BSM&A Adjunct Faculty

 

"Musically expressive,” “dynamic,” and “passionate,” are words used to describe Canadian/American pianist Isabelle Aubin, whose collaborative piano skills makes her a much sought-after artist. Her language skills in French, Italian, German and English make her very effective and applauded by singers she works with including Metropolitan Opera Coach Gildo DiNunzio.

Ms. Aubin currently teaches Diction and Vocal literature at Florida Gulf Coast University, where she also is a Staff Pianist. She also works as Vocal Coach at Ave Maria University and is Principal Keyboard with the Punta Gorda Symphony.

Before relocating to Southwest Florida from Rochester NY,  she held position as Principal Coach with Rochester Lyric Opera (NY); Collaborative Pianist, Vocal Coach and Instrumental Coach at Buffalo State College (NY); Collaborative Pianist at Nazareth College of Rochester (NY) where she has also taught French Lyric Diction; Principal Keyboard of the Genesee Symphony Orchestra (NY); and has held the position of Festival Coordinator, Collaborative Pianist, Chamber Music Coach and Vocal Coach with Festival di musica da camera, in Ripatransone, Italy.

Ms. Aubin has worked in Italy for Centro Studi Italiano;  Sessione Senese per la musica e l’arte; Festival di musica da camera; in Austria, the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz; the Mozarteum in Salzburg; in Canada, the Chœur Symphonique de Saguenay Lac St Jean; Camp Musical du lac St Jean and the College d’Alma.

Isabelle has also prepared and performed full opera productions for Société d'arts Lyriques du Royaume; Opéra Plume; Universitié du Québec; Camp Musical du Lac St-Jean; Festival di musica da camera; and Rochester Lyric Opera.

She has been a frequent performer on the radio with broadcasts by Radio Canada. Programs titled; "Concert Dimanche," "Opera du Samedi," and "Jeunes artistes."

Ms. Aubin studied coaching and accompanying with Denise Massée, Martin Katz, Robert Evans, and Jean Barr, song interpretation with Graham Johnson, Harold Heiberg, and Paul Schilowski, and piano with Nathalie Pepin, Serge Guillemette, Janina Fialkovska, Karl Engel, Raoul Sosa, and Joseph Bloch.

Ms. Aubin received her B.M., from the Conservatoire de Musique du Quebec; M.M., from Montreal University; and teaching certificate from the University of Quebec.

As a highly trained and experienced piano teacher, Elena Bock runs a respected and successful Piano Studio in Naples, Florida, and is also an Adjunct Professor at Florida Gulf Coast University and at Florida Southwestern College. In addition to teaching Group Piano to college and university students, Ms. Bock also teaches Applied Piano, Music Appreciation and Ear Training.

Beginning her formal music education in Russia, Ms. Bock attended the Ryazan School of Music and the Moscow State Pedagogical University, receiving her B.M. in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy and a M.M. in Music Education.

After moving to the U.S. in 2000 and becoming a citizen shortly thereafter, Ms. Bock established her Studio, while simultaneously working to improve the musicianship of her students at college.

Each year Ms. Bock's private students win or place in every significant piano competition in Southwest Florida including those sponsored by the Naples Music Club, the Bach Ensemble, Steinway Music Society, and Southwest Florida Music Teachers Association.

Her private students have met with considerable success.  They have been engaged in various competitions through the years, and several have gone on to pursue music majors at Florida Gulf Coast University, University of Florida, and Miami International University.

Judy Christy joined the FGCU faculty in 2010 as adjunct professor of oboe and chamber music. She has been principal oboist of the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra since 1996. Previously she played with the New World Symphony. 

Judy earned her bachelor’s degree at Oberlin Conservatory, where she studied with James Caldwell and Alex Klein. She then earned her M.M. degree at Rice University, studying with Robert Atherholt. She also pursued additional studies with John Mack.

Judy has performed as principal oboist of the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Des Moines Metro Opera, the Colorado Music Festival, and the Peter Britt Music Festival. Her solo appearances have included concertos by Vaughan Williams, Strauss, Harbison, Mozart, Bach, and Vivaldi.

With her siblings and her husband, Christy performs in the Christy Oboe Quartet, which has released a CD of music by Mozart, Britten, J.C. Bach, and James Stephenson.

