Senior Division

NCC Associate Artistic Director Dr. Pamela Blackstone is a renowned and respected conductor on the national and international choral scene, where her expertise and innovative approach to singing have empowered performers of all ages to achieve the highest level of excellence in musicianship, performance, vocal technique and artistic creativity. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Blackstone began her training as a pianist, violinist, singer and dancer. Exemplifying unique musical and technical mastery, she obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance and graduated valedictorian from the School of Fine Arts at the University of Kansas (KU), under the tutelage of Dr. Jack Winerock and Claude Frank. During her time at KU, Dr. Blackstone attended the Aspen Summer Music Festival and School, studying piano and chamber music with Rita Sloan. Dr. Blackstone’s love for the choral art form led her to pursue a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Missouri- Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, under the direction of Dr. Eph Ehly. Following her passion for teaching, Dr. Blackstone became the Director of Choral Activities at Westark College in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and emerged as one of the Midwest region’s most sought-after choral clinicians, judges, and show-choir choreographers. Completing her formal education, Dr. Blackstone received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from the University of California Los Angeles with Dr. Donald Neuen. As part of her tenure, she won various competition and scholarship awards from organizations such as the American Choral Directors Association and the Choral Conductors Guild. Dr. Blackstone has served as the Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles-based Angeles Chorale, and has taught vocal and choral music at UCLA, Santa Ana College, and church organizations across the nation. Her conducting appearances include concerts at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Royce Hall and The Broad Stage, with international appearances in Oxford and London, England; Beijing and Xian, China; Rome, Florence and Venice, Italy, including the Vatican City; Berlin, Vienna, Prague, and Budapest; as well as the Korean Demilitarized Zone, Seoul, South Korea, and Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan. This summer’s performances will include Portugal and Spain. Throughout her career, her long-standing philosophy has been “performance excellence through personal excellence.” Combined with her expertise in the healing arts profession, Dr. Blackstone has advocated for an integrated, holistic approach to music education that embodies an eclectic array of modalities and methodologies, enriching her students mentally, emotionally and kinesthetically. In addition, Dr. Blackstone’s awe-inspiring energy revered as “positively contagious” has established her as an invaluable vocal instructor and in-demand performance coach on both coasts. Recent students have been accepted with scholarships at top-level programs across the country, including Indiana University, University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles, Stanford, Harvard and the Manhattan School of Music. Her pupils have also enjoyed noteworthy success in the areas of film, theatre and the recording studio.

Alex Belohlavek hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and received his Bachelor of Music degree in music education at Susquehanna University, where he studied with Dr. Julia Thorn. After teaching high school choir, music theory, general music, piano, and guitar at the Jim Henson Academy of Visual and Performing Arts for three years, Alex completed a Master of Music degree in choral conducting at The University of Southern Mississippi, where he studied with Dr. Gregory Fuller and Dr. Jonathan Kilgore. There, he sang with The Southern Chorale, which debuted multiple works at Carnegie Hall and performed across the country. Through his two assistantships, Alex conducted The Southern Chorale, Concert Choir, and Chamber Singers, and managed multiple state conferences. He is now a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California, where he serves as the Associate Director of the Apollo Chorus and section leader in Chamber Singers.

Gustavo Hernández García, tenor, began his singing career through the Young Musicians Program of UC Berkeley. Mr. Hernández attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, receiving his Bachelor of Music degree in 2005. During his time at SFCM, Mr. Hernández won first prize in the senior vocal category for the Pacific Musical Society. He was also cast to sing in the film Jackson, written and directed by J.F. Lawton (Pretty Woman, Under Siege).
 
Hernández received his Master of Music degree in vocal arts at the USC Thornton School of Music. While attending USC, Mr. Hernández participated in the West Coast premiere of Miss Lonelyhearts, sang for tenor Anthony Dean Griffey during a voice master class, serenaded Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú during her visit to USC, and sang abroad on scholarship at the International Lyric Academy of Rome at Viterbo, featured as a soloist in recital and secondary roles in fully staged operas.
 
