Matthay Festival 2012
Union University

Recitalists and Presenters





Lisa Caliri

has performed at the National Concert Hall in Taipei, the U.S. Embassy and Thai German Cultural Foundation Auditorium in Bangkok, the AUA Language Center in Chiangmai, the Cité Universitaire in Paris, Conservatorio Superior in Tenerife, Curs International Festival in Girona, Conservatory Professional de Musica in Vila-seca, and the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen. Philip Dieckow, critic for Pinault Reviews in New York City, described her performance at Weill Hall as “a splendid performance full of nuance and high contrast all within superb control.” She has been broadcast on the radio in Italy, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Romania, Canada, and the U.S. She has been an orchestral soloist with the Czech Radio Orchestra, the Medford String Orchestra, the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Brookline Symphony Orchestra. Jackie Wattenberg, critic for The Salem, Mass., Evening News, wrote that her solo with the Salem Philharmonic “demonstrated a confident command of her instrument," and "her technique was equal to the fast and tricky runs. Her phrasing was musical and her play of dynamics, a constant source of color. Caliri is a fine musician and we hope to hear her again.” Her chamber music performances have been sponsored by the American Music Center, the Harvard University Group For New Music, “Nightshift,” a Children's Special for WCVB-TV, channel 5 in Boston, and broadcast on WGBH and WCRB. Lisa Caliri has recorded for Albany Records, and Centorino Productions, SAI Recording Project, and will record Birds, Books 1 and 2 by Seymour Bernstein on Naxos later this year. Miss Caliri was a top prize winner of the Clara Wells Piano Competition, Pinault International Piano Competition, and the Crescendo Competition for Young Artists. She was a recipient of the Yamaha Center Européen d'Activitiés Scholarship in Paris and the Museum of Fine Arts Performance Certificate in Boston. Miss Caliri taught master classes at the Siam Kolkarn School of Music and Kitathip Music School. She is a member of the faculty at The Boston Conservatory and the board of directors for the American Matthay Association for Piano.

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Kevin Chance

has been hailed as “a superlative musician” playing “with musical conviction and muscularity.” He has performed throughout the United States and abroad as both soloist and collaborator. In 2003, he was invited to the Lake District Summer Music Festival in England where he was featured on both of the festival’s gala performances. Recent engagements include performances at Carnegie Hall, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Athens Chorale in Georgia as well as the Baton Rouge Symphony, a recital at the Des Moines Symphony Academy in Iowa, and concerts for the Mobile Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, the University of Texas at Brownsville, the University of South Carolina, Columbus State University, Auburn University, Millsaps College, the University of North Dakota, and the University of Alabama. He has been a prizewinner of several regional and national competitions including the National Society of Arts and Letters Career Awards Competition, Music Teachers National Association Competitions, and the Brevard Music Center Concerto Competition. Recently appointed to the faculty of the University of Alabama, Kevin is a former faculty member at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, and his students have consistently garnered awards in local, state, regional, and national competitions. He is also in demand as a clinician and regularly presents lectures and masterclasses throughout the Southeast. He holds the DMA degree in Piano Performance from the Eastman School of Music, where he was awarded the Jerald C. Graue Award for Excellence in Musicology, and he completed the MM at Louisiana State University. His teachers include Barry Snyder, Constance Knox Carroll, Anne Koscielny, Herbert Stessin, and Ann Schein.

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Nigel Coxe

is a Jamaican-born, British-trained pianist living in the U. S. A Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied with Harold Craxton, he has also served as a professor at the Academy. He is currently professor of music at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and he combines his teaching with an active schedule of recitals and lecturing. He has performed widely in Europe, Great Britain, and America. He has appeared as soloist with the London Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Hallé Orchestra, and many others. He has also given recitals for the Australian Broadcasting Commission in Sydney and has made numerous solo and concerto appearances for the BBC London. The New York Times has written, "He goes to the heart of his music in modestly straightforward fashion, leading from expressive strength and shunning any sort of virtuoso exaggerations." The Times (London) has called him "a musician's pianist to the core." Mr. Coxe has made two very well-received CDs, both available on the Titanic label: Music of Percy Grainger and Showstoppers, a disc featuring the music of Gershwin, Grainger, and Eubie Blake. Both have received worldwide critical acclaim. Recently he was also a member of the International Jury for the Concours de Musique du Canada in Montreal.