Stephen Detjen has been a Band Director/Music Educator since 1983.  He received his Bachelor of Music Education from Syracuse University and a Master of Music from Ithaca College.  After teaching in New York state for thirteen years he relocated to southwest Florida in 1998.

Now entering his thirty-sixth year as an educator, he has experience in every level of music from developmental kindergarten, teaching the hearing impaired and deaf through high school band and now college methods.  Stephen’s most recent position is at Manatee Middle School in Collier County, where he teaches band grades 6-8.  Previous positions include Pine Ridge Middle School- band and chorus grades 6-8, Naples High School- All band activities plus advanced placement music theory, Immokalee High School- band, chorus, orchestra, guitar, and piano.  His achievements include superior ratings at FBA marching and concert assessments,  state concert appearances, indoor winter guard and percussion design, and participation in both state and national festivals.

Professionally, Stephen is a member of the Florida Bandmasters Association, National Association of Music Education, and the Florida Music Educators Association

Mr. Detjen is extremely excited to be part of the Bower School of Music & the Arts this fall as the Brass Methods Instructor.

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Music Education – University of Miami, Miami, FL
Studying classical guitar with Juan Mercadal & Rene Gonzalez
Completed extensive studies in jazz guitar with Paul Guma

SPECIALALITIES
Instrumental Music Education, Classical Guitar, Classroom Guitar

RESEARCH & TEACHING
Instrumental Chamber Music, Classroom Guitar Instruction, Instrumental Music Education

COURSES OFFERED
Class Guitar (Music Education Emphasis)
Class Guitar (Music Therapy Emphasis)

PUBLICATIONS

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Guitar Instruction for Elementary Music Teachers – Presented to the elementary music teachers in Collier County, FL

GRANTS & AWARDS
2010 - Innovative Teaching Award from the Florida Music Educators Association

BIO
Mr. Ferlazzo previously was the guitar instructor at Edison Community College (now Florida Southwestern State College) and taught for 35 years as a public-school music educator in Fort Myers.  While teaching in the public schools, Mr. Ferlazzo served as the Secondary Music Specialist for the Lee County School District.  Mr. Ferlazzo continues to have an active private studio and is an instructor for many summer camps for guitarists.

 

Ming Gao has served as concertmaster of the Nanjing Experimental Orchestra in his native China and of the Eastman Philharmonia at the Heidelberg Castle Festival in Germany. He has also served as acting concertmaster of the Youngstown and Harrisburg symphony orchestras and MOSSPAC Chamber Orchestra. During the summer months, Ming is a first violinist in the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in New York, and he has also served as the acting Associate Concertmaster/Concertmaster during the 2018, 2019 and 2021seasons.

Before joining the Naples Philharmonic in 1993, Ming performed with the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestra. He also appeared in music festivals in the United States, Germany and China, including Sunflower Music Festival, Pine Mountain Music Festival, Buzzards Bay Musicfest, MOSSPAC Music Festival, Heidelberg Castle Festival and the Spring of Xuanwu Hu Festival.

Over the years, Ming has been invited back to China many times to give chamber music recitals in Nanjing, Wuxi, Zhenjiang, Suzhou and Beijing. Some of these concerts were broadcast live by Jiang Su Provincial TV station and CCTV (China national television station). In addition, he has recorded solo and chamber music for the Nanjing radio and television stations, Jiangsu Provincial radio and television stations and QRS Music Rolls, Inc. He was also given the title of Guest Professor of Violin at the Nanjing Conservatory of Music, offering violin master classes in China.

As a soloist, Ming has appeared with the Naples Philharmonic, Orchestra Nova, Nanjing Experimental Orchestra and Jiangsu Provincial Symphony Orchestra, among others, performing a repertoire including Chen Gang’s Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, and Paganini’s Concerto in D Major.

Nanette R. Grant holds a Bachelor’s in Music Education from Ball State (IN) University and a Master’s in Music Education from the University of Illinois, with additional studies at Wittenberg University, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Andrews University and the University of Denver. 

Mrs. Grant has extensive experience teaching strings in the public schools including elementary, middle school, high school and college in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, New York, Nebraska and Florida. In addition, she has considerable years of teaching in summer music camps (IN, IL, NY, FL) and private violin/viola lessons for students ages 3-78. She has performed as a professional violinist in orchestras and string quartets in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, New York, Nebraska and Florida. She served as the director of Southwest Florida Symphony’s Sinfonietta Youth Orchestra for 11 seasons. She currently is an active clinician for orchestras in Lee and Collier Counties.

