MISSION
The mission of the South Beach Chamber Ensemble is to promote and perform chamber music in all its diverse forms, from its origins in the distant past, to the varied cultural creations being produced today, bringing together performers, composers, and audiences to experience the beauty and intimacy of the human spirit. We envision a world where music inspires and energizes all people, creating peace, harmony, joy, and unprecedented satisfaction in being alive.
HISTORY
The South Beach Chamber Ensemble started in 1997 with a free concert of Haydn and Dvorak Piano Trios at the Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach. Since then we have played at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, Coral Gables Museum, Barry University, Jewish Museum of Florida, Wolfsonian Museum, Miami Beach Community Church, and the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center. The ensemble is one of the only arts organizations in south Florida dedicated to offering affordable chamber music programs to new audiences while showcasing local musical talent.
The Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council has given us grants since 1999 for Music in Beautiful Spaces. In addition to our first-rate soloists we also encourage and collaborate with students and faculty from the New World School of the Arts, FIU, University of Miami, Barry University, and the New World Symphony. In the past seventeen years the ensemble has performed works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Golijov, Hummel, Dvorak, Schubert, Saint-Saens, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Onslow, Prokofiev, Poulenc, Couperin, Copland, Turina, Piazzolla, Villa-Lobos and Vaughan Williams.
In February 2004 we were delighted that Executive Artistic Director, Michael Andrews, was invited to Budapest, Hungary where he met the brilliant, young, blind pianist Tamas Erdi. We played the spectacular Schumann Piano Quintet in Eb major with Mr. Erdi in March 2004 in Miami Beach and Miami.
Music in Motion: Miami to Rio, August and September 2005, was a great success. Our performances of Villa-Lobos, Copland and Mendelssohn at the Villa-Lobos Museum, Rio de Janeiro and Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, were well received in both countries. Music in Motion: Miami-Argentina-Brazil, September 2007, included concerts and student programs in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Buenos Aires, Miami Beach and Miami Shores. Audience and student attendance increased by 63% and 300% respectively. We performed a worldwide radio broadcast of Music in Motion on Arts Beat with Ed Bell, WLRN.
In June 2006 the inaugural South Beach Up North (SBUN), a summer chamber music festival in Wausau, Wisconsin, Mr. Andrews’ hometown, was a great accomplishment. Over two hundred people attended the free outdoor concert on the Square to listen to string quartets by Haydn, Barber and Dvorak. Following SBUN, Thomas Moore and Michael Andrews helped inaugurate the Wausau Conservatory of Music’s String Camp for students in the central Wisconsin area. SBUN on August 1-2, 2009 was a great success, with standing room only at the Woodson Art Museum concert with Miami poet Carlos Pintado and Boston composer Pamela Marshall.
We have appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio’s Rt. 51 with Glen Moberg every year since SBUN started. The hour-long live broadcast gives the players a chance to perform for a much broader audience and chat informally about their life and music making. In December 2008 Mr. Moberg chose our June 2008 performance as one of the highlights of the year in central Wisconsin. In 2012 WPR hosted and recorded our piano chamber music concert for broadcast on WPR.
We were invited to perform the Miami premiere of Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasion segun San Marco in January 2007 at the Arsht Center. Others included in the performance were Venezuela’s world-renowned choir La Schola Cantorum, directed by Maria Guinard, a salsa and percussion band and Mr. Golijov himself.
We were excited to be named ensemble-in-residence at Barry University, Miami Shores in 2008. Our 2009 Sleepless Night collaboration in Miami Beach with Miami hip hop artist La Guardia, Nigerian dancer-drummer and Cuban poet was a huge success, with several thousand people attending what Miami New Times declared a “Best Bet.”
Our strategy to develop musically includes application for funding from the Knight Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and other national organizations, foundations, corporations and individuals, giving us the opportunity to play more challenging and collaborative repertoire. We were a Knight Foundation Arts Challenge Miami 2011 finalist for Mozart on the Move.
The world premiere of Mozart Meets Gaga took place on September 30, 2012 at the Miami Beach Senior High School Auditorium, with over 400 people attending. In collaboration with Jim Hammond, Puppet Designer & Managing Director/CEO of Puppet Network, we created a multi-dimensional musical-visual experience for modern families. Using our expertise from our breakthrough project Mozart on the Move, we developed an interactive experience about the mythical time when Mozart met Gaga. Using Hammond’s modern interpretations of ancient European and Asian Shadow Puppetry, the walls around the Chamber Ensemble came alive to spark the audience’s imagination.
