2026 Featured Guest Artist
Christine Erlander Beard
Hailed as “…not only having a beautiful tone and phrasing, but the capacity to reveal the deep soul of a composition” (Martin Rokeach, composer), Christine Erlander Beard enjoys an active international career as a soloist, chamber artist, and teacher with engagements throughout North and South America and Europe. An artist for Sankyo Flutes and piccolo artist for Hernandez Flutes, she has performed as a concerto soloist with orchestras in Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Canada, Russia and the USA. Christie was the recipient of the Flute Almanac’s “Flute Advocate”Global Flute Excellence Award in 2025, and Second Prize winner in the 2019 American Prize Professional Soloist division competition. Professor of Flute at the University of Nebraska at Omaha since 2002, she launched #theflutistactivitst initiative – an ongoing project to commission and perform new music inspired by social justice issues – in 2019. christiebeard.net
SMF 2026 Invited Performers
Check out the bios for all the SMF 2026 invited performers below!
Pianists Helena Hyesoo Kim and Curtis Pavey are a piano duo and faculty members at the University of Missouri. Kim and Pavey first connected as doctoral students at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and established their duo partnership in 2021. Together, their performances have reached audiences throughout the United States and Canada in various venues, creating intimate connections with audience members. Recently, they performed at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center in New York City, the Odyssey Chamber Music Series, the Madison Performing Arts Foundation, and the Kin Experience in Montreal. In their performances, the two strive to tell stories in sound, making cohesive musical and historical relationships between music of different composers and time periods. As a duo, they especially enjoy exploring and presenting works by contemporary composers and underrepresented works of the piano four-hands repertoire.
Dr. Kelariz Keshavarz is Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her work centers on contemporary flute repertoire and cross-cultural practice, with a focus on commissioning and promoting new music. She is the founder of the Iranian New Waves Initiative and has released multiple recordings, with upcoming albums on Neuma Records. Dr. Keshavarz performs internationally and is an active contributor to the field through research, performance, and service, including her role on the National Flute Association Research Committee.
Dr. Sara Renner joined the faculty at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi in 2025, where she serves as Assistant Professor of Oboe and Music History and active member of the Plumeria Winds trio. An accomplished oboist with a multifaceted career, Dr. Renner is an active performer, educator, and recording artist. Her recent positions include the University of Texas at El Paso and the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. She joined the faculty of the OperaMaya International Music Festival (Cancun, Mexico) in 2021, where she also serves as Principal Oboe. An advocate for new music, Dr. Renner’s solo album Oboe: Unfolded involves a series of commissions for solo oboe repertoire. Dr. Renner holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Performance from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and the Columbus State University Schwob School of Music, respectively. She received her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
The Troubled Euphs have been performing together since 2021, when Drew Leslie, Ian Lester, and Jared Sherman met as students at the University of Missouri - Kansas City Conservatory. Since their founding, the trio has traveled across the country to perform at numerous conferences, including the 2025 Army Band Tuba Euphonium Workshop in Ft. Myer, Virginia, as well as competitions such as the 2023 International Tuba Euphonium Conference Chamber Music Competition in Tempe, Arizona. Additionally, The Troubled Euphs actively perform within the Kansas City community for events such as the KC Streetcar Holiday Jam 2025. The trio's mission to expand the viability of the euphonium as a chamber music instrument, as well as expand the repertoire for the euphonium trio instrumentation, has led the trio to commission over ten new works and arrangements for the ensemble. This has culminated in the production of their soon-to-be-released debut CD: Here Comes Trouble!
Hailed for her "seemly expressivity, technical panache and vibrant coloration" (Gramophone), international prize-winning flutist Rose Bishop enjoys a career as an orchestral musician, soloist and educator based in Iowa. A Trevor James Flute Performing Artist, she has performed extensively across the United States, as well as internationally across three continents. Rose Bishop is Instructor of Flute at St. Ambrose University, Coe College, Cornell College, Clarke University, and Kirkwood Community College. She serves as Principal Flute of the Southeast Iowa and Quincy Symphony Orchestras, Acting Principal Flute with the Dubuque Symphony, and is a member of the Colorado Mahlerfest Orchestra. Bishop has appeared as a guest soloist with several ensembles, including numerous university and municipal bands in the USA, England, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Belgium, in addition to enjoying various guest artist residencies at universities throughout the United States.