Nanette Grant is a member of Florida Music Educators Association and American String Teachers Association.  She serves as an Adjudicator for Florida Orchestra Association Music Performance Assessments throughout the state. She was awarded the “Outstanding Achievement in Orchestral Development” from her alma mater.

Her husband, Steven, is a pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Bonita Springs. He has extensive experience as a violinist and violist. They have one son, Evan, who is a graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University.

Geoff Hamel received his M.F.A in Drawing and Painting from Ohio University. Geoff has exhibited regionally. His interests are to work with a variety of media; such as colored pencil, dry pastels, oil paint, and oil pastels. He has been an Adjunct Instructor at Florida Gulf Coast University since 2006. Geoff has taught Drawing I, Drawing II, Figure Drawing and Painting. He also teaches at Florida Southwestern College, at the Labelle Campus Instructing Drawing and Art Appreciation. Geoff taught at Edison Community College from 2000 until 2009, teaching drawing, Figure Drawing and Painting. He also taught Art Appreciation at Barry University from 2008 until 2013. He works as a Non-Emergency Transporter.

Jake Hand is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, first in Architecture then in Fine Arts. He went on to receive his MFA from the University of Florida and exhibits his work nationally. Upon moving to Bonita Springs, Florida in 2005, Jake spent 10 years as the Education Director at the Center For the Arts of Bonita Springs. During his time there he also taught adult classes in painting, pastels and fused glass as well as youth camps in various 2d arts, interior design and video. Jake currently teaches drawing and painting courses at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Francie Huber is from Kansas City, Missouri. She earned a B.F.A. from the Juilliard School in New York.  A principal dancer with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Ms. Huber created many roles including the solo in Cascade, “the polka” in Company B, as well as the lead role in the internationally acclaimed Piazzolla Caldera.  Her contribution to this work was featured in the 1999 Academy Award nominated documentary film, Dancemaker.  Ms. Huber was also featured in several television productions including the Dance in America series’ Emmy Award winning Speaking In Tongues, the Emmy nominated The Wrecker’s Ball, the Dannmarks Radio production of Spindrift And Syzygy, and the 1992 Kennedy Center Honors and in the documentary film, “Callings” by John Altman.  She was awarded a Bessie (New York Dance and Performance Award) for sustained achievement in dancing for her work with Mr. Taylor.  Ms. Huber also performed with other companies including Twyla Tharp Dance as well as performed her own solo works. In addition to her performing career, she has served as director of the Taylor 2 Dance Company, the second company of Paul Taylor and continues to stage Mr. Taylor’s works on professional companies and universities.  Ms. Huber is a Fulbright Scholar.  She received a Post-Doctoral, lecture and research grant, which led her to Amman, Jordan where she was the Guest Artist at the Queen Noor Al Hussein Performing Arts Center.  She was also the Dance Artist in Residence at the Carlsen Center in Kansas City for several years where she worked on the advancement of state and national standards for dance education and teacher training. Ms. Huber has been teaching master classes and workshops at universities, professional companies and private studios around the world and her choreography can be seen on many regional companies and schools. She has served on faculty at The Taylor School, New World School of the Arts and she currently lives in Southwest Florida with her husband and two children and enjoys teaching at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Robert Kastner, a native of Rochester, New York, has held the position of 2^nd trombone with the Naples Philharmonic since 2001, as well as the position of bass trombone with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra since 2018. Robert joined the FGCU faculty in 2022 as adjunct professor of trombone, euphonium, and tuba. In 2004, Robert was the winner of the International Trombone Association’s Lewis Van Haney Philharmonic Prize Tenor Trombone competition. Robert has performed as a soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and as part of a solo recital at the 2004 International Trombone Festival.

Robert has frequently performed and recorded on tenor and bass trombone with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Buffalo, Rochester, Naples, Sarasota, the Sarasota Opera, Tampa, Illinois, and the New World Symphony. With the Philadelphia Orchestra, he performed in Carnegie Hall, as well as for Pope Francis during his United States tour in 2015. Robert has worked with many world-class conductors including Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bramwell Tovey, Stéphane Denève, Yuri Temirkanov, David Robertson, and John Williams.

