2017 CMS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE July 9–13, 2017 Sydney, Australia PRESENTER & COMPOSER BIOS updated June 19, 2017 Adams, Daniel C. Daniel Adams (b. 1956, Miami, FL) is a Professor of Music at Texas Southern University in Houston. Adams holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (1985) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Music from the University of Miami (1981) and a Bachelor of Music from Louisiana State University (1978). He currently serves as The College Music Society Board Member for Composition. Adams is the composer of numerous published musical compositions and the author of many articles and reviews on topics related to Twentieth Century percussion music, music pedagogy, and the music of Texas. His most recent article, “Indeterminate Passages as Temporal and Spatial Components of Three Selected Compositions for Snare Drum Ensemble” was published in the Fall 2013 issue of the Journal of the National Association of Wind and Percussion Instructors. His book entitled “The Solo Snare Drum” was published in 2000. He is also the author of two entries published in 2009 in the Oxford Encyclopedia of African-American History 1896 to the Present and has authored a revision of the Miami, Florida entry for the Grove Dictionary of American Music. Adams has served as a panelist and lecturer nationally and internationally. In 2011 he presented, by invitation, a composition master class at Ewha University in Seoul, South Korea Adams’s music has been performed throughout the United States, and in Spain, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Turkey, Argentina, Bulgaria, Canada, and South Korea. His music is recorded on Capstone Records, Ravello Records, Potenza, Albany, and Summit Records. Albonetti, Viara S. A native of Bulgaria, Viara Albonetti holds a Master of Music Degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA. Viara dedicates her professional work to both violin instruction and performance. She is a full-time instructor in violin and chamber music at the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, CT, and adjunct violin and chamber music faculty member in the Department of Music at Southern Connecticut State University. A member of various faculty ensembles, Viara is an active participant in the chamber music series at the Neighborhood Music School. She has performed in many countries in Europe, as well as in the USA, and Canada. For the past decade Dr. Albonetti has been involved in research on the place of folk music in the classical works of composers, focusing on the musical heritage of Bulgaria. This research has brought her work to participation in music events at Carnegie Hall, as well to presentations at international research forums in the USA and abroad. Another area of interest and research for Dr. Albonetti is the development of global music education and violin pedagogy. Alexander, Justin Justin Alexander is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Percussion Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. A dynamic and versatile percussionist, Justin has performed throughout the United States and the world, with recent performances in Sweden, Costa Rica, and The Dominican Republic. Justin is co-founder of The AarK Duo, with flutist Tabatha Easley, and Novus Percutere, with percussionist Luis Rivera. Novus Percutere’s recent release, symmetry | reflection, focuses on percussion process music and the chamber works of the UK composer Steve Gisby. The AarK Duo has enjoyed several high-profile performances lately, including The College Music Society’s International Conference and the National Flute Association’s National Conference. Their debut CD, Hair, Cloth, and Thread, features new compositions for flute and percussion by Valerie Coleman, Marco Alunno, Michael Burritt, and John Griffin, and will be released Fall 2016. Justin can also be heard as a guest soloist on the recently-released Volume 3 by The Florida State University Percussion Ensemble, and the upcoming John Psathas Percussion Project disc, Volume 1. Active in the orchestral world, Justin regularly performs with The Richmond Symphony, The Florida Orchestra, and will be principal percussionist for the Wintergreen Performing Arts Festival Orchestra in Wintergreen, VA for the 2016 season. Justin holds the Doctor of Music Degree in Percussion Performance from The Florida State University. His primary teachers include Dr. John W. Parks IV, Dr. Blake Tyson, and Prof. Leon Anderson. Armstrong, Robin Robin Armstrong teaches General Music at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. Baldoria, Charisse Charisse Baldoria is an international prizewinning pianist and pedagogue whose artistic explorations have led to interdisciplinary collaborations (poetry, visual arts, improvisation, and