Frances
Bard, cello,
has been with the Hartford Symphony for several years. A familiar face to Hop River audiences, she has performed
extensively as a chamber musician and is a teacher of Strings in the Windsor
Public Schools. She
is responsible for the reinstatement of the Elementary String Program in 1996
and was named conductor of the Windsor High School String Orchestra in 2003.
Originally from Chicago, she received a B.M. degree from the Chicago Musical
College. At the
University of Connecticut Ms. Bard earned a M.M. degree and a Music Educators
Certification. Her
cello training was under the tutelage of Channing Robbins, Aldo Parisot, Raya
Gorbousuva and Mary Lou Rylands.
Mary
Ellen Briga, violin, received her Bachelor of Music degree from Bowling
Green State University and her Master of Music degree in violin performance
from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. She
freelances as a chamber and symphonic violinist, performs with the Hartford
Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra New England and teaches strings in the Windsor
Public Schools.
Thomas
Calabro,
cello, has a B.A. from Bennington College and a M.Mus.
from Syracuse University. A freelance cellist since 1983, Mr. Calabro has
performed with a wide variety of musical groups including symphony orchestras,
chamber ensembles, dance, theatre and improvisational groups throughout the
United States and other countries. Before moving to Connecticut in 1998 he
played with the Syracuse Symphony and several chamber groups in the Albany
area, such as Capitol Chamber Artists and the Vivante Trio. He was a member of
the Bennington Cello Quartet, playing many concerts throughout the northeast
and recording a CD for Opus One titled ‘Cello Quartets of the 20th Century’.
Since then he has been on the faculty at the Community School of the Arts and
has been playing in a variety of regional musical events and with local
groups like the Nutmeg
Trio and the Hop River Chamber Players.
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| photo by Guy Grube |
Thomas Labadorf enjoys
varied tastes in musical styles as a chamber musician and a symphonist. He
currently performs as principal clarinetist with the New Haven, Waterbury and
New Britain Symphonies and performs regularly as a member of Harmonia V Woodwind
Quintet. Additionally, he is professor of applied clarinet at Central
Connecticut State University and Connecticut College. His musical experience
began at age 8 in Argentina with classical guitar lessons, and he continued in
the United States playing clarinet in public school music programs. He studied
with Stanley Hasty at the Eastman School of Music, and, while there, began his
professional career as utility clarinetist for the Rochester Philharmonic
Orchestra. He later continued to perform
professionally in various Connecticut orchestras, eventually retiring from the
United States Coast Guard Band after 24 years of service. Throughout his
career, he has been featured as soloist with many Connecticut orchestras and
bands performing the works of Luigi Bassi, Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copland, Claude
Debussy, Michael Daugherty, Mozart, Carl Nielson, Gioachino Rossini, and Carl
Maria von Weber; and he also premiered his own transcription of Jorge
Calandrelli's Concerto for Jazz Clarinet
with the Coast Guard Band at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.
He earned his Master of Music in orchestral conducting at the University of
Connecticut, and just completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the
University of Connecticut. Dr. Labadorf can be heard on Albany Records with the
Connecticut Trio performing music of
Ezra Laderman, and on Nimbus Alliance performing as principal clarinetist with
the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in symphonic works by William Walton.
Cyrus Stevens, violin, is a graduate of the Hartt School of Music, where he
studied with Renato Bonacini and Charles Treger, and also of the New England
Conservatory of Music where he studied with Eric Rosenblith. He performs
contemporary music and is a member of the Parnassus Group and League of
Composers/ISCM in New York City. For nearly two decades he has been on the
performing staff of the Composers´ Conference and Chamber Music Center, now at
Wellesley College. He is also a member of the Boston-based ensemble
Dinosaur Annex.
Barbara Vaughan, violin, received her B.M. degree from the Manhattan School of
Music and her M.M. degree from the University of Connecticut. She has
performed with numerous orchestras throughout the Eastern US, including the
Augusta Symphony, the Florida Festival Orchestra and the American Philharmonic
Orchestra of New York City. As a chamber musician, Ms. Vaughan was a regular
member of the UConn Chamber Players when she was on the faculty, from
1984-1991. Currently she teaches Suzuki violin for the Mansfield Schools, plays
regularly with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and teaches violin and viola at
Eastern Connecticut State University.
Barbara Wiggin, viola, is a free-lance artist in Connecticut and
throughout New England. She is currently Principal Viola of the Eastern
Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and a member of the New Haven Symphony
Orchestra. She also appears frequently in chamber music and solo recitals
throughout Connecticut and has participated with the Hop River Chamber Players
for the past five years. When she is not performing orchestral and
chamber music, Barbara can be heard with the original rock group Red 40
Lake. With her electric 5-string violin and keyboard skills, she joins
the traditional line-up of guitar, bass and drums to produce an original blend
of pop, funk, and rock music. She has also been involved in other rock
groups such as the Erl Shibe 5 and was also a founding member of the Beatles
revival band, Gringo Starr. Barbara strives to introduce
electric chamber music performance through her arrangements of classic
rock songs ranging from The Beatles to AC/DC.
