guest artist biographies 2016-2017 season artist biographies 2016-2017 season photos: please contact...
TRANSCRIPT
Guest Artist Biographies
2016-2017 Season
Photos: Please contact Teri Venker at [email protected] if you need photos.
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
PAGE 2
GUEST ARTIST INDEX
Artist Page
Naha Greenholtz, Violin 3
Henning Kraggerud, Violin 4
Christina and Michelle Naughton, Piano Duo
5
Sylvia McNair, Soprano 6
James and Brenda DeVita, Actors 7
Stephen Hough, Piano 8
Carl St. Clair, Guest Conductor 9
Tine Thing Helseth, Trumpet 10
Philippe Bianconi, Piano 11
Nathan Laube, Organ 12
Devon Gunthrie, Soprano 13
Timothy Jones, Bass-Baritone 14
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
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Naha Greenholtz, Violin
John Corigliano
Chaconne from The Red Violin
Sept. 23, 24, 25, 2016
Acclaim
"Naha Greenholtz brought off her concerto-like violin assignments as a
true virtuoso." – Isthmus
Biography
Canadian violinist Naha Greenholtz was born in Kyoto, Japan, where she began her violin studies at age
three. Since her solo debut at 14, concerto appearances include engagements with the Vancouver,
Madison, Quad City, Burnaby, Kelowna, and National Repertory Orchestras in works ranging from Bach
to Stravinsky.
Ms. Greenholtz has also had an active career as an orchestra musician. In addition to her duties as
Concertmaster of both the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra,
performance highlights include guest concertmaster appearances with the Oregon Symphony, Calgary
Philharmonic, National Ballet of Canada, Omaha Symphony, and Memphis Symphony, among many
others.
Ms. Greenholtz has participated in prominent music festivals throughout the US and Europe including
Kneisel Hall (Maine), Taos (New Mexico), Spoleto (Italy), Lucerne (Switzerland), and the New York String
Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall. In June and July she will rejoin the National Ballet of Canada as
guest concertmaster for their summer season, including a one week residency at The Saratoga
Performing Arts Center in New York. She will also perform in June at Madison's own Bach Dancing &
Dynamite Society.
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
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Henning Kraggerud, Violin
Bruch
Violin Concerto No. 1
Kraggerud
Three Postludes from Equinox
Oct. 21, 22, 23, 2016
Acclaim
“Kraggerud took advantage of every possibility the music offered,
from soaring, high harmonic melodies to…rich interaction with the
orchestra.” -- The International Review of Music
Biography
Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud is co-Artistic Director of the Risør Festival of Chamber Music and
Artistic Director of the Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra.
Henning’s esteemed position as an artist originates from his intelligent expression and impressive
virtuosity combined with an unusually colorful tone. A natural and instinctive artist, he consistently
draws audiences and critics towards the genuine quality of his playing.
In the spirit of the old masters such as Fritz Kreisler and Eugène Ysaÿe, Henning composes his own
music, performing many of his own works, arrangements and cadenzas in concert. Henning is also an
accomplished improviser, a skill which led him to a recording entitled “Last Spring”. The disc was the
result of a collaboration with Norwegian jazz pianist Bugge Wesseltoft.
Henning is a recipient of Norway's prestigious Grieg Prize and in 2007 was awarded the Sibelius Prize for
his interpretations and recording of Sibelius’ music around the world. Henning is a Professor at the
Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo, where he plays/directs the Oslo Camerata. Since September 2015,
he has been the International Chair in Violin at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester,
England.
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
PAGE 5
Christina and Michelle
Naughton, Piano Duo
Mozart
Concerto for Two Pianos
Nov. 11, 12, 13, 2016
Acclaim
“Joining two hearts and four hands at two grand pianos, the Naughton sisters created an electrifying and
moving musical performance.” --Sing Tao Daily (Hong Kong)
Biography
The Naughton sisters have captivated audiences throughout the world with the unity created by their
mystical musical communication, and as featured by the Wall Street Journal in their own words, “there
are times I forget we are two people playing together”. The sisters recently signed an exclusive
recording contract with Warner Classics which will release their second album, Visions, in March 2016.
