Ocean Grove Music Staff
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Dr. Jason Tramm Dr. Jason C. Tramm is in his second year as the Director of Music Ministries at the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. In this capacity he oversees many exciting performances including the Annual Choral Festival, the annual Sacred Masterwork, and weekly services with the Auditorium Choir. All of these events take place in the historic Great Auditorium, built in 1894 which boast over 6,500 seats and one of the largest pipe organs in the world. This venue boast performances by artists such as Enrico Caruso, John McCormick, Philip Sousa, and many others. Dr. Tramm's Music Director of Coro Lirico, and Artistic Director of the Summit Music Festival. Dr. Tramm is also the Director of Ministries at Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church in Maplewood, NJ. Education and working with young musicians has always been central part of Dr. Tramm's career. Having taught on the music faculties of both Rutgers and Drew Universities, he has directed ensembles, both choral and orchestral, and taught courses in conducting. He is also actively sought as a clinician and regularly presents lectures. Dr. Tramm holds degees in music from from the Crane School, the Hartt School and a DMA in Conducting from Rutgers University, where he was the recipient of their prestigious President Fellowship. In 2003 he joined the ranks of Metropolitan Opera Stars, Renee Flemming and Stephanie Blythe in being honored with the Rising Star Award from the SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association.
In addition to his work at Ocean Grove, Dr. Tramm holds the following musical appointments Music Director of the New Jersey State Opera www.njstateopera.org Coro Lirico www.corolirico.org and the Summit Music Festival www.summitmusicfestivalnj.com.
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Dr. Gordon Turk
A critically acclaimed concert organist, Gordon Turk has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He was winner of the John Cerevalo Prize for “Excellence in the performance of the music of J. S. Bach”, and has been a prizewinner in the national improvisation competition of the American Guild of Organists. Dr. Turk travels nationally and internationally for concert performances, and has played in Carnegie Hall, NYC, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and other landmark concert halls in the US. He has performed in the legendary Bolshoi Philharmonic in St. Petersburg, Russia, and other cities of Russia, and in international organ festivals of Switzerland and the Ukraine. He has made two concert tours in Japan, and recently returned from his second concert tour in the Ukraine, playing solo performances and also concertos with orchestra. Gordon Turk was selected as one of the leading organists of the nation, to play in the opening recitals for the inauguration of the new pipe organ at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center in May 2006. In June he appeared at Kimmel Center in concert with American folk singers, Peter, Paul and Mary, and in November returned to Kimmel to play another organ recital. He has also collaborated with other musicians of note, in concert: Phillip Smith, Principal Trumpet, NY Philharmonic; Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone, NY Philharmonic; David Kim, Concertmaster, Phila. Orchestra; Elizabeth Hainen, Principal Harp, Phila. Orchestra; Kathleen Bride, Chair, Harp Dept., Eastman School of Music. He has made television appearances in concert, and has played live concert broadcasts for National Public Radio. He has performed in concert and conducted master classes at universities throughout the US and in Europe, as well as for national and regional conventions of the American Guild or Organists, and has also served as Dean of the Philadelphia chapter of the AGO. A graduate of the famed Curtis Institute of Music, he studied piano with Vladimir Sokoloff and organ with Alexander McCurdy. He also studied with New York composer and organist McNeil Robinson at the Manhattan School of Music, earning the Master’s degree and the Doctor of Musical Arts, both with honors. He taught as Professor of Organ at West Chester University in PA, from 1992 – 1999. As Resident Organist of the historic Auditorium in Ocean Grove, NJ, he plays weekly recitals on the organ of over 10,000 pipes, during the summer season. He is also Founder and Artistic Director of the Summer Stars Chamber Music Festival, presenting outstanding talents from the US and abroad. His CD “French Spectaculars on the Ocean Grove Auditorium Organ” recorded on the Dorian label, has been critically acclaimed. Dr. Turk is Organist and Choirmaster of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Wayne, PA. He is also active as a consultant for the building of new pipe organs and restoration of historic instruments. A composer of works for chamber orchestra, organ, voice, and chorus, his composition “Elegy” for string orchestra and oboe was featured in live TV broadcasts in Japan. For more information visit Gordon's website at www.gordonturk.com.
