Featured Artists: The BCO Wind Octet
February 14, 2007

Barbara LaFitte is principal oboe of both the Boston Classical Orchestra and the Boston Ballet orchestra and plays English horn with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and she is a frequent substitute with the Boston Symphony. An admirer of the music of J.S. Bach, Ms. LaFitte has performed most of his sacred music as a member of Emmanuel Music. She is also an innovative teacher who has been instrumental in creating annual Oboefests at Brown University and at the Great Woods Educational Forum and is presently on the faculty of the Berklee College of Music where she has developed a special program for woodwind doublers.

Kristen Severson, oboe has been a member of the Boston Classical Orchestra since 1990 and has actively performed in the Boston area since moving here in 1987. She began her New England career with the Opera Company of Boston under Sarah Caldwell and has performed with Opera New England, New Hampshire Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Huntington Theatre, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra and Emmanuel Music. She holds bachelor’s degrees from Colorado College and the Manhattan School of Music and earned a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School. While based in New York she played under James DePriest, Zubin Mehta, Sixten Ehrling and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and toured to Japan, China and Hong Kong. Her teachers include Joseph Robinson, Thomas Stacy, Larry Thorstenberg and Richard Killmer.

Ian Greitzer, clarinet is principal with Boston Classical Orchestra as well as the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. He is also a member of the Boston Conservatory Chamber Players, Boston Musica Viva, Dinosaur Annex, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra and the Boston Conservatory Faculty Wind Quintet. He is currently on the faculties of the Boston Conservatory and Boston University School of Music.

Steven Lipsitt, now in his eighth season as music director of the Boston Classical Orchestra, began his musical training as a clarinetist. He played in youth orchestras at New England Conservatory and Boston University (where he and Ronald Haroutunian were in a woodwind quintet together), and won the first annual Tanglewood Award from the Brookline Chamber Music Society, a prize that included tuition in the Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra, where he played under conductors Lawrence Leighton Smith, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Seiji Ozawa, and studied with the late Pasquale Cardillo of the Boston Symphony. While earning undergraduate and graduate degrees at Yale in music and conducting, he continued clarinet studies with Keith Wilson (teacher of Richard Stoltzman), and played in orchestras and chamber groups. After a hiatus of many years, he picked up his clarinet again on his visits to Boston Public School classrooms, and couldn't resist the opportunity to make chamber music with his BCO colleagues.

Ronald Haroutunian, is principal bassoon and founding member of the Boston Classical Orchestra. He attended the New England Conservatory of Music and Boston University, studying with both Matthew Ruggiero and Sherman Walt. He is also principal bassoon of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestras and appears often with the Boston Symphony where he was second bassoon for the BSO’s 1999-2000 season. He has been a soloist with the Boston Pops, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra and Hartford Symphony. He teaches bassoon at Tufts University and Boston University.

Gregory Newton, bassoon is one of New England’s most active musicians. His credits include the Boston Ballet, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Musica Viva, New Hampshire Symphony, Portland Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, Boston Modern Orchestra Project as well as the Bolshoi Ballet Orchestra and the Prague Radio Symphony. He is founding member of the North Winds Quintet, the Prometheus Ensemble and the Ensemble Capolavoro. Mr. Newton has been featured soloist with the Harvard Bach Society Orchestra, the Granite State Symphony and the Nashua Symphony. He iearmed Bachelor of Fine Arts from SUNY at Buffalo and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Sherman Walt.

Nona Gainsforth, principal French horn, is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Music where she was trained by the renowned hornist, Phillip Farkas. She is former principal horn of the Montreal Symphony, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra, the McGill Chamber Orchestra, the Regina Symphony Orchestra and the State Orchestra of Mexico in Mexico City. Nona Gainsforth moved to Boston in 1981 and is presently a member of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in addition to being principal of the Boston Classical Orchestra. She teaches at Wellesley College and Northeastern University.

Frederick Aldrich, French horn, is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Boston Symphony hornist Richard Mackey. He has performed with virtually every orchestra in Boston, including the Boston Symphony, the Boston Pops, the Boston Ballet, and Boston Lyric Opera and is a member of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra. Presently he serves on the faculties of Amherst, Smith and Mount Holyoke Colleges.

SCHEDULE & TICKETS  •  ABOUT US  •  PROGRAM NOTES  •  SUPPORT US  •  CONTACT US  •  SITE MAP & CREDITS