The Water is Wide – Music of Greg Bullen
Guest Artist Bios
Lura Johnson
Steinway Artist Lura Johnson describes her mission this way: “My goal is to vividly and thoroughly bring to life the essence and true character of the music, the way an actor embodies a role with full commitment.” Lura is Principal Pianist of the Delaware Symphony and Resident Pianist of the Baltimore Symphony, positions which synthesize her finely honed ensemble skills, soloistic virtuosity, and versatility. She has played principal keyboard for seven albums recorded by the Baltimore Symphony, including Bernstein’s Mass, which received a Grammy nomination in 2010.
Chamber music has always been Lura’s true north. “The sensing, the risk-taking, the spontaneous creation in the moment,” she says, “sharing these human experiences through music, not words, is electrifying.” One of her chamber music albums, Inner Voice with violist Peter Minkler, received widespread attention when it was prominently featured in the official trailer for the 2013 Warner Brothers film, Gravity. Esteemed for her uncommon sensitivity and skill as a chamber music partner, Lura moves flexibly inside an ensemble as leader or supporter, as needed. Her Duo Baltinati with cellist Ilya Finkelshteyn won Second Prize in the chamber music division of the International Johannes Brahms Competition in 2015.
Lura has been featured as a soloist with the Baltimore and Delaware Symphonies, performing Rachmaninoff’s First Piano Concerto, Grieg Concerto, Mozart’s K. 466, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. She is one of few with the versatility to perform the complete Bach Brandenburg Concerti, moving seamlessly from the continuo harpsichord role in Concertos No.1 through 4 and No. 6, and assuming the solo role in the magnificent Concerto No. 5. Similarly, in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s recent production of Amadeus Live, Lura navigated the solo role in several Mozart Concerti, as well as performing the supporting role of organ continuo, eliciting the praise “meticulous and brilliant” from the Montgomery County Sentinel.
Nati Draiblate
Hailed as “an extremely gifted violinist,” Netanel Draiblate’s performances as a soloist, chamber musician and recording artist serve to emphasize his versatility. Draiblate has collaborated with such luminaries as Pinchas Zukerman, Yo-Yo Ma, ltzhak Perlman, Jaime Laredo and Cho Liang Lin. Season highlights include performances of Jim Stephenson’s violin concerto Tributes with the Lake Forest Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra featuring his own cadenza, Lou Harrison’s Suite for Violin, Piano and Chamber Orchestra with the Post-Classical Ensemble in Washington, D.C., and Coriglianos’ The Red Violin Chaconne with the Annapolis Symphony.Recent engagements include appearances with the American Symphony at Carnegie Hall, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the Brasilia Concert Society Orchestra and Turkey’s Bursa Symphony Orchestra. Draiblate recently toured with duo partner pianist Lura Johnson as Times Two, with a program that included selections from their Azica Perspectives recording. He also led a string quartet in a special program celebrating the 50th anniversary of German-Israeli diplomatic relations at Carnegie Hall, in Washington, DC and at Ravinia. Recognized for artistry that “combines confidence and eloquence,” Draiblate made his Canadian debut last season on the Friday Music Series. Draiblate served as the Director of Chamber Music at Georgetown University and is the Founder and Director of the Annapolis Symphony Academy.
Aaron Engebreth
Twice GRAMMY-Award nominated for Best Operatic Recording, baritone Aaron Engebreth enjoys a varied solo career in opera, oratorio, & recital. He devotes considerable energy to the performance of both established music and contemporary premieres, and is frequently featured as a guest soloist on stages from Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and Boston's Symphony Hall. His recent New York City Opera debut in Dominick Argento’s A Waterbird Talk performed at Carnegie Hall, compelled the New York Classical Review to state, "Engebreth is a marvelous actor, capable of holding his character’s many facets and motivations in tension." As a recording artist, Mr. Engebreth is featured on nearly 30 commercially released recordings from the Baroque to modern premieres.
David Hodgkins
David Hodgkins is the Artistic Director of award–winning Coro Allegro in Boston, Artistic Director of The New England Classical Singers, Director of Music at The Commonwealth School, and advanced conducting instructor at the Kodály Music Institute. Mr. Hodgkins has conducted over 35 critically acclaimed world and Boston premiere performances of significant works by composers ranging from Marianne Martinez to Arvo Pärt. With Coro Allegro, which Boston Globe critic Michael Manning deemed “one of Boston’s most accomplished choruses,” Mr. Hodgkins received the 2019 Chorus America ASCAP Award for Adventurous programming and the 2012 Chorus America Alice Parker/ASCAP Award. Mr. Hodgkins has been featured on Boston Public Radio, and in numerous magazine articles and musical blogs. He has served as producer for many recordings, including three award-winning CDs by La Donna Musicale, Laury Gutiérrez, Artistic Director. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and Temple University, Mr. Hodgkins was awarded fellowships at the Aspen and Sandpoint music festivals. His conducting mentors include Wayne Abercrombie, Alan Harler, James Roth, Gunther Schuller, and Paul Vermel.
Greg Bullen
Greg Bullen is a composer who works across many genres. Integrating musical idioms, ideas and vocabularies, both intentionally and intuitively, has always been at the center of his work. Among the musicians and ensembles who have performed his orchestral, choral, instrumental, and jazz compositions are the Amherst College Choir, Aviva Chamber Players, Berlin Saxophone Quartet, Coro Allegro, flautist Michael Feingold, pianist Gregory Hayes, clarinetist Darryl Harper and The Onus, Holyoke Civic Symphony, flautist Susan Kurian, guitarist Robert Phelps, Pioneer Valley Cappella, Pioneer Valley Symphony, soprano Dianne Smith, Gregg Smith Singers, Solati Trio, jazz pianist Helen Sung, Virginia Choral Society, and the University of Massachusetts Chamber Choir.
Orchestral compositions recorded and released on the MMC label include Elegy Eroica (Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Robert Stankovsky conducting), The Parable of the Blind (London Symphony Orchestra, Roger Briggs), and Scherzo (Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Gerard Schwartz). Trio for violin, cello and piano was recorded by the Solati Trio and released on the CD The Solati Trio (MMC). The Jazz Clarinet Quartet was recorded by Darryl Harper and released on the CD The Need’s Got to Be So Deep (Hypnotic Records.) Vesper Adest, a secular cantata for mixed chorus, flute, and piano four-hands, won the Virginia Choral Society's 60th Anniversary Choral Competition.
Mr. Bullen was educated at the University of Massachusetts and Smith College, where he studied music composition with Charles Fussell, Robert Stern, Donald Wheelock, and Ronald Perera. Post-graduate compositional work included private study with jazz pianist and composer William Thomas McKinley. Mr. Bullen also enjoyed a career in high school education at schools in both Massachusetts and Maryland, where he taught music courses, conducted choral and instrumental ensembles, and served as department administrative chair.