In Southern California, Mr. Hernández has been a featured soloist with the Southeast Symphony, Westwood Master Chorale, San Bernardino Symphony, Marina del Rey Summer Symphony, Malibu Coast Chamber Opera, San Pedro Opera, and the California Philharmonic, through which Mr. Hernández made his tenor soloist debut at Walt Disney Hall in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Hernández most recently was invited to sing for LAO as a guest artist for An Evening of Zarzuela and a concert of songs by Agustin Lara (Granada) and Andrea Morricone, accompanied by Maestro Morricone himself. 
 
Hernández has sung lead operatic tenor roles in La Traviata, Carmen, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Lucia di Lammermoor Amahl and the Night Visitors and Norma, and secondary roles in Idomeneo, Tosca, and Die Zauberflöte.  As an ensemble member, Mr. Hernández has sung with the San Francisco Opera Chorus in Götterdämmerung and the Los Angeles Opera in Der fliegende Höllander, and for the Los Angeles Opera Educational and Outreach Department (Figaro 90210, Judas Maccabeus).

Adán Fernández is an organist, pianist, vocalist, and conductor. He is the director of music and organist at Holy Family Catholic Church where he directs five choirs and implements Kodály instruction for two children’s choirs. He is also assistant conductor for the Claremont Chorale and is currently a doctoral candidate in music at the University of Southern California. As a board member of KASC, he also serves in creating all of the Kodály events in Southern California.

Kelly Adams is a twice-over graduate of the University of Southern California; she received a Bachelor of Music degree in music industry, and a Master of Arts degree in music education. In 2013, she fell in love with Kodály’s revolutionary methods and ideology, and received her certification under Dr. Kathy Hickey and Kurt Cereske. She continues to build Kodály-based curricula for the Santa Monica-Malibu School District, National Children’s Chorus and Orange County School of the Arts. Kelly also serves as President-Elect on the Kodály Association of Southern California board, and recently was invited to teach Level I Pedagogy during KASC’s Summer Institute at Azusa Pacific University. When she’s not teaching, Kelly performs, writes and records with the band Karmina, runs Grammy-nominated composer John Powell’s record label (5 Cat Studios), and sings in feature films (How to Train Your Dragon, Wonder, Pan, The Lorax). She eagerly awaits her daughter Rudi’s first audition for the NCC’s Prelude Level!

Alexandré Legaspi is a vocalist, music educator, and choral director who received her Bachelor of Music degree in education and performance at California State University of Long Beach. She is a vocal instructor for the Filipino American Symphony Orchestra through their Youth Education Outreach program, utilizing the Kodály method in her ensemble rehearsals. In addition to general music and choir, she enjoys teaching piano, violin, viola, and guitar. Ms. Legaspi is also a Soprano Section Leader and Cantor at her home parish, Holy Family Catholic Church, in Glendale.

A native of Japan, Dr. Hiroyo Hatsuyama began her piano lessons at the age of three. After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in Japan, Dr. Hatsuyama continued her music education studying with Professor Elena Shishko at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, and Professor Kevin Fitz-Gerald at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. As the recipient of a full-tuition dean scholarship and teaching assistantship at USC, she completed both degrees, Master of Music in piano performance and Doctor of Musical Arts in keyboard collaborative arts, with a focus on chamber music. As a versatile pianist and harpsichordist, Dr. Hatsuyama frequently appears in recitals throughout the Los Angeles area. Her experience as an educator includes more than twenty years of teaching piano, chamber music, harmony, music history, theory, and aural skills in Japan and the United States. After teaching at the University of La Verne, she recently became a part-time faculty member at the Pomona California State Polytechnic University.

American conductor Luke McEndarfer is emerging as one of the most compelling forces in the choral world today, with a dynamic career shaped by ambitious innovation, artistic creativity and musical excellence. Currently, he serves as Artistic Director, President and CEO of the National Children’s Chorus, one of the fastest-growing and most successful youth arts organizations in the United States. His artistic collaborations include work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, American Youth Symphony, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Opera Company, New York City Master Chorale, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, the Joffrey Ballet, Opera Parallèle, Kronos String Quartet, and Stephen Petronio Dance Company. Over the years, he has prepared choruses and soloists for Gustavo Dudamel, Grant Gershon, James Conlon, Stephen Layton, David Alan Miller, Ibrahim Maalouf, John Rutter, Helmuth Rilling, David Willcocks, Eric Whitacre and the late Paul Salamunovich, among others. To date, his premiere conducting performances include music by Morten Lauridsen, Sharon Farber, James Wright, Stephen Cohn, Thomas Hewitt Jones, Daniel Brewbaker, Sage Lewis, Shawn Kirchner, Paul Gibson, Rufus Wainwright, and Nico Muhly.

