Loon Lake Live! 2011 Season Performers

Luis Casal, violin, is vice president of the Sinfonía Concertante Foundation of Panama, an honorary academic adviser to the Alfredo Saint Malo Music Festival, and violin/viola instructor of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Known for his charisma, versatility, and musicality, Mr. Casal is a favorite among audiences and has quickly established himself in both art and folk music stages. He has represented his country of Panama in events in England, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, and the United States. A sought out chamber player, Mr. Casal keeps an active agenda performing violin and viola recitals. Recent performances have included chamber music and solo appearances in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Merkin Hall at Kaufman Center, Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, the Hall of the Americas at the Organization of American States, the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Future commitments include duo recitals along with his brother, cellist Isaac Casal, trio recitals in partnership with the Latinum Duet, and collaboration with Korean pianist Wonsun Bae, Panamanian pianist Abdiel Lombana, Cuban pianist Judith Fleitas, guitarist Cain Budds, and soprano Anna Noggle. Luis began his violin studies at the age of 6 under professor Jorge Vergara and in 1992 moved to the United States to study under scholarship at the New World School of the Arts. He holds degrees from the University of Florida (with honors), Carnegie Mellon University, Indiana University, and the University of Oklahoma. His major teachers include Jorge Vergara, Carmen Cedeño, Cathy Robinson, the Miami String Quartet, Carolyn Huebl, Matthew Dane, Daniel Heiftetz, Atar Arad, and Ilya Kaler.

Sylvia D'Avanzo, violin, has played with Orchestra of St. Lukes, American Symphony Orchestra, NJ Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, American Ballet Theater Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony and the Philharmonia Hungarica. She is also a member of the OMNI Ensemble, a chamber music group in residence at the Brooklyn Conservatory. Ms. D'Avanzo completed a BM at the Mannes College of Music and a MM at Yale University. She has participated in the Aspen, Waterloo, Evian and Tanglewood music festivals. Ms. D'Avanzo has studied with Paul Kantor, Joyce Robbins, and Sally Thomas. She has resided in Park Slope, Brooklyn for 10 fabulous years.

Sara Fierer, cellist, received degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Texas. She has performed throughout the US, Austria and Central America. Currently, Ms. Fierer holds a position with the Boulder Philharmonic and is a member of the Avenue B Quartet. Sara is also proud to be a dedicated teacher. In addition to heading the preschool Suzuki program at U.T., she established a seasonal music school in Panama through the Oberlin Conservatory. At home in Colorado she maintains a large private studio, teaches group cello classes and orchestra at the Denver Waldorf School. As a founding member, Sara is proud to participate in the continued success of Loon Lake Live. When she isn't rehearsing you can find her hiking, kayaking or picking berries with her kids.

Jason Gresl, clarinetist, has spent the past two years performing with the unique national touring ensemble, Tales & Scales. Jason has performed in a variety of orchestral and chamber music settings throughout the US as well as in Italy, Panama, Belgium and the Netherlands. With his cellist wife, Lara Turner, Jason performs with Claricello in duo recitals featuring contemporary programs as well as their own arrangements. While Ensemble-in-Residence at Saint Mary’s College (South Bend, IN) the duo curated and performed in the successful Claricello and Friends Concert Series for four successful seasons. He has taught at Andrews University, Saint Mary’s College, the Boulder Arts Academy, Northampton Community Music School, and served as a Fischoff Chamber Music Mentor. Jason studied clarinet under the tutelage of Daniel Silver, Bil Jackson and Daniel Gilbert, and bass clarinet with Henri Bok and Dennis Smilie, earning his B.M. from Oberlin Conservatory, his M.M. from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He also pursued post-graduate studies at the Rotterdams Conservatorium in the Netherlands. In his spare time, Jason attempts to learn feats of wonder with decks of cards, and continues to catalog the many odd faces it takes to make his lovely 5-year-old daughter smile.

Miriam Kapner, oboist, has had her playing described by the New York Times as “a sensitive exploration of the oboe's singing character and its technical armory”. She has performed with chamber music groups in many prestigious settings, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Jordan Hall, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in Connecticut. As an orchestral musician, she has performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York City Opera, Colorado Symphony, Orchestra, Boulder Philharmonic, Colorado Pro Musica, Glens Falls Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, Stamford Symphony, Bangor Symphony, Symphony Silicon Valley, Ballet San Jose, and the Monterey Symphony. Her musical endeavors have also taken her to Germany, Israel, and Hawai'i. Additionally, she served as Principal Oboe with the Sarasota Opera in Florida. She has served on the faculty of the Luzerne Music Center in the Adirondacks, and the Bronx House of Music in New York City. Ms. Kapner has been heard on NPR as part of Studio 360, discussing the art of oboe reed making. She is a founding member of Stretto, a trio of oboe, guitar, and violin. She holds a Bachelor of Music from New England Conservatory, and a Master of Music from Manhattan School of Music. Her past teachers include Stephen Taylor, Laura Ahlbeck, and Matthew Sullivan. When she's not whittling reeds or playing the oboe, she might be found hiking 14,000 foot mountains, attempting to garden, or taking landscape photographs with a film camera.

