NEW MUSICIANS JOIN SYMPHONY AS 2001-2002 SEASON BEGINS
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Portland, Ore. … Seven new faces will appear on the Oregon Symphony stage as the 2001-2002 season opens with four talented musicians from around the United States joining the Symphony permanently and seven musicians filling temporary vacancies.

Aaron LaVere won the May 22, 2001, Principal Trombone auditions and joins the Oregon Symphony from his most recent post with the New World Symphony, where he performed under the batons of Michael Tilson Thomas, Hans Vonk, Sergiu Comissiona, Vladimir Spivakov, Don Runnicles and Hugh Wolff. He has also worked with the Detroit Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony, the Kalamazoo Symphony, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Ann Arbor Symphony and the Flint Symphony. LaVere's education took him to Interlochen, then to the University of Michigan, where he earned both a BM and a MM in performance.

The second violin section gained three new permanent violinists this season when Gregory Ewer, Alicia Yang and Matthew Faust won auditions on May 21. Ewer joins the Symphony after eight years with the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra. After receiving his Bachelor's degree from the University of Houston, Ewer worked toward a Master's degree at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. An avid period instrumentalist, Ewer also founded Portland's Magnolia Chamber Ensemble, a versatile group known for its period performances and commissions of new works.

Alicia Yang joins the Symphony from previous orchestral positions with the Kennedy Center Opera and the Baltimore Opera. Her international appearances have included concerts in Spain and Italy while a member of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y León. She also released two recordings of 20th century string quartets for the Opus One label. Yang received degrees from the Oberlin College Conservatory and New England Conservatory.

Matthew Faust returns to the Oregon Symphony after a few years performing in the Colorado Symphony, where he met his wife, Oregon Symphony Assistant Concertmaster Erin Furbee. Faust was trained at the University of Cincinnati and Brooklyn College and has also played in the Denver, Cincinnati and Syracuse Symphonies. Faust was a member of the Oregon Symphony in 1994-95.

Seven musicians will be filling one-season positions as a result of leaves of absence, retirements and resignations: Kathleen Follett continues her position from last season as first violin, along with first violinist Karen Hilley, a frequent substitute with the Symphony, the Oregon Ballet, Portland Opera and Spokane Symphony; Tracy Dunlop, who is taking a season off from her position with the Spokane symphony, fills a position in the second violin section while Julie Coleman is on leave of absence; Violist Soo Kwong Kim of the Reno Philharmonic orchestra, cellist Heather Blackburn of Ethos Quartet and string bassist Geoffrey Osika of previous Oregon Symphony seasons, are filling temporary vacancies due to section musician resignations; Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia Principal Steve Harriswangler will be 3rdbassoon/contra-bassoon while Juan DeGomar is on his leave of absence.

Returning from leave this season are Principal Flute Dawn Weiss, Violin I Aida Baker and Principal Keyboard Katherine George.

Aaron LaVere

Recently appointed Principal Trombone of the Oregon Symphony, Aaron LaVere is emerging as one of the leading brass players of his generation. His most recent work with the New World Symphony had him performing under the batons of Michael Tilson Thomas, Hans Vonk, Sergiu Comissiona, Vladimir Spivakov, Don Runnicles, and Hugh Wolff. LaVere has worked with the Detroit Symphony under Neeme Jarvi, the San Antonio Symphony under Christopher Wilkins, the Kalamazoo Symphony, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Ann Arbor Symphony and the Flint Symphony.

A frequent soloist, LaVere has appeared throughout the Midwest, performing the Grondahl Concerto, the David Concerto, and the Jacob Concerto. As a chamber musician, LaVere has performed with the Detroit Chamber Winds, the Detroit Symphony Brass Quintet, the Michigan Chamber Brass and the New World Brass Quintet.

A native of Flint, Mich., LaVere began his musical studies at the age of 9 in the public schools. His education took him to Interlochen, and on to the University of Michigan, where he earned both a BM and a MM in performance. He has studied with Jay Friedman, Sam Pilafian, James DeSano, Milt Stevens, Mark Lawrence, Ian Bousefield, and H. Dennis Smith, and received an invitation to the Tanglewood Music Festival. As a member of the Pacific Music Festival, Mr. LaVere toured throughout Asia performing under Christoph Eschenbach. At the National Orchestral Institute in Washington DC, he worked under the batons of Marin Alsop, Maximiano Valdes and Peter Bay.

Alicia Yang

Recently joining the Oregon Symphony, violinist Alicia Yang was born in Baltimore and began violin studies at the age of 4. Yang leads an active and varied concert career. During the 1999-2000 season she was a featured soloist with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra in their "Mostly Mozart" program, and in the 2001-02 season she will appear with the Ottumwa (IA) Symphony performing the Brahms Violin Concerto. Yang has collaborated in chamber music programs with her husband Amos Yang, the Maia Quartet and pianists Heidi Williams and Melvin Chen. She has released two recordings of twentieth-century string quartets for the Opus One label. International appearances include chamber music and orchestral concerts in Spain and Italy while a member of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y León. Other orchestral positions have been with the Kennedy Center Opera and the Baltimore Opera. On the baroque violin, Yang has appeared with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Washington Bach Consort, and at the Boston Early Music Festival. Each summer she joins the Carmel Bach Festival for both recitals and orchestral concerts.

Yang has received degrees from the Oberlin College Conservatory and from the New England Conservatory, studying under Marilyn McDonald, James Buswell and Louis Krasner. At the University of Iowa, she has been a doctoral candidate and recipient of the Iowa Performance Fellowship and the Pelzer Foundation Fellowship. She has taught violin at the Interlochen Center for the Arts and at the Preucil School of Music.

Gregory Ewer

Violinist Gregory Ewer joins the Oregon Symphony after eight years with the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra. While in Houston, Gregory completed Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music performance. After receiving his Bachelor's degree from the University of Houston, Gregory served as teaching assistant to Professor Sergiu Luca while working toward a Master's degree at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. He also performed frequently with the Houston Ballet Orchestra.

An avid period instrumentalist, Gregory led the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra in HGO's 1999 period production of Claudio Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, a first of it's kind in Houston. He also appeared as a soloist with Sergiu Luca, John Holloway and Kenneth Goldsmith in a period performance of works from Antonio Vivaldi's L'Estro Armonico. A year before joining the Oregon Symphony, Gregory moved to Portland to help found the Magnolia Chamber Ensemble, a versatile group known for it's period performances and commissions of new works.

Gregory's summer engagements have included performances at the Tanglewood Music Center and ongoing yearly performances at the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival. Outside the classical realm, Gregory plays fiddle with the acclaimed Texas bluegrass band, Classical Grass, and the Irish ensemble, The Tulaigh Morh Trio.

Matthew Faust

Having played the 1994-95 Oregon Symphony season, Matthew Faust is delighted to again play in the Oregon Symphony orchestra under Music Director James DePreist.

Prior to Oregon, Faust was a member of the Colorado Symphony of Denver, prior to which he performed in the Denver, Cincinnati and Syracuse Symphonies. Born in Minneapolis, Faust received most of his formal training at the University of Cincinnati and Brooklyn College where, by invitation, he played in Itzhak Perlman's master classes.

Faust looks forward to classes at the Oregon School of Art and craft and other venues in the area. Faust and his wife, Oregon Symphony violinist Erin Furbee, are excited to explore the many sites of Oregon and the great Northwest.