In 2004, McEndarfer was appointed director of the acclaimed Paulist Choristers, and in 2008 his vision to create the National Children’s Chorus took flight. Since then, the NCC has grown from only sixteen families in Los Angeles to nearly eight hundred in the cities of Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., offering its students cutting-edge training and extraordinary musical experiences. Under McEndarfer’s leadership, the NCC has built an unparalleled educational platform, mindfully leading young singers from the age of five, and guiding them through to the college level. McEndarfer’s advanced vocal ensembles in the NCC are among the most accomplished youth choruses, with recent performances at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Royce Hall, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. International debuts have taken place throughout Europe, including Oxford, London, the Vatican City, Rome, Florence, Berlin, Vienna, Prague and Budapest; and in Asia, Beijing, Xi’an, the Korean DMZ, Seoul, Tokyo and Kyoto. In the summer of 2020, students will perform in Portugal and Spain.

Though the National Children’s Chorus has been his primary focus the last several years, McEndarfer’s background and experience encompass numerous conducting appearances on both coasts featuring adult choral and symphonic masterworks. Upcoming plans include the launch of new programs within this genre of choral music as a natural extension of his expanding scope of work with the NCC, and deep passion for the full choral repertoire. Equally at home in the studio, he has worked on several motion picture soundtracks, such as Escape from Tomorrow, Snowmen, and Paramount Pictures’ feature film Imagine That, starring Eddie Murphy. Television credits include conducting performances and studio appearances with CNN, CBS, ABC, and Fox, as well as NBC’s former Tonight Show with Jay Leno. McEndarfer has also conducted in performance with Josh Groban, and on Entertainment Tonight for the Oscars in 2014. At charity events featuring fashion shows by Oscar de la Renta, he has arranged musical presentations for Princess Charlene of Monaco, former First Lady Laura Bush, and other distinguished honorees.

Since the age of six, McEndarfer has studied piano extensively, winning competitions and musical honors with the Music Teachers’ Association of California. He is a two-time graduate of UCLA, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and a Master of Music degree in conducting, the latter with full scholarship under the tutelage of Donald Neuen. Studying privately, McEndarfer was the conducting pupil of Kenneth Kiesler and Marianne Ploger at the University of Michigan, Lucinda Carver at USC, and the late Paul Salamunovich. September through June, McEndarfer manages a demanding bicoastal work and travel schedule that requires his presence in all NCC cities of operation.

NCC Associate Artistic Director Dr. Pamela Blackstone is a renowned and respected conductor on the national and international choral scene, where her expertise and innovative approach to singing have empowered performers of all ages to achieve the highest level of excellence in musicianship, performance, vocal technique and artistic creativity. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Blackstone began her training as a pianist, violinist, singer and dancer. Exemplifying unique musical and technical mastery, she obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance and graduated valedictorian from the School of Fine Arts at the University of Kansas (KU), under the tutelage of Dr. Jack Winerock and Claude Frank. During her time at KU, Dr. Blackstone attended the Aspen Summer Music Festival and School, studying piano and chamber music with Rita Sloan. Dr. Blackstone’s love for the choral art form led her to pursue a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Missouri- Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, under the direction of Dr. Eph Ehly. Following her passion for teaching, Dr. Blackstone became the Director of Choral Activities at Westark College in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and emerged as one of the Midwest region’s most sought-after choral clinicians, judges, and show-choir choreographers. Completing her formal education, Dr. Blackstone received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from the University of California Los Angeles with Dr. Donald Neuen. As part of her tenure, she won various competition and scholarship awards from organizations such as the American Choral Directors Association and the Choral Conductors Guild. Dr. Blackstone has served as the Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles-based Angeles Chorale, and has taught vocal and choral music at UCLA, Santa Ana College, and church organizations across the nation. Her conducting appearances include concerts at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Royce Hall and The Broad Stage, with international appearances in Oxford and London, England; Beijing and Xian, China; Rome, Florence and Venice, Italy, including the Vatican City; Berlin, Vienna, Prague, and Budapest; as well as the Korean Demilitarized Zone, Seoul, South Korea, and Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan. This summer’s performances will include Portugal and Spain. Throughout her career, her long-standing philosophy has been “performance excellence through personal excellence.” Combined with her expertise in the healing arts profession, Dr. Blackstone has advocated for an integrated, holistic approach to music education that embodies an eclectic array of modalities and methodologies, enriching her students mentally, emotionally and kinesthetically. In addition, Dr. Blackstone’s awe-inspiring energy revered as “positively contagious” has established her as an invaluable vocal instructor and in-demand performance coach on both coasts. Recent students have been accepted with scholarships at top-level programs across the country, including Indiana University, University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles, Stanford, Harvard and the Manhattan School of Music. Her pupils have also enjoyed noteworthy success in the areas of film, theatre and the recording studio.

