ARTIST TEACHERS
Violin | Viola | Cello | Piano
DR. BRETT WALFISH, VIOLA & VIOLIN
Violist Brett Walfish, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Rushmore Music Festival, has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Ireland, Italy, and Israel. His concerts have taken him to Tel Aviv Opera House, the National Music Museum, the Historic Blackfriars Theatre and Carnegie Hall, among others. Praised by the conductor David Effron for a warm sound full of a “myriad of colors,” Brett is an expressive and charismatic performer. He has collaborated with world-renowned artists including Philip Setzer, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Stephan Barratt-Due, Annie Fullard, Michael Klotz, Rudolf Koelman, Misha Vitenson, and Hillel Zori. He has also performed with the highly acclaimed conductorless chamber orchestra, A Far Cry, as well as the New World Symphony.
Mr. Walfish is a devoted teacher of violin, viola, and chamber music, and has studied string pedagogy with the legendary Mimi Zweig at the Indiana University and completed a two-year long-term Suzuki teacher training certification at the School for Strings in New York City. He frequently travels across the United States for guest masterclasses and teaches privately through the Professional Violin Studio in Rapid City and Spearfish. Most recently, he has joined the Valencia Baryton Project on a multi-week U.S. & Canada tour.
His students have been accepted to the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Harvard University, Cornell University, among others.
Brett Walfish teaches in-person lessons in Rapid City and in Fort Lauderdale, FL, as well as virtually on Zoom.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:
Doctor of Musical Arts in Viola Performance - Stony Brook University (DIP)
Lawrence Dutton (Emerson String Quartet), Nicholas Cords
Graduate Diploma in Viola Performance - New England Conservatory
Martha Katz (Cleveland Quartet)
Master of Music in Viola Performance - New England Conservatory
Martha Katz (Cleveland Quartet)
Bachelor of Music - Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
Atar Arad (Cleveland Quartet)
DR. KATIE SMIRNOVA, VIOLIN & VIOLA
Violinist Dr. Katie Smirnova is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Rushmore Music Festival. Throughout the year, Dr. Smirnova enjoys performing with local orchestras such as the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, as well as touring with the Rushmore Concert Artists. She has previously enjoyed collaborating with organizations such as the National Music Museum in Vermillion SD, San Diego Ballet, Stowe Tango Music Festival, Moscow Ballet, Bel Cantanti Opera Company, Hartford Festival Orchestra, Groupmuse, among others. In addition to performing with various chamber ensembles in major halls throughout the United States, Dr. Smirnova places a strong value on outreach and giving back to her community through performance.
An avid teacher, Dr. Smirnova currently maintains a private teaching studio in Rapid City, SD and Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Highly interested in child psychology and the early music learning process, she has studied violin pedagogy with Rebecca Henry at the Peabody Conservatory and completed a two-year long-term Suzuki teacher training certification at the School for Strings in New York City.
Previous teachers include Dr. Ann Setzer at the Juilliard School Pre-College Division, Pamela Frank, Shmuel Ashkenasi and Daniel Phillips at the Heifetz International Music Institute, and masterclasses with the members of the Miro, Brentano, Brooklyn Rider, Emerson, and the Juilliard String Quartets.
Dr. Katie Smirnova teaches in-person lessons in Rapid City and in Fort Lauderdale, FL, as well as virtually on Zoom.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:
Doctor of Musical Arts in Violin Performance - Stony Brook University
Philip Setzer (Emerson String Quartet), Hagai Shaham
Master of Music in Violin Performance - Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University
Victor Danchenko
Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance - Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University
Victor Danchenko
Pre-College Division Graduate - The Juilliard School
Dr. Ann Setzer
Dr. ISMAR GOMES, CELLO
Award-winning cellist, Ismar Gomes, has performed internationally as a chamber musician, and soloist. Hailed for his “impressive virtuosity, energy, and a handsome tonal range” (Berkshire Review), he has established himself as a captivating artist, delivering exciting and innovative performances. Recent appearances have taken Dr. Gomes to four continents including performances at the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, Evolution Contemporary Music Series, Le Petit Salon, Luan Huan Shan Glades Music Festival, Early Music at St. Mark’s, and many more. His recent collaborators include members of the Pittsburgh and Baltimore Symphonies, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as members of the Johannes, and Brentano Quartets. Also in demand as an orchestral player, Mr. Gomes was the Baltimore Symphony’s Fellow for the 2015 – 2016 season, and is a member of both the Virginia and Richmond Symphonies.
