Artistic Staff
Ryan Murray
Ryan Murray, Principal Pops Conductor
Ryan Murray, Principal Pops Conductor
Artistic Staff
Bianca Ancheta
Daniel R. Afonso Jr., Chorus Director
Daniel R. Afonso Jr., Chorus Director
Programs
Bianca Ancheta
Modesto Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Modesto Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Guest Artists
Guest User
Alexandra Loutsion, soprano
Alexandra Loutsion, soprano
Guest Artists
Erin Nishimori
Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano
Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano

George Li, piano

Praised by The Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command, and depth of expression,” pianist George Li possesses  brilliant virtuosity and effortless grace far beyond his years. Since winning the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition and being named the recipient of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Li has rapidly established a major international reputation as he performs regularly with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, such as Gustavo Dudamel, James Gaffigan, Valery Gergiev, Gustavo Gimeno, Manfred Honeck, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Kirill Petrenko, David Robertson, Leonard Slatkin, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Spivakov, Michael Tilson Thomas, Long Yu, and Xian Zhang.

Highlights of the 2021–22 season include orchestral engagements with the Nashville, San Diego, New World, North Carolina, Pacific, and Valencia Symphonies, as well as the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia. In addition, Mr. Li will perform recitals presented by the Chicago Symphony, University of Washington in Seattle, The Cliburn Foundation in Ft. Worth, Emory University in Atlanta, and StuttgartKonzert in Germany.

Recent concerto highlights include performances with the Los Angeles, New York, London, Rotterdam, Oslo, St. Petersburg, and Buffalo Philharmonics; the San Francisco, Tokyo, Frankfurt Radio, Sydney, Montreal, Baltimore, Utah, and Pittsburgh Symphonies; as well as the Philharmonia, DSO Berlin, and Orchestra National de Lyon.  His eight-concert tour of Germany with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra included performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Philharmonie am Gasteig Munich, and the Stuttgart Liederhalle. Mr. Li frequently appears with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, including performances at the Paris Philharmonie, Luxembourg Philharmonie, New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music, Verbier Festival, Grafenegg Festival, and in various venues, such as the Mariinsky Concert Hall, and others throughout Russia. Li has also performed with major Chinese orchestras, such as the NCPA, China Philharmonia, and Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras, under the baton of Long Yu and Xian Zhang.

“A bracing, fearless account…Mr. Li’s playing combined youthful abandon with utter command.”
— New York Times

In recital, Li performs at venues including Carnegie Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco, the Mariinsky Theatre, Elbphilharmonie, Munich’s Gasteig, the Louvre, Seoul Arts Center, Tokyo’s Asahi Hall and Musashino Hall, NCPA Beijing, Shanghai Poly Theater, and Amici della Musica Firenze, as well as appearances at major festivals including the Edinburgh International Festival, Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival, Vail Festival, Seattle Music Festival, La Jolla Festival, Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence Festival, Colmar Festival, and Montreux Festival.

An active chamber musician, Li has performed alongside Benjamin Beilman, Noah Bendix-Balgley, James Ehnes, Daniel Hope, Pinchas Zukerman, Amanda Forsythe,  Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Kian Soltani, Pablo Ferrandez, and Daniel Lozakovich.

George Li gave his first public performance at Boston’s Steinert Hall at the age of 10. In 2011, he performed for President Obama at the White House in an evening honoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among George Li’s many prizes and awards, he was the First Prize winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the inaugural Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition, and the Grand Prix Animato, as well as a recipient of the 2012 Gilmore Young Artist Award and the 2018 Arthur Waser Prize.

George is an exclusive Warner Classics recording artist. His debut album, “Live at Mariinsky,” which was recorded live at the Mariinsky Concert Hall, won an Opus Klassik award for Soloist Recording of the Year in 2018. His second recording for the label features Liszt solo works and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, which was recorded live with Vasily Petrenko and the London Philharmonic, and released in October 2019.

George began his piano studies at age 4 with Dorothy Shi, before continuing with Wha Kyung Byun at New England Conservatory beginning at age 12. In 2019, he completed the Harvard/New England Conservatory dual degree program, with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s degree in Music. He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory. When not playing piano, George is an avid reader and photographer, as well as a sports fanatic.

Upcoming Performances

Andrew Grams, conductor

With a unique combination of intensity, enthusiasm and technical clarity, American conductor Andrew Grams has steadily built a reputation for his dynamic concerts, ability to connect with audiences, and long-term orchestra building. He’s the winner of 2015 Conductor of the Year from the Illinois Council of Orchestras and has led orchestras throughout the United States including the Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, and the Houston Symphony.

Andrew Grams became music director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra after an international search in 2013 and recently concluded his tenure there after 8 seasons. His charismatic conducting and easy accessibility have made him a favorite of Elgin Symphony audiences.

A frequent traveler, Mr. Grams has worked extensively with orchestras abroad, including the symphony orchestras of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, the Orchestre National de France, Hong Kong Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra London, the symphony orchestras of Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and Het Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, Netherlands. He has led multiple performances of New York City Ballet’s George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® and the first performances of the new production of The Nutcracker for the Norwegian National Ballet in Olso.

Also an educator, Mr. Grams has worked with orchestras at institutions such as the Curtis Institute of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Indiana University, Roosevelt University, the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland, and the Amsterdam Conservatorium.

