The University of South Dakota

April 2009 Guest Jazz Artist Charles Tumlinson

Dr. Charles Tumlinson, a prominent jazz trumpeter and noted jazz educator, is the Director of Jazz Studies at California State University, Fullerton. With a Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of North Texas, Tumlinson is an expert in the field of jazz education. Under his direction, the Cal State Fullerton Jazz Ensemble has appeared twice at the International Association of Jazz Educators conference and throughout the west, with winning results at the 2004, 2006 and 2008 Reno Jazz Festivals. Tumlinson has been a featured jazz trumpet soloist at national conventions and is in demand as a soloist, clinician and adjudicator throughout the country. Also a noted jazz composer and arranger, Tumlinson's music has been recorded by some of the nation's leading college jazz programs, such as the University of North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band and the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Lab 1. His compositions have also appeared on CDs by the Kansas City Boulevard Big Band on the Seabreeze record label.  He has performed and recorded with numerous prominent jazz musicians, such as Pete Christlieb, Eric Marienthal and many others. On the classical side, Tumlinson has served as principal trumpet in the Wichita Falls (Texas) Symphony and has performed with the Wichita Symphony and Fort Worth Symphony/Opera, among others. Tumlinson received his Ph.D. and master's degrees from the University of North Texas.

March 2009 Brass Guest Artist Bernhard Scully

Bernhard Scully is currently principal horn of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He has been featured as a soloist with the SPCO in Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, and in Richard Strauss' Concerto No. 2 for Horn and Orchestra.

Previous to the SPCO, Bernhard was the horn player of the world renowned Canadian Brass Quintet. During his time with this ensemble he performed in 16 countries, on three separate continents and recorded four CDs, as well as a music video, which topped the "Top Ten" on Canada's Bravo Music Video Countdown. With the group, he performed in the world's finest concert halls. Many of these performances included sharing the stage and soloing with some of the world's greatest symphony orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony.

In 2008, Bernhard was invited as a guest artist at the International Horn Society's Symposium in Denver, CO., where he gave lectures, master classes and performed as a soloist. He was featured with the Colorado Symphony in Lee Actor's Concerto for Horn and Orchestra. 

Bernhard has received awards from organizations such as the WAMSO Competition, The National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts, The Evergreen Society of Minnesota and the Schubert Club. He has been involved in many summer music festivals, and performs often as a soloist. Bernhard received his undergraduate degree with honors at Northwestern University, studying with Gail Williams and Roland Pandolfi. He received his master's degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was a Paul Collins Distinguished Fellow, studying with Douglas Hill. He did further studies with Kendall Betts, in Germany with Hermann Baumann and in Norway with Froydis Ree Werkre. In Madison, he won the student concerto competition with Rheinhold Gliere's Concerto for Horn in B-flat, and performed as a member of the Madison Symphony and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. He also was a founding member of the Contrapunctus Brass Trio, a group who has done outreach to help under-funded school music programs.

A passionate teacher, Bernhard has been on the faculty of the Music Academy of the West, and has taught at the Eastman School of Music. He has given master classes to thousands of students across the world through his travels with the Canadian Brass. He has been part of the Kendall Betts Horn Camp in Littleton, NH since its inception in 1995, and has been on the faculty there for the past seven years.

March 2009 Vocal Guest Artist Samuel Cook

Samuel Cook, a native of Texas, attended The Peabody Music Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in music. He finished his educational studies at Indiana University, where he obtained his master's degree. He continued his vocal training with the world famous tenor, Carlo Bergonzi and soprano Renata Tebaldi in Busetto, Italy. Samuel is a winner of numerous prestigious International voice competitions, among them; First prizes in Francisco Viñes, in Barcelona, Spain; Francisco Andrade, Porto, Portugal, Metropolitan Opera competition, and Third Prize in Munich's International music competition. Performance credits include success as Nemorino in Cape Town, S. Africa and La Coruña, Spain; as Count Almaviva in Prague Czech and as Belmonte Bregenz, Austria. Not only has Mr. Cook appeared as an operatic artist, he has performed extensively as an international Lieder and concert artist. Recent engagements include appearances with the Sacramento Opera, The New Orleans Opera and Abilene Opera as Don Jose in Bizet's Carmen. After residing in Kassel, Germany where he was engaged as soloist with the State Opera of Kassel and enjoyed success in many leading roles throughout Europe, Mr. Cook and his family moved to Abilene, TX. He is at present Associate Professor of Voice\Artist in Residence, and Director of Opera at Abilene Christian University. 

