Des Moines Symphony

Jenny Graham Zimmerman, Academy Director and bassoon

Jenny Graham Zimmerman, Academy Director, holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Drake University, with a double major in bassoon and piano. At Drake, she studied bassoon with Jay Light and piano with Chiu-Ling Lin. She served as principal bassoonist in Drake’s orchestra and bands, and Drum Major of the Marching Band. She held leadership positions in Sigma Alpha Iota, a professional women’s music fraternity. Jenny gained a unique perspective on teaching by learning to play all band instruments for her degree, and through her string background in violin study and orchestra experience. Since high school she has accompanied instrumentalists and singers in rehearsal, performance, and competition. She taught group piano classes and bassoon lessons for five years before coming to the Academy. Now she teaches bassoon lessons and coaches the heartfire piano trio in addition to teaching summer Fiddle Camp. Jenny believes that music is an essential part of our culture and that the arts enhance our lives in countless ways. As the Academy continues to grow and develop, Jenny's goal is to nurture musicians through positive, quality experiences.

Joshua A. Barlage, Academy Registrar

Joshua Barlage holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Capital University’s Conservatory of Music. Prior to joining the staff of the Des Moines Symphony Academy, Joshua served as Education and Community Programs Manager for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Aside from his administrative duties, he held assistant conducting positions with the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra and Opera Columbus. On the personal invitation of Maestro Peter Stafford Wilson, Joshua accompanied the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra on their highly successful tour to The People’s Republic of China in June 2005.

Sophia Ahmad, Group Piano

Ms. Ahmad, a native of Philadelphia, received her Bachelor of Music in piano performance from Gordon College, with additional studies with teachers from New England Conservatory. Her graduate studies in piano performance were at the Eastman School of Music. Ms. Ahmad has appeared in master classes and coachings with Libby Larsen, Malcolm Bilson, Martin Canin, Ursula Oppens, and David Deveau. Her solo and chamber performances have taken her throughout the United States and Canada. Ms. Ahmad has recorded for Prentice Hall's Inside the Orchestra and has collaborated with artists such as the concertmaster of the National Portuguese Symphony Orchestra. An advocate of new music, she has premiered many new works, and has worked with notable composers including Bright Sheng and Simone Fontanelli.

As a named Presser scholar, Ms. Ahmad is active as a music teacher, scholar, critic, and administrator. At the Eastman School of Music, she taught class piano, co-founded and served as Assistant Director of the Women In Music Festival, and chaired the Eastman Student Piano Committee. She was also a finalist in the American Symphony Orchestra League's Orchestra Management Fellowship Program. In addition, she served as a music critic for Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle and The Des Moines Register, where she currently writes for Juice magazine. 
  

Derek Claussen, cello and Philharmonic Orchestra

Mr. Claussen is the past president of the Iowa Chapter of the American String Teachers Association. He taught 4th –12th grade Orchestra for eight years with the Des Moines Public Schools. He has been an adjudicator for various festivals in Central Iowa, member of the Comprehensive Musicianship Program steering committee for Iowa, and member of the Partners in Music Education Committee with Civic Music. Mr. Claussen is joyfully married to Stacy Hansen, Drama Director for Valley High School. He is enjoying being a stay at home father for their children, Lincoln and Scout. His other avocations are painting, sculpting, poetry, coaching Valley mime groups, and trips to Scotland.

Carrie Clogg, Music for Me

Carrie Clogg is the newly appointed Executive Director of the Civic Music Association. Previous appointments at arts organizations include the Director of Education & Outreach at Opera Columbus, Assistant Director of Education & Outreach at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Development Associate at New York City Opera. During her tenure as Director of Education & Outreach at Opera Columbus, Ms. Clogg initiated several new award-winning programs including Opera Columbus on the Go!, Summer Opera Camps, Headstart with Musicianship, Opera Columbus Youth Chorus, Opera Discovery After-School Program, Teacher and Student Opera Workshops and several adult and professional development programs.

