Clinicians

British cellist Steven Isserlis CBE enjoys an international career as a soloist, chamber musician, author, educator, and broadcaster. He performs with the world’s greatest orchestras, from period to modern ensembles, and has given many world premieres, including Sir John Tavener’s The Protecting Veil, Thomas Adès’s Lieux retrouvés, four works for solo cello by György Kurtág, and pieces by Holliger, Widmann, Mustonen, and many others. 

His vast award-winning discography includes the complete JS Bach Cello Suites (Gramophone Instrumental Album of the Year), Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano, the Brahms double concerto with Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and Grammy-nominated recordings of Haydn and Martinů. 

As an author, his latest book is a critically-acclaimed companion to the Bach cello suites, while his two books for children about music are among the genre’s most popular and have been translated into many languages. He has also authored a commentary on Schumann’s Advice for Young Musicians. As a broadcaster, he has written and presented in-depth documentaries for BBC Radio, on Robert Schumann, and Harpo Marx. 

As an insightful musical explorer and curator, he has programmed imaginative series for London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s 92nd St Y, and the Salzburg Festival. Unusually he directs orchestras from the cello, including Luzerner Sinfonieorchester in 2019 with Radu Lupu in his final public performance. 

He was awarded a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998, in recognition of his services to music. International recognition includes the Piatigorsky Prize (USA) and the Glashütte Original Music Festival Award (Germany). Since 1997, he has been Artistic Director of the International Musicians Seminar, Prussia Cove, Cornwall. 

He plays the 1726 ‘Marquis de Corberon’ Stradivarius, on loan from the Royal Academy of Music. 

Seoyoen Min (she/her) has served as Principal Cello of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra since her inaugural season in 2019/20. As a native of South Korea, she has made multiple international appearances in performances and competitions, most notably winning First Prize in the Strad Music Competition, Seoul Soloists Cello Ensemble Competition, Music Association of Korea Competition, and Segye Times Competition, as well as Second Prize in the 2018 Samuel & Elinor Thaviu Endowed Scholarship Competition in String Performance.

As an active soloist in both the United States and South Korea, Seoyoen made her Youngsan Art Hall debut in 2016, where she was selected for the Young Artist of Youngsan Debut Concert Series. Most recently, she was featured with the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra, performing the Friedrich Gulda Cello Concerto with Christopher Dragon. Other solo engagements include concerts with the Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra, Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, the Seoul Academy Ensemble, the Seoul Soloists Cello Ensemble, and OZ Ensemble.

A founding member of the Edith String Quartet, Seoyoen has continued to engage in a variety of chamber music collaborations throughout her career. Some highlights include performing in a cello ensemble with Lynn Harrell, and with Kyung Sun Lee in the Virtuosi Seoul Ensemble, as well as work with the St. Lawrence Quartet. Active in her local performing arts community in Colorado, she also regularly performs at Englewood Arts as a chamber musician and soloist, and the Front Range Chamber Players. Seoyoen has also worked to pave the way for the contemporary music scene in South Korea, where she was a member of the emerging contemporary music group <Ensemble BLANK>. During her summers, she performs with South Eastern Young Artists in Georgia as a guest artist, Grand Teton Music Festival as Principal Cello, and the “Going Home Project” Orchestra as Assistant Principal.

Seoyoen has also begun to leave a mark as a private teacher in her local community and guest faculty member at music institutions. She has most recently taught a masterclass at the University of Wyoming, where she also taught a class at the UW Cello Festival. Her own mentors include musical figures such as Lynn Harrell, Gary Hoffman, Xenia Jankovic, Peter Bruns, and Tilmann Wick. She holds a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, where she studied with Hans Jørgen Jensen, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Seoul National University.

BETH VANDERBORGH, Cellist, Artistic Director and Professor of Cello at UW, enjoys a rich and varied career as soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician and pedagogue. She serves on the faculty of the University of Wyoming, as principal cellist of the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, and on the Artist-Faculty of the Eastern Music Festival. As cellist in the acclaimed Helios Piano Trio, she has performed concerts throughout Wyoming and around the world. The trio gave it’s NYC debut at Carnegie Hall in 2021. She is a founding member of the acclaimed Stanislas Sextet, based in Nancy, France. The Classical Voice of North Carolina described her playing as "...Impeccable musicianship, rhythmic precision, technical expertise and expansive, passionate musicianship. Gorgeous music, exquisitely performed, and I do not believe I have overdone the superlatives."

