Since winning all the major prizes of the renowned Leeds International Pianoforte Competition in 1996, Russian born Ilya Itin’s consummate pianism has delighted audiences on four continents. He has been praised for “his rare and exciting artistry” and “superb technique” (Daily Telegraph UK). “The perfect pianist Ilya Itin succeeded in transforming the romantic revelry of Rachmaninov’s 3rd Piano concerto into rhythmic force and compactness” (Der Standard Wien).

Recently, he has been performing throughout the USA; touring with the Jerusalem Camerata, performing at the Kennedy Center Washington “A delicious and rare talent” (Washington Post) and the Lincoln Center, New York, as well as major festivals from Miami Festival of Discovery and Beethoven on the Beach, both in Florida, to Mainly Mozart Festival in California. Last year he made his conducting debut in Costa Rica with the Chamber Orchestra of Uppsala in a much-admired performance of 1st Piano Concerto by Shostakovich as well as his debut at Theatre des Champs Elysees Paris. “He plays marvelously with all his body and his soul: a very great pianist and musician” (Le Figaro)

Born in Ekaterinburg, Ilya Itin studied from the age of five with Natalia Litvinova at the Sverdlovsk Music School for gifted children. He graduated the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory where his teacher was Lev Naumov. He is working with Edna Golandsky and has been a grateful recipient of support from Patrons of Exceptional Artists.

Father Sean Duggan
USA

Father Sean Duggan, O.S.B.  attended Loyola University in New Orleans and received a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance and a Master of Fine Arts degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He graduated summa cum laude with a Master of Arts degree in Theology from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans and was ordained to the priesthood.

In September 1983, Father Duggan won first prize in the Johann Sebastian Bach International Competition for pianists in Washington D.C., which entitled him, among other honors, to various concerts around the country and a two-month tour of Germany. In the “Bach Year”, 1985, he gave complete performances of Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier in New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Birmingham to critical acclaim. In 1991 he participated again in the Bach Competition in Washington D.C.; this time he was one of three first-place winners, and this entitled him to another round of concert engagements and a second tour of Germany.

Throughout the year 2000, the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death, Father Duggan performed the complete cycle of Bach’s keyboard works eight times in a series of fifteen recitals entitled Bach On the Threshold of Hope.

Father Duggan is presently on the piano faculty at the State University of New York at Fredonia. He is also on the faculty of the Golandsky Institute and he continues to study with Edna Golandsky.

Bill Charlap

Pianist Bill Charlap was born in New York City into a musical family, and began his piano studies at the age of three. His father, Moose Charlap, was a Broadway composer and songwriter whose credits included the score to the Mary Martin production of Peter Pan, as well as popular songs recorded by such artists as Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan and Rosemary Clooney. His mother, Sandy Stewart, is a popular singer who toured with Benny Goodman, co-starred on TV's Perry Como Show and received a Grammy nomination for her hit single, "My Coloring Book." 
 
In the late '80s, Charlap joined baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan's Quartet and he has been the pianist in alto saxophonist Phil Woods’ Quintet since 1995. He has also performed and recorded with Wynton Marsalis, Tony Bennett, Freddy Cole, Houston Person and Jim Hall, among others. In 1997, he formed his trio of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington. The group has recorded seven CDs including 2004's Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein (Blue Note), for which he received a Grammy nomination. Their most recent Blue Note release is: The Bill Charlap Trio: Live At The Village Vanguard (2007). He has twice received the pianist of the year Jazz Award from the Jazz Journalists Association. 
 
For the last three years, Charlap has been the Artistic Director of Jazz In July, a six concert series at the 92nd Street Y's Tisch Center for the Arts. He has produced several concerts for Jazz at Lincoln Center, and an evening of George Gershwin’s music at The Hollywood Bowl.
 

Misha Dacic

After performing at the "Martha Argerich Project Festival" in 2003 in Lugano, Switzerland, Misha Dacic made his American debut at the Discovery Series of the Sixth Miami International Piano Festival. In 2004 he was featured at Ravinia's Rising Stars Series in Chicago, followed by Gilmore Keyboard Festival Rising Stars Recital Series in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He performed at the Xavier University Classical Piano Series in Cincinnati in 2004 and 2005 and at the 2004 Golandsky Institute International Piano Festival at Princeton University, and made his New York debut at the Leschetitzky Piano Series in 2005, and in Guatemala at the Eighth Festival Internacional de Cultura Paiz in Antigua. The same year Dacic performed a Horowitz Tribute concert for The Frederic Chopin Society's Concert Series at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was re-invited to Guatemala to perform for the prestigious Mosaico Festival.

