November 11, 2023 7PM
Six Elizabethan Songs Dominick Argento (1927-2019)
I. Spring
II. Sleep
III. Winter
IV. Dirge
V. Diaphenia
VI. Hymn
Three Songs Without Words Paul Ben-Haim (1897-1984)
I. Arioso
II. Ballad
III. Sephardic Melody
Waterbird Richard Hundley (1931-2018)
Will There Really Be A Morning Ricky Ian Gordon (b. 1956)
Joy
Rebecca Van de Ven, oboe
Bernadette Lo, piano
Noelle Harb Brundige, narrator
Sonata for flute and piano in D, op. 94 Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
I. Moderato
II. Scherzo: Presto
III. Andante
IV. Allegro con brio
Lisa Dispigno, flute
Bernadette Lo, piano
Artist Biographies
Hailing from both the US and Europe, Lisa Dispigno has been acclaimed by the New York Times as “a flutist who played her important instrumental role with excellence.” Ms. Dispigno is an internationally active flutist maintaining a presence on both sides of the Atlantic. Her performances have resonated with audiences in the US, UK, Europe, and Japan. She has performed as principal and section flutist for many orchestras, including the Knoxville Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, and the One World Symphony. Lisa has recorded for films, bands, and orchestras in New York and Los Angeles, and has been featured on Radio Television Ireland.
Ms. Dispigno studied with renowned flutists William Bennett, Jaime Martin, Fenwick Smith, and Harold Jones. She attended the Royal Academy of Music in London, Manhattan School of Music, and the New England Conservatory of Music, and holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Flute Performance from these acclaimed institutions. She continues to pass on her knowledge as a respected private teacher.
Ms. Dispigno plays on an Altus flute, and is an Altus Flutes Performing Artist.
Noelle Harb Brundige is a soprano from Knoxville, Tennessee. She graduated from UT with a Masters in Music in 2016, and has since been teaching voice privately and at colleges in the area. She is married to Stefan and is proud mama to James - who will tell her when he is “all done” during his private concerts before bed. Her favorite hobbies are reading, gathering friends, and avoiding house chores. You can follow her on Instagram or Facebook @thestudionoelle for some lighthearted tips on running a private voice studio.
Taiwanese pianist Bernadette Lo is Visiting Professor of Music at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN, and leads an active career as a collaborative pianist, chamber musician and music educator.
Dr. Lo has extensive knowledge in both vocal and instrumental music. She has served as studio pianist for renowned artists such as Martina Arroyo, Cynthia Haymon and Carol Vaness, and has also worked closely with academic opera institutions such as Illinois Opera Theater and University of Tennessee Opera Theatre. In addition, Dr. Lo has been engaged by professional organizations such as Sugar Creek Opera, Opera Illinois, El Paso Opera and most recently, Knoxville Opera. And since 2008, she has served as an official collaborative artist for the Orpheus Nation Vocal Competition in Murfreesboro, TN.
Equally at ease with instrumental repertoire, Dr. Lo has served as an official accompanist for numerous festivals such as Tennessee Cello Workshop, UT Viola Celebration and Western Kentucky University Violin Fest, performed in masterclasses given by Mauricio Fuks, Heidi Castleman and collaborated with festival guest artists such as Victoria Chiang, Melissa Kraut and Ivo-Jan van der Werff. She has appeared in recital with acclaimed instrumentalists such as violinist Yuri Mazurkevich, David Griffin (of the Chicago Symphony), Ronald Barron (of the Boston Symphony) and flutist Tadeu Coelho. Dr. Lo has served as conference pianist for the 41st International Horn Symposium, the Southeast Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference, and the 2016 International Tuba Euphonium Conference.
Dr. Lo has concertized regularly with violist Hillary Herndon, which whom she recorded the album “La Viola: Music for Viola and Piano by Women Composers of the 20th Century,” receiving critical acclaims. She is the recipient of Sewanee Faculty Development Grant and Tennessee Arts Commission “Arts Build Community” Grant, which she used to support the commission of a new trio for viola, clarinet and piano by Libby Larsen. Dr. Lo is one of the founding members for the Waldland Ensemble, a group commissioned and premiered five new works, including Larsen’s new trio in Carnegie Hall, New York in April, 2015.
Dr. Lo holds degrees from the University of Illinois – Champaign-Urban, and the Peabody Conservatory. Her mentors include Ellen Mack, Gustavo Romero and Timothy Ehlen. Prior to her appointment at the University of the South, she was the staff pianist for Western Illinois University. Dr. Lo also serves on the faculty for Viola Winter Intensive in both Columbus, Ohio and Greenville, South Carolina and American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.
Rebecca Van de Ven joined the faculty at Belmont University and Tennessee State University in 2018 and the faculty of the University of the South in 2011. Prior to that Ms. Van de Ven taught at Middle Tennessee State University, Albion College and Spring Arbor University. In addition, she is on faculty at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival where she coaches and organizes the wind chamber music program.
Ms. Van de Ven frequently records music in Nashville and can be heard playing English Horn on season three of the Emmy winning hit TV series Fargo as well as the 2016 Evanescence Album. She currently plays second oboe in the Nashville Opera. Her orchestral engagements have included orchestras such as Nashville Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Grand Rapids Symphony. She can also be found playing regionally in Chattanooga and Huntsville Symphonies and in staged works at Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
On a full tuition scholarship, Ms. Van de Ven received a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory in oboe performance where she was a student of Eugene Izotov, current Principal Oboe of the San Francisco Symphony. She attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison on tuition scholarship where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Science degree. She was a student of Professor Marc Fink. Ms. Van de Ven attended the Pierre Monteux Music Festival in Maine and was awarded a full scholarship to the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. She currently resides in Sewanee Tennessee with her husband and 2 children.