MEET OUR MASTERCLASS CLINICIANS
David Curtin, piano
David Curtin earned a DMA in Piano Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied with James Tocco. He earned his Master of Music degree at the University of Louisville where he studied with Lee Luvisi, and Bachelor degrees in both Music and English from SUNY Fredonia, where he studied with Robert Jordan. He has performed and taught throughout the United States and the UK, as well as in Mexico, Ireland, Korea, and China. In December 1998, he made his Korean debut, performing the Concerto No. 2 in A Major of Franz Liszt with the Changwon Philharmonic Orchestra, and in May 1999 he made a solo debut in London. In November of 2001, he was invited to return to Korea to present the first solo piano recital at the new Changwon-Sungsan Performing Arts Center. His recent performances have included Mozart's Concerto in C Major K. 467 with the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, J.S. Bach's Keyboard Concerto in D Major with the J.S. Chamber Ensemble in Cincinnati, multiple engagements with the East Mountain Artist Series in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and recitals at historic Steinway Hall in New York City. Dr. Curtin has been a regular guest artist at the annual festival of the International Schools Choral Music Society in Beijing and Shanghai, where he performed solo recitals and chamber music and gave masterclasses. In 2011, he spent a week as Artist-in-Residence at the International School of Beijing. Dr. Curtin has served as professor of piano at UW-Platteville, Utah State University, Albion College, and Angelo State University in Texas. A member of the faculty of Lock Haven University since 2004, in 2015 he won the university’s highest award for Outstanding Scholarship. David Curtin is a Steinway Artist.
Lisa Layman, soprano
Lisa Layman, is an accomplished operatic soprano, voice teacher and acting coach. Her work within the operatic realm spans nearly thirty years and counting. Her operatic repertoire included the works of Puccini, Verdi, Bellini, Mozart, Bizet, Donizetti and others. At ease on both the operatic stage and the concert and oratorio stage, she has sung at Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center @ Avery Fisher Hall in New York City, and at the Holder’s International Music Festival in Barbados , West Indies. Her work as an administrator includes the assistant management of the Danny Kaye Playhouse Box Office @ Hunter College, NYC, and management of a private HIV friendly dental practice in New York City. During that time, Lisa became keenly aware of how the arts and wellness could and should be more intertwined by way of service for the larger communities involved. As support from her administrative life created space for her passion, the two grew into an extraordinary opportunity when she later became the Ryan White Program Coordinator for NOVA Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine, Fort Lauderdale, FL. She supervised management of a fourteen chair, HIV/AIDS Dental Clinic funded solely from the Ryan White Fund of HRSA. This unique and powerful experience ultimately led Lisa back to teaching and the arts, where she has proudly taught voice at SUNY Fredonia for five years, and has served as Executive Director of the Western New York Chamber Orchestra for two seasons. Lisa currently resides in Erie, PA. With her husband of 30 years, tenor, Brent Weber.
Brent Weber, tenor
Tenor Brent Weber has performed many leading roles throughout the US and Canada, which include the Duke in Rigoletto, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Rodolfo in La Bohème & Luisa Miller, Don Carlo in Don Carlo with the opera companies of St. Louis, Miami, Memphis, Syracuse, Holders Festival in Barbados, New York, Chicago and New Jersey. Featured solo accomplishments in oratorio include, Bach's Magnificat and Mozart's Mass in C at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Rosssini's Stabat Mater at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. and several duet recitals with his wife Lisa Layman. His Broadway credits include the "Encores, Great American Musicals" premiere production of Fiorello, with additional productions of Call Me Madame, and Lady in the Dark at City Center in New York, and for three years, he performed the role of Piangi in The Phantom of the Opera in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada.
Currently, he is the Coordinator of Voice at Mary Pappert School of Music, Duquesne University, where he teaches Voice and Acting for Singers. He conducted and produced the world premiere opera, The Selfish Giant with the Erie Opera Theatre where he has also conducted, La Bohème, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Elixir of Love and Gala Concerts.
Weber can also be found teaching voice at Grove City College and Fredonia State University, where he was the stage director for the productions of Don Giovani, The Merry Widow, Music Man, and most recently Little Women by Mark Adamo for WNYCO, (Western New York Chamber Orchestra) and the Hillman Opera at Fredonia. He has also taught at Edinboro University and Point Park University.
Areas of Expertise: Vocal techniques for opera, Broadway, and pop-rock styles. Stage direction for opera and Broadway/acting for singers Opera History, Diction.
