FSMA 2024 Faculty
Violin
Addison Teng
Director
Violinist Addison Teng is a sought-after performer and teacher. He has given solo and chamber music performances across North America, Europe, and Asia and has performed as soloist with the Oberlin College Orchestra, Eastman String Fellowship Orchestra, Sinfonia Academy Orchestra in the Philippines, the University of Macedonia Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony Irvine. He has played with the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago and is a founding member of the Fulton Chamber Players. He is the recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Young Alumni Award at Oberlin College and Conservatory, which recognizes young alumni who have distinguished themselves in their professional careers and their service to humanity. He has also been named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Meadowmount School of Music and has been inducted into Marquis Who's Who.
A rising pedagogue of his generation, Teng is president and founder of the nonprofit Fulton Music Society and is the director of the Fulton Summer Music Academy and the Fulton In Residence touring program. Previously he served as teaching assistant at the Meadowmount School of Music and Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, assisting Sally Thomas, Amy Barlowe, and Roland and Almita Vamos. He has given masterclasses and coachings at Lawrence University, Eastman Pre-College, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Istituto Musicale Sammarinese in San Marino, Conservatorio Bruno Maderna in Cesena, Italy, Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali "Pietro Mascagni" in Livorno, Italy, Taipei American School, and Conservatório Villa-Lobos in Rio de Janeiro. Prior to founding Fulton, he took students on tours to the Philippines, Greece, Italy, and San Marino, where he gave masterclasses and performed with his students.
Teng's students have recently placed at competitions both locally and nationally, including DePaul Concerto Competition, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Bach Double Competition, Rockford Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, Hellam Young Artists Competition, Denver Young Artists National Violin Competition, Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition, Walgreens National Competition, Indiana School of Music Concerto Competition, Charleston International Music Competition, Confucius Music Festival Competition, and Sejong Music Competition. Many of his students have been admitted to top universities and conservatories, including Oberlin Conservatory, Juilliard School of Music, New England Conservatory, Indiana University, Northwestern University, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes New School of Music, and Berklee College of Music, and have been awarded Fulbright and Wells scholarships. His students have gone on to win jobs at the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Grant Park Orchestra, Peninsula Music Festival, Evansville Philharmonic, Louisville Philharmonic, and Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. Teng’s students have soloed with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, Springfield Symphony, Denver Young Artist Orchestra, and Montecito Festival Orchestra, and have been guest concertmaster of Fort Wayne Symphony.
Teng graduated with a Master of Music in Violin Performance and String Pedagogy from Northwestern University Bienen School of Music and received his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Oberlin Conservatory of Music. His principal teachers and mentors have included Joey Corpus, Sally Thomas, Roland and Almita Vamos, Peter Takács, Amy Barlowe, and Karen Ritscher.
Learn more about Addison Teng at https://www.addisonteng.com/
Violinist Paul Hauer joined the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 2016. Solo concerts have brought Mr. Hauer to the countries of Germany, Greece, France, the Czech Republic, and the Philippines. Chamber music and orchestral concerts have brought him to Italy, San Marino, Singapore, Mexico, and China. Before moving to Milwaukee, Mr. Hauer was Principal Second Violin of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and performed regularly with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Louisville Orchestra.
Mr. Hauer traveled to Athens in May of 2015 to participate in the 4th Leonidas Kavakos International Masterclass. One month earlier, he performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Other honors include winning the Indianapolis Matinée Musicale Collegiate Competition in 2013, which resulted in a performance at the Indiana Landmarks Center with pianist David Keep. In the summer of 2011, he toured Europe with the Denver Young Artists Orchestra as the soloist for the Barber Violin Concerto. While serving as teaching assistant to Addison Teng, he performed and taught lessons with the Teng Studio on their international tours.
His early violin training came from Gloria Schroeder and Ferenc Fenyő. Hauer also studied with Stéphane Tran Ngoc, Carol Leybourn, and Catherine Walby through the Lawrence Academy of Music. He has attended the Montecito International Music Festival, Oberlin in Italy, and International Academie de Courchevel. Hauer received his degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. His principal teachers include David Bowlin, Alex Kerr, and Addison Teng. As a teacher, Mr. Hauer is on faculty at the Fulton Summer Music Academy and coaches strings at the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and Maranatha Baptist University. As a founding member of the 414 Quartet, he performs with his MSO colleagues in venues across southeast Wisconsin. Mr. Hauer is a native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and performs with the Peninsula Music Festival each summer.
