Presenter Bios - Jussi Bjorling Society-USA

Conference Presenters
James A. Drake, Ph.D., is a retired college president in the Florida higher-education system. He is the author
of seven books, four of which are biographies of legendary twentieth-century singers: Rosa Ponselle
(Doubleday, 1982, and Amadeus Press, 1997), Richard Tucker (E. P. Dutton, 1984), and Lily Pons (Amadeus
Press, 2001), with forewords by Luciano Pavarotti (for Ponselle: A Singer's Life and Richard Tucker: A
Biography) and Beverly Sills (for Lily Pons: A Centennial Portrait).
Andrew Farkas, Library Director Emeritus, spent the last 33 of his 41-year professional career as the
founding Director of Libraries of the University of North Florida, in Jacksonville Florida (1970-2003). In
addition to his professional work, he was active in his avocational interests: opera, singers, research and
publishing. The principal works among his five books on opera singers are the biography of Enrico Caruso
(with Enrico Caruso, Jr.) and Jussi Björling (with Anna-Lisa Björling). Andrew was the Editor of Opera
Biography Series of Amadeus Press, Advisory Editor of Opera Biographies for Arno Press; author of
numerous articles, book chapters and bibliographies; and contributor of book, record, and performance
reviews. He is a founding member of the Jussi Björling Society-USA.
Sue Flaster, Past-President, JBS-USA. After a long career in publishing and book wholesaling, Sue Flaster is
retired in Charleston, S.C. where she advises small presses and stays active on the Board of JBS-USA. Sue
and husband Harald Henrysson commute between Charleston and the town of Säter in the Swedish
province of Dalarna. A book of Sue's poems was published in 2012 by Asphodel Press.
Enrique Gilardoni graduated as an Electro-mechanical Engineer from Buenos Aires University. His career
was with Coca-Cola in Argentina, Peru and Chile. He was Technical Director for The Andean Division when
he retired in 1997. Married to Maria Luisa, they enjoy a family of 5 children and 14 grandchildren. He was
exposed to opera as a teenager at the Teatro Colón. Captivated by the art of Jussi Björling, he became
curious about the man behind the voice. He has lectured and been a part of many Björling radio programs
in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. In 2012 he was made an Honorary Member of The Jussi Björling Sällskapet
for endorsing the Björling art in South America. He is correspondent for the JBS-USA for the Southern cone
of South America.
Stephen Hastings was born in England and educated in Oxford. He moved to Milan in 1978, started
working as a music critic in 1982 and shortly afterwards began writing for the periodical Musica, of which
he was editor from 2000 to 2014. He contributed to the Italian daily La Repubblica in the 1990s and has
been Opera News's Italian correspondent since 1991. He has taken part in five conferences on Björling and
in 2013 he received the ARSC’s Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research for his book
The Björling Sound: an in-depth analysis of the tenor’s most significant recordings. He is currently working
on a survey of audio and video recordings of seventy-five 19 th century arias.
Harald Henrysson was born in 1942, grew up and now lives in Säter near Borlänge, Sweden. For 20 years
he was record librarian at the Swedish Radio. He became Founding Curator of the Jussi Björling Museum
in 1994, and is still active there after retirement in 2009. Harald is one of the founders and first chairman
of Jussi Björlingsällskapet (The Jussi Björling Society). He published three editions of “A Jussi Björling
Phonography” in 1984-2014 and, together with Roger Alderstrand, the comprehensive chronology in
”Jussi: sången, människan, bilderna” (2010). On the subject of Jussi Björling, he has also contributed notes
for about 35 LP and CD issues as well as numerous articles and presentations.
Michael J. Mayer is a Vocal Function Researcher, Coach and Singer based in Minneapolis, MN. His
expertise has benefited singers of all styles, (including Opera/Classical, Musical Theater, Pop/Rock, Jazz,
Folk, R&B, Choral, Cantoring, and Chant) speakers in a wide range of applications, as well as rehab for
people suffering from vocal damage. He holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Minnesota in
Vocal Performance with an emphasis in Pedagogy. Mr. Mayer identified Jussi Björling and his effortless
vocalism as a model of optimal, efficient vocal function. He publishes his research findings on his website
www.vocalwisdom.com.
Zachary Milliman holds a M.M. from the University of Utah and B.M. from Brigham Young University. He
researches marginalized operatic repertoire, having presented for the American Musicological Society and
other symposia. A Fulbright scholar, he will study Hungarian opera in Budapest this Fall, then pursue his
PhD in musicology at McGill University. Currently he is a lecturer and music instructor at the University of
Alaska, Anchorage, for whom he has toured Alaska performing 20th century chamber music for tenor and
guitar. His repertoire includes leading roles and solo literature of Mozart, Poulenc, Haydn, Orff, Handel,
Menotti and Bach. He has also served as Artistic Director for Bel Canto Alaska and Music Director for First
United Methodist Church.
Duff Murphy has produced a weekly opera radio program in Los Angeles for over 35 years including
Classical KUSC since 1994 where his programs feature recordings of notable opera singers of the present
and past. He is also an executive producer of “LA Opera on Air,” the nationally syndicated broadcast series
of the Los Angeles Opera distributed by WFMT Chicago. Mr. Murphy is a frequent guest speaker on opera
with the Los Angeles Opera, the Getty Museum, The Pasadena Conservatory of Music and the Music
Academy of the West. He attended 1st and 3rd grades in Stockholm, Sweden without ever mastering the
language before returning to the US where he is now an eminent domain trial lawyer.
