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September 27 - Guest Artist:
ELENA URIOSTE began her violin studies in Philadelphia and made her debut as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age thirteen as winner of the Albert M. Greenfield Competition. Since then, she has appeared as soloist with major orchestras throughout the United States including the Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Pops, National Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Hartford Symphonies, as well as Hungary’s Orchestra Dohnanyi Budafok, garnering critical acclaim for her commanding stage presence, rich tone, and the nuanced lyricism of her playing.
Miss Urioste made her Carnegie Hall debut as a featured soloist in the December 2004 Sphinx Gala Concert, and has returned as a soloist in the 2006 and 2007 Galas. She has performed in recital at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall as the youngest musician ever selected for the Young Performers Career Advancement Showcase. Miss Urioste has collaborated with acclaimed artists David Kim, Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster; pianists Christopher O’Riley and Ignat Solzhenitsyn; and conductors Robert Spano, Keith Lockhart, and Shlomo Mintz, among others. She has been a featured artist in the International Young Artists Music Festival, the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, the Sarasota and Aspen Music Festivals, as well as the Festival International de Musique in Sion, Switzerland.
Miss Urioste is the 2007 first prize winner of the Sion International Violin Competition, where she was also awarded the audience prize and the prize for the best performance of the competition’s newly commissioned work. She has won both the senior (2007) and junior (2003) divisions of the national Sphinx Competition, as well as the Kennett Symphony Concerto Competition and the Temple University Music Prep Concerto Competition. Miss Urioste’s media appearances include performances on national broadcasts of the popular public radio programs From the Top and Performance Today, and the Spanish language television network, Telemundo. She has been the featured guest on the radio program Anything is Possible, and is also featured in the Emmy award winning documentary Breaking the Sound Barrier, on the cover of the January, 2006 issue of Careers and Colleges magazine, and in the Winter 2007 issue of Philadelphia Music Makers magazine.
Miss Urioste is a student at The Curtis Institute of Music where she has studied for the past four years with Joseph Silverstein and Ida Kavafian, and will continue to study this year with Mr. Silverstein and Pamela Frank. Other notable teachers include David Cerone and the late Rafael Druian. She is the past recipient of a Starling Foundation Scholarship at Temple University Music Preparatory Center for Gifted Young Musicians in Philadelphia, where she was a student of Choong-Jin Chang and Soovin Kim.
The outstanding violin being used by Miss Urioste is a Michelangelo Bergonzi, Cremona, circa 1750, on extended loan through the generous efforts of Society for Strings, Inc., Meadowmount School of Music, from the private collection of Dr. Charles E. King.
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October 18 - featured composor:
Also an appearance by R2D2! 
November 15 - Collaborative Artists:
“Under complete control, the 70-voice chorus expertly presented the music with the same aplomb that one might expect to hear in Westminster Abbey or London’s St. Paul Cathedral… As usual, the choral tone was impeccable.” (Lafayette Journal and Courier)
December 6 - Guest Artists: Keller Winners
Kaitlin (Katie) Christenson has played flute for over a decade. Originally inspired by Arizona’s Susan Gould, Katie has studied with Gayle Schnepp, Pamina Blum, Trudy Whitford, Anne Reynolds, and Dr. Jennie Brown. She has earned a prize in five consecutive Kokomo Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competitions. Katie has given four solo recitals, has played solo Master’s classes for flautists William Bennett, Walfrid Kujala, Susan Saylor, Jonathon Keeble, Mary Karen Clardy, and Nina Assimakopoulos, and she earned the 2003 Fine Arts Award for Flute at Interlochen Arts Camp. She has been featured performer several times with the Kokomo Morning Musicale, and has won its Joan Knolinski Scholarship. Katie is a featured soloist with Crescendo! String Orchestra, has soloed with the Kokomo Symphony Youth Orchestra, and has played sided-by-side with the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra. Katie is a member of Crescendo! String Orchestra, the Lafayette Citizen’s Band, and the First Presbyterian Woodwind ensemble. As a Freshman, she sat second chair flute in the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Daniel Sommerville. In addition to flute, Katie is proficient on the piano having performed in contests at the Indiana State level. Katie has shared the concert stage with Pamina Blum, Lillian Gurney, Laura Swartzendruber, Nancy Lein, Reto Giere, Ruth Lawson, Barbara Hobbs, Thomas Raossnig, Anne Reynolds, Katya Kramer, Cindy Trowbridge, and her family. She is currently studying flute as a performance major with Dr. Jennie Brown at Wheaton College.
Anna O’Connor is a freshman at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where she is pursing a degree in Clarinet Performance. She is currently studying clarinet under Eli Eban. Her private teacher through middle and high school was Beth Purkhiser. She also studied with David Bellman, as well as Daniel Silver at Interlochen Arts Camp. She is a recent graduate of
Praised by the New York Concert Review as “skillful” and “enthusiastic”, Jason Wu has competed and performed in many venues around the
Born and raised in
January 10 - Guest Artist:
Peter Vinograde
Pianist Peter Vinograde has developed a reputation as an outstanding interpreter of J.S. Bach and contemporary composers. He annually tours the U.S., Canada, and Asia. His most recent Asian appearances have included three China tours: in solo recital, with the Macao Orchestra, and with flautist Lydia Yang to promote their new CD.
As a chamber musician, he has appeared at the Bard, Bargemusic, Caramoor, and Wolftrap Festivals. As a collaborative artist, he has toured throughout Asia with violinist Midori, including her Singapore debut, also performing with her at the Cape Cod and Mostly Mozart Festivals.
In February, 2008, Peter Vinograde and David Calhoun presented Beethoven’s complete cello sonatas at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, where Dr. Vinograde has appeared annually since 1991. The programs also featured U.S. premieres of two works for cello and piano: Michael Matthews’ Song Fragments and Alfred Fisher’s Credo.
