Jessica Hung, Concertmaster
At age 24, violinist Jessica Hung has already established herself as a rising young artist in the American orchestral world. Her appointment in 2008 as Concertmaster of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra is a first career milestone for the Cleveland Institute of Music graduate. However, Jessica is no stranger to the leadership role of first-chair fiddle: she previously held the same title with the Annapolis, Chicago Civic, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Northwestern University Symphony Orchestras, as well as the position of Assistant Concertmaster with the Akron Symphony Orchestra. She is also a substitute violinist for The Cleveland Orchestra and the Baltimore and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras.
In a successful first season in Dayton, Jessica made her solo debut with the DPO under Music Director Neal Gittleman, performing Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. Highlights of the 2009-10 season include performances of Bruch’s Concerto No. 1 on the DPO Classical series, Saint-Saëns’ Concerto No. 3 with the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and solo and chamber recitals on the DPO Chamber series.
Solo performances on the DPO’s 2010-11 season include Vivaldi’s
Winter Concerto on New Year’s Eve and Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins with Principal Second Violin Kirstin Greenlaw. Jessica is also slated to perform Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1 with the Kalamazoo Philharmonia.
An active teacher, Jessica joined the violin faculty at the University of Dayton in fall 2009, forging a vital link in the community between the Philharmonic and the University. She also mentors high school students in the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the Centerville Schools Orchestra Program, coaching string sectionals and master classes. Jessica has served on the strings faculty of the Piano Preparatory School in Beavercreek and maintains a private studio of both violin and viola students.
Jessica’s appointments in Dayton came on the heels of intensive training with William Preucil, Concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra, and Stephen Rose, Principal Second Violin. In 2007, she received a Bachelor of Music with Academic Honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She began her undergraduate education at Northwestern University, where she studied with Gerardo Ribeiro.
Jessica’s passion for orchestral music-making was evident in her student days, when she attended such prestigious training festivals as the Schleswig-Holstein Orchestral Academy in Germany and the New York String Orchestra Seminar. She spent two summers at the Tanglewood Music Center, where she performed major symphonic works with the Boston Symphony Orchestra after winning mock auditions. Her orchestral endeavors have taken her to the renowned venues of Carnegie Hall in New York and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Jessica gave her solo concerto debut with the Chicago Youth Concert Orchestra at age twelve. She has since appeared as a soloist with the University of Chicago Chamber and Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestras. For five consecutive seasons, Jessica had a special relationship with the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra: she held the unique title of Resident Soloist and appeared annually on subscription programs featuring works from the Romantic violin concerto repertoire.
Jessica’s prizes include the Northwestern University Thaviu String Competition, Union League Civic & Arts Foundation Scholarship Auditions, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra Feinberg Youth Auditions. She studied viola with Helen Callus of the University of California at Santa Barbara and has taken first place at the Chicago Viola Society Solo Competition. Jessica performed in master classes for Gil Shaham, Ruggiero Ricci, Zakhar Bron, Mauricio Fuks, Malcolm Lowe, Atar Arad, Bruno Pasquier, Lars Anders Tomter, the Beaux Arts Trio, and the Takács and Tokyo Quartets.
Born in Kankakee, Illinois, to Taiwanese parents, Jessica grew up in the Chicago area and resides in Dayton with her two cats, Nikki and Aeneas. Jessica's website
here.
Kirstin Greenlaw, Principal Second Violin
Kirstin Greenlaw, principal second violin of the Dayton Philharmonic, maintains an active performing and teaching schedule in the Dayton and Cincinnati areas. Between performances with the Duveneck String Quartet in Cincinnati and the Dayton Principals quartet, she is active in the SPARK program through the Dayton Philharmonic.
She has served on the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and as concertmaster and soloist with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. Now in her seventh year on the faculty of the Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca, she is acting chamber music coordinator for the Festival. A grand prize winner of the Carmel Chamber Music Competition and graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, she holds degrees from DePauw University and the Florida State University, where she worked with Karen Clarke and Eliot Chapo.
Sheridan Janette Kamberger Currie, Principal Viola
Sheridan Kamberger Currie is the principal violist of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. She has performed as chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, and has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras since her concerto debut in 1997. In 1998, Ms. Currie was the Time Warner String Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, and was the winner of the Nakamichi Viola Concerto Competition there. Other competition awards include first prize in the 1998 Geraldine B. Gee International Viola Competition, where she also won second prize in 1995 and 1997.
