Join Our Mailing List   "What an absolutely fantastic concert! Awesome and elevating - as the name promises, and inspiring, moving, and truly truly beautiful!!! Great music, great sound, really interesting and lively commentary. You elevated me from November dreariness into a magical place!" Karin Stowe, Vermont

WILLIE DOCTO Founder & General Manager Violin Willie enjoys combining his musical background with his management experience. He has served as general manager of the Georgetown Symphony Orchestra and the Virginia Chamber Orchestra working with conductors Andrew Litton and Fabio Mechetti. He has also worked with the Fairfax Symphony and the American Symphony Orchestra League. Since 1996, he has owned an association management company providing event planning and marketing consulting services to clients in the U.S, Poland and the Philippines. Willie has served on the boards of the Monteverdi Music School and the Vermont Arts Council. Willie performed as a freelance musician in the Washington, DC area for over 15 years. He has performed in the Georgetown Symphony, Prince William Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, and Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra. He is a principal player in the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra Society and is a member of the Vermont Philharmonic. Willie studied violin at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK, and graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Willie performs on the "Aunt Lulabelle" violin handcrafted by Thurmond Knight of Glover, Vermont.   G. RICHARD AMES Compère G. Richard Ames is an actor and activist from Burlington. He performs regularly for QuarryWorks Theater in Adamant, Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier, and at many other venues in northern and central Vermont. He is an activist for civil rights, litter eradication, and for peace. Rick is pleased to be at these concerts, both as emcee and as an eager listener to Eleva's musical offerings.  SARAH BLEICHFELD Viola Sarah Bleichfeld has participated in numerous summer music festivals including NYSSSA School of Orchestral Studies, Bravo! Chamber Music Workshop, and the Manchester Music Festival. She has been a member of the St. Lawrence Gospel Choir and the Crane Fiddle Group. She was also the director and co-founder of the Potsdam Viola Ensemble which performed at the New York Viola Society's "Varsity Viola Concert" in New York City's Sage Theater. Sarah is pursuing a performance degree at the Crane School of Music with Dr. Shelly Tramposh. Sarah hopes to make her career as an ethnomusicologist and professor of music at a university. LYNNETTE COMBS Harpsichord Lynnette Combs received a degree in music from Swarthmore College, where she studied organ with Robert Smart and played harpsichord with various student ensembles. She is organist at the First Church (Universalist) in Barre, Vermont and is a founding member of Consort Courante, which plays music from the Baroque era on period instruments. In 2002 Ms. Combs was named Artist of the Year by the Vermont Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. She has played with the Vermont Symphony, the Vermont Philharmonic, the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra and numerous other chamber ensembles and choruses.   JENNIFER FLASTER Violin Jennifer Flaster is a member of the Vermont Philharmonic and Montpelier Chamber Orchestra Society. She served as concertmaster of the McLean Orchestra in Virginia and played with the Washington Savoyards and the Maryland Symphony Orchestra along with many other Washington, DC music ensembles. She was a member of the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony in New York City before moving to Vermont in 2006. In addition to performing classical and chamber music, she was a founding member of 24fps, a Washington-based rock band. LINDA J. GALVAN Cello Linda J. Galvan (who has also performed as Linda Hougland) attended the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Ronald Leonard and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance and a Performer's Certificate. Ms. Galvan was a Fulbright Scholar with Maurice Gendron in Germany and remained in Europe as first solo cello with the National Ballet, Dance Theatre of the Netherlands, and as a member of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Galvan later joined the faculty of the University of Victoria (British Columbia). Performances spanning the entire gamut of orchestral soloist, recitals, and chamber music have taken Ms. Galvan throughout Europe, Canada and the United States. After performing with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Ms. Galvan moved to New England, where she is an active teacher and performer in recital, as a guest soloist, and as principal cellist with Camerata New England. She was principal cellist with the former the Hanover Chamber Orchestra and as a member of Trio Veritas. Linda and her husband Carlos are co-founders of A Carlin Foundation, providing music education for children in under-served areas. NANCY HAIR Cello Cellist Nancy Hair is known both as a performer and as a teacher. She received her musical training at Indiana University, the Hartt School of Music, and Ithaca Talent Education where she studied the Suzuki method of teaching. Her teachers include Janos Starker, Raya Garbousova, Bob Gardner, Yehuda Hanani, George Neikrug, and Timothy Eddy. Nancy performs frequently in Boston with the Lyric Opera, Opera New England and the Boston Ballet as well as other area orchestra and chamber music groups. She is on the faculty of the New England Conservatory Preparatory division as well as having a home studio in Newton. Nancy is a registered teacher trainer of the Suzuki method and travels throughout the United States and beyond giving recitals, workshops and master classes for both teachers and students.    