Get Involved
You and your group can support Loon Lake Live by sponsoring a concert set, advertising in our program booklet, or volunteering in a variety of ways.
Esther Rogers Baker, cellist, earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hartt School, University of Hartford and a Master of Chamber Music degree from San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Esther also spent one year studying Collaborative Leadership at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, UK. Esther loves to play experimental and contemporary music, as well as Bach and traditional chamber music. She is also an innovative facilitator and composer who collaborates with artists in different genres including dance, theatre, visual arts, and writing. Esther works as a freelance cellist, teaches cello and chamber music, guides group composition as a teacher/facilitator, and works as a private duty home health aide. Esther moved to Saranac Lake with her husband Gene in 2014. This year the two of them ran a concert series titled 'The Bakery'; a place for a wide variety of music written since 1900.. Learn more at www.erogerscello.com
Catherine Beeson (Artistic Director, Viola) has served as a Teaching Artist and performer for Colorado Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Friends of Chamber Music - Denver, Lenape Chamber Ensemble (PA), Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Santa Fe Pro Music Chamber Orchestra, Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra (San Diego) and Loon Lake Live. She curates community based performances with Ensemble Faucheux, and leads programs on performing arts supporting social change - most recently as Social Justice Performing Artist in Residence at Chicago's Roosevelt University. Catherine is a proud advocate for inclusion practices in the musical arts, lately focusing on concert and performance opportunities for the neurodiverse community. She comes from a family of musicians, educators, and community builders. She enjoys connecting diverse groups of people through community and school residency programs that encourage music composition and performance. In service to this, Catherine has designed and published teachers' guides and lesson plans to support the education and outreach endeavors of the New York Philharmonic, Up Close and Musical orchestra (Denver) and Friends of Chamber Music (Denver). Catherine has also been a facilitator for adult lectures through Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, led workshops at the Colorado Music Educators' Association conference, and twice been a panel presenter at Denver Comic Con. In her spare time Catherine enjoys supporting social action events with the Non-Violins Marching Band, playing board games, reading, and having random adventures. Known for her anti-gym enthusiasm, she has surprised herself and pretty much everyone who knows her by training for the first ever Loon Lake "Try-athlon" which she hopes to complete without major embarrassment this August. She is the only competitor, so that's a bonus.
Flutist James Hall has enjoyed a varied and impressive career as an international soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and teacher. He has performed with Joshua Roman, Eileen Eivers, Jennifer Koh, Paquito D’Rivera, Benny Kim, Carol Wincenc, Allan Vogel, Robert Weirich, Jim Walker, Art Garfunkel, Pink Martini, Carter Enyeart, Catalyst Quartet, Boulder Bach Festival, and the Colorado Symphony. The Kansas City Star called him “red-hot” and the Denver Musical Weekly called his performance “...the best flute performance I have witnessed in my life.”
As a concerto soloist, James has played with the Orquesta Nacional del Paraguay, Kansas City Civic Orchestra, Greeley Philharmonic, Orquesta Nacional de Panamá, Orquesta del Congresso Nacional del Paraguay, and the Southeast Kansas Symphony. After giving his Carnegie Hall debut recital as a winner of Artists International in 2004, James began to receive invitations to perform as a recitalist, and has since played across North, Central, and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. He is half of Duo 1610, with pianist Willem Van Schalkwyk, and the two tour the world performing flute and piano works from the baroque to the contemporary.
Hall was founder, flutist, and artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Kansas City, which opened its debut season to critical acclaim. This group brought together musicians with international profiles, living and working in Kansas City, to give world-class performances of chamber music repertoire for mixed instrumentation. Performing in non-standard concert spaces, such as art galleries, design firms, and patrons' homes, the CMSKC brought a much needed musical art form to Kansas City audiences, and the concerts were received with great enthusiasm in sold-out performances.
James has been invited to play for chamber music concerts with Loon Lake Live!, the New York based Vail International Dance Festival, the Colorado Symphony's Beethoven and Brews series, the Pittsburg Solo and Chamber Series, and the Dordt Artist Series. He has also performed and taught at music festivals in the U.S. and in Central and South America. James has been invited to perform as a guest principal flutist with the Boulder Philharmonic, Greeley Philharmonic, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, and Southeast Kansas Symphony, and has held principal flute positions with the Topeka Symphony and the Missouri Symphony.
As an educator, Hall has been invited to give master classes at national conservatories and music schools throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, South Africa, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Thailand, and Switzerland. Since 2009, he has been the professor of flute at the University of Northern Colorado where he has had the great fortune to work with many talented young musicians.
