Strings & Early Music
Heloise Degrugillier
Private Lessons Instructor, Recorder
Heloise Degrugillier has worked extensively as both a recorder and traverso performer, and teacher throughout Europe and the United States. She has performed with leading period ensembles, including the Boston Early Music Festival Opera, Handel and Haydn, the Boston Camerata and Tempesta Di Mare. Heloise also enjoys an active teaching career, working with the Amherst Early Music Festival, the Texas Toot, Pinewoods Early Music Week, and others. She is the president and music director of the Boston Recorder Society. She has completed her studies in the Alexander Technique and has a Masters in Music from the Utrecht Conservatory in the Netherlands. She studied recorder with Heiko ter Scheggett, Saskia Coolen, and Pedro Memelsdorff.
Pascale Delache-Feldman
Private Lessons Instructor, Bass
Pascale Delache-Feldman, double bassist, was a prizewinner at the Prague International Chamber Music Competition, received first prize at the Paris Conservatory with honors and an Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music. Called by the New Music Connoisseur as having "technical certainty and musical imagination" and by The Phoenix as "a gifted colorist... who produced an entire range of orchestral effects", she has soloed with the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic, North Shore Philharmonic, Greensboro Festival Orchestra, among others. She has collaborated with Midori, Joel Smirnoff, Virginia Eskin, Victor Rosenbaum, Dawn Upshaw, the St. Petersburg, Borromeo and Lark String Quartets. As co-founder of Cello e Basso with cellist Emmanuel Feldman, they have concertized in the US and in Europe and have released a new CD on Synergy Classics. She has recorded chamber works with the Albany, Archetype, Arsis, AFKA and CRI labels. Since 2001, she has been the artistic director of the Boston Bass Bash, an international festival dedicated to the double bass. She teaches at the Longy School of Music, Tufts and Brown Universities and Rivers School of Music.
Miriam Eckelhoefer
Private Lessons Instructor, Cello
Miriam Eckelhoefer has a multifaceted career as a performer, teacher and administrator. An active freelance musician, Ms. Eckelhoefer is a member of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and Michigan Opera Theater and has performed with various other groups throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. Ms. Eckelhoefer served as Director of Preparatory and Continuing Studies at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA, from 2008 until 2013. An avid educator, she taught cello, coached chamber music, and served as Assistant Director of Ensembles at the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, CT from 1999 to 2008. In 2005, she co-founded Elm City ChamberFest, a summer chamber music festival in New Haven, and quadrupled the festival's enrollment by the time of her departure in 2008. Ms. Eckelhoefer holds a D.M.A. from SUNY at Stony Brook, an M.M. from Yale University, and a B.S. in Mathematics and B.A. in Music from the University of Notre Dame. Her principal instructors include Colin Carr, Aldo Parisot, Karen Buranskas, Irene Sharp, and members of the Tokyo and Emerson String Quartets. She has performed at festivals throughout the United States, Canada, England, France, Italy and Holland. Ms. Eckelhoefer maintains a private cello studio in her home and is frequently called upon to coach chamber music groups and youth orchestra sectionals.
Emmanuel Feldman
Private Lessons Instructor, Cello
Hailed by John Williams as “an outstanding cellist and truly dedicated artist,” Emmanuel Feldman is an award-winning cellist, composer and inventor performing in the U.S. and internationally. Described by Gramophone as “an artist who combines communicative urgency with tonal splendor,” Feldman’s recording Our American Roots (Delos) features the cello sonata of Pulitzer Prize winning composer George Walker and his own transcriptions of George Gershwin pieces for cello and piano.
Revolutionizing modern cello playing, Feldman performs standing up using his patented TekStand™ pioneering a sensational new experience for listeners visually and sonically that engages fellow musicians and audiences alike. Feldman’s own cello concerto “Standing Tall” that debuted with the invention of the TekStand™ won a Global Music Award in 2022. For concerts sitting traditionally, he uses his other invention, the TekPin™ vertical endpin used by cellists all around the world. He has partnered with artists/groups including Bobby McFerrin, Lark and Verona String Quartets, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Celebrity Series of Boston, cofounded Duo Cello e Basso with bassist Pascale Delache-Feldman and recorded several critically acclaimed CDs with pianist Joy Cline Phinney.
Awarded recording grants from the Argosy and Thomson Foundations, his cello concerto CD (Thomson and Fussell) on Albany Records earned a Grammy nomination for producer Blanton Alspaugh and was described as “exhilarating in this bracing and confident performance” (N.Y. Times). He teaches at Tufts University, Project STEP and through his innovative “Cello Mastery” program for gifted cellists. He has given masterclasses at the University of Taipei, Indiana University, the Peabody and Heifetz Institutes and is a faculty member of the Sarasota, Trentino and GSIM Music Festivals. For more information, please visit www.emmanuelfeldman.com.
