Biographies
Linda Bento-Rei - Flute
www.lindabento-rei.com
After decades of performing in many of New England’s most notable symphony orchestras as soloist and section member, performing in and directing various chamber music groups and concert series, serving as educator and mentor for many now accomplished flutists, conducting chamber music master classes and directing flute choirs, Linda Bento-Rei’s versatility and passion for fresh and diverse projects has lead her to record her first album entitled “The Jongen Project”, which was released in 2014 and contains the music of Belgian composer, organist and educator, Joseph Jongen (1873-1953). Following a series of acclaimed chamber music concerts which included Jongen’s, “Concert a Cinq” with the principal string players and retired principal harpist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Bento-Rei was inspired to record Jongen’s relatively unknown music. After researching the composer, a deep passion was born and a number of pieces which include flute in solo and chamber music settings were unearthed. Her second CD project entitled “Invocation” was released in September, 2015. This ambitious and virtuosic project includes works from a variety of musical genres and ensembles including a piece with Latin percussion in the Afro-Cuban style. Both CDs are available on Amazon.com or through www.lindabento-rei.com.
Bento-Rei also premiered a Flute Sonata written for her and Boston Symphony Orchestra pianist, Vytas Baksys in March, 2015. This piece will be included in her third recording project scheduled to begin in 2016.
Linda Bento-Rei received a bachelor of music from the Boston Conservatory of Music, cum laude and a master of music from the New England Conservatory of Music as a merit scholar.
".....Linda Bento-Rei's newest recording, "Invocation", grabs the attention right away with its booklet's cover art: a woman's face elaborately painted in black, white, and red, at once primitive and sophisticated. The recording brings together some wonderfully diverse flute chamber works of 20th and 21st century composers. Lovers of classical music as well as jazz aficionados will find much to enjoy here. Perhaps the single most impressive aspect of the recording is the phenomenal sense of rhythm of Bento-Rei and her colleagues; they achieve a degree of musical symbiosis rarely heard.
"Invocation" is an apt title for a program that invokes individual things--spring, youth, a recently deceased loved one, and Latin dance styles--but also diversity generally. Linda Bento-Rei, as central performer, demonstrates the enormous versatility that this demands. She and her excellent colleagues show most enjoyably that variety is the spice of life."
- Geoff Wieting, The Boston Musical Intelligencer
"........The most striking observation of this CD is the ensemble work, which is exemplary and flawless throughout. Special mention must be made of the extraordinary playing of pianist Vytas Baksys, which is accurately supportive in the Schickele and rhythmically authentic in the complex salsa underpinnings of the Mower.
"This is an absolutely outstanding recording. The excellences one looks for in flute playing are here. Ms. Bento-Rei’s intonation is impeccable, as is her articulation. She performs passages of dazzling virtuosity,
especially in the Schickele, in addition to other virtues which are beyond the expected. Her flute sound in strong passages is as rich and full as I’ve heard on that instrument, while in softer passages, especially in the Janacek, it has a beautiful delicacy. Her playing has, when necessary, a quite extraordinary authority, often of a degree which one more commonly finds in a lead trumpet. And none of this comes at a price: there are, to my ear, no moments of compromise, no places where, for example, emotion is sacrificed for mechanical precision, or sound for speed. The playing throughout has great integrity: all its virtues are in the service of a larger musicality."
- Harry Schroeder, Music Critic, Solares Hill Newspaper, The Key West Citizen
"......her ability to connect with the audience is extraordinary!" - Friends of Artist Series, Sarasota
Betsy Hudson Traba - Flute
Betsy Hudson Traba has served as Principal Flutist of the Sarasota Orchestra and Sarasota Wind Quintet since 1993. She is the former Principal Flutist of the Hofer Symphoniker in Hof, Germany, where she performed as a featured soloist on nine concerts during a two-year period. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, she studied with William Hebert and Jeffrey Khaner while earning a Bachelor of Music degree from Baldwin-Wallace College, followed by a Master of Music degree earned at the Manhattan School of Music as a student of Julius Baker. Ms. Traba has been heard frequently as a soloist throughout Florida, including guest artist performances with the La Musica International Chamber Music Festival, Artist’s Series of Sarasota, Charlotte Symphony and in multiple performances with the Sarasota Orchestra. During the summer, she performs at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, CA.
