Program and Artist Biography

English soprano Amanda Balestrieri attended Oxford University, where she received a master's degree in modern languages. She trained as a pianist and violinist before commencing her career as a soprano soloist in Oxford and London, and touring in Europe with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner. In the United States, Ms. Balestrieri appears regularly as a concert soloist and has performed with premier period-instrument orchestras and ensembles across the United States, including the Washington Bach Consort, Smithsonian Chamber Players, American Bach Soloists in San Francisco, Musica Angelica in Los Angeles, and Santa Fe Pro Musica. She has also appeared in several baroque and classical opera productions in New York, Boston, and Washington with Concert Royal, New York Collegium, and Opera Lafayette.

Ms. Balestrieri has sung under the baton of Christopher Hogwood, Leonard Slatkin, and Peter Phillips, performing works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Franz Schubert. Balestrieri also performs 20^th-century and contemporary works, including Richard Einhorn's Voices of Light with Anonymous Four and a recent recital of chamber music for flute and voice. Ms. Balestrieri has recorded for the Koch and Bard labels; other recordings include Handel's Alexander's Feast on the Dorian label (2007), and a DVD of Nicholas White's Magnificat, written for Ms. Balestrieri.

Pianist Gabriel Dobner received his bachelor's degree in piano performance from Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University, where he studied with Ludmila Lazar. At Indiana University in Bloomington he earned his masters degree with James Tocco and his doctorate with Leonard Hokanson.  After studying Lied accompaniment with Helmut Deutsch, Mr. Dobner quickly established himself as a successful collaborative pianist, performing regularly with such notable singers as Cornelia Kallisch, René Kollo, Kevin McMillan, and Alexandra Petersamer. These and other collaborations led to performances at major concert venues in Munich, Dresden, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Cologne, Nuremberg, Vienna, and Zurich. He has also performed widely in the United States, Canada, and Japan.

Mr.  Dobner has recorded for the Ottavo and MDG labels. His first recording for MDG won high praise from BBC Music magazine, Fono Forum, and West German Radio in Cologne, who referred to him as a "master among Lieder pianists." In addition to studio recordings, he has recorded for the Bayrischer Rundfunk, Südwestfunk, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, Chubo-Nippon Broadcasting Company in Japan, and Saint Paul Sunday.