Performing Artists, October 2022

Praised for her musical elegance and passion, soprano Clarice Alfonso (Oct 12) recently made her Chicago Orchestra Hall debut as the soloist in the North American premiere of Jacob TV’s Mountaintop. Recent engagements include Pamina with Northwest Opera in Schools, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Engage Opera, and Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 at the Seattle Art Museum. Past feats include Rosina in The Barber of Seville with Northwest Opera in Schools, Sister Genovieffa in Suor Angelica with Puget Sound Concert Opera, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Seattle Operamuse, First Lady in Die Zauberflöte with Chicago Chamber Opera, Julia Jellicoe in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Grand Duke, and Silvia in the world premiere of Philip Seward’s Sincerely Yours. An avid singer of not just classical music, Clarice is one of the founders of Forte! Chicago, an all-women’s opera improv ensemble, and frequently performs concerts consisting of art song, jazz, and cabaret.

Beth Ann Bonnecroy (Oct 21) is in demand as a conductor, singer and teacher of voice. She has performed as a soloist with the Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus. She has sung with the Seattle Opera Chorus and Lyric Opera Theatre of Tempe, AZ as well as on several movie and video game soundtracks. In 2013, Beth Ann joined the music faculty of Seattle Pacific University where she teaches voice and conducts the SPU Treble Choir. She is also a member of the music staff of Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church in Seattle where she conducts the Chancel Choir and Handbell Choirs. With colleague, Dori Baunsgard, Beth Ann founded and co-conducts Wanderlust Women’s Choir, a choir dedicated to sharing music through travel. In 2023, they will sing their way from Barcelona to Bordeaux! Beth Ann holds a Bachelor of Music degree in church music/voice from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN and a Master of Music degree in voice performance from Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ.

John Burkhardt (guest artist, Oct 10), principal accompanist and chorus master for Puget Sound Concert Opera, is musically active in the Unitarian Universalist church and has been an opera and musical theater pianist for many years in Seattle and elsewhere. Other operatic work includes rehearsal accompanist for Skagit Opera (now Pacific Northwest Opera) and long-time chorus master for Bellevue Opera. In addition to his musical life, John manages communications for University of Washington, Tacoma and resides in Tacoma, Washington with his husband, abstract artist, J.W. Harrington.

Lin Chen (Oct 15) 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.

Diana Gao (Oct 10, 28) began studying piano at age 4. She moved to the U.S. from China in 2013 to pursue her MBA at the University of Washington (UW), and she’s currently a Senior Marketing Manager at Microsoft. Although she has pursued a career outside of music, the piano has remained a significant mainstay in her life. She has consistently cultivated her passion through regular lessons and performances. She’s been studying with Dr. Robin McCabe from UW and is a prizewinner in many competitions, including Gold Medalist of the Seattle International Competition and First Prize of the “Golden Classical Music Awards” International Competition. She also performed at the prestigious Piano Texas International Festival. Since 2020, she has presented annual fundraising recitals through the Microsoft Give campaign, raising thousands of dollars in support of local organizations. Those events reinforced her belief that music has the power to inspire change and make the world a better place.

Katie Hochman (Oct 10, 15), 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.

Sharon Jung (Oct 15) 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.

Hailed as “dazzling” by Peninsula Reviews, violinist Caitlin Kelley (Oct 12, 28) enjoys a diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, and teaching artist. Caitlin has soloed with orchestras across the country and presented recitals in both the United States and Europe. An avid chamber musician, Caitlin is a member of Wild Up, an LA-based modern music collective, and is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Nightjar, Seattle’s newest chamber music society. She has performed as Guest Concertmaster and Interim Assistant Concertmaster of the Louisville Orchestra, and is the former concertmaster of the Colburn and YMF Debut Orchestras. Caitlin performs frequently with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, and North Corner Chamber Orchestra (NOCCO). Caitlin received a Bachelor of Music degree and Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn School in Los Angeles, and a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in New York.

Joan Lundquist (Oct 15, 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 (Oct 12) 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, of which she is on the Board of Directors, 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, and is the former program Director for Haller Lake Music Series, a neighborhood classical music series featuring local musicians in recital.

Anastasia Solomatina (guest artist, Oct 12) graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2003, where she studied with Peter Serkin and Eleanor Sokoloff. She received her Master of Music and doctoral degrees from Kazan State Conservatory of Music, Russia. Ms. Solomatina maintained a piano faculty position at the Kazan State University of Culture and the Arts, and an assistant faculty position at the Kazan State Conservatory, before leaving for the United States. She received the National Talented Youth Award by Russian presidential decree in 2008. Anastasia has appeared as a soloist with Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra, the Halifax Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra della Magna Grecia, among others. She now resides in Bellevue, WA and focuses on performing solo and chamber music, as well as maintaining a private studio. She is currently the collaborative pianist at the Seattle Conservatory of Music and Forest Ridge of the Sacred Heart, and is in high demand as a coach and collaborator in the Seattle area.

An outstanding member of the Northwest musical community for over 20 years, Regina Thomas (Oct 10) 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.

Catherine Treadgold (Oct 15), mezzo soprano, began her career in New York, performing in musicals, operas, and oratorios. In Seattle she has toured with NOISE, lectured and sung for Seattle Opera previews, and performed with such groups as Bellevue Opera and Musical Experiences. A former winner of the UW’s Brechemin Scholarship, Ms. Treadgold has a B.A. cum laude from Princeton and a M.M. from the UW. She is a member of Actors’ Equity and was once certified as a stage fighter. For five years, Catherine was a voice professor at Shoreline Community College. To learn more, go to www.catherinetreadgoldmezzo.com.

Asta Vaičekonis (Oct 21) holds her MM in Piano Performance from the University of Washington and her Bachelor’s degree from the Lithuanian Academy of Music. Asta was granted a diploma for best accompaniment in the International Competition of Chamber Music in Kaliningrad (Königsberg), Russia (1992). She was a soloist with the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra (2002), performed in the University of Washington Summer Arts Festival (2001, 2003), the Bach Fest (2001, 2002) in Lake Chelan, Washington, accompanist for Ladies Musical Club of Seattle’s Awards Tours (2000, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018), and the Bumbershoot Festival (1999) in Seattle. Asta served as an accompanist and coach in the Summer Chamber Music Seminars in Berlin, Germany (1992, 1993), and has performed with the Chamber Dance Company. She has played many recitals and chamber music programs in various cities of the United States, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Russia, and Israel, and made several recordings for the Lithuanian Radio and Television (1993). She was the first solo pianist to play in Seattle’s own Benaroya Hall. Asta is on the piano faculty at Music Works Northwest, has been staff accompanist at Western Washington University, and is currently on the faculty at Seattle Pacific University.

Kathryn Vinson (Oct 15, 21) is a mezzo-soprano known for the warmth and richness of her voice. She appears frequently in recital in Seattle in venues ranging from Town Hall to Saint Mark’s cathedral. She has an extensive repertoire of German Lieder and has appeared internationally in operas in Europe and the Middle East. Ms. Vinson is equally at home with oratorio and has been a soloist with Seattle Baroque Orchestra and Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers. Her voice can also be heard on the soundtracks of a number of major motion pictures. Ms. Vinson has been a featured singer with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, performing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the annual Christmas production of The Nutcracker.