Artist Biographies

Stephanie Blythe, Mezzo-Soprano

Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe is considered to be one of the most highly respected artists of her generation.

Ms. Blythe has sung in many of the renowned opera houses in the US and Europe including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the Opera National de Paris. Her many roles include the title roles in Carmen, Samson et Dalila , Orfeo ed Euridice, La Grande Duchesse, Tancredi, Mignon, and Guilio Cesare; Frugola, Principessa, and Zita in the Il Trittico, Fricka in both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, Waltraute in Götterdämmerung, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera, Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress, Jezibaba in Rusalka, Jocasta in Oedipus Rex, Mere Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites; Isabella in L'Italiana in Algeri, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Ino/Juno in Semele, and Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus.

Denis Bouriakov, Flute

Denis Bouriakov has been Principal Flutist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since 2009 and has won numerous prizes at some of the world's most prestigious international competitions (including Jean-Pierre Rampal, Munich ARD and Kobe). He has made several recordings, and his first solo CD album, which was released in 2009, includes the world's premiere recording of the Sibelius Violin Concerto on the flute. He has been very active as soloist, orchestral player and teacher and, last year alone, his engagements took him to Greece, Iceland, USA, Japan, Korea, UK and Lithuania.

Wendy Chen, Piano

At the age of fifteen, Wendy Chen debuted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under conductor André Previn. In 1990 she became the youngest winner ever of the National Chopin Competition, was one of the inaugural recipients of the Irving S. Gilmore Young Artists Award, and was named a Presidential Scholar by the National Foundation for the Arts. Since then, her career has flourished, adding Young Concert Artists International Auditions and Washington International Competition to her numerous awards.

Andrés Díaz, Cello

Since winning the First Prize in the 1986 Naumburg International Cello Competition, Mr. Díaz has exhilarated both critics and audiences with his intense and charismatic performances. He has earned exceptional reviews for his "strongly personal interpretive vision" (The New York Times) and his "bold and imaginative" playing (TheBoston Globe) and was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as a generous grant from the  Susan W. Rose Fund for Music in 1998.

Tim Fain, violin

With his adventuresome spirit and vast musical gifts, violinist Tim Fain has emerged as a mesmerizing new presence on the music scene. The “charismatic young violinist with a matinee idol profile, strong musical instincts, and first rate chops” (Boston Globe) was featured as the sound of Richard Gere's violin in Bee Season. Selected as one of Symphony magazine's “Up-and-Coming Young Musicians of 2006,” and a StradMagazine 2007 “Pick of Up and Coming Musicians,” Fain has recently captured the Avery Fisher Career Grant and a Young Concert Artists International Award. As The Washington Post recently raved, “Fain has everything he needs for a first-rate career."

Rafael Figueroa, Cello

Mr. Figueroa occupies the prestigious position of principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under James Levine in addition to his participation in many of the chamber music series in the New York area including The Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York, The Met Chamber Ensemble with James Levine, The New Jersey Chamber Music Society, The Morgan Library Chamber Music Series and Bargemusic.

Julie Gunn, Piano

Julie is a music director, vocal coach, and song arranger, and she is passionate about songs and singers. She designs and performs song recitals, and has appeared on many prestigious series over the last several years, including the Carnegie Hall Pure Voice Series, Lincoln Center Great Performers, Londonís Queen Elizabeth Hall, Brussels Theatre de la Monnaie, the 92nd Street Y, University of Chicago Presents, San Francisco Performances, Broad Stage in Santa Monica, Oberlin College, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Scheduled for the upcoming year are recitals at Dominican University, Torontoís Roy Thompson Hall, and cabaret performances in Orange County, Sun Valley, and the Allerton Barn Festival. In 2008 she had the privilege of playing a private recital for members of the United States Supreme Court.

Nathan Gunn, Baritone

Nathan Gunn has made a reputation as one of the most exciting and in-demand baritones of the day.

He has appeared in internationally renowned opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, Bilboa, and the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. His many roles include the title roles in Billy Budd, Eugene Onegin, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Hamlet, Guglielmo in Cosí fan tutte, the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro, Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucetia, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore, and Ottone in L'incoronazione di Poppea.

Thomas Hampson, Baritone

Thomas Hampson enjoys a singular international career as a recitalist, opera singer, and recording artist, and maintains an active interest in teaching, research, and technology. The American baritone has performed in all of the world's most important concert halls and opera houses with many renowned singers, pianists, conductors, and orchestras. Praised by the New York Times for his "ceaseless curiosity," he is one of the most respected, innovative, and sought-after soloists performing today.

Deborah Hoffman, Harp

Deborah Hoffman has been principal harpist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since 1986. Ms. Hoffman is chairperson of the harp department at Manhattan School of Music and has been a faculty member since 1997. She has appeared as soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Jupiter Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and the MET Orchestra in Carnegie Hall under the baton of James Levine. Ms. Hoffman has also toured extensively in Latin America as soloist with the symphony orchestras of Santiago, Costa Rica, Caracas, and Colombia. Ms. Hoffman was the first-prize winner of the 1981 American Harp Society Competition, and in 1978 was a top-prize winner in the Seventh International Harp Competition in Israel. In 1983 she was chosen to represent the United States at the First World Harp Congress in the Netherlands. Ms. Hoffman has performed throughout Canada and the United States as a member of the Hoffman Chamber Soloists, an ensemble comprised of her parents and three brothers. She received both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School, where she was a student of Susann McDonald. Ms. Hoffman records for Arabesque Records and has recently completed a Grammy-nominated recording of original transcriptions of Chopin works.

Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson, Flute

Stefan Ragnar Hoskuldsson, a native of Iceland, is principal flutist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and is quickly being recognized as one of the leading soloist in the country. Before winning the principal position in 2008, Stefan served as second flutist with the orchestra for four years.

Warren Jones, Piano

WARREN JONES has recently been named as "Collaborative Pianist of the Year" for 2010 by the publication Musical America. He performs with many of today's best-known artists, including Stephanie Blythe, Denyce Graves, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Matthew Polenzani, Ruth Ann Swenson, Bo Skovhus, Samuel Ramey, James Morris, John Relyea, Joseph Alessi, and Richard "Yongjae" O'Neill-and is Principal Pianist for the exciting California-based chamber music group Camerata Pacifica.

Cynthia Phelps, Viola

"Not only does Cynthia Phelps produce one of the richest, deepest viola timbres in the world, she is a superb musician" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). Principal Violist of the New York Philharmonic, Ms. Phelps has distinguished herself both here and abroad as one of the leading instrumentalists of our time. The recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the 1988 Pro Musicis International Award and first prize at both the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and the Washington International String Competition, she has captivated audiences with her compelling solo and chamber music performances. She is "a performer of top rank...the sounds she drew were not only completely unproblematical --technically faultless, generously nuanced-- but sensuously breathtaking" (The Boston Globe).

Midge Woolsey, Narrator

Midge Woolsey has proudly served the tristate community as a broadcaster for over 30 years. Since joining WQXR in 1993, she has been the Weekend Music host and more recently the Weekday Evening host. As a host on public television's flagship station Thirteen/WNET she has introduced such specials as Andrea Bocelli's Emmy nominated Statue of Liberty Concert, The Three Tenors with James Levine live from Paris, and the landmark twenty-four hour event, PBS Millennium 2000. She has also hosted numerous fundraising events, including Josh Groban in Concert and Pavarotti in Central Park.