Feburary 2009 Truran Guest Artist Gloria Chuang

Gloria Chuang, piano, won the National Young Keyboard Competition of Taiwan at age 11, under the tutelage of her father and Robert Scholz. Her success led to her United States debut, soloing with the San Francisco Youth Symphony. She holds both a bachelor's and a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in New York City. She then received her Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1993, where she was the recipient of the Regents Scholarship.

Gloria is a third-generation teacher of music in her family. While serving as a university faculty member, she was the appointed Distinguished Artist to Taiwan for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Tamkang University. As an ambassador of international relations through music, she performed, spoke and administered master classes to students in high schools and universities in Taipei. Some of Gloria's past performance venues have been: Alice Tully Hall, Paul Hall, Bruno Walter Auditorium, Weill Recital at Carnegie Hall, the Institute of the Arts, the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, the Landmark Center and the University of Wisconsin at Madison/UW Whitewater. She has been twice the featured artist with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra of Minneapolis.

Aside from performing, Dr. Chuang has been adjudicator for numerous competitions and festivals, and a clinician for many workshops. Gloria is the Chair of the Independent Music Teachers for WMTA, and a faculty and staff at University of Wisconsin in Madison and assistant professor of piano at Winona State University. She is also a violinist at the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra and in the Bayfield Piano Quintet.

November 2008 Weaver Guest String Artist Scott St. John

Scott St. John captures the attention of the musical world through his riveting and virtuosic performances on violin and viola. This charismatic artist has been praised for his "electric" performances and recitals "brimming with extroverted spirit"; still, his exciting talents always serve the music. As the Pittsburgh Press has noted, "he is a musician of impeccable taste and natural instincts. He lets the music do the talking." Additional recognition for his skill and insight came in spring 2003, when he was awarded a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. Scott St.

John's current season began with a triumphant performance of Schubert's A Major Rondo and Sarasate's Ziegeunerweisen with the Montreal Symphony at the city's incredible Montreal Basilica, followed by a late night performance of Mozart's G minor Quintet with members of the orchestra. Showing St. John's virtuosity on both violin and viola, he recently appeared to great acclaim with the Toronto Symphony's Mozart@251 Festival performing Mozart Viola Quintet with orchestra principals, followed by a brilliant Mozart Violin Concerto No. 1 and then switching back to viola again for Mozart's delightful Sinfonia Concertante, with his sister Lara St. John on violin. Later this season, he joins the Škampa String Quartet from Prague, with whom he frequently collaborates, in performances of Dvorak and Mozart Viola Quintets. Forthcoming concerts include his return to the Vancouver Symphony for performances of the Brahms Violin Concerto.

Recent highlights include his return to the Utah Symphony with performances Berg's Violin Concerto, conducted by Music Director Keith Lockhart. Lockhart and St. John have worked together numerous times in Boston, Cincinnati and Utah, and together gave the American premiere of Peter Maxwell Davies' "A Spell for Green Corn". Performances with the Guarneri String Quartet at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and with Richard Stoltzman and Friends for the La Jolla Music Society are also memorable. Past seasons also include vibrant performances of Barber, Bartok, Dvorák, Korngold and Walton Concertos, numerous appearances on Lincoln Center's "What Makes It Great Series", and recitals throughout North America. Audiences of the Boston Pops, Cleveland, Philadelphia and National Arts Centre (Ottawa) Orchestras, and those of the Cincinnati, Edmonton, Grand Rapids, Toledo, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver Symphonies, among others, have also shared in St. John's obvious joy in performing.

