August 4 — 15, 2008

WASHINGTON ISLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL

Oboist and Director of the Washington Island Music Festival, Stephen Colburn comes to us from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, where he has performed as Principal Oboe since 1966. He has also been Principal Oboe with the Santa Fe Opera and guest principal oboist with Chicago's Grant Park Music Festival. He has been a featured soloist with the Ojai Festival in California, performing the American premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' Oboe Concerto under the composer's direction. As a conductor, Mr. Colburn served as Music Director of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra from its founding in 1974 through the 2002 season, and was also Music Director and Conductor of the Racine Symphony Orchestra. He has served on the faculty of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Alverno College, UW-Whitewater, was a visiting professor at Lawrence University, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at UW-Milwaukee. Mr. Colburn holds degrees from Indiana University and UW-Milwaukee. He was the recipient of the 2002 Distinguished Citizen Award given by the Civic Music Association of Milwaukee and was presented the 2003 Outstanding Service to Music Award by the Association of Wisconsin Symphony Orchestras.

Meet the Ensemble

Festival Musicians

Stephen Colburn, Artistic Director/Oboe

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Timothy Klabunde, Violin

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Beth Giacobassi, Bassoon

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Beth Giacobassi was appointed to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in 1982 as bassoonist and contra-bassoonist. In the fall of 2001, she joined the faculty at UW-Milwaukee and became Principal Bassoon of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra. She was acting Assistant Principal in the MSO from Jan. 2002-June 2005. She has performed in the Washington Island Music Festival each summer since 1994. Ms. Giacobassi received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan. She has performed in the Rome Festival Orchestra, the Colorado Music Festival, the Bedford Springs Music Festival, the Ohio Light Opera Company, and the Berea Summer Theater. As a soloist she has appeared with the Milwaukee Symphony, UW-Milwaukee Wind Ensemble,  the University of Michigan Philharmonic and Wind Ensemble, UW-Parkside, and the Tahlia Chamber Music Concerts. She has also served on the faculty of UW-Parkside and Alverno College, is active in the MSO ACE program, works with the Milwaukee Youth Symphony, and teaches privately in her home. Beth is married to violinist Michael Giacobassi; their three children are Mario, Dante, and Gina.

Michael Giacobassi, Violin

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Violinist Michael Giacobassi grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, and began studying the violin at age nine. He received his Music Degree from Michigan State University, where he studied with Walter Verdehr. In 1974, Mr. Giacobassi became a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, subsequently appearing as soloist in statewide performances of Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 under the direction of conductor Lukas Foss. He also joined the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra in 1975, with which he performed the Violin Concerto No. 2 of Mozart. He has further appeared in recital at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and has performed in the Washington Island Music Festival since 1994. In addition to orchestral playing, Mr. Giacobassi teaches aspiring young musicians and coaches violinists of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony.

Nathan Hackett, Viola

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Nathan Hackett, viola, is currently a member of Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, principal violist of the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, and assistant principal violist for the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra.  Also active as a chamber musician, Mr. Hackett has performed in numerous recitals with some of the Milwaukee area’s leading players in series at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Wisconsin Lutheran College and UWM. For ten summers Mr. Hackett was principal violist with the Woodstock Mozart Festival where his frequent chamber music partner had been Russian violin virtuoso Marc Peskanov.  He has performed in the Washington Island Music Festival for four years. During his student years Mr. Hackett was principal violist with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the National Orchestral Institute in College Park, Maryland.  His teachers have been Jerry Horner of the Fine Arts Quartet, Peter Slowick of Northwestern University and Burton Kaplan of the Manhattan School of Music.

Diana Haskell, Clarinet

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Diana Haskell is Assistant Principal Clarinet of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. She was previously Assistant Principal/E-Flat Clarinet with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Clarinet during 2001-2002. Before that she served as Principal Clarinet with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Savannah Symphony Orchestra, and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Santa Fe Opera. Ms. Haskell has taught at  Wisconsin Lutheran College,  UW-Whitewater and SUNY Buffalo. She was a finalist in the 1986 Naumberg International Competition, giving a recital in Carnegie Hall, and has appeared as guest soloist at International Clarinet Society Conferences. She has participated in the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds, the Florida music Festival, and the Music Academy of the West. An Illinois native, Ms. Haskell began advanced study on both clarinet and piano at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. She hold degrees from The Juilliard School and the Eastman School of Music, studying under D. Stanley Hasty, Mitchell Lurie, Joseph Allard, and James Barkow. Her new CD, which features a variety of clarinet works with George Silfies, pianist, was released in the summer of 2006..