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Marie Hasse

holds a Bachelor of Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Central Florida, where she studied with Gary Wolf. She is Head of Keyboard Studies at Polk Community College and she also teaches privately in the Winter Haven Area. She is currently the President of the Bach Festival of Central Florida, a past president of the Florida State Music Teachers Association, and she frequently adjudicates for FSMTA student events. As Southeastern Regional Junior Festivals Chairman, she is also active in the student events of the Florida Federation of Music Clubs. Ms. Hasse is presently serving as Secretary for the American Matthay Association for the second time and has frequently lectured at the AMA's annual festivals. She performs in chamber music recitals in the area and lectures on piano pedagogy. In recent years, she has worked extensively to publicize the contributions of Helen Parker Ford, a Matthay pupil who specialized in teaching his principles to younger children. Ms. Hasse is also the organist for First Presbyterian Church in Haines City.




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Ann Holler

earned a B. A. in Mathematics from King College and a B. A. in Music (Piano Performance) from Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, Virginia, where she studied with Kenneth Huber. She also holds an M. M. in Music Theory from the University of Tennessee. In her own compositions she draws upon her previous studies in piano, voice, organ, theory, and mathematics to create new music. Her music has been performed locally and in the British Isles. The Appalachian Music Teachers Association named her Composer of the Year in May 2004. Two compositions were performed in "Artistic Reflections," a multi-media program held at First Presbyterian Church in Bristol in February 2004. This performance was featured in the May/June 2004 issue of Soundingboard, the journal of the American Composers Forum. In this program, pianist Jane Morison played the piano solo "Dreamshape" while the audience viewed two paintings by artist Dee Sproll. During the sanctuary choir's performance of "Exultation and Immortality," five paintings by Clara Thomas were shown to the audience. Commissioned by the sanctuary choir of First Presbyterian Church, this work is a setting of five poems of Emily Dickinson. In May and June 2004, the choir sang this work at Iona Abbey, Sterling Castle, and St. Giles Cathedral in Scotland, and also in York, England. Ann holds permanent certification in voice, piano, and theory, granted by the Tennessee Music Teachers Association. She frequently judges at piano auditions. She has written for the American Music Teacher and the Tennessee Music Teacher and is the co-author of the Tennessee Music Teachers Association Written Theory Tests, used throughout the state of Tennessee. She has been listed in Who's Who of American Women and Who's Who Among American Teachers.

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Terry McRoberts

is the current President of the American Matthay Association for Piano. A former editor of the Matthay News, McRoberts wrote an article about Matthay for Clavíer Companion, and gave a presentation on Matthay principles for the national conference of Music Teachers National Association. He has served Tennessee Music Teachers Association as president and editor of Tennessee Music Teacher, contributed reviews of new music for Piano Guild Notes, and currently is president of the Southern Chapter of the College Music Society. He is University Professor of Music at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, where he teaches private piano and related courses, and is coordinator of keyboard studies and of concerts and recitals. A former governor of Province 15 for Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, he is faculty advisor to the Iota Sigma Chapter. He performs frequently as a soloist and a collaborative musician and with the Jackson Symphony Orchestra. He has made numerous presentations for the American Matthay Association for Piano, the Southern Chapter of the College Music Society, and various music teacher groups, as well as in China, Japan, Brazil, and Haiti. A church organist for over twenty-five years, he currently plays at First United Methodist Church in Jackson, Tennessee.


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Lynn Rice-See

has appeared as recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician in the United States and in Europe. She has appeared three times with the Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra in Ostrava, Czech Republic. In the United States she made her Carnegie Recital Hall debut in 1982, and since then she has appeared as soloist with the Gulf Coast Symphony, the Huntsville Symphony, the Johnson City Symphony, and the Kingsport Symphony. In 1992, she appeared in recital in Brussels, sponsored by the Ministere de la Communauté Français, and her 1993 recital tour of Germany was sponsored by the German-American Institute in Saarbrücken. She was a member of the Tennessee Arts Commission touring roster from 1991 through 1994. She holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Walter Hautzig, the Master of Music from the Juilliard School where she studied with Beveridge Webster, and the Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Southern California, where she studied with John Perry. Currently she coaches with Walter Hautzig and Sheila Paige. She is currently Professor of Piano at East Tennessee State University. She is also a member of the faculties of the Adamant Music School in Vermont and the Piano Wellness Seminar. Prior to coming to ETSU, she worked as an opera coach/assistant conductor at the opera houses of Münster and Essen, Germany as well as at Michigan Opera and Dayton Opera in the United States. She has also taught at the Manhattan School of Music in New York and at William Carey College. In celebration of the Tennessee Bicentennial she and mezzo-soprano Sharon Mabry issued a compact disc (on the Heartdance label) of works by Tennessee composers. This disc contains world premiere recordings of works for solo piano and mezzo-soprano and piano by Kenton Coe of Johnson City, Michael Alec Rose of Nashville, Jeffrey Wood of Clarksville, and Michael Linton of Murfreesboro. The song cycle by Kenton Coe, A Family Gathering, was commissioned by Rice-See and Mabry and received its world premiere at ETSU in 1998.