Abroad, St. John has appeared with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Flemish Radio Orchestra, Lisbon's Gulbenkian Orchestra, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, New Zealand Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic in London, the Hamburg Sinfonia and as a senior participant on a Musicians From Marlboro tour. He made his debut in Japan, performing with the late Alexander Schneider and in recitals in Osaka and Hiroshima. He recently returned to Japan for Gala performances in Tokyo's Casals Hall.

Winner of the 1989 Young Concert Artists Award, St. John made his New York City recital debut to critical acclaim in the 1991 Young Concert Artists Series at the 92nd Street Y. Playing violin, viola and MIDI violin, he made his Washington, DC recital debut in the 1993 Series at the Kennedy Center. In recent seasons, Scott has performed in recital on Ravinia's Rising Stars Series, at Spivey Hall (GA), as well as at Boston's Gardner Museum, Pepperdine University (CA), the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, DC's Freer Gallery, the La Jolla Chamber Music Society, the Tilles Center (NY) and Ruth Eckerd Hall (FL). His recital for the University of Wyoming, part of a statewide tour, was featured on NPR's "Performance Today". He has also been featured on A&E's "Breakfast with the Arts".

An avid chamber musician, St. John frequently performs with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (NY), Da Camera of Houston, on nationwide Musicians from Marlboro tours, and at the Seattle, Spoleto and Vancouver music festivals. European festival engagements include France's Evian Music Festival, Germany's Schloss Moritzburg Chamber Music Festival, and the Spoleto Festival in Italy. Interested in creative programming, Scott served as Founder and Artistic Director of Millennium, a contemporary music ensemble for top young chamber musicians, from 1994-97, and in 1998 his "Chamber Music Company" launched a new series that included world premieres and multi-media collaborations in New York City's Merkin Hall. Deeply committed to education and outreach, St. John employs his exceptional communication skills to connect with and inspire students and adults alike. Scott St. John has been a member of the St. Lawrence String Quartet since 2006.

Scott St. John's recordings can be heard on Marquis Classics, NAXOS, CRI, and Ancalagon Records. His newest release, "Salon Parisien" is on CBC records. A project to record the Brahms Sonatas for violin and viola is forthcoming.

In addition to a 2003 Avery Fisher Career Grant, his many awards include Young Concert Artsts, the 1994 Virginia D. Moore Award for Most Promising Young Canadian Artist, Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award, First Prize in the 1987 Alexander Schneider Violin and Viola Competition and a top prize in the 1992 Munich International Violin Competition.

Born in London, Ontario, St. John began his violin studies at age three with Richard Lawrence and subsequently worked with Gerard Jarry in Paris and David Cerone of the Cleveland Institute of Music. He studied viola with Ralph Aldrich of the University of Western Ontario and Robert Vernon, principal viola of the Cleveland Orchestra. In 1990, St. John graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied violin with Jascha Brodsky and Arnold Steinhardt, and chamber music with Felix Galimir. 

October 2008 Guest Percussion Artist Matthew Darling

Dr. Matthew Darling is an Associate Professor of Music at California State University-Fresno, where he has taught and headed the percussion area since 1991, and served as interim chair of the Department of Music from spring 2005 to spring 2006. Darling actively performs with the Fresno Philharmonic and is the principal timpanist/percussionist with both the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra in Nevada City and the Arizona Musicfest in Carefree. A Sacramento native, Darling received his Bachelor of Music degree in percussion performance from Sacramento State in 1987. He performed regularly as a percussionist with the Sacramento Symphony from 1986 to 1995, and continues to perform with the Sacramento Philharmonic, acting as principal percussionist with the group during the 1997-1998 season. Darling has also performed with several other orchestras in California, Arizona and Nevada including the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Reno Philharmonic, Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Modesto Symphony and Bear Valley Music Festival Orchestra. Darling has also performed as a percussionist/drummer with a wide variety of artists and productions, including Chuck Berry, Dionne Warwick, Henry Mancini, Bill Conti, Doc Severinsen, the Canadian Brass and Sacramento's Music Circus, as well as a national tour stop in Fresno of The Producers.

