Artists
Ameriikan Poijat
Guest Artists
Ameriikan Poijat (Boys of America), Finnish-American Brass Septet, was founded in 1990. Poijat has been asked to play performances in some rather unusual settings, such as in an ice arena, in fishing boats on the Perhojoki river, on a raft in an abandoned mine, at Finnish border defense installations, at a McDonnell-Douglas military aircraft plant, in a Wisconsin cow pasture, on a Florida beach, at an instrument museum, in barn, and in a one room school house. It's not that we have exclusively sought out bizarre venues, but a seven-piece group that is very mobile and that celebrates Finnish brass music seems to be naturally drawn off the beaten path.
Made up of accomplished Midwest musicians, some of Finnish descent, we share the charm of the old Finnish brass band music and perform the newer compositions for septet that have proliferated recently. Our main inspiration has been from our brass playing colleagues and friends in Finland who have also been keeping the tradition alive and generously sharing their musical experience with us. The Finnish brass septet repertoire is meaningful ethnic art, and has an inherent musicality that is attractive to many listeners.
More recently Poijat has played in Philadelphia, Delaware, Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, and Canada. We also made regular appearances in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. During this time, a new repertoire has developed for us. During the twenty years that Ameriikan Poijat has played together, the musical inflections and nuances that create our style have continued to change and develop. In Michigan this summer we will premier three new works, including the "Rockland Fanfare" by Jukka Linkola.
Tom Burch
Set Designer/Rockland
Tom Burch is a Chicago-based scenic designer making his PMMF debut. In Chicago, he's designed for Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, Court, Northlight, Light Opera Works, and many others. Regionally he's designed for Arizona Theatre Co, Cleveland Play House, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Peninsula Players and off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre. He's received three Jeff Award nominations for his designs (1 win), as well as 3 After Dark Awards, and Chicago's Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award. Favorite recent designs include PIRATES OF PENZANCE (The Hypocrites, Chicago), SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (Northlight Theatre), and WOYZECK/PONY (They Hypocrites and About Face Theatre, Chicago). He teaches in the Theatre and Performance Studies program at University of Chicago.
Susan Byykkonen
Accompanist/Gala Events
Susan Byykkonen is an independent music teacher whose studio includes both piano and flute students. She is Accompanist and Associate Director of the Michigan Tech Concert Choir. Susan has performed with PMMF as accompanist for the Gala concerts, vocal masterclasses and for the winter concert in 2007. From 2000-2004, she served as choir director and piano instructor at Lakeland Christian School in Florida. She performs regularly in the MTU Visual & Performing Arts Department's Chamber Music Series, and plays flute and keyboard instruments for the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra. She is also active in her local church, as pianist and choir director. Susan received her bachelor of arts in music degree from Cedarville University. Susan resides in Calumet with husband, Eric and children April, Mitchell and Olivia.
Ann Campbell
Chorus Master/Rockland
Ann Campbell, Chorus master, received her B.M.E. from Northern Michigan University and her M.A. in Music Education from Appalachian State University in North Carolina. She has taught vocal music in the Houghton-Portage Township Schools since 1981 and is an active recitalist. As a PMMF performer, Ms. Campbell has sung the roles of Mrs. Gleaton in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, Berta in Rossini's Il Barbieri di Siviglia, Annina in Verdi's La Traviata and Mother in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel. She created the role of Polly in the world premiere production of The Children of the Keweenaw by Paul Seitz and Kathleen Masterson. Ms. Campbell has also served the Pine Mountain Music Festival as the Children's Chorus Master for Puccini's La Bohème and Hansel and Gretel as well as preparing adult choruses for Mozart's The Magic Flute and Bernstein's Candide. Since 2002, she has been program director of OPERAtion Imagination, an outreach program for schools which is a part of the Pine Mountain Music Festival. Ms. Campbell maintains a private vocal studio in Houghton/Hancock and studies voice with founding PMMF opera director, Christine Seitz.
Caroline Coade
Viola-PMMF String Octet, Opera Orchestra
Violist Caroline Coade is an active performer and teacher in the Detroit area. She is a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and is Lecturer of Music (Viola) at the University of Michigan School of Music as well as Adjunct Professor at Detroit's Wayne State University. Passionate about chamber music, Caroline is a founding member of the Coade Duo (violin-viola), CutTime Simfonica (DSO string sextet), and was the violist in the Woodland Trio (flute, harp, viola) from 1999-2007. Community outreach often takes center stage, where Caroline combines her talents as writer, speaker, and performer. With a rotating group of DSO musicians, Caroline presents over forty concerts every year at schools, rotary clubs, hospitals, and private charitable functions to raise awareness of Classical music in Detroit.
A San Diego native, Caroline began taking Suzuki violin lessons at age 6 and switched to viola at age 14. She graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy and went on to receive a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory, an Artist Diploma from The Curtis Institute of Music, and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School. Her principal teachers include Karen Tuttle, Joyce Robbins, Jeffrey Irvine, David Holland, and Eugene Becker.
Jerry DePuit
Director of New York and Paris in Revue!
