Nancy Davis Booth, soprano
appearing in

Families and Friends, July 11

Summer Symphony Series, 
Sunday, July 20

Nancy Davis Booth is one of the most versatile singers on the scene today. With "beautifully shaped sounds, glorious high notes and an ability to sing as though she was talking to the audience," her passionate delivery and interpretive power never fail to connect with and electrify listeners. Her vivacity and sense of humor make her a favorite of audiences, conductors and critics everywhere.

Enjoying a career which includes concerts, orchestra engagements, oratorio, opera, musical theatre and cabaret, she has appeared with The St. Louis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Louisville Symphony, Rochester (NY) Philharmonic, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Disney Studio Orchestra as well as the symphonies of Colorado, Illinois, Chattanooga, Tucson, San Antonio and the Oregon Britt Festival. Nancy's Vienna Nights with the Detroit Symphony were broadcast on National Public Radio with Dick Cavett hosting. She was the featured guest at the 4th of July Anniversary Celebration Tribute to President Ford at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and has sung at the White House, Arlington Cemetery, the Annapolis Chapel and with such notables as Mark Russell and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Recent seasons have included performances of Brahms Requiem, Mahler 4, Strauss 4 Last Songs, Beethoven 9, Mozart Exsultate, Jubilate, Messiah, Faust, La Boheme and Turandot as well as holiday and summer pops, cabaret with Ann Hampton Callaway and recitals with guitarist/composer Brad Richter.

In addition to her active performance career, Nancy is an Assistant Professor of Music at Butler University in Indianapolis where she teaches studio voice and musical theatre. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice, a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre and a Master of Science in Child Development.

Erin Booth Achilles

July 11, Friends and Families

As a high school sophomore Erin was selected to be one of two sopranos in the nation to sing in the All American National Grammy Jazz Chior in Los
Angeles, performing for the Grammy Ceremonies that year. She has sung the lead in the University of Arizona Opera Theatre's "Gondoliers" by Gilbert and Sullivan and appeared in Invisible Theatre's "Once and Forever - A Salute to Irving Berlin." She has been a guest with the Tucson Symphony for Valentine's Day concerts as well as several seasons of Holiday concerts. She can be heard on Linda Ronstadt's Christmas Album and is currently the star of the Hidden Valley Inn's musical reviews including, "How the West Was Sung, Buckaroos on Broadway, Buckskin, Satin and Song, Cowboy Christmas Roundup, Howdy from Hollywood and Arizona Serenade." Staring in August Erin will enter nursing school.

Ilya Kaler, violin

Summer Symphony Series, July 13, 2003

The only violinist ever to win Gold Medals at all three of the world's most prestigious competitions, the Tchaikovsky, the Sibelius and the Paganini competitions, Ilya Kaler is already being compared to the likes of Heifetz and Perlman. Kaler's recordings of the Paganini Caprices have been deemed by American Record Guide to be, "in a class by themselves" combining "the perfection, passion, and phrase-sculpting of Michael Rabin with the energy, excitement, and immediacy of Jascha Heifetz." His recordings of both Paganini Concertos and Caprices, the Schumann Sonatas, both Shostakovich Concertos, the Dvorak Concerto and the Glazunov Concerto have met with equally superlative acclaim. The Washington Post unabashedly lauds him as, "a consummate musician, Kaler is in total control at all times, with a peerless mastery of his violin."

Born into a family of musicians in Moscow, Ilya Kaler showed enormous talent from an early age. At the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory he studied under Zinaida Gilels and Yury Yankelevich. He continued his studies with Leonid Kogan and Viktor Tretyakov at the Moscow Conservatory, where he earned both master's and doctorate degrees, and graduated with the Gold Medal Award. He also studied privately with Abram Shtern in the Soviet Union and the United States.

