Sophia Stoyanovich
photo by Wah Lui
Hailed as "a spectacular young violinist" by the Seattle Times music critic Bernard Jacobson, fourteen-year-old Sophia Stoyanovich has appeared as soloist with a number of orchestras. She premiered at age ten with the Bremerton Symphony Orchestra, followed shortly by an appearance with the Butte Symphony Orchestra. This season, in addition to appearances with Thalia Symphony and the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra, she will make her debut at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra playing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor. Miss Stoyanovich is the winner of the Seattle Symphony Young Artists Auditions (2010), selected by Maestro Gerard Schwarz.
She has been awarded scholarships to the Interlochen Arts Academy (2007), Indiana University String Academy (2008) and the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra (2010). She was a winner of the Bremerton Symphony Youth Showcase (2006 and 2008) and has served in various leadership roles, including concertmaster of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras' Junior Symphony and the Greater Kitsap Honors Orchestra. She is also a regular soloist with the Saint Cecilia Festival Recital Series.
She began violin studies at age six and is currently a student of Ron Patterson, past concertmaster of the Monaco Symphony and student of Jascha Heifetz. Miss Stoyanovich lives with her family on Bainbridge Island, where she is a freshman at Bainbridge High School.
Walter Gray
Walter Gray has now broken the 30 year mark with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra after humble beginnings in the Pacific Northwest. During those years, he has been featured as soloist several times, including the world premier of a new concerto by David Kechley. "Gray played with his usual intensity and flair... the cello's lyrical possibilities are realized" (Seattle Times). Never one to rest on his laurels, he has also been on the faculties of the University of North Texas, Western Washington University, State University of New York at Geneseo, and is currently enjoying afternoons with his students at Seattle University.
This summer Mr. Gray has performed at the Santa Barbara Chamber Music Festival. "The evening closed with a shatteringly beautiful rendition of Samuel Barber's Sonata for Violoncello and Piano (1932) by cellist Walter Gray." He is also principal cello with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra and has participated in the Marrowstone, Waterloo, Mostly Mozart, Grand Teton, Mt. Gretna, Olympic, Cabrillo, and Tidewater Music Festivals.
Mr. Gray has recorded for Delos, CRI, New Albion, Klavier and Mode. He has also served as recording producer for the London Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Chamber Orchestra, New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, and the New Performance Group. As a founding member of the new music ensemble Quake, Mr. Gray produced and performed on the CD Seven Mirrors, music of Chinary Ung, on New World Records. Quake was recently featured in a performance at the Zagreb Biennale in Zagreb, Croatia. The past year has seen Mr. Gray continue his world travels: from DePaul University in Chicago for Cello Slam to Moscow with the ODEONQUARTET to Korea with the Liverpool Trio.
Keep your eyes open this coming season, and you will see him continuing to perform and record with Music of Remembrance, the Barston Quartet, the Liverpool Trio, and in solo performances around Washington state.
GEORGE HALVERSON FIORE
Dr. George Halverson Fiore began his tenure as Senior Organist at First Presbyterian Church in November of 1999. Prior to his arrival at First Pres, George spent twenty-one years as organist and Coordinator of Music at Edmonds United Methodist Church and First United Methodist Church of Seattle, and from 1967-71 was organist and choir director at The Cathedral of St. James in Seattle. George holds a Doctorate degree from Alaska Pacific University.
Perhaps George is best known to the Seattle community in his role as chorus-master of the Seattle Opera, a position he held for sixteen years. In the summer of 2000, he was appointed Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony for Choral Activities, a role which has won him much acclaim. An accomplished pianist, George has performed as soloist with the Seattle Symphony in Saint-Saens Third Piano Concerto. He has been heard as soloist with the Bellevue Philharmonic, Federal Way Philharmonic, Thalia Symphony, and Cascade Symphony in all five Beethoven concertos, the two Chopin concertos, and the Schumann piano concerto.
See Melinda Bargreen's article about Maestro Fiore in the Seattle Times
KIMBERLY GIORDANO
Soprano Kimberly Giordano, lauded for her “polished”, “sterling” and “honest performance” (Seattle Times) embodies the lyric soprano repertoire with her distinctive blend of elegance and emotion. Recent highlights include Ms. Giordano’s appearance as Marguerite in Faust with Tacoma Opera and her Seattle Opera debut in Elektra (Die Vertraute). The 2010-11 season brings a return to Tacoma Opera, singing Nedda in Pagliacci and Trio Soprano in Trouble in Tahiti, as well as song recitals in Seattle and New York. The 2009-10 season marked her first foray into Verdi, appearing as la Voce di Cielo in Don Carlo with Bellevue Opera as well as her Benaroya Hall debut, singing Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Seattle Youth Symphony. Ms. Giordano’s operatic roles typify her skill as both an actress and musician, including the principal roles of Micaëla in Carmen, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Rose in Street Scene and the title role in Hansel and Gretel. She has appeared with a wide range of companies, including Tacoma Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Aspen Opera Theater Center, Bellevue Opera and NOISE.
Equally compelling on the concert stage, Ms. Giordano made her Carnegie Hall debut in Vaughan Williams' Dona nobis pacem with the New England Symphonic Ensemble. She has sung Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Helena Symphony, and Mozart's C minor Mass with the Bremerton Symphony Association. A committed performer of contemporary music, Ms. Giordano sang the role of Kelly in the West Coast premiere of Black Water, with music by John Duffy and libretto by Joyce Carol Oates. She has sung Madame Altina in Pasatieri's La Divina, and appears this season with the Affinity Chamber Ensemble, performing Elizabeth Alexander's My Aunt Gives Me a Clarinet Lesson.
Ms. Giordano was a finalist in the inaugural Irene Dalis Competition, the Vera Scammon SOS Competition, the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle Award-Tour Competition and a semi-finalist in the Joy in Singing Competition. She holds a Master of Music degree in Voice from the University of Washington and a BFA in Music Theatre from Illinois Wesleyan University.