Jerry DePuit graduated from the University of Michigan in 1972, and spent the next twelve years in New York City. As a vocal coach, he taught at New York University, the American Academy of Vocal Arts, in the studios of Ora Witte and Felix Knight, and privately. As a musical director/pianist, he worked for many New York cabarets and theatrical organizations including the Grand Finale, the Ballroom, Reno Sweeney's, the Manhattan Theatre Club, and the Player's Club. He has also musical directed and played in numerous regional theatres in Connecticut, Kentucky, and Michigan; and twice for the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife in Washington, D.C. He has appeared nationwide with cabaret artists from New York City to San Francisco, on the Holland America cruise line, and on the Tomorrow and Today shows. He has accompanied artists in pop concerts and classical recitals in venues including the Little Carnegie Recital Hall. His work as an arranger and orchestrator has been heard on recordings, in pops concerts, theatres, and at the Metropolitan Opera House and Radio City Music Hall. He has written a film score, orchestrated three original musicals (one by Joe Raposo and Sheldon Harnick), arranged and orchestrated four full-scale revues and many smaller ones, helped reconstruct the score of a 1948 musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Kurt Weill, written arrangements for recordings, and done many new arrangements of extant works-both choral and instrumental. Since 1985 he has been on the faculty of the Musical Theatre Department at the University of Michigan.
Mark Flaherty
Trumpet-Organ Concert, Opera Orchestra
Mark Flaherty is an Associate Professor of Music at Northern Michigan University, where he teaches trumpet and horn, directs the NMU Jazz Band, and coordinates the annual NMU Jazz Festival. He is also principal trumpet of the Marquette Symphony Orchestra, and he is an active freelance player in the Upper Peninsula. He studied at Carleton College and the Yale University School of Music, and he completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Minnesota in 2002. Dr. Flaherty is a frequent clinician at the middle school and high school level, he has published articles in the International Trumpet Guild Journal, and he has also recently presented at the Jazz Education Network Conference and the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors Conference.
Peter Halverson
Baritone-Pastor Rantanen/Rockland
Peter Halverson,has performed throughout the United States in opera, operetta, musical theater, oratorio, concerts and recitals and been a steady presence on the stages of the Upper Midwest for the past twenty-five years.
Mr. Halverson's foray into Scandinavian music began a little over a decade ago singing the title role in the American premiere of Einojuhani Rautavaara's Aleksis Kivi. In 2005 he won the Yrjö Kilpinen International Art Song Competition followed by a recital tour to Finland and in 2007 he was a guest artist in Edvard Grieg Song Festivals in Boston and St. Paul commemorating the centennial of Grieg's death. Recent performances include Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus with Opera Southwest, Simon in Haydn's The Seasons with the Oslo Cathedral Choir and Oslo Baroque Orchestra, Germont in La Traviata with Fargo/Moorhead Opera and Pa Joad in Ricky Ian Gordon's The Grapes of Wrath at Carnegie Hall, a work he previously performed with the Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Opera and Minnesota Opera where it received its world premiere in 2007. Mr. Halverson is an Associate Professor of Voice at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN.
Christina Harmon
Organist
Christina Harmon resides in Dallas, Texas, where she is currently organist at Park Cities Baptist Church. She is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Southern Methodist University and has a doctoral residency from the University of North Texas. Additional study has been at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.
Her prize-winning compositions have received outstanding reviews from individuals and publications. She is featured on several c.d.'s, including Summershimmer and Christmas in Dallas. A new cd, "The Organs of Keweenaw," is now available from Raven recordings.
For many years Christina Harmon has given concerts in churches in the United States and in Europe, including Westminster Abbey (where she was invited to play two years in a row), and Westminster Cathedral. Her concerts at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and at the Cathedral of Chartres were given outstanding reviews:
“The public was caught up in the very brilliant and precise playing of this concert artist of great talent.”
…L’Echo Republicain, Chartres, France
“We were able to appreciate the sensitivity, precision and virtuosity of the performance of Christina
Harmon at Notre Dame Cathedral. Thanks to the high quality of her execution this concert was marvelous
and exciting, and a very great success”…Inter-Orgue, Paris, France
In 1986 she founded the French and British Organ Music Seminars, which have become events of international status in which organists from all over the world study and perform on some of the greatest European organs.
Molly Hughes
Violin-PMMF String Octet, Opera Orchestra
Molly Hughes earned an Undergraduate degree in violin performance and a graduate certificate in Orchestral Studies from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. She is a member of the Michigan Opera Theatre, which she joined in 2002. She is also a member of the Flint Symphony and the Windsor Symphony in Ontario, Canada. Molly has performed with many notable ensembles including the Detroit Symphony, the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, the Great Lakes Music Festival, the Sarasota Opera, and the Alabama Symphony. She performs regularly with the Woodward Corridor Musicians as well as other Detroit-Metro chamber ensembles. This is Molly's second season with PMMF and she is thrilled to be part of their chamber music series for the 2011 season.