Ms. Currie has a passion for performing chamber music. From 2000 to 2005, she was a member of the Lake String Quartet, which performs nightly at their summer residency in Yellowstone National Park. The Lake Quartet released their first CD, entitled By the Lake, in 2005. As a founding member of the Masala String Quartet, she enjoyed working closely with such composers as Bruce Adolphe, Gerhard Samuel, John Corigliano, and Evan Chambers. In addition to world premiere performances of works by Adolphe and Samuel, the Masala Quartet gave the European premiere of Chambers' First String Quartet. Mrs. Currie has also recorded twentieth century music on the Vienna Modern Masters label.
Ms. Currie began her musical training on the violin at age nine at her public elemenary school in Maryland. After earning her Bachelor of Music degree at the Peabody Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Baltimore Symphony principal violist Richard Field, she moved to Cincinnati where she studied extensively with Masao Kawasaki and Catharine Carroll at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. During that period, she earned a Masters degree and also served as teaching assistant for the Kawasaki/Carroll viola studio. Sheridan enjoys teaching viola and violin privately, and is currently an Adjunct Instructor at Cedarville University, where she teaches viola and coaches chamber music.
Andra Lunde Padrichelli, Principal Cello
Andra Lunde Padrichelli, principal cellist of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, began her cello studies in Santa Barbara, California. She has appeared as a soloist with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, the Idyllwild Arts Academy, and has performed in recital in Indiana, New York, Ohio, California, Spoleto Italy, and Boston, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum as well as a live performance on WBUR public radio.
Andra has played in the Fort Worth Symphony as Assistant Principal and has played in the Cincinnati Symphony. She was principal cellist of Indiana University, Eastman School of Music, and Spoleto Festival orchestras, and she has received many awards, including First Prize in the New York ASTA competition in 1997.
Her tenure with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra has given her opportunities to collaborate with artists, such as Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax as well as performing chamber music and extensive orchestral solos.
Andra has studied with Ronald Leonard in Los Angeles, Pamela Frame at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and she was the teaching assistant of Professor Janos Starker at the Indiana University School of Music, where she received her Artist Diploma. She received her Bachelor of Music degree and Performer’s Certificate in 1998 from the Eastman School of Music.
Andra and her husband, Lorenzo, moved to Dayton in 2003 and have a three-year old son. Before their move to Dayton, they both were part of the New World Symphony family in Miami, Fla. Under Artistic Director, Michael Tilson Thomas, Andra performed in many chamber music concerts, master classes, and as principal cellist for several symphonic programs.
Deborah Taylor, Principal Double Bass
In 1986, Deborah Taylor, formerly a section bassist with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, became Principal Double Bass.
She received both a B.S. in Elementary Education (Cum Laude) in 1973 and a B.M. in Music Education (Magna Cum Laude) in 1974 from Fort Hays State University. After teaching public school in Kansas and Idaho, in 1979 she earned a M.M. in Double Bass Performance from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati.
Taylor has served as adjunct instructor on the faculties of Idaho State University in 1976, Wright State University from 1979-88, and CCM-University of Cincinnati from 1979-95. Her other DPO affiliations include performing with the String Quintet, Dayton Opera, and the SPARK teaching program.
Her performance experience spans almost 30 years. Since 1977, she has served as Principal Double Bass with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. Since1979, she has been a regular substitute bassist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops, and Cincinnati Opera, and has enjoyed several long-term appointments with the CSO and affiliation with the Cincinnati Ballet. Her major teachers include Barry Green, Paul Ellison, and Francois Rabbath.
Taylor's professional honors and affiliations include Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities; Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society; Sigma Alpha Iota (music); Guest Clinician for the International Double Bass 1982 Competition and Workshop, Isle of Man, British Isles; life member of the International Society of Bassists; and past executive assistant of the ISB.
Rebecca Tryon Andres, Principal Flute
Rebecca Tryon Andres is Principal Flutist of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of the DPO Woodwind Quintet. She has been with the DPO for over 20 years and is an enthusiastic participant in the SPARK program. She is also principal flutist and contractor for the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, plays with the Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra, and is a regular extra on flute and piccolo with the Cincinnati Symphony, Pops, and May Festival orchestras.