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Ann Sears

is a former President of the American Matthay Association. She also serves as Professor of Music and Director of Performance at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, where she teaches piano and courses in European and American music, including African-American music and American musical theater. She holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music, Arizona State University, and The Catholic University of America, where her doctoral dissertation was about American art song in turn-of-the-century Boston. She is well-known for her performances and publications in American music, and has presented papers and lecture recitals at national meetings of the Sonneck Society for American Music, the College Music Society, and the American Matthay Association. Concert appearances include the Badia di Cava Music Festival in Italy, the Master Musicians Festival in Kentucky, the Sumner School Museum and St. Patrick's in the City in Washington, D.C., the Gardner Museum and the French Library in Boston, and various schools and universities in the United States. Her research interests are American art song, the concert tradition in African American music, and American opera and musical theater. A compact disc, Deep River: The Art Songs and Spirituals of Harry T. Burleigh, in collaboration with Oral Moses, bass, originally on Northeastern Records, has been reissued by Albany Records; and a new disc, Fi-yer! A Hundred Years of African-American Song, with tenor William Brown, was recently released by Albany. She is currently review editor of the College Music Society journal Symposium and membership secretary of the American Liszt Society.


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Stephen Siek

is a past President of the American Matthay Association. His biography of Matthay, England's Piano Sage: The Life and Teachings of Tobias Matthay, was published by Scarecrow Press in December of 2011. He has studied with Stewart Gordon, Donald Hageman, Frank Mannheimer, and Denise Lassimonne. He has concertized extensively throughout North America and in 1986 he performed the 24 preludes of Rachmaninoff in New York's Lincoln Center. He made his London debut in 1988. His numerous articles have appeared in such journals as the American Music Teacher and the Piano Quarterly, and in the summer 1993 issue of American Music he presented new research concerning musical figures active in post-Revolutionary Philadelphia. He is also a contributor to the second edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, and other recent articles include pieces for the American Musical Instrument Society Journal and Symposium, the journal of the College Music Society. His recording of The Philadelphia Sonatas of Alexander Reinagle (c.1750-1809) was released on the Titanic label in 1998. Siek's interests have also extended to other areas of American history and culture, and he has published and lectured widely on the earlier work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He holds the B. Mus. and the M. Mus. degrees from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. from the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati. He currently serves on the faculty of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.


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Dan Franklin Smith,

who resides in New York City, recently returned from Germany where he performed in, among other venues, Kurt Weill Zentrum in Dessau and the Lucas Cranach Hof in Wittenberg. As a solo recitalist, he made his European debut at Mariefred Kyrkan in Sweden in 1997, where he received a standing ovation and was hailed by the reviewer as "unequivocally one of the most brilliant pianists I have had the pleasure of hearing and reviewing!" Mr. Smith's debut recording of the Kurt Atterberg Concerto (a premiere recording) was released in September. He offered this work for his Swedish orchestral debut in October of 1998, with Maestro Arne Johansson conducting the Sofia Orchestra. Svenska Dagbladet described his performance as marked by a "sensitive ear, strong sense of style and fine musicianship . . . more than anyone could wish for." The performance, the concerto, and Mr. Smith were featured on SVT's Musikspegeln, which was broadcast throughout Sweden soon afterwards. Other European engagements have included Oslo and Paris. His 1999-2000 schedule features orchestral appearances in England with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta and with the Sofia Orchestra in Stockholm, in addition to recitals in London, Stockholm and Leipzig. In the United States he has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician and vocal accompanist at such venues as the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Cleveland Museum's Distinguished Artist Series, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. In the 1999-2000 season he will perform solo recitals in Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York. This fall he will also perform the Robert Schumann Piano Concerto with Maestro Jean-Pierre Schmitt and the Lawyers Orchestra in NYC. Mr. Smith's work as a solo artist has been described as "breathtakingly beautiful . . . . The dazzling, agile finger work left the audience in utter awe of Smith's technical skill and beauty of tone . . . . His quiet sincere and straight forward manner relies on an economy of movement and energy which allows him introspection into the core of the music."