James is a performing artist for Burkart Flutes and performs exclusively on his handmade 10k gold Burkart Elite flute with platinum head joint.
As a concerto soloist, James has played with the Orquesta Nacional del Paraguay, Kansas City Civic Orchestra, Greeley Philharmonic, Orquesta Nacional de Panamá, Orquesta del Congresso Nacional del Paraguay, and the Southeast Kansas Symphony. After giving his Carnegie Hall debut recital as a winner of Artists International in 2004, James began to receive invitations to perform as a recitalist, and has since played across North, Central, and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. He is half of Duo 1610, with pianist Willem Van Schalkwyk, and the two tour the world performing flute and piano works from the baroque to the contemporary.
Hall was founder, flutist, and artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Kansas City, which opened its debut season to critical acclaim. This group brought together musicians with international profiles, living and working in Kansas City, to give world-class performances of chamber music repertoire for mixed instrumentation. Performing in non-standard concert spaces, such as art galleries, design firms, and patrons' homes, the CMSKC brought a much needed musical art form to Kansas City audiences, and the concerts were received with great enthusiasm in sold-out performances.
James has been invited to play for chamber music concerts with Loon Lake Live!, the New York based Vail International Dance Festival, the Colorado Symphony's Beethoven and Brews series, the Pittsburg Solo and Chamber Series, and the Dordt Artist Series. He has also performed and taught at music festivals in the U.S. and in Central and South America. James has been invited to perform as a guest principal flutist with the Boulder Philharmonic, Greeley Philharmonic, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, and Southeast Kansas Symphony, and has held principal flute positions with the Topeka Symphony and the Missouri Symphony.
As an educator, Hall has been invited to give master classes at national conservatories and music schools throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, South Africa, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Thailand, and Switzerland. Since 2009, he has been the professor of flute at the University of Northern Colorado where he has had the great fortune to work with many talented young musicians.
James is a performing artist for Burkart Flutes and performs exclusively on his handmade 10k gold Burkart Elite flute with platinum head joint.
John Hilton has been a member of the Colorado Symphony since 2011 after spending three years as the Associate Concertmaster of the Louisiana Philharmonic. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree cum laude from Lawrence University, as well as Doctorate of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder. His teachers have included Anne Shih, Georgios Demertzis and Ed Dusinberre.
Aaron Packard holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music degree from SUNY Stony Brook, both in Violin Performance. He is a founding member of Cuatro Puntos, a chamber music ensemble whose mission is to bridge cultural gaps through performance and teaching worldwide. Aaron is currently a faculty member at the Groton School and the Joy of Music Program in Massachusetts. He can be heard on The Rosegarden of Light, a Toccata Classics release.
Violinist Erika Sato is a native of Portland, Oregon, and enjoys a varied career based in the Washington DC area. Praised as “elegant” and “riveting” by The Washington Post, she is a former titled and tenured chair member of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and has been a frequent guest performer with groups such as The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and New Jersey Symphony. She is currently a member of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Chamber Orchestra, with which she has made numerous solo performances; other guest solo appearances include Colorado Symphony, Oregon Symphony, and National Repertory Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, she has been a regular performer on the chamber concert series Loon Lake Live! for over a decade, appeared as a guest artist with The American Chamber Players, a guest performer with Strings in the Mountains, and participated at music festivals including Banff, Norfolk, Spoleto ITALY, Spoleto USA, Aspen, and Tanglewood. She has given clinics and masterclasses at schools and universities to include Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Maryland - Baltimore County. She trained under Masao Kawasaki at The Juilliard School where she earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees.
Erika Sato’s participation with this group is in an unofficial capacity and neither the “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band nor the U.S. Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government has endorsed this activity.
Photo by Ars Nova Images
Erika Sato’s participation with this group is in an unofficial capacity and neither the “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band nor the U.S. Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government has endorsed this activity.
Photo by Ars Nova Images
Violinist Rachel Segal's career highlights include more than a decade as a member of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and posts in Europe with the Tampere Filharmonia in Finland and as Concertmaster of the Orquestra Sinfonica Portuguesa in Lisbon, Portugal. She is the Concertmaster of the Central City Opera and began her career as Concertmaster of the South Bend Symphony in Indiana.
A champion of new music, Ms. Segal has premiered many new works of solo, chamber, and orchestral music, and has collaborated with dancers for performances of traditional works reimagined as ballet. Ms. Segal is a member of the Fairmount String Quartet and the Media Lunas Argentine Tango Band, and performs regularly with the Philly Pops and as a substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She also appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra at their 2017 Gala.
