The Musicians

2009-2010 Season

John Bryant, a native of Asheville, NC, is currently pursuing his doctorate at the University of South Carolina. John has a BM from Indiana University and a MM from the University of Louisville. In 2002, John made his Carnegie Hall solo debut. He has soloed with the Smokey Mountain Brass Band, the Blue Ridge Civic Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the University of Louisville Wind Symphony, and the Central Kentucky Concert Band, and performed extensively in the US as well as Austria, Italy, Ireland, Hungary, and China. Currently John plays with the USC Faculty Brass Quintet, the Augusta Symphony, and the Kentucky Baroque Trumpets.

Guitarist Amy Brucksch, from Tryon NC, is an active performer in the Carolinas as a soloist and chamber musician, and is education coordinator of Keowee Chamber Music. Formerly classical guitar professor at the University of Toledo and Ohio Arts Council Touring Artist, she performed on several recordings with the Masterworks Chorale and appeared with the Toledo Symphony, Toledo Opera, and TSO Chamber Players. An honors graduate in performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, she has a Master's in Music Education from Bowling Green State University. She and flutist Kate Steinbeck recently released Luminescence, joined by percussionist River Guerguerian and cellist Franklin Keel.

Alicia Chapman is principal oboist with Harrisburg & Asheville Symphonies and plays English horn with Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. She has toured Europe and Asia, performed with the Metropolitan & New York City Operas, and recorded with New York Philomusica, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, and New York Kammermusiker. Recent concerts include solo appearances with Asheville and Harrisburg Symphonies, performances at St. John the Divine in NYC, and with Mallarme Chamber Players. A founding member of Harmonia Baroque, Chapman teaches oboe at Appalachian State University, and is director of the Collegium Musicum. Chapman earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Mannes College of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from City University of New York. She lives in Boone with husband/percussionist, Rob Falvo.

Violist Simon Értz grew up in the north west of Scotland and at age 17, moved to Manchester to study at the Royal College of Music. By the time Simon graduated, he was working with orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, Northern Chamber, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.  After two years working in the UK, Simon moved to Michigan to continue his education and completed a Master's degree at Michigan State University.  As a founding member of the Degas Quartet, Simon has played in venues across the country. Simon plays a viola made by his brother, Neil Értz.

River Guerguerian, multipercussionist/composer/educator, was born in Montreal, Canada to Armenian-Egyptian parents. He has been performing internationally for 25 years with such groups as the BBC Concert Orchestra, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Tan Dun, Tibetan Singing Bowl Ensemble, Lionel Hampton, Chuck Berry, and Ziggy Marley/Gipsy Kings. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Manhattan School of Music Conservatory. River has recorded on 100 albums and film soundtracks. He lives in Asheville, NC. Visit him at www.ShareTheDrum.com.

Cellist Philip von Maltzahn joined the Degas Quartet in 2003, in which he has performed hundreds of concert across the United States. He currently sits assistant principal in the Greensboro Symphony and principal cello of the Oleander Chamber Orchestra in Wilmington. He studied with Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Janos Starker on full scholarship at Indiana University. He completed his Masters of Music in 2002 at the Eastman School of Music.

Pianist Fabio Parrini joined Keowee Chamber Music in 2007. Mr. Parrini is Professor of Music and Piano Coordinator at North Greenville University. He is a Steinway Artist and on the SC Arts Commission's Artist Roster and selected for SouthernArtistry.org. He holds degrees from the Conservatory of Padua and Boston University, where he was a Fulbright scholar. For more information and a concert schedule, please visit www.fabioparrini.com.

Acclaimed as a unique interpreter and teacher across the US and abroad, flutist and KCM artistic director Kate Steinbeck’s repertoire ranges from Bach to Balinese. She earned a Bachelor of Music from Baldwin-Wallace College studying with William Hebert and a Master’s Degree at the San Francisco Conservatory as a student of Tim Day. A former Fulbright scholar to Belgium, Ms. Steinbeck won a First Prize in chamber music from the Belgian Royal Conservatory in Liège and thereafter spent several years performing and teaching in Germany. Prior to moving to Asheville, she spent a decade free-lancing in San Francisco. She plays on a modern wooden flute manufactured by her husband, Chris Abell, of the Abell Flute Co.