Hein Boterberg, “coach”. Hein Boterberg studied piano with Johan Duijck at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in his native town Gent, in Belgium. He graduated with high distinction and was given five first prizes in academic studies. By that time, he was playing for singers in master-classes and competitions such as the Queen Elisabeth Competition of Belgium and the Marmande Singing Contest in France.
He has received postgraduate diplomas in vocal accompaniment at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow and the Guildhall School of Music in London. In Glasgow he was awarded the James Geddes Prize for repetiteurs. Among his teachers were Graham Johnson, Eugene Asti, and Timothy Dean. He participated in master-classes with Martin Katz, Helmut Deutsch, Roger Vignoles and Rudolf Jansen.
Hein has been an accompanist for several singing master-classes and courses given by Robin Bowman, Laura Sarti, Nancy Argenta and Emma Kirkby and for song classes at the Guildhall School.
In song recitals he appeared, amongst others, in the National Concert Hall in Dublin, the Palais des Beaux-Arts and the Théâtre des Martyrs in Brussels, and the Purcell Room and Barbican Hall in London. Recent performances include a musical homage to José Van Dam and a Finzi recital (with Howard Wong) for Finzi's family. Together with Howard, he has given many recitals in the UK and participated in a master-class with Sarah Walker at the Wigmore Hall.
He worked at the Royal Opera House La Monnaie in Belgium with Antonio Pappano, prior to the Maestro's departure, to become director at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. He also played for and assisted in productions with conductors such as Kazushi Ono, Alessandro De Marchi and Renato Balsadonna.
Currently holder of the Geoffrey Parsons Junior Fellowship at the Royal College of Music in London, he continues to study intensively, as well as working as a coach and on the concert platform.
Festival edition: September 2003.

Mikael Eliasen is currently head of the Opera and Vocal Departments at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. For ten years, from 1984-1994, he served as the Artistic Director of the European Centre for Opera and Vocal Art (E.C.O.V.) in Ghent, Belgium. After many years as guest artist for the Merola Program of the San Francisco Opera Centre, Mr. Eliasen was appointed Music Director of the San Francisco Opera Centre from 1994-1996. Mr. Eliasen has given numerous master classes around the world, including the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, Russia, the Jerusalem Music Centre in Israel, the National Opera of Prague, in the Czech Republic and the National University of Seul, Korea. Mr Eliasen is a regular guest at the International Opera Studio of the Netherlands, in Amsterdam and for the past ten summers he has taught in the Chatauqua Instituition of Summer Music Voice Program. In the fall of 1996, Mr. Eliasen was invited to give classes for the Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Mr. Eliasen has collaborated with numerous singers in recital, including Robert Merrill, Tom Krause, Theodor Uppman, John Shirley-Quirk, Elly Ameling, Edith Mathis, Florence Quivar, Sarah Walker and Joan Patenaude-Yarnell. He has participated in many summer festivals including the Blossom Festival, the Wexford Festival in Ireland, the Schwetzinger Festival in Stuttgart, Germany. He has made numerous recordings for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Hilversum Radio in Holland, Polish State Radio, Kol-Israel and Irish Radio and Television. He can be heard on London Records, MHS and Supraphon. Mr. Eliasen received his early music training in his native Denmark, continuing his musical studies in Montreal. Following four years of study in Vienna, Austria, with the legendary piano teacher Dieter Weber, he moved to the United States, where he maintains his residence.
Festival editions: August 2000, August 2001, August 2003.

Linda Hirt, Opera Coach and foreign language specialist at DePaul University in Chicago, made her accompanying debut at the New York Carnegie Recital Hall, under the auspices of the Concert Artist Guild. In addition to performances throughout the United States and in France, Belgium, Germany and Poland, she has concertized extensively in Italy as soloist and as accompanist for singers from prestigious programs such as Oberlin, Curtis Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, etc. She has recorded for Vanguard Records and German national television and performed live on radio in New York and Chicago. A recipient of the Master of Music Degree with high distinction from Indiana University School of Music, her mentors included Menahem Pressler of the Beaux Arts Trio, and John Wustman, long-time accompanist to Luciano Pavarotti. In addition to her passion for the Italian Language, she taught a course on Bizet's opera Carmen in French at the Alliance Française de Chicago.
Festival editions: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007.

Carrie-Ann Matheson - Pianist, Carrie-Ann Matheson, a native of Prince Edward Island, made her Carnegie Hall debut in January 2000 in the 7th Annual Marilyn Horne Foundation New York Recital. During the past season, Ms. Matheson performed with mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, countertenor Brian Asawa and baritone Rodney Gilfry. She will concertize later this season with sopranos Ruth Ann Swenson and Barbara Bonney. Ms. Matheson is a recent graduate of the Manhattan School of Music where she received a full scholarship to study with world-renowned pianist Warren Jones. She obtained her Master of Music in Accompanying from The Cleveland Institute of Music, and also attended the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA, where she was a recipient of the 1998 Marilyn Horne Foundation Award for excellence in Vocal Accompanying. She has performed as soloist and chamber musician in England, Denmark, Italy, South Africa, and the United States, as well as in Canada where she won first place in the solo piano category at the 1995 CIBC National Music Festival. Ms. Matheson is currently a coach/pianist in the Lindemann Young Artist Development program at the Metropolitan Opera.
Festival editions: August 2000, August 2001, August 2002.
 