A faculty member at Xavier University, Andres has taught at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, and the University of Dayton.
She holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from The Ohio State University, a Master's in flute from CCM, and a diploma from the Academie Internationale d'Ete. She has studied with Donald McGinnis, Raymond DeMattia, Kyril Magg, Jack Wellbaum, and in the extended master classes of Jean-Pierre Rampal, William Bennett, James Pellerite, and Geoffrey Gilbert.
A Life Member of the National Flute Association, Andres has served as Secretary/Copy Editor of the Flutist Quarterly and has chaired the Young Artist Competition. She has performed at the Columbus, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Dallas conventions. ALRY Publications publishes her flute choir arrangement of Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus.
Many of her favorite musical experiences are moments from the DPO, performing with Yo-Yo Ma (Dvorák Concerto), Maureen Forrester (Das Lied von der Erde), and Neal Gittleman in Mahler's Sixth Symphony and Orff's Carmina Burana. She has also played for Luciano Pavarotti in concert and performed the flute obbligato for Bach's Nun sa che dolore with Benita Valente.
With her husband, Michael Andres, a woodwind specialist and jazz musician, she helped commission the flute-clarinet duo Barn Dances by Libby Larsen, which received its premier at the 2001 NFA Convention. Her son, Alex Magg, wants to be a conductor and attends Northwestern University. In her spare time, she likes to work word and number puzzles, make jewelry, or read.
Eileen Whalen, Principal Oboe
Hailed by
The New York Times as playing with "considerable virtuosity," oboist Eileen Whalen has distinguished herself in both international competitions and solo performances.
She is currently the Principal Oboist of the Dayton Philharmonic, has served as the Principal Oboist of the Honolulu Symphony and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, and has performed with the New Jersey, Colorado, and Jacksonville Symphonies, among others.
You can hear her on the latest Dayton Philharmonic recordings,
E O Mai by acclaimed Hawaiian recording artist Keali'i Reichel, and on the
Mr. Holland's Opus soundtrack.
In addition, Ms. Whalen is the Principal Oboist of the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra, with whom she has performed on an Emmy-nominated PBS
Great Performance broadcast, has recorded for Chandos records, and has been heard regularly on NPR's
World of Opera.
Currently she is on the faculty at the University of Dayton and participates in the DPO educational outreach program SPARK.
She received a Masters of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts, a Bachelor of Music at the University of Cincinnati, and did additional coursework at Rice University. Her teachers include Allan Vogel, Sara Bloom, Peggy Pearson, and Robert Atherholt.
John Kurokawa, Principal Clarinet
John Kurokawa currently serves as the principal clarinetist of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he has held since 1995. A former student of Edward Marks and Ronald de Kant, he holds degrees in woodwind performance from Bowling Green State University (specializing in clarinet, flute, and saxophone) and clarinet performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Kurokawa has been a featured soloist with the Dayton Philharmonic, performing the concertos of John Adams and Mozart. He has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and participated in the orchestra’s recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. He is also the principal clarinetist of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and spends the latter part of his summers performing in the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to his performing, Kurokawa also maintains a busy teaching schedule. He is on the adjunct faculty of the University of Dayton Department of Music, where he teaches applied clarinet, chamber music, and clarinet pedagogy. He also maintains private studios at the Glendale Academy of Music and Lakota West High School. He participates in several chamber music ensembles, including the Dayton Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet and the award-winning Prestige Clarinet Quartet, which has been a featured ensemble at both the International Clarinet Association Conference and the Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium.
Jennifer Kelley Speck, Principal Bassoon
Jennifer Speck is principal bassoonist of the Dayton Philharmonic, a position she has held since 1995. Previously, she was on the faculty of the University of Dayton and Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Speck has been a member of the Waco Symphony, the Toledo Symphony, the Lexington Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and the Texas Opera Theatre Orchestra. She has performed with the Detroit and San Antonio Symphonies.
As a chamber musician, she was a member of the award-winning Taft wind quintet in Cincinnati and the Toledo Symphony, and Baylor University, wind quintets.