Over 700 people listened to our free Mozart on the Move program in April 2013 at the 1100 Block Outdoor Stage, Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. Steve Gladstone, MiamiArtzine, gave our May 2012 concerts, Scandinavia Explored, a glowing review. Fantasma debuted on Sunday, September 22, 2013, at the 1100 Block Outdoor Stage. Over 300 people attended this free dynamic performance art event filled with immense puppetry and spooky tunes. It was our second successful collaboration with Jim Hammond and Puppet Network. Gary Farmer, Miami Beach Cultural Affairs Program Manager deemed it a “rousing success.”
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PRIVATE CONCERTS AVAILABLE
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Michael Andrews has been writing grants ever since he founded the South Beach Chamber Ensemble in 1997. The Ensemble has had excellent results in grant applications thanks to the dedicated board members who work as a powerful team of brilliant thinkers with Mr. Andrews. With the commitment to provide all people access to the “beauty and intimacy of the human spirit” through chamber music, Mr. Andrews says “it is a joy to work with such creative people as Dianne, Alan, Paul, Ruth, Sandra, and Israel..”
Chris Ingalls, principal of Fine Art Appraisals of South Florida, is an Accredited Member of the International Society of Appraisers. ISA Accreditation is achieved by undertaking an intensive course of study in appraisal principles and passing rigorous examinations on the theory and practice of professional appraising as well as on ethical standards of practice and legal considerations. Attaining the ISA AM designation is a major professional achievement for personal property appraisers. The presence of the ISA logo is an assurance to the general public that they are working with an appraiser who is dedicated to upholding the highest of standards in accuracy, competency and integrity in their professional endeavors. Chris Ingalls’s expertise is in Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary Art & Design: Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Works on Paper (Drawings, Prints, and Watercolors), Video & Installation Art and encompasses American, European and Latin American Art of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, as well as Fine Wines and Spirits. Chris Ingalls is an IRS Qualified Appraiser, specializing in the appraisal of Fine Art, Wine and Spirits.
Paul Seligmann Jordan is a writer, translator, and jewelry designer who lives and works in Little Havana. He studied piano from age 9 to 17, till he traded his piano for a car. After studying design in Italy, Paul created Angelini children’s wear which was in stores throughout the US in the ’80s. He owned 2 restaurants including Cafe Montparnasse in Coral Gables. Paul is currently on the board of Camposition where he has collaborated with Octavio Campos in several performance pieces and is currently developing a screenplay for production and has a novel seeking representation. His cooking blog: http://cookingfor11.blogspot.com/ is slowly gaining a following. Paul has been a supporter and admirer of the South Beach Chamber Ensemble since its inception.
Board Member Affiliation:
Board Member Affiliation:
In July 2022, JT Kane joined the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) as its inaugural Dean of Instrumental Studies and Orchestral Performance. He comes to MSM from the New World Symphony (NWS) in Miami Beach, where he served as Vice President for Musician Advancement and Dean of Orchestra. At NWS, JT helped lead the design and implementation of Fellows’ curriculum in the areas of musicianship, and community and audience engagement; organized a roster of 120 distinguished visiting faculty each season; and served as liaison between Fellows and NWS administration in all matters relating to day-to-day operations.
Before joining NWS, JT held positions as the Artistic Operations Manager for Artis—Naples, Orchestra Personnel and Popular Programming Manager with the Louisiana Philharmonic, and Manager of Orchestral Operations at the Aspen Music Festival and School. He is a graduate of the 2019-2020 League of American Orchestras Emerging Leaders Program and is an alum of the League’s Essentials of Orchestra Management Program. He is proud to serve as a senior consortium member for the National Alliance for Audition Support (NAAS)—a national initiative to increase diversity in American orchestras, and helped facilitate its annual Audition Intensives, hosted by New World Symphony.
As a professional violist, JT was invited to Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico in 2001 to begin the Instituto Superior de Música del Estado de Veracruz, a training orchestra and school of music. During his eight years in Mexico, he was Professor of Viola at the Facultad de Música-Universidad Veracruzana, and the Acting Assistant Principal Violist with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa. He has played with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Louisiana Philharmonic, Palm Beach Opera, and Palm Beach Symphony.