Born in Severn, Maryland, Mr. Grams began studying the violin when he was eight years old. In 1999 he received a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from The Juilliard School, and in 2003 he received a conducting degree from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Otto-Werner Mueller. He was selected to spend the summer of 2003 studying with David Zinman, Murry Sidlin and Michael Stern at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen and returned to that program again in 2004. Mr. Grams served as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra from 2004-2007 where he worked under the guidance of Franz Welser- Möst, and has since returned for several engagements.

As an accomplished violinist, Mr. Grams was a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra from 1998-2004, serving as acting associate principal second violin in 2002 and 2004. Additionally, he has performed with ensembles including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the New Jersey Symphony.

Upcoming Performances

Simone Porter, violin

Violinist Simone Porter has been recognized as an emerging artist of impassioned energy, interpretive integrity, and vibrant communication. In the past few years she has debuted with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic; and with a number of renowned conductors, including Stéphane Denève,

Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, and Donald Runnicles. Born in 1996, Simone made her professional solo debut at age 10 with the Seattle Symphony and her international debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London at age 13. In March 2015, Simone was named a recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Recent highlights include Mendelssohn with New Jersey Symphony, Brahms with Pacific Symphony and an extensive tour throughout the US including concerts with the Santa Rosa, Amarillo, Pasadena, Fairfax and Midland Symphonies; the Rochester, Westchester, Orlando and Great Bay Philharmonics; the Sarasota Orchestra and the Northwest Sinfonietta. With the cessation of live concerts Simone continued to record streamed events with Seattle, Pittsburgh, Charlotte and Greater Bridgeport Symphonies. Beginning with the Aspen festival where she is a frequent guest, in July 2021 she resumed a full season of orchestral and recital concerts to include Denver, North Carolina, St. Louis, Grand Rapids, Quebec, Sarasota, Bakersfield, Princeton and Monterey Symphonies and recitals including Boston where the program includes the world premiere of a commission from composer Reena Esmail.

At the invitation of Esa-Pekka Salonen, Simone performed his work ‘Lachen verlernt’ (‘Laughing Unlearnt’), at the New York Philharmonic’s “Foreign Bodies,” a multi-sensory celebration of the work of the composer and conductor. In recent seasons, she has also appeared at the Edinburgh Festival performing Barber under the direction of Stéphane Denève, and at the Mostly Mozart Festival performing Mozart under Louis Langrée. She has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl with both Nicholas McGegan and Ludovic Morlot, and at Walt Disney Concert Hall with Gustavo Dudamel.

Internationally, Simone has performed with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra with Gustavo Dudamel; the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro; the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica; the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong; the Royal Northern Sinfonia; the Milton Keynes City Orchestra in the United Kingdom; and the Opera de Marseilles.

Simone made her Carnegie Zankel Hall debut on the Emmy Award-winning TV show From the Top: Live from Carnegie Hall followed in November 2016 by her debut in Stern Auditorium. In June 2016, her featured performance of music from Schindler’s List with Maestro Gustavo Dudamel and members of the American Youth Symphony was broadcast nationally on the TNT Network as part of the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award: A Tribute to John Williams.

Raised in Seattle, Washington, Simone studied with Margaret Pressley as a recipient of the Dorothy Richard Starling Scholarship, and was then admitted into the studio of the renowned pedagogue Robert Lipsett, with whom she studied at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Summer studies have included many years at the Aspen Music Festival, Indiana University's Summer String Academy, and the Schlern International Music Festival in Italy.

Simone Porter performs on a 1740 Carlo Bergonzi violin made in Cremona Italy on generous loan from The Master’s University, Santa Clarita, California.

Upcoming Performances

Anthony Parnther, conductor

American conductor, Anthony Parnther, is the Music Director and Conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra and the Southeast Symphony & Chorus in Los Angeles.

Recent guest conducting engagements include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, Jacaranda - Music at the Edge, Hear Now Music Festival, Mann Center Festival Orchestra, Pittsburgh Microtonal Festival, Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, Brightwork NewMusic, and the World Opera Forum in Madrid, Spain. 

Over the next season, Anthony will premiere Kris Bower’s Concerto for Horn with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Tamar-kali Brown’s Oratorio “We Hold These Truths” with the Los Angeles Opera, work alongside composer Anthony Davis on his Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Central Park Five with the Long Beach Opera, and premiere a new work for narrator and orchestra by Oscar-winning, GRAMMY-nominated Jon Batiste, host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with the Gateways Festival Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

Anthony has led the Hollywood Studio Symphony in recording sessions for many international feature film and television projects including Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Tenet, Star Wars: Book of Boba Fett, Little, American Dad, The Hunt, Fargo, The Way Back, The Night Of, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Encanto,  and Ice Age: Adventures of Buck Wild. His live orchestral concert appearances for e-sports titan League of Legends in Barcelona, Beijing, Seoul, and Los Angeles are among the most widely viewed symphonic concerts in the world, with live audiences of 50,000-75,000 spectators and a viewership that outpaces the World Series with approximately 100 million live streaming each League of Legends Finals Opening Ceremony concert.

