Composers Conference
Chamber Music Center and Singers Workshop
at Wellesley College

Faculty and Staff

 Conference Leadership

• Mario Davidovsky, Conference Director
  Composer Mario Davidovsky, Fanny P. Mason Professor of Music, Emeritus at Harvard University, is a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, Guggenheim Award, Naumburg Award, and National Endowment for the Arts Award among many others.  He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

• James Baker, Music Director
  James Baker is Principal Percussionist of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and Director of the Percussion Ensemble at the Mannes College of Music.   Mr. Baker is a frequent Guest Conductor of the Slee Sinfonietta at the Institute for 21st Century Music in Buffalo. He regularly conducts the New York New Music Ensemble, Speculum Musicae , the Cygnus Ensemble , Ensemble 21 and Tactus, at the Manhattan School of Music. He has led concerts at Composers’ Portraits at Miller Theater and has conducted concerts at the Transit New Music festival in Leuven, Belgium, at the Beijing Modern music festival, at the Monday Night concerts in Los Angeles, June in Buffalo and at concerts around the US, Asia and Europe.  In addition to his orchestra chair, Mr. Baker appears frequently with many orchestral and chamber music groups in New York. He was for many years a member of the American Composers Orchestra and appears frequently as a percussionist with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He was a member of Eos and has played with the Da Capo chamber players, the SEM ensemble, Parnassus, Continuum, Speculum Musicae, and the NY New Music Ensemble. He is a member of Concert Royal Baroque Orchestra and the NY Collegium and has appeared with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra ,NY Philharmonic, NY Pops and the American Symphony.

• Melinda Wagner, Guest Composer (July 18-25): Ms. Wagner is an American composer born in Phildelphia.  Her colorful Concerto for Flute, Strings, and Percussion, commissioned by Paul Lustig Dunkel and the Westchester Philharmonic, was awarded the 1999 Pulitzer Prize in Music (the only flute concerto to date to win the coveted award).  Since then, her works have been performed by a number of orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, and the Staatskapelle Berlin.  Her chamber works have been performed by the New York New Music Ensemble, the Network for New Music, the Empyrean and Left Coast Ensembles, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and many other leading organizations.Commissions have also come from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Barlow Foundation, the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, the Fromm and Koussevitzky Foundations, the Ernst and Young Emerging Composers Fund, the American Brass Quintet, and guitarist David Starobin.   Melinda Wagner has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, Syracuse University, and Hunter College. She has lectured at many schools including Yale, Cornell, Juilliard, and Mannes. Ms. Wagner has served as Composer-in-Residence at the Yellow Barn Music Festival, the Monadnock Music Festival, the University of Texas (Austin) and at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, percussionist James Saporito, and their children.

•  Michael Gandolfi, Guest Composer (July 25-August 1): Michael Gandolfi’s early compositions earned awards from ASCAP and from the American Society of University Composers and fellowships for study at the Yale Summer School of Music and Art, the Composers Conference and the Tanglewood Music Center. He received his formal education at the New England Conservatory of Music. Mr. Gandolfi recently completed a Meet the Composer/Music Alive residency with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In the spring of 2007 the ASO commissioned and premiered his new work The Garden of Cosmic Speculation, inspired by Charles Jencks’ spectacular private garden in Dumfries, Scotland. Following the premiere performance, The Garden of Cosmic Speculation was recorded and released on the Telarc label. A new recording of other orchestral and large ensemble works, Y2K Compliant, was also released in early 2008 by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.

  He has received commissions from Speculum Musicae, Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, Atlanta Symphony, the Fromm Foundation, Boston Musica Viva, and the Koussevitzky Foundation, among many others. While fulfilling commissions, Mr. Gandolfi was also teaching: he taught at Harvard University, Phillips Andover Academy, the New England Conservatory of Music (where he serves as chairman of the composition department), and is presently on faculty at the Tanglewood Music Center. This fall, Mr. Gandolfi will be on faculty at Indiana University and he will return to the Harvard faculty for the spring term.

