2010 AFA Faculty - Orchestra Click on each name for a biography
Woodwinds Violin Cello Flute - Sydney Carlson Rodica Gonzalez (High School) Anthony Kitai (High School) Oboe - Kathleen Staten Sophia Hsieh (Middle School) Edward Lawrence (Middle School) Clarinet - Jennifer Stevenson John Law (Middle & High School) Kate Mathews (Middle School) Bassoon - Cheryl Huddleston Mary Reed (Middle & High School) Steven Wiggs (High School) Erin Stephens (Middle School) Brass Trung Trinh (High School) Bass Trumpet - Tom Tillotson Erik Gronfor (Middle & High School) Horn - Kevin McIntyre Viola Dennis Whittaker (High School) Horn- Gavin Reed Lorento Golofeev (High School) Trombone - Phillip Freeman Erika Lawson (High School) Harp - Bryan Parkhurst Tuba - David Kirk John Randolph (Middle & High School) Percussion - Alec Warren Sydney Carlson
Flute
Highly sought after as a performer and teacher, flutist, Sydney Carlson joined the faculty of Portland State University in 2008. She was previously on the faculty at the University of Houston and Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. Dr. Carlson has served on the faculties, of the Texas Music Festival and the American Festival of the Arts as a chamber music coach, flute teacher and recitalist. Her students have been accepted for further studies at Yale, Cal Arts, the Curtis Institute, Rice, Baylor, the Paris Conservatoire at Versailles and the Boston Conservatory.
Currently a member of the Portland Opera Orchestra, she was a member of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra for 15 years. She has made frequent appearances with the Houston Symphony, Houston Ballet Orchestra, Musiqa and the Portland Chamber Orchestra.
International appearances include concerts at the Sala Nezahualcoyotl, Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Sala Ollin Yoliztli in Mexico City. She has performed as a chamber musician and concerto soloist in Merida and Xalapa, Mexico. She joined the American Sinfonietta on a six week concert tour of Europe and at the Bellingham Festival in WA. In 2009 she made her recital debut in China at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou China.
Sydney holds degrees form the Eastman School of Music, East Carolina University and the University of Houston. She was privileged to study with Byron Hester, Bonita Boyd, and David Shostac. Additionally she has performed in the masterclasses of Julius Baker, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Robert Aitken, Samuel Baron and James Walker. She has recorded on the Mark, Delos, Albany, Guild, CIEM, and Urtext Digital labels.Phillip Freeman joined the Houston Symphony in September 2007 as the orchestra’s bass trombonist. Prior to his appointment to the HSO he was an active freelance musician, performing in a broad range of classical and commercial settings. In addition to performing with the Sarasota Opera Orchestra for six seasons, he has also performed with Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra, the Florida West Coast Symphony, and the Houston Ballet. At the other end of the spectrum, he has played several of the musical tours to come through Houston, as well as many performances with the Texas Music Festival Jazz Project.
A native of Houston, Mr. Freeman began his musical studies on euphonium before taking up bass trombone during his senior year at the University of Houston. After completing a degree in composition, he continued his study of the bass trombone at the Manhattan School of Music. He was awarded fellowships to the Tanglewood Music Center and the Spoleto Festival USA.
Lorento Golofeev
Viola, High SchoolViolist Lorento Golofeev’s professional training began at the age of five at “S. Rahmaninov” Moldavian Musical Lyceum. In 2000 he obtained a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance from the National Moldavian Academy of Music. Prior to his graduation, he was a section player Moldavian State Philharmonic Orchestra performing all over Europe. From 2000 to 2002 Mr. Golofeev was the Assistant Principal Viola in the Moldavian Opera Theatre Orchestra. In 2003 he came to Houston to study with Lawrence Wheeler at the Moores School of Music of the University of Houston where he completed his Masters of Music degree in Viola Performance three years later. Since the spring of 2003, Lorento has been a member of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra. Recently, Mr. Golofeev won position in the Houston Ballet Orchestra.
Rodica Gonzalez
Violin, High SchoolBiography coming soon
Erik Gronfor
Bass, Middle & High SchoolBassist Erik Gronfor is a 1992 graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, and also holds a master's degree from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. From 1994-1999 Erik served as Principal Bass of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and taught at the College of Charleston. Before moving to Charleston, he played in the Albany Symphony Orchestra as Principal Bass and was a member of the St. Cecilia Chamber Orchestra. Erik lives in Houston, Texas with his wife, violist, Joan DerHovsepian, and is a member of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra. Erik has participated in the Spoleto USA's Dock Street Chamber Music series, Tanglewood Music Festival, and the Grand Tetons Music Festival.