Ms. Traba is an active teacher working locally with flutists of all ages and has served multiple terms as a leader of the Sarasota Orchestra Musicians’ Committee. She is married to Sarasota Orchestra Principal Bassoonist Fernando Traba, and they have 2 daughters, ages 13 and 15.
Vytas J. Baksys - Piano
Vytas J. Baksys received his DMA and MM degrees in performance at S.U.N.Y. @ Stony Brook. He earned his Bachelor’s degree with Distinction from the New England Conservatory of Music where he was also elected Phi Kappa Lambda. Other awards include Outstanding College Student of America, Extraordinary Performing Arts Student of America, and a nomination for inclusion in a recent edition of the International Who’s Who In Music. His principal teachers were Angel Ramon Rivera, Victor Rosenbaum, and Gilbert Kalish. Among his many accomplishments, Vytas lists extensive performances of various styles and genres throughout North America, Europe and Asia, having worked with many well known artists, conductors and composers, among them: Arthur Fiedler, Seiji Ozawa, Bernard Haitink, Sir Roger Norrington, Leonard Bernstein, Sir Simon Rattle, Leonard Rose, Gary Karr, Yo-Yo Ma, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gil Shaham, Joseph Silverstein, Elliott Carter, Henri Dutilleux, Olivier Messiaen, film composer John Williams, Stanislaw Skrowicesky, Oliver Knussen, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos, Dawn Upshaw, Chris Brubeck, composer John Harbison, James Levine, and Peter Schickele. Since 1989, Vytas has served as faculty pianist working with the Fellowship Conducting Program at Tanglewood. An active freelancer, Vytas performs a variety of recitals, competitions, and other functions. He has worked with a number of area choirs including the Boston Secession, Arlington Street Church Choir, Somerville Community Chorus, and New England Classical Singers; made occasional appearances with the contemporary ensemble Boston Musica Viva; performed with various groups such as the Concord Chamber Music Society, Boston Artists Ensemble, South Coast Chamber Music Society, Pentamerus, and the Boston Symphony Chamber Players among others; is on the faculty at The Rivers School Conservatory; and is a frequent keyboardist with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras. As a composer, Vytas’s works include several short piano pieces, a piano concerto, a piano quintet, two microtonal works, and several transcriptions of works by Beethoven, Braggiotti, Foote, Glinka, Pärt, Schönberg, Scheidt, Sibelius, and others, most recently Heitor Villa-Lobos and Stravinsky.
Mark Kroll - Harpsichord
Mark Kroll’s distinguished career as a performer, scholar and educator spans a period of more than fifty years. He has appeared as a harpsichordist and fortepianist in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, winning critical praise for his expressive playing and virtuosity; performed as concerto soloist with the world's major orchestras; and served as harpsichordist for the Boston Symphony since 1979. Kroll’s extensive list of recordings includes the music of Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, Couperin, Biber, Duphly, Balbastre, Royer, Schubert, and Hummel; three critically acclaimed CDs of contemporary American harpsichord music; and Dutilleux’s Les Citations with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. He is currently recording the complete pièces de clavecin of François Couperin for Centaur Records. The first two discs have been released this year. Kroll is equally active as a scholar. He has published four books—Ignaz Moscheles and the Changing World of Musical Europe; Playing the Harpsichord Expressively; The Beethoven Violin Sonatas; and Johann Nepomuk Hummel: A Musician and His World—and numerous chapters and articles on a variety of subjects. His recent scholarly editions include Hummel’s Sonata for Cello and Piano (Bärenreiter), and Geminiani’s Sonatas for Violin and Basso Continuo, opus 4 as part of the complete Geminiani edition (Ut Orpheus). Kroll is editor-in-chief of the forthcoming Cambridge Companion to the Harpsichord, and is preparing an edition of Carl Ludwig Junker’s piano concerto for A-R Editions. A dedicated educator, Mark Kroll has taught at universities and given master classes and lectures worldwide. He is Professor emeritus at Boston University, where he served twenty-five years as Professor of Harpsichord and Chair of the Department of Historical Performance at Boston University.
