Category: Artist Biographies

Soprano Clarice Alfonso (Jan 8), acclaimed for her musical elegance and dynamic expression, enjoys a vibrant performing schedule in the Pacific Northwest. Recent highlights feature Bach’s Cantata 51 with Northwest Corner Chamber Orchestra, Rosita in Seattle Opera’s Frida Kahlo and Lucy in The Telephone with Puget Sound Concert Opera. Favorite performances include Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and Silvia in Philip Seward’s premiere of Sincerely Yours. As one of the founders of Forte! Chicago (with her duet partner, Susan Payne O’Brien leading the way), she explores diverse genres, presenting concerts of art song, early music, and musical theater. Clarice’s concert career includes her debut at Chicago Orchestra Hall, collaborations with organist David Briggs, and performances in renowned venues like Carnegie Hall with the Chicago Symphony Choir. She actively contributes to Seattle’s music scene, singing at St. James Cathedral, Temple Beth Am, and with local choral groups such as Opus 7 and Emerald Ensemble. Clarice has a boisterous two-year-old and teaches children’s music classes when she can find a smidgen of time.

Lawrence Chu (Jan 8, 18) is a native of the Seattle area, and currently resides in Bellevue with his family. His former instructors include Phyllis Allport, Frances Walton and Eva Heinitz. After completing 34 years of practice in Emergency Medicine locally, he has begun to reexplore the cello under the guidance of Nathan Chan. He is delighted to have been accepted as an official member of the Ladies Musical Club.

Selina Chu (Jan 8, 18) has been a part of the music community in the Pacific Northwest for over 40 years, as a master teacher and performer. She has served as an adjudicator and visiting artist as well as Board member for such organizations as Washington State Music Teachers Association, National Federation of Music Clubs, and LMC’s Frances Walton Competition. Selina holds advanced degrees in piano performance, from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Washington, as well as national certification as a teacher of music through MTNA. Thirteen years of experience as Alaska Dance Theatre’s Principal Accompanist taught her to play well with others, and she has a special place in her heart for all types of ensembles.

Diana Gao (Jan 18) is a concert pianist and a Senior Marketing Manager at Microsoft. She earned her MBA degree at the University of Washington (UW) in 2015 and is currently studying the piano with Dr. Robin McCabe from UW. She won the Gold Medal of the Seattle International Piano Competition (Outstanding Amateurs Division) and First Prize in the “Golden Classical Music Awards” International Competition, which earned her a solo performance at Carnegie Hall. She’s an active performer in Seattle and international piano festivals. She’s also a Board member of Classical KING and has been a repeated guest of Classical KING’s Northwest Focus Live program. Since 2020, she has presented annual fundraising recitals through the Microsoft Give campaign supporting local non-profit organizations. Those events reinforced her belief that music has the power to inspire change and make the world a better place.

Claire Garvais (guest artist, Jan 12) got her music degree in 2018 from University of California, Santa Barbara where she studied under Andy Radford. In 2020, Claire moved up to Seattle where she plays second bassoon with the Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra and principal bassoon with the West Seattle Community Orchestra’s Wind Symphony. Her favorite composers are Heitor Villa-Lobos and Igor Stravinsky.

Katie Beisel Hollenbach (Jan 21) received a Bachelor of Music degree in clarinet performance from the University of Denver, twice placing in the Boulder Philharmonic Young Artists Concerto Competition, as well as traveling to Assisi, Italy as a finalist in the International Clarinet Association’s annual research competition. She received her PhD in musicology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and currently works at the University of Washington Graduate School. An active musicologist, Katie’s research on 1940s music fandom will soon be published by Oxford University Press, and she is currently serving as the Trustee, Archives for the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle.

Maria Khavin (Jan 21) is a pianist, teacher, and music education enthusiast. Starting her formal education at age six, she subsequently earned her degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Rimsky-Korsakoff State Music College in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Since moving to Seattle in 1992, Ms. Khavin continued to be an active performer and became a passionate educator. She appeared in numerous piano solo performances, and accompanied hundreds of instrumentalists and vocalists. She made her orchestral debut performing Mozart’s G major piano concerto with Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. In Seattle, she worked with Lyric Opera Northwest, NOISE (Northwest Opera in Schools, Etc.), and Mahler’s Festival, among others. Recently, she became a Ladies Musical Club performing member, presenting several concerts a year. Ms. Khavin holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Washington.

