MEET THE FRIENDS

CHRISTINE CICHA

CO-DIRECTOR

Christine Cicha is a Kansas City native who has been transplanted to Central Illinois. She was the principal cellist of the Illinois State University Symphony Orchestra, is a substitute musician for the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, plays with the Illinois Valley and Millikin-Decatur Symphonies, and has performed with MIOpera. Before moving to Illinois she played with the Kansas City Civic Orchestra, the Mississippi Valley Orchestra (MN), Bloomington Civic Theater (MN), the Theater in the Park (KS), as well as pit orchestras for the operas at the University of Minnesota. Ms. Cicha has also been a member of the Oskaloosa (IA) Chamber Music Festival and has performed at the Kansas City Fringe Festival. Ms. Cicha has been teaching a private studio for nearly a decade and she previously taught with the Illinois State University String Project. She received her Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Minnesota and her Masters of Music in performance from Illinois State University. She has studied under Dr. Adriana Ransom (Illinois State University), Tanya Remenikova (University of Minnesota), and Lawrence Figg (of the Kansas City Symphony).

DOUGLAS TEMPLES

CO-DIRECTOR

Douglas Temples currently resides in South Carolina. As a chamber musician, he has performed at the Spoletto Music Festival, the Madeline Island Chamber Music Festival, The American Viola Society Festival, and the Southeastern Composers Symposium. He has performed with Sinfonia Da Camera in Champaign and the Illinois Symphony. As an avid champion of new music, Douglas has performed with the Durward Contemporary Music Ensemble, the University of Tennessee Contemporary Music Ensemble, and on the Illinois State University Music Factory and Red Note concert series. He has premiered works by Laura Schwendinger, Ellen Reid, and others. While working on his Master’s at Illinois State, Douglas along with two colleagues presented and performed at the American Viola Society Festival in Los Angeles. Douglas began his musical studies on piano but later switched his focus to the viola. He completed a Master’s degree in viola performance with a secondary emphasis on orchestral conducting at Illinois State University where he was a graduate teaching assistant studying with Dr. Kate Lewis (viola) and Dr. Glenn Block (conducting). He graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee where he studied with Hillary Herndon. Upon graduation, he was awarded the Outstanding Graduate of the School of Music, an award based on academic excellence and career promise. He has served as principal viola for the Illinois State University Symphony Orchestra, the University of Tennessee Symphony, Opera, and Chamber orchestras as well as for the Marble City Opera Company and the Clarence Brown Theater Pit Orchestra. He has also performed with the Johnson, City Symphony, Peoria Symphony, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Champaign BACH Society, and MIOpera.

AARON GOMEZ

COMPOSER IN RESIDENCE Aaron Gomez is currently on a sabbatical from the ensemble. He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study traditional Asian music and instruments and is currently in Taipei, Taiwan. Although he is not be joining the ensemble as a performer this season, he has still been assisting with future programming decisions as well as some administrative help.

KATIE JOY HEISE, violin

Katie Joy Heise began her study of the violin at age 6 at the Wheaton College Suzuki Program where she studied private lessons and chamber and orchestral music. She was invited to perform with the Vivaldi Strings of Wheaton College and Chicago Consort of Western Springs School of Talent Education, both invitation-only groups that toured nationally. During her high school and college years, Ms. Heise participated in several acclaimed music festivals and chamber music programs across the United States and Europe. She competed in the statewide ILMEA competition and was awarded a position in the elite All State Honors Orchestra, distinguishing the very top high school aged musicians in the state of Illinois. She was also a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, reputable for being among the top four youth orchestras in the nation. This opportunity led her to work with several CSO musicians and perform in Carnegie Hall, New York, and Symphony Center, Chicago. Ms. Heise continued her studies at the Chicago College for Performing Arts, Roosevelt University (2009), where she earned her bachelors in Music Performance. Her studies there led her to work with Teresa Fream, Cyrus Forough, Robert Chen, and Dr. David Schrader. During her collegiate years, she also worked with Keng-Young Seng, Dr. Stephen Clapp, Dr. Lee Joiner, and Hagai Shaham. Ms. Heise went on to study with Blaise Mangiere at Northern Illinois University, where she earned her Master’s degree in performance with an emphasis on violin pedagogy (2013), and a Performance Certificate (2015). Ms. Heise has served as adjudicator for the ILMEA district competitions for the past 6 years, and appears as a guest artist for schools in DuPage County. Her students have won principal and concertmaster positions in their school and youth orchestras, have been members of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, performed with ILMEA All State Honors Orchestras, and are recognized top tier performers in the school solo and ensemble competitions. Ms. Heise has performed regularly with the numerous orchestras across the Midwest, including the Illinois Symphony, Illinois Chamber Orchestra, Northwest Indiana, Midland Symphony, Peoria Symphony, Southern Illinois Symphony, and Southern Illinois Music Festival. Ms. Heise has taught privately for over 15 years and holds a studio of 50 violin and viola students out of both her own private studio and Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, IL.

KELSEY KLOPFENSTEIN, violin Expressed as having finesse and a lyrical tone, Kelsey Klopfenstein is an emerging soloist and chamber violinist, both in the classical and jazz traditions. Ms. Klopfenstein is a graduate of Illinois State University where she held the Graduate Violin Assistantship under Dr. Sarah Gentry. Awarded a Masters of Music in Performance from ISU, Ms. Klopfenstein also holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance degree from Bradley University (2012), where she was the Presser Scholar (2011-2012). She has studied with award winning violinist such as Dr. Scott Conklin (University of Iowa), Marcia Henry Liebenow (Bradley University), and Elizabeth Rust (formerly of Western Illinois University). Conducting has always been a passion for Ms. Klopfenstein who began studying privately as an undergraduate with Brian Dollinger (Muscatine Symphony Orchestra) and furthered her skills at summer festivals with pedagogues such as Donald Portnoy (University of South Carolina) and Apo Hsu (Bard College). Ms. Klopfenstein, a dedicated teacher, volunteered for a year at L’ecole Musique Sainte Trinite in Port-au-Prince, Haiti as a violin teacher, orchestra conductor, and theory tutor. This marks her thirteenth year of private violin teaching. Besides music, Ms. Klopfenstein enjoys biking, eating chocolate, Harry Potter, and hot summer days.

MARK WIRBISKY, viola

Violist Mark Wirbisky is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College and Illinois State University, and he plays in many orchestras in central Illinois. While at Gustavus Adolphus College, he studied with Jonathan Magness and Kenneth Freed of the Minnesota Orchestra, as well as Dr. Warren Friesen. While a graduate student at Illinois State University, Mark studied with Dr. Katherine J. Lewis. He can be found playing with orchestras such as Sinfonia da Camera, the Quad Citied Symphony Orchestra, Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and the Peoria Symphony Orchestra. When he is not playing the viola, Mark can be found running the Constitution Trail in Bloomington-Normal.