2022 Featured Artists

Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, conductor
New York, New York
Esteemed conductor and pianist Dr. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez was named Artistic Director of Musica Viva NY and Director of Music of the historic Unitarian Church of All Souls in Manhattan in 2015. He is also Co-Founder of the New Orchestra of Washington and Artistic Director of the Victoria Bach Festival.  He has earned accolades from The Washington Post as a conductor “with the incisive clarity of someone born to the idiom,” as well as praise from The New York Times for leading “a stirring performance” of Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem.His guest conducting engagements include appearances at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Lincoln Center in New York City, and the Degollado Theatre in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he led the Jalisco Philharmonic. As a pianist, Hernandez-Valdez performed for the 2013 Britten100 festival in New York, organized by the Britten-Pears Foundation to honor the 100th anniversary of the titular composer’s birth.   Read full bio

Stephen Redfield, concertmaster
Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Violinist Stephen Redfield has performed as concertmaster and soloist with the Victoria Bach Festival since 1992. Honored as “Best Instrumentalist of 2018-19” by the Austin Critics Table, he was a student of Dorothy DeLay at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory and Donald Weilerstein at the Eastman School.

He was, until his retirement in June, Professor of Violin at the University of Southern Mississippi, but will now be devoted to his active schedule as a soloist and chamber musician, in the United States and internationally. It was with mixed emotions that he left Hattiesburg, his position of 26 years, his faculty piano trio, and his many students, but Stephen is excited to broaden his performing career from his new home in Santa Fe. His connection to Victoria came from his time in Austin, where he received his doctorate and was Assistant Concertmaster of the Austin Symphony, as well as from his long (and continuing) collaboration with Craig Hella Johnson.

Over his 40 years with the Oregon Bach Festival, Stephen has participated in numerous recordings, including the Grammy® Award-winning disc Credo. He is also concertmaster of Santa Fe Pro Musica, the Arizona Bach Festival, the Conspirare Company of Voices and La Follia Austin Baroque.

Brent Baldwin, assistant conductor, guitar, voice, multi-instrumentalist
Austin, Texas
Award-winning conductor, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, arranger, and composer Brent Baldwin is co-artistic director of CONVERGENCE, a professional contemporary arts performance organization dedicated to inter-arts collaboration. Under Baldwin’s leadership with co-artistic director Cameron Beauchamp (Roomful of Teeth), Convergence premiered works by Graham Reynolds, Kate Moore, Adrian Quesada (Black Pumas), Petra Haden, Avery Griffin, DJ Spooky, Glenn Kotche (Wilco), and Prix de Rome-winner Steve Parker, Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw, and many others. The ensemble has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including “Best Vocalist” (for Cameron Beauchamp) and “Best Choral Performance” in the Austin Critics’ Table Awards.

Baldwin holds a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied conducting with Craig Hella Johnson and Daniel Johnson. As a director and bandleader, he has participated in numerous tours across the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. A fierce advocate of contemporary music, Mr. Baldwin has directed and performed over forty world premieres. His past musical collaborations include projects and performances with Big Star Third, Trail of Dead, Peter Buck (R.E.M.), M. Ward, Laurel Aitken, Golden Hornet, Austin Chamber Music Center, Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee, Jody Stephens (Big Star), Austin Symphony Orchestra, Victoria Bach Festival, Tommy Stinson (Replacements, Guns n’ Roses), and Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Shulamit Ran and Caroline Shaw.

