2024
Brian Luce is the Professor of Flute at the University of Arizona and a Yamaha Performing Artist. He is a member of the Arizona Wind Quintet and Luce-Caliendo Duo. Dr. Luce has performed as principal flute of the Champaign-Urbana, Midland-Odessa, and Johnstown symphony orchestras and has performed with the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, Dallas Bach Society, Dallas Wind Symphony, Abilene Philharmonic, Keystone Wind Ensemble, and the Tucson Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, he has performed throughout the U.S., Europe, Korea, Japan, and China and has performed concertos with orchestras in the U.S. and the Republic of Korea. He has been featured at music festivals of the National Flute Association, British Flute Society, Shanghai International Exposition, Soka International Harp Festival, Texas Flute Society, Florida Flute Association, Mid-South Flute Society, Las Vegas Flute Club, Albuquerque Flute Association, Flute Society of St. Louis, Arizona Flute Society, and Tucson Flute Club. His performances have been broadcast throughout the U.S. and his recordings are recommended references by music education associations including the ABRSM.
He has given recitals and master classes throughout the U.S., Europe, and Korea. Editions BIM and IntegrityInk publish his compositions, arrangements, and realizations. His performance and pedagogy articles have appeared in Flute Talk Magazine, and his dissertation, Light from Behind the Iron Curtain: Style and Structure in Edison Denisov’s Quatre Pièces pour flûte et piano, earned the 2001 Morgan Outstanding Dissertation Award from the University of North Texas.
As an Arizona native and avid outdoorsman, Brian enjoys trekking afield the beautiful alpine regions of the state with his family. He coaches youth baseball and softball for Little League and serves as an executive board member.
Returning to the panel is Eric Mitchko, general director of North Carolina Opera, a young company that collaborates with many arts organizations including Carolina Ballet, Burning Coal Theatre, and the UNC Arts and Ideas Seminar. Formerly director of Artistic Administration for The Atlanta Opera and vice president of Columbia Artists Management in New York, Mitchko studied politics and philosophy at both Princeton University and Columbia University. Presently a lecturer on opera, Mitchko has hosted programs on classical radio and provided written music analysis.
Kay Stern, concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music returns to provide guidance to the competition’s finalists in 2019. Stern received full scholarships for her Bachelor, Master’s, and Doctoral degree programs at Juilliard School, where she had the honor of studying with Dorothy DeLay, an award-winning violin educator. A teacher and coach at music festivals around the world, Stern has been featured on television and radio and contributed several articles to Chamber Music America.
David Torns is increasingly recognized for his vibrant personality, musical depth, and his ability to communicate an infectious joy for music to both musicians and audiences.
As Resident Conductor and Principal Pops Conductor of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, David’s recent collaborations include The Wicked Divas, Classical Mystery Tour, Spectrum Motown, Bravo Broadway, Cirque Musica, and Grammy Award winning jazz singer Dianne Reeves.
He has led orchestras with film including Disney’s Pixar in Concert, and Disney Around the World. He has collaborated with Broadway artists Doug LaBrecque, Debbie Gravitte, Christiane Noll, Julie Reiber, Laura Woyasz, Hugh Panaro, Morgan James, Capathia Jenkins, and Darius de Haas.
Mr. Torns is a passionate proponent of music education, designing and implementing educational concerts that reach over 10,000 students a year.
Mr. Torns has worked with the Omaha Symphony, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Astoria Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Lansing Symphony, and Chattanooga Symphony.
2023
Dr. Jeremy Benson is Professor of Music at Jacksonville State University where he teaches flute studies and serves as Director of Orchestral Activities & Conductor of the JSU Civic Symphony. He serves as President of the Florida Flute Association.
As an active soloist, chamber musician, and adjudicator, Dr. Benson was awarded Second Prize at the 2021 Music International Grand Prix for Solo Artist Competition and named a First Prize Winner at the 2011 Alexander & Buono International Solo Competition at Carnegie Hall in New York City, NY. He has served on adjudication panels, been a lecturer, and performed for several national and international solo competitions and master classes around the world.
His research and publications are primary resources about Japanese/French composer, Yuko Uébayashi, and he presents many lectures and concerts about her flute music internationally.
He is a Muramatsu Flute Performing Artist. See www.jeremybensonmusic.com for more information.