Brian Usifer, musical theatre
Former Musical Director of Broadway’s Frozen & Kinky Boots
Brian Usifer is a New York City based music director, pianist, orchestrator/arranger, producer and composer. Most recently, he was the Music Director of Disney’s Frozen on Broadway. He is also currently the Associate Music Supervisor of The Book of Mormon on Broadway and on tour. Prior to that he was the Music Director of Kinky Boots on Broadway, which won 6 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Orchestrations. The cast recording won the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album and the West End production won an Olivier Award for Best Musical. He was the Associate Music Supervisor as well for Kinky Boots on Tour, London and in Toronto. Brian has played in the Broadway and off-Broadway orchestras of …Spelling Bee, Avenue Q, Altar Boyz and The Book of Mormon. Other theatre credits also include Chess at the Kennedy Center and more than 5 years of regional theatre including Follies at Barrington Stage Co. Concerts include Bobby and Kristen Lopez: American Songbook at Lincoln Center and Clay Aiken “Tried and True DVD,” for PBS.
As an orchestrator, Brian's projects have included The Heart of Rock and Roll featuring the catalog of Huey Lewis, Swept Away with music by the Avett Brothers, Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money with music by Motown legend Lamont Dozier, Into the Wild by Niko Tsakalakos and Janet Allard, A View From The River by Will Van Dyke and Jeff Talbott, Fantasy Football: the Musical?, by David Ingber, Pool Boy by Niko Tsakalakos and Janet Allard, The UnCivil War by Rick Kunzi, Barnstormer by Douglas Cohen and The First Snow by Niko Tsakalakos. Additional shows in development include Galileo featuring music by Michael Weiner and Zoe Sarnak with a book by Danny Strong as well as A Beautiful Noise featuring the catalog of Neil Diamond.
On TV, wrote additional orchestrations for NBC’s The Wiz Live and can be heard as a pianist on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon.
As a composer, Brian’s latest project is a songwriting collaboration with Colin Donnell called The Nineteen Twenty. Their first EP, Chaos + Cocktails, is available for sale on iTunes and everywhere music streams.
He holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from SUNY Fredonia and a Masters degree in Collaborative Piano from NYU and a Specialist Certificate in Orchestration from Berklee Online. www.brianusifer.com
David Rife, violin/viola
David Rife received his Bachelor of Music Degree in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music Degree in Violin Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. David moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1983 to join the Tucson Symphony Orchestra where he has held the positions of Associate Concertmaster, Assistant Concertmaster, Principal Second Violin, and Assistant Principal Second Violin. David is presently on the faculty of Quest for Education and Arts where he is the director of the advanced orchestra and on the faculty of the Rocky Ridge Music Center Junior Sessions. David is a dedicated violin teacher, and first violinist of the Southwest String Quartet. He was the first violinist of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra String Quartet for over 30 years. In 2005 he was the recipient of the Outstanding Private String Teacher Award in Arizona by the American String Teachers Association. His students have won local and statewide competitions, soloed with local orchestra and many have attended music schools and conservatories throughout the country. David was inducted into the Tucson Musicians Museum in 2012.
Wynne Wong-Rife, violin/viola
Wynne Wong-Rife is a Tucson native. She was a member of her public school orchestras from fifth grade through high school, played in Tucson Junior Strings and Tucson Youth Symphony. After studying with John Ferrell at The University of Arizona for one year, Wynne transferred to the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Peter Salaff of the Cleveland Quartet, and was awarded a B.M. with Distinction in Violin Performance. At Eastman she met and became engaged to David Rife, and in 1981, both decided to attend New England Conservatory of Music. Wynne graduated from the New England Conservatory in 1983 with a M.M. in Violin Performance, and thereafter returned to Tucson with David to marry and start a family. Wynne has a multi-faceted career as a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and the Southwest String Quartet/Quintet. She recently retired from the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Quartet/Quintet in 2018. In addition, she maintains a large class of violin and viola students, several of whom have placed in competitions and soloed with orchestras. Wynne is also on the faculty of Rocky Ridge Music Center (Estes Park, CO), and Quest for Education and Arts (Tucson, AZ). Wynne and David have two daughters, Melissa and Molly (both ‘cellists) and three cats. In addition to teaching and performing, Wynne also enjoys photography, knitting and Starbucks (not necessarily in that order).
