musicians

Canadian-born flutist Diana Morgan has established herself as a versatile orchestral musician and soloist.  A flutist with the Star Wars in Concert national tour in 2009, she also joined the 2010 international tour.  Ms. Morgan has performed with the Redlands Symphony Orchestra, the Burbank Philharmonic, the American Youth Orchestra and the YMF Debut Orchestra in Los Angeles.  She was also selected as a fellow in the prestigious Spoleto Festival (USA), National Repertory Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and National Academy Orchestra of Canada.

Ms. Morgan can be heard on the score of the major motion picture, The Soloist and on the albums of award-winning artists Shad K and Layah Jane.

Ms. Morgan graduated from the University of Southern California with a Graduate Certificate in Performance from the studio of Jim Walker.  Previously she studied with world-renowned flutist and revered pedagogue Jeanne Baxtresser at Carnegie Mellon University where she received her Master’s degree.  Ms. Morgan completed her undergraduate degree with Dr. Amy Hamilton at Wilfrid Laurier University and graduated with high distinction. She is an active teacher and clinician in Los Angeles in addition to being the Executive Administrator for Jim Walker’s 2011 Beyond the Masterclass.

Ryan is one of Southern California’s most sought-after oboists. He has performed multiple times with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Diego Symphony under the batons of Zubin Mehta and Bramwell Tovey. Additionally, he has played with many orchestras in the region including the LA Ballet, Culver City Chamber Orchestra, Riverside Philharmonic, Bakersfield Symphony, San Bernardino Symphony, Santa Monica Symphony, and the Center Stage Opera Orchestra. In 2009 he joined the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (Washington) as Principal Oboe. Zwahlen has also been featured in the recording studio on feature films and commercials.

Zwahlen’s passion for music is not limited to orchestral performance. He is deeply committed to chamber music as the Executive Director of the Definiens Project, a non-profit, contemporary chamber music organization. Thanks largely to his leadership, the group completed a residency at UCLA in 2007 and was the Resident Ensemble of the 2009 Fresno New Music Festival. Residency activities were also conducted at Biola University and USC throughout the 2009-2010 school year. Ryan’s other chamber music activities have included the Tonoi Ensemble, LA Harmonie Ensemble, Santa Monica Symphony Wind Quintet and most recently as a founding member the Vientos Trio. Ryan has also been featured as a conductor. He conducted works at the 2009 Fresno New Music Festival and will be conducting David Conte’s America Tropical (libretto by Oliver Mayer) in October 2010 as part of USC’s Vision and Voices program.

Ryan has taught at both UCLA and Citrus College in California and he joined the faculty of the Las Vegas Music Festival for its 2006 season. In the fall of 2010, Ryan joined the faculty of the Idyllwild Arts Academy as Chair of the Music Department.  He has also committed his time and energy to the Children’s Music Workshop of Los Angeles and to the Santa Monica/Malibu United School District.

His debut solo CD, “In the City at Night,” consists of seven solo English horn pieces all written for him. His upcoming recording projects consist of a CD of wind chamber music by Jenni Brandon, as well as the debut chamber music CD from The Definiens Project.

Ryan is a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Chamber Music and Oboe at UCLA. He received his Master of Music degree from Arizona State University and his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He has studied with Marion Kuszyk, Martin Schuring, and Nancy Ambrose King. He currently resides in Los Angeles and Idyllwild, CA.

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A sought-after orchestral and chamber musician, Dr. Jennifer Stevenson has performed with Orchestra X, the Woodlands Symphony, the Symphony of Southeast Texas, the Classical Symphony Orchestra, the Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival, the Definiens Project, the Orion Winds, and is a founding member of The Vientos Trio.  Her compositions have been premiered at the Chicago Civic Center as part of the New Artists in Chicago Festival, the International Clarinet Association’s convention in Ostend, Belgium, and at the 2009 Fresno New Music Festival.  Jennifer is also a multiple recipient of Meet the Composer’s Creative Connections grant and received an American Composers Forum SUBITO Grant through the San Francisco and Los Angeles chapters.  A CD of her Musical Adventures, musical stories for children, was recently released through Tessella Music.  She has also made multiple appearances performing and speaking about music on Classical KUHF Houston and Iowa Public Radio.

