Kari Besharse, composer, guitar, electronics
Kari Besharse’s compositional output spans various facets within the field of contemporary music, fully engaging new technological resources as well as traditional instruments and ensembles. Recent projects include “Lost Places” for Astralis Duo’s “Rising Water” project, and “Gorgon’s Head” for soprano and objects. Currently an instructor at University of New Orleans, Dr. Besharse has also taught at Southeastern Louisiana University, Illinois Wesleyan and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Kari’s education includes undergraduate studies at UMKC (B.M.), and graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin (M.M.) and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (D.M.A.).
Philip Schuessler, composer, piano, conductor, electronics
Philip Schuessler’s music explores the intricacies of subtle timbres and delicate dynamics through extended acoustic and electro-acoustic resources. His works have been championed by such artists and ensembles as Yarn/Wire, Loadbang, Mantra Percussion Ensemble, Dither Guitar Quartet, Hypercube, Byrne:Kozar:Duo, violinist Graeme Jennings, pianist Mabel Kwan and cellist Craig Hultgren. He is currently an instructor of music theory and composition at Southeastern Louisiana University. His music is published by Pendula Music, Potenza Music, Alia Music, Murphy Music Press, and SCI Journal of Scores. Recordings of his compositions may be found on the Centaur, Curvepoint, and Capstone labels.
Katalin Lukacs, piano
Originally from Transylvania, Katalin Lukács is a prizewinning pianist based in New Orleans. As a soloist she has appeared with orchestras both in Europe and in the United States. In addition to performing works of the classical repertoire, Katalin is an avid promoter of contemporary music.
She has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician at new music festivals in the United States and Europe including the Darmstadt New Music Courses in Germany, the Ostrava New Music Days in the Czech Republic, the SEAMUS National Conference in Eugene, Oregon, the TWEAK Festival in Limerick, Ireland, among others. She has performed with new music ensembles redfishbluefish, Ensemble Zs, SONOR, and Ostravska Banda.Together with soprano Stephanie Aston in 2014 she formed Astralis Duo, a voice and piano duo focused on presenting new music through innovative performances and on promoting works by women composers. Katalin is also member of Versipel New Music, an organization dedicated to bringing contemporary music to the New Orleans area.
Katalin holds a Diploma in piano performance from the “Gh. Dima” Music Academy in Cluj, Romania, a MM from The University of Alabama School of Music and a DMA from The University of California at San Diego.
Since 2011 Katalin lives in New Orleans. She holds the position of Professor of Practice at Tulane University.
Megan Ihnen, mezzo soprano
Megan Ihnen is a “new music force of nature.” Her performances thrive on elaborate sound worlds and fully-developed dramatic interpretations. A gifted narrative and non-narrative musical storyteller, Megan’s performance work explores the depths of memory, nostalgia, the perception of time, and complex relationships. Passionate about contemporary chamber music and opera, Megan has worked with individuals and ensembles around the globe including: International Contemporary Ensemble, Fifth House Ensemble, Great Noise Ensemble, Rhymes With Opera, and Synchromy. She is deeply committed to the belief that new music should be performed and loved in communities of all sizes. She has recently traveled to and performed on SPLICE Festival, Oh My Ears, ÆPEX Contemporary Performance, Detroit New Music “Strange Beautiful Music Marathon”, Omaha Under the Radar Festival, Works and Process at the Guggenheim Series, and New Music Gathering. Her voice and saxophone duo Megan Ihnen & Alan Theisen present… has traveled to twenty four cities in the US since 2017. Learn more about Megan at meganihnen.com.
Rick Snow, composer, electronicsRick Snow is a composer of acoustic and electronic music as well as a creator of multi-modal artworks of sound and light. Custom interactive computer sound and projection mapping instruments and installations comprise his most recent work. In this work he seeks to create situations in which audiences discover a complex “alien” generative system with its own memory and habits. His work has been performed/exhibited in many venues in the United States as well as selectively in Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, and Wales. He holds the position of Professor of Practice at Tulane University where he oversees the Music Science and Technology area. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego.
Brina Bourliea, saxophones
Brina Bourliea Faciane has given recitals and performances in the United States, Canada, Italy, Cyprus, France, and most recently in Zagreb, Croatia at the 18th World Saxophone Congress with Quartetto Obrigado. As a performer and advocate of new music, she has recently commissioned works for alto saxophone by John Anthony Lennon and Kirk O’Riordian, as well as a new piece for baritone saxophone by Jessica Rudman. Past projects have included works for saxophone quartet and choir, and saxophone quartet with notable composers Tõnu Kõrvits, Ben Stonaker, and Phillip Schuessler. Ms. Faciane maintains an active private studio of high school students who consistently earn top spots in the Louisiana Music Educators Association’s District IX Bands, All-State Bands, and All-State Jazz Ensembles. She is a National Arts Associate of Sigma Alpha Iota and serves as faculty sponsor of the Mu Rho Chapter at Southeastern. She is a professional member of the North American Saxophone Alliance and Music Teachers National Association. Prior to her appointment at Southeastern Louisiana University, she taught in the St. Tammany Parish Talented Arts Program. Ms. Faciane holds degrees from Arizona State University and Louisiana State University. At Southeastern she teaches courses in Saxophone, Chamber Music, and Introduction to Music.