Mr. Kaler has earned rave reviews for solo appearances with distinguished orchestras throughout the world. He has performed with the Leningrad, Moscow, and Dresden Philharmonic Orchestras, the Montreal Symphony, the Danish and Berlin Radio Orchestras, and the Moscow and Zurich Chamber Orchestras, among others. His solo recitals have taken him throughout Europe, Scandinavia, East Asia, and the former Soviet Union.

In recent years, Mr. Kaler has performed with the Detroit, Baltimore, and Seattle Symphony Orchestras, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in the United States, and has toured Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, England, Venezuela and Japan. In Japan, he played with the New Japan Philharmonic, the Century Symphony Orchestra and the Hiroshima Symphony. Also an active chamber musician, Mr. Kaler has performed for several summers at the Newport Music Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. He was Professor of Violin at the Eastman School of Music, and for five years served as Concertmaster of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Currently, Mr. Kaler is a Distinguished Professor of Music (Linda and Jack Gill Chair in Violin) at the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana. Last season he made two new recordings for the Ongaku label and two new recordings for the Naxos label. This season he will record the Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time with Jonathan Cohler on Ongaku.

Richard Crawley, tenor

Summer Symphony Series July 20, 2003

Tenor Richard Crawley has sung extensively across the United States and broad. His international engagements have taken him to Europe, Japan, Central America and Quebec. A native of upstate New York, he has appeared frequently with the Syracuse Opera. Roles with that company include Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, the Marquis de Chateauneuf in Lortzing’s Sar und Zimmermann, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, and most recently the title role in Gounod’s Faust Of his portrayal of Faust, Opera News said: “Richard Crawley did honorable work in the title part. Tall and plausibly romantic in manner, he paid attention to the dynamic variation and delicate phrasing that proper French style demands.”

Recent engagements include a debut with the Atlanta Opera as the Steuermann in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Hollander, an appearance as guest artist at Hood College in Baltimore for Handel’s Messiah, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with the Annapolis Opera, and a performance at Carnegie Hall as the tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and Solemn Vespers.

Other career highlights include several roles with Opera Colorado, among them Don Jose in Carmen, Alfredo in La Traviata, Narraboth in Salome, and rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi; performances of Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglea with the Staatstheater Stuttgart, the Florida Grand Opera and the Lake George Opera Festival; Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Attalo in Rossini’s Ermione with the Santa Fe Opera; Mr. Erlanson in A little Night Music with the Houston Grand Opera; Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte with the Annapolis Opera; Camille in The Merry Widow with Augusta Opera; the Father Confessor in Les dialogues des Carmelites with the Tulsa Opera; and a concert performance of Rodolfo in La boheme with the Merrick Symphony.

As an orchestral soloist Mr. Crawley has performed Handel’s Messiah and Mendelssohn’s Paulus with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tokyo Oratorio Society; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Bay-Atlantic Symphony and the Greater Bridgeport Symphony; the Messiah at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.; the Evangelist/Tenor soloist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, Haydn’s Harmonie Messe with the Syracuse Symphony, Haydn’s The Creation” with Baltimore Choral Arts Cosiety; Bach’s b-minor Mass with the Handel Choir of Baltimore; the Mozart Requiem with the New Mexico Symphony; and the Evangelist in Bach’s Stl Matthew Passion with Concert Artists of Baltimore, for twhich The Baltimore Sun remared, “ichard Crawley gave the role depth and feeling.”

Debra Vanderlinde

Summer Symphony Series, 
Friday, August 1, 2003

Debra Vanderlinde, known for her "pure" and "radiant" singing, has appeared in concert and opera throughout the United States and made her European debut in 1988 with the Iceland Symphony. After her debut in opera as Zerbinetta in Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos at Chautauqua, she went on to sing with the New York City Opera, Wolf Trap, Chattanooga Opera, and many regional companies. Ms. Vanderlinde sang Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore in concert at the Kennedy Center and also appeared there in Mahler and Beethoven songs with orchestra, accompanying the Feld Ballet.

