Performing Members
Lauren Ausubel
Flute Lauren has performed with numerous ensembles including Ensemble Alma, Ridotto Chamber Players, Femmes Four, Mosaic Trio, and Flutissimo! Ms. Ausubel is a founding member of Femmes Four, which gave their Carnegie Hall debut recital at Weill Hall as winners of the ArtistsInternational Competition. They also received a Residency Partnership Program Grant through Chamber Music America. Recently, Ms. Ausubel performed with famed guitarist Virginia Luque on the television series, The Heart of Art. She has performed at Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, The 92nd StreetY, Christ and St. Stephens Church, Queens College Contemporary Music Series and National Flute Association Conventions. Ms. Ausubel also co-directs the highly regarded Oyster Bay Music Festival, which will be entering its eighth season in July 2018. See www.oysterbaymusicfestival.com. Ms.Ausubel attended Juilliard Pre-College, and holds a B.M. and M.M. from Northwestern University.Learn more at www.laurenausubel.com. |
James Cohn
Composer & Arranger www.jamescohnmusic.InfoJames was born in 1928, in Newark, New Jersey. He attended the Juilliard School of Music in New York City graduating with two degrees in Composition. His Principal Instructor was Bernard Wagenaar. He has written solo, chamber, choral and orchestral works, and his catalog includes 4 string quartets, 6 piano sonatas and 9 symphonies. Some have won awards, including a Queen Elisabeth of Belgium Prize for his Symphony No. 2 (premiered in Brussels) and anA.I.D.E.M. prize for his Symphony No. 4 (premiered in Florence, Italy). Paul Paray and the Detroit Symphony introduced the composer’s Symphony No. 3 and “Variations on The Wayfaring Stranger", and his opera The Fall of the City won an Ohio University Opera Award. He has had many performances of his choral and chamber music, and world-wide use of his music commissioned for television and cinema. Mr. Cohn’s music is available on the XLNT Music label, The Naxos American Classics label and the MSR Music Classics label. Learn more at www.jamescohnmusic.Info. |
Hiroko Miyake Dutton
Piano Hiroko has performed extensively in Boston, New York City and Long Island as well as in Germany and Japan, and has made appearances on the WQXR radio“Listening Room”, NHK radio “Afternoon Recital”, and Fuji TV. She gave her formal New York debut in 1980 at Carnegie (Weill) Recital Hall which was critically acclaimed by Joseph Horowitz of The New York Times, describing her performance, "...sensitive, crisp, fiery and adroitly conveyed the music's ebb and flow." And, it was followed by many equally successful solo recitals at the same hall. She has a Master of Music Degree in piano performance from New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Ms. Miyake has studied piano with Ayako Asada, Max Egger, Jacob Maxin, and piano pedagogy with Russell Sherman. She was an adjunct faculty at the Queensborough Community College, CUNY, and presently an adjunct faculty at the Westchester Community College, SUNY, at Valhalla. Learn more at www.hirokomiyakedutton.com. |
Gene Keyes
Clarinet Gene was born and raised in New York City. He attended the Manhattan School of Music and received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Performance as well as a Master of Music in Music Education. He has worked as a professional musician in the New York area since the age of 15. As an orchestral clarinetist he has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonia, Westchester Philharmonia, New Jersey Symphony, Long Island Symphony and others. In addition, he has worked in the Broadway Musical theater, recording industry and in various commercial engagements in the greater New York area. |
Ron Meixsell
Bass Baritone In his early year, Ron was a successful clarinetist and saxophonist. He played in symphonies, concert bands, woodwind ensembles, Dixieland bands, jazz bands and even a polka band in his native Pennsylvania hometown area. He spent three years in Army Bands in Fort Dix, NJ, and Worms, Germany where he also conducted the army bands and choruses. He studied at Susquehanna University and Stony Brook University. He taught at Stony Brook University, Dowling College and Five Towns College. He is a sought after vocal soloist with Opera Companies including The New York Grand Opera, Opera on the Sound, Mondo Lyrico, with a performance in Alice Tully Hall, The Manhattan Opera. He has been a guest soloist with many orchestras including The Great Falls Symphony, Great Falls, Montana as well as numerous choral societies. He also became known for his specialty of German Lieder singing, including 5 solo recitals at The Bruono Walter Auditorium in Lincoln Center. Ron Studied with the renowned Soprano, Vivian Della Chiesa for twenty years. He is the recipient of a grant from The Sullivan Foundation, and a Fellowship from The Bach Aria Group. Ron owns a recording company M3Music. |
