Crescendo Piano and String Camp

Crescendo Piano & String Camp is a collaboration between Colorado State University Pueblo and the Pueblo Symphony Association.

This five-day immersive program provides:

• Daily instruction from expert faculty
• Piano & string ensemble experiences
• Theory, rhythm & movement, music history
• Outdoor activities through CSU-Pueblo Outdoor Pursuits
• Final concert in Hoag Recital Hall

Camp Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. daily

Instruments: Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello

Young Artist Program (Ages 12-18)

Audition Required for advanced students seeking intensive solo and ensemble study.

Includes:

• Private lessons
• Masterclasses
• Faculty coaching sessions
• Chamber ensembles
• Theory, music history, rhythm & movement
• Outdoor activities

Audition Required (YouTube video link submission)

Include:

• Name, age, city
• Two contrasting pieces
• Two scales demonstrating technical fundamentals

Prelude Program (Ages 8–15)

No Audition Required for developing musicians seeking a supportive group experience.

Includes:

• Group instruction
• Ensemble placement
• Instrument fundamentals
• Introductory theory & rhythm
• Outdoor activities

Students must bring their own instruments.

Participants will benefit from:

• Instruction from outstanding faculty
• Multiple performance opportunities
• Courses in theory, rhythm & movement, and music composition
• Private lessons and Masterclasses (Young Artists Program)
• Group ensemble classes (Prelude Program)
• Fun outdoor activities through CSU-Pueblo’s Outdoor Pursuits Program

The camp concludes with a final concert performance in the beautiful Hoag Recital Hall.

On-Campus Housing (Adult Supervised)

Suite-style residence halls:

• Air-conditioned rooms
• Shared bathroom between rooms
• Two beds, desks, closets
• ADA-accessible floors

Double: $195

Single (limited): $265

Campus Dining

Three meals per day (5 days)

Cost: $185

A limited number of need-based and merit scholarships are available.

For inquiries:

• Pianists: Dr. Zahari Metchkov – zahari.metchkov@csupueblo.edu
• Strings: Dianne Springfield – dianne.springfield@csupueblo.edu

 Abigail Silverberg, Collaborative Pianist, Coordinator of Functional Piano

An alumna of CSU Pueblo, Abigail Silverberg completed her master of music degree in collaborative piano and piano performance/pedagogy from the University of Idaho. Passionate about working with other musicians, she maintains an active performance schedule, playing for instrumental and vocal recitals, university and church choirs, and working as a rehearsal pianist and coach for productions of La Belle Hélene, The Pirates of Penzance, Die Zauberflöte, and various minor Mozart operas. Abigail has spent time in Salzburg, Austria and most recently in Angers, France where she served as a faculty intern and coach for FAVA Opera. She has had the immense privilege of studying at the Collaborative Piano Institute for two summers and working with renowned collaborative piano pedagogues Rita Sloan, Anne Epperson, Warren Jones, and Martin Katz.

In addition to collaborating, Abigail has a great love for teaching and has worked as a teacher of private piano lessons for several years within her own studio, Denver Musical Arts music studio, and the University of Idaho Preparatory Music Program. She served as an assistant piano instructor at the Southern Colorado Music Adventure Camp for several years. She has taught class piano as a teaching assistant at the University of Idaho and is now Lecturer of Music and coordinator of the functional piano sequence at Colorado State University Pueblo.

Abigail maintains an active membership with professional teaching and collaborating organizations such as the Music Teachers National Association and the International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society. She has presented at state and national conferences on a variety of topics including mental practice, etude curriculum, underrepresented composers, and recently discovered works of music. She is a nationally certified teacher of music and has held various leadership positions within MTNA at the national, state, and local levels. She looks forward to an upcoming presentation at the International Horn Symposium in Kraków, Poland.

Dmytro Nehrych, Violin and Viola Instructor

Dmytro Nehrych is a violinist and educator with extensive experience in performance, instruction, and orchestral leadership. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Violin Performance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where he served as a Graduate Assistant, teaching theory, leading rehearsals, and offering private lessons.

Born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, Dmytro studied at the Chernivtsi Music School and the Regional Specialized School of Arts named after S. Vorobkevych. By age 14, he was a multiple competition winner and frequently performed as a soloist with the Chernivtsi Regional Philharmonic. At UNLV, he studied under Wei Wei Le, whose teachers included Yehudi Menuhin, Donald Weilerstein, and Roland and Almita Vamos.

Dmytro has appeared with numerous ensembles, including the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and won the UNLV Concerto Competition, performing as a soloist with the Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed in major Las Vegas productions at venues such as Wynn and Rio. Since 2015, he has combined performance with teaching, serving as a violin instructor at NY Music Academy, Music & Arts, and in leadership roles with Super Summer Theatre and Nevada Conservatory Theatre.

Dedicated to music education, Dmytro has taught orchestra at multiple schools in the Clark County School District and currently works at Del Sol Academy of the Arts while teaching violin at UNLV. He is also a member of the Pueblo Symphony Orchestra and an adjudicator for the NMEA Solo and Ensemble competition.

