| Emily Albrink (Voice) Hailed by the New York Times as “delightful and vocally strong and versatile,” Emily Albrink is a soprano whose young career already sports collaborations with artists such as James Levine, Robert Spano, Jake Heggie, and Dawn Upshaw. In 2010 she began the season with her Kentucky Opera debut as Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore, returned to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, conducted by Marin Alsop, and made her Alice Tully Hall debut singing Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas. Ms. Albrink is a 2010 alumna of the Doming-Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera where performances included Frasquita in Carmen, Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos, and both Barbarina and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. Noted past performances include Nuria in Ainadamar with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall, soprano soloist in Brahms’ Requiem in Beijing and Shanghai, China, and Despina in Cosi fan Tutte, conducted by Levine. Nancy Albrink (Piano, Vocal Coach) Nancy holds a Bachelor of Music in piano performance from Georgia State University in Atlanta where her teachers were Betty Anne Diaz and William Masselos. After a summer of study with Lee Luvisi at the Aspen Music Festival, Ms. Albrink came to Louisville as a student of Mr. Luvisi, artist-in-residence at the University of Louisville School of Music. She completed her Master of Music degree in piano performance in 1977. Since graduation, Ms. Albrink has been in demand as a teacher, developing students known for the quality of their playing, many of whom have been winners of numerous local, state, and regional competitions. In 1988, she became Lee Luvisi’s teaching assistant at the University of Louisville, a position held until Mr. Luvisi’s retirement in 2002. Ms. Albrink was a founding member of the Ceruti Chamber Players, a performing chamber ensemble with musicians from the Louisville Orchestra and received a Kentucky Foundation for Women grant to support her work with that group. In 1997, she founded the Academy of Music at St. Francis in the Fields and serves as its Artistic Director. She is the recipient of the 2006 Gheens Music Mentor Award. Ms. Albrink has two children, Emily and Peter. Tommy Cook (Guitar) Tommy Cook received a Bachelor of Music Performance from the University of Louisville in 2004. Under the Instruction of Daniel Boring, he studied classical guitar, as well as the lute and theorbo. Like most guitarists, Tommy has performed with a wide variety of bands and ensembles, with styles including rock, funk, blues, jazz, praise and worship, musical theater, and Irish folk music. His latest project is Small Talking Thieves, an up-and-coming band based in Lexington. Today, Tommy teaches guitar for the Academy of Music at St. Francis and resides in Louisville, with his wife Katie, who teaches elementary music. Jessica Litwiniec Dorman (Piano, Vocal Coach) Jessica is a native of Calera, Alabama, holds a Master of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Alabama where she studied piano with Amanda Penick. Jessica also holds a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from Samford University where she studied piano with Dr. Betty Sue Shepherd. She has participated in Masterclasses with such artists as Ann Schein, Claude Franck, and Leon Fleisher, and has received coaching from John Perry and Yakov Kasman, among others. Jessica has also been a winner in numerous piano competitions; most recently, she was the Graduate Division winner of the Alabama Music Teachers Association piano competition. Since moving to Kentucky, Jessica has been a Kentucky Opera Young Artist pianist, as well as an active accompanist in the Louisville area. She has also been very involved with Floyd Central High School’s musical theater program, serving as Musical Director for their production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and rehearsal and pit pianist for their other recent productions. Most recently, Jessica has performed as concerto soloist with the Indiana University Southeast orchestra, and has been elected to serve as secretary for both the Greater Louisville Music Teachers Association and the Kentucky Music Teachers Association for 2010-2012. |