LOU KOSMA Bass Lou Kosma is presently a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He teaches privately and is an adjunct double bass instructor at New Jersey City University. Past affiliations include principal bassist for the American Ballet Theatre, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, and acting principal for the New Jersey Symphony. He was also a member of the Chautauqua Symphony for 17 years. Lou continues to play radio and television jingles and industrials. He received his degree in music education with applied double bass from Temple University. During the summers of 1967 and 1968, he was a fellowship student at Tanglewood. Lou is Music Director of the Vermont Philharmonic, the Thurnauer Symphony Orchestra, and conductor of the Junior Orchestra of the Youth Orchestras of Essex County.    JOHN LINDSEY Concertmaster John Lindsey holds the highest tribute and rank conferred upon a faculty member in the State University of New York System, the SUNY Distinguished Service Professor. Mr. Lindsey has been on the violin faculty at the internationally known Crane School of Music since 1981. In 1993 he was awarded the SUNY Potsdam President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and, in 2003, the prestigious State University of New York Chanceller’s Award, also for Excellence in Teaching. He was recognized by the International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, England, with the 2003 International Musician of the Year Award and with the Mozart Award for Musical Achievement in the Fall of 2008. In 1989 he was selected from over 200 applicants as the winner of the city of Dayton’s Annual Allegro Residency for the Arts. Mr. Lindsey is in demand as a Concertmaster, soloist, and chamber musician, as well as teacher and chamber music coach. He is presently the Concertmaster of the Eleva Chamber Players (VT) and the Orchestra of Northern New York and has served as Concertmaster of the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dallas (TX) Chamber Soloists, The Warren (OH) Chamber Orchestra. the Castle Farm Festival Orchestra (MI), and the Hanover (NH) Chamber Orchestra, In 1973 he was Concertmaster of an orchestra which toured Israel and Jordan. The final concert was given at the Cultural Palace in Amman for King Hussein of Jordan. In 1978 he played chamber music for Prince Philip of England. Mr. Lindsey has appeared in solo recitals at The Carnegie Recital Hall, Bruno Walter Auditorium in Lincoln Center (five times) and in Boston, Montreal, Dallas, and Chicago on the Dame Myra Hess Series. In February 2009, he gave his 3rd recital and workshop in 16 months on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Prior to his appointment at The Crane School of Music, Mr. Lindsey was Chairman of Strings at Baylor University, The Governor’s School of North Carolina, and the University of Kentucky. He also taught strings in the Dallas, Texas, public schools. He is listed in eleven national and international who’s who publications, among them Who’s Who in American Music, International Who’s Who of Intellectuals, Directory of Distinguished Americans, and Who’s Who in International Music. In the summer, Mr. Lindsey is a member of the violin faculties of the Ameropa Festival in Prague (CZ), the Adult Chamber Music Conference at Interlochen, Michigan, and the Mozart Festival in Woodstock, Vermont. In previous summers he was on the faculties of the 2008 International Chamber Music Festival and Concert Tour in Bulgaria, the Ithaca Chamber Music Institute (NY), the National Music Camp at Interlochen (MI), the Illinois Summer Youth Chamber Music Camp(IL), the Ottawa Suzuki Institute (KS), the Southeastern Music Camp (GA), the Stage de Musique in Marcillat-en-Combraille, France, and the Canna International Chamber Music Festival in Canna, Italy. Mr. Lindsey and his wife Amornrat have founded the International Chamber Music Festival in Thailand, held annually in Thailand during the winter holiday season. SANDI-JO MALMON Cello Sandi-Jo Malmon is a member of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Ensemble, the Hanover Chamber Orchestra and the Lake George Opera Festival (NY). As a member of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Ensemble, she has appeared in concert at various venues around New England, in the Midwest, on the eastern seaboard, and in Europe. She made her Lincoln Center debut in 1991 with the Boston Quartet. She is currently on the adjunct cello faculty of Northeastern University. She has served on the faculties of the International Composers' Conference at Wellesley College, the International String conference in Pennsylvania, Powers Music School and the Brookline Music School. A student of Richard Kapuscinski and Paul Tobias, Sandi-Jo received degrees in cello performance from Oberlin College/Conservatory of Music, the New England Conservatory of Music and the Longy School of Music. She has recorded on Blue Hill Records, North Star Records, Lakewest Records and Pamet River Recordings. Sandi-Jo is the Librarian for Collection Development at the Loeb Music Library at Harvard University. MOWRY PEARSON Violin Mowry Pearson grew up in the Boston area where he studied with Lucy Parker and George Zazofsky. He received his degree from Oberlin Conservatory as a student of Robert Soetens and Steven Staryk. Mr. Pearson's active chamber music career has included extensive periods as principal violinist with the Apple Hill Chamber Players and the Atlanta Chamber Players, with concerts at