An avid supporter of new music for percussion, Dr. Darling has been involved with the premiere of dozens of solo and chamber works for percussion and will perform two newly commissioned marimba concertos in the next year, one by renowned composer David Gillingham and the other by Fresno State's composition professor Dr. Kenneth Froelich. Dr. Froelich's piece, titled Accidental Migration, will be premiered on a concert featuring the Fresno State Percussion Ensemble at the CMEA Convention in Ontario (CA) on March 15, 2007. Darling has appeared as an adjudicator, clinician, performer, and/or presenter all around the United States at festivals, universities, state and international music conventions, including the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), CMEA and CBDA, and has also published a research article in the Percussive Notes journal chronicling the life of John Philip Sousa percussionist John J. Heney. Darling holds a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Arizona and a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University. He resides in Fresno with his wife and their four children.

October 2008 Rawlins Guest Piano Artist Emanuele Arciuli

Pianist Emanuele Arciuli has in recent years earned an outstanding reputation as a champion of both Classicism and Twentieth-Century Music, particularly the Second Viennese School and American contemporary music. His collaborations with composers including John Adams, George Crumb, Joel Hoffman, Aaron J. Kernis, Michael Nyman and Frederic Rzewski, have won him their enthusiastic response.

He performs regularly for many prestigious concert societies and orchestras in Italy and throughout Europe. He has been present in recitals at Teatro San Carlo (Naples), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Teatro Carlo Felice (Genova) and Teatro Municipal (Rio de Janeiro), among the others. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI in Turin, Orchestra Sinfonica Verdi in Milan, Orchestra Teatro La Fenice in Venice, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Orquestra Sinfonica Brasileira, Hungarian Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano and many others. Emanuele is regularly invited by music festivals as Berliner Festwochen, Biennale di Venezia (where he won the Golden Lion in 2007 performing the world premiere of Ambrosini's double piano concerto Plurimo), Settembre Musica (Turin), Ravello Festival Festival Pianistico "A.B.Michelangeli" and many more.

Recent highlights include the world premiere of the new Piano Concerto by Michael Nyman with Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI conducted by the composer, Beethoven Concertos Nos. 2 and 4 with Orquestra Sinfonica Brasileira in Rio, the Schnittke Piano Concerto at Teatro Comunale in Modena, the Italian première of John Adams Piano Concerto Century Rolls in Milan, Bartòk Piano Concerto No. 3 with Orchestra Toscanini, Bernstein's Age of Anxiety with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and several new CDs.

In June 1998, he made his American debut at the Corbett Auditorium at the University of Cincinnati for "Music X" Festival and was re-invited for the following year's festival and for other recitals in the U.S. including Washington, Ann Arbor, Denver, Philadelphia, Boston, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Milwaukee. Recipient of the "Patron of Exceptional Artist" award, he made his debut at The Miami Piano Festival in 2002. In November 2002, he premiered the Round Midnight variations in New York (at Miller Theater - Columbia University), a collection of variations on the famous Thelonious Monk theme, composed for him by major American musicians (Babbit, Bolcom, Crumb, Daugherty, Harbison, Hoffman, Kernis, Rzewski Torke and many others).

He has recorded for the Stradivarius, VAI, Bridge and Chandos labels. His discography includes the complete piano works of Berg and Webern, the original version of the second book of Liszt's Années de Pèlerinage, the piano concerto of Bruno Maderna and an anthology of American piano music entitled Americans! In 2005 his recording of Crumb Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik (released by Bridge) was nominated for Grammy Awards. In 2006, he won the Italian critic award (best of the year) with Rzewski-Adams CD released by Stradivarius.

September 2008 Jeffrey Payne, Ondrozeck Series Guest Artist

On the 100th anniversary of the birth of Olivier Messiaen, he is regarded as one of the central composers of the 20th century. It is nearly impossible to mistake a Messiaen composition for any other Western classical composer. In addition to his reputation as a composer, he was revered as a teacher, and composers such as Pierre Boulez, Gyorgy Kurtag, Karlheinz Stockhausen, George Benjamin and Iannis Xenakis studied with him. 

The Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus (Twenty Visions of the Infant Jesus) is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of 20th century piano music. This visionary music of the mystic French composer Olivier Messiaen incorporates bird songs, Hindu rhythms, lyrical melodies, percussion effects and hidden numerological patterns to create a ravishing sonic world. Written for his wife, the piano virtuoso Yvonne Loriod, the pianistic challenges test the limits of what the piano can do, and culminates in an ecstatic, ritualistic final movement. Pianist Jeffrey Payne presented a rare complete performance in Portland on November 2, 2008 at Reed College. 

Heralded by the Boston Globe as "a pianist of chameleon abilities", pianist Jeffrey Payne has performed on WGBH National Public Radio in Boston, KING radio in Seattle, and KBPS radio in Portland, at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Norton Gallery in Palm Beach, at the Seattle Spring Festival, at Eugene's Music Today Festival, the Ernest Bloch Festival, the Oregon Bach Festival, the Yellow Barn and Sandpoint Chamber Music Festivals. The Palm Beach Post praised his performance of Messiaen: "The best part of the evening came with the Messiaen pieces chosen from Vingt Regards. Payne loves this music and has the fingers for it.  Let Payne return for a full evening of the modern music which he plays with such enthusiasm and conviction." He has also performed with the Vancouver Symphony, the Yaquina Chamber Symphony, the Willamette Falls Symphony, Portland Opera Chorus and the Oregon Repertory Singers. In praising his playing, the Oregonian opined "Payne did a terrific impersonation of an orchestra," and the Boston Globe singled out his performance with fellow pianist Yukiko Takagi of Ligeti's Three Pieces for Two Pianos as "a performance of special distinction."

Jeffrey Payne founded the Fear No Music ensemble with percussionist Joel Bluestone in 1992.  As a member of the ensemble, he has appeared in performance with the group across the United States, including performances in New York City, California and Colorado, as well as throughout the Pacific Northwest. During his tenure as Artistic Director for the group, he was responsible for presentation of 20 World Premiere or American Premiere performances of works by Pacific Northwest composers. In 1997, he founded the Young Composers Workshop, as part of the mission of Fear No Music, and continues as its Director, overseeing the development of aspiring young creative minds around the region. 

Payne studied with Fern Davidson while he was in high school and from 1979-81 while he attended ACI. He was graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music by Boston University where he studied with Bela Nagy and Luis Batlle. He holds a Master of Music in Piano from the New England Conservatory where he studied with Stephen Drury. He has taught at Willamette University, Portland State University and Reed College. He can be heard on CD performing wth the Fear No Music 20th Century Ensemble and the Oregon Repertory Singers.

September 2008 Alexander Dedik and Anastasia Dedik, Ondrozeck Series Guest Artists

Famed dramatic tenor Alexander Dedik was born and raised in the former Soviet Union, where he was lucky enough to have a gift that enabled him to rise to a pre-eminent position in his nation's hearts. He graduated from the Novosibirsk Glinka Conservatory in 1970 and then entered into the Tchaikovsky competition and was one of the prize-winners. This propelled him into the national limelight, where he quickly rose, becoming a regular leading performer at the internationally famous opera house, The Mariinsky Theatre. During this time, he sang many roles, including the Italian repertoire's most dramatic, Otello, which garnered him an international reputation that follows him to this day. He has performed leading roles internationally at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Covent Garden in London, England, The Hamburg Opera in Hamburg, Germany, Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain, the Bolshoi theatre in Moscow, Russia and many others. His repertoire consists of 42 leading roles, including Lohengrin from Lohengrin by Wagner, Otello from Otello and Radames from Aïda by Verdi, Calaf from Turandot and Des Grieux from Manon Lescaut by Puccini, Hermann from Pique Dame and Lensky from Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky, and Hoffmann from Les Contes D'Hoffmann by Offenbach. Alexander has had bestowed upon him and been given the honored and highest awards for artistic and musical achievement, namely the People's Artist of Russia in 1983 (awarded by then President Mikhail Gorbachev), the People's Artist of Byelorussia in 1979 and the Honored Arts worker of Poland in 1978. He has performed with some of the world's most recognized singers and conductors including Valery Gergiev, Olga Borodina and many others. Alexander has been a performing duo with his wife, Tatiana Dedik, who was accompanying him when he won a prize at the Tchaikovsky and Glinka Competitions. They have performed concerts together in over 20 countries, including the USA, throughout Europe, Israel, China, Egypt, Peru and Scandinavia. He performs  accompanied by his daughter, Anastasia Dedik.

