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Musicians
The Baroque Orchestra of New
Jersey draws its musicians from throughout northern and
central New Jersey. Ranging from top professionals to students, the
orchestra blends talents, energy and enthusiasm to create a memorable orchestral
experience. Bassoonist Andrew Pecota serves as orchestra manager.
Many professional musicians perform either as regular players or as guest
soloists and the orchestra remains open to musicians of all levels willing to
make rehearsals and interested in exploring the music of the period. The
orchestra also encourages talented young musicians to participate, placing them
beside professionals, enabling them to share the rehearsal and concert
experience.
Artists appear alphabetically
under each section below.
| Guest Artists |
Violin 1 |
Violin 2 |
Viola |
Flute |
Horn |
| Sohyun Ahn, Piano |
Michael Avagliano |
Jennifer Bosch |
Victor Bauer |
Catherine Garrison**** |
Melissa Nascimento |
| Michael Avagliano,
Violin |
Anthony Bevilacqua *** |
Nicole E. Green |
Jennifer Bosch |
Margaret Walker |
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| Marjorie Berg, Soprano |
Joseph Gluck *** |
Kimberly L. Hooey |
Judith Cohen |
|
French Horn |
| Janice Coppola - Clarinet |
Sig Harac |
Claudia Lemmerz |
Meredith Francis |
Oboe |
Jane Rondin |
| Daniel Foran, Tenor |
Alexandra Jenkins |
Connor Dugan Leszcuk |
Kevin Hanse |
Elizabeth Engelberth |
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| Susan Heerema, Violin |
Agnes Kwasniewska |
Jennifer Schuchman |
Jan Poland |
Briana Tarbay |
Trumpet |
| Virginia Hicks, Soprano |
Claudia Lemmerz |
Joanna Volz |
Mariam Stachow |
Pamela Yuen |
Pete Hyde |
| Olive Lynch |
Vincent Novellino |
Catherine White |
Fritz Weimersheimer |
Nancy Vanderslice |
Jim Yedloutschnig |
| Anne Matlack - Organ |
Collin Oettle |
Minkeun Yun |
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| Amit Peled, Cello |
Anne Piascik |
Dilyana Zlatinova |
Cello |
Bassoon |
Timpani |
| Jane Rondin, Horn |
Debra Seftel |
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Nancy Connell |
Samuel O'Mallone |
Edward Butts |
| Dan Sagi, Clarinet |
Marilyn Tepper |
|
Linda Fink |
Andrew Pecota ** |
Adrienne Ostender |
| Paul Zeigler, Piano |
Allen Weakland |
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Amanda Franz |
Andrew Stachow |
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Suzanne Weinberg |
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Suji Kim |
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Clarinet |
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Melanie Zenakis |
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Michael Lawrence |
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Katie Clores |
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Cynthia Longley |
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Dan Sagi * |
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Karen Pinoci |
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Susan Smith * |
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Martin Steinberg |
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Harpsichord |
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Bass |
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Chrstl Balthazar |
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Norman F. Edge |
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Anne Matlack |
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John Pivarnik |
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* = Principal Player
** = Orchestra Manager
*** = Concertmaster
**** = Administrative Assistant to the Orchestra
| Sohyun Ahn - Piano:
Korean born pianist Sohyun Ahn makes her regular
season debut with The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey. However, this talented
musician is certainly no stranger to the orchestra nor to many in the audience.
For the past four years she has performed with Maestro Butts and musicians of
the ensemble with both the Little Opera Company of New Jersey and with New
Jersey Concert Opera. Her most memorable American appearance to date was as
soloist at the Nous Theatre where, with the orchestra and Maestro Butts.