Elaine Barber, harp
Austin, Texas

• Principal Harpist,  Austin Symphony
• Regular guest artist, San Antonio Symphony
• Performs renaissance and early baroque music with Texas Early Music Project and Austin Baroque Orchestra

Melissa Brewer, viola
Tallahassee, Florida

• Principal Viola, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra
• Asst. Principal Viola, Tallahassee Symphony
• Principal and Viola d’amore soloist, Bach Parley
• Performs in regional orchestras throughout the Southeast

Patrice Calixte, violin
Austin, Texas

• Associate concertmaster, Austin Symphony Orchestra
• Performed with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec,  Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
• Member, Artisan Quartet

Joan Carlson, violin
Austin, Texas

• Tenured violinist, Austin Symphony Orchestra
• Baroque violinist, La Follia Austin Baroque
• Performed with the Texas Early Music Project and the St. Cecilia Series’ Baroque Festival
• Member of Conspirare since 1998
• Singer, Compline Choir of St. David’s Episcopal Church, Austin

Chris Carrillo, principal trumpet
Rockingham, VA

• Principal Trumpet, New Orchestra of Washington, Madison Brass, and Virginia Brass Consort
• On the faculty of James Madison University
• www.chriscarrillotrumpet.com

Helen Cooper, violin
Austin, Texas

• Member, Austin Symphony
• Member, Artisan Quartet
• Former member, Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Binghamton Symphony Orchestra, Austin Lyric Opera Orchestra

Jann Cosart, violin and viola
Hewitt, Texas

• Musicology Area Coordinator, Associate Professor of Musicology, and Director of the Early Music Ensembles at Baylor University
• Founding member, Altramar Medieval Music Ensemble

Ian Davidson, oboe
Austin, Texas

• Regents’ and University Distinguished Professor of Music and Humanities, Texas State University
• Principal Oboe, Austin Opera Orchestra
• Solo English Horn / Associate Principal Oboe, Austin Symphony Orchestra
• Fulbright Senior Specialist, US Department of State

Susan Doering, violin
Auberry, California

• Teaches at Fresno Pacific University
• Concertmaster of Tulare County Symphony Orchestra, performs with Fresno Philharmonic, Santa Rosa, Monterey Symphonies
• Co-Founder of Musica Viva Chamber Music series and Emerald Duo

Désirée Elsevier, viola
Dallas, Texas

• Regular member, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra from 1987 to 2021
• Member, World Orchestra for Peace (founded by Sir Georg Solti, now led by Valery Gergiev)
• Member, Classical Tahoe summer festival orchestra

Boel Gidholm, violin
Rochester, New York

• Co-Director, period-instrument ensemble Publick Musick
• Performs with Pegasus Early Music, NYS Baroque
• Appears on recordings with Fiori Musicali-Barockorchester Bremen, Steintor Barock (Bremen), L’Arco (Hannover), Apollo’s Fire, and The Publick Musick

Suzanna Giordano Gignac, viola
Los Angeles, California

• Performs with the Pasadena Symphony, Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew’s, La Follia Austin Baroque
• Principal Viola, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra
• Co-founder, period ensemble Angeles Consort
• Freelance studio musician recording for motion pictures and television
• Recorded for Harmonia Mundi

Jackson Guillen, violin
Houston, Texas

• Director, El Sistema-based CODA Music Program of the Houston Youth Symphony
• Co-founder and Executive Director, “Encuentro Anual de Cuerdas,” string festival in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
• Member, Terra Nostra Ensemble, dedicated to the performance, promotion, and preservation of music by Latin-American and Iberian composers

Christopher Haritatos, cello
Rochester, New York

• Member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
• Performs with early music ensembles including Pegasus Early Music, NYS Baroque, Handel and Haydn Society, and Ars Lyrica
• Co-Director of Publick Musick
• Appears on recordings with Fiori Musicali-Barockorchester Bremen, Apollo’s Fire, Tafelmusik, Fioritura, Publick Musick

Douglas Harvey, principal cello
Austin, Texas

• Principal cellist of the Austin Symphony Orchestra and Austin Opera
• Performs with Chamber Soloists of Austin, Salon Concerts series and Austin Chamber Players
• Performs as soloist with Central Texas symphony orchestras
• Member of the Artisan Quartet

Juan Jaramillo, violin
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Assistant principal second violin, Pittsburgh Opera
• Principal second violin, Altoona Symphony
• Assistant principal second violin, Wheeling Symphony

