Artist BiosBruce Ewing
Bruce Ewing, a native of Suffern, NY, and a graduate of the Hartt School of Music, Hartford, CT, is presently appearing in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “PHANTOM: The Las Vegas Spectacular” at the Venetian Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. (Monsieur Reyer / Piangi u.s.). Before Phantom, Bruce appeared as Jinx in “Forever Plaid” at the Las Vegas Gold Coast Hotel & Casino, as well as 4 years as Jinx & Sparky in “Forever Plaid” at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. For 14 years before Vegas, Bruce worked all over the county in musical theater, with credits including national tours of “Forever Plaid” (Jinx/Frankie Sparky), "City of Angels" (Jimmy Powers), "Grand Hotel" (Erik and understudy for the Baron), and "Ziegfeld: A Night at the Follies" (production tenor). Bruce performs on 3 solo CDs, "Tonight at Eight: Songs from Broadway," “Give Me Jesus”, and his Christmas Album, "Remembering To Dream", all musical directed and accompanied by Joey Singer. You can also hear Bruce on the 15th Anniversary CD of “Forever Plaid”, singing the role of Jinx. Along with sister-in-law Kate Ewing, Bruce teaches voice lessons through their Las Vegas Studio, Ewing Vocal Associates (www.EwingVocalAssociates.com) Bruce's greatest joy in life is being able to sing!
Matt Newman
Matt Newman, a native of Missouri, has lived in Arkansas for the past fifteen years. He moved to Arkansas to attend college, since then he has appeared as a featured soloist for many central Arkansas churches, and choral ensembles. Mr. Newman has been a regularly featured soloist with the Abilene Philharmonic, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and the Arkansas Chamber Singers. His repertoire includes: Bach’s Magnificat , Handel’s Messiah , Mozart’s Requiem , Rossini’s Il Barbiere Di Siviglia , and Puccini’s La Boheme , and Gianni Schicchi.
Mark and Lauren Puckett Mark and Lauren Puckett have performed two-piano and four-hand programs together for more than a decade. Their performances have taken them to various places in the United States and to Germany. In conjunction with the Chopin Tour Series, they were invited to perform Variations in D major, a rarely-heard work by Fréderic Chopin, in Dresden, Germany. They have also performed and lectured together at the Texas Music Teachers Association State Convention. They have recorded a CD of two-piano and four-hand repertoire by Dmitri Shostakovich, Darius Milhaud, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel and Witold Lutoslawski. In 2005, they were guest soloists with the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Frances Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra. Together they founded Abilene Summer Piano Camp which attracts talented young piano students from Texas and surrounding states and is held on the campus of Hardin-Simmons University where they are both members of the piano faculty. Lauren Puckett is a graduate of The Eastman School of Music where she received a degree in Piano Performance with Maria Luisa Faini, and Cleveland State University where she studied with pianist, Andrius Kuprevicius and harpsichordist, Janina Kuzma. Prior to her appointment at Hardin-Simmons University, she was active as a pianist and teacher in Cleveland, Ohio and Miami, Florida. She has taught at The Cleveland Music School Settlement, Cuyahoga Community College, Notre Dame College and The North Miami Conservatory of Fine Arts. She has performed extensively including appearances at The University of the Philippines, The Cleveland Institute of Art, Blossom Music Center and Willoughby School of Fine Arts. She has a love of jazz which she shares with her father, Cleveland jazz pianist and scholar, Joe Howard, and has presented symposiums on improvisation to music teachers’ organizations and college groups. She frequently collaborates with other musicians and co-produced a CD of piano music performed by her husband. Lauren Puckett is currently Associate Professor of Piano at Hardin-Simmons University where she teaches piano and piano pedagogy. She is an active member of Abilene Music Teachers Association, a nationally certified member of Music Teachers National Association and was awarded “2008 Teacher of the Year” by AMTA.