Jared Oaks, a native of Tacoma, Washington, is Assistant Music Director of Ballet West, where he has
conducted major ballet and symphonic repertoire in Salt Lake City, the Kennedy Center, and Chicago's
Auditorium Theatre. Jared has played for ballet classes at the Royal Danish Ballet , Balettakademien Stockholm, the Pacific Northwest Ballet Summer Intensive, the University of Utah, Regional Dance America, and
Burklyn Ballet Theatre. Besides conducting studies with the late Ballet West Music Director Emeritus
Terence Kern, his chief teachers include Richard Anderson, Ronald Staheli, Rosalind Hall, Duane Hulbert,
and Marjorie Skreen-Dickerson. A composer and avid researcher, particularly engaged in Scandinavian and
Utah music history, Jared is currently preparing a new anthology of early Swedish operatic arias with a
fellowship from the American-Scandinavian Foundation. Jared performs as pianist at the Friday Recital.
Ingo R. Titze, Ph.D., is a University of Iowa Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Department of
Communication Sciences and Disorders and the School of Music. He also directs the National Center for
Voice and Speech at the University of Utah. Dr. Titze has published over 350 articles in scientific and
educational journals, authored books entitled Principles of Voice Production, The Myoelastic-Aerodynamic
Theory of Phonation, Fascinations with the Human Voice, and most recently, Vocology. Dr. Titze is the
father of vocology which he has defined as “the science and practice of voice habilitation.”
David N. Tucker, M.D., is the son of the legendary tenor Richard Tucker. A graduate of the Cornell
University Medical College, and a former chief resident at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, his early
research with the U.S. Public Health Service contributed to numerous preventive infectious vaccines. An
ophthalmologist, Dr. Tucker maintained a private practice in Cincinnati for 35 years, for 27 of which he was
Director of the Department of Ophthalmology at Cincinnati's Jewish Hospital. Dr. Tucker is a charter
member of the board of directors of the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, which was founded by his
mother, Sara Tucker, to honor his father’s legacy by awarding grants to young American singers who are on
the verge of promising careers. For four decades, the PBS telecasts of the annual Richard Tucker Gala have
featured many of the greatest singers in recent operatic history.
Cherilyn Worthen is the professor of Choral Music at Utah Valley University. She holds Music Education
and Choral Conducting degrees from BYU, and a PhD in Music Education from the University of Utah. She is
the director of the Choir School for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and has directed choral programs at
Jordan High School and the Waterford School in Sandy, Utah. She is an active choral singer and member of
ACDA, MENC, NCCO, and Chorus America.
Performer biographies (JBS-USA Recital in the Assembly Hall, Saturday, June 13 th, 7:30pm)
Carla Rae Cook, mezzo-soprano, has been hailed as “one of the world's great Wagnerians”. Among her
roles in Wagner's Ring are Fricka, Waltraute, Erda, Zweite Norn and Erste Norn, which she has performed
with the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington Opera, Seattle
Opera; plus Kundry in Parsifal with the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Venus in Tannhäuser with the Bremen and
Seattle Operas; Octavian/Annina in Der Rosenkavalier with San Francisco Opera; Azucena in Il trovatore
with Utah Festival Opera. Miss Cook won the Metropolitan Opera International, the Munich International,
and the San Francisco Opera Auditions/Vocal Competitions, and was sponsored by the Met in her Carnegie
Hall debut. She is currently Head of the Atlantic Music Festival Opera Program and upcoming Salt Lake
International Vocal Academy.
Jared Oaks, pianist, is listed above with Conference Presenters
Rebecca Pedersen, soprano, 23, is a senior at Brigham Young University and winner of the Metropolitan
Opera National Council Auditions. She is also a finalist and award winner of the prestigious George London
Competition, and first prize winner of the Licia Albanese international Puccini Competition. She has
performed with several of America's leading orchestra's, including the Utah Symphony, Chicago Symphony,
and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, as well as the New York City Symphony, under the baton of
Eve Queler, where she made her Lincoln Center debut in October 2014.
Monica Hymas Rasmussen, pianist, has performed in concert with the late J. Ryan Selberg, Jenny Oaks
Baker, Arden Hopkin, Jama Jandrokovich, and as accompanist or assistant conductor with Salt Lake Vocal
Artists, BYU Singers, and BYU Concert Choir. Her teachers have included Scott Holden, Leonard Richter,
and Nancy Allred, and she has performed in master class with Stephen Hough, Francine Kay and Peter
Longworth. As a conductor, Monica studied with Ronald Staheli and Rosalind Hall, and received the BYU
Graduate Studies Fellowship for her work in choral vocal pedagogy curriculum development. She holds
degrees in Piano Performance and Choral Conducting from BYU.
Banner Smith, tenor, has performed Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus
by Johann Strauss, Gherardo in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, and Linfea in La Calisto by Francesco Cavalli. His
teachers include San Francisco Opera master teacher Cesar Ulloa, internationally acclaimed mezzosoprano Dolora Zajick, and Darrell Babidge at Brigham Young University. He lives in Utah with his wife and
young son.