ASMF 2023 Artists and Faculty Biographies
Alberto Bade has established an outstanding reputation nationally and internationally. His charismatic stage presence and powerful interpretations of a wide repertoire, encompassing varied musical styles and genres, have placed him in a privileged position in the musical milieu. Maestro Bade currently serves as Director of Orchestral Studies at Miami Dade College (MDC) where he serves as conductor of the MDC Symphony Orchestra. As a dedicated advocate for music education, Maestro Bade is a regular guest conductor for local youth orchestras, as well as the founder of the MDC Honors String Festival. As an international performer, Maestro Bade has been a frequent guest conductor with orchestras in Madrid, Berlin, Munich and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Virtuous violinist Eric Silberger is a prize winner of the 14th International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in 2011. His performances have been described by critics as “chilling…astonishing” (The Guardian), “dazzling virtuous playing” ( The Washington Post), “impeccable level of interpretation, a wonderful musician” (Heather Kurzbauer, The Strad), and “….lo has everything going for him, technique, composure and personality. We are on the eve of a great soloist” (El País, Spain). An avid chamber musician, Eric frequently performs chamber music internationally. He also has a special collaboration with bandoneonist and composer JP Jofre and the JP Jofre Hard Tango Chamber Band. Eric plays a rare 1757 JB Guadagnini violin generously loaned from the Sau-Wing Lam collection of the Si-Yo Music Society Foundation.
César Leal currently serves as Director of Orchestral Activities at Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College, where he is also Professor of Musicology. A Colombian-born artist and researcher, Leal’s academic and creative activities often intersect a wide range of interests, including music and culture during turn-of-the-century Paris, French-American artistic interactions, soundscapes, Jewish patronage and modernism, Latin American culture, identities in the United States, and race, class, and gender relations in music. As a conductor, Leal has led professional ensembles in the U.S., Panama, Colombia, France, Bulgaria and Ukraine.
Cellist Steven Thomas was appointed to the University of Florida School of Music in 2007, following a 13-year tenure at the Hartt School, where he chaired the String and Chamber Music departments. A top prize winner at the Villa-Lobos (Rio) and Bach (Washington) International Cello Competitions, as well as the Hudson Valley and Charleston Competitions, Dr. Thomas has performed as a soloist with orchestras in North and South America and throughout Europe. As a member of the Cantilena Piano Quartet, he toured and performed in most of the major concert halls in Europe and the U.S. He has performed as a recitalist and chamber musician at festivals such as Windsor (England), Gstaad (Switzerland), the Israel Festival (Jerusalem), Prague, Tivoli (Denmark), Itu and Fortaleza (Brazil). As a chamber musician.
Cellist of wide trajectory, Professor of the Cello Chair of the University School of Music, and Assistant Soloist of the Montevideo Philharmonic Orchestra. Her career has been guided by Maestros Juarez Johnson and Marie Alicie Brandao among others. She has participated in different courses and masterclasses with teachers such as David Chew, Wolfgang Laufer, Frank Van Lamswerde, Anne Marie Lasla. As a soloist he offers recitals in Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and the United States of America. As a member of chamber ensembles, he has given concerts in Germany, Czech Republic, Egypt, United States, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
Among his teaching activities at the Universidad de la República, he organizes different seminars, workshops and professional updating courses for music students in general, and organizes different master classes with guest artists.
Principal Clarinetist of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Artistic Director of the Fundación / Festival Nacional de Música Alonso Marín de Chinchiná and founding member of the “Catálogo Latinoamericano de música para Clarinete Luis Rossi”, he has developed an intense career as a teacher and soloist participating in events in Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Honduras, Germany, Belgium, Panama, Uruguay, Romania, Italy, United States, Argentina and Paraguay. He has been professor of woodwinds of the Cartagena Symphony Orchestra 2019-2021. He was Director of the Musical Training School of Tocancipá, professor at the Universidad de Caldas, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira and Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá. He was principal clarinetist of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Saltillo/Mexico (2015). Founding member and guest soloist of the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia 2010. Clarinetist of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas (YOA) between 2005 and 2011, touring the Americas, Europe and Asia, he is currently conducting a study of Colombian and Latin American music for clarinet and guitar with Mauricio Rangel and is preparing the release of his recording “Tertulia”.