  Mr. Gandolfi's music has been recorded on the Telarc, BMOP Sound, Deutsche Grammophon, CRI, Innova and Klavier labels. Additional recordings are available from CSU Wind Esemble Recording: Visions, USMB Recordings.

   

Conference Faculty (the following list is based on the 2008 and 2009 seasons and is indicative of the types of performers heard each year at the Conference)

Performing/Coaching Staff

Flute

• Barry Crawford
  Ensemble Pi. Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, Poetica Musica, Chamberosity, The Sedna Winds, and the New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra.

• Tara O'Connor (on leave summer 2009)
  Windscape, founding member of New Millenium Ensemble, Bach Aria Group soloist, Faculty:  Purchase College, State University of New York
   

Oboe

• Peggy Pearson
  Winsor Music, Inc. Emmanuel Chamber Orchestra, Greenleaf Chamber Players, Bach Aria Group, Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, Faculty: Purchase College Conservatory of Music

Clarinet

• Jean Kopperud
  NY New Music Ensemble, Chamber Players of the League of Composers/I.S.C.M., Omega, Washington Square Chamber Players, Ensemble 21: Faculty member at SUNY Buffalo and adjunct faculty at Sarah Lawrence College, New York University, and Columbia University. 

Bassoon

• Donald McGeen
  Chamber, orchestral and Broadway musician.  Founding member of Pentaphonic Winds; performs with Orchestra of St. Luke's, New Jersey Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Long Island Philharmonic, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Lake George Opera Festival, New York City ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem;  Served on faculties of NYU, NJ City University and William Paterson State College.

Horn

• Angela Cordell (on leave summer 2009)

• Patrick Pridemore
  Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's

Trumpet

• Tom Hoyt (on leave summer 2009)

• Jerry Bryant
  Adjunct Faculty New Jersey City University

Trombone

• Tom Hutchinson (on leave summer 2009)

• Benjamin Herrington
  Concert, recording and Broadway artist: Founding member of Meridian Arts Ensemble, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orchestra of St. Luke's.  Teaches at Princeton and Columbia Universities and Manhattan School of Music

Piano

• Christopher Oldfather
  Concert Artist, Collage New Music of Boston, Parnassus of New York

• Blair McMillen
  Concert and recording artist: Da Capo Chamber Players, Avian Music, American Modern Ensemble

Percussion

• Stephen Paysen
  Freelance solo and ensemble performer, DoublePlay Percussion Duo, Has performed with Speculum Musicae, The Group for Contemporary Music, The Orchestra of the Twentieth Century, Abacus Percusion Ensemble, and Broadway pit orchestras; served as faculty at Suffolk Community College and Dowling College.

• Dominic Donato
  Talujon Percussion Quartet, DoublePlay Percussion Duo,  Faculty: Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, SUNY.

Violin

• Jennifer Elowitch
  Assistant Principal Second Violinist of Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and performs regularly with the Boston Symphony.  Appears with Boston Musica Viva, Collage New Music, and the Fromm Players at Harvard.  Artistic Co-Director and Executive Director of the Portland Chamber Music Festival, with whom she has appeared on WGBH radio in Boston and on NPR's "Performance Today."  Cuurently on leave from the Faculty of New England Conservatory Preparatory School. 

• Laura Frautschi (on leave summer 2009)
  Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, New York City Opera Orchestra

• Bayla Keyes
  Boston Musica Viva, Triple Helix, Faculty: Boston University; Artistic Director, Interlochen Chamber Music Conference and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute String Quartet Seminar.

• David Fulmer
  Violinist and Composer:  Winner of 56th annual BMI Student Composer Award and Charles Ives Award.  Currently pursuing studies in composition with Milton Babbitt and violin with Robert Mann at the Juilliard School as a C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow.  Appears regularly this season throughout Lincoln Center, most recently in the "Great Performers" series.

• Anna Lim
  Concert and recording artist, Founding member of Laurel Arts Trio, teaches violin at Princeton University, former member of New Millenium Ensemble.

• Cyrus Stevens
  Parnassus of New York, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Dinosaur Annex

• Miranda Cuckson
  Concert and recording artist, appearances internationally in Europe, United States and Far East, Argento Chamber Ensemble, ACME, Sequitur, teaches at Mannes College of Music, Extension and Preparatory divisions.
   