Karen Jenks
Violin-PMMF String Octet, Opera Orchestra/concertmaster
Violinist, Karen Jenks, is an active performer and teacher in SE Michigan. She is a tenured member of the Ann Arbor, Flint, and Saginaw Bay Symphonies, and plays regularly with other local ensembles including the Lansing and Kalamazoo Symphonies. In addition, she maintains private studios both at her home and at the Flint School of Performing Arts, where she is the director of the Adult String Ensemble.
Ms. Jenks is also an enthusiastic chamber musician. While in college, she was a founding member of the Bryn Mawr-Haverford Faculty-Student Chamber Ensemble. She spent four years performing regularly throughout Michigan and Ohio as a member of a piano-violin duo. Every August, she performs at Strings On The Bay, a chamber music series based in Escanaba, MI. Recent chamber performances have included appearances at Orchestra Hall in Detroit and Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor, among others. She holds an MM from the University of Michigan, and lives in Canton, MI with her husband.
Craig Randal Johnson
Conductor, Rockland/Piano Accompanist
Craig Randal Johnson has conducted the Florida Symphony, Finnfest symphony concerts in Marquette, Minneapolis and Ohio, the Arius Chamber Symphony, North Star Opera, and was Resident Conductor of the Rome Festival for three seasons. At the Städtische Bühnen Osnabrück in Germany he conducted large scale Brecht productions. He has held assistant conductor and repetitor positions at the Staatstheater Braunschweig and Theater Bremen. The Rome 'Daily American' reported that "Maestro Johnson is to be congratulated for giving Rome a highly acceptable performance which we rarely get a chance to hear". The Minneapolis Star and Tribune noted: "Johnson proved to be a reliable, at times canny Mozart conductor. . . He drew together Mozart's great finales with undeniable logic and good humor" (Marriage of Figaro).
Craig Randal Johnson appears frequently in the Michigan Upper Peninsula, having conducted the Marquette Symphony, Superior Festival Orchestra, and currently serves as Music Director of the Boreal Chamber Symphony.
Also a recital pianist and accompanist, Craig Randal Johnson has recently appeared in Finland, Germany as well as in Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula. He is director for classical music programming at Finnfest 2011 in San Diego, California.
William Joyner
Tenor-William/Rockland
William Joyner is a regular guest of opera companies and orchestras around the world. In the U.S., he has appeared with The Washington Opera, the New York City Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera and Pittsburgh Opera, Minnesota Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Florentine Opera, the Cleveland Opera, Indianapolis Opera, New Orleans Opera, Opera Omaha, Orlando Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Kentucky Opera, Opera Memphis, and the Sarasota Opera, as well as with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. In Canada, he has appeared with Calgary Opera and with Opera Lyra Ottawa. In South America, he has appeared with the Teatro Muncipal in Santiago, Chile.
In Europe, he has appeared with the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Rome Opera, Cagliari Opera, the Opéra National de Paris, Opera National de Lyon, Theatre du Capitole Toulouse, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Massimo Palermo, Teatro Filarmonico di Verona, Teatro Massimo di Bellini di Catania, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the Teatro Regio di Parma, the Gran Teatro la Fenice in Venice, Teatro Real de Madrid and Oper Frankfurt.
Born in North Carolina, William Joyner holds degrees from the Juilliard School and the Catholic University of America.
Helena Kuukka
Lighting Designer/Rockland
Helena Kuukka, lighting designer, is thrilled to be part of the Pine Mountain Music Festival and "Rockland". Some of her favorite designs from around the country include "The Marriage of Figaro" for Portland Opera, "Sleeping Beauty" for Ballet Memphis, "Merry Widow" for Kansas City Lyric Opera, "Rigoletto" for Opera Memphis, "Oklahoma" and "Godspell" for Oklahoma City Lyric Theatre, "La Traviata" and "Porgy and Bess" for Tulsa Opera and "La Boheme" for Nashville Opera, to name a few. Upcoming engagements include "Carmen" for Orlando Ballet, "A Chorus Line" for Oklahoma City Lyric Theatre and "Don Giovanni" for Tulsa Opera. She is also the Lighting Director for the Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant, an annual Christmas extravaganza, which is televised nationwide during the holiday season. She is a native of Helsinki, Finland, who now resides in Orlando.
Paul Lundin
Violin-PMMF String Octet, Opera Orchestra
Paul Lundin, a native of Escanaba, MI received both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in violin performance at the University of Iowa where he studied with Allen Ohmes. Before moving to southeast Michigan, Mr. Lundin was a free-lance violinist in the Milwaukee, WI area. He served as Concertmaster of the Racine Symphony, Assistant Concertmaster of the Waukesha Symphony, and played in the Green Bay, Festival City, and Milwaukee Ballet orchestras. He taught on the faculty of Concordia University of Wisconsin from 2000-2008. Mr. Lundin held a full time position in the Shreveport Symphony in Louisiana from 1992-99. While there, he also served on the faculties of Northwestern State University and the Centenary Suzuki School and as concertmaster of the Longview (TX) Symphony. Mr. Lundin continues a strong musical relationship with Upper Michigan directing the "Strings on the Bay Chamber Music Series" through Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba.
