Musicians

Resident Musicians

KAREN LORD-POWELL

MUSICIAN BIO:

Violinist Karen Lord-Powell enjoys a varied career as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and teacher. She teaches violin, chamber music, and orchestral repertoire at the Frost School of Music, and is a member of the leadership team for the Experiential Music Curriculum, Frost’s innovative approach to musicianship training. Formerly Principal Second Violin of the Louisville Orchestra, Karen’s orchestral experience includes work with the Indianapolis and Houston Symphonies, and with renowned conductors such as Stephane Deneve, Mariss Jansons, and Leonard Slatkin. 

Karen’s chamber music collaborations include performances as part of the Kentucky Center Chamber Players, the Sona String Quartet, and with members of the Bergonzi, Amernet, and Baumer String Quartets.  She currently performs with the Nu Deco Ensemble and recently recorded an album of new works for Centaur Records with her husband, double bassist Brian Powell. Karen spends her summers as a tenured member of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in Western New York State and considers it a personal challenge to fit everyone, including two kids, a dog, and her husband’s double bass, into the car for the yearly trip North.

INSTRUMENT:

VIOLIN

SHEENA GUTIERREZ

MUSICIAN BIO:

Sheena Gutierrez has performed in Carnegie Hall, New World Center, Adrienne Arsht Center, Harris Theater, Studzinski Hall, Benedict Music Tent, KKL Luzerne Concert Hall (Switzerland), and König Albert Theater (Germany).

Ms. Gutierrez regularly travels to festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, Lucerne Academy Festival (Switzerland), Moritzburg Festival Academy (Germany), Bowdoin International Music Festival, Eastman School of Music: Music Horizons Program, Stringendo School for Strings. She joined the Sphinx Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, comprised of Top Laureates of the Sphinx Competition, on their 2011 tour, celebrating the Sphinx Organization’s 15th anniversary. As an avid contemporary musician, Sheena has participated in the Charles E. Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music, the Boston Conservatory New Music Festival, and the Boston New Music Initiative. She was also selected for 3 seasons to travel to Lucerne, Switzerland, and Paris, France, to participate in the Lucerne Academy Festival.

Sheena was introduced to the violin at the age of 12 with Mariana Carreras, a violinist from Havana, Cuba. She later studied with Thomas Moore, world-renowned Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the New World School of the Arts and Professor Emeritus of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. She completed her undergraduate degree at the Boston Conservatory of Music. She completed her Master’s and Doctorate at the University of Miami.

INSTRUMENT:

VIOLIN

ANGELA KRATCHMER

MUSICIAN BIO:

A native of Iowa, violist Angela Kratchmer maintains an international career as a teacher, performer, and arts administrator. Committed to socially-motivated artistic practice, Kratchmer was selected to join the Global Leaders Program as a member of the 2018 Cohort, and recently completed the program’s certificate in social justice, teaching artistry, cultural agency, and social entrepreneurship with teaching artist residencies in Chile, Paraguay, and Tanzania.

Kratchmer holds degrees from Luther College (BA ’13), the Eastman School of Music (MM ’16), and is currently pursuing a DMA at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami as a Henry Mancini Institute Fellow and Teaching Assistant to her teacher and mentor Jodi Levitz. Kratchmer’s former teachers include Spencer Martin and Carol Rodland.

INSTRUMENT:

VIOLA

MICHAEL ANDREWS

MUSICIAN BIO:

After growing up in Wausau, Wisconsin, cellist and SBCE director Michael Andrews attended the University of Wisconsin and the University of Illinois, where he studied with Gabriel Magyar of the Hungarian String Quartet. Following graduation, he moved to Boston to study with George Neikrug. For five years Mr. Andrews played with the Orquesta Filarmonica de Caracas, Venezuela, taught at the orchestra’s conservatory, and toured Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Returning to the US he taught and performed at the Wausau Conservatory of Music. In Florida, he has played in the Naples Philharmonic, Southwest Florida Philharmonic, and the Symphony of the Americas. In August 2005 he played at the Villa-Lobos Museum in Rio de Janeiro with violinist Thomas Moore, part of SBCE’s Music in Motion: Miami to Rio. In June 2006 he created a successful annual chamber music festival, South Beach Up North, in his hometown. In September 2007 he and Mr. Moore toured Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Buenos Aires with their second Music in Motion project. Past travels have included Paris, Lourdes, and Budapest. Mr. Andrews implemented and taught a chamber music program at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy for Girls, South Miami, and at Fisher Island Day School. He is a Teaching Artist with Miami Music Project.