Ms. Clogg holds a Bachelor of Music degree from DePauw University School of Music majoring in music business and vocal performance. In addition, she holds a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Lesley University. In 2003, Ms. Clogg received the Arts Educator of the Year Award from the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education and has presented at the 2004 & 2005 OPERA America Annual Conferences. Other professional activities include co-founding the Cultural Educators Consortium of Columbus, serving on the Advisory Committee for the development of model curriculum for the state of Ohio in the arts, serving on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education and authoring articles for OPERA America, RESEO (European Network of Opera House Education Departments) and The Columbus Dispatch.

Mary Foss, harp

Mary Foss is the Principal Harpist of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra, where she frequently performs as soloist. Ms. Foss serves as Adjunct Professor of Harp at Drake University, Iowa State University and Central College. She has been featured as soloist with the Fort Dodge, Des Moines, Central Iowa and Jamaica Plains, MA, Symphonies. Mary holds a Bachelor of Music degree and Graduate Diploma in Harp Performance from the New England Conservatory in Boston, Ma. Mary has released recordings as a solo artist and, paired with flutist Kathy Slocum, as member of the Aquarian Duo.

Joseph Giunta, Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra

Joseph Giunta is celebrating his nineteenth season as the Des Moines Symphony’s Music Director and riding the crest of the most successful era in the orchestra’s rich tradition. Giunta is recognized as an important American conductor and for his compelling interpretation of standard and new repertoire as well as for his spirit, enthusiasm and infectious energy. During his tenure he has transformed the orchestra into a fine regional ensemble and has dramatically increased the ensemble’s image and awareness. His programming skills continue to foster the growth of the orchestra and challenge the imagination of the audience. Henry Fogel, CEO of the American Symphony Orchestra League and Past President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, during a recent visit to Des Moines said, “Joe is one of a kind. He leads by example and knows how to raise money as well as he knows the music.” Giunta has conducted many of the great orchestras of the world, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the London Philharmonic and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London. He has also conducted the orchestras of Indianapolis, Phoenix, Akron, North Carolina, Madison, Chicago Pops, Charlotte, Lake Forest, Nashville, Boise, Vermont, Bangor, Orlando and Hawaii. He has also conducted orchestras in Mexico, South America, Europe and the United Kingdom.

Among the many honors and distinctions awarded Joseph Giunta include an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Simpson College, the 1984 Helen M. Thompson Award presented by the American Symphony Orchestra League to the outstanding young music director in the nation, the 1998 ASCAP Award for his innovative programming and commitment to new American music, and the 2002 Iowa Arts Award for his contribution for excellence in musical performance throughout the world.

In July, 2004, a limited number of CDs were pressed of all nine Beethoven Symphonies that were performed during the 2003-2004 season and conducted by Giunta. His discography also includes world-wide recordings with the London Philharmonic Orchestra featuring music of Khachaturian and Britten and a 1994 recording with internationally renowned pianist Earl Wild. The American Record Guide said about this disc that "Wild, Giunta and the Des Moines Symphony play the music to the hilt."

His commitment to music education includes a comprehensive array of programs for students of all age levels. He started the Lollipop Concerts; Meet the Maestro programs, and Yankee Doodle Pops concert attended by 75,000 people per year. His ultimate dream came true last year when the Des Moines Symphony Academy opened its doors. This was a culmination of many years of planning and working with local business leaders to establish a place where people of all ages can go and be exposed to the magic of music through lessons, classes and performance opportunities. He also serves as an advisor for local schools in the hiring of music teachers.

Giunta is a graduate of Northwestern University and studied conducting with Henry Mazer, John Paynter, William Smith and Bernard Rubenstein. He also has acted as stand-by conductor for many of the world's greatest conductors, including Sir Georg Solti, Carlo Maria Giulini, Charles Dutoit, Klaus Tennstedt, Erich Leinsdorf and Neville Marriner.