John Madison
Viola-PMMF String Octet, Opera Orchestra
John Madison received Bachelor and Master's Degrees in Viola Performance from the University of Michigan and is currently the Principal violist of the Michigan Opera Theater Orchestra, a regular substitute with the Detroit Symphony, Principal violist of the Sphinx Symphony, and Co-founder and coordinator of The Cassini Ensemble, an award winning Ann Arbor based chamber group that has performed extensively throughout the United States. Mr. Madison recently toured as a guest with the Chamber Orchestra of France and has performed with the New York City Opera Company, the Toledo Symphony and Toledo Opera Orchestra, and has appeared as soloist with The Toledo Symphony, The Southfield Philharmonic, The Jackson Symphony, The Adrian Symphony and The Cassini Ensemble. As an educator, he is currently the Dean of the Sphinx Preparatory Music Institute in Detroit, has taught on staff at The University of Michigan, Sienna Heights College, and actively teaches privately and in workshops and clinics.
This is John's third season with the Pine Mountain Music Festival.
Joshua Major
Artistic Director
Toronto-born Joshua Major (Artistic Director) began his opera stage directing career at the age of 23 with La Cenerentola for Opera Omaha. Soon after, Mr. Major worked as an assistant to Rhoda Levine at Juilliard, Cynthia Auerbach at both Chautauqua Opera and New York City Opera and William Gaskill at the Welsh National Opera. Mr. Major has worked as a stage director for over 25 years throughout the United States and Canada developing an impressive repertoire of productions. Recent engagements include The Cunning Little Vixen for the Cape Town Opera; Lucia di Lammermoor for the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, L'Impressions de Pelleas in Tel Aviv, La Traviata for the Jacksonville Symphony; L'elisir d'amore for Cleveland Opera; The Tales of Hoffmann and Lucia di Lammermoor for Indianapolis Opera. Mr. Major is in his 18th year on the faculty of the University of Michigan where he oversees the Opera Program, both teaching and directing. Recent productions at the University of Michigan include, Armide, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Eugene Onegin, L'Amico Fritz, and Postcard from Morocco. He continues to be a stage director and faculty member with the Israel Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, where he has directed annually since 1993. Mr. Major currently resides in Ann Arbor, MI.
Eric McEnaney
Pianist/Coach
Pianist Eric McEnaney has worked as a coach/accompanist on more than 50 productions for The Minnesota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Sieur Du Luth Festival, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Skylark Opera, Seaside Music Theater, the Martha-Ellen Tye Opera Theater at the University of Iowa, and the University of Minnesota, where he recently finished a doctoral degree in collaborative piano and coaching.
As a recitalist, Dr. McEnaney has appeared with singers from the rosters of the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, and Santa Fe Opera, among others. He has coached with and accompanied the masterclasses of many accomplished artists including Thomas Hampson, Carol Vaness, Pamela Frank, Margo Garrett and Libby Larsen. Dr. McEnaney is an alumnus of the Music Academy of the West where he studied vocal piano and interpretation with pianist Warren Jones and accompanied the voice studio of Marilyn Horne. He holds additional degrees in piano performance from Eastern Illinois University and the University of Iowa and maintains a private coaching studio in Minneapolis.
Joel Neves
Trumpet-Organ Concert, Opera Orchestra
Joel Neves is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Orchestra at Michigan Technological University.
He graduated from Arizona State University with a Doctor of Musical Arts in orchestral conducting, and earned his Master's and Bachelor's degrees from Brigham Young University in orchestral conducting and trumpet performance.
Neves was appointed assistant conductor of the Orchestra of Southern Utah in 2006, where he conducted masterworks and pops concerts. He has conducted the Orquestra de Cadaqués in Barcelona, Spain, the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra, Bard Festival Orchestra, and Pleasant Grove Symphony Orchestra, and the orchestras at Brigham Young University and Arizona State University.
A strong advocate of music education, he was orchestra director at Cedar High School and Cedar Middle School for three years, and he taught band and orchestra in two elementary schools in Utah. Neves recently served as guest conductor/clinician for the 2010 Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA) All-Collegiate Orchestra.
Known for versatility on the podium, he has directed the jazz ensemble at Southern Utah University; conducted music theatre productions at Southern Utah University, Brigham University, and the Tuacahn Summer Theatre Institute; directed an opera production with the ASU Lyric Opera; and conducted community choirs in Utah and Arizona.
Neves also plays the trumpet and played principal trumpet in forty-four performances Utah Shakespearean Festival's 2008 production of Fiddler on the Roof. He currently plays trumpet for a new band based in Houghton: Captain Woody Boogie and the Pirates of Groove.
Joel resides in Houghton, Michigan with his lovely wife, Lara, and three cute daughters, Bria, Chloe, and Sophia.