Dr. Lacey Hays, founding member and director of DFW Brass, has enjoyed a career in numerous settings and has performed with orchestras throughout Europe, as well as North, South and Central America. Dr. Hays has performed throughout the world, including: Carnegie Hall in New York, St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the Verdi Opera in Italy, the Alfredo San Malo Music Festival in Panama, the International Brass Festival in Mexico, the Young Euro Festival in Germany and the Classical Music Festival in Austria. In addition to participating in several recording projects, Dr. Hays can be heard on several DVDs, among them: The Legacy, a documentary with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas where she can be heard playing the principal trumpet in Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel (Lobo Productions). Currently, Dr. Hays performs throughout North Texas as a freelance artist and is a member of the Blast of Brass Ensemble. He is on the faculty at Mountain View College, North Central Texas College and teaches master classes and private lessons at Flower Mound High School.
One of the most outstanding trumpet players of his generation, he won the 2nd prize at the International Spring Music Competition in Prague in 2010. The award, unprecedented in the history of trumpet in Brazil, is considered one of the most difficult in the world. He performs with prestigious orchestras such as the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra, Montevideo Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others. He is frequently invited as soloist and teacher in several music festivals such as Campos do Jordão Winter Festival, Santa Catarina Music Festival, Jazz Trumpet Festival, Trumpet Fetival Argentina, Trumpet Association of Peru, Urubrass – Uruguay among others. Flávio Gabriel teaches trumpet at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte – UFRN.
He is an active solo recitalist and chamber musician appearing in concerts around the world, including Chicago, Montreal, Vancouver, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Santiago, London, Paris, Taipei, Washington, DC and New York. He has appeared on programs for the North American Saxophone Alliance, the World Saxophone Congress, the College Music Society, the Wisconsin Composers’ Alliance, the Chicago Consortium of Composers and the New Music Chicago Festival. He is currently on the faculty of the University of Florida School of Music, where he teaches saxophone and chamber music. Jonathan Helton is a Selmer artist/clinician and past president of the North American Saxophone Alliance. His performances have been heard on North Carolina Public Radio, WFMT in Chicago, and national and international radio syndication. He is featured on compact discs from Centaur, Navona, Elf, Innova, Mark Records and Music from Northwestern.
He is an Italian-German pianist and composer. As a pianist, he performed extensively in Italy, the Netherlands, France, England, Russia, Panama and the United States. Musical honors include First Prize at the World Bach Competition in Boulder, Colorado (2020) and Diploma of Honor and Monte dei Paschi Premio di Siena from Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy (2011). Current and future projects include performing and recording WTC I and II and The Art of Fugue. He was deeply influenced by the instruction and mentorship of pianists Joaquín Achúcarro, under his direction he studied at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena,and Pamela Mia Paul, his principal teacher at the University of North Texas in Denton. Now a pianist in the legacy of Joaquín Achúcarro, he holds degrees from the University of North Texas (D.M.A., 2021), where he studied piano with P.M. Paul and composition with J. Klein and composition with J. Klein. Paul and composition with J. Klein and Southern Methodist University (Artist Certificate, 2009; M.M., 2011 and 2014), where he studied piano with J. Achúcarro and composition with K. Hanlon.
Hailed for her “absolute artistry, technique and musicality” by Scherzo magazine (Spain) and “a keen and inquisitive mind shaping the performance” by The Guardian (UK), Dr. Liudmila Georgievskaya has performed as a recitalist in Russia, Italy, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, France, the Netherlands, England, Hungary, Panama and the United States. Winner of top prizes in more than a dozen national and international awards, piano competitions, her performances have been broadcast on radio and television programs in Russia, the United States, Uzbekistan, Italy and Vatican City. She graduated from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and completed her postgraduate studies with Sergio Perticaroli at the Santa Cecilia National Academy in Rome (Italy), followed by the Artist Certificate at SMU with Joaquin Achucarro and the Doctorate in Piano Performance with Dr. Pamela Mia Paul of the University of North Texas. Dr. Georgievskaya is on the music faculty at Southern Methodist University and on the piano faculty at the University of North Texas.
Vidal has been hailed as an “exciting and compelling pianist” and his playing has been praised for its “musical and natural virtuosity”. Selected performances have been broadcast on radio and television, including WQXR New York, WDNA and WLRN Public Television in Miami. He has pursued an international career as a pianist, performing as a soloist, chamber and orchestral pianist in North, Central and South America and Europe. Vidal began his music lessons at the age of five in his native Venezuela under the world-renowned music program ‘El Sistema’. He holds a bachelor’s, master’s, artist diploma and doctorate in music from FIU, the Glenn Gould Professional School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and the University of Miami. Dr. Vidal collaborates with renowned artists from around the world, such as violinist Eric Silberger and the Miami Chamber Orchestra, with whom he often performs. He has been on staff at the FIU School of Music, the University of Miami and MDC’s New World School of the Arts. He is the founder and artistic director of South Florida Friends of Classical Music and The Arts Solutions.