Laura Keverian Pitts is a native of Southern California and has spent her teaching career in both private and public schools, teaching music literacy and specializing in choral music. Her passion for choral conducting led her to study with master children’s and youth choral conductors Dr. Doreen Rao, Dr. Janet Galvan and Mr. Henry Leck. She received her Master in Music degree in choral conducting, studying with her longtime mentor, Donald Brinegar. Additional advanced musical study included Kodály pedagogy and methodology, and she was recently invited to be an instructor for the Kodály Association of Southern California certification courses. Mrs. Pitts teaches at Azusa Pacific University and Cal Poly, Pomona, focusing on aural theory, sight-singing and ear-training, and music education courses. In addition to teaching at the university level, Mrs. Pitts teaches general music and is the director of the Bobcat Choir at Don Benito Fundamental School in Pasadena. A lifelong singer, Mrs. Pitts formerly performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and is currently performing with the Donald Brinegar Singers, with whom she is a founding member.

Gustavo Hernández García, tenor, began his singing career through the Young Musicians Program of UC Berkeley. Mr. Hernández attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, receiving his Bachelor of Music degree in 2005. During his time at SFCM, Mr. Hernández won first prize in the senior vocal category for the Pacific Musical Society. He was also cast to sing in the film Jackson, written and directed by J.F. Lawton (Pretty Woman, Under Siege).
 
Hernández received his Master of Music degree in vocal arts at the USC Thornton School of Music. While attending USC, Mr. Hernández participated in the West Coast premiere of Miss Lonelyhearts, sang for tenor Anthony Dean Griffey during a voice master class, serenaded Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú during her visit to USC, and sang abroad on scholarship at the International Lyric Academy of Rome at Viterbo, featured as a soloist in recital and secondary roles in fully staged operas.
 
In Southern California, Mr. Hernández has been a featured soloist with the Southeast Symphony, Westwood Master Chorale, San Bernardino Symphony, Marina del Rey Summer Symphony, Malibu Coast Chamber Opera, San Pedro Opera, and the California Philharmonic, through which Mr. Hernández made his tenor soloist debut at Walt Disney Hall in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Hernández most recently was invited to sing for LAO as a guest artist for An Evening of Zarzuela and a concert of songs by Agustin Lara (Granada) and Andrea Morricone, accompanied by Maestro Morricone himself. 
 
Hernández has sung lead operatic tenor roles in La Traviata, Carmen, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Lucia di Lammermoor Amahl and the Night Visitors and Norma, and secondary roles in Idomeneo, Tosca, and Die Zauberflöte.  As an ensemble member, Mr. Hernández has sung with the San Francisco Opera Chorus in Götterdämmerung and the Los Angeles Opera in Der fliegende Höllander, and for the Los Angeles Opera Educational and Outreach Department (Figaro 90210, Judas Maccabeus).

Adán Fernández is an organist, pianist, vocalist, and conductor. He is the director of music and organist at Holy Family Catholic Church where he directs five choirs and implements Kodály instruction for two children’s choirs. He is also assistant conductor for the Claremont Chorale and is currently a doctoral candidate in music at the University of Southern California. As a board member of KASC, he also serves in creating all of the Kodály events in Southern California.