Kristin Wolfe Jensen, principal bassoon
Austin, Texas

• Faculty member, University of Texas at Austin
• Principal Bassoon, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra
• Founder and Artistic Director, biennial Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition for young women bassoonists from the Americas 

Adah Toland Jones, principal flute
Wimberly, Texas

• Professor of Flute, Texas State University
• Principal Flute, Austin Opera
• Extra and substitute flute, Austin Symphony
• Recipient of Presidential Award for Creative Activities from Texas State and the Ball State University Alumni Citation

Marcus McGuff, baroque flute
Austin, Texas

• Doctor of Musical Arts in flute, University of Michigan
• Taught flute at Austin Community College and Concordia University
• Professor of Mathematics, Austin Community College

Melanie Punter, violone and principal double bass
Tallahassee, Florida

• Principal bassist, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra
• Principal bassist, Tallahassee Bach Parley
• Principal bassist,  Atlanta Baroque Orchestra
• Member, Orchestra of St. Luke’s
• Retired Associate Professor of Double Bass, Florida State University

Raúl Rodríguez, principal tuba
New Braunfels, Texas

• Associate Professor of Tuba and Euphonium, Texas State University
• Principal tuba, Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra
• Chamber musician performances with the Bluebonnet Brass, Breckenridge Brass, Capitol of Texas Brass, Pinnacle Brass

Peter Rubins, principal French horn
San Antonio, Texas

• Member, San Antonio Symphony
• Horn Instructor, University of Texas at San Antonio
• Recordings on Sony Classical, Telarc, Exton, and New World Records

Greg Sauer, cello
Tallahassee, Florida

Barrett Sills, gamba and baroque cello
Houston, Texas

• Principal cellist, Houston Ballet and Houston Grand Opera
• Performs with Ars Lyrica Houston, Bach Society, and St. Cecilia Chamber Music.
• Co-founder and artistic director of Camerata Ventapane

Eric Smith, gamba and baroque cello
Plano, Texas

• Artistic Director, American Baroque Opera Co.
• Performs with Ars Lyrica Houston, La Follia Austin Baroque, Ensemble VIII, Dallas Chamber Players, Bach Society of Houston, Oklahoma Bach Choir, New York’s Concert Royal, Texas Camerata

Corinne Stillwell, principal second violin
Tallahassee, Florida

• Associate Professor, Florida State University
• Concertmaster, Tallahassee Symphony
• Artist Faculty, Brevard Music Center
• Recordings on Naxos, Harmonia Mundi, MSR Classics, and Navona Records
• Pre-College, BM & MM degrees from The Juilliard School

Javier Stuppard, principal trombone
Round Rock, Texas

• Performs with Fresh 2 Def Horns, The Nightowls, Jazz Inc. Big Band, JazzBonez and The Minor 4th Trombone Quartet
• Peformed with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra, Temple Symphony, Round Rock Symphony, Bermuda Philharmonic Orchestra
• Former Assistant Professor of Music, Huston-Tillotson University

Vanguel Tangarov, principal clarinet
Round Rock, Texas

• Principal Clarinet, Austin Lyric Opera, Mid-Texas Symphony, and Victoria Symphony
• Previously Principal Clarinet for Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra (Bulgaria); Academia Chigiana Symphony Orchestra (Italy), and Monterrey Symphony Orchestra (Mexico)
• Assistant Professor of Clarinet, Texas State University

Bruce Williams, principal viola
Austin, Texas

• Principal violist, Austin Symphony Orchestra
• Artistic Director, Mason County Chamber Music Festival
• Member, Allegro Chamber Trio and the Artisan Quartet
• Director of chamber music, Texas Bach Festival
• Austin Critics Table 2003 outstanding instrumentalist

Keith Womer, harpsichord
Austin, Texas

• Director and harpsichordist, La Follia Austin Baroque
• Organist, University Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
• Austin Critics Table 2016 Award for Best Classical Instrumentalist
• Performs with Conspirare, Victoria Symphony, Texas Early Music Project