Rachel Villareale is a Band Director at Derby High School and assistant band director at Derby North Middle School. She holds a Master of Music degree in Instrumental Conducting/Music Education from Kansas State University and a Bachelor of Science in Education (Music) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Rachel plays bassoon in the Salina Symphony and Wichita Wind Symphony, in addition to maintaining a private bassoon studio. Rachel currently serves as SCKMEA HS Band Chair, KWBDA President, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Wichita Wind Symphony, in addition to other professional affiliations and activities. She lives in Wichita with her husband, Chris, and dog, Remy.
The Tiny Duck Trio is a new ensemble that aims to bring joy and freshness to chamber music performances. Rose, Chris, and Rachel are all passionate about new music and music by diverse composers, in chamber music settings and beyond. They are also serious about having a good time! Our program blends a mix of “serious” and “silly” to create a set that is both approachable to new audiences and enjoyable to seasoned listeners.
Dr. Jessica Koebbe is active as a performer, clinician, and educator. Her love of music and travel has resulted in opportunities to work and perform throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, France, Spain, and Germany. Some highlights include performances upon invitation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, and the Ávila International Music Festival in Ávila, Spain. She has presented at the International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society international conference, the International Piano Professionals Association Piano Pedagogy conference, the Sigma Alpha Iota national convention, and multiple state conferences about music performance anxiety as it relates to teaching, collaboration, and performance. Her work has also been published in the peer-reviewed journal On Collaborating. Dr. Koebbe coordinates the keyboard area at William Jewell College where she spearheaded the school’s Keyboard Scholars program, an initiative to offer mentorship and scholarship to undergraduate keyboard students in the art of collaborative piano. She has previously held faculty positions at Texas Wesleyan University, MidAmerica Nazarene University, and Kansas State University. She holds degrees in piano performance, receiving her DMA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, her Master of Music from Texas Christian University, and her Bachelor of Music from the University of Kansas (summa cum laude).
Gina Hart-Kemper is a performer, teacher and clinician in the Kansas City metro area. A graduate of Wichita State University, Gina continued her education earning the Master of Music and Doctoral of Musical Arts degrees at The University of Michigan. She has performed and recorded with orchestras and chamber groups throughout the United States, and has been a guest artist and clinician at public schools, universities, and summer festivals. Recent performances have been at the Avila Music Festival (Spain), and work at the Puerto Rico Collaborative Piano Festival. Currently, she is adjunct instructor of Flute and teaches music classes at Mid-America Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas. Gina is also the Music Director for the Kansas City Flute Choir which attracts flutists of all ages and levels. She also serves on the board of the Village Music Academy in Prairie Village where she continues to teach flute lessons.
