Dayna Anderson, violin

   Violinist Dayna Anderson, former Concertmaster of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, is currently a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and is the Associate Concertmaster of the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago, IL.  In addition, she is also a member of the orchestra for the Opera Company of Philadelphia and Symphony in C (formerly Haddonfield Symphony).  Ms. Anderson began her studies in Chicago, IL with Suzuki teacher Betty Haag, followed by Desiree Ruhstrat at the Music Institute of Chicago.  In 2005, she was accepted into The Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Yumi Ninomiya Scott.  Ms. Anderson has performed as a soloist at the Kennedy Center as winner of the Viva Vivaldi competition, and also with the Harper Symphony, the Young Steinway Series, was a member of the Disney Young Artist Orchestra, and others.  She has performed throughout the Chicago area, appearing on broadcasts for WFMT and NPR's From the Top. During the summers of 2008 and 2009, she was a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Verbier, Switzerland, working with renowned conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Kurt Masur, Yuri Temirkanov, and Valery Gergiev.  An avid chamber musician, Ms. Anderson has twice participated in Music From Angel Fire's Young Artist Program, and has also collaborated with artists such as Ida Kavafian, Steve Tenenbom, Jeremy Denk, and Roberto Diaz.

Come and see her performance at our October 23, 2011, concert!

   Alessandra Cuffaro is the first woman in the history of Italian violinists to perform Niccolò Paganini's 24 Capricci Op.1 in one concert. She graduated in only six years (rather than the regular ten) at the Corelli Conservatory under the guidance of L. Fusconi. Her studies continued at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena with R. Brengola, and with I. Drasinic, S. Girshenko, and B. Canino in numerous courses. In Rome, she earned her second degree in Chamber Music from the Conservatory S. Cecilia with the highest honors.

   Alessandra has won many first-absolute prizes for her playing in national and international competitions. Her more than five hundreds performances as soloist with orchestra, solo violin or chamber music, have been reviewed in such newspapers as La Repubblica, Il Giornale, Il Messaggero, El Mundo, El Pais, Il Corriere della Sera, Il Tempo, Il Giornale di Sicilia, La Sicilia, La Nazione. She plays alongside her husband, pianist and conductor Simeone Tartaglione, with whom she has recorded and made many radio and television appearances.

   Mrs. Cuffaro has thought several master classes in Italy and in the US. She has played all the 24 Capricci about 20 times in such cities as Rome, Assisi, Madrid, Leon, New York, Denver and Boston. In 2008 she was celebrated among the most important Italian American, with the Cultural Award by the ILICA Foundation in New York City for her Paganini performances.

Come and see her performance at our November 12, 2011, concert!

   Antonio Di Cristofano completed his piano studies in 1986 at the Conservatory “L. Cherubini” in Florence, under the supervision of Maestro Macchelli. He has perfected his skills with Maestro Damerini.

   He performs either as a piano soloist or in different musical ensembles; he played as a soloist with the Orchestra of the University of Milan, Strings Orchestra “Cantelli” of Milan, Chamber Orchestra of Florence, Symphony Orchestra of Lecce, Magna Grecia Orchestra, Sicily Symphony Orchestra, Solisti Aquilani, Milano Classica Orchestra, Radio Orchestra of Bucharest, Orquesta Sinfonica de l’Estado de Mexico, Univeristy Orchestra of Houston, Radiotelevision Albania Orchestra, Istanbul Chamber Orchestra, Praga Radio Symphony Orchestra, North Czech Philharmonic, Lamont Symphony Orchestra Denver, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Izmir Symphony Orchestra, Iasi State Philharmonic, Wiener Mozart Orchestra, Toronto Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonique de Montreal, Jerusalem Symphony, Kaerntner Sinfonieorchester, etc. with conductors like G. Taverna, F. A. Krager, O. Balan, M. Bosch, M. Ancillotti, M. Alsop, N. Arman, C. Schulz, M. Zanini, C. Olivieri-Munroe, A. Chernuschenko, and many others.

   He played in Italy for the most important festival: the “Verdi Theatre” in Florence, the “Festival dei Due Mondi” in Spoleto, “Asolo Musica,” the Theatre of Alessandria, the “Bibbiena Theatre” in Mantova, the “Puccini Hall” at the Conservatory “G. Verdi” in Milan, “Politeama Theatre” in Palermo, etc., in Romania (Aeteneum and Radio Bucharest), Spain (Festival de Vigo, Madrid, Jeunesses Musicales de Sevilla), Mexico (Belles Artes Palacio, Revueltas Auditorium), USA (Moores Opera House of Houston, Newman Center in Denver), Turkey (Istanbul, Izmir and Adana), Bulgaria (Vidin), Croatia (Dubrovnik—Rector Palace), Czech Republic (Praga—Smetana Hall and Dvorak Hall), Russia (Ciaikovsky Conservatoire), South Korea (Seoul—Leeum Auditorium), France (Nancyphonies Festival), Austria (Konzerthaus—Klagenfurt), Switzerland, Canada, Albania, Israel, England, Germany, Portugal, and Poland.

   He recorded one CD with Schubert’s music and recently a new one with the music of Brahms, Berg, and Scirabin. Recently he made his debut in Carnegie Hall and in the Konzerthaus and Golden Hall MusikVerein in Vienna.

   He is often invited as a judge in international piano competitions (Compositores de Espana—Madrid, Varallo, Cantu, Osijek, Gante—Pordenone, Parigi, Vairdo—Belmont, Rachmaninov—Moscow, Iturbi—Valencia, Parnassos—Monterrey) and to teach in the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, the Summer Academy in Dubrovnik, at Denver University, the SMC Academy in Seoul and in Thessaloniki Conservatoire.

Come and see his performance at our April 14, 2012, concert!