Rita Addico-Cohen has sung Adele in Die Fledermaus and Ado Annie in Oklahoma! with the Ash Lawn Opera Festival. As a young artist with Virginia Opera, she toured Oh, Freedom! for Virginia and some North Carolina schoolchildren; and covered the role of The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. She recently sang the role of Country Girl while covering that of Susanna for Virginia Opera's The Marriage of Figaro, and had the opportunity to sing the role for the student matinee performance. The agile soprano triumphantly sang the title role in Paragon Ragtime Orchestra’s East Coast première of Rick Benjamin’s restoration of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha at Wake Forest University and Bucknell University in October 2005, in which hers was proclaimed “the most finished voice… she is a most winning Treemonisha” (Classical Voice of North Carolina). She reprised that role in 2006 in performances that included include one in Texarkana, TX, Joplin's hometown. Thanks to her versatility in performing not only operatic, but musical as well as 'straight' theatre, Ms. Addico-Cohen has been selected as a Vocal Fellow, one of 'six rising stars' to take part and perform in Virginia Arts Festival's Composer's Institute. Ms. Addico-Cohen has studied with Bill Schuman and Adele Addison, and is currently a voice student of Dr. Julian Kwok, of New York City. The Norfolk Academy graduate holds a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music; and a B.A. (Music) from the University of Virginia, where she was an Echols and Achievement Scholar and was awarded the Morrison Prize in Music upon graduation. |
Natalia Kuznetsova began to study violin at the age of seven. After graduation from the Ural State Conservatory in 1997, she moved to Moscow and became a member of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra "The Seasons" and the Moscow State Theater "Helikon Opera." She has performed with these groups around the world in many prominent concert halls, such as the Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center in Taipei (Taiwan), Bolshoi Theater, and many other concert venues of Russia. With "The Seasons" orchestra Miss Kuznetsova made several recordings for the "Mosfilm" and the "Melodia" studios. She has played in China, Great Britain, Taiwan, Italy, and Germany. Miss Kuznetsova has been completing her Music of Music Education Degree at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. She won the 2002 Old Dominion University Concerto Competition and performed as soloist with the ODU Symphony. For her contributions to the music life of the community, Miss Kuznetsova was granted numerous awards, including 2002 – 2003 International Leadership Award, 2001 Old Dominion University Music Department String Scholarship, and 2001 –2002 Jerome J. Kern Scholarship. Currently, she is a F. Ludwig Diehn Scholar. Miss Kuznetsova is a very dedicated pedagogue. In the summer 2003, she published a book entitled "38 Songs for the Beginning Violinist." |
Dionne Wright received a Master of Music Degree from Pennsylvania State University where she was awarded a teaching assistantship to Kim Cook. Her Bachelor of Music Degree is from Ohio University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. Ms. Wright is a former graduate of the Governor’s School for the Arts. She has performed in Bath, England, as principal cellist of the Dublin Music Festival in Ireland, and the Soesterberg International Music Festival in Holland. Also, she has performed with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the Virginia Symphony, the Virginia Beach Symphony, and the River Cities Orchestra, as well as other regional orchestras and music festivals across the country. Recently, Ms. Wright performed as principle cellist of the Kennedy Center National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute, where the world premier of her piece "Cello Quintonomy: A Piece for Five Cellos" was performed on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Dionne serves as adjunct faculty at Chowan College in North Carolina. Among Dionne’s other recognitions, she is a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society and the Golden Key Honor Society. |
Marlene Morvaji Ford is a graduate of Ohio University and Norfolk State University. She has studied with Martin Morris of the Cleveland Orchestra and Edwin C. Thayer of the National Symphony. She is a former member of the Virginia Beach Pops Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony and currently performs with the Williamsburg Symphonia and Eastern Virginia Brass Quintet. Marlene also teaches horn at Old Dominion University and music at Tidewater Community College. |
Robert Ford received the B.A. degree in music from Ohio Wesleyan University, the Master of Music degree from the University of Southern California, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Catholic University of America. Former positions include classroom music with the Va. Beach Public Schools, and applied adjunct teaching (low brass instruments) at Old Dominion University, Christopher Newport University, and Virginia Wesleyan College. Formerly with the Virginia Symphony, and the Spokane (Washington) Symphony, Dr. Ford currently performs with the Lakeside (Ohio) Symphony, and the Eastern Virginia Brass Quintet. |
Jeanette Winsor studied piano with Clifford Herzer, Lois Rova Ozanich, and Shirley Harrison. She received a Bachelor of Music degree cum laude from Heidelberg College and a Master of Music degree in piano performance from Kent State University. She has occasionally coached with Thomas Schumacher. She teaches piano in her studio in Virginia Beach, is the Applied Music Coordinator for Tidewater Community College, and teaches piano, music appreciation, and music theory at the Norfolk campus of TCC. She accompanies the Virginia Beach Chorale, and serves as an adjudicator for the National Guild of Piano Teachers. She frequently appears as a soloist and lecturer. Jeanette holds National and State Professional Teaching Certificates from MTNA and VMTA as well as certification through the American College of Musicians. Jeanette is listed in the 21st edition of Who's Who of American Women. She is the past MTNA Southern Division Competitions Chair and is a past president of the Tidewater Music Teachers Forum and the Virginia Music Teachers Association. Her articles on piano pedagogy have been published by Piano Guild Notes. Recent performances include the Salon 33 Concert Series in Princeton, New Jersey and the NACUSA/CMS National Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. |
John Winsor studied clarinet with Robert Harrison, David Harris, and Robert Marcellus of the Cleveland Orchestra and composition with John Rinehart and James Waters. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from Heidelberg College and a Master of Arts degree in music theory from Kent State University. He has taught music theory and designed bandsman training materials at the Armed Forces School of Music. He has also taught clarinet, music theory, and composition at the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts. He is webmaster for the National Association of Composers/USA (NACUSA) and a past chairman of NACUSA's board of directors. John's composition prizes include 1992 and 1995 Delius Awards, 1992 and 1994, and 2005 VMTA Commissioned Composer awards, and the Modern Music Festival 2000 Film Scoring Prize. He has received grants from the American Music Center and from Meet the Composer, and ASCAP awards. His chamber works have been performed throughout the United States and, occasionally, in Europe. Articles by and about him have appeared in ComposerUSA and the SCI Newsletter. He is the author of Breaking the Sound Barrier: an Argument for Mainstream Literary Music, which won a bronze medal in the 2003 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards and is listed as an iUniverse Reader's Choice and Editor's Choice selection. His Three Essays and Serenade for Strings were released on Volumes 2 and 12 of ERM Media's Masterworks for the New Era CD series, and his Caprice for clarinet solo was released on Greetings from NACUSA. |