Philip Wharton, violin/viola
Few artists enjoy such high praise for both of their disciplines as composer/violinist Philip Wharton. Of his playing, The New York Times proclaimed, “a rousing performance!” and The Waterloo Courier wrote, “a golden tone with breathtaking execution.” His compositions, heralded from coast to coast, are described by the New York Concert Review as, “…decidedly contemporary…both engaging and accessible.” Writing from symphony to song, past seasons saw the Santa Fe Opera’s remounting of Two Saintes Caught in the Same Act as part of their apprentice scenes program, the Grammy-nominated Borealis Wind Quintet perform his Quintet on their concert tours, his chamber symphony, Passing Season performed by regional orchestras, premiere of his Symphony, his tribute to Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, a song cycle entitled Fools, and concerts with Grammy-nominated soprano, Caroline Worra. Other projects include collaborations with author Janet Burroway and illustrator John Vernon Lord to create musical settings of their books for children: The Giant Jam Sandwich, The Truck on the Track, and a vocal-monodrama, The Perfect Pig. Recent recordings include Albany Records’ release of his Flute Sonata—Katherine Fink (flute) & Rose Grace (piano), Crescent Phase Records’ release of his Woodwind Quintet—Madera Woodwind Quintet, and Kenneth Thompkins’ (principal Detroit Symphony Orchestra) recording of his Alto-Trombone Sonata. His music was also performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (UK) and the New York Philharmonic.
Roman Mekinulov, cello
A native of Leningrad, Russia, Roman Mekinulov began cello studies at the age of five at the Leningrad Music School. At age 12 and 14, he was a winner of the Young Artists Competition of Leningrad. In 1985, he was presented in the Winner’s Showcase Series at the Great Philharmonic Hall in Leningrad. At age 16, Mr. Mekinulov entered the Rimsky-Korsakov College where he studied with Georgy Ginovker. As a chamber musician, he has performed with various ensembles, and, in 1988, was awarded First Prize in the Leningrad Chamber Music Competition.
In 1989, he immigrated to the United States and continued his studies at the Juilliard School in New York, where he has successfully accomplished Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees under scholarship in the class of Professor Harvey Shapiro.
As an active recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist, Roman Mekinulov has performed extensively throughout the United States, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Germany, France, Greece, Denmark, Switzerland, as well as his native Russia. He has also participated in various master classes in Europe, with such artists as Mario Brunello, Alain Meunier, Tsuoshi Tsutsumi, Aner Bilsma and Iwan Monighetti.
In 1991, Roman Mekinulov formed with Greek pianist Charis Dimaras, a professional ensemble, The Emerald Duo, which has performed to great acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic and has won the Palma d’Oro International Music Competition in Italy.
Mr. Mekinulov has appeared as a principal cellist of the Juilliard Symphony and Orchestra under Kurt Masur, Hugh Wolf and Leonard Slatkin, the North Carolina Symphony in their European Tour, as well as the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in Germany with such conductors as Rostropovich, Menuchin and Eschenbach.
In April of 1993, as a result of winning the 1992 Young Artists International Auditions Cello Award, Roman Mekinulov presented his New York Recital - Debut in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. On this occasion critic Edith Eisler of the “Strings”- Magazine wrote: “Twenty-year-old cellist Roman Mekinulov from Russia is very serious, very talented and very good. He handles instrument and bow with ease, has a beautiful tone and communicates genuine musicality.”
Mr. Mekinulov has been repeatedly invited to substitute in the New York Philharmonic under their music director, Kurt Masur, and other guest conductors, in concert, as well as recordings for Teldec. In the fall of 95 he made his solo-debut with orchestra in the USA, performing R. Schumann’s Cello Concerto with Greater Newburgh Symphony. In July of 1996 he performed a recital at the famous Concertgebouw Hall in Amsterdam.
In 1998 Mr. Mekinulov was appointed principal cellist of the Orquestra Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paulo in Brazil where he performed under leading conductors and with leading soloists of the World. He was featured as a soloist with all of the leading orchestras allover Brazil as well as Argentina and Peru. In September of 2001 Mr. Mekinulov was nominated for the prestigious Carlos Gomes Prize in the “Best Instrumentalist of the Year” category.
