Acclaimed pianist Katya Grineva, the only female solo pianist to have played Carnegie Hall 21 times, is known for her romantic repertoire and interpretation of the romantics including Chopin, Schubert, Debussy, Ravel and Liszt. This year will mark her 22nd appearance at Carnegie hall on December 27th, 2024.
She has played throughout the United States, Guam, Europe, South America, Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines. Described by The New York Times as “liquid...dreamlike,” Katya’s playing is hailed for its fluidity and abundance of poetic expression. A “noted exponent of Romantic repertoire (WNYC Radio),” Katya captures audiences with her breathless, ethereal concerts.
Born in Moscow, Katya studied piano at the Moscow Music School, and then the School of Music at the Moscow Conservatory, where she studied with Professor Pavel Messner. She moved to New York in 1989 and received a scholarship to enter the Mannes School of Music graduate program, studying with Nina Svetlanova, followed by private
coaching with Vladja Mashke, who played a key role in the young pianist’s development.
Katya made her American debut in 1993 with a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto, No. 27 in B-flat, K.595 accompanied by the Baltimore Symphony. In 1998, she made her Carnegie Hall debut. She has been a guest performer in Ecuador with the Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra and performed for the Fillipino President Gloria Macapagal and does many charity concerts throughout the country. In 2006, she was chosen to excluively perform and record the world premieres of piano sonatas by romantic Viennese composer Marcel Tyberg. At the Australian concerts in Melbourne and in Sydney, the audience heard for the first time in Australia two compositions from Tyberg’s “Lost”
piano sonatas.
Katya, who played a private concert for President George and Barbara Bush, is known for her generosity in donating concerts to special causes, like Cancer CAREpoint in California. She has been awarded a special honor from the New York State Shields, and recognition from the government of Guam for her special achievements. Her philan-thropic work garnered her accolades, including recipient of the Gusi Peace Prize from Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and Outstanding Women Award from Ercolano Italy.
In addition to her concert career, Katya is passionate about bringing classical music to children. She founded a nonprofit called “Katya Concerts for Kids” to bring Inspiration & Classical Music to Underserved Children Around the World. She performs in schools and provides tickets to children and their families to attend concerts at Carnegie Hall.
Katya is also deeply connected to nature, which influences her music and personal life. She performs in a unique studio she built in a forest near her home in Woodstock, NY where she offers intimate concerts surrounded by nature. She has released nine CDs, the latest one being The Complete Chopin Nocturnes.
For more information, visit katyagrineva.com or katyacds.com.
Joel Evans, oboist and solo English hornist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, has been a familiar musical voice in the valley for many years. He is oboist with the Poné Ensemble and plays baroque and classical oboes with Hudson Valley Baroque, the resident historical instrument ensemble at SUNY New Paltz where he served as Associate Professor of Music teaching oboe, directing Collegium Musicum and lecturing in music history.
Dr. Evans has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Atlantic Chamber Orchestra, and was principal oboist of the Albany Symphony from 1982 to 1986. He leads a busy teaching schedule and has played numerous TV and radio advertisements. Joel has recorded for Philo, Rounder, Koch International, CRI, New World, and his playing has been
heard all over the US, Canada, Europe, Russia, and the Far East. He has appeared as a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, Saratoga, and the Charles Ives Center. Joel retired as principal oboist of the US Military Academy Band at West Point after nearly thirty years of service.
His commercial work has included playing with such notables as James Taylor, David Amram, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Mstislav Rostropovich, Nancy Wilson, The Moody Blues, Peter Paul and Mary, Roy Clark, Kenny Loggins, Kate Pierson/The B-52’s, Garth Brooks, Josh Groban, The Who and Roberta Flack as well as regular performances in the Broadway productions of Camelot, Cabaret, Miss Saigon and Les Misérables.
Dr. Evans holds degrees from the University of Maine, Columbia University and the City University of New York.
Jeff Geller is originally from Rome, NY where he began his formal studies with his father, Herb Geller. He later studied with Syracuse Symphony clarinetists, Gerald Zampino and John A. Flaver. He went on to study at the Oberlin Conservatory, as well as The Juilliard School of Music where he studied with David Weber. Jeff enjoyed a fulfilling career in the West Point Concert Band at the United States Military Academy at West Point and retired after serving a 24-year career. During his career he performed extensively across the United States and Canada. He has performed at Carnegie Hall on numerous occasions in joint concerts with the USMA Band and the New York Philharmonic. Jeff is currently the principal clarinetist of the Woodstock Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the Blackwood Clarinet Quartet.
Bassoonist, Cornelia McGiver, works regularly in the Mohawk Valley, Hudson Valley, New York and New Haven areas. She has performed frequently with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra New England, Live Music Project, The Orchestra NOW, Canterbury Choral Society, Trinity Chorale, Cappella Cantorum, Broad Street Chamber Players, and numerous other. Cornelia is a member of the exciting and newly formed Fenimore Chamber Orchestra (www.fenimore-orchestra.org) out of Cooperstown, NY; and she is a proud member of the Woodstock Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Mina Kim. Notable ensembles include Madera Vox, NorthWinds, and Crow Ensemble (of many bassoons). She teaches privately and at Bard College. Cornelia had the privilege of studying with broad-minded, passionate, and scholarly teachers including Luis Garcia-Renart, Kim Laskowski, David Krakauer and more.
