Richard Bock, cello

Richard Bock, principal cellist with The Phoenix Symphony for 24 seasons, began his cello studies at the age of 12 with Harvey Shapiro at The Juilliard School. Leopold Stokowski chose Bock, at age 18, to be principal cellist of the American Symphony Orchestra, making him the youngest principal player in the orchestra's history.  Following his tenure with the ASO, Riccardo Muti, conductor of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra in Florence, Italy, chose Bock as his principal cellist. Bock remained in that position for eight years. It was during that time that he was asked to join the prestigious Musicus Concentus Chamber players as solo cellist, touring throughout Italy and Germany.

Upon returning to the United States, Bock joined the Pro-Arte Chamber Orchestra, the first string orchestra to tour the Soviet Union under the auspices of the State Department. Bock was the featured soloist, playing the C major Concerto of Haydn to critical acclaim in Leningrad, Moscow, Kiev, Riga and Vilna. Following this tour, Bock joined the Soviet Emigre Orchestra and toured North and South America.

In 1981, Julius Rudel chose Bock to be the principal cellist of the Buffalo Philharmonic. It was during his stay in Buffalo that Bock founded the Westminster Chamber Orchestra. His orchestra was described by the Buffalo News as a group whose “dynamics, balance, intonation and the like displayed an almost magical perfection and focus.”  While with The Phoenix Symphony, Bock performed Don Quixote by Strauss in November 1995 and Shostakovich's Concerto No. 1 in April 1996, both under conductor James Sedares. He also appeared as soloist with the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra directed by Jeffrey Siegel.  In 1994-95, Bock was the artist in residence at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Arizona and held a similar position at Arizona State University's School of Music in 1995-96.  Recent recordings of Bock include Mosaic, a collection of Yiddish songs and music of the royal courts of Europe. Additional recordings include the Rozsa Simphonia Concertante with the New Zealand Symphony, The Paul Winter Consort on A&M Records and Three Intermezzi for Cello on CRI Records. 

In June 2009, Mr. Bock’s Phoenix restaurant, Giuseppe's on 28th, was featured on the Food Network’s popular series Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Dan Dressen, tenor

Dan Dressen keeps himself engaged in a variety of functions.  He is a professor of music and Associate Dean for the Fine Arts at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he also is building a center for Nordic art song.  He edited a seven-volume anthology of opera arias by Benjamin Britten for Boosey & Hawkes and currently serves on the Commission on Accreditation for the National Association of Schools of Music and recently began duties as a site visit panelist for the Minnesota States Arts Board.  Formerly president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the Minnesota College and University Council on Music, he currently serves on the Northfield Arts and Culture Commission and on the board for the Minneapolis/St. Paul chapter of the Edvard Grieg Society.

Mr. Dressen’s career as a tenor spans nearly thirty year.  His operatic performances include appearances with Washington Opera in its production of CARMEN and the world premiere of Dominick Argento's opera, THE DREAM OF VALENTINO.  He has numerous Minnesota Opera productions to his credit including the role of Flute in its production of Benjamin Britten's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, Basilio in Mozart's THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Gastone in LA TRAVIATA, Sellem in THE RAKE’S PROGRESS and Valzacchi in DER ROSENKAVALIER.  Recently he was seen as the Doctor in Poul Ruder’s A HANDMAID’S TALE and in the world premier of THE GRAPES OF WRATH by Ricky Ian Gordon.  This season he performed the role of Elcius in the American premier of THE FORTUNES OF CROESUS by Reinhard Keiser. 

An active concert performer and recitalist, Mr. Dressen has performed in Minneapolis and St. Paul with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Chorale, Dale Warland Singers, Bach Society, and most recently in the Schubert Club’s Summer Art Song Festival.  He has a long and active relationship with VocalEssence of Minneapolis, with whom he is heard as Martin in the recording of Aaron Copland's opera, THE TENDERLAND, and as Johnny Inkslinger in PAUL BUNYAN by Benjamin Britten.   Other appearances with VocalEssence include the title roles in Britten's ST. NICOLAS CANTATA, Handel's SAMSON, Elgar's DREAM OF GERONTIUS, Dominick Argento's REVELATIONS OF ST. JOHN and JONAH AND THE WHALE, Dame Ethel Smythe’s MASS IN D, the role of Rajar in the world premiere of THE FOURTH WISEMAN by Randall Davidson.  Most recently he performed with VocalEssence in the world premier of THE PASSION OF CHRIST by Francis Grier and THE SONGS OF INNOCENSE AND EXPERIENCE by William Bolcom.  Mr. Dressen has performed in several Aldeburgh Festivals in England.  Performances there include the tenor solos in Britten's THE COMPANY OF HEAVEN, which he also recorded in London.  He is the tenor soloist at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis.  2013 marks his sixth appearance with the Festival of the Lakes in Alexandria, MN.

