Performer Profiles - Spring 2011 Season
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Coming February 2, 2011:
The Sauquoit High School
Jazz Ensemble
Stephanie Paine, director
 About the Performers:
The SVC Jazz Ensemble is made up of students in grades 9-12 from the Sauquoit Valley Central School District. This Jazz Ensemble is a performance-oriented ensemble specifically designed for our school's more advanced musicians. The primary goal and function of the Jazz Band is to introduce students to a wide array of jazz literature at the highest level; while also giving them knowledge to delve further into music at the Sauquoit Valley Central High School and beyond.
They have earned a reputation of being a solid performing group and have received Gold Level Ratings for the past five years as well as being awarded best trombone section (2008, 2007) and saxophone section (2010). They have also had the opportunities to perform at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Cedar Point Amusement Park (2010), Independence Hall (2009) and Quincy Market (2008) just to name a few. They also like to perform at Relay for Life and Utica Monday Nite on a yearly basis.
Event begins at 12:30 P.M.
Library Concourse
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Coming February 9, 2011:
Alexi Zentner
Fiction Writer
About the Author:
Alexi Zentner’s first novel, Touch, will be published in Spring of 2011 in the USA by W.W. Norton, in Canada by Knopf Canada, and in the UK by Chatto & Windus. Touch will also be published in Italy by Einaudi, in Germany by BTB, in France by Éditions JC Lattès, in The Netherlands by De Bezige Bij, in Israel by Modan, and in Korea by Hyundae Munhak.
Alexi Zentner’s fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in The Atlantic, Narrative Magazine, Tin House, Glimmer Train, Slice Magazine, Orion Magazine, and other publications. His short story “Touch” was featured in The O. Henry Prize Stories 2008 where it was chosen as a jury favorite. His short story “Trapline” was awarded the 2008 Narrative Prize and named to the Best American Short Stories 2009 list of “100 Other Distinguished Stories of 2008.” His short stories “Touch,” and “The Adjuster” were also selected for “special mention” in the 2008 Pushcart Prize anthology.
Alexi Zentner was born in Kitchener, Ontario, and currently lives in Ithaca, New York, with his wife and two daughters. He holds both Canadian and American citizenship.
Event begins at 12:30 P.M.
MacFarlane Auditorium, DePerno Hall
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Coming February 16, 2011:
Patty Scaramella, oboe
Alexius Wronka, piano
Music
 About the Performers:
Mrs. Patricia Scaramella and Mr. Alexius Wronka have been music teachers in the Utica City School District for a combined 38 years. Mrs. Scaramella studied at Ithaca College and University of British Columbia, and teaches vocal and choral music at Proctor High School as well as oboe privately. Mr. Wronka recieved his education from the Manhatten School of Music and Syracuse University, and also teaches at Proctor High School.
Music to be performed will include selections by Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Joseph Haydn, Frederic Chopin, Sergie Rachmaninoff, Nicholas Rimsky-Korsakoff, and Wayne Barlow.
Event begins at 12:30 P.M.
Library Concourse
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Coming March 2, 2011:
The Society for New Music
Regional composers and performers
 About the Performers:
Founded in 1971, the Society for New Music acts as a catalyst for the continued growth of the central
New York musical community by commissioning new works, promoting advocacy, showcasing regional composers alongside guest composers, providing regional musicians an opportunity to perform the music of their peers, and bringing new music to as broad an audience as possible through performances, broadcasts, and on the web.
The Society is comprised of a core of dedicated professionals who live in Central New York, but who are nationally and internationally renowned. Most have performed and recorded together for many years.
The Society for New Music is supported in part with funds provided by the New York State Council on the Arts, Copland Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, Central New York Community Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Foundation, Amphion Foundation, Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Virgil Thomson Foundation, Meet the Composer and private donations.
 Cristina Buciu, violin, a native of Bucharest, comes from a
family of well-known musicians. Her teachers include Sherban
Lupu, Peter Zazofsky, and the Muir Quartet. Ms. Buciu holds degrees
from the Bucharest Acad, U. of Illinois (MM), and the Artist
Diploma from Boston U. She has concertized extensively with
orchestras in Romania and the U.S., including the Romanian
National Radio and Concerto Chamber Orchestra on its European tour.
