4 American musicians chosen for Cultural Exchange with Sarajevo Philharmonic
Four young American musicians have been selected for an International Cultural Exchange program that will take them to Bosnia-Herzegovina for 10 months to perform with the Sarajevo Philharmonic. Tim Boyer of Charlotte, Sara Laupp of Nashville, Megan Robbins of Chicago, and Matt McLaughlin of Cleveland will play opera, ballet and symphonic concerts through July 2012.
The International Cultural Exchange program is coordinated and sponsored by the Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS) in cooperation with the Sarajevo Philharmonic. The American conductor, Diane Wittry, was named Artistic Director (USA) of the International Cultural Exchange program in May 2011. Her responsibilities involve the screening and selection of the American musicians that will participate in the program.
The mission of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences is to provide connections between Bosnian-Herzegovinian and scientists, musicians, artists, and professionals in North America to build bridges of cooperation between our countries. The Academy promotes the spirit of intellectual diversity and free exchange of ideas in the belief that knowledge is shareable wealth.
The Sarajevo Philharmonic was founded in 1923 and has played an important role in shaping the musical life of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Sarajevo Philarmonic is a full-time orchestra that currently performs in the National Theatre in Sarajevo and tours throughout the region.
The Sarajevo Philharmonic operated without interruptions throughout the siege of Sarajevo from 1993-1995. Although Sarajevo was exposed to daily bombardment from the surrounding hills which killed over 10,000 of its citizens, the Philharmonic held nine concerts in the 1993-1994 season, 21 concerts in the 1994-1995 season, and 41 concerts in the 1995-1996 season. Out of those 41 concerts, 10 were held prior to November 1995, when the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed. The Philharmonic lost two musicians during the siege.
The International Cultural Exchange Program for Classical Musicians started Sept. 11 and the participants will return to the United States on July 2, 2012. Selection of the musicians was done by Conductor and Artistic Director Diane Wittry, who is a BHAAAS international member; Samra Gulamovic, director and conductor of the Sarajevo Philharmonic; and Eldin E. Karaikovic, BHAAAS project director. The applicants submitted copies of their performance resumes and unedited DVDs of their playing. The applicants also included a short video of why they wanted to participate in the program.
2011 – 2012 Participants
A native of Rock Hill, South Carolina, trombonist Tim Boyer recently graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. During his tenure there, he was exposed to many differentperformance opportunities ranging from the school's jazz band to thefoundation of his own brass trio. He also took part in thepremieres of numerous composition students' pieces, as part of theschool's contemporary music ensemble. For three years Boyer studied with James Miller of the Los Angeles Philharmonic,who coached him in the famed Heavy Bones trombone. John Ilika of the North CarolinaSymphony rounded off Boyer's final year as professor of trombone. Boyer performed in the UNCSA's 2010 all-schoolproduction of the Nutcracker, which was broadcast by PBS to some150,000 households during the holiday season. He can also be heardon the most recent Krankie's Coffee local artist compilation CD.
Sara Laupp, originally from Tennessee, holds a Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Computing and Information Systems from Northwestern University. Most recently, she completed the Master of Music degree at Northwestern University, where she studied with Lewis Kirk and Christopher Millard. In her time at Northwestern, she served as principal bassoonist in the symphony and chamber orchestras and several conducting ensembles. She can be heard on the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble CD that is being released in December. An advocate of chamber music, Sara has performed in numerous ensembles including woodwind quintets, reed trios, and bassoon quartets during her education. Sara was a featured concerto winner and performed Weber’s Bassoon Concerto in F with the Sewanee Symphony at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival in Sewanee, Tennessee. In 2010 and 2011, she was granted a contrabassoon fellowship for the Aspen Music Festival and School, where she studied with Per Hannevold. She has also been selected as an associate member for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and won substitute positions with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and the Evanston Symphony.
Megan Robbins, a Denver native, is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music degree in oboe performance at Northwestern University and holds a Master’s of Music degree in oboe performance and literature from the same institution. Robbins was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 2009-2010 and has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Kenosha Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Philharmonic. She has played at the Lincoln Center, Chicago Symphony Center, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and at Ravinia Park. Robbins maintains a private oboe studio in the Chicago area and has taught reed-making and non-major oboe lessons at Northwestern University. Before moving to the Chicago area, she completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor of Music degree in education and oboe performance at the Peabody Conservatory.
Matt McLaughlin, a native of Cleveland, has taken his musical studies all over the world. McLaughlin began his musical studies at the age of five, playing the piano. He took up the horn at the age of 10. Initially studying with his father, Matt has continued his training under teachers such as Eric Ruske, Kristin Thelander and E. Scott Brubaker. McLaughlin’s studies have recently brought him overseas on tours of England, Scotland, Ireland, China and Singapore. McLaughlin made his professional debut in the summer of 2008 when he performed as the horn soloist on the 2008 tour of "Ticket to Ride," produced by Nicolas Sardis and David Marquez. He has gone on to play as the Principal Horn of The American Wind Symphony Orchestra on their 2010 tour of The Gulf of Mexico and has been a featured soloist with The Greater Harrisburg Concert Band.
Artistic Director (USA) and internationally known conductor Diane Wittry specializes in conducting American music abroad, and is known in the United States for her innovative and creative programming. She has conducted performance by, among others, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Buffalo Philharmonic, Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, the Little Orchestra Society of New York, and the symphony orchestras of Milwaukee, San Diego, Houston, New Jersey, Santa Barbara, Augusta, Stockton, Pottstown, Wichita, Wichita Falls, Allentown, Pa., and Norwalk, Conn. Her international engagements include concerts with the Sarajevo Philharmonic in Bosnia, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Russia’s Maikop and Sochi symphony orchestras, Slovakia’s State Orchestra-Kosice, Italy’s Sinfonia Dell’Arte di Firenze, Canada’s Niagara Symphony, and Japan’s Orchestra Osaka Symphony. She has also conducted at the music festivals of Ojai, Calif., Penn’s Woods, Pa., and I-Park , Conn.
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