Kelly Adams is a twice-over graduate of the University of Southern California; she received a Bachelor of Music degree in music industry, and a Master of Arts degree in music education. In 2013, she fell in love with Kodály’s revolutionary methods and ideology, and received her certification under Dr. Kathy Hickey and Kurt Cereske. She continues to build Kodály-based curricula for the Santa Monica-Malibu School District, National Children’s Chorus and Orange County School of the Arts. Kelly also serves as President-Elect on the Kodály Association of Southern California board, and recently was invited to teach Level I Pedagogy during KASC’s Summer Institute at Azusa Pacific University. When she’s not teaching, Kelly performs, writes and records with the band Karmina, runs Grammy-nominated composer John Powell’s record label (5 Cat Studios), and sings in feature films (How to Train Your Dragon, Wonder, Pan, The Lorax). She eagerly awaits her daughter Rudi’s first audition for the NCC’s Prelude Level!

Alexandré Legaspi is a vocalist, music educator, and choral director who received her Bachelor of Music degree in education and performance at California State University of Long Beach. She is a vocal instructor for the Filipino American Symphony Orchestra through their Youth Education Outreach program, utilizing the Kodály method in her ensemble rehearsals. In addition to general music and choir, she enjoys teaching piano, violin, viola, and guitar. Ms. Legaspi is also a Soprano Section Leader and Cantor at her home parish, Holy Family Catholic Church, in Glendale.

Dr. Vivian I-Miao Liu, a native of Taiwan, is a versatile collaborative pianist and coach. She has worked with the Intimate Opera, Long Beach Opera, Opera A La Carte, Opera Idaho, Opera Nova, Opera Pacific, Repertory Opera, Sun Valley Opera, Classical Singers Association, National Association of Teachers of Singing, Wagner Society of Southern California, Boys Choir of Harlem, LA Opera Lounge, LA Tapestries, Merrywoode Singers, Bakersfield Symphony, Calico Winds, California Quartet, Mládí Chamber Orchestra, Pokorny Low Brass Seminar, Redlands Bowl, Riverside Philharmonic, and LA Music Center’s Education Program. She has played auditions for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Pacific Coast Opera. Additionally, she has participated in the Aspen Opera Center, and Tyrolean Opera Program in Austria as a fellowship pianist.

On the concert stage, Dr. Liu has collaborated with musicians from the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and Vienna Philharmonic, as well as singers from the Los Angeles Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and New York City Opera. She has performed internationally in Taiwan, Russia, Austria, and the United States, and has appeared on radio and television broadcasts. In 1998, she toured as a Young Artist winner of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan. In 2002, she gave her Carnegie Hall debut as a chamber music award recipient of Artists International.

Dr. Liu has earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts and a Master of Music degree in keyboard collaborative arts from the University of Southern California (USC), in addition to a Master of Music degree in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Her Bachelor of Arts degree in piano performance was earned at the Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan. In 2007, she directed and staged Poulenc’s monodrama La Voix Humaine at USC. Her teachers include Kevin Fitz-Gerald and Alan Smith at USC, Martin Katz and Graham Johnson at Songfest, Marc Silverman, and John Forconi at the Manhattan School of Music. With her passion for vocal repertoire, she is well versed in the diction of French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Latin.

Dr. Liu has served on the faculty for Songfest’s Young Artist Program, Intimate Opera Company’s Summer Youth Vocal Workshop, and LA Opera Camp. She has served as a staff accompanist at Manhattan School of Music as well as an opera coach at USC, Azusa Pacific University, and University of Redlands. Since 2011, she has been principal pianist for the National Children’s Chorus. In addition, she is on the faculty at Chapman University, and works closely with Los Angeles Opera’s Education Program.

American conductor Luke McEndarfer is emerging as one of the most compelling forces in the choral world today, with a dynamic career shaped by ambitious innovation, artistic creativity and musical excellence. Currently, he serves as Artistic Director, President and CEO of the National Children’s Chorus, one of the fastest-growing and most successful youth arts organizations in the United States. His artistic collaborations include work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, American Youth Symphony, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Opera Company, New York City Master Chorale, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, the Joffrey Ballet, Opera Parallèle, Kronos String Quartet, and Stephen Petronio Dance Company. Over the years, he has prepared choruses and soloists for Gustavo Dudamel, Grant Gershon, James Conlon, Stephen Layton, David Alan Miller, Ibrahim Maalouf, John Rutter, Helmuth Rilling, David Willcocks, Eric Whitacre and the late Paul Salamunovich, among others. To date, his premiere conducting performances include music by Morten Lauridsen, Sharon Farber, James Wright, Stephen Cohn, Thomas Hewitt Jones, Daniel Brewbaker, Sage Lewis, Shawn Kirchner, Paul Gibson, Rufus Wainwright, and Nico Muhly.

In 2004, McEndarfer was appointed director of the acclaimed Paulist Choristers, and in 2008 his vision to create the National Children’s Chorus took flight. Since then, the NCC has grown from only sixteen families in Los Angeles to nearly eight hundred in the cities of Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., offering its students cutting-edge training and extraordinary musical experiences. Under McEndarfer’s leadership, the NCC has built an unparalleled educational platform, mindfully leading young singers from the age of five, and guiding them through to the college level. McEndarfer’s advanced vocal ensembles in the NCC are among the most accomplished youth choruses, with recent performances at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Royce Hall, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. International debuts have taken place throughout Europe, including Oxford, London, the Vatican City, Rome, Florence, Berlin, Vienna, Prague and Budapest; and in Asia, Beijing, Xi’an, the Korean DMZ, Seoul, Tokyo and Kyoto. In the summer of 2020, students will perform in Portugal and Spain.

Though the National Children’s Chorus has been his primary focus the last several years, McEndarfer’s background and experience encompass numerous conducting appearances on both coasts featuring adult choral and symphonic masterworks. Upcoming plans include the launch of new programs within this genre of choral music as a natural extension of his expanding scope of work with the NCC, and deep passion for the full choral repertoire. Equally at home in the studio, he has worked on several motion picture soundtracks, such as Escape from Tomorrow, Snowmen, and Paramount Pictures’ feature film Imagine That, starring Eddie Murphy. Television credits include conducting performances and studio appearances with CNN, CBS, ABC, and Fox, as well as NBC’s former Tonight Show with Jay Leno. McEndarfer has also conducted in performance with Josh Groban, and on Entertainment Tonight for the Oscars in 2014. At charity events featuring fashion shows by Oscar de la Renta, he has arranged musical presentations for Princess Charlene of Monaco, former First Lady Laura Bush, and other distinguished honorees.

Since the age of six, McEndarfer has studied piano extensively, winning competitions and musical honors with the Music Teachers’ Association of California. He is a two-time graduate of UCLA, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and a Master of Music degree in conducting, the latter with full scholarship under the tutelage of Donald Neuen. Studying privately, McEndarfer was the conducting pupil of Kenneth Kiesler and Marianne Ploger at the University of Michigan, Lucinda Carver at USC, and the late Paul Salamunovich. September through June, McEndarfer manages a demanding bicoastal work and travel schedule that requires his presence in all NCC cities of operation.

Griffith Frank is an award-winning singer and RIAA certified multiplatinum songwriter hailing from Topanga, California. He spent his formative years developing as a musician and songwriter under his father, starring in a multitude of musical productions, sharpening his vocal and piano abilities, and would graduate as a Vocal Performance Major from University of California, Los Angeles.

In 2010, Griffith was a featured soloist on the soundtrack of the Golden Globe nominated movie “Nine” (dir. Rob Marshall); in which his version of “Unusual Way” was notably praised by People Magazine. Griffith has since performed all over the world at legendary venues such as Disney Hall, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and the Jakarta Jazz Festival.

American composer Ian Krouse was born in 1956 in Olney, Maryland. Gramophone hailed him as “one of the most communicative and intriguing young composers on the music scene today,” while Soundboard described his music as “absorbing, brutal, beautiful, and harsh, all at the same time.” Though lovers of guitar music know him for his chamber music with guitar, especially his groundbreaking music for guitar quartet, and for such solo pieces as Variations On A Moldavian Hora, and Air, he has written in nearly every musical genre including opera, and his works are performed frequently and recorded by major artists worldwide. Throughout his career he has received dozens of awards, including an AT&T American Encores Grant, three opera development grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and several from the American Composer’s Forum and Meet the Composer, as well as those from the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations and the Atlantic-Richfield Corporation. He has won the BMI Award and the Gaudeamus Festival Prize, was a semi-finalist in the Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards, and a finalist in the Barlow Competition, and Big Ten Commissioning Project. Dozens of his works have been commercially recorded on the Brain (Japan), Urtext Digital Classics, Koch, Delos, Naxos, RCM, Lisaddell, GSP and GHA labels, among others.

