FACULTY
Piano
Nancy Colter - Piano
Nancy is a native of California who now lives on Mount Desert Island. Nancy began her musical studies in the San Francisco Bay area, earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Sonoma State University and completed post-graduate studies at Mills College and Bennington College, where she received a Master of Fine Arts degree in chamber music performance. As a recitalist and chamber musician, she has performed widely on the west coast and throughout New England, and has presented premiere performances of works by several contemporary composers. Nancy’s love of teaching students of all ages led her to become a founding member of both Arthur Russell Strings and ECMI, where she serves as artistic director and a member of the faculty.
Jessica Mehre - Piano
Jessica is from the small farming town of Klondike, Wisconsin. She has studied piano at St. Norbert College and in the musically persuasive and beautiful city of Florence, Italy, and has the privilege to study with Dr. Silver while she is currently working on her Masters in Piano Performance at the University of Maine in Orono. Jessica has successfully performed solo and collaborative works in college honors programs, national auditions, and recitals to promote the many emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of classical music. When she is away from the keyboard, Jessica seeks new waterways to explore while kayaking with her husband, with the additional advantage of finding inspiration for the music she plays in the rivers and forests of Maine.
Tamara Thomas
Tamara Thomas - Piano
Tamara was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia. Growing up she was fortunate to attend a well-regarded private music school. The school helped shape her educational and ethical teaching foundation and encouraged her to embrace her dream of teaching children. Tamara was admitted to the Rimsky Korsakov College of Music in 1972, now known as the St. Petersburg Conservatory. After graduation in 1979 she was given the title of music teacher and accompanist. Upon marriage to her husband, Tamara moved to the Bangor area in 2003, where she has maintained a private studio. She is presently working as the organist at the EOCC church in Orrington.
Strings
Heidi Powell - Violin
Heidi Powell is a baroque violin specialist and has appeared as soloist with the New York Collegium, Rebel, Tafelmusik, Smithsonian Chamber Players, Early Music New York, New York State Baroque, Santa Fe Pro Musica and the Washington Bach Consort. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Indiana University and an Artist Diploma in Violin from Oberlin Conservatory. Heidi's prize-winning performance in the American Bach Soloists International Bach Violin Competition was heralded by the New York Times as 'supremely confident and powerful'. Heidi has taught violin and chamber music at Oberlin Conservatory, Kneisel Hall, Creative Spark and George Stevens Academy. She is a Suzuki violin teaching specialist and teaches privately in the Downeast area. She is the founder and director of BOOM, the Baroque Orchestra of Maine. When she is not organizing concerts, performing and teaching, Heidi is spending time with her son as well as exploring & enjoying nature, hiking, swimming, cooking organic foods and doing anything creative.
Richard Hsu - Violin
Violinist Richard Hsu is an active soloist and chamber musician. Richard has performed with Orchestra of St. Luke's, Clarion Society, Early Music New York, American Classical Orchestra, and Concert Royal. He was formerly associate concertmaster of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. He performed as violin soloist and concertmaster with the Moscow Ballet at Spoleto Festival USA. He holds a performer diploma and bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He furthered his studies at Manhattan School of Music, specializing in orchestral performance. Richard performs regularly with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. He currently teaches violin and chamber music in Ellsworth and Bangor. Richard enjoys playing tennis, electric guitar, yoga, and making espresso drinks.
Emily Stodola - Violin
Emily Stodola holds an MME with an emphasis in Suzuki Violin Pedagogy from the University of Wisconsin-Steven Point, an MM in violin performance from Texas Tech University, and a BM in violin performance from the University of Minnesota. Between 2006 and 2016, she played in a number of orchestras in Southeastern Wisconsin, and served as concertmaster of the Green Bay Civic Symphony from 2007-2011. Ms. Stodola has been teaching violin and viola to children and adults of all ages using the Suzuki Method since 2003. She has taught private and group lessons at North Shore Suzuki Strings, Barcel Suzuki String Academy and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. She has also taught music theory classes, coached/directed small string chamber ensembles, and musical storytelling at WCM’s Summer Music Institute. In her spare time, Ms. Stodola enjoys writing, cross-country skiing, birding, camping, hiking, and spending time with her family.
Noreen Silver - Cello & Ensemble Coach
Noreen was born and grew up in Glasgow, Scotland. Her studies took her to London’s Royal College of Music and to Boston’s New England Conservatory as the recipient of a Rotary International Fellowship. She and pianist husband Phillip Silver form the internationally acclaimed Silver Duo, with two CD recordings on the Toccata Classics label. Noreen’s professional experience includes several years in Seattle’s Northwest Chamber Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Opera, Boston Opera, London’s BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She is principal cellist of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and has often appeared as soloist with the orchestra. Noreen has been on the University of Maine faculty since 1999, where she directs the chamber music program and teaches cello performance.
Aija Kante-Cahn - Cello
Aija was born in Riga, Latvia. Ms. Kante-Cahn obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Cello Performance from the J. Vitols Music Academy where she studied with Eleonora Testeleca, an important student of the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. Ms. Kante-Cahn completed her Master’s Degree at the Latvian Music Academie studying chamber music. After graduation she studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne. She was a faculty member of several music schools in Riga, and at the Mahidol University in Bangkok. Ms. Kante-Cahn and Ms. Linde formed the Duo Rigensis in 2000, and they won major critical acclaim for a series of sold-out chamber concerts in Cologne. In addition to the Duo Rigensis, she performed with several orchestras and ensembles including the Elsberg Quartet. Ms. Kante-Cahn has participated in European festivals such as the “Musik in den Heusern der Stadt”, the Rostropovich Cello Festival, and Kuhmo (Finland) Chamber Music Festival.