Recently, he was the featured pianist with members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic in the Music Off the Walls series at the Brooklyn Museum. Upcoming engagements include Mozart’s Concerto #25 in Santa Fe, a live podcast of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (in an outdoor concert from Zion National Park), and the American Music Festival at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.
In conjunction with his new class at the Manhattan School of Music, Bach for Pianists, Dr. Vinograde is presenting the Goldberg Variations in lecture/recital form at conservatories and universities, including Oberlin and Juilliard this season. In addition, this spring’s concerts in Canada include Bach’s D minor and F minor Concerti, paired with the Goldbergs.
World premiere performances have included Nicolas Flagello’s Concerto #3 (1962) with Nicholas Palmer and the Owensboro (KY) Symphony, Hal Campbell’s Piano Concerto (1997) in Utah, and Mark Zuckerman’s On the Edges (1996) in Taiwan. Dr. Vinograde’s numerous distinctions began with first prize in the 1971 J.S. Bach International Competition, followed by his New York debut at Carnegie Recital Hall and an N.E.A.-sponsored Lincoln Center recital at Alice Tully Hall. He has been featured on NPR’s Performance Today and CBC-TV’s the Journal. CDs include releases on Albany, CBC, Linfair (Decca) and Phoenix.
Summer activities include the International Academy of Music/Italy and the Amati Music Festival. Peter Vinograde teaches at the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a student of Zenon Fishbein, and at Lehman College (CUNY).
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March 6 - Guest Artists:
Irish Tenors
This legendary trio—Anthony Kearns, Finbar Wright, and Karl Scully— celebrates the music of the Emerald Isle with sparkling voices and delightful Irish charm, performing traditional Gaelic folk songs, ballads, and medleys with lush accompaniment by our very own Lafayette Symphony Orchestra. Since their debut in 1998, The Irish Tenors have performed to enthusiastic audiences in the finest venues around the world. Their eight chart-topping albums include legendary Irish standards like “Danny Boy” and “Molly Malone,” as well as stirring interpretations of pop hits, folk tunes, and sacred hymns. Their worldwide success has spawned many imitators, but there is only one trio with the impeccable harmonies, sweeping orchestraô€†ź on, and international following of The Irish Tenors. “The luck of the Irish may be legendary, but there’s a lot to say for the skill of the Irish, as demonstrated by The Irish Tenors’ blending of traditional and modern songs.” –The Washington Post
March 28 - Guest Artist:
April 25 - Guest Artist:
Jason Vieaux is expanding the definition of “Classical Guitarist” and changing the face of guitar programming, building a solid audience and fan base along the way. As a result of his growing reputation for making “the single guitar seem like a body of instruments at work…an orchestra of sound…” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), Mr. Vieaux’s 2007 – 2008 season contains over 50 dates internationally. Highlights include the world premiere of a guitar concerto by renowned composer Jerod Tate with the Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis, a Florida Orchestra debut, a “Carte Blanche” Series spot for the Music@Menlo Festival, and solo recitals in Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Cleveland.
Jason Vieaux has eight recordings to his credit and many more to come with his multi-record deal with Azica Records. His latest release, Images of Metheny, is a disc of music by American Jazz guitarist/composer Pat Metheny. Metheny, after listening to this landmark recording, declared: "I am flattered to be included in Jason’s musical world. And I am honored that a musician of his stature has directed his considerable talents to manifest such beautiful and true renditions of these pieces in such a personal way." Sevilla: The Music of Isaac Albeniz, was rated one of the Top Ten Classical CDs of 2003 by The Philadelphia Inquirer and Cleveland’s Plain Dealer. Mr. Vieaux recorded his first CD when he was just 19; two years later this was followed by Laureate Series Guitar Recital on Naxos, which went on to sell over 40,000 copies internationally. Vieaux also has two duo CDs with flutist Gary Schocker, Dream Travels and Arioso. Mr. Vieaux’s recordings and live performances are heard nationally on the radio and worldwide via the Internet, and he is regularly broadcast via NPR, on such top-rated programs as "Performance Today", "All Things Considered" and "Morning Edition". A solo CD of Bach lute works is scheduled for a December 2007 release.
Jason Vieaux began guitar studies at age eight with Jeremy Sparks in Buffalo, New York, and continued study at The Cleveland Institute of Music with John Holmquist. He is the youngest First Prize winner in the history of the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America International Competition, a Naumburg International Guitar Competition prizewinner, and a recipient of The Cleveland Institute of Music’s Alumni Achievement Award. In 1995, Mr. Vieaux was honored as an Artistic Ambassador of the United States to Southeast Asia, concertizing in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar (Burma). He has also toured Europe, Mexico, Canada, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand.
Mr. Vieaux is a regularly featured guest with orchestras across the United States. He has performed as concerto soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Pops, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Auckland Philharmonia, Santa Fe Symphony and San Diego Symphony, working with such conductors as Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Luis Biava, Jahja Ling, Rossen Milanov, Stefan Sanderling, Alasdair Neale, Steven Smith and Carl Topilow. As a passionate advocate of new music, Vieaux has premièred new pieces by José Luis Merlin, Eric Sessler, Arthur Hernandez, Gary Schocker and Fazil Say, and plays works by Allen Krantz, Mario Davidovsky, Augusta Read-Thomas, Roberto Sierra and John Corigliano.
Aside from his duties as a performer, Mr. Vieaux is highly dedicated to the art of teaching. He currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio, where he is Head of the Cleveland Institute of Music Guitar Department, making him the youngest Department Head to serve at the prestigious conservatory. He is also affiliated with Philadelphia-based Astral Artistic Services.
