MUSICIANS AND ENSEMBLES
[The Hutchins Consort] [Grigori Sedukh] [The St. Petersburg Hutchins Octet]
THE HUTCHINS CONSORT
Joe McNalley, Artistic Director
Founded in 1999 and based in Southern California.
The mission of the Hutchins Consort is to provide unique musical and educational performances with the eight scaled violins of Dr. Carleen Hutchins, which are the culmination of 500 years of research into the acoustics of violin family instruments; to perform pieces specifically written for this ensemble as well as arrangements of traditional repertory; to demonstrate the distinctions between these and traditional instruments; to facilitate the composition and arrangement of music specifically for the sonic palette that the instruments and their performers create; and to make performances available to a wide and diverse audience.
For further information and brief biographies of the musicians in this
consort, click here.
THE ALBERT CONSORT
The Albert Consort was founded by Robert J. Spear in 2003 and is based in Ithaca, in Central New York. Named for Spear's late father-in-law, Albert Mitchell Zalkind, the group seeks to increase recognition of the New Violin Family and the pioneering research of Dr. Carleen Maley Hutchins through public performances of works written for consorts of earlier eras, adaptations of multi-part string writing from all eras, compositions written expressly for the violin octet, and pieces that call for subsets of the octet or include other instruments, especially the human voice. In addition, the group maintains a strong commitment to education and holds lecture/performances for their community several times each year. The members hope to create a pool of knowledge gained from their experiences bringing an octet to life that can be used by others who follow after.
Musicians of the Albert Consort:
Linda Case
treble violin
Linda began her studies with Josef Gingold and maintains an active career as a violinist and soloist. She has been concertmaster of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra for over two decades and is an internationally renowned pedagogue and clinician. She taught violin at Cornell University, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Tennessee, among others. Linda was on the string faculty of Ithaca College from 1983 to 1996 where she was a founder of the Ariadne String Quartet. Her love of diversity has led her to associate with the Suzuki Association of the Americas, Brain Gym International, and now the treble violin!
Carrie Reuning-Hummel
soprano violin
Carrie is a founding member of the Albert Consort who moved over a chair from the mezzo violin. Carrie’s teachers include her parents, Joan and Sanford Reuning, Pamela Gearhart, Charles and Heidi Castleman, and William Preucil, Sr. Carrie plays both violin and viola professionally and is violist in the Finger Lakes Strings, a quartet. She has taught at numerous Suzuki Institutes and workshops in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Bermuda and Israel. She also serves on the Suzuki Association Board of Directors.
William Hurley
mezzo violin
Bill joined the Albert Consort in 2005, taking over the mezzo violin chair from Carrie Reuning Hummel. Bill is a 2003 graduate of Ithaca College with a master’s degree in performance. He comes from the studio of Susan Waterbury. Always an active player, Bill has performed with many ensembles from Georgia to New York. He currently plays in the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Binghamton Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes.
Jaime Gould-Kibelsbeck
alto violin
Jaime is another welcome addition to the Albert Consort this season. She is a 2003 graduate of Ithaca College where she was a viola major in the studio of Debra Moree. While at the college, Jaime played in the Apprentice Quartet under the school’s faculty string quartet. Jaime has devoted considerable time to learning the alto and is a substitute viola player for the Tri-Cities Opera Orchestra. She also maintains a private studio in Ithaca and another at the Trumansburg (NY) Conservatory of Music, and has taught in the Lansing Public Schools.
Sera Jane Smolen
tenor violin
Sera received her PhD. in music education from the Union Institute and is a founding member of the Albert Consort. She has been heard in regional recitals, chamber settings, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and the Tri-Cities Opera Orchestra, among others. She premieres new music annually and is in demand in the US and Canada as a guest clinician. She is the education coordinator of the New Directions Cello Festival.
Elisa Evett
baritone violin
Lizzy received her master’s degree in music from New Mexico Highland University, and has studied cello with John Hsu, Lynden Cranham, and Clelia Chelotti, among others. She has recorded with violinist Victoria Patterson and performed with Ensemble Giocondo, the Kairos Trio, and the Linden Duo. She is president of Music’s Recreation, which produces Casual Classics, a family-friendly concert series. Lizzy teaches cello at the Ithaca Music Academy and maintains a private cello studio in Ithaca. She is a founding member of the Albert Consort.
Michael Fitipaldi
bass violin
Mike received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Harrt School of Music at the University of Hartford and his Master of Music degree from the Ithaca College School of Music. Michael is a member of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, and the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. His teachers include Gary Karr, Robert Black, Mark Morton, and Henry Neubert. Michael lives and teaches in Rochester, NY. He joined the Albert Consort in 2005.
Nicholas Walker
contrabass violin
Nicholas is the newest player on the newest instrument in the Albert Consort, and a virtuouso performer on stringed bass instruments of many eras. He received his DMA in Early Music at Stonybrook in 2004. He previously studied with Paul Ellison at Rice University and has been mentored by François Rabbath as a Fulbright Scholar. Nicholas has also won awards for his compositions, many of which feature the contrabass. He currently teaches bass at Cornell University, Ithaca College, and also at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania.
Grigori Sedukh
Treble, Soprano, and Mezzo Violin Soloist
Sir Grigori Sedukh with accompanist Inga DzektserGrigori Sedukh, is a violinist with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Quartet and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, professor of string studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music, and is the featured treble violin soloist with the St. Petersburg Hutchins Violin Octet. In 1999 Maestro Sedukh became "Sir Grigori" when he received the title "Knight of the Order of Malta" from Prince Robert and Princess Kotchubay of Kurland in recognition of his special services in music rendered to the royal family. As comfortable in the recording studio as he is on stage, Sir Grigori has recorded three solo CDs (two of which are currently available from the New Violin Family Association) featuring his formidable skills on the Treble Violin (the highest voice of violin octet with a timbre which is often described as "angelic"), the Soprano Violin (tuned a perfect fourth above the normal violin), and the Mezzo Violin (tuned the same as the normal violin). He can also be heard on the ensemble CD, "The New Violin Family" by the St. Petersburg Hutchins Violin Octet, which features Maestro Sedukh as the Treble Violin soloist (also available from the New Violin Family Association).
The St. Petersburg Hutchins Violin Octet
Founded in 1994 by the joint efforts of the Catgut Acoustical Society (USA) and the St. Petersburg Conservatory Charity Foundation (Russia), the St. Petersburg Hutchins Violin Octet is composed of prominent and renowned Russian musicians (professors of the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music, international contest laureates, members of the distinguished Taneyev Quartet and soloists of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic). The concerts and recitals by the full Octet as well as solo performances by Octet members have created an artistic stir in a city not easily surprised by musical events. These performances have received favorable critical reviews in addition to radio and television coverage.
The St. Petersburg Octet disbanded at the end of 1999.