INSTRUMENT:

CELLO

MICHAEL LINVILLE

MUSICIAN BIO:

Pianist, percussionist, harpist, and conductor, Michael Linville is currently Associate Dean and Director of Chamber Music Activities for the New World Symphony, the orchestral academy founded in 1987 by Michael Tilson Thomas. Mr. Linville is also the artistic coordinator of the New World Percussion Consort, an ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary chamber music that features percussion.

As a soloist, Mr. Linville has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the New World Symphony, the Breckenridge Chamber Orchestra, and the National Repertory Orchestra. In addition, he has played with the Honolulu Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, and was a featured keyboardist with the Florida Philharmonic. His playing can be heard on a number of recordings, including New World Jazz (BMG), A Night in the Tropics – the Music of Gottschalk (Naxos), and White Mares of the Moon – Chamber Music of Dan Welcher (CRI), which Mr. Linville also produced.

INSTRUMENT:

PIANO

Guest Musicians

Carlos Salmerón

MUSICIAN BIO:

Carlos Adriel Salmerón is a renowned figure and active pianist in Mexico. He’s committed to exploring the diversity of piano repertoire and the many ways he can interact with other musicians. He develops his artistic activities with solo piano recitals, chamber music, voice and piano recital, and as a soloist with symphony orchestras. In his performances he considers it a priority to enrich the audience’s musical experience through didactic interaction.

Mr. Salmerón has performed in major concert halls in Mexico, Latin America, Europe and Asia. He has also appeared as soloist with some of Mexico’s major orchestras and regularly plays with renowned instrumentalists and singers throughout the country. He has a full time position as a concert pianist at the prestigious Group of Soloists of the National Institute of Fine Arts. In 2020 he joined his colleague violinist Fernanda Villalvazo in a chamber music project known as Kanira Ensamble. Carlos Salmerón is a piano and chamber music instructor at the College of Music of the National Institute of Fine Arts and at the Fine Arts Department of Panamericana University. He has been on the jury in many piano competitions in Mexico.

INSTRUMENT:

PIANO

ISAAC CASAL

MUSICIAN BIO:

Panamanian cellist Isaac Casal is a versatile, classically trained cellist whose trademark is built around the concepts of performance variety and flexibility, covering a range of musical languages that span from classical to world, Latin, and folk. He has performed numerous solo recitals, chamber and orchestral music concerts, and as a soloist throughout Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

Mr. Casal has premiered pieces by composers Jorge Figueroa, Jorge Bennett, Darwin Aquino, Dinos Constantinides, Guido López-Gavilán and Howard Lew. In 2012 he created the Ensemblast Project, which fuses the aesthetics of the classic quartet with Latin American styles borrowing freely from an array of musical languages. In 2019 with the support of the University of Panama, Ensemblast Project launched its first discography.

A visionary of his generation, at the age of 25, Isaac founded Sinfonía Concertante Foundation of Panama (FUNSINCOPA). The foundation’s mission has been to create educational music programs for low-income children and youth, including an orchestra system for high-risk children inspired by El Sistema orchestral program of Venezuela. He is also the Artistic Director and founder of the Alfredo Saint-Malo Music Festival of Panama (ASMF), an annual one week festival that saw its inception on May 25, 2007, and has become one of the most important music festivals of the Central American region. In May 2019, the Festival has been recognized by law by the Panamanian Government as a national annual festival. In June 2015, the ASMF received the award “Anita Villalaz,” granted by the Anita Villalaz Panama national cultural award commission.

In April 2016, Isaac received an award for his “Cultural Achievements” by the Youth Orchestra of The Americas. In May 2015, he received the award “Ciudadanos Notables de Panama 2015” (Remarkable Citizens of Panama 2015), granted by the Panama’s National Commission of Pro Civic Values and Morals. In 2013, he was invited to participate by the Salzburg Global Seminar to the “Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders II.” In 2012, he received the Hildegard Behrens Foundation Young Artist Humanitarian Award. In the same year, the Junior Chamber International of Panama City awarded Isaac the Outstanding Musician in the Culture category.

INSTRUMENT:

CELLO

ROCHELLE PEARSON

MUSICIAN BIO:

Rochelle Pearson was a violist in the New World Symphony, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, which traveled extensively throughout Europe, Israel, and South America. They recorded the CD “Tangazo,” which was nominated for a Grammy. While there she received private viola lessons and master classes from Robert Vernon, Victoria Chiang, Ellen Rose, Lisa Boyko, Yitzhak Schotten, and Lynne Ramsey. In her youth, she played in the Portland Youth Philharmonic, which played a joint anniversary concert with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. She received her M.M. in Music Performance and graduated (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Akron. Rochelle is currently on the string faculty at the Wausau Conservatory of Music and assistant principal violist with the Central Wisconsin Symphony. She was a member of the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra. She resides in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, with her husband Tom.

