Kathleen Nester is the Assistant Principal Flute/Piccoloist of the New Jersey Symphony. She is also a member of Orchestra Lumos in Stamford, CT and has performed with orchestras throughout the tristate region, including the New York Philharmonic, New York City Opera, American Ballet Theater and The Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
Known for her artistry and versatility on both the traditional and ethnic instruments of the flute family, Kathleen Nester has recorded with a wide range of artists, including Joshua Bell, Sting, Bria Skonberg, Ute Lemper, Jane Monheit, Juliet Grecco and others. She originated the flute book for An American Paris on Broadway and was flutist for Roundabout Theater’s 2015 revival of She Loves Me on Broadway, the first live-streamed production for Broadway HD. She can be heard playing piccolo, flute, alto flute and bass flute on many major motion picture soundtracks.
Kathleen holds a Master of Music degree in performance from the Manhattan School of Music where she was a student of Ransom Wilson. An Artists International Competition winner, she studied theory at City College with Joel Lester, and on scholarship in France with Marcel Moyse. She is a certified Suzuki Flute and Recorder teacher, teaches at the Riverdale Country School and coaches the Youth Orchestra of the New Jersey Symphony. With Wendy Stern she founded the NeSterN Duo, which commissioned a trilogy of works for low flutes and piano by Daniel Dorff.
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A graduate of The Juilliard School, flutist Wendy Stern enjoys a diverse career, combining her love of performance with her passion for teaching. Formerly on the adjunct faculty of Montclair State University and Vassar College, she is presently a Teacher-Trainer of both the Suzuki Association of the Americans and the Asia Region Suzuki Association, and has been a guest artist at festivals and workshops throughout Canada, England, Australia, New England, Taiwan and the United States. Throughout her long span as a freelance flutist in the New York/Tristate area, Wendy has performed with orchestras and chamber ensembles at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Zankel Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
An avid proponent of newly composed chamber music, Wendy premiered and recorded works by Lei Liang and John Deak with The Cicada Chamber Ensemble (with members of the New York Philharmonic) and works by Cynthia Folio with Ensemble Triolet. As a long-time member of the dynamic and innovative chamber ensemble Flute Force, she has recorded for CRI, VAI, Innova, MPR, Adam Abeshouse and Windham Hill. With Matthew Roitstein, Wendy led a consortium of 46 alto flutists for the commission of Amanda Harberg’s Firefly Triptych, and with Kathleen Nester, commissioned a trilogy of works for low flutes and piano by Daniel Dorff.
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Grammy® and Latin Grammy® Nominee, pianist Allison Brewster Franzetti has received international acclaim for stunning virtuosity and musicality. Performances include the Grammy® Awards Classical Music Tribute to Earl Wild and Lang Lang, Latin Grammy® Awards live broadcast, and concertos with The Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Janacek Philharmonic, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, English Sinfonia and the Queens Symphony Orchestra.
As collaborative pianist she has worked with flutists James Galway, Julius Baker, and Nestor Torres, and is the senior pianist for the Florida Flute Association, pianist for the National Flute Association and the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention. She is also one of the pianists/keyboardists with the New Jersey Symphony.
Dr. Brewster Franzetti holds degrees from Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School and Rutgers University.
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Composer Daniel Dorff graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University and earned his master’s degree in composition from the University of Pennsylvania. His works have been commissioned by such eensembles as the Philadelphia Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra, and performed by individuals and groups including the Baltimore Symphony, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Chicago Symphony, and the Berlin Philharmonic. Other commissions have come from the South Dakota Symphony, piccolo legends Walfrid Kujala and Sarah Jackson, the Colorado Symphony’s Up Close and Musical series, Young Audiences, American Composers’ Forum, Ithaca College School of Music, pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin, and many of the world’s leading flutists. He has also created arrangements for Sir James Galway, and for pop musicians Keith Emerson and Lisa Loeb.
Daniels Dorff’s woodwind music has entered the repertoire and is frequently performed and recorded worldwide. Dorff has also written many recital works for often-neglected instruments such as contrabassoon, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, and most recently the trilogy of pieces for bass and alto flutes, commissioned by the NeSterN Duo and which appear on this album.
