COMPASS Concert: Welcome to the Program: Community Online Meditation Performance and Salon Series, An online Zoom concert presenting live music programming.

Kristin Barone-Samadi (Born 1984), a mother of two, pianist and teacher, currently serves on the music faculty at Adelphi University and is the senior choir director and organist at St. Joseph's Episcopal Church in New York. Kristin received her BA in Performance in 2006 from Adelphi. Graduating cum laude, she was the recipient of the James Gould Award for Excellence in Music. While at Adelphi, Kristin was among the featured performers at the college’s chamber music ensemble—playing at graduation recitals, choral performances, and opera workshops. Kristin received her Master's Degree in 2008 at the Aaron Copland School of Music. She continued her studies in the “Artist Diploma Program” (2009), a program for the advanced study of chamber music. Kristin has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. Participating in a series of master-classes overseen by cellist Kalin Ivanov and pianist Tamara Puddabnaya, Kristin then joined them in travels through Eastern Europe resulting in a final signature concert in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in 2008.

Kristin performed with the Adelphi Symphony Orchestra from 2005 to 2008 where she was a featured soloist. She also serves as a substitute organist and music director at various churches in the metropolitan area. She has also studied the pipe organ with David Enlow of Juilliard, Peggo Hsiao of First Presbyterian Church and David Smith (RIP) of Christ First Presbyterian Church.

In collaboration with flutist, Linda Wetherill, Kristin has unveiled new works by contemporary composers, recording and performing them at the “Counterpoint Italy Composition Competition”—an international music festival founded by Ms. Wetherill in 2007. Kristin was the staff accompanist of the Young People's Chorus of NYC in 2011. Having a deep enthusiasm for the music of the Renaissance, Kristin became a keen collaborator with guitarist/lutenist, Daniel Keene—the two of them perform regularly as the Samadi-Keene Duo (formerly, The Barone-Keene Duo).

Kristin and her husband Saman Samadi have created their own international composition competition known simply as “Samadis'.” This festival concluded with a successful winners' concert in March of 2016 and published as a record album. The two also operate a record label known as “Samadis'.”

Kristin enjoys a successful teaching career—she has been a faculty member of the Brooklyn Music House, The Piano School of NYC, Long Beach Music, Oceanside Music, and Adelphi University—she also manages her own private studio. Currently teaching as an adjunct professor at Adelphi University, Kristin teaches courses, there, in Basic Keyboard Skills as well as Form and Analysis. Kristin is a strong advocate of the training programs of Madeline Bruser (author of “The Art of Practicing”), applying this method in her teaching philosophy—having discovered its utility and value as a faculty member during the Sound of Manhattan Music Festival 2018—while teaching several masterclasses and judging the competition there—Kristin saw tangible results in this method and uses it today.

The apple of her eye these days is an ensemble with two other musicians, "Trio de Reínas": they are Kristin (keyboard instruments), Blanca Cecilia-Gonzalez (violin), and Asuka Elias (clarinet). They are a proud Mommies' collective, towing instruments, strollers, and children to their rehearsals.

YouTube
Instagram
Facebook
www.kristinsamadi.net
www.pajacademy.org

Margaret Bloomfield

Margaret had early training as a classical pianist in the U.K. and the U.S., then pursued an academic career in German and French language and literature. She holds degrees from Tufts University and the University of Michigan, and taught at university level for several decades. In 2013 she added a graduate certification in Nonprofit Management to her professional portfolio, with a specialty in arts organizations, and currently works to help arts nonprofits, as a Board member, consultant and musician. Margaret is a Director and the Emcee of Classical Revolution PDX (CRPDX), a nonprofit in Portland, Oregon. CRPDX connects amateur and professional chamber musicians in non-hierarchical music-making, and brings both paid and free classical music to underserved audiences.

Margaret is active in Portland's classical music scene, playing for CRPDX, retirement communities, Portland Piano International, Friends of Chamber Music and Big Mouth Society, as well as playing, organizing and hosting house concerts. An avid tango dancer, Margaret also plays tango piano in ensembles for dancers. She co-directs a foundation benefitting underserved communities through arts, humanities, educational and health nonprofits.