Committed to furthering the enjoyment of brass music, Robert can be heard performing as a chamber musician and soloist with the Naples Brass, Florida’s premier brass ensemble. Robert can be heard as a soloist on two of their CDs, A Christmas Celebration Part 2 and Part 3. He can also be heard with the Naples Philharmonic on the DVD, Fiesta at the Philharmonic. Along with being an in-demand performer, Robert maintains an active teaching schedule as a private brass instructor and brass clinician.

Robert received his formal training from the Eastman School of Music, where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree and Performer’s Certificate in 2001. His primary teachers include James Markey, John Marcellus, Mark Kellogg, and George Osborn.

Suzanne Kirton began music studies as a child on piano, but when she was a high school sophomore she became enchanted by the flute's sound and decided to make that her instrument. Upon graduation she was accepted at the Juilliard School and studied with Sam Baron her freshman year.

Kirton earned a B.M. degree from Florida State University, her M.M. degree from the Boston Conservatory and a Professional Studies Diploma from the Juilliard School. She has taken master classes and studied privately with a number of great teachers, including Sir James Galway, Julius Baker, Robert Stallman, Leone Buyse and Geoffrey Gilbert.

Prior to Naples, Kirton was principal flutist for the Symphonia Virtuosi and the Rome Festival Orchestra. In 1994, Kirton was a finalist in the International Flute Competition in Budapest, Hungary.

As a soloist with the Naples Philharmonic, Kirton performed the Vivaldi Flute Concerto in D with Keith Lockhart conducting (1994). She performed it again in 2007 at Festival Miami. In 2000, she performed the Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto, along with principal harpist Dickie Fleisher. She has also soloed with the Philharmonic Baroque Ensemble, performing the Bach Suite No. 2 in B Minor in 1995, 1996 and 2002.

Kirton has been an adjunct professor at Florida International University for several years, has freelanced extensively in the Miami area and maintains a private studio in Naples. She may be heard on CD in Music Minus One's Bolling Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio.

Kirton and her husband are proud parents of a daughter Giszelle and son Iain. They also have three loquacious African Grey Parrots, two dogs and a cat. Kirton has been principal flutist of the Naples Philharmonic since 1993.

Si-Cheng Liu, cellist, is currently an adjunct professor at Florida Gulf Cost University and Florida Southwestern State Collage and the music director of Upper School Chamber String Orchestra at the Community School of Naples. 

She has played with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra regularly since 1995 and is also a member of the Naples Piano Quartet, which has been very active in the Southwest Florida area, playing in a number of venues including “Live at the Promenade!” by the Bonita Spring Arts Center for the past five years, as well as concert series at various churches and country clubs. The group has also toured China, performing concerts in Nanjing and Beijing, which were broadcast live nationally by CCTV, China’s national television station. She is also the cellist of the Apollo Piano Trio, has performed in Sanibel Island Big Arts concert series, and Naples CAPA concert series. During the summer, Si-Cheng goes to Chautauqua Institution, NY for all kinds of cultural activities, including concerts, chamber music recitals, operas, theater, cello and violin master classes and lectures, and has played with Chautauqua symphony Orchestra.

For many years, Si-Cheng has been heavily involved in music education in the Southwest Florida Region, where her cello students have won top prizes at the Naples Music Club Scholarship Auditions, All-State Orchestra Auditions, NPO Concerto Competitions, and awards at summer music camps. Some of her students have gone on to pursue their music careers at major conservatories in U.S.  

Si-Cheng received her Bachelor of Arts from the Nanjing Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music from UMKC, and the Artist Diploma from Duquesne University. Her major cello teachers include Ann Martindale, principal cellist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Before joining FGCU in 2010, Cori Montoya was on faculty with Bowling Green State University and Colorado State University (Senior Instructor Art History), where she was awarded Teacher of the Year in 1998.

Ongoing areas of research include the natural world as depicted in art, concepts of the divine feminine, Upper-Paleolithic art and culture in Europe, and petroglyphs/petrographs of U.S. Southwest

Montoya is also an amateur naturalist and avid traveler. 

