Madeline Beery (Mar 18), M.Ed., was a music major, and worked as a Music Therapist for several years before pursuing public health professionally. Since moving to Seattle in 1985, she has studied with Zart Dambourian-Eby, SSO, Wendy Wilhelmi, Vancouver Symphony and Pam Mooney, SSO. She has played in the Dubuque, Alexandria, and Kuala Lumpur Symphonies, and now plays in the Rain City Symphony. She was the co-founder and President of AIDS Impact for 20 years that educated health professionals on AIDS, prevention, and infection control in over 42 countries. Her final public health project for WA State was to lead the planning for a pandemic.
Jan Bleakney (guest artist, Mar 18) 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.
Born in Taiwan, Jonas Chen (guest artist, Mar 18) started learning piano at the age of five. After moving to Seattle in 2005, he picked up the cello at the age of ten. He started his studies in piano and Alexander technique with Richard Asher in 2010, and cello with Page Smith in 2013. While obtaining a degree in finance and accounting at the University of Washington, he performed with various ensembles, such as the UW Symphony Orchestra led by David Alexander Rahbee and Ludovic Morlot, both as a cellist and pianist. He was also principal cellist of the UW Campus Philharmonic for their performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade with Mario Alejandro Torres. He also played in the Seattle Philharmonic Strings, led by Adam Stern and Allion Salvador. After graduating, Jonas continues his playing in orchestras such as the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, Northwest Mahler Festival, and the Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra. He frequently performs at house concerts, weddings, and churches. Jonas performs on a 2013 cello made by Leo Goujard Spiga in Cremona.
Lin Chen (Mar 12, 18) is a freelance vocalist, violinist and music educator in the Greater Seattle area. Growing up in Australia, she was fortunate to study music with esteemed teachers from the Griffith Conservatorium in Brisbane and the Sydney conservatorium. Her experience in vocal performance expands multiple genres including Classical, Musical theatre and Jazz. She currently studies voice with Dr Kari Ragan. Lin is also a violin coach for the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra (BYSO) and performs with a number of local ensembles including her own string quartet—Quartet Evolution. Her career highlights include performing at the Sydney Opera House, Westminster Abbey and Cologne Cathedral. She enjoys giving regular recitals in Seattle with the Ladies Musical Club.
Katie Hochman (Mar 18), soprano, can be heard regularly giving recitals with Ladies Musical Club of Seattle. She has also enjoyed singing opera and oratorio with Puget Sound Concert Opera (PSCO), Opera Theater Oregon, Portland Opera, Utah Opera, Columbia Chorale and Southwest Washington Symphony (SWS). Highlights include the title role of Massenet’s Cendrillon and Héro in Berlioz’s Beatrice et Bénédict performed with PSCO and Exultate, jubilate performed with SWS.
Emiko Hori (Mar 14), a native of Japan, graduated from the renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Piano Performance. She studied with Shigeo Neriki, and performed at numerous places including Banff Centre, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Germany. Emiko became fascinated with and continued her study in Computer Science at Boston University. Busy working in technology companies such as CommerceHub and Microsoft, Emiko thought she would never play the piano again. She was wrong; Emiko became one of the newest performing members of Ladies Musical Club. Emiko enjoys dividing her time between performing concerts, teaching piano, and working at Starbucks HQ’s Digital Commerce team.
Inspired by his grandmother and singing “The Sound of Music” in middle school choir, Michael Housley (Mar 8) began teaching himself piano before studying with Dr. David Brunell at the University of Tennessee. Since moving to Seattle to pursue a career in Architecture, Michael collaborates regularly with Melet Whinston (cellist), accompanies the Seattle University Chapel of St. Ignatius Choir and has participated in several Chamber Music Madness retreats with various chamber ensembles.
Sharon Jung (Mar 12) was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. She is a nurse practitioner, and works in a neurology practice in Tacoma, Washington. She freelances for numerous ensembles in the local area. She has been an LMC member since 1999. She is a former student of LMC member Gail Perstein and is also a former student of Bernard Shapiro.