Elaine Fox has performed extensively in opera, concert and oratorio, musical theatre and cabaret. Elaine has sung over 30 operatic roles with companies such as Florida Grand Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Des Moines Metro Opera, Nevada Opera, Lake George Opera, Ohio Light Opera. Favorite roles include: Carmen in Carmen; Komponist in Ariadne Auf Naxos; Charlotte in Werther; Meg in Little Women; Serse in Serse; Oberon in Midsummer Night’s Dream. Orchestral performances: Chautauqua Symphony, Des Moines Symphony, Rhode Island Civic Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Glen Falls, NY Symphony and others. Ms. Fox is an established performer in the Kansas City area. Some highlights include: Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Kansas City Symphony, The New Theatre, Quality Hill Playhouse, American Heartland Theater, Musical Theater Heritage, Plaza Lighting Ceremony, WaterFire, Washburn Opera Studio, Lawrence Opera Works, Kansas Concert Opera, Kansas Public Radio, Lindsborg Messiah Festival. Her opera apprentice training experience led Elaine throughout the country singing with opera legends including James Morris and Lauren Flanigen. Elaine holds a B.M. and M.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of Missouri- Kansas City Conservatory of Music. She teaches at International Lyric Academy in Vicenza, Italy, is adjunct voice instructor at MidAmerica Nazarene University, and owns Elaine Fox Voice Studio in Shawnee. She has also held teaching positions at LOKC Honor Artists Program, Park University, and Kansas City Kansas Community College. Her students study voice performance and music education at universities throughout the U.S. They perform professionally, perform on cruise ships and at Disney, pursue voice competitions with NATS, perform in numerous musical theater productions, and sing in the children’s chorus at LOKC. Elaine has over 25 years experience as a voice teacher and enjoys teaching as an opportunity to give back what she has received while studying with some of the most talented teachers in the classical voice community including Inci Bashar and Jeannne Tomelleri. www.elainefoxmezzo.com
“Powerful tenor” (South Florida Classical Review) David Pelino is based out of Kansas City, Missouri, where he is a tenor resident artist at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. He recently made his role debut as the Ballad Singer in Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men. Other notable roles include Don José in Bizet’s Carmen, Sam Polk in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, Booker T. Washington in Ragtime: the Musical, and Wesley Harris in the Kentucky premier of Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road. He is well versed in concert repertoire most recently making his debut in Josef Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. His other credits include performing the tenor solos in Haydn’s The Creation, G.F. Handel’s Messiah, Theodore Dubois’s The Seven Last Words of Christ, Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, Adolphus Hailstork’s I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, and as the Evangelist in J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion. David is also on the roster of several reputable professional choirs around the nation, such as the American Spiritual Ensemble, the Handel + Haydn Society, Kinnara, Prometheus, Seraphic Fire, The Thirteen, and the cathedral choir at the Washington National Cathedral.
Dr. Suna Gunther recently completed her fifth year as Assistant Professor in the Voice and Jazz areas at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she teaches voice, musical theatre-related courses, and Graduate Diction as well as stage and music direction of productions. Off-campus, she is a member of the SALT quintet which commissions and tours micro-operas based on the lives of real women and the Director of Soo Opera’s Summer Apprenticeship program in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Recent roles include Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Dorabella (Cosí fan tutti), and Musetta (La Bohème). Her Anthology of Turkish Song is preparing for publication under Hildegard Publishing. Dr. Gunther received degrees from Northwestern and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She has previously taught music theory at Indiana University, voice at Berea College, musical theatre at University of North Dakota, and coordinated the voice area at the College of Saint Rose.
SYLVIA STONER has performed across the country in opera and theater. Regional opera credits include the Des Moines Metro Opera, Shreveport Opera, Opera Omaha, Union Avenue Opera, Kentucky Opera, Mobile Opera, Lake George Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Favorite roles include Mimi in La Bohème, Countess in Figaro, Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, and Marguerite in Faust. A proud member of Actor’s Equity, she toured nationally in Terence McNally’s “Maria Callas: Masterclass” in the role of opera singer Sharon Graham. Internationally, she performed in Italy with Orvieto Musica and the InterHarmony International Music Festival. Recent soloist engagements include the Schenectady Symphony, Saratoga Voices, the Battenkill Chorale, the Excelsior Ensemble, the Northern Berkshire Chorale, the Skidmore Chorus, and the Skidmore Orchestra. She recently portrayed Irene Adler in the New York premiere of “221B-A Sherlock Holmes Opera” by Glen Cortese with the Schenectady Saratoga Symphony, and looks forward to performing with Opera Saratoga for the Capitol Region’s Composers’ Concert. She will also return to perform and teach at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Aqui Terme, Italy, this summer. She co-created “Sister--Show me Eternity” based upon the life of Emily Dickinson and her sisters. She is a founding member of SALT (Share Affirm Lift Tell) whose mission is to lift up stories of unheard voices. In 2024 they co-commissioned a program of micro-operas called “A Mosaic of Motherhood,” which SALT has performed nationally including excerpts at the annual National Opera Association Conference in Boston and as the keynote performance at the No Limits Conference in Kearney, Nebraska. She obtained her Doctorate of Musical Arts Degree with honors in Voice at the University of Kansas and is currently the Senior Artist-in-Residence in Voice at Skidmore College.