Sophia Hsieh
Violin, Middle & High SchoolSophia Hsieh has taught public school orchestra in Fort Bend Independent School District since beginning her career in 2001, and is currently the Head Orchestra Director at Dulles Middle School in Sugar Land, Texas. She is an active adjudicator and clinician in several regions including Regions 7, 17, and 23, The Houston Youth Symphony, HASSA, Conroe ISD, and Texas Music Educators' Association Region and All State Orchestras. Under Ms Hsieh's direction, her school orchestras have consistently received Sweepstakes at University Inter- scholastic League competitions. Her school orchestras have also gone on to be awarded the Commended Winner of the Mark of Excellence National Orchestra Honor as well as Best in Class and Overall Outstanding Orchestras at the Space City Showcase of Music. Most recently, Ms. Hsieh's Orchestra performed at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois.
As an active performer, she has played with The Meramec Symphony, Overland Park Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Doctors Orchestra of Houston, and The Houston Sinfonietta. Currently she serves as Concert-master and Director of Educational Outreach for the Houston Civic Symphony since joining in 2003.
Her passion in private teaching has helped her students earn superior ratings at solo and ensemble as well as earning top spots in the Texas Region, Area, and All-State Orchestras. Before moving to Texas she attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from Michigan State University. She received the majority of her Suzuki training through Marilyn Kesler and Dr. Judy Palac. Her violin teachers have included Benny Kim and Sharan Leventhal. Ms. Hsieh taught Suzuki classes and lessons through the Michigan State Community Music School as well as the Marshall School of Music in East Lansing, Michigan. During her summers in Texas, Ms. Hsieh enjoys performing with the Texas Music Festival and directing the Fort Bend ISD Summer Camp. She continues to serve as Faculty Artist for the American Festival for the Arts Summer Music Conservatory.Cheryl Huddleston’s passion for teaching has enriched the lives of a new generation of bassoon students. A devoted advocate of music education, Ms. Huddleston has written and produced a series of outreach concerts entitled “Music in Your Life for Your Life.” This program encourages young people to integrate their love of classical music into their lives as adults. She is also the author of a new book, Foundations for Success: Technical Training for the Young Bassoonist. As a result of her teaching experience, Ms. Huddleston has been invited to present master-classes in the training of pre-collegiate bassoon players at the Texas Band Association convention, the University of Michigan and Rice University. Born in Surrey, England, she received her early music training in Pittsburg, Kansas. She studied at the University of Michigan, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees with Highest Honors. She is a recipient of both the Nicholas Falcone and the Earl V. Moore awards, the latter granted to outstanding graduates who have demonstrated a capacity for significant accomplishment within their field. A student of Richard Beene and Benjamin Kamins, Ms. Huddleston was a founding member of the Zephyr Woodwind Quintet, with whom she has recorded works of Danzi, Haydn and Mozart. She has been a featured soloist with the Houston Chamber Orchestra and is a regular performer with the Houston Symphony and the Houston Grand Opera. Ms. Huddleston has appeared with the Round Top Festival Orchestra, the Sarasota Opera Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria of Mexico City.
David Kirk has served as Principal Tubist of the Houston Symphony since 1982. He has been a guest performer with many American orchestras, most recently with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony. Mr. Kirk is an Associate Professor at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where his duties include teaching private lessons, holding master classes and coaching chamber music. He served on the faculty of the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music from 1989-1993, and he presently serves on the faculties of the Texas Music Festival and the American Festival of the Arts. As a pedagogue, Kirk enjoys a national reputation as an effective teacher of musicianship and a natural approach to wind playing. He has given master classes throughout the US and in Japan. In February 2007, he will present brass master classes at Toronto’s Glenn Gould School (the Royal Conservatory of Music).
