Education

PROGRAM HOST
Shields-Collins (Buddy) Bray

Shields-Collins (Buddy) Bray has been visiting schools with the Musical Awakenings^® series for over ten years, and he says it is the most enjoyable work he does.

When he is not in the schools talking about music, Mr. Bray serves as artistic director of the Cliburn Foundation's Cliburn at the Modern series, and he is the principal keyboardist for the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Bray also hosts the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra's pre-concert discussion series, where he does much the same thing as in the schools - he tries to make his audience comfortable with the music they will hear, and he does it with a spirit of discovery and fun.

Mr. Bray comes from a family of teachers, and he is glad to be carrying on the family tradition.

 

PROGRAM HOST
Colleen Mallette

Singer, actress, and comedienne Colleen Mallette has charmed audiences across the United States and abroad with her one-woman spoof The Lamaze School of Singing Presents: How to Birth a Song! originally created with Buddy Bray. After years of serious study and numerous roles on the musical theatre and operatic stages, Ms. Mallette has combined her love for traditional singing with her love of having a good time into a career art form. She has performed in various venues around the world including the Edinburgh Fringe, Liszt Academy, Winchester England Concert Series, and Philly Fringe, as well as Duplex Cabaret and Birdland in Manhattan.

Ms. Mallette has produced, written, and performed children's programming for the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Beaumont Opera, Shreveport Opera, Young Audiences of Houston, and Suzuki Camps. She currently tours for Mid-America Arts performing concerts to enhance nationally recognized art exhibits. She has toured extensively for Texas Commission on the Arts. Her latest venture is her instructional Web site VocalUniversity.org for singers and speakers. This summer she received grants from Arts Council North East to present her French cabaret concert and a vocal wellness seminar. Ms. Mallette is a faculty member at Texas Christian University and will perform this January at the Cliburn at the Modern series, featuring composer John Bucchino. Her Web site is www.highcdiva.com.

 

PIANIST
Candace Bawcombe

Candace Bawcombe has been a pianist since age 4.  She grew up in a small town south of Fort Worth and was influenced by the classical music recordings her parents played each day.  She studied piano for three years with Dr. Grace Ward Lankford, co-founder of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. At age 11, she was accepted into the studio of Hungarian pianist, Mme. Lili Kraus - who served as a juror of the Cliburn Competition until the mid-1980s - and remained in her studio as a student of piano and music theory at TCU.

Today, Ms. Bawcombe is artistic director of Dallas Chamber Music and hosts a radio show called "Spotlight on Chamber Music" on WRR, Classical 101.1. She performs recitals with violinists around the United States and will perform on a Mozart Series at Lincoln Center in April 2013. She is an accomplished organist and choir director and holds a position as organist and music director at St. Vincent's Anglican Cathedral in Bedford, Texas.  She will perform as organist-in-residence at Yorkminster Cathedral in 2014.

Ms. Bawcombe graduated from The Juilliard School in New York where she met her husband, violinist Andrew Schast, who performs with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. 

 

PIANIST
José Cubela

José Cubela was raised in Miami, Florida. He received an Associate of Arts with honors from Miami Dade Community College, then graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. In 2004, he graduated with a Master of Music in piano performance from Texas Christian University. Mr. Cubela teaches piano to students at Texas Christian University and through the Musical Awakenings program. Mr. Cubela is also on staff at Texas Wesleyan University and is the music director at Christ the King Episcopal Church. Mr. Cubela performs regularly in Fort Worth and in other Texas cities.

Mr. Cubela has received many honors and awards, including first place in the University of Central Florida Piano Concerto Competition; performer at the TCU/Cliburn Piano Institute (now known as PianoTexas); and placement in the Gray Perry Young Collegiate Piano Competition in Orlando, Florida. Mr. Cubela has been a juror for both the Sonata Club Piano Competition and the Fort Worth Music Teachers Association's Piano Competition.

 

PIANIST
Aaron Kurz

Twelfth-grade, honor-roll student Aaron Kurz began studying piano at the age of 3 and is currently a student of Dr. Carol Leone, chair of the keyboard department and associate professor of piano at SMU Meadows School of the Arts.

Mr. Kurz has been a prizewinner in many state, regional, and international competitions. He is the 2011-2012 first-place winner of both the MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) Regional and TMTA (Texas Music Teachers Association) State Competitions for Senior Piano and also held both titles for Junior Piano. He has been a prizewinner in the Virginia Waring, Bradshaw and Buono, and Viardo International Piano Competitions; a finalist in two MTNA National Piano Competitions; as well as semifinalist in the Schmidbauer International Piano Competition. Mr. Kurz has played at Carnegie Hall, Salle Cortot in Paris, the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, and has attended and performed in festivals in Vienna, Valencia, and New York City.