John Helmich, violin and piano

Mr. Helmich, a Davenport, Iowa native received his Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance and his Master of Music degree in Violin Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music. While there, he was awarded the Howard Hanson Scholarship, and graduated with High Distinction. His primary teachers included Oleh Krysa and Timothy Ying. During his studies at Eastman, he was coached extensively by the Ying Quartet, with additional master classes and coachings with Pamela Frank, Miriam Fried, Zvi Zeitlin, Ilya Kaler, Marilyn MacDonald, the Turtle Island String Quartet, and the Tokyo String Quartet.

An avid soloist, as well as chamber musician, Mr. Helmich has performed in concerts and recitals throughout the United States. He is currently a member of the Des Moines Metro Opera, the Des Moines Symphony, and the Belin Quartet. In addition, he teaches violin and coaches chamber music groups at the Des Moines Symphony Academy.

Alan Henson, cello

Alan Henson holds degrees in Double Bass performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. He studied bass with Frank Carroll, Paul Ellison, Paul Erhard, and Roger Ruggeri. His cello teachers include Vera Groom and Andrea DiGregorio. Mr. Henson is former Principal Bassist of the Des Moines Symphony, the Dubuque Symphony, and the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony. He has performed with the Cedar Rapids, West Virginia, Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Shreveport Symphony Orchestras, and as guest artist with the Montclaire and Pioneer string quartets.

Mr. Henson has taught cello and bass lessons at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, University of Northern Iowa, and Wartburg College. In addition to his recent appointment as a cello instructor at the Des Moines Symphony Academy, he currently has an established studio of cello students in Ames, Iowa.

Jeff Jensen, bass

Mr. Jensen, a Des Moines native, began his own bass lessons at the age of ten. Since then, he has taught and played professionally for more than twenty-five years. Mr. Jensen received his bachelor's degree in music performance from Drake University before moving west to study at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He also holds a graduate degree from Drake in music education.

His principal teachers were John Ehrlich, bass and cello professor at Drake and former principal cellist of the Des Moines Symphony, and Charles Siani, principal bassist of the San Francisco Symphony and Opera orchestras. Mr. Jensen has also studied with Eugene Levinson, principal bassist of the New York Philharmonic, and Steve Tramontozzi, associate principal bassist of the San Francisco Symphony.

Jeff performed with numerous orchestras and ensembles while living in the Bay Area, including the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, San Jose Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, Oakland Symphony, and the Marin Symphony. He was a bass instructor at San Francisco State University and taught privately during his twenty years in the Bay Area.

Since returning to Des Moines, Mr. Jensen has played with the Des Moines Symphony, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Mozaiques Chamber ensemble. He also plays jazz and electric bass with various groups and musical theater companies in the area. In addition to his lesson studio at the Academy, he teaches beginning strings and bass classes in the Des Moines Public Schools.

Irina Kaplan, piano

Irina was born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine. She began her musical education at the age of six. She attended a special music school for gifted children, graduating at the age of 15. At this point she decided to pursue a career in music. She was admitted to the Kiev Glier State Music College, where she specialized in piano pedagogy and performance. She received a diploma with special certification for piano, chamber ensemble and concertmaster. Irina next attended Kiev State Pedagogical Institute, receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree. She then began a fifteen-year teaching career at the Kiev Musical School.

In 1989, Irina immigrated to the United States, where she resumed her piano teaching career in Des Moines. She taught at the Drake University Community School of Music, the Des Moines Public Schools as a private piano teacher, and gave piano lessons in a private studio in her home. Awarded the 2004-05 Des Moines Symphony Academy Teacher of the Year, Irina has taught at the Academy since its opening in 2003.

Matt Meyer, Sinfonia Orchestra

Matt Meyer has degrees in Violin Performance and Music Education from the University of Iowa. He spent two years teaching orchestra in the Iowa City Community Schools. Mr. Meyer is currently entering his fifth year as an elementary orchestra director in the West Des Moines Schools. This will be the fifth season that he has enjoyed playing violin in the DM Symphony.

