Caitlin McConnell, cellist, began her studies at age nine. At fourteen she won the West Virginia State Strings Competition and was one of three cellists chosen for the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts in the first year she was eligible. Within a few months of studying with New York Soloist, Misha Quint, she played a scholarship-winning audition for Duquesne University. Ms. McConnell attended such prestigious festivals as the Soesterberg International Music Festival in Holland, the Sulzbach-Rosenberg International Music Festival in Germany, and Interharmony International Music Festival in The Berkshires, MA. Ms. McConnell performed in master classes with Ron Leonard, who holds the Piatigorsky Chair at the University of Southern California, and Sara Male of the Newstead Piano Trio. Her coaches included Sidney Harth, Anna Balakerskaya, Vitaly Leykin, Randy Kelly, Lynn Blakeslee, Leslie Amper, Olga Yanovich, Chris Wu, Ann Setzer, Mikhail Istomin, and Adam Liu. Ms. McConnell has won the following awards: Full Scholarship to Duquesne University’s Mary Pappert School of Music for their Masters program, a winner of the Tuesday Musical Club Scholarship Competition in May of 2008, winner of the Opus I Music Club Scholarship in April of 2008, and an Honorable Mention in the Music Teacher’s National Association Young Artists Competition in 2007. Ms. McConnell recently won the Pennsylvania, Regional, and National divisions of the National Federation of Music Clubs Student/Collegiate Competitions. She captured the Gladys W. Fisher Violoncello Award, the PFMC Award, and the Harvey Gaul Award recognizing artistic potential, Agnes Fowler/Marie V. Thiesen Award and the Lawrence Foster Violoncello Award and was featured in the NFMC special publication. Ms. McConnell is the founding member of the Fourth Muse Quartet, with whom she regularly performs, and is looking forward to upcoming performances at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in San Francisco and Germany.
Violinist Margaux Matz, Margaux Matz is currently pursuing her bachelor's degree in Violin Performance at Duquesne University, where she studies with Rachel and Charles Stegeman. Her previous teachers include Jennifer Madge, Alison Fujito, Patrick Rafferty, and Gerardo Rebeiro. Her chamber music coaches include Charles and Rachel Stegeman, Jason Posnock, Christopher Wu, David Salness, and Alan Bodman. Ms. Matz performs with the Duquesne Symphony Orchestra, Duquesne Contemporary Ensemble, and Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra. She attended the Brevard Summer Music Festival in 2007 and the Meadowmount School of Music in 2008. She was 1st prize winner of the Linda Beck scholarship and recipient of the John Phillip Sousa Award in 2006. Ms. Matz is a certified Suzuki violin teacher, having received training from Sonya Zeithamel at the Great Pittsburgh Suzuki Institute. She teaches both individually and in group settings at the Pittsburgh Music Academy in Carnegie, PA. She has served as the Orchestra Manager and Librarian for the Three Rivers Young Peoples' Orchestras.
Matthew Pickart, violinist, is currently a master's candidate in violin performance at the Duquesne University, Mary Pappert School of Music where he is first violinist of the Aberlin String Quartet and principal second violin of the Duquesne Symphony Orchestra. He is currently studying with world renowned violinist, Sidney Harth. Pickart's past violin teachers have included Tyrone Greive, Eugene Purdue, Alison Jewer, and Tom Moore. Pickart has performed in master classes for violinists Midori, Sherban Lupu, and Felicia Moye. Pickart has soloed with the UW-Madison All University Strings Orchestra, the Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra, and the Soesterberg Interharmony International Music Festival Orchestra in Holland. A native of Beloit, WI, Matt, began taking violin lessons at the age of three. He grew up playing in the Pickart family string quartet. While in high school he was a member of the Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Wisconsin State Honors Orchestra. Matt received his Bachelor's of Music Degree in violin performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was co-concertmaster of the UW Symphony Orchestra as well as concertmaster of the UW Contemporary Ensemble, and principal second violin of both the UW Symphony and UW Chamber Orchestras. While in Madison, he was coordinator and violinist of Lucido Felice String Quartet, which played over one hundred performances in Southern Wisconsin. Matt has served as an adjunct violin and chamber music instructor at Beloit College, and as a member of the violin faculty at UW Madison's Summer Music Clinic.
Violinist Dimitrinka Tuturilova, started playing violin at age four. She has performed in Bulgaria, Austria, Germany, Greece, Switzerland, Japan, US. Since her arrival in the United States, she performed with the Duquesne Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Concertmaster as well as with Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic, Spoleto Music Festival US, Erie Philharmonic, Sofia Philharmonic, and New Symphony Orchestra. She received a competitive Artist Diploma from Duquesne University and Bachelors at the National Music Academy P. Vladigerov (Sofia, Bulgaria) and studied with Evelina Arabadjieva. Miss Tuturilova currently studies with Christopher Wu, first violin in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She attended master classes with Ifrah Neaman, Kerork Mardirossian, Kevin Lawrence, and Maria Radicheva. Miss Tuturilova won International Competitions including 'Young Music Talents' (Sofia, Bulgaria), the Special Prize of the Strings Department (2002), and 'The Beach of Hope' (Albena, Bulgaria) 2nd prize and medal (1998). As a composer, Miss Tuturilova attended the World Harp Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, Authors Composition, was selected to present at Eastern European Music in 2002 and won 'The Music on the New Millennium' Prize 2000 in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1999. She also won the Special Prize for original ensemble (violin & harp) at 'Hopes, Talent, Masters' in Dobrich, Bulgaria in 2000.
Fabiola Pinheiro, pianist, has performed as recitalist and soloist in the U.S. and abroad. Performances have included solo recitals in Chicago, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, and Brazil, in venues such as the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, the José Lins do Rego Cultural Complex, and several universities. Ms Pinheiro is an alumna of Carnegie-Mellon University, having also participated in the Bowdoin and the Aspen music festivals as well as masterclasses held at Northwestern University. Ms Pinheiro has enjoyed chamber music and performance practices. A member of the honor societies of Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Beta Delta, Ms Pinheiro has been involved with many academic and pedagogical activities. She has an assistantship at Duquesne University. Other activities have included music in worship.
Samuel Lawson, guitarist, grew up in a musical home in Danville, Indiana. Samuel has been playing the guitar in many forms for 17 years, and has been teaching for the last 7 years in many styles to many age groups. He has received a master's degree in classical guitar performance from Butler University. Some other influences are Jesus Christ, Andres Segovia, Christopher Parkening, Julian Bream, Bret Terrel (Graduate Instructor), and Dave Morgan (a great mentor) to name a few. His musical styles and skills range from rock & jazz to classical & finger- style blues, and even to Spanish & sacred music. He has performed for various clubs, weddings and church bands, and was hired as a guitarist for Indianapolis area artists Shannon Campbell and Kate Dahlgren under producer Joseph Lamm, with whom he performed on WIBC Radio's morning show. He has also put out several CD’s and is writing all the time. He has worked as an instructor of guitar at Noblesville Music Center, at home, and at Fairview Music Studios. Samuel ministers with his wife, Rebekah Lawson, at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Sewickley and in Isaiah’s Cry as Co-Director, produced by Vessel7 Productions, as they share the word of the Lord.
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