Diane Kahlscheuer

Co-Director, Festival Chorus

Stefanie Jacob, pianist, made her solo debut with the Boston Pops at age 17 and her Carnegie Recital Hall debut in 1984. An avid chamber musician, she was twice awarded second prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and was awarded Indiana University's Leo Weiner Prize for Chamber Music. Ms. Jacob has performed as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, and the Waukesha Symphony. She has twice appeared as a collaborating artist on Milwaukee's nationally recognized Artist Series at the Pabst and has performed on WFMT-Chicago's nationally broadcast Dame Myra Hess Series. She has recorded for the Arundax, CRI, Fleur de Son, and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music labels. A graduate of Harvard and Indiana Universities, Ms. Jacob taught at the University of Tampa, and is currently a member of the faculty of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, where she is a member of the resident Prometheus Trio with Scott Tisdel and Tim Klabunde.  She also performs as the Duo Coriolan with husband Scott, and as the Duo Cosi with violinist Susan Waterbury.

Stefanie Jacob, Piano

Wisconsin Conservatory of Music

Diane Kahlscheuer, a resident of Washington Island since 1987, attended UWWC in West Bend, focusing on music theory and organ performance. She began playing organ at her home church at age 12 and since then has been working as a church organist and choir director. Diane has been a private organ, piano, and guitar teacher since 1971. She is currently organist for Trinity Lutheran Church as well as pianist/organist for the Catholic faith community of the Island. Diane has been assisting with music for the annual Washington Island Forum since 1994, has been a co-teacher of the Art and Nature Center sponsored "Bravo" music appreciation program for grades K-6 since 1996, and first directed the Festival Chorus in 1994.

Violinist Timothy Klabunde has been a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since 1980 and has served as concertmaster for the Milwaukee Ballet and Milwaukee Civic Orchestras.  Mr. Klabunde has appeared as violin soloist performing with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra.  He studied with Leonard Sorkin and George Sopkin, founders of the Fine Arts Quartet, as well as Bernard Zaslav and Abram Loft.  Mr. Klabunde has performed at the Festival de Belles Artes in San Miguel, Mexico and at the Fourth Annual International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France.  He has performed live on WFMT Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Series and on both Wisconsin and National Public Radio.  He is currently a member of the Prometheus Trio at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and is an adjunct violin instructor and member of the Clarus piano trio at Cardinal Stritch University.  He has appeared at the Washington Island Music Festival for the past three summers.

Catherine McGinn, Double Bass

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Catherine McGinn, double bass, was a student of Lawrence Hurst at the University of Michigan where she received her Bachelor of Music degree in performance. Upon graduation, she joined the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra as a member of the bass section. During her tenure with that orchestra, Catherine has performed with the Peninsula Music Festival in Door County, served as Principal Bass of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, and is a founding member of the Bach Babes. In addition, she was a lecturer in Double Bass at Lawrence University for five years, an Adjunct Professor of Double Bass at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for five years, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Cardinal Stritch University.

Kathi O’Connor

Co-Director, Festival Chorus

Kathi O'Connor has been actively involved in the area of church music for more than 25 years. She currently holds the ministerial position of Diocesan Choir Director and liturgical consultant for the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay. Since moving to Washington Island, she has participated in the Washington Island Music Festival as rehearsal choir director, accompanist and alto soloist. She is the cantor for the Washington Island Catholic Faith Community and assists with the music at Trinity Lutheran Church.