SHARON O’CONNELL CAMPBELL (she/her), mezzo-soprano, frequently performs (often premiering) newly composed works. As a collaborator in innovative staged art song concerts, she has performed across the United States. She also is at home in opera, concert, and recital repertoire. She has appeared as soloist in Bach's St. Matthew Passion, Beethoven's Mass in C and Symphony No. 9, and Handel's Messiah among other major works. Her numerous opera roles include the Third Lady in the Lyric Opera of Kansas City production of Die Zauberflöte, Baba in The Medium, La Badessa (Suor Angelica), The Princess (Sister Angelica), Florence Pike (Albert Herring), Mistress Quickly (Falstaff), The Witch (Hansel and Gretel), Mme. Du Croissy (Dialogue of the Carmelites), and as Terentia, in UNK’s 2019 National Opera Association award- winning production of Captain Lovelock. Dr. Sharon Campbell is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where she earned the D.M.A. in Vocal Performance. She holds the M.M. from the Conservatory at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and B.M. from the University of New Mexico. She has published and presented research internationally and she frequently performs as a singer, often premiering newly composed works. As a collaborator in innovative staged art song concerts, she has performed across the United States. She is a Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and chair of the UNK Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance.
Hailed by Gramophone magazine for their "seamless expressivity, technical panache and vibrant coloration”, Unseen//Unheard is the low-flute duo of Rose Bishop and Heather Neuenschwander, specializing in the rarely spotlighted voices of alto and bass flute. Their name, Unseen//Unheard, was intentionally chosen to highlight instruments that are too often sidelined in classical music. But the title runs deeper: just as low flutes are frequently overlooked, so too are the voices of women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people of color in the classical world. Rose and Heather are not just performers—they are amplifiers, disruptors, and advocates for a more inclusive and electrified musical future. Unseen//Unheard released their first, self-titled album in September 2025.
Violinist David Colwell enjoys a diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, and the Middle East. In demand at national and international festivals and universities, Colwell has given recitals and masterclasses at the Milan Conservatory, Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Eastman School of Music, Cornell University, McGill University, the Deià International Music Festival (Spain) and at universities in Mexico City, Brasília, Natal and Rio de Janeiro. He has recorded for Naxos Records. Concerto engagements have included the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra and the Charlottesville Symphony Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, he has collaborated with such prominent artists as Edgar Meyer, Timothy Eddy, Paul Katz, Barry Shiffman, Pekka Kuusisto, Scott St. John and Ralf Gothóni. He holds degrees from the University of Alberta and Yale School of Music. Colwell is currently Associate Professor of Violin at the University of Kansas.
Praised as “exquisite” by Gramophone, soprano Stella Markou enjoys an international career spanning opera, oratorio, concert performance, and recording. A passionate advocate for contemporary music, she has appeared at major festivals including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Heidelberg New Music Festival, Paros Parks Festival, Naxos Music Festival, and SEAMUS, and has been featured as a guest artist with ensembles and organizations across the United States and abroad. An award-winning stage director, her productions have received top honors from the National Opera Association and The American Prize. She has presented masterclasses throughout the Americas, Europe, and China. Markou is Professor of Voice at the University of Kansas, where she serves as Director of Opera and Area Coordinator for Voice and Opera.She holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the University of Arizona. Her recordings are available on the Naxos, MSR, Navona, and SEAMUS labels.
Andrew Morris began his piano studies at the age of 8 in the studio of Dr. Cameron Dibble at the UMKC Conservatory Academy. He then started his organ studies in 2009 with Ted Stewart in the Kansas City area. In 2013, he was admitted to the organ class of Drs. James Higdon and Michael Bauer at the University of Kansas, where he obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in 2021. Over the course of his studies, he has participated in many organ competitions, notably the Canadian International Organ Competition, the International Organ Competition in Biarritz, and the St. Albans International Organ Competition. In 2019, he won 3rd place in the Mikael Tariverdiev International Organ Competition in Kaliningrad, Russia. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Kansas, over the course of which he studied at the Paris Conservatoire in the organ class of Olivier Latry and Thomas Ospital for the 2022-2023 academic year.