Anthony has restored and performed orchestral works by Florence Price, Zenobia Powell Perry, Margaret Bonds, William Grant Still, Duke Ellington, and Samuel Coleridge Taylor. He has premiered and recorded works by Anthony Davis, George Walker, Errollyn Wallen, John Wineglass, Gary Powell Nash, Marian Harrison, Renee Baker, James Wilson, Phillip Herbert, Daniel Kidane, Chanda Dancy, and James Newton. In 2015, Anthony was profiled by Los Angeles' KCET/TV as a "Local Hero" for his extensive community outreach and advocacy for the performance of works by Black, Latino, and Women artists. 

Anthony studied music performance at Northwestern University and continued his musical studies at Yale University where he studied orchestral conducting with Lawrence Leighton Smith and Otto Werner Mueller.  He resides in Los Angeles.

Upcoming Performances

Ryan Silverman, vocalist

Ryan Silverman performing with the MSO at Holiday Pops! 2019.

Noted for his performances which “stand in memory” (The New York Times), multiple Drama Desk nominee RYAN SILVERMAN has been praised as the “smoothest, most assured bari-tenor, leading-man theatre voice at the moment” (Playbill.com). Silverman received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actor for the role of Terry Connor in Side Show on Broadway, and has starred as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera and as Billy Flynn in CHICAGO.

Silverman has also received Drama Desk and Drama League nominations for his performance as Giorgio in CSC’s 2013 production of Passion, which the New York Times praised for its “risk-taking, unconditional emotional commitment.” Additionally, he has appeared as Sir Lancelot in Camelot at the Kennedy Center, in the Théâtre du Châtelet’s acclaimed production of Passion opposite Natalie Dessay, as Tony in the Olivier-nominated 2008 West End production of West Side Story, and in the premiere of Delaware Theater Company’s new musical, A Sign of The Times.

Silverman recently starred in concert with West Side Story with the Philadelphia Orchestra and in The Golden Apple at City Center Encores! He has made soloist appearances with the New York Pops, Seattle Symphony, Philly Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Houston Symphony, the NHK Symphony in Tokyo, the Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, the Kaohsiung Symphony in Taiwan, and Edmonton Symphony, among others.

Other credits include Cry-Baby on Broadway, Finian’s Rainbow (Irish Repertory Theater), and New York City Opera’s The Most Happy Fella. He recently made his debut at Papermill, starring in Ken Ludwig’s A Comedy of Tenors.

Regional credits include Thoroughly Modern Millie (Jimmy), Cinderella (the Prince), Grease! (Danny), Hello Dolly! (Cornelius), Assassins (John Wilkes Booth), Sweeney Todd (Anthony), Forever Plaid (Smudge), and Blood Brothers (Eddie Lyons). Silverman has performed his club act the Café Carlyle (month long residency) and Feinstein’s at the Regency, as well as 54Below with Melissa Errico. His television and film credits include Suits, Good Fight, Gossip Girl, The 5 Minarets Of New York, Sex and the City 2, and True Blood. 

Upcoming Performances

Disney Concerts

Disney Concerts is the concert production and licensing division of Disney Music Group, the music arm of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Concerts produces concerts and tours, and licenses Disney music and visual content to symphony orchestras and presenters on a worldwide basis. Disney Concerts’ concert packages include a variety of formats, such as “live to picture” film concerts and themed instrumental and vocal compilation concerts, and range from instrumental-only symphonic performances to multimedia productions featuring live vocalists and choir. Current titles include the Star Wars Film Concert Series (Episodes IV-VII), Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Fantasia, Pixar In Concert, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Alice In Wonderland, Frozen, Ratatouille, The Pirates of the Caribbean series (Episodes I-IV), and Silly Symphonies, which last year collectively accounted for over 400 performances in many of the world’s top concert venues, including Lincoln Center, Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Tokyo Forum and the Hollywood Bowl. Numerous new concert packages and touring productions from Disney’s portfolio of studios, including Disney’s feature animation and live action studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel, are currently in development.

Alexander Korsantia, piano

Alexander Korsantia is one of the leading pianists of our time. A “major artist” (Miami Herald) and a “quiet maverick” (Daily Telegraph), Alexander Korsantia has been praised for a “piano technique where difficulties simply do not exist” (Calgary Sun).

In recent seasons Mr. Korsantia performed with the Stuttgart Philharmonic, Boston Philharmonic and Xiamen Philharmonic, Israel Symphony and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. With The Far Cry Chamber Group he played Galina Ustvolskaya's Piano Concerto in Boston und Tblisi.

Ever since winning the First Prize and Gold Medal at the Artur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition and the First Prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition, Korsantia’s career has taken him to many of the world’s major concert halls, collaborating with renowned conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Gianandrea Noseda, Valery Gergiev, and Paavo Järvi, with such orchestras as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in Turin, Cincinnati Symphony, and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Alexander Korsantia is a frequent guest in many of the world's leading concert series including in Warsaw, Boston, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Vancouver, Calgary, San Francisco, Lodz, St. Petersburg, and Blaibach and at major international festivals in Tanglewood and Verbier. A passionate chamber musician, he has collaborated with other leading soloists such as Vadim Repin, Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, Sergei Nakariakov and the Stradivari Quartet.

His award-winning recordings include works by Beethoven, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, and Copland. In 2020 his recording of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 was released to great critical acclaim (with Stuttgart Philharmonic under Dan Ettinger, at German label Hänssler). His solo piano transcription of Ravel’s La valse was published by Sikorski.

