Season Subscription



NEW MUSIC WORKS ENSEMBLE

Click on a Name to View Artist Bio
(Names are listed alphabetically by last name, includes both current and guest ensemble players):







  • Karla_RAQUEL_AVILA_image002 KARLA RAQUEL AVILA, Clarinet , is San Francisco-based and is highly sought after as a performer and teacher throughout the Bay Area. She has performed with various orchestras, new music, and mixed-genre chamber ensembles throughout Northern California, including the San Francisco, Monterey, Marin, and Santa Cruz Symphony Orchestras, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, Berkeley Contemporary Chamber Players and Ensemble Parallele. From 2004-2008, Karla also served as principal clarinetist of the Amadeus Opera ensemble in Salzburg, Austria. Recent winner of the Salzburg Festspiel's International Young Artist Mozart Concerto Competition, Ms. Avila performed as soloist in Salzburg under the baton of Seiji Ozawa. She has recorded feature film scores at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch and at Dolby San Francisco, and has played woodwinds, composed and sung vocals with the chamber-jazz-folk band Nobody's Mother. Karla is currently a member of the hip-hop chamber project Ensemble MikNawooj, the new music groups Nothingset Ensemble, New Music Works, and the Avenue Winds Quintet, artists-in-residence at the annual San Francisco Chamber Winds Festival. Ms. Avila earned her M.M. from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (2003) and her B.M. from the University of North Texas (2001). She serves on the woodwind & jazz faculty at Laney College, Oakland, CA and maintains a private teaching studio in San Francisco.


    For more info, please visit: karlaavila.com


  • Back to Top of Page



  • cynthia_baehr-1CYNTHIA BAEHR, Violin, is Concertmaster of Opera San Jose, the San Jose Chamber Orchestra and a member of the New Music Works Ensemble. She has also performed with the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Midsummer Mozart and Stratos Chamber Orchestras. Before moving to California, Cynthia lived and performed in Europe with the Lucerne Chamber Soloists and the Wurttembergisches Chamber Orchestra in Germany. Prior to that time she was the Assistant Concertmaster of the Caracas Philharmonic in Venezuela and a member of the Quartetto Filarmonica.


  • Back to Top of Page



  • Cole_BerryCOLE BERRY, Percussion, finished up at ucsc in 2008 where he studied percussion with William Winant and jazz drumset with George Marsh. He has also studied Latin percussion extensively with Michael Strunk at Cabrillo. Cole works as a youth counselor for Youth Services of Santa Cruz and as a freelance percussionist / drumset player. He is the principle percussionist in the progressive- world - jazz band, the New World Ape.


  • Back to Top of Page



  • jennifer_cassis_1_new_croppedJENNIFER CASS, Harp, began her harp studies at the University of California, San Diego. There she earned her B.A. with a double major of mathematics and music, with highest honors in music. She proceeded to earn her Master's Degree in Harp Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music under Eileen Malone. She then attended the University of California, Santa Cruz to earn her M.A. in mathematics.

    Ms. Cass currently resides in Santa Cruz where she is active in several ensembles and as a soloist. She won the 1992 UCSC Concerto competition and performed Tailleferre's Concertino pour Harpe as well as Ravel's Tzigane.

    Ms. Cass performs regularly with UCSC faculty and ensembles, Santa Cruz New Music Works, Cabrillo Stage, Santa Cruz Chamber Players, Bay Shore Lyric Opera Company, and has been a featured soloist with Ensemble Monterey. She has been an occasional harpist for the San Jose, Santa Cruz County and Monterey County Symphonies. She appears on recordings celebrating the works of Germaine Tailleferre and Lou Harrison.

    Jennifer teaches mathematics at Cabrillo College in her spare time.


    For more info, please visit: harpjen.com


  • Back to Top of Page



  • COLLEEN DONOVAN, Soprano
    For info, please contact New Music Works at: publicity@newmusicworks.org


  • Back to Top of Page



  • 04Laurel-AnnLavinLANA GRUEN, Cello, served as Principal Cellist for the Berlin Symphony Orchestra (2003-09), as well as Principle Cellist for the Neubrandenburg Philharmonic Orchestra (2002-03), and Alternating Principle Cellist for the Oldenburg State Opera (2002). From 1995 to 2002 Lana performed with several orchestras in Germany, including the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, Munich Symphony Orchestra, the International Academy of Bavarian Broadcast Orchestra, and the Mannheim Opera Theater.

    Ms. Gruen has also appeared as a soloist with orchestras throughout the Bay Area, and she has made a number of recordings in Germany and the U.S. She holds a Doctor of Music degree from the Conservatory of Music, Stuttgart, Germany. Ms. Gruen's major teachers include Michael Flaksman, Daniil Schafran, Ivan Monighetti, Natalia Shakhovskaia, and David Grigorian.