Dr. Vanderborgh has captured top prizes in the Baltimore Chamber Awards, the National Society of Arts and Letters Cello Competition and the Ulrich Solo Competition. As United States Information Service Artistic Ambassador and member of the Fadial-Vanderborgh Duo, she has performed on four continents, including recitals at the Kennedy Center, the Phillips Collection, the Teatro Nacional in Costa Rica and the American University in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. She was awarded the Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship in 2018 in acknowledgment of her service to the State of Wyoming. In 2019 Vanderborgh was the recipient of a professional development grant from the American String Teacher’s Association to pursue conducting studies under the legendary Maestro Gerard Schwarz.

Her most recent CD, with the Stanislas Sextet, of Schoenberg and D-Indy sextets, was recorded by Radio France and released in 2018 by the European label, Forgotten Records. She has recorded two CDs for Albany Records, both released in 2013: Chamber Music of Jennifer Higdon ("Highly recommended!" Fanfare Magazine) and Salon Music of August Nölck for Cello and Piano. Strad Magazine described her Nölck recording as "lyrical and technically accomplished… eloquent and persuasive." The CD, When the Spirit Sings, was released on Centaur in 2017 and features Musica Harmonia performing chamber music of Gwyneth Walker. Dr. Vanderborgh has collaborated in

chamber music performances with Lynn Harrell, Susan Graham, Frederica von Stade, Augustin Hadelich, Elmar Oliviera, Yura Lee, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Jon Nakamatsu, Garrick Ohlsson and Bela Davidovich.

At the University of Wyoming, Dr. Vanderborgh teaches (and has taught) applied cello, string solo literature, string chamber literature, cello pedagogy, Form and Analysis, Baroque performance ensemble, chamber music and she directs the UW Chamber Orchestra. Under her guidance, the UWCO has collaborated with Augustin Hadelich,the Ying Quartet, and the tango group, Extasis, and has toured extensively, including concerts in Denver’s Newman Center and at high schools throughout Wyoming, Colorado and Montana. She has received two Top Prof Awards, the Extraordinary Merit in Research Award, the Thumbs Up Award, and an Every Student a Person Award. This spring the UWCO will record Gwyneth Walker’s Spirit of the Mesa.

Dr. Vanderborgh’s interest in historical performance practice led her to studies on baroque cello/viol with viola da gambists Martha McGaughey (Mannes) and Ann Marie Morgan (Peabody). This coming May, she is recording 19th century works for two cellos with Kenneth Slowik at the Smithsonian Instution. For this recording, she will play the Servais Stradivarius!

Dr. Vanderborgh holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Maryland, where her teachers included David Geber, Evelyn Elsing and David Soyer. She engaged in intensive chamber music studies with the Guarneri, Juilliard, Cleveland, and American String Quartets

When not playing the cello, Dr. Vanderborgh enjoys skiing, equestrian sports, and hiking in the beautiful Wyoming wilderness with two Malinois (and husband). She was honored to represent the State of Wyoming in the 2019 National Senior Olympics, where she reached the podium earning 5th place in both the 20k and 40k women's cycling road races.

"Wow! Great Stuff!" The Washington Post

"Cellist Beth Vanderborgh, comparisons to Jacqueline du Pre´ aside, plays with the intensely focused sound of Anner Bylsma." The Charlotte Observer

Cellist Douglas Moore, a native of Iowa, was the Mary A. and William Wirt Warren Professor of Music. He was at Williams from 1970 to 2007, and served as department chairman from 1979 to 1986, 1995 to 1997 and 2001-2002. He was

cellist with the Williams Chamber Players and The Williams Trio, and keeper of the Willem Willeke Collection of Music and the Arthur Foote Collection. He holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University where he studied cello with Fritz Magg and chamber music with Janos Starker. His Master of Music (1970) and Doctor of Musical Arts (1977) degrees are both from Catholic University in Washington, DC.

Douglas Moore has appeared with orchestras and in recitals throughout the United States. He has played at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and at the Great Music West (Utah), Saratoga Baroque, Music Mountain, and Newport music festivals. Moore is an artist/teacher at the Manchester (VT) Music Festival. Concerti by Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Schumann, Lalo, Shostakovich, Saint-Saëns, Arthur Foote, Charles Wakefield Cadman, Bloch and Hindemith are in his repertoire. He has been principal cellist with the Great Music West Festival, Albany (NY) Symphony, Berkshire Symphony and Lake George Opera Festival orchestra. He served the national College Music Society as Vice-President from 1987 through 1990 and as Special Projects Committee chair from 1991 through 1993.