Orchestral engagements include appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Houston, Milwaukee,
New Jersey, North Carolina, Nashville, Virginia, Hawaii, El Paso, Napa Valley, and Madison Symphonies.
Christina and Michelle’s recitals include venues in America such as the Kennedy Center’s Terrace
Theater, New York City’s Naumburg Orchestral Concert Series at the Historic Naumberg Bandshell
(Central Park) and many others.
Born in Princeton, New Jersey to parents of European and Chinese descent, they spent most of their
early childhood in Madison, Wisconsin. They began playing the piano at age four, tutored by their
mother. Christina and Michelle are graduates of The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music,
where they were each awarded the Festorazzi Prize. They are Steinway Artists and currently reside in
New York City.
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
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Sylvia McNair, Soprano
A Madison Symphony Christmas
Dec. 2, 3, 4, 2016
Acclaim
“Sylvia McNair was a great addition… so warm and clear on her
songs.” --Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Biography
Two-time Grammy Award winner and regional Emmy Award winner, Sylvia McNair lays claim to a three-
decade, stellar career in the musical realms of opera, oratorio, cabaret, and musical theater. Her journey
has taken her from the Metropolitan Opera to the Salzburg Festival, from the New York Philharmonic to
the Rainbow Room, from the Ravinia Festival to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, from the pages of the
New York Times and the Wall Street Journal to the London Times and the cover of Cabaret Scenes. She’s
appeared as a soloist multiple times with nearly every major opera company and symphony orchestra in
the world, and is retracing her star route now with Gershwin, Porter, Bernstein and Sondheim. It would
be difficult to top Sylvia’s invitations to sing the Bach B-minor Mass with the Vienna Philharmonic for
Pope John Paul II at The Vatican (2000) and a recital for the US Supreme Court by special request of
Justice Sandra Day O’Conner (1998).
A proud Buckeye from Mansfield, Ohio, Sylvia earned a Master’s Degree with Distinction from the
Indiana University School of Music where she now serves on the faculty. She’s received honorary
doctorates from Westminster College (1997) and Indiana University (1998), the Ohio Governor’s Award
for Outstanding Achievement in Arts and Entertainment (1999), and the Indiana Governor’s Arts Award
(2011).
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
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James DeVita, Actor
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Beyond the Score®: Scheherazade
Jan. 15, 2017
Biography
A Long Island native, James DeVita has an esteemed career as an
author, actor, and theater director. Mr. DeVita is a core company
member and the literary manager at American Players Theater, a classical repertory theater in
Wisconsin, and has just finished his 21st season with the company. He’s worked as an actor in Japan,
Germany, Australia, Ireland, and around the United States.
Brenda DeVita, Actor
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Beyond the Score®: Scheherazade
Jan. 15, 2017
Biography
Brenda DeVita studied theater at the University of Northern Iowa and the Professional Theatre Training
Program at the University of Delaware. She trained with Tadashi Suzuki in Japan and worked many years
as a professional actress. DeVita is currently the Artistic Director for the American Players Theater and
just finished her 21st season with the company. Her directing credits include Shakespeare’s Will, Les
Liaisons Dangereuses, A Year of Magical Thinking, and The Other Place. She lives in beautiful Spring
Green with her husband, James DeVita, and their two children, Gale and Sophia.
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
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Stephen Hough, Piano
Saint- Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5
(The Egyptian)
Feb. 17, 18, 19, 2017
Acclaim
“The most perfect piano playing conceivable.” -- The Guardian
“A virtuoso who begins where others leave off.” -- Washington Post
Biography
Named by The Economist as one of 20 Living Polymaths, British pianist Stephen Hough is a rare
Renaissance man of our time. Over the course of a long and distinguished career as one of the world’s
leading concert pianists, he has also excelled as a writer and composer.
In 2001 Mr. Hough became the first classical performing artist to win a MacArthur Foundation
Fellowship. He was awarded the 2008 Northwestern University’s Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano and
went on to win the Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist Award in 2010. In addition, Mr. Hough is
an avid writer. He has written for London’s The Guardian and The Times, and was invited by the
Telegraph Media Group in December 2008 to write a cultural blog that receives ten to 15 thousand hits
every week.