Dr. Mark Puckett is Professor of Piano and Artist-in-Residence at Hardin-Simmons University. He has been the J. Donald Feagin Visiting Artist at the University of Tulsa, and was invited to teach at the Bösendorfer International Piano Academy in Vienna, Austria in the summer of 2008. Dr. Puckett has performed as soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Canada, Europe, Central America, and Asia. Conductors with whom he has worked include David Itkin, Shinik Hahm, Robert Cronquist, Guy Frazier Harrison, and Ray Luke. Past performances with the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra include Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini and Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor. He has won prizes in several international piano competitions including the 1990 New Orleans International Piano Competition, and is also a respected clinician and adjudicator of piano competitions. He received his Bachelor of Music degree at Oklahoma City University where he studied with Dr. Clarence Burg and Ernestine Scott. He then attended the University of Kansas and completed his masters and doctoral degrees in piano with Sequeira Costa, Leon Fleisher, Menahem Pressler and Claude Frank. He has recorded a CD of Fréderic Chopin’s Op. 10 Etudes, Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit and Franz Liszt’s ‘La campanella’. Alison Read Dallas-based harpist, Alison Read, began playing professionally at the age of fourteen. She has performed with most of the orchestras in the Metroplex and surrounding areas, including the Dallas, Ft. Worth, Richardson, Sherman, and Shreveport Symphony Orchestras. She has been Principal Harp for the Abilene Philharmonic since 1998 and for the Abilene Opera since 2004. She also plays Principal Harp for the Garland and Las Colinas Symphony Orchestras, and Symphony Arlington. She has performed at the New Hampshire Music Festival and is currently Principal Harpist for the Utah Festival Opera. In 2001, Ms. Read made her Carnegie Hall debut as a guest of the Richmond Harp Ensemble. She made her European debut in 1998, when she performed as a soloist with the Varna Philharmonic in Varna, Bulgaria. She has been heard as half of a harp and organ duo on the nationally-broadcast radio program Pipedreams. Ms. Read was the only non-organist on a program of up and coming “twenty-something” organists. Much in demand as a chamber musician, Ms. Read has appeared with a wide variety of instrumentalists and ensembles in the Metroplex, including Camerata Winds and the Arts District Chorale. She performs as a member of Texas Winds Musical Outreach. She often appears as a guest artist in recitals, including at Mt. Vernon Music, Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas A&M at Commerce, Brookhaven College, and Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches. In addition, Ms. Read is a member of Octavia, North Texas’ only eight-member harp ensemble. Her teachers have included Susan Dederich-Pejovich of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Alice Chalifoux, harpist emerita of the Cleveland Orchestra. In high school, Ms. Read was invited to study at the prestigious Salzedo Harp Colony in Camden, Maine. She then studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio, where she was awarded the Bachelor of Music in Harp Performance and Music History. She earned the Master of Music in Harp Performance at Southern Methodist University. In 1998, Ms. Read established a studio in Dallas to teach harp lessons privately to students of all ages. In 1999, she founded and directed the harp department at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas where she taught both in the Preparatory Department and at the university level until 2006. She now directs harp programs in both Arlington and Garland Independent School Districts. She also teaches at the Abilene Summer Music Festival at Hardin-Simmons University.
Mary Ann Robinson Mary Ann Robinson has performed as a soloist with symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles across the United States, singing a wide variety of repertoire. This list includes the Tacoma Symphony, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Arkansas Chamber Singers, the Abilene Philharmonic, the River City Men’s Chorus and the Rapides Symphony Orchestra. She was invited to sing the National Anthem for the Seven Living Governors of Arkansas, including President Bill Clinton. She also sang the National Anthem at the Pyramid in Memphis before a Boston Celtics game with the Memphis Grizzlies. As proof of her diversity as an artist, Ms. Robinson has premiered several new works by American composers, and enjoys singing oratorio and chamber music as much as broadway music and her one-woman cabaret shows. Ms. Robinson lives in Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband, Tom and two children, Hannah and Sam. Giora Schmidt Hailed by critics for recalling "...Perlman in his prime" (The Miami Herald), violinist Giora Schmidt is quickly establishing himself as a virtuoso of the grand tradition - with a distinctive sound. His performances are illuminated by a richness of color and effortless technique making Giora one of the most commanding young artists on the stage today. He has appeared with numerous symphony orchestras across North America including, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, New Jersey, Fort Worth, Honolulu, San Diego, Vancouver, Toronto, and the Israel Philharmonic. In 2003, he made his Carnegie Hall debut performing the Barber Violin Concerto. Born in 1983 to professional Israeli musicians, Giora began playing the violin at the age of four. At 13, he met Maestro Itzhak Perlman at the Perlman Music Program and at 16 was invited by Perlman to study under him full-time at the Juilliard Pre College. Giora continued his studies with Perlman at the Juilliard School and also with the late violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay. Joey Singer Whether in recording studios or the concert stage Joey Singer is equally at home. As longtime music director for Debbie Reynolds he has played and/or conducted for a host of others, including Johnny Mathis, Henry Mancini, Dame Shirley Bassey, Toni Tenille, Metropolitan Opera Star Eileen Farrell and international recording artist Enrico Macias.