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Raymond Songayllo

earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in piano from Northwestern University. He studied at Aspen, in New York with Alexander Uninsky and Grant Johannesen, and in Boston with Alexander Borovsky. He has performed throughout the U.S. and has appeared twice at Carnegie Recital Hall. As a composer, he has had works presented in various venues, college and university events, festivals and conferences, and in Fontainebleau, working in composition at the Conservatoire Americaine. He won the Keyboard Category Award at the Delius Competition at Jacksonville University in 1976, 1992, and 1993. He has received grants from both the Minnesota Composers Forum and Meet the Composer. After 27 years of college/university teaching, he is currently performing, lecturing, composing, and adjudicating. In June of 1990, he made his European debut with two solo recitals in Geneva under the auspices of Concerts Atlantique of New York. Mr. Songayllo is a founding member of the Iowa Composers Forum, and was the recipient of the 1993 Pyle Commission for his Piano Quintet. In the summer of 1994 he was one of 18 pianists at the French Piano Institute in Paris, appearing in recital at the Salle Cortot. In June 1995 he performed a lecture/recital at the College Music Society International Conference in Berlin. In July of 1996 he again performed at the Salle Cortot, and also premiered a new composition, Hommage à Fauré, in the Salle Munch of the École Normale. In the 1996-97 season, Mr. Songayllo has appeared as soloist and composer in various venues, including, again, at the College Music Society Conference in Vienna. His compositions include works for solo piano, harpsichord, piano with instrumental combinations, songs, orchestral compositions. His style is eclectic, employing both tonal and non-tonal styles.

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Christopher Thompson

serves as Associate Professor of Music at Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, where he has taught since 1998. At Williams, he teaches all of the music theory and aural skills courses as well as music fundamentals, music appreciation, applied piano, and composition. He currently serves as president of the Delta Music Teachers Association of northeast Arkansas and president of the Schubert Music Club (affiliated with the Arkansas Federation of Music Clubs). With the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association (ASMTA), he currently serves as an elected board member, chair of the student composition competition, and co-chair of state auditions. In 2010 he was named Arkansas Music Teacher of the Year by ASMTA, and in 2011 he received certification as a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music by the Music Teachers National Association. From 2009-2011, Dr. Thompson served as president of the south central chapter (Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas) of the College Music Society. He received a B.M. in piano from the University of Kansas, an M.A. in music from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, and a Ph.D. in music theory from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His principal piano teachers are Patricia M. Thompson, Karen Halverhout, Richard Reber, Richard Angeletti, John McIntyre, Carroll Chilton, and Howard Karp.



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Elizabeth Vandevander

received her B.S. degree in music education from Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, and her M.A. from Goddard College in Vermont She has worked extensively with Donald Hageman, who introduced her to the Matthay principles. She has served as Archivist for the American Matthay Association and from 1987 to 2002, as the Editor of the Matthay News. She presently serves as Secretary to the AMA. Mrs. Vandevander has performed for concert series at the Dayton (Ohio) Art Institute, the Dayton Music Club, the Sigma Alpha Iota women's professional music sorority, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Dayton, and First Church in Belfast, Maine. She has also played on the Shiloh Church Concert Series in Dayton. Presently she is a member of the piano faculty at the University of Dayton, and she also maintains a thriving piano studio in Dayton.





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David Watkins

is a concert pianist, teacher and a member of the piano faculty at Kennesaw State University. Mr. Watkins made his solo recital debut in New York at Carnegie Recital Hall in May 1986. His students have received recognition on state, national and international levels. Mr. Watkins has released three commercial recordings on the ACA Digital label. He has also served on the summer artist faculty of the Eastern Music Festival Mr. Watkins is certified as a master teacher by the Music Teachers National Association. He was President of the American Matthay Association 1994-1998, and was president of Georgia Music Teachers Association from 1994-1996. Mr. Watkins is an international Steinway Artist. Mr. Watkins is active as a solo recitalist, concerto soloist and collaborative performer with an unusually varied repertoire at his command. He has performed on the national convention programs of the Music Teachers National Association (Little Rock, Nashville, Salt Lake City), the American Matthay Association (Dayton Art Institute, San Jose State University, Penn State University), the American Liszt Society, the College Music Society (St. Louis, Toronto). and the International Conference on the Arts and Humanities in Honolulu. He has performed with the Atlanta Virtuosi Chamber Ensemble in and around his home base of Atlanta and has made appearances with them in such prestigious places as the University of Mexico and the North American Cultural Institute in Mexico City. He has appeared as concerto soloist with many regional orchestras, including the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, Cobb Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Wind Symphony and DeKalb Symphony Orchestra. He has performed solo recitals throughout the United States, from California to Massachusetts, under the auspices of many colleges, universities and community concert series. He also performed regularly with ‘cellist Roger Drinkall; the duo toured throughout the Midwest and South under the auspices of Allied Concert Services. Mr. Watkins has accompanied Metropolitan Opera sopranos Irene Jordan, Linda Zoghby and Patricia Craig in recital.


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