Nanette McGuinness
Artistic Executive Director, soprano
Soprano and E4TT co-founder and Artistic Executive Director NANETTE MCGUINNESS has been hailed in the press for her "creamy golden tone" and "glorious soprano" across a repertory that ranges from 1600 to the present. A passionate advocate of music by living composers and women artists, she has performed operas, concerts, and recitals in 13 languages on two continents in over 25 operatic roles with the Silesian State (Czech Republic),
Opera San Jose (Opera in the Schools), West Bay, Pacific Repertory, and Livermore Valley Opera, San Jose Symphony, Contra Costa Chorale, Monterey Peninsula Chorus, Solano Symphony, and Palo Alto Philharmonic, among many. She earned her doctorate from the UC Berkeley and her undergraduate degree from Cornell University.
Margaret Halbig
Pianist
Pianist MARGARET HALBIG is in high demand as a collaborative artist in both the instrumental and vocal fields. She is currently Associate Chair of the Voice Department and Principal Vocal Coach at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she also frequently collaborates with faculty and student instrumentalists. During the summer, Margaret is Collaborative Piano Coordinator of Interlochen Arts Camp. An advocate of new and contemporary music, Margaret is the pianist for Ninth Planet, a San Francisco-based new music collective where she also serves on the board. She is a member of Frequency 49, a wind and piano sextet, which performs all over the Bay Area. Margaret earned her DMA from the University of California Santa Barbara and also holds performance degrees from the University of Missouri, Kansas City Conservatory and University of Evansville, Indiana.
Megan Chartier
Cellist, Graphic Designer
Cellist MEGAN CHARTIER is “unafraid to display gutsy abandon,” as described by the South Florida Classical Review. She currently holds positions as principal cellist of
Opera San Luis Obispo and section cello in the Vallejo Symphony, and is joining San Francisco’s contemporary Ensemble for These Times in the spring of 2025.
Previous notable positions include core cellist of the Astralis Chamber Ensemble, principal cellist of the Miami Symphony Orchestra, and extra cello of San Antonio Symphony. In the fall of 2023, she joined the faculty as Cello Lecturer at California
Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and is Visiting Assistant Professor of Practice in Cello at the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music.
Kalli Sobania
Operations Coordinator
Originally from central Minnesota, KALLI SOBANIA’s musical career has taken her across the U.S. and abroad, connecting with a variety of audiences. She earned her Bachelor of Music from St. Olaf College, graduating summa cum laude under the mentorship of Francesca Anderegg. Kalli went on to complete a Master of Music at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Kristin Lee. As a graduate assistant in Performance Management at CCM, she developed a strong interest in arts administration. Now based in San Francisco, she looks forward to contributing to the Bay Area’s arts community through both performance and arts leadership.
Stephanie M. Neumann
A/V Project Specialist
Composer, saxophonist/vocalist, conductor, and audiovisual editor/artist STEPHANIE M. NEUMANN earned an MA in Music Composition at Mills College, BA in Music at Miami University, and Certificate from The Recording Workshop. Her recent audiovisual projects include Ensemble for These Times' "For Good Measure" podcast and concert visuals, and GLFCAM’s “Bahlest Eeble Readings” virtual premieres. As a composer, she has written electroacoustic and contemporary works premiered by performers such as Ensemble for These Times and flutist Brice Smith via the #GLFCAMgigthruCOVID initiative. She’s also a current member of Sl(e)ight Ensemble and has explored multiple genres, performing with a variety of instrumental/vocal ensembles, collaborations, and solo projects.
Abigail Monroe
Social Media Assistant
Cellist ABIGAIL MONROE has established herself as a sought-after solo performer, chamber music collaborator, and large ensemble musician throughout the United States. Her musicianship has been praised for “add[ing] a rich, resonant layer to the ensemble, enhancing the overall texture and emotional depth of the performance.” (For All Events) Formerly the principal cellist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, she holds orchestra positions throughout the country, including the West Michigan Symphony, Missouri Symphony and Orchestra Iowa, and frequently performs with The Orchestra San Antonio, Louisiana Philharmonic, Des Moines Symphony, Dubuque Symphony, Illinois Philharmonic, Ensemble Mik Nawooj, and Northwest Indiana Symphony, among others. Monroe holds a Bachelor’s Degree and Professional Studies Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Christy Xu
Intern
Mezzo-soprano CHRISTY XU is a versatile artist who is trained professionally in both opera and musical theater realms, she brings classical technique and a rich emotional depth to every role
she performs. From childhood lullabies to broadway stages, music has always been her guiding star. She finished her bachelor’s degree in Wuhan Conservatory of Music and her Master’s degree in San Francisco Conservatory of Music, she is currently enrolling in the Professional Studies Certificate program in SFCM. With a deep appreciation for the power of music to
connect and inspire, she strives to create unforgettable performances that resonate with audiences on a profound level.
Samuel Mason
Intern
The work of composer, songwriter, and pianist SAMUEL MASON fuses elements of classical, jazz, and popular music. He has performed original music at venues all over Westchester County, NY, and New York City, from coffee houses to 54 Below and Central Park, representing Young Adult Institute (YAI): Seeing Beyond Disability. He is earning a Bachelor of Music Degree in Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music - where he works closely with instrumentalists who publicly perform his music - under the instruction of David Conte.