Jeff Albert, trombone
Jeff Albert is a musician, music technologist, and educator. He was named a Rising Star Trombonist in the Downbeat Critics Polls each year from 2011-2019, and performs regularly in the New Orleans area, and throughout the US and Europe. Jeff wrote the horn parts and played trombone on Bobby Rush’s album Porcupine Meat, which won the 2017 Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album, and was the horn arranger and trombonist for The Meters from 2015 until their final performance in 2017. In addition to leading his band Unanimous Sources, Jeff is a member of Hamid Drake’s Bindu-Reggaeology band, and co-led the Lucky 7s with fellow trombonist Jeb Bishop. In addition to his work with world renowned improvisers, he has been a member of the bands of New Orleans greats George Porter and Wardell Querzergue, backed artists like Stevie Wonder and Bonnie Raitt, and performed with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Orleans Opera.
Jeff is an Associate Professor in the College of Music and Media at Loyola University New Orleans, and in May of 2013, he became the first graduate of the PhD program in Experimental Music and Digital Media at Louisiana State University, where his teachers included Stephen David Beck and Jesse Allison. He also holds degrees from Loyola University – New Orleans, and the University of New Orleans, and has served on the faculty of Xavier University of Louisiana and the University of New Orleans. Jeff’s areas of research include improvisation, performance paradigms for live computer music, and audio pedagogy.
Mendel Lee, percussion, composer
Mendel has received high acclaim for his creative vision as a composer and music arranger, earning him numerous commissions and performances including the Portland Percussion Group, the Xavier University Symphonic Winds in Cincinnati, OH, and The Concert Singers in Los Angeles, CA, as well as marching band show design for high schools and colleges nationwide. In his debut year as the creative designer for Hermiston High School’s Marching Band in 2009, his creative showStar Trek: Through the Generations earned them placement in finals for the first time in their program’s history. His solo timpani work Timpani Forces (2011), published by Tapspace, has been praised by composers and performers alike for its virtuosity and uniqueness. “…there really is nothing else out there like it. It’s a game-changer [in solo timpani literature].”
In his spare time, Mendel is an amateur poker player, cashing in 8th place in 2009 and 1st place in 2011 of the Pot Limit Omaha tournament of the Winter Bayou Poker Challenge held in Harrah’s New Orleans. He is also the lead music and sound designer for his brother’s independent video game company dognebula.
Cari Sands, clarinets
Originally from Destin, FL, Cari Sands is an avid clarinetist and educator. She regularly performs across the southeastern United States, and recently made her European debut in Austria during the AlpenKammerMusik festival. She has a small studio based in Baton Rouge, LA and works closely with Kids’ Orchestra, a nonprofit arts education program.
A supporter of new music and multi-discipline performances, Cari is a sought after contemporary and collaborative artist. She has participated in over 20 world premieres, performing works by Michael Daugherty and up-and-coming composer Jang Hyun Thomas Kim.
Cari holds an honors B.M. in Clarinet Performance from Louisiana State University, and is currently working on her M.A. in Arts and Culture Management from the University of Denver. She performs regularly with the Versipel Collective, Opera Louisiané, and other area groups.
Chloe Helene Groth, violin
Chloe Helene Groth, violinist, is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she earned a Master of Music in Teaching and a Bachelor of Music in Performance. She is the founder of Streetcar Suzuki Violin Studio, a comprehensive Suzuki violin program in New Orleans that emphasizes a supportive and lively learning community as well as growing curiosity, joy, and confidence in young violin students. She also plays as a substitute violinist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. At Oberlin, her primary teachers were Gregory Fulkerson and Marilyn McDonald, and she received additional coaching from Amy Thiaville at Loyola University. While at Oberlin, she held principal positions in the Oberlin Orchestra and Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble (CME), and gave recitals in New York City and Washington, DC as a member of the Isis String Quartet. In 2007, Chloe performed with the Oberlin CME in their US premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s Lost Highway, performed both in Oberlin and at Miller Theater in New York City. Chloe has completed teacher training in Suzuki Violin Books 1-6 under the guidance of Ronda Cole.
Yuki Tanaka, violin
Violinist, Yuki Tanaka has been a member of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra since January 2000. She has served an Associate Concertmaster as well as acting Assistant Concertmaster with the orchestra. Before joining the LPO, she was a member of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra, and the Asia America Symphony. She has freelanced throughout Los Angeles.
