NMPAS ARCHIVES: ARTIST BIOS

Meet some of our performers from previous seasons.
Use the links below to view programs.
Bach Society prior year performances
Chapel Series prior year performances
Santa Fe Flute Immersion prior year performances

Ellen Chavez de Leitner has performed with many orchestras, chamber ensembles, and as soloist. In Austria she was a member of the Albertschweizerhaus Chamber Orchestra, Jeunesse Wien, Huebner's Kursalon Orchestra, the Innsbruck Symphony Orchestra, and the Graz Philarmonic. In New Mexico, she has played with the Santa Fe Symphony, the Taos Chamber Orchestra and Chorus, and numerous orchestras and chamber ensembles. She was featured in the inaugural season of the Abiquiui Chamber Music Festival, performing violin/piano sonatas and works for unaccompanied violin. Her performances as soloist have included many works written for her by Catalonian composer Father Jose Maria Blanch, "Canticos de Fe", which was released in 2006. Her other CD, "Duo Guadalupe, Music for Violin and Guitar", was produced with guitarist Roberto Capocchi, with whom she has performed since January 2000. Ellen now performs often with two of her daughters, Cecilia Leitner, soprano, and Genevieve Leitner, guitar, as The Leitner Trio. She is currently a member of the San Juan Symphony, and on the substitute list for the Santa Fe Opera. In 2008 Ellen founded "Enchantment Chamber Music" presenting chamber music featuring musicians of high artistic caliber performing two to five concerts per year in northern New Mexico. Her mission is to help keep chamber music alive and thriving here throughout the year. Ellen studied at Saint John's College, the Conservatory of Vienna, the University of New Mexico, the College of Santa Fe, the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin, the Albuquerque Baroque Festival, and with her most influential mentor, Renata Armani Mencik Skoberne. Ellen is a sixteenth generation New Mexican, was born in Embudo, raised in Los Alamos, and lives in the home of her mother's ancestors, Chimayo, where she and her Austrian husband Hans raised their six children.

Edmund Connolly, Baritone, was born in London and studied at Cambridge University and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London. For seven years he was a professor of Music Studies at the Guildhall School, and he currently holds the post of Assistant Organist-Choir Director at the Cathedral of St. John, Albuquerque. Edmund has performed operatic roles in the UK and Europe, working with companies including Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Garsington Opera and English Touring Opera and conductors including Vladimir Jurowski, Sir Mark Elder and David Parry. His work as an oratorio soloist has included collaborations with conductors Sir David Willcocks, David Hill, and Bob Chilcott and he has given recitals around the UK and in the US. Since 2012 he has been one half of the duo Air & Hammers with pianist and organist Maxine Thevenot. A former lay clerk of the Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge, Edmund is an experienced choral and consort singer, and has performed frequently with groups such as the BBC Singers, the Gabrieli Consort and English Voices. He maintains an increasingly busy voice studio in Albuquerque.

Monika Cosson, Mezzo Soprano, is a private voice instructor at Santa Fe University of Art and Design. She has performed and recorded with The Gregg Smith Singers, The Santa Fe Desert Chorale and Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico. Her opera roles include Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Loyola Opera, High Priestess in Aïda and Cronie #3 in The Ballad of Baby Doe with New Orleans Opera, Flora in La Traviata with Jefferson Performing Arts Society, Lisa in I due timidi with Santa Fe Opera, and La Badessa in Suor Angelica with Opera Southwest. Monika has also appeared as a soloist with Canticum Novum, The Santa Fe Men's Camerata, and the Santa Fe Community Orchestra.

Pamela Epple, Oboeist , is Director of Serenata of Santa Fe. Originally from the Midwest, she graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy and received B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Juilliard School in 1977. While in New York, she maintained an active freelance career as a member of several prominent ensembles. She was a founding member of the Aspen Woodwind Quintet and the NY chamber music group, Tafelmusik. Ms. Epple also toured with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in the U.S. and abroad. She has also performed at many festivals including Aspen, Monadnock, Angel Fire, and Yale-in-Norfolk. A resident of Santa Fe, she has played oboe and English horn with the Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Symphony, the New Mexico Symphony, Santa Fe Pro Musica, and others. In the summer, she performs and teaches oboe and English horn at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in Nelson, New Hampshire