Carol Lieberman - Violin
Recognized as one of America’s leading exponents of Baroque violin performance for the past 40 years, Carol Lieberman is equally acclaimed for her command of the violin repertoire from the 19th to the 21st centuries. The scope of Ms Lieberman’s versatility can be seen by her performances of the complete Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord of J.S. Bach in such cities as Lisbon, Madrid, Rome, Boston and San Francisco, and her numerous recordings of works by contemporary composers, including several world premieres. Ms. Lieberman has concertized throughout Europe, North and South America, and the Middle East, and frequently performs for radio and television in this country and abroad. She has performed the violin concertos of Sibelius, Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi and Bach with such orchestras as the Boston Pops Orchestra, the CBC Festival Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Associazione Musicale Romana, the Belgrade Chamber Orchestra, and the Handel & Haydn Society, and appeared as guest soloist with festivals such as Grand Teton, Bay Chamber, Mostly Mozart, Connecticut Early Music Festival, Radovljica Festival of Slovenija, and Dni Bachowski of Poland. During the past three years she has also performed several recitals and given lectures in Longboat Key, Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida. Ms. Lieberman has also been a member of several orchestras, including the Israel Philharmonic (conducted by Zubin Mehta, with such guest conductors as James Levine, Leonard Bernstein and Claudio Abbado) and the Toronto Symphony conducted by Karel Ancerl. She has also served as concertmistress for the Handel and Haydn Society, Masterworks Chorale and the orchestra of the Associazione Musicale Romana. Carol Lieberman’s recordings have received the highest critical acclaim. Ms. Lieberman is currently writing a book on the history of violin vibrato. Having been the first violinist to receive a DMA in violin from the Yale School of Music, she taught at Boston University School of Music for more than twenty years. She has been Professor of Music at the College of the Holy Cross since 1985, where she also serves as Director of the Holy Cross Chamber Players.
Michael Cloutier - Violin
Michael Cloutier, violinist, grew up in Venice, FL and began violin studies at age 8 with Miltiades Siadimas, acclaimed soloist of the N.Y. Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera, and in high school with Damien Pegis, former concertmaster of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and assistant concertmaster of the Florida West Coast Symphony. Michael attended the New England Conservatory in Boston under the instruction of Eric Rosenblith and James Buswell.
After New England Conservatory he attended Berklee College of Music for Violin Performance and Music Business and Management. While at Berklee he created and managed the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra for students of Berklee, Boston Conservatory, and neighboring schools.
Upon leaving Berklee, Michael decided to pursue a career as a web developer. He enjoys playing with the Venice Symphony and the Venice Symphony String Quartet in addition to his work as a Senior Developer.
“It is a great honor to play with the Venice Symphony. I have played with this orchestra for many years and always enjoy the wonderful people and music we are able to bring to our Venice audience.” Michael is the newly appointed Concert Master of the Venice Symphony.
Shawn Snider - Viola
Shawn grew up in Bradenton, Florida where he was a student of Jim Fawcett (previous Associate Principal Violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra). Shawn earned his Bachelor’s degree in Viola performance from the Eastman School of Musc (Rochester, NY) in 2003 from the studio of George Taylor, and returned to Florida to further study with Pamela McConnell at the University of Miami. Shaw has received chamber music coaching from the Julliard Quartet, the Ying Quartet, the Tokyo Quartet, John Graham, Oleh Krysa, Michael Copelmann, Zvi Zeitlin, Charles Castleman, Alan Harris and Paul Wolfe.
Currently, aside from being the Principal Violist of the Venice Symphony, Shawn is a member of the Southwest Florida Orchestra, the Naples 5th Avenue Chamber Orchestra, and performs regularly with both the Sarasota Orchestra, and as Principal Violist for the 2014 Arts Naples World Festival. He has played throughout Southwest Florida in many concerts, including the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, back up musician for the Motown group “The Commodores” and on many occasions in orchestras under the baton of the late Eric Kunzel (from the Cincinnati Pops).
As a soloist, Shawn has traveled to Budapest, Bratislava and Prague performing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. Performance venues for this concert included The Liszt Hall (Budapest), The Slovak National Radio Hall (Bratislava) and the Dvorak Hall at the Rudolphinum (Prague). Shawn has also performed many concertos with orchestras throughout the southwest region, including the South Shore Symphony (World Premiere of the Grayson Viola Concerto), the Anna Maria Island Chamber Orchestra and the Venice Symphony Orchestra.
