Clarinetist
Robin Seletsky is a classically trained performer who is equally at home with the klezmer style. She lives in upstate New York and is currently the principal clarinetist with the Glimmerglass Opera and the Binghamton Philharmonic. She is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and the Juilliard School. During her tenure as Assistant Principal Clarinet with the San Antonio Symphony the San Antonio Express News noted, “Clarinetist Robin Seletsky delivered her solos with great flair.” In 2008 she was cited by the New York Times for her work with Glimmerglass Opera, “Robin Seletsky, the principal clarinetist, blew a jazzy solo onstage during “Too Darn Hot”...and offered stylish solos from
the pit.” Although she grew up with the sounds of klezmer from listening to her father, Harold Seletsky (“The Prez of Klez”), it wasn't until the midst of the revival that she began her exploration into this style of music. She has attended KlezKamp where she studied with masters of both the older and new generations of klezmorim. Robin is the founder of the Catskill Klezmorim with whom she has recorded two CDs and performed scores of concerts around the country. In addition to her professional orchestral work, she is instructor of Clarinet at Hartwick College and Music Director at Temple Beth El in Oneonta, NY. Professional affiliations include memberships with the International Clarinet Association and the Guild of Temple Musicians.
Praised by the Washington Post for his “incisive, vibrato-rich tone,”
Sasha Margolis joined Glimmerglass Opera and the Honolulu Symphony in 2003. An active chamber musician, he performed in Hawaii with Pacific International Concert Artists, the visiting Maia Quartet, and, at Hawaii Public Radio, with his father, pianist Sanford Margolis. As a chamber music teacher for President Obama’s alma mater, the Punahou School, he worked with students who have gone on to study at Oberlin Conservatory, New England Conservatory, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has also taught in Arezzo for Oberlin-in-Italy. Previously, he was a substitute player for the National Symphony, and an active member of Washington Musica Viva, performing for President Zeman of the Czech Republic at the Czech embassy, and collaborating with numerous National Symphony players. At Spoleto Festival USA, Mr. Margolis was concertmaster for U.S. premieres of Hans Werner Henze’s Der Prinz von Homburg and little-known operas by Janacek, Bellini and Donizetti, also playing and acting in Mauricio Kagel’s La Trahison Oral. At Strings-in-the-Mountains, in Steamboat, Colorado, he performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Andres Cardenes and Ann Williams; he has also played as a guest member of the Arianna Quartet, and with members of the Corigliano and Pro Arte Quartets. As a student at Oberlin, he performed the Berg Violin Concerto with Robert Spano conducting. On a lighter note, Mr. Margolis appeared as a strolling violinist on ABC’s Lost, and played for the wedding of NBA star Grant Hill. His short story “The Fallen Cone” was honored by the Sean O’Faolain International Short Story Competition; he has also written for Opera America Magazine.
Michael Leopold holds degrees in historical plucked instruments from Sacramento State University (1998) and in lute and theorbo from L’Istituto di Musica Antica of the Accademia Internazionale della Musica (2004) in Milan, Italy. Originally from Northern California, he continues to reside in Milan and performs both as a soloist and as an accompanist throughout Europe, Australia, Japan, Chile, Mexico and the United States. In addition to his work with Ars Lyrica, the Catacoustic Consort and other American period-instrument ensembles, he has played with a number of leading Italian early music groups, including Concerto Italiano, La Risonanza, La Venexiana and La Pietà de’ Turchini. He has also collaborated with several orchestras and opera companies, including Orchestra Verdi di Milano, Opera Australia, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Chicago Opera Theater and Portland Opera. He can be heard in recordings on the Stradivarius, Glossa, Naïve, and Naxos labels.
