Musicians - Guest Artists - Current Season
Concert Series I:
Guest Artist: Athena Mertes
December 11, 2008
Young American soprano, Athena Mertes, is quickly establishing herself as one of our generation's most promising classical singers with a stunning and warm Italianate sound. Having already performed in Graz, Austria, Las Vegas, Nev., Los Angeles, Calif., and Lexington, Ky., Mertes' opera credits include Morgana (Alcina), Musetta (La Bohême), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Abigail (The Crucible), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Nella (Gianni Schicchi), Little Red (Little Red's Most Unusual Day) and soprano soloist in Vivaldi's Gloria. This is her debut with the Henderson Symphony.
In addition to her success as an opera and concert performer, Mertes has garnered several awards in a very short time. Among these are 1st place in the Dean Allen Scholarship Competition, 1st place (District Winner) for the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Award, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Encouragement Award, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing 1st place award. Last spring, she performed with the Las Vegas Philharmonic as a featured artist in Honegger's King David and guest soloist in the December 2007 Holiday Concert. Her voice teacher is Alfonse Anderson, DMA, of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Concert Series I:
Guest Artist: Juline Barol-Gilmore
December 11, 2008
As a frequent concert artist, mezzo soprano Juline Barol-Gilmore has performed with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society, Omaha Symphony, Las Vegas Music Festival, Las Vegas Desert Chorale, Performing Arts Society of Nevada, and the Southwest Symphony. She has performed the Brahms Alto Rhapsodie in Las Vegas and Germany, as well as numerous recitals throughout the country. Her passion for contemporary music has led her to collaborations with several important American composers, including Libby Larsen, Virko Baley, and Lori Laitman.
Her operatic experience includes over thirty leading operatic and musical theater roles for several professional organizations including Opera Omaha, Central City Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Des Moines Metro Opera, Dona Ana Lyric Opera, and the UNLV Opera Theater. As a performer of contemporary opera, Ms. Barol-Gilmore appeared as Lena in the world premiere of Libby Larsen's Eric Hermannson's Soul, and debuted the title role of Randall Shinn's Sara McKinnon on a libretto by Tony award winning playwright and director, Mark Medoff, with the Dona Ana Lyric Opera in New Mexico in 2001. She made her Las Vegas operatic debut in 2002 with the Southern Nevada Opera Association (now Opera Las Vegas) as Catherine Wright in Daron Hagen's Shining Brow. She can also be heard as Samantha in the 1996 recording of The Ballad of Baby Doe on the Newport Classics label.
Awards include national runner-up of the 2004 NATSAA Recital Competition, the Richard F. Gold Career Grant in 1997, the 1996 Central City Opera Studio Artist of the Year, runner-up of the Oklahoma Stewart Awards in 1995, and first place in the New Mexico NATS State Competitions from 1989-1993. Young Artist programs include two seasons with Opera Omaha's Heartland Opera Theater, and summers with Opera Theater of St. Louis and Central City Opera.
Hailing from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Ms. Barol-Gilmore graduated from New Mexico State University with a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance, followed by a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory. She is currently a professor of voice at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where she is also pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance. Her voice teachers for each degree respectively were Jon Linford, Inci Bashar, and Carol Kimball. She remains active as a concert artist and master class clinician throughout the United States, and will perform as the mezzo soloist for Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in 2009 with the Arkansas Symphony and the Las Vegas Philharmonic.
Concert Series I:
Guest Artist: Dr. Alfonse Anderson
December 11, 2008
Dr. Alfonse Anderson, Vocal Area Coordinator and Associate Professor of Voice at University of Nevada Las Vegas received his bachelor and master's degrees in music from Texas Southern University, and DMA in voice and pedagogy from the University of Arizona.
He has taught voice for over 15 years and in that time his students have won regional, national and international vocal competitions with such notable organizations as the Bel Canto Competition, MET Opera, NATS, Leontyne Price, Palm Spring Vocal Competition to name a few. Many of his students have performed in Young Artist Programs such as the internationally famous Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Chautaugua Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Aspen Music Festival, Des Moines Opera, Opera North and Portland Opera.
Dr. Anderson has performed in the United States with such notable organizations as the Houston Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Minnesota Opera, Oakland Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera South, Opera Columbus, Opera North and Chicago Opera Theater.
Dr Anderson has performed in concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra, Chautauqua Symphony, Warsaw Symphony and Krakow Symphony. He also performs frequently in recitals and concerts in many major cities such as Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago and New York City to name a few. Dr. Anderson has also performed throughout Europe, South America and Poland in concerts and operatic performances.
Dr. Anderson performed the role of "the Leader" in the premier recording of the opera Bandanna by Daron Hagen. In Las Vegas he is regularly heard singing with Opera Las Vegas and The Tenors - 3.
Dr. Anderson is a regular member of the internationally famous" American Spiritual Ensemble". This recorded ensemble is made up of opera singers from throughout the United States and Canada. They perform concerts regularly throughout United States and Europe.
Dr. Anderson is frequently engaged as an adjudicator for regional and national competitions. He also performs recitals, masterclasses and lectures on the "Contributions of African-Americans to the World of Music."
Concert Series I:
Guest Artist: Dr. Tod Fitzpatrick
December 11, 2008
Tod Fitzpatrick is an active singer, teacher and student of the craft of singing. Interested in a wide variety vocal repertoire, his performance experience includes over forty operatic and music theater roles in addition to a substantial number of oratorio and concert works. He also has a passion for song recitals and new works for voice.
Frequently performing with distinguished organizations around the United States, a few of the ensembles with which he has sung include the Virginia Symphony, Virginia Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Opera Pacific, the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, the Utah Festival Opera Company, Long Beach Opera, and Los Angeles Opera where he was a resident artist for three years.
A native of California, he earned his Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Chapman University. His Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees are from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music where he received the Marilyn Horne Voice Scholarship. His primary voice teachers respectively for each degree were Janet Smith, Margaret Shaper and Gary Glaze.
He was a vocal fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and at the Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland. He performed in San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program and studied at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies in England. He was also selected to be a National Association of Teachers of Singing intern at Ithaca College in New York.
As a teacher, his students routinely perform professionally in concerts and major productions based in Las Vegas and elsewhere. They win awards in regional and nationally recognized voice competitions and attend summer music festivals in the United States and Europe. As an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, he is the President of the Las Vegas Chapter of NATS.
Before moving to Nevada, Dr. Fitzpatrick was Director of Vocal Studies at Christopher Newport University in Virginia. Currently an Associate Professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, he serves as the Vocal Area Coordinator and remains highly active as a performer and lecturer in America and abroad.
Henderson Symphony Orchestra - Master Series II:
Guest Artist: Andrew Smith
October 17, 2008
Cellist Andrew Smith is an Associate Professor of music at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he performs regularly in the southwest as a member of The Cerberus Trio. He is an original member of the Camerata de Deia, a group founded in 2001 to be the resident ensemble with The Festival Internacional de Deia, a summer festival in Mallorca, Spain. He is also a founding member of The Adriatic Chamber Music Festival, a summer music program in southern Italy, where he has taught and performed since its inception in 1998. An active recitalist, as well as chamber musician, Andrew has collaborated with pianists Alfredo Oyaguez, and CarlEPonten in concerts in Spain, Italy, and Sweden, as well as in Kosovo, Serbia, and Macedonia. In February 2006, he performed the world premiere of Linda Catlin Smith's Ballad, for Cello and Piano, with pianist Eve Egoyan at the Glenn Gould Studios in Toronto. In April of the same season he played the Beethoven "Triple" concerto with pianist Mykola Suk, and violinist Byron Tauchi in Chernigiv and Kiev, with the Philharmonic of Ukraine.
Prior to his appointment at UNLV Mr. Smith played with the Nicoletti String Quartet in Santa Barbara where he also performed regularly with the Santa Barbara Symphony, and the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra. For two years he was principal cellist with the West Virginia Symphony, where he was in residence as a member of the Montani String Quartet. He has won several awards and prizes, including first prize in the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation competition in Santa Barbara, and an Esperia Foundation grant to study with the eminent Hungarian cellist Csaba Oncay at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. He has studied chamber music with such notable musicians as Felix Galimir, Leon Fleisher and Julius Levine, as well as members of the Juilliard, Guarneri, Emerson, Alban Berg, Vermeer, Muir, and American string quartets. He has also participated in numerous chamber music festivals, among them the Taos School of Music, Kneisel Hall, The Quartet Program, and Bravo! Colorado. In the fall of 2005 he performed recitals in Sweden and Italy (with pianist Carl Ponten), and in Kosovo, Serbia, and Macedonia (with pianist Alfredo Oyaguez.) In the summer of 2008 he toured throughout Europe. In the fall of 2008, he begins an appointment as Principal Cello with the Las Vegas Philharmonic.
Mr. Smith is a recipient of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was a member of the Young Artists String Quartet. He also holds a Master's degree from The Mannes College of Music in New York, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hartt College of Music in Hartford, CT. He has studied cello with Timothy Eddy, Bernard Greenhouse, Leslie Parnas, Ron Leonard, and Geoffrey Rutkowski.
Henderson Symphony Orchestra - Master Series I:
Guest Artist: Molly Murphy
September 14, 2008
Molly Murphy is the Manager and the Principal Oboist of the Henderson Symphony Orchestra. She has been a member since 2000 and has been the manager for the past three seasons. During her tenure the orchestra has moved from being a part of the City of Henderson Parks and Recreation to a non-profit organization under the umbrella of the Nevada Community Foundation. Molly is active in promoting the orchestra within the community.
A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Molly graduated from Chaparral High School. During her school years, she participated in the Clark County Honor Bands for seven years as well as the All-State Band and Orchestras for four years. She was one of the representatives for the State of Nevada in the McDonald's All American Band where she performed with Lionel Hampton and participated in the Macys and Rose Bowl Parades.
For her college career, Molly attended Wichita State University where she majored in Viola and Oboe Performance. She studied under Peter Slowik (viola) and Linda Strommen (oboe). During her time there, she performed at various master classes including one with Thomas Stacy. In addition, Molly played with the Guarneri String Quartet as well as being a member of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.
After college, she was a member of the Corpus Christi Symphony and the American Youth Orchestra with Mehli Mehta.
Molly was employed by KGOU-FM Radio in Norman, Oklahoma where she served as the Music Director for five years. She programmed all of the classical and jazz programs for the station.
Since moving back to Las Vegas/Henderson in 1991, Molly has worked as a Para-Professional for the Clark County School District. She has performed with various chamber groups and of course, the Henderson Symphony Orchestra. She has a private studio of over 30 students and is an Instructional Assistant for the Music Department at Schofield Middle School. Currently Molly also is a member of the Board for the League of American Orchestras representing 350 small orchestras from across the country.
Molly is proud of her three wonderful girls - Courtney, Amanda, and Megan and of all of their accomplishments.
Guest Artist: Katherine Mathiasmeier
September 14, 2008
Katherine Mathiasmeier joined the Henderson Symphony Orchestra in 2005 becoming the group's principal trumpet player. She obtained a Master of Music Performance degree from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from The College of New Jersey. Katherine studied the trumpet with Kurt Zimmermann of the New York metropolitan area, Phil Ruecktenwald of the New York City Opera, and Jeffrey Piper of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra.
Before moving to Nevada, Katherine taught middle school band in New Jersey and led clinics for middle and high school band students in New Mexico. She also conducted the University of New Mexico Community Band and the University of New Mexico Basketball Band. Currently, Katherine teaches general music to students in kindergarten through 5th grade in the Clark County School District.
Beyond her participation in music, Katherine is involved in a plethora of outdoor activities. She spends her free time biking, snowboarding, hiking, swimming, running marathons, and rock climbing.