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Monica Ziglar
Monica Rose Ziglar is curently in her ninth year as soprano soloist of The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting. The Youngest of eight children Monica hails from Tucson, Arizonia and studied music at the University of Arizonia under the teachings of Soprano Elizabeth Mosher. Monica was know throughout the southwestern region and Sonora Mexico for her touring performances with the University Opera Program as well as concertizing and festival performaces such as the Alfonso Ortiz Tirado Music Festival in Alamos, Sonoro, Mexico. Mrs. Ziglar came east in 1993 to attend the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia, PA under the guidance of Mezzo Joanna Levy. Some of her Operatic roles include: Suor Angelica, Alice in Falstaff, Magda in The Consul, The Moither in Hansel & Gretel, and Salud in La Vida Breve. Smaller secular works include performances of Leonard Bernstein's A Julia de Burgos, Paul Hindermith's Das Marian Leben and J.S. Bach's BWV211 Coffee Cantata. Shortly after moving to Philadelphia Monica met and started singing with Dr. Gordon Turk at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA where her passion for Sacred Oratorio is regularly expressed in such works as Rossinni's Stabat Mater, Dubois' Seven Last Words, Bach's B Minor Mass and several masses by Mozart. Mrs. Ziglar has been heard performing Jaromir Weinberger's The Way to Emmaus and Arvo Part's Stabat Mater.
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Elspeth Kincaid
Mezzo-Soprano, Elspeth Kincaid finished her last year residency with The Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia this past May, being one of the youngest mezzo-soprano’s to ever graduate from the prestigious institution. During AVA’s 2007-2008 season, Ms. Kincaid performed the roles of Madrigal in Manon Lescaut by Puccini and Varvara in Kát’a Kabanová by Janácek. She was also a featured soloist in Jublilate, an annual AVA concert of sacred music and oratorio, conducted by David Antony Lofton. Ms. Kincaid’s sacred repertoire includes works by Mendelssohn, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini and Liszt. This upcoming season, she will perform Mozart’s Requiem and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with Singing City in Philadelphia conducted by Jeffrey Brillhart. Currently Ms. Kincaid is a guest soloist with the Ocean Grove Summer Festival Choir and Classical Music Series in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, where she will perform in the famous Great Auditorium seating 6,500 people and having a history of hosting the most legendary opera singers of all time from Marian Anderson to Enrico Caruso. Previous roles at The Academy of Vocal Arts include Rosina in II Barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini, Zerlina in Don Giovanni by Mozart, Erika in Vanessa by Barber, Javotte in Manon by Massenet, Wellgunde in Das Rheingold by Wagner, and Dorabella in Così fan tutte by Mozart. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Ms. Kincaid made her professional U.S. debut with the Cincinnati Opera, as Aloès, in the charming comic opera, L'Étoile by Chabrier in 2006. Ms. Kincaid has won awards and recognition with many prestigious competitions and foundations, including such titles as The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions 2006 Regional Finalist, Plácido Domingo’s Operalia World Opera Competition 2007 U.S. Representative, Seoul International Music Competition 2007 Semi-Finalist, The Loren L. Zachary Society National Vocal Competition 2007 Semi-Finalist, Giargiari Bel Canto Competition 2007 Second Place Winner, The International Concert Alliance Art Song Competition 2007 Third Place Winner, Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition 2003 Young Division Finalist and The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Faculty Award from 2000-2004. She has passed on to the Semi-Finals for many upcoming international competitions including Competizione dell’opera, International Singing Contest of Italian Opera in Dresden, Germany and The International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition in Vienna, Austria. Ms. Kincaid has studied voice with Ruth Golden at The Academy of Vocal Arts, Patricia Wise and Virginia Zeani at The Indiana Univerisity, Jacobs School of Music. Roles performed with the Indiana University Opera Theater include Flora in La Traviata by Verdi, Rosette in Manon by Massenet, Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti and Mrs. Western in the obscure operetta Tom Jones by Edward German. Ms. Kincaid has recently toured a solo recital of French and American Songs in various cities of the U.S. and Canada with pianist, Laurent Philippe. One of these performance venues was Chapelle Historique du Bon Pasteur in Montréal, where Gabriel Charpentier, the Canadian poet and lyricist to the cycle, Dissidence by Pierre Mercure was present to hear his own words performed with much approval and great delight. Ms. Kincaid will return for another solo recital in 2009 with songs of Purcell, Bizet, Copland, and a world premier work, yet to be announced. Ms. Kincaid has posed as a figure-model for a personal work of the world-renowned painter, Nelson Shanks, famous for his portraits of Princess Diana, Pope John Paul II, Bill Clinton and Luciano Pavarotti. Another project with Mr. Shanks is being discussed for this fall. Ms. Kincaid made her New York City concert debut with The Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York City singing works by Mozart, Brahms, Berlioz, and Ives. Her last appearance with The Academy of Vocal Arts was at the 2008 AVA Graduation Recital taking place at The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia.