Video: Brahms Sonata No. 2 Op. 99 Feldman Cayres (YouTube)
Frances Conover Fitch
Private Lessons Instructor, Harpsichord/Organ
Frances Conover Fitch is fortunate to have been teaching and performing on the harpsichord for the last fifty years. She has taught keyboard students at all levels and ages, including kindergartners who are beginning piano to Master of Music candidates preparing for their final harpsichord recitals.
She was a member of the faculty of the Longy School of Music for nearly three decades, and served as Chair of its Early Music department. In 2006, Longy awarded her the George Seaman Award for Excellence in the Art of Teaching. Ms. Fitch is on the faculty of The New England Conservatory, where she originally received her Master of Music degree before beginning post-graduate studies with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam. In 2012-13, she was Guest Professor at Ferris University in Yokohama, Japan. She is co-author of the figured bass workbook, Running the Numbers. Ms. Fitch maintains a private studio in the Boston area, and is Minister of Music at St. John’s Church in Beverly Farms, MA.
As a performer, Ms. Fitch has toured extensively in North America and Europe performing with many prominent early music ensembles. She helped found the groundbreaking ensemble for 17th-century music, Concerto Castello, and has been described as a “delightfully inventive and compelling” continuo player. Ms. Fitch has participated in major music festivals, including Tanglewood, Aix-en-Provence, Pepsico Summerfare, Tage Alter Musik (Regensburg), the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Festival de Musica Antigua in Mexico.
Ms. Fitch has made more than a dozen recordings, including a double CD of music by Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre.. Her playing has been noted for its “precision and delicacy of wit.”
Email Frances or visit Frances' website for more information.
Video
Phillip Grannan
Private Lessons Instructor, Guitar, Jazz
Phillip Grannan is a guitarist, composer, and educator based in the Boston area. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, he graduated from Tufts University in 2012 before earning two master’s degrees from the Longy School of Music of Bard College in 2015, focusing on Composition and Modern American Music.
Since 2019, Phillip has taught guitar and jazz band at Somerville High School, where he also leads an afterschool Jazz Club and Ukulele Club. He offers community music classes at Tufts and private lessons to undergraduates. He has been actively teaching tufts community music classes and summer music program since 2012. Currently, Phillip performs with Gateway Jaz, contributing to Boston's vibrant music scene.
Jane Hershey
Private Lessons Instructor, Viola da Gamba/Recorder
See faculty profile.
Joanna Kurkowicz
Private Lessons Instructor, Violin
A prize winner in numerous competitions and praised in the magazine Gramophone for her "disciplined virtuosity," the Polish-born violinist Joanna Kurkowicz enjoys an active and versatile career as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, concertmistress and pedagogue. She has performed on many of the great concert stages of the world, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Boston and the Grosse Saal, Salzburg, and has appeared as a soloist with the New Zealand Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, Brussels Philharmonic, Seattle Philharmonic, Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, the Jefferson Symphony, the San Luis Obispo Symphony, the New England String Ensemble, the Berkshire Symphony, the Poznan Philharmonic, the Polish National Radio Orchestra in Katowice and Warsaw, and others. Ms. Kurkowicz served as the concertmistress of the Boston Philharmonic (1998-2023) and is currently the concertmistress of the Berkshire Symphony. Previously she held the same post for the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the Vermont Symphony. She was a member of the acclaimed Metamorphosen and Orpheus Chamber Orchestras.
She holds the position of Artist in Residence at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and serves on the faculty at Tufts University. Respected and loved pedagogue, she held masterclasses both in Europe and the US, and was invited to judge international competitions.
Ms. Kurkowicz is a strong advocate of contemporary music and has premiered many works by living composers and made many recordings on such labels as Chandos, Bridge, Centaur, CRI, Albany, New World, Neuma, Capstone, Archetype. and Metasonique. Her Chandos recording of Violin Concertos Nos. 1, 3, and 7 by Bacewicz was awarded a "Golden Tuning Fork" by the magazine Diapason d'or and reached No. 6 on Amazon's chart of Best Classical Albums in 2009. She has been a guest artist at the Mozarteum Festival in Salzburg, Ravinia Festival, Bargemusic in New York, Asia Pacific Festival in Wellington, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, and International Music Academy Orpheus in Vienna, among others. Joanna Kurkowicz plays a violin made by Pietro Giovanni Guarneri in 1699.
www.joannakurkowicz.com
Video: Joanna Kurkowicz, violin; Williams Faculty Recital, Paganini Marathon, Bach and Beyond Recital, Bach and Beyond Masterclass/Lecture, and Beethoven Recital.
Contact Ms. Kurkowicz at joanna@joannakurkowicz.com, or visit her website.
Mary Jane Rupert
Private Lessons Instructor, Harp
Education
D.M. in Piano Performance, Indiana University
M.M. in Harp and Piano, Indiana University
B.M. Oberlin College
Private harp study with Marcel Grandjany
Ms. Rupert is currently a faculty member of Walnut Hill School of Performing Arts. Freelance harpist and recitalist in the Boston area. Other performances in Carnegie Recital Hall and the Beijing Concert Hall, China. She has published an arrangement of The Nutcracker Suite for flute and harp (or piano) with New Boston Editions.
Hsin-Lin Tsai
Hsin-Lin Tsai has concertized as soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.S, Europe and Taiwan, and has performed with distinguished musicians that include principal players and members of the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Montréal and San Diego Symphonies, and with artists such as Andris Nelsons, John Williams, and Sir Colin Davis. The legendary Yfrah Neaman said of her "I have not heard anyone play with such musicality, emotion, and beautiful sound in the last fifty years."
First Prize Winner in the Taiwan National Violin Competition, she gave her New York City recital début at Carnegie Hall, and has released solo CD recordings with the label RTVE MUSICA in Europe and Japan. Dr. Tsai was invited to perform at the Lucerne Music Festival in Switzerland and venues including Lincoln Center in New York, National Concert Hall in Taiwan, and the Víctor Villegas Auditorium in Spain. A guest artist at numerous international festivals, she co-founded the "extraordinary" (Martín Llade, Melómano music magazine, Spain) L’Étoile Violin Duo with violinist Miguel Pérez-Espejo. Together they are also Co-Artistic Directors of The Renewal Series, a multidisciplinary concert series committed to education.
Described as "sublime" by distinguished composer Augusta Read Thomas, L’Étoile Violin Duo has an unwavering commitment to the championing of new works by composers of our time such as David Lefkowitz, Michael Ippolito and Nicolas Benavides. Commissions and dedications to L’Étoile include Zárate’s "Little Nice Pieces" and Kareem Roustom's "Reflections & Refractions,” generously supported by Granoff Music Fund.
Dr. Tsai’s students have performed as soloists and in recital in venues such as Carnegie Hall, and have won first prizes in competitions and professional orchestra positions, most recently First Prize at the National, Divisional and State MTNA Young Artist (collegiate) String Competitions, and have been invited to international festivals, and performed in master classes with legendary artists Lynn Harrell, Hilary Hahn, and Anne Sophie Mutter, among others.
As a jury member for music competitions, she has sat on panels with Music Teachers National Association competitions, Tischler competition and concerto competitions at Tufts University. As an orchestra player, she has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Tsai is currently on faculty at Tufts University, New England Conservatory prep division, and is affiliated instructor at Harvard University. She has done artist residencies both nationally and internationally; most recently, at Taipei National University of the Arts.
For more information, please visit:
https://www.perezespejo.com/biography_tsai.html
Sarita Uranovsky
Private Lessons Instructor, Violin
Sarita Uranovsky, violin, has enjoyed an exceptionally active and diverse career as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral musician, and teacher. Ms. Uranovsky has appeared as a soloist with the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra (USA), the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra (South Africa), and the Tufts Symphony Orchestra in tours of Italy, Costa Rica and Slovenia. She performs in her native South Africa frequently as a soloist and recitalist.
Ms. Uranovsky was Concertmaster with Orchestra Geminiani de Fallonica (Italy), the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Symphony Orchestra, and Assistant Concertmaster with the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra (USA). Ms. Uranovsky performs regularly with the Boston Philharmonic, Boston Ballet, Cantata Singers, Boston Pops, and Emmanuel Music. She appeared in concert for Prince Charles and Princess Anna at the church of St-Martin-in-the-Fields. Ms. Uranovsky is the recipient of the Ellie Marx Memorial and Du Toit van Tonder Scholarships, and was silver medalist and University of Natal prize winner at the SASOL Music Competition (South Africa).
Ms. Uranovsky serves on faculty at Tufts University and the MIT Emerson Scholarship Program; she also maintains a private teaching studio. Ms. Uranovsky holds an Artist Diploma from Boston University and a Bachelors and Masters (Cum Laude) from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Professional website (includes video links): Sarita Uranovsky
Scott Woolweaver
Private Lessons Instructor, Viola
Scott Woolweaver is principal violist of the Ann Arbor (MI) Symphony and serves as assistant principal violist of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. He is also violist of the Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston.
Mr. Woolweaver is Artist Affiliate in Viola and Chamber Music at Tufts University in Medford Massachusetts and is a faculty member of the All Newton Music School in West Newton, MA, where he is Director of the Con Brio chamber music series. He has held teaching positions at Williams College, Eastern Michigan University School of Music and Dance and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also Director of the Adult Chamber Music Institute at Kneisel Hall in Blue Hill, Maine.
Scott has been a member of several award-winning ensembles, including the Ives String Quartet, the New England Piano Quartette, the Vaener String Trio, winner of the Joseph Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and the Boston Composers String Quartet, silver medalists at the International String Quartet Competition and Chamber Music Competition and Chamber Music Festa in Osaka, Japan.
Scott plays a magnificent Johann Georg Thir viola made in Vienna, 1737.
Video: Vieuxtemps: Elegie, Scott Woolweaver, viola, Lora Tchekeratova, piano, Kneisel Hall 2011