Tag: virtual concert

Performing Artists, January 2022

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John Burkhardt (Jan 22), 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.

Pianist Dr. Xin Chang (Jan 28) is originally from China. She is active as a collaborative pianist, chamber musician and piano teacher throughout North America and Asia. She was a full-time Collaborative Pianist at the University of Wyoming. She holds a doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music and a Bachelor’s degree from Renmin University of China. Her principal teachers were Dr. Colette Valentine, Anne Epperson, Dr. Jean Barr and Dr. Fang Zhang. Dr. Chang moved to Seattle in 2020 and currently works as the accompanist of Seattle Bach Choir. She enjoys teaching piano to all levels of students. She currently maintains a private studio in Seattle and works as a piano instructor at the Yamaha-authorized La Belle Music School in Bellevue, WA.

Lin Chen (Jan 28) 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.

Lawrence Chu (Jan 20), cello, 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. He has been practicing Emergency medicine locally for the past 32 years. He would like to thank Ann and Selina for this opportunity to rekindle his passion for making music together.

Selina Chu (Jan 20) holds a special place in her heart for all types of ensemble playing, from duo-piano recitals to choral works, chamber music, and dance collaboration. During her association with Alaska Dance Theatre as their Principal Accompanist, Selina developed a lifelong interest in the expressive relationships between movement and music. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Washington, a Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and permanent National Certification from MTNA. Selina maintains an independent piano studio in Issaquah and has served as an adjudicator, clinician, and master teacher throughout the Pacific Northwest. She is known for her sense of humor and creative approach to learning and performance.

Emiko Hori (Jan 15, 20), a native of Japan, graduated from renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Piano Performance. She studied with Shigeo Neriki, performed at numerous places including Banff Centre, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Germany, and others. 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.

Sharon Jung (Jan 22) 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.

Dr. Jennifer Li (Jan 15) completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in 2001. In that same year, she was awarded the Special Presentation Award by Artists International, which presented her solo debut recital at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. Jennifer has performed in master classes for renowned concert pianists including John Perry, Lazar Berman, John O’Conor, and Roslyn Tureck, among others. She has given solo recitals in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, and the Netherlands. Since returning to her hometown of Seattle in 2003, Jennifer has established a successful private teaching studio and continues to perform as a soloist and chamber musician.

Karin McCullough (Jan 15) 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 also the program Director for Haller Lake Music Series, a neighborhood classical music series featuring local musicians in recital.

Gail Perstein (Jan 22) has a Bachelor of Science from Springfield College, a Bachelor of Music from P.L.U., a Master of Music from U.W. (both in oboe performance) and a Master of Arts in Historical Musicology, also from U.W. She splits her time between teaching oboe privately, performing on oboe/English horn, and performing early music. She played in both early and classical music groups at P.L.U. and U.W., and continues performing in various settings, ranging from Tacoma Opera to local church services. Ms. Perstein performed for many years with her own medieval group, Chansonnier, using period instruments. She was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle for 22 years and chair of the Frances Walton Competition Committee for 23 years.

Ann Rackl (Jan 20), 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.

An outstanding member of the Northwest musical community for over 20 years, Regina Thomas (Jan 22) 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 LMC’s trustee of concerts and Artistic Director of Puget Sound Concert Opera, Regina has served as Seattle Opera Guild’s VP of Education and is a past President of 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.

LMC’s 2021 – 2022 Public Concerts Season Kicks Off October 15th

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SEATTLE, Washington – October 2021 — With a mix of livestream and pre-recorded concerts, LMC’s 2021 – 2022 Public Concerts Series begins Friday, October 15th. 

Regina Thomas, Public Concerts Chair, announced details of this upcoming season in a video posted on LMC’s Facebook on October 5th. She notes that: “We are taking our virtual season to the next level this year…we are adding livestream concerts for the first time to our schedule.” The season kickoff weekend will feature two livestreamed concerts, the first on Friday, October 15th at 7:30pm and the second on Saturday October 16th at 2:00pm. Stream these concerts through LMC’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LMCSeattle/videos/

To watch Thomas’s full announcement, visit https://www.facebook.com/LMCSeattle/videos/168669225439773/ .

For the LMC’s full fall concert schedule, see the LMC’s Concert Calendar here: https://lmcseattle.org/concerts-events/public-concerts/

We look forward to watching with you all!

