Musicians Bios:
Kathen Cowan, soprano, hails from Ithaca College and Empire College. Her vocal studies were privately with Beatrice Littau of the New York Metropolitan Opera.
Kathen performed weddings and private parties, in the tri-state area, as a member of the Reynolds & Cowan Duo for 30 years. She has sung as a soloist and choir member in Ascension Episcopal Church, Highland’s United Methodist Church, New Paltz Dutch Church, The New Paltz United Methodist Church, The New Paltz Lutheran Church, and St. George's Episcopal Church in Newburgh, and Christ the King in High Falls, to name a few. Her performances have taken her to the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Concerts, Bryant Park Concerts, WQXR’s Woody’s Children, Washington DC Concert Series and many others. She was a member of the Kairos Consort and is a member of Cappella Festiva Chamber Choir in Poughkeepsie. Kathen was an adjunct at SUNY New Paltz and taught both choral and general music in the Arlington School District prior to her retirement in 2016.
Christiana Fortune-Reader, violist, teaches violin and viola in the Music Department at SUNY New Paltz as Assistant Professor of Music, and conducts the College Youth Symphony. Prior to this appointment, she taught at Illinois State University, where she also served as the Assistant Principal Viola of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She performs regularly with the Minnesota and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras and the Innigkeit Quartet, and has held positions with the Rochester Philharmonic and the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with the contemporary music ensemble, “American Wild,” a septet dedicated to commissioning new works by American composers inspired by the outdoors and National Parks sites around the United States. She earned a doctoral degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Carol Rodland, and is completing a doctorate in music education (ABD). She graduated from the University of Southern California (BM) and the Cleveland Institute of Music (MM), studying with Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey, Donald McInnes, and Karen Ritscher.
Gregory Bynum, recorder player, has studied with Marion Verbruggen, Han Tol, and Mattias Weilenman. He has performed with members of the Mannes School of Music and SUNY New Paltz music faculties, and with Yale music faculty including Jaap Schroeder. Mr. Bynum has taught at the Bloomingdale House of Music in Manhattan and has performed at many venues including the Morris-Jumel Mansion, the Middletown Thrall Library, and the Old Stone House in Brooklyn. As a guest performer with Brooklyn Baroque, he can be heard on the ensemble’s recordings Northern Lights, The Pleasures of the French, and a recording of Beth Anderson’s music entitled The Praying Mantis and the Bluebird (MSR Classics). He has appeared on WKCR and appears on the Quill Classics YouTube channel with Ensemble Luini. Mr. Bynum is Associate Professor in the School of Education at SUNY New Paltz, and the founder of the Music at Morris-Jumel chamber music series.
Joël Evans, oboist and solo English hornist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, has been a familiar musical voice in the valley for many years. He is oboist with the Poné Ensemble and plays baroque and classical oboes with Hudson Valley Baroque, the resident historic ensemble at SUNY New Paltz where he also serves as Emeritus Professor of music.
Dr. Evans has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Atlantic Chamber Orchestra, and was principal oboist of the Albany Symphony from 1982 to 1985. He leads a busy teaching schedule and has played numerous TV and radio advertisements. Joël has recorded for Philo, Rounder, Koch International, CRI, New World, and his playing has been heard all over the US, Canada, Europe, Russia and the Far East. He has appeared as a featured soloist at Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, Saratoga, the Charles Ives Center, and Carnegie Hall. Joël retired as principal oboist of the West Point Band after nearly thirty years of service. Dr. Evans holds degrees from the University of Maine, Columbia University and the City University of New York.
Susan Seligman has been principal cellist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic since 1984. She is a member of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Quartet, the piano trio Innisfree, the Poné Ensemble featuring new and American chamber music, Hudson Valley Baroque, and the Hudson Consort. In 1999, Ms. Seligman was favorably reviewed in the New York Times for her performance in works of Robert Starer. In the summer, Ms. Seligman is on the faculty of the Chamber Music Institute at Ithaca College. During the academic year, she is on the faculty of SUNY New Paltz and has a busy private cello studio as well. Her discography includes CDs on the Albany, Soundspells, and Parnassus Records labels. A recent recording with Innisfree of the music of Henry Martin includes Sonata No. 1 for Solo Cello, written for her by the composer.
Ruthanne Schempf, harpsichordist, is an active chamber and solo musician in the Hudson Valley. She is on the faculties of SUNY-New Paltz and Interlochen Arts Camp, and is a member of the Poné Ensemble for New Music. She is also a co-founder of the non-profit Hudson Valley Society for Music which produces Potluck Concerts and an annual Hudson Valley BachFest. Dr. Schempf maintains a busy piano teaching studio and is the organist and choir director at the Cornwall Presbyterian Church. She earned undergraduate and masters degrees from Michigan State University and a D.M.A. from the Manhattan School of Music. Her solo piano recording, An American Mirage: Exotic Piano Images, was released in March of 2009 on the MSR Classics label. In her spare time, she likes to ski, garden, and dabble in various domestic activities. She is married to oboist, Joël Evans.
This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
