Hanna Brammer, soprano

Praised by Opera News as “magnificent,” rising star, soprano Hanna Brammer, is making a splash on the operatic scene. Brammer has interpreted many of opera’s most beloved soprano roles to great acclaim, including Nedda (I Pagliacci), Violetta (La Traviata), Musetta (La bohème), Gilda (Rigoletto), and Juliette (Roméo et Juliette). Brammer recently wowed Sarasota audiences with her portrayal of Vespina in Haydn’s comic masterpiece L’Infedeltà Delusa. Brammer recently made her Carnegie Hall debut in Mozart’s Coronation Mass with Mid-America Productions. She also has made appearances with The Florida Orchestra, The Jacksonville Symphony, The Glacier Symphony, and Ensemble NewSRQ. She made her professional debut as Rose Maurrant in Opera North’s 2014 production of “Street Scene.”  She has sung leading roles with Opera Columbus, Knoxville Opera, Opera Tampa, St. Pete Opera, Sarasota Opera, Nashville Opera, Mississippi Opera, Opera Memphis, Festival Amadeus, Indianapolis Opera, Opera North, Opera Project Columbus, Painted Sky Opera, and Wichita Grand Opera.

Inna Faliks, pianist

“Adventurous and passionate” (The New Yorker), Ukrainian-born American pianist Inna Faliks has made a name for herself through her commanding performances of standard piano repertoire, as well genre-bending interdisciplinary projects, and inquisitive work with contemporary composers. After her acclaimed teenage debuts at the Gilmore Festival and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, she has appeared on many of the world’s great stages in recital and with many major orchestras, performing with conductors Leonard Slatkin, Keith Lockhart and many others. Her recent seasons include performances at Ravinia Festival in Chicago, National Gallery in Washington DC, as soloist with US orchestras nation-wide, and repeated tours of all the major venues in China.

George Maxman, violinist

Violinist George Maxman was born in Moscow, Russia. He studied in the Moscow Conservatory, completing his study in Violin Performance under the tutelage of David Oistrakh. During his time at the conservatory, Mr. Maxman also studied piano and composition with Dmitri Kabalevsky. His international career has included Artist-in-Residence at the University of Sydney, Acting Assistant Concertmaster of the Houston Symphony, concertmaster and assistant conductor of the Symphony Nova Scotia, and a career as a violinist and teacher in Shanghai. He is a master teacher whose students have won numerous major violin competitions. His spectacular performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto in A Major last season with the Chamber Orchestra drew a standing ovation.

Victoria Bond, featured composer

Victoria Bond leads a multifaceted career as composer, conductor, lecturer, and artistic director of Cutting Edge Concerts. Her compositions have been praised by The New York Times as "powerful, stylistically varied and technically demanding.”

 Ms. Bond has composed eight operas, six ballets, two piano concertos and orchestral, chamber, choral and keyboard compositions. Bond’s opera, Clara, based on the life of composer and pianist Clara Schumann, premiered at the Berlin Philharmonic Easter Festival in Baden-Baden, Germany in 2019. Recent compositions include Anne Frank's Tree, commissioned by The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra; The Adventures of Gulliver, commissioned by American Opera Projects through a commissioning grant from Opera America;  The Miracle of Light, a Hanukkah opera, commissioned by The Young Peoples Chorus of NYC and premiered by Chamber Opera Chicago; and The Reluctant Moses, commissioned by The Choral Society of the Hamptons.

Robert Vodnoy, music director

 Music Director Robert Vodnoy has enjoyed a long and illustrious career as a conductor, composer, violinist, and educator. He co-founded the Chamber Orchestra of Sarasota in 2017. Vodnoy made his professional debut as a conductor in 1975 with the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, which he led as music director for 30 years. He was Music Director of the Northwest Indiana Symphony (1976-1996), the Whiting Park Festival Orchestra (2000-present), the Huron Symphony (2010-2015) and has guest conducted orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, and the Pacific Rim. He was Director of Orchestras/Professor of Strings and Music History at Northern State University from 2005-2018.

 Vodnoy holds a BM summa cum laude and MM in composition from Hartt College of the University of Hartford and a DM in Conducting from Indiana University. He also studied conducting at the Monteux School for Conductors and the L'academia Chigiana.