Virtual Happy Hour Artists, June 2021

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Annie Chang Center (June 4 & 11), violist/pianist, started performing in her native Taiwan for foreign dignitaries when she was six years old. Since coming to the U.S., Annie has performed in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. As a piano soloist, she performed with San Francisco Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. As violist, she performed at the Marlboro, Ravinia, Olympic, Utah, Prague, and Red Rocks Festivals, and has collaborated with members of the Juilliard, Guarneri, Emerson, Cleveland, and Philadelphia Quartets. For ten years, she was the assistant principal violist of the Phoenix Symphony, for which she performed regularly as a viola soloist. She has also played in the AZ Musicfest Orchestra, Black Pearl Orchestra, South Florida Symphony, and Seattle Opera. Currently, she plays in the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.

Pianist Xin Chang (June 4 & 18) is originally from China. She has performed and taught throughout North America and Asia. As an active collaborative pianist, chamber musician and piano teacher, Dr. Chang was a full-time collaborative pianist at the University of Wyoming. She has also been on faculty at the Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy, Texas Low Brass Academy and the International Violin Festival and Competition in Singapore. Dr. Chang attended prestigious summer festivals including Interlochen Center for the Arts, SongFest, Brevard Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival and School, Banff Centre and the Castleman Quartet Program. Dr. Chang has performed with violinist Charles Castleman, baritone David Small, tubaist Charles Villarrubia, saxophonist Toshikazu Nagase and recorded with double bass player DaXun Zhang. As a soloist, Dr. Chang won 2nd prize in the Colorado International Piano Competition at Northern Colorado University. She has also performed with the Jiangsu Orchestra of China. Dr. Xin Chang enjoys teaching piano to all levels of students. She currently maintains a private studio in Seattle and works as a piano instructor at the Yamaha-authorized La Belle Music School in Bellevue, WA. Dr. Chang completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She also received a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, as well as a Bachelor of Music degree from Renmin University of China. Her principal teachers were Colette Valentine, Anne Epperson, Jean Barr and Fang Zhang.

Lin Chen (June 11) keeps herself busy singing and playing the violin as a freelance musician in the Greater Seattle area. Her vocal adventures started at the age of 16 when she started taking singing lessons out of her love for musical theatre. It wasn’t long before she started to discover a new interest for opera and has been singing and learning the classical repertoires ever since. Growing up in Australia, she was fortunate to study with a number of teachers from the Griffith and the Sydney conservatoriums and was an active participant in the local performance scene. Lin is excited to be a part of LMC and looks forward to sharing her music with the LMC community!

Lawrence Chu (guest artist, June 11), cello, 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. He has been practicing Emergency medicine locally for the past 32 years. He would like to thank Ann and Selina for this opportunity to rekindle his passion for making music together.

Selina Chu (June 11) holds a special place in her heart for all types of ensemble playing, from duo-piano recitals to choral works, chamber music, and dance collaboration. During her association with Alaska Dance Theatre as their Principal Accompanist, Selina developed a lifelong interest in the expressive relationships between movement and music. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Washington, a Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and permanent National Certification from MTNA. Selina maintains an independent piano studio in Issaquah and has served as an adjudicator, clinician, and master teacher throughout the Pacific Northwest. She is known for her sense of humor and creative approach to learning and performance.

Violinist Angie Kam (June 18) is an established performer and teacher in the Seattle area. She enjoys playing regular recitals as a performing chamber musician and soloist with the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle. As a professional orchestral violinist, she is assistant principal second violinist of the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, and a section player in the North Corner Chamber Orchestra. Angie has performed with many major pop groups including the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones composer), Il Divo, Idina Menzel, Evanescence, Lindsey Stirling, Sarah Brightman, and Michael Bublé. She is also an active studio recording musician for movies and video games. When she’s not playing, practicing, or teaching, Angie enjoys mountaineering, skiing, hiking, running, eating, and spending time with her family (husband and dog).

Joan Lundquist (June 11) 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.

Ann Rackl (June 11), 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.

Mezzo-soprano Katie Stevenson (June 4 & 18) has performed in numerous concerts in Seattle with the Puget Sound Concert Opera, including Anna Bolena, Cavalleria Rusticana, and their annual gala. While living in NYC, Katie worked with Dicapo Opera, Amato Opera, and Opera Collective, performing roles such as Romeo in I Capuleti e I Montecchi, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, and Henrichetta in I Puritani. In Philadelphia she sang the title role in Carmen, Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana, and Emilia in Otello. While living in Europe, Katie travelled to perform in concerts and festivals in England, Ireland, and Germany. She now lives in Seattle with her husband and puppies and works as a church music director and private voice instructor, while still enjoying life as a performer. www.katiehstevenson.com

Virtual Happy Hour Artists, May 2021

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Annie Chang Center (May 21), violist/pianist, started performing in her native Taiwan for foreign dignitaries when she was six years old. Since coming to the U.S., Annie has performed in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. As a piano soloist, she performed with San Francisco Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. As a violist, she performed at the Marlboro, Ravinia, Olympic, Utah, Prague, and Red Rocks Festivals, and has collaborated with members of the Juilliard, Guarneri, Emerson, Cleveland, and Philadelphia Quartets. For ten years, she was the assistant principal violist of the Phoenix Symphony, for which she performed regularly as a viola soloist. She has also played in the AZ Musicfest Orchestra, Black Pearl Orchestra, South Florida Symphony, and Seattle Opera. Currently, she plays in the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.