Marlee Sabo, Soprano

Wisconsin Conservatory of Music

Soprano Marlee Sabo is an Artist Faculty member of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music where she received the first Faculty Honors Award in May of 2002. She is also the first faculty member to have a scholarship permanently endowed in her name. A recent honor for Marlee has been her induction into the Stark County Citizens Wall of Fame in the McKinley Museum and National Memorial in her hometown of Canton, Ohio. Marlee received a B.M. degree from Oberlin Conservatory and a M.M. degree, with honors, from Indiana University School of Music. She also was awarded a certificate from the Akademie Mozarteum in Salzburg and was a Fulbright Scholar in Stuttgart, Germany, receiving further grants from that country. Ms. Sabo has performed in Europe as soloist at the Salzburg Festival, the Stuttgart Staatstheater, and on German television. In the U.S. she has soloed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (with whom she has also recorded), the Atlanta Lyric Opera, and at Chicago's Grant Park. In Milwaukee she has appeared as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Florentine Opera, and the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, as well as performing solo Art Song recitals, premiering newly composed music, and singing in oratorios and chamber music. Along with Stephen Colburn, Marlee is co-founder of the Washington Island Music Festival.

Julie Thornton, Flute

Colorado Symphony Orchestra

Flutist Julie Duncan Thornton is currently Principal Piccolo of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. She played the 1998-99 season with the New York Philharmonic, recording and touring with them, and has also performed with the Houston Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Grand Tetons Festival Orchestra. A native of Mercer Island, Washington, Julie graduated from the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University, pursuing doctoral studies at Rice University. In addition, Julie has performed with Strings in the Mountains, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Solti Orchestral Project at Carnegie Hall, Denver Opera, Houston Grand Opera, National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, and the Music Academy of the West. A winner and finalist of several competitions, she has studied with Walfrid Kujala, Bonita Boyd, Carol Wincenc, Anne Diener-Giles, and Leone Buyse. Julie is the wife of Michael Thornton, Principal Horn of the Colorado Symphony, and they enjoy performing chamber music together. Michael and Julie are the proud parents of their daughter, Lauren, born in October 2005.

Michael Thornton, Horn

Colorado Symphony Orchestra

Michael Thornton joined the Colorado Symphony Orchestra as Principal Horn in September 1997 and has appeared as soloist with the orchestra in the Concerto in E-flat, Op. 11, by R. Strauss, the Sinfonia Concertante (K.297b) of Mozart, and Messiaen's Des Canyons aux Étoiles. Prior to his present position, he was Principal Horn of the Honolulu Symphony and has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chatauqua Institute Festival Orchestra, Concerto Soloists Orchestra of Philadelphia, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, New York Wind Soloists Quintet, and the members of the New York Philharmonic Brass Section. He has recorded on the Angel/EMI, Koch International, Vox Classics, and Albany labels. Mr. Thornton attended The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, and Temple University, studying horn with Jerome Ashby, Randy Gardner, Julie Landsman, and J.C. Leuba. He is a member of the faculty at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and has presented master classes at the Manhattan School of Music, Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, University of Washington, and the Chatauqua Institute.

Scott Tisdel, Cello

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Scott Tisdel, Associate Principal Cellist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, is about to begin his 4th consecutive year as acting Principal; he has also served as Principal Cellist of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra since his arrival in Milwaukee in 1987, and has  appeared as soloist with both ensembles, as well as with the Waukesha Symphony and the Wisconsin Wind Orchestra. Prior to his arrival in Milwaukee, Mr. Tisdel had been Principal Cello of the Florida Orchestra in Tampa and a member of both the Oakland and San Jose Symphony Orchestras in California. He is the founding cellist of the Prometheus Trio, in residence at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, and was a founding member of the Conservatory's Paganini Trio and of the Strings in the Mountains Chamber Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Mr. Tisdel has recorded for Arundax, CRI, Fleur de Son, the Wisconsin Conservatory, and Oris Records.

Wayne Wildman, Piano/Harpsichord

Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra

Wayne Wildman has been heard on both the piano and harpsichord as a soloist with the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, the Sheboygan Symphony, the Manitowoc Symphony and the Green Bay Civic Symphony. He has also appeared with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in recitals at Symphony Center and the Art Institute of Chicago, and has served as accompanist for the Fourth International Henryk Szeryng Violin Competition in Toluca, Mexico. He also has performed on Wisconsin Public Radio's "Live from the Elvejhem" series. Born in Sheboygan and educated at Lakeland College and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Mr. Wildman is entering his 17th season as Music Director of the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as Music Director of First United Lutheran Church in Sheboygan and as accompanist for the Lakeshore Chorale. He is an experienced theatrical composer; his scores have been performed in Nebraska, North Carolina and Florida, as well as Wisconsin.