William Eddins, piano

William Eddins is the Music Director of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and a frequent guest conductor of major orchestras throughout the world.  He has served consecutively as Assistant, Associate and Resident Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra over the last ten seasons.

Recent engagements include the New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Atlanta, New Jersey, Detroit, Dallas, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Houston, San Antonio, Colorado, as well as the Los Angeles, Jacksonville and Tulsa Philharmonics.

Performances in the 04-05 season include concerts with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic, the RAI Symphony Orchestra, and the St. Louis Symphony. Internationally, Mr. Eddins has conducted the Berlin Staatskapelle, Berlin Radio Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, Nazionale (Italy), and the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra (Portugal).

Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (Australia), Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (Spain), the RAI Orchestra Sinfonica.

Although focusing on his career as a conductor, Mr. Eddins continues his work as a pianist and chamber musician.  He regularly conducts from the piano in works by Mozart, Beethoven, Gershwin and Ravel.  He is founder and artistic director of the Prospect Park Players, a chamber music series based at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.  He has performed on the prestigious Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s “Symphony Center Presents” piano recital series.  Mr. Eddins released a compact disc recording on his own label (Ahkenaton Production, Inc) which includes Beethoven’s Hammer-Klavier Sonata, Five Preludes from Book I by Debussy and William Albright’s The Nightmare Fantasy Rag.

Mr. Eddins has performed at the Ravinia Festival with both the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Ravinia Festival Orchestra.  He has also conducted the orchestras of the Chautauqua Festival, Aspen Music Festival, the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

In 2000 Mr. Eddins received the Seaver/NEA Conducting Award, a triennial grant of $50,000 awarded to exceptionally gifted young American conductors.  He is conductor and host of a video entitled “On the Day You Were Born” with the Minnesota Orchestra. Based on the children’s book of the same name by author/illustrator Debra Frasier, the work is for narrator and orchestra and was composed by Steve Heitzeg.  Since its release it has sold over 30,000 copies worldwide.

Jennifer Gerth, clarinet

Principal clarinet of the Duluth-Superior Symphony and an active member of the Twin Cities musical community, Jennifer Gerth frequently performs with the Minnesota Orchestra, VocalEssence and the Minnesota Dance Theatre.  Jennifer is on the faculty at Augsburg College, the University of St. Thomas, and teaches and performs at Birch Creek Performance Center in Door County, WI.

Sarah Lewis , cello

Cellist Sarah Lewis is in her 14th season with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.  A St. Paul native, she started piano lessons at the MacPhail Center for the Arts at the age of three.  When she was six, her family relocated to Delaware, where she continued music lessons and eventually focused on the cello.  She holds degrees from Southern Methodist University and the Juilliard School, where she studied with Lev Aronson and Channing Robbins, respectively.  Prior to joining the SPCO, Lewis was a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (1994-1996), and performed as a substitute musician with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  She recently appeared as soloist with the SPCO in C.P.E. Bach’s Cello Concerto in A, and gave the U.S. premiere of Malcolm Forsyth’s Eclectic Suite for Cello and Piano with Lydia Artymiw on the SPCO’s Ensemble Series.  An avid chamber musician, she has performed solo and chamber recitals in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and the Twin Cities.  In addition to her career as a classical musician, Lewis performs and has recorded popular music.  Before joining the SPCO, she toured and recorded as featured cellist with pop pianist Lorie Line.  She toured Japan with the Percy Faith Orchestra in 1998, and performed on Peter Ostroushko’s recording, “Heart of the Heartland.”  Sarah performed in the Napa Valley Chamber Music Festival in the summer of 2008, and is back playing her favorite pieces in Alexandria this summer.  Lewis makes her home in Edina with her husband and two children.

Emily Lodine, mezzo soprano

Emily Lodine has performed with many of the world’s finest conductors, including James Levine, Hugh Wolff, Paul Hillier, Nicholas McGegan, Leonard Slatkin, Jane Glover, and Bernard Labadie.  She has appeared with the symphonies of Jacksonville, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit, South Dakota, Phoenix, Rochester, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Philip Glass Ensemble.  A frequent soloist with Music of the Baroque, she can be heard on that group’s recording of Von Himmel Hoch.  She also received acclaim for her work in the world premiere and recording of Jon Polifrone’s Requiem, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Recent engagements include Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Verdi’s Requiem with the Wichita Symphony, music of Bach and Brahms with Chicago’s Rembrandt Players, Mahler’s 2nd and 3rd Symphonies with the South Dakota Symphony, Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes with the Chicago Chamber Musicians and the Houston Chamber Music Society, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Houston Masterworks Chorus, Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette with the Anchorage Opera, and Johann Friedrich Bach’s cantata “Cassandra” with Lyra Baroque Orchestra of Minneapolis, and a well-received recording of Harbison’s ”Book of Hours and Seasons” with the Chicago Chamber Musicians.