Paul Hauer
Director of Student Life
Viola
Amy Hess
Amy Hess is a member of the viola sections of the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Grant Park Orchestra, and is on the faculty of the Fulton Summer Music Academy. She was formerly principal viola of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and a member of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, and she has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, and Music of the Baroque. Amy has been heard on the Dame Myra Hess and Rush Hour concert series in Chicago and regularly performs as a member of the Fulton Chamber Players and the Chicago Ensemble. She has recently been a soloist with Sinfonietta DuPage and collaborated in concert with bassist Edgar Meyer as part of the Aspen Salida concert series in Colorado. She also was part of the Chicago premiere of Joel Puckett’s string quartet concerto Short Stories with the Northwestern Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and performed the solo viola role in Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote with cellist Joseph Johnson and the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra.
Amy received her Master of Music in viola from Northwestern University and is a Phi Beta Kappa alumna of Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, where she earned degrees in French and violin. While at Oberlin, she spent a semester in Paris, studying violin with David Rivière of the CNSM and musicology at the Sorbonne. Her interest in French music continued with a collaboration with Ravel scholar Sigrun Heinzelmann on a presentation at the Music Theory Midwest conference and several lectures at Oberlin. Amy’s principal teachers and mentors have included Karen Ritscher, Roland Vamos, David Bowlin, and Addison Teng, but it all began thanks to her mother, a Suzuki violin teacher in Lancaster, PA.
Cello
A graduate of the C.V. Starr Doctoral Program at The Juilliard School, cellist Samuel DeCaprio has established himself as one of today's most creative artists and collaborators. A proud recipient of one of Juilliard’s 2023 Norman Benzaquen Career Advancement Grants, he has won numerous prizes including the Arlington, Eastern Connecticut Symphony, National Federation of Music Clubs, Oneppo Chamber Music, William C. Byrd, and Windham Arts Council Young Artist competitions. Additionally, he was the winner of the 2018 Aldo Parisot Prize at the Yale School of Music and the prestigious Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music.
Performance highlights include DeCaprio’s New York debut presenting the North American premiere of Grażyna Bacewicz’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Juilliard Orchestra and conductor David Robertson in Alice Tully Hall, as well as solo, recital, and chamber music performances in major cities across the United States, Canada, Asia, and Europe. He has been featured on prominent radio programs including WQXR New York, WFMT Chicago, NPR, and WCNI, and has recorded for ECM Records, MSR Classics, and Nonesuch Records. Currently based in New York City, DeCaprio has played as a substitute player with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, and Princeton Symphony Orchestra, and appears regularly with the Metropolis Ensemble and New York Classical Players.
A passionate chamber musician, DeCaprio’s festival appearances include Ravinia Steans Music Institute, IMS Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music, Les Rencontres Musicales de Noyers-sur-Serein, Domaine Forget, Kneisel Hall, Lake George, Meadowmount, and Orford Musique, among others. His enthusiasm for collaboration has led to the opportunity to perform with many distinguished chamber musicians, including Atar Arad, Paul Biss, Natasha Brofsky, Steven Doane, Vladimir Feltsman, Joseph Lin, Daniel Phillips, David Shifrin, Barry Snyder, and Irma Vallecillo. In 2022, DeCaprio founded the Arazzo Music Festival—an annual chamber music festival focused on bringing high-level chamber music and educational events for free to his home state of Connecticut.
A strong advocate for the music of our time, DeCaprio has sought to collaborate with living composers on their own music, working with notable composers such as Tyondai Braxton, Yu-Hui Chang, Chaya Czernowin, Tina Davidson, Brett Dean, and David Virelles. He is also the founder and creator of Project Mx2, a multifaceted project involving commissioning and performing new works for the cello. DeCaprio’s forthcoming solo album, Project Mx2: Stories—four commissions for solo cello by composers Matīss Čudars, Soomin Kim, Udi Perlman, and Evdoxia Ragkou—is presented with generous support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts Artists Respond grant program.
DeCaprio holds degrees from the University of Connecticut (Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude), Eastman School of Music (Master of Music), Mannes School of Music (Professional Studies Diploma), Yale School of Music (Master of Musical Arts), and The Juilliard School (Doctor of Musical Arts). His previous teachers include Joel Krosnick, Aldo Parisot, Marcy Rosen, Steven Doane, Katie Schlaikjer, Peter Wiley, and Kangho Lee. At Juilliard, DeCaprio is Teaching Assistant to Joel Krosnick.
