from UW Oshkosh.

Pianist Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi, a native of Canada, has been engaged in an active and diverse musical career from an early age. An avid performer of repertoire ranging from the renaissance era to the present, her keen interest in new music has led to the commission, premiere, and performance of many new works, both solo and collaborative, which have been featured on live radio broadcasts and on recordings on the Capstone Records label. The recipient of numerous awards, scholarships, and grants, Astolfi's studies and performances have taken her throughout Canada, Italy, and the United States. She holds advanced degrees in piano performance from the University of Alberta, McGill University, and the University of Minnesota where she completed doctoral studies under pianist, Lydia Artymiw. Currently on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, she previously taught at Henderson State University where she received the Outstanding New Faculty Award.

Bruce Atwell, Horn, has performed throughout the United States and Europe as an orchestral musician and soloist. An Associate Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Dr. Atwell maintains a busy teaching and performance schedule, with Principal Horn positions with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, the Green Bay Symphony, the Fox Valley Symphony, and the Oshkosh Symphony. He has performed with the Florida Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, as Acting Fourth Horn with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and with numerous orchestras throughout the United States. Dr. Atwell has appeared as soloist with the Fox Valley Symphony, the Oshkosh Symphony, and in May of this year with the St. Petersburg (Russia) Chamber Philharmonic.

Klara Fenyö Bahcall, Violin, was born in Budapest, Hungary and graduated from the Budapest Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where she studied with Prof.Sznyitkovszkij. She won a two-year full scholarship for postgraduate studies to the Banff Arts Centre, Canada, where she studied with numerous world-known artists and teachers. Ms.Bahcall was first place winner at the Hungarian National Violin Competition and also she was the winner of the Budapest Chamber Music Competition. Until coming to the United States, she was the Concertmaster of the Hungarian National Opera and was soloist of the Hungarian Philharmonia Artist Management, as well as the soloist of the Hungarian Radio. Klara Fenyo Bahcall is actively concertizing and has given numerous recitals throughout Hungary, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States. She was invited to serve on the faculty of the Banff International Festival. She has appeared several times on the Green Lake Festival, and has been a repeat soloist with the Oshkosh Symphony Orchestra. She has performed on WFMT Radio, Chicago and she has appeared several times on the Wisconsin Public Radio. Ms. Bahcall is teaching violin and viola at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Todd Borgerding, Harpsichord, Ph.D., M.A., B.S.; Musicology; teaches courses in music history and directs the Early Music Ensemble. Before joining the UW Oshkosh Department of Music, he taught at Colby College and SUNY StonyBrook. A specialist in Renaissance music, his publications include articles and books on topics ranging from gender and sexuality to rhetoric and religion.

David Cowley, Cello, has played in concerts throughout the world, country, state, city and our wonderful university. He has given twenty-five world premiere performances as a solo cellist and, in addition, has written many of his own compositions, including a cycle of pieces inspired by "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Dr. Cowley is an established professional caliber musician and a proud member of the outstanding Infusion ensemble.

Kay Gainacopulos, Clarinet, is presently a Professor of Music at UW Oshkosh teaching in the areas of single reeds and music business. Prior positions he has held include Principal Clarinetist of the Honolulu Symphony, NAMBI (Universities teaching Music Business) Board member for eight years and President for two years. He has taught at UW Eau Clare, Whitman College in Washington, St. Norbert College, and the College of St. Teresa where he served as Department Chairperson. He founded and conducted the Northeastern Wisconsin Honors Band, the Searl Pickett Chamber Music Series in Fond du Lac, and the founded and performs with the SPSQ (Searl Pickett Saxophone Quartet)

Everett Goodwin, Violin, is currently the program director of University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Suzuki talent Education center. He has performed with the Oshkosh Symphony Orchestra in the violin and viola sections and has held the concertmaster position in the past. He received his undergrauate degree in violin performance from UW Madison and studied violin with Sidney Harth at Carnegie Mellon University where Mr. Goodwin earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree.