  • Back to Top of Page



  • timb_harrisTIMB HARRIS, Violin and Trumpet, performs, records, and tours the US and internationally with avant-rock ensembles Estradasphere and Secret Chiefs 3. His focus on contemporary music has resulted in a wide variety of performing and recording with artists such as William Winant, Eyvind Kang, Roy Malan, Mr. Bungle, New Music Works and many others. His recordings can be found on The End Records, Web of Mimicry, and John Zorn's Tzadik label.


  • Back to Top of Page



  • kenny_hillKENNY HILL, Classical guitar, has been in and around the music community in Santa Cruz and New Music Works since the 1970s, His natural playing ability draws on music from many sources, traditional and exotic, ancient to modern. He has performed and taught in many,many schools and venues, local and international over the last 35 years. Kenny Hill is also a world recognized guitar maker, his guitars being played by many of the finest touring guitarists on world stages today. He always plays on a guitar that he made himself.


    For more info, please visit: hillguitar.com


  • Back to Top of Page



  • lars_johannesson-flutist-08-largerLARS JOHANNESSON, Flute, is an active performer in the San Francisco, Carmel and Monterey Bay areas. This season he has engagements with San Francisco's Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Jubilate!, Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Ensemble Monterey, Bay Shore Lyric Opera Company, New Music Works, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, and Santa Cruz Chamber Players. Lars graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with a degree in orchestral flute. He pursued post-graduate studies in Baroque flute with Wilbert Hazelzet at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Holland. In addition to "classical" music, Lars also enjoys and performs Irish and other traditional music. As a studio musician, Lars has recorded for numerous releases, including many on the Gourd Music label, and several UCSC productions. Lars lives in Santa Cruz with his musical wife and twin sons, and works a day job in the IT industry.


    For more info, please visit: larsjohannesson.com


  • Back to Top of Page



  • CHAD_KALTINGERCHAD KALTINGER, Viola, studied at the University of Illinois and at the Aspen Music Festival where he received an Orchestral Fellowship and placed 1st in the E. Nakamichi Viola Concerto Competition. Chad is currently Principal Violist with the Santa Cruz County Symphony, the Musica Vitale Chamber Orchestra and Ensemble Monterey and also plays with Opera San Jose, San Francisco Opera's Western Opera Theatre, Monterey Symphony, and the Cabrillo Music Festival Orchestra.


  • Back to Top of Page



  • Jim_Kassis_kitJIM KASSIS, Percussion, has been performing with New Music Works since he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1987 to study with San Francisco Symphony percussionist Anthony Cirone, Jim has been teaching and performing both drum set and classical percussion throughout northern California. Jim serves on the faculty at Santa Clara University and the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View. He has played with New Music Works Ensemble since 2002.


  • Back to Top of Page



  • ANN LAVIN, Clarinet, received her BA from DePaul University and her MA from Northwestern University. She studied in Chicago with Larry Combs and Robert Marcellus. In May 2005 she earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts from Stony Brook University, where she studied with Charles Neidich and Daniel Gilbert. Ann was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and was privileged to play under Maestros Boulez, Barenboim, Solti and Mehta. She has performed chamber and orchestral concerts in the US, Russia, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, Italy, and Austria. Currently, Ann plays with the orchestras of Vallejo, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, and Monterey as well as the Sarasota Opera and Utah Festival Opera.


  • Back to Top of Page



  • Roy MalanROY MALAN, Violin, was educated in London with Yehudi Menuhin, and at Juilliard and the Curtis Institute where he was a student of Ivan Galamian and Efrem Zimbalist. Mr. Malan is concertmaster and solo violinist for the San Francisco Ballet. He is also the founding director of the Telluride Chamber Music Festival in Colorado and serves on the faculty of the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has been a member of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players since 1976.


  • Back to Top of Page



  • Mickey_McGushin_smallMICHAEL MCGUSHIN, Keyboards, is a professor of music at Cabrillo College and the coach/accompanist for the Music Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the conductor of the chamber choir Ariose and of Cabrillo's Westside Choir. From 2002-2004 he served as the director of the Full Spectrum Chorus of Santa Cruz. He has served as music director for a number of theater and opera productions in the Santa Cruz area. Some of these include Shakespeare Santa Cruz's productions of Princess and the Pea, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty; Cabrillo Stage's productions of The Fantasticks and The Music Man; to name a few. As a pianist, Michael is a long-time member of the New Music Works Ensemble for which he also serves as an artistic advisor, and has appeared with many performing groups in the Santa Cruz and Monterey County areas. He is a featured performer on recordings of chamber music by Paul Bowles, Lou Harrison and Germaine Tailleferre.


  • Back to Top of Page



  • Will_McintyreWILL MCINTYRE, Percussion, is from Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from UCSC studying percussion in 2010. He specializes in mallet instruments, specifically jazz vibraphone. He has an identical twin brother who is also a musician.


  • Back to Top of Page



  • MATTHEW MONTGOMERY, Accordion and Mandolin, is multi-instrumentalist and composer, was born and raised in the Bay Area. In 2005, he graduated with a BFA in viola performance and composition from the California Institute of the Arts. He frequently records live instruments for Film, Television and Video Games in his home studio, and is currently pursuing a career in composition. His current passions include writing the music and singing lead vocals for his band “Vs Them,” as well as performing as part of local Tango ensemble “Montango.”


  • Back to Top of Page



  • Teresa_OROZCO-PETERSEN_flutist lgTERESA OROZCO-PETERSEN, Flute, has musical activities that range from orchestral player and contractor, recording artist, studio musician, musical director and founder of the chamber ensembles of “Ovation Chamber Music”. As an educator and mentor to over 40 young musicians, she is now in her eighth season as conductor for the Avant Flute Choir of the San Jose Youth Symphony Organization. As a contract musician she is currently a flutist of the Monterey Symphony since 1987, New Music Works since 1992 and regularly performs for the Carmel Bach Festival, Opera San Jose, West Bay Opera, Santa Cruz Symphony and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Teresa also specializes in jazz and Latin music, and is a member of the salsa band, Mambo Tropical, as well as, Orquesta Gitano, Havana Jazz, El Desayuno and is a regular guest artist with The James Robinson Group playing flamenco/gypsy style music. She currently teaches Music Appreciation and Theory instructor at the prestigious Valley Christian Schools in San Jose. Teresa also has her own private studio where she coaches dedicated young professional flutists.

    Mrs. Orozco-Petersen received her BA/MA in music performance from San Jose State University with honors, Magnum Cumlaude, under the tutelage of Isabelle Chapuis-Starr. She has also studied with Maria Tamburrino, Barbara Breeden, Lloyd Gowen, and has had master classes with Jean-Pierre Rampal, Julius Baker, Ransom Wilson, and Keith Underwood. Mrs. Orozco-Petersen resides in San Jose with her husband and three children. They often perform together as a family in operas, retirement homes, churches and hospitals.



  • Back to Top of Page



  • Stan_PoplinSTAN POPLIN, Double Bass, arrived in the Santa Cruz Area in 1975. His studies have included working with Bob Manning at San Jose State, as well as Mel Graves and Steven Tramontozzi at UC Santa Cruz.

    While working as a freelance jazz musician through the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Areas, Stan became a member of the Monterey Symphony in 1976. Since that time he has also been performing with New Music Works, a Santa Cruz based contemporary music ensemble. While living abroad from 1989-1994, Stan studied at the Norwegian State Academy of Music with Knut Guettler. While in Norway he toured widely and recorded with many international musicians.

    In 1995 Stan became a member of the California Parallele Ensemble directed by Nicole Paiement. In 2002 Stan began teaching in the Applied Music Program at UC Santa Cruz.


  • Back to Top of Page



  • Dale_Wolford_croppedDALE WOLFORD, Saxophone, is currently a member of the Premiere Saxophone Quartet, dedicated to promoting new music for the saxophone quartet via performances and recordings. He has also performed and/or recorded with Philip Glass, Bernadette Peters, Santa Cruz New Music Works, the Morosco Saxophone Quartet, the San Francisco Saxophone Quartet, the Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra and is a frequent guest soloist with area orchestras and bands. He has performed in the San Francisco, San Jose Symphonies and Sun Valley orchestras.

    His teachers included Sigurd Rascher, William Trimble and Victor Morosco. He has a Bachelor of Music degree in Saxophone Performance from San Jose State University and a Master of Arts degree in Saxophone Performance from California State University, Hayward. Currently on the faculty of San Jose State University and University of California, Berkeley, Dale has also taught at University of the Pacific, California State University - East Bay, California State University, Stanislaus and Chabot College.

    Working with pianist Ivan Rosenblum for almost 20 years, as the Wolford/Rosenblum Duo, Dale has premiered many new works including the Sonata for Saxophone & Piano by Gunther Schuller. The Duo has released two compact discs, including Laughter and Tears- A Jewish Saga, the Centaur label.


  • Back to Top of Page



  • Sayaka_Yabuki_laptop_2SAYAKA YABUKI, (b. 1975, Gunma, Japan), is an electronic sound artist currently based in California, USA. Sayaka immigrated to the USA from Japan during the 1980s, at the same time beginning her classical violin studies. As a teenager, she began her studies in visual arts, experimenting with sound installations, sound collage and performance art. As a university student, Sayaka met Australian electronic music pioneer, Steve Law aka Zen Paradox, who introduced her to experimental music composition using electronics. While at Brown University where she obtained her B.A. in Visual Arts, Sayaka studied interactive visual media with Rachel Stevens, then curator of Creative Time(NYC) and Max/MSP/Jitter with Todd Winkler, director of the MEME(Multimedia and Electronic Music Experiments) program. Since relocating to California, Sayaka has studied music composition with Philip Collins and Rick Walker and was a recipient of the 2009 Sherman David Cowen Memorial Scholarship in the Music Technology program at Cabrillo College. Sayaka is the violinist and vocalist in the band Noise Clinic and also performs under the name Sayaka Starlite.



  • Back to Top of Page