MARCH 14th
KSO Adds Class to Children’s Concert

MARCH 8TH
KSO Continues Its Tradition of Winning Performances

KSO Opens its 2006-2007 Season with
Keyboard Masterpieces

Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s 5th Annual Holiday Pops Concert
Winter Wonderland: Indoors and Out!

The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra presents:

The Artistry of Vermeer
Sunday, May 4th at 3:00 p.m.
Boutell Memorial Concert Hall,
Northern Illinois University Music Building

The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra will perform Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano, Op. 56. This trio will showcase the interplay of the orchestra and three gifted soloists: music director Linc Smelser on piano; concertmaster Ann Montzka-Smelser on violin; and Vermeer Quartet member Marc Johnson on cello.

This will be followed by a lively performance of Carmina Burana, a secular cantata by Carl Orff. Carmina Burana comes from a collection of poems that deal with themes of universal appeal: religious, political, moral, and erotic. Soloists Ryan Belongie, countertenor; Tom Hall, baritone; and soprano Erin Pettitt will join the DeKalb Festival Chorus and the Rock Valley College Concert Choir under the direction of conductor Linc Smelser.

Ann Montzka-Smelser began violin studies with her father, Art Montzka, at a very young age. She continued studies at the Oberlin, Ohio, Suzuki Program with Kazuko Numanami, and later in Illinois with Rebecca Sandrok and Pierre Menard.

In between receiving her Bachelor of Music Education Degree and Master of Music Degree in Performance and Pedagogy at Northern Illinois University, Ann studied with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki at the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan.
Ann is a member of the music faculty at Northern Illinois University where she teaches Suzuki pedagogy and string methods to music majors. She is also director of the NIU Community School of the Arts Suzuki Strings Program. In 2003 she won the “Byron Hester Excellence in Teaching Award.” She is concertmaster of the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra and principal violist of Camerata Chicago. She enjoys working with Suzuki families at Suzuki institutes and workshops throughout the United States.

Marc Johnson, under the tutelage of Carol Work, won several national competitions and was accepted as a scholarship student at the Eastman School of Music. There he studied with Ronald Leonard and John Celentano. He continued his studies at Indiana University where he was a student of Janos Starker and Josef Gingold.

At age 18, Mr. Johnson became the youngest member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and he has also been a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He has been successful in competitions, including being awarded first prize in the Washington International Competition.
For thirty-five years, Mr. Johnson performed as the cellist of the renowned Vermeer Quartet, which appeared regularly in the world's musical capitals on five continents and made extensive tours yearly in Europe and North America. The quartet received three Grammy nominations and appeared regularly at the world's great music festivals, and held residency positions with Northern Illinois University; the Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, Maine; and The Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.

Mr. Johnson continues to pursue an active career since the quartet’s retirement in 2007, appearing in recital, and as soloist with orchestras in North America and Europe. He is a frequent presenter of master classes here and abroad. He and his wife, pianist Katherine Johnson, are co-directors of Bay Chamber Concerts, the Next Generation, a series of free chamber music seminars for students from the state of Maine. He has been active in the commissioning of new works for both cello and string quartet, and has recorded for CRI Records. He joined the faculty of Boston University in September 2007. His cello is a fine, old Italian instrument made circa 1730 by Francesco Stradivarius.

Linc Smelser earned his Bachelor's Degree in Cello Performance from the University of Arizona where he studied with Gordon Epperson. He received his Master's Degree and Performer's Certificate in Cello Performance and Pedagogy at Northern Illinois University with Raya Garbousova. Advanced study included work with cellists Marc Johnson, Heinrich Schiff, the Vermeer Quartet, and pianists Richard Faith and Jerome Lowenthal.

Mr. Smelser has appeared as a cello soloist with the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Fox River Valley Symphony, the Illinois Valley Symphony, and the Rockford Symphony. He has also appeared on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts Series in Chicago. He has won awards including first prize of the National Society of Arts and Letters Chapter Competition, top prize of the National Federation of Music Clubs Regional Competition, first prize of the International Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund Competition. He is also the recipient of the 2003 Altrusa Award. He is a member of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra cello section and is a frequent substitute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Smelser is professor of cello at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music. He is also a faculty member in the NIU School of Music, teaches private cello lessons, and is conductor of the NIU Youth Sinfonia and Symphonette with the Northern Illinois University Community School of the Arts.

He began his piano studies at the age of eight with John Akin, and has since studied with pianist Richard Faith at the University of Arizona and with Jerome Lowenthal at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. He is currently accompanist of the NIU Suzuki Program.

Erin Pettitt, soprano, graduated from Northern Illinois University with honors on 2005, with a Master’s Degree and a Performer’s Certificate in Vocal Performance under the instruction of Diane Ragains. While there, she performed many leading roles in the opera workshop program and toured internationally with the NIU Chamber Choir. Ms. Pettitt received the Amelia Guthrie Promising Singer of Merit Award from Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center in 2005. She currently teaches and performs in the Wheaton and Elmhurst areas, has served as a guest faculty member at the Wheaton College Conservatory, and has been a member of the New Classic Singers and the professional choir in residence at the College of DuPage. Ms. Pettit is also a pianist and has begun working as a musical/vocal director for theatre programs.

Thomas Hall, baritone, has been heard frequently as a soloist throughout the Midwest in concert, as well as in opera performances. He has been heard as a soloist with many Chicago area companies including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Grant Park Symphony, and the Illinois Chamber Symphony.

Ryan Belongie, countertenor, is a graduate of Northwestern University where he was a student of Karen Brunssen. He has appeared as a soloist at Chicago area venues such as the Grant Park Music Festival, the Music of theBaroque, the St. Clement Orchestra and Chorus, the William Ferris Chorale, the Janus Ensemble, the Elgin Choral Union, the First St. Paul’s Orchestra, and the First Congregational Church of La Grange Orchestra. In 2007, he won second place in the Central Region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. In 2008, he was a national semi-finalist in the Oratorio Society of New York Solo Competition.