Dr. Samuel DeCaprio
Weeks 1 + 2
Peter Thomas
Weeks 3 + 4
Peter J. Thomas has been a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since 2008 and has performed around the world as a multi-genre soloist, clinician, educator, and chamber musician. Peter also performs with the 414 Quartet, Milwaukee Musaik, Present Music, Carthage Trio, Access Contemporary Music, Lakes Area Music Festival, and in collaboration with multiple bands. He most frequently performs/sings his own arrangements of classically infused pop and rock songs for electric cello and looping pedal/effects in bars, restaurants, breweries, clubs, churches, retirement homes, and holds monthly residencies in many of these venues. He has appeared in many of Milwaukee’s top at outdoor music festivals as a soloist and music curator.
Peter was the manager and cellist of the award-winning classical crossover indie-rock band, I’m Not A Pilot, that toured extensively across the Midwest at colleges, performing arts centers, music festivals, and in educational collaboration concerts with high school orchestras from 2009-2016. Additionally, he is also the co-founder of MusiConnect, a community-building music series that safely brought people together during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was nominated as one of Milwaukee’s best music festivals in 2021.
Mr. Thomas has presented clinics and workshops across the country through his innovative use of the electric cello and has recorded, arranged, and edited music for numerous artists including 2Cellos and The Piano Guys through Hal Leonard Music. He has composed many original scores for the This Time Tomorrow Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that provides financial support to individuals and families fighting all forms of cancer. Peter was recognized as the Best Acoustic Musician in the Best of Milwaukee 2021 annual competition by the Shepherd Express and has been nominated as a Finalist for this award in 2023. He was also the winner of the Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI)’s String Player of the Year award in 2012 and 2015 and has been nominated for the award seven times. As a songwriter, Peter’s original song “Only in Dreams” featuring vocalist Amanda Huff took home the 2019 WAMI award for Song of the Year as well as being recognized in the same category by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
As an educator, Mr. Thomas holds the position of Adjunct Cello Professor at Carthage College and also maintains a private cello studio of gifted musicians. Peter has taught on faculty at CLAZZ, a multi-genre music festival in Arcidosso, Italy (2019) and has also served on the faculty of the American Suzuki Institute each summer since 2013. He is most excited to be joining the faculty at the Fulton Summer Music Academy this summer. Peter is the recipient of Civic Music Milwaukee’s 2018 Educator Award for Certificate of Excellence in Studio Music. His students have won competitions and full-tuition scholarships in music programs across the country. Since 2012, Mr. Thomas has been the leader of the “CSI Cello Duo,” an educational presentation for second grade classes through the MSO’s “Arts in Community Education” program. Peter has taught master classes at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, UW-Stevens Point, UW- Whitewater, Lawrence University, Gustavus Adolphus College, Eastern Michigan University, Maranatha Baptist University, Washington College, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and at dozens of high schools across the state of Wisconsin.
Prior to joining the MSO, Mr. Thomas performed with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and the New World Symphony. Peter appeared as a soloist with the New World Symphony on two separate occasions, where he performed Richard Strauss’s ‘Don Quixote’ and Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, as the 2008 Concerto Competition winner. Originally from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where he was born into a family of musicians, Peter began playing cello at age five at the American Suzuki Talent Education Center and received degrees at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and the Cleveland Institute of Music. His primary teachers were Lawrence Leviton, Tanya Remenikova, Joseph Johnson, and Stephen Geber.
Peter enjoys the life of being a music ambassador and strives to spread awareness of the arts in the community through his many endeavors. Peter performs on a fine English cello circa 1813 by maker Thomas Kennedy.
A native of Tucson, Arizona, cellist Nicholas Mariscal is the newly-appointed Assistant Principal Cellist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. A recent alumnus of the New World Symphony in Miami, Mr. Mariscal is a winner of the orchestra’s concerto competition, performing the rarely-heard Khachaturian Concerto-Rhapsody for cello. In 2018, he made his professional concerto debut performing the same work with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he is a top prize winner in the Sphinx, Edith Knox, and Indiana University Latin American Music Center competitions.
Recently, Mr. Mariscal was invited to perform as Guest Principal Cello with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra in Norway, on its tour of South Korea with conductor Han-Na Chang. He has also performed as Principal Cello of the Fjord Cadenza Festival in Ålesund, Norway, in addition to participating in the Tanglewood, Heifetz, and Aspen music festivals. An avid chamber musician, he has performed with esteemed artists such as Midori Goto, Jorja Fleezanis, Tamás Varga, Atar Arad, and Paul Kantor.
