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Bios
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Biographies of Our Musicians
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Ben Dean, is
the violinist and musical director of Da Capo Strings. In a
culture where originality is highly valued, recording
artist, performer, clinician, and composer Ben Dean is a
stellar talent. He began his career on a full scholarship to
the prestigious Hartt School of Music and had the privilege
of studying under Mickey Reisman, an internationally
renowned violin instructor. In addition to his conservatory
training, Ben is a highly accomplished recording artist
whose work will be featured in the upcoming film “Brothers
Bloom” (2008) which is starring the Oscar winning actor
Adrian Brody. As an educator, Ben is currently on faculty at
the Avon Old Farms School. He has been a guest clinician for
the Hartt School, ASTA String Fling, and numerous public
school districts. In these presentations he demonstrates the
art of improvisation for strings in jazz, rock, fiddling and
hip-hop genres. Ben is now working on a definitive method
book for the art of string improvisation in acoustic and
electric settings. As a composer, Ben scored the music
for live performances with the Citi-Arts Dance Ensemble and
had his original compositions premiered at the opening of
the Hartford Convention Center. He is a featured musician
with the Greater Hartford Arts Council, Artist in Residence
with the West Hartford Montessori School and maintains a
private studio of students, many of which have gone on to
win competitions for musical excellence.
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Christopher Jones, cellist, and teacher, has studied cello performance with Jennifer Sills, Ann West, Rebecca Patterson, Mary Lou Rylands and Natalia Khoma. Christopher performs frequently in chamber ensembles throughout New England at public performances, private engagements and even world premieres at Carnegie Hall. He has served as adjunct music faculty in the Manchester middle school, performed in orchestras and rock bands, and judged Connecticut's High School All-State auditions. He currently teaches a studio of over 20 cello and violin students at "Summit Studios," also in Manchester. He has taught an infancy to pre-kindergarten music class in the CT shoreline area called "Teddy Bear Rhythms" for the past three years. Christopher has studied voice at the collegiate level and directed semi-professional a cappella groups. Christopher has completed all requirements for a B.A. in music from The University of Connecticut and is will complete his B.S. in education on May of 2005.
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Danielle
Turano,
has performed in diverse venues throughout the world. She
has appeared as a violinist at Radio City Music Hall in New
York for the hit dance tour "Jump" and as a soloist with The
World Scholar-Athlete Games Orchestra at The University of
Rhode Island. She has been a section leader with The New
Britain, Waterbury, and West Hartford Symphonies as well as
the Hartford Festival Orchestra. Her chamber music groups
include the Da Capo Strings and the Arioso Ensemble. She has
participated in various festivals including the
Kulturfestival in Switzerland, the Session Senese per la
Musica Festival, in Italy, the Arcady International Music
Festival in Maine, and the Hope Out Loud Music & Peace
Festival in Hartford, Connecticut. She has taken part in
master classes at The Juilliard School of Music and at New
York University with world-renowned classical violinists
that include Itzak Pearlman, Marco Zurlo, Almita and Roland
Vamos, and Brian Lewis. Danielle has studied violin with
premier artists Anton Miller, Brunalinda Myftari, and Anthea
Kreston at The Hartt School of Music, where she received her
Bachelors of Music degree, cum laude in May 2007. |
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John Biatowas, 2nd violinist and violist, studied
under Phoebe Barron for 13 years. He has played in numerous
small baroque ensembles affiliated with the Neighborhood
Music School in New Haven. John played in Greater New Haven
Youth Orchestra where he sat principal 2nd violin during his
High School years. John is a graduate of Colgate University
in central New York where he was an active member of the
Colgate University Orchestra. In addition to orchestral
performance, John was a member of the Colgate Chamber
Players. He is currently engaged in graduate study of viola
and violin performance at The University of Connecticut.
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Nola Campbell, is a professor of Music
Education at The Hartt School and has held teaching
positions in Utah, Hawaii, Wisconsin and Michigan. She has
taught early childhood music, general music, string, chamber
and orchestral instruction to students from kindergarten
through high school and at several universities. Dr.
Campbell received her Ph.D. in Music Education, with a
cognate in orchestral conducting, from Michigan State
University. Her Masters of Music in instrumental conducting
and B.A. in music education are both from the University of
Utah. Dr. Campbell has held several extended conducting
positions with bands, symphony orchestras, pit orchestras,
and string ensembles in public schools, universities and for
private organizations in several states. Her performing
experience includes positions in symphonies, quartets,
musical theatre pit orchestras, and back up orchestras for
the likes of John Denver, Ray Charles and The Manhattan
Transfer. And, as if her career as a violist, conductor and
educator weren’t enough to keep her busy, Dr. Campbell is
also an accomplished trombonist, actress, and fluent in
Japanese. She is the director of The Hartt String Project
through the University of Hartford Magnet School, serves on
the CT-ASTA Board, and remains an active performer,
clinician and teacher.
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