Kenneth Knight, Bass-baritone, a native of Texas, received his B.A. degree in music theory from Yale University, where he sang in the Yale Glee Club and the Whiffenpoofs. After graduate study in voice, musicology, and conducting at the Manhattan School of Music, he toured for several seasons with the Norman Luboff Choir.  He has also sung with the Roger Wagner Chorale, the Gregg Smith Singers, the Don Ellis Band, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, American Bach Soloists, and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Chorus.  In 1987 he was chosen to be the principal cantor for papal masses at the Los Angeles Coliseum and Dodger Stadium during the visit of Pope John Paul II. In California he was director of music for eight years at St. Clare’s Catholic Church in Santa Clarita and for five years at Petaluma United Methodist Church. He is also the founding director of the Sonoma County Men’s Chorus. Now a resident of Santa Fe, Mr. Knight is the founding director of the Canticum Novum Chorus & Orchestra, and has also directed the Zia Singers and the Santa Fe Men’s Camerata.

Nancy Laupheimer, founded the Taos Chamber Music Group in 1993 and serves as its Artistic and Executive Director. She has played flute, alto flute and piccolo with the Santa Fe Symphony, Musica de Camera Orchestra, Santa Fe Festival Ballet, Desert Chorale, New Mexico Music Festival, Serenata of Santa Fe, Music from Angel Fire, the Dorian Wind Quintet, and the American and Helios String Quartets. Other chamber music collaborations have included concerts on the Dolores and Green Rivers with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 2004 Laupheimer played for the Foundation for Modern Music's Music of Today Series in Houston where her composition BitterSweet was given its Texas premiere. In addition, she taught a masterclass for flute students at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. Active as a music educator, flute teacher and composer as well as performer, Laupheimer has participated in the Sante Fe Chamber Music Festival's Educational Outreach Program. She holds BA and MM degrees from Vassar College and Boston University's School of Music, and received fellowships to the Tanglewood and Aspen Music Festivals.

Genevieve Leitner performs and teaches guitar throughout the US and in Chile. Her prizes include:

1st prize, Greensboro Music Teachers Assoc. Young Artists Competition, 2007
1st prize, Columbus State University Guitar Competition, junior div., 2003
1st prize, Deborah Beene Memorial Competition, 2003
2nd prize, Ozelia Vassar Memorial Competition, 2007

Genevieve has performed in various ensembles with voice, flute, English horn, violin, harpsichord and other instruments. She regularly teaches guitar master classes and lessons to students of all ages. In addition to performance and instruction, her musical work includes collaboration on theatre and film music. She enjoys playing repertoire from a wide range of time periods and countries. Genevieve was born in Chimayó, New Mexico to a musical and artistic family. She has performed in master classes for Manuel Barrueco, Roland Dyens, Carlos Pérez, Scott Tenant, Jason Vieaux, and others. Genevieve received her Bachelor of Music from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she studied with Gerald Klickstein.

Classical guitarist Lynn McGrath is being heralded as a phenom. Blending her passion for theatre, Spanish Language and Literature and guitar she has shared the poetry and music of "Platero y yo" with audiences on 4 continents as both guitarist and theatrical narrator, an unprecedented feat. Bringing the writings of Nobel laureate Juan Ramon Jimenez to life for audiences across the globe, from children in a Peruvian orphanage to guitar connoisseurs at the Guitar Foundation of America Festival, one critic wrote the following "...wonderful timing, poise, wit, and grace, while getting a full rich sound from her guitar. Anyone who loves either music or poetry would have been charmed, but those who appreciate both, not to mention stage presence and acting skills, were electrified by this tour-de-force of artistic multi-tasking. --"Richard M. Long, Editor, Soundboard. In the United States, she has played at such prominent venues as the Troy Savings Hall (Troy, NY), the National Hispanic Cultural Center (Albuquerque), and the Skirball Cultural Center (Los Angeles) in addition to performing in major cities across the US. Abroad she has been featured in festivals in Italy, Montenegro, Mexico, Peru, and Poland and has presented at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and Oberlin Conservatory with lectures at the University of Veracruz and Mannes College. She has been a soloist with the Orchestra of Northern New York and has performed with the Albuquerque based professional choir Quintessence. After receiving degrees in Spanish Language and Literature as well as Education, she completed a music degree with Douglas Rubio at the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam (where she later taught as a full-time instructor for 4 years) and went on to earn a MM and DMA from the University of Southern California, studying with such luminaries as William Kanengiser, Pepe Romero, and James Smith. Presently an artist in residence in New Mexico, Lynn is performing extensively as a soloist and is a member of two ensembles: Presti and the Tantalus Guitar Quartet. She is a guitar instructor for Sandia Prep and the University of New Mexico's Music Prep Program, teaches for Central New Mexico Community College and after 7 years as the Tour Director for the Guitar Foundation of America has transitioned into the role of Director of Regional Symposia. A highly sought after private teacher, her students have received full scholarships to prominent universities, have won national competitions, and have been featured on NPR's "From the Top."

Jane Thorngren has appeared extensively as a soprano in leading operatic roles and on concert stages throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America and Asia. Principal soprano with the Theater der Landeshaptstadt Mainz, Germany, for three years, she also appeared with many North American opera companies including Minnesota, Fort Worth, Palm Beach, Portland, Baltimore, Florentine, Columbus, Detroit, Knoxville, Calgary, and Edmonton. She has been heard in two Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts with New York City Opera, in the title role of The Merry Widow and as Musetta in the Emmy-winning La Bohème. Her extensive oratorio experience includes appearances with the symphonies of Pittsburgh, Seattle, Phoenix, Savannah, Toronto, Ottawa, Hartford and Denver, the chamber orchestras of New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Stamford, as well as orchestras in Germany, The Netherlands, France, Hong Kong, and Armenia. She was the featured soprano for many seasons at the Festival de Musique Saint-Barthélemy in the French West Indies in opera and concert works. Art song recitals in Paris, Mainz, New York, Seattle, California, Iowa, Colorado, Florida and Montana have been her recent focus. She has recorded a collection of art songs on her own CD, This and My Heart.

Maxine Thévenot, born in Saskatchewan, Canada, is Founding and Artistic Director of Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico; Artistic Director of the Sangre de Cristo Chorale in Santa Fe; Director of the University of New Mexico women’s choir, Las Cantantes; is, with Edmund Connolly, one half of the duo Air & Hammers; and holds the position of Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John, Albuquerque, New Mexico, one of six women in the USA to hold such a position. Maxine holds degrees from the University of Saskatchewan (Bachelor of Music) and the Manhattan School of Music (Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts), where she was twice recipient of the Bronson Ragan Award for “most outstanding organist”. She is also an Associate of the Royal Canadian College of Organists and the Royal Conservatory of Music, and an Honorary Fellow of the National College of Music, London, UK. Dr. Thévenot maintains a distinguished international career as an organ recitalist having performed in many of the world's most prestigious churches and concert halls and has recorded 11 choral and organ CDs for RavenCD. She is often a visiting lecturer at universities, most recently having lectured at Cuneo Conservatory, Italy. Maxine has also contributed as a writer and photographer to several international publications.

Andreas Tischhauser, The Santa Fe Desert Chorale’s Managing Director, first joined the organization in 1997 as a singer under founding director Lawrence Bandfield. Having moved to the Southwest that same year to serve on the faculty at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, he enjoyed an active performing career in New Mexico and Colorado. During his time in the Four Corners area, Andreas held a position as Professor of Music at Fort Lewis College teaching Flute, Voice, Non-Western Music, and Music Technology. While teaching at the college, he also held principal flute positions in the San Juan and Santa Fe Symphonies. After a temporary departure from the area in 2008, Andreas was lured back to the Southwest in 2010 to assist in the restructuring of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and, four months later, was promoted to the position of Managing Director. Dr. Tischhauser received his education from Wichita State University, the University of Colorado, the Cincinnati Conservatory, and Florida State University. Andreas was selected as a finalist in The Myrna Brown International Competition for professional flutists in 2005. His flute teachers include Brad Garner and Charles Delaney.

Denise Wernly is a Mezzo-Soprano from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She recently finished her Master’s Degree at the Manhattan School of Music, studying under Patricia McCaffrey. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Northwestern University, where she performed the roles of Anna Gomez in The Consul and Gianetta in The Elixir of Love. She has also appeared as a soloist with the Northwestern University Symphonic Band and the Northwestern University Chapel Choir.