“Teresa and Friends” brings together five vivacious and outgoing musicians – Sarah Bouse, piano; Eugeniu Ceremus, violin; Sean Krissman, clarinet; Courtenay Vandiver Pereira, cello; and Teresa Procter, mezzo soprano. They are a group of passionate, joyful, and talented musicians offering an interactive “Disney” concert for Music For Autism. Each musician is an advocate for innovative musical and artistic outreach beyond the concert hall and operatic stage – connecting to the immediate community. In the greater Houston area, these musicians have shared their passion for classical music in classroom and community initiatives as former and current Young Artists of Da Camera of Houston, Teaching Artists with Young Audiences Inc. of Houston, members of Rice Univerisity’s Music Outreach program JUMP!, and through their own private studios. Members of “Teresa and Friends” have performed orchestral, chamber, and solo repertoire nationally and internationally. Highlight performance locations include Houston, Boston, Minneapolis, New York, Nashville, and globally in Canada, Austria, Italy, Moldova, and Japan. A shared musical life mission by these musicians is to connect people to the invigorating power of classical music, emulated through the genuine love visible in their performing.
A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Sarah Bouse studied piano performance, piano pedagogy, and Spanish at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Upon graduation, she immediately enrolled in Rice University, where she is currently studying vocal coaching under the direction of Professor Thomas Jaber. This intensive three-year degree program will give her the skills to work with opera singers in many different capacities and will also utilize her skills in language, performance, and pedagogy from her undergraduate career. For the past three summers, Sarah has worked at Interlochen Arts Camp as a piano teaching assistant. She also currently teaches twelve piano students. Through teaching, she hopes to help young students understand and appreciate music in a personal way.
Eugeniu Ceremus, violinist is passionate about performing in many musical styles from the classics to contemporary to jazz improvisation.Eugeniu performed recitals in the most prestigious halls in Moldova, and worked with the National Moldovan Orchestra, The Opera and Ballet Orchestra, and the National Chamber Orchestra. In the United States, Eugeniu got his Master’s Degree at Cleveland Institute of Music with Paul Kantor, and in Fall of 2012 Eugeniu started his second Master’s Degree at Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas. Eugeniu has been awarded with fellowships from Aspen Music Festival for three consecutive years.
Sean Krissman, Principal Clarinetist of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, holds a strong passion for music education and outreach. As a former Young Artist in Da Camera of Houston and a member of Rice University’s JUMP! program, he frequently engages in numerous outreach initiatives both in the classroom and in the greater Houston community. Recently, Mr. Krissman took part in performance-based music education residencies at the Grand Teton Music Festival and Texas A&M University.
Acclaimed by the Boston Globe as “an expert player”, and the New Jersey Star Ledger for her “wonderful technique and creamy sound”, native Houstonian Courtenay Vandiver Pereira is a founding member of the self-conducted chamber orchestra A Far Cry. Internationally recognized with over 400 performances across the globe, the ensemble, according to the New York Times “brims with personality or, better, personalities, many and varied.” Recently featured on Houston Public Media and Classical 91.7, she is cellist-in-residence of the Texas New Music Ensemble and a Young Artist with Da Camera. In addition, she played for Billy Graham’s My Hope Campaign that was televised before millions across the United States and Canada. Her music can be heard regularly on iTunes and iHeart radio.
A native of Decorah, IA, mezzo soprano Teresa Procter (M.M in Voice Performance from Rice University, B.A in Music from Luther College) delights in operatic, chamber, and concert repertoire full opera roles include Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Olga Olsen in Street Scene, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Ramiro in La finta giardiniera, Harry in Albert Herring and Epicene in Volpone. In concert she has been the mezzo-soprano soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria RV 589, Handel’s Messiah, and the premiere of Luther Mass by Stephen Paulus at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ms. Procter was a 2013-2014 grant recipient of The Sviatoslav Richter Fund for Music Outreach at Rice University with her interactive opera presentations performed at the Texas Children’s Hospital. In May 2014, she engaged Music For Autism friends and families in a program of classical and contemporary vocal repertoire and is happy to return with her friends! Ms. Procter serves the greater Houston arts community through her work as a Da Camera Young Artist, a Teaching Artist with Young Audiences, Inc. of Houston, and as a member of the Bach Society Houston and Chorister in Houston Grand Opera’s Otello.
