Voices-n-Harmony
Patrice Penny-Henderson, director of Voices-n-Harmony, an associate
choir of the Music Department, Community School of the Arts and Multicultural
Affairs Office, has worked with church and community choirs for 15
years in the Michiana area. She is currently an elementary music specialist
in the Elkhart Community Schools as well as choir director at Agape
Missionary Baptist Church in Elkhart. She directed a community gospel
choir for the Elkhart County Symphony “Amazing Grace” 2001
concert, and has directed the Goshen College “Voices-n-Harmony” choir
for the past three years. She holds a bachelor's degree in music education
from Oklahoma University and a M.Ed. from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Bassoon
Andrew Briddell holds a Master of Music in bassoon performance from
Temple University’s Esther Boyer College of Music and a Bachelor’s
degree in music and English from Indiana University. Mr. Briddell is
the former music director of the Alabama Youth Symphony and former
bassoon instructor at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. He has served
as bassoon instructor at the Indiana University Summer Music Clinic
since 1996, and in 2002 he was appointed Orchestra Director at Elkhart
Central High School where he directs the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras.
Cello
David Machavariani’s official musical training started at the
age of eight in a special music school for gifted children in the Georgian
capital Tbilisi. David debuted at the age of 14 with the Georgian National
Symphony. Today many of his students are successful musicians in the
USA and Germany. In 1992, by invitation of Indiana University at South
Bend, David came to the USA and earned his masters degree and artist
diploma. Currently, he is an assistant principal in the South Bend
Symphony Orchestra and Columbia (Mo.) Festival Chamber Orchestra. Mr.
Machavariani currently teaches cello at Goshen College and at Indiana
University-South Bend.
Flute
Rebecca Hovan is currently principal flute with the Elkhart County
Symphony and performs regularly with other chamber groups in the Northern
Indiana area. Mrs. Hovan is currently on the faculty at Indiana University
South Bend and Goshen College. She is also an artist/clinician for
Emerson Flutes. Her training includes a Master of Music from the University
of North Texas where she was a Teaching Fellow in flute. She was a
winner of the National Flute Association’s Masterclass Competition
and has performed at the Association’s national convention several
times. Mrs. Hovan has also presented various pedagogy workshops for
the National Flute Association, at colleges and universities, and at
various flute festivals. Her first book, an intermediate method for
flute, was published in December 2003. She has served on the Pedagogy
Committee of the National Flute Association since December 2002 and
was recently appointed Chair of the Committee.
Harp
Suzann Young-Davids has taught and played harp internationally, conducting
master classes in Thailand, Germany, and Costa Rica. She maintains
an active private studio and is a regular adjudicator at national harp
competitions. She received her bachelors of music in piano and harp
performance from Oberlin Conservatory and her M.A. and M.F.A. in Harp
Performance from State University of Iowa. In addition to performances
with ballet and opera companies throughout the United States, she serves
as harp instructor at Goshen College, IUSB, Valparaiso University,
and Saint Mary’s College.
Horn
Michael Lewellen is currently Principal Horn of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic,
a position he has held since 1987. During the 2003-2004 season, he
also held the position of Acting Associate Principal Horn with the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops. Prior to assuming
his post with Fort Wayne, Michael also held the position of Guest Solo
Horn with the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki, Finland in 1986.
He has also performed numerous times in concert and recording with
the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra and the Saint
Louis Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Lewellen is a graduate of The Cleveland
Institute of Music where he was a student of Richard Solis, then Principal
Horn of The Cleveland Orchestra. Additional studies have been with
Gail Williams, Dale Clevenger, Arnold Jacobs, Albert Schmitter and
Martin Morris.
Percussion
James Bollero teaches 80 percussion students in the Michiana region
through his private studio and adjunct roles at Goshen College and
IUSB. He received his bachelor's of science degree in music performance
from Indiana State University and master of music in music performance
from
Ohio State University. He performs regularly with the South Bend Symphony,
Elkhart Symphony and Elkhart Municipal Band.
Trumpet
Akira Murotani is a member of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic trumpet section.
He has also performed with the Grand Rapids, South Bend, and Muncie
Symphonies and Des Moines Metro Opera Orchestra and was a member of
the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Italy. Murotani holds DMA and MM
degrees from SUNY-Stony Brook, and BM from Luther College, Saskatchewan,
Canada. Murotani has studied with Chris Gekker, William Vacchiano,
Ramon Parcells, William Scarlet, Ron Anderson, and Ed Lewis. In addition
to classical training, Murotani is a jazz enthusiast. He has performed
in New York’s well-known jazz club, the Knitting Factory, as
well as other venues in the metropolitan New York area and Long Island.