Ann Alton - Cello
Praised for her “rounded tone and ideal phrasing,” cellist Ann Alton has performed as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. Ann has won awards from the Harriet Hale Woolley Foundation, the National Federation of Music Clubs, the Koussevitsky Foundation, the National Arts Club, and the National Music Teachers Association. She has given solo and chamber music concerts at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall, Salle Cortot, the Caramoor Festival, and other venues. Her performances have been broadcast on American and German Public Television and National Public Radio. Her recordings can be found on the Vox and Albany labels. Having started cello study at an early age with her mother, cellist Ardyth Alton, Ann attended the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School. She was awarded a full scholarship from the Juilliard School where she earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. She received her Doctorate of Music from the Manhattan School of Music as a fellowship recipient student of Bernard Greenhouse. Ann has toured as a member of several trios and chamber groups, including the flute, cello, guitar trio "Tritonis" and the Ace Trio. She is principal cellist of the Charlotte Symphony (FL) and the Lake Placid Sinfonietta.
Scott Crowley - Cello
Scott Crowley began his cello studies at the age of six. He attended various summer festivals and music camps, such as the prestigious Young Artist Orchestra at Boston University’s Tanglewood institute. After completing his musical training at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Mr. Crowley moved to Florida to further his studies at the University of South Florida, under the direction of Scott Kluksdahl. He is a cellist of all styles, having played in various orchestras, operas, musicals, and even rock bands, throughout the country. Commercially, Mr. Crowley is very much in demand and has performed with numerous well-known groups and performers. Some of those artists include Kansas, Little River Band, Blood Sweat and Tears, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mannheim Steamroller, Andrea Bocelli, Il Divo, Johnny Mathis, Mary Wilson (of the Supremes), Regis Philbin, Frank Sinatra Jr., Tito Puente Jr., John Secada and many others. He regularly writes blogs, regarding cello technique. His mission is to make Classical music more accessible for young people, and to eventually publish his own book on cello technique. He often composes his own arrangements for cello and is currently recording some of his favorite works for cello.
Julian Douglas – Percussion
Raised by a jazz pianist Julian Douglas grew up with an immersive education in music of many Western genres. His early musical influences included R&B, jazz fusion, and progressive rock. Julian eventually developed an interest in percussion and went on to study the music, instruments, and rhythmic traditions of the African diaspora, South America, the Middle East, India, and folk traditions of Europe.
As a performer Julian participated in the formation of avant-garde world percussion quartet Rhythm Quest to explore the fusion of the world's percussion traditions. Their album earned a four star review
in Modern Drummer Magazine. Throughout the Northeast and Midwest Julian has collaborated on recordings and performances with various jazz, world music, world fusion, and modern dance ensembles. Julian now lives in Sarasota and performs regularly with the Early/World Fusion ensemble The Resonance Project.
SUSAN KNAPP THOMAS - HARPIST
A well-known and widely respected harpist known for her attentive playing, quick adaptability and musicianship, Susan Knapp Thomas has enjoyed an active performance career with orchestras in both the north and the south. Susan has served as Acting Principal Harp for the Hartford Symphony and has a lengthy relationship with the symphony, performing as their featured concerto soloist alongside Principal Flutist Greig Shearer for Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto. She plays regularly for the Rhode Island Philharmonic, is Principal Harpist for the Waterbury Symphony, and performed as harpist for the U.S. Coast Guard Band from 1987-2002. In Florida, she has performed with the Southwest Florida and Palm Beach Symphonies and has served as Acting Principal Harp for Brevard Symphony Orchestra in Melbourne, Florida.
Equally at home in orchestra pits for shows and opera, Ms. Thomas has played regularly for shows at the Goodspeed Opera House, in addition to touring shows for the Bushnell and the Shubert Theaters in Hartford and New Haven, CT. She has also been a regular at the Florida Grand Opera, and the Vero Beach Opera in Florida.