Joan Lundquist (Jan 8, 21) has served as a collaborative pianist for Seattle area musicians and organizations for 30 years. Since moving to the area from Humboldt State University in northern California, where she was staff accompanist, Joan has worked with the Northwest Boychoir, Seattle Choral Company, has taught at Seattle University and Northwest University, and has worked with several area private music teachers. Currently, Ms. Lundquist is the Director of Music at Immanuel Lutheran Church in downtown Seattle and rehearsal accompanist for the Seattle Choral Company.

Karin McCullough (Jan 12) is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Piano who gives private lessons in her Ballard studio and performs frequently in Greater Seattle. She co-led two music history tours in Vienna in the early 2000s, is an active volunteer and acting librarian for Seattle Music Teachers Association, and has often performed on KING FM radio on Sean Maclean’s program, Northwest Focus Live. Her most recent performance there—accompanying Brandi Birdsong in songs by H. Leslie Adams—is available on NPR (https://livesessions.npr.org/videos).

Tatiana (Tanya) K. Moore (Jan 21) started studying piano at age six with the goal of becoming a concert pianist. She completed music school studies in Moscow, Russia, and, after immigrating to the U.S., continued them in NYC at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, both preparatory and college levels. Taking an orthogonal path upon graduation from Fordham University and, after a career in the high-tech industry at IBM, Microsoft and Sonos, Tanya returned to music studies at the Chopin Academy of Music. She has been building a new repertoire, performing in concerts, recitals and local competitions.

Rian Morgan (guest artist, Jan 12) is a third-year bassoonist at the University of Washington studying music, under Paul Rafanelli, and nutritional sciences. In the past, she has played in groups such as the Seattle Youth Symphony, Boeing Orchestra of Flight, and has participated in WMEA All-State 2020, and has placed in WA Solo and Ensemble in 2022. She currently plays in the UW Wind Ensemble and Symphony, Ballard Civic Orchestra, and is a member of the Viridian Winds Quintet.

Erika Pierson (Jan 21) earned her bachelor’s in Cello Performance from Indiana University and her master’s in Performance from the University of Michigan. Between her degrees, Erika studied in Berlin, at the Hochschule der Kunste, and in London under Eileen Croxford, FRCM. Her other teachers included Richard Aaron, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Markus Nyikos, and Erling Blondal Bengtsson. Erika has given solo recitals in England, Germany, Spain, and in the United States, and has soloed with orchestras in Berlin, Ann Arbor, and Everett, WA. On the less classical side of things, she has also performed with Mannheim Steamroller, Rod Stewart, The Walkmen, and Deltron 3030. Currently Erika performs regularly as the cellist in NOCCO Chamber Orchestra, and freelances and teaches in the Seattle area.

Ann Rackl (Jan 8, 18), violinist, has retired from a career as an English as a second language teacher at South Seattle College. She is the former assistant concertmaster of Philharmonia Northwest chamber orchestra, where she has been a member since 1976. She holds a Master of Music Education degree from the University of Montana and has studied violin with Emanuel Zetlin and Martin Friedmann in Seattle. Formerly a private violin instructor, these days she especially enjoys playing chamber and orchestral music.

Eric Shankland (Jan 12) has been playing bassoon since age 15. He played in the NCR band and the Youth Philharmonic in Dayton, Ohio. He studied with Arthur Grossman and played in the University Symphony at the University of Washington, and currently studies with Paul Rafanelli of the Seattle Symphony. He was principal bassoon in the Eastside Symphony (Redmond) for fifteen years. Eric is a research scientist at the University of Washington.

Colin Ward (Jan 12) is an alumnus of Western Washington University, having performed with the WWU Concert Choir and appearing in many opera productions, including as Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro. Colin has also appeared in many productions with Puget Sound Concert Opera and with the Seattle Opera Chorus, and is a regular soloist at Christian Science churches in the Seattle area.