Julie Ann Meixsell
Soprano She studied music and drama at Adelphi University, American University, Washington International College, and at The Herbert Berghof Studio. She toured nationwide with a nine piece ensemble produced by Neil Diamond and recorded on Colombia Records. While living in Washington D.C. Julie Anne performed solo concerts in Georgetown, "Strether" by William Flanders, televised "Portraits in Motion" series at Smithsonian Institute, "Il Tramonto" by Respighi with The Long Island Quartet. She and her husband, Ron performed in duo concerts throughout the country. Julie Anne has her own solo album "Songs of Innocence - lullabies for us all." She is also recorded with her husband, Ron Meixsell, on "A Wish for Christmas Joy," and their newest CD "Ron and Julie Anne Meixsell Sing Songs from Great American Musicals.", and has been seen in The Thing About Men, The Light In the Piazza and Love Music. She has appeared numerously on television with Andrea Boccelli, The Irish Tenors, Sean Puffy Combs, the David Letterman Show, Bjork, U2, Sting, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra Jr, Cachao, Gloria Estefan, Meatloaf to name a few. She performed at Merkin Hall, Kennedy Center, Tanglewood Jazz Festival, DC Jazz Festival. |
Aglaia Savalas Messina
Piano Ms. Messina began her musical studies in Greece and private teaching. Ms. Messina is currently active playing chamber music concert and spent three years at the Athens Conservatory, where she studied with Aliki Vatikioti. She later received her Bachelor’s degree in music performance from Hofstra University under the tutelage of Morton Estrin. Ms. Messina has won several concert competitions, and as a result, performed with the Oceanside Symphony, the Hofstra Symphony and the Chamber Orchestra at the 92nd Street Y. She has performed in Europe and the United States, including concerts at the Jacksonville(Florida) Civic Auditorium, NYU, the Manhattan School of Music, WQXR, and in Carnegie Recital Hall, as well as in various libraries and churches on Long Island. Ms. Messina has worked in the past with the well-known pianist, Clive Lithgoe. She is a highly respected piano teacher in the Huntington area, as well as a much-sought-after accompanist. |
Paul Morin
Piano; Composer Paul is an award winning pianist, composer and artist. Paul has performed in United States and Ecuador. Recent performances include the Steinway Hall NYC, United Nations, Loewe Theater, Tenri Cultural Institute, and the Cultural House in Ecuador. Paul has worked on feature films, short films, and art videos. In 2011, he released his record, "Succession of images” and in 2017 he released the EP “Hope”. Paul’s art works have been displayed in several galleries in New York City: Logos, Spectrum NYC, Ward-Nasse Gallery, Art Bar. The New York. Press wrote in a recent article’ “Paul Morin takes visitors on a trip though time with music and sound.” Paul received a Master degree in Piano Performance from New York University and a Bachelor degree in Music from Stony Brook University. Paul's teachers include Martin Canin, Justin Dello Joio, Tina Dahl and Anita Gelber. For more information on Paul, visit his web page at www.paulbmorin.com. |
Hiroko Nakahara
Violin Hiroko has performed in recital and chamber music ensembles throughout the New York area, Japan and Europe, and has appeared as soloist with the Japan Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic and the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra. A native of Japan and a graduate of the Tokyo University of Fine Arts, Ms. Nakahara continued her studies in Boston, Munich and Switzerland under the tutelage of the noted violinist, Joseph Szigeti. An active teacher, performer, the judge for the competition, she has appeared at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Recital Hall with the Minnewaska Chamber Society and L'amore di Musica, to name just a few of her associations. |
Edmond Paul Nicodemi
Guitar; Composer Edmond obtained a Masters Degree in Classical Guitar Performance from New York University, and has given numerous concerts including Bargemusic, WBAI, QPTV, and Nuyorican Café. He has studied with Albert Valdes Blain, Julio Prol and Jerry Willard. Mr. Nicodemi cites his primary influences as the legendary Andres Segovia and folk artist, Bert Jansch. His CD “Brazilian Rosewood” as well as his other CD’s of original music can be found at www.cdbaby.com/all/nicodemi. Mr.Nicodemi’s music has been featured on Dateline NBC and History Channel. |
Carol Nicodemi