Nearly a decade ago, Dr. Gomes and pianist Wan-Chi Su founded Duo Sorolla, which has appeared on distinguished series across the US. In 2012, Mr. Gomes co-founded Arioso Furioso, a baroque ensemble based in New York and later in 2018, Ismar joined Mélomanie, an ensemble based in Delaware that pairs early music and contemporary works on period instruments. In 2014, Mr. Gomes made the premiere recording of a chamber opera by Pulitzer Prize winner, David Lang performing with the Harlem Quartet and guest artists; the recording was a Grammy nomination finalist.
Teaching is a central component in Mr. Gomes’ musical life. He recently served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Cello at Luther College in Iowa, and is presently on faculty at Gettysburg College. Dr. Gomes has recently been invited to present masterclasses at several universities including Georgetown, Towson, Ball State, and Duke.
Previous teachers include Marc Johnson and Clive Greensmith of the Vermeer and Tokyo Quartets. Mr. Gomes has appeared in Masterclasses for eminent cellists including Steven Doane, Janos Starker and Steven Isserlis, and was mentored in chamber music by the Vermeer, Jerusalem, Juilliard, and Emerson String Quartets.
Dr. Ismar Gomes teaches virtually on Zoom.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:
Doctor of Musical Arts in Cello Performance - Stony Brook University
Colin Carr
Master of Music in Cello Performance - Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University
Amit Peled
Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance - Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University
Alison Wells
DR. MATTHIEU COGNET, PIANO
French pianist Matthieu Cognet is an active soloist and sought-after chamber player who has appeared in major venues and festivals in Europe and the United States, including Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, the Cultural Institute of Chicago (Myra Hess Memorial Concerts), Hemptinne Festival (Belgium), the Rushmore Music Festival, SD, the Festival Memphis in May, the Saint Georges Music Festival in Guadeloupe, the Prades, Castelnaudary and Pianissimes Festivals (France). He recently collaborated in concert with internationally acclaimed Flutist Carol Wincenc and Grammy Award winner Bandoneonist Hector Del Curto.
He has been a soloist with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Queer Urban Orchestra, RMF Chamber Orchestra, Stony Brook University Orchestra, Indiana University Student Orchestra, and the Paris Sorbonne Orchestra. His recital and chamber music performances have been featured on Radio France and Chicago WMFT Radio broadcasts. Matthieu Cognet is a laureate of the Concours Musical de France, the Bloomington Travel Grant and Stony Brook Concerto Competitions. He won 1st Prize in the Entraide Française Competition in New York in May 2017, which earned him a recital at the French Consulate in New York City.
While completing his Performance Diploma at Indiana University, he worked extensively as the studio pianist of Janos Starker. In addition to his performing activities, Mr. Cognet released his own arrangement of Maurice Ravel’s La Valse for piano solo under the label Lauren Keiser Publications/Hal Leonard. He is also the Artistic Director and Masterclass Director of the French-American Piano Society. He has recorded three albums: “Debut Recital”, “Mit Humor”(Odradek Records), to stellar reviews (Gramophone Magazine), and “Global Saxophone.” He is currently a collaborative pianist and French Diction Instructor at the Curtis Institute, the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music.
Dr. Matthieu Cognet teaches virtually on Zoom.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:
Doctor of Musical Arts - Stony Brook University
Gilbert Kalish
Performance Diploma - Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
Émile Naoumoff
Master of Music - Royal Conservatory of Brussels
Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden
Bachelor of Arts - University of La Sorbonne in Paris
Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris–CNR
Pierre Réach