Renata Volchinskhaya
Intern
Born and raised in San Francisco, violinist RENATA VOLCHINSKAYA is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in violin performance with William van der Sloot, at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Renata previously attended the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts and studied with Catherine van Hoesen. She has studied with the Kronos and Alexander string quartets as first violinist of the Dragon Quartet and interned at the Kronos Performing Arts Association. During her free time, she enjoys assisting with her family’s gourmet chocolate business.
David Garner
Co-Founder and Senior Artistic Advisor
E4TT composer and co-founder DAVID GARNER won The American Prize in 2015 for his String Quartet No. 2. Garner's music has been reviewed as "alluring" and
"a heady and touching revelation," and his works have been performed nationally and internationally by artists such as Suzanne Mentzner, Catherine Cook, David Krakauer,
and Matt Haimowitz. Garner's opera, "Mary Pleasant at Land's End,” is in the final stages of preproduction. A faculty member in composition, chamber music,
music theory and literature at the SF Conservatory of Music, Garner is a member of BMI, American Composers Forum, and the American Music Center.
Elinor Armer
A native Californian, composer ELINOR ARMER has spent her life on the West Coast, where she has taught piano, theory, composition, and music history at every level, in schools and universities, at her home in Berkeley as well as in master classes in the U.S. and abroad. For the last 50 years she
has been affiliated with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she established the composition department (1985) and continues to teach composition. Since 2014, the Conservatory has awarded the Elinor Armer Scholarship in Composition to qualified women applicants.
Kathy Barr
KATHY BARR is a non-profit consultant. She was most recently the Executive and Artistic Director of Old First Concerts. Prior to that position she was the Executive Director of the San Francisco Center for the Book. She holds a B.A. from Bard College and a Masters Degree in the Book Arts from Mills College. She is the proprietress of Small Plot Press.
Roziht Eve
Composer and independent artist ROZIHT EVE earned her Master's degree from the Technology Applied Composition program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and produces her original music on all major streaming platforms. With over twenty years of experience as a collaborative pianist and a cellist, she has performed with choirs, solo instruments, and both Western and Chinese orchestras. Born and raised in Taiwan, she has also performed in California, New York, Hawaii, Illinois, Oregon, Missouri, and Utah.
Alden Jenks
Composer ALDEN JENKS has composed both electronic and “acoustic” music in a wide variety of forms — instrumental, vocal, and theatrical.
His website shows the range of his work both within and outside music.
Jenks received his B.A. from Yale University and an M. A. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Recently retired from the SF Conservatory, he was director of electronic music and the recording studio, served as a professor of composition,
and was chair of the composition department.
Kurt Rohde
Violist and composer KURT ROHDE is a recipient of the Rome Prize, the Berlin Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies Fellowship, the Lydian String Quartet Commission Prize,
and an Arts and Letters Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
He has received commission awards from New Music USA - Commissioning Music/USA, the NEA,
and the Barlow, Fromm, Hanson, and Koussevitzky Foundations.Kurt is a curator at the Center for New Music and serves as Artistic Advisor for the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble. In the Fall 2019, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Composers Conference.
Bill Rudiak
Bill Rudiak holds an Associate Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music with Honors in Theory and Composition from Western University in London, Canada. Since moving to the Bay Area in 1992 from his native Canada, Bill has established himself as an avid player of piano and instrumental chamber music with different configurations of wind and string ensembles, frequently performing in series such as Contra Costa Performing Arts Society Master Artists, Etude Club of Berkeley, Senza Rito, and Chamber Music at St. Andrew’s. Bill serves on the Boards of Old First Concerts in San Francisco, Berkeley Chamber Performances, Contra Costa Performing Arts Society, and is president of the Amphion Music Club.
During the pandemic of 2020, Bill supported many musicians deprived of their regular income by donating the use of his performance space (including his magnificent Fazioli F228 piano), as well his A/V equipment and technical/post-production services for livestreaming and recording projects.
In his day job, Bill works for an information security consulting boutique based in San Francisco, where as a Qualified Security Assessor, he performs credit card security audits for a growing base of clients.
Frederica von Stade
One of the most beloved musical figures of our time, mezzo-soprano FREDERICA VON STADE has enriched the world of classical music for three decades
with her appearances in opera, concert, and recital. Well known to audiences around the world, she has made over sixty recordings with every major label, including complete operas, aria albums, symphonic works, solo recital programs,
and popular crossover albums. Her recordings have garnered six Grammy nominations, two Grand Prix du Disc awards, the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis,
Italy's Premio della Critica Discografica, and "Best of the Year" citations by Stereo Review and Opera News. She has been appointed an officer of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France.
Cynthia Whitehead
Linguist and lawyear CYNTHIA WHITEHEAD has worked in 35 countries in Europe, the USA, and Asia on the transfer of environmental policy and law between countries and regions.
She edited and produced the first compendium of European Union environmental law (10 languages) and focused in the 1990s on preparation for the accession of central and eastern European countries to the EU.
Since 1999, she has also worked in Asia on the development of policies and law related to environment and development. Whitehead has also been a member of the board of Directors of the the Blosser Center for Dyslexia Resources and of West Edge Opera.
McGuinness, Halbig, Monroe photos by Michael Halberstadt. Garner photo by Frogsong Photography