Ahn performed an exciting, highly acclaimed interpretation of Dimitri
Shostakovich’s powerful Concerto #2. Sohyun studied at the Yonshei University
and at the Tokyo National Geidai Conservatory. After obtaining her master’s
degree with distinction at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in
Glasgow, Scotland, Ms. Han came to the United States where she received her
Professional Studies Degree from the Manhattan School of Music. She has won the
Governor Recital Prize and the Bach Prize at the RSAMD, the Asahi Breweries
Music Foundation Award, the Yewon National Piano Competition, as well as the
Yookyun National Piano Competition. Also, Ms. Ahn was a finalist in the Dudley
Millennium International Competition and the Naomi Foundation Competition and
received the Semi-finalist Award from the Vianna da Mott International
Competition. Her scholarships include the Japan Rotary Foundation Scholarship,
the RSAMI Endowment Trust International Scholarship, the Broadwood Trust Awards,
the Else and Leonard Cross Charitable Trust Award.
Named best performer of the year in 2002 by
Eumal-Chunchu, Korea’s leading classical critic magazine, Sohyun Ahn has
performed in the United States, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal,
Iceland, Japan, Malaysia, Brunei and Korea. In 2006 she has been invited back
to Korea to perform the Mozart concerto at the Sejong Arts Center in Seoul.
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| Michael Avagliano - Violin:
With a tone described as "both bold and graceful" by The Washington Post,
violinist Michael Avagliano has received acclaim as a soloist and chamber
musician in the United States and Europe. Mr. Avagliano has performed with
the New Jersey Symphony, the Singapore Symphony, and the Indianapolis Chamber
Orchestra. As a member of the critically acclaimed Madison String Quartet,
Mr. Avagliano has performed on chamber series throughout the Northeast.
Highlights of recent seasons include appearances at the Friends of Music in
Westchester, the Rhinebeck Chamber Series, the Mozart and Friends series in
Princeton, and the Pennsylvania Consort. Mr. Avagliano covers a wide
variety of musical genres, having worked with artists ranging from Jaime Laredo
and Seiji Ozawa to the Moody Blues and Ray Charles. |
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| Janice Coppola: She
holds a bachelor's and master's degree in music performance from the Cleveland
Institute of Music, where she performed Carl Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto
under the direction of Maestro Louis Lane. While a student of Leon
Russianoff, Janice was a prizewinner in the Abraham and Phyllis Katz Young
Artist's Competition in Woodmere, New York. In 1996, Janice won the grand
prize in Marvin Hamlish's Search for a Star competition, where she
performed Artie Shaw's Clarinet Concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony
Pops. Janice is cofounder of the The Hot Mtzohs, a Pittsburgh based
klezmer group that has been invited to perform at Heinz Hall on several
occasions, and which has been featured on radio and television broadcasts.
Janice is also a director of the Chartiers Nature Conservancy, where she serves
on the Membership and Education committees. |
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| Daniel Foran - Tenor: Tenor Daniel Foran currently studies at William
Paterson University as he begins pursuing a career in the opera world. He
has appeared several times with the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey, most
recently singing the tenor part in Johann Sebastian Bach's Coffee Cantata.
(Information as of 2005-01-09) |
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| Susan Heerema - Violin:
The Juilliard trained artist has performed with
major orchestras under such distinguished conductors as Rostropovich, Rampal and
Menuhin as well as touring Ireland, Norway and Scotland with the Philharmonia
Virtuosi. Her interest in Baroque music has found her playing with
ensembles at the world's major Baroque festivals. She performs with
several orchestras in the New Your/New Jersey area, serving as concertmaster
with several including Amor Artis, Camerata New York and the Berkshire Opera
Company. A versatile artist, Heerema has explored several
musical traditions outside the Baroque and Classical realms. She has
appeared as concertmaster with Chuck Mangione at the Blue Note and has appeared
with artists ranging in style from Bjork and Elvis Constello to opera superstar
Placido Domingo, Bette Midler and soul legend Aretha Franklin. A highlight
of her many achievements was being asked to contract the orchestra and sit
concertmaster for "Prayers for America." the memorial service for the victims of
the September 11 terrorist attacks held 2001-09-23 at Yankee Stadium and
broadcast worldwide. (Information as of 2005-01-09)
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| Virginia Hicks - Soprano:
Soprano Virginia Hicks has appeared several times
with the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey, most recently in the role of Belinda
in Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. Virginia is currently a senior
at Madison High School and has sung at All-State Chorus and All-Eastern Chorus.