Karen SF Veloz is an accomplished educator, concert producer, arts administrator and artist manager. Dr. Veloz has presented papers at major national and international conferences, including the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the International Association of Jazz Educators, the International Conference on Arts and Humanities, and the Aspen Institute. She is currently a concert producer,arts administrator, grant writer and fundraiser. She has held several teaching and administrative positions since coming to FIU: music producer, arts manager and arts administrator for the FIU Music Festival; Associate Director of Development and Undergraduate Studies, FIU School of Music; Associate Dean of Development in the College of Architecture + Arts and currently serves as Director of the Wertheim School of Music at Florida International University.
He is a member of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco (OFJ) since 2014. Originally from Sydney, Australia, as a child he began his musical studies with the violin and piano inspired by his family. He later changed instruments and specialized in viola at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. In 2021, James was commissioned by the Australian Embassy in Mexico to produce a collection of music videos in celebration of the Bicentennial of Independence in Mexico and Central America. James has worked with several of Australia’s leading symphony orchestras, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the Victoria Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. He has also been a member of the Opera Australia ensemble, with which he participated in three of its tours within the country, playing in remote communities being this a rich experience and a great opportunity to know more deeply his native country.
Musician Pianist with emphasis in Accompaniment and Master in Piano Pedagogy. She has experience in piano music pedagogy at university level and experience in this area with children since the age of four. She has performed recitals as a soloist and accompanist in different scenarios in the main cities of the country. Within his experience as an accompanist he has performed with choirs, clarinets, singing, bassoon, violin, oboe and in various festivals and competitions nationwide. She has worked with academies in both instrumental and grammatical areas. He has given solo recitals at the Teresa Cuervo Borda auditorium of the National Museum of Colombia, the Olav Roots auditorium of the National University and the Centro Colombo Americano. He has performed with the Symphonic Band of the Conservatory of the National University at the León de Greiff auditorium. He has participated in recordings of works by Colombian composers such as Gustavo Parra and Diego Vega and has given chamber music concerts in cities around the country through calls from the Banco de la República. He is a piano professor and correpetition pianist at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional and the Academia Musical Piccolo.
He is currently oboist of the Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México, Oboist of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, Founder of Koboe Academy Mexico City, Koboe Academy Cuba and Koboe Academy Ecuador, Artistic Director of Koboe Fest, creator of Koboe Music and since 2019 he is artist of the Prestigious French oboe brand F. Lorée Company Paris. On a regular basis he teaches courses and lectures on entrepreneurship and oboe for young people in universities, conservatories and festivals inside and outside the Mexican Republic, such as the University of Panama, Universidad Autónoma de Tampico, the International Music Festival of Santiago de Querétaro, among others. She has taken master classes with Alex Klein, George Merwein, Doris DeLoach, Jorge Rivero, Hansjorg Schellenberger, José Manuel González, Cinthia Thompson and Amy Goeser.
He has performed as a soloist on organ, piano and harpsichord in recitals and with large ensembles in the United States, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. He studied music in Chile, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Spain, Italy and the United States and graduated from Indiana University. He has been a guest professor in Europe, South America and the United States. He is also currently a faculty member at the FIU School of Music in Miami in the Departments of Opera and Early Music, and works in collaboration with Miami City Ballet, studied music in Chile, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Spain, Italy and the United States and graduated from Indiana University. He has been a guest lecturer at universities and international symposia in Europe, South America and the United States.
Master in Music and violin professor at the School of Musical Arts of the University of Costa Rica. He has been working at this institution since 2005, and in addition to teaching, he develops research projects on Costa Rican musical heritage. His recordings Dúos y Tríos: contemporary chamber music, and Música de Salón: compositions for violin and piano stand out. He participated as violinist and founder of Ensamble ECU, and collaborated with composer Eddie Mora in recordings of the EAM. Also, since 2001, he is the concertmaster of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Heredia, a group nominated several times to the Latin Grammy Awards for its extensive discography. He is currently the coordinator of the String Section of the EAM and is working on the edition of the violin manuscripts of the composer Alejandro Monestel.
Of Cuban-Puerto Rican origin, he has developed an intense operatic and concert activity mainly in the USA. He earned a Doctorate in Musical Arts and a Master of Music degree from Louisiana State University, where he received a full tuition scholarship. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Miami. She was recently appointed Assistant Professor of Voice and Opera at New World School of the Arts Miami Dade College. Winner of recognized international awards.
