Chamber Music Central
157 Roseville Rd, Westport, CT 06880
cmcensembles@gmail.com
203-227-0662
Chamber Music Central Faculty
Millette Alexander, Artistic Director: (Piano) Ms. Alexander is part of the Alexander and Daykin Piano Duo, which has performed extensively in this country and France, presenting the rich 4-hand literature. The American Record Guide selected their recording of Bach's “The Art of the Fugue” as one of the ten best CDs of the year. Miss Alexander is on the board of the Westport Arts Center, chairs their committee which produces an annual chamber music series and is the Founder and Director of Chamber Music Central. She serves on the Arts Advisory Board of Westport and the Advisory Board of the Norwalk Youth Symphony, and has adjudicated for many competitions including the Gina Bachauer at The Juilliard School. She maintains a teaching and coaching studio in Westport.
Frank Daykin, Coach: (Piano) Mr. Daykin is equally known as a soloist, collaborative pianist, teacher, and writer. His 24-year partnership with Millette Alexander in piano-duo performance has produced two award-winning records and a host of performances in the U.S. and abroad, always to rave reviews. He was the pianist in Ambrosia Trio for seven years, Music Director of Apollo Muses Festival (NJ) for seven years, and accompanies dozens of vocal recitals every year. In addition, Mr. Daykin is sought after to adjudicate piano competitions, notably at The Juilliard School. Currently, he is on the guest faculty of the Chamber Music Festival/Composers Forum of the East at Bennington, Vermont.
Deborah Graser, Coach: (Piano and violin) Ms. Graser is a well-known violinist and music educator in Fairfield County. She directed the Norwalk High School Orchestra for many years and conducts the Fairfield High School Sophomore Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra. Mrs. Graser received her Master of Music Degree from Eastman School of Music and studied violin with Zvi Zeitlin, Dorothy Delay and Oscar Schumsky. She was a founding member of the Fairfield County String Teachers Association and was concertmaster of the Oberursel Kammerorchestra in Germany. Mrs. Graser has performed with the Four Seasons String Quartet and the Amadeus Trio, and is the first violinist in Amici String String Quartet.
Tom Hudson, Coach: (Cello) Mr. Hudson, originally from Des Moines, Iowa, holds a holds a Bachelor's degree from Drake University in Des Moines and a Master's Degree from the Juilliard School in New York City. He has studied with William Pleeth in London, England, and has spent several summers at the Aspen Music School. Mr. Hudson has performed in the Jacksonville Symphony, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, the Spoleto Festival, and the New York Philharmonic. Currently, he is a very active teacher and chamber musician in the New York and Connecticut areas and plays in the Hartford Symphony, Westchester Symphony, and the Northeastern Pennsylvanian Philharmonic.
Rita Lapcevic, Coach: (Piano) Ms. Lapcevic received her Bachelor of Music degree in piano from Marymount College, Tarrytown, and her Master of Music degree in piano from Duquesne University, where she was a teaching assistant, then an instructor of piano. Since returning to Connecticut in 1970, she has been an active piano performer with the Silvermine Duo Pianists, The Trillum Ensemble (flute, cello and harpsichord-piano) and accompanying instrumentalists and singers. She is director and accompanist of the 9:00 Contemporary Choir at St. Catherine of Siena in Riverside, where she maintains a piano studio teaching adults and children, many of whom are award winners. She is on the Board of the Greenwich Symphony, The Schubert Club of Fairfield County, and the planning committee of the Young Musicians Festival.
Dr. Darilyn Manring, Coach: (Cello) Dr. Manring received her B.M. at Illinois State University, M.M. at Yale School of Music, and DMA at Boston University. She has concertized throughout the United States as well as in Brazil and has held academic positions at the University of Wyoming, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, University of Bridgeport, Sacred Heart University, and Northwestern State University of Louisiana. She is currently principal cellist with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony (CT) under the direction of Gustav Meier and has recorded for Phonodisc in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She has been instructing young musicians for over 35 years and currently teaches at Cider Mill Conservatory of Music in Wilton, CT.
Jody Rowitsch, Asst Artistic Director: (Viola) Ms. Rowitsch is the chair of the Theory Department and Certificate and Diploma Program Coordinator at the Neighborhood Music School. She took her BM and MM in viola and violin, as well as ensemble, at Oberlin and Temple Universities. She studied at Cleveland Quartet Chamber Music Seminars, Institute des Hautes Etudes Musicales in Switzerland, and participated in festivals in Germany and France. She is a faculty member at the University of Bridgeport and Choate Rosemary Hall. She is also a member of the Waterbury and Wallingford Symphony Orchestra, and substitutes regularly with the Hartford Symphony.
Jane Shelly, Coach: (Flute) Ms. Shelly is Principal Flute with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Principal with the Norwalk and Wallingford Symphonies. She is co-founder of Wilton Music Studios, where she has a large studio of private flute students and runs several flute choirs. Ms. Shelly holds music degrees from Ithaca College and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her major teachers include Roger Stevens (Los Angeles Philharmonic) and Julius Baker. Visit her website at:
Denise Chividian, Coach: (Violin) Ms. Chividian took her BA and MA degrees in violin performance at the Music Conservatory of Bucharest, Romania. She performs with the Greenwich, New Haven and Bridgeport Symphonies, among others, and has toured in Italy and Germany as well as with the Israel Pops under Columbia Artists Management. She is on the faculty at Fairfield University and maintains a private teaching studio in Southport, CT.