INSTRUMENT:

VIOLA

ERIC EAKES

MUSICIAN BIO:

Eric Eakes enjoys an active career as a performer, teacher, recording artist, and artistic content consultant. He has performed with internationally recognized artists including Estelle, Andrea Bocelli, Jorge Mejia, Ben Folds, Jon Secada, Garth Knox, Take 5, and Midori. While in his home state of North Carolina, Eric worked in the Fayetteville Symphony, Durham Symphony. Since moving to South Florida, he has worked with the Naples Philharmonic, Miami Bach Society, Orchestra Miami, Palm Beach Symphony.

Eric holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Viola Performance from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music under the tutelage of his friend and mentor, Jodi Levitz. In addition to his role as a student, Eric worked as the Personnel and Operations Manager of the Henry Mancini Institute, and as the assistant to the Artistic Coordinator of the Frost Stamps Ensembles.

An avid supporter of new music, Eric has had the privilege to meet and work with award-winning composers such as Augusta Read Thomas, Christopher Theofanidis, Robert Paterson, and Martin Bresnick. Through his work in the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, he has also cultivated a great appreciation for film music and has since performed with film composition stars such as John Williams, Quincy Jones, Jeff Beal, and James Newton Howard. As an artistic consultant, Eric works with musicians on topics such as recording professional-quality audio, video, content branding, and the coordination of large-scale projects.

INSTRUMENT:

VIOLA

Rie Tanaka

MUSICIAN BIO:

A native of Osaka, Japan, Rie Tanaka is a prize-winner of international and national competitions in Japan and the U.S. She was the winner of the MTNA Young Artist Competition in the West Central Division, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. She also won top prizes at Schubert Club Competition (1st), Chautauqua Piano Competition (Finalist, Commissioned Piece Award), and Rosenstock International Piano Competition (Special Judge’s Award).

Rie maintains a full concert schedule for solo and chamber performances. She was featured on Minnesota Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Radio, StarTribune, Des Moines Symphony Orchestra’s DMSO at Home, Leif Eriksson International Festival, among many regional channels and concert series. She has appeared in venues such as NHK Osaka Hall, Phoenix Hall, Osaka Japan, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Landmark Center in St. Paul, Thrasher Opera House, Wisconsin, among others.

As a chamber musician, she collaborates with her husband and cellist Jesse Nummelin (assistant principal Cellist, Des Moines Symphony Orchestra) as Duo Ihana. She has been a guest pianist with the South Beach Chamber Ensemble for their annual Wisconsin tour for the past 8 years, performing numerous major piano trios, quartets, and quintets. She has collaborated with members of the Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Phoenix Symphony, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and many other notable musicians.

Rie’s passion to create an innovative performance of classical music lead to a collaborative partnership with a ballet dancer and choreographer Ms. Yuki Tokuda. Together they founded a multi-disciplinary group, “Mirage Performing Arts” in 2019. Their inaugural concert was sold out for all three shows and was featured as “the week’s best Classical concert” by the StarTribune. Their projects during the Covid-19 pandemic ranged from a virtual benefit concert raising over $1,000 for a Covid-19 relief fund to an outdoor performance on the fountain in Peavey Plaza, as well as various other video collaborations.

Ms. Tanaka has been an advocate for musician’s wellness ever since she went through injuries on both of her wrists in 2012. As a certified Yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance with an RYT 200, she has led Yoga classes and lectures at Green Lake Chamber Music Camp, Saint Paul Chamber Music Institute, and Minnesota International Piano Camp. She co-directed an online wellness program, “Peaceful Musicians,” at the University of Arizona as well as independently. She presented her doctoral thesis, “Wellness for Musicians; Blueprint to Your Very Own Injury Prevention Course,” at various Music Teachers Associations in the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Washington. In response to Covid-19, she co-directed an online course “Peaceful Musicians: 5-Day Challenge” and taught at the University of Arizona, which included daily live class via ZOOM: lecture, Yoga, meditation, workbooks, and more.

Rie attended the prestigious music special training school at Yuhigaoka High School in Osaka, Japan, which led to the musical tour in Vienna, Austria, performing in Wiener Musikverein. She received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, where she studied under Dr. Raffi Besalyan. While there, she was a recipient of more than 15 scholarships and awards for her excellence in performance and academia. Ms. Tanaka received a Master’s and Doctor of Musical Art degrees in Piano Performance at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, studying under Alexander Braginsky and serving as a teaching assistant.

Rie is a piano faculty at the Saint Paul Conservatory of Music, and Mount Olivet School of Music.

INSTRUMENT:

PIANO

INSTRUMENT: PIANO