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Ronlad Naldi
Ronald Naldi, internationally acclaimed lyric tenor, has brought his art to the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Verona Opera, Opera da Camera of Rome, L’Opera Francais, New Jersey State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Salzburger Landes theater. In 2007, Mr. Naldi begins his 15th consecutive season at the Metropolitan Opera, where he has sung over 250 performances in 23 different operas including Ismaele in Nabucco, Tschekalinsky in Pique Dame, and Vitek in the Makrapolous Case. He has sung 3 Metropolitan Opera premieres, 5 world premiers, and the American premieres of 3 other operas. With St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, he has sung over 200 performances of the chamber operas of Haydn, Mozart, Offenbach, Rieti, Bakst, Fioravanti, and Rossini. He has appeared with the festivals of Spoleto (Italy), Waterloo, and Caramoor, and toured China, Egypt, the Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka with the Ambassadors of Opera. He has performed with over 25 symphony orchestras and has an extensive repertory of more than 30 oratorios. He has worked under the baton of the world’s most famous maestri, including James Levine, Valery Gergiev, Charles Mackerras, Nello Santi, and James Conlon and been a colleague with such artists as Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Leo Nucci, James Morris, and Samuel Ramey. His repertory comprises over 100 operatic roles in 6 languages, as well as an extensive song repertory in the American, English, French, German and Italian literature. He was inducted into the Italian-American National Hall of Fame (along with such illustrious people as Enrico Fermi, Mario Lanza, and Joe DiMaggio), the Bound Brook Hall of Fame, and Who’s Who of Italian-Americans. He has also sung in many commercials, most famously the Olive Garden restaurant chain’s commercials of the 90’s. Two of his most notable CD’s are ‘O Sole Mio and Torna a Surriento (Neapolitan and Italian songs) which garnished praises, including Gramophone Magazine’s “Critic’s Choice” award for 2005. He has been a student of Charles Kullman, Margaret Harshaw, Luciano Francardi, Luigi Ricci, Carol Bayard, and William Riley. He has a BM and MM in voice from Indiana University and was a Fulbright scholar in Rome, Italy. He is the tenor soloist and artist-in-residence in historic Ocean Grove, New Jersey where he is completing his 35th consecutive season. In the 2008/2009 Metropolitan Opera season, he will be in productions of Lucia di Lammermoor, Magic Flute, Il Trovatore, and Salome.
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Richard Zuch
A native of North Tonawanda, New York, bass-baritone Richard Zuch is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music from which he holds both an Artist’s Diploma and a Certificate for Advanced Vocal Studies. A frequent performer, Mr. Zuch has appeared as soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Buffalo Philharmonic, The Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, The Haddonfield Symphony, The Tulsa Symphony, The Pennsylvania Symphonia, and The Hilton Head Orchestra. He also was a soloist with The Curtis Orchestra at the Verbier (Switzerland) Music Festival under the direction of Kurt Masur. He has been a member of the Philadelphia Singers, appearing as soloist in Bach’s St. Matthew and St. John Passions, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Handel’s Messiah, and Mozart’s Requiem. Mr. Zuch joined the voice faculty at Valley Forge Christian College in 2005.