With Ms. Reynolds, Joey has made numerous appearances on THE TONIGHT SHOW, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, and JERRY LEWIS’ MDA TELETHON. He also conducted the national tour of THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN, performed at the Hollywood Bowl, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Sydney Opera House and with the Boston Pops in a nationally televised concert before a “live” audience of 500,000. For many years the popular daytime drama “Days of Our Lives” has been featuring Joey’s creativity at the keyboard. Recently Joey was heard playing his original compositions on NBC’s “ER”, “The West Wing”, and in the feature film MAD MONEY, starring Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah. John S. Wilson, music critic for the New York Times described Joey’s playing as “impressive and provocative”. An accomplished jazz musician, he has worked with many notable artists including Gerry Mulligan, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Sonny Fortune, Pete Christlieb, Bill Watrous, Valerie Ponomarev, Mel Lewis, Bucky Pizzarelli, and the Bill Holman Orchestra. He has also performed with Rosemary Clooney, Cab Calloway, trumpet great Harry James and the legendary Mills Brothers. As guest conductor, Joey has directed many of the countries finest orchestras, among them the Atlanta Symphony, Houston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony and the Cincinnati Pops. Presently Joey continues to tour with Debbie Reynolds and when not “on the road” can be seen as assistant conductor of the International hit musical MAMMA MIA! at the Mandalay Bay Theatre in Las Vegas. Recently he played guitar in the Las Vegas production of JERSEY BOYS. His talents have brought him to England, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Greece, Turkey, and South America. Di Wu
Singled out in the 2008 Musical America feature, "Young Artists: More Thrills of Discovery”, as one of the "up-and-coming talents" in the classical music world, pianist Di Wu's reputation as an artist to be watched continues to grow.
With a repertoire that ranges from Ravel to Brahms to Rachmaninoff, Ms. Wu’s 2008-09 season has her performing across the country. In early November 2008, she performed to standing ovations on the Gilmore Rising Stars Recital series, stepping in last minute to replace an ill colleague. The Kalamazoo Gazette praised her performance noting her “amazing technique” and “total command.” Re-engagements this season include the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra. Debuts during 2008-09 include the Pennsylvania orchestra Symphony in C at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and a recital at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. This May 2009, as the winner of the 2008 Juilliard William Petschek Piano Debut Recital Award, she will appear in recital at the Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. This past October, Ms. Wu appeared in a live broadcast on “Live from WFMT” on Chicago’s classical radio station, WFMT.
Di Wu made her professional debut with the Beijing Philharmonic at age fourteen. Since then, she has performed with various US orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra at New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and twice with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. As a recitalist, Ms. Wu made her solo debut in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2005. Since then, she has performed throughout the U.S., as well as in Barbados, Canada, and China. She also has toured Europe, performing at Germany’s Klavier Festival Ruhr and Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund, the Musées d’Orsay and de Grenoble in France, and in Bolzano, Italy.
A prizewinner of several piano competitions, Ms. Wu won the 2007 National Audition held by Astral and is now represented by Astral Artists. Other competition credits, in addition to the recent 2008 Juilliard School's William Petschek Award, include first prize at the 2005 Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and the 2000 Missouri Southern International Piano Competition.
Di Wu is currently enrolled in the Artist Diploma program at The Juilliard School under the guidance of Joseph Kalichstein and Robert McDonald. |
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