Ms. Buciu has performed solo and chamber recitals in Romania,
England, Italy, Germany and major cities in the U.S. Twice the winner of the National String Competition in Romania and International Violin Competition in Stusa, Italy, Buciu is also a recipient of a Kate Neal Kinley Fellowship. She is now in her ninth season with the Syracuse Symphony and her ninth season with the Society for New Music
David LeDoux, cello, joined the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra in 2006, and began performing with the Society for New Music that same year. From 2002-2006 he served as Principal Cellist of the Baton Rouge Symphony, and prior to that with the Tulsa Philharmonic. He studied cello with Ronald Leonard at USC and with Dennis Parker at Louisiana State. As a soloist he has performed with orchestras in Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma. He has participated in the Quartet Program at Bucknell and the Texas Festival Institute at Round Top. In May 2010 he soloed with the Syracuse Symphony and received standing ovations both nights.
Sar Shalom Strong, piano, has received accolades for his sensitive performances of both solo and collaborative repertoire. Mr. Strong has often  be heard performing in concert with the Society for New Music, Civic Morning Musicals, and in collaboration with outstanding area and visiting musicians. He has appeared as soloist in concerti with the Utica Symphony Orchestra and the Hamilton College Orchestra, has performed frequently with the Skaneateles Festival, and from 1998-2007 served as keyboardist for the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. Recent performances include Utica College and Hamilton College concerts with Rob and Lauralyn Kolb, as well as a solo performance at Utica College, a concert of piano trios in Cortland with violinist Jeremy Mastrangelo and cellist David LeDoux, a Syracuse recital with Janet Brown, and a performance of Russian music for violin and piano sponsored by the Russian Department of Colgate University. Mr. Strong holds degrees from Knox College and Syracuse University, and is Lecturer in Piano and Coordinator of Staff Pianists for Hamilton College.
Event begins at 12:30 P.M.
Library Concourse
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Coming March 23, 2011:
Shawn Goodman
Young adult writer
 About the Author:
Shawn Goodman is a writer and school psychologist. His experiences working in several New York State juvenile detention facilities inspired Something Like Hope. He has been an outspoken advocate for juvenile justice reform, and has written and lectured on issues related to special education, foster care, and literacy. Shawn lives in Ithaca, New York, with his wife and children.
Visit him online at www.shawngoodmanbooks.com.
Event begins at 12:30 P.M.
MacFarlane Auditorium, DePerno Hall
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Coming March 30, 2011:
Junior B Sharp Musical Club
Talented area music students
 About the Performers:
With its founding in 1903, the B Sharp Musical Club of Utica sought to encourage a broader culture in the performing arts among its members and the community at large. To encourage young persons’ pursuit of the arts, it also established in 1916, the Junior B Sharp Musical Club, which augments the musical offerings of the schools and private teachers for talented music students in our area. Since 1940, the B Sharp Musical Club has given thousands of dollars every year to area high school students who compete through independently judged auditions for the awards.
Event begins at 12:30 P.M.
Library Concourse
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Coming April 6, 2011:
Jay Rogoff
Poet
 About the Author:
Jay Rogoff has published three books of poetry: The Cutoff, winner of the Washington Prize (Word Works, 1995), which is set in the world of minor league baseball; How We Came to Stand on That Shore (River City, 2003), which deals with immigrant experience and family life; and, most recently, The Long Fault (LSU Press, 2008), which takes a variety of perspectives on human history, creativity, and mortality. His book of dance-inspired poems, The Art of Gravity, will appear from LSU Press this fall. A letterpress chapbook, Twenty Danses Macabre, appeared in 2010 from Spring Garden Press as winner of the Robert Watson Poetry Award. He also received a 2010 Pushcart Prize. Both his poetry and his criticism on poetry, fiction, and other arts have appeared in many journals, including The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, Literary Imagination, Salmagundi, Shenandoah, and especially The Southern Review. He serves as dance critic for The Hopkins Review and is a contributor to Ballet Review; he also covers the summer New York City Ballet season in Saratoga Springs, New York, for his local daily, The Saratogian. Rogoff lives in Saratoga Springs with his wife, art historian Penny Jolly, and teaches at Skidmore College.
Event begins at 12:30 P.M.
MacFarlane Auditorium, DePerno Hall
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Coming April 20, 2011
Judy Marchione, bassoon; Kyle Yacobucci, oboe; Janelle Bookhout, oboe; Joanna Moore, piano, voice
Music
About the Performers:
Judy Marchione, bassoon, holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of George Goslee and Ronald Phillips and a Master of Music Performance degree from the Eastman School of Music. While at Eastman she was a student of K. David van Hoesen and Philip Kolker. She also served as K. David van Hoesn’s teaching assistant which included teaching through the Continuing Education Division as well as conducting woodwind technique classes for University of Rochester Music Education Majors. Currently Ms. Marchione performs with the Utica Symphony, Catskill Symphony, and Binghamton Philharmonic. She has performed over the years with such orchestras as the Buffalo Philharmonic, Akron Symphony, Canton Symphony, Ohio Ballet, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Owensboro Symphony, and the Evansville Philharmonic.
Kyle Yacobucci, oboe, is a graduate of Nazareth College, Rochester, N.Y. received his bachelors degree in oboe performance and music history. Mr. Yacobucci will be pursuing his Masters degree in the Fall of 2011.
Janelle Bookhout, oboe, is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music with a degree in oboe performance and education. Mrs. Bookhout is a retired music educator having taught in Mohawk Valley School districts for over 30 years, and an adjunct professor at Herkimer County Community College in the Music Industry program. She performs in the Jewel Wind Quintet, the Equinox Quartet, performs in many area churches and musical orchestras and has been a guest conductor for many All-County Band Festivals around the state. She is the Board Vice -President of the Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts and the  Co-Chairperson of the Performance Committee that sponsors the MVCA Chamber Series.
Joanna Moore is both pianist and singer, having appeared in numerous operatic roles including the title role in “Carmen”, Cherubino in “The Marriage of Figaro”, Maddalena in “Rigoletto”, to name a few, with regional opera companies in Central New York and in the Berkshires. She has been soloist with the Utica Symphony Orchestra, the Con Amore Orchestra and the Berkshire Lyric Theater Orchestra. She has also been music director for community theater, taught music in parochial and public schools for twenty years, and been a frequent piano accompanist for soloists in the area. She has a Bachelor of Music degree in piano, and a Master of Music degree in vocal performance, both from Syracuse University.
Event begins at 12:30 P.M.
Library Concourse
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Coming April 27, 2011:
DéLana R.A. Dameron
Poet
About the Author:
DéLana R.A. Dameron holds a B.A. in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has a strong interest in the intersections of history and literature. Her debut collection, How God Ends Us, won the 2008 South Carolina Poetry Book Prize, selected by Elizabeth Alexander. Dameron’s poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, PMS: PoemMemoirStory, 42opus, storySouth, Pembroke Magazine and Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review. She has received fellowships from New York University, the Cave Canem Foundation, Soul Mountain and the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Dameron currently resides in New York City.
Event begins at 12:30 P.M.
MacFarlane Auditorium, DePerno Hall
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Coming May 4, 2011:
Utica College Concert Band
Michael J. DiMeo, Director
About the performers:
The Utica College Concert Band was founded by Lou Angelini in 1981. Frank Galime directed the band until his retirement 18 years ago. Currently the band is directed by Michael J. DiMeo, retired director of bands from New Hartford High School.
The band has a well balanced instrumentation and a current membership of 52 players, including students, local music educators, members of the Utica College staff and local community. The band, for students, can be taken as a liberal arts course for credit or just as an audit. The Band plays music from the standard band literature that is both challenging and musically rewarding.
They perform once per semester at the Professor Harry F. and Mary Ruth Jackson Lunch Hour Series. Other regular performances include an annual Concert for Veterans and a combined concert with MVCC Concert Band. This year’s concert was on May 3. The Band also performs numerous programs for local events and at senior citizen communities such as the Masonic and Presbyterian Homes.
Event begins at 12:30 P.M.
Library Concourse
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