Born in Tbilisi, Alexander Korsantia began his musical studies at an early age with his mother, and later became a pupil of Tengiz Amiredjibi, Georgia’s foremost piano instructor. In 1992, he joined the famed piano studio of Alexander Toradze at Indiana University in South Bend, USA. In 1999, then-President Eduard Shevardnadze awarded him the Order of Honor. Mr. Korsantia is a recipient of the Golden Wing award (2015) and Georgia’s National State Prize (1997). Korsantia resides in Boston where he is a Professor of Piano at the New England Conservatory.

Upcoming Performances

Akiko Fujimoto, conductor

Akiko Fujimoto was named Music Director of the Mid-Texas Symphony in May 2019. Fujimoto has electrified audiences throughout North America and has guest conducted the National Symphony Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Houston Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Lexington Philharmonic, and the Corpus Christi Symphony.

Upcoming highlights include debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, Vermont Symphony and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, return engagements with the Virginia Symphony and the Florida Orchestra, and world premieres by Suad Bushnaq and Tania León.

At the Minnesota Orchestra, Fujimoto was appointed as Assistant Conductor for the 2017–18 season under Music Director Osmo Vänska and promoted to Associate Conductor for the following two seasons. During 2017–2020, Fujimoto also served as cover conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Esa-Pekka Salonen, Zubin Mehta, and Susanna Mälkki. Prior to arriving in Minnesota, she was Assistant then Associate Conductor of the San Antonio Symphony and Conducting Associate for the Virginia Symphony.

A passionate advocate for young musicians, Fujimoto has held conducting appointments at Harvard University, Stanford University, and the College of William & Mary. While in Virginia, she also served as Music Director of the Williamsburg Youth Orchestras. Born in Japan, Fujimoto holds a bachelor’s degree in music and psychology from Stanford University and Master of Music degrees in conducting from Boston University and the Eastman School of Music.

Upcoming Performances

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Kathleen Balfe, principal cello

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Kathleen Balfe has lived in Spain since 2003, where she has built a multifaceted career and developed a variety of styles as a soloist and as a member of various ensembles. A principal cellist of the City of Granada Orchestra between 2007 and 2022 and principal cellist of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra since 2024, she also has been a guest principal cellist with the Royal Orchestra of Seville and the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra.

Kathleen has performed as a soloist on numerous occasions including the premiere of the opera La Bella Susona by Alberto Carretero with the ROSS, the premiere of Kammerkonzert no.2 by Miguel Gálvez-Taroncher with the OCG conducted by José Ramón Encinar, Sinfonia Concertante by Prokofiev with the New World Symphony conducted by Alasdair Neale, and the arrangement/reconstruction of Debussy’s Suite para Violonchelo by Sally Beamish with the OCG conducted by Joseph Swensen.

As a founding member of the Ensemble NeoArs Sonora, she  performed in numerous festivals such as Córdoba XX Festival de Música Contemporánea, Festival de Música Española Manuel de Falla en Cádiz, Festival de Música Clásica en el Escorial, Festival de Bernaola, Quincena Musical de San Sebastián, Jornadas de Música Contemporánea de Sevilla, el Ciclo de Música Contemporánea del Centro Guerrero y el Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada.

Ms. Balfe has collaborated as a chamber musician with the Benaïm Quartet, the Quantum Ensemble, Messiaen Ensemble and the Taller Atlántico, among others. Currently she is a founding member of the Íkaro String Quartet on the island of Tenerife where she is based.

Kathleen Balfe can be heard on Verso, Bis y RCA Records as a member of different groups.

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Jonathan Flaksman, assistant principal cello

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Jonathan Flaksman, born in Akron, Ohio in 1981, started playing the cello at five years of age. His first regular teacher was Madalena Burle-Marx. He studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Richard Aaron and at the Juilliard School with Fred Sherry. He graduated from Mannheim University in Germany in the class of his father Michael Flaksman and completed an artist diploma in orchestral studies. He has had master classes with Harvey Shapiro, Siegfried Palm, Bernard Greenhouse, Youngchang Cho, Jens Peter Maintz, Frans Helmerson, and Ralph Kirshbaum among many others. He attended Interlochen Arts Camp and music festivals in Aspen, Schleswig-Holstein, Cividale (Italy), Łancut (Poland), and Aurora Chamber Music in Sweden. He played in the orchestra of the National Theater Mannheim, and as principal cellist of Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern and La Folia Baroque Orchestra. As soloist and chamber musician he has traveled the United States, Europe, and Asia. He attends the Ascoli Piceno Festival annually and performed as soloist with the Bari Symphony at the Carl Orff Festival in Putignano. He has given masterclasses in Italy and in California and has served on the jury of various competitions. He currently lives in Los Angeles, is active as a composer and arranger, and records for tv and film. He plays with the Pasadena Symphony, is Assistant Principal Cellist of Santa Barbara Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, and Vallejo Symphony, and is a member of the Long Beach Symphony. Starting in 2025, he is a core member of the Hawai’i Symphony. He has played with Modesto Symphony since 2017, and was appointed Assistant Principal Cellist in May 2024.