 Misha Dacic was born in 1978 in the former Yugoslavia, into a family with a musical tradition. Dacic first came to public attention at age 11 when he performed with the local orchestra in his birth city. Shortly afterwards, he entered the class of Kemal Gekic at the University of Novi Sad in Yugoslavia, where he received his early training.  In 1998, at the invitation of Lazar Berman, Dacic enrolled at the prestigious school for pianists in Imola, Italy, where he studied with Berman for over five years.

Dacic, a recipient of support from the Patrons of Exceptional Artists, graduated in 2006 from the University of Miami, where he pursued advanced piano studies with Frank Cooper. Dacic received the 2006 University of Miami Alumni Association Student of Distinction Award and was chosen for inclusion in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities, 2005-2006 editions. He pursues a Masters in Music with Kemal Gekic at Florida International University.

Engagements in 2007 included three recitals in Turkey, performances at the Tenth Anniversary of the Miami International Piano Festival in an evening of Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos, and at the Miami International Piano Festival in Lecce, Italy.

Mr. Dacic is a grateful recipient of support from Patrons of Exceptional Artists.

Adrienne Danrich

The voice of soprano Adrienne Danrich has been described as “fresh liquid-silver” and “meltingly tender in its high, floating vulnerability” by Opera News. La Cronaca del Wanderer describes her as “...soprano lirico spinto autentico”, “an authentic lyric spinto soprano.”  Miss Danrich made her professional debut as Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zaubeflöte with Kentucky Opera while still a part of the Artist Diploma program at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Her vocal finesse and musicality have garnered her much success in the Mozart repertoire. Most recently she made debuts with Sarasota Opera, Opera Pacific, and Dayton Opera as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. She made her Lyric Opera of San Antonio debut as Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte and most recently, Ms. Danrich returned to the Dayton Opera stage as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni.

Ms. Danrich made her San Francisco Opera stage debut as Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen after having covered in two of the companies’ prior seasons as Elizabeth in the French version of Verdi’s Don Carlos and Liu in Puccini’s Turandot. She sang the role of Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus with Lyric Opera of San Antonio and with the Cincinnati Opera she performed the High Priestess in Verdi’s Aida, Anna in Verdi’s Nabucco, and Cilla in excerpts from Danielpour’s Margaret Garner.

In 2006, Ms. Danrich received a commission from Cincinnati Opera to write and perform a one woman show, This Little Light of Mine: The Stories of Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price. She performed the premiere of the show with Cincinnati Opera in 2007. In 2008, she presented the show at Antioch College, Central State University, and once again with Cincinnati Opera. Future engagements of This Little Light of Mine include Houston Grand Opera, Jackson State University and MEJ Artists Series in Palm City, Florida.

On the concert stage, Ms. Danrich has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Bryan Symphony, St. George’s Choral Society, Dayton Philharmonic, Northern Kentucky Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, The Orchestra of St. Luke’s Outreach, Louisville Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Hartt Symphony, Cape Cod Symphony and Hamilton Fairfield Symphony. Ms. Danrich made her soloist debut at Carnegie Hall with the New England Symphonic Ensemble and her Alice Tully Hall debut with The Little Orchestra of New York.

Upcoming engagements include her debut at Fort Worth Opera as Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking, Azelia in Troubled Island for the William Grant Still Festival, recitals at the Golandsky Institute at Princeton University and Allen Temple in Cincinnati, OH, a concert with the American Opera Projects in New York, and a debut concert with the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra. Ms. Danrich has also signed with the record label PS Classics and will be recording her solo debut album in late 2008.

Ms. Danrich is an alumna of Eastman School of Music and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. While still a student, she won the Concerto Competition which marked her European debut in Lisbon, Portugal as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem. Other distinctions for Ms. Danrich include Houston Grand Opera and MacAllister Awards semifinalist, Metropolitan Opera National Council competition regional finalist and the first prize at the Patricia Corbett Opera Scholarship Competition which is the highest honor for a singer at the University of Cincinnati.

Ms. Danrich has recorded Only Heaven by Ricky Ian Gordon with PS Classics, Age to Age with OCP Publications, Original Songs of Sacred Slumber and Solitude with Soli Deo Gloria Productions and A Tribute to William Warfield with the Eastman School of Music.

Thomas Bagwell

Called by Marilyn Horne, "A pioneer for his age," Thomas Bagwell is one of a handful of today's most active pianists in the field of song recital. His appearances as a collaborative pianist have taken him to such venues as New York's Carnegie Hall, London's Wigmore Hall, the Musikverein, the Concertgebouw, and numerous halls across the United States and Canada. Thomas Bagwell's activities as a coach and teacher have led to invitations to give masterclasses for colleges and apprentice programs in opera companies. Mr. Bagwell was an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera for nine seasons, and has served in the same capacity for many seasons at the Washington National Opera, the Santa Fe Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Thomas Bagwell has partnered in recital such singers as Marilyn Horne, Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, Frederica Von Stade, Andrea Rost, Kristine Jepson, James Morris and Roberta Peters. His recital partnerships with the rising generation of singers include Elaine Alvarez, Gregory Turay, Rinat Shaham, Eric Cutler, Thomas Meglioranza and Jesse Blumberg. In the field of chamber music, Mr. Bagwell has been a participant at the Marlboro Music Festival and has performed recitals with violinists Midori and Scott St. John, with whom he made a critically acclaimed CD of works by Antonin Dvorak on the Marquis Classics label.

Thomas Bagwell has received degrees from the Mannes College of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and has studied with Warren Jones, Graham Johnson and Edna Golandsky. After his formal studies, Mr. Bagwell pursued additional training with Elly Ameling and Rudolf Jansen at the Academie Villecroze.

As a teacher of opera and art song, Thomas Bagwell has been on the faculties of Yale University, and currently teaches at the Mannes College of Music where he has recently been asked to teach a graduate degree program in collaborative piano. He has taught masterclasses at the Santa Fe Opera, New Jersey Opera Theater, Simpson College, Portland State University, and will teach a masterclass for NATS at the Lewis and Clark College this January.

Natasha Farny

American cellist Natasha Farny has distinguished herself as a talent of significant versatility and experience among today's younger generation of string virtuosi. She has performed as soloist with orchestras that include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Greeley Symphony Orchestra, the Juilliard Symphony Orchestra and New Juilliard Ensemble, and the Western New York Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Farny has given sonata recitals on Chicago Public Radio, in Leipzig's Mendelssohn Haus, and in the cities of Rochester, New York City, Bloomington, and New Haven. She has also participated in numerous music festivals including the International Musicians Seminar in Prussia Cove, England, The Banff Summer Master Classes, the Bay View Music Festival, the Artur Balsam Chamber Music Festival, the Kronberg Cello Festival, the Schleswig Holstein Festival Master Classes, and the Leipzig Internationales Kammermusikfestival.

Dr. Farny enjoys teaching all levels and has been a faculty member at summer festivals in Maine, at the Third Street Music School in New York City, and at various Boston area schools. She has given master classes at Fort Hays State University in Kansas and throughout the Boston area. Also well-seasoned as an orchestral player, Dr. Farny has played with the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, the Spoleto Festival Opera Orchestra, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic where she sat Assistant Principal.

After pursuing undergraduate studies at the Curtis Institute of Music and Yale University, Dr. Farny earned a master of music degree at the Eastman School of Music and a doctorate of musical arts degree at the Juilliard School. A distinguished scholar in music, Dr. Farny completed a monograph of Beethoven's Cello Sonata, Op. 102, No. 1, under the supervision of renowned Beethoven scholar and writer Maynard Solomon. Primary cello teachers have included such luminaries as Orlando Cole, Stephen Doane, Joel Krosnick, and Harvey Shapiro; additionally, she has benefited from the tutelage of some of the most renowned chamber ensembles in the world, including the Juilliard String Quartet, violinist Felix Galimir, and violist Karen Tuttle. Dr. Farny joined the SUNY Fredonia faculty in 2005.

Vicky Chow

Canadian pianist Vicky Chow has performed extensively as a soloist, chamber musician, and ensemble member, and been hailed as ‘brilliant’ and ‘riveting’ by New York Times critic, Anthony Tommasini. She has performed in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Clark Studio Theatre, Orpheum Theatre, Roy Thomson Hall, Chan Center for the Performing Art, and the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre, and has been a guest artist in the Desert Chamber Music Society, Seattle Chamber Music Society series, and Las Vegas Music Festival.
               
An advocate of contemporary music, Ms. Chow is currently pursuing a second Masters degree in Contemporary Piano Performance at the Manhattan School of Music, where she studies with Anthony de Mare and Christopher Oldfather, and performs in the program’s new music ensemble, Zero Gravity. Last year for the Beyond the Machine 7.0 new music festival, she premiered an ensemble work by Edward Bilous with the Juilliard School’s AXIOM Ensemble, a new work for piano and electronics by Andreas Weixler and Se-Lien Chuang, and performed Neil Rolnick’s Digits for Piano and Computer. In February 2008, Ms. Chow will appear at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall with Zero Gravity, and in March will perform in Miami’s Contemporary Music Marathon, f(x). Along with performing new music, Ms. Chow also produces concert programs of new compositions by emerging composers, most recently at the Chelsea Art Museum and Gershwin Hotel in New York City.