João Paulo Casarotti is a Brazilian pianist and pedagogue. He received a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from Louisiana State University, a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from Temple University, a Master’s Degree in Piano Pedagogy from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, a Performance Diploma from the “Maestro Ernst Mahle” School of Music in Piracicaba-Brazil, and a Performance Certificate from the “Maestro Ernst Mahle” School of Music in Piracicaba-Brazil. She holds a Performance Diploma from the Music School “Maestro Ernst Mahle” of Piracicaba-Brazil, and a Performance Certificate from the National Academy of Music of Sofia-Bulgaria. Among his teachers were Michael Gurt, Sheila Paige, Maria Del Pico Taylor, Mauricy Martin, Sergio Gallo, Gilberto Tinetti, Victor Tchouchkov, Marisa Lacorte and Cecilia Bellato. Currently, Mr. Casarotti is Assistant Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI.
Known for his joy and positive attitude, Isaac Casal is a Panamanian artist recognized in his country and internationally. He has made numerous presentations as a recitalist, soloist and also as a member of chamber groups and symphony orchestras in the Americas, Europe and Africa. It is worth mentioning his commitment to contemporary music, especially Latin American music. He has played pieces by Roque Cordero, Darwin Aquino, among others. Isaac has been able to combine modern music with the great repertoire of classical literature, ranging from Bach’s Suites to contemporary music, including the great classical and romantic concertos. He is president and founder of FUNSINCOPA and founder and member of Ensemblast.
Violinist of the Ensemblast Project quartet, he has performed and/or given master classes in the Bahamas, Spain, United States, France, England, Italy, Japan, Romania and Uruguay. With vast experience as an orchestra and chamber music leader, he has held the position of principal violist of the National Symphony Orchestra of Panama and currently resides in New York, where in addition to being principal of various chamber groups and orchestras, he teaches violin and viola at the Juilliard School, the Brooklyn Conservatory, the Washington Heights Conservatory, the Lucy Moses Conservatory and FUNSINCOPA online.
Born in Panama City, he studied elementary and high school at the San Cristobal Episcopal Institute where he began his tuba studies under the tutelage of Professor Granville Barnett, Tata Pinto and Earl Greaves. He began his studies at the National Institute of Music where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts with a major in music, then studied at the University of Panama where he obtained a degree in Fine Arts with a major in Music. She went to Puerto Rico where she studied with Ruben Ramirez and Nelson Corchado to graduate with a degree in Music with a major in Tuba. Afterwards, she took master courses obtaining a Master in Music degree at Illinois State University where she studied with Dr. Andrew Rummel. She has participated in numerous ensembles and currently plays in the Tampa Brass Band of Tampa Florida and the Carrollwood Brass Quintet.
The duo consists of Jonathan Helton, saxophone and Steven Thomas, cello. For the past fourteen years, the Helton-Thomas duo has presented concerts, master classes, workshops and lectures to diverse audiences in the United States, Canada, Japan, Thailand, China, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, England, Greece and France. His concerts are always received with great enthusiasm, surprise and excitement. The unexpected combination of saxophone and cello creates a unique soundscape that is able to reach audiences of all kinds through new and moving musical experiences.
The Camerata de Panamá is the second professional orchestra of Panama. Created in 2012 by Venezuelan Maestro Victor Mata, it has performed in the most important halls of Panama City and is emerging as the new face of symphonic music in the isthmus. The appearance of Camerata Panama on the Panamanian music scene has marked a milestone in the cultural life of the city, confirming the musical growth of the country. Made up of Panamanian and foreign musicians, Camerata Panamá is dedicated to the study and dissemination of the repertoire for string ensemble, from the baroque to the XXI century.
FUNSINCOPA recognizes the orchestral movement as an opportunity for the intellectual, spiritual and professional development of the individual. In this sense, and taking the Venezuelan Orchestra System as a reference and with the support of the Casco Antiguo Offices, FUNSINCOPA developed the project “Filarmónicas Infantiles y Juveniles de Panamá” (former Red Orquestal Aguas de El Chorrillo). The FIJP is a musical education program aimed at street children and low-income children, that is, the most vulnerable group in the country, both for their cultural characteristics and their socioeconomic situation, which proposes, through instruction and collective practice of music, the rescue of children and youth through pedagogical, occupational and ethical means. The Gonzalo Brenes Orchestra is one of the most advanced youth orchestras in Panama City.
The ASMF Orchestra is traditionally in charge of the closing concert. It is one of the key objectives of this great celebration that is part of the Academic Programming of the Festival (the ASMF Faculty offers master classes, workshops, sectionals in preparation for the orchestra). The orchestra brings together national and international musicians, artists and young students with a guest conductor. The base orchestra is the Gonzalo Brenes Youth Philharmonic of FUNSINCOPA’s Philharmonicas Infantiles y Juveniles de Panama program, as host. The Festival’s Academic Program offers artistic improvement and professional development, and allows them to interact with foreign artists and obtain networking opportunities at universities abroad and expand their own careers.