Ensemble ACJW
Ensemble ACJW is an inspirational collective of outstanding young professional musicians
from The Academy that has earned accolades from critics and audiences alike for the quality
of its performances as well as it fresh and open-minded approach to performance and
programming.
All members of the group are alumni or current fellows of The Academy, a two-year program
that supports them as they develop careers as top-quality performers, innovative
programmers, and dedicated teachers who are fully engaged with the communities in which
they live and work.
Nanci Belmont
Bassoonist Nanci Belmont received a bachelor's degree from Florida State University and a
master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Frank Morelli. A
native Floridian, she has regularly performed with the Orlando Philharmonic and Tallahassee
Symphony Orchestra. She is also an alumna of the Sarasota and Chautauqua music festivals,
Banff Festival Orchestra, and the National Orchestral Institute. As a freelance orchestral
musician, Nanci has performed in several venues throughout the New York metropolitan area,
including Alice Tully Hall, The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, as well as a
performance at the New Year's Eve Concert for Peace at the Cathedral Church of Saint John
the Divine.
An active chamber musician, Nanci recently appeared with the Windscape woodwind quintet in
a performance at the Manhattan School of Music, as well as in a performance of Stravinsky's
Histoire du soldat at the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC. Her interest in
contemporary compositions has led her to premiere chamber works in both the US and Canada.
As part of her Academy program, Nanci teaches in Brooklyn at PS 207K Elizabeth G.
Leary.
Thomas Bergeron
Thomas Bergeron is a trumpeter, educator, composer, and improviser. At home in a wide
variety of genres, he is dedicated to breaking down musical boundaries between performers,
students, audiences, and presenters. His debut album on Daywood Drive Records features
contemporary jazz chamber music inspired by the piano compositions of Claude Debussy. He
has taught jazz, classical trumpet, and chamber music at Williams College, Bennington
College, Amherst College, and Yale University. Thomas holds two advanced degrees in music
from the Yale School of Music, as well as a bachelor's degree in management from the
University of Massachusetts. He currently serves as principal trumpet with the Springfield
Symphony Orchestra and has been a member of the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra. He has
performed with The Temptations, Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Vermont
Symphony Orchestra, Deep Purple, The Irish Tenors, Arlo Guthrie, and Byron Stripling.
Thomas is a founding member of the Reveille Trumpet Collective, dedicated to expanding the
contemporary music repertoire for trumpet. He has commissioned and premiered works by Lukas
Ligeti, Andy Akiho, David Kechley, Jay Wadley, and Jacob Walls. As part of his Academy
program, Thomas teaches in the Bronx at Fordham High School for the Arts.
Stuart Breczinski
Stuart Breczinski is a New York-based oboist, improviser, composer, and educator whose
early interest in making unusual sounds on the oboe has developed into a passion for
creating and sharing innovative audio with audiences of all backgrounds. A proponent of
chamber and contemporary music, Stuart is an original member of ensemble mise-en, Ensemble
Moto Perpetuo, and The Generous Ensemble. He has also performed as a chamber musician with
the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, Contemporaneous, Performance 20/20, and Tactus. As the
2009 winner of the Paranov Concerto Competition, Stuart gave the American premiere of Paul
Patterson's "Phoenix" Concerto with the Hartt Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he was the
2007 winner of the Iowa Center for the Arts competition and a two-time winner of both the
Lillian Fuchs Memorial Chamber Music Competition and the Midwest Oboe Competition. Stuart
holds a master's degree from The Hartt School and bachelor's degrees in music and
mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa, with additional study at the Manhattan
School of Music. As part of his Academy program, Stuart teaches in Brooklyn at PS 112
Lefferts Park.
Gabriel Campos Zamora
Clarinetist Gabriel Campos Zamora was born in San José, Costa Rica, where he began his
musical training at the Instituto Nacional de Música as a student of José Manuel Ugalde
Quirós. He continued his studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy and later received his
bachelor's degree in music from The Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he studied with
renowned professor Yehuda Gilad. A laureate of several competitions, Gabriel received first
prize at the 2008 Pasadena Showcase House Instrumental Competition, in addition to winning
the 2009 Aspen Music Festival, 2010 Music Academy of the West, and 2011 National Repertory
Orchestra concerto competitions. He has been a participant at the Aspen, Music Academy of
the West, National Repertory Orchestra, and Spoleto USA festivals.
Gabriel is a versatile musician who has performed with jazz artists such as Stix Hooper and
his Viewpoint ensemble, Hubert Laws, and Jim Walker's Free Flight band. An avid supporter
of community engagement and arts advocacy, he was a mentor for Youth Orchestra LA, a
program that models Venezuela's El Sistema in downtown Los Angeles. As part of his Academy
program, Gabriel teaches in Brooklyn at PS 200 Benson School.
Catherine Gregory
Australian flutist Catherine Gregory graduated with honors from the Queensland
Conservatorium at Griffith University under the tutelage of Gerhard Mallon. After receiving
her master's degree with high distinction, Catherine was awarded a Fulbright scholarship,
Brisbane City Council's Young and Emerging Artists Fellowship, and American Australian
Association's Dame Joan Sutherland Fund grant. These awards supported her pursuit of an
artist's diploma at Carnegie Mellon University as a student of Alberto Almarza and Jeanne
Baxtresser.