When, a few years ago Cornelia mentioned to a friend her interest in learning the accordion, she was gifted that very day with the option of three instruments, which landed on her doorstep. She began learning folk tunes on the accordion, and so it is with a full heart and tongue slightly in cheek that she now offers memorial music for the passing of beloved pets (Elgar’s Nimrod, Barber’s Adagio, Satie’s Gnossienne #1, and folk tunes in minor keys…). On her days off she runs a performance space and occasional bistro in West Fulton, NY (panthercreekarts.com). And on her other days off she runs her own speech pathology business in New Paltz, NY.
Lisa Q. Stach-Fraitag is a local of the Hudson Valley having grown up in Wappingers Falls and graduated from Roy C. Ketcham High School. Lisa studied horn with J. Richard Webb the 1 st horn of the West Point Band and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. She earned her BM in Music Education at The Crane School of Music SUNY Potsdam and studied horn with Albert Schaberg. Lisa won the “Directors Scholarship” to attend The School of Fine Arts at Boston University where she earned her MM in Performance. While in Boston, she studied with Richard Menaul from the Boston Pops & Ballet Orchestras. Lisa recently retired from being a public school band director & private lesson teacher for 33 years. She has been a member of the Woodstock Symphony Orchestra (formerly the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra) for 33+ years and is currently 1st horn. Lisa plays 3rd horn with the New York Wind Symphony, horn with the Breezy Hill Woodwind Quintet and is a freelance player.
Bassist Lou Pappas’s career has included playing in symphony orchestras as well as performing in jazz ensembles. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Double Bass Performance from Colorado State University, then joined the Colorado Springs Symphony, also performing with such jazz artists as Jay McShann, Bill Watrous, and composer Patrick Williams. After that and three years with the Oklahoma City Symphony, he joined the US Army as an enlisted member of the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, serving twenty years and retiring in 2006 with the rank of Master Sergeant. During this time, he also performed at jazz festivals throughout the United States along with such artists as David Liebman, Byron Stripling, and James Williams. Since then, he has been busy performing with many symphonic groups in the New York area, such as the Hudson Valley
Philharmonic and the Taconic Opera Company, and as principal bassist with our own Woodstock Symphony Orchestra. His jazz work during this period has included freelancing throughout the area with such jazz greats as Barney Kessel, Paquito D'Rivera, and Chris Flory, and vocalists such as Natalie Merchant, Veronica Nunn, Lucy Arnaz, Perry Beekman, and Elly Winninger. He has also taught bass privately and at the college level for over forty years, recently retiring from Vassar College and SUNY New Paltz.
Larry Ham is a pianist, composer and arranger. He has long been a noted New York City based jazz musician. Reviewing one of his CDs, David Dupont of Cadence Jazz Magazine writes, “He glides over the keys, with every note articulated cleanly...his playing is masterful.”
Larry’s professional career began in the late ‘80s with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. He then joined the Illinois Jacquet Big Band 1990-95, and has worked extensively with countless other jazz legends including Junior Cook, Earl May, Dakota Staton, and Catherine Russell. He has performed at jazz festivals, in concerts and nightclubs throughout the USA, Europe, West Africa, Canada, India, Brazil and Japan.
Larry has performed for three US Presidents, and was a US State Department Jazz Ambassador to West Africa in 2001 and 2002. He has a BA in Musical Studies from the Crane
School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, and an MA in Jazz Performance from Queens College in New York City. He has taught Jazz Studies at Bard College, SUNY New Paltz, and Dutchess Community College.
Drummer/Composer Jeff “Siege” Siegel is a veteran of the New York Jazz scene and has worked with a virtual ”who’s who” of artists. A member of the Sir Roland Hanna Trio from 1994-99, Siegel’s diverse career has also led him to perform and/or record with legends such as Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Benny Golson, Sheila Jordan, Helen Merrill, Mose Allison, John Medeski, Arthur Rhames, Dave Douglas, Stefon Harris, Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Kurt Elling, Ravi Coltrane, Ryan Kisor, Lee Shaw, The Levin Brothers, Hal Galper, John Medeski, Dena DeRose, Michael Dease, Joel Frahm. He has worked in the avant garde world as well with Wadada Leo Smith, Baikida Carroll. He’s performed over 30 European tours including four as leader of the Jeff “Siege” Siegel Quartet and several others as co-leader. The Jeff “Siege” Siegel Sextet performed a 3 week tour of Africa in the summer of
2019 including clinics for the US State Department and a featured appearance at the Standard Bank Jazz Festival in Makhanda, South Africa. Siegel currently records with The Levin Brothers (Tony & Pete).Siegel teaches Jazz drumming and jazz ensembles at Vassar College, The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music, SUNY at New Paltz and Western Connecticut State University. He’s performed clinics throughout Europe, United States, China, South America and South Africa.He holds a Masters Degree in Jazz from Queens College where he studied Composition with Jimmy Heath. He has been the recipient of several grants from Meet the Composer as well as United States Artists International (USAI). He is endorsed by Canopus Drums, Beato Bags and Vic Firth Drum Sticks.