Viola

• Lois Martin (on leave summer 2009)
  Atlantic String Quartet, New York Chamber Symphony,  Concordia, String Fever, the Salon Chamber Soloists, and the American Chamber Ensemble

• Louise Schulman
  Principal violist Orchestra of St. Luke's and St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble 

• Liuh-Wen Ting
  Concert and chamber artist:  Meridian Quartet, Westchester Philharmonic

Violoncello

• Michael Finckel
  Eberli Ensemble, SEM Ensemble, Sextet Project, Finckle Cello Quartet. Music Director: Sage City Symphony, Faculty: Concordia Conservatory

• Joshua Gordon
  Cello, Lydian String Quartet, Faculty: Brandeis University, Guest Artist with Ensemble Sospeso, Fromm Players at Harvard University, League/ISCM Chamber Players

Contrabass

• Pascale Delache-Feldman
  Co-founder of Cello e Basso; Artistic director,  Boston Bass Bash Festival, Guest artist with the St. Petersburg, Borromeo and Lark String Quartets; ALEA III, BMOP,  Boston Pops; Faculty: Longy School of Music, Tufts University,  Rivers School of Music

Soprano

• Mary Nessinger
  Concert and recording artist:  Faculty: Vassar College, Boston Modern Orchestra

 

Chamber Music Center Faculty

Flute

• John Ranck

Oboe

• Stuart Dunkel

Clarinet

• Margo McGowan

Bassoon

• Isabelle Plaster

Piano

• Cynthia Adler

• James Chubet

• Christopher Dwyer

• Mark Goodman

• Timothy McFarland

Violin

• Anne Marie Chubet

• Kristina Nilsson

• Paula Oakes

Viola

• Frances Rios

• Don Krishnaswami

Violoncello

• Jan Pfeiffer

Vocal

• Allen Combs

 

Conference Administration

• Jan Pfeiffer, Chamber Music Center Director
  Cellist Jan Pfeiffer performs, teaches, and coaches in the Boston area, and throughout New England.  She is the Director of the Chamber Music Society at Wellesley College and teaches at  Boston College, All Newton Music School, and her home.  She is founder and Artistic Director of Lavazza Chamber Ensemble, and she performs with many area groups including the Boston Lyric Opera and Rhode Island Philharmonic.  Jan also performs frequent solo and chamber music recitals in the greater Boston area.  While a resident of New York, she performed as soloist in Carnegie Hall and was featured on Charles Kuralt's television show.  

• John Ranck, Assistant Director, Winds
  Dr. Ranck has been principal flute with the Melrose Symphony Orchestra since 2004. He also is second flute/piccolo player for Franklin Performing Arts Company's annual Nutcracker production. He teaches privately at Northeastern University, was Visiting Instructor of Flute at the University of Massachusetts - Boston in 2000 and 2003, and was visiting Flute Professor at Rhode Island College in 2007. Having coached chamber ensembles at the Composers Conference at Wellesley College during our 2005, 2007, and 2008 sessions, he can be heard with the Trinity Church Choir on their "Candlelight Carol" CD (London Records).

• Allen Combs, Assistant Director, Singers Workshop
  Allen Combs is active in the Boston area as a singer, instructor, and choral conductor.  A member of the voice faculty at Phillips Academy, Andover, he is also a soloist and chorister at the Church of the Advent in Boston and has been the music director of the Andover Choral Society for the past ten years.  He has given numerous master classes for choral groups in the greater Boston area and served as interim music director for Trinity Church, Copley Square in 1996.  He is currently a member of the Blue Heron Renaissance Choir.

• Kathryn Welter, Executive Director
  Kathryn Welter, Executive Director, is a Ph.D. graduate of Harvard University in musicology.  She brings to the Conference a wide range of administrative experience—from positions as Assistant Dean of Harvard Summer School to Manager of the Heidelberg Castle Festival Orchestra.  Kathryn is also Music Director at Peace Lutheran Church in Wayland, Massachusetts and Choir Director at St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church in Natick, Massachusetts.