JT received his Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance from the Harid Conservatory (now the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University) and was the Teaching Assistant while completing a Master of Music degree in Viola Performance from the University of Miami Frost School of Music. JT has two beautiful daughters—Isabel and Amanda, enjoys hiking, cooking, traveling with his wife Lisa, and playing the ukulele.
Julian Orbon is a marketing professional with a successful 30-year track record in advertising, custom publishing, integrated marketing, business development, and strategic planning. Julian was born in Havana, Cuba, and has lived in Mexico City and New York. An avid patron of the arts, Julian attended his first concert at the age of 3 — introduced to classical music by his father, Cuban composer Julian Orbon, who counted among his friends Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Carlos Chavez, and many other wonderful musicians.
Julian has held Senior Management positions at Source Media, Wax Custom Communications, American Express Publishing, Conde Nast Publications, and Meredith Integrated Marketing, and has also worked as a consultant to clients and advertising agencies. He developed successful marketing programs for a number of clients including AT&T, ADP, The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, the Bank of China, Boston Private Bank, Carnival Cruise Lines, ConAgra Foods, Hawaiian Airlines, The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, Kodak, Puroast Coffee, and many others.
Julian is a graduate of Fordham University, with postgraduate studies in marketing and advertising at New York University. Julian resides in Miami Beach.
Dr. Varela has held his Certified Financial Planner (CFP) license for more than 20 years and worked in financial services in several capacities. He has also taught adults all over the U.S. in both classroom and online settings. He has taught courses in leadership, non-profit management, sales strategies, presentation skills to subject matter experts, talent development and performance assessment, organizational change, organizational communication, cross-cultural competencies, economics, finance, taxation, strategic planning, and financial planning.
Ernie has served on a variety of non-profit boards. He was Vice President of the Hartford City Ballet, a member of the Steering Committee of the Latino Endowment Fund in Hartford, and President of the University of Miami Alumni Club of Greater Miami. Ernie still sits on the board of Cultura Mosaica, a Hispanic cultural non-profit in Hartford, as well as V. P. for Education for the South Florida chapter of Prospanica, the Association of Hispanic MBAs and Professionals. He has helped improve metrics and leadership engagement for a range of organizations in the non-profit, academic, financial service, and sales arenas.
Ruth Stoltz was a registered pharmacist for Bascom Palmer Eye Institute for eighteen years. She received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati in 1967 and moved to South Florida in 1979 with her family. Ruth took an avid interest in music at age four by starting to pick out melodies on the piano from songs she heard on the radio. She began taking piano lessons at age eight and completed her formal music education in high school. Being on the board of the South Beach Chamber Ensemble is Ruth’s expression of a lifelong love of chamber music.
Originally from New York City, Linda Kolko retired in 2011 after a successful 40-year career as a federal executive, 33 years of which were managing international development assistance programs in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Belize in the early 1970’s. In 1989, Linda purchased a nine-unit Art Deco building, designed by L. Murray Dixon in 1936, in the Collins Park neighborhood of Miami Beach and established her business, Flamingo Terrace Enterprises, Inc. She has been visiting Miami Beach regularly since, passing through on her trips to Latin America. She became a full time resident of Miami Beach in 2020. Linda is on the board of the Miami Beach Democratic Club and is the Secretary of All Souls Episcopal Church Foundation of Miami Beach. She is a member of the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the Collins Park Neighborhood Association, Miami Beach United, the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, and the Miami Design Preservation League.
Linda currently serves as the Treasurer of the Board of the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights which advocates for the rights of African Descendants and LGBTQ Human Rights Activists in Latin America and the Caribbean.
A music lover all her life, Linda has sung in church choirs and chorale groups, including in the children’s chorus of some operas (e.g. La Boheme, Carmen, Hansel & Gretel) with the North Shore Friends of Opera in New York.
She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics Education from the University of Vermont. Linda was very active in the Maryland Democratic Party, serving as president of the Women’s Democratic Club of Montgomery County, where she received “Democrat of the Year Award”. She also served as the Takoma Park Maryland Neighborhood Team Leader for the 2012 Obama campaign. She is conversant in Spanish.
SOUTH BEACH UP NORTH ADVISORY BOARD
CHRISTINE PETERSON
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
DIXIE WILHITE
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
JANE JANKE JOHNSON
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
DOUG HOSLER
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
SONJA ACKERMAN
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
JIM FORCE
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Mary Beth Moberg
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER