Opus 21
RICHARD ADAMS is the founder and artistic director of Opus 21, a not-for-profit performing arts ensemble whose concerts feature a diversity of art music and crossover works.
As a composer of contemporary classical music, Adams often draws on both classical and popular musical elements. His work has been described by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as "effectively integrating the physicality of rock with the structure of classical music." Adams has received national and international recognition for his music through awards and fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Chamber Music America, ASCAP, Meet the Composer, the MacDowell Colony, the Society of Composers Inc., and the Aspen Music Festival, among others. He has been commissioned by and received performances from ensembles throughout the United States, including the Albany Symphony, the Memphis Symphony, the Tulsa Philharmonic, the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, the Louisiana Sinfonietta, Sequitur, and the Dogs of Desire.
Several of Adams's works have been recorded for commercial release. One of his most recent orchestral pieces, Brutal Reality, was recorded by the Albany Symphony Orchestra for the Albany Records label. Under Oath, a cabaret song for soprano, two clarinets, viola, cello, and double bass, was recorded by Sequitur and Kristin Norderval for Koch International Classics. Current recording projects include Electric Anthology, a multi-movement work for electric violin and amplified chamber orchestra featuring violinist Mary Rowell.
Adams studied composition at the University of Michigan, the Yale School of Music, Louisiana State University, and the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France. His teachers have included some of the most prominent composers in the United States: William Albright, Leslie Bassett, William Bolcom, Martin Bresnick, Dinos Constantinides, Michael Daugherty, and Jacob Druckman. [April 2007]
JUDY MOONERT, percussion, is principal percussionist with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with the Grand Rapids Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Evansville Philharmonic, Owensboro Symphony, and the Meadowbrook Festival Orchestra, among others. She is a frequent soloist and is active in premiering new works for percussion. Moonert received both a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degree in percussion performance from Indiana University, Bloomington, where she studied with George Gaber and William Roberts.
Cellist ALEXA MUHLY holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music. Her major teachers include David Soyer, Aldo Parisot, and Alan Harris. She has performed extensively in the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, Hungary, and Lithuania, and is an active orchestral and chamber musician in the Chicago area. In recent seasons, she was the principal cellist of the Kalamazoo Symphony, and also appeared with the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Pine Mountain Music Festival. Ms. Muhly received early recognition as first-prize winner in the Iowa Center for the Arts competition as well as prize winner in the Jugend Musiziert national competition in Germany. Other honors include a long-term residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Calgary, Alberta and awards from the Cleveland Institute of Music, Yale University, and the Aspen Music Festival.
Saxophonist HENNING SCHRÖDER is an active soloist, chamber and orchestra musician with performances throughout Europe, Indonesia and the United States at major events such as the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and with ensembles such as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He is particularly committed to contemporary music and works closely with other saxophonists and composers in an attempt to enlarge the saxophone repertoire. Appearances at World Saxophone Congresses and other major conferences, radio interviews and journal articles document his dedication to the saxophone. As a pedagogue he has been appointed to the faculties of the University of Pelita Harapan (Jakarta) and the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Schröder received much of his musical training in Germany, where he obtained degrees from the University of Arts Berlin and the prestigious Konzertexamen. His main teachers include Hermann Cordes, Johannes Ernst, and Trent Kynaston, and he is currently working with Debra Richtmeyer at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign.
GREGREY SECOR is a frequent performer with the steeldrum group Pangea. He performs regularly with the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestras, and with the Fontana Chamber Music Society. He has also appeared at the Saugatuck Chamber Music Festival and at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids. Secor was awarded a Master of Music degree in percussion performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Pianist YU-LIEN THE has performed as a soloist and recitalist throughout Germany, including appearances with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie and Little Consort Hannover. In 1996, Ms. The was named a prize winner at the 12th International Piano Competition Viotti-Valsesia in Italy. In 1998, she was admitted to the National Concert Podium for Young Artists, a prestigious recognition for collaborative pianists, which led to several concert tours with violinist Tomo Keller. She maintains a career as a professional recorder player with extensive appearances in Europe. Born in the Netherlands, Ms. The received diplomas from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover (Germany) in piano performance, recorder performance, and music education, and the Artist Diploma from the Hochschule für Musik Detmold. Her piano teachers include Arie Vardi, Lori Sims, and Anatol Ugorski.
BRADLEY WONG's clarinet playing has been described by The Clarinet as "breathtaking…a fine, liquid tone quality." Wong is a Yamaha performing artist and has given solo recitals throughout the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, and the Dominican Republic. He has also performed at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, and at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and has appeared with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Southwest Michigan Symphony, and the Canary Islands International Opera Festival Orchestra. Wong received the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Michigan, where his teachers included David Shifrin, John Mohler, and Fred Ormand, and also holds a diploma from the Interlochen Arts Academy.