Early studies in guitar were with Richard Wisner, and subsequently with the late James F. Smith at USC. As a guitarist, he performed extensively and recorded with the de Falla Guitar Trio, a group he cofounded. The group’s debut LP “Virtuoso Music for Three Guitars” for the Concord Concerto label, was awarded “One of the Year’s 12 Best” for 1984 by Stereo Review. His principal teachers in composition were James Hopkins, Morten Lauridsen, and Halsey Stevens. Early studies in composition at Indiana University at South Bend with Barton McLean and David Barton were later augmented with those at USC with Earle Brown, William Kraft, and Leonard Rosenman, as well as master classes with Pierre Boulez and Witold Lutoslawski. Dr. Krouse holds a Bachelor of Music degree, and Performer’s and Composer’s Certificates from Indiana University at South Bend, as well as Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in composition from the University of Southern California. Additionally, he is Professor of Music at the University of California Los Angeles, where he served for several years as Music Department Chair.

In 2011, Dr. Krouse received one of the University of California’s highest honors, the Distinguished Teaching Award for Outstanding Contributions to University Teaching. Special mention was made of his mentorship of undergraduate students. Throughout his long career he has mentored several generations of young people, many of who have gone on to important careers in music and allied fields. Several of his students have won prestigious awards such as the Prix de Rome, and the ASCAP and BMI Awards to Student Composers, among many others. Today Professor Krouse is a seasoned and sought-after master teacher of composition, theory, musicianship, analysis, and conducting, with a thriving private studio to augment his work at UCLA. He resides in Southern California with his three children.

Dr. Vivian I-Miao Liu, a native of Taiwan, is a versatile collaborative pianist and coach. She has worked with the Intimate Opera, Long Beach Opera, Opera A La Carte, Opera Idaho, Opera Nova, Opera Pacific, Repertory Opera, Sun Valley Opera, Classical Singers Association, National Association of Teachers of Singing, Wagner Society of Southern California, Boys Choir of Harlem, LA Opera Lounge, LA Tapestries, Merrywoode Singers, Bakersfield Symphony, Calico Winds, California Quartet, Mládí Chamber Orchestra, Pokorny Low Brass Seminar, Redlands Bowl, Riverside Philharmonic, and LA Music Center’s Education Program. She has played auditions for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Pacific Coast Opera. Additionally, she has participated in the Aspen Opera Center, and Tyrolean Opera Program in Austria as a fellowship pianist.

On the concert stage, Dr. Liu has collaborated with musicians from the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and Vienna Philharmonic, as well as singers from the Los Angeles Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and New York City Opera. She has performed internationally in Taiwan, Russia, Austria, and the United States, and has appeared on radio and television broadcasts. In 1998, she toured as a Young Artist winner of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan. In 2002, she gave her Carnegie Hall debut as a chamber music award recipient of Artists International.

Dr. Liu has earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts and a Master of Music degree in keyboard collaborative arts from the University of Southern California (USC), in addition to a Master of Music degree in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Her Bachelor of Arts degree in piano performance was earned at the Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan. In 2007, she directed and staged Poulenc’s monodrama La Voix Humaine at USC. Her teachers include Kevin Fitz-Gerald and Alan Smith at USC, Martin Katz and Graham Johnson at Songfest, Marc Silverman, and John Forconi at the Manhattan School of Music. With her passion for vocal repertoire, she is well versed in the diction of French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Latin.

Dr. Liu has served on the faculty for Songfest’s Young Artist Program, Intimate Opera Company’s Summer Youth Vocal Workshop, and LA Opera Camp. She has served as a staff accompanist at Manhattan School of Music as well as an opera coach at USC, Azusa Pacific University, and University of Redlands. Since 2011, she has been principal pianist for the National Children’s Chorus. In addition, she is on the faculty at Chapman University, and works closely with Los Angeles Opera’s Education Program.