Trombone
A proud native of Louisville, Ky., Andrew Hicks is the son of Arthur and
Brooke Hicks who played in the Louisville Orchestra for more than 40
years. During and after his musical studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory
and the Cleveland Institute, Andrew has had the good fortune to perform
with many wonderful people and ensembles. These include the Cleveland
Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Louisville Orchestra,
and Fort Wayne Philharmonic. He has served as the bass trombonist with
the Fort Wayne Philharmonic since 1996. His teachers include Thomas
Klaber, Steven Witser, and Tony Chipurn.
Tuba
Sam Gnagey has been principal tubist with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic
since 1970. He is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Music
and the Purdue University School of Health Science. His principal tuba
teachers were William Bell, Arnold Jacobs and Ron Bishop. He has performed
as tubist and/or double bassist with the orchestras of Indianapolis,
Evansville, Elkhart, Kokomo, Lafayette, South Bend, Anderson, Richmond,
Muncie and Marion in Indiana and Lansing and Flint in Michigan. He
has served on the faculties of IPFW, Grace College, Huntington College
and Taylor University.
Oboe
Andrea Mather-Stow is a versatile artist equally comfortable performing
on oboe, English horn or oboe dé amore. Her solo career includes
concerto performances throughout Great Britain and with the South Bend
Symphony Orchestra, for which she is the Associate Principal Oboe and
solo English horn player. In great demand as a freelance artist playing
with many area ensembles. Ms. Mather-Stow graduated from the Eastman
School of Music with high honors. Currently she is on the adjunct faculty
at Notre Dame, St. Mary’s College, IUSB, Grace College, and Goshen
College.
Saxophone
A versatile instrumentalist, Chris French is proficient in clarinet,
saxophone, and flute. He received B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Juilliard
School. While in New York, he was principal clarinetist of the National
Orchestra of New York, and studied with Leon Russianoff, Joe Allard,
Charles Russo, and Warne Marsh. After briefly playing with the Orquesta
del Estado de Mexico, he returned to Los Angeles and pursued a career
as a free-lance woodwind player. His teaching experience includes positions
at Pasadena City College, Ventura College, and California Lutheran
University. Mr. French performs with the Kalamazoo Symphony, the South
Bend Symphony, and for the past five years at the Elkhart Jazz Festival.
String Bass
Robert Martin has served as bassist for the Elkhart Symphony and South
Bend Symphony, as well as the Goshen College Orchestra. He was past
principal of Lafayette Symphony, Grace College Community Orchestra,
Southwestern Michigan College Orchestra, Goshen Community Chorus, Warsaw
Community Chorus and the Maple City Chamber Orchestra. He has performed
chamber music with the Lafayette Quartet and the Gaska String Quartet.
Martin has taught bass in his private studio and at Goshen College
for 10 years. He regularly attends summer double bass seminars and
is a member of the String Teachers Association and the International
Society of Bassists.
Voice
Sandra Hill, coloratura soprano, is a graduate of the University
of Texas at Austin with a Master of Music degree in vocal performance.
Sandra has performed on Wisconsin Public Radio’s Live from the
Elvehjem and has appeared in a variety of musical and operatic roles.
In 1997 she was chosen as an intern to participate in the National
Association of Teachers of Singing Internship Program at Pennsylvania
State University. Sandra also directed the Conservatory Choraliers,
a children’s choir which performed with a New York touring company
in Green Bay, Wisc. in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,
and at the White House in Washington D.C.
Jeffrey A. Manns is the Director of Music at the First Congregational
United Church of Christ in Angola, Indiana, and an adjunct professor
of voice at Goshen College. He is Artistic Director of the Fort Wayne
Männerchor/ Damenchor, Fort Wayne’s German chorus, founded
in 1869 and dedicated to preserving German choral singing in the
United States. While maintaining a full-time private voice studio,
Jeffrey is also in demand as a soloist and chorister, having sung
with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Muncie and Indianapolis symphonies,
Louisville Chamber Ensemble, and St. Louis and Columbus (Georgia)
symphony orchestras. Jeffrey lives in Fort Wayne with his wife Rebecca
and their two daughters, Savannah and Gabriella.
Faculty
presentations, publications, and performances