Currently a resident of London, Mr. Hough is a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in
London, holds the International Chair of Piano Studies at his alma mater, the Royal Northern College in
Manchester, England, and is on the faculty of The Julliard School in New York. He was made a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2014 New Year’s Honours List.
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
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Carl St. Clair, Guest Conductor
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Egmont Overture
Johann Hummel
Trumpet Concerto
Richard Strauss
An Alpine Symphony
Mar. 10, 11, 12, 2017
Biography
Music Director of the Pacific Symphony for more than two decades, Carl St. Clair has become widely
recognized for his musically distinguished performances, innovative approaches to programming, and
commitment to outstanding educational programs. The largest ensemble formed in the United States
during the last forty years, the Pacific Symphony owes its rapid artistic growth to Mr. St. Clair’s astute
leadership. Influenced by his close association with Leonard Bernstein, his commitment to the
development and performance of new works by American composers is evident in the wealth of
commissions and recordings by the Symphony. During the orchestra’s first European tour several years
ago, they consistently played to packed houses with rave reviews.
Most recently, Mr. St. Clair has been named Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa
Rica. Now in its 73rd season, the orchestra is a well-established regional and national orchestra serving
the entire country.
Mr. St. Clair has also been general music director and chief conductor of the German National Theater
and Staatskapelle in Weimar, Germany (the first non-European to hold this position), general music
director of the Komische Oper in Berlin, and principal guest conductor of the Radio Sinfonieorchester
Stuttgart, where he successfully completed a three-year recording project of the complete Villa-Lobos
symphonies.
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
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Tine Thing Helseth, Trumpet
Johann Hummel
Trumpet Concerto
Mar. 10, 11, 12, 2017
Acclaim
“[Helseth’s] ability to transform the brassy trumpet sound into
something soft, supple, lyrical and delectable needs to be heard to
be believed.” -- The Evening Standard
Biography
Tine Thing Helseth started to play the trumpet at the age of 7, and is one of today’s leading trumpet
soloists.
Recent engagements include her BBC Proms concerto debut at the Royal Albert Hall in the London
premiere of Matthias Pintscher’s Chute d’Étoiles for two trumpets and orchestra with the BBC Scottish
Symphony Orchestra, her acclaimed debut at London’s Wigmore Hall, the world premiere of Bent
Sørensen’s Trumpet Concerto with the Bergen Philharmonic, and further performances with the
Gothenburg Symphony and Copenhagen Philharmonic orchestras.
In addition to concert appearances, Tine also curates her own festival, Tine@Munch, which was
launched in June 2013 in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of fellow Norwegian, Edvard
Munch. The three-day event is in Oslo’s Edvard Munch Museum.
In recognition of her outstanding performing abilities, Tine has received various awards including
“Newcomer of the Year” at the 2013 Echo Klassik Awards, the 2009 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship,
“Newcomer of the Year” at the 2007 Norwegian Grammy Awards (the first classical artist ever to be
nominated), and second prize in the 2006 Eurovision Young Musicians Competition.
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
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Philippe Bianconi, Piano
Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto No. 3
Apr. 7, 8, 9, 2017
Acclaim
“Bianconi is a true aristocrat of the piano. Classically
poised, Romantically ardent… with effortless grace and
unforced power.” -- BBC Music Magazine
“An extraordinary exhibition of musicianship, technical control and good taste which lent the music a
freshness, immediacy and conviction one all too seldom encounters” ----The London Times
Biography
French pianist Philippe Bianconi attended the Conservatory in Nice where he studied with Simone
Delbert-Fevrier. In Paris he studied with Gaby Casadesus and in Freiburg-in-Breisgau with Vitalij
Margulis. He was the first prize winner of both the Casadesus International Competition in Cleveland
and the “Jeunesse Musicales” International Competition in Belgrade, as well as the Silver Medal of the
Seventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth.