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Aiden Hogan, cello

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Aidan Hogan is a professional cellist currently living in Stockton, CA, but originally hailing from Milwaukee, WI. Active as a performer early on, Aidan was a member of the renowned Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, and during High School was a winner in the Milwaukee Civic Music Competition and Semifinalist in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Stars of Tomorrow Competition. While studying under his beloved mentor Madeleine Kabat, he began his career playing with several orchestras in Southeast Wisconsin, including as assistant principal cellist of the Kettle Moraine Symphony, as well as performing with the Kenosha Symphony and Wisconsin Philharmonic. Aidan also became a performing artist/recitalist with the Fox River Chamber Festival during this time, a position which he currently holds.

Moving to Stockton just last year, Aidan began as a cello/string instructor at the Pleasanton Academy of Music and Main Street Music in Tracy. Aidan is thrilled to have had a successful audition as a section cellist with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra and looks forward to helping create great performances to share this season and beyond. Aidan would also like to extend his gratitude to his former music instructors and mentors Madeleine Kabat, Peter Thomas, Tom Smith, Tiffany Chang, Lyda Osinga and Lydia Topolovec for their nurturing, wisdom, expertise and above all, patience.

Opus Handbell Ensemble

Opus Handbell Ensemble, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization, has been a group of aspiring musicians in Modesto since 1992. They are currently 14 ringers strong and now under the direction of Lisa Traughber, as artistic director Rich Colla retired in June of 2024. With over 150 combined years of ringing experience, they perform on five-plus octaves of Malmark handbells, five-plus octaves of Malmark tone chimes and occasionally, a selection of Whitechapel handbells.

Handbells are a unique instrument requiring precision eye-hand coordination, music reading ability and a willingness to work as a team. Repertoire for this art form ranges from classical Bach to Heavy Metal and Rock 'n' Roll. Opus is known throughout the handbell community for reflecting, in bronze, the artistic interpretation of the director. They bring musicality and depth to a performance beyond the expectations of the listening and viewing audience.

Opus has spearheaded the art of handbell ringing in the Central Valley with themed concerts throughout the year. Opus has also hosted and conducted local workshops to raise the level of awareness of handbell ringing in the Modesto community. One of their greatest joys has been to take this artistic medium into the music mainstream through local schools by broadening the dreams of students who have never seen or heard a handbell choir.

Opus has played on the Community Concert Series in Porterville, four years on the Manteca Kindred Arts Council Concert Series and three years on the Sonora St. James’ Concert Series. They also played on two occasions for the Evensong Series in Lodi. These fine musicians have attended festivals and workshops from Riverside to the Bay Area. They were a featured choir to ring at Pinnacle 2000 in Las Vegas, and the Handbell Musicians of America Area Twelve Conference at Belmont in 2006. In June of 2008, Opus joined the Trinity United Koinonia Choir in Coventry, England for an International Choir Festival tour, and were the only full handbell ensemble to do so.

Opus has been the host ensemble along with seven other handbell groups for the Modesto Salvation Army Bells of Blessing benefit concert since 2010. For the first time, by an audition process, Opus was chosen to be the featured Showcase Ensemble for the Handbell Musicians of America Area Twelve Bell Odyssey Conference held at UC Davis, in June of 2010. They were honored again in 2016, as a Showcase Ensemble for Area Twelve “Handbell Hop” Conference held in Modesto.

Opus was featured on the Modesto Symphony Orchestra Holiday Pops Concert at the Gallo Center in 2007, 2008 and 2010. They were also featured guest musicians at the Modesto Symphony’s Candlelight Concert held at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in 2009 through the present. In 2012 Opus presented a handbell drama/concert as part of the Arts Education Program of the Gallo Center for the Arts and paired it with an evening public concert through 2016.  A stand-alone Christmas concert was contracted every other year: 2018, 2021, 2023. A new contract was signed with the Stockton Haggin Museum as part of their featured events in December in 2019, 2022, and 2023.

Opus having recorded two CDs: “Rhythmic Intensity” in 2000 and “An Opus Christmas” in 2009 brings many selections from these projects to life during their live concerts.

Opus is grateful to Trinity United Presbyterian Church, which graciously shares its facility and all of the handbell equipment, enabling us to do what we love—ringing! To Opus alumni, past and present, and to family and friends who understand the many hours of preparation: “We love you and thank you for your never-ending support.”

Opus is a member of the Handbell Musicians of American, a national organization established in this country in 1954. www.HandbellMusicians.org

For more information about Opus, please contact Director, Lisa Traughber at 209-527-2214 or visit our Facebook page or website at opushandbell.org

Lisa Traughber, Opus Handbell Ensemble Director

Lisa Traughber, Opus Handbell Ensemble Director

Lisa is the new Director of Opus Handbell Ensemble, following in the footsteps of recently retired Artistic Director, Richard Colla. Lisa, who accepted the Opus baton in June, also recently retired from Trinity United Presbyterian Church, where she served for 25 years as Executive Assistant of Publications, Communications and Graphic Arts. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Lisa has loved art and music since childhood. She began ringing in 1975, became a member of the national organization, Handbell Musicians of America, and was hooked for life!  In Ohio Lisa directed high school and adult handbell choirs and obtained an Applied Business in Commercial Art degree from the University of Cincinnati. She came to California with her husband in 1990 and began ringing with Centenary United Methodist Church, and then the newly formed Opus Handbell Ensemble. Under the direction of retired Minister of Music, Richard Colla, Lisa participated in Trinity’s music ministry through choir, women’s ensemble and handbells since the early 90’s.