Mr. Meyer is looking forward to leading the Sinfonia Orchestra into a second year. The group was a tremendous success last year and they are looking forward to great things in 2006-07.

Charles Miranda, viola and violin

Violist Charles Miranda earned his bachelor's degree in violin from Indiana University and his master's degree in viola performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., studying with teachers including Heidi Castelman and Jeffrey Irvine. Miranda participated in the Cleveland Quartet Seminar while at Eastman, and has performed at the Blue Hill and Aspen Music festivals.

Charles was a member of the Pioneer String Quartet, and currently performs with the Des Moines Symphony and the Des Moines Metro Opera along with teaching at the Des Moines Symphony Academy.

Mary Pshonik, cello

Mary Pshonik, a member of the Des Moines Symphony since 1993, earned her Bachelor of Music in cello performance from Iowa State University. During her time at Iowa State she began performing regularly with Basically Baroque (a quartet featuring baroque oboe, flute and continuo). Soon after, along with flutist Rebecca Stuhr and harpsichordist Lynn Zeigler, she founded the Lyremar Trio which recorded sonatas of Marcello, available from Centaur Records. Mary was a member of the Pioneer Quartet for six years and currently performs with the Belin String Quartet and is an active freelance chamber musician. Mary maintains a private studio in the Des Moines area, has served as the cello instructor at Drake University, and also teaches cello, coaches chamber music, and leads the Temple Cellists, a group of adult classical music aficionados, at the Des Moines Symphony Academy.

Eric Saylor, Evenings with the Orchestra

Dr. Saylor is Assistant Professor of Music History at Drake. He received a bachelor's degree in Violin Performance from Drake University, an M.A. in Musicology from Arizona State University, and a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Saylor's area of specialization is British music of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing particularly on the life and works of Ralph Vaughan Williams in both his master's thesis ("'If Silence Could Speak': A Reassessment of Ralph Vaughan Williams's Pastoral Symphony") and doctoral dissertation ("The Significance of Nation in the Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams"). During the 1998 academic year, Dr. Saylor served as editorial assistant at the British Library (London) helping collect, transcribe, and annotate Vaughan Williams's complete correspondence, soon to be published by Oxford University Press. He has presented papers at the University of New Mexico, the University of Michigan, the British Library, Oberlin College, and the University of Paris, and delivered pre-concert talks for the Chicago Civic Symphony Orchestra and the Des Moines Symphony. Dr. Saylor has also received several grants and awards, including the 2004 Outstanding Teacher of the Year award in Drake's College of Arts and Sciences. His other areas of interest include American music, symphonic and string literature, minimalism, and the role of nation in music.

Dr. Saylor holds professional memberships in Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda, the American Musicological Society, the North American British Music Study Association, and the College Music Society.

Raymond Songayllo, piano and music theory

Raymond Songayllo, born August 23, 1930 in Chicopee, Massachusetts, earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in piano from Northwestern University. He studied at Aspen, in New York with Alexander Uninsky and Grant Johannesen, and in Boston with Alexander Borovsky. He has performed throughout the U.S. and has appeared twice at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall. As a composer, he has had works presented in various venues, college and university events, festivals and conferences, and in Fontainebleau, working in composition at the Conservatoire Americaine. He won the Keyboard Category Award at the Delius Competition at Jacksonville University in 1976, 1992, and 1993. He has received grants from both the Minnesota Composers Forum and Meet the Composer.

After 27 years of college/university teaching, he is currently performing, lecturing, composing, and adjudicating. In June of 1990, he made his European debut with two solo recitals in Geneva under the auspices of Concerts Atlantique of New York. Mr. Songayllo is a founding member of the lowa Composers Forum, and was the recipient of the 1993 Pyle Commission for his Piano Quintet. In the summer of 1994 he was one of 18 pianists at the French Piano Institute in Paris, appearing in recital at the Salle Cortot. In June 1995 he performed a lecture/recital at the College Music Society International Conference in Berlin. In July of 1996 he again performed at the Salle Cortot, and also premiered a new composition, Hommage a Faure, in the Salle Munch of the Ecole Normale.