An appearance on the New Horizons Series at the 92nd St. Y marked her New York recital debut, and she has also appeared in recital at Yale’s Early Instrument Collection in a concert of Loewe and Mendelssohn songs. She sang the title role in Rudolf Friml’s Rose-Marie in a revival and recording at the Smithsonian Institution. Ms. Vanderlinde won critical praise for her portrayal of Oriana in Handel’s Amadigi with the Connecticut Early Music Festival, a role she reprised in the spring of 1999 at Caramoor’s Music Room. Other symphonic appearances include the Rochester Philharmonic, Baltimore and New Haven Symphonies, as well as the Caramoor Festival Orchestra. Ms. Vanderlinde was recently a featured soloist at Windham Chamber Music Festival’s Gala Opening Concert.

Ms. Vanderlinde has a Master’s Degree in Voice from the Eastman School of Music, a Bachelor’s Degree from Denison University, and has studied at L’école Hindemith, Vevey, Switzerland, and Manhattan School of Music. She has served as a judge for the Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions in Boston and New York, and also for the International Singers Competition. Ms. Vanderlinde is affiliate artist teacher with Drew University, and teaches at Marymount Manhattan College and has a private voice studio in Manhattan.

Richard Holmes

Summer Symphony Series, 
Friday, August 1, 2003

Richard Holmes graduated from Manhattan School of Music and made his operatic debut at Lake George Opera Festival. Since then, he has performed over 140 roles and appeared as a principal artist with such companies as Glimmerglass Opera, Virginia Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, Lyric Opera of San Antonio, and New York Grand Opera. Among his favorite roles are the title role of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Dandini in La Cenerentola, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus. One of his specialties is performing the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, having sung 28 roles in all 13 of the Savoy Operas, with New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players and many other companies. He is equally at home as a concert artist, having sung with Brooklyn Philharmonic, New York Chamber Ensemble, Philarmonica Virtuosi, Canterbury Choral Society, and Manhattan Chamber Orchestra. With Amor Artis he has toured to Spain, Amsterdam, Paris, Prague and Budapest. His acclaimed performance of Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer was broadcast nationally on NPR. With Kent Tritle, he has been a soloist in Handel’s Israel in Egypt (Dessoff Choirs at Alice Tully Hall) and the title role of Saul. With Kyler Brown, he has performed many works, including Vaughan-Williams Five Mystical Songs, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Charpentier’s Le Reniement de Saint Pierre, with St. Jean’s Choral Society and as a member of Virgin Consort. His recordings include works ranging from Palestrina to Mozart (Coronation Mass) and from Gilbert and Sullivan excerpts to Menotti’s The Telephone, for Polygram, Naxos, Vox, Kleos and Albany Records. Recent successes have included Dandini at Bob Jones University, a Richard Rodgers concert with Sioux City Symphony, Monteverdi’s Vespers (1610) with Amor Artis, and a debut with Connecticut Early Music Festival in Vivaldi’s La Fida Ninfa.


Soovin Kim, violin

Summer Symphony Series, 
Sunday August 3, 2003

Soovin Kim was only twenty years old when he captured first prize at the Niccolo Paganini International violin Competition in 1996. He was the first American in twenty-four years to receive this distinction. As a result, he was given the honor of playing one concert on "Il Cannone," Paganini's rarely played violin. One year later, he received the prestigious Henryk Szeryng Foundation Career Award, leading to recital and orchestral engagements across Europe. He was again honored in 1998 with the Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Mr. Kim now performs throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He was invited to open the Caramoor Festival in 1998 with soprano June Anderson and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. That same year, he performed at Salle Pleyel in Paris with the historic Pasdeloup Orchestra in a special concert commemorating the 80th birthday of the late violinist Henryk Szeryng. He also made an extremely unusual eleven-concert tour of Italy performing the 24 Paganini Caprices to critical acclaim. As a recitalist, he has performed in Weill Hall, at Carnegie Hall, Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center, Herbst Theater in San Francisco, and Casals Hall in Tokyo, as well as at Ravinia. He has appeared with other orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Prague Chamber Orchestra. Last season, Soovin made very successful debuts in Korea with the KBS Symphony Orchestra, at the Salzburg Festspielhaus with the Mozartuim Orchester, and in Italy with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Myung-Whun Chung. He made his Carnegie Hall debut last Christmas Eve with the New York String Seminar Orchestra, Jaime Laredo conducting. His first CD, lauded by critic and musicians alike, has been released by Koch-Discover, on which he performs duo works by Schubert, Bartok and Strauss with pianist Jeremy Denk.