Born in Japan, she began her violin studies at the age of three. At age eight, she made her recital debut. She attended Toho School of Music, High School and College division, before moving to the US and transferred to the University of Southern California in 1992.
As a recipient of Jascha Heifetz Scholarship, she has earned the bachelor of music, master of music, and Advanced Studies Performance Certification from the USC. Her principal teachers include Angela Eto, Toshiya Eto, and Eudice Shapiro.
Ms. Tanaka gives solo recitals regularly, and has performed in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Nagano, Kawasaki, and New Orleans. As a passionate chamber musician, Yuki is one of the founding members of Musaica, New Orleans based chamber ensemble. As an active performer, she plays with New Orleans Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Chorus of New Orleans, Versipel New Music, and many other groups.
Jennie Brent, cello
Originally from New Haven, Connecticut, Jennie Brent grew up in a family of writers and music lovers. She studied cello performance at Bard College Conservatory and Manhattan School of Music, where her mentors included Ole Akahoshi, Peter Wiley, and Julia Lichten. Jennie has lived in New Orleans, Louisiana since 2020, where she enjoys collaborating with musicians in a variety of styles, recording as a studio cellist, improvising, and composing. She performs regularly with Semaj Douglas and the Blues Experiment, singer-songwriter Miss Morning, cellist/guitarist Chris Beroes-Haigis, violinist Gabrielle Fischler, and the new music ensemble Versipel.
Sixto Franco, viola
An active member of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Sixto Franco is a violist, composer, improviser, teacher and a performing arts enthusiast. He is enjoying an active career in the musical arts, having concertized in Europe, United States, Mexico and Uruguay. Sixto is also the founder of the Quijote Duo, a viola and cello formation that strives to create new spaces that promote creative collaborations.Sixto Franco is passionate about chamber music and has had the honor to perform with Eighth Black Bird Ensemble, International Chamber Artists, Symbiosis Ensemble in L.A., Music of the Americas Project, the Chicago Ensemble, the Chicago Chamber Music Festival, Gesher Music Festival in St. Louis, MO, and the Versipel Ensemble in New Orleans.
The creative side of Sixto Franco has led him to venture into composition. He has written music for different mediums such as chamber music, theater and dance. He made his debut on February 2011 premiering his work “Blanco y Negro” in a Cancer Benefit Concert promoted by the Spanish Consulate in Los Angeles. The “malArte Association” of Valencia, Spain, premiered his piece Five “O’clock Tabu” as the soundtrack for the interdisciplinary work with the same title. His latest commissions include Tulane University’s production of the theater play The Jane Project.
Matthew Wright, trombone
Trombonist Matthew Wright is a twenty-first century musician: a performer, composer, and pedagogue. Matthew joined the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra in 2008, and has previously held a tenured position with the now defunct Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. He has performed in Carnegie Hall as well as Birdland and The Stone, in Beijing, Los Angeles, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, New York City, and New Orleans. He has shared the stage with James Moody, Andy Williams, Yo Yo Ma, Randy Newman, Kermit Ruffins, Paquito D’Rivera, The Lost Bayou Ramblers, Harry Shearer, and Placido Domingo.
Matthew is a member of two chamber music ensembles in New Orleans, Musaica and Versipel New Music Collective, and has performed with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble, Network for New Music (Syracuse, NY), and Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players.
Matthew plays weekly with the Pat Barberot Orchestra, a local jazz big band and has subbed with The Awakening Orchestra (New York City) and Jay Zainey Orchestra. He has recorded with the Tony Gairo-Gary Rissmiller Jazz Orchestra as a featured soloist. He also has been featured on the Open Ears music series, a New Orleans free improvisation/creative music venue.
Erin O’Shea, flute
Erin O’Shea is a flute and piccolo player living in New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally from Marietta, Georgia, she earned her Bachelor of Music in flute performance with highest honors at the University of Michigan studying under Amy Porter, and she earned her Master of Music in flute performance summa cum laude with Dr. Katherine Kemler at Louisiana State University. An active performer, Erin has played with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Augusta Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Baton Rouge Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, as well as other orchestras in the southeast. She won third place in the 2014-2015 LSU Concerto competition. Erin also was awarded first place in the 2015 Louisiana Flute Society Solo, Piccolo, and Orchestral Excerpts Masterclass competitions and the 2011 Central Ohio Flute Association Collegiate Division Competition. In 2014, Erin was selected for the prestigious National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado, and she studied through the European American Music Alliance in Paris, France in 2010. Her primary teachers include Amy Porter, Christina Smith, Dr. Katherine Kemler, Robert Cronin, and Bonita Boyd. Erin loves hiking, running, gardening, practicing yoga, and spending time with her husband, Kevin Harrell, and their dogs, Lady and Hamilton.
Versipel New Music 