Speck received both BME and MM degrees from the University of Michigan and did post-graduate study at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she was a winner of the Concerto competition in 1988. She has performed at the National Flute Association Convention and at the International Double Reed Society Convention. Her main teachers were Lewis Hugh Cooper, Benjamin Kamins, Otto Eifert, and William Winstead.
Robert Johnson, Principal Horn
With his beautiful sound and heartfelt musicianship, hornist Robert Johnson has established himself as an outstanding artist with a highly promising future. Mr. Johnson's performances are marked by an impressive command of his difficult instrument, and his ability to utilize a wide array of sounds and colors position him at the forefront of the next generation of great hornists. A graduate of Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, he studied with Principal Horn of the Houston Symphony, International Soloist, and renowned pedagogue William VerMeulen.
In constant demand as a performer, the 2009-2010 concert season marks Mr. Johnson's busiest to date with solo, chamber, and orchestral performances in cities and venues across the globe. In May of 2009, he was appointed Principal Horn of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, where he will perform the great symphonic classics with esteemed colleagues under the direction of Maestro Neal Gittleman in the beautiful and acoustically superb Schuster Center. Prior to his appointment in Dayton, Mr. Johnson completed a single season with Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony, where he holds the distinct honor of being the only hornist in its history to perform the Second Horn Concerto of Richard Strauss with the orchestra. He was also Fourth Horn of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and Pops, where he performed the soundtrack from ABC’s LOST for DVD release with Michael Giacchino conducting.
Mr. Johnson spends his summers performing orchestral, solo, and chamber music concerts at the Aspen, Cascade, Sarasota, and Tanglewood Music Festivals, as well as the American Institute of Musical Studies, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, and the Perlman Music Program in both Shelter Island, NY and Sarasota, FL. Upcoming and recent engagements include concerts with the Cincinnati Pops, the Nashville String Machine Studio Orchestra, the Houston Symphony and Grand Opera, the San Antonio Symphony, the IRIS Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as solo engagements in Cincinnati, Chicago, Miami, New York and with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Mr. Johnson remains steadfast to his commitment to serving the community through his musical gifts and has played dozens of concerts for thousands of children and nursing home patients in the Cincinnati, Honolulu, Houston, Miami, and San Antonio areas. He is also a published author and photographer, contributing to the International Horn Society's Horn Call Magazine, the Houston Symphony Magazine, and Colorado's Strings in the Mountains Festival. Mr. Johnson plays on horns built by Keith Berg of Canada, Paxman of London, and Junwirt of Vienna.
In June of 2009, Mr. Johnson celebrated marriage with flutist and jewelry designer Ariella Perlman. They make their home in Dayton with their grateful rescue cat, Matzah Ball.
Charles M. Pagnard, Principal Trumpet
In 1977, Charles M. Pagnard joined the Cedarville University faculty where he is currently a full professor of Music. His duties include conducting the University Symphony Orchestra and Brass Choir. He also teaches studio trumpet and Instrumental Conducting and Brass Methods. He holds a BME degree from Bowling Green State University and an MM degree from Eastman School of Music. He has also done post-graduate work at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. His major teachers include Sidney Mear, Edwin Betts, Ettore Chiudioni, Allen Dean, and Vincent Cichowicz.
Pagnard has been active as a trumpet soloist and clinician for the Bach Instrument Company. He is currently principal trumpet with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Carillon Brass. He also performs as an extra musician with the Cincinnati Symphony and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. He has recorded with the Carillon Brass (Integra Music) and the Cincinnati Pops (Telarc).
Since 1988, he has led the 20-member Cedarville Brass Choir on extensive tours to Israel, Hungary, Italy, France, Switzerland, and Greece, where the group performed concerts in churches, schools, concert halls, and various other locations. This ensemble has released a recording with Integra Music entitled At the Last Trumpet. On this recording, he is soloist and conductor.
Pagnard has toured with the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops to Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Puerto Rico. He also has served as guest musician with Cincinnati May Festival Chorus on their tour to former Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Italy. Currently, he is Minister for Music and Worship at Washington Heights Baptist Church in Kettering, Ohio and a grandfather
of triplets!