Mark Rubinstein’s wide range of interests, his insatiable curiosity, and the unusual scope of his abilities have combined to generate a unique and diverse musical career. Mark’s main instrument is piano, but he has played drums in punk bands, electric bass in salsa groups, and accordion in settings ranging from symphony orchestras to avant-garde theatre pieces. His interest in ethnic music has led him to seek out performance opportunities in Greek, French, German, Italian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Brazilian, and traditional Jewish music. Mr. Rubinstein’s work as a recording engineer has led to Grammy nominations and platinum records for his clients, and his productions are noted for their clarity of sound and attention to detail. Career highlights include: music direction for the recent production of “The Blue Flower” by American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA, as well as an earlier production by Prospect Theater Company in New York; music direction for regional tap dance festivals “Soul To Sole” in Austin, TX and “Third Coast Tap Festival/Jazz on Tap” in San Antonio, TX; performances (on piano) with legendary jazz flutist Herbie Mann, seminal jazz bassist Eddie Gomez, saxophonist Bunky Green, and legendary tap dancers Arthur Duncan, Dianne Walker, and Sarah Petronio; European tours with noted songwriters Dirk Hamilton and George Carver; membership in influential early Texas punk band The Rejects; and recordings (as engineer) with many noted artists including: Grover Washington, Jr., Shirley Horn, Cher, Liza Minelli, Judy Collins, Najee, Gerald Levert, Scarface, George Duke, Bobby Womack, Backstreet Boys, and Natalie Cole. Mark is currently the Audio Engineer for School of Music at The Ohio State University, where he teaches classes in audio recording, oversees recording activities for the school, and collaborates in the development of curriculum for the Music, Media, and Enterprise program.
Richard Sosinsky (double bass) B. Mus. Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, M. Music The Juilliard School. As an orchestral player; Member of American Composers Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic and Riverside Symphony. Performs with Albany Symphony, American Ballet Theater Orchestra, Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra, Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, New York City Opera Orchestra and Opera Orchestra of New York among others. Chamber music performance includes work with Newband (custodians of the Harry Partch collection of instruments), Washington Square Chamber Music Society and New York Philomusica. Performed in Martha Clarke’s “KAOS” playing bass, mandocello, banjo, jaw harp and percussion. Appears on Daywood Drive Records with Dan Willis and Velvet Gentlemen on ”The Satie Project” (2010).
Mezzo-soprano
Rachel Calloway has appeared at The Glimmerglass Festival, Tulsa Opera, Central City Opera, Gotham Chamber Opera, Steinway Hall, the Miller Theater, the Bulgarian Consulate, Merkin Hall, the Chautauqua Institution, Alice Tully Hall, and the Academy of Music(Philadelphia). A proponent of contemporary and lesser-known music, Ms. Calloway gave the world premiere of New Andean Songs by Gabriela Lena Frank with the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s new music series, Green Umbrella, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. This spring she sang Harrison Birtwhistle’s Corridor in Merkin Hall, as well as the world premiere of a piece by Nico Muhly, both with the Signal Ensemble. Last February she sang the world premiere of Steven Stucky’s orchestrated Spanisches Liederbuch (Wolf) as a guest artist at Manhattan School of Music. Ms. Calloway has premiered countless works at the Bang on a Can Festival, the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Cornell University, MIT, Tufts University, and Temple University. She has collaborated with many of today’s prominent contemporary music ensembles, including Signal, Ensemble X, Continuum, and Sequitur. Last year Ms. Calloway sang the world premiere of Jay Scheib and Anthony Gatto’s multimedia opera, The Making of Americans, at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis. She also appeared at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater with the Biava Quartet under the auspices of Pro Musica Hebraica and this spring sings with the Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival. Ms. Calloway is a founding member of Shir Ami, an ensemble dedicated to the preservation and performance of Jewish art music suppressed by the Nazis and Soviets. She is also a member of In Flux, a recently formed ensemble committed to performing vocal chamber music by the leading composers of today and the recent past.
This summer tenor
Yoni Rose makes his Glimmerglass Festival debut as a member of the Young Artists Program, performing in Annie Get Your Gun and Medea, as well as “Mommie Dearest,” a show in the company’s new Meet Me at the Pavilion series. Performance credits include Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor, Opera Vivente; Alfred in Die Fledermaus and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Janiec Opera Company. A district winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, he holds a bachelor’s in music from University of Maryland.