(Information as of 2005-01-09) |
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| Connor Dugan Leszcuk:
Connor, at 15 years
old, is a classical violinist who also holds multiple championships in
Bluegrass, Old Time, and Celtic Fiddling. He's been playing since the
age of 6, and is a member of the NJ Youth Orchestra. He is also
a member of the Celtic Eclectic Ensemble; Dugan's Hooligans. T |
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| Olive Lynch: She studied
voice at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute and Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory.
One of the highlights of her vocal career was playing Gilda in The Medium
under the guidance of the composer Gian Carlo Menotti. In 2003, Olive
founded New Jersey Concert Opera with whom she has appeared in several leading
roles and who she has guided to its current prominent position as one of New
Jersey's leading and most innovative opera companies. Lynch has sung with
the New Jersey Symphony, The Oratorio Society, and other leading New Jersey
ensembles. |
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| Anne Matlack - She has been
Artistic Director of Harmonium Choral Society since 1987. She is organist
and choir director at Grace Episcopal Church in Madison, where she directs a
program of children and adult choirs and a concert series, Grace Community
Music. In the 2004-2005 school year, she became an adjunct professor at
Kean University, teaching Music Appreciation and Class Voice. Dr. Matlack
serves as Repertoire and Standards Chair for Community Choirs for the Eastern
Division of the American Choral Directors Association. She is active as an
adjudicator and clinician, and has served on the board of the Yale Glee Club
Associates. Dr. Matlack has conducted choirs at Yale, Lafayette College,
and Rutgers University, and concertizes as an organist and flutist. She
has sung in the Robert Shaw Festival Chorus at Carnegie Hall and with the Yale
Alumni Chorus at the Kremlin in Moscow. She is 2003 recipient of the Arts
Council of the Morris Area's Outstanding Professional in the Arts award. |
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| Andrew Pecota - Bassoon:
Andrew Pecota performs regularly with the Baroque
Orchestra of New Jersey, New Jersey Concert Opera and the Hunterdon Symphony.
In addition to pursuing a master's degree in Music Theory at Montclair State
University, Andrew studies period instrument performance practice with Andrew
Schwartz and Ken Hamrick. Andrew is a member of the Zephyrs Winds.
(Information as of 2006-09-15) |
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| Amit Peled - Cello: Cellist
Amit Peled has been a featured guest artist in some of the world's major concert
halls such as: Wigmore Hall, London; Alice Tully Hall, New York City; Carnegie
Hall, New York City; Salle Gaveau, Paris; National Auditorium, Barcelona;
Konzerthaus, Berlin; and Man Auditorium, Tel Aviv. He has collaborated
with the European Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra Saarbrucken,
Orquestra Simfonica de Barcelon i Nacional de Catalynya, London Soloist,
Jerusalem Symphony, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Tel Aviv Soloists, Haifa Symphony,
Musica Vitae Chamber Orchestra, Velcea Philharmonic, Hartford Symphony, and
Nashua Symphony to name a few. Highlights of the 2005/2006 Season included solo appearances
with the Israel Chamber Orchestra on their US tour, the Ashland Symphony, the
Philharmonie Sudwestfalen, the Chautauqua Symphony, and the Academia Ars Musica.
Moreover, Peled is continuing his Beethoven Cycle in Israel, USA, Spain and
Germany and will record the "Russian Evening" project on a DVD. As an
advocate of Israeli music, Mr. Peled has just released the Cello Concerto by
Mark Copytman with the Tel Aviv Soloists under the JMC label.
Being one of the youngest cello professors in the United
States, Peled joined the distinguished faculty of the Peabody Conservatory of
Music of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in September 2003 and will
conduct intensive Master Classes this summer at the Euro Arts Festival, Germany,
the Heifetz Institute in the US, in Toledo Spain and at the Gotland Festival in
Sweden.