As a chamber music artist and concerto soloist, Ms.Thomas has been featured in concert at The Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, the Trinity College Summer Concert Series, the Elektra Chamber Ensemble's Music Series in Farmington, Connecticut, performing Handel's Concerto in Bb, and the Saint Saens Fantaisie for Harp and Violin, with violinist Bruna Myftaraj. She has been featured with well-known flutist Brad Garner at the National Flute Convention, and is part of her own flute and harp duo, the Apolline duo, with flutist Jennifer Berman. She is pleased to have the opportunity to perform as part of Sarasota Musica Viva, and Linda Bento- Rei.
Ms. Thomas has done regular work for the Frank Sinatra Jr. show. Her backup work includes shows for such notables as Judy Collins, the group "Yes", the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Peter Cetera, Johnny Mathis and others. Her recently released CD, Everlasting Sunday, was a finalist considered by the Greater Hartford Arts Council for one of their donor level gifts. She is also recorded on the Opus label.
Ms Thomas is currently Instructor of Harp and Chamber Music Coach for the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. Ms. Thomas teaches a large, active studio of harp students in both Connecticut and Florida, and is the Director and Founder of the Connecticut Valley Harp Intensive Summer Camp in Simsbury, Connecticut, now in its 7th year. She has served as an Effective Competition Preparation Coach for such national competitions as the Anne Adams Awards, and the Lyon and Healy Awards, and judged the AHS MetroHarp Competition in New York City. Her students have been multiple prize-winners in both local and national competitions. She is President of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Harp Society.
Ms. Thomas is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, and a student of Eileen Malone, Phyllis Wright, Aristid von Wurtzler and Barbara Pniewska.
Mackenzie Melemed - Pianist
Mackenzie Melemed was born on February 27, 1995 in Newton, Massachusetts. Since 2000, he has performed over 600 concerts for audiences around the world. His first contact with the piano was at the age of four and he quickly developed a passion for music. He began performing local concerts for senior citizens, charitable organizations and at local schools, where he encouraged students to share their talents within their communities. In 2003 at the age of eight, he portrayed the young Mozart in the Discovery Channel series “Medical Mystery.” In 2004, Melemed performed for President George Bush at a fundraiser in Boston. Following that, Melemed performed at The White House during the holiday season for five consecutive years. In the summer of 2004, Melemed gave sixty appearances at the Tropicana Resort in Atlantic City in the show “Prodigy.”
Mr. Melemed began formal classical training in 2005. One year later, he won the grand prize at the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition, resulting in a debut performance at Weill Recital Hall. Later that year, in recognition of his contributions to the community, Melemed was the only child to be named an “Everyday Hero” by Anna Maria College in Massachusetts. In 2007, Melemed won the ASCAP Irving Berlin Summer Camp Scholarship, and performed at the awards ceremony at Lincoln Center. In 2008, Melemed appeared on the PBS program “From the Top: Live at Carnegie Hall.” In 2009, Melemed gave his orchestral debut with The Boston Civic Symphony and Grieg's Piano Concerto. In 2010, Melemed won both the first prize and the Bach Prize at the A. Ramon Rivera Piano Competition. Later that year, Mr. Melemed was the youngest finalist in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra II online competition.
In the 2010-11 season, Melemed performed Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto with The Quincy Symphony, Wellesley Symphony, and the New England Philharmonic. In 2011, Melemed played for the unveiling ceremony of the “American Wing” at the MFA in Boston. Melemed soon after made his second appearance on "From the Top." In the summer of 2012, Mr. Melemed participated in the New York International Piano Competition and won the Special Prize for the Best Performance of Required Commissioned Etudes written by Avner Dorman, He also won the 5th prize at the 2012 Gina Bachauer International Young Artists Piano Competition where he was the highest ranking competitor from the United States.
In the summer of 2013, Mr. Melemed toured the Czech Republic and gave performances in China. In March 2014, Mr. Melemed won the 1st Prize at the 18th Hamamatsu International Piano Academy Competition; he was the only competitor from the United States. Mr. Melemed won the 2016 Juilliard School Gina Bachauer Competition. He will receive a full-tuition scholarship for the 2016-17 year and perform at Juilliard's Paul Recital Hall in September. The performance will be aired on WQXR, New York Classical Radio. Melemed also won a prize in the Mieczysław Munz Competition at Juilliard in March.