dance) and unusual programs. She has performed in five continents and won awards in international and national competitions, such as the San Antonio International and Hilton Head Island International piano competitions. In recent programs, she negotiates with her Filipino identity by juxtaposing the indigenous with the colonial, performing music from and inspired by Southeast Asia and Spain. She has given a concert at the International Festival of Spanish Keyboard Music (FIMTE) in Almeria, Spain; a series of concerts and lectures sponsored by Spain’s Ministry of Culture and the Instituto Cervantes, and concerts in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Awarded a grant by the Cuban Research Institute, Dr. Baldoria did research at Florida International University’s Diaz Ayala Collection, the world’s most comprehensive Cuban music collection. Her explorations have also taken her to Cuba. A Fulbright scholarship had brought her to the United States, and she finished her master’s and doctorate at the University of Michigan where she studied with Logan Skelton. She is currently a professor at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania where she directs the piano program. Bellamy, Cayla Advocates for new music, University of Northern Iowa professors Dr. Ann Bradfield and Dr. Cayla Bellamy celebrate new works for both saxophone and bassoon. Bellamy’s performance invitations include summers at the Aspen Music Festival and Indiana Opera Festival, as well as core positions with wcfsymphony; Columbus, Carmel, and Macon Symphony Orchestras; and Athena Grand Opera Company. Bellamy holds the Doctor of Music degree Indiana University and has previously taught with the New York State Education Department, Gwinnett County (GA) Public School System, Indiana University Student Academic Center, and Interlochen Center for the Arts. Bengtson, Matthew W. Critically acclaimed as a “musician’s pianist,” Matthew Bengtson commands an unusually diverse repertoire ranging from Byrd to Ligeti and numerous contemporary composers. An advocate of both contemporary and rarely performed music, he has concertized extensively in the US, Europe, and Mexico. His recordings can be heard on the Romeo, Navona, Griffin Renaissance, Arabesque, Musica Omnia and Albany record labels. Mr. Bengtson is lauded as one of the most persuasive advocates of the music of Scriabin and Szymanowski. On his complete Scriabin Piano Sonatas, the American Record Guide writes: “Big-boned pianism, rich tonal colors, and dazzling technique are on display here. Has Scriabin ever been played better?” while Fanfare magazine calls him “a Scriabinist for the 21st century … upon whom future generations can rely for definitive interpretations.” In 2015, he performed in the historic centennial “Scriabin in the Himalayas” festival in Ladakh, India, and is a co-author of the upcoming “Scriabin Companion” for Rowman and Littlefield. Equally devoted to the music of Karol Szymanowski, he has presented numerous all- Szymanowski duo/solo recitals with violinist Blanka Bednarz. Their 3-CD recording of Szymanowski's solo and violin-piano duo music is due shortly for release on the Musica Omnia label. His paper “The Szymanowski Clash: Methods of Harmonic Analysis in the Szymanowski Mazurkas” was awarded the 2003 Stefan and Wanda Wilk Prize for Research in Polish Music. Mr. Bengtson is a Steinway Artist and Assistant Professor of Piano Literature at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. Mr. Bengtson is Assistant Professor of Piano Literature at the University of Michigan. Bergman, Mark Double Bassist, composer, and author Mark Elliot Bergman is the Director of Strings at Sheridan College. He teaches Double Bass and directs the Sheridan College Symphony Orchestra, Sheridan College Chamber Strings, and the Sheridan College Viol Consort. Mark is the former Principal Double Bassist of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Mato Grosso Chamber Orchestra (Brazil), and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. He spends his summers with the Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon and with Assisi Performing Arts in Assisi, Italy. In 2006, Mark founded Virginia Virtuosi, a string trio dedicated to innovative chamber music programs and arts education. The ensemble recently performed at the Kennedy Center, Corcoran Gallery, and National Gallery of Art. They won the first Yale University Alumni Ventures Award in 2008, and were cited by Fairfax Connections for “turning classical music cool.― Mark’s compositions are published by the British company “Recital Music.― He received the 2011 Strauss Fellowship from the Arts Council of Fairfax County supporting the creation of Shenandoah Suite, a string trio commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of Shenandoah National Park. His