A passionate proponent of lesser-known and new music, Mr. Mariscal is an especially ardent performer of Latin American music. While still an undergraduate at Indiana University, he won the Latin American Music Center’s Recording Competition, giving him the opportunity to record and share rarely-heard music for unaccompanied cello by 20th and 21st century composers including Osvaldo Golijov, Alberto Ginastera, Paul Desenne, and Leo Brouwer. As a fellow at the New World Symphony, he took the same inspiration and curated a full orchestra and multimedia program titled Alma Latina, with the goal of sharing with audiences just a small sample of the trove of undeservedly neglected works from Latin America. As a performer of new music, he has been involved in dozens of premieres of new works, and has performed extensively as a member of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, and USC’s Thornton EDGE ensemble. Following his Aspen performance of Tan Dun’s Elegy: Snow in June for cello and percussion ensemble, the Aspen Times wrote, “Mariscal seemed born to play Dun’s soulful, endlessly inventive and expressive music. With rock-solid technique and undeniable star quality, Mariscal seemed less a student getting a break than a bona fide artist.”
As a performer, Mr. Mariscal believes strongly in working to make classical music approachable and accessible to everyone, and strives to do so by speaking to audiences frequently, and attempting to break down traditional barriers in performances. Mariscal received his Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University under the tutelage of Eric Kim, and received a Master of Music degree and a Graduate Certificate from the University of Southern California, where he studied with David Geringas and Ralph Kirshbaum.
Nicholas Mariscal
Sabbatical
Piano
Peter Takács
Hailed by the New York Times as “a marvelous pianist,” Peter Takács
has performed widely, receiving critical and audience acclaim for his
penetrating and communicative musical interpretations.
Mr. Takács was born in Bucuresti, Romania and started his musical studies before his fourth birthday. After his debut recital at age seven, he was a frequent recitalist in his native city until his parents' request for emigration to the West, at which point all his studies and performances were banned. He continued studying clandestinely with his piano teacher until his family was finally allowed to emigrate to France, where, at age fourteen, he was admitted to the Conservatoire National de Paris.
Upon his arrival in the United States, his outstanding musical talents
continued to be recognized with full scholarships to Northwestern University and the University of Illinois, and a three-year fellowship for doctoral studies at the Peabody Conservatory, where he completed his artistic training with renowned pianist Leon Fleisher.
Mr. Takács has received numerous prizes and awards for his performances, including First Prize in the William Kapell International Competition, the C.D. Jackson Award for Excellence in Chamber Music at the Tanglewood Music Center, and a Solo Recitalist Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has performed as guest soloist with major orchestras in the U.S. and abroad, as well as at important summer festivals such as Tanglewood, Music Mountain, Chautauqua Institution, ARIA International, Schlern Music Festival in the Italian Alps, Tel Hai International Master Classes in Israel, Sweden’s Helsingborg Festival, and Musicfest Perugia 2014. Since 2008, he has been a member of the faculty at the Montecito Summer Music Festival in Riverside, CA. He has performed and recorded the complete
cycle of Beethoven Piano Sonatas, which was released on the CAMBRIA
label in July 2011, as well as the complete Beethoven piano-cello works
with Robert DeMaine, released in 2022 on the Leaf Music label. In 2015, he was selected to inaugurate a new series in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall
entitled “Key Pianists”, presenting three recitals of Beethoven solo and
chamber music to critical acclaim. In 2020, an endowed fund was
established for The Peter Takács Beethoven Prize in Piano. He is Professor of Piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he has taught since 1976.
Learn more about Mr. Takács at https://www.petertakacspianist.com/
Conductor
Taiwanese-American conductor Tiffany Chang helps musicians feel valued, seen and fulfilled, and guides arts leaders to do so too for their organizations.
For her exceptional artistry, formidable versatility, and unshakeable integrity, Chang garnered recognition through two Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Awards, the OPERA America Grant for Women Stage Directors and Conductors, and The American Prize in Opera Conducting.
She made recent debuts at Minnesota Opera (The Song Poet, world premiere), Portland Opera (Tosca), and Opera Columbus (Tosca). She also held the Elizabeth Buccheri Opera Residency at the Washington National Opera (La bohème) and was previously invited twice to conduct at The Dallas Opera as part of the Hart Institute for Women Conductors.
Chang has been invited as a guest conductor for opera productions at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory (Chérubin), Oberlin Conservatory (The Puppy Episode, world premiere), and Boston University
(Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera, Later the Same Evening). She was previously Music Director/Conductor for the NEMPAC Opera Project where she conducted Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, Carmen, Fidelio, La Cenerentola, Die Fledermaus, La bohème, and The Little Prince.