Kirk frequently performs as a soloist and chamber music collaborator. He has recorded Leroy Osmon’s Concert Etudes for Solo Tuba for Mark Custom Recordings (MCD-1975), and he is a founding member of National Brass Virtuosi, a brass quintet comprising members of the Cleveland Orchestra, Milwaukee and Houston symphonies.Anthony Kitai
Cello, High SchoolAnthony Kitai joined the Houston Symphony in 1999, serving as Acting Associate Principal Cellist from 2003-2005. Previously, he was a member of the Memphis Symphony and the Iris Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, Anthony Kitai has appeared with the Galveston Symphony, Doctors Orchestra of Houston, Jonesboro Symphony, Fort Smith Symphony, and Pine Bluff Symphony. He has participated in music festivals including Grand Teton, Schleswig-Holstein, Aspen, and Sewanee. As a chamber musician, Anthony Kitai has performed with Mercury Baroque, and on Col Canto and Foundation for Modern Music concerts. He frequently collaborates with his wife, pianist Shannon Hesse, and has performed with her on the Galveston Island Arts Academy Concert Series, Westminster Summer Concerts, and Greenbriar Consortium Concerts. Anthony Kitai enjoys teaching and maintains an active private studio where his students regularly play in Texas All-Region and All-State Orchestras.
Anthony Kitai received his bachelor’s degree and performer’s certificate from the Eastman School of Music and his master’s degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. His major teachers include Desmond Hoebig, Steven Doane, Paul Katz, and Peter Spurbeck.John Law
Violin, Middle & High SchoolB.M., Boston Conservatory; MM., Yale University. Violin studied with Sidney Harth, Victor Romanul, Kevork Mardirossan, Lynn Chang. Chamber music studied with Alexander Schneider, Erick Friedman, Mark Churchill, Michael Lewin, Jonathan Bass, Syoko Aki. Assistant concertmaster of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Former associate concermaster of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Teaches at Tulane University and New Orleans Baptist Seminary.
Edward Lawrence
Cello, Middle SchoolA native Houstonian, Mr. Lawrence has pursued a wide range of musical interests. In addition to conducting, he is an active performer on the piano, violin, viola and violoncello. His proficiency on all of these instruments gives him a particular insight into chamber music coaching, which he does all year as part of his regular teaching schedule.
Mr. Lawrence attended the Eastman School of Music where he studied piano with the renowned Cecile Genhart. He then attended the University of Texas at Austin where he received a B. M. in music theory and a performer’s certificate in violoncello while studying with Phyllis Young. At her request he taught for four years in the University’s nationally acclaimed String Project, serving as director of music theory. He was asked to restructure the program’s theory classes to better meet the special aspects of teaching this discipline to young string players.
Mr. Lawrence has been a member of the Austin Symphony, the Orchestra of Santa Fe, the Houston Ballet Orchestra and several other performing groups. For many years he was an active instrumental accompanist and vocal coach.
This is Mr. Lawrence’ sixth season at the American Festival for the Arts.
Erika Lawson
Viola, High SchoolErika Lawson received her undergraduate degree from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Charles Castleman, Atar Arad, and Abram Loft. While in her native New York State she played with the Albany Symphony and Rochester Philharmonic, spending summers at Charles Castleman‘s "Quartet Program". Before moving to Houston to attend the Shepherd School, Ms. Lawson traveled in Japan, playing and soloing with the Yamagata Symphony. She performs regularly with the Houston Ballet Orchestra and is a member of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, Mercury Baroque, and Shades of Grey String Trio. Ms Lawson has also performed with the Bach Society and the Aquinas Early Music Ensemble.
Kevin McIntyre received a Bachelor of Music degree from McNeese State University in 1988. He received his Master of Music degree from Northwestern University in 1990 where he was a student of Dale Clevenger. Since then he has performed in Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, The Netherlands, Russia and Japan as well as the U.S. Currently, Kevin resides in Houston where he is an active performer and teacher. Along with playing Principal Horn with Theater Under the Stars he performs regularly with the Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet, the Houston Symphony Orchestra and the Paragon Brass Ensemble. In addition to performing Kevin teaches privately and is on the faculty at Houston Community College and Houston Baptist University.
Kate Mathews
Cello, Middle SchoolBiography coming soon
John Randolph
Viola, Middle & High SchoolJohn Randolph is a graduate of Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, where he studied with Wayne Brooks and Atar Arad. In addition to American Festival for the Arts, he has also taught and coached for among others, Sam Houston State University and Houston Community College and Young Virtuosi. He has taken part in the festivals of Tanglewood, American Institute for Musical Studies, Round Top and the Grand Tetons. He has performed with among others Theater Under the Stars, Houston Ballet, Ars Lyrica and the Bach Society.