 

PIANIST
Evan Mitchell

Evan Mitchell performs both piano solo and collaborative performances and has been heard in New York's Steinway Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and through broadcasts on WFHB radio (Bloomington, Indiana). He has played concerti with orchestras including the Fort Worth and Victoria Symphonies. Among other honors, Mr. Mitchell has been awarded first prize in the Kingsville International Competition, Five Towns Music Competition, and the Lima Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. Mr. Mitchell's recording of Claudio Santoro's Sonata No. 4, "Fantasia" (1957) is featured on the 2012 CD release, Piano de Pampa y Jungla: A Collection of Latin American Piano Music.

Mr. Mitchell earned both master's and bachelor's degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He is currently working with Cliburn Gold Medalist José Feghali at Texas Christian University. Other interests include sailing and writing concert reviews for the Web site www.Bachtrack.com.

 

PIANIST
Spencer Myer

A 2009 Cliburn Competition competitor, Spencer Myer was also gold medalist at the 2008 New Orleans International Piano Competition and winner of the 2006 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship from the American Pianists Association. He has performed in major venues in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Mr. Myer has been a featured soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Louisiana, Johannesburg and Cape Town Philharmonics, and the Knoxville, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Tucson, and Santa Fe Symphony Orchestras. Since winning the 2000 Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition, he has enjoyed a growing reputation as a vocal collaborator. He has had four return tours to South Africa since winning the 2004 UNISA International Piano Competition in Pretoria, highlighted by a performance of the five Beethoven Concerti with the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa in 2005. Mr. Myer's debut solo CD is available on harmonia mundi usa.

 

VIOLINIST
Kimberly Torgul

A native of Tacoma, Washington, Kimberly Torgul joined the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in 1996. She holds a degree in violin performance from the University of Southern California, where she studied with acclaimed violinist and teacher Eudice Shapiro. She went on to receive a Master of Music from Rice University. As an active chamber musician, Ms. Torgul was a founding member of the Pacific Chamber Soloists of Seattle and regularly performs with Spectrum Chamber Players of Fort Worth. She has also collaborated with the Fine Arts Chamber Players of Dallas and Camerata San Antonio. Summer guest appearances include the Manchester Chamber Music Festival in Vermont, Music in the Mountains Chamber Music Series in Durango, Colorado, Great Music West Chamber Festival in Utah, and Sun Valley Summer Symphony. Ms. Torgul has also performed in Spoleto, Italy and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. She is happily married to Ertan Torgul, associate concertmaster with the San Antonio Symphony.

 

PIANIST & PROGRAM HOST
Jonathan Tsay

Jonathan Tsay earned a Bachelor of Music with honors from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University and earned his doctorate at l'Université de Montréal in Canada. He is a faculty member at the Suzuki Music Institute of Dallas and at the Conservatory Music in the Mountains (Colorado). Dr. Tsay is also the artistic director of ensemble75.

Dr. Tsay's musical studies include violin, percussion, composition, and conducting lessons. He served as pianist, violinist, violist, and percussionist for the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra, where he also won the Young Artists' Award. He has composed scores for multiple documentaries.

Dr. Tsay has remained active as a chamber musician and was the first pianist to participate in the Institute for Strings, an intensive chamber music program founded by Dallas Symphony Orchestra violinist Jan Sloman. Dr. Tsay has also been a featured soloist with the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra, the Houston School for the Performing and Visual Arts Orchestra, and the Meadows Symphony Orchestra at SMU.

Dr. Tsay has been a top prize winner in several piano competitions and presents concerts throughout the United States and Canada. He has performed as guest artist for several Musical Awakenings programs.

 

PIANIST
Lewis Warren

At only 15-years old, Lewis Warren, Jr. has established a reputation as an accomplished pianist. As a 5-year old he was composing many of his own pieces, and by age 8 he was performing in piano competitions and recitals across the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Mr. Warren is a frequent top prizewinner in local and international piano competitions and is often called on to perform at local charity events. His unique ability to connect with people through music has led to invitations to perform for several Cliburn Musical Awakenings children's presentations and as guest for the Cliburn's 180º, a social group for people in their 20s and 30s. Mr. Warren currently studies with Dr. Carol Leone, chair of the keyboard department and associate professor of piano at SMU Meadows School of the Arts, where he is a member of their Piano Preparatory Department.