Quinteto Yzafa
Doug Brown (piano) plays numerous instruments and composes in a wide variety of musical settings and styles. He performs frequently with jazz singer Michelle DuVall, the Madison Symphony, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, has toured and recorded with songwriter Ken Lonnquist and Gypsy Swing Group Harmonious Wail. Mr. Brown scored the film Madison, many plays for American Players Theatre and the Madison Rep, and has played on more than 30 CDs and produced recordings for Bergan Riley, the Last Gaspé and others.
Amber Dolphin (violin) received a Performer's Certificate (in classical and jazz) in May of 2010 from Northern Illinois University and a MM in 2006 from UW-Madison. In 2011, Ms. Dolphin co-founded Music con Brio, a non-profit organization that provides music lessons to children after school. Besides teaching there and privately she can be found performing around Madison, in local orchestras, with the Pecatonica String Quartet, and Latin band Charanga Agozá. Ms. Dolphin serves as adjunct faculty at Beloit College and previously at Viterbo University
and the University of Wisconsin – Platteville. She traveled to Argentina in the summer of ’07 to study tango with some of the great tango violinists in Buenos Aires.
and the University of Wisconsin – Platteville. She traveled to Argentina in the summer of ’07 to study tango with some of the great tango violinists in Buenos Aires.
Mark Bridges (cello) is pursuing his doctorate in cello performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he is a student of Uri Vardi. Mr. Bridges earned his Bachelors degree from Boston University as well as a MM and an Orchestral Studies Diploma (as a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) from the Eastman School of Music. He has performed extensively throughout the United States and Canada and has collaborated with artists from internationally known quartets such as the Borodin, Tokyo and Muir quartets. In addition to performing with Quinteto Yzafa, Mr. Bridges plays with the Dubuque symphony and regularly appears as a performer at Madison’s chapter of Classical Revolution. He is an avid cyclist and last year rode three times the distance that he drove. He’s fairly proud of this fact.
August Jirovec (bass) is a frequent performer with orchestras in the Southern Wisconsin area and beyond, and has appeared on several classical music recordings as a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and the University of Texas Wind Ensemble. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison (BM, 2001) and the University of Arizona (MM, 2003). Mr. Jirovec is also the principal bassist of the Beloit-Janesville Symphony and coaches bass masterclass for Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Michael O’Brien (bandoneón) has studied the performance, history and composition of tango in Argentina as part of his research toward a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at the University of Texas. Originally a cellist, he began studying bandoneón in 2006 with Ricardo Fiorio and Fernando Añon Barros. His tango-style compositions for strings have been published by Latham Music and the National Cello Institute. Mr. O’Brien is the composer/arranger for Quinteto Yzafa.
All photos (except Mark Bridges') taken by Paula A. White. Visit www.pawhitephotography.com
