Berwick Academy Faculty

Jos van Veldhoven was artistic director of the Netherlands Bach Society for more than 35 years. Under his leadership, an impressive CD series was created, as well as concert tours in the Netherlands, Europe, the United States, and Japan. Music was not limited to Bach and his contemporaries, but also often included ‘new’ repertoire from the 17th and 18th centuries.

In his programming van Veldhoven knows how to connect tradition and adventure. He is the initiator of All of Bach, an ongoing unprecedented project in which the Netherlands Bach Society performs, records and publishes all of Bach’s works online. More than 20 million followers worldwide now enjoy the widely acclaimed recordings on YouTube.

Van Veldhoven often attracts attention with performances of ‘new’ repertoire within the early music genre. There have been some remarkable performances of oratorios by Telemann and Graun, vespers by Gastoldi, reconstructions of Bach’s St Mark Passion and the Köthener Trauer-Music and many lesser known seventeenth-century oratorios and dialogues. He has also conducted a large number of modern premieres of Baroque operas by such composers as Mattheson, Keiser, Bononcini, Legrenzi, Conti, and Scarlatti. Van Veldhoven is in great demand as a guest conductor, and has conducted the Dutch Chamber Choir, Netherlands Radio Choir, Flemish Radio Choir, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Robert Schumann Philharmonic, Essen Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and many of the Dutch symphony orchestras. Between 2001 and 2010, van Veldhoven worked with director Dietrich Hilsdorf on a cycle of staged Handel oratorios in the opera houses of Bonn and Essen.

Van Veldhoven has been associated with the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague as a teacher of choral conducting for more than 30 years.

In 2007, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands made him a Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion for his ground-breaking work in early music.

Marc Destrubé enjoys a diverse international career on historical and modern violins, performing as soloist, chamber musician, concertmaster or director/conductor. He is co-concertmaster of the Orchestra of the 18th Century (Amsterdam), first violinist of the Axelrod String Quartet (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC) and of the Vancouver quartet Microcosmos, and is a regular guest director and soloist with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Australian Haydn Ensemble and Lyra Baroque. He performs frequently on the Early Music Vancouver series, is Artistic Director of the Pacific Baroque Festival (Victoria) and a member of the Turning Point Ensemble. His recording of Haydn violin concertos (ATMA) has been critically acclaimed, and he has commissioned and premiered numerous works by Canadian composers. A highly-respected teacher, he has been a visiting artist at the Paris, Utrecht and Moscow Conservatories, the Banff Centre, University of Indiana, Case Western University, Australian National University and the Sydney Conservatorium, and has been on the faculty of the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin College. marcdestrube.com

Adam LaMotte is well-known to audiences throughout the country as a leader of both period and modern ensembles, on violin as well as viola. He has appeared as soloist, concertmaster, and conductor of numerous orchestras throughout the country, including the Northwest Sinfonietta in Seattle, String Orchestra of the Rockies, Astoria Festival Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra, the Maggini String Orchestra, Ars Lyrica, Mercury in Houston.

As part of the baroque ensemble El Mundo Adam was nominated for a 2012 Grammy Award. Mr. LaMotte has been hailed by critics as an “especially compelling” musician with “exceptional talent,” whose performances are “energetic and exquisite.” As Artistic Director of the Montana Baroque Festival, he brings world-class period instrument performances to the rural Montana community. He has co-founded two critically-acclaimed ensembles, in Portland and in Houston, and continues to produce many chamber music and chamber orchestra performances.

Kati Kyme enjoys a rich musical life as chamber musician, orchestral player, teacher, and conductor. She has been a member and frequent leader of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and American Bach Soloists since their inaugural seasons.  She has enjoyed 15 years as violinist and violist of the Artaria Quartet, the Sierra String Quartet and, most recently, the New Esterhazy Quartet which is finishing its second cycle of performances of the complete Haydn String Quartets.

An enthusiastic teacher, she has led ensembles at the SF Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Youth Orchestra, and her main commitment to young players is her decades-long relationship with the California Youth Symphony where she conducts rehearsals of three different String Orchestras every Sunday. She has performed with the Oregon Bach Festival for many years, and this will be her first year as instructor at the Berwick Academy.

For the past 5 years, Ms. Kyme has joyfully lead the ensemble Berkeley Baroque Strings in weekly rehearsals. They have performed in three Berkeley Early Music Festivals and anticipate a stunning appearance at the Boston Early Music Festival this June.

Grammy-nominated cellist and gambist William Skeen performs as Principal Cellist with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and American Bach Soloists.  He has served as Principal Cellist with Musica Angelica (Los Angeles), Portland Baroque Orchestra, Pacific MusicWorks, and Bach Collegium San Diego.  William has also appeared as continuo cellist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego Opera, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.  In addition, William has soloed on the viola da gamba with the Dallas Symphony, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Carmel Bach Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Musica Angelica, Orquestra Nacional de Mexico, and the American Bach Soloists.  He is co-founder of the New Esterházy Quartet, whose repertoire includes over 150 string quartets performed exclusively on gut strings.  With NEQ, William co-founded the San Francisco Early Music Society’s Classical Workshop in 2012.  He has served on the faculty on the University of Southern California since 2000. William currently tours and records with Smithsonian Chamber Players, Musica Pacifica, El Mundo, and Agave Baroque.  He is represented on over 80 audio recordings and 30 video recordings.

Bio coming soon!

Stephen Schultz called “among the most flawless artists on the Baroque flute” by the San Jose Mercury News and “flute extraordinaire” by the New Jersey Star-Ledger, plays solo and Principal flute with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Musica Angelica and performs with other leading Early music groups such as Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Wiener Akademie, and Chatham Baroque. Concert tours have taken him throughout Europe and North and South America with featured appearances at the Musikverein in Vienna, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Royal Albert Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Carnegie Hall, and the Library of Congress.

A graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Holland, Schultz also holds several degrees from the California Institute of the Arts and the California State University of San Francisco. Currently he is an Associate Teaching Professor in Music History and Flute at Carnegie Mellon University and director of the Carnegie Mellon Baroque Orchestra. Mr. Schultz has also been a featured faculty member of the Jeanne Baxtresser International Flute Master Class at Carnegie Mellon University and has taught at the Juilliard School and the International Baroque Institute at Longy School of Music.

As solo, chamber, and orchestral player, Schultz appears on over fifty recordings for such labels as Dorian, Naxos, Harmonia Mundi USA, Centaur, NCA, and New Albion. Schultz has produced and edited forty CDs for his colleagues and has also performed and recorded with world music groups such as D’CuCKOO and Haunted By Waters, using his electronically processed Baroque flute to develop alternative sounds that are unique to his instrument. He has been very active in commissioning new music written for his instrument and in 1998, Carolyn Yarnell wrote 10/18 for solo, processed Baroque Flute and dedicated it to Mr. Schultz. The Pittsburgh composer Nancy Galbraith wrote Traverso Mistico, which is scored for electric Baroque flute, solo cello, and chamber orchestra. It was given its world premiere at Carnegie Mellon University in April 2006 and this highly successful collaboration was followed in 2008 with Galbraith’s Night Train, Other Sun in 2009, and Effervescent Air in 2012.

Praised for her “dazzling technique and soulful expressiveness,” (Rocky Mountain News), and a musical approach that’s “distinctly sensual…pliant, warm, and sweet,” (New York Times), Debra Nagy is one of North America’s leading performers on the baroque oboe. She plays principal oboe with the American Bach Soloists, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, and Apollo’s Fire, and is a regular guest with the Handel & Haydn Society, Boston Early Music Festival, Pacific MusicWorks, among other ensembles. A dedicated chamber musician, Debra is the founder of Les Délices (whose debut recording was named “One of the Top Ten Early Music Discoveries of 2009”) and performs late-medieval music as a regular guest with Boston’s acclaimed Blue Heron and the Newberry Consort. Following studies at the Oberlin Conservatory, Conservatory of Amsterdam, and Case Western Reserve University, Debra has received many awards for her creative and scholarly pursuits including first-prize in the American Bach Soloists Young Artists Competition, a 2009 Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a 2010 Creative Workforce Fellowship from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. She has recorded over 30 CDs with repertoire ranging from 1300-1800 on the Chandos, Avie, CPO, Capstone, Bright Angel, Naxos, and ATMA labels, and has had live performances featured on CBC Radio Canada, Klara (Belgium), NPR’s Performance Today, WQXR (New York City) and WGBH Boston.

A dedicated and inspiring teacher, Debra serves on the artist faculty of the American Bach Soloists’ Summer Academy and has given masterclasses at Juilliard, the Cleveland Institute of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, Cincinnati Conservatory, and University of Washington. When she’s not rehearsing, performing, or dreaming up new projects, Debra can be found cooking up a storm in her kitchen or commuting by bike from her home in Cleveland’s historic Ohio City neighborhood.

Marc Vallon is the Professor of Music, Bassoon, at the Mead Witter School of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a position he has held since 2004. A native of France, he received his musical education on the French basson at the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur with Maurice Allard. “Enfant prodige”, he began playing professionally at the age of 17, and had the privilege of performing with the top Parisian orchestras under legendary conductors such as Sergiu Celibidache, Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, and Karl Boehm. After switching to the German bassoon in the early 80’s, his interests lead him to work with contemporary music groups that culminated in the 1980s in a 5-year period of collaboration with Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble Intercontemporain.

Marc’s early music career began in 1982 when he joined the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, where he was principal bassoon for 20 years. Marc was also principal bassoon of Philippe Herrewheghe’s “Orchestre des Champs Elysées” for 12 years and has participated in concerts worldwide with early music leading ensembles like Tafelmusik, La Petite Bande, Les Arts Florissants  and Concerto Köln. His experience on period instruments ranges from Monteverdi’s “Vespers” (1610) to Debussy’s “Afternoon of a Fawn” (1894).

Marc’s current performing activities include his participation to the Wingra Quintet, ensemble in residence at the UW-Madison School of Music, work with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and recitals mostly dedicated to new music and commissions to composers. On early bassoons, he performs mostly with Apollo’s Fire in Cleveland and Opera Lafayette in DC.

An active performer and educator based in Philadelphia, Todd Williams is a preeminent exponent of the Natural Horn in America. He currently serves as Principal Horn of numerous
ensembles across the country including Philharmonia Baroque, the Handel & Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Trinity Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Mercury, Opera Lafayette, Tempesta di Mare,
and more. Past seasons have seen him as guest principal for Tafelmusik (Toronto), American Bach Soloists (San Francisco), Bach Collegium San Diego (San Diego), and Musica Angelica
(Los Angeles).

On the topic of the Natural Horn, he has conducted lectures and Masterclasses at the music schools of Curtis, Eastman, and Oberlin and in 2018, joined the faculty of The Juilliard School. On the modern valved horn, he is a staple of the Philadelphia music scene regularly performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra, the Opera and Ballet companies of Philadelphia, and the Philly Pops. He’s recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, RCA/Sony Records, Atlantic Records, CORO, Naxos, Musica Omnia, Chaconne/Chandos, and Warner Brothers. Todd is a graduate of Indiana University.