Michael LaMattina, Principal Percussion
Michael LaMattina began drum set with his father while growing up on Long Island, New York. After moving to the metro Atlanta area in 1987 he started learning mallet and orchestral percussion. While in Georgia he played with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra for four seasons and was a member of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps in 1992 and 1993. Upon graduation from high school he attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he received a bachelor's degree in performance. As a student at Oberlin, Michael also studied at the Music Academy of the West, in Santa Barbara, CA in 1997 and was a fellowship student at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, MA in 1998.
Following Oberlin, Michael received a master's degree in performance from Cleveland State University. During this time he also held the positions of Principal Percussion with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, Section Percussion with the Erie Philharmonic, and Principal Timpani/Percussion with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus. Shortly before graduating in late 2001, he was appointed Principal Percussion with the Dayton Philharmonic. With the DPO he also performs with the DPO mixed trio, the DPO Percussion trio, and is a SPARK musician. Additionally, he holds the position of Principal Percussion with the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, CO during the summer and is in the percussion section of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Michael has also performed as a substitute and extra musician with the Cincinnati Symphony and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
As an educator, he is currently an adjunct professor at Cedarville University where he is the percussion and timpani instructor and conducts the percussion ensemble. Michael maintains private studios at his home in Dayton and at the Wasson Music Center in Centerville, OH. In addition, he is a percussion specialist with the Centerville Public Schools bands program.
Michael lives in Dayton with his wife Lori, a DPO violist, and his son Andrew. He enjoys mowing the lawn, helping take care of Lori's horse Boston, cleaning, and practicing. His favorite teams are the Yankees and the Braves.
Leslie Stratton Norris, Principal Harp
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Principal Harpist Leslie Stratton Norris is originally from Worthington, Ohio. Under the instruction of well-known teacher Alice Chalifoux, she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Harp Performance from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.
Before moving to Los Angeles in 1982 to study Jazz and improvisation on the harp, Norris performed with the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Ballet, and the Cleveland Opera. In Los Angeles, she became very active in the recording industry, recording projects for movie and TV scores, albums, and MUZAK. In Los Angeles, she performed with the Pacific Symphony, Opera Pacifica, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and numerous smaller orchestras throughout the area.
In 1992, she moved to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and has since enjoyed a solo career performing for chamber music associations, churches, and orchestras throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Her first recording, Hymns of Praise (1993) is a collaboration with Baritone Randel Wagner. Her other recordings include Heavenly Classics (1994 - favorite familiar classics, solo harp), O Holy Night (1995 - Christmas favorites, solo harp), Bouquet of Love Songs (1997 - most-requested love songs, solo harp), and Windows of Worship (1999 - a collection of hymns, spirituals, contemporary Christian, and children's songs, which display her talent as both a classical and jazz harpist).
Norris continues to perform with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra as well as performing as a soloist and is currently working on her next CD project of classical romantic harp solos.
Joshua S. Nemith, piano
Pianist Joshua S. Nemith has performed throughout the U.S. and abroad as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral keyboardist. Dr. Nemith recently earned the Principal Keyboard position of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra in May of 2007. He is also the principal keyboardist with the IRIS chamber orchestra in Germantown, Tennessee, under the direction of conductor Michael Stern.
He completed his doctorate in piano performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in June of 2004. Dr. Nemith has recorded new chamber and orchestral works with many groups, including the CCM Wind Symphony, New World Symphony, IRIS Chamber Orchestra, and the Dayton Philharmonic.
Dr. Nemith performs regularly at professional venues in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas and has been the accompanist/organist at St. John’s Westminster Union Church in Cincinnati since 2002. He is an alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin and the Eastman School of Music and has held fellowship positions with the New World Symphony and the Aspen Music Festival. His teachers include James Tocco, Nancy Garrett, Fernando Laires, and David Burge.
In addition to his performance activities, Dr. Nemith has made music education an important part of his career. He has held several teaching appointments at UC-CCM where he has been an adjunct instructor in the Composition, Theory, and Musicology Division and the Keyboard Studies Division in recent years. He also maintains a private teaching studio at the Slater Music Academy in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky.
In February of 2007 he created the “Cincinnati Pianist” weblog intended as an educational service for his students as well as a forum to foster online support and commentary for the musical arts.
Dr. Nemith is an occasional composer, who enjoys writing when he is not preparing performances. He has written for piano, piano and voice, four-hands piano, flute and organ, two piccolos, tuba and trombone, and brass quintet; he has also produced electronic works.