Jennifer has passion for music education and outreach, and currently works to design innovative music programming as part of the University of Southern California’s Residential Education program.  Founder of the Parkside Piano Program, Jennifer teaches composition, theory, improvisation and piano skills, as well as a course in paraprofessional counseling at USC.  Jennifer is also currently on faculty at the American Festival for the Arts.  Additionally, Jennifer is the Education and Outreach Manager of The Definiens Project.

Jennifer received her BM from DePaul University where she studied with Larry Combs, principal clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and her MM from Rice University, where she studied with Dr. Michael Webster. She received her Doctorate from University of Southern California, where she studied with Yehuda Gilad. Jennifer has performed at masterclasses with such great artists as John Adams, Alfred Prinz, Eddie Daniels (jazz clarinet), John Bruce Yeh, David Howard, David Peck and Mitchel Lurie.

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A native of Massapequa, NY, bassoonist Michael Kreiner became enthralled with music and the bassoon in third-grade while listening to a record of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. This led Kreiner to complete his BM from the prestigious Indiana University School of Music and MM from the Manhattan School of Music.

Since heading west to Los Angeles in 2006, Kreiner has quickly become a fixture in the southland’s orchestras and chamber ensembles. He has performed with the San Diego Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay, the Culver City Symphony, and the Bakersfield Symphony. He is a founding member of the Vientos Trio and has performed with the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra Wind Quintet, the Santa Monica Symphony Wind Quintet, Tonoi Ensemble, and others.

He has twice appeared as a soloist with the Banff Centre Festival Orchestra.  Kreiner was privileged to study with Patricia Rogers, principal bassoon of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Stéphane Lévesque, principal bassoon of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and concert artist Kim Walker.

Since her first appearance as soloist with an orchestra at the age of 10, Sakura Tsai has been active in performances as a soloist, orchestral, and chamber musician. As a performer of contemporary music, Sakura is a member of the USC Thornton Contemporary Music Ensemble and the former violinist of the CME Quartet. Additionally, Sakura is an involved member of the What’s Next? Ensemble, a Los Angeles based new music group.

Beginning in 2012, Sakura joined the faculty of the Idyllwild Arts Academy teaching music theory and coaching chamber music. She is currently finishing her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Violin Performance at USC Thornton School of Music.

After completing his undergraduate degree studying with Oscar Meza, Assistant Principal Double Bass for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Stephen moved to Massachusetts to pursue a Masters degree from the New England Conservatory. While in Boston he studied with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra founding member and bassist, Don Palma. In 2008, Stephen toured Europe with the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival and in 2010 joined them as Principal bass for a 5 week tour of North America under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach. Along with Eschenbach, Mr. Pfeifer has also worked with renowned artists such as Heinrich Schiff, Mikhail Pletnev, Herbert Blomstedt, and Kolja Blacher. Stephen is currently a Teaching Artist for an organization called the Harmony Project, and maintains a private studio in the Pasadena area. In addition to teaching, Stephen can be seen performing with many local orchestras and often records in various studios in Southern California.

Jeanette-Louise Yaryan has been performing on piano since the age of three, winning numerous competitions and honors across the country and traveling worldwide to perform and study.  In addition to earning two Master’s degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California, her accolades include performing Liszt’s Totentanz with the USC Symphony Orchestra and giving radio interviews on KCSN’s Arts and Roots Forum.  She is also an active chamber musician with The Definiens Project, who are serving as the ensemble in residence for the Fresno New Music Festival for the second consecutive year.  Yaryan teaches at Cypress College and has also served on the faculty of El Camino College, USC, and the California Academy of Math and Science, in addition to maintaining a private studio and working as the organist and pianist for Hope United Methodist Church in Torrance.  She coaches vocalists and actors as part of her role as the Music Director for the Relevant Stage Theatre Company, and has worked as a choral and orchestral conductor.  A talented composer and arranger, she is published with Emerson.  Yaryan loves all things culinary, good film, traveling abroad, and downhill skiing.