She has also been director of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church Mission Bells in Manteca since 2014. Lisa served as conference coordinator for Handbell Musicians of America Area 12, in 2016 and 2024. She has also sung with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra Chorus since 2000.

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Elisha Wells, MSYO Music Director

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Elisha K. Wells is the Director of Band, Brass and Orchestra at Fresno City College. Prior to serving at FCC, Elisha was Horn Instructor and Lecturer at Sacramento State, Stanislaus State, Delta College, College of Sequoias (Visalia & Hanford), Conductor of the Visalia Opera Company, and was Horn Faculty at Cazadero Music Camp (2015-2019). Ms. Wells currently plays Principal Horn in Sequoia Symphony, Wind Symphony of Clovis, and regularly performs as Acting Principal with the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra. Elisha studied at Chapman University in Orange, CA and University of Houston in Houston, TX briefly. However, her formal studies include a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts with an emphasis in Horn Performance from California State University, Fresno (2009).

Her conducting career began in 2012 with Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Bizet’s Carmen, and an original Mariachi Opera with Visalia Opera Company. In the summer of 2014, she conducted a professionally-cast production of Les Miserable with the League of Christian Actors in Visalia, CA. Beginning in 2015, Ms. Wells has been invited to adjudicate and guest conduct around the state. She has served as the Guest Conductor for FMCMEA (Fresno-Madera), TKMEA (Tulare/Kings), SCMEA (Stanislaus), and Sonoma County (Capitol Section CMEA) Junior High and High School Honor Ensembles. In Summer 2022, Elisha was invited to Guest Conduct the Sutherland Winds and perform as a Horn Soloist for the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) Conference in Prague, Czech Republic.

 Elisha has been an active horn soloist and freelance artist for over 20 years. Earlier in her career, Elisha performed as a horn soloist and dancer in the Tony Award-winning Broadway show, “Blast!”, traveling around the United States and performing in large venues for 2 years. She also competed with a group called The Edge for the nationally televised show called America’s Got Talent in New York. Ms. Wells has performed throughout California and Nevada, Walt Disney World in Florida, Australia, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Ms Wells readily performs solos throughout the west coast with groups including Sequoia Symphony, Kingsburg Community Band, Stanislaus Community Band, and the Wind Symphony of Clovis. Additionally, she has played in accompanying orchestras for world-renown artists such as Natalie Cole, Johnny Mathis, Renée Fleming, Andrea Bocelli, Jackie Evancho, Branford Marsalis, Juan Diego Florez, Sarah Chang, Jon Nakamatsu, Airborne Toxic Event, and Mannheim Steamroller. Ms. Wells is also a noted Artist and Endorser of Robinson’s Remedies-Lip Renew.

 Elisha is an active faculty member at Fresno City College, and is a patron, supporter, educator and adjudicator within California's music community. She is currently the President of CMEA Central Section, Past President of Friends of the Arts at FCC, and serves on the Sequoia Symphony Board. Elisha regularly adjudicates Solo and Ensemble festivals regionally and state-wide, All-State & Regional Honor Band auditions, and presents clinics on Best Practices for Horn Players and Teaching Horn for Ensemble Directors. She also is a current member of the Local 12 Musicians Union, NAfME, CBDNA, and the International Horn Society. Ms. Wells has been a presenter at the California All-State Conference (CASMEC) and will be returning in 2024 as the Guest Conductor for the Reading Band Session, as well as presenting in a collaborative discussion with Choral Music Education colleagues.

 Elisha has maintained an active teaching studio called the Happy Horn Studio for over 15 years. She teaches horn students from Visalia, Fresno, Clovis, Modesto, Sacramento, and coastal areas. Her students achieve All-State and Regional Honor Band chairs each year and have been awarded full scholarships to the Kendall-Betts Horn Camp, Cazadero Music Camp, Sequoia Lake Music Camp, National Symphony Youth Fellowships, Interlochen Summer Institutes, Tanglewood Horn NAfME All-National Honor Ensembles, and local citizenship awards for contribution to the arts.

 Ms. Wells feels fortunate to have studied with world-class hornists such as Brian Drake (LA Phil), Nancy Goodearl (Houston Symphony), Dr. Tom Hiebert (Fresno State), David Krehbiel (San Francisco Symphony), and conductors such as Dr. Larry Sutherland.

Ali Ewoldt, vocalist

Ali Ewoldt has appeared as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, Cosette in Les Miserables (Broadway, National Tour), The King and I (Broadway, Lyric Opera of Chicago), Maria in West Side Story (National Tour, International Tour) and Luisa in The Fantasticks (Off-Broadway). She has also played Philia in A Funny Thing… (The Muny), Fan in A Christmas Carol (McCarter Theatre), Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls (Sacramento Music Circus) and Martha Jefferson in 1776 (The Muny).

Ali’s concert/symphony work includes: Feinstein's 54 Below, Tokyo's Theatre Orb, Canyon Ranch, Alice Tully Hall, The Town Hall, NY Pops at Carnegie Hall, American Pops Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Kaohsiung Symphony and The Boston Pops with Maestro Keith Lockhart. Her TV/Film credits include The Michael J. Fox Show, Yield, Mia and The Cactus. Ali has a BA in psychology from Yale University and is a proud Filipina-American.