In 1976 Douglas Moore played the world premiere of Cello Sonata by the American composer Arthur Foote. His edition of the complete music for cello and piano by Foote was published by A-R Editions on the Recent Researches in American Music series in 1982. The first modern-day performance of Foote’s Cello Concerto took place in 1981 with Douglas Moore as soloist; since then he has performed the work with orchestras in Connecticut, Minnesota, Virginia, Massachusetts, Vermont, Illinois and Iowa. He has performed and/or read papers at regional and national meetings of the College Music Society and Sonneck Society for American Music.

Douglas Moore has made five recordings. The first was a 1979 Musical Heritage Society release of the complete cello/piano music of Arthur Foote. Another, with music by Arthur Farwell and Charles Wakefield Cadman, was issued in 1981 and was selected Best of the Month by Stereo Review magazine. Both discs were world premiere recordings of the repertoire. The Williams Trio’s recording of the two piano trios of Arthur Foote was issued by MHS in 1983; their disc of trios by Rachmaninoff and Arensky (including the premier recording of the Trio No. 2 by Arensky) appeared in 1985 on Grand Prix Records. His recording of Winter Branches: Sonata for Cello and Piano by David Kechley appears on a Liscio Records compact disc.

Douglas Moore publishes over three dozen arrangements for from two to eight cellos, including Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever and overtures by Mozart and Rossini. His arrangements have been recorded by Yo-Yo Ma, the Boston Cello Quartet (see them on YouTube) and the Saito Cello Ensemble. He also publishes new editions of violin and cello duos from rare sheet music from about 1800. They are available at http://www.playmoorecello.com/.

Leslie Jones is currently the Head of the Music Department at the American College of Greece in Athens, Greece. She began her music studies in Portland, Oregon U.S.A. where she attended Portland State University and was a member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic. She continued her studies in New York, and at the same time free-lanced with various orchestras and also participated in major festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, the Grand Teton Orchestra Festival, and the International Chamber Music Festival of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She has performed in major concert halls in New York, London, Madrid and Athens, and has been a member of several orchestras in Greece, including the KAMERATA – Orchestra of the Friends of Music (UK tour with concerts at the Royal Festival Hall and the Bath Festival), the State Orchestra of Athens, the Orchestra of Colours, and the Deree Chamber Orchestra.

As the cellist of the Deree Piano Trio, Ms. Jones has recorded two CDs of classical and romantic works at the American College of Greece. She has premiered contemporary chamber works at the Megaro Concert Hall Athens in association with the Union of Greek Composers, and has recently completed a contemporary music recording project of works by Greek composers with the Bridge String Quartet. She continues to collaborate with the Bridge String Quartet, and as a cellist of a guitar duo with DEREE faculty Dr. Giannis Petridis. In June of 2014 she participated in the Scholar-in-Residence program at NYU with the Faculty Resource Network.

Arts advocate and cellist Stephanie Flores Guerrero has performed and toured internationally throughout Europe, Mexico, and the United States. Miss Flores holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from University of Wyoming and a M.M. in Cello Performance from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Miss Flores has Suzuki Violin Training Units under the training of Joanne Bath. In addition to performing, she is dedicated to teaching music in community programs such as Bath Elementary Suzuki Violin Program, UWYO String Project, OPUS String Project, Boys and Girls Club Mexico and Núcleos Comunitarios de Tijuana.

Miss Flores has served as faculty member at Blue Lake Summer Camp working with students from all ages, such as serving as their mentor during international performances. She performs with professional orchestras as cellist with the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Lincoln, Omaha, Sioux City, and Powder River Symphonies. Miss Flores has was the winnerof the University of Wyoming Cello Festival Soloist in 2019, and performed Boccherini with the Festival Cello Choir. In addition, she was an honoree in several competitions including the Wyoming Symphony Solo Competition, University of Nebraska- Lincoln Concerto Competition and the MTNA Young Artist Competition in Wyoming and Nebraska area. In 2018, Miss Flores received the Hixson-Lied grant to study a summer abroad under the tutelage of principal cellist of the London Symphony, Rebecca Gilliver. She has also received extensive chamber music mentorship from the Chiara Quartet, Danish Quartet, Orpheus Orchestra, AlpenKammermusik Faculty and currently from Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival renowned faculty.

Currently, Miss Flores serves as instructor of String Methods and Applied Cello at the University of Wyoming. In addition, she is an Executive Directror for the UW Cello Festival.