John Ellis is Associate Professor of Piano and director of Graduate Studies in Piano Pedagogy at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance where he also administers community and preparatory programs in piano as well as the class piano curriculum. He has previously served as Associate Dean for Administration and Associate Dean for Productions, Programs and Partnerships. He was Chair of the Piano Department at UM and was elected to the school’s Executive Committee twice. He has recorded the piano music of African-American composer Arthur Cunningham and is working on a critical edition of his piano music. Ellis’s book on Marguerite Long’s life and piano teaching will be published by Indiana University Press in 2024. His articles on a music school which was investigated in the 1950s by HUAC are being published in the American Music Teacher in 2023.
American soprano Melissa Givens moves and excites audiences and critics alike with a rich, powerful tone, crystalline clarity, and intelligent musical interpretations. Especially noted for her expressiveness and elegance on the stage, she’s been hailed as a singer whose music-making is “consistently rewarding” and “a pleasure to hear,” [Houston Chronicle]. Givens is also an extremely versatile artist, regularly performing repertoire from the Baroque era through music of the 21st century. An Early Music America review of her performance in the 2011 Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Concerts praised her voice as “beautiful and rich, [singing] Baroque music with conviction.” A writer for Classical Net mused, “Melissa Givens has a voice you imagine coming from the goddess Erda” in a review of Sing Freedom!, Conspirare’s 2012 recording of spirituals on the Harmonia Mundi label. A featured artist in Conspirare’s ongoing tours of Craig Hella Johnson’s groundbreaking oratorio Considering Matthew Shepard, recent performances also include Haydn’s Creation with the Aiken (SC) Masterworks Chorale and a The Artist at Fifty, recital of art songs from the composers’ fiftieth year. She remains in demand on concert series throughout the United States and internationally, including recent recitals in Claremont (CA), Georgia, and Houston. A champion of collaborative musical endeavors, she performs with various chamber music groups, including Grammy© nominated Ars Lyrica Houston and Conspirare: Craig Hella Johnson and Company of Voices, the 2015 Grammy© winner for Best Choral Performance. Her solo appearances on major label releases from both groups have received enthusiastic reviews and she can also be heard on her solo CD, let the rain kiss you. Givens will be joining the voice faculty of Pomona College in Claremont, California. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Houston Moores School of Music, a Master of Music degree from the Rice University Shepherd School of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Davidson College.
Originally from Sharon, PA, cellist Bradley Mansell has been a member of the Nashville Symphony since 1984. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University and a Master of Music degree in Cello Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He serves on the faculty of the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University and has performed numerous solo and chamber music recitals throughout the United States and Europe. As a member of the Nashville Symphony, he has recorded for the Naxos, Sony Classics, and Decca recording labels. In 1995, he performed the premiere of Aurora for solo cello by Nashville composer Lee Gannon, as well as Gannon’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, commissioned by the Tennessee Music Teachers Association and dedicated to Mansell. Recognized as Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, is also a recipient of the Outstanding Teacher award from the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts. His principal teachers include Michael Gelfand, Lee Fiser, and Zara Nelsova. He has served as an adjudicator for the Music Teachers National Association, the American String Teachers Association, and the Young Texas Artists Music Competitions.
Diane Schultz, professor of flute at the School of Music at The University of Alabama, joins the panel in 2019. Formerly a member of the faculty departments of Stephen F. Austin University and Eastern Illinois University, the award-winning flutist and piccoloist’s solo and chamber performances have taken her to the international locales of Austria, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Romania, and Russia. A Rotary International Scholar at McGill University in Montreal, Schultz has shared her expertise through masterclasses and clinics across the United States as well as in England, Quebec, the Bahamas, and Cuba.
2022
Born in Japan, Miyoko Nakaya Lotto began piano lessons at the age of three, enrolling in the preparatory division of the Toho School of Music. At age 17, she captured the Third Prize in the prestigious Mainichi-NHK Music Competition and toured throughout Japan as a prizewinner.
Lotto entered the Juilliard School at age 18 and quickly became assistant to Sascha Gorodnitzki in her junior year at the Juilliard School. Lotto received her B.S., M.S., and Post Graduate Diploma from the Juilliard School.