Molly Knight Forde (May 14), pianist, is an acclaimed performer and recording artist whose attention to subtle nuance and color have ranked her among the finest musicians. She has performed as a solo pianist across the U.S. and in Europe, and has broadcast live on Radio France, Antenne 2, National Public Radio and regularly on KING FM. Ms. Knight was the recipient of the Diplôme de Virtuosité at the Schola Cantorum in Paris, where she studied with the late Gaby Casadesus. She also holds Performance degrees from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and the University of Washington. Her teachers include Bela Siki, Elizabeth Pridonoff, and Frank Heneghan. Ms. Knight currently serves on the faculty of the Seattle Girls’ Choir, freelances as a professional collaborative pianist, and maintains a private teaching studio in Seattle. She is a certified member of the NMTA, WSMTA, and performs regularly for the Ladies Musical Club. With her husband, she facilitates a global meditation school, regularly performing the music of Thomas de Hartmann and Gurdjieff. Her CDs, The Art of Dance and French, are available at Amazon.com, CD Baby, and iTunes.

Andrew Kam (guest artist, May 7) received his BM in Music Education from the University of Miami and an MM in Violin Performance from the University of Oregon. Mr. Kam currently serves as the Orchestra Director at Bellevue High School and conductor for the Cadet String Orchestra with Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Kam regularly adjudicates for both small and large ensemble festivals and has served as guest conductor for honors orchestras in the Puget Sound region. As a professional violinist, Mr. Kam is a violinist with Symphony Tacoma. He is one of the recording violinists heard on Kesha’s 2018 Grammy nominated single “Praying,” and has performed on other movie and popular music productions. Each year, Mr. Kam and his wife Angie (violin) tour with Trans-Siberian Orchestra during the band’s stops in Seattle and Portland. Mr. Kam is originally from Honolulu, Hawaii. He enjoys rock climbing, skiing, cooking, and traveling. Mr. Kam also loves hiking with his dog Burt.

Violinist Angie Kam (May 7) is an established performer and teacher in the Seattle area. She enjoys playing regular recitals as a performing chamber musician and soloist with the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle. As a professional orchestral violinist, she is assistant principal second violinist of the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, and a section player in the North Corner Chamber Orchestra. Angie has performed with many major pop groups including the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones composer), Il Divo, Idina Menzel, Evanescence, Lindsey Stirling, Sarah Brightman, and Michael Bublé. She is also an active studio recording musician for movies and video games. When she’s not playing, practicing, or teaching, Angie enjoys mountaineering, skiing, hiking, running, eating, and spending time with her family (husband and dog).

Emily Riesser’s (May 14) 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).

Valentina Rodov (May 7 & 21) was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, and received her music education as a concert pianist from the famous Moscow Conservatory. She performed solo and in chamber groups prior to emigrating to the United States. Once in the U.S., Valentina decided to become a lawyer, which she successfully accomplished upon graduating from law school in Los Angeles and passing the California Bar. Valentina practiced law as business litigator in Southern California for over twenty years until she and her husband moved to Seattle. With great support and encouragement from the Seattle music community, Valentina came back to piano playing, and soon became a frequent and critically acclaimed recitalist and chamber music performer at various venues in the Seattle area.