Upcoming Performances

Calendar
December 5 & 6 / Holiday Pops!
December 5 & 6 / Holiday Pops!

Ryan Murray, conductor
Tony DeSare, guest artist
MSO Chorus, Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
Fri. Dec 5, 2025 at 7:30pm
Sat. Dec 6, 2025 at 2:00pm

Roy Stevens, narrator

Roy Stevens is a Modesto native and graduate of both Paradise Elementary School and Modesto High School. He has been the General Director of Opera Modesto since 2018. Since his professional debut in Italy in 1987, his career as an international opera singer has taken him around the world for starring engagements with leading opera companies and symphonies in over 20 countries, on 5 continents, and singing in 14 languages; from the national theaters of Albania, Guatemala, Colombia and Taiwan, to the Dallas Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Dresden Semperoper, Oper Frankfurt, Barcelona’s Liceu, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon and Milano’s famed Teatro Alla Scala. 

Roy and his wife, Annalisa Winberg (Opera Modesto Artistic Director & international opera singer), are also very proud of their work as inspirational performing arts/opera-based educators through their AmazingVox School Residencies. They have had the privilege to touch the educational lives of 500,000+ young Americans in California and across the country. These experiences have profoundly impacted the way they work with Central Valley youth and young artists through the training, educational and nationally unique literacy programs of Opera Modesto. 

Roy’s international operatic career has been very unusual, performing roles in nearly every male vocal category (except true Bass and Counter Tenor); Basso Buffo, Bass-Baritone, Heldenbaritone, Verdi Baritone, Heldentenor, Lyric Tenor, and Musical Theater/Pop Style Baritone & Tenor. He considers this to be fun! 

In 1995, Annalisa and Roy were the featured soloists in a wonderful Modesto Symphony Orchestra & Chorus concert of opera highlights. Roy is delighted to return to MSO as Narrator, just a few years later. This occasion should also mark, for the public, the genuine atmosphere of friendly collaboration that currently exists between Central Valley arts organizations…something to be truly treasured! 

Upcoming Performances

Calendar
December 5 & 6 / Holiday Pops!
December 5 & 6 / Holiday Pops!

Ryan Murray, conductor
Tony DeSare, guest artist
MSO Chorus, Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
Fri. Dec 5, 2025 at 7:30pm
Sat. Dec 6, 2025 at 2:00pm

Francisco Vila-Haas, cello

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“Vila brought out the fervor and vitality…consummate projection.”
— The Strad Magazine (April 2012)

Francisco Vila began playing the cello at age 8 and had his solo debut with orchestra at 14. Concert activities have taken him throughout Europe, North and South America. Performing collaborations have included those with artists such as Nobuko Imai, Cho-Liang Lin, Gary Hoffman, Wolfram Christ, Toby Hoffman, Sunwook Kim, Martin Chalifour, and members of the Juilliard String Quartet.

Vila has appeared as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Aalborg Symfoniorkester, Liege Royal Philharmonic, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Santander Festival Orchestra, Indiana University Philharmonic, and all principal orchestras of his native Ecuador.

He has been a participant at the Ravinia Steans Institute and guest artist at the Beaumaris, Santander, and Stavelot music festivals among others. As a member of the iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates he performed in such venues as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Los Angeles’ Disney Hall, Mozarteum Salzburg, and on international tours.

Mr. Vila views teaching as an important aspect in music-making. In March of 2015, he founded and directs the International Music Festival of Esmeraldas (Ecuador) in his hometown. This is a social project that awards full-tuition scholarships to numerous gifted young talents from Central and South America for two weeks of masterclasses with some of the world’s great artists. For his work with this platform, Mr. Vila has received coveted grants from the US State Department, Tarisio Trust, and the Sphinx MPower Grant.

Vila was granted a Presidential Scholarship to the Boston Conservatory for his Bachelor studies, after which he received a Performance Diploma from Indiana University where he was a student of Janos Starker, Sharon Robinson and Menahem Pressler.

In 2012, he was selected to the inaugural cello class at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, where he earned an Artist Diploma under the famed cellist Gary Hoffman. In the same year he became the second-prize laureate of the Sphinx Competition in Detroit Michigan.

Mr. Vila serves on the faculty at the Longy School of Music of Bard College and performs on a fine cello crafted by Vincenzo Panormo in 1790 on generous life-term loan from the “Karl McNutt Family Trust” as well as the “ex-Janos Starker” Edward Tubbs bow.

Upcoming Performances

Stuart Chafetz, conductor

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Stuart Chafetz is the Principal Pops Conductor of the Columbus Symphony and the newly appointed Principal Pops Conductor of the Chautauqua and Marin Symphonies. Chafetz, a conductor celebrated for his dynamic and engaging podium presence, is increasingly in demand with orchestras across the continent and this season Chafetz will be on the podium in Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Naples, Philly Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Pittsburgh, San Diego,  and Winnipeg.  He enjoys a special relationship with The Phoenix Symphony where he leads multiple programs annually.