Carnegie Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the Phillips Collection (Wash., DC), as well as tours to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He has performed with many Boston area orchestras and ensembles including Cantata Singers, Emmanuel Music, Boston Musica Viva, Boston Lyric Opera, and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. Mr. Pearson has been a soloist with the Concord Chorale and the Nashua Chamber Orchestra, and given many solo recitals including Jordan Hall, the Gardner Museum, and WGBH radio. In addition, Mr. Pearson has performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in Carnegie Hall and major concert halls throughout Europe. Recordings include the Deustche Grammaphon, Centaur, and Koch labels. For the past three seasons he has been assistant concertmaster of the Opera North orchestra, and recently established residence in Brattleboro, VT. His violin is by Bartomoleo Tassini, Venice 1752.   OLGA PINEDA VIolin Olga Pineda received her B. M. Magna Cum Laude in Music Education at the St. Scholastica College in 1995, after receiving a B.S. in Marketing at De La Salle Univeristy in the Philippines. She has been a member of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and was a violinist in the touring company production of Miss Saigon. As a pianist, she has been a piano soloist with the Pasaknungan Chamber Orchestra and has served as accompanist for Broadway musicals with the Philippine Artists International. Olga is a member of the Clarion Chamber Ensemble, Manila's premier chamber music organization. Olga is a freelance musician and teaches violin and piano at the Joy Of Music Program School in Worcester, Massachusetts.   REGINALD PINEDA Violin Reginald Pineda received a B.M. in Violin performance at University of Santo Thomas (UST), where he received a full scholarship granted by The Music Promotion Foundation of the Philippines and UST Conservatory. He received a Graduate Performance Certificate in Violin performance at Boston Conservatory of Music. Regie has served as Concertmaster of Boston Conservatory Orchestra and the UST Conservatory Orchestra and as principal violinist of the second violin section of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. Regie is a member of the Clarion Chamber Ensemble, Manila's premier chamber music organization. In addition to being a freelance musician, Regie teaches violin, viola and chamber music at the Joy Of Music Program School in Worcester, Massachusetts.    SHELLY TRAMPOSH Viola Dr. Shelly Tramposh is the viola professor at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where she performs in the Potsdam Piano Quartet and as principal violist with the Orchestra of Northern New York. As a member of the Ariel Chamber Players with Cullan Bryant and Adele O'Dwyer, Dr. Tramposh recently completed a music residency in Tullamore and Dublin, Ireland. She has performed recitals abroad in Europe and Central America, and in the United States in Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, and New York. She will perform recitals this year in New York, California, Florida, and Costa Rica and is currently working with the art department at SUNY Potsdam to create an interpreted recital of contemporary works for viola and soprano that will debut in April, 2008. Her principal teachers include Martha Katz, Steven Tenenbom, Don Ehrlich, and Erika Eckert. She has been invited to perform in master classes and coachings with Michael Tree, the American String Quartet, Robert McDonald, Lawrence Dutton, and Burton Kaplan. Dr. Tramposh has participated in such internationally acclaimed festivals as the Taos School of Music, the Spoleto Festival, and the National Repertory Orchestra, and before joining the Crane School was a member of the Colorado Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, and the Central City Opera Orchestra, and was Principal Viola with the Mercury Ensemble and Associate Principal Viola with the Colorado Springs Symphony. She is in demand as a clinician, and will return to Costa Rica this winter for a residency at the music school of the Sinfonica Nacional de Costa Rica. Dr. Tramposh teaches a practicing class at the Crane School based on the teaching of Burton Kaplan and is also an advocate for tension-free playing with good posture. Dr. Tramposh holds degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Colorado at Boulder.    SCOTT WOOLWEAVER Viola Scott Woolweaver graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan School of Music before moving to Boston for graduate work with the violist Walter Trampler. He was a founding member of the Boston Composers String Quartet, which won the silver medal at the 1993 String Quartet and Chamber Music Festa in Osaka, Japan, and with the Quartet, performed across the United States and in Europe. He is violist of the award-winning New England Piano Quartette, Boston's Handel & Haydn Society and Boston Baroque, and spends his summers at the Rocky Ridge Music Center and the Telluride Chamber Music Festival in Colorado, and the Adult Chamber Music Seminar at the Interlochen, Michigan Arts Camp. Mr. Woolweaver formally joined the Ives Quartet in 1998 after performing with the other members for seven summers as quartet-in-residence at the Rocky Ridge Music Center and Telluride Chamber Music Festival. A champion of 20th century music, he has premiered numerous works for viola, many of which were written for him. He is a faculty member of the All Newton Music School, Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts, and has recorded for the Orion, Koch International, Teldec, Audiofon, Albany Records, Decca and Northeastern labels. Scott is the conductor of the popular Messiah sing-along in Woodstock, Vermont.