Gavin Reed is an active freelance artist in the Houston area. After completing his Masters Degree under Gail Williams and William Barnewitz at Northwestern University, he has appeared frequently with the Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera and Houston Symphony. In addition to live performances, he has also been heard with these ensembles on Houston’s NPR station, KUHF as well as the nationally broadcast program “Performance Today.” As a chamber musician, he has performed at London’s Royal Academy and has given live concerts on KUHF’s “The Front Row.” He has participated in the National Orchestral Institute and during his second summer at Music Academy of the West was named a studio fellow. In addition to his primary teachers he has also studied with William VerMeulen, David Jolley, Jeff Nelsen and Eli Epstein. He and his wife, Mary Reed, a freelance violinist, make their home in Houston’s West University area with their Boston Terrier, Charlie.
Mary Reed
Violin, Middle & High SchoolBiography coming soon
Kathleen Staten performs throughout Europe and North America as an oboist and Baroque woodwind specialist in historical performance. Her performing career includes a decade of work with the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, the internationally-acclaimed Bach Ensemble under the direction of Joshua Rifkin, Apollo's Fire (Cleveland), Tempesta di Mare (Philadelphia), the New York Collegium, Ensemble Rebel and Clarion Society (New York), and many others. With these groups she has performed at such venues as Symphony Hall in Boston, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, part of the PROMS festival in London's Royal Albert Hall, and throughout Europe, Canada and America.
Recently, Ms. Staten was featured as an oboe, recorder and flute soloist in a concert of the Brandenburg Concertos in Germany with The Bach Ensemble. She has been a finalist in international solo and chamber music competitions
(Bodky and Early Music Network). As a soloist and member of chamber ensembles, her playing has been featured on CBC broadcasts, NPR's Performance Today and Harmonia. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree as well as a prestigious Artist Diploma and Performer's Certificate from Indiana University and also studied at the Eastman School of Music and the
Interlochen Arts Academy.Erin Stephens
Violin, Middle SchoolErin Stephens attended AFA as a student during the summers of 1999-2002 and returned to AFA as an Alumni Intern in 2003. After graduating high school, she was awarded a full tuition scholarship to Baylor University in pursuit of a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance. There she performed with the Baylor and Waco Symphonies. Her principal teachers include Lawrence Wheeler, Dr. Eka Gogichashvili (at Baylor), Dr. Peter Isaacson, and Doreen Hanrahan.
After graduating from Baylor magna cum laude in May 2006, Ms. Stephens returned to Houston where she began her career as a violin instructor. In addition to teaching, Ms. Stephens performs with the Victoria Symphony and freelances in the greater Houston area. She begins her third year at Cy-Fair Music and Arts and St. Francis Episcopal Day School, and she also clinicians in the Cy-Fair and Humble Independent School Districts.
Ms. Stephens is thrilled to join AFA’s violin faculty. Through the years, AFA monumentally influenced her life as a musician, as an instructor, and as a person.Dr. Jennifer Stevenson received her BM from DePaul University where she studied with Larry Combs, principal clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and her MM from Rice University, where she studied with Dr. Michael Webster. She received her Doctorate from University of Southern California, where she studied with Yehuda Gilad.
A sought-after orchestral and chamber musician, Jennifer has performed with Orchestra X, the Woodlands Symphony, the Symphony of Southeast Texas, the Classical Symphony Orchestra, the Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival, the Definiens Project, the Orion Winds, and is a founding member of The Vientos Trio. Her compositions have been premiered at the Chicago Civic Center as part of the New Artists in Chicago Festival, the International Clarinet Association’s convention in Ostend, Belgium, and at the 2009 Fresno New Music Festival. Jennifer is also a multiple recipient of Meet the Composer’s Creative Connections grant and received an American Composers Forum SUBITO Grant through the San Francisco and Los Angeles chapters. A CD of her Musical Adventures, musical stories for children, was recently released through Tessella Music. She has also made multiple appearances performing and speaking about music on Classical KUHF Houston and Iowa Public Radio.
Jennifer has passion for music education and outreach, and currently works to design innovative music programming as part of the University of Southern California’s Residential Education program. Founder of the Parkside Piano Program, Jennifer teaches composition, theory, improvisation and piano skills, as well as a course in paraprofessional counseling at USC. Jennifer is also currently on faculty at the American Festival for the Arts. Additionally, Jennifer is the Education and Outreach Manager of The Definiens Project.