Susan Laurence Hadden(Piano) Susan enjoys a multi-faceted musical career as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and teacher. She holds her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in piano performance from the University of South Florida where she graduated with high honors. As a child she studied with Jung Ja Kim who encouraged her to attend high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy. Miss Laurence was selected as a scholarship recipient to attend Pianofest in the Hamptons, a festival founded by Paul Schenly and Sergei Babayan of the Cleveland School of Music. She was also chosen to perform a benefit concert with Juilliard’s chair of the piano department, Jerome Lowenthal. Miss Laurence has participated in Master Classes with Andre Watts, Awadagin Pratt, and Rebecca Penneys and has received training from Anthony di Boneventura, Anita Pontremoli, and Svetozar Ivanov. In 2007, she was named the North American Winner in the adult piano division and awarded a monetary prize for a recorded performance of “Etincelles” by Moskowsky, that she submitted to the Kawai Piano CD Recording Competition. Ms. Hadden has had extensive teaching experience and is grateful to be on the faculty at The Academy of Music at St. Francis and a part of the arts community in Louisville. Susan’s husband, Tommy, is a native of Kentucky. They recently had their first child, Kiera Noelle. Peter McHugh (Violin) After being on the faculty of the University of Louisville School of Music for 39 years, Mr. McHugh retired in May, 2005, and was honored by being appointed Distinguished Professor Emeritus. He continues to be extremely active not only as a teacher where he continues to teach for The Academy of Music at St. Francis, but as a violinist. For many years he was violinist with The McHugh-Oliphant Duo, The Louisville String Quartet, the Kentucky Center Chamber Players and the Faculty Chamber Artist. He has been concertmaster and soloist with the Louisville Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, Louisville Bach Society Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, and the Oklahoma Symphony. He has also played with the Dallas Symphony, World Symphony, the Santa Fe Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New Century Chamber Orchestra and the famous Casals Festival Orchestra in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mr. McHugh has performed under such notable conductors as George Szell, Charles Munch, Rafael Kubelik, Zubin Mehta, Mistislav Rostropovich, Rafael Frebeck de Burgos, Sixten Ehling, and Igor Stravinsky, and has played with such artists as Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Arthur Rubinstein, Leonard Rose, and Claudio Arrau. Mr. McHugh has recorded for RCA, New Albion Records, and the Louisville First Edition Recordings. Lenore Boudreau Schmidt (Piano) Lenore holds the Ph.D. in Music Education from Florida State University, where she studied piano with Carolyn Bridger. Lenore was a pre-college piano student of composer John Lessard (Stony Brook University) and Kyrienna Siloti (New York City). Her Master of Music degree is from The University of Michigan, where she studied with Marian Owen and Eugene Bossart. Lenore achieved the Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Ithaca College, New York and later returned to join the School of Music faculty where she was awarded tenure. Her higher education teaching career includes faculty appointments at: The University of Virginia, Charlottesville; Meredith College, Raleigh, North Carolina; Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee; and the University of Memphis. Dr. Schmidt also served as Dean of Faculty and Students at the Westchester Conservatory of Music, White Plains, New York. She was recently the Program Coordinator of the Master in Teaching degree program at Washington State University. In 2007, she received the Washington State University Student Choice Award for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Schmidt has been elected to serve as President of the Greater Louisville Music Teachers Association for 2010-2012. In 2011, Dr. Schmidt was awarded the Masters Certificate in Piano from the Kentucky Music Teachers Association. Fernanda Trocan (Piano) Fernanda obtained her doctorate in piano performance at the University of Minnesota, where she studied with pianist Lydia Artymiw. As an integral part of her DMA, she also had the opportunity to study choral conducting. Her bachelor and masters degrees are from the University of Louisville where she studied with Lee Luivisi. Fernanda has attended the Aspen Music Festival and participated in a master class led by Alicia de la Rocha. She has performed with the Ecuador National Symphony and given recitals both in Ecuador and in the U.S. Her teaching experience includes teaching children and adults at the Studios of Wendy Kitts in Louisville and at the St. Joseph Academy of Music in Minnesota. She also taught college students while holding a Teaching Assistantship at the University of Minnesota. Fernanda has been teaching at the Academy of Music at St. Francis in the Fields since 2007. |
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