Molly Clementz

Molly Clementz is a mezzo-soprano who made her debut with Pacific Opera Project in the LA Times’ acclaimed La Gazzetta as Doralice. Opera Today stated, “Ms. Clementz has a wonderfully rich tone, gleaming top notes, and a vibrant lower register,” and Schmopra described her as a “mezzo to be reckoned with.” During the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Molly was Opera Santa Barbara’s featured Mosher Studio Artist, performing Mercédès in Carmen, Lapák, and Datel in Janácek's The Cunning Little Vixen, and La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi. During her time at OSB, she also covered the lead roles of Carmen, Fox Goldenstripe (The Cunning Little Vixen), and Lisette (La Rondine). In 2016, she competed with two roles in the Dominick Argento Chamber Opera Competition at the NOA Convention. A finalist in the AIMS’ Meistersinger Competition (Graz, Austria), she has sung performances in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Hungary. Pairing her petite figure, zwischen register, and powerful voice, Molly excels in versatility and presenting youthful characters. To that end, she performed the title role of University of North Texas’ 2013 production of Massenet’s Cendrillon. Molly currently studies with Dr. Linda Di Fiore at DePaul University, working toward an artist certificate.

In addition to the classical repertoire, Molly enjoys contemporary music and has received acclaim for the ease at which she learns it. In 2016, she competed with two roles in the Dominick Argento Chamber Opera Competition at the National Opera Association Convention in Santa Barbara. In the 2015 West Coast Premiere of Joel Feigin’s award-winning Twelfth Night, she performed the lead role of Viola. She has been a featured soloist with the Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale and the UCSB Wind Ensemble. In 2018, she was the recipient of the College of Creative Studies Musical TV Project, in which an entirely new production was written and produce for her. This project culminated in a live performance and recording for television. Her doctoral work and dissertation focus on the gendering of pants roles in opera. She received degrees in both Vocal Performance and English Composition at Luther College. In addition to her Mosher Artist training with Opera Santa Barbara, Molly has trained abroad in Germany, Italy, and Austria. In 2014 she was a Finalist in the American Institute of Musical Studies’ Meistersinger Competition in Graz, Austria.

For more information, please visit mollyclementz.com.

Dianne Davies

Dianne Davies explores the deeper meaning of music and human connection through a shared experience. For some 30 years, since earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Piano Performance and completing the Oregon music education certification for K-12 instruction, Dianne has offered high quality performances, cutting-edge education and engaging compositions and arrangements.

As a composer/arranger, in 2010, Dianne developed her own comedy show titled, Dianne Davies Has Fallen Off Her Bench, a two-hour concert of all her own arrangements from a plethora of Classical favorites and gems from the vernacular, echoing traces of Liberace, Victor Borge and more. In 2016, she created and performed a brand new show titled, Attachments & Detachments Tragedy to Triumph, integrating new compositions with dance, live art and theatre to tell a story. Her original compositions have been performed each year at Portland State University in the “In Good Hands” concert. This regular series is sponsored by Cascadia Composers, Oregon’s local chapter of the National Association of Composers USA which is the largest and most active local organization under the umbrella of NACUSA in the US today.

In 2019, Dianne produced a show titled SOLI DEO GLORIA that featured her original compositions and arrangements for the Christmas season. This concert offered premieres of vocal solos, choral pieces, original piano solos and arrangements. She featured her self-published work, A Romantic Christmas Suite, which adeptly combines six Chopin Nocturnes with well-known Christmas carols.

In addition to her passion for composing and arranging, she operates a professional piano studio spanning ages K-12 to recreational adults. Her curriculum includes hands-on instruction on arranging and composing. At the State level in Oregon, Dianne chairs the annual Composition Celebration Recital for honored student composers who are taught by Nationally Certified Teachers through the Oregon Music Teachers Association. In these trying times of the pandemic, she produced a virtual event for the recognition of these young composers.

Lastly, Dianne is committed to the creation and performance of new music and weaves that into her regular concert performances throughout the year. For upcoming projects, check out Dianne and her music at:
www.musiqPOWER.com

You can purchase her music here:
Romantic Christmas Suite Vol 1
Romantic Christmas Suite Vol 2
Impressionist Christmas Suite Vol. 3

Baltazar Díaz Dávila

A native of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, MX. Baltazar received a Bachelor's degree of flute performance from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and a Master's degree in flute performance from the University of Missouri Kansas City's Conservatory of Music and Dance. He is currently a part of the Cohort of the Orchestra of the America's Academy 2021, where he is pursuing an Artist Diploma in Orchestral Performance and Digital Creation as a part of Leone Buyse's flute studio.