In 2001 Mr. Mekinulov was appointed principal cellist of Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, where in the past 14 years he has been featured numerous times as soloist with that orchestra, and appeared in over 150 concerts of chamber music around Western New York as well as with Jupiter Chamber Players in New York City, on tour with St. Petersburg Quartet and with chamber players in Naples, FL and Virginia Arts Festival. Roman Mekinulov maintains very busy teaching studio and has had a great success in that area, where his students in the past 5 years were accepted into the major conservatories such as Curtis, NEC, CIM, Peabody, Manhattan and Eastman School of Music. Mr Mekinulov is a founding member and the Artistic Director of the Bravo International Chamber Music Workshop, a comprehensive chamber music workshop for high school and college students which takes place every year during months of July and February. (More on the web at www.bravoworkshop.com). In 2015 Concierto en Tango by Miguel del Aguila written for Mr. Mekinulov, performed and recorded with Buffalo Philharmonic, was nominated for Latin Grammy. Recent solo engagements included concerto appearances with Virginia Symphony, Albany Symphony, Erie Chamber Orchestra as well as US premiere of Krzystof Penderecki Concerto doppio with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Roman Mekinulov resides in Amherst with his wife Sebnem, a lyric soprano, and their two kids Talia and Benjamin.
Megan McDevitt, Bass
Dr. Megan McDevitt’s commitment to bringing music education to populations who need it has led her to spend the last 9 years working for El Sistema-inspired programs both as double bass instructor and in a managerial role. She became the Associate Director of Buffalo String Works in the spring of 2018 and founded the bass program, which she teaches, in the fall of that year. Megan has worked extensively as an orchestral musician, having performed regularly with the bass sections of the San Francisco Bay Area, Ann Arbor area, and with the BPO in Buffalo. Her dual passions of new music and teaching moved her to complete a DMA from the University of Michigan under Diana Gannett, to commission solo works, and to compose with electronics. As half of the bass duo Shade & Light (with Betsy Soukup), she strives to create performances that are transformative for audiences as well as themselves. Megan’s interests extend to the research of gender in the field of music (particularly in the realm of bassists), and she has lectured on this topic at the International Society of Bassists convention in Ithaca and at the Great Lakes Regional College Music Society Conference in Ohio.
Jason Priset, guitar
Dr. Jason Priset is an internationally recognized guitarist as both a soloist and chamber musician with performances throughout the United States as well as concerts in Taiwan, England, and Spain. Dr. Priset holds a Master of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts from Stony Brook University and specializes in a variety of lute and guitar-related instruments. Dr. Priset also holds a Bachelor of Music from the State University of New York at Fredonia and has recently completed Formació Continuada at Escola Superior Musica Universidad de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Priset has appeared in concert through the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, Great Music in a Great Space, and Midtown Concerts (through GEMS) including concerts in the Cathedral at St. John the Divine and Alice Tully Hall in New York City as well as L’Auditori and Museu de la Música in Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Priset has appeared in concert with Paul O’Dette, Nigel North, Emma Kirkby, Xavier Díaz-Latorre, and the jazz trombonist Ray Anderson to name just a few. Concerts include performances with Brandywine Baroque, Early Music New York, Newton Baroque, LOFT Opera, Piffaro : The Renaissance Band, Stony Brook Opera, and Voyces of Staten Island.
As an educator Jason holds an extensive guitar and lute studio in Stony Point, NY near New York City and teaches students of all ages in a very eclectic number of styles. Dr. Priset has served on faculty at Montclair State University since 2016 and currently teaching both guitar and lute. Currently, Dr. Priset is also serving as Executive Director for the Lute Society of America Summer Festival (the largest festival of its kind in the United States) as well as serving on faculty at the Amherst Early Music Festival.
Cobus du Toit, flute
South African native Dr. Cobus du Toit is praised for technical facility that makes everything look easy (Opus Colorado) and rich tone that is especially impressive (Herald Tribune). Cobus is an avid soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue on the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has performed in Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Japan, Germany, and France as a soloist. Mr. du Toit’s creative work has been featured in a year-long exhibition at the Massachusetts Museum of Modern Art with artists Carly Simon, James Tayler, and Natasha Bedingfield. His humanitarian impetus is evident in the #WeBringFlowers project, a set of 5 socially conscious commissions that confront societal violence in a non-political manner. In addition to being a prize winner at over a dozen competitions, including the 1st UNISA Southern African National Competition for Woodwinds and Brass, and the Byron Hester Competition, Cobus is also the principal flute of the Boulder Chamber Orchestra. Recent recordings include the complete flute oeuvre by French composer Jacques Castérède on the Naxos label. Cobus received his MM and DMA from CU Boulder and a BM from the University of Pretoria. His principal teachers include John Hinch and Christina Jennings. For more information, please visit www.cobusdutoit.com.
Rebecca Mindock, oboe
Dr. Rebecca Mindock is the Associate Professor of Double Reeds at the University of South Alabama. In addition to her teaching duties at South, Dr. Mindock holds chairs in several symphony orchestras; she is the principal oboist of both the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra and the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra, the English horn/2nd oboist with the Mobile Symphony Orchestra, and is a member of the oboe section of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra. She has also appeared as a substitute musician playing both the English horn and the contrabassoon (though not at the same time!) with the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra. She has previously held chairs with the Victoria Symphony in Texas and the Longmont Symphony in Colorado, and has also performed with the Corpus Christi Ballet Orchestra, the Kingsville Symphony Orchestra, the Boulder Bach Festival, the Denver Philharmonic, the Fort Collins Symphony, the Western Nebraska Chamber Players, Colorado MahlerFest, the Meridian Symphony (as both a member of the oboe section and as a featured guest artist), and the Colorado Symphony. An active chamber musician, Dr. Mindock has toured nationally and internationally with her faculty woodwind trio, Trebuchet, and she was also invited to perform as a concerto soloist for the Cusco Music Festival "Armando Guevara Ochoa" in Peru. Dr. Mindock completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Oboe Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Colorado-Boulder, from which she also has a Master of Music degree. She earned bachelor’s degrees in Music and English Literature from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. When not teaching or performing, Dr. Mindock enjoys reading, hiking, nature photography, and exploring the world with her rambunctious three-year-old son.
David Shea, clarinet
David Shea serves as Professor of Clarinet at Texas Tech University and on the music faculty at Rocky Ridge Summer Music in Estes Park, CO. He also serves as Principal Clarinetist for the Lubbock Symphony and Abilene Philharmonic Orchestras. Shea has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, France, Belgium, Germany, Brazil and Chile. As a member of Trio Montecino, he has given performances throughout Europe, South America and the United States, and has recorded two critically acclaimed CDs with the trio for Eroica Classical Recordings. Shea has performed chamber music concerts and conducted master classes at the Vale Venito Music Festival in Brazil, El Sistema Chamber Music Festival in Caracas, Venezuela and US Embassy in Santiago Chile. He has also performed at the International Clarinet Association Clarinetfests in Lawrence (KS), Austin, Chicago, Columbus, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Kansas City and Lawrence, as well as the OU Clarinet Symposium and Klarinetstage, Belgium
As a teacher, Dr. Shea has been invited to do master classes throughout the United States, Europe and South America, and has been invited three times to teach as a sabbatical replacement at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. He is a member of the Texas Tech Teaching Academy and a recipient of the Texas Tech University President’s Excellence in Teaching Award. His teachers have been Howard Klug, Lawrence McDonald, Eli Eban, James Campbell and Ronald Phillips.
Michael Hernandez, saxophone
Michael Hernandez is currently on the faculty of San Jose State University, where he serves as the Woodwind Area Coordinator, Coordinator of the Chamber Music Studies Program, Lecturer of Saxophone and conductor of the SJSU Saxophone Chamber Orchestra. Hernandez has been a member of NASA since 2000.
Michael has been described as one of the finest soprano saxophone artists of the present generation. He has been heard in concert halls throughout Germany, Switzerland, Poland, France, Holland, Austria, Italy, the UK, Canada, and the United States. He has also been broadcasted several times nationwide on NPR’s Performance Today. Recently Hernandez has appeared with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Echo Chamber Orchestra, Espressivo Chamber Orchestra, Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, The Phoenix Symphony Guild, The San Jose Wind Symphony, New Century Chamber Orchestra, The Santa Cruz Symphony, The National Music Festival Orchestra, The Hot Springs Music Festival Orchestra, North Valley Symphony, Musica Nova Orchestra, The San Jose State University Wind Ensemble, The San Jose University Orchestra, The Monterey Symphony, and the West Valley Symphony.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Hernandez has enjoyed collaborating with many well known Bay Area organizations such as Empyrean Ensemble, Keyed Kontraptions, Earplay, Opera Parallele, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Composers Inc.,Mercury Soul, McEvoy Foundation for the Arts,& Hot Air Music Festival. Currently he is the Principal Saxophonist of the Santa Cruz Symphony.
As founding soprano saxophonist of the critically acclaimed MANA Quartet, Michael has been invited to hold residencies at dozens of music festivals and universities including Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Hot Springs Music Festival, National Music Festival, Music in the Mountains, The Taneycomo Festival Orchestra, The Festival of New American Music, Ethos New Music Festival, and the Oklahoma State Contemporary Music Festival.
Hernandez is an endorsing artist for Key Leaves, Lefreque, and D’Addario Woodwinds and is the founder and co-owner of MANA Mouthpieces.