Ms. Lodine made her Carnegie Hall debut in Messiah under the baton of John Rutter.  She appeared with the Chicago Symphony in Britten’s Noye’s Fludde and Humperdinck’s  Hansel und Gretel, as well as Stravinsky’s Les Noces, Requiem Canticles and Mass, under Leonard Slatkin.  At the Ravinia Festival, she made her debut in Strauss’ Elektra, conducted by James Levine.

Equally at home in opera, Ms. Lodine created the role of Verena Marsh in the world premiere of Stephen Paulus’ Summer with Berkshire Opera, where she also sang in Handel’s Semele and Rossini’s La Cenerentola.  Other opera credits include Verdi’s Falstaff with the Pine Mountain Music Festival, Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia with Lyric Opera Cleveland, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro with Opera Grand Rapids, Hoiby’s Bon Appétit with the Madison Opera, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with the Anchorage Opera.

A Magma Cum Laude graduate of Indiana University, Ms. Lodine is the recipient of a Pi Kappa Lambda scholarship, as well as four Margaret Hillis Fellowships, and six grants from the Scholl Foundation.  In addition, she is a member of the highly respected and Grammy-nominated vocal ensemble “Conspirare.

Timothy Lovelace, pianist

Timothy Lovelace is highly active as an ensemble pianist, soloist, and conductor.  Most often concertizing as a collaborative pianist, he has appeared with such distinguished artists as Miriam Fried, Emma Johnson, Pekka Kuusisto, Joe Lovano, Robert Mann, Charles Neidich, the Pacifica String Quartet, and Paquito D’Rivera.  For thirteen years, he was a staff pianist at the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute, where he played in the classes of Barbara Bonney, Christoph Eschenbach, Thomas Hampson, Christa Ludwig and Yo-Yo Ma, among others.  A proponent of new music, Lovelace has performed under the supervision of composers Elliott Carter, John Corigliano, Leon Kirchner, Lowell Liebermann, and Thea Musgrave, and he presented the world premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s Third World.  He has recorded for the Albany, Blue Griffin, Boston Records, and MSR labels. 

Lovelace currently heads the Collaborative Piano program at the University of Minnesota.  His own studies were principally with Harold Evans, Gilbert Kalish, Donna Loewy, and Frank Weinstock.

Jill Olson Moser, violin

Violinist Jill Olson performs extensively as an orchestral and chamber musician in the Twin Cities. She is a regular substitute with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Minnesota Opera Orchestra. Jill is a founding member of the Bel Canto Quartet.

Prior to performing in the Twin Cities, Jill was the Concertmaster of the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony and the Fargo-Moorhead Opera Orchestra. She was also a member of the Britt Festival and Wintergreen Performing Arts Orchestras in Oregon and Virginia, respectively, as well as the Heidelberg Schlossfestspiele in Germany.

Jill is a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, and a graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Her primary teachers include Dr. Robert Emile, Catherine Tait and Jorja Fleezanis. She studied chamber music with members of the American String Quartet and the Cleveland Quartet.

A devoted educator, Jill has an active Suzuki violin studio and is the founder of Jill Olson Music of the Imagination, a studio for early childhood music education.

Dina Michelson Namer, piano

Born in New York City, Dina Namer is now a resident of Ottawa, Canada.  She studied both piano and flute from an early age.  After winning scholarships for entrance to the Eastman School of Music, she began formal studies in the Bachelor of Music program there.  While at Eastman she worked with Armand Basile and Eugene List.  She later continued her studies at the Manhattan School of Music where she completed her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in piano performance.  Among her teachers were Robert Goldsand, Benar Heifetz and Artur Balsam (chamber music studies).  Later in her career, with the support of the Canada Council, she worked extensively with Menahem Pressler, of the Beaux Arts Trio.      