Alexa Witowski (guest artist, Jan 12) has been playing bassoon since 6th grade, when she was initially told to try it out because she had abnormally large hands and was thus one of the only 10 year olds that could actually hold it. Since then, she has played with a number of ensembles, the highlights of which include the Princeton University Orchestra, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Austin Chamber Music Center, Austin Youth Orchestra, and the Texas All State band. Professionally, Alexa works in tech as a product director at Motive, the leading connected operations platform for the physical economy.

Jan Bleakney (Dec 9) has the commonly paired joint interests of math and music. She grew up playing flute and piano in Anacortes, and went on to earn a math degree at the University of Washington. She earned her living as a consulting actuary. Since retiring, Jan has been able to rebalance her time to put music in the forefront, including taking up the Celtic harp. Jan regularly performs with her BMW Flute Trio and Music Performance Group, as well as previously participating in Music Northwest, Phinney Ridge Orchestra and International Artists Carillon. She is so thrilled to have worked with such wonderful teachers, Zart Dombourian-Eby, Mark Andersen and Gwen Baker.

Victoria Chaussee (Dec 21), mezzo-soprano, “sings opera favorites beautifully” – The Seattle Weekly. Ms. Chaussee has performed with many Puget Sound area music organizations including Seattle Opera, Seattle Opera Guild, Puget Sound Concert Opera, Bellevue Opera, and Kitsap Opera. Some of her roles include Azucena in Il Trovatore, Principessa in Suor Angelica, Mama Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana, Maddelena in Rigoletto, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, the Mother in Hansel & Gretel and Ursul in Beatrice & Benedict. She has performed in concert with many NW organizations including the Whidbey Island Bach Festival, many performances with Ladies Musical Club and as a national anthem singer for the Seattle Mariners. She is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University and attended the American Institute of Musical Studies. Victoria currently sings with Public Opera and assists with the Metropolitan Opera auditions in Seattle.

Sophia Chou (Dec 21) grew up in New Taipei, Taiwan, and began playing the piano at around age five. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in Computer Science. Sophia has extensive experience in music, including choral and chamber music collaborations. She sees herself as a science-minded individual with an artistic soul.

Karin McCullough (Dec 9, 11) is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Piano who gives private lessons in her Ballard studio and performs frequently in Greater Seattle. She co-led two music history tours in Vienna in the early 2000s, is an active volunteer and acting librarian for Seattle Music Teachers Association, and has often performed on KING FM radio on Sean Maclean’s program, Northwest Focus Live. Her most recent performance there—accompanying Brandi Birdsong in songs by H. Leslie Adams—is available on NPR (https://livesessions.npr.org/videos).

Emily Riesser’s (Dec 11, 21) diverse experience encompasses opera, oratorio, theatre, and new works. She recently portrayed Elle in a staging of Poulenc’s one-voice opera, The Human Voice (Ladies Musical Club), sang Frasquita in Carmen (Kitsap Opera), and played a nun in Sister Act (Tacoma Musical Playhouse). In concert, Emily is known for her interpretation of Bach cantatas, including Wedding Cantata, which she sang recently in several venues. Favorite experiences include singing Iphigenie in Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride (Seattle Opera Guild), Violetta in Verdi’s La traviata (Kitsap Opera), Tamiri in Mozart’s Il re pastore (Off-Center Opera), and soprano chorus at Seattle Opera. Emily is a graduate of Goshen College (Goshen, IN) and past participant in Bel Canto Northwest (Portland State University).

Soprano Tiina Ritalahti (Dec 21) holds degrees in music and vocal performance from the University of Washington. She has performed throughout Washington with Northwest Opera in Schools Etcetera (NOISE), Puget Sound Opera, Ladies Musical Club and Puget Sound Concert Opera, as well as being a featured soloist for the Finlandia Foundation. She has sung such roles as the First Spirit and Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, Lisa in Bellini’s La sonnambula, Änchen in Der Freischütz by Weber, Cis in Britten’s Albert Herring, and Olympia in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman. Further, she has performed in multiple operas by Menotti: Lucy in The Telephone, Monica in The Medium, and Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief. Her passion for singing also extends to art song repertoire, which she performs regularly in recitals around Western Washington. Tiina has created unique breathing classes for young singers that combine her knowledge and experience as a massage therapist, certified yoga teacher and singer.