Carrie Pierce
Cello-PMMF String Octet, Opera Orchestra
A native of Michigan, Carrie Pierce received a Bachelor's degree in music education and a Master's degree in cello performance from Michigan State University under the tutelage of Suren Bagratuni. She is currently the recipient of a full-tuition scholarship as a candidate for a doctoral degree in cello performance at the University of Michigan, studying with Anthony Elliott. Ms. Pierce maintains an active performing and teaching career in Michigan, currently serving her third season as principal cellist in the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and fifth season as assistant principal cellist in the Traverse City Orchestra. She is a member of Trio La Vita, an ensemble that recently won several awards in competitions such as the International Rutenberg Competition in Tampa, Florida, and the Plowman Competition in Columbia, Missouri. Prior to performing with the Pine Mountain Music Festival this summer, she will participate in her second season with the FestivalSouth in Hattiesburg, MS. As an educator, Ms. Pierce maintains a private studio in Ann Arbor, as well as participating as a judge for Solo & Ensemble and working as a guest clinician for MASTA chamber music clinics.
James Plante
Resident Opera Artist-Kivi/Rockland
Tenor, James Plante, is a native of Minneapolis, MN and has been an active performer with such companies as The Minnesota Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Kansas Concert Opera, The Arizona Broadway Theater and Greenville Light Opera Works. James has also appeared as an apprentice artist with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City for two years and was featured in Julius Caesar, John Brown, and The Magic Flute. Mr. Plante holds a B.M in voice from the University of Minnesota as well as an M.M in opera from the University of Kansas where he studied with bass John Stephens.
Esa Ruuttunen
Baritone-Alfred Laakso/Rockland, Guest Artist
Esa Ruuttunen, Baritone, was ordained as a Lutheran pastor in 1974. He received diplomas in singing and singing instruction from Sibelius Academy in 1980. In 1981, he gave his debut concert in Helsinki and earned a second shared prize in the international song competition in Geneva.
Ruuttunen begun as a guest singer for the Finnish National Opera in 1985 and was hired as a soloist in 1987. Among the numerous roles he has performed: the leading role in Aulis Sallinen's Ratsumies (Horseman), Verdi's La Traviata's Germont, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor's Enrico, Wagner's Parsifal's Klingsor, Lohengrin's Telramund, The Flying Dutchman, Rheingold's Alberich and Wotan, Siegfried's Wanderer, Götterdämmerung's Alberich, Strauss's Salome's John the Baptist, Beethoven's Fidelio's Pizarro, Puccini's Tosca's Scarpia, Britten's Peter Grimes' Captain Balstrode, Merikanto's Juha and Kokkonen's Last Temptations' Paavo Ruotsalainen.
In 1999 Esa Ruuttunen was guest singer at the Bregenz Music Festival in the role of Father Grigoris in Martinu's opera Greek Passion and debuted in the same role in London's Covent Garden in the spring of 2000.
In 2000, Ruuttunen was the Artist of the Year at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. He sang the title role in Kari Tikka's opera Luther in 2000 and Berg's Wozzeck's title role at the Finnish National Opera in 2001.
In recent years Esa Ruuttunen has created a growing international career. He has been a guest soloist both in the U.S. as well as in Europe, including Deutsche Oper Berlin and the State Opera in Bavaria. In 1996 he sang for the first time the title role in Enescu's Oedipe at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and since then has performed the role in several opera houses, e.g. in Barcelona in the spring of 2003. In January 2004 he debuted in the same role at the State Opera in Vienna and in March 2004 at the State Opera in Berlin in the role of John the Baptist.
Jonathan Shames
Guest Artist/Piano Recital
Jonathan Shames is Artistic Director of Opera and Director of Orchestras at the University of Oklahoma. Since his prize-winning performance in the final round of the 1982 Moscow International Tchaikovsky Competition; he has recorded with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra, toured with the Radio and Television Orchestra of Belgrade, and appeared as soloist with the Seoul Sinfonietta and the symphony orchestras of Seattle, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, as well as the Boston Pops, among many others. Recent activities have included performances and a recording of Anthony Brandt's opera "The Birth of Something" (libretto by Will Eno) with Houston's Musiqa, concerts with the Reno Chamber Orchestra as conductor and pianist, and performances of the complete cycle of Beethoven piano and violin sonatas with violinist Dan Smiley.
Stephanie and Jonathan Shames have performed together as a piano duo for over 25 years, and separately have maintained busy schedules as soloists and chamber musicians, performing throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Far East, as well as co-founding the critically acclaimed chamber ensemble The Boston Players.
Stephanie Shames
Guest Artist/Piano Recital
Stephanie Leon Shames has been a guest soloist with the symphonies of Detroit, Seattle, Wyoming, and Chur, Switzerland, among many others. Also a sought after chamber music musician, she has appeared at numerous international festivals, including the Radio France-Montpellier and MIDEM Classique Festivals, International Piano Festival at La Roque d'Antheron, and the Saarbrucken Chamber Music Festival, and has given lectures, masterclasses and performances in Canada, Singapore, Indonesia, and more than a dozen cities in China. Ms. Leon Shames maintains an active concert schedule while teaching chamber music and accompanying at the University of Oklahoma.
Stephanie and Jonathan Shames have performed together as a piano duo for over 25 years, and separately have maintained busy schedules as soloists and chamber musicians, performing throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Far East, as well as co-founding the critically acclaimed chamber ensemble The Boston Players.