In addition to his activities as a soloist, Mr. Kim is in great demand as a most versatile chamber musician. In February of this year, he was heard on “Performance Today”, the well regarded NPR show with guitarist Jason Vieaux. He is a member of the Johannes Quartet and the string trio, “Divertimento.” He regularly collaborates with the great musicians of the world such as pianists Richard Goode and Mitsuko Uchida, violinist Pamela frank, and members of the Guarneri Quartet and the Beaux Arts Trio. He frequently participates in the Marlboro Festival in Vermont and tours the U.S. as part of the acclaimed "Musicians from Marlboro" program. He is also a member of Lincoln Center's chamber Music Society II.

Born into a family without a single musician, Soovin asked for and was given the violin at the age of four. His family moved to Plattsburgh, NY (near Lake Placid) when he was nine years old, and he continued violin lessons with Richard Roberts, concertmaster of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. During his years in Plattsburgh, Soovin played in the Adirondack Youth Orchestra and the Vermont Youth Orchestra, and was heard performing all across the North Country in schools, churches, retirement homes, private homes, and formal concerts. When he was fifteen, he went to study with David Cerone and Donald Weilerstein at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he won the Joseph and Elsie Scharff Prize in Violin. In 1995 he became affiliated with Astral Artistic Services of Philadelphia, a non-profit agency providing career development guidance, performance, and networking opportunities to America's most gifted emerging classical musicians. In 1999 he graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied with Victor Danchenko and Jaime Laredo.

Soovin plays on a Joseph Guarneri del Gesu violin of 1735, the “ex-Sennhauser.” It is generously made available to him by the Stradivari Society of Chicago.


Elizabeth Woo, violin

Summer Symphony Series, August 10

Elizabeth Woo, born in 1988, is among the most promising of young virtuoso violinists performing today. Although still in her mid-teens, she has already gained recognition for brilliant performances as a soloist with different orchestras in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Born in Korea to a middle class family (her father is a university professor in Chunchon, Korea), Elizabeth came to New York in 1998 to study at the Manhattan School of Music Preparatory Division, as a beginner student of Albert Markov. Within one year she had performed the 2nd Violin Concerto by Henry Wieniawski with the Rumania National Constanza Orchestra as well as works by Bach, Vitali, Haydn, and Sarasate with the Chunchon Chamber Orchestra. Elizabeth then played and recorded Violin Concerti by Sibelius and Bach with the Symphony Orchestra of Sofia, Bulgaria, and performed with the Solano Symphony in California and with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta. This was followed by a return to Korea in the year 2000 where she gave a recital that included works by Mozart, Vieuxtemps, Wagner, Wieniawski, and Paganini.

In 2002, sponsored by the Korean Hansoree Organization, she gave a performance at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Following this, Elizabeth went back to Korea where she twice performed all 24 Caprices by Paganini, a benchmark in the development of a great violinist. Of added interest, was the fact that young Elizabeth was the first person who had ever performed this feat (the performance of all 24 Caprices) in South Korea.

Recently, Elizabeth received the ‘Best Outstanding International Musician’ award from the Arts Critic Association of Korea, and a commemorative concert was held in Seoul, South Korea. She continues to study with Albert Markov at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.