Mr. Melemed has participated in numerous piano festivals, including PianoSummer at New Paltz, Chautauqua Piano Masterclass Festival and Banff Piano Masterclass Festival. He has participated in lessons and masterclasses with Vladimir Feltsman, Susan Starr, Stephen Hough, Tamas Ungar, Hamish Milne, Alexander Gavrylyuk and Nelita True, among others. Previous teachers include Alexander Korsantia, Olga Rogach, William Smiddy and Dean Arvidson.
After being accepted into the accelerated B.M./M.M program, Mr. Melemed will be both a senior and a first-year master's student at The Juilliard School in New York. Melemed studies with Robert McDonald.
Kristina Finch - Harp
Based in south Florida, harpist Kristina Finch is a diverse performer of multi-faceted interests who is one of the preeminent emerging artists in her field. Kristina aims to create interesting and exciting programs that find connections to stimulate the imagination through musical storytelling of standard harp repertoire and expansive interpretations of new music. Kristina received her Bachelor of Music degree and Doctorate of Musical Arts in Harp Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY (2008, and 2015), and received her Master of Musical Arts degree from Florida State University in Tallahassee (2010).
An experienced and confident chamber musician, Kristina has performed with ensembles of all shapes and sizes. Her primary ensemble, the Kontra Duo with saxophonist Dannel Espinoza, released their first album (self-titled) in 2014, and has been described as energetic, sweet, sassy, graceful, and muscular. The Kontra Duo has performed recitals throughout the continental United States, and is known for creating exciting programs of harp and saxophone music that integrates accessible new music commissioned by the ensemble and new takes on standard repertoire for many other instruments, showcasing the versatility of the pair.
Redefining audience perception of solo harp performance, Kristina is dedicated to the creation of new music for solo harp. The “Far From Home” Project with American composers Cary Ratcliff, Nancy Bloomer Duessen, Gregory Wanamaker, Clare Shore, and Benjamin Broening aims to present the harp in a contemporary, American setting. The goals of this project are threefold: 1. to create a new American voice for the solo harp, 2. to excite young harpists and audiences about new, American music for solo harp, and 3. to stimulate the creation of more music for solo harp.
As Principal guest harpist of the Miami Symphony Orchestra (MISO), Kristina had the opportunity to perform with Maestro Andrea Bocelli during the 2015 Miami Beach Centennial celebration in Miami Beach, FL. In addition to MISO, Kristina has performed with numerous other orchestras and choral ensembles throughout the East Coast, including the Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes; the Virginia Symphony Orchestra; the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra; the Ocala Symphony Orchestra; the Festival Singers of Florida; the Virginia Choral; the Gay Mens Chorus of South Florida; Madrigalia Choral Ensemble; Concentus Women’s Choir; and served as the principal harpist for theOhio Light Opera Festival during the summer of 2011. In addition to extensive work with choral ensembles, Kristina has had the great honor of working with some of the worlds finest vocalists including Tony, Grammy, and Oscar winner Idina Menzel, Grammy winner Renée Fleming, and Grammy nominee and American Idol winner, Ruben Studdard.
Kristina serves as the President and CEO of the Project Largo Music Foundation, inc. 501(c)(3), which works to engage communities through musical performances, education programs, and progressive collaborations. Through the foundation, Kristina and the Kontra Duo present recitals and educational outreach throughout the South Florida area. In addition to the non-profit, Kristina maintains a full time freelance career in South Florida, that has included performances for Tiffany & Co., Burgees Yachts, Project: Newborn, and the Biltmore Hotel, as well as private event performances at some of South Florida’s finest hotels, restaurants, houses of worship, and event spaces. As a professional wedding harpist, Kristina works one on one with clients in order to create the perfect musical atmosphere for their individual celebration.
Kristina received her Bachelor of Music degree and Doctorate of Musical Arts in Harp Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY (2008, and 2015) respectively, working under harpist Kathleen Bride, also receiving the prestigious Performer's Certificate, and received her Master of Musical Arts degree from Florida State University in Tallahassee (2010) where she studied with Mary Brigid-Roman.
Kristina is a contributing blogger, podcaster and writer for the Harp Column.