Virtual Happy Hour Artists, March 2021

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Singing is an essential part of life for Diane Althaus (March 12) and sharing it with others is a joy. She organized and sang in an opera ensemble program, including music from Simon Boccanegra, Cosi Fan Tutte, Martha, and Carmen. She and her husband, baritone Mike Dodaro, have sung duet programs of opera arias and art songs, and performed in various local venues, including Stage7. Diane sang in Puccini’s Butterfly in a local opera company, the Countess in a duet from The Marriage of Figaro and Desiree in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater”; is
her favorite sacred music.
Vicki Boeckman (March 26)has been performing and teaching since the 1980s. She is
embracing the new virtual world with enthusiasm, curiosity, and a sense of awe, finding it to be positive and rewarding amidst the challenges we are all facing. Pre-pandemic she was an internationally acclaimed performing and recording artist who traveled all over the US and to many other countries to perform and teach. Vicki resided in Denmark from 1981-2004 and had the opportunity to collaborate with some of the finest musicians of the day including Jaap ter Linden, John Holloway, René Jacobs, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Pedro Memelsdorf and Markus Zahnhausen. Her Danish recorder trio Wood’N’Flutes had a fantastic 15-year run performing all over
Europe and working with contemporary composers in addition to doing children’s theater. She was an adjunct professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen for 12 years and taught at the Ishøj Municipal School of Music for 23 years. Many of those students are now professionals, performing and teaching in conservatories in Denmark and around Europe. Locally Vicki has been a featured soloist with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra, The Oregon Symphony, Portland Opera, Medieval Women’s Choir, Gallery Concerts, Philharmonia Northwest Orchestra, and the Skagit Symphony.
She is currently music director for the Seattle Recorder Society, co-director for the Recorder Orchestra of Puget Sound (ROPS), and Artistic Director for the Port Townsend Early Music Workshop. She dearly hopes that these organizations can withstand the challenges of separation and continue to thrive.

Annie Chang Center (March 26) violist/pianist, started performing in her native Taiwan for foreign dignitaries when she was six years old. Since coming to the U.S., Annie has performed in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. As a piano soloist, she performed with San Francisco Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. As violist, she performed at the Marlboro, Ravinia, Olympic, Utah, Prague, and Red Rocks Festivals, and has collaborated with members of the Juilliard, Guarneri, Emerson, Cleveland, and Philadelphia Quartets. For ten years, she was the assistant principal violist of the Phoenix Symphony, for which she performed regularly as a viola soloist. She has
also played in the AZ Musicfest Orchestra, Black Pearl Orchestra, South Florida Symphony, and Seattle Opera. Currently, she plays in the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.

Lin Chen (March 5) keeps herself busy singing and playing the violin as a freelance musician in the Greater Seattle area. Her vocal adventures started at the age of 16 when she started taking singing lessons out of her love for musical theatre. It wasn’t long before she started to discover a new interest for opera and has been singing and learning the classical repertoires ever since. Growing up in Australia, she was fortunate to study with a number of teachers from the Griffith and the Sydney conservatoriums and was an active participant in the local performance scene. Lin is excited to be a part of LMC and looks forward to sharing her music with the LMC community!

Born and raised in Chicago, IL, Abigail Habegger (March 5) is new to the Seattle area. She started playing the piano at 5 years of age and enjoyed playing in competitions and accompanying concerts while growing up. She is known for her teaching, solo work as well as her collaborative work, including opera, chamber music, juries, and competitions. Abigail has accompanied rehearsals for La Traviata in Urbania, Italy, Broadway shows such as Cabaret, touring children's choirs, and members of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. She holds a Bachelor in Music from DePaul University and a Master’s in Music from Northern Illinois University. She is currently the piano accompanist for Puget Soundworks Chorus of Seattle. Abigail also loves hiking, running, baking, and keeping up with her 3 young children Alyse, Arakel, and Anya, as well as her husband Steve.

Katie Hochman (March 5, 26), 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.

Shiang-Yin Lee (March 26) performs with chamber groups around the Puget Sound and is a dedicated full-time educator. She teaches at the University of Puget Sound, Pacific Northwest School of Music, Music Works NW and Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra. Lee received her Doctoral of Musical Arts from the University of Washington and Master of Music from the University of Texas at Austin. She has studied with Toby Saks, Ray Davis and Cordelia Miedel, Phyllis Young. She has participated in the Aspen Music Festival and did early music scholarship at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She is the principal cellist of Sammamish Symphony Orchestra since 2012.

Joan Lundquist (March 5, 12, 26) 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 (March 12 and 20) 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.

Valentina Rodov (March 20) was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, and received her music education as a concert pianist from the famous Moscow Conservatory. She performed solo and in chamber groups prior to emigrating to the United States. Once in the U.S., Valentina decided to become a lawyer, which she successfully accomplished upon graduating from law school in Los Angeles and passing the California Bar. Valentina practiced law as business litigator in Southern California for over twenty years until she and her husband moved to Seattle. With great support and encouragement from the Seattle music community, Valentina came back to piano playing, and soon became a frequent and critically acclaimed recitalist and chamber music performer at various venues in the Seattle area.

An outstanding member of the Northwest musical community for over 20 years, Regina Thomas (March 5, 12) 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 LMC’s Chair of Public Concerts and Artistic Director of Puget Sound Concert Opera, Regina has served as Seattle Opera Guild’s VP of Education and is a past President of 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.