Praised for his ringing voice and easy stage presence, Korland Simmons (Dec 21) is a recent transplant to the Pacific Northwest. Most recently, he has appeared in the following roles: Police Buddy 2/Congregant 2 in Blue (Seattle Opera), Don Ramiro in La Cennerentola (Seattle Opera Guild previews), Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (OperaBend), and Andres/Cochenille/Franz/Pittichinaccio in Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Pacific Northwest Opera). Previous roles include Don Basilio/Don Curzio (Le Nozze di Figaro), Mendoza (Hiram Titus’ Rosina), Remus (Treemonisha), Remendado (Carmen), Eduardo Milfort (La Cambiale Matrimonio) and Mayor Upfold (Albert Herring).

Soprano Laurel Sprigg (Dec 21) has delighted audiences in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years with her warm, vibrant singing as a concert soloist, recitalist, and chamber music soloist. In public performances, private events, and intimate gatherings, her artistry is communicated through her fresh, clear, and heartfelt singing. Laurel studied vocal performance and music theory at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Dance at Bennington College. An advocate of community engagement, Laurel has given recitals to benefit many community groups. She has recently moved to Poulsbo Washington, and has joined the Bremerton Symphony Chorale, Kitsap Opera outreach program, and the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle.

Susan Strick (Dec 9), soprano, has sung and taught in Seattle for many years. She has appeared with the Seattle Opera, Tacoma Opera, Village Theater (Maria in The Sound of Music) and as a soloist with the Seattle Bach Festival, the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, and the Seattle Choral Company. Susan earned her B.A. in music from Stanford University, M.A. in music from UCLA, and an Opera Diploma from the University of Toronto’s Royal Conservatory. A regional finalist in both the Metropolitan and San Francisco Opera national auditions, she has performed leading roles with many small opera companies. Susan has been a faculty member of the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, where she created and taught “Opera as Theater” in the Honors seminar program as well as teaching voice and being an active performer, music director, and coach in the theater department. Currently she teaches in Seattle and at Music Works Northwest in Bellevue.

An outstanding member of the Northwest musical community for over 20 years, Regina Thomas (Dec 21) has performed with a variety of companies including Kitsap Opera, Willamette Concert Opera, Bellevue Opera, Puget Sound Concert Opera, Seattle Opera, and the Seattle Opera Guild. Currently Artistic Director of Puget Sound Concert Opera, Regina has served as Seattle Opera Guild’s VP of Education and is a past President and trustee of concerts for LMC. Favorite operatic roles include Adriana Lecouvreur, Suor Angelica, Tosca, and Judith (Bluebeard’s Castle). Concert work includes Schumann’s Frauenleibe und-leben, Elgar’s Sea Pictures, and Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder; soprano solos in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Fauré Requiem, and Berio’s Folk Songs for voice and chamber ensemble.

Rob Toren (Dec 11) has been a professional singer for most of his musical life, including most recently undertaking several small roles at Seattle Opera 1998-2014. After retiring from both singing and as a non-profit executive, he has returned to his first love, the piano. Because of his background as a singer and his earlier career days in NYC, he now gravitates towards the art song literature, with programs focusing on both the French (Debussy and Faure) and German traditions (Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Strauss). He most recently studied with Joyce Gibb.

Melet Whinston (Dec 21) studied under Maria DeRungs, and was first chair in the Portland Junior Symphony and Princeton University Orchestra. She has presented school performances as a member of the Leschi Trio and as a duo with Michael Housley, pianist. She has many years of experience as a chamber musician and solo performer, and performs regularly at St Andrew Presbyterian Church and local recitals.

Dhanushi Wijeyakulasuriya (Dec 11), originally from Sri Lanka, holds a Licentiate Diploma in Singing from Trinity College of Music, London. She began voice lessons in 2004, in Sri Lanka with Menaka Sahabandu and also studied with Asitha Tennekoon. At age 17, she made her debut with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, performing selections from operas and operettas. Dhanushi has performed extensively in Sri Lanka. Some highlights include soprano soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Chamber Music Society of Colombo, scenes from The Marriage of Figaro (Susanna) and The Barber of Seville (Rosina) with the Menaka Singers Opera Ensemble and The Phantom of the Opera (Christine Daae) by the Workshop Players. After moving to the U.S. in 2015 she studied voice with Timothi Williams and Dr. Rachel Copeland at Penn State. Dhanushi has since presented several solo recitals in the U.S. She currently continues her vocal studies with Rachel Anne Moore and Barbara Bonney. In addition to her musical pursuits, she holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from Penn State and works as a Senior Data Scientist at Microsoft.