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Theodore Chletsos
Theodore Chletsos is quickly becoming a sought-after artist in opera and concert in the U.S. and abroad, garnering praise for his strong, rich Lyric Tenor with exceptional power. Mr. Chletsos’ roles include Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Alfredo in La Traviata, Anatol in Vanessa, the title role in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Don Jose in Carmen, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Michael Ching’s recent sequel: Buoso’s Ghost, Tamino in Die Zauberflote, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Tom Norman in the North American premiere of The Elephant Man, and has covered roles such as Rodolfo in La Boheme, Romeo in Romeo et Juliette, the title role in Werther, and Cavaradossi in Tosca. Theodore recently made his European debut to much acclaim in The Netherlands and Belgium singing Pinkerton, where he was praised for his voice and dramatic talents. Theodore has been seen in leading and featured roles at the opera companies of Minnesota, Central City, Indianapolis, Utah, and Chautauqua, among others. Theodore performed in the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath with Minnesota Opera and Utah Opera, and will reprise his role with Pittsburgh Opera and Opera Pacific when they present Grapes in the coming year. Mr. Chletsos’ concert work includes Verdi’s Requiem, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solonnelle, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, as well as several masses and choral works with soli of Mozart and Schubert. Mr. Chletsos has been a soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, the Orchestra of the Des Moines Metro Opera, and other presenting organizations across the country. Awards include the Shoshana Foundation’s prestigious Richard F. Gold Career Grant and participation on the Metropolitan Opera stage in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Semi-Finals in NYC in 2004. Theodore has participated in the training programs of Minnesota Opera, Central City Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and Sarasota Opera. He received his Bachelors of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University and pursued graduate studies at the University of Missouri Kansas City, where he performed Tamino in Die Zauberflote and Judge Danforth in The Crucible.
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Russell Stern
Russell Stem is an acclaimed accompanist, recording artist, soloist, and music director. For many years, he was the principal accompanist for the Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus and the Chicago Children’s Choir. Russell also served on the Faculty of Northwestern University and the College of Dupage as the accompanist for the choral organizations. His composition “Upon Westminster Bridge” was premiered by the Chicago Children’s Choir in Great Britain in 1999, and his composition “So Remembering Him” was premiered by the College of Dupage Concert Choir in June of 2004. Russell was the music director at St. Hubert’s Church in Hoffman Estates for 11 years, Niles Township Jewish Congregation in Skokie, IL for 20 years and he was pianist/music director for numerous musical Russell moved from Illinois four years ago with his wife Susan and daughter Veronica to Chatham, New Jersey where he serves as Music Director at St. Patrick Church. Since that time he has performed as accompanist with the New York Choral Society at Carnegie Hall, as accompanist for concerts with groups such as the Masterworks Chorus and the New Amsterdam Singers, as a pianist/music director for theatre in NYC and as the regular pianist for Coro Lirico and the Westchester Concert Singers. This past March, Russell music directed and conducted Beauty and the Beast with the Shore Regional Players in West Long Branch. In 2006, Russell conducted his own 30 piece choral group for the opening ceremony on the maiden voyage of the cruise ship, "Freedom of the Seas”.
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Lewis Daniels
Lewis A Daniels was the Director of Music for the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association for 39 years. His career spanned 59 years having served as Minister of Music for Twelfth United Presbyterian Church, Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church and Frankford Memorial United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, Addisville Reformed Church in Richboro, PA, Community United Methodist Church in Roselle Park, NJ and St John's United Methodist Church in Hazlet, NJ. Studies were at Drexel University, Philadelphia Musical Academy and the Philadelphia College of Bible. Mr. Daniels taught worship and music workshops for a number of organizations. He also served as music director for several evangelists on radio and televison as well as major Christian rallies. He conducted many major oratorios with symphony orchestras. Now he acts a reource advisor to younger church musicians. |
