Classical Meets Jazz, Part II

Classical Meets Jazz, Part II features the Russell Schmidt Trio and Festival musicians David Ehrlich, violin; Nancy Buck, viola; Jan Simiz, cello; and Theresa Ehrlich, piano. Jazz pianist Russell Schmidt holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Eastman School of Music. He currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Toledo Jazz Orchestra. David Ehrlich was raised in Israel, where he studied violin with the famous Ilona Feher, teacher of Zukerman and Ashkenasi. From the age of 13 he became the recipient of an annual scholarship awarded by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. Nancy Buck, Associate Professor of Viola, holds degrees in performance from the Oberlin Conservatory and the Cleveland Institute of Music. A native of Romania, Jan Simiz studied at the Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory in Bucharest. In 1985 Mr. Simiz joined the Phoenix Symphony and became assistant principal cellist in 1989. He is also principal cellist for the Music in the Mountains Festival in Durango, Colorado. He frequently performs in chamber music ensembles. Teresa Ehrlich has received critical acclaim throughout the United States, Israel and South America, where she has performed as recitalist and soloist with orchestras including the Sinfoica de Maracaibo and the Filarmonica de Caracas in Venezuela. In addition to her solo and orchestral engagements, she is active as a chamber musician and has performed as a guest artist with the Audubon, Vermeer, Cassatt and Vanbrugh quartets.