Season Schedule

Featured Musicians Bios

Ellen Connors, bassoon
The Loann W. Crane Chair
Ellen Connors enjoys a varied career as orchestral player, chamber musician and teacher. She has been principal bassoonist with ProMusica since 2011. Connors spent the 2012-13 season playing 2nd bassoon with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, making several appearances as guest principal. Previously, she served as principal bassoon of the Knoxville Symphony. Connors has appeared with both ProMusica and the Knoxville Symphony as soloist, performing Vivaldi, Mozart and Schickele. She has been a member of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony since 2011, and is a former member of the Artosphere Festival Orchestra in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She has also performed with the Saint Louis Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Charleston Symphony and Chattanooga Symphony.

Connors completed her undergraduate studies at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, studying with Benjamin Kamins. While at Rice she won a prestigious Watson Fellowship and spent the following year studying folk music in China, Mongolia, Laos, Bulgaria and Norway. Connors received her Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music where she was a student of Frank Morelli. She has concertized in Italy, Switzerland, China, South Korea, the Dominican Republic and throughout the U.S. A Michigan native, Connors resides in Saint Louis.

Heather Kufchak, violin
The Deborah Raita Chair
Heather Kufchak has been playing violin since age four, and growing up in a musical family, she began playing chamber music with her siblings at age seven. Living in Columbus for the majority of her youth, Heather participated in many of the local programs for young musicians. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Ohio University as a student of Marjorie Bagley. In 2011 she graduated with her Master’s Degree in violin performance from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, studying with Kathleen Winkler. Heather is in her sixth season with ProMusica, and she also performs with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the New Albany Symphony Orchestra, as well as teaching her private studio.

 William Manley, violin
The Frank Luckoff Chair
William Manley, a Columbus native, started playing the violin at the age of eight. He then spent his high school years at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan where he studied with Julia Bushkova. He attended Manhattan School of Music in New York City completing his Bachelor of Music Degree as a student of Albert Markov, Oleh Krysa, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Ariana Bronne. He then received his Master of Music degree at Indiana University as a student of Nelli Shkolnikova. William attended summer festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany and the Spoleto Festival in Italy. William also lived in Hong Kong where he played with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. Upon returning to the U.S. he played in the Arkansas Symphony in Little Rock. Since returning to Ohio William is in his 10th season as a member of ProMusica. He also is Assistant Concertmaster of the Dayton Philharmonic, and is an Associate Musician with the Columbus Symphony.

 Brett Allen, viola
The Jane Werum Chair
Violist Brett Lensley Allen is a native of New Jersey. His New Jersey ancestors were some of the earliest settlers of European origin in the region. Allen began studying violin at age 8. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin from Boston University and an Artist’s Diploma in Viola from the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has enjoyed a long career as a symphony orchestra musician. As a member of the USAF Strolling Strings of Washington, DC, Allen entertained at the Reagan White House. He also appeared at State Department functions and at the residences of the Chiefs of Staff. Allen toured worldwide with the USAF Strolling Strings and participated in recording projects for the Department of Defense. He has held first desk positions with the Sacramento Symphony and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra of Ontario. He has subbed with the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa, Ontario, and toured as a sub with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Allen is currently 2nd chair Viola in both the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and the Columbus Symphony. Allen is a published composer. His works may be found in the catalogs of Oxford University Press, Berbèn of Ancona, Italy, and watchfiremusic.com. Allen has two grown sons. He and his wife, Ann, are certified foster parents for the state of Ohio. Allen is an avid cyclist.

Cora Kuyvenhoven, cello
Cora Kuyvenhoven is assistant principal cellist of ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and adjunct cello professor and co-director of chamber music at Denison University. She recently taught at Otterbein University for five years and is a founding member of QUBE, the university’s artist-in residence string quartet. Cora has been soloist with Westerville Symphony, Kalistos, Welsh Hills Symphony, Plymouth Symphony, National Arts Chamber Orchestra, and the Windsor Symphony.  The Windsor Star heralded her Haydn D Major performance as expressing a great “joie de vivre.” As a member of the Toronto Symphony (1990-1997) she recorded and broadcast extensively, and toured in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America.

Cora obtained her A.R.C.T. licentiate from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto with first class honours, studied at the Banff School of Fine Arts, and was a national finalist in the Canadian Music Competition.  She received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee where she performed in the Advendo String Trio, under the tutelage of the Fine Arts Quartet.  Cora received a post master’s degree at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.  Her DMA is from the University of Iowa (2000) where she was the recipient of the Iowa Performance Fellowship, and the Peltzer Award.