Masterworks Concert of Dedication

When his father died in 1885, composer and organist Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) wrote a requiem mass in his memory. By the time it was first performed in 1888, the work served as a memorial to his mother, as well. Fauré chose texts of rest and peace, with no reference to a Day of Judgment. His Requiem ends with the beautiful “In Paradisum” where angels and martyrs receive dead souls into paradise and lead them to the holy city of Jerusalem, bringing them “eternal rest with Lazarus who once was poor.”

The Adult Masterworks Chorus will perform the Fauré Requiem Sunday, June 6, at 7:30 PM. This concert will be dedicated to the memory of loved ones who have been influential in our lives. We ask that you make a donation to the “St. Paul’s Organ Fund” in remembrance of someone who was very special to you. The names of those honored and your words of tribute will be printed on an insert in the Masterworks Concert program.

OUR SOLOISTS

Margaret Bushman, Mezzo-soprano:

Margaret has studied voice for nine years, although she has performed in choirs since she was a child. She received her B.A. degree in Music from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and her M.M. degree in Vocal Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory. She studied with Dr. Randall Speer and Dr. Kathryn Green. She has performed in Germany and Japan and currently teaches in a private studio in Fredericksburg, Virginia, while singing with the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Choir in King George.

Richard Frazer, Baritone:

Richard has a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Duke University and is a retired Dahlgren missile system engineer and program manager. At Duke he played French horn in marching and pep bands, and sang with the Chapel Choir.

He has performed in musical theater and shows produced by the Fredericksburg Lions Club, the Dahlgren Lions Club, and Dahlgren’s “Bits and Pieces”, and has sung for King George and Colonial Beach Fall Festival Queen Contests, and Little Miss Rappahannock Contests.

Richard has done vocal solo work for the St. Paul’s Masterworks Chorus, the Virginia Music Ensemble, and has participated in many local church productions and cantatas. He was a founding member of the “Dahlgren Dandies” Barbershop Quartet. Richard has studied voice with Becky Marshall, Sandra Wallace, and Kathryn Ahearn. He is currently a member of the Adult Choir at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in King George, sings with Voices of the POPS, and is a frequent soloist with the Fredericksburg Community Chorus and the Stafford Regional Choral Society.

OUR CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

Joe Tersero, Bassoon I:

Originally from Killeen, Texas, Joe Tersero received most of his music education at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. He finished his Bachelor’s of Music degree with high distinction in bassoon performance in 1992 from the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music, Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA. His former teachers include Sidney Rosenburg and Dr. Danny K. Phipps.

He is principal bassoonist with the Annapolis Chorale and Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Earnest Green. He is also a freelance bassoonist in the greater DC and Baltimore area performing with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, the National Philharmonic and the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. His contrabassoon playing can be heard on the 1992 Grammy Award winning compact disc, “Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion”.

Eunice Richardson, Bassoon II:

Eunice graduated from Alvirne High School in Hudson, NH where she performed with the Nashua Symphony. Upon graduation she enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was stationed in Parris Island, SC, Okinawa, Japan and Cherry Point, NC. As a military musician she performed in the marching, concert and jazz bands on flute, piccolo, saxophone, bassoon and clarinet. She also attended the Navy School of Music in Norfolk, VA. She has lived in the Fredericksburg area for the last fifteen years where she has taught private music lessons and directed the local homeschool band. She is currently the principal bassoonist for the University of Mary Washington College-Community Orchestra and the Rappahannock Pops Orchestra. Eunice graduated summa cum laude from Strayer University with a BS in Accounting.

Andrew Knowlton, French Horn:

A member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and an alumnus of the Youth and Junior Masterworks Choruses, Andrew has just completed his junior year at Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science in New York City. He is a Dean’s List student majoring in civil engineering and minoring in music. Andrew is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and an Eagle Scout.

At Columbia, Andrew is a member of the University Wind Ensemble and the Marching Band, playing French horn and mellophone, respectively. He is also a proud alumnus of both the band and choir programs at King George High School. Andrew is a member of the St. Paul’s Adult Choir and sang with the Adult Masterworks Chorus through his high school years.

Dan Knowlton, Timpani:

Dan is a 2009 graduate of King George High School. He currently attends the University of Pennsylvania where he is studying Digital Media Design in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. He is a member of the University of Pennsylvania Wind Ensemble and the Penn Band Drumline

Robyn Bauer, Violin:

Robyn grew up in King George, VA and attended St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. She studied Suzuki Method violin beginning at age 6 under Cindy Ross of Fredericksburg. She graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor’s Degree of Music in 2003, where she studied with Dr. Wanchi Huang. At JMU she was concertmaster of the Symphony Orchestra and principal violin for the Chamber and Opera/Theater Orchestras. She taught music at Potomac Elementary School in 2003-2004 and worked for 3 years a part-time radio DJ and Promotions Assistant at B101.5.

Robyn lives with her husband in Spotsylvania and has been teaching violin lessons using the Suzuki Method for 6 years. She also teaches classes for Music Together Vivo, a music and movement class for babies ages 0-5. Robyn was concertmaster for the UMW Community Symphony Orchestra 2006 tour of Austria and Czech Republic, and associate concertmaster for their 2008 tour of London and Paris. She is currently associate concertmaster of the Rappahannock Pops Orchestra and performed solo with them in 2009. She performs regularly as a freelance musician throughout the Fredericksburg area.

