Musician Biographies
Soprano Miho Sato studied at Hokkaido University of Education, Music department (voice major) and performed in Sapporo as Marcelina in "The Marriage of Figaro," Elvira in "Don Giovanni," Queen of the Night in "The Magic Flute," and as Mrs. Reich in "The Merry Wives of Windsor." In Boston, she has studied at the Boston University Opera Institute. Ms. Sato has given private recitals in Japan and in Boston. She currently studies with Donna Roll, Robert Honeysucker, and Noriko Yasuda.
Violinist Yuki Beppu was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1997 and moved to the United States with her parents in 1999. She started playing the violin at the age of four. She has been a student at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School (NEC) since 2003. She studies with Mrs. Kazuko Matsusaka, Ms. Julliane Lee, and Mr. Joseph Silverstein. She was a first place winner of the NEC concerto competition 2007 and appeared as a soloist playing with the NEC Youth Repertory Orchestra at the Jordan Hall in NEC (2008). Yuki received the Leonard D. Wood Awards (first place) at the Young Artist Competition 2008 of the Philharmonic Society of Arlington. She appeared in the Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick Inauguration Gala with Lynn Chang and Yo-Yo Ma (2007). Yuki played the violin for a 6-day series of the musical “Beauty and the Beast” with the Lexington Players in the summer of 2007. She plays chamber music at NEC, and her group “Trio Con Brio” performed for the radio program “From the Top” (2008). Yuki also appeared in the Chamber Music Series of the Winsor Music (2009). She played the Mozart concerto with the Lexington Symphony (2010).
Oboist Asako Furuoya is a student at New England Conservatory of Music. She studies with Keisuke Wakao, assistant principal oboist of Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Violinist Toshi Motoyama, Cellist Duke Roth, and Pianist Clara Chan were brought together in August 2008 by chamber music coach Gillian Rogell to study the Mendelssohn Piano Trio in D minor. They have continued to play trios together since then, performing in the Afternoon Concerts Boston series and Gillian Rogell's Heart of Chamber Music concerts at St. Paul's Church in Brookline. Toshi is director of Afternoon Concerts Boston, and will host Afternoon Concert 18 on Sunday, June 6, 2010. Duke is an avid chamber music and orchestra player, and currently is a member of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Clara enjoys playing chamber music when she is not busy doing yeast experiments at MIT.
The Grassmere Trio, established in 2006:
Clare Nielsen (flute) received her Bachelor of Music in Flute performance from New England Conservatory of Music, a Master of Arts in Music History from Tufts University and an Artist’s Diploma in Chamber Music from the Longy School of Music. In addition to teaching and free-lancing in the Boston area, she is a member of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra in New London, Connecticut and the Ariel Wind Quintet.
Ellen Donohue-Saltman (horn) received her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Economy from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, her master’s degree from New England Conservatory in Horn Performance and an Artist Diploma in Chamber Music from the Longy School of Music. Ellen teaches in the Greater Boston area and directs Camp Encore/Coda, a music camp in Maine, with her husband Jamie.
As members of the Ariel Quintet, Clare and Ellen have had several performances on WGBH and recorded Daniel Pinkham’s Advent Cantata, (Koch International) Peter Child’s Wind Quintet, (CRI) and several works on Gardner Read’s The Art of Song (Albany Records).
Laura Dowd (piano) received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University in history and her master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Policy from Tufts University. She is the choir accompanist at the Theodore Parker Church in West Roxbury, MA and studies piano with Yukiko Takagi of Brookline, MA. She works as an independent consultant in the policy field of Workforce Development and lives with her husband and four daughters in Roslindale, MA.
3AM performs an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary folk music, rock and modern country. Featuring vocals, guitar, bass, banjo, and percussion, this trio's music is fun for all ages.
Laura Vecchione - singer and songwriter. Her voice is unearthly beautiful, yet deep, rich, and full of emotion, evoking wide rivers of the South that seem far from her origins in New York and Boston. Vecchione's catchy lyrics and beautiful melodies exude pop appeal. Laura had already won Boston’s Colgate Country Showdown before the release of Deeper Waters, and with it, the praises of country station WKLB. George Knight of Boston’s commercial triple A station, WBOS began spinning her single, "Jane". And Martha’s Vineyard’s WMVY added "Fool's Gold" to its Fresh Produce sampler alongside artists like Melissa Ferreick and Mary Chapin Carpenter. And the Boston Globe proudly claimed, "Vecchione is all ours".
Born in New York City, Laura's classical voice training began at age 15. As an American Studies major at Barnard College, Laura found herself in the warm embrace of the Columbia/Barnard Gospel Choir while also studying Jazz Voice at Manhattan School of Music. Laura moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. She later studied guitar with local maestro John Curtis (Patty Griffin, Jon Pousset-Dart Band) and began writing and performing original material.
Genithia Lilia Hogges, soprano, is a teacher, singer, conductor, and arranger. Her repertoire encompasses opera, jazz, spirituals, gospel, and contemporary styles. She currently teaches at Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart and is a member of the Myrtie Baptist Church Spiritual Singers.
Carolyn Castellano is the band director at Brookline High School. She holds a BM from Berklee College of Music and a MM from Boston University. She frequently performs with a wide array of musicians in the Boston area including her own ensembles. The BHS Jazz Band is recognized for their innovative repertoire and has conducted workshops in Puerto Rico and at the Berklee High School Jazz Festival.