Mezzo Soprano Carol has been vocally trained in classical, jazz and broadway style, having sung, written and co-written numerous original songs, one of which was recorded by jazz pianist Kenny Barron. Classical training with Robert White and Ralph Wade. Carol honed her jazz skills with Lennie Tristano, Jackie Paris, Marian Cowings, Judy Niemack and currently Barry Harris. Her eclectic style has been showcased on WBAI Radio and in venues such as Small’s, Barnes and Noble, The Jazz Gallery and St. Peter’s Church. Carol regularly performs and records with her husband, Edmond Nicodemi, and their latest original children’s CD, “It Goes This Way”, has been selling briskly, available and in circulation at the Queens Public Library. |
Jeong-Hwa Park
Piano Jeong-Hwa has been actively teaching and performing as a soloist and chamber musician in South Korea and the United States. Ms. Park holds Master’s and Doctoral Degrees in piano performance from Arizona State University (ASU). She has appeared in many recital venues in New York and Long Island. Her recent chamber music performance for “Concerts on the Slope” in Brooklyn was broadcasted on WWFM. She has won numerous awards including first prize in The Joseph and Ida Klatzkin Contemporary Solo Keyboard Music Competition and the Arizona State University (ASU) Piano Concerto Competition, and a Special Presentation Award from Artists International Presentations. Her concerto performance with the ASU Symphony Orchestra was broadcasted on KBAQ, in Arizona. In addition, her major performances include a New York debut recital at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, recitals at Yamaha Hall in NY City, Old First Concert Series in San Francisco, Gammage Auditorium in Arizona, Museum of Arts in Arizona, London Piano Festival, and Master Works Festival at Houghton College, NY. In South Korea, she performed her solo recital at Dajeon Arts and Cultural Center and was invited by Buam Art Hall in Seoul to give a lecture recital. She also gave a performance at the College Music Society International Conference (2012) in Seoul as a collaborative pianist. Currently, Ms. Park is an adjunct faculty member at Nassau Community College; and serves on the piano faculty at Center for Preparatory Studies in Music at Queens College and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. |
Marsha Patelson
Cello Marsha received her BS from Mannes College of Music. She went on to receive her MS at Queens College in secondary education. She taught instrumental music in NYC public high schools for 31 years. Marsha freelances in orchestras and chamber music groups in and around the NYC area. She is also a photographer at QCC and runs a small photography business. |
Susan Rubner
Cello Susan is a member of the Hunt Trio and the Walden Ensemble and has performedwith the Long Island Baroque Ensemble, the Rochester Philharmonic, and the Suffolk, Huntington, and Long Island Symphonies. As a member of the Metropolitan String Quartet, she was heard on Robert Sherman’s Listening Room on WQXR. Ms. Rubner earned her Bachelor’s Degree at Indiana University where she studied with Fritz Magg and Janos Starker. Much in demand as a freelancer in the New York area, she also maintains a very active teaching studio. |
Betina Hershey Russo
Soprano Betina has played Isabel in "The Pirates of Penzance" and Fleta in "Iolanthe" at City Center with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. She has toured the country and the world as Meg in "Phantom of the Opera" and Anybodys in "West Side Story" and can be seen in the Julia Roberts movie "Mona Lisa Smile" and Disney's "Enchanted." Betina performed live on WFUV radio and at the Bottom Line. Betina currently runs a musical theater program for kids in Forest Hills (www.gardenplayers.com) and writes childrens musicals (www.bbbpress.com) with Denver Casado. |
Nick Russo
Guitar; Banjo; Composer In has performed at Carnegie Hall, The U.N., Lincoln Center, Blue Note, Birdland, Iridium Jazz Club, Joe’s Pub, Smoke Jazz Club, Zinc Bar, Smalls, Boom, Kavehaz, CBGBs, Japan, Omsk, Tomsk, Novasibersk, Akademgorodok (Academy City), Moscow, Brasil, St. Kitts, Barcelona, Bermuda Classical Guitar Festival, Essex's Hot Steamed Jazz Festival, Cape Cod Jazz Festival, Banff Center (Canada), Cannes Film Festival (2011 & 2012), Stockholm, Bermuda, Ashdod Jazz festival (Israel) & across the US. Nick Russo+11’s anniversary concert of “Ro” was featured in the Wall Street Journal, Time Out New York (August 2013). Nick Russo was quoted in Vanity Fair magazine (2013). Nick has worked with legendary organist, Jimmy McGriff, vibraphonist, Teddy Charles, bassist, Sony Dallas, saxophonist, Tim Berne, violinist, Jim Nolet, Tony Moreno, Mike Bisio, Frank Vignola, Joe Ascione, Vince Giordano & The Night Hawks, Grand St. Stompers, Mona's Hot Four, Garden Party, Raphael McGregor, Michael Arenella's Dreamland Orchestra, Victor Jones, J Walter Hawkes, Miles Griffith, David Pleasant, actor John Lithgow & many others. March 4th, 2014 Russo appeared, playing banjo on ABC’s TV show, “Good Morning America.” Just Jazz Guitar magazine interviewed Nick (published late 2014) as well as upcoming New York Times feature (2014). In August 2013, Russo's performance at Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin's place included Nick jamming duo with Paul McCartney on toy harmonic. |
