| Nancy Albrink (Piano, Vocal Coach) Nancy Albrink 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 received the 2006 Gheens Music Mentor Award in March. Ms. Albrink has two children, Emily and Peter. Jessica Litwiniec Dorman (PIANO) 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. Margaret Jamner (Flute) For twelve years as flutist in The Louisville Orchestra, Margaret performed for the Louisville Ballet and the Kentucky Opera as well as on the orchestra’s regular Masterworks, Coffee Concert, SuperPops, NightLights, New Dimensions, Orkidstra, and the Roarchestra series. She has performed as a collaborative artist with The Kentucky Center Chamber Players, Ars Femina, the Louisville Consort, Concorde: The Chamber Music Society of Westport (in Connecticut), and at the East-West International Music Festival in Altenburg, Germany, where she taught flute and chamber music. Margaret has a Master of Arts degree in Music History and a Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance from the University of Louisville School of Music. She later studied in New York City with flutists Robert Dick, Michael Parloff (Metropolitan Opera) and Keith Underwood. She teaches flute at Indiana University Southeast and at The Academy of Music at St. Francis in the Fields. Edith Davis Tidwell (Voice) Edith Davis Tidwell is Professor of Voice and Coordinator Voice Study at the University of Louisville. She has had a very active performing career, having sung with orchestras and opera companies throughout North America and Great Britain. Ms. Davis Tidwell debuted with New York City Opera in 1985, as Liu in Turandot and enjoyed subsequent successes there as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, and in the title roles of Norma, Madama Butterfly, and Tosca. She had a long association as guest soloist with the Louisville Orchestra and with Kentucky Opera, where she sang over 20 roles. Ms. Davis Tidwell is an Oklahoma native and a graduate of the University of Louisville, having received both the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in vocal performance. She was named a University of Louisville Alumni Fellow in 1997. In 1998, the University awarded her the title of Distinguished Professor for Excellence in Teaching. |
Zack Coblens (Piano, Vocal Coach) Zack Coblens, a native of Louisville, was a pre-college piano student of Nancy Albrink. A graduate of Kentucky Country Day School, Zack continued his musical studies at Westminster Choir College and New York University before returning to Louisville. Zack is currently completing a degree in piano performance at the University of Louisville. Kristen Kinman (Piano) Kristen is a native of the Carolinas, came to Louisville as an undergraduate in 1996 in order to study with Lee Luvisi, Artist in Residence at the University of Louisville School of Music. Under his guidance and that of his assistant Nancy Albrink, Mrs. Kinman completed her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees summa cum laude in piano performance. Since its inception in 1997, Mrs. Kinman has been a member of the faculty at the Academy of Music at St. Francis in the Fields where she has taught piano, coached chamber music and conducted performance classes. When time permits, she enjoys opportunities to collaborate and perform with friends from the Louisville Orchestra as well as other local professionals. Mrs. Kinman is married to jazz saxophonist and pianist Aaron Kinman. They have two children, Klara and Caleb. 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 Campbellsville University, 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. Fernanda Trocan (Piano) Fernanda earned her doctorate in piano performance with a secondary area in choral conducting at the University of Minnesota. Her bachelor and masters degrees are from the University of Louisville where she studied with Artist in Residence Lee Luvisi. Fernanda has also attended the Aspen Music Festival and participated in a master class led by Alicia de la Rocha. 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 Minneapolis. She also taught college students while holding a Teaching Assistantship at the University of Minnesota. Tommy Cook (Guitar) Tommy 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. |
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