He’s had the privilege to work with renowned artists including Chris Botti, 2 Cellos, Hanson, Rick Springfield, Michael Bolton, Kool & The Gang, Jefferson Starship, America, Little River Band, Brian McKnight, Roberta Flack, George Benson, Richard Chamberlain, The Chieftains, Jennifer Holliday, John Denver, Marvin Hamlisch, Thomas Hampson, Wynonna Judd, Jim Nabors, Randy Newman, Jon Kimura Parker and Bernadette Peters. 

He previously held posts as resident conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and associate conductor of the Louisville Orchestra. As principal timpanist of the Honolulu Symphony for twenty years, Chafetz would also conduct the annual Nutcracker performances with Ballet Hawaii and principals from the American Ballet Theatre. It was during that time that Chafetz led numerous concerts with the Maui Symphony and Pops. He's led  numerous Spring Ballet productions at the world-renowned Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.

In the summers, Chafetz spends his time at the Chautauqua Institution, where he conducts the annual Fourth of July and Opera Pops concerts with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in addition to his role as that orchestra’s timpanist.

When not on the podium, Chafetz makes his home near San Francisco, CA, with his wife Ann Krinitsky. Chafetz holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and a master’s from the Eastman School of Music.

Upcoming Performances

Charles Yang, violin

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Recipient of the 2018 Leonard Bernstein Award and described by the Boston Globe as one who "plays classical violin with the charisma of a rock star", Juilliard graduate Charles Yang began his violin studies with his mother in Austin, Texas, and has since studied with world-renowned pedagogues Kurt Sassmanshaus, Paul Kantor, Brian Lewis and Glenn Dicterow. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras and in concert in the United States, Europe, Brazil, Russia, China, and Taiwan, and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. On June 9th of 2005, the Mayor of Austin presented Mr. Yang with his own "Charles Yang Day".  In 2016 Mr. Yang joined the crossover string-band, Time for Three.

Not only confined to classical violin, Mr. Yang's improvisational crossover abilities as a violinist, electric violinist, and vocalist have led him to featured performances with a variety of artists in such festivals as The Aspen Music Festival, The Schleswig- Holstein Music Festival, The Ravinia Festival, The Crested Butte Music Festival, The Cayman Arts Festival, The YouTube Music Awards, The Moab Music Festival, TED, Caramoor, The EG Conference, Google Zeitgeist, Interlochen, and onstage at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera House, David H. Koch Theater, Dizzy’s and David Rubinstein Atrium; The Long Center, Rudolfinum, The Royal Danish Theatre, Le Poisson Rouge, Highline Ballroom, Ars Nova, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Forbidden City in Beijing among many others. He has performed in the presence of two former US Presidents, the Queen of Denmark and has shared the stage in collaborations with artists including Peter Dugan, CDZA, Steve Miller, Jesse Colin Young, Jake Shimabukuro, Ray Benson, Michael Gordon, Marcelo Gomes, Savion Glover, Twyla Tharp, Misty Copeland, and Jon Batiste. Mr. Yang recently made his solo debut with Marin Alsop and The Chicago Symphony at The Ravinia Festival. His career has been followed by various news media including The New York Times, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, The Financial Times, The Austin-American Statesman, The Austin Chronicle and The Strad. Mr. Yang is featured in Nick Romeo's book, Driven as well as Discovery Channel's Curiosity.

“Mr. Yang is a true crossover artist, a pioneer who can hop between classical and popular music and bring fresh ideas to fans of both genres.”
— The Texas Observer

Regarding Mr. Yang, The Texas Observer has noted, “Mr. Yang is a true crossover artist, a pioneer who can hop between classical and popular music and bring fresh ideas to fans of both genres. Rather than maintaining an insular focus and simply assuming that an audience for classical music will always exist, he wants to actively create that audience, to persuade and seduce others into enjoying a type of music as passionately as he does.”

Upcoming Performances

Sandeep Das, tabla

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A Guggenheim Fellow and Grammy-winning musician, Sandeep Das is one of the leading Tabla virtuosos in the world today. Since his debut concert at the age of 17 with legendary Sitar player Ravi Shankar, Das has established himself as one of India’s leading Tabla maestros, building a prolific international reputation spanning over three decades. Das has collaborated with top musicians and ensembles from across the world such as Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, with whom he has performed for the past 21 years, as well as Paquito D’Rivera, Bobby McFarin, and iconic orchestras like the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, and Chicago Symphony, among others. His original compositions have been performed in over 50 countries, including events at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Sydney Opera House; for the 150th anniversary of the United Nations; and by university and children’s ensembles across the globe. 

Das is the founder of Harmony and Universality through Music (HUM), a nonprofit organization in India that has promoted global understanding through music performance and provided learning opportunities and scholarships for visually-impaired children with artistic potential since 2009. Passionate about sharing his ideas and experiences, Das has presented at The New York Encounter, The EG Conference, TEDx events, and multiple university residencies. In 2015, he established Das Tabla School, where he currently trains musicians from 6+ countries both online and in-person in Boston, MA. To learn more about him, please visit www.sandeepdas.com.

“Sandeep transcends his instrument– when he plays the Tabla he is a creator of myths, a master communicator and an orchestra, all in one. In my decades of collaboration around the world, he is easily one of the greatest artists I have ever met. Not only is he one of the best artists I have met, but he is also one of the best teachers I have met. I believe there is no one he cannot engage!”
— Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Upcoming Performances

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