With a strong foundation in both performance and pedagogy, he continues to inspire students while maintaining an active performance career.

Tess Padilla, Violin & Viola Instructor

Tess Padilla is a classically trained violinist and graduate of the Indiana University School of Music, (now called the Jacobs School of Music) with a Bachelor of Violin Performance and extensive training in chamber music. Formerly the concertmaster of the Pueblo Symphony, Ishe has over thirty years of experience as a liturgical and secular soloist and chamber musician performing for various organizations and celebrations in and around the community. She is employed by the Diocese of Pueblo at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. She is a member of Southern Colorado Music Teachers Association (chapter of CMTA and MTNA) and the American String Teachers Association. (ASTA).

As adjunct faculty at CSU Pueblo she taught applied violin and viola to beginning through advanced students ranging in age from teens to adults as well as cello and bass instruction. Besides applied string lessons, she was

also the director of the University Chamber Orchestra and taught string pedagogy to all music education majors at the University. Since her prior work experience was with older students, she completed coursework in the music instruction of younger students aged pre-K through elementary in order to round out her teaching abilities to better serve students of any age.

She is currently a member of two performing chamber music ensembles. She performs with the Raphael String Trio as the first violinist. She also performs with the Scheherazade Piano Trio as the violinist.

Julie Wiggins, Violin Instructor

Julie is known for combining her classical foundation with a love for all things improvisational. She is a graduate of Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, and operates Steel City Strings, teaching studio.

Julie and her husband Aavalajn (percussionist), founded Camarada 320, and more recently Serenata Colorado, a genre-flexible, collaborative ensemble. From classical to jazz, pop, and more, they’re known for their pursuit of eclectic artistic experiences in cooperation with other artists. She performs regularly with the Pueblo Symphony, Pocket Philharmonic and Song of Pueblo.

Andrzej Grabiec, Violin

Conductor of the Pueblo Symphony Orchestra and internationally acclaimed violinist and educator.

Polish violinist Andrzej Grabiec, prizewinner at the Fifth International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poland (1967) and the International Jacques Thibaud Violin Competition in Paris, France (1969), has performed as soloist in symphonic concerts and recitals in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Denmark, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Rumania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, former Soviet Union, and Poland. Mr. Grabiec has performed under conductors Pierre Boulez, Erich Leinsdorf, Krzysztof Penderecki, Witold Lutoslawski, Jerzy Semkow, Kazimierz Kord, Mark Elder, Erich Bergel.

An honored graduate and later professor of the Symanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland in 1972, Mr. Grabiec immediately became Soloist and Concertmaster of the Polish National Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra and leader of Capella per Musica da Camera, where he released recordings of solo and chamber music. As the founding member of the Polish Radio Piano Trio, he captured first prize at the Tenth International Competition for Chamber Music Ensembles in Colmar, France.

Mr. Grabiec immigrated to the United States in 1979, with a successful recital debut in 1984. He has entertained a prolific career, including positions as Concertmaster of the Pueblo Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Mozart Festival Chamber Orchestra, Concertmaster of: Wichita Symphony Orchestra in Kansas, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in Rochester, New York, and the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra at Eastern music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina. Mr. Grabiec was the Music Director of the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester, a founding member of the Trio NOVA, and a founding member, Concertmaster, and soloist of the American Sinfonietta (1996). Invited by the Government of Australia, Mr. Grabiec became Artistic Director of an extensive Olympic Arts Tour throughout Australia, New Zealand, and South Pacific islands as a soloist and conductor (1999). Since moving to Houston (1995), Mr. Grabiec became Professor of Violin at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, and joined the Western Arts Trio. He performed solo with the Houston Symphony (1999), in the presence of former President George Bush and other political leaders form the United States, Germany, and Canada. Mr. Grabiec is a founder and Artistic Co-Director of the Virtuosi of Houston, a 50-piece orchestra comprised of some of the most outstanding young musicians in Houston. In 2002 Mr. Grabiec presented the world premiere of the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by American composer Peter Lieuwen at the University of Houston with the Moores Symphony Orchestra, Franz Anton Krager conducting. A CD was released under the Albany Records label of this recording in 2003.

Recordings of Mr. Grabiec include the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the American Sinfonietta, released on the Summit Records label, Chopin Piano Trio and Chopin’s violin-piano transcriptions released in Poland by Vifon label, a recording of Piano Trio by Houston composer Michael Horvit, and a unique recording of Stauss’ “Don Quixote”, arranged for septet by cellist Laszlo Varga, as well as Vifon and Natural Soundfields labels.

Mr. Grabiec has taught and performed at many summer festivals: the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands; Sarasota Music Festival in Florida; Texas Music Festival; International Summer Academy “ARIA”; Intensive String Quartet Workshop in New York; Colorado Music Fest in Colorado; Wintergreen Summer Music Festival in Virginia; Bellingham Festival of Music in Washington; Musicfest in Wales, and was Concertmaster of the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestras at the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina. He has been invited to direct Master Classes in the USA, Canada, UK, Austria and Poland.