Guitar
Kevin Morse
Kevin Morse - Classical Guitar
Kevin has spent his life dedicated to the development and mastery of the classical guitar. He is the protégé of a legendary guitarist from England named Stanley Watson, whom he met when he was 13 years old in Rochester, New York. Since then, Kevin’s powerful technique and sound has earned him formidable recognition and acclaim. He continues to teach Watson’s methods. He has performed throughout the United States and Europe. He has been an artist in residence at numerous New England schools and is committed to the exposure and education of young people to the world of Spanish Guitar. In 1992 he was the winner of a prestigious International Competition sponsored by “Guitar Player Magazine”, where he was named the “Ultimate Classical Guitarist” from an extensive field of players from Europe and the United States.
Voice
Gina Schuh-Turner - Voice
Gina is a recent transplant to Maine from the Denver, Colorado area. She holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance and has been teaching private voice for over 20 years. She teaches locally and online to students from Ellsworth to South Korea and is the choral conductor for SCHERZO, our ECMI adult chorus. Gina is a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association. Her career highlights include being an original cast member of Denver’s longest-running musical, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change for nearly 2,000 performances at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and performing Off-Broadway in The Fantasticks, working with the show’s creators, Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. Gina’s regional performance awards include the Marlowe Award for Best Actress in a Children’s Show, and she is a two-time recipient of Westward’s Best of Denver Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Danielle Woerner - Voice & Songwriting
Danielle, co-founder of the Sunrise County Arts Institute in Milbridge, began her career in New York City. She sings and teaches a broad range of musical repertoires: classical/operatic, musical theater, jazz, folk. Danielle executive-produced her acclaimed solo CDs of 20th-century American song for the Albany and Parnassus labels, collaborating with the composers. In the Hudson Valley, she was a featured soloist; Artist in Residence for SUNY/Ulster and the Hudson Valley Youth Chorale; and taught singing at Vassar and Bard Colleges. Through the Bronx Arts Ensemble, she led classroom and District Chorus singing with public school children; she directed ECMI’s Youth Chorale from 2018-19. Danielle, a BMI-affiliated songwriter, holds a B.A. in Music from Bard, a Master’s Certificate in Songwriting from Berklee, and completed the New York Singing Teachers’ Assn. Professional Development program in vocal health, acoustics, physiology and repertoire. She has also worked extensively in the arts and mental health.
Celeste Mittelhauser - Voice & Songwriting
Celeste is from Gouldsboro, Maine, and holds a Bachelor of Music in Classical Voice Performance from the University of Southern Maine where she specialized in French and German art song and Early Music. She trained with the Baroque Opera Workshop at Queens College and with the Hudební lahůdky program on the interpretation of Early Music in the Czech Republic. She now performs regularly with the Winter Harbor Music Festival and The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Maine where she has sung leading roles in such operas as La serva padrona, The Gondoliers, The Barber of Seville, The Impresario, Die Fledermaus, The Pirates of Penzance, The Marriage of Figaro, and more. In her free time, Celeste enjoys running, knitting, and computer programming.
Clarinet
Anna Maria Baeza - Clarinet
Anna Maria Baeza earned her DMA degree from SUNY, Stony Brook, and she holds MM and BM degrees from USC in Los Angeles. Her major teachers include Charles Neidich, Jack Kreiselman, David Shifrin and Mitchell Lurie. She also studied with Guy Deplus in Paris, France. In addition, she took chamber music classes with Julius Levine, Gilbert Kalish and Yehuda Gilad.
Ms. Baeza taught clarinet and chamber music and conducted the Chamber Orchestra at the Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn, New York. She also gave method classes as part of the MAP program at the Juilliard School in Manhattan. Ms. Baeza taught clarinet and chamber music at Summerkeys in Lubec, Maine for over 20 years, where she was heard on numerous recitals. Her other performances in Maine took place at Machias Bay Concerts, Eastport Arts Center and Fog Fest at Roosevelt International Park on Campobello Island. Ms. Baeza takes a strong interest in the music of living composers, having performed and premiered works by Steve Reich, Bernard Rands, and Greg Pfeiffer at “June in Buffalo.” She participated as a chamber musician and soloist in Prague and Budapest under the auspices of the European Mozart Foundation in Prague, and played live broadcasts on French and Czech television as well as on Public Radio programs in Los Angeles, New York City and in Maine. Ms. Baeza currently resides in Bangor, Maine and enjoys baking and restoring her old Victorian house.
Music Therapy
Carla Tanguay - Music Therapist
Carla is board-certified and the owner of Modulations Therapies. As a child, Carla was known for being the student taking the most lessons at her local community music center- saxophone, piano, guitar, and violin. She received her Bachelor of Music Education/Therapy degree from the College of Wooster, after which she worked for 11 years as a hospice music therapist. During this time, Carla also earned her Master of Arts degree in Music Therapy from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. Carla moved to Maine in 2012 in order to be closer to family and start the music therapy program at Mount Desert Island Hospital Organization. She formed her private practice, Modulations Therapies, in 2015 and has since worked with clients of all ages and abilities, using music-based interventions to address health, educational, and habilitation goals. Carla has been a featured speaker at national conferences, published research articles in peer-reviewed journals, and was recognized with a professional practice award from the American Music Therapy Association.