Brian Shircliffe
Resident Opera Artist-Heikki/Rockland
Lyric baritone Brian Shircliffe is excited to be a part of the world premier of Rockland. The San Antonio native has performed with numerous opera companies including Houston Grand Opera, Dayton Opera, Lake George Opera, Utah Festival Opera and Opera in the Heights. Recent roles include Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles, Dumdum Devine in Vera of Las Vegas, and created the role of Mark in the world's first Mariachi opera, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, with the Houston Grand Opera, a role he will sing at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in September. The Houston Chronicle has praised Mr. Shircliffe as having "a sure vocal presence, a natural, unblemished sound and an easy delivery." In 2007, Mr. Shircliffe won both third place and the Audience Choice Award in the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. Mr. Shircliffe can be heard on Newport Classics' recording of Dominick Argento's opera Casanova's Homecoming. Brian holds a Master of Music from The University of Houston's Moores School of Music.
Barbara Shirvis
Soprano-Johanna/Rockland
Barbara Shirvis' recent highlights include returns to Toledo Opera as Alice Ford in Falstaff, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, and Rochester Philharmonic in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the title role in Tosca (Minnesota Orchestra), Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly (Utah Opera and Aspen Festival), Desdemona in Otello (Opera Roanoke), Liù in Turandot (Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and Kentucky Opera), Mimì in La bohème (West Virginia Symphony Orchestra), in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 (Syracuse Symphony), Countess in Le nozze di Figaro (North Carolina Symphony), Verdi's Requiem (West Virginia Symphony), Brahms' Requiem (New Mexico Symphony), Beethoven's "Ah, perfido!" (Amarillo Symphony), Tatyana in Eugene Onegin (Cleveland Opera), and Nedda in I Pagliacci (Toledo Opera), the title role in Tosca (New Jersey Symphony Orchestra), Dvořák's Requiem (Florida Orchestra under Grant Llewellyn), Elijah (Jacksonville Symphony under Fabio Mechetti), , Poulenc's Stabat Mater and Janáček's Glagolitic Mass (New Mexico Symphony), and Poulenc's Gloria (Dallas Symphony). Her appearances with New York City Opera include Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Micaëla in Carmen.
Benjamin Sieverding
Bass-Otto/Rockland
Benjamin Sieverding is currently pursuing post-graduate studies in Vocal Performance at the University of Michigan, where he recently received his Master of Music degree. He is a past finalist of the Schubert Club and Coeur d'Alene Symphony Young Artist competitions and winner of the Birmingham Musicale and FAVA Grand Concours de Chant competitions. In 2009, Sieverding traveled to Paris to perform in the Grand Concours de Chant Laureate recital and the Daniel Pearl World Music Day recital at the United States embassy. His recent operatic credits include Le nozze di Figaro, A Midsummer Night's Dream, L'elisir d'amore, and Little Women. Upcoming performances include Zuniga in Carmen with Arbor Opera Theater, Otto in the premiere of Rockland with PMMF, and Pistola in UM's fall production of Falstaff. Sieverding is a student of Stephen West.
Jussi Tapola
Stage Director/Rockland
Jussi Tapola, Stage Director, was engaged by the Finnish National Opera in 1975 after drama and media studies in Helsinki, Tampere and Munich, Germany. He was principal stage director 1988-92. His numerous National Opera productions include Prokofjev's Duenna, Hindemith's Mathis der Maler, Rautavaara's Thomas, Monteverdi's Poppea, Adams' Nixon in China, Kalevi Aho's Insect Life, Ilkka Kuusisto's Gabriel, come back!, Donizetti's Anna Bolena, Kari Tikka's Luther, Puccini's La rondine, Jani Kääriä's Osiris. All these are world or Finnish premieres.
Alongside his teaching at the Sibelius Academy opera class and his guest work at the Savonlinna Opera Festival and elsewhere in Finland, Jussi Tapola has directed or visited with his productions in Estonia, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, Great Britain and USA.
He was chosen artistic director of the Tampere Opera 1997 - 2001 producing there a cycle of Verdi operas. He has also directed opera and drama for television and translated several librettos. Frequently Tapola collaborates on the text and dramaturgy of new operas.
Judith Teasdle
Violin-PMMF String Octet, Opera Orchestra
Born and raised in Pontiac, Michigan, Judith Teasdle graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy and completed her Bachelor of Music at Oakland University, having studied with the Lafayette String Quartet and Elizabeth Rowin. She then earned a Master's in violin performance at Michigan State University where she studied with Dr. Walter Verdehr. A private instructor for over 15 years, Judith now teaches in Oakland University's Preparatory Division. An avid chamber musician, she also freelances with numerous orchestras including the Warren, Dearborn, Saginaw, Ann Arbor, and Flint symphonies. Judith is also a founding member of the jazz fusion group "The Leigh Daniel's Ensemble". Judith lives with her husband and 3 cats in Dearborn.