Education 

Master of Arts, Art History 1991 University of Oregon Specializing in Ancient Greece and Bronze Age Aegean. Thesis “The Offering Table from Thera and Problem of the Marine Style.” Secondary areas of emphasis include Northern Renaissance, European Baroque and 20^th Century

Bachelor of Arts, Humanities  1987, Magna Cum Laude,  Mesa State University

Study Abroad: Cambridge University UK, Christ’s College 1982.   British History and Literature

Recent Courses

Greek and Roman Art, 20^th Century Art, History of the Visual Arts I and II, Art Appreciation

Conferences/Presentations/Invited Lectures

2009: Session Moderator for Third Annual BGSU Art History Symposium: New Perspectives in Visual Culture.  April 18^th 2009

2008: Session Moderator, “Beholding Violence: A Conference of Medieval and Early Modern Culture” BGSU February 2008

2000: “Art Travel in France” Stanley G. Wold Faculty Lecture Series, CSU

1998: “Thera, Plato’s Lost Atlantis?”  President’s Distinguished Donors Foundation, CSU

1993:  Organizer, Front Range Art History Symposium, hosted by Colorado State University

Additional Course Development (selection)

2014- present: Development Contributor ARH 2000, pioneering Art Appreciation e-learning course.

2006-2010: Art and Culture of Japan

1999-2005: Freshman Seminar -Enigmas of Antiquity: The Mystery and Relevance of Ancient Mediterranean Cultures

1992-present: Survey of World Art, Global Perspective I and II, Prehistory to 20^th century

1996-present: History of Modern Art and Culture

Service (selection)

2011-present: Senior Show Critique Participant, Art Major Senior Project, FGCU

2007-2009: Curriculum Development and Revision Project, Art History Area, BGSU

2003-2005: Development Committee, Senior Examination, CSU Art Department

1997-2001: Faculty Advisor, Student Organization for the Visual Arts, CSU Art Department

1991-1992: Research Historian, Denver Art Museum, Ancient Collection

Dr. Jordan Nashman is a skilled and educated double bassist and teaching artist located in the South Florida area. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Bower School of Music and the Arts, and also works as a freelance musician and private instructor. Jordan frequently performs with the Naples Philharmonic, and is a section member at The Venice Symphony. He completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Lynn Conservatory of Music, studying under Timothy Cobb, principal bassist of the New York Philharmonic. In May of 2022, Jordan graduated from the University of Miami with a Doctorate of Musical Arts in double bass performance. During his time at the University of Miami he served as a Henry Mancini Institute fellow, a cutting edge scholarship ensemble that bridges the worlds of jazz and classical music. In previous summers he has been a fellow at Festival Napa Valley, and has attended both Bowdoin International Music Festival and Orford Musique. As a low string educator, Jordan has worked as the bass instructor at the Lynn Conservatory Preparatory School, as well as a Nat King Cole string mentor to elementary schools in need.

Jessica Osceola grew up her great grandmother's Seminole Indian village in Naples, Florida. Her parents are from vastly different cultural backgrounds, however one important aspect in her upbringing was the creative and artistic talents of her family, which would lay the foundation for her own life and work. Osceola graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2008 with a Bachelors in Liberal Arts. Her passion for sculpture and ceramics developed during her undergraduate studies eventually lead her to attend Academy of Art University in San Francisco to pursue a Masters degree in fine art sculpture.
Recently, Osceola's sculptural work based on her personal narrative about multicultural identity was selected to be included in the group exhibition Return from Exile: Contemporary Southeastern Indian Art,. Osceola's most recent accomplishment is a feature of her life and work in a book titled "We Will Always Be Here: Native Peoples on Living and Thriving in the South."
Jessica works and lives in Estero, Fl where she operates a sustainable small farm and works in her studio. Her life as a mother, farmer, and artist has influenced her work to include more about "cycles." The direction Osceola's work is moving includes concepts of earth, human, life, and identity using ceramics and culturally symbolic organic mediums.

John Phillips is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario where he received his undergraduate degrees in both Music and Education. He pursued a Masters Degree in Music Education at Boston University and is currently a PhD candidate at York University in Ethnomusicology. He attained an Artist Diploma in trumpet performance from the Western Conservatory of Music.

While at Western, Phillips taught undergraduate conducting and graduate music education classes. He has also been an instructor for both the University of Toronto and York University in the faculties of music and education.

In the fall of 2015, Phillips retired from UWO and moved to Florida. He served as Artistic Coordinator and General Manager of the Southwest Florida Symphony for three years and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Symphonic Chorale of Southwest Florida.

Phillips was responsible for the curriculum review, revision, and implementation of the Arts at the Ministry of Education for the Province of Ontario. He has also served as Principal and Instructor of the in-service music teacher training programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

In demand as a clinician and consultant, Phillips shares his unique brand of music education through workshops with State and Provincial Music Educators’ Associations, the National Association for Music Education, and as a presenter at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. Throughout his career, he has participated in numerous initiatives with Music for All including the National Concert Festival, the annual Summer Symposium, and the Bands of America Grand Nationals. He has recently been added to the Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician roster.

Phillips has adjudicated music festivals and events in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Indonesia. He regularly guest conducts honor bands across Canada and the United States. For twenty years he conducted the Wind Ensemble at the National Music Camp of Canada and was recently a guest conductor at the International Music Camp. Phillips has served as Judge Administrator for Drum Corps International since 2000, and was inducted into the DCI Hall of Fame, Class of 2015.

Dena Register is a seasoned music therapy clinician, educator and program development specialist. She is pleased to support the FGCU music therapy program as an adjunct professor.

Prior to joining the Bower School of Music in this capacity, she designed and implemented the music therapy program at West Virginia University, serving as the director of music therapy from 2015-2018, and was an Associate Professor in the music therapy program at the University of Kansas from 2003-2015.  Additionally, she served as the Director of Faculty Programs in the Office of International Programs and a Faculty Fellow in the Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of Kansas.

Dr. Register earned B.M., M.M., and Ph.D. degrees in music therapy from the Florida State University.  Prior to her teaching career, she worked as a private practice music therapist in Tallahassee and Tampa, Florida providing services to early intervention programs, students with special education needs, bereaved children and adolescents and battered women and children. She also provided internship supervision and coordinated the music therapy program at Big Bend Hospice in Tallahassee, FL. 

In 2009, Register was awarded a Council for International Exchange of Scholars-Fulbright Scholar award to teach and conduct research at Mahidol University, College of Music in Thailand. She developed the “Therapeutic Uses of Music” training to build awareness and appreciation of music therapy as a discipline among medical and education personnel. To date, she has trained more than one hundred professionals, initiated numerous clinical services sites and offerings and consulted on research projects across Thailand. She developed and launched the first music therapy Masters degree program in Southeast Asia at Mahidol University in 2013 and continues her work there as a consultant, teacher and researcher.

Her consulting work in the US is primarily centered on the recognition of music therapy by state governments and the recognition of the MT-BC credential as the required credential for all practicing professionals. Register has served as the Regulatory Affairs Advisor for the Certification Board for Music Therapists since 2006, where she works with music therapists across the country on obtaining this professional recognition. She delivers training to students and professionals alike on the importance of advocacy for the profession.

Mary Griffin Seal is a pianist and music faculty member at Florida Gulf Coast University where she currently teaches Class Piano. 

Ms. Seal majored in music at Hartt College of Music and Boston University’s College of Fine Arts, where she received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance, and was elected to membership in Pi Kappa Lambda, the National Music Honor Society.  Noted teachers have included Watson Morrison, Edith Stearns, Anita Gelber, and Robert Steinbauer. 

She performs frequently as both piano soloist and accompanist for choirs, singers and instrumentalists. She has also served as a staff accompanist for the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

Since 1992 she has been an active member of Southwest Florida Music Teachers Association and Florida State Music Teachers Association, serving in many capacities, including local and district president, state president, and state foundation chairman.    She is also a member of the music faculty at Florida South Western State College, teaching Applied Piano, Class Piano, and serves as primary staff accompanist for the music department.

Robin Shuford Frank, pianist, is Chorus Master, Music Administrator, and Director of Educational Outreach for Opera Naples, for which she also serves as Musical Director for youth productions. She engages Southwest Florida’s youth through the company’s Student Apprentice Program, Elementary In-School Tours, Resident Artists Program, and community outreach performances. An accomplished pianist, she serves as the rehearsal pianist for Opera Naples’ main productions and performs in numerous concerts and events. Aside from her work with Opera Naples, Frank is the accompanist for The Festival Singers of Florida and frequently performs with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and The Naples Players.  An Adjunct Professor in the Bower School of Music at Florida Gulf Coast University, she has a Masters degree from Westminster Choir College in Accompanying and Vocal Coaching and a Bachelors degree in Music Education from The Florida State University.

M.M. in Bassoon Performance (University of Southern California, 1988)

B.M. in Bassoon Performance (St. Olaf College, 1986)

Principal Bassoon, Naples Philharmonic

2^nd Bassoon, Grand Teton Music Festival

Formerly Assistant Principal/2^nd Bassoon San Antonio Symphony and Florida Symphony Orchestra; Member of the Executive Board, International Double Reed Society

Courses Offered: Applied Music Bassoon

Recordings: The Music of Julius Weissenborn; Fiesta at the Philharmonic; A Night in the American West

Matthew Sonneborn earned a B.M. degree from the New England Conservatory. Matt is in his 30th year as Principal Trumpet with the Naples Philharmonic. He has been a frequent soloist with the orchestra performing Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Hummel's Concerto for Trumpet, Copland's Quiet City, Leopold Mozart Concerto, and the Florida premiere of James Stephenson's Concerto for Trumpet. Matthew also performs in the Pops series, and with the Naples Philharmonic Brass Quintet.

During the summers Sonneborn performs on occasion at the Grand Teton Music Festival, with the Baltimore Symphony and with the Colorado Music Festival. He has played under the direction of Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Simon Rattle and Leonard Slatkin.

Helen Tintes-Schuermann is a versatile singer-actress who regularly performs in opera, oratorio, concert and musical theater. Tintes has sung with numerous USA and European companies, including Gulfshore Opera, St. Petersburg Opera (Fl), Chicago Opera Theatre, Light Opera Works (Chicago), F-M Opera (MN), Gran Teatro del Liceu (Barcelona, Spain), Staatstheater Kassel (Germany) and Theater an der Wien/Raimund Theater (Vienna). An international operatic highlight was performing with Gwyneth Jones in Strauss’ ​Elektra (Third Maid) ​at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Spain.

A sought-after concert artist, Tintes has appeared as soloist with numerous European festivals (Monte Carlo Festival, Ascona Festival, Bodensee Festival and Fest in Hellbrunn/Salzburg) and with orchestras, fine arts series and universities throughout the USA. Her performance in Verdi’s Requiem (Augusta/USC Symphonies) was praised: “Surely in heaven there is a mezzo soprano who constantly sings that opening phrase of the Lacrymosa as beautifully as Tintes-Schuermann sang it” (The State/South Carolina).

Recent engagements include performances with Gulfshore Opera in Verdi’s Rigoletto (Giovanna) and La Traviata (Annina), as well as Handel’s ​Messiah​ with the Ft. Myers Mastersingers (FL) and concerts with the SW Florida Symphonic Chorale (​“Sing-Out​”and “​Mass Appeal”)​. In summer 2020 she appears in The Sound of Music (Sr. Sophia) with Broadway Palm Dinner Theater. Upcoming 2020-21 performances include concerts at St. Leo University (FL), St. John Evangelist Catholic Church’s Concert Series (FL), as well as the Gesellschaft für Musiktheater and St. Peter’s Catholic Church (Krypta Series) in Vienna, Austria. 

Tintes is a recognized master teacher, who has taught at important universities and conservatories, including the Music and Arts Private University of Vienna (MUK), Northwestern University, USC (Columbia, SC) and Ave Maria University. Through the prestigious Erasmus (European Union) program, she has performed and given masterclasses throughout Europe (Austria, Spain, Hungary, Estonia, Finland, Greece) and has also performed and taught in China. She is a resident of Southwest Florida, where she is teaches voice and related course at St. Leo University (Tampa, FL) and maintains a voice studio (Vienna Voce). She is delighted to join the Voice Faculty at FGCU this fall.

Paul Votapek has been a member of the Naples (FL) Philharmonic since 1988 and was chosen by Music Director Christopher Seaman to be its Principal Clarinetist in 1996. He has appeared as soloist with the Naples Philharmonic on five occasions. At the request of Music Director Keith Lockhart, he spent the 1998-1999 season as Acting Principal Clarinetist of the Utah Symphony. As a chamber musician he has performed at the Pine Mountain, Kairos and Marrowstone Music Festivals. Paul has released a CD of the Concert and Contest Collection for Clarinet with his father, Ralph Votapek. In 2012 Paul performed at the International Clarinet Association Convention in Lincoln, Nebraska. He been an adjunct music faculty member at Florida Gulf Coast University since 2007.

Paul received his bachelor and master's degrees from Northwestern University where he studied with Clark Brody and Robert Marcellus. He has completed doctoral classes and recitals at Florida State University where he studied with Frank Kowalsky.