Zsuzsanna Emodi, Viola I:

Zsuzsanna received her Master of Art degree in violin performance from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary. Her main teachers were Denes Kovacs in solo performance and Gyorgy Kurtag in chamber music. After completion of her college education she played in the Hungarian State Opera House Orchestra. Later she joined the Budapest Strings along with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under the direction of Ivan Fischer. With both orchestras she made recordings and concertized internationally. They gave concerts in Lucerne, Switzerland, Munich, Germany, Brussels, Belgium, St. Petersburg, Russia, and Vienna, Austria at the Musicverein’s Brahms-Hall.

After moving to Lisbon, Portugal she came to the United States in 1990. She has worked with Michael Tilson Thomas for three years while playing with the New World Symphony. Together they toured Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan, and the UK performing at the Barbican Center in London.

Before moving to Washington DC in 1998 from her position with the Florida Philharmonic, she appeared with conductors Eduardo Muta playing concertmaster, James Conlon, Stanislav Skrowatzewsky, and performed with soloists Yurj Bashmet, Lynn Harrel, Barbara Hendrix and Vladimir Feltsman. In Washington DC she has played at the White House, Constitution Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the National Gallery of Art. As violist she has been playing assistant principal viola for two years with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra. In June 2002 she performed solo with the Jewish Community Orchestra in Rockville, MD performing Bela Bartok’s Viola Concerto. Currently she is holding a tenured viola position with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra.

Kimberly Buschek Sparr, Viola II:

Kimberly Buschek Sparr is the assistant principal viola of the Richmond Symphony. She performs frequently as a substitute with the National Symphony, Washington National Opera, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Recently, she toured Europe and Asia as a member of the Verbier Orchestra. Sparr received her DMA from the University of Maryland. She holds degrees from Rice University and the New England Conservatory of Music where she was a recipient of the Gunther Schuller award. Dr. Sparr participated in the Sarasota and Verbier music festivals and was a fellow at Aspen and Tanglewood. She also performed solo recitals as a Piatigorsky Foundation Artist in New England.

Chris Moelenkamp, Cello I:

Chris is a native of Lynchburg, VA and has lived in Lake Ridge, VA. since 1989. He is the principal cellist of the United States Air Force Concert Band and Symphony Orchestra. As a free-lance musician, he serves as principal cellist of the Prince William Symphony, and assistant principal cellist of the Alexandria Symphony. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he studied with Lynn Harrell and Peter Wiley. In recent years he has worked with David Hardy, principal cellist of the National Symphony. Chris and his wife, Nadine, maintain a private music studio in their home and are the parents of Liz, 20, and Mike, 23.

Alyssa Moquim, Cello II:

Cellist Alyssa Moquin, who is in her eighteenth season with the Richmond Symphony, has also led the cello sections of the Shippensburg (PA) Festival Orchestra, Arlington Symphony, Williamsburg Symphonia and the Vallejo (CA) Symphony. Alyssa frequently performs solos at church services and special events. She has training to play therapeutic music, which complements her interest in Reiki healing. In recent years she has performed at the Washington National Cathedral, National Shrine, the Finnish Embassy and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and the Music in the Old Church series in Richmond. Alyssa performed a newly discovered piece at the 2009 American Musicological Society national meeting in Philadelphia.

Alyssa also has a strong interest in combining the arts. Her “Finland: Arts Related II” slide show/recital series culminated in performances at FinnFest 2006. She reappeared at FinnFest 2007 with both a traditional fiddler and the FinnFest USA Orchestra. Currently she pursues doctoral studies at Maryland, to research relationships between 20th century Finnish music, art and architecture. Alyssa, who is a graduate teaching assistant for the musicology department, enjoys writing program notes and contributing to pre-concert talks. Alyssa studied music history and journalism at the University of Maryland and cello performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Bonnie Hampton.

Kyle Graybeal, Double Bass:

Kyle studied bass at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, where he performed with the University of Miami Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble under the direction of Frederick Fennel. Mr. Graybeal has performed with orchestras in south Florida including Miami Beach, and Palm Beach. He has also performed with the Norfolk (now Virginia), Roanoke, Alexandria, Fairfax and McLean Symphony Orchestras. Mr. Graybeal is currently with the Trinity Chamber Orchestra of Washington, D.C., and is principal bass with the University of Mary Washington Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Graybeal freelances in the Northern Virginia/Washington, D.C. area, and often performs in church and chamber ensembles

Eric Sabatino, Harp:

Eric is the harp soloist for the United States Air Force Concert Band and Symphony Orchestra, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C. Originally from New York City, his career in the Air Force began in 1994. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from The Manhattan School of Music. He subsequently received a full two-year scholarship from that institution to continue his graduate studies in Orchestral Performance. He has been principal harpist with the orchestras of the Empire State Opera, Amato Opera Company and the Island Lyric Opera of New York City. He has appeared as harpist with the Baltimore, National and Atlanta Symphonies, as well as the Pablo Cassals Festival in Puerto Rico. Prior to joining the Air Force, Sergeant Sabatino was invited to perform with the prestigious Diaghilev Season Concerts in St. Petersburg, Russia - a highlight of which was his appearance as harp soloist with the St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra. In addition to clinics and master classes with such renowned artists as Alice Chalifoux, Sergeant Sabatino has studied with Dulcie Barlow, Susanna Mildonian, Lucille Lawrence and Sarah Bullen.