Mr. Peled is a frequent participant at prestigious festivals
such as the Marlboro Music Festival, Newport Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein
Festival, Seatlle Chamber Music Festival, Cape Cod Music Festival, Festspiele
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Moselfestwochen, where he played all six Bach Suites,
Ludwigsburger Festpiele, playing to raving reviews Beethoven's Triple concerto
and Brahm's Double concerto in one evening, Strings in the Mountains, Four
Seasons, Bastad, Prussia Cove, Millstatt Musikwochen and Kfar Blum.
Peled performed with violinist Midori for the 1998 America
Israel Cultural Foundation Gala at Lincoln Centre's Alice Tully Hall and has
been a featured guest on the 2005 Gala as well. He performed for the
Marlboro 50th Anniversary concerts in Washington and NY and his recordings can
be heard frequently on the Israeli National Classical Music Radio and TV, NPR,
WGBH, Boston, WFMT Chicago, WQXR NY, Saarlandischer Rundfunk, Deutschland Radio
Berlin, Hessischer Rundfund, Radio France and Swedish Nantional Radio and TV.
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| Jane Rondin - Horn:
Hornist Jane Rondin has served as principal horn for the
Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey for the last three years. Her solo appearances have been enjoyed in
both chamber and orchestral concerts. In addition to other concertos, Rondin demonstrated the principals of horn construction at a family concert in
which she played music composed for orchestra and water hose! She has
served as principal horn with various orchestras in South Africa. She is
frequently heard in concert with local brass ensembles as well as her own unique
horn ensemble. She was born in England and began her training in the U.S.
before moving to South Africa. While in South Africa, she continued her
studies and performed with the Natal Philharmonic for a decade as well as all
other major orchestras in South Africa. She was the recipient of several
awards and won the National Brass Competition two years consecutively.
Jane is a member of the Zephyrs Winds. (Information as of 2006-09-15)
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| Dan Sagi - Clarinet:
Clarinetist Dan Sagi has already established
himself as a soloist, principal player and chamber music artist. At the
Baroque Orchestra's Wassail concert of 2004-01-11, Sagi stepped in at the last
minute for an ailing artist and memorably performed Mozart's Clarinet
Concerto. He is a recent graduate with a B.A. in performance on
clarinet from Montclair State University. He is currently working as a
repairman at the University as well as performing as principal clarinet with The
Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey and the New Jersey Concert Opera. Dan
will also be touring with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in October. Dan is
a member of the Zephyrs Winds. (Information as of
2006-09-15) |
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| Margaret Walker - Flute:
Margaret Walker is a founding member of the Baroque
Orchestra of New Jersey and has played with the Little Opera Company, New
Jersey Opera and the Morris Consort. She is a freelance musician and
teaches flute in the Denville area. Formerly from Chicago, she played with
the Loop Group contemporary chamber ensemble, the Westminster Chamber Orchestra
and Entrac'te, a flute/guitar duo. Margaret is a member of the Zephyrs Winds. (Information as of
2006-09-15) |
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| Nancy Vanderslice - Oboe:
Nancy Vanderslice has been in New Jersey for fifteen
years. She is a private oboe teacher as well as a freelancer on all the
woodwind instruments. She began her professional training on oboe at the
N. C. School of the Arts, and Nancy has performed with the Madison Symphony,
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and the Dubuque Symphony, New Jersey Concert Opera,
The Garden State Opera Company, The Garden State Concert Band, and for the past
two years, has been principal oboes with the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey.
Nancy is also adjunct professor of oboe at the College of Saint Elizabeth, the
County College of Morris, and Rutgers University - Newark. Nancy is a member of
the Zephyrs Winds. (Information as of
2006-09-15) |
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| Paul Zeigler - Piano: You may have
heard this brilliant pianist play in our area. His multifaceted career as a
pianist, composer and teacher has taken him on performances throughout the U.S.,
Canada and Europe. Critics
have praised him as "absolutely thrilling," "technically perfect, emotionally
exciting" and "a virtuoso performer." Classical New Jersey reported
that "Zeigler plays with a lyric legato. [he] found all the fire and lyricism in
the score." |
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