An active performer, Dina Namer has diverse experience as both a soloist and chamber musician.  She has performed and recorded a wide range of repertoire, from Baroque harpsichord works to contemporary Canadian repertoire.  She has a longtime association with the musicians of the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada in Ottawa.  Through the orchestra's Music for a Sunday Afternoon series, she has collaborated with such artists as Bernard Greenhouse, Andrew Dawes, Paul Tortelier, Felix Galimir, Charles Treger, Timothy Eddy, Leone Buyse, Gail Williams and many others.

As a chamber musician, Ms. Namer has been a member of the Aulos Ensemble, a trio for flute, clarinet and piano, the Ottawa Baroque Ensemble, and the Sh’ma Ensemble, a group devoted to performing works of composers who died in the Holocaust.  Her work with the Aulos Trio culminated in the release of a CD entitled “Playing Tribute”, which features chamber works of several Canadian composers.

As an educator, Dina Namer has taught piano performance at Ottawa, Carleton and Queen's Universities.  She also served for a number of years as a senior examiner for RCM Examinations and continues to serve as an adjudicator for music festivals and competitions.  Currently Ms. Namer teaches piano performance at Carleton and Queen’s Universities in addition to running a busy private studio

Since 1995, Ms. Namer has performed regularly in both the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival and the Alexandria Festival of the Lakes in Alexandria, Minnesota.  Recent performance highlights include the Beethoven Choral Fantasie, the six Brandenburg Concerti (harpsichord) with the Kingston Symphony, and the Franck Piano Quintet with the Penderecki Quartet.  Ms. Namer is heard frequently on Minnesota Public Radio, CBC, and “Radio Canada.”

Ellen Dinwiddie Smith, horn

Ellen Dinwiddie Smith, a horn player with the Minnesota Orchestra, contributes to Twin Cities musical life as a chamber music series creator, guest soloist, chamber music performer, and private instructor.

Smith is Artistic Director of the Colonial Chamber Series, which she developed and launched in 2006, with concerts held at Colonial Church in Edina.  She has performed as a guest soloist with the National Repertory Orchestra, Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, Kenwood Symphony Orchestra and Linden Hills Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Minnesota Orchestra.  Smith collaborated with the Dale Warland Singers on their CD Britten, Bernstein, et al., as a soloist in Ahron Harlap’s Bat Yiftach (Jephthah’s Daughter).  She was a featured artist at the 2003 International Horn Society Workshop at Indiana University and has served on the faculty of the Kendell Betts Horn Camp.  Smith has performed at the Spoleto, Waterloo, Chautauqua, Keystone, Colorado Philharmonic and Aspen Summer Music Festivals.

Smith is a 1987 graduate of the Curtis institute of Music.  Previous to Curtis, she attended the Juilliard School and the University of Texas at Austin.  Her teachers include Myron Bloom, Wayne Barrington, Greg Hustis, and Michael Hatfield.  She was named third horn of the Charleston (South Carolina) Symphony Orchestra while still a student at Curtis, and joined the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra as co-principal horn.  Smith maintains an active teaching studio in the Twin Cities and is adjunct professor of horn at Bethel College.

Tamás Strasser, viola

An avid chamber musician, Tamás Strasser has been violist with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) since 1975.  He was previously a member of the Kansas City Philharmonic, United States Army Strings, New Art String Quartet and Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia.  Strasser has performed with The Vienna Trio and the Muir, Moscow and Bakken string quartets.  Strasser has been a soloist with the Santa Fe Opera, the SPCO and the Kansas City Symphony, among other orchestras.  He served as artist-in-residence for the North Carolina School of the Arts summer program and on the faculties of Madeline Island Music Camp and Macalester College.  He has taught master classes at the University of Minnesota and Kansas City Conservatory, among others.  Strasser received his bachelor’s degree from the Kansas City Conservatory and master’s degree from the Catholic University in Washington, D.C.  His principal teachers were Andor Toth, Tiberius Klausner, Michael Rabin and Dorothy Delay.  He serves on the faculty at the University of St. Thomas teaching violin and viola and leading the String Orchestra.  Strasser has performed as principal violist with the Wintergreen (VA) Festival, the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder and the Aspen Chamber Symphony.  Summer of 2012 once again finds Strasser playing principal viola for the Music in the Mountains Festival in the California wine country.  Strasser returns to perform chamber music in Alexandria’s Festival of the Lakes this August.  Tam’s hobbies include chess, motorcycling, and traveling.

Sonja Thompson, piano

Pianist Sonja Thompson is active as a performer, educator and vocal coach.  A graduate of The Juilliard School, she has appeared locally and nationally in a wide variety of performance settings with both singers and instrumentalists.  In addition to performing, Ms. Thompson is Assistant Professor of Music at Augsburg College and Assistant Music Director at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis.