2015 Faculty Bios - Sitka Fine Arts Camp

SITKA FINE ARTS CAMP 2015 FACULTY
Middle School and High School Camp
Bob Athayde has been teaching Music in the public schools of California for
thirty-seven years. He has taught fourth grade through university level and
also teaches music privately. Recognized for his outstanding teaching and
musicianship, Bob has received many teaching awards in his career
including the Outstanding Band Teacher of California Award. For over forty
years, Bob has been a professional musician playing everything from church
services to dance bands, jazz to chamber music. Bob’s favorite musical
moments are when he is able to have students enjoy making music together.
Kyle Athayde is a performer, composer and arranger currently living in New
York City. He plays vibraphone, piano, trumpet, and drums professionally, and
also plays congas, timbales, bass, and bass clarinet. He composes and
arranges music in a variety of genres, including jazz, classical, salsa, and
electronic. Some of his favorite musicians are J. S. Bach, Duke Ellington, Pyotr
Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Eric Dolphy, Dmitri Shostakovich, Louis Armstrong, Igor
Stravinsky, Charlie Parker, Olivier Messiaen, and Art Tatum. While a student at
Juilliard, Kyle fostered a great love for Modern and Classical dance. At Sitka
Fine Arts Camp, Kyle enjoys learning about dance, theater, acrobatics, and juggling in addition to
teaching. Kyle loves to learn and share his knowledge with others, and enjoys teaching music,
especially jazz. In New York he regularly performs with his big band called the Kyle Athayde Dance
Party.
Javier Barboza is an animator, filmmaker, and artist. His work tackles the
complexity of the urban city, using a surreal and narrative method to engage the
audience in experiencing what is best described as visual and immersive. Born
and raised in Los Angeles, Javier has been animating since the age of sixteen
through after school inner city outreach programs. He continued his studies at
East Los Angeles Community College, immersing himself in fine arts and
animation and thn transferred to California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts) and
majored in Character Animation and Film Video, earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree in 2007. He received his Master in Fine Arts at The University of Southern California (U.S.C),
in The School of Cinematic Arts, DADA Animation Division. Javier continues to merge medias. His
thesis film ( el Coyote, an Animated documentary about human trafficking though the Mexico/
United States border) is currently hitting the film festivals. Javier is now freelancing, teaching, and
developing his next film.
J Bradley has been working on all types of events, shows and productions
around the world for 24 years. He currently is the Technical Director of the Sitka
Performing Arts Center and spends time working on ballet tours from Russia.
Will Burck is the Fine Arts Department Chair at Waubonsie Valley High School
in Aurora, IL—a suburb 40 miles west of Chicago. He conducts two of the five
curricular orchestras and co-directs the extracurricular alternative string
ensemble, the Warrior Strings. With a rich history of sharing their music both
domestically and internationally, members of the WVHS orchestra have
performed in New York City (2005, 2009), Prague, Salzburg, Vienna (2007),
Madrid, Seville, Lisbon (2011), and Boston (2013). Over the past decade, The
Grammy Foundation has recognized the Waubonsie Valley music department as
one of the top high school music programs in the nation for music education, twice being awarded
the Grammy Gold Signature School status (2007, 2011). Will has been coming to Sitka since 2007
and enjoys teaching strings!
Jordan Buschur is an artist, educator and curator. She received an M.F.A.
from Brooklyn College, the City University of New York. Her work has
been shown internationally, including exhibitions with Thierry Goldberg
Gallery, Vox Populi, and the Toledo Museum of Art. Recent awards
include the Kimmel Foundation Artist Award and the Charles Shaw
Painting Award. She was a resident artist at Chashama North, the Kimmel
Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, the Vermont Studio Center and the
LUX Center for the Arts, NE. A teaching artist, she led community arts
residencies with the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, the Lincoln Arts Council, the Nebraska
Arts Council and the Sheldon Museum of Art. Buschur is the Director of the Prescott Gallery and
Eisentrager-Howard Gallery at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Amy Butcher is a writer and author of the forthcoming memoir Visitor
#3 (Blue Rider Press/Penguin, 2015). Her essays and short fiction have
appeared or are forthcoming in The New York Times Magazine, The Paris
Reviewonline, Tin House online, Salon, The Kenyon Review, The Rumpus,
Gawker, The North American Review, The Indiana Review, Fourth Genre,
B r e v i t y, A m e r i c a n S h o r t F i c t i o n , Ve l a a n d H o b a r t , a m o n g
others. She earned her MFA from the University of Iowa and is the recipient
of scholarships and awards from the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the
Arts, the University of Iowa, Word Riot Inc., the Stanley Foundation for
International Research, the Academy of American Poets, and Colgate University's 2012-2013 Olive
B. O'Connor Creative Writing Fellowship. She is the editor of Defunct, a former editorial assistant for
the Gettysburg Review, and has led creative writing and literature courses for the University of Iowa,
Colgate University, Chatham University, Southern New Hampshire University, the Loft Literary Center,
Barrelhouse online, the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, and the Iowa Young Writers' Studio. This is
her third summer teaching for the Sitka Fine Arts Camp in Sitka. She is currently at work on a
collection of “food” essays as well as an ethnographic essay on the temporary working community of
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
Laura Careless is a graduate of The Royal Ballet School, London, the
Ecole-Atelier Rudra Bejart, Lausanne; and The Juilliard School, New York.
She is a founding member and the Rehearsal Director of Company XIV, a
dance theatre company based in Brooklyn, New York. Her collaborative
work with XIV director, Austin McCormick. has resulted in a critically
acclaimed movement style known for its emotional expressiveness, animal
power, and musical sensitivity. Favorite roles with Company XIV include the
Evil Queen in their production of Snow White and Charles Bukowski’s
women in a one-woman show based on his poetry. She is a faculty member
at Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech school for children, She teaches classes for professional dancers in New
York City and assists Mr. McCormick in the creation of new Company XIV productions and
commissions.
Andrés Carlstein received his MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers’
Workshop, where he was an Arts Fellow. He has been a MacDowell
Colony Fellow and Yaddo Residency Fellow and his short stories have
been finalists for the Doug Fir Fiction Prize and the Gertrude Stein Fiction
Award. His work has appeared in Connu and The Miami Herald. He is also
the author of the nonfiction travelogue Odyssey to Ushuaia, a
Motorcycling Adventure from New York to Tierra del Fuego. He currently
works as a Professor of Writing at the University of Iowa, and is working on his novel, The Red
Gaucho, which was a finalist for the Faulkner Society’s 2014 NovelinProgress Award.
Jennifer Lynn Carter has been a professional art educator since 1992. She
was born and raised in NYC and graduated from the High School of Art and
Design. She attended The School of the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston and
Tufts University where she received her B.F.A. in photography, printmaking
and art history. She then attended The Florida State University where she
received her masters degree in Art Education. Jennifer founded The Arts
Academy visual arts magnet at Savannah High School and went on to
develop the visual arts program at SAIL (School for Arts and Innovative
Learning) High School in Tallahassee, FL. She has also worked extensively as a consultant in
developing art curricula and museum exhibits. Although constantly attracted to expanding her artrelated skill set, her primary media for personal expression are photography and ceramics. Jennifer
currently enjoys living in Sitka with her husband and two children.
Autumn Chodorowski is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma specialized
in Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying
privately under Ian Swensen. She previously studied under Almita Vamos
and Paul Kantor at Northwestern University and The Glenn Gould School
in Toronto, CA. She has been a part of the New World Symphony,
Tanglewood Music Centre, National Orchestral Institute, National
Repertoire Orchestra, and Round Top Festival Orchestra. She has
performed alongside artists such as The Pacifica Quartet, David Nuttall,
David Kim, Jodi Levitz, and Jean-Michel Fonteneau. In addition, Autumn
has worked with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Gunther Schuller, Mark Sokol,
Andris Nelsons, Charles Dutoit, and Anne-Sophie Mutter. She currently enjoys a thriving and diverse
career as a freelance violinist and teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Mark Cole teaches Ceramics as an Assistant Professor of Practice for the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Originally from the Metro Detroit area of
Michigan, Mark earned his BFA in Ceramics from Northern Michigan
University in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and his MFA in Ceramics from
Ohio University in Athens Ohio. He makes functional stoneware pottery
and exhibits his works nationally, taking part in exhibitions in galleries such
as AKAR design, the Clay Studio of Philadelphia, Santa Fe Clay and the
Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis. He has worked to bring ceramics to
the lives of others as an AmeriCorps youth mentor in Crescent City, CA as
well as working for five summers at Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen MI. Mark has been an
international resident artist at Umdang Ceramics in Nakhon Ratchisima Thailand as well as the
International Workshop for the Ceramic Arts at Tokoname, in Tokoname, Japan. Mark’s work may be
viewed at www.markcolepottery.com.
Roblin Gray Davis is a versatile performer, director and teacher of theater
based in Juneau, AK. He is a founding member of Strange Attractor Theatre
Company and part of Perseverance Theatre’s company of artists. Roblin holds
an M.F.A. in Actor Created Theatre from Naropa University/London
International School of Performing Arts and a Certificate from the Dell’Arte
International School of Physical Theatre. Roblin has been a Teaching Artist
with the Alaska State Council on the Arts for the last 12 years and has taught
at Sitka Fine Arts Camp for over 20 years. He has been trained as a Teaching
Artist by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Alaska State Council
on the Arts and the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council. Roblin is also an adjunct professor for the
School of Education at the University of Alaska Southeast and has been a Connie Boochever Artist
Fellow and is a member of United States Artists.
Scott Davis received his first intensive exposure to the arts as a student at the
Sitka Fine Arts Camp in the early 1980s. Inspired by his teachers at that time
and by the friendships he made at the camp, he continued to pursue the
performing arts throughout college, studying mime and dance extensively
while at Princeton University. He was the artistic director of the Princeton
Mime Company. After living and teaching in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for two
years after college, Scott returned to New Jersey and co-founded Loon Soup,
a mime and physical theater company that performed and taught nationwide.
He moved to Seattle to study law at the University of Washington in 1995 and in 2000 joined Lingo
Dance Theater, a contemporary dance company under the direction of KT Niehoff. He has toured
with the group to Japan, Cuba, Ecuador, Germany, Canada and throughout the States. Scott has also
collaborated with members of the dance faculty at the University of Washington and produced his
own work in Seattle, New York, New Jersey and Ecuador. He is on the faculty at the Northwest
School in Seattle where he teaches Mime & Movement and Street Law. Wade Demmert is a bass tromboninst who performs throughout the Pacific
Northwest. He has performed with a variety of national and international
musical artists and ensembles including the Seattle Symphony and Opera
Orchestras, the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, the Bellingham Music
Festival of Music, Broadway Shows, Pavarotti, and the Moody Blues. In
addition he can be heard on numerous movie, television, and theme park
soundtracks. Wade holds a Master of Music degree from Rice University.
Wade grew up in Sitka and attended the Sitka Fine Arts Camp as a student.
Michael Eisenstein is an actor, fight choreographer, musician, clown, and
martial artist who grew up just north of Chicago training at the Piven Theatre
Workshop. He was a member of their Young People’s Company for three
years. As a company member, Michael had the opportunity to work with
inner city youth teaching Piven’s Story Theatre technique with the Off the
Street Club. His love of theatre took him to New York University where he
strained at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, NYU’s Classical
Studio, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Since graduating
with a BFA, Michael has performed and choreographed with New York
Classical Theatre, Boomerang Theatre Company, Xoregos Performing Company, Inwood
Shakespeare Company, at the Provincetown Playhouse, and with the Montana Repertory Theatre on
their national tour of Biloxi Blues as Arnold Epstein. He has also performed as a clown with Art
Below Zero eating fire, juggling and making ice sculptures all the way in Kuwait. Recently, Michael
has turned his focus to on camera work. Be sure to look for him in the upcoming horror film Jersey
Shore Massacre. He currently lives in Astoria, Queens. Christian Fabian was born in Sweden and grew up in Germany. It was there
that he saw a Dizzy Gillespie concert when he was 12. He met Dizzy and was
so inspired he decided to play jazz. He studied at Maastricht Conservatory
and performed in Europe, then moved to Boston and attended Berklee
College of Music on a full scholarship, graduating Magna Cum Laude in
2000. Lionel Hampton selected him as bassist for the Lionel Hampton Big
Band, and he then studied with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Billy
Taylor among other Jazz greats. He currently performs in New York with The
Mike Longo Big Band and The Lionel Hampton Big Band among others. His
compositions earned two awards and three nominations with Hollywood Music in Media in 2008 and
2009 for Best Jazz Artist. Christian’s own band, the Fabian Zone Trio, has released six CDs since 2006
and reached #1 on Music Choice, Top 10 on Jazz Radio for Canada and Top 20 on Jazz Week.
Christian Fabian co-founded The Native Jazz Quartet with Edward Littlefield in 2011 and the band
was chosen by the US State Department as global Jazz Ambassadors in 2013 and 2014.
Rhiannon Guevin graduated summa cum laude from University of Puget
Sound’s School of Music, where she received a BM in Vocal Performance
with Honors in Music. During her time at Puget Sound she performed in
opera scenes and full-scale productions, including the roles of Sophie in
Der Rosenkavalier, Miss Titmouse in Too Many Sopranos!, and Mabel in
The Pirates of Penzance. She was the fall 2011 winner of the University of
Puget Sound’s Concerto/Aria Competition. In summer 2011, she traveled
to Kunming, China, where she played The Queen of the Night in Mozart’s
Die Zauberflöte for the China Yunnan Opera Festival. In April and May of
2015 Rhiannon will appear as Zerlina in Juneau Lyric Opera’s production of Don Giovanni, which will
perform in both Juneau and Sitka. Rhiannon has studied voice with Dr. Dawn Padula and Joseph
Evans. Rhiannon works full time as the Program Manager for Sitka Fine Arts Camp and has served as
the music director for several productions of SFAC’s Young Performers Theater program.
Nora Munde Gustuson was raised in Missoula, Montana where she grew
up taking lessons in tap dance, ballet, baton twirling, piano, flute,
voice,and was involved in youth choir and The Missoula Children's Theatre.
She took this love for performance and the arts to The University of
Montana where she graduated with a double B.F.A in Acting and Design/
Technology. Nora has graced almost every stage in Montana working for
The Bigfork Summer Playhouse, The Illustrious Virginia City Players, and
Summer Musicale. She has gone on five national tours with The Montana
Repertory Theatre with her favorite roles being Annelle in Steel Magnolias,
Meg in Leading Ladies and Rowenain Biloxi Blues. She also originated the role of Elizabeth plus six
other characters for The Montana Repertory Theatre's state tour of Frankenstein:Unplugged. She
would then go on to restage this show for Trembling Foot Theatre in Road Island. For three summers
Nora worked and trained at The Sterling Renaissance Festival where she mastered the arts of
interactive theatre, improv, stage combat, commedia dell'arte and Shakespeare. In 2008 Nora
moved to New York City where she currently lives and works as an actor/singer/dancer/voice over
artist/costume designer and model. She is a founding member of the New York City interactive
ensemble, ByTheMummers, with whom she has written and performed eight original shows and 3
murder mysteries. Nora made her Off-Broadway Debut as Maura in Blood (ByTheMummers), a
musical she co-wrote and starred in as part of The 2011 New York Musical Theatre Festival. Favorite
New York acting work includes playing Juliette in Romeo and Juliet, Ariel in The Tempest, Cucurucu
in Marat/Sade and the numerous shows at Theatre For The New City, Manhattan Children's Theatre,
and Island Shakespeare. For six seasons, Nora has been the head stylist to Santa at Macy's Herald
Square and has accompanied Santa as Gingersnap the Elf on Good Morning America, NBC's Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade and televised events in Time Square. You can currently catch her film work
as Marianne Dashwood in the hit web series The Jane Games.
Andrew Hames received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from
Idaho State University where he studied choral conducting extensively
with Dr. Scott Anderson. Born and raised in Sitka, Andrew first had
ambitions of becoming a music teacher when he attended the Sitka Fine
Arts Camp as a student. Andrew was a music teacher at Mountain View
Middle School and Blackfoot High School in Blackfoot, ID. During the
school year, he directed several choral ensembles and taught a variety of
music classes including Solo Vocal Production, Theory and Composition,
Music History, and Musical Theater. Andrew lives in Sitka with his wife,
Kristin and his three children Justin, Morgan, and Molly.
Karen Keeler Hannahoe is in her 12th year of teaching at Platt Middle
School where she directs six choirs, teaches music composition, co-directs
the musical and coordinates the school's leadership program. She
received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from James Madison
University in Virginia and her Master of Music Education degree from the
University of Colorado. In 2011, she received her certificate in music from
the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and was invited to
participate in a forum on “Effective Teaching” at the White House with
other nationally certified teachers. Karen is actively involved in the
Colorado Music Educators Association. Her Concert Choir had the honor
to perform at the annual conference in 2012 and she presented a workshop on "Improvisation in the
Middle School Classroom" in 2009. Karen had the privilege of performing with the Longmont
Symphony Orchestra from 2002-2008 on her primary instrument, the flute, and has since taken on a
new challenge of learning the mandolin. When not in the classroom you can find her enjoying
mountainous adventures with her husband, Jason, or training for triathlons.
Raised in Philadelphia, Brendan Jones moved to Sitka at the age
of 19 to work in commercial fishing. He ran a construction company
for six years. He holds a B.A. and M.A. from Oxford University, and
has published work in the New York Times, Ploughshares, Narrative
Magazine, Popular Woodworking, The Huffington Post, and
recorded commentaries for National Public Radio. The recipient of
an Elizabeth George Foundation Grant, he is currently a Wallace
Stegner fellow at Stanford University, where he teaches. His novel,
The Alaskan Laundry, will be published by Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt in Spring 2016.
Andrew Krahn is a multi-instrumentalist who received his degree in music
therapy from Berklee College of Music in Boston. He is also a Board
Certified Music Therapist. While at Berklee, he had the opportunity to
work with a variety of populations, from infants to the elderly. The
techniques he developed for working with these populations ranged from
group improvisation to songwriting using MIDI software. Andrew has been
playing saxophone and keyboards in the world/funk band, The Effective
Dose, for the past several years and has performed with them up and
down the east coast.
Carla Kountoupes, violinist, is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of
Music. She performs as a member of the Arizona Opera Orchestra, Santa
Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, and the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to performing, she has been a dedicated music educator
twenty years. She holds a master of music in music teaching and directs a
public school orchestra program in Santa Fe, NM. She is a registered
Suzuki violin instructor and enjoys working with students aged pre-k
through adult. Ms. Kountoupes is a former tenured member of the Costa
Rican National Symphony Orchestra, and was on the faculty of that
orchestra’s Youth Program. She has toured and performed in Central
America, Taiwan, the United States, and Europe. From 1999 through 2002
she was a member of the Bella Cosí String Quartet, based in San Francisco.
As a member of the quartet, she participated in numerous recitals, master classes (including a week
long series of “Encounters with Isaac Stern”), and outreach concerts in the Bay Area. An active
freelance musician, she has also performed with chamber groups and orchestras all over the country
including the New Century Chamber Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, and Tucson Symphony,
among many others. Ms. Kountoupes also enjoys performing, teaching, and recording Latin,
popular, folk, and jazz music.
Jessica Krichels has worked as an artist and teacher for seventeen years
and counting. Originally from Maine, Jessica lived in Mexico for 13 years
until she relocated to Albuquerque, NM seven years ago. She received a
B.A. in Visual Arts from Brown University and later, an M.A. in Education.
While living in Mexico Jessica studied printmaking and pursued her
photography work traveling to all corners of the country. In 2005, Jessica
founded and started a collective gallery/workshop space, Colectivo
Progreso 81 in Guadalajara, Mexico. As an artist, Jessica is always
experimenting with a wide variety of media and techniques. Her interests
range from darkroom photography, to Photogravure and Monotypes prints, to collage and
papermaking and more. Jessica has exhibited her work widely in Mexico and New Mexico and in
2012 she received a National Art Teacher Fellowship Grant, awarded to 22 arts teachers in the U.S.
With her funds she furthered her printmaking skills and became a member of New Grounds Print
Workshop in Albuquerque, NM, where she is still an active artist member today. Jessica loves
teaching, and has worked with kids from ages 3 to 79. She currently works in public elementary
schools, trying her hardest every day to give her students a space for creativity, messes and
happiness.
Ben Leddick has been performing improv for the last 8 years with a home
base in Los Angeles at iO West and Monkey Butler. He has trained with iO
West, The Upright Citizens Brigade, Monkey Butler Comedy, and The
Curious Comedy Theater. Ben has written and performed in several sketch
shows, including Bizarre:Bizarre. Ben lives in Los Angeles where he
teaches 1st and 2nd grade.
Jessie Lederman. I have taught filmmaking at camps, year-long schools,
and arts programs for the last 15 years. My training and education are in
film production, education and social work, and music and theater. I like to
do creative work with other people, and I love to see what kinds of projects
come from the imaginations of young people. When I'm not teaching and
raising my own kids, I like to make documentary films and shorts, sing in
choir, run by the Rio Grande, and work as a biographer. I currently teach
college-level film production in New Mexico. I grew up in the woods on an
island in Washington and in the city of Seattle, and I'm thrilled to spend
some time with water and trees again.
Dr. Grant Linsell is the Director of Bands at Mt. Hood Community
College in Gresham, OR. He has held similar appointments at Willamette
University in Salem, OR and Minot State University in Minot, ND. A
sought-after conductor and clinician, Dr. Linsell works with many
ensembles – from middle school to professional – across the United
States and Canada. He also researches, writes, and presents
internationally on music and music education. His main interests are
Stravinsky, curriculum development, and conducting pedagogy, but he
also gives informal lectures on the neuroscience of music. A native of
Detroit, MI, Dr. Linsell attended the University of Michigan and received
his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and Clarinet Performance. There, he studied clarinet with
Deborah Chodacki and Fred Ormand and played in H. Robert Reynolds’ Symphonic Band and the
Michigan Marching Band. He holds a Master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University
of Oregon (where he studied with Bob Ponto) and a Doctorate in Wind Ensemble Conducting from
Arizona State University (where he studied with Gary W. Hill). At ASU, he was a research fellow at the
Intelligent Stage Motion Capture Facility in the Arts, Media, and Engineering Program where he
worked on computer-aided conductor motion analysis and on developing a conductor driven and
musically responsive computer system – the only such system in the world. Prior to his collegiate
tenure, Dr. Linsell served as the Director of Bands at high schools in both Detroit and Lansing, MI. He
has two dogs and two cats.
Edward Littlefield attended the University of Idaho where he majored in
instrumental and vocal music education with an emphasis in percussion,
studying with Daniel Bukvich. He has played in the show band on various
cruise ships for Carnival Cruise Lines in the Carribean and the Bahamas. Ed
was previously the music teacher at Sitka High School. He has toured
throughout the country as the percussionist for the critically acclaimed
Dallas Brass. He is currently a member of the percussion ensemble,
Juxtapercussion, and a freelance musician and clinician in the Pacific
Northwest. Ed is a former student of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp. Ed cofounded The Native Jazz Quartet with Christian Fabian in 2011 and the band was chosen by the US
State Department as global Jazz Ambassadors in 2013 and 2014.
Cristy Maltese is an artist who lives and works in the greater Los Angeles
area. She graduated from Art Center College of Design with a degree in
Fine Art and entered the animation industry as a traditional 2D
background painter. Her work can be seen in classic Disney films such as
The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. She supervised
the Background Painting Department on both Pocahontas and Home on
the Range, and was the Art Director on Walt Disney’s Dinosaur as well as
smaller projects. Her most recent contribution to the Disney lineup was
visual development for the upcoming feature “Planes.” Cristy currently
freelances for major studios and paints for pleasure in her spare time.
Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and raised in California, Gustavo
Martinez now resides in Tacoma, Washington. He received a Bachelor of
Fine Arts in Spatial Art with a minor in Mexican American studies from San
Jose State University, San Jose, California. He has been involved in the
completion of public artworks for the city of San Jose. In 2007 Martinez
spent six weeks exploring sacred archaeological sites in southern Mexico
and Central America, where he also studied traditional indigenous pottery
and techniques at Escuela Valentine Lopez (San Juan de Oriente,
Nicaragua). He received a Masters of Fine Art from the University of
Washington in the 3D4M: Ceramic / Glass / Sculpture program, and was the recipient of the
Parnassus Teaching With Excellence award. In the fall of 2012 Martinez worked as a ceramic water
filter production consultant for Ecofiltro SA in Guatemala, where he also helped organize the first
annual ceramic symposium and sculpture exhibition at Ecofiltro SA to raise funds for the donation of
ceramic water filters to the rural Guatemalan communities in the most need. Martinez is part of the
Fine Art Department at Green River College as adjunct faculty where he teaches Ceramics and Art
Appreciation.
Amanda Mattes is currently the Resident Costume Designer and Costume
Shop Manager at the Birmingham Children’s Theatre in Alabama. She
received her M.F.A. in Performance Costume Design at the University of
Edinburgh’s College of Art in Scotland, and her B.A. in Theatrical Design
and Technology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. While in
Scotland, Amanda designed costumes for the Royal Scottish Conservatoire
and various short films, as well as working on set for several Film and TV
companies, including the BBC, HBO, and Starz/Sony Entertainment
Group. Her painting and dye work can be seen on such shows as Atlantis
and Outlander. She also had the privilege of Cutting and Draping for the first Hayao Miyazaki
sanctioned stage production of Princess Mononoke, which performed in London and toured in
Tokyo. Amanda has also worked at the Santa Fe Opera, as a Cutter and Draper’s Assistant, as well as
Shakespeare & Company, The Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Alabama Ballet, and Romantasy’s
Exquisite Corset Company, and internships at The Moulin Rouge in Paris, as well as Fabric
modification in North Anglesey, Wales. Her work is on display at her personal website:
www.AmandaMattes.com.
Ryan McAdams is establishing himself as one of the most exciting and
versatile conductors of his generation. He has recently performed with
the Israel Philharmonic, Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in Turin, Opera
national de Lorraine, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Maggio Musicale
Fiorentino, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Academy
of St. Martin in the Fields with Julian Rachlin and Mischa Maisky, Los
Angeles Philharmonic, Westchester Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony,
Louisville Orchestra, New York City Opera, Geneva Chamber Orchestra,
London Contemporary Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony. A Fulbright
scholar, he served as Apprentice Conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and was the firstever recipient of the Sir Georg Solti Emerging Conductor Award and the Aspen-Glimmerglass Prize
for Opera Conducting. Ryan spent five years as Music Director of the New York Youth Symphony,
garnering critical acclaim and winning multiple ASCAP awards for innovative programming. A
sought-after educator and lecturer, he has taught at the Juilliard School, the Aspen Music Festival,
the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and the National High School Honors Orchestra Society.
More at www.ryan-mcadams.com.
Adam McKinney is the Chair of the Dance Department at New Mexico
School for the Arts in Santa Fe, NM. He is also the co-director of
DNAWORKS, an arts and service organization committed to healing
through the arts and dialogue (www.dnaworks.org). McKinney is a former
member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Béjart Ballet Lausanne,
Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, and
Milwaukee Ballet Company. In 2006, he served as a U.S. Embassy Culture
Connect Envoy to South Africa. He has organized programs on social
justice and the arts with a long list of organizational partners. His
choreographed works have been performed in Hungary, Indonesia, Italy,
Israel, Hungary, South Africa, Spain and the United States. McKinney holds a B.F.A. in Dance
Performance with high honors (Butler University) and an M.A. in Dance Studies with concentrations in
Race and Trauma theories (New York University).
WT McRae disappointed all of his teachers and professors when at the
end of his serious theater training he began to create a career
centering around mime and clown. Growing up in Denver, CO and
moving to New York in 1997, WT studied acting, scenic design, dance,
and pre-med at Adelphi University. Since then he has made his living
primarily touring with orchestras performing mime and clown based
shows in Tri-State Schools. He spent 6 years teaching the arts in inner
city schools, and funneled those two pursuits into the creation of his
own clown based theater company Fool’s Academy. Fool’s Academy is
now a running theater pursuit that blends education with clowning,
bringing silly but educational performances to New York City schools. In addition to teaching, WT is
Sitka Fine Art Camp’s Theater Director and also coordinates the Camp’s evening ArtShare
Performances.
Drew Michael. I grew up in Eagle River, AK. I was able to learn about
my people and eventually started my career in mask carving. My father,
in an attempt to connect with me and encourage my creative side and
cultural exposure, signed me up for a mask carving class in 1997 with
Bob Shaw and Joe Senungetuk. This was the beginning of my mask
carving. I learned some of the basics of history, usage of tools, and
wood working techniques. I had the great opportunity of working with
Kathleen Carlo early in my career. While I was learning and practicing
my craft I was searching for my own style and niche in the carving
world by studying the masters of the native woodworking artists. I was
not looking to copy or mimic any style I observed, but was looking for
craftsmanship displayed in the final pieces. I would spend many hours looking at a piece thinking
about the design and process it would take to create a piece. I took my thoughts and applied them
to my work and learned how to manipulate my work into what it is today through the process of trial
and error. The main goal of creating pieces is to vent all my ideas and emotions into some sort of
form. The process of creation has always been a sort of therapy for me. My desire to achieve and
improve has brought me into my own style and niche. I continually look at objects and other art
forms for inspiration. My interest in mixed media and form have helped me explore my design and
cosmetics in each piece. Masks have always been connected to some sort of story relating to a
realization or awareness that starts from within then focusing to the environment then beyond for
understanding. I am interesting in bringing to light the truths about energy and healing through the
sculptures and masks I create. I believe we can find healing and strength by looking back at where
we came from at our own selves and to where we will be going.
Joe Montagna has been playing guitar since 1984 and professionally
for over 20 years in various bands. He toured the U.S. in the late 90’s in
an authentic KISS tribute band, “Dressed To Kill” playing the part of
KISS frontman Paul Stanley, even taking them to Sitka in 2009. By day
he is “Mr. Joe” to his Kindergarden P.E. students at Baranof Elementary
School here in Sitka, on week- ends he is an active founding member of
local rock/ funk band ‘SlackTide’, performing everything from the
Beatles to Zappa. He loves to improvise on his instrument and jam with
new musicians, especially in his newest collaborations in Sitka with the
‘Holland Tunnel Orchestra’. He is a die-hard Mets, Jets, and Knicks fan,
born and raised in Queens, NYC. He loves Van Halen and Phish.
three children.
Brian Neal played trumpet as a member of the internationallycelebrated Dallas Brass. Classically trained at the renowned Manhattan
School of Music in New York City, during summers he was a fellow at
Tanglewood, Waterloo, Fountainbleau conservatory in France and
Norfolk Chamber music festival. He has performed as soloist and
collaborator with Charles Dutoit, Yoel Levi, John Nelson, Seiji Ozawa,
Simon Rattle, Stanislav Skorbachevsky, Michael Tilson Thomas, and
Leon Fleischer. Brian has recently taken the position of Director of
instrumental studies and professor of trumpet at the Kendall campus of
Miami Dade College. He lives in Miami with his wife, Karen and their
A familiar South Florida presence from performances with Seraphic
Fire and the Miami Bach Society, soprano Karen Neal enjoys a multifaceted career performing with internationally acclaimed ensembles
and as soloist in venues across the nation and Europe. She has
performed as guest soloist with the New World Symphony at the
25th Anniversary Gala under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas,
the Tropical Baroque Festival, the Dallas Brass in the United States as
well as recently at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia, and in
Märknerkirchen, Germany. Recordings include the songs of Eric
Ewazen for Albany Records with the Ibis Camerata, and songs of
modern Latin American composers for NODUS on the Innova
label. Karen Neal’s solo projects include “Wine, Women and Song” featuring art songs by women
composers and “Sheherazade” at PAX, an evening of French Song in a club atmosphere. She has
collaborated with members of the Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Brass, Art Basel
2011, the Concert des Solistes de l’Acadèmie International d’Etè de Nice, France, as well as
consistent engagements with several ensembles throughout South Florida, the San Francisco Bay
area, and Alaska. Karen Neal holds a Vocal Performance degree from the University of Southern
California in Los Angeles. She was also awarded a Tanglewood fellowship and has studied French
repertoire intensively in Nice, Paris, and the Abbè Royaumont in Asniéres-sur-Oise, France. She has
served as adjunct faculty at University of Miami and Florida International University, is a studio
musician and commercial actress, has partnered with Miami Light Project to teach poetry and diction
to inner-city youth, and serves yearly on the Voice Faculty at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp in Sitka,
Alaska. She is currently Director of Vocal Arts at Gulliver Academy in Coral Gables, FL.
Donna Parkes is an Australian trombonist who is currently Principal
Trombone of the Louisville Orchestra and Principal Trombone of the
Colorado Music Festival . She considers herself fortunate to have
performed with many different orchestras around the world including
the Sydney Symphony,Malaysia Philharmonic, National Symphony ,
Utah Symphony and even the Qatar Philharmonic in the Middle East.
She has been teaching young musicians for over twenty years. She has
loved visiting Sitka every Christmas to perform in the Annual Brass
Holiday Concert and is excited to come here for the Fine Arts Camp.
She is looking forward to meeting everyone and making great music
together this summer! Rebecca Poulson grew up in Sitka, and has always drawn. She's a
printmaker and publishes a calendar of art and poetry called The Outer
Coast. She loves working with kids with art. Lately she's been collecting
the oral history of Sheldon Jackson School and College and is working
on a book. Her hobby is writing letters to the school board. She is
married to the Forest Service cabin guy and has two children, and loves
bushwhacking in the rain, picking berries, and putting up fish.
Emily Rapson, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently
second hornist of both The Wheeling Symphony in West Virginia and The
Erie Philharmonic in Pennsylvania and horn in the chamber group The
North Coast Winds. She has also been heard with other regional orchestras
throughout Ohio and Ontario. Ms. Rapson completed her undergraduate
degree at the University of Toronto in 2010 where she studied with Gabriel
Radford, and she then made the big move to the United States where she
completed her master’s degree at The Cleveland Institute of Music while
under the tutelage of Cleveland Orchestra principal hornist Richard King.
Currently, Ms. Rapson is pursuing an artist’s diploma at The Oberlin
Conservatory where she is studying with Roland Pandolfi. In both Canada and the United States, Ms.
Rapson attended the Domaine Forget, Interregional Jugend Orchestra, Windfest, Banff Centre, and,
most recently, The Music Academy of the West summer festivals. When Ms. Rapson has free time
away from her horn (or car, as she drives everywhere) she enjoys cooking, travelling, backpacking,
and bird watching, an activity, she exclaims, you don’t have to be 50+ to participate in.
Josh Rice is a theatre artist and teaching artist based in New York
City. He is on faculty at Sarah Lawrence College and Pace University,
and is a teaching artist with the New Victory Theater. He is the CoArtistic Director of Questionable Acts Theatre Co., with whom he
performed their original absurdist play, (Almost Definitely)
Questionable Acts at the NYC Clown Theatre Festival, the New
Orleans Fringe Festival, the Physical Festival (Chicago, IL), and Dixon
Place (NYC). Other performance credits include: Petrushka with the
NY Philharmonic Orchestra (London tour); The Scarlet Ibis at HERE
Arts Center (Prototype Festival 2015); his original puppet piece, The
Vaudevillains at the first annual La MaMa Puppet Slam in 2013; Jewel Casket at Dixon Place; The
Good Mother, directed by Dan Hurlin; Janie Geiser’s Reptile Under the Flowers at St. Ann’s
Warehouse; and Associate Artist to David Neumann and Geoff Sobelle on The Object Lesson at
BAM and Lincoln Center Theatre 3. In the Fall of 2015 Josh will collaborate on Shank’s Mare, a
world premiere puppet production at La MaMa, E.T.C. with fifth-generation puppet master, Koryu
Nishikawa V of Hachioji Kuruma-Ningyo in Japan, and American puppet artist, Tom Lee. Josh is also
the founder and Producing Artistic Director of Shake on the Lake, an outdoor summer Shakespeare
festival in his hometown of Silver Lake, NY. For SOTL, Josh has been the recipient of three grants
from the NYSCA, as well as a 2015 Regional Economic Development Council Grant. He is a
graduate of the MFA Theatre Program at Sarah Lawrence College and trained at Shakespeare’s
Globe Theatre. Past Shakespeare credits include The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Bottom’s Dream, Taming of the Shrew, The Comedy of Errors, King Lear, All’s Well That Ends Well,
Richard III, Twelfth Night, & The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged. Josh is a
member of Actor’s Equity, the union of professional actors. He is also a recipient of a 2015 Seniors
Partnering with Artists Citywide (SPARC) Grant from the NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs for a Creative
Aging Puppetry Program at the Bayside Senior Center in Queens, NY. His puppetry work with
seniors at The Wartburg, an adult care facility in Mt. Vernon, NY, will be featured on the PBS
documentary series, Visionaries, in April of 2015. For his work, Josh was 1 among 50 international
artists to be awarded a Creative Community Fellowship with National Arts Strategies, and was
recognized by NYS Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for his efforts. Abel Ryan was born in Ketchikan, Alaska in 1978. His home is in
Metlakatla on the Annette Island Reserve in Southeast Alaska. Abel is
half Tsimshian, a member of the Metlakatla Indian Community, and a
member of the Wolf Clan. In May of 2006 Abel graduated from
Sheldon Jackson College with a B.A. in Liberal Arts and a minor in Art.
In May of 2009 he graduated from University of Alaska Fairbanks with
a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Native Arts Studio and Printmaking. Abel
studied traditional Tsimshian art under master carver Jack Hudson of Metlakatla. He has carved in
Metlakatla, Sitka, Juneau, and Fairbanks for over 24 years. Working in the medium of wood and
metals, Abel produces masks, bowls, spoons, pipes, ladles, plaques, combs, bracelets, rings,
pendants and other hand carved items. He is also proficient in two-dimensional graphic design
using Northwest Coast formline art. In June 2013 Abel was invited to an international carving
competition in Beijing China. Abel has also taught classes at Sheldon Jackson College and the
University of Alaska in Sitka and Fairbanks, and the Alaska Native Heritage Foundation in Anchorage
as well as done artist demonstrations at the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka, Museum of the North
in Fairbanks, and the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, AK. Abel’s work is sold in galleries in Juneau,
Fairbanks, Ketchikan, and Sitka. He also has work in private collections.
Danny Ryan began his professional training with Rafael Delgado in his
hometown of Milwaukee, WI before moving to New York to further his studies
with the Joffrey Ballet School. He went on to perform with the Louisville Ballet,
Kansas City Ballet and Texas Ballet Theater, dancing in works by George
Balanchine, Ben Stevenson, Val Caniparoli, Twyla Tharp, Adam Hougland and
Trey McIntyre to name a few. Mr. Ryan has taught for the Kansas City Ballet School, Texas Ballet
Theater School, Portland Festival Ballet as well as Louisiana Delta Ballet and has choreographed on
dancers of the Louisville Ballet, Texas Ballet Theater School, Magnus Midwest Dance Intensive and
Louisiana Delta Ballet. Danny is currently a company member of Wonderbound, a contemporary
dance company in Denver, CO.
Kendra Ryan is an animator and filmmaker who lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Before earning her MFA in Animation and Digital Art at the University of
Southern California, she studied painting at Miami University. (That school
is in Ohio please do not think she spent any time at the beach. In fact, the
only time she has ever gone to Florida was when she was 7 years old, on a
family trip to Disneyworld, where she first discovered her enduring love for
Space Mountain.) Kendra has worked professionally with numerous studios
worldwide, and she is currently a senior staff animator for a lovely company
called Buck, in downtown Los Angeles.
Marisol Soledad is a performer, creator, and teaching artist based in
New York City. She is a graduate of Princeton University and of
Giovanni Fusetti's Helikos: Scuola Internazionale di Creazione Teatrale
in Florence, Italy where her Lecoq-based training included mask work,
mime, clown, commedia dell'arte, bouffon, ensemble-based creation,
and a wide range of comedic styles. Recent performances and
devising work include Reimagining Reality (The Simulation Studio),
The 1st NY Indie Theater One Minute Play Festival, Minotaurs.Toreros
(Turn to Flesh Productions), Experimental Peace Project (Target Margin
Theater Collaborative Theater Lab/Kyoung's Pacific Beat), and
Experiment #39: Old City (Institute for Psychogeographic Adventure/Philadelphia Live Arts). This
summer, Marisol will take part in the inaugural Z Forge Forward theater devisers’ retreat at the brand
new Drop Forge and Tool creative residency space in Hudson, NY. Marisol is a teaching artist with
the New Victory Theater, TADA! Youth Theater, and At The Well Young Women's Leadership
Academy, and has also participated in the Seeds of Peace Educators Program. Her arts-based group
facilitation and clown work have recently brought Marisol to San Antonio, TX; Israel; the West Bank;
Jordan; Princeton, NJ; and Whidbey Island, WA. She is thrilled to be working and playing at Sitka
Fine Arts Camp this summer.
Drew Sullivan began playing the clarinet at age twenty. Since then, he has
played in a wide variety of venues including dive bars, theme parks, and
even live WCLV 104.9 with the Cleveland Orchestra in Severance Hall.
Before moving to Ohio in 2011, he graduated with his bachelor’s degree
from California State University, Fullerton, where he studied with Håkan
Rosengren and James Kanter. At CSUF, as winner of all of the school's
competitions, Drew performed the Mozart and Copland concertos. In
2013, he graduated with his master's degree from the Cleveland Institute
of Music where he studied with long-time Cleveland Orchestra principal
Franklin Cohen. During that time, he performed as soloist with the CIM orchestra and the University
Circle Wind Ensemble. As a chamber musician, Drew performs with Ars Futura, Margaret Brouwer's
Blue Streak Ensemble, and the North Coast Winds. With the North Coast Winds, Drew has founded
the North Coast Winds Chamber Music Camp, a non-profit organization intent on giving young wind
students a music education during the doldrums of summer. In the fall of 2013, he began his Doctor
of Musical Arts Degree at CIM, where he is the second clarinetist in the school's history, and In 2014,
Drew was hired at Notre Dame College as a professor of music. In addition to his career as a
musician, educator, entrepreneur, and administrator, Drew dreams of impacting as many people as
possible by becoming the president of a university or non-profit organization.
Austin Willacy is a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter who has toured
ex- tensively throughout the U.S and Europe as a member of The House
Jacks, a multi-award winning a cappella rock band currently featured on
The Sing- Off on NBC and on Monday Night Football on ESPN. The
band has been in- terviewed in top media outlets including ABC, NBC,
CBS, CNN, and Fox; they have performed with the likes of Ray Charles,
James Brown, LL Cool J, The Neville Brothers, and Cosby, Stills, and
Nash, at venues including Carnegie Hall, The House of Blues, Fenway
Stadium, The World Expo, and Candlestick Park; and they have
performed and/or recorded commercials for celebrities and corporate
clients like President Bill Clinton, Aaron Spelling, AT&T, CocaCola, and Verizon Wireless. Austin is
also the director of ‘Til Dawn, Youth in Arts’ award-winning teen a cappella group and has facilitated
over 35 youth retreats. In addition, he has co-facilitated four Leveraging Privilege for Social Change
Jams and one North America Jam for YES! and served on the board of Rainforest Action Network for
4 years and is in his 7th year of service on the board of the Freight & Salvage. He donates his musical
talent to a wide range of educational, social and environmental organizations.
William (Will) Wilson is a Diné photographer who spent his formative
years living in the Navajo Nation. Born in San Francisco in 1969, Wilson
studied photography at the University of New Mexico (Dissertation
Tracked MFA in Photography, 2002) and Oberlin College (BA, Studio Art
and Art History, 1993). In 2007, Wilson won the Native American Fine Art
Fellowship from the Eiteljorg Museum, and in 2010 was awarded a
prestigious grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Wilson has held
visiting professorships at the Institute of American Indian Arts
(1999-2000), Oberlin College (2000-01), and the University of Arizona
(2006-08). From 2009 to 2011, Wilson managed the National Vision
Project, a Ford Foundation funded initiative at the Museum of
Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, and helped to coordinate the New
Mexico Arts Temporary Installations Made for the Environment (TIME) program on the Navajo
Nation. Wilson is part of the Science and Arts Research Collaborative (SARC) which brings together
artists interested in using science and technology in their practice with collaborators from Los
Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia Labs as part of the International Symposium on Electronic
Arts, 2012 (ISEA). Recently, Wilson completed an exhibition and artist residency at the Denver Art
Museum and was the King Fellow artist in residence at the School of Advanced Research in Santa Fe,
NM.
Susan Wingrove fell in love with accompanying while in high school,
find- ing that playing for musicals, choirs, and soloists/ensembles
was a ton of fun; collaboration is so invigorating! She plays piano
and harpsichord with the Anchorage Symphony, is the accompanist
for the Alaska All State High School Mixed Honor Choir, and
performs with the Alaska Chamber Sing- ers, the Hiland Women’s
prison orchestra, La Dolce trio, and many soloists, school and
community groups. She has been the resident music educator (preconcert lectures and program notes) for the Sitka Summer Music
Festival and the Anchorage Symphony for almost thirty years,
sharing stories about composers, music, and history. She earned a
Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance and a Master of Arts in Teaching at Indiana University before
returning home to Alaska to work with Anchorage Opera and the Alaska Repertory Theatre; she
taught music and drama in Anchorage schools. She has worked on over thirty operas and musicals
throughout Alaska and received an Alaska Governor’s Award for her contributions in arts education.
She was the featured soloist with the Anchorage Symphony in January, 2013, playing a new piano
concerto by American composer Jennifer Higdon.
Julie Zhu is an artist working in Chicago. Growing up near
Washington D.C., she shook hands with Presidents twice: once in
front of Starbucks on a Sunday morning, and once as a Presidential
Scholar in the Arts. At Yale University, she majored in mathematics
and art, and after, she graduated from a Belgian music conservatory
in carillon performance. Julie’s work is at the intersection of her three
worlds: mathematics, music, and painting (julie-zhu.com). Working
with a variety of media, she has exhibited in Belgium, America, and
China, and has toured carillons in many more countries. Julie has
taught at Sitka Fine Arts Camp for the past two years, and is a cofounder of the Sitka Fellows Program.