Russell Miller: BM, University of Southern California; MM, Manhattan School of Music; doctoral studies, Juilliard; DMA, University of Michigan. Coaching/conducting fellowship, American Opera Centre; Outstanding Graduate Award, USC; Gramma Fisher Fellowship, American Institute of Musical Studies, Graz, Austria. Studied accompanying with Brooks Smith, Gwendolyn Koldofsky, Martin Katz, Marshall Williamson, Margo Garrett, Samuel Sanders; opera coaching with Alberta Masiello and Nico Castel; piano with Edith Knox and Louis Nagel; song interpretation with Adele Addison. Concert performances with Marilyn Horne, Hakan Hagegard, Robert White, Stephen Kates, Glenn Dicterow, and Donald McInnes. Collaborative recital tours in Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and throughout the United States, including vocal quartet "SATB." Official accompanist, Walter W. Naumburg Foundation annual competition, American String Teachers Association national competition, D'Angelo International voice competition. Opera coach, Pine Mountain Music Festival (1997-2002). Faculty member, Music Academy of the West (1988-94, 1996-99); Peabody Conservatory (1990); Oberlin (1993-94); Cleveland Institute of Music (1999-2001); Bowling Green State University (2000-2001); Eastman (1995-99, 2001-).
 

Hugh Murphy - As a young pianist, Hugh Murphy became familiar with a large portion of the classical ensemble repertoire, performing extensively and winning several competitions. He was awarded a master’s degree in piano by the Peabody Institute, where he was a graduate assistant in chamber music and accompanying. He continues to perform chamber music and art song recitals, touring nationally and internationally, when his Purchase schedule allows.
Mr. Murphy began his coaching career in 1981 when he was selected to be a member of the musical staff at the Santa Fe Opera. Since then, he has maintained a busy private studio in New York City, where he prepares professional singers for their performances and recordings with regional, national, and international opera companies. He brings to his work knowledge of a wide variety of music, styles, and languages, as well as the standard operatic, oratorio, symphonic, and art song repertoire. In 1998, Mr. Murphy participated in “Learning Your Role: Inside and Out,” a panel discussion presented at the Opera/America National Singers Workshop.
He has coached and accompanied prize winners of the following vocal competitions in performance: Center for Contemporary Opera, Joy in Singing, Liederkranz Foundation, Lisner Foundation, MacAllister Awards, Marian Anderson International Vocal Competition, Metropolitan Opera Council Competition, National Opera Institute, Rockefeller Grants, Sullivan Awards, Tokyo International Competition, Wagner Society, Young Concert Artists, Zachary National Vocal Competition.
Mr. Murphy is Principal Conductor for the Purchase College Opera, Opera Semplice (New York City), and at regional opera companies. He recently conducted the first Baroque opera to be presented in Alaska, Handel’s “Semele” (Anchorage Opera). “Conductor Hugh Murphy prepared the orchestra to play in the style favored some 250 years ago. For most of the musicians, it was an unfamiliar way of playing, but they surmounted the challenges handsomely, receiving a shower of plaudits,” according to the Anchorage Daily News. Since 1995, he has been the Conductor, Music Director, and harpsichordist of Apollo’s Banquet, an ensemble that presents concerts of French Baroque dance and music to consistently high critical acclaim in New York City and throughout the country. The ensemble’s performance in the Fragonard Room at the Frick Collection (NYC) was noted as the first presentation of music and dance in this exquisite setting, and was listed as one of the “events that made 1998 memorable” by The New York Times.
Mr. Murphy entered college on full scholarship to study French horn. He has studied historical, modern, and classical dance, advancing to the level of soloist with professional companies.
 

Craig Terry - Pianist Craig Terry came to New York in 1997 to study with world renowned collaborative artist Warren Jones as a scholarship student at Manhattan School of Music. Since beginning his studies, he has launched a career accompanying both new and established artists throughout this country as well as Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Greece, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. On February 5, 2000, Mr. Terry made his Carnegie Hall debut in Weill Recital Hall with mezzo-soprano Anne-Marie Seager presented as winners of the Artist's International Competition. He has performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall as well as accompanied masterclasses for such artists as Marilyn Horne, Elly Ameling, Martin Katz, Mignon Dunn and Sherrill Milnes.
Festival editions: August 2000, August 2001, August 2002.