Ms. Chow started playing the piano at age five and made her orchestral debut at 10 with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Since then she has appeared with the Juilliard Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Academy Orchestra, White Rock Festival String Orchestra, the B.C. Sinfonietta. She has performed under numerous conductors, including Jeffrey Milarsky, JoAnne Falletta, Bramwell Tovey, Victor Feldbrill, and Clyde Mitchell, and also collaborated with Juilliard faculty cellist André Emelianoff, New York Philharmonic flutist Renée Siebert, and The Metropolitan Opera soprano Janet Hopkins.

As the winner of numerous awards and competitions, Ms. Chow earned international recognition early in her career. She placed first in the Canadian Music Competition four consecutive years, resulting in an invitation at the age of nine to the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival in Michigan as part of the Classical Music Prodigies Showcase in Michigan. Ms. Chow also won the Toronto Symphony Piano Competition and Juilliard Concerto competition, second prize in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Piano Competition, third prize in the Pacific International Piano Competition, and a finalist and honorarium prize winner of the San Antonio International Piano Competition.
 
Ms. Chow received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music at The Juilliard School, where she studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky and Julian Martin. In Vancouver she studied with Lorraine Ambrose at the Vancouver Academy of Music and privately with Celia Hui. While at Juilliard, Ms. Chow participated in the Millenium International Festival in Spain, Piano Fest in the Hamptons, and the International Keyboard Festival at the Banff Center. She’s also performed in master classes with a number of distinguished pianists, including Ursula Oppens, Joseph Kalichstein, Matti Raekallio, Boris Slutsky, Dominique Weber, Angela Cheng, Jerome Lowenthal, Menahem Pressler, Paul Schenly, Daniel Shapiro, John Perry, Yong-Hi Moon, Marc Durand, Lee Kum-Sing, Marek Jablonski, Ruth Laredo, Gabriel Chodos and Jane Coop. Ms. Chow resides in New York City.

Sylvie Courvoisier

Composer/pianist, Sylvie Courvoisier was born and raised in Lausanne, Switzerland. She started to play piano at age of six initiated by her father, an amateur jazz pianist.
She moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1998, where she currently resides.

She has played and recorded with John Zorn, Ikue Mori, Tim Berne, Joey Baron,Mark Feldman, Tony Oxley, Yusef Lateef Dave Douglas, Joëlle Léandre, Herb Robertson, Butch Morris, Tom Rainey, Mark Dresser, Ellery Eskelin, Lotte Anker, Fred Frith, Michel Godard, Mark Nauseef among others.

She has been commissioned to write music for concerts, radio, dance and theater. Her works include:” Concerto for electric guitar and chamber orchestra" ; "Balbutiements" for vocal quartet and soprano ;"Ocre de Barbarie", a musical performance for metronomes, automatons, barrel organ, piano, tuba, saxophone, violin and percussion.
Commissions include the Vidy Theater of Lausanne, Pro Helvetia and Germany's
Donaueschingen Musiktage Festival.

Her debut recording "Sauvagerie Courtoise" on Unit Records was released in 1994. Her second recording ''Ocre" on Enja Records (Music for barrel organ, piano, tuba, bass and percussion ) led to appearances on concert stages all over Europe. In the following years, Courvoisier released 6 CDs as a leader, and 10 CDs as a Co-leader, and more than 20recordings as a side person or as a guest. Her latest releases as a leader are: "ABATON” with Mark Feldman and Erik Friedlander on ECM Records (2004), “LONELYVILLE” with her new quintet on Intakt Records (2007) and a solo piano album, SIGNS AND EPIGRAMS, on Tzadik Records (2007).

Since 1995, she has been touring widely with her own groups and as a side person in USA, Canada and Europe including Jazz and New Music Festivals such as Berlin, Willisau,
Donaueschingen, Banlieue Bleue, Saalfelden, Groningen, Visions NY, Nürnberg, Taktlos, London LMC, Bath Festival, Muenster and Victoriaville Festival, among others.

Sylvie is currently the leader of her own quintet "Lonelyville" and the Trio Abaton.
She is a member of “Mephista”, an improvising trio with Ikue Mori and Susie Ibarra;” Herb
Robertson Quintet” with Tim Berne, Tom Rainey and Mark Dresser; in Trio along with Ellery
Eskelin and Vincent Courtois : John Zorn’s Cobra. She also performs regularly in Duo with violinist Mark Feldman.

Awards include Switzerland's 1996 Prix des jeunes créateurs and Zonta Club's 2000 Prix de laéation .