Hailed as an artist who "plays with absolute perfection, a refined style, and a ravishing sonority", Jeanne Baxtresser has held principal positions with three major orchestras, culminating with her 15-year tenure as solo flutist with the New York Philharmonic. Making her heralded solo debut with the Minnesota Orchestra at age 14, Ms. Baxtresser began her professional career as principal flutist of the Montreal Symphony immediately following her graduation from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Julius Baker. She was subsequently appointed principal flute of the Toronto Symphony before being invited to join the New York Philharmonic. Ms. Baxtresser appeared as soloist with the New York Philharmonic on more than fifty occasions, and has been the featured soloist with leading orchestras across North America and Europe. Today, she is recognized internationally as a leading recording artist, author, and teacher.

In great demand as a teacher, many of her students occupy principal and section positions in major orchestras throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. In addition to presenting master classes worldwide, Ms. Baxtresser served on the faculty of The Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music. She is currently the Vira I. Heinz Professor of Flute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and Visiting Artist Lecturer at the New England Conservatory in Boston.

Among her solo and chamber recordings is the acclaimed New York Legends - Jeanne Baxtresser (Cala). This season will see the release of Jeanne Baxtresser - Chamber Music for Flute (Cala), featuring her performances with principal players of the New York Philharmonic. She has also recorded the major symphonic works with Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta and Kurt Masur. Ms. Baxtresser's first book, Orchestral Excerpts for Flute with Piano Accompaniment (Theodore Presser), with a companion CD available on the Summit label, has quickly become a vital part of flute pedagogy. Her subsequent book, Great Flute Duos From the Orchestral Repertoire was named the 2004 winner of the National Flute Association's Newly Published Music Competition.

www.jeannebaxtresser.com

Described as a virtuoso flutist by the Boston Globe, Alberto Almarza brings a unique and passionate approach to music. His versatility and musicianship have led him to perform and record some of the most adventurous and challenging pieces from the music of today as well as works from the standard repertoire and Baroque literature on period instruments.

A native of Chile, Mr. Almarza previously held the position of Principal Flute of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Santiago. He later came to the United States to study with Jeanne Baxtresser in New York and with Julius Baker at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he obtained his Master’s degree. He currently serves on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon as Associate Professor of Flute.

His skills as a pedagogue, lecturer and recitalist have led to invitations from international festivals in the U.S., Mexico, Germany, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Peru. He is a resident artist and member of the faculty at The Jeanne Baxtresser International Master Class and has been recently appointed to the National Flute Association Advisory Board for New Music.

Mr. Almarza has appeared as soloist with Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Memphis Symphony, BachFest Chamber Orchestra, and the Symphonic Orchestra of Chile and has collaborated with such artists as Julius Baker, Andrés Cárdenes, Lionel Party and the Cuarteto Latinoamericano, among others. As a leading proponent of new music for the flute, Mr. Almarza has been instrumental in expanding the repertoire with numerous commissions and premieres of works by composers from around the world. Pieces written for him include three flute concertos and dozens of solo and chamber works.

He can be heard on radio broadcasts of International Music from Carnegie Mellon throughout North and South America, on compact discs from New Albion, Elán, Albany Records and Centaur Recordings as well as on a recently released Naxos Records compact disc of the Flute Concerto by Reza Vali with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.

http://www.albertoalmarza.com

Stephen Schultz, called "among the most flawless artists on the baroque flute" by the San Jose Mercury News, and "flute extraordinaire" by the New Jersey Star-Ledger, is principal and solo flutist with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and performs with other leading early music groups such as Chatham Baroque, the American Bach Soloists, and Musica Angelica of Los Angeles. Concert tours have taken him throughout Europe and North America with featured appearances at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Göttingen International Handel Festival, Library of Congress in Washington D.C., Tage Alter Musik Festival, Regensburg, Berkeley Early Music Festival, Monadnock Music, J. Paul Getty Museum Summer Series, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, San Jose Chamber Music Society, and the Nakamichi Early Music Festival. Schultz was a featured soloist in the Mark Morris Dance Group’s critically acclaimed production of Handel's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato.

A graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Holland, Schultz also holds several degrees from the California Institute of the Arts and the California State University of San Francisco. Currently an Artist Lecturer in Music History at Carnegie Mellon University, Schultz's engaging teaching style has left its mark at California State University at Long Beach and Sacramento, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Holy Names College, the University of Southern California, and the University of California at Davis and Los Angeles. Mr. Schultz is also a featured faculty member of the Jeanne Baxtresser International Flute Master Class at Carnegie Mellon University and at the International Baroque Institute at Longy School of Music. In 1986, Mr. Schultz founded the original instrument ensemble, American Baroque. This unique group brings together some of America's most accomplished and exciting baroque instrumentalists, with the purpose of defining a new, modern genre for historical instruments. The group's adventurous programs combine 18th-century music with new works, composed for the group through collaborations and commissions from American composers. Collaborations with such artists and composers as Rudy Rucker, Jonathan Berger, Carl Stone, and the Common Sense Composers Collective yielded an unprecented number of commissioned works written specifically for the group's instruments. American Baroque has been recognized through grants and awards from the Aaron Copland Foundation, Chamber Music America, the Mikhashoff Foundation for New Music, and the Zellerbach Family Fund, and won first prize for the 2000 ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. The ensemble remains the only U.S. chamber ensemble committed to performing both new music and 18th-century works on historical instruments, while continuing to explore the issues raised by both genres, old and new.

As solo, chamber, and orchestral player, Schultz appears on forty-five recordings for such labels as Dorian, Naxos, Harmonia Mundi USA, New Albion, Amon Ra, and Koch International Classics. He has also performed and recorded with world music groups such as D'CuCKOO and Haunted By Waters, using his electronically processed Baroque flute to develop alternative sounds that are unique to his instrument. Schultz has produced and edited forty CDs for his colleagues and lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Tina Blaine, who is on the faculty of the Entertainment Technology Center at CMU.

"Remarkable and phenomenal" ---- San Francisco Examiner
"Stunning warmth and agility" ---- Los Angeles Times
"Schultz is among the most flawless artists on the baroque flute" ---- San Jose Mercury News
"Dazzling" ----Press-Telegram, Long Beach
"Exquisite...Magical " ---- Los Angeles Herald Examiner
"Mesmerizing" ---- Davis Enterprise Weekend
"Simply enchanting" ---- Seattle Times
"Flute extraordinaire" ---- New Jersey Star-Ledger

http://sschultz3.home.mindspring.com/

An active free-lance musician and flute teacher in the Pittsburgh area, Dilshad Posnock currently serves as Artist Lecturer in Flute at Carnegie Mellon University and on the flute faculty of Chatham College, Pittsburgh. She also performs with several ensembles around Pittsburgh including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Posnock has performed as concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician in venues worldwide, including the United States, England, Bermuda, Channel Islands, Puerto Rico and India. She is a founding member of the annual Sangat Music Festival in India, where she collaborates with members of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Solo performances have included concerto appearances with the Bombay Chamber Orchestra, Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra, Royal College of Music Symphony Orchestra, and the Casals Festival Youth Orchestra (as winner of their annual concerto competition); and recitals in venues including St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London and the National Center for the Performing Arts, Bombay. She has appeared on BBC TV and been broadcast on BBC World Service radio as well as WQED Radio (Pittsburgh).

Ms. Posnock completed her undergraduate studies with honors at the Royal College of Music in London, England; and received her Masters Degree in Flute Performance from Carnegie Mellon University as a student of Jeanne Baxtresser, Former Principal Flute of the New York Philharmonic. She maintains close ties with her home, Bombay, India, where she frequently performs and gives private lessons and master classes.

Ms. Posnock has been the recipient of several awards and prizes including a scholarship from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust in the UK. On completing her studies in London, she was presented with the RCM's most prestigious award, the Tagore Gold Medal.

Armenian pianist Vahan Sargsyan's piano teachers are Honored Teacher of Armenia Elza Tandilyan and his father, renowned pianist Professor Villi Sargsyan.

He has completed his graduate and post-graduate degrees from the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory.

Mr. Sargsyan was named Second Prize Winner of the International Piano Competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and twice, the winner of the Pittsburgh Concert Society Auditions.

He has performed both as a recitalist and a collaborative pianist in Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Italy, Austria, Argentina, Brazil and USA.

Vahan has recorded a CD of all his favorite art-song transcriptions with eminent tenor-saxophonist James Houlik, among other recordings released on Alanna and Aerophon records.

Since his move to Pittsburgh Mr. Sargsyan has appeared as soloist with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and performs with regularity as the orchestra pianist, along with his work at the Carnegie Mellon University.