Christopher Temporelli
Bass-Sven Polki and Thomas Morton/Rockland
In the 2010-11 season Christopher Temporelli returns to Syracuse Opera as Commendatore in Don Giovanni, sings Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Memphis, as soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the National Arts Centre, and in Mozart's Requiem in a return to New Choral Society. Recent highlights include Colline in La bohème with Syracuse Opera; Zuniga in Carmen, and Impresario and Direttore in Viva la Mamma, with Lake George Opera; soloist in Messiah with both the New Choral Society (NY) and St. Marks Episcopal Church (CT); and in a concert titled "The Essential Puccini" with the Washington Chorus at the Kennedy Center. Other highlights include his Canadian debut as Neptune in Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (Opera Atelier), joining the roster of New York City Opera, and his debut with Glimmerglass Opera as The Judge in Glass's Orphée and Pluto in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo.
Danielle Teter
Resident Opera Artist-Chorus/Rockland
Danielle Teter, soprano, is a local singer and has been singing in the chorus of Pine Mountain Music Festival operas since 2001. At the age of 13, Danielle joined the chorus for the world premiere of "Children of the Keweenaw."
A recent graduate of Northern Michigan University, Danielle received a Special Faculty Citation in Music Award from the Music Department. As part of her Music Education Undergraduate studies, Danielle performed the leading role in several Children's Opera programs. In addition, she has performed Fiametta in NMU's production of the Gondoliers.
Danielle plans to pursue a Master's Degree in Vocal Performance in the Fall of 2011. She is thrilled to continue her work with Pine Mountain Music Festival
Daniel Thomas
Cello-PMMF String Octet, Opera Orchestra
Daniel Thomas is the principal cellist of both the Jackson and Warren Symphony Orchestras, in addition to holding section positions in the Ann Arbor, Lansing, and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestras. As a fellowship student throughout his education, Daniel earned his BM from the University of Wisconsin and MM from the University of Michigan. During his education, Daniel won a position with the Madison Symphony Orchestra (1999-2001), and he later won a substitute audition to join the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where he has continued to play frequently since 2003. Immediately following his education, Mr. Thomas won a position in the New World Symphony (in Miami, FL), where he performed from 2003-07. Mr. Thomas has recently been featured as a soloist with the Warren Symphony Orchestra, and during the summer he performs in the Strings on the Bay chamber music series in the U.P. This year marks Daniel's 4th season with PMMF.
Lucy Thrasher
ROA Program Director
Soprano Lucy Thrasher has performed throughout the Upper Midwest as soloist in opera, oratorio, recital and symphonic works. Favorite opera roles include Susanna (Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro), Musetta (Puccini's La Bohème), Gretel (Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel) and the title role in Lehar's The Merry Widow. She is an Associate Professor of Music at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN and since 1998 has also been the Director of the Resident Opera Artist Program at the Pine Mountain Music Festival. At PMMF, Lucy has been heard as Susanna and Musetta, and as soloist in Sibelius' Luonnotar with the Pine Mountain Symphony. Recently Lucy has sung the roles of Zerlina and Frasquita with the Fargo-Moorhead Opera, and appeared as soprano soloist in Mahler Symphony #4 with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony.
Kyle Tomlin
Resident Opera Artist-John/Rockland
Kyle Tomlin received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music in 2008 from Penn State University where he studied with Jennifer Trost. He is currently pursuing a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan where he studies with George Shirley. His most recent performances include Nemorino in L'Elisir D'Amore and Le Chevalier Danois in Armide with the University of Michigan Opera Theatre, Tom Snout in the U of M graduate workshop's production of A Midsummer Nights Dream, and the First Sailor in Dido and Aeneas with the Metropolitan Baroque Ensemble. At Penn State, he sang the roles of Tamino in The Magic Flute, the title role in Albert Herring, and Gabriel von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus with the Penn State Opera Theatre.
Jennifer Trombley
Resident Opera Artist-Rauha/Rockland
Mezzo-Soprano, Jennifer Trombley, has performed in opera, oratorio, and concert settings throughout America. Recent engagements include singing the title character in Rossini's La Cenerentola with the Bay View Music Festival, Carmen in the Peter Brook adaptation of Bizet's Carmen with the University of Michigan, the Alto soloist in Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Handel's Dixit Dominus with the Birmingham-First Chamber Choir, and the Alto soloist in Mozart's C Minor Mass with the CCM Concert Orchestra and Combined Choirs. In the summers of 2008 and 2010, Jennifer performed as a James M. Collier Apprentice Artist with the Des Moines Metro Opera, singing in concerts and opera-scenes programs in the Des Moines area. While a student at the prestigious College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jennifer sang the title role of Lucretia in Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia for the 2010 winter Mainstage season, and subsequently traveled with the production to Spoleto, Italy for the inaugural season of CCM: Spoleto in August, 2010. She is currently a Resident Artist with the Pensacola Opera in Pensacola, FL, where she is covering the role of Meg in Little Women, singing the Mezzo-Soprano role in Postcard from Morocco, and touring as the title role in the children's opera Pinocchio. Jennifer graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor's degree in both Music Performance and Music Education, and was a student of Luretta Bybee and Melody Racine. She currently studies voice with Karen Lykes at CCM.
Paul Truckey
Tenor-Peter the Barber/Rockland
Paul Truckey - has been a Professor of Theatre at Northern Michigan University since 2003. While at NMU he has Directed numerous productions including, A Flea in Her Ear, The Mousetrap, Actletes, The Foreigner, The Full Monty, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tell-Tale , Closer Than Ever, Burning Mona Lisa in the Reptile House, and Our Town. Professional acting credits include, Les Miserables' (Broadway and National Touring Companies), The Fantastick's, The Problem, Utah! (Original Company), Sunday in the Park with George, Romeo and Juliet, Nine, Three Sisters, The Mikado, and She Stoops to Conquer. His TV credits include, The Rosie O'Donnell show, The Today Show, and the 1998 NBA All-Star Game Halftime show. He also continues to volunteer his time to perform in numerous solo concerts to benefit local organizations. Paul is a member of Actor's Equity Association.
Nancy Uffner
Stage Manager-Rockland
Nancy Uffner is very happy to be back at PMMF after stage managing In the Beginning and La Traviata last summer. Nancy is the Production Stage Manager for University Productions and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre and Drama at the University of Michigan. Her national tour experience includes All Shook Up, Fame, Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera, South Pacific with the late Robert Goulet, and Camelot with the late Richard Harris. Her regional theatre work includes Music Theatre Wichita, the U-M Festival of New Works, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Chicago Opera Theatre, Virginia Stage Co., and Baltimore's Center Stage. She works regularly with the Peter Sparling Dance Company, and teaches occasionally for Eastern Michigan University. A Michigan native, Nancy has a Master's degree from University of Michigan and a Bachelor's degree from Eastern Michigan University. Much love and thanks to husband, Scott, and daughters, Kaley and Tessa.
Mark Walters
Baritone-Pekka/Rockland
Mark Walters recent performances of Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Travitata, Aida and La forza del destino, has established himself as a baritone to watch in the demanding Verdi repertoire. Opera News calls Walters "a force to be reckoned with... heroic" and The Chicago Sun Times describes Walters as "vocal fury."
Walters made his European debut in La Traviata last summer with Den Nye Opera in Bergen, Norway and was recently seen in Osaka, Japan in the title role of Don Giovanni. He made his debut at Carnegie Hall in Orff's Carmina Burana and the Fauré Requiem conducted by John Rutter and portrayed the Reverend Olin Blitch in a special 50th year anniversary production of Susannah overseen personally by Carlisle Floyd.
Last spring Walters was featured in the world premiere and cast recording of Rappahannock County, based on Civil War letters and diaries by American composer Ricky Ian Gordon.
Suzanne Young
Costume Designer/Rockland
Suzanne Young trained as a costumer at the Wimbledon School of Art and Design. She spent some years in London working in television, film and stage after which she moved to Boston, MA, where she designed for The Opera Company of Boston, Boston Lyric Opera, University of Connecticut, Boston University, and The Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York. After spending a few years in France and then Ohio she came to Ann Arbor where she continues to work in theatre.
She has designed many shows for The Wild Swan Theater including, Musicians of the Sun, Christmas Carol, Wizard of Oz, Treasure Island, Along the Tracks, and Brothers of the Heart. For the University of Michigan Dance Department she designed "Dancing at 100" and "Mapping the River", for Ann Arbor Dance Works , "Heathdale Celebration", "Reflections and Reveries", and "In the Garden".
Operas include "Il Matrimonio Segreto", and "La Traviata", for the Pine Mountain Music Festival, and for The performance Network of Ann Arbor,"The Drowsy Chaperone", "The War Since Eve", and "Circle Mirror Transformation". She is delighted to be returning to Pine Mountain Music Festival for their production of "Rockland The Opera".
Heather Youngquist
Resident Opera Artist-Hilja/Rockland
Soprano, Heather Youngquist, returns to Michigan's Upper Peninsula after having been a Resident Opera Artist with the Pine Mountain Music Festival in 2009. During that summer, she performed in the musical revue of the songs of Cole Porter in addition to performing the role of Elisetta in Cimarosa's Il Matrimonio Segreto. Just this past fall, Youngquist was also engaged as a guest recitalist for the concert series given by the Holy Transfiguration Skete of Eagle Harbor, Michigan.
For the past two years, Ms. Youngquist has continued her studies in voice at Indiana University, where she also completed a Master of Music degree in Voice Performance with a minor in Opera Studies in 2009. While at IU, Ms. Youngquist frequently performed on the operatic and concert stages, most recently as Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Tulip in the Collegiate Premiere of William Bolcom's A Wedding, and as Frau Fluth in Nicolai's Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor. Ms. Youngquist has also been a guest soloist with the Bach Chorale Singers of Lafayette, Indiana, in recent performances of Handel's Messiah and Voices of Light by Richard Einhorn. In the fall of 2009, Ms. Youngquist was selected as a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the Central Illinois District. She continues to teach voice both privately and as an Adjunct Professor at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Indiana.