He has participated in festivals such as Fresno Orchestral and Opera Summer Academy (FOOSA), Festival de Música de Santiago de Querétaro, Mostly Modern Music Festival, and Orchestra of the Americas.

Baltazar currently holds the position of co-principal flute at the Guanajuato Symphony and is the flute instructor at the Jóvenes Líderes Youth Symphony, in Leon, MX. He also serves as woodwind faculty for the Tamaulipas Symphonic Youth Festival. Baltazar is the official translator for the Puerto Rico Flute Symposium.

Nick Gebhardt

Nick Gebhardt is an academic, writer and soprano saxophonist. He is currently Professor of Jazz and Popular Music Studies at Birmingham City University in the United Kingdom and Director of the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research. He has published widely on jazz and popular music history in the United States, including Going for Jazz: Musical Practices and American Ideology and Vaudeville Melodies: Popular Musicians and Mass Entertainment in American Culture, 1870-1929 (both published by the University of Chicago Press). He also has an interest in music and philosophy, especially how the concept of improvisation might be used as a model for thinking about and understanding our relationship to the world.

Mari Hwang

American pianist Mari Hwang believes in creating a safe world where people are inspired to live wholeheartedly. As co-founder of The COMPASS Concerts (Community Online Meditation Performance and Salon Series), she and her partners, Shinichiro Inaji and Louis Yungling, have established a welcoming, safe environment for music performance where people from all over the world feel a sense of community, support, and healing.

Ms. Hwang’s earlier experiences and challenges with stage fright for solo performances have guided her to share mindfulness awareness practice, easing psychological and physical tension, and connecting heart to music. She has performed in a variety of venues, in concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Merkin Hall, and in cathedrals, hospitals, libraries, music schools, and private residences.

Her programming has frequently shined light on works by unknown, undervalued, minor works of well known composers, and women composers. Her embodiment of often deeply personal storytelling has resonated profoundly with audiences and led to open and courageous dialogues.

With her exceptional sight-reading ability, Ms.Hwang has been able to serve as a collaborative pianist for community music schools, conservatories, and summer programs. She has played for numerous admissions entrance auditions, competitions, graded exams, juries, lessons, recitals, recordings, and many more to help musicians achieve their dreams.

She has a private teaching studio in NYC where she’s constantly learning from her students who deeply enjoy music, are curious and open to explore, and independent thinkers.

Ms. Hwang has moved from a sunny suburb of Los Angeles, CA, to attend Manhattan School of Music in NYC, where she has received a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance. Subsequently, she has received a Master’s in Music from Mannes School of Music and a minor in Impact Entrepreneurship from The New School.

She lives in New York City and enjoys walking, trying out different modes of transportation (airplanes, funiculars, ferries, gondolas, trains, trams, etc), and planning and organizing.

Having had many of her past dreams come true in recent years, with tremendous gratitude she has semi-retired from active performing and on her way to the next new dreams.

Paul Walker

Paul Walker is an amateur musician and composer who has been studying piano and other instruments most of his life. As well as playing piano, guitar, and more with family and friends, he composes a variety of music which you can find at SoundCloud. Paul is also active in the open source music software community, maintaining several large open source music software packages, He spends some of his musical time at the intersection of software, synthesis, and composition.

Louis Yungling

Hello, my name is Louis Yungling and I'm a co-founder of COMPASS Concerts. I'm also a pianist and piano teacher.

Meditation, mindfulness and awareness exercises are an integral part of my teaching and practice. Musicians benefit greatly from these practices by being able to fine tune their focus and get more out of their practice as well as increase their responsiveness to sound and be more present and confident in performance.

I created COMPASS concerts to extend these practices to audiences and give everyone a moment to pause and go inward. We do this by sharing a brief contemplation exercise before every concert. In this way we practice being aware of one another and give ourselves a chance to feel and appreciate our unique contribution.

Preparing our minds and bodies to receive and make music allows us to be more receptive to the beauty and generosity that goes into a musical performance. And practicing this type of mindful preparation regularly can help us open our hearts more to the experiences of our day to day lives.

I am thrilled to share this journey with you and the very talented, generous artists who perform here. Thank you to all my musician friends for sharing your gifts and creating beautiful programs of music for our COMPASS community. And thank you to all who come and partake in these heart-warming community concerts.

I currently live and teach piano in Valencia, Spain. My teaching website: Yungling Piano Studio.