Her other engagements include BlueWater Chamber Orchestra, OperaHub, College Light Opera Company, Xanthos Ensemble, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Brookline Symphony Orchestra, Parkway Concert Orchestra, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, Northern Ohio Youth Orchestras, among others. She remains a regular guest conductor in Boston with the Dinosaur Annex New Music Ensemble and ALEA III.
Chang also authors a blog called Conductor as CEO, where she takes ideas from other industries and shares how they apply to arts leaders. Her "refreshing and thoughtful" leadership on and off the podium has led her to become an active speaker and contributor for organizations such as the Canton Symphony, Girls Who Conduct, Sound Mind, Boston Conservatory, Notes from the Podium, PM World Journal, and Routledge Publishing.
She is currently participating in Forefront, powered by Marshall Goldsmith's 100 Coaches, for the next generation of leaders in coaching and talent development. She previously completed Seth Godin's altMBA program, joining a unique cohort of global leaders and change-makers.
Having first began her career as a professor, she has served on the artist-faculty at Oberlin Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, Boston University, and Baldwin Wallace Conservatory.
Chang studied orchestral conducting with David Hoose and Bridget-Michaele Reischl; she has also worked with Carlo Montanaro, Emmanuel Villaume, Gustav Meier, JoAnn Falletta, Robert Spano, Gunther Schuller, Larry Rachleff, and Ann Howard Jones. She also studied cello with Amir Eldan, Hans Jensen, and Peter Reijto and composition with Amelia Kaplan and Jeffrey Kowalkowski.
She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting from Boston University and several degrees from Oberlin Conservatory in cello performance, music education, composition, and music theory.
Visit www.tiffanychang.net for more.
Tiffany Chang
Dr. Dean Anderson
Sabbatical
Dean Anderson is frequently engaged as a guest conductor with professional orchestras around the globe. Most recently, he conducted Il Barbiere di Siviglia in Pisa, Italy and previously orchestras such as the Orquesta del Festival Gaudix Clásica in Spain, and the Orchestra Filarmonica Campana in Cervinara, Italy. He has been the Music Director and Artistic Director for the Dana Point Symphony for almost a decade. He continually strives to champion a diverse blend of repertoire - ranging from the beloved works of Beethoven and Brahms, to newly commissioned works by local and international composers. His international engagements include concerts with professional orchestras in Europe, Asia, and South America. He has served as cover conductor for the San Diego Symphony and has performed with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In addition, he has worked with such artists as Cho-Liang Lin, Andres Cardenes, Yizhak Schotten, Smokey Robinson, David Archuleta, Manhattan Transfer, John Tesh, Lincoln Mayorga, Arlo Guthrie, and Dick Dale.
A versatile and collaborative conductor, Mr. Anderson’s performances include major ballet works such as the Nutcracker, Peter and the Wolf, and La Cigale with ballet companies such as the Anaheim Ballet, Nouveau Chamber Ballet, and the Montage Dance Theater. He has also conducted numerous operas such as The Magic Flute, Il Segreto di Susanna (Wolf-Ferrari), Hansel and Gretel, I Due Figaro (Mercadante), Daron Hagen’s Little Nemo in Slumberland and more. One of the highlights of his career was his Walt Disney Hall debut performance of Marcos Galvany’s O My Son. He was the first American citizen to conduct the Ho Chi Minh City Ballet Orchestra in Vietnam. He also led the Southern California Chamber Ensemble performance of traditional chinese and japanese music for pipa and erhu with Tu Shan Xiang and George Gao in Nagoya, Japan.
In addition to his professional engagements. Mr. Anderson enjoys working with students and community members to help them strive for higher levels of artistic excellence. He constantly bridges the gap between professional organizations and educational institutions. He serves as part of an international jury for the Hong Kong International Music Festival and is often invited as guest clinician with local school districts, including those in Riverside, Santa Ana, and Irvine. He has initiated collaborative events between his orchestral ensembles and local schools and churches in order to help fund their special programs. Mr. Anderson is also the Artistic Director for Symphony Irvine and the Director of Orchestral Studies at La Sierra University. He recently completed his fifth season as the Music Director for the Montecito International Music Festival Orchestra, where he has performed with world-renowned artists and with gifted student musicians from all over the globe.
Mr. Anderson completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at UCLA under the mentorship of Neal Stulberg. He studied conducting with Edward Dolbashian and violin with John McLeod at the University of Missouri - Columbia. Additionally, he has participated in conducting workshops with Gustav Meier, Mark Gibson, Marin Alsop, Mihail Agafita, Don Thulean, and Lawrence Golan.
Learn more about Dr. Anderson at https://www.deanandersonconductor.com/
