Guest Artists - Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra

Midori

Midori gave her first public performance at the age of seven, playing a piece from the 24 Caprices of Paganini. She and her mother moved to New York City in 1982 where Midori started violin studies under the renowned instructor Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard Pre-College. As her audition piece Midori performed the 13-minute-long Chaconne by Bach. This is considered to be one of the most difficult solo violin pieces ever written. In the same year, she made her concert debut New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, a conductor with whom she would record many concertos on the Sony Classical label. more »

Robert McDonald

American pianist Robert McDonald has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, and the Far East as solo recitalist and as recital partner to Midori, the late Isaac Stern, and many others. He has appeared with the San Francisco, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Omaha, and Curtis symphony orchestras, with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional in Costa Rica, and with the Orchestra Sinfonica Haydn di Bolzano e Trento in Italy. As a chamber musician, he has also performed with the Juilliard, American, Muir, Takacs, Brentano, Vermeer and Borromeo string quartets, as well as with Musicians from Marlboro. more »

Rachel Barton-Pine

It’s easy to be intimidated by the sheer immensity of Rachel Barton Pine’s accomplishments. The young Chicago based violinist has performed on stages all over the world in front of hundreds of thousands of people, released 13 albums, won countless prestigious awards, and played with musicians ranging from Placido Domingo to Jimmy Page. Yet throughout her career, Rachel has worked to demystify classical music and bring it to audiences for whom it has not been easily accessible. Groups as various as inner city children, sports fans, music students in developing countries, and even her fellow rock fans have been enriched by Rachel’s devotion to music and the infectious enthusiasm with which she shares it. more »

Shai Wosner

Shai Wosner continues to attract international recognition for his exceptional artistry, musical integrity and creative insight. With imaginative programming that communicates his intellectual curiosity, Wosner performs a wide-ranging repertoire from Mozart and Beethoven to Ligeti and composers of his own generation. Hailed by the Financial Times as "an artist to follow keenly", Wosner's virtuosity and perceptiveness have increasingly made him a favorite among audiences and critics alike. more »

Khosrow Soltani

Khosrow Soltani was born in Tehran and has been living in Austria since 1974. He studied in Tehran's conservatory and finished his degree as a bassoonist in 1971. From 1971-1974, he played bassoon as a regular member of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra. In October 1974, he began his bassoon studies at the Hochschule fur Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria, with Karl Oelberger. more »

Reza Vali

Reza Vali was born in Ghazvin, Persia (Iran) in 1952. He began his music studies at the Conservatory of Music in Tehran. In 1972 he went to Austria and studied music education and composition at the Academy of Music in Vienna. After graduating from the Academy of Music, he moved to the United States and continued his studies at the University of Pittsburgh, receiving his Ph.D. in music theory and composition in 1985. Mr. Vali has been a faculty member of the School of Music at Carnegie Mellon University since 1988. more »

Leah Ladd

Leah Ladd-Evrigenis began working as an actor at the age of thirteen. Dedicated to theatre, Leah studied many years under the direction of Roy S. Engoron. She has toured Northern California with Kaiser Permanente's Educational Theatre Program, The Sacramento Theater Company's Recycling Show, and the B Street Theatre School Tour. more »

Misha Dichter

Now in the fifth decade of an illustrious international career, Misha Dichter traces his musical heritage to the two great pianistic traditions of the 20th century: the Russian Romantic School as personified by Rosina Lhevinne, his mentor at the Julliard School, and the German Classical style that was passed on to him by Aube Tzerko, a pupil of Artur Schnabel. Mr. Dichter reveals this dual legacy in his solo recitals and appearances with virtually all of the world's major orchestras, performing the grand virtuoso compositions of Liszt, Rachmaninoff and Tchailkovsky... more »

Elizabeth Koontz

Soprano Elizabeth Koontz has been praised for her golden tone, brilliant coloratura and endless high notes. Recently, Ms. Koontz appeared with The Opera Theater of St. Louis, where she covered both Olympia and Antonia in The Tales of Hoffman. Ms. Koontz made her operatic debut as Anne Trulove with Bel Canto Northwest in Portland, Oregon. She was a young artist at Central City Opera in Colorado, where she sang Esprit 1 in Cendrillon, and was featured in several opera scenes performances. more »

Cybele-Teresa Gouverneur

Mezzo Soprano Cybele-Teresa Gouverneur, "whose chocolate-rich voice has been impressing audiences...", made her San Francisco Opera debut alongside Natalie Dessay in the 2008 summer in Graham vick's production of Lucia di Lammermoor. In the 2008-2009 season, this Venezuelan-American mezzo took on the title role in the 25th Anneversary production of Bizet's Carmen for Opera San Jose, where as Principal Artist in Residence from 2007-2009 she sang the roles of Charlotte (Werther), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Second Lady (Die Zauberflote), Olga (Eugene Onegin), and Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte). more »

Kevin Short

It is without a shadow of a doubt that American Bass-Baritone Kevin Short is the quintessential singing actor, who thrills audiences across the globe in a variety of repertoire ranging from Monteverdi and Mozart to Verdi and Stravinsky. Time and again his performances garner rave reviews, as critics celebrate his commanding stage presence and powerful voice, including when The Herald Tribune praised him for having "one of the rare bass-baritones of such individual quality of depth and color that it transfixes the listener." more »

Albert J. Glueckert

American Tenor, AJ Glueckert is a Pacific Northwest native from Portland, Oregon where he studied with Ellen Faull. In the winter of 2007, AJ was heard as Tamino in the Conservatory production of magic Flute and most recently as Dema in Cavalli's L'Egisto to favorable reviews by San Francisco Classical Voice. AJ debuted at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music playing to sold out houses as "the witch" in Hansel und Gretel. He has since been heard as Basilio and Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro and Flute in Midsummer Night's Dream. more »

Mitchell Agruss

A graduate of Carnegie Mellon's famed Drama Department, and a member of the B Street Theatre Acting Company, Mitch is well known to three generations of Sacramento television viewers as Cap'n Mitch and Cap'n Delta. A member of Actors' Equity since 1947, he spent five years at the Bucks County Playhouse, appearing on stage with Thornton Wilder, George Kaufman, Moss Hart, Harpo Marx, Luise Rainer and Shirley Booth. Mitch acted on Broadway in At War With the Army, and the John Houseman production of King Lear, starring Louis Calhern. more »

Brian Leerhuber

Brian Leerhuber has been praised as an artist of outstanding promise in opera, recital, and concert. The baritone made his San Francisco Opera debut in 2006 as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, and returned to the company as Schaunard in La Boheme, and as General Robert E. Lee in the world premiere of Philip Glass’ Appomattox. With Los Angeles Opera, he appeared as Schaunard, and as Marco in a production of Gianni Schicchi directed by Woody Allen. more »