Jennifer has performed at masterclasses with such great artists as John Adams, Alfred Prinz, Eddie Daniels (jazz clarinet), John Bruce Yeh, David Howard, David Peck and Mitchel Lurie.Thomas Tillotson (trumpet) is originally from Teague, Texas. He has played with the Paragon Brass Ensemble since its inception, first as a regular substitute and since 1992 as a fulltime member. Tom came to Houston to attend Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music where he received his degree in trumpet performance. While there he studied with Mack Guderian, Charles Geyer, and John DeWitt. Tom has performed with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, Houston Grand Opera, Theater Under the Stars, J.S. Bach Society, Gilbert and Sullivan Society, and the Woodlands Symphony. Tom is adjunct professor of trumpet at North Harris College and teaches privately.
Trung Trinh
Violin, High SchoolA native of Vietnam, Trung Le Trinh studied violin with Ta van Toan, Robert Brink, Jaimie Laredo and Valeria Vilker-Kuchment. Prior to coming to the United States with his family as refugees in 1975, he graduated from the Saigon Conservatory of Music and Drama in Violin Performance and Solfege. He also received his Bachelor and Master of Music Performance degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Trinh has participated in many music festivals, including the Apple Hill Chamber Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Round Top International Music Festival, Evian Music Festival of France and Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts. His Carnegie Hall debut with Apple Hill Chamber Ensemble in 1979 drew critical acclaim. He has performed with orchestras such as Boston Classical Orchestra, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Vermont Symphony, ProArte Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and the Worcester Symphony Orchestra. A member of the Accent Flute Quartet, Mr. Trinh is also assistant principal of the Houston Ballet Orchestra, and performs frequently with the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra. Concert performances have brought him throughout the United States and to Canada, England, France, Switzerland, Lithuania, Russia, and Japan. A respected violin/viola teacher, many of Mr. Trinh’s private students in Kingwood and Houston area have been selected for Texas All-State Orchestra and other honors. He has performed with the Kingwood Chorale since it was formed in 1988, and served as its concertmaster and orchestra contractor since 1997.
Alec Warren has performed with the Woodlands Symphony, the Irving Symphony, TUTS, the Houston Choral Society, HITS, the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Cantare, the Michelle Brangwen Dance Ensemble, the United Nations Chorus, Synergy Brass Ensemble and James Conlon among many others. He has studied tabla with Pandit Sharda Shahi and Bob Becker. Mr. Warren received his Bachelor's of Music from Sam Houston State University where he studied percussion with Rod Cannon and Ray Dillard. He received his Masters in Music Performance from the University of North Texas where he studied under Dr. Robert Schietroma, Ed Soph and Leigh Stevens. Alec is an active clinician and performer who teaches at the University of Houston, North Harris College, San Jacinto College, Friendswood, Spring and Westfield High Schools.
Dennis Whittaker
Bass, High SchoolDennis Whittaker wears many hats as a professional bassist and educator. He is the Principal Double Bassist for the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, a member of the Houston Ballet Orchestra, Mercury Baroque and Ars Lyrica Houston, the Bass teacher and String Area Coordinator for the Moores School of Music, University of Houston, has a full private teaching studio, and is a bass pedagogy consultant. He has appeared on six world premeire compact discs with the Houston Grand Opera, various recordings with Houston artists, and on recordings as principal Bass with the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy.
He was the winner of the Gary Karr Foundation National Double Bass competition in 1987. He has performed recitals, concerts and master classes in Japan, China, Italy, Amsterdam, Germany, Switzerland, Los Angeles, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Texas and Louisiana.
Mr. Whittaker performs as a substitute bassist with the Houston Symphony and the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Whittaker earned his Bachelor’s in Music Education from Baylor, his Masters in Music from Northwestern. His teachers include Paul Ellison, Eugene Levinson, Jeff Bradetich, Mark Whitney and Michael Cameron.
Mr. Whittaker’s students are represented in the National Symphony, Colorado Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, New World Symphony, Aspen, Tanglewood, Domaine Forget and the Pacific Music Festival.Steven Wiggs
Cello, High SchoolSteven Wiggs is currently a member of the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Ballet Orchestras and is a cello instructor at the Bridges Academy Of Fine Arts. He was previously a member of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (formerly the New Orleans Symphony) and the Oklahoma Symphony. Steven began his musical studies in Louisville, Kentucky where he studied cello with students of Janos Starker. He continued his studies for two more years with cellist Regina Mushabac at the University of Kentucky. He and his wife, flutist Amy Saxton Wiggs, have performed together as duo soloists with orchestra for the premieres of two works written for them. Steven and Amy perform each Sunday with a chamber group for the worship services of Christ The King Presbyterian Church. They perform regularly for weddings with their chamber music business Accent Chamber Music.