April 2008 Guest Jazz Artist Roger Neumann

Roger Neumann is a Los Angeles-based saxophonist, composer, arranger and educator.  Neumann was honored as the jazz composer and arranger of the year at the 20th Annual Los Angeles Jazz Society Awards, along with internationally acclaimed jazz pianist, Herbie Hancock, John Levy and Annie Ross.

Neumann has produced three CDs on the Seabreeze label, Introducing Roger Neumann's Rather Large Band, Instant Heat!, and This is my Lucky Day, which features the vocal talents of his wife, Madeline Vergari.

As an arranger and composer, Neumann has written for Ray Charles, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Ray Brown, The Beach Boys, Jerry Garcia, Ann Jillian and many more. Two of his arrangements are featured on the 2006 release Ray Sings, Basie Swings by Ray Charles and the Count Basie Orchestra. He has written arrangements and compositions for the television series, "The Young and the Restless", "Moonlighting", "Hollywood Housewives" and "My Favorite Martian". He has also composed arrangements for several "Ice Capades" Christmas specials.

Neumann has performed with Woody Herman, Lee Castle/Jimmy Dorsey Band, The Beach Boys, Ray Anthony, Les Brown and Bob Crosby, to name a few. His music has been featured on the soundtracks of several Showtime movies including, "Atlantis", "Three Men and a Little Lady" and "Mumford." He has appeared in the movies, "La Bamba", "My Favorite Year" and "For the Boys".

October 2007 Rawlins Guest Piano Artist Anastasia Dedik

Anastasia Dedik was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, to a family of musicians. She started taking piano lessons from her mother at the age of 5. In 1999, she graduated from the pre-conservatory division of the St. Petersburg Conservatory (under the instruction of Asya Rubina) and was accepted to the Conservatory without any exams. Dedik first studied with Professor Elena Shishko, followed by Professor Valery Vishnevsky, under whom she earned a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music degree in 2004. She has participated in the master classes and studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky, Natalia Trull, Andrey Diev, Lev Naumov, Vladimir Krainev, Edith Fisher, Russell Sherman, Vladimir Viardo and Mario Delli Ponti. In 2006, Ms. Dedik earned an Artist Diploma at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, following studies — on a full talent scholarship — with Professor of Piano Sedmara Z. Rutstein.

She is currently studying at Juilliard, pursuing a Performance Diploma under the tutelage of Professors Matti Raekallio and Yoheved Kaplinsky. Ms. Dedik has won top prizes in numerous international piano competitions dating back to 1994, when she took second prize in the Music de France International Piano Competition in Paris. Her first prize awards include those from the Frederic Chopin Piano Competition (St. Petersburg, Russia, 2000), the Maria Judina International Piano Competition (St. Petersburg, Russia, 2002), the Oberlin Concerto Competition (Oberlin, Ohio, 2004), the Russian International Piano Competition (San Jose, Calif., 2005), the Lee Biennial Piano Competition (Sioux Falls, S.D., 2006), the Rovero d'Oro International Piano Competition (San Bartolomeo, Italy, 2006) and the Buono and Bradshaw International Piano Competition (New York, N.Y., 2007).