In addition to performing, Ms. Segal is the Executive Director of The Primavera Fund, Associate Director of the Philadelphia Young Musicians Orchestra, and has served on the Board of Directors of Musicopia, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and The Colorado Symphony. She lives in Fishtown with her two beagles, Abby and Sam.
A champion of new music, Ms. Segal has premiered many new works of solo, chamber, and orchestral music, and has collaborated with dancers for performances of traditional works reimagined as ballet. Ms. Segal is a member of the Fairmount String Quartet and the Media Lunas Argentine Tango Band, and performs regularly with the Philly Pops and as a substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She also appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra at their 2017 Gala.
In addition to performing, Ms. Segal is the Executive Director of The Primavera Fund, Associate Director of the Philadelphia Young Musicians Orchestra, and has served on the Board of Directors of Musicopia, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and The Colorado Symphony. She lives in Fishtown with her two beagles, Abby and Sam.
Debra Sherrill-Ward, French horn, is the proud founder and director of the Charleston Horn Camp. She is the Principal Horn of Chamber Music Charleston, the North Charleston Pops, and plays 3rd horn for the Savannah Philharmonic and the Hilton Head Symphony. During the summers she plays for the St. Augustine Music Festival and Loon Lake Live. In May 2018, she will be a featured artist for the Musica En Segura Festival in Spain. Before moving to the Lowcountry of South Carolina, Debra held the positions of Associate Principal Horn of the Barcelona Symphony and Principal Horn of the South Dakota Symphony. Debra studied with Froydis Ree Wekre in Oslo, Norway, Jerome Ashby at the Juilliard School, Erik Ralske at the Manhattan School of Music and Roger Collins at Western Illinois University.
Lynette Wardle is principal harpist of the Richmond Symphony and the Albany Symphony. As a freelance musician she performs with New Jersey Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York City Opera, American Symphony Orchestra and New York City Chamber Orchestra. For the holiday seasons, she has been the harpist for A Christmas Story, the Musical, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. She also performs regularly at Wicked, and with her husband Chad Smith in Sax-O-Philm, Sounds and Sights of the 20’s. Lynette was the harpist for the national tour of the Tony award-winning musical Light in the Piazza. She has a number of recordings, most notably her work with Trilogy, a flute, harp, viola trio, AREA 31, Grammy award winning Albany Symphony recordings and several movie soundtracks. Lynette has performed with many artists, such as Pavarotti, Josh Groban, Johnny Mathis, Neil Sedaka, Marvin Hamlisch, David Burnham, Megan Hilty, Bjork, Olivia Newton John, Ann Hampton Callaway, Deborah Voigt, Edgar Meyer, Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham and Joshua Bell.
Cellist Melissa Westgate maintains a busy freelance career in CT and NYC performing many different styles of music. She is a substitute cellist with the Radio City Christmas Spectacular Orchestra and in the spring of 2015, won the position of Principal Cello for the Radio City Music Hall Spring Spectacular. In addition, Melissa has added her talent to several CD’s and recordings including music for daytime TV’s ‘One Life to Live’ and ‘A Rockin’ Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by the 12.14 Foundation. She was the Principal Cellist with the Ridgefield Symphony from 2000- 2013. In April 2010 she performed Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in e minor with the Orchestra.
Melissa received her Bachelor’s Degree from the Hartt School of Music, where she studied with David Wells. While in attendance there, she received a full scholarship towards an Artist Diploma and performed with the Emerson String Quartet as a winner of their student competition. She also performed with Jaime Laredo and Isaac Stern as a member of the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Her achievements at the Hartt School were rewarded with a full scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music where she completed her Master of Music Degree. Upon graduation, she began performing professionally in many orchestras and chamber groups throughout the northeastern region including the Albany, New Haven and Springfield Symphonies. Melissa resides in Redding, CT with her husband and two children.
Melissa received her Bachelor’s Degree from the Hartt School of Music, where she studied with David Wells. While in attendance there, she received a full scholarship towards an Artist Diploma and performed with the Emerson String Quartet as a winner of their student competition. She also performed with Jaime Laredo and Isaac Stern as a member of the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Her achievements at the Hartt School were rewarded with a full scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music where she completed her Master of Music Degree. Upon graduation, she began performing professionally in many orchestras and chamber groups throughout the northeastern region including the Albany, New Haven and Springfield Symphonies. Melissa resides in Redding, CT with her husband and two children.