Philippe Bianconi is the new director of the American Conservatory, located in the Palais de
Fontainebleau. Founded in 1921 to introduce the best American music students to the French musical
tradition of teaching, composing and performing, it has included on its faculty the most prestigious
names: Maurice Ravel, Marcel Dupré, and Leonard Bernstein. This will be his sixth performance with the
Madison Symphony Orchestra.
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
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Nathan Laube, Organ
Brahms
A German Requiem
May 5, 6, 7, 2017
Biography
A star among young classical musicians, concert
organist Nathan Laube has quickly earned a place among the
organ world's elite performers. In addition to his busy concert
schedule, Mr. Laube serves as Assistant Professor of Organ at
The Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he teaches with distinguished professors
David Higgs and Edoardo Bellotti.
Highlights of Mr. Laube’s recent festival appearances around the world include the 2014 Naumburg
Orgelsommer (Germany), the 2015 Smarano Organ Academy (Italy), the Max Reger Foundation of
America's 2015 Max Reger Festival (USA), the WFMT Bach Project for which he performed the complete
Clavierübung III (Chicago, USA), and for several EROI Festivals at the Eastman School of Music (USA).
Mr. Laube holds a Master’s Degree in Organ from the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart, Germany, where he
was a student of Ludger Lohmann, and recipient of a German DAAD Fellowship Study Scholarship for his
studies there. As a recipient of a William Fulbright Grant, Nathan spent the 2010-2011 academic year
studying with Michel Bouvard and Jan Willem Jansen at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de
Toulouse, where he earned the Prix de Spécialisé, in addition to the Prix François Vidal from the city of
Toulouse.
###
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
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Devon Guthrie, Soprano
Brahms
A German Requiem
May 5, 6, 7, 2017
Acclaim
“Devon Guthrie..was a class act, able to
transform her mood…in a flash. Her voice was
a rich delight.” -- Arts Desk
Biography
Guthrie has won several awards and prizes in competitions such as the Gerda Lissner Competition,
Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, Licia Albanese Competition and
Liederkranz. She was also an apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera and Tanglewood Music Festival, where
she worked with James Levine.
Recent operatic roles include Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby at the New England Conservatory,
Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte with Opera Philadelphia, Chocholka in The Cunning Little Vixen for the
New York Philharmonic, Bubikopf in Der Kaiser von Atlantis with the Central City Opera, and Donna
Elvira in Don Giovanni at the Tanglewood Music Festival. At Juilliard her roles included: Sidonie in
Armide, Drusilla in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Laurie in The Tender Land.
A dedicated recitalist and contemporary music interpreter, she has appeared several times at the Opera
America Salon and has performed pieces such as Lonely Child by Claude Vivier, 13 Ways of Looking at a
Blackbird by Lukas Foss, and Orpheus and Euridice by Ricky Ian Gordon.
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON 2016-2017 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
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Timothy Jones,
Bass-Baritone
Brahms
A German Requiem
May 5, 6, 7, 2017
Acclaim
"Everyone bowed to baritone Timothy Jones' utter inhabiting
of the role. Jones' voice -- flowing, flexible, but always with a
gorgeous timbre -- sought for and found the nuances..." --
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Biography
American Bass-Baritone Timothy Jones enjoys a reputation as an exciting presence on operatic and
concert stages throughout the United States, Europe and South America. His eagerly anticipated
performances combine intelligent musicianship, commanding vocal technique, and a unique ability to
connect with audiences.
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Mr. Jones made his New York debut with the Chamber Music Society of
Lincoln Center in Feb. 2000. An enthusiastic champion of new and contemporary music, Mr. Jones has
commissioned and premiered numerous compositions.
Mr. Jones’ annual appearances with Kevin Noe and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble are a highpoint
of the season. His performance of Pulitzer Prize Winning Composer Kevin Puts’ Einstein on Mercer
Street is featured on PNME’s recent recording “Against the Emptiness”. Among the composers he has
worked with are: Derek Bermel, Robert Avalon, John Vasconcelos Costa, Kevin Fuchs, Jeffrey Goldberg,
David Heuser, and Jeffrey Nytch.