In April 2006, she was featured on the Steinway Society of the Bay Area's Young Artists Concert in San Jose, Calif. David Beech, a critic for Peninsula Reviews, wrote that her playing "brought tears to the eyes.…This was highly accomplished and authentically Russian pianism." Ms. Dedik has performed as soloist and featured pianist with orchestras in Russia, Germany, Italy, Greece, Slovakia, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Holland and the United States. Her 2007-08 concert season included an October 2007 performance at Carnegie Hall (as part of her first prize award at the Buono and Bradshaw competition), and other venues throughout the U.S. as well as concerts in Italy, Germany and Russia. She participated in the Van Cliburn Piano Festival in Fort Worth, Texas, in June 2007. Anastasia is also a member of The Prima Trio, which features Anastasia Dedik, violinist Farhad Hudiyev and clarinetist Boris Allakhverdyan. The Prima Trio was formed in 2004 by three friends at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. The Prima Trio won the Grand Prize and Gold Medal in the prestigious 2007 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. The group distinguishes itself not only with its remarkable playing, but also through the repertoire it performs, from Khachaturian to Schickele.

October 2007 Guest String Artist Robert Jamieson

Principal Cello, Minnesota Orchestra, 1951-1991

• Assistant Principal Cello, Los Angeles Philharmonic, 1946-1948
• 370th Air Force Band, Armed Forces Radio Service, 1942-1946

In New York (1948-1951):

• New York City Opera and Ballet
• Menotti Opera "The Counsel" on Broadway
• Staff, NBC New York
• National Tour, NBC Symphony

In Minneapolis: 

• Performed with the Minneapolis Symphony String Quartet, Arts Quartet, University of Minnesota String Quartet, Minnesota Chamber Soloists and Trio Minnesota
• Studied with Kolia Levienne, Los Angeles and Frank Miller, New York City 
• Attended Tanglewood Music School, 1948 and 1949
• Adjunct Faculty at the University of Minnesota, University of St. Thomas, University of St. Catherine and MacAlester College

April 2007 Guest Jazz Artist Kirk Garrison

Kirk Garrison, jazz trumpet artist, composer and arranger, Kirk is a professional musician residing in the Chicago area. He attended Mankato State University in his home state of Minnesota from 1978-1983. 

Performance credits include: Louie Bellson, Jim Belushi, Michael Bolton, Kenny Burrell, Nell Carter, Ron Carter, Pete Christlieb, Vinnie Colaiutta, Larry Combs, Kurt Elling, Jon Faddis, Aretha Franklin, Steve and Edie Gorme, Marvin Hamlisch, Ben E. King, Little Anthony, Herbie Hancock, Bob Hope, Rodney Jones, Pat LaBarbera, Russell Malone, Kevin Mahogany, Johnny Mathis, Brother Jack McDuff, Jim McNeeley, Bob Mintzer, Rita Moreno, Dianne Schuur, Ed Shaughnessy, Bobby Shew, Bobby Short, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Byron Stripling, Clark Terry, Frank Wess, Barry White, Joe Williams, Vanessa Williams, Nancy Wilson, Phil Wilson, Stevie Wonder, The Four Freshman, The Temptations and The Ravinia Orchestra.

Howard Reich, jazz critic for the Chicago Tribune, wrote: "The spectacular trumpet solo that Kirk Garrison offered...reminded listeners why the Jazz Members Big Band stands among the best repertory units in the country." Cadence Magazine's jazz critic Jack Bowers wrote "Kirk Garrison's marvelous trumpet work ...so moving it brought tears to my eyes." His trumpet artistry was described as "cool work" by John Von Rhein, music critic of the Chicago Tribune.  John Killoch of Mainly Big Bands (UK) wrote in a review, "This guy nails the section with a big, accurate lead sound and when he flexes his chops...the sound is again right down the middle, in tune, big and so high. Musical is a good way to put it. An object lesson to anyone who aspires to be a top lead trumpeter."

January 2007 

Chai Found Music Group from Taiwan performing for music students at Recital Lab

Explanation being given about each instrument before the musical demonstration.	Music performance by the Taiwanese Chai Found Music Group.
The group after their presentation and performance with Washington Pavilion Executive Director Steven Hoffman (far right), Dr. Larry Schou, Chair, Department of Music (fourth from right) and Audra Fullerton (Assistant to Steven Hoffman, third from left).	Dr. Larry Schou, Chair, Department of Music, presenting USD gifts to the musicians.