Pianist Dr. Minju Kim (Mar 12), a native of South Korea, has established herself as a versatile soloist, chamber musician and collaborative pianist. Minju has won numerous awards, including the Sidney Wright Accompanying Competition, Korean Music Association Competition, and Korea-Germany Brahms Association Competition. With her avid interest in chamber music, Minju joined Bowdoin International Music Festival and Music Academy of the West as a fellow in collaborative piano. Currently, Minju serves as collaborative pianist at Shoreline Community College, Seattle University, and Northwest Girlchoir, and works with several private studios for instruments and voice. Minju holds degrees in Piano Performance from Seoul National University (B.M.), Indiana University (M.M./P.D.), and University of Texas in Austin (D.M.A), and in Collaborative Piano from New England Conservatory (M.M.).
Joan Lundquist (Mar 12) 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 (Mar 18) took the less-traveled road to a music career. A serious pianist while growing up in Illinois, she suppressed her aspirations and instead became a paralegal. One day she was asked to accompany opera singers at a Fremont Bistro—a weekly engagement lasting 5 years. By then her popularity as an accompanist, soloist and piano teacher let her trade her life as a paralegal for that of a full-time musician. Karin is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Piano. Karin maintains a flourishing piano studio in Ballard and performs frequently in the Seattle area. She is an active volunteer and member of Seattle Music Teachers Association (SMTA), Principal Organizer for the local chapter of Bach in the Subways, and has served on the boards of SMTA and Musical Experiences, a nonprofit classical music education organization. Karin is the pianist for Third Church of Christ, Scientist.
Katie O’Rourke (Mar 14) works as a music educator and Feldenkrais® Practitioner in the Seattle area. She frequently presents Feldenkrais workshops to local music teachers groups and conferences. Katie also runs the Awareness Through Music Blog, which is dedicated to providing free resources on injury prevention, musicians’ wellness, breathwork, and mindful pedagogy. Katie is a graduate of Western Washington University where she studied piano with Milica Jovanovic and Jeffrey Gilliam. As a pianist, Katie has collaborated with groups such Whatcom Symphony, Skagit Opera, and Whatcom Wind Ensemble, and Bellingham Chamber Orchestra and has been a Ladies Musical Club member since 2015. Katie O’Rourke found her way to composing in 2018 after a decade of playing piano professionally. As a lifelong creative, Katie was drawn to the endless possibilities and the process of blending her favorite sounds, often experimenting with jazz, impressionism, and classical forms, to make something new. Composing has become a much loved endeavor.
Erika Pierson (Mar 14) 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 (Mar 18), violinist, 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 music.
Michael Summy (guest artist, Mar 18) received bachelor degrees in choral music education and piano performance from the University of Idaho. He taught public school in north Idaho and private music lessons in Spokane before passing the CPA exam and moving to Seattle where he worked for 10 years in a CPA firm, then 25 years as an accounting systems programmer in his own firm, and currently as the Accounting Systems Architect for a multinational internet technology company. He has sung Britten’s War Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the direction of Robert Shaw with the National Symphony. Closer to home, he sang for many years with the Northwest Chamber Chorus under the direction of Joan Conlon, including serving as board treasurer then president. He currently sings for pleasure with his own small group and with pick-up groups as opportunities arise.
Melet Whinston (Mar 8) 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 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.
Jared White (guest artist, Mar 18) is a Seattle-native baritone, actor, and private teacher. Known for his powerful voice and commanding stage presence, Jared has had the pleasure of singing for many local performance companies and in concert recitals. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Lowbrow Opera Collective. His love of opera is matched only by his love of dogs, gardening, reading, and the Oxford comma. jaredwhite.studio
Carolyn Wyman (Mar 18) studied viola at the Cornish College of the Arts, UW, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and finally in Oxford, England where she received her diploma L.G.S.M. (Licentiate of the Guildhall School of Music) in London. She has performed internationally in Europe and Canada as well as locally. She plays professionally with the Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra and performs with the Ambrosia String Quartet. Before becoming the director of the Beaux Arts Suzuki Academy of Music, she was a faculty member of the University of Puget Sound Community Music Program. She has been a performing member of LMC since 1989.
Kathryn Zufall (Mar 18) grew up in New Jersey playing string quartets with her sisters. She graduated from Barnard College in mathematics, and then received her MD from Harvard Medical School. After moving to the Northwest, she studied violin with Emanuel Zetlin and Martin Friedmann while still practicing internal medicine and raising 3 sons. She plays chamber music with friends in the Seattle area, and hosts chamber music weekends at her summer home near Snohomish.