Catherine has performed with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Paris Opera
Ballet on its Australian tour. She has performed for both the Governor and Premier of
Queensland, and was a featured soloist at the 60th anniversary of the Australian-American
Fulbright Commission in Washington, DC. As a major winner of the Pittsburgh Concert Society
competition, Catherine was a featured recitalist and was invited to teach and perform at
the 10th International Flute Festival of Chile. Catherine has won several prizes, including
the James Carson Memorial Flute Competition, Carnegie Mellon University Baroque and
Concerto competitions, and the 2011 Golden Key Visual and Performing Arts Achievement
Award. As part of her Academy program, Catherine teaches in Manhattan at PS/MS 46 Arthur
Tappan.
Alexandria Le
American pianist Alexandria Le enjoys a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician,
and teaching artist. She is a winner of the 2011 Pro Musicis International Award, Bradshaw
& Buono International Piano Competition, and the 2012 Emerson String Quartet's Ackerman
Chamber Music Competition. Alexandria frequently collaborates with members of leading
orchestras and ensembles, and appeared last season in concerts with Frank Morelli, Pedro
Díaz, Michael Powell, Kevin Cobb, and Øystein Baadsvik. She has also served as a resident
collaborative pianist at The Banff Centre. She has been a guest faculty artist at the Longy
School of Music of Bard College, undergraduate chamber music coach at Stony Brook
University, and guest lecturer at the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies,
Performing, and Visual Arts.
Alexandria earned a master's degree from Stony Brook University, where she is currently
completing her doctorate. She holds a bachelor's degree from Eastman School of Music. Her
teachers and mentors have included Christina Dahl, Gilbert Kalish, Douglas Humpherys, Erna
Gulabyan, and her mother Michelle Le. As part of her Academy program, Alexandria teaches in
Brooklyn at PS 241 Emma L. Johnston.
Michelle Ross
Violinist Michelle Ross enjoys a career as a soloist, chamber musician, and composer. She
has been featured as a soloist with the Westchester Philharmonic, Juilliard Pre-College
Orchestra, and Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra. Michelle has also given recitals and
lectures at the Neue Galerie New York, Old Westbury Gardens, Grand Central Academy of Art,
and WMP Concert Hall. Festival appearances include performances at the Marlboro,
Music@Menlo, Perlman Music Program, and Kneisel Hall chamber music festivals. She will be
touring with Musicians from Marlboro in their upcoming seasons.
As a composer, Michelle's works have been premiered in Lincoln Center's Beyond the
Machine festival and at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, and her music recently went
on tour with the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. Michelle frequently collaborates with an array of
exciting choreographers, visual artists, and actors. Having trained with Itzhak Perlman
since age 12, Michelle went on to pursue a master's degree from The Juilliard School and a
bachelor's degree in English and comparative literature from Columbia University. She has
also studied with Dorothy DeLay, Catherine Cho, and Ronald Copes. As part of her Academy
program, Michelle teaches in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn High School of the Arts.
Laura Weiner
A native of Colorado Springs, French horn player Laura Weiner received her bachelor's
degree summa cum laude from Northwestern University and her master's degree from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison on a University Fellowship. Laura has performed with
musical groups as diverse as the New World Symphony, Ensemble Dal Niente, and Madison Bach
Musicians. She has been a member of the LaCrosse and Beloit Janesville symphony orchestras
in Wisconsin, and has played in orchestras at the Texas Music Festival, Colorado College
Summer Music Festival, and American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. As a
chamber musician, she was a fellow of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Her principal
teachers include Gail Williams, Douglas Hill, William Barnewitz, and Daniel Grabois.
As an advocate for accessible and interesting performances, Laura has co-directed the
chamber music collective Classical Revolution Madison and served as the programming
director for Grace Presents, an outreach concert series in Madison. For four years, she
directed a weekly mentorship program for at-risk youth in Evanston, Illinois, called the
Breakfast Club. As part of her Academy program, Laura teaches in Queens at Grover Cleveland
High School.
Tyler Wottrich
Pianist Tyler Wottrich has developed a successful career that spans chamber music, ballet,
opera, art song, and gospel. He received the Emerson String Quartet's Ackermann Prize in
2011 and has been heard on classical radio stations, including Chicago's WFMT, Cleveland's
WCLV, Minnesota's MPR, and Michigan's WNMU. Tyler has performed with artists such as
violinist Jorja Fleezanis, the Pacifica Quartet, and Bolshoi prima ballerina Nina
Ananiashvili, as well as the Grammy Award-winning African-American choral group Sounds of
Blackness. Tyler appeared in Marilyn Horne's The Song Continues at Carnegie Hall after
winning honorable mention in the 2011 Marilyn Horne Song Competition, and has been a vocal
coach at the Music Academy of the West, Opera North, and Art Song Festival.
Tyler graduated from the University of Minnesota summa cum laude with degrees in both piano
performance and mathematics, and earned a master's degree from Stony Brook University. He
has studied with Gail Olszewski and Lydia Artymiw, and is currently pursuing a doctorate
from Stony Brook with Gilbert Kalish. As part of his Academy program, Tyler teaches in the
Bronx at the Pelham Academy of Academic and Community Engagement.