Dorian Schwartz
Oboe Dorian, formerly an artist with The Lincoln Center Institute, has performed in concerts at Guild Hall, Parrish Art Museum, Hecksher Museum, colleges and cultural arts centers. He was the principal oboist with Opera on the Sound and is the music director and founder of the Poulenc Chamber Players. The Poulenc Chamber Players has received funding from the National Endowment, The New York State Council on the Arts, and the Huntington Arts Council. For over twenty-five years Mr. Schwartz has performed on the oboe, flute, recorder clarinet and saxophone and led ensembles for weddings and special occasions. He has played for several weddings at the home of Craig Claiborne of the New York Times. |
Sally Shorrock
Flute Sally teaches in the honors program at St. Joseph’s College as well as formerly serving as director of St. Joseph’s College Council for the Arts She has been on the faculty of the Long Island Conservatory as well. Ms. Shorrock also directs and founded the Northport Arts Coalition Do-Ing Music concert series. Her musical passion is focused on the publicly and privately supported Canta Libre Chamber Ensemble, which she founded and directs. Her musical appearances include The Music Festival of the Hamptons, Barge Music, Concerts at One at Trinity Church in Manhattan, Channel 21 Public Television and WLIU public radio, as well as appearances as soloist at Bard College, The New York Flute Club, The Illinois Philharmonic, Mannes College, and at Long Island University’s summer music festival at C.W. Post. She has Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy at Gettysburg College, a music degree at Stony Brook University and Master’s Degree in Performance from Purchase College Conservatory of Music. Her teachers include Samuel Baron, Carol Wincenc, Barli Nufent, Tara O’Conner, Judith Mendenhall and Trudy Kane. |
C. Winfield Swarr
Clarinet Mr. Swarr received both a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Music Performance from New England Conservatiry of Music in Boston. His pricipal teachers were Gino Cioffi and Harold Wright. Mr. Swarr attended the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood for three summers and performed under such legendry conductors as; Erich Leinsdolf, Max Rudolf, Leopord Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Richard Burgin and Gunther Shuller. Mr. Swarr has been a member of the United States Army Band in White House, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and was a participant in the Geneva International Clarinet Competition. He has also participated in clinics and done extensive solo recitals. |
Hannah Hsu Wang
Piano Hannah was born in Taiwan, and came to the United States in 1966. She obtained a B.M. degree from New England Conservatory of Music and a M.M. degree from Yale University. Her teachers include Lucille Monaghen, Ward DaVenny, Eugene List, Alexander Eydelman, Nina Lelchuk, Jan Gorbaty and Freda Rosenblatt. Ms. Wang has performed both as a soloist and as an accompanist at Merkin Hall, Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall as well as in Crystal Cathedral in Los Angeles, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Playhouse in Vancouver, National Recital Hall in Taipei, Town Hall in Vienna and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Japan. She has appeared with the Taipei Municipal Orchestra and has made a recording with the Bulgaria Symphony Orchestra. She has been on the faculty of Soochow University, National Taiwan Normal University and National Culture University. |
Jerene Weitman
Flute Jerene is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where she studied with John Thomas, Walfred Kujala, and Joseph Mariano. She received a Master of Arts in Humanities degree from Hofstra University. She has performed in solo recitals, with local symphony orchestras, and with the Prevailing Winds Woodwind Quintet, the Huntington Chamber Players, and the Hunt Trio. She is a founding member of Flutissimo! and is a member of the New York Flute Club and the National Flute Association. She is also a performing member of The Tuesday Morning Music Club of Douglaston. Ms. Weitman taught music for many years, first in South Huntington and later in the Cold Spring Harbor School District, where she was Director of Junior and Senior High Orchestras and District Coordinator of Music and Art. For several years, she served as Coordinator of Public Programs at the Heckscher Museum of Art. Ms. Weitman teaches flute in her studio in Centerport. |