Sharon Wong (Dec 9) is a pianist passionate about playing chamber music with instrumentalists and singers. She began her collaborative piano journey during high school while serving as the organist and choir accompanist for her church. During her university years Sharon studied with Margaret Fabrizio on an 1812 fortepiano (twin to the piano Broadwood sent to Beethoven) while gratifying her inner nerd, earning a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering. Recently retired after serving as a technology executive at multiple startups and major software companies, Sharon now happily plays with many chamber ensembles and subs at various churches around Seattle.

Hilary Field (Sep 27) is a past winner of the Northwest Young Artist Series Competition and was the first guitarist to win the Ladies Musical Club Frances Walton Competition. She has held faculty positions as the head of the Guitar department at Seattle Pacific University and Pacific Lutheran University. Hilary was recently awarded a US Artists International Grant to perform a concert tour throughout Chile with the International Guitar Festival Entrecuerdas in October 2024, and has performed concerts throughout North and South America. Her latest CD, “Premieres,” features new works for guitar that were composed and dedicated to her. She has received grants for composing and performing new music by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, 4Culture, and Artist Trust. The Seattle Times exclaims that classical guitarist, “Hilary Field, is a dynamic player. She doesn’t just recite what can often be complex work, but imbues it with fire and grace.” www.hilaryfield.com

Stephanie Guasch (Sep 27) is a classically trained singer and educator with over 10 years of experience in formal singing. She earned her Master’s Degree at the Mannes School of Music (New York, NY) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico (San Germán, P.R.). During her time at Mannes she studied with Ruth Falcon, and performed in multiple master classes, opera workshops, outreach programs, and recitals. Back in her native Puerto Rico, and an active performer, she was a member of the San Juan Philharmonic Chorale as well as Coralia, the renowned concert choir of the University of Puerto Rico led by the distinguished conductor Carmen Acevedo Lucío. Since relocating to Seattle in 2020 Ms. Guasch has been an active freelance vocalist performing in a wide variety of genres including classical music, bossa nova, jazz, Latin jazz, as well as backup singer for local Latin music ensembles.

Stasia Kulsa (Sep 27), flutist, has a Master of Arts in Music from Washington State University that she completed under the guidance of Dr. Sophia Tegart. In addition, she has undergraduate degrees in Music Performance and Mechanical Engineering from WSU. While at WSU, she performed with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, the Latin Jazz Ensemble, and the Crimson Flute Choir. Since graduating, she has been performing with the Bremerton WestSound Symphony and working as an Acoustics Engineer at Blue Origin.

Karin McCullough (Sep 27) is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Piano who gives private lessons in her Ballard studio and performs frequently in Greater Seattle. She co-led two music history tours in Vienna in the early 2000s, is an active volunteer and acting librarian for Seattle Music Teachers Association, and has often performed on KING FM radio on Sean Maclean’s program, Northwest Focus Live. Her most recent performance there—accompanying Brandi Birdsong in songs by H. Leslie Adams—is available on NPR (https://livesessions.npr.org/videos).

Susan Payne O’Brien (Sep 27) is a poet, performer and opera director living in Seattle. Her writing for theater has been seen on the stages of 2nd Story Chicago, Around the Coyote, Links Hall, The Piven Theatre Workshop and The International Puppetry Festival. She is the founding artistic director of Forte, an all-female improvisational comic opera troupe. In her teaching and work with theatrical and operatic ensembles she is committed to helping students and artists of all levels access authenticity of voice. Recently, she has worked with emerging operatic performers at The Santa Fe Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, DePaul University and The Chicago College of Performing Arts. She is a frequent soloist with Seattle Pro Musica and will be featured in their Spring performances of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Sea Symphony in conjunction with The Auburn Symphony.