In the 1996-97 season, Mr. Songayllo appeared as soloist and composer in various venues, including, again, at the College Music Society Conference in Vienna. His compositions include works for solo piano, harpsichord, piano with instrumental combinations, songs, orchestral compositions. His style is eclectic, employing both tonal and non-tonal styles.

Since 2000 Mr. Songayllo has presented lecture/recitals, performed as chamber player and accompanist at the International Workshops in Graz, Austria, and Stavanger, Norway as well as in Biarritz, France. He appears regularly with the international chamber group, The Midgard Ensemble. Recent performances have been in St. Paul, MN and Sioux Falls, SD. In the Des Moines area he appears often as soloist and in two-piano programs.

Anne Stein, flute and voice

Ms. Stein earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Performance from Simpson College where she majored in voice and double minored in flute and piano. A mezzo-soprano, Anne has sung with the Des Moines Metro Opera, Operafestival di Roma, and in Graz, Austria with The American Institute of Musical Studies where she sang the role of "Maddalena" in "Rigoletto", and was an oratorio soloist with the AIMS Chorale under the direction of William Huckabee. She studied voice with renowned teachers Anne Larson, Helena Nedomansky, and Judith Kellock; and has performed in Master Classes for Jerrold Sienna and Grannila Bonelli. She is a member of The National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Anne Stein pursued her flute studies at Simpson College under Kelly Via, Principal Piccolo with The Atlanta Symphony. She is a regular recitalist and jazz artist in the Des Moines area. Ms. Stein is the director of the flute quartet, "Zauberflote", and The Des Moines Symphony Academy Flute Choirs. Ms. Stein is also a busy accompanist and arranger, having studied piano with pianist/composer, Sven Lekberg; as well as theory and counterpoint with pianist/composer, Ray Songayllo.

Gretchen Theesfield, violin

Gretchen Theesfield, a sixth-year member of the Des Moines Symphony, earned her bachelor of music degree in violin performance from Iowa State University in the spring of 2005, where she performed in several chamber ensembles as well as serving as the Iowa State Symphony Orchestra’s concertmaster. Her teaching experience includes eight years of private violin instruction, in the Ames area, and assistant director in the 2003 Youth Orchestra Ames Area (YOAA) summer orchestra program. She has had twenty years of private violin instruction, including participation in numerous master classes, festivals and summer institutes.

 Andrew Lloyd Walker, World Music and piano

Andrew holds a Bachelor's degree in piano from Morningside College, with a self-designed minor in world cultural history. At Morningside, he studied piano with Dr. James March. He also participated in a men's choir and a baroque ensemble playing harpsichord alongside his studies in piano performance. At the end of his junior year, Andrew worked with his piano professor in recruiting members of the music department to participate in the construction of an Italian Virginal Harpsichord, which was then donated to the Morningside College Music Department. The summer between his junior and senior year Andrew worked for the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota where he handled the care and preservation of historic instruments, and helped organize the 500th Anniversary of Amati Festival.

As part of Andrew's world cultural history minor, he studied at Queen's University Belfast in Belfast, Ireland for half of his senior year. In an effort to combine culture, history, and his passion for music he studied various aspects of ethnomusicology and ethnomusicological social anthropology. In the course of his studies he participated in various ethnomusicological ensembles including a Javanese and Balinese Gamelan, an Irish drumming ensemble, and a Ghanaian drumming ensemble. He had training in uillean pipes, lambeg, bodhran, both Irish and Ghanaian use of the djembe, the talking drum, Irish whistle and ocarina.

In addition to teaching World Music and group piano through the Des Moines Symphony Academy, Andrew also runs his own piano studio, works as a piano tuning and repair technician, and composes. The recording and performance aspect of his career will begin in 2008.