Biographies

Brooke Aird (violin) works as a freelance musician in many orchestras and ensembles in the Bay Area. He studied violin at the Manhattan School of Music and got his first professional work playing in Off-Broadway shows in New York. Brooke is an experienced soloist, having played numerous recitals and chamber works. As a soloist, he has performed concertos by Tschaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Bruch, and Prokofiev.

Catherine Allen (cello) received a Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley, where she studied with Margaret Rowell. She then went to London, where she studied with William Pleeth and Simon Kuhn. Currently she performs with the Rose Quartet, the Monterey Symphony as Principal Cello, and the Sacramento Philharmonic as Assistant Principal. She is an active freelance musician and teacher in the Bay Area.

Deborah Schmidt (flute) graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at Berkeley with a Bachelors of Arts in music. She studied with Janet Maestre and Lloyd Gowen and was a CETA Symphonconcerto competition winner. As an Alfred Hertz Memoria travelling fellow, she continued her studies with Thomas Nyfenger. She has participated in master classes with Julius Baker and Keith Underwood. She performs and teaches in the Bay Area. Current ensembles include the Phiharmonic Wind Quintet and the Pro Art Symhony Orchestra.

Anna Carol Dudley (soprano) has performed with most of the San Francisco Area's contemporary music ensembles, including the Kronos Quartet, Earplay, SF Contemporary Music Players and the Berkeley Contemporary Chamber Players. She has premiered many works including a number written for her. She has been a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony and with the Bay Area Women's Philharmonic. Also specializing in baroque music, she has sung with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and at the Berkeley Festival, and has toured nationwide with the group "Tapestry." She served as director of the San Francisco Early Music Society's Baroque Music and Dance Workshop for many years, has been director of the Junior Bach Festival Association, and has directed Baroque operas at the San Francisco Conservatory. She has recorded for CRI and 1750 Arch Records, and for 18 years was on the music faculty of San Francisco State University. She is now on the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley.

Richard Mathias (clarinet) studied composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Ivan Tcherepnin, Robert Moran, and John Adams; electronic music with Alden Jenks; and clarinet with Philip Fath and Donald O'Brien. His studies continued in numerous Bay Area night clubs where he worked with Rhythm and Blues groups, salsa bands, and jazz ensembles. Compositions include works for chamber groups and big bands. Dick is active as a freelance woodwind performer, playing saxophone, clarinet and flute. Recent work includes performances with the Oakland and Napa Symphonies, the San Francisco production of Phantom of the Opera and the national touring company of Music of the Night. He has taught at Holy Names College and currently teaches at The Nueva School in Hillsborough.

Herb Bielawa (piano) studied piano with Soulima Stravinsky at the University of Illinois, composition with lngolf Dahl and Halsey Stevens at USC and Darius Milhaud at Aspen. He taught at Bethany College and San Francisco State, founding its Electronic Music Studio. He has written for ensembles, piano, harpsichord, organ, voice, choir, electronics, band and orchestra. Spectrum for Band and Tape (1966) was composed during his Contemporary Music Project residency in Houston. Now he composes full-time with recent commissions from Meet the Composer, Minneapolis Convention Center, the San Francisco School of the Arts, the American Guild of Organists and Earplay of San Francisco. He is a member of the Ilona Clavier Duo and founding director of Sounds New. Visit his website.

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