Frank Hoffmeister, Lyric Tenor, has performed as soloist with many prestigious organizations throughout the United States (performing in all 50 states), Europe, and South America. He has sung with many major orchestras including: the Boston Symphony, Rome (Italy) Radio Orchestra, American Symphony, Oregon Symphony, and the Saint Louis Symphony. Included among his 22 recordings are best selling albums with the Waverly Consort, Bach's b minor mass and Magnificat with Joshua Rifkin's Bach Ensemble, and recordings with Lukas Foss, Peter Schickele, and the late Leonard Bernstein. Mr. Hoffmeister's CD " Kingdom by the Sea" features British Art Song composers, Charles Villiers Stanford, C. Armstrong Gibbs, Ivor Gurney, Arthur Somervell, and Peter Warlock. His research is in British Art Song with a special interest in the songs of Charles Villiers Stanford. Hoffmeister recently compiled and edited a vocal anthology of 14 of Stanford's art songs and is in the final stages of a new CD of British music with colleague Bruce Atwell, horn.

Eli Kalman, Piano, has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in Romania, Israel, Germany, Hungary, USA and Canada. Hailing from Israel, he was the recipient of the Paul Collins Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship for Excellence at UW-Madison. An enthusiastic artist in residence at the Chamber Music Festival at Banff, Canada, he also performed at the Token Creek Festival, the Emmanuel Music-Schumann Chamber Series in Boston, the Connoisseur Series at Wichita State University and as a part of the acclaimed Myra Hess Memorial concerts in Chicago. He recorded the works for solo piano and cello and piano by Erwin Junger and Robert Schumann's Sonatas for Violin and Piano with violinist Rose Mary Harbison. Other recordings of his performances have been heard on Jerusalem Radio and for the most part on Wisconsin National Public Radio. In 2005, Dr. Kalman joined the faculty at the Young Artist Seminars at Rocky Ridge Music Center, Colorado and he is also on the faculty of "Maestro", which is a non-profit organization in Israel providing a home base for accomplished Israeli musicians living abroad.

Erik Leveille, Violin, received his Bachelor of Music Education and Performer's Certificate from the Peabody Conservatory and a Master of Music from East Carolina University. He currently performs as principal second violin in the Oshkosh Symphony, as well as with the Fox Valley, Green Bay, Dubuque, and Rockford(IL) symphonies. As a perfomer on the baroque violin, he has performed at such venues as the Smithsonian Institute, the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, and Wake Forest University.

Brazilian-born conductor, Lucia Matos has appeared with numerous orchestras in the US and abroad and her first commercially distributed CD, with the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, was released in January 2007 by Cala Records. Also intensively involved with opera, Lucia Matos has conducted several productions at Opera Illinois and was a semi-finalist at the 2007 Bela Bartok International Opera Conducting Competition. Lucia Matos studied conducting with Henrique Gregori at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas and after graduating became assistant conductor for two professional orchestras in Brazil (Sinfonica Municipal de Campinas and Orquestra da UNICAMP). In 1998 she was awarded a fellowship to continue her studies in the United States. She received a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Iowa, as student of William LaRue Jones. Since 2003 Lucia Matos is the orchestra conductor at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Steve Schani, Viola, received his Bachelor of Music degree from University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory and the Doctor of Music Arts degree form the University of Missouri Kansas City. Dr. Shani is active as a performer with the Oshkosh, Fox Valley, green Bay, La Crosse and Marquette Symphony Orchestras.

Alison Shaw, Percussion, has established a celebrated reputation as a performing percussionist, master teacher and clinician. Having distinguished herself as an award-winning soloist, she has performed solo and chamber music throughout the United States and Europe. And advocate of contemporary chamber music, she is executive Director and co-Founder of Quorum Chamber Arts Collective, a mixed-instrumentation sextet devoted exclusively to commissioning, recording and performing new works. Shaw also tours extensively with the percussion/tuba duo, Balance.

Mihoko Watanabe, Flute, is a versatile musician of our time; recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral player, pedagogue, and researcher. She was the winner of Japan and the National Flute Association competitions and has been invited to perform concerts in U.S., Japan, Israel, and Canada. She is a member of DUO VIVA (two flutes) and has released a CD in 2006, "Doppler Effect" from Little Piper in 2006. The latest reviews were; "intonation is particularly magical highlight the artists' great technical and musical abilities," Flutist Quarterly, Summer 2007;"excellently well played," All Music Guide, 2007;" "sweet tone and blend of these two fine flutists is sure to delight" The Flute Network, May/June 2007. Dr. Watanabe is frequently invited to adjudicate in music festivals in Canada and for the National Flute Association competitions. She was invited to give a lecture recital at the National Flute Association Convention in 2007.