Artists

A trombonist and prolific, highly diverse composer who recently retired from The University of Utah's School of Music after nearly 40 years as Director Of Jazz Studies, Henry Wolking has found creative inspiration in writing for almost every imaginable type of large and small ensemble in classical and jazz music. His prodigious orchestral output includes symphonies, fantasies, and an overture as well as eight concertos featuring various soloists such as jazz quartet, trombone, flute, heckelphone, bassoon, contrabassoon, two pianos and horn.

A native of Chicago, composer, multi-instrumentalist, author, and educator Alex Lubet has lived in Minnesota since 1979.  While having written works in many idioms, he has long devoted himself principally to performing his own music, as a solo acoustic guitarist and in collaboration with artists including Maja Radovanlija, Swiss free jazz pianist Guerino Mazzola, and his wife, taiko and fue (Japanese drums and horizontal flute) player Iris Shiraishi. 

Peggo in Love ñ singer Peggo Hodes' debut solo recording ñ is a striking collection of timeless love songs picked from the Great American Songbook. Peggo, whose previous outings include her work with award-winning childrenís music group Peggosus and folk duo Peggo and Paul (featuring her husband Paul Hodes), looked to her past for inspiration on Peggo in Love.

Jazz pianist and composer Bunny Beck comes from a long line of musicians. Her dad, Larry Sideman had a band that played hotels, her aunt was a vaudeville violinist, and her grandmother sang opera.

Svjetlana Bukvich first came to the attention of the European music world following her appearances as featured soloist with the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, performing Beethoven’s 1st Piano Concerto at the age of 16, and the following year with Edinburgh George Heriot’s Symphony Orchestra with the 2nd Concerto. Driven by a need to express beyond interpretation, Bukvich studied at the Music Academy – University of Sarajevo, where she earned degrees in Composition and Musicology. During this period she was invited to participate in the Intensive Composition Workshop in Groznjan, Istria, where she worked with some of the leading lights in European contemporary music.

Tony R. Clef was born in Bellows Falls VT and grew up in nearby Springfield, VT. He has spent most of his adult life in the Boston, MA area. He studied classical guitar primarily with Richard Layman in Brookline, MA and also for a time with Adam Holzman in Austin, TX.

The sights and sounds of nature. Literature. Film. The many languages of the world. These are the Muses of the group known as Ecco La Musica. From its inception in 2006, this ensemble has been dedicated to the performance of original material created by its members and uniquely arranged to highlight the instrumentation and artistic perspective of the composers' collective.

Jean-Philippe Grégoire began his classical studies at the Conservatory of Marseille, under Régis Campo, receiving top awards there including the Henri Tomasi's Composition prize and the SACEM prize. In 2008, he went to the Paris Conservatory to study Jazz Performance. Breaking onto the Paris jazz scene, Grégoire began performing in groups including the Julian Getreau 4tet at some of the finest clubs and festivals in Paris, including Duc des Lombards, Le Basier Salé, and Jazz Festival of Flavors.

Andy Jaffe is the Lyell B. Clay Artist in Residence and Director of Jazz Activities at Williams College, as well as Artistic Director of the Williamstown Jazz Festival. An active jazz composer, performer, and recording artist, Jaffe has been a leader in jazz pedagogy for over twenty-five years, having taught at the Berklee College of Music (1977-81), The University of Massachusetts Amherst graduate program in Afro-American Music and Jazz (1994-98), the Institut Musical deformation Professionelle in Nimes, France (1984), Amherst College (1987-99), Tufts University(1992-93), Smith College(1997-99), and Williams (since 1989). He runs the jazz ensembles and teaches courses in jazz theory and improvisation, jazz arranging and composition, and on the music of Duke Ellington and John Coltrane.

The Oscuro Quintet is an international group of 5 accomplished musicians of diverse disciplines pursuing their collective passion for tango and contemporary music.

Tony Oxley was born in Sheffield, England. Oxley, a self-taught pianist by the age of eight, first began playing the drums at age seventeen. While in the Black Watch military band from 1957 to 1960 he studied music theory and improved upon his drumming technique.

Christina Rusnak (b. 1959) is a multifaceted composer whose work reflects a diversity of styles. Actively seeking to integrate artistic and geographic elements into her work, her goal is to compose music that engages the performers as well as the audience.

Composer and double bass player Adriano Orrù was born in Nuoro, Italy in 1958 and currently lives in Cagliari, Italy. He devotes his time to jazz, radical improvisation, chamber music. He also works as a music teacher.

Baritone Mel Braun is a long-time colleague and collaborator at the University of Manitoba's Desautels Faculty of Music in Winnipeg. Braun is well known for his Bach singing, with performances and broadcasts that have taken him all across Canada.

Pianist Laura Loewen is a long-time colleague and collaborator at the University of Manitoba's Desautels Faculty of Music in Winnipeg. Loewen is one of Canada's most expressive collaborative pianists, performing with leading singers and instrumentalists across the country. Her ongoing work with saxophonist Allen Harrington led to the recent Ravello Records release of METROPOLIS, a recording of new compositions for saxophone and piano. Loewen teaches collaborative piano and coaches singers at the Desautels Faculty of Music, where her "Passionate Diction" approach to language has inspired a whole new generation of language enthusiasts. Together, Mel Braun and Loewen have toured Canada and commissioned numerous works, always evolving as recitalists and collaborators.

La Mandragore distinguishes itself in two ways: its energic and contagious dynamism and its approach to the music, equal parts musicological rigour and modern creativity. The group presents unique arrangements of ancient melodies and of world folk music on a panoply of heterogeneous instruments, from the crumhorn to the nay, from the ud to the bouzouki and the gaida, and a whole range of percussion instruments.

Joel Goodfellow has been studying piano for 18 years, has his ARCT in piano performance and is working towards a Bachelor of Music at the University of Lethbridge. He has performed as a soloist with the Youth Symphony of the Okanagan, the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, and the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, with critics praising his musical sensitivity and fresh interpretation. Additionally, he has received many awards as both a soloist and chamber musician in music festivals throughout BC and Alberta. Joel is currently based in Lethbridge, where he is much in demand as an accompanist and teaches for the Lethbridge Music Conservatory.

Joe Porter is a Canadian percussionist, teacher, and composer. He is the recipient of the Global Music Awards, Gold Medal Prize for Creativity and Originality, and has been a winner in multiple performance, composition and recording contests. Joe has performed in Brazil, Britain, Holland, Japan, China, Trinidad and Tobago, Hawaii, Florida, Indiana, Idaho, and throughout Canada.

The Daydream is a music group for kids consisting of Scott and Cathy Liebenow and their children, McKenna, Mark, and Mia. Over the years Scott and Cathy have written over 100 kids songs for various publications and recordings.

Dr. Juan Álamo is an internationally known performer, composer, and educator. Originally from Cidra, Puerto Rico, Álamo has presented solo recitals at universities and percussion and jazz festivals throughout the United States, Central and South America, Europe and the Caribbean. He has been featured as a soloist and with jazz ensembles in television and radio shows in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela and the United States.