Lori Lax, viola, holds a Master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music. She studied violin with Rafael Bronstein and viola with Karen Tuttle. Lori was first stand violist in the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. She is a former teacher at the Manhattan School of Music and is currently on the staff of several summer chamber music festivals. Lori is proud to be a founding member of Loon Lake Live! When she isn't busy practicing or rehearsing she can most often be found hiking up Elbow for the amazing blueberries or taking a "quick dip" in Loon Lake.

Aaron Packard, violin, has studied at Oberlin Conservatory and SUNY Stony Brook, where he received his Bachelors and Masters of Music degrees, respectively. His principal teachers have been Greg Fulkerson and Mitchell Stern. Other influences include Katie Lansdale, Atar Arad, Jorja Fleezanis, James Buswell, Gil Kalish, and the Turtle Island String Quartet. He is currently living in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, spending his time as a caretaker, bookseller, and music-maker.

Abby Raymond, clarinet, is a native of Richfield Springs, New York, and has held the position of Second/E-flat/Assistant Principal Clarinet with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra since 2001. She will serve as Acting Principal Clarinet of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra for the 2011-2012 season. She has a Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music and also attended Rice University and Boston University. Previously Abby was a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Santiago, Chile, and has also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Pops Orchestra, Colorado Music Festival and Central City Opera. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and the Texas Festival Orchestra. Abby has been a part of the Strings in the Mountains and Chintimini Chamber Music Festivals, in addition to performing chamber music in the Denver area. Outside of playing the clarinet, Abby enjoys hiking with her dog, Ruby, and traveling.

Erika Sato, violin, joined the “President’s Own” United States Marine Chamber Orchestra in 2003. Prior to this appointment, she was a titled and tenured chair member of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and frequent guest performer with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. Ms. Sato has performed internationally and has made solo appearances across the country with groups including “The President’s Own”, Colorado Symphony and National Repertory Orchestras. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Sato has participated in such music festivals as Banff, Strings in the Mountains, Norfolk, Aspen and Tanglewood. Ms. Sato earned both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School under Masao Kawasaki. She lives in Washington DC with her husband, Curtis Fye, and their cat Elliot.

Katie Schlaikjer, cellist, joined the award-winning Colorado Quartet in July of 2009 and the faculty of the University of Connecticut in the fall of 2010. A former member of the Avalon Quartet, she received top prizes from the Concert Artist Guild, the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, and the Banff International String Quartet Competition. Katie has performed at the Ravinia, Tanglewood, Aspen and Caramoor festivals and taught chamber music and cello at the Quartet Program, Apple Hill and Soundfest music festivals. This past year, she premiered J Mark Scearce's cello concerto "Arcana" with the University of Connecticut's Symphony Orchestra and traveled to China to play the Haydn D major concerto with the Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra. Katie received her Doctoral and Master’s degrees from Stony Brook University and her Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory. Her principal teachers have included Timothy Eddy, Laurence Lesser, Andres Diaz, Peter Stumpf, Eugene Lehner and the Vermeer and Emerson Quartets. She plays on a cello made by Paolo Castello in Genoa in 1775 and her bow is a Nicholas Maire.

Debra Sherrill, French Hornist, hails from Danville, Illinois and currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina. Debra is in her 6th season as a core member of Chamber Music Charleston. In addition, she maintains an active teaching studio and is a member of both the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. She also frequently performs with the Savannah Philharmonic, the Greenville Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony and the Syracuse Symphony. During the summers, she is a participant with the Endless Mountain Music Festival, Loon Lake Live, the St. Augustine Music Festival and the Mozart in the South Festival. Before moving to the Lowcountry of South Carolina, she held the positions of Associate Principal Horn of the Barcelona (Spain) Symphony and Principal Horn of the South Dakota Symphony. Debra has studied with Roger Collins at Western Illinois University, Erik Ralske at Manhattan School of Music, and Jerome Ashby at the Juilliard School. Outside of playing her horn, Debra’s hobbies include traveling, karate, hiking, kayaking, scuba diving and she is an avid birder.

Lara Turner (cello, baroque cello, viola da gamba) is an active chamber and orchestral musician who enjoys performing music ranging from contemporary to baroque. She is a founding member of Claricello, a clarinet and cello duo focusing primarily on contemporary classical music written for this unique combination. As an orchestral musician, Lara currently holds the position of Principal Cello in the South Bend Symphony and in the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado. A frequent collaborator with Baltimore Consort’s Mary Anne Ballard, Lara has also played with early music specialists including Jennifer Lane, Joëlle Morton, Ronn McFarlane and Marilyn MacDonald. She has performed with early music groups such as St. Louis Baroque, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Bourbon Baroque and NYS Baroque. A devoted teacher, she maintains a private cello studio in Evansville, IN and most recently served as adjunct cello faculty at Saint Mary’s College and Andrews University. Lara holds a B.Mus. in cello performance with a minor in baroque cello and viola da gamba from the Oberlin Conservatory where she studied with Andor Toth, Jr. and Catharina Meints. At the San Francisco Conservatory she earned a M.Mus. in cello performance, studying with Bonnie Hampton.