Lotto has performed in more than 40 states across the U.S., including her New York City debut at Alice Tully Hall. She has given numerous Master Classes throughout Japan and the U.S., Germany, Israel, China, and Spain, and has served as a juror on the panels of several international competitions such as the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition and the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition.
Lotto is on the faculty at New York University, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Perlman Music Program. Her students have been prize winners of numerous major international piano competitions such as the Leeds Competition, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, International Chopin Competition, and International Hamamatsu Piano Competition.
Brian Luce is the Professor of Flute at the University of Arizona and a Yamaha Performing Artist. He is a member of the Arizona Wind Quintet and Luce-Caliendo Duo. Dr. Luce has performed as principal flute of the Champaign-Urbana, Midland-Odessa, and Johnstown symphony orchestras and has performed with the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, Dallas Bach Society, Dallas Wind Symphony, Abilene Philharmonic, Keystone Wind Ensemble, and the Tucson Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, he has performed throughout the U.S., Europe, Korea, Japan, and China and has performed concertos with orchestras in the U.S. and the Republic of Korea. He has been featured at music festivals of the National Flute Association, British Flute Society, Shanghai International Exposition, Soka International Harp Festival, Texas Flute Society, Florida Flute Association, Mid-South Flute Society, Las Vegas Flute Club, Albuquerque Flute Association, Flute Society of St. Louis, Arizona Flute Society, and Tucson Flute Club. His performances have been broadcast throughout the U.S. and his recordings are recommended references by music education associations including the ABRSM.
He has given recitals and master classes throughout the U.S., Europe, and Korea. Editions BIM and IntegrityInk publish his compositions, arrangements, and realizations. His performance and pedagogy articles have appeared in Flute Talk Magazine, and his dissertation, Light from Behind the Iron Curtain: Style and Structure in Edison Denisov’s Quatre Pièces pour flûte et piano, earned the 2001 Morgan Outstanding Dissertation Award from the University of North Texas.
As an Arizona native and avid outdoorsman, Brian enjoys trekking afield the beautiful alpine regions of the state with his family. He coaches youth baseball and softball for Little League and serves as an executive board member.
Originally from Sharon, PA, cellist Bradley Mansell has been a member of the Nashville Symphony since 1984. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University and a Master of Music degree in Cello Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He serves on the faculty of the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University and has performed numerous solo and chamber music recitals throughout the United States and Europe. As a member of the Nashville Symphony, he has recorded for the Naxos, Sony Classics, and Decca recording labels. In 1995, he performed the premiere of Aurora for solo cello by Nashville composer Lee Gannon, as well as Gannon’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, commissioned by the Tennessee Music Teachers Association and dedicated to Mansell. Recognized as Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, is also a recipient of the Outstanding Teacher award from the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts. His principal teachers include Michael Gelfand, Lee Fiser, and Zara Nelsova. He has served as an adjudicator for the Music Teachers National Association, the American String Teachers Association, and the Young Texas Artists Music Competitions.
Roger Pines, a familiar voice on the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts’ “Opera Quiz” since the 2005-06 season, recently completed his 26-year tenure at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Among the many roles he filled at Lyric were dramaturg, commentator for the company’s live opening-night broadcasts (2010-18), program editor, pre-performance lecturer, and special lecturer/consultant for the company’s young-artist program. Roger previously held positions at San Diego Opera, The Dallas Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera. He has judged for numerous prestigious vocal competitions nationwide, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (since 1991) and the national competitions of both Classical Singerand the National Association of Teachers of Singing. A regular contributor of articles and reviews for important American and European publications – among them Opera News, Opera magazine, and The Times (London) –as well as for programs of every major North American opera company, Roger has also written program notes for CDs on seven major labels, including releases by Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Joyce DiDonato, Anna Netrebko, and Jonas Kaufmann. A frequent lecturer, in recent seasons Roger has delivered presentations at San Francisco Opera, the Curtis Institute of Music, Chicago’s renowned Newberry Library and the Opera Department of the University of Texas at Austin. During 2021-22, for the third consecutive year, Roger is teaching the opera repertoire course at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.
Maria Schleuning, violinist, has been a member of the Voices of Change Modern Music Ensemble since 1996 and Artistic Director since 2009. An advocate of new music, she has worked with many of the leading composers of our day, including the legendary Witold Lutoslawski, George Crumb, Aaron Kernis, John Corigliano, Augusta Read Thomas, Sebastian Currier, Bright Sheng, Samuel Adler, Donald Erb, David Dzubay, and Pierre Jalbert. She has premiered many new works, including “Dream Catcher”, a solo violin work written especially for her as a gift by Augusta Read Thomas. The world premiere performance was on May 3, 2009, in Dallas, TX. An active chamber musician, Ms. Schleuning has performed in venues such as New York’s Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall, Merkin Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as at numerous festivals throughout the United States and Europe. From 1993-2012 she was a faculty member and performer at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine and served in the same capacity at Idyllwild Arts in CA from 2007-2010, and the Bennington Music Festival, VT in 2012. She has recorded with Continuum modern music ensemble in NYC, as well as in Dallas with grammy- nominated Voices of Change, and the Walden Piano Quartet. In addition, she serves as Principal Second Violin of the New York Women’s Ensemble and Principal Second Violin of the Classical Tahoe Orchestra, where she was a guest concertmaster in 2014. A member of the Dallas Symphony since 1994, she has been featured as soloist with the orchestra on many occasions. Other solo highlights include appearances with the Oregon Symphony, Seattle Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Abilene Symphony, Laredo Symphony, Bozeman Symphony, and with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra on a tour of Eastern Europe including concerts at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the Rudolfinuum in Prague, in addition to a tour of China in 2015. She studied with Josef Gingold at Indiana University, where she was awarded a Performer’s Certificate; with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School in London, with a grant from the Myra Hess Foundation; and with Joel Smirnoff at the Juilliard School, where she received her Master’s Degree.
2020
Dr. Jeremy Benson is Professor of Music at Jacksonville State University where he teaches flute studies and serves as Director of Orchestral Activities & Conductor of the JSU Civic Symphony. He serves as President of the Florida Flute Association.
As an active soloist, chamber musician, and adjudicator, Dr. Benson was awarded Second Prize at the 2021 Music International Grand Prix for Solo Artist Competition and named a First Prize Winner at the 2011 Alexander & Buono International Solo Competition at Carnegie Hall in New York City, NY. He has served on adjudication panels, been a lecturer, and performed for several national and international solo competitions and master classes around the world.
His research and publications are primary resources about Japanese/French composer, Yuko Uébayashi, and he presents many lectures and concerts about her flute music internationally.
He is a Muramatsu Flute Performing Artist. See www.jeremybensonmusic.com for more information.
Elizabeth Buccheri, chamber musician and vocal coach, was assistant conductor of Lyric Opera of Chicago from 1987 to 2013. Previously, she served as collaborative pianist for Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute for Young Artists and pianist for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. She has toured as pianist of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed with the Vermeer and Shanghai string quartets, as well as with Midori, Gil Shaham, Michelle DeYoung, Vinson Cole, Samuel Ramey, Thomas Hampson, Sherrill Milnes, and Susanna Phillips. Her recordings can be found on the CRI, Spectrum, Sony, Cedille, Boston, and Albany labels. She is the first American to receive the Sir Georg Solti Foundation Award. A dedicated teacher, Ms. Buccheri has given master classes at The Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, AMFS, Lawrence Conservatory, and the music academies of Lithuania and Latvia. As a faculty member at Northwestern University, Buccheri supervised the collaborative piano program in the Bienen School of Music from 2000 to 2013. Ms. Buccheri is a native of South Carolina and was educated at Winthrop University and the Eastman School of Music, from which she received the performer’s certificate in piano and Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Buccheri is an artist-faculty member of the New Horizons program, which is made possible by an endowment gift by Kay and Matthew Bucksbaum.
American soprano Melissa Givens moves and excites audiences and critics alike with a rich, powerful tone, crystalline clarity, and intelligent musical interpretations. Especially noted for her expressiveness and elegance on the stage, she’s been hailed as a singer whose music-making is “consistently rewarding” and “a pleasure to hear,” [Houston Chronicle]. Givens is also an extremely versatile artist, regularly performing repertoire from the Baroque era through music of the 21st century. An Early Music America review of her performance in the 2011 Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Concerts praised her voice as “beautiful and rich, [singing] Baroque music with conviction.” A writer for Classical Net mused, “Melissa Givens has a voice you imagine coming from the goddess Erda” in a review of Sing Freedom!, Conspirare’s 2012 recording of spirituals on the Harmonia Mundi label. A featured artist in Conspirare’s ongoing tours of Craig Hella Johnson’s groundbreaking oratorio Considering Matthew Shepard, recent performances also include Haydn’s Creation with the Aiken (SC) Masterworks Chorale and a The Artist at Fifty, recital of art songs from the composers’ fiftieth year. She remains in demand on concert series throughout the United States and internationally, including recent recitals in Claremont (CA), Georgia, and Houston. A champion of collaborative musical endeavors, she performs with various chamber music groups, including Grammy© nominated Ars Lyrica Houston and Conspirare: Craig Hella Johnson and Company of Voices, the 2015 Grammy© winner for Best Choral Performance. Her solo appearances on major label releases from both groups have received enthusiastic reviews and she can also be heard on her solo CD, let the rain kiss you. Givens will be joining the voice faculty of Pomona College in Claremont, California. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Houston Moores School of Music, a Master of Music degree from the Rice University Shepherd School of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Davidson College.
Described as “an artist with a polished sound and tremendous constructive power” and hailed by the Hoja del Lunes de Madrid, as “the Spanish pianist of his generation,” Jose Ramon Mendez is one of the most exciting Spanish pianists of today.
At the age of 18, Mendez’s success brought him to the United States, where he began his studies at Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He completed his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in piano performance with renowned pedagogue Solomon Mikowsky and went on to finish his Doctorate of Musical Arts under the tutelage of Byron Janis and Miyoko Lotto. During his stay in New York, he won top prizes in many international competitions, including Pilar Bayona International Piano Competition, Hilton Head Island International Piano Competition, Frederick Chopin Competition in New York, and Hermanos Guerrero International Piano Competition, among others.
Mendez’s professional teaching career began in 1996, when he was invited to teach master classes at the Gijon School of Music. Since then, he has given master classes in numerous cities in Spain, including Lugo, Aviles, Valencia, Gijon, Oviedo, Santiago de Compostela, and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, as well as in the United States at top music schools such as Oberlin Conservatory, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, and Columbus State University. Mendez also taught as assistant teacher to Miyoko Lotto at the Perlman Music Program, a program for gifted young musicians founded by the world famous violinist Itzhak Perlman. Currently in the summers, he is the Artistic Director and on the faculty of the Gijon International Piano Festival in Gijon, Spain, as well as frequently being invited to perform and teach at various festivals, such as Atlantic Music Festival, Palmetto International Piano Festival, Porto Pianofest Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, and Adamant Music Festival, among others.
Formerly on the piano faculty at University of Texas at Austin, New York University, and Pennsylvania State University, Mendez was most recently Associate Professor of Piano at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.
Jose Ramon Mendez is a Yamaha Artist.
Maria Schleuning, violinist, has been a member of the Voices of Change Modern Music Ensemble since 1996 and Artistic Director since 2009. An advocate of new music, she has worked with many of the leading composers of our day, including the legendary Witold Lutoslawski, George Crumb, Aaron Kernis, John Corigliano, Augusta Read Thomas, Sebastian Currier, Bright Sheng, Samuel Adler, Donald Erb, David Dzubay, and Pierre Jalbert. She has premiered many new works, including “Dream Catcher”, a solo violin work written especially for her as a gift by Augusta Read Thomas. The world premiere performance was on May 3, 2009, in Dallas, TX. An active chamber musician, Ms. Schleuning has performed in venues such as New York’s Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall, Merkin Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as at numerous festivals throughout the United States and Europe. From 1993-2012 she was a faculty member and performer at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine and served in the same capacity at Idyllwild Arts in CA from 2007-2010, and the Bennington Music Festival, VT in 2012. She has recorded with Continuum modern music ensemble in NYC, as well as in Dallas with grammy- nominated Voices of Change, and the Walden Piano Quartet. In addition, she serves as Principal Second Violin of the New York Women’s Ensemble and Principal Second Violin of the Classical Tahoe Orchestra, where she was a guest concertmaster in 2014. A member of the Dallas Symphony since 1994, she has been featured as soloist with the orchestra on many occasions. Other solo highlights include appearances with the Oregon Symphony, Seattle Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Abilene Symphony, Laredo Symphony, Bozeman Symphony, and with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra on a tour of Eastern Europe including concerts at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the Rudolfinuum in Prague, in addition to a tour of China in 2015. She studied with Josef Gingold at Indiana University, where she was awarded a Performer’s Certificate; with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School in London, with a grant from the Myra Hess Foundation; and with Joel Smirnoff at the Juilliard School, where she received her Master’s Degree.
2019
Returning to the panel is Eric Mitchko, general director of North Carolina Opera, a young company that collaborates with many arts organizations including Carolina Ballet, Burning Coal Theatre, and the UNC Arts and Ideas Seminar. Formerly director of Artistic Administration for The Atlanta Opera and vice president of Columbia Artists Management in New York, Mitchko studied politics and philosophy at both Princeton University and Columbia University. Presently a lecturer on opera, Mitchko has hosted programs on classical radio and provided written music analysis.
Diane Schultz, professor of flute at the School of Music at The University of Alabama, joins the panel in 2019. Formerly a member of the faculty departments of Stephen F. Austin University and Eastern Illinois University, the award-winning flutist and piccoloist’s solo and chamber performances have taken her to the international locales of Austria, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Romania, and Russia. A Rotary International Scholar at McGill University in Montreal, Schultz has shared her expertise through masterclasses and clinics across the United States as well as in England, Quebec, the Bahamas, and Cuba.
Kay Stern, concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music returns to provide guidance to the competition’s finalists in 2019. Stern received full scholarships for her Bachelor, Master’s, and Doctoral degree programs at Juilliard School, where she had the honor of studying with Dorothy DeLay, an award-winning violin educator. A teacher and coach at music festivals around the world, Stern has been featured on television and radio and contributed several articles to Chamber Music America.
Conductor of the Missouri Symphony Orchestra, Kirk Trevor, has agreed to join the panel for the competition’s 35th year. Trevor trained at London’s Guildhall School of Music, graduating cum laude in cello performance and conducting before continuing his studies in France and the United States. A renowned educator and cellist, he has served as director of orchestral studies at the University of Tennessee, as guest teacher at various universities and conservatories around the world, and has been the director of the International Workshop for Conductors held annually in the Czech Republic.
San Antonio native, William Wellborn, pianist, teacher, and lecturer, is another panel veteran who returns to the competition to share his knowledge with some of the state’s top classical music performers. A faculty member of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music since 1989, he teaches piano in the Pre-College division, and Piano Pedagogy in the Collegiate division. Wellborn earned his Master of Music degree from New England Conservatory, and his Doctor of Musical Arts in performance and Bachelor’s in piano pedagogy from The University of Texas.
2018
Elizabeth Buccheri, chamber musician and vocal coach, was assistant conductor of Lyric Opera of Chicago from 1987 to 2013. Previously, she served as collaborative pianist for Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute for Young Artists and pianist for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. She has toured as pianist of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed with the Vermeer and Shanghai string quartets, as well as with Midori, Gil Shaham, Michelle DeYoung, Vinson Cole, Samuel Ramey, Thomas Hampson, Sherrill Milnes, and Susanna Phillips. Her recordings can be found on the CRI, Spectrum, Sony, Cedille, Boston, and Albany labels. She is the first American to receive the Sir Georg Solti Foundation Award. A dedicated teacher, Ms. Buccheri has given master classes at The Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, AMFS, Lawrence Conservatory, and the music academies of Lithuania and Latvia. As a faculty member at Northwestern University, Buccheri supervised the collaborative piano program in the Bienen School of Music from 2000 to 2013. Ms. Buccheri is a native of South Carolina and was educated at Winthrop University and the Eastman School of Music, from which she received the performer’s certificate in piano and Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Buccheri is an artist-faculty member of the New Horizons program, which is made possible by an endowment gift by Kay and Matthew Bucksbaum.
Cynthia Estill has been a faculty member of Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music since 1972. After 44 years of service, she has recently retired as the Principal Bassoonist of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Estill has also performed as principal bassoon of the Aspen Chamber Symphony, the Aspen Festival Orchestra, the Festival der Zukunft in Ernen, Switzerland, and in the Peninsula Music Festival in Wisconsin. Additionally, she served as the bassoonist in the Blair Woodwind Quintet for 40 years. Ms. Estill studied at the Oberlin Conservatory, Indiana University, and the Mozarteum.
William Florescu was General Director of the Florentine Opera Company from 2005-2018. Prior to that, he was General Director of the Lake George Opera from 1999-2005, and the Columbus Light Opera from 1993-1999.
He is also active as an adjudicator and master teacher for such institutions as The Metropolitan Opera National Council, Fort Worth Opera, University of Michigan, Eastman School of Music, Westminster Choir College, Shreveport Opera, Opera Birmingham, Opera Columbus, Rutgers University, The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Classical Singer Convention.
He is committed to new opera, having been a co-commissioner of Ned Rorem’s Our Town for Lake George Opera (now Opera Saratoga). In March of 2010, he produced the Midwest premiere of Robert Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry. This production was commercially released on the Naxos label this past July. The Florentine’s recording of Gantry won two Grammy awards in February and was recently named to the Opera News Top 10 Recordings of 2011 list. In October 2010, the Florentine produced the world premiere of Rio de Sangre by Don Davis (the composer of the music for all three of The Matrix films). This was commercially released on the Albany Records Label and was also a Grammy winner. This past June, the Florentine’s recording of Carlisle Floyd’s Wuthering Heights was released on Reference Records to outstanding international reviews. This past October, he commissioned and directed the world premiere of Aldridge and Garfeins’ Sister Carrie to critical and popular acclaim. These performances will be released on the Naxos Label, which will be the company’s fourth release.
Born in Japan, Miyoko Nakaya Lotto began piano lessons at the age of three, enrolling in the preparatory division of the Toho School of Music. At age 17, she captured the Third Prize in the prestigious Mainichi-NHK Music Competition and toured throughout Japan as a prizewinner.
Lotto entered the Juilliard School at age 18 and quickly became assistant to Sascha Gorodnitzki in her junior year at the Juilliard School. Lotto received her B.S., M.S., and Post Graduate Diploma from the Juilliard School.
Lotto has performed in more than 40 states across the U.S., including her New York City debut at Alice Tully Hall. She has given numerous Master Classes throughout Japan and the U.S., Germany, Israel, China, and Spain, and has served as a juror on the panels of several international competitions such as the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition and the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition.
Lotto is on the faculty at New York University, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Perlman Music Program. Her students have been prize winners of numerous major international piano competitions such as the Leeds Competition, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, International Chopin Competition, and International Hamamatsu Piano Competition.
Maria Schleuning, violinist, has been a member of the Voices of Change Modern Music Ensemble since 1996 and Artistic Director since 2009. An advocate of new music, she has worked with many of the leading composers of our day, including the legendary Witold Lutoslawski, George Crumb, Aaron Kernis, John Corigliano, Augusta Read Thomas, Sebastian Currier, Bright Sheng, Samuel Adler, Donald Erb, David Dzubay, and Pierre Jalbert. She has premiered many new works, including “Dream Catcher”, a solo violin work written especially for her as a gift by Augusta Read Thomas. The world premiere performance was on May 3, 2009, in Dallas, TX. An active chamber musician, Ms. Schleuning has performed in venues such as New York’s Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall, Merkin Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as at numerous festivals throughout the United States and Europe. From 1993-2012 she was a faculty member and performer at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine and served in the same capacity at Idyllwild Arts in CA from 2007-2010, and the Bennington Music Festival, VT in 2012. She has recorded with Continuum modern music ensemble in NYC, as well as in Dallas with grammy- nominated Voices of Change, and the Walden Piano Quartet. In addition, she serves as Principal Second Violin of the New York Women’s Ensemble and Principal Second Violin of the Classical Tahoe Orchestra, where she was a guest concertmaster in 2014. A member of the Dallas Symphony since 1994, she has been featured as soloist with the orchestra on many occasions. Other solo highlights include appearances with the Oregon Symphony, Seattle Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Abilene Symphony, Laredo Symphony, Bozeman Symphony, and with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra on a tour of Eastern Europe including concerts at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the Rudolfinuum in Prague, in addition to a tour of China in 2015. She studied with Josef Gingold at Indiana University, where she was awarded a Performer’s Certificate; with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School in London, with a grant from the Myra Hess Foundation; and with Joel Smirnoff at the Juilliard School, where she received her Master’s Degree.